A more than relevant piece of news in the world of science was the increase NASA received in its budget for fiscal year 2016. Needless to say, the agency deserves every extra penny it can get, but the budget includes the start of a specific project: a habitation module specially designed to advance exploration missions, with its first prototype due before the end of 2018.
The US Congress approved mid-month an increase in NASA's budget. According to available information, the exact figure is $19.3 billion, $1.3 billion more compared to this year's budget. Unfortunately, not all that glitters is gold, and the general approval includes other added laws, such as CISA, heir to SOPA, CISPA, and the rest of its variants. However, privacy deserves its own article; what brings us here today is what NASA must do with this money. When we say what it must do it is not an exaggeration, as the agency received precise instructions from Congress. What appears on the list? A habitation module.
A specific mandate
In total, NASA was authorized to invest $55 million in the development of a habitation module whose objective will be to assist in crewed exploration missions, a detail that inevitably makes us think of Mars. The sum belongs to the 'AES' program (acronym for Advanced Exploration Systems), and one of the requirements is the creation of a prototype before the end of 2018. As if that were not enough, NASA has the obligation to present a report within the next six months, detailing the status of the program and how it has invested the funds received.
Timeline and goals
NASA's intention is to test this module in lunar orbit shortly after 2020, and finally take it to the Red Planet in 2030. The Orion capsule is one of the most resonant concepts, but it would be too small for a mission like the exploration of Mars, which on average would last six months. In the past, the agency funded a series of studies that included names like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Bigelow Aerospace and Orbital ATK, so concepts are not lacking. Although it is too early to publish renders or specifications, the message from Congress was clear: NASA should hurry up.
