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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Gateway as a Building Block for Space Exploration and Development

The Gateway, which will be a small, human-tended space station in orbit around the Moon, is an example of the building block approach to space exploration and development. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) leads the Gateway Program and serves as the integrator of the spaceflight capabilities and contributions of U.S. commercial partners and international partners. Gateway is a cornerstone of deep space human exploration, one critical element of the strategies and architectures that will enable human exploration of the solar system. This paper will outline: 1) The concept of operations and describe how Gateway is a multi-purpose space station, supporting lunar surface missions, cis-lunar research, and as a proving ground for human missions to Mars; 2) Gateway’s international partnerships as an expansion of the partnerships of the “second generation of space programmes,” namely the International Space Station (ISS); and 3) Future commercial, scientific, and technology demonstration opportunities that this infrastructure building block provides. Lastly, the strategies and architectures for future space exploration and development must include thoughtful approaches to the management and business operations of government space programs. This includes planning for limited outyear growth in budgets, partnership and acquisition strategies, pursuing public-private partnerships and the use of firm-fixed price contracts, enabling vendor-to-vendor relationships, the use of multilateral interoperability standards, and incorporating key lessons learned from prior governmental Programs. This paper will discuss the strategies and approaches undertaken when establishing the Gateway Program at the NASA Johnson Space Center in 2019 and the current operational status of this new, lean, and efficient Program.

Gateway↗

NASA NTRS1990

Technology needs of the Exploration Initiative

An overview of the U.S. Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) is presented. The two primary objectives of the initiative are a return to the moon to create a permanent lunar base and a human mission to Mars. Even though mission architectural concepts are not yet defined, previous studies indicate that the SEI will require developments in numerous areas, including advanced engines for space transportation, in-space assembly and construction to support permanent basing of exploration systems in space, and advanced surface operations capabilities including satisfactory levels of power and surface roving vehicles, and technologies to safely support human space operations of long duration. The process of mission definition has begun and it is shown that it is possible to identify a family of fundamental functional building blocks from which all SEI mission architectures will be constructed.

Aldrich, Arnold↗

NASA NTRS2026

The Relevance of the VIPER Mission to NASA’s Artemis Human Exploration of the Moon

NASA has ambitious plans to send astronaut crews to the south polar region of the Moon and explore this lunar terrain with humans for the first time through a series of Artemis missions. Artemis will provide economic benefits, drive technological advancement, and inspire the next generation of explorers. Simultaneously, Artemis presents a unique opportunity for humans to conduct high-priority planetary science in situ in the south polar region of the Moon. Prior to human exploration, landed robotic precursor investigations can provide valuable information to reduce risk and maximize discovery and productivity of subsequent crewed missions. NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) is a robotic mission designed to explore and characterize the lunar south polar region prior to crewed Artemis landed missions. VIPER is designed to explore multiple thermal regimes to characterize the lunar polar environment and regolith properties, and to explore for surface and subsurface ices. Each of these objectives are key for both scientific investigation and to detect and assess volatile deposits to support in situ resource utilization (ISRU) and a sustained human presence on the Moon. VIPER would also operate with a real-time mission operations architecture with relevance and feed-forward to Artemis crewed operations on the lunar surface. VIPER would provide key information regarding the lunar environment, scientific exploration, technologies, and real-time operations to optimize the valuable surface exploration time of Artemis crew members while simultaneously reducing risk to crew and increasing health and human safety on the lunar surface.

Jennifer L Heldmann↗

NASA NTRS2008

Logistics Modeling for Lunar Exploration Systems

The extensive logistics required to support extended crewed operations in space make effective modeling of logistics requirements and deployment critical to predicting the behavior of human lunar exploration systems. This paper discusses the software that has been developed as part of the Campaign Manifest Analysis Tool in support of strategic analysis activities under the Constellation Architecture Team - Lunar. The described logistics module enables definition of logistics requirements across multiple surface locations and allows for the transfer of logistics between those locations. A key feature of the module is the loading algorithm that is used to efficiently load logistics by type into carriers and then onto landers. Attention is given to the capabilities and limitations of this loading algorithm, particularly with regard to surface transfers. These capabilities are described within the context of the object-oriented software implementation, with details provided on the applicability of using this approach to model other human exploration scenarios. Some challenges of incorporating probabilistics into this type of logistics analysis model are discussed at a high level.

