The International Space Station (ISS) won’t be the only off-Earth outpost for much longer, if all goes according to plan.
On 2 November, the huge orbiting laboratory celebrated 20 years of human occupation, a big milestone in humanity’s push to extend its footprint into the final frontier.
The ISS was a collaboration among the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan and the participating nations of the European Space Agency (ESA). ISS is officially approved to operate through December 2024, and an extension to the end of 2028 seems likely, while several other projects are poised to take the baton.
Houston-based company Axiom Space plans to use the ISS as a jumping-off point for its own station in low Earth orbit (LEO). Axiom aims to start launching new commercial modules to the ISS in 2024, to provide more living and research space for astronauts aboard the orbiting lab. When the ISS is retired, the Axiom Station will complete construction and detach to operate into the future as a free-flying complex for living and working in space. Axiom will also provide tourist flights, and has already signed a contract with SpaceX to this effect, and the first of those private missions is expected to launch late next year.
California-based Orion Span has plans for its own LEO station called Aurora, which could launch in late 2021 and begin accommodating customers the next year.
China wants to build a LEO outpost that’s roughly the size of the Soviet-Russian station Mir. Mir was about one-quarter the size of the ISS, which is about as long as a football field. China wants to start assembling its station in the next year, and has already made considerable strides in this direction: Since 2011, China has launched two prototype habitat modules to orbit and sent astronauts to both of them, as well as a robotic resupply ship to the second one.
India also wants its own LEO outpost. The nation is working to launch its first crewed mission to orbit in 2022, the 75th anniversary of Indian independence from the United Kingdom. That milestone launch will help pave the way for a space station, which could be up and running by 2030.
NASA
NASA plans to start building a small moon-orbiting space station called Gateway as part of its ambitious Artemis program of crewed lunar exploration. Gateway’s core — a habitat module and a power and propulsion element — are scheduled to launch together in late 2023, and a few other pieces will likely join the outpost later. Gateway will serve as a staging point for crewed and uncrewed jaunts to the lunar surface, NASA officials have said.
The Artemis program aims to put two astronauts down near the moon’s south pole in 2024. We could see an outpost take shape on, or slightly beneath the lunar surface by 2028. NASA would probably not build such infrastructure by itself; ESA has long suggested getting a “moon village” up and running, and multiple private companies have expressed interest in helping extract and sell lunar resources such as water ice.
Another key Artemis goal is to help pave the way for crewed missions to Mars, which NASA wants to start launching in the 2030s. Those initial flights could lead to a research outpost on the Red Planet, a base from which scientists could hunt for signs of Martian life and perform a range of other experiments.
We could also see a bona fide city start to rise from the red dirt in that same general timeframe, if SpaceX’s plans come to fruition. The company, which Elon Musk founded in 2002 primarily to make humanity a multi-planetary species, is already test-flying prototypes of Starship, the next-generation vehicle designed to take people to the moon, Mars and other distant destinations. If Starship development goes well, the spacecraft will likely be able to start flying passengers to the Red Planet within 10 years.
(Thanks to Space.com)
