Results for “Extra Vehicular Activity” — Page 16

NASA NTRS2018

Integrated Data Visualization for Human Missions

Interplanetary missions produce exceptionally large and complex volumes of data that can be extremely difficult to navigate. This is especially true for human missions. This project seeks to develop an integrated data visualization environment that builds on the success of Apollo17.org allowing for integration of operational, engineering and scientific data while also preserving the context under which it was collected during the mission. We will build a product that integrates existing data from the Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL) to improve data visualization for extra vehicular activity and interplanetary missions.

Regberg, Aaron B.↗

NASA NTRS2019

The Effect of Heroic Medical Care on Mission Medical Outcomes

Study Objective: A catastrophic medical event depletes medical resources. What happens to the rest of the mission’s medical outcomes after such an event? Use Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) to see if we can find out. What is the Integrated Medical Model? PRA model using Monte Carlo methodology; Used to assess mission risk due to in-flight medical events; User defined Design Reference Missions (DRM) (crew, duration, EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity), etc.); Considers outcomes for 100 medical conditions that have or may occur in-flight; 100,000 trials conducted per DRM.

Reyes, David P.↗

NASA NTRS2019

Mechanical Counter-Pressure EVA Suits: NASA Outlook and Development Strategy

Since the 1950s, mechanical counter-pressure (MCP) has been investigated as a possible alternative architecture to traditional extra-vehicular activity (EVA) suits. While traditional gas-pressurized EVA suits provide physiological protection against the ambient vacuum environment by means of pressurized oxygen to at least 3.1 psid, MCP provides protection by direct application of pressure on the skin by a fabric. In reviewing the concept, MCP offers distinct potential advantages to traditional EVA suits: lower mass, reduced consumables, increased mobility, increased comfort, less complexity, and improved failure modes. In addition, as basic feasibility was established in the 1960s with the successful testing of the Space Activity Suit, MCP seems poised to inevitably supplant traditional EVA architectures with a modest degree of concentrated development. However, as they say, "The devil is in the details". This paper serves as a comprehensive summary of the technical work that has been completed related to MCP from 1960 to 2019, the technical gaps that need to be closed to facilitate a flight-capable design, and outlines an overall development strategy that NASA feels would best address these gaps moving forward.

mechanical counter-pressure↗

NASA NTRS2019

A Comparison of ARTEMIS Data with the Lunar Plasma Design Environment for NASA Crewed Missions

NASA’s Gateway will provide the capability for sustaining a human presence in cis-lunar space. Operations of the Gateway will include spacecraft dockings, extra vehicular activities (EVA), and high-power solar arrays. NASA’s experience with the International Space Station highlighted the importance of evaluating spacecraft charging effects for such operations. For crewed spacecraft, which tend to employ the use of dielectric surfaces in this dynamic plasma environment, reliance on spacecraft charging simulation packages, such as the NASA/Air Force Spacecraft Charging Analyzer Program (Nascap-2k) [Mandell et al., 2006] and Spacecraft Plasma Interaction System (SPIS) [Roussel et al., 2008], is required to understand the risks to hardware and humans. The variability in the lunar plasma environment as the Moon revolves around the Earth, lunar wake effects, and a strong dependency on photoemission and secondary electron emission creates challenges for spacecraft charging analysis. The Design Specification for Natural Environments (DSNE) [NASA, MSFC] is the primary resource for space environments affecting NASA’s crewed missions, and the DSNE provides plasma environments in a standard form for input into simulation packages. NASA developed the existing lunar plasma environment using data from Geotail [Nishida, 1994] along with published lunar plasma wake models [Halekas et al., 2005] based on Lunar Prospector. Since 2011, NASA’s twin Acceleration Reconnection Turbulence & Electrodynamics of Moon’s Interaction with the Sun (ARTEMIS) satellites [Angelopoulos, 2010] have been collecting high resolution plasma and fields observations within the lunar plasma environment providing a much larger dataset of the plasma properties in cislunar space. This research compares the existing lunar plasma environment definition with ARTEMIS data and makes recommendations on the refinement of the environment definition for future lunar missions.