Andraschko, Mark R.↗

NASA NTRS2015

Evolvable Mars Campaign Long Duration Habitation Strategies: Architectural Approaches to Enable Human Exploration Missions

The Evolvable Mars Campaign (EMC) is the current NASA Mars mission planning effort which seeks to establish sustainable, realistic strategies to enable crewed Mars missions in the mid-2030s timeframe. The primary outcome of the Evolvable Mars Campaign is not to produce "The Plan" for sending humans to Mars, but instead its intent is to inform the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate near-term key decisions and investment priorities to prepare for those types of missions. The FY'15 EMC effort focused upon analysis of integrated mission architectures to identify technically appealing transportation strategies, logistics build-up strategies, and vehicle designs for reaching and exploring Mars moons and Mars surface. As part of the development of this campaign, long duration habitats are required which are capable of supporting crew with limited resupply and crew abort during the Mars transit, Mars moons, and Mars surface segments of EMC missions. In particular, the EMC design team sought to design a single, affordable habitation system whose manufactured units could be outfitted uniquely for each of these missions and reused for multiple crewed missions. This habitat system must provide all of the functionality to safely support 4 crew for long durations while meeting mass and volume constraints for each of the mission segments set by the chosen transportation architecture and propulsion technologies. This paper describes several proposed long-duration habitation strategies to enable the Evolvable Mars Campaign through improvements in mass, cost, and reusability, and presents results of analysis to compare the options and identify promising solutions. The concepts investigated include several monolithic concepts: monolithic clean sheet designs, and concepts which leverage the co-manifested payload capability of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) to deliver habitable elements within the Universal Payload Adaptor between the SLS upper stage and the Orion/Service module on the top of the vehicle. Multiple modular habitat options for Mars surface and in-space missions are also considered with various functionality and volume splits between modules to find the best balance of reducing the single largest mass which must be delivered to a destination and reducing the number of separate elements which must be launched. Analysis results presented for each of these concepts in this paper include mass/volume/power sizing using parametric sizing tools, identification of unique operational constraints, and limited comments on the additional impacts of reusability/dormancy on system design. Finally, recommendations will be made for promising solutions which will be carried forward for consideration in the Evolvable Mars Campaign work.

Simon, Matthew A.↗

NASA NTRS2020

Assemblers: A Modular, Reconfigurable Manipulator for Autonomous in-Space Assembly

This paper presents a modular, reconfigurable robotic manipulator for autonomous in-space assembly. On-orbit and planetary surface assembly is a challenging domain that encompasses various technological thrusts to support human exploration, science, and technology demonstration missions. The system architecture presented here addresses the need for robotic assembly of structures in locations that prohibit constant human oversight and/or teleoperation. This system is capable of scheduling, reconfiguring itself, and executing structural assembly tasks with the ability to assess construction and correct errors during the assembly as needed. An example concept of operations is presented. Details of the mechanical and electrical design of the robotic modules as well as the dynamic modeling approach, control algorithms, and sensing and perception systems are also provided.

robotics↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Analysis of Exploration Capability Gaps for Future Habitation Systems to Inform Risk Assessment and Development Priorities

Within NASA, exploration capability gaps are defined as the difference between the current state-of-the-art in capabilities and the anticipated needs of future human spaceflight architectures. As NASA and its partners’ capabilities for human exploration of deep space continue to mature, it is necessary to understand the capability gaps that require closure to support future habitation systems, such as the Lunar Surface Habitat (SH) and Mars Transit Habitat (TH) currently in concept development. This paper will identify high-priority capability gaps for exploration habitation and show potential options for gap closure through investment in technology, development, and testing. High-priority capability gaps are divided into the following general taxonomy areas: human health/life support/habitation systems, flight computing and avionics, power and energy storage, communications and navigation, thermal management systems, human exploration destination systems, autonomous systems, sensors and instruments, GNC (guidance, navigation, and control), robotic systems, ground and uncrewed surface systems, and materials/structures/mechanical systems/manufacturing. In the gap identification process, teams of discipline experts from across NASA reviewed the latest habitation architecture needs against current capabilities to understand where gaps may exist. The results of the assessment established a basis for the current state-of-the-art within each gap and identified the capability needs of the proposed exploration missions the gap links to. An assessment of how each test platform (e.g., Ground, International Space Station (ISS), Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Destinations, Gateway) may be leveraged to mature capabilities and potentially provide a route to gap closure will be discussed. The notional timeline for gap closure to support reference missions and impacts to overall schedule are also assessed where appropriate. Based on the capability gap analysis described above, the paper summarizes important technology maturation considerations for human exploration architectures, with a focus on the Mars TH. The previously published NASA habitation ground rules and assumptions document is used as the basis to classify gaps as enabling, enhancing, or “push” opportunities for a particular architecture. Stepwise technology maturation plans/considerations are presented for some selected critical gaps. Overall, the analysis in this paper is intended to help influence development priorities for habitation systems, where high-priority, critical gaps are those currently assessed as having a low probability of closure by the anticipated need date. Capability gap analysis also informs the risk register for exploration habitation systems and mitigation strategies to ensure readiness of key technologies to support future mission timelines. Linkage between capability gaps for Moon and Mars is noted, as closure of a gap at a Lunar destination may subsequently enable or enhance Mars TH architectures.

