1 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:57,700 We are the species that explores, 2 00:00:57,800 --> 00:01:02,700 that fashions vessels to carry us into the unknown. 3 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:04,980 We sailed the planet of our birth, 4 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:08,500 saw its wonders and made it home. 5 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:10,820 And it wasn't enough. 6 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:13,340 We built flying machines 7 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:18,020 to explore higher, faster, farther. 8 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:21,860 Heroes flew them beyond what once seemed possible. 9 00:01:21,960 --> 00:01:23,962 And it wasn't enough. 10 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:31,580 In time, we created special craft 11 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:36,368 that would ferry us to the edge of space and back. 12 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:42,500 And as always, there were the few... 13 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:43,886 brave and brilliant souls... 14 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:46,740 ready to guide this vessel through dangers 15 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:49,420 in the name of discovery. 16 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:23,967 Using the space shuttle, 17 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:28,324 we built an unprecedented outpost in the heavens. 18 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,940 We learned in the weightless world of the International Space Station, 19 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:40,980 peered into the dark night of an infinite universe. 20 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:43,162 And it wasn't enough. 21 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:47,900 Now we are fashioning vessels to set off 22 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,940 on our greatest adventure of exploration ever: 23 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:53,441 to Mars and beyond. 24 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,968 Who knew that 30 years would go by so quickly? 25 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:19,940 That these unique spacecraft 26 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:23,140 would leave in their wake a public captivated 27 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:24,620 by their achievements... 28 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:31,620 ...a planet poised at the brink 29 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:34,929 of deep-space exploration. 30 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:11,900 As an astronaut, I definitely felt 31 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:16,090 I was saying good-bye to a long-time friend when the last shuttle landed. 32 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:37,020 My name is Chris Ferguson. 33 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:39,580 I was lucky enough to fly on three shuttle missions, 34 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:41,540 one of them on Endeavour. 35 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:43,608 So it's no surprise that I wanted to be there 36 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:46,100 when she was headed for her new home 37 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:49,488 at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. 38 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:53,940 From the look of it, you might think it took 39 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:55,700 as much engineering to get Endeavour 40 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:58,804 through the streets of L.A. as launching her into orbit. 41 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:20,220 Watching the orbiter squeeze through the city neighborhoods, 42 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:23,642 you could feel just how much the shuttle had come to stand for, 43 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:26,843 almost as if it had taken all of us into space. 44 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:38,603 I sure don't want the world to forget 45 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:40,722 this remarkable spacecraft and those who built it, 46 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:43,420 and the legacy they left, 47 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:46,251 lighting the way toward our next frontier in space. 48 00:05:48,280 --> 00:05:49,740 They're coming. 49 00:05:49,840 --> 00:05:53,681 The shuttle was the first reusable piloted spacecraft. 50 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:57,300 And its engineering and software was so bulletproof, 51 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:00,890 it could be flown by computers less powerful than today's smartphones. 52 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:02,929 Two hundred. 53 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:06,020 One hundred. 54 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:08,122 At 235 miles per hour, 55 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:11,300 the shuttle had the fastest touchdown speed 56 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:14,860 of any flying vehicle ever built. 57 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:18,362 When you glide 220,000 pounds of spacecraft 58 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:22,940 to a no-power landing, the gear hits with a major whomp. 59 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:25,320 Touchdown. 60 00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:31,860 Conceived in the 1970s 61 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:34,060 as a kind of winged delivery truck 62 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:37,687 to build a United States low-Earth-orbit space station... 63 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:39,540 Give you a payload I.D. of one. 64 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:41,220 ...the shuttle actually flew 65 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:44,449 more than a decade beyond original expectations. 66 00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:50,081 It was the shuttle program that allowed us to do 67 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:53,300 real ongoing work in space, 68 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:56,340 to put delicate equipment into orbit and to retrieve 69 00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:58,602 and fix that equipment when things went wrong. 70 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:54,460 Orbiters deployed, retrieved and repaired 71 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:57,564 over a hundred scientific and communications satellites. 