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21 November 2006
[Federal Register: November 21, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 224)]
[Notices]
[Page 67389-67391]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21no06-71]
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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
Notice (06-085)
National Environmental Policy Act; Mars Science Laboratory
Mission
AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Notice of availability of final environmental impact statement
(FEIS) 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 FEIS for the
proposed MSL mission. The FEIS 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 (hereinafter called the ``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 FEIS
presents descriptions of the proposed MSL mission, spacecraft, and
candidate launch vehicles; 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 the yet to be determined landing
site on the surface of Mars. Using advanced instrumentation, the MSL
rover would strive to 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 FEIS evaluates two alternatives in addition to the No Action
Alternative. Under the Proposed Action (Alternative 1, NASA's Preferred
Alternative), 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: NASA will take no final action on the proposed MSL mission on or
before December 21, 2006, or 30 days from the date of publication in
the Federal Register of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
notice of availability of the MSL FEIS, whichever is later.
ADDRESSES: The FEIS 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.
[[Page 67390]]
Hard copies of the FEIS also may be examined at other NASA Centers
(see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below).
Limited hard copies of the FEIS are available, on a first request
basis, by contacting Mark R. Dahl at the address, telephone number, or
electronic mail address indicated below. The FEIS is also available in
Adobe[supreg] portable document format at http://spacescience.nasa.gov/admin/pubs/msl/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 should so indicate by contacting
Mr. Dahl.
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:
--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, NASA's Preferred Alternative)
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
approximately 4.8 kilograms (10.6 pounds) of plutonium dioxide 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.
The FEIS may be reviewed at the following public libraries in
Florida:
(a) Central Brevard Public Library and Reference Center, 308
Forrest Avenue, Cocoa, FL 32922;
(b) Cocoa Beach Public Library, 550 North Brevard Avenue, Cocoa
Beach, FL 32931;
(c) Melbourne Public Library, 540 East Fee Avenue, Melbourne, FL
32901;
(d) Merritt Island Public Library, 1195 North Courtenay Parkway,
Merritt Island, FL 32953;
(e) Port St. John Public Library, 6500 Carole Avenue, Port St.
John, FL 32927;
(f) Titusville Public Library, 2121 South Hopkins Avenue,
Titusville, FL 32780.
The FEIS also 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);
[[Page 67391]]
(c) NASA, Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, Cleveland, OH 44135
(866-404-3642);
(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 (321-867-2745);
(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).
NASA published a Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft EIS
(DEIS) for the MSL mission in the Federal Register on September 5,
2006, (71 FR 52347) and made the DEIS available in electronic format on
its Web site. The EPA published its NOA in the Federal Register on
September 8, 2006, (71 FR 53093). In addition, NASA published its NOA
in local newspapers in the Cape Canaveral, Florida regional area, and
in Washington, DC, and held public meetings in Cocoa, Florida on
September 27, 2006, and in Washington, DC on October 10, 2006, during
which attendees were invited to present both oral and written comments
on the DEIS. Three comments relevant to the DEIS were presented at
these meetings. NASA received 44 written comment submissions, both
hardcopy and electronic, during the comment period ending October 23,
2006. The comments are addressed in the FEIS.
Olga M. Dominguez,
Assistant Administrator for Infrastructure and Administration.
[FR Doc. E6-19610 Filed 11-20-06; 8:45 am]
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