Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “efficient exploration”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 181 records · Page 10
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2004

STS Derived Exploration Launch Operations

A key aspect of the new space exploration programs will be the approach to optimize launch operations. A STS Derived Launch Vehicle (SDLV) Program can provide a cost effective, low risk, and logical step to launch all of the elements of the exploration program. Many benefits can be gained by utilizing the synergy of a common launch site as an exploration spaceport as well as evolving the resources of the current Space Shuttle Program (SSP) to meet the challenges of the Vision for Space Exploration. In particular, the launch operation resources of the SSP can be transitioned to the exploration program and combined with the operations efficiencies of unmanned EELVs to obtain the best of both worlds, resulting in lean launch operations for crew and cargo missions of the exploration program. The SDLV Program would then not only capture the extensive human space flight launch operations knowledge, but also provide for the safe fly-out of the SSP through continuity of system critical skills, manufacturing infrastructure, and ability to maintain and attract critical skill personnel. Thus, a SDLV Program can smoothly transition resources from the SSP and meet the transportation needs to continue the voyage of discovery of the space exploration program.

Best, Joel↗
NASA NTRS2008

Refinements in the Design of the Ares V Cargo Launch Vehicle for NASA's, Exploration Strategy

NASA is developing a new launch vehicle fleet to fulfill the national goals of replacing the shuttle fleet, completing the International Space Station (ISS), and exploring the Moon on the way to eventual exploration of Mars and beyond. Programmatic and technical decisions during early architecture studies and subsequent design activities were focused on safe, reliable operationally efficient vehicles that could support a sustainable exploration program. A pair of launch vehicles was selected to support those goals the Ares I crew launch vehicle and the Ares V cargo launch vehicle. They will be the first new human-rated launch vehicles developed by NASA in more than 30 years (Figure 1). Ares I will be the first to fly, beginning space station ferry operations no later than 2015. It will be able to carry up to six astronauts to ISS or support up to four astronauts for expeditions to the moon. Ares V is scheduled to be operational in the 2020 timeframe and will provide the propulsion systems and payload to truly extend human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit. (LEO).

Creech, Steve↗
NASA NTRS2015

Evidence Report: Risk of Hypobaric Hypoxia from the Exploration Atmosphere

Extravehicular activity (EVA) is at the core of a manned space exploration program. Some elements of exploration may be safely and effectively performed by robots, but certain critical elements will require the trained, assertive, and reasoning mind of a human crewmember. To effectively use these skills, NASA needs a safe, effective, and efficient EVA component integrated into the human exploration program. The EVA preparation time should be minimized and the suit pressure should be low to accommodate EVA tasks without causing undue fatigue, physical discomfort, or suit-related trauma. Commissioned in 2005, the Exploration Atmospheres Working Group (EAWG) had the primary goal of recommending to NASA an internal environment that allowed efficient and repetitive EVAs for missions that were to be enabled by the former Constellation Program. At the conclusion of the EAWG meeting, the 8.0 psia and 32% oxygen (O2) environment were recommended for EVA-intensive phases of missions. After re-evaluation in 2012, the 8/32 environment was altered to 8.2 psia and 34% O2 to reduce the hypoxic stress to a crewmember. These two small changes increase alveolar O2 pressure by 11 mmHg, which is expected to significantly benefit crewmembers. The 8.2/34 environment (inspired O2 pressure = 128 mmHg) is also physiologically equivalent to the staged decompression atmosphere of 10.2 psia / 26.5% O2 (inspired O2 pressure = 127 mmHg) used on 34 different shuttle missions for approximately a week each flight. As a result of selecting this internal environment, NASA gains the capability for efficient EVA with low risk of decompression sickness (DCS), but not without incurring the additional negative stimulus of hypobaric hypoxia to the already physiologically challenging spaceflight environment. This report provides a review of the human health and performance risks associated with the use of the 8.2 psia / 34% O2 environment during spaceflight. Of most concern are the potential effects on the central nervous system (CNS), including increased intracranial pressure, visual impairment, sensorimotor dysfunction, and oxidative damage. Other areas of focus include validation of the DCS mitigation strategy, incidence and treatment of transient acute mountain sickness (AMS), development of new exercise countermeasure protocols, effective food preparation at 8.2 psia, assurance of quality sleep, and prevention of suit-induced injury. Although missions proposing to use an 8.2/34 environment are still years away, it is recommended that these studies begin early enough to ensure that the correct decisions pertaining to vehicle design, mission operational concepts, and human health countermeasures are appropriately informed.