72 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:02,100 And no missions were more important to our understanding 73 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:05,761 of deep space than the five flights, beginning in 1993, 74 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:08,884 made to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. 75 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:13,940 Hubble affirmative. 76 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:16,168 You have a go for release. 77 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:27,241 I think history will view the Hubble Space Telescope 78 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:30,045 as one of the crowning achievements in astronomy. 79 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:40,682 The Hubble gave us an unprecedented view of both our closest neighbors 80 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:44,760 and of galaxies unimaginably far from our own. 81 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:54,340 Further space telescope investigations have revealed 82 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:58,522 that the number of Earth-like planets capable of harboring liquid water 83 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:01,764 is vastly greater than scientists once calculated. 84 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:44,660 In 1995, the shuttles began 85 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:47,540 a new era of international space exploration 86 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:51,563 when Atlantis docked, for the first time, with the Russian MIR station. 87 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:53,860 Eight inches. 88 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:56,340 One-oh-point-oh-seven. 89 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:58,020 One-oh-six. 90 00:09:58,120 --> 00:09:59,900 Four inches. 91 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,129 Now. We have capture. 92 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:11,900 Altogether, the orbiters made 11 trips to visit Mir. 93 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:16,860 These missions established a level of international cooperation and expertise 94 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:18,962 that continues to this day. 95 00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:23,860 Though MIR no longer orbits Earth, 96 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:27,100 the shuttle proved itself as a brilliant reusable tool 97 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:30,620 that allowed us to live, build and do science 98 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:32,722 in the weightless environment of space. 99 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:03,526 But the shuttles' truest legacy crosses the sky above us every 90 minutes. 100 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:09,723 The International Space Station could never have been built 101 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:12,451 without the shuttles' payload and space-walk capabilities. 102 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:19,980 Space shuttles and Russian Soyuz and Proton rockets 103 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:23,484 made more than 40 flights to construct the International Space Station... 104 00:11:23,680 --> 00:11:25,842 a true engineering miracle. 105 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:34,206 All three of my Orbiter missions were to the ISS. 106 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:44,220 Modules built by NASA partners in Asia, 107 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:47,380 Europe and North America, came together above Earth, 108 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:51,740 over a period of 13 years, to create a floating world 109 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:53,740 longer than a football field 110 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:56,923 and with more living space than a six-bedroom house. 111 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:03,900 A typical ISS mission requires an astronaut 112 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,100 to live six months onboard. 113 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:09,060 But some crew members will spend a year 114 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:12,100 learning even more about the very real physical 115 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:14,500 and psychological stresses 116 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:17,331 of long-term separation from Earth. 117 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:22,900 These missions and the 15 nations 118 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:25,860 that designed, built and crew the ISS, 119 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:28,260 forever changed space exploration 120 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:30,740 into a cooperative international program 121 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:34,060 and made a true home and science lab like no other. 122 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:36,380 # Wash away my troubles # 123 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:38,289 # Wash away my pain # 124 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:41,540 # With the rain in Shambala... # 125 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:45,620 ISS system designs and scientific experiments 126 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:48,420 have spawned a multitude of Earth-useful discoveries, 127 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:49,700 including breakthroughs 128 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:53,420 in water purification and robotic microsurgery. 129 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:57,804 But most important, the ISS is our springboard to the future, 130 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:00,300 giving us the knowledge and confidence 131 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:04,540 to sustain human life as we explore deep space. 132 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:06,900 # Everyone is helpful # 133 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:08,820 # Everyone is kind... # 134 00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:12,980 Life on ISS is all about getting the job done and having a little fun. 135 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:14,980 # Everyone is lucky # 136 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:16,900 # Everyone is so kind # 137 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:19,780 # On the road to Shambala... # 138 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:22,500 And nationality is mostly 139 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:24,500 about tasting each other's food. 140 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:27,820 # Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah # 141 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:30,260 # Ah, ooh, ooh, ooh # 142 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:32,740 # Ooh, ooh, ooh, yeah # 143 00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:36,340 # Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah... # 144 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:40,020 Through three decades of camaraderie and dedication, 145 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:43,780 355 people rode the shuttle into history. 