[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 224 (Tuesday, November 21, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67389-67391]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-19610]


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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 
[email protected].

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]
BILLING CODE 7510-13-P