Space 2069 – back to the Moon, to Mars and beyond – Room: The Space Journal – ROOM Space Journal

The fiftieth anniversary of the first Moon landing has been a cause for celebration, admiration, nostalgia and much contemplation. How far could space exploration and industry have travelled by now if the Apollo programme had not been cancelled, how realistic are the hopes and dreams of humanity becoming a space-dwelling, multi-planetary species and, most importantly for some, when will we take the next giant leap? In this article, based on extracts from his latest book, David Whitehouse presents readers with brief snapshots of humanitys future in space over the next 50 years up to the 100th anniversary of the Moon landing.

Celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon were subdued at the International Mars Base despite the optimism on display in the EarthMoonMars link-up and the messages from world leaders. Events happening 500 million kilometres away inevitably seemed remote from the viewpoint of honorary Martians. For some it reminded them, as if they needed reminding, that they depended on Earth for their survival, being always just two resupply trips away from extinction.

The Martians, 18 of them in the International Mars Colony, eight at the Chinese base many fewer than at the lunar colonies called themselves Martians, though they had all been born on Earth and it was to Earth they would likely eventually return, even if they could never really feel at home there after their time on an alien planet. Privately some of them knew in their heart of hearts that they could not face the voyage home, and that eventually they would join the other sealed graves on Mars.

This article is based on extracts from the book Space 2069 (Icon Books, August 2020, ISBN: 9781785786471, e-book and audio book formats).

A hundred years after Apollo 11, humankind had journeyed into the solar system and faced a new barrier, one that would probably take another hundred years to overcome, if overcome it could be. From Mars we stared out towards the asteroid belt and beyond to the gas giants of Jupiter and Saturn, and the ice giants of Uranus and Neptune in the cold, dark outer reaches of the solar system beyond.

Then, in the century after the Apollo centenary we could imagine a voyage into the asteroid belt, perhaps overseeing the artificial intelligence swarms that roamed among these rocky bodies. But we could go no further. The vast distances and the long durations of the flights were too much at present, let alone the radiation. The humans that would go out there would be different. Modified, enhanced, resilient and protected in a way that space travellers had thus far not been. A human voyage to Jupiter and its remarkable moons, to Saturns moon Titan and the beguiling Enceladus belongs to the centuries to come, and to different people. Looking inward towards the Sun, we cannot live on Venus or Mercury. For humans, Earth marks the inner boundary of our reach into the solar system.

Artists graphic of a Mars transit spacecraft.

Encompassing the Moon and Mars will not just be about the journey, the technology of travel and survival in space. It will include all of the science we will discover in the next five decades. Better control of our bodies and brains, our new attitudes, our new and ancient fears which perhaps are the same. Space colonists will not be the Mayflower pilgrims of the 21st century, looking for release from old ways and oppression. We will take our tyrannies with us, along with our tragedies, fears and hopes. For the next 50 years we will take our Earth thinking with us, reflecting and amplifying the politics of our home planet, perhaps acting out its battles.

Unlike the Sea of Tranquillity where Apollo 11 landed near the Moons equator, it is very difficult to see Artemis 3s landing zone from Earth. Even under the most favourable conditions it is only a thin sliver of light seen at the very edge of the Moon. It lies in the ancient, rugged southern uplands and to find it through a telescope you have to hop from one crater to another, starting at Tycho with its impressive ray system. Then your eye moves southwards to the magnificent crater Clavius, one of the Moons oldest formations, with its picturesque curving chain of internal craters. Thence over the terraced ramparts of Morteus and beyond the dark shadows of Cabeus.

During the return to the Moon, Artemis 3 will descend under power towards the Moons shadowy south polar zone with the Sun beaming into its cabin from the left. Nearing the landing site, the Artemis astronauts will arrive at Mt Malapert, five kilometres high and with its peak almost always in sunlight. They are now in the final stage of the landing, within two craters of their destination.

Rising out of a vast shadow zone before them is the bright rim of the Shackleton Crater that marks the Moons south pole. Flying over the dark nothingness that is the depth of Shackleton, they head for its illuminated far rim. The beacon and other pieces of equipment already positioned there are flashing their red lights as they begin the terminal phase of the landing 400 metres above the primary landing zone. The astronauts slow their forward motion, look carefully at the ground below, reducing thrust, kicking up some dust as they touch down, 52 years after the last time.

A future lander on Jupiters moon Europa sometime in the 2030s.

The first missions for the pressurised rover will probably be driving around the rim of Shackleton, some 62 kilometres, and then along the ridges leading to the rims of nearby craters. In the 2040s the long-range exploration of the Moon will begin. The most exciting of these early trips will be to Mount Malapert and back, a round trip of about 350 kilometres.

