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NASA NTRS2018

Plant Growth Research for Future Food Production - Seed Microbiome Project

Humanity is currently on the precipice of a new era: one where human civilization is no longer bound to the confines of a single planet. Now, organizations like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have extended their areas of research and are beginning to focus not just on getting humans into space, but also to keep them safe, healthy, and sane. This focus falls under the Human Research Program (HRP). A focus of this program is "dedicated to discovering the best methods and technologies to support safe, productive human space travel" [1]. For "safe and productive space travel" to occur, astronauts must have proper nutrition [1]. While sending up large amounts of dried and packaged food with every shuttle might work fairly well in the short term, when only a few people need to be fed, it will not be sustainable, especially as NASA looks toward longer space journeys beyond the Earth's orbit. Research into this area falls under Advanced Life Support (ALS), whose mission is to develop regenerative life support systems to support future NASA long-duration missions [2]. This would involve growing crops in space to supplement astronaut diets [2]. An important, yet often overlooked, part of growing crops in any environment is the microbial organisms that inhabit the plants' microbiomes. The Seed Microbiome Project aims to investigate the microbial presence throughout the life stages of three crops, Mizuna Mustard, 'Outredgeous' Red Romaine Lettuce, and 'Red Robin' Tomato, that have either been or will be grown on the ISS.

Birtell, Eva↗

NASA NTRS2017

Evaluation of a Candidate Trace Contaminant Control Subsystem Architecture: The High Velocity, Low Aspect Ratio (HVLA) Adsorption Process

Traditional gas-phase trace contaminant control adsorption process flow is constrained as required to maintain high contaminant single-pass adsorption efficiency. Specifically, the bed superficial velocity is controlled to limit the adsorption mass-transfer zone length relative to the physical adsorption bed; this is aided by traditional high-aspect ratio bed design. Through operation in this manner, most contaminants, including those with relatively high potential energy are readily adsorbed. A consequence of this operational approach, however, is a limited available operational flow margin. By considering a paradigm shift in adsorption architecture design and operations, in which flows of high superficial velocity are treated by low-aspect ratio sorbent beds, the range of well-adsorbed contaminants becomes limited, but the process flow is increased such that contaminant leaks or emerging contaminants of interest may be effectively controlled. To this end, the high velocity, low aspect ratio (HVLA) adsorption process architecture was demonstrated against a trace contaminant load representative of the International Space Station atmosphere. Two HVLA concept packaging designs (linear flow and radial flow) were tested. The performance of each design was evaluated and compared against computer simulation. Utilizing the HVLA process, long and sustained control of heavy organic contaminants was demonstrated.

Kayatin, Matthew J.↗

NASA NTRS2011

High-Payoff Space Transportation Design Approach with a Technology Integration Strategy

A general architectural design sequence is described to create a highly efficient, operable, and supportable design that achieves an affordable, repeatable, and sustainable transportation function. The paper covers the following aspects of this approach in more detail: (1) vehicle architectural concept considerations (including important strategies for greater reusability); (2) vehicle element propulsion system packaging considerations; (3) vehicle element functional definition; (4) external ground servicing and access considerations; and, (5) simplified guidance, navigation, flight control and avionics communications considerations. Additionally, a technology integration strategy is forwarded that includes: (a) ground and flight test prior to production commitments; (b) parallel stage propellant storage, such as concentric-nested tanks; (c) high thrust, LOX-rich, LOX-cooled first stage earth-to-orbit main engine; (d) non-toxic, day-of-launch-loaded propellants for upper stages and in-space propulsion; (e) electric propulsion and aero stage control.

McCleskey, C. M.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Field Scale Testing of RESOLVE at 2010 ISRU Analog Test

When mankind returns to the moon, there will be one aspect of the architecture that will totally change how we explore the solar system. For the first time in space exploration, we will take the initial steps towards breaking our reliance on Earth-supplied consumables by extracting resources from planetary bodies. Our first efforts in this area, known as In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), will be directed at extracting some of the abundant oxygen found in the lunar regolith. But the "holy grail" of lunar ISRU will be finding an exploitable source of lunar hydrogen. If we can find a source of hydrogen that can be reasonably extracted from the regolith, it would provide a foundation for true independence from Earth consumables. With in-situ hydrogen and oxygen (and/or water) we can produce many of the major consumables needed to travel to and operate on a sustainable lunar outpost. We would have water to drink, oxygen to breath, and rocket propellants and fuel cell reagents to enable extended access and operations across the moon. NASA initiated development of an experiment package named RESOLVE (Regolith & Environment Science and Oxygen & Lunar Volatile Extraction) that could be flown to the rim or into a permanently shadowed crater to answer the questions surrounding elevated hydrogen at the lunar poles.

