The United States has already landed astronauts on the surface of the Moon multiple times, so sending humans back under the Artemis program should be easy, right? Wrong.
Unlike the short-duration, crewed lunar mission profile in the 1960s and 70s, the Artemis campaign aims to set up a sustainable human presence on and around the Moon. As such, Artemis requires scientists and researchers to find long-term solutions to the problems space creates for human health, replacing the short-term fixes that once sufficed.
The world’s national space agencies are increasingly tasking the commercial sector to tackle challenges throughout the space ecosystem. The tech needed to keep astronauts alive and well for long periods of time is no different.
The challenge: Paragon Space Development Corp. is developing the life support and environmental control system for the Lunar Gateway’s HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost) module.
“The three driving requirements for HALO are 15 years of life, high radiation, [and] dust,” Paragon cofounder and chief innovator Grant Anderson told Payload. “It’s no longer good enough to just say [astronauts are] still breathing, and they can hug their family.”
Luckily, decades of spaceflight have prepared scientists to tackle the first two problems with relative ease. Through lessons learned from 25 years of ISS operations, as well as robust lab testing and mathematical modeling, scientists are equipping spacecraft and spacesuits headed to the Moon under Artemis with tried and tested rad-hardened electronic equipment and life support systems.
The Gateway station, lunar landing craft, habitation modules, and EVA suits are being built to withstand not only solar radiation, but also the stronger galactic radiation that could otherwise fry vital equipment. These human-rated modules are also built with multiple redundancies and easily replaceable parts to keep equipment up and running for more than a decade.
The dust bowl: The problem posed by the ubiquitous lunar regolith is a harder nut to crack. Throughout the Apollo campaign, astronauts and their equipment were plagued by the abrasive lunar dust. Regolith got under their fingernails, caused allergy-like reactions, and tore through equipment in a matter of days. Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to mimic lunar dust in a terrestrial lab, according to Anderson.
“We really don’t know what dust is going to do [long-term]…we don’t know if it’s deadly,” Anderson said. “I’m really worried we’re going to plump a billion dollars’ worth of hardware on the Moon, and within three months it will be unusable.”
Paragon’s focus for Artemis is on building protective systems to ensure dust doesn’t break down seals on astronaut spacesuits, or cause the early deterioration of life support filtration systems. Paragon is hardening the equipment to ensure it can be reused more than a few times, hence the need for redundancies.
Researchers readily admit they don’t have all the answers, but initial Artemis flights will help set the stage for longer-term stays. These early missions will give researchers enough time to better understand the effects of microgravity, radiation, and lunar dust on human bodies, before shooting for permanent lunar bases, and eventual journeys to Mars.
Packed lunch: Upcoming missions will help develop food-cultivation technology to support missions to Mars and beyond.
Barbara Belvisi is the founder and CEO of Interstellar Lab, which is developing greenhouses for commercial space stations and lunar habitation modules. Belvisi told Payload that while lunar missions can rely on Earth resupply, missions to deep space will need their own farms to survive.
- Interstellar Lab is planning to fly its first station-focused Eden greenhouse on Vast’s Haven-1 commercial space station next year.
- The company then expects to fly its first lunar greenhouse with Astrolab’s FLEX rover in 2027 to validate the greenhouse’s ability to keep plant life (roses on Flight 1) alive against the intense radiation and temperature swings on the Moon.
“We want the system to be autonomous,” Belvisi said. “What you want to avoid is maintenance…you don’t want too many complex systems, otherwise it’s going to fail.”
Interstellar’s Eden greenhouse system uses a soilless nutrient solution to grow plants. The company is considering focusing on growing unique plants—such as the Pomato, a hybrid plant with potato roots and tomato stems—to provide a range of options to astronauts in space.
Ultimately, food growth on future lunar missions will provide more than just sustenance.
“Not having nature around can be very traumatic for humans, so it’s not only about growing food. It is also providing this psychological relief,” Belvisi said.
