Good evening, and welcome
to the lecture series from here
at the Martz Kohl Observatory on behalf of the uh,
board of directors of the Marshal Martz Memorial
Astronomical Association, Incorporated.
I want to thank you all for tuning into
what I expect to be a wonderful and
very informative discussion.
This time I'd like to bring in Walt
Pickut and he is our program director and Walt.
Thank you, Tom.
Well, it's great to see you folks here.
I have a feeling that probably almost as many still by the
roadside.
Burn the ditch.
I've ever seen...
About 3 days.
It's really been tense.
So thank you for coming tonight.
It's also a little bit cool, but I've been told that every human
body is about a 100 watt heater, so it'll warm up.
Stephanie, you can correct me on
my arithmetic on the heating uh, value
of a human body.
Maybe it's different in a space capsule, but we're hoping to warm up here.
Um, I'm glad you're here.
I really wanted to thank our publicity team, Lori,
and uh, Lori Livingston and Andy Phelan.
They really get the word out and stuff.
I just want to see your hands.
How many of you know about this from something in the media?
Newspapers?
Okay.
Good.
Word of mouth from French.
Good, okay, David, grab again.
All right, um, We're also,
uh, do we have the cards, Lori?
Yes.
We'll be passing out reaction
cards, if you don't have them yet.
asking you to help us out because we help,
we like to know what works best with our presentations.
Are we still developing this?
And we were prepared tonight
for an overflow room because we've been seeing
groups of 60 and 70 people here.
So we really want to say thank you for coming tonight.
It wasn't easy, I'm sure.
Oh, so welcome to the Martz Kohl Observatory.
It's a pleasure tonight to introduce our guest speaker,
Stephanie Buskirk Dudley.
Stephanie started her journey in space exploration.
Growing up right near the
Kennedy Space Center.
She could watch Space Shuttleland, lunches from her own backyard.
Now that should be inspiring for almost anyone
to become a space scientist, and that's
exactly what the, what Stephanie did with
that experience.
She, over the years, she's
been working with NASA for around 2 decades now.
She's worked at the space shuttle program.
The International Space Station and
the constellation program.
Today she plays a leading role in humanities
return to Deep Space.
She currently serves
as the moon to Mars expiration operations,
deputy director.
Uh, she's deeply involved in a
gateway project as well, though, in the lunar observatory,
Alberty, in the moon, and supporting
long term exploration of the moon, and eventually Mars.
Uh, so, uh, we're
going to really hear, uh,
directly from NASA,
from Stephanie.
Uh, couldn't get any closer to what's actually going on.
You're probably going a lot more today than you will immediately.
And please think of the questions because,
uh, this is a chance to get questions, answered,
that there's probably no other way to get.
Um, tonight, uh, we're,
uh, gonna
have that insider's look, that's very special.
Uh, Stephanie's academic background is equally impressive.
She has a professor of
science degree in uh, engineering science, master
of science and biomedical engineering, in
ME, which is master of engineering, industrial
insistence engineering, and all from University of Florida.
And I love saying that because it makes me feel
just a little warm and safety bars.
Stephanie is also a licensed
private pilot.
And for the students here tonight, any students here?
Okay, and online, I'm sure we have a few.
stories, a
reminder, a careers in science and engineering.
Don't really require having
everything figured out before you start.
Stephanie says simply try everything.
You'll find out, talents,
and interest you have to, you didn't even know about.
Um, Stephanie enjoys
camping, hiking, biking, and spending time with your husband, Brandon,
and their 2 dogs, um, people leading
lunar missions still, of course, need fresh air
and good trip.
So please join me in giving
you a warm welcome to a
leader in expiration, a champion of blooming and someone helping
to pave away from the moon to Mars.
Stephanie, Buzzker, Dudley, and Stephanie,
I'm going to also ask you to please introduce your colleague.
Where are you tonight?
Yuri.
So it's Stephanie and Shalira.
Thank, thank you so much for
that very, very nice introduction.
Um, so, uh, super excited
to be here today, thanks to all of you who traveled,
um, glad you could brave the, um, the
weather, um, to be in person and,
uh, you know, for folks who chose to,
you know, stay at home and join the Zoom, um, safety
is our number one priority, um, at NASA.
So, um, you know, happy to to, that you made that choice.
Um,
So I am here.
This is like one of the funnest parts of my job.
I brought along a colleague who also loves um, talking
about the amazing science and research that we um,
do in space.
So, um, Yuri Guinart Ramirez,
um, is one of the colleagues, um, and
between the 2 of us, we have many years of experience,
um, working, um, both in
ISS and then and now in Mutamar's
program, um, operating,
developing, designing, um,
turning science, research ideas into
things we can actually do in space.
Um, So Yuri
is going to help me answer all the hard questions.
Um, and I'm very happy she could
be here today to help me out with this.
Yuri, do you want to introduce yourself real quick?
Good afternoon, everybody.
I'm so glad to be here.
And like Stephanie said, just, it's always a joy
to be able to share a little bit of the science, research investigations
that we can do, uh, in space, microgravity,
and now, uh, turning the page to
towards the moon.
It's super exciting.
Um, So just thrilled to be here and
and uh, looking forward to, to
the to the chat and the questions.
Yes.
Yeah, please, um, please thank your questions
and we'll we'll get to them.
All right, I see your thumbs up.
Okay, so um, hopefully you all
know that, um, we are launching
the Artemis 2 mission in 16 days.
I got out my calendar, um,
just as we were sitting here waiting to begin to
make sure I had the number right.
