Intermediate State UAM Vision Concept of Operations (ConOps) Overview
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This paper describes a scenario-driven hazard analysis process to identify, eliminate, and control safety-related risks. Within this process, we develop selective criteria to determine the applicability of applying engineering modeling to hypothesized hazard scenarios. This provides a basis for evaluating and prioritizing the scenarios as candidates for further quantitative analysis. We have applied this methodology to proposed concepts of operations for reduced wake separation for closely spaced parallel runways. For arrivals, the process identified 43 core hazard scenarios. Of these, we classified 12 as appropriate for further quantitative modeling, 24 that should be mitigated through controls, recommendations, and / or procedures (that is, scenarios not appropriate for quantitative modeling), and 7 that have the lowest priority for further analysis.
This slide presentation reviews the planned medical operations for manned missions to the Moon and Mars as outlined in the Constellation program. Many of the issues involving the medical operations are examined.
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As small spacecraft venture out of Earth orbit, they will encounter challenges not experienced or addressed by the numerous low Earth orbit (LEO) CubeSat and Smallsat missions staged to date. The LEO CubeSats typically use low-cost, proven CubeSat radios, antennas, and university ground stations with small apertures. As more ambitious yet cost-constrained space mission concepts to the Moon and beyond are being developed, CubeSats and smallsats have the potential to provide a more affordable platform for exploring deep space and performing the associated science. Some of the challenges that have, so far, slowed the proliferation of small interplanetary spacecraft are those of communications and navigation.
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This paper presents the CubeSat Communications Platform (CCP) mission concept, architecture, and development. The CCP is a CubeSat demonstration mission, being developed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks to improve satellite communication capabilities. The CCP payloads include a Software Defined Radio (SDR) with Variable Coded Modulation (VCM) protocols, and an S-band phased array antenna. The mission will test the performance of the VCM protocols versus conventional fixed modulation and coding schemes, relative to the percentage of the Shannon Channel Capacity that each scheme achieves over entire satellite passes. The mission will also test the performance of the phased array antenna, with regard to beamforming and interrogator scanning accuracy. The CCP Mission is collaborating with NASA's Near Space Network (NSN) to demonstrate DVB-S2 VCM and achievable maximum data rate in NASA S-band 5 MHz channel. NSN currently supports missions that communicate with fixed channel codes, modulations, and symbol rates, resulting in a constant data rate that does not adapt to the dynamic link margin. VCM adapts to the dynamics of the link to increase information throughput by changing modulation and coding when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is high. The CCP will be the first mission to demonstrate VCM with NSN ground stations.
Understanding how to effectively train for Extravehicular Activities (EVAs) for Artemis missions is critical. Developing high-fidelity simulation environments is important for Artemis mission preparation. Because the actual Lunar exploration environment cannot be fully replicated on Earth, it is paramount to determine where and how to properly train the Artemis team. Tasked by the new Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program(EHP), a team of stakeholders from engineering, flight operations, human health and performance, astromaterials and science, and the crew office worked together to perform EVAs in 3 simulated lunar environments. The overall focus for this test series was developing the capability to perform Artemis simulated EVAs in high-fidelity, full-scale environments. This test series was broken into 3 distinct tests titled after the EHP integrated test team: Joint EVA Test Team (JETT). The test locations are planned to serve as Artemis training sites and were selected because of their relevance to the expected Artemis Lunar terrain. JETT1was conducted near Kilbourne Holeby El Paso, Texas and focused on hardware development and checkout. JETT2 was conducted in the Icelandic Highlands and began the transition towards EVA concept operations(con-ops), risks and technology.JETT3 was conducted near SP Crater by Flagstaff Arizona and focused on simulating the Artemis III mission with a simulated Houston based Flight Control Team (FCT) and a Science Mission Directorate (SMD) science team. All three JETT tests utilized the Excon mockup space suit. The Excon mockup suit is a light-weight, unpressurized Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU)simulator. While it cannot replicate the feel of working within a pressurized suit, it does introduce similar volume constraints and some of the mobility programing to simulate the user experience in the xEMU. Overall, the JETT testing was able to create a simulated Lunar EVA and have two subjects perform full scale operations in line with Artemis III mission expectations. Future work is planned to continue to improve the simulation quality of Lunar EVA simulations.