146 00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:47,100 They circled the Earth 21,000 times, 147 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:50,180 and it all came to seem routine.... 148 00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:51,820 until it wasn't. 149 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:53,180 ...one minute, 15 seconds. 150 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:54,820 Velocity 2,900 feet per second. 151 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:56,180 Altitude nine nautical miles. 152 00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:58,260 Downrange distance seven nautical miles. 153 00:13:58,360 --> 00:13:59,820 This shuttle mission will launch... 154 00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:01,540 My God! 155 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:03,540 There's been an explosion. 156 00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:07,660 Flight controllers here looking very carefully at the situation. 157 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:09,700 Obviously a major malfunction. 158 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:13,180 In two accidents that stunned the world, 159 00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:15,380 we lost 14 astronauts. 160 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:18,980 It was a sobering reminder that every space flight 161 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:22,460 is charged with potential danger. 162 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:24,820 They had a hunger to explore the universe 163 00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:26,460 and discover its truths. 164 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:28,847 They wished to serve, and they did. 165 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,540 They were pioneers. 166 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:36,740 The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted. 167 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:39,081 It belongs to the brave. 168 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:47,820 The world mourned, but pushed on, 169 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:50,740 because the accomplishments of the space shuttle 170 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:52,580 and the International Space Station 171 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:56,340 were full of life-changing promise. 172 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:59,887 In memory of our lost heroes, the global space community 173 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:04,164 pulled together to reignite the future of both programs. 174 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:08,860 Who could ask for a better ending to my career 175 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,620 as an astronaut than getting to fly the last shuttle mission on Atlantis, 176 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:15,803 and a final visit to the ISS. 177 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:25,300 Atlantis launch director, air to ground one. 178 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:27,209 Atlantis go. 179 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:30,900 And so, for the final time, Fergie, Doug, 180 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:34,940 Sandy and Rex, good luck, Godspeed, and have a little fun up there. 181 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:37,380 We're not ending the journey today, Mike, 182 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:40,260 we're completing a chapter of a journey that will never end. 183 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:41,780 You and the thousands of men and women 184 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:43,940 who gave their hearts, souls and their lives 185 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:46,980 for the cause of exploration, have rewritten history. 186 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:49,321 Let's light this fire one more time, Mike. 187 00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,220 Though the shuttles no longer fly, 188 00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:04,086 I never miss a chance to see Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center. 189 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:10,820 But I came to KSC to get a look at the next big step 190 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:15,289 in deep-space exploration, and it's called Orion. 191 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:24,362 Here, in the giant operations and checkout clean room, 192 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:26,860 the new Orion multi-purposed crew vehicle 193 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:28,660 is coming together. 194 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:31,620 What an impressive vehicle. Look at that... it's beautiful. 195 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:36,820 It's gorgeous. I'd love to climb in there. 196 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:39,540 Orion is a true deep-space exploration craft, 197 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:41,961 designed to carry astronauts of the future 198 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:47,644 back to the moon, to asteroids, and even to Mars. 199 00:17:53,120 --> 00:17:56,900 I've always been drawn to explore and try new experiences. 200 00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:59,860 Maybe that's why I applied to be an astronaut. 201 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:04,684 I'm Serena Aunon, and I am one of the newer group of astronauts chosen by NASA. 202 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:13,900 Like the rest of my class, I'm absolutely honored 203 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:17,340 and humbled to be here, and it's great to be a part of this team. 204 00:18:18,940 --> 00:18:20,740 I guess you could say I'm one 205 00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:23,580 of those people for whom the future has always seemed 206 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:25,700 an unfolding adventure. 207 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:28,420 So you can go forward and backwards in the procedure 208 00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:30,380 just by using this toggle switch over here. 209 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:31,766 Yes, that, exactly. 