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National Environmental Policy Act; Mars Science Laboratory Mission
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[Federal Register: September 5, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 171)]
[Notices]
[Page 52347-52348]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05se06-51]
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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
[Notice (06-063)]
National Environmental Policy Act; Mars Science Laboratory Mission
AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Notice of availability of draft environmental impact statement
(DEIS) for implementation of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission.
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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 a DEIS for the
proposed MSL mission. The DEIS addresses the potential environmental
impacts associated with implementing the mission. The purpose of this
proposal is to explore the surface of Mars with a mobile science
laboratory (rover). This environmental impact statement (EIS) is a
tiered document (Tier 2 EIS) under NASA's Programmatic EIS for the Mars
Exploration Program (MEP). The DEIS presents descriptions of the
proposed MSL mission, spacecraft, and candidate launch vehicle; an
overview of the affected environment at and near the launch site; and
the potential environmental consequences associated with the Proposed
Action and alternatives, including the No Action Alternative.
The MSL mission is planned for launch during the September-November
2009 time period from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS),
Florida, on an expendable launch vehicle. The arrival date at Mars
would range from mid-July 2010 to not later than mid-October 2010,
depending on the exact launch date and selected landing site, yet to be
determined, on the surface of Mars. Using advanced instrumentation, the
MSL rover would acquire significant, detailed information regarding the
habitability of Mars from a scientifically promising location on the
surface. The mission would also fulfill NASA's strategic technology
goals of increasing the mass of science payloads delivered to the
surface of Mars, expanding access to higher and lower latitudes,
increasing precision landing capability, and increasing traverse
capability (mobility) to distances on the order of several kilometers.
The DEIS evaluates two alternatives in addition to the No Action
Alternative. Under the Proposed Action (Alternative 1), the proposed
MSL rover would utilize a radioisotope power system, a Multi-Mission
Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG), as its primary source of
electrical power to operate and conduct science on the surface of Mars.
Under Alternative 2, an MSL rover would utilize solar energy as its
primary source of electrical power to operate and conduct science on
the surface of Mars.
DATES: Written comments on the DEIS must be received by NASA no later
than October 23, 2006, or 45 days from the date of publication in the
Federal Register of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's notice
of availability of the MSL DEIS, whichever is later.
ADDRESSES: Comments submitted via first class, registered, or certified
mail should be addressed to Mark R. Dahl, Mail Suite 3X63, Planetary
Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, 300 E
Street SW., Washington, DC 20546-0001. Comments submitted via express
mail, a commercial deliverer, or courier service should be addressed to
Mark R. Dahl, Mail Suite 3X63, Planetary Science Division, Science
Mission Directorate, Attn: Receiving & Inspection (Rear of Building),
NASA Headquarters, 300 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20024-3210. While
hard copy comments are preferred, comments may be sent by electronic
mail to mep.nepa@hq.nasa.gov.
The DEIS may be reviewed at the following locations:
(a) NASA Headquarters, Library, Room 1J20, 300 E Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20546;
(b) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Visitors Lobby, Building 249, 4800
Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109.
Hard copies of the DEIS also may be examined at other NASA Centers
(see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below).
Limited hard copies of the DEIS are available, on a first request
basis, by contacting Mark R. Dahl at the address, telephone number, or
electronic mail address indicated herein. The DEIS is also available in
Adobe[supreg]
portable document format at
http://spacescience.nasa.gov/admin/pubs/msl/index.htm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark R. Dahl, Planetary Science
Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington,
DC 20546-0001, telephone 202-358-4800, or electronic mail
mep.nepa@hq.nasa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The MEP is currently being implemented as a
sustained series of flight missions to Mars, each of which will provide
important, focused scientific return. The MEP is fundamentally a
science driven program whose focus is on understanding and
characterizing Mars as a dynamic system and ultimately addressing
whether life is or was ever a part of that system. The core MEP
addresses the highest priority scientific investigations directly
related to the Program goals and objectives. MSL investigations would
be a means of addressing several of the high-priority scientific
investigations recommended to NASA by the planetary science community.
The overall scientific goals of the MSL mission can be divided into
four areas: (1) Assess the biological potential of at least one
selected site on Mars, (2) characterize the geology and geochemistry of
the landing region at all appropriate spatial scales, (3) investigate
planetary processes of relevance to past habitability, and (4)
characterize the broad spectrum of the Martian surface radiation
environment. The following specific objectives are planned for the
mission to address these goals:
[[Page 52348]]
--Determine the nature and inventory of organic carbon compounds;
--Inventory the chemical building blocks of life (carbon, hydrogen,
nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur);
--Identify features that may represent the effects of biological processes;
--Investigate the chemical, isotopic, and mineralogical composition of
Martian surface and near-surface geological materials;
--Interpret the processes that have formed and modified rocks and regolith;
--assess long-timescale (i.e., 4-billion-year) atmospheric evolution
processes; and
--Determine the present state, distribution, and cycling of water and
carbon dioxide.