Understanding how to effectively train for Extravehicular Activities (EVAs) for Artemis missions is critical. Developing high-fidelity simulation environments is important for Artemis mission preparation. Because the actual Lunar exploration environment cannot be fully replicated on Earth, it is paramount to determine where and how to properly train the Artemis team. The overall focus for this test series was developing the capability to perform Artemis simulated EVAs in high-fidelity, full-scale environments. This test series was broken into three distinct tests titled after the EVA & Human Surface Mobility (HSM) Program (EHP) integrated test team: Joint EVA & HSM Test Team (JETT). The test locations are planned to serve as Artemis training sites and were selected because of their relevance to the expected Artemis Lunar terrain. JETT1 was conducted near Kilbourne Hole by El Paso, Texas and focused on hardware development and checkout. JETT2 was conducted in the Icelandic Highlands and began the transition towards EVA concept of operations (con-ops), risks and technology. JETT3 was conducted near SP Crater by Flagstaff, Arizona and focused on simulating the Artemis III mission including a Houston based Flight Control Team (FCT) and a Science Mission Directorate (SMD) science team. All three JETT tests utilized the Exploration Concept of Operations (ExCon) mockup space suit. The ExCon mockup suit is a lightweight, unpressurized Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) simulator. While it cannot replicate the feel of working within a pressurized suit, it does introduce similar volume constraints and some of the mobility programing to simulate the user experience in the xEMU. Overall, the JETT testing was able to create a simulated Lunar EVA and have two subjects perform full scale operations in line with Artemis III mission expectations. Future work is planned to continue to improve the simulation quality of Lunar EVA simulations.
A major portion of time during the tactical operation of Mars rovers is spent for selecting, prioritizing, and coordinating sciences and engineering activities such that they fit within resource constraints, including the downlink data volume, energy, and time. In particular, the downlink data volume constraint is getting particularly tighter in recent missions because modern instruments produce increasingly high data volume while the communication bandwidth is essentially bounded by the law of physics. Tactical operation would be substantially simplified, hence the operation cost could be reduced, if the data volume constraint is relaxed or even removed. In this abstract, we propose a new operation paradigm for achieving this goal. The key observation is that, both in science and engineering applications, the bit size of raw data is typically much greater than the volume of processed information that is needed for scientific or engineering analysis. For example, a full-resolution image from Mastcam-Z, the main science camera on Perseverance, is about 700 kB in volume and we downlinked 29,685 images up to Sol 243, totaling ~20 GB of data. But of course, scientists do not use every pixel of these images; what they really look for in the images are geological features, typically represented by specific geometric configurations or textures. An end product after processing hundreds of Mascam-Z images could be a single geological map summarizing the spatial distribution of the features. For another example, a 100-meter drive of Perseverance produces 7-12 MB of drive telemetry, which records every detail of the rover's motion at 8 Hz, including position, attitude, steering angles, encoder readings, motor currents and many other information. But what the ground engineers eventually pay attention to is the signs of anomaly, such as excessive motor currents or high slip; if a drive is nominal, the vast majority of this data is unused. What if, then, we process the raw data onboard and only downlink the processed data that is relevant to scientific or engineering analyses, such as a list of detected science features (with cropped images) or a list of potential signs of anomaly while driving? A major roadblock for such onboard, high-level information processing has been the onboard computational resource. RAD750, the main onboard computer of Perseverance, is obviously not sufficient for performing complex image or signal processing such as object detection, semantic segmentation, or anomaly detection. Interestingly, RAD750 is not the best processor that Perseverance has; Qualcomm's Snapdragon 801, a modern mobile processor, is on her Heli Base Station, a device for communicating with Mars Helicopter Ingenuity; also, Intel's Atom E3845 processors are on engineering cameras. In the reminder of this paper, we will introduce two particular uses cases of these high-performance co-processors (meaning auxiliary CPU, GPU, or other types of processors that are separate from the main processor that runs the main flight software) for lowering operation cost and accommodating more science activities for a given communication constraint.