Norcross, Jason R.↗
NASA NTRS2008

The J-2X Upper Stage Engine: From Heritage to Hardware

NASA's Global Exploration Strategy requires safe, reliable, robust, efficient transportation to support sustainable operations from Earth to orbit and into the far reaches of the solar system. NASA selected the Ares I crew launch vehicle and the Ares V cargo launch vehicle to provide that transportation. Guiding principles in creating the architecture represented by the Ares vehicles were the maximum use of heritage hardware and legacy knowledge, particularly Space Shuttle assets, and commonality between the Ares vehicles where possible to streamline the hardware development approach and reduce programmatic, technical, and budget risks. The J-2X exemplifies those goals. It was selected by the Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS) as the upper stage propulsion for the Ares I Upper Stage and the Ares V Earth Departure Stage (EDS). The J-2X is an evolved version ofthe historic J-2 engine that successfully powered the second stage of the Saturn I launch vehicle and the second and third stages of the Saturn V launch vehicle. The Constellation architecture, however, requires performance greater than its predecessor. The new architecture calls for larger payloads delivered to the Moon and demands greater loss of mission reliability and numerous other requirements associated with human rating that were not applied to the original J-2. As a result, the J-2X must operate at much higher temperatures, pressures, and flow rates than the heritage J-2, making it one of the highest performing gas generator cycle engines ever built, approaching the efficiency of more complex stage combustion engines. Development is focused on early risk mitigation, component and subassembly test, and engine system test. The development plans include testing engine components, including the subscale injector, main igniter, powerpack assembly (turbopumps, gas generator and associated ducting and structural mounts), full-scale gas generator, valves, and control software with hardware-in-the-loop. Testing expanded in 2007, accompanied by the refinement of the design through several key milestones. This paper discusses those 2007 tests and milestones, as well as updates key developments in 2008.

Byrd, THomas↗
NASA NTRS2023

Mini Roxy: the Next Step Towards an Efficient Method for Oxygen Extraction From Regolith

Space exploration will be enabled by ISRU provided that ISRU processes meet the following viability criteria: the mass of resources produced must exceed the mass of ISRU plant that produces them, and the mass of resources produced per unit time must significantly exceed the mass of consumables or spare parts per unit time that are required to maintain the production process

A. Seidel↗
NASA NTRS2000

Tactile Sensing for Dexterous Robotic Hands

Robotic systems will be used as precursors to human exploration to explore the solar system and expand our knowledge of planetary surfaces. Robotic systems will also be used to build habitats and infrastructure required for human presence in space and on other planetary surfaces . Such robots will require a high level of intelligence and automation. The ability to flexibly manipulate their physical environment is one characteristic that makes humans so effective at these building and exploring tasks . The development of a generic autonomous grasp ing capability will greatly enhance the efficiency and ability of robotics to build, maintain and explore. To tele-operate a robot over vast distances of space, with long communication delays, has proven to be troublesome. Having an autonomous grasping capability that can react in real-time to disturbances or adapt to generic objects, without operator intervention, will reduce the probability of mishandled tools and samples and reduce the number of re-grasp attempts due to dropping. One aspect that separates humans from machines is a rich sensor set. We have the ability to feel objects and respond to forces and textures. The development of touch or tactile sensors for use on a robot that emulates human skin and nerves is the basis for this discussion. We will discuss the use of new piezo-electric and resistive materials that have emerged on the market with the intention of developing a touch sensitive sensor. With viable tacti le sensors we will be one step closer to developing an autonomous grasping capability.

