“I’m Very Excited By The Prospect Of Citizen Space”

May 20, 2013 in Excerpts, Politics, Science/Tech | Permalink

Mason Peck, Chief Technologist at NASA, just did an Ask Me Anything at Reddit. A few exchanges follow.

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Question:

Do you agree with Stephen Hawking when he said this: 

“It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster in the next hundred years, let alone the next thousand or million,””Our only chance of long-term survival is not to remain inward-looking on planet Earth, but to spread out into space.”

Do you think we are doing enough to secure our place in the universe?
Are we failing?

Mason Peck:

I make it a practice to never disagree with Stephen Hawking. I think our destiny lies among the planets of our solar system. It’ll take a combination of NASA, other governments of the world, and the participation of all of you to make this happen.

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Question:

In your opinion, what aspect of our current space technology (besides funding) is truly keeping us back from a trip to Mars? 

Mason Peck:

It comes down to survival of the crew. We need to create ways to help astronauts survive exposure to galactic cosmic rays and other hazards on the trip there and back. Getting there quicker would help. So that inspires the creation of advanced propulsion capabilities, but right now there’s nothing on the horizon to shorten the trip time enough so that we don’t have to worry about radiation.

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Question:

  1. What do you think is going to be the next “big thing” in space technology?
  2. Is there any technology currently being developed by NASA or any partners that you are excited about?

Mason Peck:

  1. I’m very excited by the prospect of citizen space, that is, individuals building their own space technology and launching it. Some incredible innovations come from the do-it-yourself or maker community, and I expect the renaissance in technology that makers represent will have a big impact on NASA’s future.
  2. NASA has many compelling technology projects underway. One of the more promising is inflatable aerodynamic decelerators, which will slow down spacecraft entering Mars atmosphere and will allow us to land twice as much mass as we are currently able.

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Question:

The trickle down of technology from NASA to the real world is well established. In your opinion what is the next big thing to coming down the line that will benefit society?

 Mason Peck:

It may be that someday we will explore the solar system and even settle it using hardware and supplies that we create from resources we gather from other planets. Advanced manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing may be the way that we will build all that hardware in space. What we learn from meeting that kind of challenge will have a big impact on manufacturing here on Earth.

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Question:

With companies like SpaceX wanting to put man on Mars in the foreseeable future, is there any competition at all between NASA and other space frontier companies to reach certain goals?

Mason Peck:

NASA is working with a number of commercial companies, including SpaceX, to bring about a future in which American industry will provide access to space for the sake of science or human exploration. In the past, NASA has entered into agreements known as data buys, where NASA agrees to procure the results of investigations – science data – instead of prescribing every step along the way. I believe this model can be very successful, and I hope we see more of it.

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