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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA Space Launch System Prepares for Key Hotfire Test Before Vehicle Integration

NASA this year is working toward the final major integrated hardware and avionics test for its Space Launch System (SLS), the agency’s new super heavy-lift vehicle to send large, strategic payloads to the Moon, Mars and beyond. As the backbone of the Artemis human lunar exploration program, Artemis I SLS operations will then shift to the launch site and integration for the inaugural mission. For this final major test of the first vehicle NASA has built exclusively for deep space exploration since the Saturn V, a NASA/Boeing/Aerojet Rocketdyne team will conduct the final core stage “green run” test at NASA's Stennis Space Center with a dramatic firing of all four core stage engines. This test will validate the operation of the stage structures, main propulsion system, engines, avionics, and software. Following data review, stage inspection, and refurbishment, the stage will be barged to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to continue integration of the Artemis I launch vehicle. Already underway is assembly of the mission’s five-segment solid rocket boosters. The mission’s upper stage and spacecraft adapters also are staged at the launch site ready for integration. Even as the Artemis I SLS proceeds toward launch later this year, the Artemis II and Artemis III vehicles are coming together, with core stages, engines, boosters, upper stage, and payload accommodations in various stages of manufacturing and/or processing. Planning is also underway for additional core stages and a new, more powerful upper stage that will increase lunar payload mass. SLS is the anchor transportation leg of a plan for sustained human exploration of the Moon, including the first human landing later in the decade. This paper will discuss SLS progress to date and expected 2021 milestones.

Bruce R. Askins↗

NASA NTRS2024

Flight Certification Approach for NASA's Space Launch System

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) vehicle was successfully launched on November 16, 2022, initiating the Artemis I mission to send the uncrewed Orion spacecraft to the Moon and further into space than any human-rated spacecraft had previously flown. Flight certification of the launch vehicle was part of the systems engineering and integration (SE&I) effort conducted by NASA to successfully certify the mission and begin a new era of human space exploration of the Moon and eventually Mars. This paper describes the SLS Program flight certification approach including the organization, processes, and reporting. This approach used traditional NASA SE&I milestone reviews and lessons learned from the Space Shuttle Program, as well as unique methods to certify the complex system, procedures, and personnel readiness. The approach utilized by the SLS Program to conduct flight certification for the Artemis I mission can be extended to address flight certification for other complex programs.

flight certification↗

NASA NTRS2000

MarsLab: A HEDS Lander Concept

Recognizing that the human exploration of Mars will be a science-focused enterprise, the Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS) program set out three years ago to develop a mix of science and technology Lander payloads as a first step toward a human mission. With three experiments ready for flight and four more in development, the HEDS Mars program has the capability to stage missions with considerable impact. This presentation describes one such mission design by no means unique. Ambitious in scope, it encompasses elements of all seven HEDS payloads in a configuration with a uniquely HEDS character. Pragmatically, a subset of these elements could be selected for existing small Lander platforms. Bristling with scientific experiments, technology demonstrations, and outreach elements, MarsLab represents a prototype of a manned science station or scientific outpost. A cartoon overview of MarsLab defines its major elements, explained more fully in the sections that follow. The concept is endorsed by PI's of the various HEDS payloads, details of which are presented elsewhere at this workshop.

Hecht, M. H.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Exobiology opportunities from Discovery-class missions