210 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:33,380 Learning from astronauts, 211 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:36,940 like Lee Morin, who have already spent weeks in space, 212 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:39,691 gives you a great sense of confidence. 213 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:45,100 The Orion mock-up provides astronauts in training, 214 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:47,940 like Serena, a chance to learn flight procedures, 215 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:50,900 and also give feedback to perfect new systems. 216 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:53,780 This should be a piece of cake for Serena, 217 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:57,300 since my shuttle's ten screens and more than a thousand switches 218 00:18:57,400 --> 00:18:59,460 have been streamlined to just three screens 219 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:02,220 and 60 switches on Orion. 220 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:05,060 Hey, Lee, you can open the helium cross-feed valve. 221 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:07,460 Okay, we got that, so go ahead and send that command 222 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:09,780 - on the helium cross-feed valve. - All right, copy that. 223 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:11,220 And the shuttle's hundred pounds 224 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:14,820 of flight manuals and checklists have been reduced to... 225 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:18,140 well... zero, since Orion's are all on computer. 226 00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:19,820 Stand by, and we'll evaluate. 227 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:21,940 But even with all these improvements, 228 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:24,140 to get Orion into deep space, 229 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:26,925 we're gonna need a bigger rocket. 230 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:32,620 When NASA's giant space launch system, 231 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:34,660 built by Boeing, is complete, 232 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:38,340 the rocket will stand as tall as a 38-story building 233 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:41,780 and make more than nine million pounds of thrust, 234 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:45,521 enough to lift 22 elephants into space. 235 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:48,820 For deep-space expeditions, 236 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:52,180 the SLS will need to lift five key mission components 237 00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:54,408 beyond low-Earth orbit. 238 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:59,500 Since Orion is too cramped for a six-month journey to Mars, 239 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:03,140 one solution being developed is an inflatable habitat 240 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:05,971 to house the crew en route. 241 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:11,020 A solar electric propulsion device will provide 242 00:20:11,120 --> 00:20:13,646 continuous power for the round-trip journey. 243 00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:19,860 A lander craft will carry the crew from their orbit above Mars 244 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:23,380 down to the planet's surface. 245 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:24,820 Months later, an ascent vehicle 246 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:28,003 will lift the crew back up to the orbiting Orion 247 00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:30,780 for the return trip to Earth. 248 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:34,540 But even using the most sophisticated 249 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:37,180 future spacecraft, a two-and-a-half year 250 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:38,900 round-trip journey to Mars 251 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:42,380 will present new challenges to the human body. 252 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,060 I wanted to thank the Indiana State Museum for having me here. 253 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:47,180 It is an absolute pleasure. 254 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:50,380 As a medical doctor with a specialty in aerospace medicine, 255 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:53,500 I am particularly interested in keeping astronauts healthy 256 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:57,366 as we head into deep space for long periods of time. 257 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,900 Our experience with more extended weightlessness 258 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:06,820 on the ISS has shown us that the human body will face challenges 259 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:10,163 during lengthy journeys to deep space. 260 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:14,420 Key issues are muscle and bone loss, 261 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:17,660 which can start after just a few days of weightlessness, 262 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:21,420 along with degrading of vision for some astronauts. 263 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:24,380 We now know that exercise is the antidote 264 00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:27,420 for most problems caused by weightlessness. 265 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:29,522 And I mean exercise... 266 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:31,642 about two hours a day. 267 00:21:33,120 --> 00:21:37,380 But, even so, the first explorers to Mars will need to rest at least a few days 268 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:40,180 after landing on the planet to readjust to walking, 269 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:43,568 though Mars has less than 40% of Earth's gravity. 270 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:49,485 Radiation is another risk in deep space. 271 00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:58,650 Radiation from our sun's solar storms is one source of danger. 272 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:05,420 But cosmic radiation, which permeates all of deep space, 273 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:08,410 is another ever-present challenge to human health. 274 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:13,940 Sections of Orion, as well as the transit habitat, 275 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:17,607 will have to serve as a shelter in the case of a major solar flare. 276 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:28,460 In the Arizona desert, an Orion mock-up is being drop-tested 277 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:31,245 to evaluate reentry systems. 