The Deep Space Gateway - Is this mankind next adventure?
I do remember a Proton space rocket launching from Baikonour cosmodrome in Russia around the late 90s. This was by no means any normal rocket launch, the proton rocket was carrying a space module rated for humans that would later make up the international space station. Only about 1 month later a space shuttle launched from the Cape Canaveral USA, in its cargo hold was also another human rated space module. The shuttle caught up with the Russian module in low Earth orbit and mated these two modules together making the core body of the now international space station.
Since all of these historical launches the international space station has had a human present for the past 15 years and we now have a new generation of people who have always know nothing but the international space station always flying over their heads in low earth orbit.
There is now continued talk about what to do next after the space station is retired in around 2022. One idea making head way is the “Deep Space Gateway”. It’s basically another space station but in a much higher obit going around the moon. Personally I have mixed feeling about this project should it ever get approved
The disadvantages I think are that humans have had the ISS for 15 years now and I seen no real point or goal of building yet another space station? Space agencies around the world have gained a huge amount of experience of how to keep humans alive and healthy on the ISS. One Astronaut named Scott Kelly recently spent one whole year living at the ISS. His body served as a wealth of science for doctors who could research the effects of zero gravity on the human body. Would it be a good idea to basically do the same thing again but this time going around the Moon?? Whats really to again from this approach??
The advantages will be that should something go wrong the Deep Space Gateway is not that far from Earth and so a rescue mission could be performed in a few days. It also could serve as a platform to launch a future ship to Mars when space agencies get around doing it.
Personally I think that there should be an international effort to get humans back to the Moon where a Moon base can be built. Once infrastructure has been setup on the lunar surface it should be quite straight forward. Keep the moon base going with a continued human presence for at least 5 or 10 years gain the experience then look to start sending humans to Mars.