Discovery-class missions that are now planned, and those in the concept stage, have the potential to expand our knowledge of the origins and evolution of biogenic compounds, and ultimately, of the origins of life in the solar system. This class of missions, recently developed within NASA's Solar System Exploration Program, is designed to meet important scientific objectives within stringent guidelines--$150 million cap on development cost and a 3-year cap on the development schedule. The Discovery Program will effectively enable "faster, cheaper" missions to explore the inner solar system. The first two missions are Mars Environmental Survey (MESUR) Pathfinder and Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR). MESUR Pathfinder will be the first Discovery mission, with launch planned for November/December 1996. It will be primarily a technical demonstration and validation of the MESUR Program--a network of automated landers to study the internal structure, meteorology, and surface properties of Mars. Besides providing engineering data, Pathfinder will carry atmospheric instrumentation and imaging capabilities, and may deploy a microrover equipped with an alpha proton X-ray spectrometer to determine elemental composition, particularly the lighter elements of exobiological interest. NEAR is expected to be launched in 1998 and to rendezvous with a near-Earth asteroid for up to 1 year. During this time, the spacecraft will assess the asteroid's mass, size, density, map its surface topography and composition, determine its internal properties, and study its interaction with the interplanetary environment. A gamma ray or X-ray spectrometer will be used to determine elemental composition. An imaging spectrograph, with 0.35 to 2.5 micron spectral range, will be used to determine the asteroid's compositional disbribution. Of the 11 Discovery mission concepts that have been designated as warranting further study, several are promising in terms of determining the composition and chemical evolution of organic matter on small planetary bodies. The following mission concepts are of particular interest to the Exobiology Program: Cometary coma chemical composition, comet nucleus tour, near earth asteroid returned sample, small missions to asteroids and comets, and solar wind sample return. The following three Discovery mission concepts that have been targeted for further consideration are relevant to the study of the evolution of biogenic compounds: Comet nucleus penetrator, mainbelt asteroid rendezvous explorer, and the Mars polar Pathfinder.

Meyer, Michael A.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Mars Planetary Network for Human Exploration Era – Potential Challenges and Solutions

During 2016-2017, a study was conducted under the sponsorship of the NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Program to investigate the deep space communications capacity taking into account the needs of all the present and envisioned future missions toward 2030s. It was soon recognized that planning for human exploration to Mars would impose certain unprecedent challenges, both fiscal and technical, to the current space communications paradigm. Targeting the assumed missions concepts, i.e., Crewed Mission to Phobos (CMTP) and Mars Short Stay Mission (MSSM), a Mars Planetary Network for the human exploration era has been formulated. The activity modeling and network traffic simulation/modeling we performed gave some insight into the technical challenges in space communications for the envisioned human Mars exploration era. Chief among the potential challenges are: (1) the high demand on the deep space network (DSN) assets for achieving the high-rate links, both return and forward, from Mars farthest/farther distance (up to 2.67 AU); (2) the need for resilient, persistent communication coverage for crewed vehicles, on surface and in orbits; (3) the significant period of outage for the Mars-Earth link due to superior solar conjunction; (4) the need for on-demand, simultaneous access to the proximity link by multiple vehicles and astronauts in the exploration zone; (5) the capability of determining precise, real-time, positions of surface vehicles and astronauts by the deep space habitat and/or other tele-operations entities. Solution space to each of the above challenges has been explored and analyzed in the context of the individual problem domain and, more importantly, in conjunction with that for the other challenges. This has led to an end-to-end definition of a Mars Planetary Network that would feature: (1) the fusion of deep space Ka-band and optical communications for achieving Mars-Earth high-rate links taking advantage of the optical/RF hybrid 8m/34m antennas in DSN; (2) the integrated application of the Multiple Spacecraft Per Antenna (MSPA) technique, for return link data acquisition, and the Multiple Uplink Per Antenna (MUPA) technique, for forward link data trasnmission, to reduce the number of 34m beam-wave guide (BWG) antennas needed for the era; (3) the integration of three, arrayed, 34m beam-wave guide (BWG) antennas, to provide a high G/T aperture, with the MSPA/MUPA techniques, and a dual “trunk link”approach to cut down the needed G/T -- hence, reducing the number of 34m antennas, relative to that in the single trunk approach by 50%; (4) the deployment of two areostationary/areosynchronous Mars relay orbiters; one of them could also function as (or be served by) a notional Deep Space Habitat (DSH); (5) the opportunistic deployment of a science orbiter in a Pioneer-6 type orbit, equidistant Mars/Earth, that could also serve as an intermediary relay during the Mars superior solar conjunction perod; (6) the existence of the multi-function Mars proximity link that provides the demand-assigned, multiple access (DAMA) capability; and (7) the provision of tracking observables, by leveraging on the planned Mars orbiting and surface infrastructure, to enable the in-situ navigation for surface and orbiting vehicles. This paper provides the description of the proposed Mars Planetary Network in the human exploration era, the trade-off analysis for the various alternative architectures, and the optimal solutions to the key challenges in defining this end-to-end network.