Martin, Toby B.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Human-Robot Planetary Exploration Teams

The EVA Robotic Assistant (ERA) project at NASA Johnson Space Center studies human-robot interaction and robotic assistance for future human planetary exploration. Over the past four years, the ERA project has been performing field tests with one or more four-wheeled robotic platforms and one or more space-suited humans. These tests have provided experience in how robots can assist humans, how robots and humans can communicate in remote environments, and what combination of humans and robots works best for different scenarios. The most efficient way to understand what tasks human explorers will actually perform, and how robots can best assist them, is to have human explorers and scientists go and explore in an outdoor, planetary-relevant environment, with robots to demonstrate what they are capable of, and roboticists to observe the results. It can be difficult to have a human expert itemize all the needed tasks required for exploration while sitting in a lab: humans do not always remember all the details, and experts in one arena may not even recognize that the lower level tasks they take for granted may be essential for a roboticist to know about. Field tests thus create conditions that more accurately reveal missing components and invalid assumptions, as well as allow tests and comparisons of new approaches and demonstrations of working systems. We have performed field tests in our local rock yard, in several locations in the Arizona desert, and in the Utah desert. We have tested multiple exploration scenarios, such as geological traverses, cable or solar panel deployments, and science instrument deployments. The configuration of our robot can be changed, based on what equipment is needed for a given scenario, and the sensor mast can even be placed on one of two robot bases, each with different motion capabilities. The software architecture of our robot is also designed to be as modular as possible, to allow for hardware and configuration changes. Two focus areas of our research are safety and crew time efficiency. For safety, our work involves enabling humans to reliably communicate with a robot while moving in the same workspace, and enabling robots to monitor and advise humans of potential problems. Voice, gesture, remote computer control, and enhanced robot intelligence are methods we are studying. For crew time efficiency, we are investigating the effects of assigning different roles to humans and robots in collaborative exploration scenarios.

Tyree, Kimberly↗
NASA NTRS1982

The production efficiency of O/+//2P/ ions by auroral electron impact ionization

Observational data obtained from the Visible Airglow Experiment (VAE) on the Atmospheric Explorer D satellite is used to deduce the production efficiency of the excited 2P state of the O(+) ion in the electron impact ionization of O under auroral conditions. Measurements of the airglow intensity in the O(+)(2P-2D) transition band 7320-7330 A by the upward looking VAE photometer were compared with the intensity predicted on the basis of electron spectra measured at heights from 211 to 235 km within the emission. A production efficiency of 18% is obtained, which is close to theoretical predictions and supports the theoretical value of 40% for the production of the 2D state.

Rees, M. H.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Cryocooler Technology Opportunities within Space Exploration

As the demands for extended space missions and sustained lunar and Martian presence grow, the need for power and mass-efficient cryogenic fluid production and storage becomes paramount. The exploration and advancement of space technologies necessitate the development of innovative cryogenic storage solutions to ensure reliable, long-term production and preservation of cryogens in space environments for propulsion, life-support, and power applications. This paper covers an analysis of the challenges posed by long-duration cryogen storage and production for in-space and surface applications for NASA’s upcoming missions, as well as highlighting cryocooler technology opportunities and gaps to encourage industry stakeholders to contribute innovative solutions to advance the field of cryogenic storage for space applications.

Cryogenic Fluid Management↗
NASA NTRS2021

A Demand Access Paradigm for NASA’s Deep Space Network

NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) is the primary resource for communications and navigation for interplanetary space missions, for both NASA and partner agencies. As part of an investigation into improved efficiency and responsiveness, we have been exploring and prototyping the infusion of a ”demand access” model into the DSN scheduling process. Today, DSN is fully pre-scheduled in advance, and many users rely on a stable schedule to plan their own spacecraft activities, weeks in advance of execution. However, a new class of missions is emerging that may not be scheduled as far in advance, and may be event-driven in coming across science targets at unpredictable times. These users could take advantage of an on-demand mechanism to download data. Simulations have shown that such a mechanism could improve latency (time from data collection to download) by 2x, as well as more efficiently utilize the available DSN antennas. In this paper, we describe a prototype of a demand access process and how it addresses the challenges of co-existing with a staticallyscheduled body of missions, while providing the benefits of lower latency science data return.