ARTEMIS mission↗

NASA NTRS2020

Design of a Microgravity Hybrid Inflatable Airlock

Spacewalks, or extra-vehicular activities (EVAs), are a critical component of human space exploration for science activities and habitat construction and maintenance. For NASA's proposed lunar Gateway system, an airlock module is required for vehicle maintenance, repair, and exploration. Traditional airlock structures are fully metallic, with two chambers, known as an equipment lock and a crew lock. The larger volume, called the equipment lock, serves as the storage, logistics and electronics area, while the smaller volume, called the crew lock, serves as the volume to transition from the vacuum of space to the pressurized cabin. A traditional metallic structure design offers mass efficiency for these elements, but cannot offer volume efficiency. The potential to use an inflatable fabric pressure shell supplemented by a metallic support structure allows for efficiency in both mass and volume. Inflatable structures are being used for human habitable space modules, starting with the Bigelow Expandable Activities Module on the International Space Station. They are high-strength fabric-based structures that are compactly stowed for launch and then, once in space, they are expanded and rigidized with internal pressure. They provide significant launch volume savings over metallic structures. For Gateway, a hybrid airlock design is proposed with both metallic and inflatable structural elements, taking advantage of each material's capabilities. A metallic equipment lock serves as both a docking node and provides pressurized volume for pre-EVA activities including pre-breathe and suit donning/doffing. A rigid equipment lock offers stowage space during launch for integrated hardware and suits. Adding an integrated inflatable crew lock provides the volume required for EVAs with minimal use of launch volume. Using dual inflatable crew locks provides redundancy and the capability to move large pieces of equipment into and out of the vehicle for repair and maintenance. The inflatable crew lock is deflated and packaged in the launch shroud and expanded after installation on the Gateway. This packing capability allows additional volume to be added to the equipment lock and fully utilize the capability of the launch vehicle. This report outlines the work completed to design, analyze, and test the systems of a microgravity airlock with inflatable crew locks. In detail, it includes launch vehicles, structural sizing of the metallic equipment lock, the fabric layers of the inflatable crew lock, the internal structure of the crew lock, the space suit interface elements, the crew restraint system, the hatches and pass-throughs, the material and thermal elements, and the crew operations for the usage of the system. This paper is meant to offer a reference design for a hybrid microgravity airlock design for deep space human exploration.

Litteken, Douglas↗

NASA NTRS2020

Design of a Microgravity Hybrid Inflatable Airlock

Spacewalks, or extra-vehicular activities (EVAs), are a critical component of human space exploration for science activities and habitat construction and maintenance. For NASA's proposed lunar Gateway system, an airlock module is required for vehicle maintenance, repair, and exploration. Traditional airlock structures are fully metallic, with two chambers, known as an equipment lock and a crew lock. The larger volume, called the equipment lock, serves as the storage, logistics and electronics area, while the smaller volume, called the crew lock, serves as the volume to transition from the vacuum of space to the pressurized cabin. A traditional metallic structure design offers mass efficiency for these elements, but cannot offer volume efficiency. The potential to use an inflatable fabric pressure shell supplemented by a metallic support structure allows for efficiency in both mass and volume. Inflatable structures are being used for human habitable space modules, starting with the Bigelow Expandable Activities Module on the International Space Station. They are high-strength fabric-based structures that are compactly stowed for launch and then, once in space, they are expanded and rigidized with internal pressure. They provide significant launch volume savings over metallic structures. For Gateway, a hybrid airlock design is proposed with both metallic and inflatable structural elements, taking advantage of each material's capabilities. A metallic equipment lock serves as both a docking node and provides pressurized volume for pre-EVA activities including pre-breathe and suit donning/doffing. A rigid equipment lock offers stowage space during launch for integrated hardware and suits. Adding an integrated inflatable crew lock provides the volume required for EVAs with minimal use of launch volume. Using dual inflatable crew locks provides redundancy and the capability to move large pieces of equipment into and out of the vehicle for repair and maintenance. The inflatable crew lock is deflated and packaged in the launch shroud and expanded after installation on the Gateway. This packing capability allows additional volume to be added to the equipment lock and fully utilize the capability of the launch vehicle. This report outlines the work completed to design, analyze, and test the systems of a microgravity airlock with inflatable crew locks. In detail, it includes launch vehicles, structural sizing of the metallic equipment lock, the fabric layers of the inflatable crew lock, the internal structure of the crew lock, the space suit interface elements, the crew restraint system, the hatches and pass-throughs, the material and thermal elements, and the crew operations for the usage of the system. This paper is meant to offer a reference design for a hybrid microgravity airlock design for deep space human exploration.