Cheung, Kar-Ming↗

NASA NTRS2014

Raising Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) Technology Readiness Above 3

NTP development is currently supported by the NASA program office "Advanced Exploration Systems". The concept is a main propulsion option being considered for human missions to Mars in the 2030's. Major NTP development took place in the 1960's and 1970's under the Rover/NERVA program. The technology had matured to TRL 6 and was preparing to go to TRL 7 with a prototype flight engine before the program was cancelled. Over the last 40 years, a variety of continuations started, but only lasted a few years each. The Rover/NERVA infrastructure is almost all gone. The only remains are a few pieces of hardware, final reports and a few who worked the Rover/NERVA. Two types of nuclear fuel are being investigated to meet the current engine design specific impulse of 900 seconds compared to approximately 850 seconds demonstrated during Rover/NERVA. One is a continuation of composite fuel with new coatings to better control mid-band corrosion. The other type is a CERMET fuel made of Tungsten and UO2. Both fuels are being made from Rover/NERVA lessons learned, but with slightly different recipes to increase fuel endurance at higher operating temperatures. The technology readiness level (TRL) of these current modified reactor fuels is approximately TRL 3. To keep the development cost low and help mature the TRL level past 4 quickly, a few special non-nuclear test facilities have been made to test surrogate fuel, with depleted uranium, as coupons and full length elements. Both facilities utilize inductive heating and are licensed to handle depleted uranium. TRL 5 requires exposing the fuel to a nuclear environment and TRL 6 requires a prototype ground or flight engine system test. Currently, three different NTP ground test facility options are being investigated: exhaust scrubber, bore hole, and total exhaust containment. In parallel, a prototype flight demonstration test is also being studied. The first human mission to Mars in the 2030's is currently 2033. For an advanced propulsion concept to be seriously considered for use, the engine development plans need to show it is feasible and affordable to reach TRL 8 by 2027 and can be qualified for human mission use.

Gerrish, Harold P., Jr.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA Extravehicular Activity Technology Roadmaps for Exploration

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has developed and matured many technologies over the decades to advance extravehicular activity (EVA) systems. Over the last 15 years, major steps were taken to advance the technology with the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) government reference design at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. The xEMU builds on the lessons learned of the Apollo, Space Shuttle, and International Space Station (ISS) EMUs, evolving the technology to increase performance for extreme environments. As NASA sets its goals toward Earth’s Moon and Mars, a spacesuit design tolerable of gravity and dust will be needed for these adverse environments. NASA has used roadmaps as the means of documenting actionable plans for strategizing technology developments needed to meet NASA’s mission and goals. To help reach and create a sustained presence on the Moon, NASA procured EVA services from industry through the Exploration EVA Services (xEVAS) contract. These services include certified contractor-provided spacesuits, tools, equipment, vehicle interfaces, and support to training and real-time operations. NASA will now focus on a mission to Mars. NASA leadership has set goals and objectives related to the Agency’s vision and a Moon to Mars (M2M) strategy. This paper presents an organizational framework to provide insight into how NASA’s vision is realized. Additionally, this paper covers the maturation and development of the spacesuit technology and reveals the EVA technology roadmaps for the M2M Program. These EVA roadmaps visualize an actionable path to EVA capabilities needed for Mars exploration.