So, um, March 6th.
We plan to launch Artemis
2, um, is a mission, human mission.
We are going back to the moon.
Um, we're going to talk about all the science that
we're going to do on that mission and then we'll also look forward to,
um, the Artemis 3 mission, which will be
our 1st um, landing mission on
the moon, um, in this generation.
So, um,
we are going, um, for many reasons,
but one of them is scientific discovery.
Um, All of the plans that NASA
is putting together, um, is looking
forward to what we are going to do at Mars.
Um, and the things that we need to learn along
the way, um, to make our eventual long term,
um, Mars missions, um, safe and possible.
Um, so we're going to go back to the moon.
Um, You know, we have previously
been there with the Apollo missions.
We're going to go back this time to stay.
So our goal is to build,
um, a sustained lunar
presence on the moon, and do it with
both commercial and international partners.
Um,
so there are many elements that make
up um, a successful Artemis um, campaign.
So we have the rocket that we launch on.
That's the space launch system.
Um, very large rocket,
um, on a later page, I'll have a comparison to,
um, previous rockets that you might know about.
Um, The Orion spacecraft
is the is the vehicle that um, the crew lives
in during uh, the mission.
Um, so for Artemis 2, they will spend um,
10 days in that vehicle.
Um, Once
we get to Artemis 3, we will have the human landing
system, which is the lander that will take
the crew from the Orion capsule that is orbiting
the moon down to the surface of the moon.
Um, there's there's 2 pictures here
in that um, top middle, um, box,
um, on the, on the left is a,
I'm representative, um, SpaceX starship
vehicle, and then on the right is a government reference,
um, design of what, um, the blue origin
lander could look like.
Um, so, uh,
both of those vehicles are in development right now.
Um, and are Artemis 3,
um, mission, and I don't
know if I said this earlier, but we're planning um, to target
the 2028 time frame for that um,
landing human landing on the moon.
And while
we are on the surface of the moon, um, we will
need, um, new spacesuits.
Um, so we have spacesuits that we use um, for
um, space walks that are um,
staged from the international space station.
Um, The spacesuits that
we will use on the moon are different.
Um, one of the differences is gravity.
So, um, microgravity on the space station, 16
gravity um, on the surface of the moon.
Um, We also,
uh, as Indy, um, as we mentioned at the beginning,
we've got um, the gateway, um, lunar outpost.
So it is a, um, another space
station that NASA is developing, but instead of orbiting
the earth, um, it will orbit the moon.
Um, and then across
the bottom, um, uh, there's
some things, um, that we will need for future emissions
like surface mobility, um, infrastructure
on the surface once we we go to stay.
And then the things that we can't do any of this without,
we, you know, our space communication, and then our,
um, exploration ground systems at the Kennedy Space
Center that are actually, um, building the rockets
and then launching the rockets.
Um, so lots of different pieces
that make up Artemis and make these missions successful.
Um,
All right, so, uh,
we're, I mentioned a little bit, you know, we're, we're going,
um, to the moon, to,
um, plan to learn, um, how
to live, um, away from the
earth at, um, long
durations, um, to study the moon,
um, to, um,
Gather the data that we need in
order to, um, make Mars
mission successful.
Um, there's, we'll
talk a little bit more uh, details later, but there are
things that we don't understand about the human body.
Um,
that we want to make sure
that we buy down some of those risks.
Um, before we send our crew
um, on the the long duration, um,
Mars missions.
Um, and and we can do that from, um,
from the moon.
Um, we're also, you know, hoping
to, um, learn about
the moon itself and and part of the talk
today is about what we think we're going to learn um, at the moon.
Um,
here's that picture that I mentioned to compare
the different vehicles.
Um, so Statue of Liberty all the
way on the left um, and our Saturn 5 Apollo Rocket on the right.
And then you can see um, previous
space shuttle.
Um, program, um,
that has now ended, but, um, very long legacy,
uh, like was mentioned, I, you know, got to watch this
vehicle launch um, from my backyard in Florida.
And then, um, The,
the SLS Orion block one, um,
is the version of the rocket that will fly for, for Artemis 2 and 3.
The um, the block
2 um, is you can see bigger
in this um, picture, I don't
think it was a coincidence that they made it just a little bit bigger
than the Saturn 5.
Um, but the capability of that rocket,
the difference there is, um, we can fly more,
um, more capability.
We have more baths that we could lift off the surface of the
earth with that vehicle.
compared
to the block one SLS.
Okay, so, um,
here is a picture from the Artemis one um, mission.
So, um, 2022,
um, we flew an uncrued Orion,
um, around, um,
um, on a mission.
Um, Similar to,
um, that we were going to fly, um,
in 16 days, um,
But but without the crew.
So, um, It was
a longer duration mission, um, we,
we were pretty successful, um,
and how the vehicle was operating.
Um, we um, were
able to add some mission objectives
to that mission in real time.
Um, because things were going so well.
Um, and this picture was taken,
um, um, um, the vehicle has,
you know, kind of fold out solar arrays, and this is
a camera that's at the end of the array, um,
and just captured this amazing image of the moon in the background.
Um, as it was, was flying its mission.
So, you know, we,
um, we're going to get some amazing photos, um, with
our Artemis 2 crew, um, and during that
mission, um, and some human eyes, um,
on, um, some parts of the moon.
Um, if we launch in March that human
eyes had never seen before.
So we were really excited about that.
Um, here's some more details.
Um, if you are curious about the, um,
Orion vehicle.
So Yuri and I are not experts in this.
Um, we, we know, um, you know,
a little bit of details.