Understanding how to effectively train for Extravehicular Activities (EVAs) for Artemis missions is critical. Developing high-fidelity simulation environments is important for Artemis mission preparation. Because the actual Lunar exploration environment cannot be fully replicated on Earth, it is paramount to determine where and how to properly train the Artemis team. The overall focus for this test series was developing the capability to perform Artemis simulated EVAs in high-fidelity, full-scale environments. This test series was broken into three distinct tests titled after the EVA & Human Surface Mobility (HSM) Program (EHP) integrated test team: Joint EVA & HSM Test Team (JETT). The test locations are planned to serve as Artemis training sites and were selected because of their relevance to the expected Artemis Lunar terrain. JETT1 was conducted near Kilbourne Hole by El Paso, Texas and focused on hardware development and checkout. JETT2 was conducted in the Icelandic Highlands and began the transition towards EVA concept of operations (con-ops), risks and technology. JETT3 was conducted near SP Crater by Flagstaff, Arizona and focused on simulating the Artemis III mission including a Houston based Flight Control Team (FCT) and a Science Mission Directorate (SMD) science team. All three JETT tests utilized the Exploration Concept of Operations (ExCon) mockup space suit. The ExCon mockup suit is a lightweight, unpressurized Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) simulator. While it cannot replicate the feel of working within a pressurized suit, it does introduce similar volume constraints and some of the mobility programing to simulate the user experience in the xEMU. Overall, the JETT testing was able to create a simulated Lunar EVA and have two subjects perform full scale operations in line with Artemis III mission expectations. Future work is planned to continue to improve the simulation quality of Lunar EVA simulations.
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Wildland fires take place most often in remote areas without access to communications infrastructure. Communication during wildfire operations is crucial for safe and effective command and control of air assets, ground-based firefighters, and fire management. Without connectivity, Incident Command (IC) cannot exchange information, receive alerts or work with all parties involved in the wildfire suppression operation. Current policy directs IC to use voice radio communications, which require no prior infrastructure, to provide information needed for the command, control and safety of personnel and resources. Cellular communications are used only for logistical purposes unless no other method is available. To address some of the shortcomings of the current state of communications, the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) Second Shift (SS) technical team is developing characteristics of an air-to-ground Mesh Radio System (MRS) and preparing for a future demonstration. The MRS will allow air and ground assets to automatically join a radio network without relying on existing infrastructure and exchange information critical to maintaining situation awareness and air traffic management by the onsite IC. The MRS will also give users more options for communications in addition to voice communications.