technology development↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Analysis of Exploration Capability Gaps for Future Habitation Systems to Inform Risk Assessment and Development Priorities

technology development↗

NASA NTRS2003

Advantages of Brahms for Specifying and Implementing a Multiagent Human-Robotic Exploration System

We have developed a model-based, distributed architecture that integrates diverse components in a system designed for lunar and planetary surface operations: an astronaut's space suit, cameras, all-terrain vehicles, robotic assistant, crew in a local habitat, and mission support team. Software processes ('agents') implemented in the Brahms language, run on multiple, mobile platforms. These mobile agents interpret and transform available data to help people and robotic systems coordinate their actions to make operations more safe and efficient. The Brahms-based mobile agent architecture (MAA) uses a novel combination of agent types so the software agents may understand and facilitate communications between people and between system components. A state-of-the-art spoken dialogue interface is integrated with Brahms models, supporting a speech-driven field observation record and rover command system. An important aspect of the methodology involves first simulating the entire system in Brahms, then configuring the agents into a runtime system Thus, Brahms provides a language, engine, and system builder's toolkit for specifying and implementing multiagent systems.

Clancey, William J.↗

NASA NTRS1992

The application of Open System Architecture to planetary surface systems

The issues that future planet surface activities must confront are explored, the basic concepts that provide the basis for establishing an Open System Architecture (OSA) are defined, the appropriate features of such an architecture are identified, and examples of OSAs are discussed. OSAs are designed to provide flexibility and evolutionary growth of planet surface systems to support the users needs. An OSA is based on two fundamental principles: precise definition of component functionality and the establishment of standards. An OAS must be functionally decomposed, top down, to identify all functions, subfunctions, subsubfunctions, etc., that are required to be performed by the system. There is an allocation of function, or process, to components. The functional packaging within a component becomes the user's primary perception of the system. The standards of an OSA enable the user to attain the full functional capabilities inherent in the system.

Petri, D. A.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Inflatable Habitats Technology Development

For many years inflatable structures have been theorized for use as satellite dishes, deployable arrays and human habitats. They fall into human-rated and non-human rated structures. As such the structural design requirements and safety redundancy are much different. This paper will discuss the Habitat and Surface Construction Technology that would support the development of Mars greenhouses as well as habitats. This paper will briefly describe the ISS TransHab architectural design and structural testing for the proposed as a habitation module for the International Space Station. It will also discuss inflatable greenhouse design considerations and examples.

Kennedy, Kriss J.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Space and Earth Terminal Sizing for Future Mars Missions

NASA is investigating potential communications architectures to support future missions to Mars, with a time horizon out to about 2040. We examined a wide range of Earth-surface, Earth-orbiting, Mars-orbiting, and Mars-landed assets with both radio frequency and optical capabilities, and estimated the size, weight, power, and comparative cost of spacecraft telecommunications subsystems along with their comparative costs. Link attributes needed to achieve a fixed set of desired data rate capabilities were derived, assuming a planned set of Earth stations. For the trunk link from Mars to Earth, the required return data rates considered were 50, 75, 125, and 250 Mbps, and the required forward data rates considered were 30 and 50 Mbps. For proximity links, the required forward and return data rates (symmetric) ranged from 0.36 Mbps to 100 Mbps. The communication channels considered were UHF (75 cm wavelength) for proximity links only, and X-band (3.6 cm wavelength), Kaband (0.81 cm wavelength), and optical (808, 976, 1064, and 1550 nm wavelength) for both proximity and trunk links. Optical solutions provided substantial size and spectrum constraint advantages, but mixed advantages and disadvantages on mass and power. System cost was lower if the RF capability of space assets was increased to permit the number of arrayed RF Earth stations to be limited to two.