Um, so if you have like specific questions about
the, the vehicle itself, we can get you some resources, but just
wanted to show this um, expanded view of
the different components that make up Orion.
All
right, so we talked about Artemis one
that flew in 2022.
Um, Our Artemis 2 mission, there's
our crew members pictured there.
Um, we'll talk a little bit about them
in a minute.
So, um, Moving on, um,
Artemis 3, I mentioned, is our 1st landing
with humans on the surface of the moon
in this generation.
Um,
We, uh, this time are
targeting the south pole of the moon.
Um, and when we we get to,
um, some later charts, we'll talk about why that's important.
Um, The spoiler
is that it has to do with frozen water that we're going to find there.
Um, which is part of the the,
the science and that we're going to get from that mission.
Um, gateway comes with Artemis 4.
So that'll be our 1st mission, gateway will fly.
Um, take a long, um,
A long spiral
journey out to lunar orbit.
And we'll be checked out and ready to
go when we launch the 1st crew that
will go to the um, to the gateway lunar space station.
Um, that mission.
Um,
So we'll include kind of like 1st
ingress and outfitting of the space
station and then also another lunar landing.
Um, all in one mission.
Artemis 5.
So each of these missions are building in complexity.
Um, so Artemis 4, we add gateway, Artemis
5, we add, um, the lunar,
uh, rover, um, um,
on the surface of the moon, um, unpressurized.
So, um, you probably have seen old videos
of Apollo crew members, um, riding around the new
buggy, um, on the surface of the moon.
Um, we will have a version for um, Artemis,
um, that also includes some, some new,
um, features for science collection.
Um, and then uh,
later missions, we're also going to add a
pressurized rover.
Um, we're going to add permanent
surface habitats.
Um, so each mission will add a
little bit of um, architecture elements
that expand our capability.
Um,
so here are our crew members for Artemis 2.
They represent all of humanity.
Um, I'm wearing the patch,
um, that they designed.
Um, It is an A
for Artemis.
Um, and then the Roman numerals
too, but the way they designed it, it looks like all.
So they are going for all of humanity.
Um, so Jeremy, Brittany, Victor
and Christina, um, are our friends and,
um, we are going to fly them safely and bring them home, um,
to share the things that they see.
Um, Hopefully again,
new parts of the moon that human eyes have never seen before.
Um, okay.
So, I mentioned earlier that,
um, our long, um,
duration missions.
We've had a, we've had a lot of data,
um, on the ISS to study, um,
the human body in space.
Um, which
has been wonderful for, um, um,
building up data sets that give us like statistical
confidence that, um, we understand
what's happening to the humans themselves.
Um,
But, um, Artemis missions are are
different for a few different ways
that you see here on the screen.
Um, The radiation that we
are going to experience at both at the moon and
eventually when we go to Mars is very different than ISS.
The International Space Station.
So, um, the,
the, ISSS is, um, within
the protection of the Earth's atmosphere, um,
from a magnetic, um, radiation standpoint.
So they, um, they
benefit from being close to the Earth.
Um, from not getting as much radiation
as they, as crew members will get um, at the moon.
Um,
So that's one of the things that we need to study.
Um, we will have,
um, because we are further
from Earth than, um, than at the International Space Station.
There will be con delays.
We will have to deal with that as
part of their training,
um, and um, they they
will need to be self-sufficient, to be able to
handle certain issues, but but also, um,
it means that if things go wrong,
Um, while we, while we train
for them, um, there is less, um,
that we, we on earth can do to help them.
Um, so certain kind of uh,
medical emergencies, um, will,
will need different precautions that we,
um, just have to plan for
that is different than ISS.
Um,
This is kind of, um,
when I when I used to work in ISOS and I, you know, talk about this.
When you're working like in your lab.
Right?
You have a tool and you set your tool down on your
workbench and you know that it's going
to be there when you get back, right?
And then I assess it, it, um, floats
away, and then you lose it, and you, and you have to retrain
yourself to remember that you can't just put it down
and walk away or float away.
Um, you have to stick it to something or put
it in a pocket or put it in some kind of container so it doesn't float away.
Um,
We now have crews
that are trained to um, to,
uh, compensate for not having gravity.
Um, but, but we're going to send them to the moon
now and it is a different problem because they have 16 gravity.
And, um,
Part of their mission, they will have
0 G.
And then they're going to be on the surface
of the moon in 160.
And we'll have to make that adaptation.
Um, to go from 0
G, Earth G, write one, to
0 to 16th and and still
be able to perform in all of the different gravity transitions.
that they're going to see.
Um, So all of
these things, um, we have to figure out,
And before we send
crew members all the way to Mars.
Um, Okay.
So, on
Artemis 2 now, we're going to specifically
talk about the things that we're going to do on ours too.
Um, we have 4 different cubesats.
Um, so think like.
Um, toaster, like
bigger than a loaf of bread.
Kind of size, um,
individual small satellites
that will be, um, ejected
from the rocket, um,
once the Orion capsule is clear.
Um,
All 4 of them are sponsored
by international partners, so other countries.
And all 4 of them have
some kind of um, study
relation to radiation or space weather.
Um, so we've got Argentina,
Korea, Saudi Arabia and Germany, have all built,
um, cubesats that will
um, study the radiation environment.
Um, after um, they are um,
ejected from the, the space LS.
Sorry, the space launch system rocket.