Captain, Janine E.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Demonstration of Fluid Dynamics for Plant Growing Systems in Varied Gravity Environments Through Scaled Capillary Models

A key aspect to the success of human health and performance is having a reliable and nutritious food supply. Dating back to the early days of human exploration, food was often one of the determining factors of whether a mission was successful. As humans begin to explore space, keeping astronauts well-nourished and satisfied through their meals will ensure that they are able to conduct research and push the bounds of the human presence of our universe. Currently, food supplies for shorter mission durations rely solely on pre-packaged foods and resupplies. While reliance on this type of food delivery is not an issue for short human space missions to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), once humans begin long-term missions to explore the lunar surface and beyond, a more sustainable and self-reliant food supply will be needed.

Capillary↗

NASA NTRS1988

The GONG Data Reduction and Analysis System

Each of the six GONG observing stations will produce three, 16-bit, 256X256 images of the Sun every 60 sec of sunlight. These data will be transferred from the observing sites to the GONG Data Management and Analysis Center (DMAC), in Tucson, on high-density tapes at a combined rate of over 1 gibabyte per day. The contemporaneous processing of these data will produce several standard data products and will require a sustained throughput in excess of 7 megaflops. Peak rates may exceed 50 megaflops. Archives will accumulate at the rate of approximately 1 terabyte per year, reaching nearly 3 terabytes in 3 yr of observing. Researchers will access the data products with a machine-independent GONG Reduction and Analysis Software Package (GRASP). Based on the Image Reduction and Analysis Facility, this package will include database facilities and helioseismic analysis tools. Users may access the data as visitors in Tucson, or may access DMAC remotely through networks, or may process subsets of the data at their local institutions using GRASP or other systems of their choice. Elements of the system will reach the prototype stage by the end of 1988. Full operation is expected in 1992 when data acquisition begins.

Pintar, James A.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Design and Field Test of a Mass Efficient Crane for Lunar Payload Handling and Inspection: The Lunar Surface Manipulation System

Devices for lifting, translating and precisely placing payloads are critical for efficient Earthbased construction operations. Both recent and past studies have demonstrated that devices with similar functionality will be needed to support lunar outpost operations. Lunar payloads include: a) prepackaged hardware and supplies which must be unloaded from landers and then accurately located at their operational site, b) sensor packages used for periodic inspection of landers, habitat surfaces, etc., and c) local materials such as regolith which require grading, excavation and placement. Although several designs have been developed for Earth based applications, these devices lack unique design characteristics necessary for transport to and use on the harsh lunar surface. These design characteristics include: a) composite components, b) compact packaging for launch, c) simple in-field reconfiguration and repair, and d) support for tele-operated or automated operations. Also, in contrast to Earth-based construction, where special purpose devices dominate a construction site, a lunar outpost will require versatile devices which provide operational benefit from initial construction through sustained operations. This paper will detail the design of a unique, high performance, versatile lifting device designed for operations on the lunar surface. The device is called the Lunar Surface Manipulation System to highlight the versatile nature of the device which supports conventional cable suspended crane operations as well as operations usually associated with a manipulator such as precise positioning where the payload is rigidly grappled by a tool attached to the tip of the device. A first generation test-bed to verify design methods and operational procedures is under development at the NASA Langley Research Center and recently completed field tests at Moses Lake Washington. The design relied on non-linear finite element analysis which is shown to correlate favorably with laboratory experiments. A key design objective, reviewed in this paper, is the device s simplicity, resulting from a focus on the minimum set of functions necessary to perform payload offload. Further development of the device has the potential for significant mass savings, with a high performance device incorporating composite elements estimated to have a mass less than 3% of the mass of the maximum lunar payload lifted at the tip. The paper will conclude with future plans for expanding the operational versatility of the device.