Litteken, Douglas↗

NASA NTRS2020

Artificial Gravity in Mars Orbit for Crew Acclimation

NASA’s current baseline plan for a crewed Mars mission anticipates a transit time of up to three hundred days in microgravity and 3-14 days on the Martian surface for gravity acclimation before the crew can safely perform their first Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA). While there are multiple options for how initial surface operations will be performed, all current designs involve acclimation on the surface, and the impacts on the mission schedule, required supplies, and crew lander systems are significant. This paper proposes an alternative option utilizing artificial gravity, which offers benefits in terms of mission scope, mass savings, crew health, and long-term strategic vision. By moving the acclimation requirement to the orbiting habitat’s existing systems, rather than adding redundant systems to the lander, the Mars Descent Vehicle (MDV) can be a much smaller, simpler, and lighter design. Rather than the lander being designed to support crew for days, it would be mere hours. While ambitious, the concept of pre-acclimation in orbit can be not only safe and feasible, but done with fairly minimal changes to the planned architecture and overall mass requirements. The data used draws on decades of established research and demonstrates how this capability can be not only used for pre-acclimation, but also to support crew during early orbital-only missions, surface abort contingency scenarios, return-to-orbit abort scenarios, and as an early proof of capability into larger and more ambitious artificial gravity designs needed for extended exploration missions in the future.

Rowe, Justin↗

NASA NTRS2019

Development of an Electrochemical Oxygen Compressor and Generator for Spacesuit Oxygen Resupply

The Electrochemistry Society is organizing a special session highlighting NASA applications and NASA technology development programs that use electrochemistry. NASA Johnson Space Center is sponsoring a technology development effort to use a solid oxide electrochemical cell stack to produce high pressure high purity oxygen capable of recharging spacesuit oxygen tanks between Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVAs). The attributes of the technology that are most important to NASA are the oxygen compatibility of the materials in the cell stack, and the solid state nature of the oxygen compression process. 2019 technical development work focuses on developing seals that connect individual wafers to for a cell stack.

Graf, John↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Training Astronauts using Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulations and Virtual Reality

The commercial market has recently started giving significant attention to virtual and augmented reality, even though the technology has been around for many years. The Virtual Reality Training Lab (VRL) at the NASA Johnson Space Center has been using virtual reality to train astronauts for decades. This paper will focus on describing three major Hardware-in-the-Loop VR simulation systems, the Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) system known as the "jetpack", the Mass Handling System nicknamed Charlotte, and a simulated robotics environment for collaborative mission evaluation. Two of these systems are critical for astronaut training. Crew must certify on SAFER and go through the Charlotte Mass Handling training prior to flying to the International Space Station (ISS). Typically, they also complete at least one collaborative visualization session to review any planned Extra Vehicular Activities (EVAs), or spacewalks, before an assigned flight. Given the volatility of new technologies, the graphics and simulation environments used are maintained to be hardware agnostic to preserve a high level of fidelity. Utilizing VR for astronaut training has proved to be effective and essential for these specific systems.