Cinda Chullen↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA Extravehicular Activity Technology Roadmaps for Exploration

Cinda Chullen↗

NASA NTRS2009

A Lunar Surface System Supportability Technology Development Roadmap

This paper discusses the establishment of a Supportability Technology Development Roadmap as a guide for developing capabilities intended to allow NASA's Constellation program to enable a supportable, sustainable and affordable exploration of the Moon and Mars. Presented is a discussion of "supportability", in terms of space facility maintenance, repair and related logistics and a comparison of how lunar outpost supportability differs from the International Space Station. Supportability lessons learned from NASA and Department of Defense experience and their impact on a future lunar outpost is discussed. A supportability concept for future missions to the Moon and Mars that involves a transition from a highly logistics dependent to a logistically independent operation is discussed. Lunar outpost supportability capability needs are summarized and a supportability technology development strategy is established. The resulting Lunar Surface Systems Supportability Strategy defines general criteria that will be used to select technologies that will enable future flight crews to act effectively to respond to problems and exploit opportunities in a environment of extreme resource scarcity and isolation. This strategy also introduces the concept of exploiting flight hardware as a supportability resource. The technology roadmap involves development of three mutually supporting technology categories, Diagnostics Test & Verification, Maintenance & Repair, and Scavenging & Recycling. The technology roadmap establishes two distinct technology types, "Embedded" and "Process" technologies, with different implementation and thus different criteria and development approaches. The supportability technology roadmap addresses the technology readiness level, and estimated development schedule for technology groups that includes down-selection decision gates that correlate with the lunar program milestones. The resulting supportability technology roadmap is intended to develop a set of technologies with widest possible capability and utility with a minimum impact on crew time and training and remain within the time and cost constraints of the Constellation program

Oeftering, Richard C.↗

NASA NTRS2011

A Lunar Surface System Supportability Technology Development Roadmap

This paper discusses the establishment of a Supportability Technology Development Roadmap as a guide for developing capabilities intended to allow NASA s Constellation program to enable a supportable, sustainable and affordable exploration of the Moon and Mars. Presented is a discussion of supportability, in terms of space facility maintenance, repair and related logistics and a comparison of how lunar outpost supportability differs from the International Space Station. Supportability lessons learned from NASA and Department of Defense experience and their impact on a future lunar outpost is discussed. A supportability concept for future missions to the Moon and Mars that involves a transition from a highly logistics dependent to a logistically independent operation is discussed. Lunar outpost supportability capability needs are summarized and a supportability technology development strategy is established. The resulting Lunar Surface Systems Supportability Strategy defines general criteria that will be used to select technologies that will enable future flight crews to act effectively to respond to problems and exploit opportunities in an environment of extreme resource scarcity and isolation. This strategy also introduces the concept of exploiting flight hardware as a supportability resource. The technology roadmap involves development of three mutually supporting technology categories, Diagnostics Test and Verification, Maintenance and Repair, and Scavenging and Recycling. The technology roadmap establishes two distinct technology types, "Embedded" and "Process" technologies, with different implementation and thus different criteria and development approaches. The supportability technology roadmap addresses the technology readiness level, and estimated development schedule for technology groups that includes down-selection decision gates that correlate with the lunar program milestones. The resulting supportability technology roadmap is intended to develop a set of technologies with widest possible capability and utility with a minimum impact on crew time and training and remain within the time and cost constraints of the Constellation program.

Oeftering, Richard C.↗

NASA NTRS1991

In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU): Surface systems program area of the exploration technology program

The topics presented are covered in viewgraph form and include the following: (1) utilization of Lunar and Mars resources; (2) oxygen - an example of cost savings; (3) In Space Resource Utilization (ISRU); (4) basic resource processing methods; (5) planetary mining; (6) raw materials preparation; (7) validation, testbeds, and flight experiments; (8) mission readiness schedule; and (9) ISRU budget guideline.