Lucena, Girly↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Surface Systems and Interface Standardization

Space exploration on planetary surfaces will require the use of various surface systems which will likely need to interface with one another. These systems must communicate and share data, as well as distribute power and transfer fluids for sustainable surface operations. Such systems can range from landers, surface habitats, mobility systems, cargo, and In-Situ Resource Utilizations (ISRUs). Previous and current programs have developed space interoperability standards that help aid in reducing potential risks of interface integration. One example of this is the International Deep Space Interoperability Standards (IDSIS) which focuses on deep space exploration. A goal of the Artemis program is to develop a sustained human presence on the lunar surface that would be a training ground for future Mars exploration. Therefore, it will be beneficial to identify interface standards between the surface assets which will help mitigate risk and reduce complexity in the harsh environments of space exploration. A key contribution to sustainability is commonality between hardware and software interfaces. Generic interfaces for data, power, and fluids will reduce risk, promote interoperability, and define standard interfaces across surface exploration projects and programs. Standardized interfaces would be advantageous for improving efficiency and reducing overall complexity, which are critical considerations for future space exploration. Furthermore, it will provide cost reductions to the Artemis programs over their life cycle (in Operations & Maintenance (O&M) and Logistics). Unique proprietary interfaces if considered or allowed would not only increase complexity but also add cost to the programs. Of course, understanding what will work and not work effectively in these unique environments such as the lunar surface is important. These unique environments require much needed intelligent design, prototyping, comprehensive testing, and field experience, utilizing consensus on common interface solutions.

Jaime Gomez↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Surface Systems and Interface Standardization

A key contribution to surface systems sustainability on Lunar and planetary surfaces is commonality between hardware and software interfaces. Generic interfaces for data, power, and fluids will reduce risk, promote interoperability, and define standard interfaces across surface exploration projects and programs. Standardized interfaces would be advantageous for improving efficiency and reducing overall complexity, which are critical considerations for future space exploration. Furthermore, it will provide cost reductions to NASA’s Artemis program over its life cycle (in Operations & Maintenance (O&M) and Logistics). Unique proprietary interfaces if considered or allowed would not only increase complexity but also add cost to the programs. Of course, understanding what will work and not work effectively in these unique environments such as the lunar surface is important. These unique environments require much needed intelligent design, prototyping, comprehensive testing, and field experience, utilizing consensus on common interface solutions.

Lunar↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

How Can We Efficiently Build A Spacecraft That Has Longevity? Experiences From the GSFC Perspective to Inform Lunar Exploration and Science Orbiter’s Architecture

Recent successes in NASA planetary science missions has shown that long-lived missions can yield significant science return. These missions, despite their longevity, were not planned to operate beyond their deign life. For example, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has a design life of 2-3 years, and yet we are entering its 14th year on orbit. Spacecraft longevity in practice has been related to: 1) mission class; 2) did we test it long enough and resolve all the anomalies to be beyond the early failure curve; 3) consumables budgets, and 4) how components are de-signed and tested. Mission class has been perceived as one of the primary ways to drive longevity. But higher mission class is a significant cost and mission driver. Parts selection only from the limited military standard parts and extensive parts qualification adds to development time and cost. Largely redundant (often erroneously interpreted as fully redundant) adds to launch mass and increases testing complexity (which may reduce the amount of testing in the nominal con-figuration). Lower Risk Posture (reflected in a higher mission class) drives significant additional processes and quality assurance analyses. Higher mission class also drives significantly greater sparing and life testing costs. This discussion focuses on whether this is indeed the best way to achieve longevity efficiently or whether there are more efficient ways to achieve longevity. Empirical evidence shows that lower mission classes that implement effective risk reduction and selective redundancy generally results in long life at a lower Spacecraft bus cost. By evaluating redundancy careful-ly, spacecraft cost can be lowered which can enable a more capable payload. Risk of the mission is highly dependent on the complexity of the mission and is only loosely dependent on Class of Mission. High complexity missions can have many single point failures and require the development of new technology, while lower class mission can have lower risk by baselining or incorporating: (selective) redundancy, fault-tolerant design, design for minimum risk, ability to reset, and/or design for graceful degradation. The team met with Goddard Space Flight Center Space Systems Mission Operations leaders to discuss which avionics have proven in flight to be the most reliable and which have had lifetime issues. The paper proposes a list of components to focus on for redundancy for a long-lived lunar mission. Reliability numbers are presented for both single string and dual string missions. The history of life-time performance versus planned mission life according to mission class is presented. A mission with well thought out selective redundancy and effective on the ground test program, can be expected to last well beyond its mission lifetime and provided enhanced return for the community. This approach minimizes project expenditures that do not retire significant risk and allows the project to focus risk mitigation efforts on those risks that will have a significant likelihood of threatening mission success. This is aided by keeping the amount of technology maturation and mission complexity low, while focusing effort on ensuring all component stress-ing parameters well within the bounds of their capabilities.

