Framing THhe Success Of Polaris Dawn

spacewalk Jared Isaacman emerges from the Crew Dragon hatch on the first commercial spacewalk September 12 during the Polaris Dawn mission. (credit: SpaceX) Framing the success of the Polaris Dawn mission by Ajey Lele Monday, September 16, 2024 Bookmark and Share Frame one: Spacewalk and commercial success Walking in space is a dream. It was the Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov who went through a process of “living a dream” for around 12 minutes when he undertook a spacewalk on March 18, 1965. Since then, a few hundred humans have undertaken walks in space, and 12 individuals have also walked on the lunar surface. Almost six decades after the first spacewalk, on September 12, two private astronauts conducted the first-ever commercial spacewalk. This happened during SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission. This mission is a collaboration between SpaceX and Jared Isaacman, an American billionaire entrepreneur. Isaacman performed the spacewalk with Sarah Gillis, an engineer from the SpaceX. This mission has busted the myth that only the astronauts from state-supported space missions can undertake spacewalks. The 41-year-old Isaacman is a qualified pilot and is known to be flight-qualified in multiple military jet aircraft. He holds a world record for circumnavigating the globe in a light jet. In September 2021 he went to space as commander of the Inspiration4 mission, also flown by SpaceX. This was the first all-civilian spaceflight to orbit. This indicates that apart from his finances, he also had other essential qualifications to undertake such a challenging mission. Few specific details about his training process for undertaking a spacewalk are known. The International Space Station (ISS) was set up in 2000 and since then about 270 spacewalks (aka extravehicular activities, or EVAs) have been conducted by the astronauts and cosmonauts at the station. So far, Chinese taikonauts have successfully carried out 16 spacewalks. The first Chinese spacewalk which lasted for around 19 minutes was conducted on September 27, 2008 during Shenzhou-7 mission. The ISS and Tiangong space station are located around an altitude of 400 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. However, the Dragon capsule was located as high as 740 kilometers. There could have been some different sets of challenges, such as radiation exposure, associated with undertaking a spacewalk for the first time around these altitudes. An important goal of the Polaris Dawn mission was to test and learn more about the requirements for advanced spacesuits. These new versions of spacesuits would play a role towards deciding about the requirements of suits required for travel and stay on Moon and Mars. The successful operation further reinforces that space travel is no longer the exclusive province of professional astronauts working at governmental space agencies like NASA. This mission has busted the myth that only the astronauts from state-supported space missions can undertake spacewalks. During the last few years, private space travel has become a reality and now it appears that private individuals can also undertake spacewalks if they can fulfill some financial, physical, and training requirements necessary for such missions. It is important to celebrate the success of Jared Isaacman and his crew. This should not be viewed only with the narrow prism of commercial success, but there could be some important scientific findings for future space travels, which could be useful for both government and private space missions. Frame two: Mount Everest and copious commercialisation Mount Everest, with an elevation of 8,848.86 meters about sea level, is Earth’s highest mountain above sea level. It is in the Himalayan ranges and the China-Nepal border runs across its summit point. Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary were the first climbers to climb this world’s tallest mountain on May 29, 1953. Conquering this tallest peak demands both physical and mental strength and a considerable amount of mountaineering experience. This expedition is expensive and, by some estimates, could cost around $75,000. There are two main climbing routes for Mount Everest, one from the southeast ridge from Nepal and other from the north ridge from Tibet. So far, close to 7,000 people have climbed Mount Everest and reached the summit. More than 330 climbers have died during the expedition on Mount Everest and close to 200 bodies remain on the mountain, since their recovery back to foothills is unmanageable. Richard Bass, an American businessman and mountaineer, took a guided expedition to Mount Everest during 1985 and with this began the era of Everest summit commercialization. There is a long story about how this process of commercialization has evolved mainly over the last three to four decades. It contributes significantly towards Nepal’s tourism revenue. For some years now, many climbers have been hiring a “full-service package.” Services provider companies are providing everything from assistance to get permits to medical facilities to connecting with a trained and experienced mountaineer guide, providing porter services, and catering for meal requirements. Some such packages are known to cost around $200,000. Eventually, it