Before the end of the next decade, NASA will send astronauts back to the moon. But this time they will construct a lunar outpost and spend time doing research and learning how to live and work safely in a harsh environment. Living that far away from home in an airless, desolate world will have its challenges. So how can you and three coworkers be comfortable in a space the size of small mobile home that is a quarter million miles from earth with limited access to the outside? Where will you sleep? Will there be a place to go to the bathroom?
Lunar habitat expert and NASA engineer Dr. Robert Howard will be available to discuss these challenges and the importance of lunar exploration live via satellite from 6 to 8:00 a.m. CDT on Tuesday, May 20.
Phone interviews will be available for radio and print media. To participate in the interviews, media should contact Sean Wilson at 281-792-7516 by 4 p.m. CDT, Monday, May 19.
Howard, who considers Greensboro, NC his hometown, is the manager of NASA’s Habitability Design Center. Howard supervises a team of architects, industrial designers and engineers to develop space vehicle concepts and space flight hardware conceptual designs. He also leads studies to determine spacecraft habitability requirements. Howard further serves as the human factors lead for the Altair Lunar Lander, Small Pressurized Rover and Lunar Outpost Habitat.
Expeditions to the moon will be used as a staging ground to learn how to live and work as a precursor to missions beyond. Lunar missions could last as long as six months. During these long-duration missions, astronauts’ home on the moon will provide living and working spaces and support all their physical needs.
NASA is developing mockups to evaluate potential habitat designs for living and working on other planetary surfaces.
NASA’s Live Interview Media Outlet channel will be used to conduct the interviews. The channel is located on satellite AMC 6, transponder 5C, which is located at 72 degrees west, downlink frequency 3785.5 Mhz, vertical polarity, FEC of 3/4th, symbol rate 4.3404 Mbaud.
B-roll of NASA mockups, concepts of lunar habitats and other lunar hardware will air at 5:30 a.m. CDT May 20 and after the final interview.
For more information on NASA’s plans for lunar exploration, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/
For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:
