In another example of the value of proper requirements analysis before any major project is undertaken, the Planetary Society has announced an initiative:Â the first human mission to an asteroid.
Their fundraising appeal page can be found here:
https://planetary.org/special/asteroid/index_email.html
Typical questions that they pose include the following:
- How do we operate in deep space?
- How do we handle operations for spacecraft and humans in the low gravity of an asteroid?
- What requirements are needed for life support on a long-duration mission in deep space, and how will those requirements be met?
- Do you anchor a spacecraft to the asteroid, or set up a synchronous orbit, and have astronauts cross that space?
- What is the best way to approach and depart from the asteroid?
The fact that these questions are arising now is yet further evidence that humans are moving into space. Where humans go, their jobs go as well.  So, additional questions relating to the workplace conditions should also be discussed:
- How do we manage time off, family leave, medical leave, and other extended leave situations?
- Suppose the crew is made up of Japanese, French, Canadian, and United States citizens, but the corporation taking them into space is British. Which country’s laws govern the workplace rules?
- Suppose an ammonia leak contaminates the crew atmosphere for an extended period of time, causing long-term damage to the crew’s lungs. What arrangements for long-term care will be in place for the workers?
Once we start asking questions like these, one question typically leads to several others. There are many questions that must be answered before this sort of operation will become a reality.
But I’m all for this human mission to an asteroid, for the reasons that they state in their promotional web page:Â “The solutions developed for this competition could potentially change the future of space exploration.”