all depends on the nature of services hired by a group or an individual. It is becoming increasingly evident that in some cases, more than the spirit of adventure and love for exploring nature, the journey has become more about exhibitionist attitude, essentially for the consumption of social media. Mostly, the attitude has been, “since I have money, I can even reach Everest!” It is more about millionaires and billionaires looking for new thrills. Presently around 600 people reach the top of Everest per season. Along with them, there are porters and guides too. In addition, almost 500 per day visit Everest base camp. During the trek towards the peak, the climber meets many “co-travellers.” They are forced to walk in a single file and at times it becomes difficult to stand on the Everest top due to overcrowding. Over the years, the entire region in general and Mount Everest in particular is getting increasingly polluted. In 1991, a Pollution Control Committee was established; however, it appears that their efforts are insufficient mainly owing to the burden of so many people trying to reach the summit within a very short span of time. The experiences of the commercialization of Mount Everest, and interest in Antarctic resources, could provide lessons for space. Today, Mount Everest is accumulating a lot of garbage, leading to contamination of the entire region and the local watershed. According to some estimates, every individual is responsible for generating around eight kilograms of trash, which mostly gets left on the mountain. From cracked tents to abandoned food containers and packages, and from empty oxygen cylinders to broken mountaineering equipment to human waste, many things litter the mountain heights on a regular basis. Also, extreme cold temperatures ensure that no decay of the garbage happens. Every fresh snowfall covers the garbage, eventually leading to the accumulation of piles of garbage. Frame three: Antarctica, resources are not up for grab The Antarctic Treaty entered into force in 1961 and, according to treaty provisions, the Antarctic continent should remain a demilitarized zone and should be preserved only for scientific research. The place cannot have any military bases and nuclear testing and the disposal of radioactive waste is prohibited. Mining in Antarctica is banned ad infinitum by the Protocol on Environmental Protection (the Madrid Protocol, 1998). There are overlapping claims to territory on this continent by few states; however, the treaty survived possibly since all these years, the process has remained dynamic with debates and advancing some additional conventions and other legal protocols. Since 1960, the domain of technology has evolved significantly and has made Antarctica much more accessible. More states are showing interests in the affairs of Antarctica. From fisheries and minerals, some states are found probing a bit deep to understand if they can somehow manage their quest for resources by investing in this region, possibly by exploiting some loopholes in treaty mechanism. It is important to note that any mining activity will disturb the ecological balance of the Antarctic region. Frame Four: Connecting the dots in an implicit way The success of the Polaris Dawn mission needs to be celebrated. During the last few years, the private sector has leapfrogged in the space domain. The recent accomplishment could open doors for the private sector to play an important role in various human space programs. States are going to increase their dependence on the private sector while undertaking various ambitious space projects. The private sector could play a major role in regards to on-orbit servicing, space situational awareness, space debris removal technologies, and developing the structures for space traffic management. They have already made some significant investments towards Moon and Mars missions. Commercialization of spacewalks could become a reality in near future and space tourists would also be offered opportunities to undertake spacewalks. The experiences of the commercialization of Mount Everest, and interest in Antarctic resources, could provide lessons for space. Space is an inherently inhospitable and hazardous environment and same is the case of Himalayan ranges and particularly the site of Mount Everest. Nevertheless, issues associated with the garbage on Everest and debris in space are not comparable. However, there could be some indirect learnings from the Everest experience. On the other hand, the Antarctica experience communicates the strengths of treaty mechanisms. Currently, the world has no plan in regards to the management of planetary resources. Unfortunately, in regards to space security, the possibility of major states agreeing on any legally binding and rule-based mechanism looks unlikely. There is now a need to understand the aspects of space security in connection with the growth happening in the private space sector. Mostly this growth remains unchecked from a security standpoint. It is said that no appropriate theory of space power has evolved so far. However, that should not stop us learning from the environment and the story of Mount Everest should be viewed in that context. Ajey Lele is Deputy Director General at MP-IDSA, New Delhi, India and the views expressed are personal.