Doggett, William R.↗

NASA NTRS1992

New inertial actuator provides isolation and stabilization in microgravity conditions

Experiments in materials and fluids processing have been conducted, or are planned, that take advantage of the low-g environment offered by space-based platforms. While the specific goals of the experiments vary, a common objective is to see improved results from the processes over those that would be obtained from similar ground-based experiments. While the space-based processing environment does offer a low-g environment, it is not disturbance free. Results of experiments already conducted, particularly those in manned vehicles, show that spacecraft induced disturbances still limit what can be achieved in materials processing. The duration of actual micro-g level environments is shorter than desired and periods of milli-g activity levels are not uncommon. While small scale experiments can be configured to overcome some of the vehicle disturbance sources, larger scale processing devices and commercial activities will require alternative methods to reduce the influences of spacecraft vibrations. Applied Technology Associates, Inc., (ATA), in cooperation with NASA Lewis Research Center, is developing hardware to provide a sustained micro-g experiment environment. This work is being sponsored under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, which is currently in the Phase 2 development stage. ATA's approach is based on an inertial actuator, which when used as part of a closed-loop stabilization system, rejects unwanted disturbances to the experiment package. A prototype of the actuator has been fabricated and used in a laboratory demonstration to prove the principle of operation. ATA's presentation emphasized the development and testing of the Digital Materials Processing Experiment (DAMPER) inertial actuator. Physical and performance characteristics of the device are presented. Technical issues, including further optimization of the actuator's performance and plans for additional laboratory experiments, are also covered.

Blackburn, John↗

NASA NTRS1992

Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) low-temperature heat pipe experiment package power system results

An overview of a self-contained Direct Energy Transfer Power System which was developed to provide power to the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) Low-Temperature Heat Pipe Experiment Package is presented. The power system operated successfully for the entire mission. Data recorded by the onboard recorder shows that the system operated within design specifications. Other than unanticipated overcharging of the battery, the power system operated as expected for nearly 32,000 low earth orbit cycles, and was still operational when tested after the LDEF recovery. Some physical damage was sustained by the solar array panels due to micrometeoroid hits, but there were not electrical failures.

Tiller, Smith E.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Nutritional Criteria for Military Rations and Effects of Prolonged Feeding on Acceptability

Broad nutritional policies for operational rations are designed to insure that the nutritional content of the rations served will sustain combat effectiveness. Concern exists that these rations, although nutritionally complete, would become monotonous because of limited variety causing nutrient intake to decrease and body weight losses to occur with adverse effects on morale and combat effectiveness. Whenever possible, troops are now fed one or two hot meals per day containing fresh foods and a much greater variety of foods than are available in packaged rations. A laboratory test was conducted with student volunteers and the results are discussed.

Schnakenberg, D.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Development and fabrication of an augmented power transistor

The development of device design and processing techniques for the fabrication of an augmented power transistor capable of fast switching and high voltage power conversion is discussed. The major device goals sustaining voltages in the range of 800 to 1000 V at 80 A and 50 A, respectively, at a gain of 14. The transistor switching rise and fall times were both to have been less than 0.5 microseconds. The development of a passivating glass technique to shield the device high voltage junction from moisture and ionic contaminants is discussed as well as the development of an isolated package that separates the thermal and electrical interfaces. A new method was found to alloy the transistors to the molybdenum disc at a relatively low temperature. The measured electrical performance compares well with the predicted optimum design specified in the original proposed design. A 40 mm diameter transistor was fabricated with seven times the emitter area of the earlier 23 mm diameter device.

Geisler, M. J.↗

NASA NTRS2019

The International Space Station (ISS) Port 1 (P1) External Active Thermal Control System (EATCS) Ammonia Leak

