How space exploration will help us in future?

 How space exploration will help us in future? 

The process of assembling the International space platform (ISS) started in 1998 and was completed in 2011, with five partners involved: Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia and therefore the us .

It was initially planned to work only until the year 2020, but in 2014 the US decided to increase its life until 2024. Since then Russia has proposed to increase further the lifetime of the ISS to 2028, and therefore the US space agency NASA seemed able to accept this new extension.

However, major space policy changes happened within the US in 2017, with the revival of a high-level White House body, the National Space Council (NSpC), chaired by the vice chairman . The new priority of the White home is a return to the Moon within the 2020s, as a step towards Mars within the 2030s.

In order to free funds for this new strategy, the NSpC favours an end-of-life of the ISS in 2025. A compromise with Congress will likely cause the choice for an orderly transition of the ISS after 2025, from its current configuration to a public-private partnership (PPP) model, reusing the prevailing elements totally or partially.

At the top of this transition process, there could also be one or many public-private stations, operating more or less commercially in low-Earth orbit (LEO). Such a scheme would also mean that the space agencies owning and operating the ISS today would be customers buying services on a public-private basis from private space stations.

If this scheme wasn't viable economically, the ISS could also be finally decommissioned. Its structure would be guided during a controlled manner into the Earth’s atmosphere, in order that it burns up over large sections of ocean. In any case the ISS will leave a powerful legacy for research and international cooperation.

At the start of 2018, the continued mission is Expedition 54, which constitutes the 54th rotation of the permanent ISS crew of six astronauts. NASA has an in depth list of experiments, which can enjoy extension of the lifetime of the ISS for a couple of more years. for instance , the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, NASA’s high-energy physics detector, is researching substance during a setting that might not be possible on Earth.

What happens after the ISS?

At the two-day International Symposium for private and Commercial spaceflight in October 2016, the decommissioning of the ISS was one among the main talking points. Charles Bolden, then head of NASA, announced that non-public companies would soon have the likelihood of docking modules at the ISS, confirming an expectation that there'll be a shift towards privately-funded ISS crews and missions, with the possible development of economic space stations after decommissioning.

In fact, the foundations for personal actor involvement in space are quite established. Bigelow Aerospace, an American space technology company, has already developed habitat modules, or expandable habitats (the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM), which are ready to provide radiation and thermal protection and function a facility during which astronauts can operate in space.


Image: Bigelow Aerospace
The first launch was in April 2016, from SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft CRS-8 on a resupply mission to the ISS, which represented the primary step private actors have made towards a replacement ‘station’ located in space.

Other private corporations like Orbital Sciences, Lockheed Martin and Sierra Nevada Corp are all developing new technologies to be used on future missions, and Axiom Space is seeking to determine the world’s first private, international, commercial space platform by 2020 – the Axiom International Commercial space platform .

Supporters of economic space stations point to significant cost reductions for state space agencies. Space agencies would preferably be ready to lease an expandable orbiting habitat at a comparatively affordable price – perhaps at $1 million for a 1 to 2 month visit. While the ISS has cost over $100 billion to develop, BEAM was constructed for $17.8 million.

Such cost reductions could increase the accessibility of space exploration for countries with less experience and financial resources. Private space stations couldn't only function a base for research project , but also a hub for those travelling to the moon or to Mars, or to support the activities of emerging space actors, like asteroid mining companies. Public-private partnerships for space platform cooperation also are likely to realize traction, thanks to the value reduction benefits.

Such concepts fit well within the new space policy framework setup by the US Federal Administration in 2017.

But states also are preparing for all times after the ISS. for instance , Russia apparently considers the creation of its own space platform , and after 2024 it's going to detach its ISS modules with the aim of constructing of a replacement Russian habitable space platform – dubbed the Russian Orbital Station (ROS). Roscomos sees the creation of an autonomous space platform as a necessary prerequisite for fulfilling its ambitions in space, including the establishment of a Moon base.

In addition, China is planning its own permanent space platform – the Tiangong space platform . In October 2016, the Chinese space agency successfully launched two taikonauts (a term for Chinese astronauts) to board the experimental space station (Tiangong 2). These developments constitute integral steps in achieving China’s plans to finish the space platform by 2022. China was unable to cooperate on the ISS thanks to refusal by the US. Currently, China’s space platform plans are among the foremost comprehensive of any nation and with a successful completion of the Tiangong space platform , China could potentially challenge US dominance.

The possible fragmentation of space research activities within the post-ISS period would constitute a break-up of a world alliance that has fostered unprecedented cooperation between engineers and scientists from rival geopolitical powers – apart from China. The ISS represents perhaps the top of post-Cold War cooperation and has allowed for the sharing and streamlining of labor methods and differing norms. during a current period of tense relations, it's worrying that the US and Russia could also be ending a crucial phase of cooperation.

Nevertheless, Russia indicated its willingness to increase the lifetime of the ISS beyond 2024, or possibly to become a partner during a follow-on project of NASA, called the region Gateway (a small ISS-like station in cislunar space) – fueling hopes of further space research. The International Spacecraft working party (ISCWG), made from ISS colleagues from the US, Russia, Japan, Europe and Canada, is tasked with mapping ideas and technical details for launching a replacement deep-space exploration program, expected within the 2020s.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has expressed an interest in extending international cooperation, regardless of the fate of the ISS. ESA envisages the development of a moon base, comprising a collaborative community of both public and personal organisations from round the world (the “Moon Village”). A lunar base – just four days from Earth – would allow scientists to research and test technologies which could facilitate explorations to farther destinations, like Mars.

As the ISS as we all know it'll likely not exist during a decade from now, the cooperation it initiated will hopefully persist and even attract other private and state players. within the future, it's likely that non-public actors will increasingly fill the void left behind by the ISS which certain states will seek to determine their own space stations. However, there still appears to be variety of initiatives which may promote international cooperation in space, which is one among the most legacies of the ISS and maybe its greatest achievement.