GETTING IT TOGETHER: THE ILRP !

Don't despair over the initials in the title.  They were put there intentionally;hopefully to pique your interest. ILRP stands for the International Lunar Research Park, a concept being developed and promoted by the Moon Society.  The following is a direct excerpt from the Society's website about the ILRP:

• "The Moon Society has been developing the concept of an International Lunar Research Park. A site would be prepared by a contractor or consortium of contractors who would build facilities needed by all the national agency participants: space port, power production, power storage, warehousing systems, repair facilities, a fleet of different types of vehicles and rovers for lease. By sharing these things, individual national lunar outposts can just plug in, and spend all their man hours doing the research they came to do. Academia and enterprise and even tourist facilities would be welcome. This is just the sort of outpost that could morph by expansion over time into the first true frontier town. This is a somewhat different formula for International cooperation than that which underlies the International Space Station where NASA is host and boss. In an ILRP, the principal contractor would be the host, national space agencies would be tenants or lessees."

This concept is such an organized idea of the international cooperation which we think is absolutely essential for all future space explorations (solar system and beyond).  We encourage you to explore this concept more fully by visiting, and hopefully joining, the Moon Society.

Even if you are not ready to join up, we urge you to consider increasing your special knowledge about Luna by acquiring the Moon Society's Lunar Study and Observation Certificate

ALL ABOUT ACCESS, HONORS AND SOVEREIGNTY

A review of the global history of human exploration clearly shows that those events were nationally inspired and supported with the exception of some outstanding individual ventures. Credit, or discredit, went to the country that supported the exploration program. This is also the case, to date, in our space exploration accomplishments with some very notable exceptions (NASA, ESA, JAXA ROSCOSMOS,, etc. combined projects) that include the International Space Station.

Our view is that future space exploration programs that involve our solar system and beyond should become, as much as possible, international efforts with full participation by as many nations as possible. Our previous blog post about a Global Space Congress (GSC) addresses this concept in more detail. It is anticipated that even within a global network there will be many single nation missions to explore deep space, and especially our Moon and some Near Earth Objects (asteroids and comets).

A major benefit to this arrangement is the establishment of a set of protocols that govern the exploration missions whether by an individual member country or a multi-national mission. The critical benefit, however, is a complete sharing of discoveries and data with all members of the GSC.  Additionally, no single member country, can claim sovereignty over all or part of an explored space object (planet, moon, asteroid).  Sovereignty always rests with the GSC.

Will the development of exploration protocols be a long and arduous task? We believe that will not be the case because there exists some excellent protocols that were created to govern the international exploration of Earth's South Pole region (Antarctica) as well as the Space Exploration protocols that have been developed by the United Nations (UNOOSA) The set of protocols for international exploration of the poles is contained in the ANTARCTIC TREATY.

Because the focus of this blog is on the exploration and development of a Moon Base, we envision an extraction of guidelines from the above two international protocols that would comprise the LUNEX Protocols that would govern the Moon Base Apollo program.  We believe this is necessary to give full consideration to eventual commercial ventures on the Moon and to insure that all member nations of the GSC and their commercial interests have full representation under the Lunex Protocols.  These special protocols would also attend to the need to preserve and protect what we term Moon Aesthetics.


Well, this would appear to be a sound approach, but seems to ignore the existence of the United Nations space programs.  We emphasize here that they are not being ignored, rather we envision extracting the entire structure away from the UN and into the structure of the GSC.  We urge this because the UN by design and nature can be too cumbersome in its response to the many issues that can arise in the full arena of space exploration.  Many of these issues will be very critical and possibly life threatening in nature and will require quicker and more effective reactions to those needs.  We see the GSC as the optimum application of that approach.

In summary, all of this is about relating all matters that pertain to space exploration to a global vision that clearly includes all citizens of planet Earth. As such this is a vital beginning to the ongoing evolution of humankind and the creation of a global space society. The mission, the hope, the goal is that we, the people of planet Earth go forth and explore in peace and with unity of purpose.

CREDITS:
Image: Apollo 9: EVAs by Astros Schweickart and Scott. Scott is shown exiting the CM. Schweickart started his spacewalk from the LM.  Photo courtesy of NASA.

Antarctic Treaty:  We wish to acknowledge the suggestion about the Antarctic Treaty that came from a fellow SpaceTweep(@fizzvicc) on Twitter.  It is an excellent approach that uses an existing and well respected treaty as a model. Thank You.

A PAUSE TO REFLECT

"The Moon is, above all, a witness to 4.5 billion years of solar system history, and it has recorded that history more completely and more clearly than has any other planetary body. Nowhere else can we see back with such clarity to the time when Earth and the other terrestrial planets—Mercury, Venus, an Mars—were formed and life emerged on Earth."  The forgoing statement is taken directly from the National Academies of Science report by its Committee on the Scientific Context for the Exploration of the Moon.  You may view and download a free copy (pdf) of the full report here.

The report was the outcome of a study that examined the value and scientific feasibility of a return to the Moon and associated robotic and human exploration activities.  This study was directly related to the then (2007) White House and NASA goals under the Vision For Space Exploration (VSE).  The VSE remained an active and ongoing program until its recommended cancellation by the Obama Administration.  At this point in time (June 2010) the United States Congress is still debating the legality and feasibility of the cancellation of what is known as the Constellation Program.

There are other sections in this report as well as additional NAS reports that we will quote as well as provide links that will further substantiate both the scientific validity and urgency for a full-scale Moon research program.  It is our opinion that the eventual establishment of a fully functional Moon Base will be the best way to accomplish all the scientific goals enumerated in the above report. Yes we will certainly venture forth throughout our solar system, but the information and science that we acquire on the Moon will better prepare us to fully evaluate our planetary neighbors and their histories.  It will also allow us to develop, in close proximity to Earth, the practices and procedures that insure that we do so safely and successfully.

The diagram on the right is taken directly from the referenced report and clearly shows the interrelated scientific issues that a Lunar Research Program would address.  To ignore this for the sake of some intermediary, Earthbound (Low Earth Orbits) program (other than the ongoing ISS program) is to further delay the essential investigations that our overall goals for deep space exploration demand.

In its Executive Summary, the report outlines eight key scientific concepts that should mandate a dedication exploration of the Moon.  Those concepts are as follows:

"1. The bombardment history of the inner solar system is uniquely revealed on the Moon.
2. The structure and composition of the lunar interior provide fundamental information on the evolution of a differentiated planetary body.
3. Key planetary processes are manifested in the diversity of lunar crustal rocks.
4. The lunar poles are special environments that may bear witness to the volatile flux over the latter part of solar system history.
5. Lunar volcanism provides a window into the thermal and compositional evolution of the Moon.
6. The Moon is an accessible laboratory for studying the impact process on planetary scales.
7. The Moon is a natural laboratory for regolith processes and weathering on anhydrous airless bodies.
8. Processes involved with the atmosphere and dust environment of the Moon are accessible for scientific study while the environment remains in a pristine state."


What is so clearly obvious here is that a structured and sustained Lunar research program provides us vital information not just about our own planet and its satellite, but a great deal about the evolution of our entire solar system.  This is sound and solid information that we should have and digest well before venturing forth blindly into deep regions of our solar system.  Therefore, we should pause and reflect upon the manifold benefits of a full scale Moon exploration program, and quickly move to get our space sciences back on tract.

CREDITS:
Moon Image: Astrophotograph by Waddell Robey through telescopes of the Slooh,com network. (c)02/12/2009
Lunar Science Diagram: from the NAS report from the Committee On the Scientific Context for the Exploration of the Moon (2007) National Research Council.