From 2011 to 2017, the crew onboard the International Space Station (ISS) was at risk of dire consequences due to an external ammonia leak. Ammonia is used in the External Active Thermal Control System (EATCS) to cool the pressurized modules and external electrical systems. Engineers at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) initially detected the leak in one of two cooling loops by monitoring the system ammonia inventory decay over time. White flakes seen on High Definition (HD) cameras were also thought to be associated with the leakage but not confirmed. Initially, the leak was small enough that the ammonia inventory and system operations were not in jeopardy. However, the leak began to accelerate to the point where troubleshooting and corrective action were vital to the sustainability of the ISS. Therefore, it became imperative that the leak be located and repaired for ISS operations to continue. No tools were readily available on the ISS to locate such a leak when it was initially detected, however NASA engineers were already in the process of developing a new device for this purpose called the Robotic External Leak Locator (RELL). The RELL is a robotic instrument package with a mass spectrometer and an ion pressure gauge. Initial checkout operations with RELL happened to coincide with the increasing leak, and ammonia vapors were measured around the P1 EATCS Radiator #3 flexible jumper hoses. The leak stopped after the radiator and its flexible hoses were remotely isolated from the loop and the ammonia from the isolated segment was vented to space. Astronauts conducted a spacewalk that successfully removed the hoses, which were returned to ground for further investigation. The purpose of this paper is to review the leak detection and isolation efforts, investigation results, lessons learned and the recovery plan.

Cowan, Darnell T.↗

NASA NTRS2019

The International Space Station (ISS) Port 1 (P1) External Active Thermal Control System (EATCS) Ammonia Leak

Cowan, Darnell T.↗

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 NTRSDate not supplied

NASA's Habitation Development Status: Current Concepts and ISRU Opportunities

Introduction: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is embarking on a bold journey to return humankind to the Moon and onward to Mars with innovative commercial, international, and academic partnerships. Under the Artemis series of missions, NASA seeks to establish sustained human exploration of deep space through an objectives-based approach. This approach drives the identification of needed system functionality and the current and future capabilities which will eventually allow humanity to sustainably live beyond Earth. Providing evolvable and scalable habitation is a cornerstone function that calls for the collection and integration of current, developmental, and future technologies that can meet near-term exploration needs while growing into long-term sustained presence. NASA is advancing in-space habitation through its Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) model while designing lunar, Mars transit, and Mars surface habitat government reference concepts for Artemis missions. These efforts have unveiled possible near-term opportunities for the in-space resource utilization community if human habitation is considered a future customer of space resources. NextSTEP Habitation Development: NASA is closely working with commercial partners under its NextSTEP Appendix A model to advance habitation systems in the arena of inflatable and composite habitation structures. Such efforts promise efficiencies in volumetric packaging and overall spacecraft mass respectively. Recent testing by commercial partners have helped to quantify possible failure mechanisms for inflatable structures while advancing their technology towards eventual flight certification. The advancement of such Class II habitation structures, in which the habitat is only fully deployed once in-space or on a planetary surface, is critical to providing increased habitable volume for long-duration missions with no additional mass penalties. The progression of such technology is infused into NASA’s government reference concepts for notional deep space habitation concepts. Current Government Reference Concepts: To best inform the formulation of future collaborative solicitations, NASA employs the practice of internally developing reference concepts for future exploration elements. These concepts aid in identifying the functions and capabilities needed to complete NASA missions as well as feasible solutions within the timeframe needed. Government reference concepts for a lunar Surface Habitat, Mars Transit Habitat, and Mars Sur-face Habitat are continuously being developed