Mckay, David S.↗

NASA NTRS2017

CisLunar Habitat Internal Architecture Design Criteria

BACKGROUND: In preparation for human exploration to Mars, there is a need to define the development and test program that will validate deep space operations and systems. In that context, a Proving Grounds CisLunar habitat spacecraft is being defined as the next step towards this goal. This spacecraft will operate differently from the ISS or other spacecraft in human history. The performance envelope of this spacecraft (mass, volume, power, specifications, etc.) is being defined by the Future Capabilities Study Team. This team has recognized the need for a human-centered approach for the internal architecture of this spacecraft and has commissioned a CisLunar Phase-1 Habitat Internal Architecture Study Team to develop a NASA reference configuration, providing the Agency with a "smart buyer" approach for future acquisition. THE CISLUNAR HABITAT INTERNAL ARCHITECTURE STUDY: Overall, the CisLunar Habitat Internal Architecture study will address the most significant questions and risks in the current CisLunar architecture, habitation, and operations concept development. This effort is achieved through definition of design criteria, evaluation criteria and process, design of the CisLunar Habitat Phase-1 internal architecture, and the development and fabrication of internal architecture concepts combined with rigorous and methodical Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) evaluations and testing of the conceptual innovations in a controlled test environment. The vision of the CisLunar Habitat Internal Architecture Study is to design, build, and test a CisLunar Phase-1 Habitat Internal Architecture that will be used for habitation (e.g. habitability and human factors) evaluations. The evaluations will mature CisLunar habitat evaluation tools, guidelines, and standards, and will interface with other projects such as the Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Program integrated Power, Avionics, Software (iPAS), and Logistics for integrated human-in-the-loop testing. The mission of the CisLunar Habitat Internal Architecture Study is to become a forcing function to establish a common understanding of CisLunar Phase-1 Habitation Internal Architecture design criteria, processes, and tools. The scope of the CisLunar Habitat Internal Architecture study is to design, develop, demonstrate, and evaluate a Phase-1 CisLunar Habitat common module internal architecture based on design criteria agreed to by NASA, the International Partners, and Commercial Exploration teams. This task is to define the CisLunar Phase-1 Internal Architecture Government Reference Design, assist NASA in becoming a "smart buyer" for Phase-1 Habitat Concepts, and ultimately to derive standards and requirements from the Internal Architecture Design Process. The first step was to define a Habitat Internal Architecture Design Criteria and create a structured philosophy to be used by design teams as a filter by which critical aspects of consideration would be identified for the purpose of organizing and utilizing interior spaces. With design criteria in place, the team will develop a series of iterative internal architecture concept designs which will be assessed by means of an evaluation criteria and process. These assessments will successively drive and refine the design, leading to the combination and down-selection of design concepts. A single refined reference design configuration will be developed into in a medium-to-high fidelity mockup. A multi-day human-in-the-loop mission test will fully evaluate the reference design and validate its configuration. Lessons learned from the design and evaluation will enable the team to identify appropriate standards for Phase-1 CisLunar Habitat Internal Architecture and will enable NASA to develop derived requirements in support of maturing CisLunar Habitation capabilities. This paper will describe the criteria definition process, workshop event, and resulting CisLunar Phase-1 Habitat Internal Architecture Design Criteria.

Jones, R.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Space Launch System Accelerated Booster Development Cycle

