Highway to the Moon
When I go back in time and read about Apollo 15, 16 and 17, I can see that the next obvious step was charting the planetary roads. Instead, the maps were erased and forgotten with Skylab, Apollo Soyuz, Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS). It is only now, with the Artemis manned missions to the Moon, that the lunar roads are coming back into view.
I wrote a screenplay treatment about Apollo 15 and the postal covers incident because we came so close to defining the planetary address framework during that mission. But then, a scandal broke out regarding something as petty as bringing postal covers into space, and any attempt to bring postal covers into space was banned until much later, during STS-8. I joined NASA just before STS-7, in 1983.
In my screenplay treatment, I added a fictional subplot where the lunar maps existed during Apollo 15 but were classified information and deliberately buried in favor of joint U.S/U.S.S.R. missions. Skylab and later ISS were launched instead.
Apollo Soyuz was the first joint U.S./U.S.S.R space mission. National pride came into play. The U.S. referred to this mission as the Apollo Soyuz Test Project. The Soviets referred to it as the Soyuz Apollo Test Project. Both sides had sharp criticisms of the other side's engineering. Soviet spacecraft were designed to rely on automation. By contrast, the Apollo spacecraft was designed to be operated by humans and required highly trained astronauts.
Christopher C. Kraft, director of the Johnson Space Center, criticized the design of the Soyuz:
"We in NASA rely on redundant components – if an instrument fails during flight, our crews switch to another in an attempt to continue the mission. Each Soyuz component, however, is designed for a specific function; if one fails, the cosmonauts land as soon as possible. The Apollo vehicle also relied on astronaut piloting to a much greater extent than did the Soyuz machine."
Eventually Glynn Lunney, the Manager of the Apollo Soyuz Test Program, warned them about talking to the press about their dissatisfaction as they had offended the Soviets. NASA was worried that any slight would cause the Soviets to pull out and the mission to be scrapped.
The mission went as expected, and then years later, after Skylab fell to Earth and the Iron Curtain fell in Berlin, NASA launched the International Space Station with the Russians as partners. Russia operates the "Russian Orbital Segment" (ROS) of the ISS, which is essential for the station's propulsion, attitude control, and life support. While originally planning to leave after 2024, Russia has committed to supporting its ISS segment until at least 2028. Now, almost a quarter of a century later, the ISS is scheduled to fall to Earth in 2031, just like its predecessor. In its place, commercial space stations are vying for that spot:
Haven-1 and 2, Axiom Station, Orbital Reef, Starlab, and Thunderbird Station.
NASA’s shift from “operator” of the ISS to a “tenant” on space stations, Bill Nelson, former Administrator of NASA, says, help the agency focus on more innovative and daring explorations deeper in the solar system. “It’s part of the evolution of space,” he adds. “It used to be all government. Now we have commercial partners and international partners.”
Also linked to the evolution of space and the evolution of human consciousness are the planetary roads, combining American ingenuity with a development model that more closely resembles the Cold War space race than the ISS. Who will build the fastest roadbots? Today, it appears that ESA and GMV have taken the lead. Redundancy is at the heart of the planetary roads. If the onboard navigation system fails on the manned rovers, the astronauts will have an alternate way to return to the nearest base.
I find it interesting that the U.S. is still the only nation to have landed men on the Moon. Apparently the Russian space program hasn’t changed much since Soyuz and space station MIR. Launched in 2021, China's newest space station is named Tiangong (天宫), which means "Heavenly Palace" in Chinese. I predict an increase in espionage efforts with the launch of Artemis III, the first time humans will land on the Moon in over half a century. Buckle up, we’re in for a rocky ride.
