(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011-12-01)
Gast, Matthew A.
The notion of human exploration of a near-Earth object (NEO) is nothing new. Jules Verne wrote about this very
idea in his story “Off on a Comet,” first published in France in 1877. Since that time, a number of studies have
examined NEO exploration for scientific purposes, in-situ resource utilization, mineralogical exploitation and even
planetary defense; as early as 1966, a study was conducted to utilize the Apollo program hardware to fly by asteroid
Eros 433 [32]. Yet there is very little in the literature archive addressing extra-vehicular activities operations on the
surface of a near-Earth object. The arguments for manned missions to near-Earth objects have been presented in a
number of papers, recognizing astronauts’ adaptability to real-time challenges, the capability to collect geological
samples while identifying the overall geological context, and the ability to return a great quantity of those geological
samples to Earth, as just a few of the many reasons for a NEO manned mission. Few studies, however, have
identified or discussed the myriad challenges of performing surface operations in an environment where the
gravitation is considerably less than that of the Moon, but not negligible like the micro-gravity of an International
Space Station (ISS) – based EVA. Using the operational experience learned from NASA’s various human
exploration programs, this paper will identify key challenges unique to NEO surface operations. Furthermore, this
paper will map the applicable EVA tasks from both the Apollo program’s lunar exploration missions and ISS
construction to present an EVA operational concept for NEO surface exploration. Through mapping the applicable
Apollo and ISS tasks to the surface of a NEO, relevant operational objectives and challenges are identified, and
conceptual approaches to meeting the NEO EVA mission objectives and mitigating key risks are discussed