Long Duration Space Mission Challenges: Theoretical Aspects

Abstract

Spaceflight has been a driving force behind technological advancement in several areas over the past few decades, including computers and electricity production. Resources for human spaceflight missions, such as oxygen, are often rare and are normally transported to the mission goal with the crew. Long-term missions in the future will travel beyond Low Earth Orbit (the Moon and Mars), which will require significant advancements, particularly in closed-loop life support systems, to ensure mission autonomy. This necessitates managing the resources carefully, that is, reducing waste and, when practical, gathering resources right where they are. Similarly, on Earth, managing resources wisely is necessary for a sustainable way of life. Space exploration missions will face unique behavioural, psychological, and team dynamics from low orbit to far-off locations like the Moon and Mars. Longer space missions provide several formidable obstacles in the areas of physiology, psychology, technology, and operations. Long-term microgravity exposure causes cardiovascular deconditioning, muscle atrophy, and bone loss. The cramped and lonely atmosphere can also cause psychological stress, including anxiety, sadness, and cognitive impairment. The requirement for dependable life support systems, radiation shielding, and sustainable resource management are examples of technological problems. The control of health hazards in distant and resource-constrained situations, crew training, and mission planning are all examples of operational issues.