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| Srl | Item |
| 1 |
ID:
135165
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| Summary/Abstract |
At the beginning of the twentieth century, geology was a terrestrial science, one that had no place making pronouncements on astronomical objects. Yet, by mid-century, this science was de rigueur in lunar studies. This article examines the heated debate, leading up to the Apollo missions, amongst geologists as to whether their discipline could tell scientists anything about the surface or composition of other celestial bodies. Precisely because the United States Geological Survey opened an Astrogeology Branch and geology education became a part of astronaut training, geologists gradually accepted the extraterrestrial application of their field and the prestige that came with it. In addition to recounting this disciplinary shift, this article considers how Earth itself became an analog for understanding the Moon. Before Neil Armstrong took his “one giant leap,” astronauts traveled with trained geologists to sites that they thought would resemble the geologic composition of the Moon. There, astronauts were trained to identify different rock types and perform “analog fieldwork” that would prepare them for the science objectives of their lunar voyage. Upon landing on the Moon, several astronauts remarked at how much the Moon looked like the American Southwest, the landscape in which they were trained. Analogy is not just a cognitive heuristics used by scientists, but it is also a technique that can be embodied and enacted, as illustrated by this case of taking geology to the Moon.
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| 2 |
ID:
135361
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| Summary/Abstract |
The European Space Agency (ESA) is pursuing an independent strategic planning process for consolidating a destination driven (LEO, Moon, Mars) space exploration strategy. ESA's space exploration strategy is driven by the goals to maximise knowledge gain and to contribute to economic growth. International cooperation is a key pillar of ESA's strategy as it is considered both, an enabler for achieving common goals and a benefit, opening new perspective for addressing future challenges. The achievement of ESA's space exploration strategy is enabled through international partnerships. The interagency coordination process conducted within the framework of the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) plays an important role in laying the foundations for future partnerships. It has achieved so far the development of a common vision for space exploration, a common plan for implementing the vision in the form of the Global Exploration Roadmap, as well as a common approach for articulating the value of global space exploration. ESA has been a strong promoter and supporter of the interagency coordination process conducted within ISECG and thanks to its unique expertise in international cooperation the Agency has contributed to its success.
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| 3 |
ID:
135359
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| Summary/Abstract |
The planning of human spaceflight programmes is an exercise in careful rationing of a scarce and expensive resource. Current NASA plans are to develop the new capability for human-rated launch into space to replace the Space Transportation System (STS), more commonly known as the Space Shuttle, combined with a heavy lift capability, and followed by an eventual Mars mission. As an intermediate step towards Mars, NASA proposes to venture beyond Low Earth Orbit to cis-lunar space to visit a small asteroid which will be captured and moved to lunar orbit by a separate robotic mission. The rationale for this and how to garner support from the scientific community for such an asteroid mission are discussed. Key points that emerge are that a programme usually has greater legitimacy when it emerges from public debate, mostly via a Presidential Commission, a report by the National Research Council or a Decadal Review of science goals etc. Also, human spaceflight missions need to have support from a wide range of interested communities. Accordingly, an outline scientific case for a human visit to an asteroid is made. Further, it is argued here that the scientific interest in an asteroid mission needs to be included early in the planning stages, so that the appropriate capabilities (here the need for drilling cores and carrying equipment to, and returning samples from, the asteroid) can be included.
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