Getting a regular stream of goods to a base on Mars could be a stumbling block for NASA.

Credit: NASA/Pat Rawlings, SAIC

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ADELAIDE: NASA's vision of moon base by 2020 has been brought closer to reality by research that models efficient ways to deliver vital provisions across space.

The computer program SpaceNet, developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in collaboration with the U.S. space agency, models the logistics of interplanetary supply chains from Earth to future bases on the Moon and Mars.

Currently, "every kilogram costs in the order of US$10,000 to $20,000 (A$12,000 to $25,000) to launch just to low Earth orbit," said lead researcher and MIT professor of aeronautics Olivier de Weck. "As a consequence … what we do, and do not take along on each flight is of vital importance, and this is where our research has focused."

While cargo flights on Earth are available daily or weekly for most destinations, a typical flight schedule to locations such as the International Space Station (ISS) or a future lunar outpost will be just one every three to six months said de Weck.

Goods that might need transporting to the moon include: fuel, moon buggies, building materials, water, gas, food, medical supplies, communication gadgets and equipment for repairs.

A further complication is the tiny payload of existing rockets. Just 0.1 per cent of the mass is useful payload, such as crew and supplies, with most of the remainder made up of fuel. The Saturn V rockets, which carried the Apollo spacecraft to the moon, weighed almost three million kilograms on the launch pad, but carried a total payload of just 1,500 kg. In contrast, a Boeing 747 aircraft can carry almost 20 per cent of its mass - over 70,000 kg - as payload, said the researchers.

Now, to help anticipate some of the problems with transporting goods across space, and optimise the process, de Weck and his team created the SpaceNet computer model.

The researchers used data from Earth to help create the model. The data came from expeditions in the Arctic, from aircraft carrier and submarine logistics, and from multinational companies that have maximised the efficiency of their supply chains.

They then tested SpaceNet on past missions, such as Apollo 17 and the building of the ISS, and found it could model them with a high level of accuracy.

They have also used the model to look into the construction and maintenance of a lunar outpost at the moon's South Pole, possibly to be located at the rim of the Shackelton Crater.

"This work really brings out the full capabilities of SpaceNet because it involves modeling multiple flights, typically on the order of … 10 to 15 flights, over a period of five plus years," said de Weck.

For every kilogram of mass launched from Earth, the new system will be able to provide about five to ten times more equipment than before, he said.

The team proposes establishing orbiting space warehouses where supplies could be more quickly accessed than from Earth. Supplies could also be maintained at Lagrange points – these are places where the gravitational pull between two bodies, in this case the Earth and the Moon, is balanced.

Lagrange points would be good potential locations for these space warehouses as only small amounts of fuel would be required to maintain their orbit, said de Weck

Getting supplies and spare parts to Mars is a more difficult problem, however. The launch window from Earth only opens up about once every 27 months, for 30 to 60 days, and it would take six to nine months for the supplies to arrive.

More information:

Moon, Mars and Beyond, NASA.