5 Conclusions 5.2 Recommendations

5.2 Recommendations

The conclusions drawn in this report lead to recommendations for advancing the goal of moving humanity out of the cradle. These recommendations primarily address two key findings, which are the lack of international coordination and political will for human space exploration, and the need to build and maintain public support for the enterprise. The authors believe that the following recommendations should be considered:

  • Merge the functions of the existing international lunar and Mars exploration working groups into a new ad hoc International Human Exploration Consultative Group (IHECG).
     
  • Use the study of Asia in this report as a model for evaluating the potential contributions of other developing nations in the planning of any future human exploration initiatives.
     
  • Make public outreach a major priority in every space mission.
     
  • Offer at least one opportunity per year for a governmental policymaker or their designee to attend the Summer Session of the International Space University as a student.
     
  • Student experiments on the Space Shuttle should be resumed, and the program should be expanded to include flight opportunities aboard the International Space Station.
     
  • A sub-scale, commercially-developed "Testhab" should be flown aboard the Space Shuttle to flight demonstrate a pressurized, human-rated inflatable structure.
     
  • Conduct a detailed survey of the possible ice deposits at the lunar poles.
     
  • Develop an internationally coordinated commercialization plan to encourage and assist companies in utilizing the International Space Station.

Finally, the authors strongly endorse the concept of the Lunar Rover Race as an effective precursor mission for stimulating interest in space exploration. Such a mission would not only increase public awareness but also push the technological state-of-the-art, just as the air races of the early 20th Century did for the aviation industry. The Lunar Rover Race will show the people of the world that space exploration is not limited to engineers and scientists, but is open to everyone.

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