Um, The, um,
like each of these countries, um,
have varying levels of um, expertise
in um, space ferrying
nation status, right?
from Germany, um,
you know, who is a regular partner, um,
with a European space agency, um, who we work with,
you know, every day on ISS to, um,
you know, Argentina, Korea, Saudi Arabia, both
of them are just entering, the, um,
um, trying to build up their, um,
um,
space capabilities.
Um, the,
the, profile that the vehicle will fly,
um, will go through, um, the radiation
Van Allen belts.
Um, we're going to see some some very
unique things.
So all of this data is going to be collected.
Um, and we're,
you know, excited to help them.
Um, be it one, be a part of this mission,
and also, um, you know,
developing their individual countries technologies.
Um, and welcoming
them to, to, um, be a partner with
NASA with the United States, um, for this mission.
Um,
okay, so we we talked about human research.
So the specific things that we're going to do on Artemis too.
Um, I'm going to start over on the
right because I found this picture of Reed when he
was a baby astronaut.
Um, I'm saying that facetiously,
um, when when he was a young, younger,
um, astronaut practicing on the ground.
Um, so Rita is the commander of Artemis
2, um, practicing on the ground, doing an ultrasound
of his carotid artery.
Um, so we collect
all kinds of data um, on the crew.
But this, that particular um,
investigation called standard measures.
Um, collects from
all of the crew members, for all of the space missions,
of standard set of,
um,
collections.
So, think like, um, you
know, eyesight and, um, body
mass index and how, um, how
they like, um, Into
their intake of food.
Um, their exercise capability.
Um, how much their height
changes with um, difference in gravity, like uh,
a variety of things that they um,
standardize, um, across many crew.
Um, so we can, Um, Um,
What we found over 25 years of international
space station research is that Um,
The
the act of collecting data.
Um, allows
us to see um, patterns that
we didn't know we were going to find.
So, um, it's
not necessarily you you go in and
to test a specific hypothesis.
Um,
But when you look back at 10 years of
data for all the crew that have flown, you start
to notice patterns.
And so standard measures is the way that
we can collect data without really knowing yet the
pattern that we're going to see.
So I'm going to, I'm going to go
back now to the left.
So, um, Archer is an
acronym that I do not remember.
Um, but,
uh, it's a um, actigraphy device.
So that um, picture.
It looks kind of like an Apple Watch, but what it really is, is,
um, sensing the the light.
Um, Um,
so it helps to, um, uh,
um, Like circadian rhythm, right?
So you see how much light the crew is
getting because in space, right?
Um, day and night is not necessarily,
especially if you're orbiting Earth.
Um, It does not necessarily go
with like, On earth,
um, light and dark.
So, um, They wear a
device that measures um, the light and darkness and they can
correlate that to circadian rhythms.
Um, The 2nd picture, immune biomarkers.
So, um, space flight changes
the immune response
of human bodies.
So we collect, in
this case, saliva.
Um, from the crew members to study how
the biomarkers um, in their saliva,
um, relate to their immunity.
And then, um, the 3rd
one there, um, is another acronym
for something that really is not important for today,
but it is a radiation device.
Um, that is also built by the German
Space Agency, um, uh, DLR.
Um, we flew a version of these on Artemis one.
Um, so these are some some different ones, um,
Um, to study at a wider range
of um, of radiation.
Um, this
one is the most like if I had to pick one, again,
you know, you're you're not supposed to pick one because like they're all your
children, but if there was one that I would pick, it would be this one, this one is super cool.
Um, it's called Avatar.
So, um, We,
in these little chips that are that you see on the right.
Um,
have a model.
of human bone
marrow, um, cells.
to and and importantly,
made out of the actual crew member cells.
Um, so we are,
um, within these little chips modeling,
the the system of the human body, the bone marrow.
Um, and we are going to
compare those chips to the actual crew members.
Um,
Like very cool science,
how they can fit a model into that little chip.
Um, and then the fact that, you know, we all
the crew members agreed to sign up
for this study, um, and share their data.
Um,
And what this one will do
is, um, After the crew members
come back, we're going to compare the chips to the humans.
Um, and if the chips
are a good substitute.
Um, if they model, um,
if they are a good avatar for um, the real people.
Then we can start doing, um,
Um,
We can use the chips in future,
um, missions to start studying longer
term, um, radiation impacts
or, um, you know, uh, microgravity
impacts or, um, gravity
transition impacts or et cetera.
Um, so, like very, very
cool science, like real.
Um, human cells will
fly in these little chips.
Um, you know, they have lots of tight
um, constraints that we have to manage on during the
missions, um, but the science return is very cool.
Um, okay.
The one that you will see the most.
So I've got to um, I've got to stop sharing.
Um, and go to the website.
So I can show you this video.
Um, so this is a, um,
example.
of the best case the crew might see.
Okay, so we are approaching
the moon very slowly.
This is like what the size, um,
is is what the crew members themselves
will see out the window as we are approaching
the moon and like the best case scenario.
So you can see now the moon is starting to um,
to get bigger in the window.
Um, and we're flying around
the far side of the moon.
You see the earth there, um, in the background, a little marble.
Um, and then now we are we are
retreating away, um, heading back to Earth.
Um,
In our March
launch window again.
Um, We
have the ability, the chance to see parts
of the moon that human eyes have never seen.
Um, I hope
that the lighting is as good as it is
in this image, um, it's different every day.
Um, so just like um,
what we see out the window of the moon.
Um, It will be the opposite
view for the crew members because
they will be flying on the backside.
So if it is lit on the front side for us here
on Earth, um, the backside will
not be lit for the crew.
Um, so, Um,
again, it'll be different every day.
