National Environmental Policy Act; Mars Exploration Program, 19102-19103 [05-7322]

Agencies

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 12, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19102-19103]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-7322]


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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[Notice 05-070]


National Environmental Policy Act; Mars Exploration Program

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Notice of availability of final programmatic environmental 
impact statement (FPEIS) for implementation of the Mars Exploration 
Program (MEP).

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 
amended (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental 
Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA 
(40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and NASA policy and procedures (14 CFR part 
1216 subpart 1216.3), NASA has prepared and issued an FPEIS for the 
MEP. The FPEIS addresses the potential environmental impacts associated 
with continuing the preparations for and implementing the program. The 
MEP would be a science-driven, technology-enabled effort to 
characterize and understand Mars using an exploration strategy which 
focuses on evidence of the presence of water. The Proposed Action, that 
is NASA's Preferred Alternative, addresses the preparation for and 
implementation of a coordinated series of robotic orbital, surface, and 
atmospheric missions to gather scientific data on Mars and its 
environments through 2020. Continued planning for missions to return 
Martian samples to Earth would be included. Some MEP missions could use 
radioisotope power systems (RPSs) for electricity, radioisotope heater 
units (RHUs) for thermal control, and small quantities of radioisotopes 
in science instruments for experiments and instrument calibration. 
Environmental impacts associated with specific missions would be 
addressed in subsequent environmental documentation, as appropriate. 
Missions launched from the United States would likely originate from 
either Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Florida, or Vandenberg 
Air Force Base (VAFB), California.

DATES: NASA will take no final action on the proposed MEP on or before 
May 12, 2005, or 30 days from the date of publication in the Federal 
Register of the EPA notice of availability of the MEP FPEIS, whichever 
is later.

ADDRESSES: The FPEIS may be reviewed at the following locations:
    (a) NASA Headquarters, Library, Room 1J20, 300 E Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20546-0001;
    (b) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Visitors Lobby, Building 249, 4800 
Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109.
    Hard copies of the FPEIS may be reviewed at other NASA Centers (see 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below).
    Limited hard copies of the FEIS are available for distribution by 
contacting Mark R. Dahl at the address, telephone number, or electronic 
mail address indicated below. The FPEIS is also available in 
Acrobat[reg] format at https://spacescience.nasa.gov/admin/pubs/mepeis/
index.htm. NASA's Record of Decision (ROD) will also be placed on that 
Web site when it is issued. Anyone who desires a hard copy of NASA's 
ROD when it is issued also should contact Mr. Dahl.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark R. Dahl, Mission and Systems 
Management Division, Science Mission Directorate, Mail Suite 3C66, NASA 
Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546-0001; telephone (202) 358-4800; 
electronic mail mep.nepa@hq.nasa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: With the MEP, NASA would establish a series 
of objectives to address the open scientific questions associated with 
the exploration of Mars. These objectives have been organized by the 
program as follows:
     Determine if life exists or has ever existed on Mars;
     Understand the current state and evolution of the 
atmosphere, surface, and interior of Mars; and
     Develop an understanding of Mars in support of possible 
future human exploration.
    The purpose of the action addressed in the FPEIS is to further the 
scientific goals of the MEP by continuing the exploration and 
characterization of the planet. On the basis of the knowledge gained 
from prior and ongoing missions, it appears that Mars, like Earth, has 
experienced dynamic interactions among its atmosphere, surface, and 
interior that are, at least in part, related to water. Following the 
pathways and cycles of water has emerged as a strategy that possibly 
may lead to a preserved record of biological processes, as well as the 
character of ancient environments on Mars. In addition to understanding 
the history of Mars, investigations undertaken in the MEP may shed 
light on current environments that could support existing biological 
processes.
    The Proposed Action (Alternative 1) would consist of a long-term 
program that, as a goal, sends at least one spacecraft to Mars during 
each launch opportunity extending through the first two decades of the 
twenty-first century. Efficient launch opportunities to Mars

[[Page 19103]]

