Space colonization is the use of outer space for colonization, such as permanent habitation, exploitation or territorial claims. Extraterrestrial colonization is its broader form, including the use of celestial bodies, other than Earth, for interplanetary colonization.
The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) is the largest and longest-running Mars surface research facility and is one of two simulated Mars analog habitats owned and operated by the Mars Society.
The Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) is the first of two simulated Mars habitats located on Devon Island, Nunavut, Canada, which is owned and operated by the Mars Society. The station is a member of the European Union-INTERACT circumarctic network of currently 89 terrestrial field bases located in northern Europe, Russia, US, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Scotland as well as stations in northern alpine areas.
A moonbase is a human outpost on or below the surface of the Moon. More than a mere site of activity or temporary camp, moonbases are extraterrestrial bases, supporting robotic or human activity, by providing surface infrastructure. Missions to the Moon have realized single-mission bases,, as well as some small permanent installations.
Takuya Onishi is a Japanese astronaut who was selected for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in 2009. He spent four months on board the International Space Station in 2016.
Bernard Foing is a French scientist at the European Space Agency (ESA), Executive Director of the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) and was Principal Project Scientist for SMART-1, the first European mission to the Moon. He is also a research professor at the VU Amsterdam and at Florida Tech.
Interplanetary contamination refers to biological contamination of a planetary body by a space probe or spacecraft, either deliberate or unintentional.
Human analog missions are activities undertaken on Earth in various environments to simulate aspects of human missions to other worlds, including the Moon, asteroids, and Mars. These remote field tests are performed in locations that are identified based on their physical similarities to the extreme space environments of a target mission. Such activities are undertaken to test hardware and operational concepts in relevant environments.
Vladimir Pletser is Director of Space Training Operations at Blue Abyss since 2018, where he is in charge of developing astronaut training programs. From 2016 to early 2018, he was a Visiting Professor and Scientific Adviser at the Technology and Engineering Centre for Space Utilization (CSU) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China. He supported the preparation of scientific experiments in microgravity for the Chinese Tiangong space station and for aircraft parabolic flights. He worked previously from 1985 till early 2016 as a senior Physicist Engineer at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) of ESA.
Terrestrial analogue sites are places on Earth with assumed past or present geological, environmental or biological conditions of a celestial body such as the Moon or Mars. Analogue sites are used in the frame of space exploration to either study geological or biological processes observed on other planets, or to prepare astronauts for surface extra-vehicular activity.
David John Southwood is a British space scientist who holds the post of Senior Research Investigator at Imperial College London. He was the President of the Royal Astronomical Society from 2012–2014, and Director of Science and Robotic Exploration at the European Space Agency from 2001–2011. Southwood's research interests have been in solar–terrestrial physics and planetary science, particularly magnetospheres. He built the magnetic field instrument for the Cassini Saturn orbiter.
The Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) is an analog habitat for human spaceflight to Mars currently operated by the International MoonBase Alliance. HI-SEAS is located in an isolated position on the slopes of the Mauna Loa volcano on the island of Hawaii. The area has Mars-like features and an elevation of approximately 8,200 feet (2,500 m) above sea level. The first HI-SEAS study was in 2013 and NASA's Human Research Program continues to fund and sponsor follow-up studies. The missions are of extended duration from four months to a year. Its missions place HI-SEAS in the company of a small group of analogs that are capable of operating very long duration missions in isolated and confined environments, such as Mars500, Concordia, and the International Space Station.
A Mars analog habitat is one of several historical, existing or proposed research stations designed to simulate the physical and psychological environment of a Martian exploration mission. These habitats are used to study the equipment and techniques that will be used to analyze the surface of Mars during a future crewed mission, and the simulated isolation of the volunteer inhabitants allows scientists to study the medical and psychosocial effects of long-term space missions. They are often constructed in support of extensive Mars analogs. However, sometimes existing natural places are also valued as Mars analogs. Crewed Mars habitats are featured in most human Mars missions; an alternative may be terraforming or telepresence.
A flyby is a spaceflight operation in which a spacecraft passes in proximity to another body, usually a target of its space exploration mission and/or a source of a gravity assist to impel it towards another target. Spacecraft which are specifically designed for this purpose are known as flyby spacecraft, although the term has also been used in regard to asteroid flybys of Earth for example. Important parameters are the time and distance of closest approach.
The Cyprus Space Exploration Organisation (CSEO) is a non-governmental, nonprofit, science organisation, based in Cyprus, with a global scope of service and activities. Its main functions are research and development, space advocacy, and international cooperation in the field of space exploration, astronautics and astronomy. Education and outreach are also an important part of its mission as International Astronomy Education Center.
The Swamp Works is a lean-development, rapid innovation environment at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. It was founded in 2012, when four laboratories in the Surface Systems Office were merged into an enlarged facility with a modified philosophy for rapid technology development. Those laboratories are the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab, the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Lab, the Applied Chemistry Lab, and the Life Support and Habitation Systems (LSHS) team. The first two of these are located inside the main Swamp Works building, while the other two use the facility although their primary work is located elsewhere. The team developed the Swamp Works operating philosophy from Kelly Johnson's Skunk Works, including the "14 Rules of Management", from the NASA development shops of Wernher von Braun, and from the innovation culture of Silicon Valley. The team prototypes space technologies rapidly to learn early in the process how to write better requirements, enabling them to build better products, rapidly, and at reduced cost. It was named the Swamp Works for similarity with the Skunk Works and the Phantom Works, but branded by the widespread marshes (swamps) on the Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island property of the Kennedy Space Center. The Swamp Works was co-founded by NASA engineers and scientists Jack Fox, Rob Mueller, and Philip Metzger. The logo, a robotic alligator, was designed by Rosie Mueller, a professional designer and the spouse of Rob Mueller.
The Artemis program is a Moon exploration program led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), formally established in 2017 via Space Policy Directive 1. It is intended to reestablish a human presence on the Moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. The program's stated long-term goal is to establish a permanent base on the Moon to facilitate human missions to Mars.
HERACLES is a planned robotic transport system to and from the Moon by Europe (ESA), Japan (JAXA) and Canada (CSA) that will feature a lander called the European Large Logistic Lander, a Lunar Ascent Element, and a rover. The lander can be configured for different operations such as up to 1.5 tons of cargo delivery, sample-returns, or prospecting resources found on the Moon.
PANGAEA is an astronaut training course developed by the European Space Agency (ESA). It provides foundational knowledge and skills primarily in field geology to prepare astronauts for advanced mission-specific training for Moon and Mars missions. PANGAEA also incorporates the development and testing of technologies to support planetary exploration.
