March 2015 – March 2018
European Space Agency (ESA) general study, under a subcontract to COMEX
The International Space Station (ISS) is slowly approaching the end of its mission (2028). The European Space Agency (ESA) and international partners are considering new mission targets for the future of human space exploration in the post-ISS era. Highest ranked on the list of potential targets are a return to the moon, Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) or asteroids, the moons of Mars (Phobos, Deimos), and as the ultimate target, the surface of Mars.
MOONDIVE analyses past exploration objectives for space missions and designs a future mission scenario for the lunar surface and asteroids. The mission scenario is comprised of tasks that are archived into a Surface Operations Task Catalogue (SOTC) and can be used to inform which enhancement measures could be taken to improve ESA’s Neutral Buoyancy Facility (NBF) in Cologne to support such missions. The Neutral Buoyancy Facility serves as a training facility for Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Training of European Astronauts in simulated microgravity.
Consortium partners COMEX – France / Space Applications Services – Belgium / Space Diving – Germany / Wyle Laboratories – United States / LIQUIFER Systems Group – Austria
LIQUIFER team Barbara Imhof, Waltraut Hoheneder, René Waclavicek
Image credit: MOONDIVE Consortium