Angelica D. Garcia↗

NASA NTRS2020

X-HAB 2020: AR Field Treks Summary and Conclusions

As part of the FY20 X-Hab Challenge, BLiSS sought to create an Augmented Reality (AR) toolkit to help with analog field trek operations under the supervision of the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI). These treks are operational and technical demonstrations at space-like destinations on Earth to test current extra-vehicular activity (EVA) techniques. While BLiSS as an organization has experience studying operational tasks such as this, it has never developed AR software at this scale. For that reason, another team at the University was brought on to work in parallel. The Collaborative Lab for Advancing Work in Space (CLAWS) is a veteran group of the NASA Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students (SUITS) challenge in which Hololens displays for astronauts are created within a year. The operational and technological pairing was ideally suited for tackling this problem. The team divided its responsibilities so that BLiSS would handle the research required to shape the project. As this deliverable had an end user, it was decided that interviewing these field geologists and operations specialists would provide the best insight. These interviews paired with literature review would reveal niche applications for AR that remained within feasible bounds. These science-driven EVAs in unknown terrain require more flexible tools than the current generation of EVA assistants. Rather than focus on sequential instructions, there instead needs to be a broad toolkit that's only called upon in specific instances. This AR Toolkit for Lunar Astronauts and Scientists (ATLAS) became the development goal of the project: create a non-intrusive assembly of tools that could be accessed in AR on the field. The current ATLAS design makes use of a geospatially and temporally annotated eld note system called GeoNotes. This allows for data to be collected and coordinated in a way that's synchronized across time, space, and different users. A Mission Control Center (MCC) and Mobile Support Equipment (MSE) were all needed to transport the AR headset into the field with the user. A network infrastructure was designed and set up within the University to enable this functionality. The software is based on a Protocol-Module structure that allows for modular development of each capability. A Protocol Manager coordinates different protocols that make use of modules. Each module tackles a different individual task while the protocol puts each one to use. The protocol manager coordinates when these are called to be used. This software is hosted on a head-mounted display (HMD) with the MCC acting as support from afar. While the software would be unit-tested at each level and each hardware component verified, a final demonstration would serve to prove the system's capabilities: an analog field trek. The team would prepare to support a user in a remote location from the MCC back at the University. A local area near campus would be tested before going out to do sample field geology further away. This unfortunately became impossible with the arrival of COVID-19. Access to all of the facilities to complete the project as planned were shut down. Our team was scattered across the globe and forced to complete the rest virtually. Adjustments were made to produce a small virtual concept in Adobe XD in the meantime. Even digital surveys were created based on the NASA task-load index (TLX) originally intended for testing actual users. The goal shifted towards completing software and getting feedback on the user interfaces (UI) and user experiences (UX). This team has reformed in response to COVID and its focus has shifted to what can be done remotely. There is still an intention to finish the original deliverable described in this report. The work has been expanded beyond the original X-Hab challenge and has instead become its own research e ort to be continued afterwards. This report collects the processes and knowledge gained from a year of studying and working at this problem with two teams. It should preserve it for the time until the world returns to normal and work can resume. CLAWS will be taking over full responsibility from that point forward, eventually surpassing the original needs of the project. While this document captures the work done towards an eventual end, the CLAWS team has written their own proposal alongside it. It outlines a new future for ATLAS beyond X-Hab, BLiSS, and hopefully beyond COVID-19. This project began as a vague goal hoping to place a new technology into the unique setting of exploration science. The project has since comfortably taken root and will hopefully bloom over the next year.

Alex Sena↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Overview of LO-DuSST (Lunar Occupancy Dust Surface Separation Technologies) Objectives

Of the myriad of issues facing lunar exploration and maintaining an extended lunar presence, lunar dust is possibly the most pervasive. These jagged, chemically reactive, electrostatically charged, sometimes magnetic particles can impact every aspect of a lunar surface mission ranging from abrading extra-vehicular activity (EVA) suits to disrupting lunar vehicle thermal management systems to impeding efficacy of excavation equipment to impacting lunar inhabitant health. NASA’s Lunar Occupancy Dust Surface Separation Technologies (LO-DuSST) task, as a part of the broader Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative (LSII) project, seeks to implement synergistic active and passive lunar dust management and mitigation technologies for an array of applications. One such application is protection of power generation capabilities via solar panel arrays. Plasma dust lofting coupled with a piezoelectric-driven vibration technology will be demonstrated on solar panel surfaces contaminated with lunar dust simulant. Intrinsically low adhesion coatings will be applied to these surfaces to enhance dust removal. Electrostatic repulsion in confined geometries and materials to manage high velocity lunar dust wear will also be investigated. Collectively, these active and passive mitigation technologies will facilitate lunar surface operations including occupancy logistics, landing pad operations, power generation, and transportation. Initial results regarding lunar simulant-contaminated solar panel performance experiments, dust lofting using an electron beam, surface interactions of high velocity lunar dust arising from lunar lander plume-surface interactions, and lunar dust simulant-material interaction experiments will be discussed.

Lunar dust↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Effects of Arcing Ejecta on Space Suit Materials from ISS RPCM Hot Mate/Demate During EVA

Onboard ISS, taking systems off-line when powering down to perform servicing on Remote Power Control Modules (RPCMs) introduces operational risk. An investigation lead by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) was performed by a multi-center team to assess the safety of performing on-orbit replacement of RPCMs without powering down. This investigation revealed the potential for molten metal particulate generation in the event of an arcing occurrence. As RPCM replacement can be performed outside ISS during an Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA), it is necessary to assess the effects of this molten metal ejecta contact with the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Space Suit Assembly (SSA) during an arcing event. A test was devised to mimic arcing ejecta contact with samples representing various SSA cross-sections. Four areas of the SSA were chosen for test to represent the majority of the SSA cross-sections. Testing was conducted by the University of California, Riverside that generated the molten metal particles, included varying composition, size and temperature, and dropped them onto the surface of the various SSA cross-sections. Exposed SSA materials were then evaluated for degree of damage, penetration, and thermal conductance through the cross-section by ILC Dover. Results showed that the SSA Glove is most susceptible to damage from arcing events. This data will be used to make risk management decisions for future RPCM servicing operations. This testing also demonstrated the durability of the SSA design and materials to exposure to extreme environments