Um, but, uh,
what will, we can see if it is lit.
The crew will see parts of the moon we have never seen before.
Um, they, they explain it is if you
hold a basketball out at arm's length.
Um, that is how big the the
moon will look in their field of view.
So, um, hold
a basketball when you get home in your hand at arm's length
and imagine that's the moon.
Um, this, this website um,
is publicly available.
You, there's other videos here.
Um, that you can, you can look through.
Um,
If you are interested in
more of that.
So I'm going to go back to my charts.
Um, and then we'll talk real quick about um,
Artemis 3 and then I will take some questions.
Okay, so I already mentioned Artemis
3 will be our 1st landing.
Um, we're gonna, um, send,
again, 4 crew members.
Um, but only 2 of them will go to the winter surface.
We do want to land on the
lunar south pole.
Um, because they're,
um, is frozen water,
frozen ice that we want to study there.
Um,
The moon also gives us some really
important history data about
the earth itself.
So by studying the moon,
we will learn about Earth.
Um, folks say that it's like a,
um, I look back in history, right?
We can, um, learn about the history
of the earth by studying the moon.
Um, so this is
a picture from, um, field
geology training in Arizona.
Um, yeah, so so again, this
picture is from Arizona, um, where we do field geology
training.
Um, Um, We
also send them, you know, many other places around the world,
but um,
Um, We need
to train them to be geologists because they are
going to be out on the lunar surface, um,
collecting rocks and samples and regoliths,
um, that will that will literally tell us the
history of the earth.
Um,
So, uh, you know,
in addition to, you know, um,
um, buying down risks,
um, for the humans, you know, um, the
the field of geology campaign is,
um, unique.
Um,
You know, we started it in Apollo,
but the ability, um, with the Artemis
missions to go to the lunar South Pole.
Um, gives us the volatiles,
the, you know, frozen water ice, um, that that
we did not get to study.
Um, in in Apollo.
Um, but but also a um, diverse
set of, um, geologic samples.
Um, that tell us about the Earth's history.
So we've got a couple of experiments that
the crew will also deploy um, to
the lunar surface while they're, they're out on
their, um, their campaign to to
collect geology samples on the moon.
Um, So
we've got um, the lunar environment
monitoring station.
So like, um, the collecting
data about the moon, about the environment, about the dust.
Um, and that, that kind of thing.
Um, in the middle,
um, one that's called Leaf.
So we're going to send some, um, plant samples.
Um, to the moon and
grow them for a few days and then,
um, hopefully bring back a little tiny bit
of sample, um, to study.
And then, um, the one on
the right is a collaboration with, um,
some scientists at the University of Tokyo.
Um, and they are going to study the, Um,
seismometer.
It's a seismometer for the moon.
So, um, you know, studying the,
the volcanic, um,
activity, um, of the moon.
So all of them, um,
you know, exciting, um,
instruments that we will deploy on the surface, um,
in addition to to collecting more of the human research on
the crew members themselves that we're going to start with Artemis too.
Um,
So I just want to mention real quick, I don't know
how many folks know, but there are 61 countries
that have now signed up to be a part of the Artemis Awards.
So, we are gonna, um, partner
together for um, peaceful exploration of
um, space.
We've got some, you know, um,
Uh, philosophies that,
you know, they all have to agree to.
We will help each other, we're going to share scientific data,
you know, that kind of stuff, but um, 61 countries.
It's pretty, um, amazing is 61 countries can agree.
Um,
So we're, we're going, um,
and we are going to return, we're going to stay, and
I'm super, um, excited to, to be able to,
you know, talk to you today about all the fun research that
we're going to get to do around the moon.
Um, so Yuri and I will take questions if
you have any and I will stop sharing so you can.
Um, so you can see us.
Thank you.
We have questions right through the room.
Go ahead, start.
Um, will there be a live, uh, video?
Is this spacecraft goes around
the moon available to see?
Yeah.
Um, yes.
Um, so, uh,
yes, um, the NASA,
um, public affairs and comms
team have, um, Like
even today, as we are preparing for a wet
dress rehearsal, um, that that ends tomorrow,
they are updating the blog.
Um, we're gonna do a press conference on Friday
to hear about, um, how
the wet dress went.
Um, and they have a
whole bunch of things planned.
Um, so, um,
The, the website is surprisingly
accurate, um, as they're keeping track of
how things are going, um, Yuri and I,
um, are used to to like having to
keep the scientists informed like for the avatar example, right?
Um, They've got to prepare cells.
And so they need to know what they start falling out the cells,
they can be ready to launch.
Um, but sometimes they
know before we do because they were looking at the website.
So, yes,
um, we will have live video.
I do encourage folks, um, NASA.gov,
um, Artemis missions, and you'll
be able to see, um, see
some wonderful, amazing things, um, soon.
Another question.
Go ahead.
Could she define the lunar polar volatiles?
What are those?
What are we looking for?
Yeah, so, um,
Um, it's basically gases.
that are in the samples.
Um, and because
we'll be at the polls, um,
Um, the samples.
Uh, so at the, at the, um,
equator, right, in the Apollo, Um,
the sun was very direct overhead.
Um, bright light for as far as you could see.
Um, at the south pole,
the, the, um, light from the
sun is very oblique is very like low
on the horizon.
Um, so it cast
very long shadows across the moon.
Um, and what that means is that there
are because there's, you know, lots of craters.
Um, so there's craters that are
shadowed and Um,
and have never seen light.
They are permanently shadowed.
Um, so in those places,
we are going to find frozen water,
and it is going to contain um,
a mix of chemicals.