A longer trip that could be considered is from Shackleton to Schrdinger Crater and back, lasting about 90 days and covering about 1100 kilometres. It is thought that Schrdinger might have mantle rocks excavated from a depth of 200 kilometres during the formation of the south polar Aitken Basin by a giant impact billions of years ago. The baseline for this mission is four astronauts working in teams of two. They would take two rovers and a logistics vehicle. In many scenarios the rovers need to be recharged for 24 hours after three days of use. They will have a top speed of about five kilometres an hour and will be driven for eight hours a day. Earlier expeditions could place what are called Portable Utility Pallets (PUPs) along the route. The PUPs would carry batteries that could be used to replace depleted ones in an emergency. Science packages could be left in Schrdinger basin. Other science activities include panoramic visual surveys, laying geophones for active seismic sensing, collecting interesting rocks and acquiring regolith samples.

With such expeditions, the Moons expanses will be opened up as we see sights we have only imagined.

A concept to explore dark lunar craters.

By 2069 humanity will have survived on Mars for 6,750 Martian days, or sols, continuously. For everyone who has been a part of it, Mars has either become more beautiful or more of a struggle with each passing day. There are those back on Earth who lived for many years on Mars and in between the planets. Having spent so long in the trackless deserts and empty plains of Mars, the Earth is overwhelming. Each breath a reminder of just how alien is the red planet, and how it never leaves your soul.

For many new Martians, the Sun is an unnerving sight, strangely shrunken, with no warmth as far as its possible to tell from inside a spacesuit or habitat. There are two hours of Martian daylight remaining. The shadows are lengthening as night-time creeps over Xanthe Terra the Golden-Yellow Land and the great outwash plains that merge into Chryse Planitia the Plain of Gold and approaches the eastern canyons of the Valley of the Mariners, overwhelming the depths of Capri and Eos Chasma.

The vehicles shadow is spreading over a terrain similar to Earths Gobi Desert; dust scattered over everything, brown and pink stains against ochre, rocky outcrops, blocky seams, rippled terrain, gravel fields, a hint of stone ramparts on the horizon. The region is termed geologically complex, which in this case meant that it has seen fire, ice and water, though that was billions of years ago. Signs of ancient water are everywhere, but the landscape is dead: only wheels and shadows move.

Its a 20-minute drive back to the base and excursion rules say its time to return. Although the base is within sight, there are illuminated waypoint markers and the rover with its human cargo makes its way automatically. They leave behind the ice drill they were using to determine ice depth in the region to be explored for resources. The drill was being used to confirm the data from the ground-penetrating radar that indicated the ice was 20 metres down. It was essential that the colony gain access to it, but just you try drilling on Mars.

To the rovers left, several hundred metres away, is a region cordoned off with blue markers. That was off-limits to almost everyone, a region that had been identified years earlier from orbit as an area where life could possibly have hung on for millions if not billions of years. A special protocol was required when approaching that area.

As the rover reached the habitat the last rays of sun were glinting on the solar panel fields and the vegetation modules. The temperature was declining rapidly. There was to be a celebration tonight.

Many new details of Jupiter have been revealed by the Juno probe which arrived in 2016.

In human experience there will never be an isolation as total as that of Mars. If its visitors stepped outside the habitat modules, they would find nothing in the way of comfort. No movement except for the little caused by the wind and the rare landslide. No sound other than their own breathing in their pressure suits. If any of them were to climb the nearest hill, all they would see would be more hills and desert plains, an endless vista for the next 21,344 kilometres until they arrived back at their base. The circumference of the Earth is almost double that of Mars but because the Earth is mostly oceanic, one could travel further in a straight line on Mars than on Earth and find no one. Travel around the red planet and you may find the wreckage of a spacecraft or a worn-out rover, but for the most part there is nothing human there.

Just like to the explorers of the heroic age of polar exploration 150 years ago, celebrations were important for morale. They were vital for crew overwintering in Antarctica. At mid-winter in the extreme dark and cold they would open their bottles of claret, tinned anchovies and corned beef as they sat around their stoves. They thought little of the fire that kept them warm and nothing of the air they were breathing. That was the constant backdrop of their environment. On Mars there is no such backdrop. Every breath has to be measured, every calorie counted, every scrap of energy generated and accounted for, every crew member and relationship tolerated, every second of life planned for and appreciated. There is no claret on Mars.

About the author

Dr David Whitehouse read physics at Manchester University and obtained a doctorate in astrophysics from the world-famous Jodrell Bank radio observatory. He later carried out research at University College Londons Mullard Space Science Laboratory. Already a regular science writer and commentator in the UK media he became the BBCs Science Correspondent in 1988 working mostly in radio. He later became science editor of BBC News Online. He has won many awards including European Internet Journalist of the year and the first Arthur award for space reporting. He has written seven acclaimed books and has made more broadcasts on astronomy and space topics than anyone else. Asteroid 4086 Whitehouse is named after him.

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Space 2069 - back to the Moon, to Mars and beyond - Room: The Space Journal - ROOM Space Journal