and updated to better guide the Agency’s overall exploration architecture. Lunar Surface Habitat. As NASA returns to the Moon, it is evaluating possible lunar surface habitation concepts. The Surface Habitat (SH) reference concept entails a hybrid metallic-inflatable structure capable of initially housing two crew for surface stays of up to 30 days in duration. While initial missions may span ~7 days in duration, consideration is being given to expanding SH’s capability to support a crew of four for up to 60 days over its 15-year design life. Functionally, the SH serves as a ‘hub’ for all Artemis crewed surface operations, providing internal volume for maintenance, medical, logistics, science utilization, and extravehicular activity (EVA) support in addition to core habitation functionality such as environmental control and life support (ECLS) and power generation and distribution among many others. Additionally, NASA has entered a study agreement with the Italian Space Agency (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana – ASI) to investigation a possible Multi-Purpose Habitat (MPH) as an additional or augmenting habit-able element for the lunar surface. Mars Transit Habitat. NASA’s current architectural concept for initial human missions to Mars entails the utilization of a transit habitat (TH) to transport a four-person crew to and from Mars orbit, departing from and returning to a lunar near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO), over the course of a ~1,200-day mission. While holding a similar 15-year design lifetime, TH will also support a series of analog mission activities in NRHO to gradually test the systems and interaction with lunar surface elements, some of which may be adapted for Mars surface exploration. Holding similar functional capabilities as SH, TH is sized to support much longer durations in space and greater logistical independence. Mars Surface Habitat. NASA is still exploring the concept of operations for initial crewed missions to Mars. As such, the Mars Surface Habitat (MSH) concept is still in its infancy as options for mobile, pressurized habitation and stationary habitats are being explored. It is expected MSH will leverage heavily from the lunar SH and possible lunar pressurized rover, however the very different Martian environment will likely necessitate modifications. ISRU Opportunities: Despite the advancements under NASA’s NextSTEP habitation work and continually optimized reference concepts, NASA is facing near-term mass and power challenges that may create opportunities to the ISRU community by providing yet another possible customer for space resources. While NASA desires to use regenerative ECLS systems (ECLSS) for all habitation concepts, their operation comes with initial mass penalties and maintenance overheads when compared to simpler open-loop architectures. Because of this, NASA is currently pro-posing an open-loop, consumables-based architecture for its surface habitats to achieve initial launch and delivery lander mass targets while scarring for the in-corporation of regenerative ECLSS to meet longer mission durations and sustained presence. With such an architecture, oxygen and potable water are needed consumables, which initial ISRU systems may be able to provide in a pilot capacity. Although the TH is expecting to utilize regenerative ECLSS, advancements in lunar surface-based ISRU and possible re-supply of spacecraft in lunar or Mars orbit could significantly reduce the logistical need for ECLSS related spares on TH and possibly allow a similar open-loop and consumables-based architecture. In addition to ECLSS mass concerns, the SH is facing challenges with energy storage to support operations over periods of darkness exceeding 100 hours. Both battery and fuel cell-based power architectures are being traded, opening options for external power generation and energy storage. One possibility is ISRU-produced H2 and O2 feeding external primary fuel cell systems which could supplement habitation power generation while reducing initial mass and volume until much more powerful fission power systems might be deployed. Conclusion: Significant advancements are being made in evolvable habitation concepts that span from near-term technologies, such as inflatable structures under NextSTEP, to potentially revolutionary capabilities like the lunar surface construction as funded through the Moon-to-Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technologies (MMPACT) project. As NASA investigates both heritage capabilities and rap-idly advancing, disruptive technologies, there are likely many near-term opportunities for initial ISRU capabilities to significantly aid human habitation and increase self-sufficiency beyond Earth.

