Conclusions and Recommendations
- What do we do next?
We have in hand a good understanding of the opportunities where an ISMU program can provide vast savings to the SEI. Without such a plan, it is uncertain that America would choose to bear the expense of such a push into the solar system. The specific products outlined in this report define the areas where we must develop further technology to bring these promises to fruition.
What do we need to do next?
- We must rapidly develop and expand the technologies that would make possible the early use of available resources when we send people to the Moon and Mars.
- We must develop small, early robotic ISMU experiments to send before we send people. These systems will demonstrate the production of useful products in the actual environments of the Moon and Mars. We will learn from them, and they will influence the design of the production plants which will follow. This is a low risk approach.
- We must include strategies that aim toward maximum self-sufficiency as major goals of the SEI. This should include designing other elements of the outposts and spacecraft to maximize these benefits.
- We must implement the recommendations of the National Commission on Space and the Ride Report, which include continuing research and technology development programs focusing on processing indigenous raw materials into propellants and construction materials.
Only by learning to live off the land will we be able to take the next "giant leap for mankind" and continue our journey to Mars and beyond.