The International Space Station (ISS) has served as a home for astronauts for almost 30 years but the aging spacecraft will retire at the end of the decade, leaving behind a huge gap in low Earth orbit. NASA hopes to fill that gap with a commercial version of the ISS. Until that happens, however, the space agency is holding off on maintaining a human presence in microgravity to stay on track to land astronauts on Mars.
NASA has released the final version of its “Low Earth Orbit Microgravity Strategy,” which highlights the need to send long-duration human missions into space after retiring the ISS. The space agency called its strategy a “continuous pulse,” a seemingly odd choice of words to convey the need for “long-duration flights of six months to a year to reduce the risk of future trips to Mars,” NASA wrote. “Flights of 30 days to six months will have a limited amount, too,” the space agency said.
The key to these machines is the human component. “When we left the [ISS] for future commercial space stations, NASA will maintain a consistent and continuous presence in low Earth orbit,” the report reads. “This nonstop rhythm of human activity will allow NASA to reduce the risk of sending humans to Mars, maintain critical operational capabilities, maintain a robust transportation standard, continue to advance science, and continue to collaborate with commercial and international partners.”
NASA and partners plan to retire the ISS by 2030; the space station is destined for a fiery re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere where most of it will burn up. In 2021, the space agency created its Low Earth Space Shuttle program to build an alternative space in the coveted space vacated by the ISS. NASA, however, is no longer in the business of building space stations. Instead, it simply wants to be a customer, helping its commercial partners build and operate a space station that can be used by its astronauts.
Companies like Axiom Space, Blue Origin, and Northrop Grumman hope to take off the ISS with their own versions, but those probably won’t be ready in five years. Instead, NASA’s strategy for those gap years is to maintain a continued human presence in space through long-duration missions to low Earth orbit using commercially operated spacecraft. The main purpose of this mission will be to continue conducting scientific research in the microgravity environment, as well as research related to human life in space in order to prepare for future work on the Moon and Mars.
“With [ISS]”NASA has shown that microgravity research is essential to advancing both our knowledge and our planet,” the report reads. “As we approach the transition from the space station to commercial platforms in low Earth orbit, NASA should allow the government to use these platforms to conduct more research and development for all national purposes that strengthen the economy and improve the quality of life here on Earth. to all people.”
The new strategy also highlights the need for “provider diversity,” suggesting that NASA wants to rely on more than just SpaceX to transport its crew and cargo into low Earth orbit. The space agency is still in the process of validating Boeing’s Starliner program following its faulty flight this year.
The retirement of the ISS, and the transition phase that follows, reflects NASA’s transition from relying on its commercial partners to maintain its presence in space.
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