Human Planetary and Astrobiology Exploration: How Will Radiation, Low Gravity, and Isolated and Confined Conditions Affect Our Health?

I. In situ Scientists Can Best Answer Some Planetary Science and Astrobiology QuestionsIn this section, we discuss the need for direct human explorers to answer key planetary science and astrobiology questions.A. What is the interplay of planetary science, astrobiology, and human exploration science?As humanity explores further into our solar system in the next 10-year period, we need to answer many key scientific questions related to planetary science, astrobiology, and the effects of long-term occupation of planetary bodies on human health.Robotic exploration can address many of the planetary and astrobiological scientific questions previously outlined in the 2013-2022 Vision and Voyages Decadal Survey (National Research Council, 2011), but many of the questions for the coming decade (2023-2032) will be best answered through in person inquiry.Thus, we need to address additional scientific questions related to the health of the humans carrying out the research to answer these key planetary and astrobiological questions. B. What planetary and astrobiological science questions will benefit most from in personhuman exploration?Human exploration for the coming decade (2023-2032) will focus primarily on the Moon and Mars.Even initial short human missions will inform subsequent longer missions.For the purposes of this white paper, we will thus focus primarily on discussing the benefits of humanoperated planetary science and astrobiological research at those two destinations.We recognize that an extravehicular activity (EVA)-intensive human exploration mission to a Near Earth Object, like an asteroid, or Phobos or Deimos could be possible in that time frame as well, but we will not cover it specifically, because many of the human health considerations are similar to those relevant to International Space Station (ISS), lunar and Martian missions.The 2013-2022 Vision and Voyages Decadal Survey outlined three cross-cutting themes of scientific questions (building new worlds, planetary habitats, and workings of solar systems) that multiple research missions involving the Moon and Mars can address.The importance of that research will still be significant in the next 10-year period.Under the cross-cutting theme of "planetary habitats," for example, questions about the origins, evolution, distribution, and future of life are a high scientific priority.Analysis of samples from Mars may help answer these questions, and Mars is a destination for long-term human exploration.The Moon is NASA's priority for the next 10 years for human exploration.The current presidential administration has committed to return to the Moon by 2024 and to establish a permanent lunar surface base and develop technologies to take American astronauts to Mars (NASA, 2019).Many other countries and associated agencies plan to build villages or long-term development sites on the Moon as well, either collaboratively with the United States or independently, like the European Space Agency, Canada, Japan, China, Russia, and others.Multiple commercial companies, like SpaceX and Blue Origin, also have plans to land humans on the Moon.Human missions to Mars will not likely occur until after the end of the next 10-year period; however, much like how current ISS work informs future deep space missions, coordinated planetary, astrobiological and exploration science conducted on the Moon will help inform future surface missions to Mars and beyond.The Moon is not a perfect analog for Mars, as it differs in surface gravity, lack of an atmosphere, circadian cycle, temperature, dust characteristics and the location of key resources (Koren, 2020).Still, we can establish a baseline of experience about human exploration on the Moon to inform our scientific experimentation and operational practice on Mars. C. What are the benefits of in-person geology vs. robotic geology?Effective sample selection, equipment placement, and maintenance are the key benefits of inperson human planetary science and astrobiology exploration.The 2013-2022 Vision and Voyages Decadal Survey noted that "Finding and collecting the most scientifically valuable samples for return to Earth may become, as they were in the Apollo program, the most important functions of a human explorer on the Moon or an asteroid."Geology is a multi-step process beginning first with reconnaissance, followed by detailed field mapping.Large scale reconnaissance, especially dominating the early phases of exploration or in places where the environment is too hostile for humans, can be executed remotely with rovers and orbiters to measure the composition of rocks, soil, or the atmosphere.Field study though requires keen observation, creation of conceptual models, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses.Often the work requires open ended or protracted research, changes in problem solving approaches, recognizing and interpretation of the unexpected, etc. Robots can collect data, but only people can conduct science (Slakey & Spudis, 2008), preferably people on site, not 20 light-minutes away.Frances Westall, an astrobiologist at the National Center for Scientific Research in France states she doesn't think robots will ever match human geologists for their knowledge and instincts in the field or their productivity."I'm a geologist and I go into the field and I need to see things with my eyes…A human geologist can do in a week what the Mars rovers can do in a year."(Bartels, 2018) William Clancey, an expert in cognitive science and artificial intelligence currently at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition and formerly Chief Scientist of Human-Centered Computing in the Intelligent Systems Division at NASA Ames Research Center, agrees.He states that although the human brain is likened to a machine, we cannot build anything like it at this time.We don't yet have the capability to create a true robotic geologist, who can create a hypothesis, analyze choices, and apply varied instruments (Clancey, 2012).Telepresence might seem an attractive solution to extend the "reach "of the expert ground-based scientist, but at this time, the ideal technology is not yet available and the light delay for Mars makes it unlikely this could be executed effectively from Earth.In addition to the decreased effectiveness of telepresence due to communication delays back to Earth and persisting limits in imaging resolution compared to the capabilities of the human eye, the most serious obstacle is that technology cannot yet mimic the process that scientists use to conduct exploration in the field.Research will thus be most effective using a correct mix of in person and robotic exploration (Slakey and Spudis, 2008).Lessons from Apollo underscore the importance of human intellect in lunar field study.Astronauts were able to select the most representative samples of a given locality, recognize interesting or exotic rocks, and act on discoveries, whether geologists by profession or astronauts from another profession but well-trained in geology field methods.In contrast, the unmanned Soviet Union Luna 16, 20, and 24 spacecraft collected soil samples from the Moon, but with no ability to range from the specific landing site to collect a suite of samples.As a result, less is understood about the Luna sites than the Apollo sites.People are needed in the field to analyze overabundant data and make key decisions regarding what to collect, what to ignore and what to note (Slakey & Spudis, 2008).Although the Moon is lifeless, on Mars "you can actually go look for signs of existing life on the surface," says Briony Horgan, a Purdue University scientist who works on NASA's Mars

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