278 00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:37,740 On returning from deep space, Orion will enter our atmosphere 279 00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:40,860 more than 50% faster 280 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:43,420 than shuttles or Soyuz capsules, 281 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:46,140 and generate five times more heat, 282 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:49,180 so perfecting her parachute deployment 283 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:52,124 and heat shield is key to crew survival. 284 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:00,260 At the Kennedy Space Center, Orion is being prepped 285 00:23:00,360 --> 00:23:04,380 for an uncrewed test flight into deep space. 286 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:08,780 This new vessel marks the first step in over 40 years 287 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:12,965 to put humans beyond low Earth orbit. 288 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:18,300 A journey to Mars is on the horizon 289 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:21,180 because of wide-ranging international efforts 290 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:24,220 by both governments and private enterprise. 291 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:27,060 Companies from Boeing and Lockheed 292 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:30,180 to newcomers like SpaceX, Sierra Nevada 293 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:33,740 and Orbital Sciences are developing spacecraft 294 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:36,764 to service the ISS and beyond. 295 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:41,180 Some private groups foresee a technically simpler 296 00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:44,740 one-way mission to colonize Mars. 297 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:47,140 Already thousands have volunteered 298 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:49,925 to live permanently on the Red Planet. 299 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:55,100 The demands of going to deep space 300 00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:58,100 will push old designs to new limits. 301 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:01,340 - Looks good. - Looks good. Hey. 302 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:03,260 - New glove. Should be good. - Sounds good. 303 00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:07,100 My name is Lindsey Aitchison and I am a spacesuit project engineer 304 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:09,540 at NASA Johnson Space Center. 305 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:12,180 I first started thinking about space flight 306 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:14,900 when I was four years old, when I first came to JSC 307 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:18,447 to take a tour at the visitor's center. 308 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:20,780 We have pictures of me just sitting inside this spacesuit, 309 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:23,121 and I just knew that's what I wanted to do. 310 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:31,300 No, dad-gum it. 311 00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:33,580 When the Apollo suits were first done, 312 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:35,740 those were very short-duration EVAs. 313 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:38,260 We didn't have a lot of mobility in that suit, 314 00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:40,380 so when you see those astronauts hopping around 315 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:43,260 on the lunar surface, it's not because they themselves 316 00:24:43,360 --> 00:24:46,807 are clumsy or that the gravity is just impossible to deal with. 317 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:49,140 We didn't give them enough mobility in the suits. 318 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:50,924 So we learned a lot from that. 319 00:24:54,360 --> 00:24:58,660 For the next generation suit, there's still a lot that we don't know 320 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:02,922 about what it's going to be like to live and work on Mars every day. 321 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:07,060 Once there, you'd be doing EVA, 322 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:09,208 walking outside on the planet about every other day. 323 00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:18,900 Once we have the hardware in-house, we become the experts 324 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:21,820 of how that hardware works, what it does, 325 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:23,500 and how it meets the needs 326 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:26,444 for our next phase of our mission design. 327 00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:40,780 We actually get into the suits, because the best way 328 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:45,281 to understand how a spacesuit moves is to be inside of it and work it yourself. 329 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:51,060 I'll be asking Richard to perform specific tasks. 330 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:54,740 And what I'm looking at is: What is his gait like? 331 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:57,580 And so I'm watching how the bearings in the hip move 332 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:00,180 and how the bearings in the waist move. 333 00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:03,100 And by comparing natural body motion to suited body motion 334 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:07,220 we can start to tweak the design of the suit to make it more natural. 335 00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:10,220 So that's what we're focusing on for exploration... 336 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:12,940 is how do you walk, how do you bend, how do you kneel, 337 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:15,691 how do you do all those geology-type tasks? 338 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:35,100 So, one of the big problems they had in Apollo 339 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:37,780 was all of that dust on the lunar surface. 340 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:39,620 It stuck to everything. 341 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:41,900 When the guys would come back inside of the lunar module 342 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:44,220 at the end of their EVAs, taking off their suits, 343 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:47,060 there was dirt everywhere... there was dirt on themselves. 344 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:49,162 It was just gross, right? 