habitation↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA's Habitation Development Status: Current Concepts and ISRU Opportunities

Introduction: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is embarking on a bold journey to return humankind to the Moon and onward to Mars with innovative commercial, international, and academic partnerships [1]. Under the Artemis series of missions, NASA seeks to establish sustained human exploration of deep space through an objectives-based approach [2]. This approach drives the identification of needed system functionality and the current and future capabilities which will eventually allow humanity to sustainably live beyond Earth. Providing evolvable and scalable habitation is a cornerstone function that calls for the collection and integration of current, developmental, and future technologies that can meet near-term exploration needs while growing into long-term sustained presence. NASA is advancing in-space habitation through its Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) model while designing lunar, Mars transit, and Mars surface habitat government reference concepts for Artemis missions. These efforts have unveiled possible near-term opportunities for the in-space resource utilization community if human habitation is considered a future customer of space resources. NextSTEP Habitation Development: NASA is closely working with commercial partners under its NextSTEP Appendix A model to advance habitation systems in the arena of inflatable and composite habitation structures. Such efforts promise efficiencies in volumetric packaging and overall spacecraft mass respectively. Recent testing by commercial partners have helped to quantify possible failure mechanisms for inflatable structures while advancing their technology towards eventual flight certification. The advancement of such Class II habitation structures, in which the habitat is only fully deployed once in-space or on a planetary surface [3], is critical to providing increased habitable volume for long-duration missions with no additional mass penalties. The progression of such technology is infused into NASA’s government reference concepts for notional deep space habitation concepts. Current Government Reference Concepts: To best inform the formulation of future collaborative solicitations, NASA employs the practice of internally developing reference concepts for future exploration elements. These concepts aid in identifying the functions and capabilities needed to complete NASA missions as well as feasible solutions within the timeframe needed. Government reference concepts for a lunar Surface Habitat, Mars Transit Habitat, and Mars Sur-face Habitat are continuously being developed and updated to better guide the Agency’s overall exploration architecture. Lunar Surface Habitat. As NASA returns to the Moon, it is evaluating possible lunar surface habitation concepts. The Surface Habitat (SH) reference concept entails a hybrid metallic-inflatable structure capable of initially housing two crew for surface stays of up to 30 days in duration [4]. While initial missions may span ~7 days in duration, consideration is being given to expanding SH’s capability to support a crew of four for up to 60 days over its 15-year design life [5]. Functionally, the SH serves as a ‘hub’ for all Artemis crewed surface operations, providing internal volume for maintenance, medical, logistics, science utilization, and extravehicular activity (EVA) support in addition to core habitation functionality such as environmental control and life support (ECLS) and power generation and distribution among many others. Additionally, NASA has entered a study agreement with the Italian Space Agency (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana – ASI) to investigation a possible Multi-Purpose Habitat (MPH) as an additional or augmenting habit-able element for the lunar surface [6]. Mars Transit Habitat. NASA’s current architectural concept for initial human missions to Mars entails the utilization of a transit habitat (TH) to transport a four-person crew to and from Mars orbit, departing from and returning to a lunar near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO), over the course of a ~1,200-day mission [5]. While holding a similar 15-year design lifetime, TH will also support a series of analog mission activities in NRHO to gradually test the systems and interaction with lunar surface elements, some of which may be adapted for Mars surface exploration. Holding similar functional capabilities as SH, TH is sized to support much longer durations in space and greater logistical independence. Mars Surface Habitat. NASA is still exploring the concept of operations for initial crewed missions to Mars. As such, the Mars Surface Habitat (MSH) concept is still in its infancy as options for mobile, pressurized habitation and stationary habitats are being explored. It is expected MSH will leverage heavily from the lunar SH and possible lunar pressurized rover, however the very different Martian environment will likely necessitate modifications. ISRU Opportunities: Despite the advancements under NASA’s NextSTEP habitation work and continually optimized reference concepts, NASA is facing near-term mass and power challenges that may create opportunities to the ISRU community by providing yet another possible customer for space resources. While NASA desires to use regenerative ECLS systems (ECLSS) for all habitation concepts, their operation comes with initial mass penalties and maintenance overheads when compared to simpler open-loop architectures. Because of this, NASA is currently pro-posing an open-loop, consumables-based architecture for its surface habitats to achieve initial launch and delivery lander mass targets while scarring for the in-corporation of regenerative ECLSS to meet longer mission durations and sustained presence. With such an architecture, oxygen and potable water are needed consumables, which initial ISRU systems may be able to provide in a pilot capacity. Although the TH is expecting to utilize regenerative ECLSS, advancements in lunar surface-based ISRU and possible re-supply of spacecraft in lunar or Mars orbit could significantly reduce the logistical need for ECLSS related spares on TH and possibly allow a similar open-loop and consumables-based architecture. Table 1 Notional ECLSS consumables per mission use for SH and TH [5]. SH (28-day) Open Loop: Water (kg) 288 | Oxygen (kg) 30 TH (1110-day) Closed-Loop: Water (kg) 182 | Oxygen (kg) 123 In addition to ECLSS mass concerns, the SH is facing challenges with energy storage to support operations over periods of darkness exceeding 100 hours. Both battery and fuel cell-based power architectures are being traded, opening options for external power generation and energy storage. One possibility is ISRU-produced H2 and O2 feeding external primary fuel cell systems which could supplement habitation power generation while reducing initial mass and volume until much more powerful fission power systems might be deployed. Conclusion: Significant advancements are being made in evolvable habitation concepts that span from near-term technologies, such as inflatable structures under NextSTEP, to potentially revolutionary capabilities like the lunar surface construction as funded through the Moon-to-Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technologies (MMPACT) project [7]. As NASA investigates both heritage capabilities and rap-idly advancing, disruptive technologies, there are likely many near-term opportunities for initial ISRU capabilities to significantly aid human habitation and increase self-sufficiency beyond Earth.