With the retirement of the Space Shuttle, NASA is seeking to reinvigorate the national space program and recapture the public s interest in human space exploration by developing missions to the Moon, near-earth asteroids, Lagrange points, Mars, and beyond. The would-be successor to the Space Shuttle, NASA s Constellation Program, planned to take humans back to the Moon by 2020, but due to budgetary constraints was cancelled in 2010 in search of a more "affordable, sustainable, and realistic" concept2. Following a number of studies, the much anticipated Space Launch System (SLS) was unveiled in September of 2011. The SLS core architecture consists of a cryogenic first stage with five Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs), and a cryogenic second stage using a new J-2X engine3. The baseline configuration employs two 5-segment solid rocket boosters to achieve a 70 metric ton payload capability, but a new, more capable booster system will be required to attain the goal of 130 metric tons to orbit. To this end, NASA s Marshall Space Flight Center recently released a NASA Research Announcement (NRA) entitled "Space Launch System (SLS) Advanced Booster Engineering Demonstration and/or Risk Reduction." The increased emphasis on affordability is evident in the language used in the NRA, which is focused on risk reduction "leading to an affordable Advanced Booster that meets the evolved capabilities of SLS" and "enabling competition" to "enhance SLS affordability. The purpose of the work presented in this paper is to perform an independent assessment of the elements that make up an affordable and realistic path forward for the SLS booster system, utilizing advanced design methods and technology evaluation techniques. The goal is to identify elements that will enable a more sustainable development program by exploring the trade space of heavy lift booster systems and focusing on affordability, operability, and reliability at the system and subsystem levels5. For this study, affordability is defined as lifecycle cost, which includes design, development, test, and engineering (DDT&E), production and operational costs (P&O). For this study, the system objectives include reducing DDT&E schedule by a factor of three, showing 99.9% reliability, flying up to four times per year, serving both crew and cargo missions, and evolving to a lift capability of 130 metric tons.3 After identifying gaps in the current system s capabilities, this study seeks to identify non-traditional and innovative technologies and processes that may improve performance in these areas and assess their impacts on booster system development. The DDT&E phase may be improved by incorporating incremental development testing and integrated demonstrations to mitigate risk. To further reduce DDT&E, this study will also consider how aspects of the booster system may have commonality with other users, such as the Department of Defense, commercial applications, or international partners; by sharing some of the risk and investment, the overall development cost may be reduced. Consideration is not limited to solid and liquid rocket boosters. A set of functional performance characteristics, such as engine thrust, specific impulse (Isp), mixture ratio, and throttle range are identified and their impacts on the system are evaluated. This study also identifies how such characteristics affect overall life cycle cost, including DDT&E and fixed and variable P&O.

Arockiam, Nicole↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Options for Offloading a 90-Ton Common Habitat from its Lander on the Surface of Mars

The Common Habitat is a large, long-duration habitat being explored as part of a conceptual study (not an active NASA program) that uses an SLS core stage liquid oxygen (LOX) tank as its primary structure. Measuring 8.4 meters in diameter and 15.6 meters in length, it is manufactured as a habitat and launched as such into space. It is intended for use on the Moon as part of a permanently occupied outpost, on Mars as part of an outpost that will be occupied for hundreds of days at a time, and in deep space as part of the Deep Space Exploration Vehicle where it will support crewed missions up to 1200 days in duration. A study of internal orientation and crew size resulted in a Common Habitat configuration sized for a crew of eight with a three-deck horizontal orientation. There are obvious challenges associated with the delivery of such a large habitat, which may mass as much as 90-tons when initially deployed. The Mars destination in particular imposes extreme challenges due to Martian gravity. This paper identifies initial options for the offloading of a 90-ton Common Habitat from a lander spacecraft on the surface of Mars. On Mars, the Common Habitat is part of a surface outpost where a Habitation Zone includes the Common Habitat docked to a two-chamber airlock node, up to two logistics modules, and up to two pressurized rovers. It is connected by underground conduit to a radiator farm and communications tower assembly. These elements and other surface infrastructure, including robotic systems for surface preparation, are landed prior to the Common Habitat. In the baseline Common Habitat Architecture, the Common Habitat is delivered on the third heavy cargo flight. The Habitation Zone configuration dictates that the Common Habitat needs to be offloaded from the lander. All of the docked elements require direct access to the surface and the Common Habitat must actually be placed in a trench to lower its docking ports to be level with those of the mated elements. Additionally, the habitat must be emplaced in a horizontal configuration, while for any conceivable Earth launch system it must be launched in a vertical configuration. It is true that the Common Habitat must be offloaded from its lander on both the Moon and Mars and a common offloading system must therefore work in both destinations. Mars, however, is considered the driving case for offloading in most, but not all, aspects. A four-day internal study in 2021 recommended that a modified Starship be used to land the Common Habitat on Mars and considered multiple approaches to offload the Common Habitat from the payload section and lower it to the surface. The topic was presented at a public hackathon organized by the Johnson Space Center’s Emerge Employee Resource Group. One team took on the challenge and proposed a concept in some ways similar to the previously considered jib crane. Despite the excellent innovation in the team’s work, a number of study refinements are necessary to truly establish feasibility. These and other future work needed to mature the concept are discussed in this work.

