It's only a matter of time before humanity sets foot on the Moon. The last manned mission to the Selene star dates back to 1972 as part of the program Apollo. At that time, protocols relating to relief were almost non-existent. Today, there are many more. However, NASA is always looking for good ideas. Thus, on the occasion of future missions Artemisthe US space agency has issued a challenge to anyone with a bit of ingenuity.
The latter is simple: it asks you to find a solution to save an astronaut on the Moon.
The need for emergency protocols
What seems obvious to us today may not have been obvious more than 50 years ago. Besides the space domain, we can see this with other examples: the danger of not wearing a seat belt, the danger of having children use radioactive products (cf. Atomic Energy Lab d’A.C. Gilbert) or the danger of passive smoking. This was also the case with regard to rescue protocols in the context of space missions.
Indeed, in 1969, when Apollo 11 allowed Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong to set foot on the Moon, NASA and others had not thought of establishing a backup protocol in the event of problems on the Moon star.
In fact, if a problem led to the mission going poorly and the two NASA astronauts, returning safely to Earth, experienced complications, they could have literally stayed there, as evidenced by the speech that Richard Nixon had planned if such an accident had occurred, of which here is an extract.
“IN THE CASE OF A LUNAR DISASTER – As fate would have it, the men who went to the Moon to explore in peace will now rest in peace. These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know there is no hope of return. But they know that there is hope for Humanity in their sacrifice. These two men sacrifice their lives for Humanity's noblest goal: the search for truth and understanding. […]”
The full version is available on the US government archives website.
Backdated to July 18, 1969, the 37th President of the United States should therefore have announced the loss of the two heroes of NASA and America. But History will remember that these two men returned to Earth allowing the United States to win the space race against the USSR.
No question of leaving anyone behind, even if the task proves difficult
Today, mentalities and technologies have changed a lot. This allows us, on Earth, to see a future that is a little easier to anticipate thanks to the solutions that we are finding and it is the same thing in space.
Today, space is a safe place as long as safety instructions and protocols are scrupulously respected by anyone there. Space, although it is a place where possibilities are infinite, is surely the worst possible environment for humans and any living species (except perhaps the tardigrade).
In fact, at NASA, as well as in all space agencies around the world, a whole section of manned missions to the Moon or to the International Space Station is necessarily devoted to the safety of the occupants of the orbital vessel or those making round trips. between Earth and space.
But, even if NASA plans everything, the unexpected is still possible and this therefore requires asking the right questions, even if it can be more complicated than expected.
NASA's $20,000 challenge
It is therefore within the framework of a challenge, open to everyone, that NASA decided to find THE good idea to come to the aid of an astronaut, when the latter would be faced with a health problem at 384,000 kilometers from home.
In short, here's the problem: In the middle of a mission to the Moon, your teammate loses consciousness. You are still able to walk and your suit allows you a spacewalk. You must therefore find a way to move an astronaut over a distance of 2km taking into account a slope of 20°, the weight of the Axiom suit (which still weighs 343 kg on Earth and 57 kg on the Moon) as well as extreme temperature variations between day (+55°C) and night (-200°C).
Your mission: to design lightweight equipment, easily transportable and deployable and capable of operating under the extreme conditions found on the surface of the Moon.
But NASA has thought of everything and even the smart guys who could come up with crazy solutions to try to pocket the bet. Therefore, to resolve this challenge, you do not have, among other things, the right:
- To have recourse to a rover because the missions Artemis III et Artemis IV will not take any
- To modify the combination
- To concentrate on medical assistance and not on transporting the injured
- To base yourself on designs that could be installed on the Moon to prepare for such eventualities. Indeed, the addition of installations would change the mass and volume of transport and therefore the entire mission in short.
If you feel able, all the instructions and all the information relating to the problem are exposed as part of the NASA Tournament Lab: South Pole Safety.
Finally, if your project is designated by the American space agency as the big winner, you will be able to pocket up to $20,000. You can submit your project until January 23, 2025. The winners will be announced on February 27 of the same year.
So, are you ready to save an astronaut?
Source : Universe Today