Linda S Hewes↗

NASA NTRS2017

Progress Report on the Spacecraft Atmosphere Monitor’s Development Model

The Spacecraft Atmosphere Monitor (S.A.M.) is a miniature gas chromatograph (GC) mass spectrometer (MS) intended for assessing trace volatile organic compounds and the major constituents in the atmosphere of present (the International Space Station) and future crewed spacecraft. As such, S.A.M. will continuously sample concentrations of major air constituents (CH4, H2O, N2, O2, and CO2) and report results in two-second intervals. The S.A.M. is a technology demonstration planned to launch in 2018 and we report here on recent developments taking place in building a testbed and development model of the instrument. The S.A.M. is mechanically designed to operate under hi-G loads present during launch events and can operate at sub-atmospheric pressures relevant to extra-vehicular activities. Total instrument mass is projected at 9.5 kg with power consumption estimated at 35 W. The S.A.M. instrument will provide on-demand reporting on trace volatile organic compounds (VOC) at ppm to ppb levels of 40+ species relevant for astronaut health.

Darrach, M.↗

NASA NTRS2017

Legacy of the Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission (ARRM)

NASA’s proposed Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission (ARRM) began with the recognition in a 2010 NASA study that emerging high-power solar electric propulsion technology could be used to rendezvous with, capture, and return an entire, very small (~10,000 kg), near Earth asteroids to the International Space Station. A 2011 workshop by the Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) extended the earlier NASA study to asteroid masses of order 500,000 kg by returning them to cislunar space. Subsequent detailed NASA studies in 2013-2014 confirmed the feasibility of this concept. This led to the establishment of the Asteroid Redirect Mission program that consisted of a robotic mission to return multiple tons of asteroid material to cislunar space and a crewed mission to rendezvous with the robotic vehicle, perform two extra vehicular activities (EVAs), collect samples of the asteroid material, and return this material to Earth. Implementation of ARRM got midway through Phase B before being cancelled in April 2017. Although ARRM was cancelled, it has left a near-term legacy of positive impacts to the human spaceflight community, the planetary defense community, the deep space science community, and asteroid mining interests.

Brophy, John R.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Aerosol Physics for the Lunar Environment: Equations for Lunar Dust Control and Mitigation Technologies

Sticky and jagged dust was ubiquitous during the Apollo missions, causing soiling and abrasion problems with seals, coatings and equipment, in addition to eye irritation and breathing discomfort in the cabin. The Artemis Program of NASA aims to place astronauts on the lunar surface by 2024 and establish a sustainable presence in the following decade. Returning to the Moon requires controlling and mitigating the dust which will be inevitably brought inside the cabins. The state-of-the-science for effective collection of aerosols is based on dynamics of airborne particulate matter under terrestrial conditions. However, the governing physics does not apply to extra-vehicular activity in the hard-vacuum lunar condition. For example, the substantial difference in gravity will dictate particle transport both outside and inside the cabin. In this study, we revisited the aerosol physical phenomena that are assumed in the design of Earth-based aerosol instruments and extend the applicability to different scenarios in lunar missions. As shown, long-term lunar habitats, transfer vehicles to lunar orbital platforms, and low pressure cabin atmospheres have different aerosol dynamics. In all cases, the impact of dust control strategies using gravitational, electrical, and thermal techniques for various mitigation and monitoring hardware is explored. The guidelines provided through this study will show how terrestrial aerosol equipment can translate to lunar dust applications.