This report summarizes the Desert Research and Technology Studies (D-RATS) 2022 analog tests. BACKGROUND - Artemis Challenges – NASA’s concept of operations (ConOps) for the Artemis mission architecture brings new challenges for human exploration of the lunar surface, including: (1) Low-angle, natural lighting at lunar poles; and (2) Exploration sites that challenge communication with Earth. - International Partner Involvement – NASA is working with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to scope mission & functional requirements for an Artemis Pressurized Rover (PR), which JAXA may provide. - Charter – HQ Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) Moon to Mars Architecture Development Office (M2MADO) Strategy and Architectures (SA) chartered the Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) test team to investigate Artemis architectural questions related to pressurized rover ConOps. - Rationale – to inform the NASA/JAXA pressurized rover study-agreement. PLAN - Objectives – Analog tests conducted in October 2022 by the D-RATS team addressed three high-level objectives: 1. Investigate pressurized rover (PR) ConOps and capabilities for Artemis exploration 2. Integrate with JAXA engineers & astronauts and incorporate JAXA PR design elements into testing. 3. Re-establish analog field-testing skills & capabilities with rovers to investigate Artemis architecture ConOps. - Secondary Objectives – Work with other groups to leverage D-RATS field test for additional objectives. 4. Work with the Public Affairs Office (PAO) to perform D-RATS public outreach activities. 5. Coordinate with the Human Physiology Performance Protection & Operations (H-3PO) team to facilitate in-field evaluation of human health and performance (HHP) objectives. 6. Share D-RATS field-site and assets with Lunar LTE Studies (Lunar LiTES) team, to aid their study of the use of 4G/LTE communication protocols and devices for astronauts and robotic nodes on the lunar surface. - Team – Fully integrated test team comprised of members from 5 NASA centers, JAXA, and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) - Location – Black Point Lava Flow, ~40 miles north of Flagstaff, AZ HIGH-LEVEL OBJECTIVES ACCOMPLISHED - Investigated Pressurized Rover ConOps & Capabilities for Artemis Exploration (Objective 1) - Completed testing with 4 crew pairs, each spending 3 days and 2 nights in the rover conducting Artemis PR dayin-the-life activities (2 JAXA astronauts, 2 JAXA engineers, 1 NASA astronaut, 3 NASA engineers). - Collected detailed objective & subjective data supporting 10 strategic questions related to Artemis PR operations. - Field geologists present in field observed rover operations & EVAs. - Science team in Houston MCC communicated directly with crew. - Demonstrated crew-led and MCC-led PR teleoperation use cases during EVAs. - Integrated with JAXA Engineers & Astronauts and Incorporated JAXA PR Design Elements into Testing (Objective 2) - NASA & JAXA engineers, flight controllers, scientists, roboticists, and astronauts directly participated in and/or observed testing both in field and in MCC-Houston. - Incorporated JAXA PR design elements into both integrated and standalone testing at JSC and in the field. - Re-established Analog Field-Testing Skills & Capabilities with Rovers to Investigate Artemis Architecture ConOps (Objective 3) - Multiple teams successfully worked to establish and manage field-test base camp, monitor and maintain the rover, and plan and execute 2 weeks of consecutive field-testing with little to no breaks between crews. TEST OUTCOMES - Results will inform Artemis architecture ConOps & capabilities related to pressurized rover operations (see sections 2 for more details) - Summary and team detailed reports will be posted on the D-RATS 2022 wiki
The Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains (BASALT) project is a multi-year program dedicated to iteratively develop, implement, and evaluate concepts of operations (ConOps) and supporting capabilities intended to enable and enhance human scientific exploration of Mars. This pa-per describes the planning, execution, and initial results from the first field deployment, referred to as BASALT-1, which consisted of a series of 10 simulated extravehicular activities (EVAs) on volcanic flows in Idaho's Craters of the Moon (COTM) National Monument. The ConOps and capabilities deployed and tested during BASALT-1 were based on previous NASA trade studies and analog testing. Our primary research question was whether those ConOps and capabilities work acceptably when performing real (non-simulated) biological and geological scientific exploration under 4 different Mars-to-Earth communication conditions: 5 and 15 min one-way light time (OWLT) communication latencies and low (0.512 Mb/s uplink, 1.54 Mb/s downlink) and high (5.0 Mb/s uplink, 10.0 Mb/s downlink) bandwidth conditions representing the lower and higher limits of technical communication capabilities currently proposed for future human exploration missions. The synthesized results of BASALT-1 with respect to the ConOps and capabilities assessment were derived from a variety of sources, including EVA task timing data, network analytic data, and subjective ratings and comments regarding the scientific and operational acceptability of the ConOp and the extent to which specific capabilities were enabling and enhancing, and are presented here. BASALT-1 established preliminary findings that baseline ConOp, software systems, and communication protocols were scientifically and operationally acceptable with minor improvements desired by the "Mars" extravehicular (EV) and intravehicular (IV) crewmembers, but unacceptable with improvements required by the "Earth" Mission Support Center. These data will provide a basis for guiding and prioritizing capability development for future BASALT deployments and, ultimately, future human exploration missions.