Um, sulfur, hydrogen,
um, nitrogen, uh,
a variety of of gases
that are frozen.
Um,
Uh, and those gases.
came from somewhere.
So that is part of the study.
Where did they come from?
Because they have been frozen there for
millennia.
And and so it will, um,
In the early missions, we will
not be able to bring them that, those samples home frozen.
We will take the sample, um,
put it in a container.
It will be sealed, so the gases will remain in the
sample, but the sample will come home at basically room temperature.
Um,
In in later missions, we will have the
capability for a freezer so we can actually um,
freeze those samples.
Um, in their natural
state that we will collect them on the moon and they will
stay frozen all the way until they get to, um,
a scientist on the on the ground, um, on Earth.
Um, it
is not a exaggeration to say.
we will be able to study the,
um, history of where we came from in these samples.
I have a question.
We have some experience with very long-term
survival in very hostile environments on Earth,
in Antarctica.
Has that served in any way to help you design the
moon base and related to that?
How many people do you expect to have living on the
moon permanently and how long will they live there?
Um,
I don't know about, um,
specific design considerations
and maybe Erie does for Antarctic, um,
um, habitats.
Um, but I can answer the crew members question.
I don't know if Yuri, you know.
Yeah, no,
I don't have any info on the design per se.
What I do know is that they do the crew part, right?
When the crew participates in the extreme environments, it definitely helps
them train for the situations.
Whether it's the Nemo, um,
on the bottom of the ocean or whether it's the Antarctica.
2 scenarios that I know have the crew have
trained previously, um,
For confinement, you know,
isolation, teamwork, all those aspects.
But not sure about the architecture part.
Yeah.
And So,
Our.
I'm going to say like
initial long term missions
to surface habitats are will
be on the order of a month.
Um, so eventually when we
have capability, um, to keep crew members,
um, alive and, um,
healthy and um, busy.
Um, with with like,
assets, right?
We we need to have an infrastructure on the surface.
Um, there's like several things that it takes to do that.
Um, The initial missions
will be, um, for crew members for a month.
Um at a time.
And then, um,
Eventually we will build up to something that is longer term.
Um,
But that's kind of beyond
the scope of our planning horizon at this point.
Um, you know, in the next 10 years or so.
Um, so, um,
yeah, about folk for members for about a month.
I think we have some questions online.
Mhm, I can.
Yep, I'm looking at it.
Um.
Yeah, so I'll I'll just say, um,
Yeah, landing on the moon is hard.
Um, you, you have probably seen our
commercial lunar payload services, um,
companies trying to land on the moon recently and
varying success of, of, um,
you know, how, how successful they've been.
Um,
I, I,
I don't think that there are long term concerns.
I think there are, um, um,
like near term, right, 2028 is,
um, is a goal.
Um, and there are, you
know, technical milestone like
real vehicle design challenges that NASA is dealing with
to try and meet those milestones.
Um,
The, the new,
um, administration,
um, our new administer, um, are,
um, really
pushing for, um, a
race, and, um,
we are excited to, to,
to do that mission.
We're going to do everything that we can, to have good
science ready to go.
Um, whenever either one of those
providers are ready to fly that mission.
Another question.
Yeah, um, I
have a couple questions.
What rocket is planned to be used to
launch the gateway.
And the 2nd question is, where is China?
compared to us as far as getting back to the moon?
Yeah.
Um, So, uh, a
falcon heavy is gonna, um, launch
the initial elements of gateway.
So, um, the 1st 2 elements
that are going to launch are the power and propulsion
element, um, and then the habitation and logistics outpost.
So they will be, they will launch,
um, assembled.
Um, on a Falcon Heavy, um,
which will put them in a, like a higher orbit.
And then the power and propulsion element.
Um, solar electric propulsion
thrusters will um, over the
course of about 12 months, push the,
push the vehicle out to the moon.
Um,
So hopefully that
answered that part of the question.
Um, Yeah, um,
It,
I, the short answer is, I don't know.
Um, it's hard to tell.
Um, what is.
Um, what is real?
Um, from the limited news releases that we get.
Um,
It is a definite thing
that people are talking about.
Um, we have 61 countries who
are with us and we, um,
Americans, as a
nation, it is important to, um, our national
posture that we and our 61 friends be 1st.
So, um, NASA is going to do everything we can, um, to be 1st.
The, the, um, Um,
The South Pole Moon is very interesting
for everybody.
Um, and we want to be the 1st ones there.
Can
the, uh, SpaceX Starship
configuration be human rated?
Without a, uh, an
escape system, a case of trouble.
Um, so right
now, um, the SpaceX
SpaceX vehicle does not launch the crew.
Um, so the,
the model is that the, um, the
crew would still launch an Orion on top
of a SLS rocket.
Um, the SpaceX
starship launches separately.
And then they rendezvous in orbit.
Um, to do a mission and then um,
the starship as the part that lands on the moon.
Um, so it's
um, we don't need a
launch abort system for that vehicle because the
crew members do not launch in that vehicle.
It's, it's, of course,
I'm from uh, parent knowledge.
Uh, I don't know the answer to this or not.
Um, how much AI is being employed
into the current and future, or missions.
I've read different scenarios where, when
it comes time to setting up the lunar base itself,
Robotics and AI could do a
lot of the heavy work, and make it easier
on humans and have things prepared for when
it is time for us to spend more time on the surface.
You know, like any of any of that there?
Um, we are just starting to
think about that now, about how we, um,
can safely use AI to help us in our missions.
Yeah.