habitation↗

NASA NTRS2007

Uncertainty Analysis of Historical Hurricane Data

An analysis of variance (ANOVA) study was conducted for historical hurricane data dating back to 1851 that was obtained from the U. S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The data set was chosen because it is a large, publicly available collection of information, exhibiting great variability which has made the forecasting of future states, from current and previous states, difficult. The availability of substantial, high-fidelity validation data, however, made for an excellent uncertainty assessment study. Several factors (independent variables) were identified from the data set, which could potentially influence the track and intensity of the storms. The values of these factors, along with the values of responses of interest (dependent variables) were extracted from the data base, and provided to a commercial software package for processing via the ANOVA technique. The primary goal of the study was to document the ANOVA modeling uncertainty and predictive errors in making predictions about hurricane location and intensity 24 to 120 hours beyond known conditions, as reported by the data set. A secondary goal was to expose the ANOVA technique to a broader community within NASA. The independent factors considered to have an influence on the hurricane track included the current and starting longitudes and latitudes (measured in degrees), and current and starting maximum sustained wind speeds (measured in knots), and the storm starting date, its current duration from its first appearance, and the current year fraction of each reading, all measured in years. The year fraction and starting date were included in order to attempt to account for long duration cyclic behaviors, such as seasonal weather patterns, and years in which the sea or atmosphere were unusually warm or cold. The effect of short duration weather patterns and ocean conditions could not be examined with the current data set. The responses analyzed were the storm latitude, longitude and intensity, as recorded in the data set, 24 or 120 hours beyond the current state. Several ANOVA modeling schemes were examined. Two forms of validation were used: 1) comparison with official hurricane prediction performance metrics and 2) cases studies conducted on hurricanes from the 2005 season, which were not included within the model construction and ANOVA assessment. In general, the ANOVA technique did not perform as well as the established official prediction performance metrics published by NOAA; still, the technique did remarkably well in this demonstration with a difficult data set and could probably be made to perform better with more knowledge of hurricane development and dynamics applied to the problem. The technique provides a repeatable prediction process that eliminates the need for judgment in the forecast.

Green, Lawrence L.↗

NASA NTRS2009

Automation of a Versatile Crane (the LSMS) for Lunar Outpost Construction, Maintenance and Inspection

Devices for lifting, translating and precisely placing payloads are critical for efficient Earth-based construction operations. Both recent and past studies have demonstrated that devices with similar functionality will be needed to support lunar outpost operations. Although several designs have been developed for Earth based applications, these devices lack unique design characteristics necessary for transport to and use on the harsh lunar surface. These design characteristics include: a) lightweight components, b) compact packaging for launch, c) automated deployment, d) simple in-field reconfiguration and repair, and e) support for tele-operated or automated operations. Also, because the cost to transport mass to the lunar surface is very high, the number of devices that can be dedicated to surface operations will be limited. Thus, in contrast to Earth-based construction, where many single-purpose devices dominate a construction site, a lunar outpost will require a limited number of versatile devices that provide operational benefit from initial construction through sustained operations. The first generation test-bed of a new high performance device, the Lunar Surface Manipulation System (LSMS) has been designed, built and field tested. The LSMS has many unique features resulting in a mass efficient solution to payload handling on the lunar surface. Typically, the LSMS device mass is estimated at approximately 3% of the mass of the heaviest payload lifted at the tip, or 1.8 % of the mass of the heaviest mass lifted at the elbow or mid-span of the boom for a high performance variant incorporating advanced structural components. Initial operational capabilities of the LSMS were successfully demonstrated during field tests at Moses Lake, Washington using a tele-operated approach. Joint angle sensors have been developed for the LSMS to improve operator situational awareness. These same sensors provide the necessary information to support fully automated operations, greatly expanding the operational versatility of the LSMS. This paper develops the equations describing the forward and inverse relation between LSMS joint angles and Cartesian coordinates of the LSMS tip. These equations allow a variety of schemes to be used to maneuver the LSMS to optimize the maneuver. One such scheme will be described in detail that eliminates undesirable swinging of the payload at the conclusion of a maneuver, even when the payload is suspended from a passive rigid link. The swinging is undesirable when performing precision maneuvers, such as aligning an object for mating or positioning a camera. Use of the equations described here enables automated control of the LSMS greatly improving its operational versatility.

Doggett, William R.↗