Lander Offloading↗

NASA NTRS1991

Mars integrated transportation system multistage Mars mission

In accordance with the objective of the Mars Integrated Transport System (MITS) program, the Multistage Mars Mission (MSMM) design team developed a profile for a manned mission to Mars. The purpose of the multistage mission is to send a crew of five astronauts to the martian surface by the year 2019. The mission continues man's eternal quest for exploration of new frontiers. This mission has a scheduled duration of 426 days that includes experimentation en route as well as surface exploration and experimentation. The MSMM is also designed as a foundation for a continuing program leading to the colonization of the planet Mars.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2009

Converting CSV Files to RKSML Files

A computer program converts, into a format suitable for processing on Earth, files of downlinked telemetric data pertaining to the operation of the Instrument Deployment Device (IDD), which is a robot arm on either of the Mars Explorer Rovers (MERs). The raw downlinked data files are in comma-separated- value (CSV) format. The present program converts the files into Rover Kinematics State Markup Language (RKSML), which is an Extensible Markup Language (XML) format that facilitates representation of operations of the IDD and enables analysis of the operations by means of the Rover Sequencing Validation Program (RSVP), which is used to build sequences of commanded operations for the MERs. After conversion by means of the present program, the downlinked data can be processed by RSVP, enabling the MER downlink operations team to play back the actual IDD activity represented by the telemetric data against the planned IDD activity. Thus, the present program enhances the diagnosis of anomalies that manifest themselves as differences between actual and planned IDD activities.

Trebi-Ollennu, Ashitey↗

NASA NTRS1997

Optimization of 2005 Sample Return for Mars Exopaleontology

If we wish to retain the search for past/present life as an objective in the program, exobiological milestones need to be addressed at each opportunity. At this stage of Mars exploration, these milestones are complimentary to those of other disciplines. Achieving the goals of the exobiological community will require a long-term view of the problem and a phased plan of exploration. Decision trees are a realistic way to assess present needs and to benefit from future missions. Timely progress in achieving milestones identified will ensure we are moving ahead at each opportunity in meeting what the Agency (and public!) regards as an essential part of the program. It is clear that life-related issues must be handled carefully as they are presented to NASA and the public not to create an imbalance, or more importantly, misunderstanding about where we are in the exploration plan.

Farmer, Jack D.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Accuracy Analysis and Validation of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Robotic Arm

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity Rover is currently exploring the surface of Mars with a suite of tools and instruments mounted to the end of a five degree-of-freedom robotic arm. To verify and meet a set of end-to-end system level accuracy requirements, a detailed positioning uncertainty model of the arm was developed and exercised over the arm operational workspace. Error sources at each link in the arm kinematic chain were estimated and their effects propagated to the tool frames.A rigorous test and measurement program was developed and implemented to collect data to characterize and calibrate the kinematic and stiffness parameters of the arm. Numerous absolute and relative accuracy and repeatability requirements were validated with a combination of analysis and test data extrapolated to the Mars gravity and thermal environment. Initial results of arm accuracy and repeatability on Mars demonstrate the effectiveness of the modeling and test program as the rover continues to explore the foothills of Mount Sharp.

rovers↗