Between the Moon and Mars: Piloted and surface operations at a NEO

In late 2006, NASA´s Constellation Program (CxP) sponsored a study to examine the feasibility of sending a piloted Orion spacecraft to a near-Earth object (NEO - in the broadest definition these are small, primitive bodies that cross Earth´s orbit; the most likely and suitable targets for the Orion are those NEOs in heliocentric orbits similar to Earth´s). One of the significant advantages of this type of mission is that it strengthens and validates the foundational infrastructure of the United States Space Exploration Policy and is highly complementary to the already-planned lunar sorties and outpost build-up circa 2020. Sending a human expedition to a NEO not only underlines the broad utility of the CxP´s Orion vehicle and Ares launch systems. Such a mission would also be the first human expedition to an interplanetary body beyond the Earth-Moon system. For the onboard crew and systems, as well as the mission control team, these deep space operations will present unique challenges not present in lunar missions. While our Phase 1 study focused solely on the practicality of using the lunar architecture and systems to mount NEO missions, it did not delve into potential radiation issues (and effective mitigation strategies) nor did it explore human operations in proximity to and on the surface of NEOs. Executing several such piloted NEO missions will enable NASA to gain crucial long-duration, deep space operational experience, a necessary prerequisite for future human missions to Mars, its moons, Phobos and Deimos, or even the Main Belt or Trojan asteroids.