345 00:26:56,320 --> 00:26:58,420 And that dirt is actually pretty harmful... the lunar dirt... 346 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:00,660 specifically, to breathe in for long periods of time, 347 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:02,660 so, long-duration missions, we wouldn't want to 348 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:05,081 bring that dirt inside with us all the time. 349 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:13,250 All right, Richard. Nice job. 350 00:27:13,360 --> 00:27:15,500 Time to come on in. 351 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:17,820 So one of the key concepts we're looking at 352 00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:22,605 for lunar and even Martian missions is using what we call a suit port. 353 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:30,620 The idea of a suit port is that you have this plate 354 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:33,460 that becomes your pressure seal between the vehicle 355 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:35,940 and your suit, so when you're not using the suit, 356 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:37,780 it stays outside the entire time. 357 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:41,980 It is physically attached to the vehicle so you can come in and out of your space suit 358 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:44,260 without ever having to physically 359 00:27:44,360 --> 00:27:47,540 go into an air lock like we do today. 360 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:49,260 Welcome home, Richard. How'd the suit feel? 361 00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:50,980 Feels good. 362 00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:53,082 Outstanding. Strong work out there. 363 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:00,860 Driving a space exploration vehicle on dry land 364 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:04,169 is great training for deep-space missions of the future. 365 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:12,167 But driving a mini-sub was even more exacting. 366 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:31,411 No, there are no liquid oceans on Mars, 367 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:33,980 but before setting out for the Red Planet, 368 00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:37,971 astronauts may make test missions to nearby asteroids. 369 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:45,380 A mini-sub resembles the kind of craft we will use to explore asteroids, 370 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:48,450 and the ocean matches the zero gravity of space. 371 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:01,260 This NEEMO 16 mission marks 372 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:04,340 the 16th time NASA has trained at the Aquarius lab, 373 00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:08,722 which is anchored 60 feet underwater, off Key Largo in Florida. 374 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:27,420 NASA aquanauts live in the lab for up to two weeks 375 00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:29,522 without coming to the surface. 376 00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:39,220 This allows us to work the entire day 377 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:43,402 and only decompress once at the end of the mission. 378 00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:51,220 Any mistakes here can have real consequences, 379 00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:54,529 exactly as in deep, inhospitable space. 380 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:05,500 Since asteroids appear to have changed very little 381 00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:07,420 since they first formed, 382 00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:12,003 they could tell us a lot about our early solar system. 383 00:30:18,680 --> 00:30:21,763 Ultimately, we may develop space tools to capture 384 00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:26,124 and reposition a small asteroid to orbit our moon. 385 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:30,140 This would allow for easier study, 386 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:33,540 and also develop our ability to deflect a larger asteroid 387 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:35,961 that was on a collision course with Earth. 388 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:02,760 This Olympus inflatable habitat, 389 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:05,340 designed by Bigelow Aerospace, 390 00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:08,340 is a look at the future of living in space. 391 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:10,500 Jay, this is amazing. How big is that? 392 00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:12,340 Thanks. Yeah, it's really big. 393 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:15,260 It's about 2,250 cubic meters interior volume, which is 394 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:17,860 a little over twice the size of the International Space Station. 395 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:20,260 And it looks like it's, like, 40 feet tall or somethin'. 396 00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:22,700 Yeah, it's probably 45 or 50. It's really big. 397 00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:25,020 Once you get into space, you just inflate it with air? 398 00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:28,860 Right, we bring up huge compressed air tanks that bring up large volumes of air. 399 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:31,620 Um, this expands out so the inside is about 16 meters 400 00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:34,326 in diameter, and the outside's a lot bigger than that. 401 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:43,700 It's surprising that an inflatable habitat 402 00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:47,460 can protect its crew against micrometeorites and radiation, 403 00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:50,245 but that's what tests have shown. 404 00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:55,220 The immense volume of Olympus will provide ample work areas 405 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:59,325 as well as living space to help maintain crew morale. 406 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:04,660 Supply craft to provide food, fuel, 407 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:08,340 and radiation-protective living space will be landed on Mars 408 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:12,180 well before the first human expedition is launched. 409 00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:15,580 We don't know exactly what all the spacecraft will look like, 410 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:18,331 but concepts are under active development. 