Spaceflight technology's next 50 years

Mars and beyond
The technologies developed for long-term moon missions will serve as templates for Mars expeditions some time after 2030, but Moore said further innovative advances will be necessary to get astronauts there — and back — in one piece.

"The faster we can get there the better," Moore told SPACE.com. He thinks that yet-to-be-developed nuclear propulsion systems may prove to be the fastest form of spaceflight in the future, as well as sending a mission in two trips: A heavier supply-loaded spacecraft ahead of time, followed by a speedy lightweight manned spacecraft.

Moore said that faster speeds will cut exposure time to the health threats to crewmembers during their journey, such as radiation, bone wasting and immune deficiencies, but advanced medical technologies will also be crucial to success.

"When we go to Mars it's going to be a very long trip," he said. "We need to make sure the crew is healthy and can perform their job when they get there."

A private matter?

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Building a strong, privately involved space economy will be essential to successfully develop technologies able to send representatives of the human race to Mars, Alexander said.

"We can't sustain programs like Apollo in the future, just like we couldn't 40 years ago," Alexander said. "My dream is to have sustainable and accessible access to space, and I firmly believe that you have to get the private sector involved to achieve that."

Moore agreed, noting that NASA intends to use their lunar outposts to provide infrastructure for private industry. Yet the prowess of a single country's space-based industries may not be enough.

In addition to private involvement, Moore explained that ever-better international collaboration will be essential for putting new technologies to use in the next era of spaceflight.

"The first few years of the Space Age were characterized by a lot of international competition, but we're in a much more collaborative environment now," Moore said. "(Spaceflight) is a very expensive and challenging endeavor, and we'll have to depend on other nations ... in the next 50 years."

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