Um, for for the early missions.
Um,
We don't have infrastructure there to
help us that we could train to
like, to your point to like, make
it easier for the crew, um, in
terms of like, preparing for,
like, we don't have robots, basically, that,
um, will be there to help assist the crew in the early missions.
So, um, there, we will
spend time doing things that perhaps later we could
use robots, um, to help us with the
maintenance or the moving
cargo around from point A to point B.
Um, But, but it is something that
NASA, um, and, and all,
you know, federal agencies are looking at to, to see how we
can, um, better, spend taxpayer money.
Go ahead.
I, I've got another question.
My, my 11 year old here is really excited about all this,
and if he wants to know if, If you already have
plans for the space station would be up there and,
um, how it's going to transport up
there and what the timeline might be for RMS 4 and 5.
Um, Yeah,
so, um,
2028,
um, Artemis 3, um, and then roughly
12 to 18 months after
on, um, I
think the 18 months is the gap between 3
and 4, um, and then 12 months gaps between
4 and 5 and subsequent.
Um,
We are building
gateway today.
Like it's, it's, um, It's
built and it's being assembled today.
Um, so we're already like, we're
already assembling the Orion spacecraft for Artemis 4.
Um, and they, Um,
They have 3 capsules
in down at KSC, um, that are in flow.
So Artemis 2 capsule, you know, moved to
the VAB, and then now it's out at the pad.
Um, and then 3 moved over.
Um, to to continue development for,
um, is is getting built up and then they are just now
receiving the capsule for five.
So, um, across
the country, there are parts of the
rockets, parts of the spacecraft, parts of the
lunar gateway, um, that are
already being built for those missions.
How
far have the plans come in setting up the moon as
a staging area for launch to Mars?
Um,
so, uh, maybe Erie
has a better answer for this.
Um, One of the things that we're
going to learn is, um, what are
the quantities of eventual
fuels that we will use to
power rockets that will take us to Mars?
Um, so that's one of the things that we hope to study.
Um, when we bring back these lunar samples is
what are the the capabilities, what are the lunar
volatiles that we're going to find?
that we can eventually use for rocket fuel.
So
I don't know, Yuri, if you have a better answer for that one.
Yeah, I think.
The only other piece that I can think
of is, right, um, as, All
these invest- uh, the research that was conducted,
right, through all these missions will also serve.
Um, to inform what
kind of countermeasures, what kind of, um, preventive
for the crew, you know, um, measures
we need to keep them safe, um, as we're
learning to move beyond right north orbit.
Um, so some of those pieces will be, um,
putting together to help, um, put
the plans together for Mars, right?
to be able to be safer on Mars.
So some of those pieces and elements will feed into that.
Just like some of the technology as well, right?
And we, we prove the comp system and all that, we'll
learn from it and we'll build towards Mars, but you
know, just from a strategic perspective.
That's
a couple of pieces that I can think of.
Any questions online?
Um.
So there are a couple of questions.
Um, I'm not sure I understand Nancy's question.
Um, so I'm going to answer the next one.
Um, Where on the moon is the gateway
station intended to be?
So, um, I may have confused you and I apologize.
Um, the gateway station will
orbit the moon.
Um, so it will, it
will be like the ISS in that ISS orbits the Earth.
Um, but the gateway lunar space station will orbit the moon.
Um, and then we will have um,
near the lunar south pole, um,
eventually, um, permanent surface habitats.
Um, that will be fixed,
um, points um, on the the lunar surface, again
near the South Pole, um, that crew will go to for
long duration, um, missions.
Um,
We, and gateway,
um, is an international, um, another
international space station.
It's not the international space station, but it used,
um, some of the, um,
partners from the international space
station are also partners in the the lunar gateway.
Um, so the the European Space Agency,
um, the Japanese Space Agency, um,
the Canadian Space Agency, um, so that's 3
of the, um, 4 partners.
Um, and then, um, the gateway space
station brought on the 1st new partner
to NASA, um, um, to
provide like an element for a, um, a
space station, um, the United Arab Emirates.
Um, is is another partner in gateway.
So they're going to supply the airlock, um, for the gateway,
um, lunar space station.
Um,
We are not using nuclear
engines for, um, for
gateway, um, but there is, Um,
and not for, um,
transportation to and from the moon because
it's, Um, we
don't need that kind of efficiency.
Um, But
we are considering, um,
a nuclear reactor on
the moon to power the things that are on the moon.
Um, so like the eventual um,
um, long duration habitats
that are at the lunar soft pole.
Uh, Well,
grunge points, yes, absolutely.
So, um, I didn't get into this, but, um,
Gateway is is
actually um, orbiting at Lagrange point,
not the moon specifically.
Um, but it gets into a
complicated um, 2 body problem that was too much for
this audience today.
Maybe I should have started there.
Um, But but yes, the,
the, um,
Uh, gateway lunar
station, um, will
be located at a, um, around
a LeBrange point and eventually
when we, um, send emissions to
Mars, it is envisioned that the lunar gateway
will be the, um, the launching point for
those missions, because it's orbiting the Lagrange point.
So
great question.
Are
you planning to grow any of the food in a significant
quantity for support of the community that's
going to be permanently placed on the road?
Will it be growing of food on the moon?
Yeah, Yuri, you want to take that one?
Well,
the one of the investigations that, um, they're
sending, we're sending on artist 3 of leaf is kind
of the beginning to try to understand whether we
could grow plants, right?
Um, Eventually, right?