The proposed MSL mission would utilize a rover with advanced
instrumentation to acquire significant detailed information regarding
the habitability of Mars from a scientifically promising location. The
mission would also fulfill NASA's strategic technology goals of
increasing the mass of science payloads delivered to the surface of
Mars, expanding access to higher and lower latitudes, increasing
precision landing capability, and increasing traverse capability
(mobility) to distances on the order of several kilometers.
Mobility is essential because evidence for past or present life on
Mars will very likely not be so abundant or widespread that it will be
available in the immediate vicinity of the selected landing site.
Without the mobility necessary to conduct in situ exploration, it may
not be possible to uniquely characterize a target location.
The Proposed Action (Alternative 1) consists of continuing
preparations for and implementing the MSL mission to Mars. The proposed
MSL rover would utilize a MMRTG as its primary source of electrical
power to operate and conduct science on the surface of Mars. Under
Alternative 2, NASA would discontinue preparations for the Proposed
Action (Alternative 1) and implement an alternative MSL mission to
Mars. The alternative MSL rover would utilize solar energy as its
primary source of electrical power to operate and conduct science on
the surface of Mars. With either the Proposed Action (Alternative 1) or
Alternative 2, the MSL spacecraft would be launched on board an
expendable launch vehicle from CCAFS, Florida during the September-
November 2009 time period. Under the No Action Alternative, NASA would
discontinue preparations for the MSL mission, and the spacecraft would
not be launched. With either the Proposed Action (Alternative 1) or
Alternative 2, the potentially affected environment for a normal launch
includes the area at and in the vicinity of the launch site, CCAFS in
Florida. The environmental impacts of a normal launch of the mission
for either alternative would be associated principally with the exhaust
emissions from the expendable launch vehicle. These effects would
include: (1) Short-term impacts on air quality within the exhaust cloud
and near the launch pad, and (2) the potential for acidic deposition on
the vegetation and surface water bodies at and near the launch complex.
Potential launch accidents could result in the release of some of
the radioactive material on board the spacecraft. The MMRTG planned for
use on the rover for the Proposed Action (Alternative 1) would use
plutonium dioxide, with a radioisotope inventory of approximately
58,700 curies, to provide electrical power. For either alternative, two
of the science instruments on the rover would use small quantities of
radioactive material, totaling approximately two curies, for instrument
calibration or science experiments.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in cooperation with NASA, has
performed a risk assessment of potential accidents for the MSL mission.
This assessment used a methodology refined through applications to the
Galileo, Ulysses, Cassini, Mars Exploration Rover, and New Horizons
missions. DOE's risk assessment for the proposed MSL mission indicates
that in the event of a launch accident the expected impacts of released
radioactive material at and in the vicinity of the launch area, and on
a global basis, would be small. Alternative 2 would not involve any
MMRTG-associated radiological risks since an MMRTG would not be used
for this mission alternative.
NASA will hold public comment meetings during which the public is
invited to participate in an open exchange of information and
submission of comments on the DEIS. Each public meeting will begin with
an opportunity for informal discussions with project personnel,
followed by a brief NASA presentation on the MSL mission, and conclude
with the submission of formal comments, both written and oral. These
meetings will be held on:
--September 27, 2006, from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. and 6 p.m.-9 p.m. at the
Florida Solar Energy Center; H. George Carrison Auditorium; 1679
Clearlake Road, Cocoa, Florida 32922;
--October 10, 2006, from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Washington
on Capitol Hill; Congressional Room A; 400 New Jersey Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20001.
Further information on the public meetings can be obtained by
contacting Mark R. Dahl at the address or telephone number indicated
herein, or by visiting the MSL DEIS Web site at:
http://spacescience.nasa.gov/admin/pubs/msl/index.htm. Advanced
registration for attending any of the meetings is not required.
The FEIS may be examined at the following NASA locations by
contacting the pertinent Freedom of Information Office:
(a) NASA, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (650-604-3273);
(b) NASA, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA 93523 (661-
276-2704);
(c) NASA, Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, Cleveland, OH 44135
(216-433-2813);
(d) NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (301-
286-4721);
(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-
544-1837); and
(i) NASA, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 (228-688-2118).
Any person, organization, or governmental body or agency interested
in receiving a copy of NASA's Record of Decision after it is rendered
should so indicate by mail or electronic mail to Mr. Dahl at the
addresses provided above.
Written public input and comments on alternatives and environmental
issues and concerns associated with the proposed Mars Science
Laboratory mission are hereby requested.
Olga M. Dominguez,
Assistant Administrator for Infrastructure and Administration.
[FR Doc. E6-14649 Filed 9-1-06; 8:45 am]
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