occur approximately every 26 months. MEP missions likely would be 
launched on expendable launch vehicles (e.g., Delta or Atlas class) 
from either CCAFS, Florida, or VAFB, California. The MEP could include 
international missions in which NASA proposes to be a participant and 
that are to be launched from a foreign site.
    Under the Proposed Action, the MEP would consist of a series of 
robotic orbital, surface, and atmospheric missions to Mars. Some 
spacecraft could use RPSs for continuous electrical power, RHUs for 
thermal control, and small quantities of radioisotopes in science 
instruments for experiments and instrument calibration.
    Missions beyond 2011 could include the first mission to return 
Martian samples to Earth. As new information and techniques become 
available during the course of the program, the timing, focus, and 
objectives of future MEP missions could be redirected.
    Alternatives to the Proposed Action evaluated in the FPEIS include 
the following:
     Under Alternative 2, NASA would continue to explore Mars 
through 2020, but on a less frequent, less comprehensive, mission-by-
mission basis. These missions may include international partners. Any 
mission proposed to continue the exploration of Mars would be developed 
and launched within the broader context of all other missions proposed 
for exploring other parts of the solar system, rather than in the 
context of a Mars-focused program. Robotic orbital, surface, and 
atmospheric missions could be used to explore Mars and could include 
sample return missions. Landed spacecraft could use RPSs for power 
generation or RHUs for thermal control of temperature-sensitive 
components in the spacecraft. Some spacecraft may carry small 
quantities of radioisotopes in science instruments for experiments and 
for instrument calibration.
     Under the No Action Alternative, NASA would discontinue 
planning for and launching robotic missions to Mars through 2020. 
Currently operating NASA spacecraft at or en route to Mars would 
continue their missions to completion. New science investigations of 
Mars would only be made remotely from Earth-based assets (i.e., ground- 
or space-based observatories, or from spacecraft developed and launched 
to Mars by non-U.S. space agencies).
    The environmental impacts of the Proposed Action and Alternatives 
are discussed in the FPEIS from a programmatic perspective. Because the 
FPEIS has been prepared during the planning stages for the MEP, 
specific proposed projects and missions within the MEP are only 
addressed in terms of a broad, conceptual framework. Each project or 
mission within the MEP that would propose use of RPSs or RHUs would be 
the subject of additional environmental documentation. While detailed 
analyses and test data for each spacecraft-launch vehicle combination 
are not yet available, there is sufficient information from previous 
programs and existing NEPA documentation to assess the potential 
environmental impacts.
    A major component of the MEP is continued planning for one or more 
missions that would return samples from Mars. At the time of 
publication of the FPEIS, preliminary concepts for a sample return 
mission are being studied and would continue to be refined and 
evaluated. A sample return mission would be the subject of separate 
environmental documentation, as would the location, design and 
operational requirements for a returned-sample receiving facility. The 
non-radiological environmental impacts associated with normal 
spacecraft launches from both CCAFS and VAFB have been addressed in 
previous U.S. Air Force and NASA environmental documentation. Rocket 
launches are discrete events that cause short-term impacts on local air 
quality. However, because launches are relatively infrequent events, 
and winds rapidly disperse and dilute the launch emissions to 
background concentrations, long-term effects from exhaust emissions 
would not be anticipated. If solid rocket motors are used, surface 
waters in the immediate area of the exhaust cloud might temporarily 
acidify from deposition of hydrogen chloride. Launching a mission 
during each opportunity to Mars (approximately every 26 months) under 
the Proposed Action or less frequently under Alternative 2 would result 
in negligible release of ozone-depleting chemicals with no anticipated 
long-term cumulative impacts.
    One or more of the missions to Mars could propose the use of 
radioisotopes under the Proposed Action and Alternative 2. Small 
quantities of radioisotopes may be used for instrument calibration or 
to enable science experiments, and RHUs or RPSs containing varying 
amounts of plutonium dioxide may be used to supply heat and electric 
power, respectively. Under both alternatives NASA will determine the 
appropriate level of NEPA documentation required for any mission 
proposing use of radiological material. Many of the parameters that 
determine the risks for a specific mission are expected to be similar 
to those associated with previous missions (e.g., Galileo, Ulysses, 
Cassini, and the Spirit and Opportunity rovers). Mission-specific 
factors that affect the estimated risk include the amount and type of 
radioactive material used in a mission, the protective features of the 
devices containing the radioactive material, the probability of an 
accident which can damage the radioactive material, and the accident 
environments (e.g., propellant fires, debris fragments, and blast 
overpressure). The risks associated with a Mars exploration mission 
carrying radioactive material are, therefore, expected to be similar to 
those estimated for earlier missions. The population and individual 
risks associated with prior missions that have made use of radioactive 
material have all been shown to be relatively small.
    The FPEIS may be examined at the following NASA locations by 
contacting the pertinent Freedom of Information Act Office:
    (a) NASA, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (650-604-
1181).
    (b) NASA, Dryden Flight Research Center, P.O. Box 273, Edwards, CA 
93523 (661-258-3449).
    (c) NASA, Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, 21000 Brookpark 
Road, Cleveland, OH 44135 (216-433-2755).
    (d) NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, 
MD 20771 (301-286-6255).
    (e) NASA, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058 (281-483-8612).
    (f) NASA, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899 (321-867-9280).
    (g) NASA, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681 (757-864-
2497).
    (h) NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL 35812 (256-
544-2030).
    (i) NASA, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 (228-688-2164).
    NASA published a Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft PEIS 
(DPEIS) for the MEP in the Federal Register on April 22, 2004 (69 FR 
21865). In addition, NASA made the DPEIS available in electronic format 
on its Web site. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published its 
NOA in the Federal Register on April 23, 2004 (69 FR 22025). NASA 
received ten written comment submissions during the comment period 
ending June 7, 2004. The comments are addressed in the FPEIS.

Jeffrey E. Sutton,
Assistant Administrator for Infrastructure and Administration.
[FR Doc. 05-7322 Filed 4-11-05; 8:45 am]
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