THE FUTURE PLANS OF
NASA FOR HUMAN SPACE
FLIGHT; MISSIONS,
LAUNCH VEHICLES
Why explore?
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NASA wants to go to the moon again by 2020,
going to the moon for extended periods of time
will yield information about living and working in
harsh environments, extended stays on the
moon will be practice for stays on Mars
Since robotic missions to Mars have discovered
evidence of water NASA wants to send humans
to Mars to search for evidence of simple life
forms
Ares 1 and 5
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Ares 1 and 5 rockets
will be used to take
humans to the moon
and Mars
Ares is Mars’
counterpart in Greek
mythology
Numbers 1 and 5 pay
tribute to Saturn 1
and 5 of Apollo
program
Ares 5 fact sheet
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Primary mission: to transport large resources to space
outside of Earth’s orbit
145 ton capacity to low Earth orbit
72 ton capacity to moon
Two stage vertical launching system
First stage consists of twin 5 segment reusable solid
rocket boosters similar to Ares 1
Between these rocket boosters is a liquid-fueled central
booster also known as the core propulsion stage, it
provides 5 RS-68 engines with liquid oxygen and
hydrogen
Second stage is composed of a single J-2X engine also
fueled by liquid oxygen and hydrogen
Ares 1 fact sheet
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Primary mission: transport humans to earth orbit
Carries four to six astronauts
25 ton payload capacity
Ares 1 first stage will burn polybutadiene or PBAN in 5
segments
First stage will launch the vehicle to an altitude of
200,000 ft in 2.5 minutes and at this point will be
traveling at Mach 6.1
Second stage is composed of one J-2x engine and
raises the altitude to 63 miles
After the rockets are spent the crew exploration vehicle
or CEV takes the crew to a circular orbit 185 miles above
the earth
Mode to the moon