Lessons Learned↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Moon to Mars (M2M): Exploration Atmosphere

As humans leave the bounds of Earth to explore the lunar surface and beyond, crew will don extravehicular activity (EVA) suits to learn more about these extraterrestrial environments, establish sustained presence, and perform needed upgrades and maintenance to their space vehicle and habitation systems. Spacefaring vehicle and habitation design will need to support these EVA excursions while ensuring crew health and safety. A crucial technological design advancement towards this goal is the use of a lower pressure exploration atmosphere (EA) that enables high efficiency EVA, rather than the sea level atmosphere of 14.7 psia, 21% oxygen (O 2 ) found on the International Space Station, Shuttle, and most other Russian and Chinese space vehicles and stations. Early space vehicles (Mercury through Apollo Programs) used a 5 psia, 100% O 2 environment, which eliminated the need for pre-EVA denitrogenation protocols, simplified the life support system to a single gas, and saved structural mass. For longer duration missions (Skylab), a diluent gas was added, changing the atmosphere to 5 psia, 70-74% O 2 to prevent atelectasis while remaining normoxic. As in-flight science became a top priority, Shuttle and ISS atmospheres were chosen to operate at sea level allowing for simpler ground-based study control conditions. Consequently this led to long pre-EVA denitrogenation protocols involving up to 4 hours of O 2 prebreathe because the EVA suit still operated at a low pressure of 4.3 psid. To increase operational efficiency, the Shuttle was retroactively certified to operate using 10.2 psia, 26.5% O 2 , reducing O 2 prebreathe time to 40-75 min. Current plans for M2M habitats on the Lunar surface require EVA, thus EA recommendation became 8 psia and 32% O 2 but was revised to 8.2 psia and 34% O 2 to decrease hypoxia exposure. Unfortunately, the benefits of EA in support of safe and efficient EVAs comes with the challenge of fire management in a higher-than-normal O 2 % environment. Although known for decades, the recommended forward work to address fire management has only recently begun. Current flammability tests include examining material propagation and ignition sources as well as fire mitigation processes to better understand these properties for proposed new EA environments. Fire safety, DCS risk, and mission design all contribute to the multifaceted parameters of EA. Thus while it is clear that EA is required to achieve the goals of future exploratory space missions, final specifications are still being evaluated for optimizing crew health and safety.