MacNeal, Bruce↗

NASA NTRS2015

Software Defined Radio Architecture Contributions to Next Generation Space Communications

Space communications architecture concepts, comprising the elements of the system, the interactions among them, and the principles that govern their development, are essential factors in developing National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) future exploration and science missions. Accordingly, vital architectural attributes encompass flexibility, the extensibility to insert future capabilities, and to enable evolution to provide interoperability with other current and future systems. Space communications architectures and technologies for this century must satisfy a growing set of requirements, including those for Earth sensing, collaborative observation missions, robotic scientific missions, human missions for exploration of the Moon and Mars where surface activities require supporting communications, and in-space observatories for observing the earth, as well as other star systems and the universe. An advanced, integrated, communications infrastructure will enable the reliable, multipoint, high-data-rate capabilities needed on demand to provide continuous, maximum coverage for areas of concentrated activity. Importantly, the cost/value proposition of the future architecture must be an integral part of its design; an affordable and sustainable architecture is indispensable within anticipated future budget environments. Effective architecture design informs decision makers with insight into the capabilities needed to efficiently satisfy the demanding space-communication requirements of future missions and formulate appropriate requirements. A driving requirement for the architecture is the extensibility to address new requirements and provide low-cost on-ramps for new capabilities insertion, ensuring graceful growth as new functionality and new technologies are infused into the network infrastructure. In addition to extensibility, another key architectural attribute of the space communication equipment's interoperability with other NASA communications systems, as well as those communications and navigation systems operated by international space agencies and civilian and government agencies. In this paper, we review the philosophies, technologies, architectural attributes, mission services, and communications capabilities that form the structure of candidate next-generation integrated communication architectures for space communications and navigation. A key area that this paper explores is from the development and operation of the software defined radio for the NASA Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Testbed currently on the International Space Station (ISS). Evaluating the lessons learned from development and operation feed back into the communications architecture. Leveraging the reconfigurability provides a change in the way that operations are done and must be considered. Quantifying the impact on the NASA Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) software defined radio architecture provides feedback to keep the standard useful and up to date. NASA is not the only customer of these radios. Software defined radios are developed for other applications, and taking advantage of these developments promotes an architecture that is cost effective and sustainable. Developments in the following areas such as an updated operating environment, higher data rates, networking and security can be leveraged. The ability to sustain an architecture that uses radios for multiple markets can lower costs and keep new technology infused.

Lessons Learned↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Autonomous Lunar PNT Simulator (ALPS)

In this paper we present a simulation tool that has been used to develop an architecture for a low-cost Position, Navigation and Time (PNT) system to provide PNT services on and around the Moon using non-dedicated low-cost orbital and ground assets. The simulation tool has been developed to be flexible and is capable of modeling and analyzing the many different capabilities and configurations that the non-dedicated assets could support. The tool models the creation of an ad hoc swarm, the localization of this swarm and the subsequent provision of PNT services from this swarm. We present results from several studies of select configurations chosen to reflect existing and future real-world needs and capabilities. Over the next few decades there is expected to be a substantial increase in Lunar missions supporting and inspired by NASA’s Artemis Program. It is expected that a large fraction of these missions will be low cost, utilizing rideshares and CubeSats, just as has seen in Earth orbit over the past decade. Many of these missions will need navigation capabilities but may be unable to support the large power, mass and weight that a weak GNSS or DSN based navigation solution would entail. As Lunar PNT service demand is not likely to be needed over the entire lunar surface 24/7, the creation of a dedicated Lunar GNSS constellation cannot be justified. Hence, our proposed architecture envisions utilizing existing Lunar science and exploration assets to create ad hoc and on demand Lunar PNT swarms capable of providing PNT services to low cost missions. The simulation reflects the two distinct parts of the architecture: the creation of a Lunar PNT swarm using non-dedicated existing assets, and the quantitative modeling of the quality of the PNT services that this swarm provides. To support the former, the simulation supports various swarm localization techniques, including centralized and distributed EKFs both of which support pluggable dynamics models. In modeling the PNT service performance the simulation adopts standard techniques from the GNSS community, including providing degree of precision (DOP) estimates for theoretical end users. Crucially, all asset capabilities, including clock accuracy, independent location self-knowledge and timing measurement precision can be set independently for each asset, reflecting the key concept of utilizing non-dedicated assets. The simulation is predominantly implemented in MATLAB, with GMAT being used for the propagation of orbital assets. The paper will present results from the simulation reflecting the tool’s flexibility and focusing on scenarios that match real-world proposed missions, including scenarios designed to provide PNT support to lunar surface missions similar to NASA Ames' forthcoming VIPER mission. The performance of centralized and decentralized swarm configuration and localization techniques will be compared. Finally, performance of the PNT service provided by an autonomous Lunar PNT swarm will be compared to existing radiometric and weak GNSS methods.