There could be some, um, growth facilities
that we have on the international space station where we grow all
sorts of, um, Vegetables
and fruits and flowers that have grown
in microgravity successfully.
So, uh, I imagine that the, uh,
given the plans to try to transport that,
that knowledge we've learned, uh, of growing in
microgravity to potentially habitats in, the
challenging part, of course, I think will be, um,
Having the room to do that with
the limited amount of space that we'll have at the beginning.
With the habitats.
to video recently, uh,
from a scientist talking about the sound pole,
south north pole to the moon, and
how because the moon is totally
locked with the earth, that, uh,
You don't use the same face as
always face, you know, so sound balls.
Instead, the solar land head, spring on.
It's hitting at a, you know, flush with
a hone, which is causing an
electrical charge.
And I was wondering how much that's
factoring it to the plants on,
you know, habitats there.
I
don't know the answer to that question.
That was a great question.
Yes, that is something that we are going to need to take into account.
Um,
But I don't know
for a fact that I have seen it myself.
Um, and so, Yuri, I don't know if you have.
But um, that is a great, that is
a great question that, um, we should be including in our designs.
There
are 2 online uh, Steph, Stephanie, do you see them?
Um, do biological
concepts incorporated into the spacecraft and space suits.
Um, I'm not
sure exactly what that question means.
Um,
And can you elaborate?
Or Yuri, if you think you have an idea, you can.
Take it.
The, the, what I'm thinking of is
like, do we have a new, um, way
to deal with human waste or, um,
oxygen regeneration or something like that and
the answer is no, but I'm not really sure that that is what your question meant.
Um, so we are using a lot
of the same technology that we have developed for the space station.
Um, the International Space Station around
the, um, the Earth.
Um, for um,
our environmental control systems.
Um, in the moon.
Um, We, um,
Uh, have
learned a lot over 25 years of the space station life.
Um,
So we have a lot of
um, a lot of history, like we
are not, um,
We are taking all of those lessons with
us um, to the moon.
We're not, um,
Um, It is so complicated.
So in a previous life.
Um, I, um, you know, um,
was part of the engineering team that was like responsible for
the life support system on the space station.
It is very complicated.
Um, you know, recycling of of
air, of water, um,
um, cleansing, um,
the impurities out of the air that are introduced from like the
plastics that we fly, for example, right?
All of those things have to be tracked and managed.
Um, it's, it is very complicated when
you have that closed loop system.
Um, so we were taking all of that history, all
of that, um, flight expertise.
All of that engineering knowledge, um, into um, artemis.
So I wouldn't say that we are, um,
We're not like starting over from scratch.
We are using what we have already learned in making it better.
Um,
So radiation,
um.
The,
What we found in ISS was
water was the best radiation,
um, protection that we have.
Um, we can't in
Artemis, we won't be able to take water with us.
Um,
But, you know, if we're
there for a long term,
We could use the water that we find to
help us with radiation protection.
Um, so, you know, part
of that initial learning, um, in those those
1st initial missions will be, um, actually
measuring, um, Seeing
if if it's different at the South Pole, right?
Because you have those oblique solar winds, um,
like the previous question.
Um, If that makes a difference.
if we need to to do something else.
And then, um,
Um, the other thing we can do
is using the resources of the moon to
help be our protection.
So, for example, um, building
burns that protect, um, from
solar wind, um,
and and the radiation that comes with it.
as an example.
Thank
you so much, everybody.
I have one last question and I'm going to wrap it up.
What most people don't understand is
that the most toxic Gas in
our atmosphere is oxygen.
If you try to live in pure oxygen,
you a guy within 3 days from to oxygen toxicity.
And yet I know that there are times on
ISS when astronauts
preparing for extra via vehicular activities, uh,
breathe 100% oxygen for short term.
What will be the oxygen
percentage, for instance, in the space suits?
Will it be reduced to about 15th atmosphere
or will it be oxygen nitrogen mixtures in the spaces?
Yuri,
do you remember off the top of your head?
I, I have forgotten.
Um,
It
is oxygen enriched.
Um, I do know that.
I just don't remember off the top of my head, the percentage.
Um,
And the reason that we do it,
um, is to prevent, um,
the bends.
Um, We,
it is a very um, delicate balance between,
um, pressure of the spacesuit.
Um, and and the crew
members dexterity in the space suit to
be able to like perform tasks and, um,
the oxygen concentration.
Um, We,
um, we want to
prevent them from having the nitrogen bubbles
in their, um, in their veins and their arteries.
Um, But also,
Uh, Um, give them the
dexterity that they need to be able to perform spacewalks.
Um, so I don't remember what the number
is off the top of my head, but it is slightly oxygen enriched.
Well, thank you very, very much.
I really appreciate your time.
We did want to stop short of keeping here all night.
Sometimes we
do run a little bit over, but it's only because we so much appreciate
what you bring to us.
One of the things I'd like to let you know, uh,
Stephanie, is that, um, in honor,
excuse me, in honor of your contribution of
time and uh, energy.
We are making a contribution in your
name to the Marshal and Mary Martz scholarship
fund at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, in
support of 2nd year and later college
students who made a sincere commitment
to the study of astronomy,
astrophysics, or physics.
So, um, you have made a big contribution
to us here in the room online as well as
future scientists who you're supporting with
our contribution in your name.
So thank you again for that.
Let's everybody give Stephanie and Uri ahead.
Thank you again.
Thank you.
It was our pleasure.
Like I said at the beginning, you know, this is one of the funnest
parts of our job.
Um, so happy to be here to share
the excitement, um, of these missions with you.
So thanks everybody.