space atmosphere↗
NASA NTRS2014

Innovative Technologies for Efficient Pharmacotherapeutic Management in Space

Current and future Space exploration missions and extended human presence in space aboard the ISS will expose crew to risks that differ both quantitatively and qualitatively from those encountered before by space travelers and will impose an unknown risk of safety and crew health. The technology development challenges for optimizing therapeutics in space must include the development of pharmaceuticals with extended stability, optimal efficacy and bioavailability with minimal toxicity and side effects. Innovative technology development goals may include sustained/chronic delivery preventive health care products and vaccines, low-cost high‐efficiency noninvasive, non‐oral dosage forms with radio‐protective formulation matrices and dispensing technologies coupled with self‐reliant tracking technologies for quality assurance and quality control assessment. These revolutionary advances in pharmaceutical technology will assure human presence in space and healthy living on Earth. Additionally, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations advocates the use of health information technologies to effectively execute all aspects of medication management (prescribing, dispensing, and administration). The advent of personalized medicine and highly streamlined treatment regimens stimulated interest in new technologies for medication management. Intelligent monitoring devices enhance medication accountability compliance, enable effective drug use, and offer appropriate storage and security conditions for dangerous drug and controlled substance medications in remote sites where traditional pharmacies are unavailable. These features are ideal for Exploration Medical Capabilities. This presentation will highlight current novel commercial off‐the‐shelf (COTS) intelligent medication management devices for the unique dispensing, therapeutic drug monitoring, medication tracking, and drug delivery demands of exploration space medical operations.

Putcha, Lakshmi↗
NASA NTRS2014

Honeywell Cascade Distiller System Performance Testing Interim Results

The ability to recover and purify water through physiochemical processes is crucial for realizing long-term human space missions, including both planetary habitation and space travel. Because of their robust nature, distillation systems have been actively pursued as one of the technologies for water recovery. The Cascade Distillation System (CDS) is a vacuum rotary distillation system with potential for greater reliability and lower energy costs than existing distillation systems. The CDS was previously under development through Honeywell and NASA. In 2009, an assessment was performed to collect data to support down-selection and development of a primary distillation technology for application in a lunar outpost water recovery system. Based on the results of this testing, an expert panel concluded that the CDS showed adequate development maturity, TRL-4, together with the best product water quality and competitive weight and power estimates to warrant further development. The Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Water Recovery Project (WRP) worked to address weaknesses identified by The Panel; namely bearing design and heat pump power efficiency. Testing at the NASA-JSC Advanced Exploration System Water Laboratory (AES Water Lab) using a prototype Cascade Distillation Subsystem (CDS) wastewater processor (Honeywell International, Torrance, Calif.) with test support equipment and control system developed by Johnson Space Center was performed to evaluate performance of the system with the upgrades. The CDS will also have been challenged with ISS analog waste streams and a subset of those being considered for Exploration architectures. This paper details interim results of the AES WRP CDS performance testing.

Callahan, Michael R.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Advanced DC/DC Converters Towards Higher Volumetric Efficiencies For Space Applications

A new emphasis on planetary exploration by NASA drives the need for small, high power DC/DC converters which are functionally modular. NASA GSFC and other government space organizations are supporting technology development in the DC/DC converter area to both meet new needs and to promote more sources of supply. New technologies which enable miniaturization such as embedded passive technologies and thermal management using high thermal conductivity materials are features of the new designs. Construction of some simple DC/DC converter core circuits using embedded components was found to be successful for increasing volumetric efficiency to 37 W/inch. The embedded passives were also able to perform satisfactorily in this application in cryogenic temperatures.

Shaw, Harry↗
NASA NTRS2006

Building Operations Efficiencies into NASA's Crew Launch Vehicle Design

The U.S. Vision for Space Exploration guides NASA's challenging missions of technological innovation and scientific investigation. With the Agency's commitment to complete the International Space Station (ISS) and to retire the Space Shuttle by 2010, the NASA Administrator commissioned the Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS) in mid 2005 to analyze options for a safer, simpler, more cost efficient launch system that could deliver timely human-rated space transportation capabilities. NASA's finite resources yield discoveries with infinite possibilities. As the Agency begins the process of replacing the Shuttle with new launch vehicles destined for missions beyond low-Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars, NASA is designing the follow-on crew and cargo systems for maximum operational efficiencies. This mandate is imperative to reduce the $4.5 billion NASA spends on space transportation each year. This paper gives top-level details of how the follow-on Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) is being designed for reduced lifecycle costs as a primary catalyst for the expansion of future frontiers.

Dumbacher, Daniel L.↗