Kelley Elizabeth Hashemi↗

NASA NTRS1993

Terrestrial case studies of ilmenite exploration and lunar implications

The Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) includes space resource utilization as one of the four architectures to achieve U.S. goals in space. Space resource utilization will make use of lunar resources to support long term activities on the lunar surface. Lunar ilmenite and regolith are two of the materials that can be mined and processed for lunar oxygen production. During this investigation, several sources were reviewed to assess terrestrial exploration methods used for locating ilmenite resources. These sources included published reports on terrestrial ilmenite exploration methods, analytical methods, case histories, chemical and physical properties, and associations with other minerals. Using a terrestrial analog and considering the differences between terrestrial and lunar environmental conditions, rocks, and minerals, exploration methods and analytical instruments can be recommended for a lunar orbiter and lander for assessing lunar resources. Twelve terrestrial case histories were reviewed to gain insight into ilmenite exploration on the Moon. All exploration case histories follow the same pattern. They begin with a model, use remote geophysical techniques, define regional sampling sites from the model and geophysics, narrow down the area of exploration based on the preceding work, collect more samples and cores, and perform laboratory analyses of samples. An important part of this process is the collection of samples to determine the correctness of the model. Surface and core samples are collected in areas expected to contain both high and low concentration of the commodity to test the model. After samples are analyzed and the area of mineralization is defined, reserves are calculated to determine the cost/benefit ratio, the necessary capacity of the processing plant, and the life of the mine. The exploration methods used for locating terrestrial ilmenite resources are reviewed with respect to the petrology, chemistry, and mineral associations of the terrestrial and lunar environments.

Feldman, S. C.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Shaping off-axis metallic membrane reflectors using optimal boundary shapes and inelastic strains

This paper will describe a novel concept for constructing off-axis membrane reflector surfaces. Membrane reflectors have been extensively studied, including investigations into inflated lenticular architectures, shaping by spin casting, shaping using electrostatic forces, and shaping by evacuating behind a membrane surface stretched between circular or annular-shaped supports.

membrane↗

NASA NTRS2008

Mars Design Reference Architecture 5.0 Study: Executive Summary

The NASA Mars Design Reference Architecture 5.0 Study seeks to update its long term goals and objective for human exploration missions; flight and surface systems for human missions and supporting infrastructure; operational concept for human and robotic exploration of Mars; key challenges including risk and cost drivers; and, its development schedule options. It additionally seeks to assess strategic linkages between lunar and Mars strategies and develop and understanding of methods for reducing the cost/risk of human Mars missions through investment in research, technology development, and synergy with other exploration plans. Recommendations are made regarding conjunction class (long-stay) missions which are seen as providing the best balance of cost, risk, and performance. Additionally, this study reviews entry, descent, and landing challenges; in-space transportation systems; launch vehicle and Orion assessments; risk and risk mitigation; key driving requirements and challenges; and, lunar linkages.

Drake, Bret G.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lunar Surface Relay - Mobile: Concept to Provide Relay Links to Surface Assets

At the request of NASA’s Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) program, the Glenn Research Center’s (GRC) Compass concurrent engineering team developed a conceptual design of a Lunar Surface Relay- Mobile (LSR-M) system to provide a variety of surface and relay communication links in support of future Artemis sorties. The team determined that a mobile asset, with its ability to relocate to support a variety of surface sites and leverage more hospitable winter locations on the lunar south pole, would be of particular use in the architecture. Following the design of a solar array and battery powered baseline case, a quick look design further investigated adding a multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG) to the system to reduce battery requirements to survive the lunar night and remove the need to relocate to favorable night locations during the lunar winter.

Lunar Surface Relay↗