Nima Afshar-Mohajer↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Effects of Arcing Ejecta on Space Suit Materials from ISS RPCM Hot Mate/Demate During EVA

Onboard ISS, taking systems off-line when powering down to perform servicing on Remote Power Control Modules (RPCMs) introduces operational risk. An investigation lead by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) was performed by a multi-center team to assess the safety of performing on-orbit replacement of RPCMs without powering down. This investigation revealed the potential for molten metal particulate generation in the event of an arcing occurrence. As RPCM replacement can be performed outside ISS during an Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA), it is necessary to assess the effects of this molten metal ejecta contact with the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Space Suit Assembly (SSA) during an arcing event. A test was devised to mimic arcing ejecta contact with samples representing various SSA cross-sections. Four areas of the SSA were chosen for test to represent the majority of the SSA cross-sections. Testing was conducted by the University of California, Riverside that generated the molten metal particles, included varying composition, size and temperature, and dropped them onto the surface of the various SSA cross-sections. Exposed SSA materials were then evaluated for degree of damage, penetration, and thermal conductance through the cross-section by ILC Dover. Results showed that the SSA Glove is most susceptible to damage from arcing events. This data will be used to make risk management decisions for future RPCM servicing operations. This testing also demonstrated the durability of the SSA design and materials to exposure to extreme environments.

Linda S. Hewes↗

NASA NTRS2021

Advanced Multimodal Solutions for Information Presentation

High-workload, fast-paced, and degraded sensory environments are the likeliest candidates to benefit from multimodal information presentation. For example, during extra-vehicular activity (EVA) and telerobotic operations, the sensory restrictions associated with such a hostile environment provide a major challenge to maintaining the situation awareness (SA) required for safe operations. In particular, orientation, navigation, and collision avoidance are critical aspects of EVA tasks that need to be addressed to ensure the safety of the crew and the success of the mission. Multimodal displays hold promise to enhance situation awareness and task performance by utilizing different sensory modalities and maximizing their effectiveness based on appropriate interaction between modalities. Multimodal displays will also play an important role for long-duration information systems and will likely begin to be developed in the early phases of cislunar Gateway, and later lunar or Mars transit missions. Information systems are envisioned for LDEMs that require spacecraft with greater crew autonomy and increased dependence on computer-provided information needed to perform routine tasks, as well as time- and safety critical tasks. Such a system will require a single, common interface that is easy to learn and use and accesses key information from all relevant vehicle/habitat systems to enable task performance in both nominal and emergency conditions. Understanding of multimodal display technologies and their interactions will help to inform interface guidelines for LDEMs. The scope of the current report is an analysis of potential multimodal display technologies for long duration missions and, in particular, will focus on their potential role in EVA activities. The review will address multimodal (combined visual, auditory and/or tactile) displays investigated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), industry, and Department of Defense (DoD). It also considers the need for adaptive information systems to accommodate a variety of operational contexts such as crew status (e.g., fatigue, workload level) and task environment (e.g., EVA, habitat, rover, spacecraft). Current approaches to guidelines and best practices for combining modalities for the most effective information displays are also reviewed. Potential issues in developing interface guidelines for LDEMs are briefly considered.

multimodal displays↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lunar Base Construction Overview

Previous lunar missions and campaigns have been restricted to using robotic landers and lunar orbiting satellites as well as sortie type of operations using astronaut crews (NASA Apollo program). The next phase of lunar exploration has begun under NASA’s Artemis program and there has been an international response where other nations such as China, Russia, India, Canada, Japan and the European Union of nations, have all expressed interest in either collaborating or competing with NASA on the Moon. This next phase has an over arching goal of achieving a permanent human presence on the Moon via sustainable methods. A lunar base with human occupancy will require infrastructure to provide shelter, utilities, landing/launch pads, roads, communications, power and all the other necessities to sustain human life and protect equipment. Since human biology is not well suited for surviving in the lunar environment, there will be many forms of automated equipment, autonomy and robotic helpers that will minimize the amount of Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) required by the crew. This will mean that the radiation dosage received by the crew will stay within acceptable and safe career doses. The required infrastructure must be constructed, but the mass and logistics of bringing all the construction materials from Earth are prohibitive, which makes the necessary construction difficult to achieve. In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) aims to solve this challenge by sourcing construction materials locally or “in-situ”. This means that their transportation can be completely eliminated, resulting in large cost savings by avoiding the launch out of Earth’s deep gravity well and subsequent trans lunar injection, lunar orbit capture and landing. This paper will give an overview of the required construction tasks and related equipment that will be required to robotically build a lunar base using in-situ resources. It will also organize these tasks into logical groupings so that technology development and implementation can be pursued within a framework that can be referenced by all involved.

Construction↗