Nebula Public Library

One of the most critical points in the exploration of space beyond Earth orbit is the provision of systems which ensure the survival of both crew and technological assets, such as rovers an landers. The utilisation of the Moon, being the next logical step in implementing the global strategy for colonising the Solar System, is a focus of national and international space agencies.

The main aspect of this study is to investigate the feasibility of the mission concept and the demonstration of the economic viability of a commercial payload delivery service to the Moon, as well as demonstrating the production of water/or oxygen with materials from the Moon. The study considered a payload delivery service that would be an end-to end service from Earth to a targeted location on the Moon, launched not later than 2025.

Global plans for exploratory missions aim at extending the distances travelled by humans well beyond low Earth orbit and establishing permanent bases on the surface of Moon and Mars [1]. This will inevitably lead to increasing mission duration, radiation intensity, gravity levels and degree of confinement and isolation to which the crews will be exposed. In this extended space mission context, the astronauts should have the means to collect medical/physiological data in order to understand if their physiological conditions are in nominal levels.