411 00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:23,460 Our infatuation with space exploration 412 00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:27,360 is as limitless as space itself. 413 00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:31,644 Without the shuttle, there would be no International Space Station, 414 00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:36,100 the vital test bed for a future human expedition to Mars. 415 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:40,100 And that mission is closer than you might imagine. 416 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:44,620 NASA projects we will get to Mars in the 2030s. 417 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:49,900 In other words, within the career of today's young astronauts. 418 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:53,500 So any of these movies that you see where people survive even for 20 seconds... 419 00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:55,300 Why go to Mars? 420 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:58,847 Why not just send more and more sophisticated robotic vehicles? 421 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:01,820 I think to explore beyond what is known 422 00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:05,140 is simply at the core of our DNA. 423 00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:09,340 And only a human mission can tell us definitively 424 00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:13,968 if we can survive and establish future settlements on Mars. 425 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:28,980 Astronauts exploring the planet may notice 426 00:33:29,080 --> 00:33:31,300 and learn things robots could not, 427 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:35,488 things that could help take us to the next frontiers beyond Mars. 428 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:45,881 Every 26 months, there is an optimal window 429 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:48,810 for launching spacecraft to Mars. 430 00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:52,220 But even using the planets' orbits to shorten distance 431 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:55,300 and increase speed, with currently planned propulsion, 432 00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:59,060 the trip to and from Mars will take six months... 433 00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:01,220 each way. 434 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:19,500 Someday, even more exotic plasma or fusion propulsion 435 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:21,900 could shorten the journey. 436 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:25,846 But the first explorers to Mars will not have that luxury. 437 00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:35,740 Orion can transport up to six passengers, 438 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:37,780 but for a first trip to Mars, 439 00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:40,281 it would likely carry no more than four. 440 00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:46,260 While going to and from the Red Planet, 441 00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:48,740 Orion and the inflatable habitat 442 00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:51,860 will be the astronauts' life support home for flight control, 443 00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:56,204 science, and that all-important physical exercise. 444 00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:19,140 Going to Mars... 445 00:35:19,240 --> 00:35:21,980 getting there, working there, coming back... 446 00:35:22,080 --> 00:35:24,300 will take nearly three years. 447 00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:26,500 I wonder how that will feel, 448 00:35:26,600 --> 00:35:31,242 to be away from home and friends and family for so long. 449 00:35:49,560 --> 00:35:52,460 There is no 911 in space. 450 00:35:52,560 --> 00:35:56,300 When Orion nears Mars, the spacecraft is two years away 451 00:35:56,400 --> 00:35:58,980 from any possibility of help from Earth. 452 00:35:59,080 --> 00:36:02,180 Even radio communications will take 40 minutes 453 00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:04,180 to send and receive, 454 00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:07,540 so any equipment failures or other emergencies 455 00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:10,291 must be solved by the crew alone. 456 00:36:16,720 --> 00:36:20,122 Nearly four decades of robotic exploration on Mars 457 00:36:20,240 --> 00:36:23,244 has blazed a path for humans to follow... 458 00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:27,290 ...craft like Pathfinder and Curiosity. 459 00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:32,090 Maybe I'll get to kick the dust off their tires. 460 00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:37,220 Though it will be incredibly exciting to land on Mars, 461 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:41,060 our ongoing training in sophisticated simulator labs 462 00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:45,245 means it won't feel entirely unfamiliar when we get there. 463 00:37:50,400 --> 00:37:54,300 Later explorers to Mars might travel hundreds of kilometers 464 00:37:54,400 --> 00:37:59,003 to mine their own water and hydrogen to make fuel for their return to Earth. 465 00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:02,723 But first visitors will have their hands full 466 00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:07,767 making the discoveries that only a human mission can accomplish. 467 00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:22,060 I don't know if I'll ever get to walk and work on Mars, 468 00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:25,300 but I may already know some of those who will. 469 00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:29,767 Someone who dreams of it, just like me. 470 00:38:43,520 --> 00:38:47,860 Humankind has forever been drawn toward the unknown, 471 00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:50,260 by the simple innate conviction 472 00:38:50,360 --> 00:38:53,620 that, to see the long-hidden side of the mountain, 473 00:38:53,720 --> 00:38:58,100 to brush the infinite depth of the sea, might reveal 474 00:38:58,200 --> 00:39:01,204 where we come from and who we are. 475 00:39:03,880 --> 00:39:07,460 When humans do touch and explore Mars, 476 00:39:07,560 --> 00:39:11,326 it will be among the greatest achievements in history. 477 00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:19,700 But even that won't be enough. 478 00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:24,380 We are the species that explores. 479 00:39:24,480 --> 00:39:26,820 We will fashion new vessels 480 00:39:26,920 --> 00:39:29,651 to carry us still deeper into space, 481 00:39:29,760 --> 00:39:32,820 venturing from our life-giving home 482 00:39:32,920 --> 00:39:35,820 to uncover the secrets of the cosmos 483 00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:40,687 and our own unimagined possibilities.