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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records

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NASA NTRS2009

Lunar Surface Operations: Surface Duration - Part 2

The objectives of this slide presentation are to review the activities on the lunar surface during the stay. The objectives include (1) Summarize Lunar Module Basics emphasizing module layout and storage. (2) Identify the primary activities occurring during each of the lunar s urface timelines, (3) List the EVA Prep tasks, (4) Identify the EVA Objectives, (5) Identify the activities associated with Post EVA (6) Describe the lessons learned during both EVA and Non EVA activities. Included are overview drawings of the Lunar Roving Vehicle, pictures of the tools, and sample return containers. There are also time lines for the Apollo 11, and Apollo 12 through 14, Apollo 15, Apollo 16 and Apollo 17. Diagrams of the EVA suits are shown, including the Liquid Cooling Garment, and the Pressure Garment Assembly. The activity prior to the EVA are reviewed. The science mission assignments of each mission are viewed. The activities after the EVA are reviewed

Interbartolo, Michael↗

NASA NTRS2012

NASA Research on an Integrated Concept for Airport Surface Operations Management

Surface operations at airports in the US are based on tactical operations, where departure aircraft primarily queue up and wait at the departure runways. There have been attempts to address the resulting inefficiencies with both strategic and tactical tools for metering departure aircraft. This presentation gives an overview of Spot And Runway Departure Advisor with Collaborative Decision Making (SARDA-CDM): an integrated strategic and tactical system for improving surface operations by metering departure aircraft. SARDA-CDM is the augmentation of ground and local controller advisories through sharing of flight movement and related operations information between airport operators, flight operators and air traffic control at the airport. The goal is to enhance the efficiency of airport surface operations by exchanging information between air traffic control and airline operators, while minimizing adverse effects on stakeholders and passengers. The presentation motivates the need for departure metering, and provides a brief background on the previous work on SARDA. Then, the concept of operations for SARDA-CDM is described. Then the preliminary results from testing the concept in a real-time automated simulation environment are described. Results indicate benefits such as reduction in taxiing delay and fuel consumption. Further, the preliminary implementation of SARDA-CDM seems robust for two minutes delay in gate push-back times.

Gupta, Gautam↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

LANDO: Developing autonomous surface operations for planetary surfaces

The Lightweight Surface Manipulation System (LSMS) AutoNomy capabilities Development for surface Operations and construction (LANDO) project is an Early Career Initiative (ECI) selected for funding by the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) beginning in fiscal year 2022. Over the two-year project duration, the LANDO project will deliver a general-purpose autonomy framework applicable to serial and tension-actuated manipulation agents, that has been validated using an existing prototype of the LSMS-L35 (35-kg wrist lift capacity on the lunar surface, sized for a Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) mission). Specific to the LANDO project, the autonomous LSMS-L35 will be used to demonstrate autonomous payload handling capabilities for Lunar and other planetary surfaces, directly addressing STMD capability gaps in autonomous surface construction (ASC) operations, advanced robotics and spacecraft autonomy technologies, and technologies supporting emerging space industries including the On-orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing (OSAM) National Initiative. In this paper, an overview of the LANDO ECI project is presented.

autonomy↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

LANDO: Developing Autonomous Surface Operations for Planetary Surfaces

autonomy↗

NASA NTRS2012

Managing Science Operations during Planetary Surface Operations at Long Light Delay-Time Targets: The 2011 Desert RATS Test

Desert Research and Technology Studies (Desert RATS) is a multi-year series of hardware and operations tests carried out annually in the high desert of Arizona in the San Francisco Volcanic Field. Conducted since 1997, these activities are designed to exercise planetary surface hardware and operations in conditions where multi-day tests are achievable. Desert RATS 2011 Science Operations Test simulated the management of crewed science operations at targets that were beyond the light delay time experienced during Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) and lunar surface missions, such as a mission to a Near-Earth Object (NEO) or the martian surface. Operations at targets at these distances are likely to be the norm as humans move out of the Earth-Moon system. Operating at these distances places significant challenges on mission operations, as the imposed light-delay time makes normal, two-way conversations extremely inefficient. Consequently, the operations approach for space missions that has been exercised during the first half-century of human space operations is no longer viable, and new approaches must be devised.

Eppler, D. B.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Megawatt solar power systems for lunar surface operations

Lunar surface operations require habitation, transportation, life support, scientific, and manufacturing systems, all of which require some form of power. As an alternative to nuclear power, the development of a modular one megawatt solar power system is studied, examining both photovoltaic and dynamic cycle conversion methods, along with energy storage, heat rejection, and power backup subsystems. For photovoltaic power conversion, two systems are examined. First, a substantial increase in photovoltaic conversion efficiency is realized with the use of new GaAs/GaSb tandem photovoltaic cells, offering an impressive overall array efficiency of 23.5 percent. Since these new cells are still in the experimental phase of development, a currently available GaAs cell providing 18 percent efficiency is examined as an alternate to the experimental cells. Both Brayton and Stirling cycles, powered by linear parabolic solar concentrators, are examined for dynamic cycle power conversion. The Brayton cycle is studied in depth since it is already well developed and can provide high power levels fairly efficiently in a compact, low mass system. The dynamic conversion system requires large scale waste heat rejection capability. To provide this heat rejection, a comparison is made between a heat pipe/radiative fin system using advanced composites, and a potentially less massive liquid droplet radiator system. To supply power through the lunar night, both a low temperature alkaline fuel cell system and an experimental high temperature monolithic solid-oxide fuel cell system are considered. The reactants for the fuel cells are stored cryogenically in order to avoid the high tankage mass required by conventional gaseous storage. In addition, it is proposed that the propellant tanks from a spent, prototype lunar excursion vehicle be used for this purpose, therefore resulting in a significant overall reduction in effective storage system mass.

Adams, Brian↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

LANDO: Developing Autonomous Payload Offloading Capabilities for Lunar Surface Operations

Introduction: The Lightweight Surface Manipulation System (LSMS) AutoNomy capabilities Development for surface Operations and construction (LANDO) project is an Early Career Initiative selected for funding by NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate. LANDO is developing a general-purpose autonomy framework applicable to serial and tension-actuated manipulation agents, that will be validated using an existing prototype of the LSMS-L35 (35-kg wrist lift capacity on the lunar surface [Fig. 1], sized for a Commercial Lunar Pay-load Services (CLPS) mission). The autonomous LSMS-L35 will be used to demonstrate autonomous payload handling capabilities for Lunar and other planetary surfaces, directly addressing STMD capability gaps in autonomous excavation and construction operations, advanced robotics and spacecraft autonomy technologies, and technologies supporting emerging space industries including the In-Space Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing national strategy. LSMS: The LSMS is a tension actuated robotic agent that is scalable (reach and lifting capacity in different gravity environments), versatile (types of surface operations), and reusable. Compared to serial arms, the LSMS provides significantly higher structural efficiency and mechanical advantage, enabling a greater payload lift capacity at a lower system mass. The LSMS is envisioned to be a crucial part of the excavation and construction portfolio, capable of supporting a variety of activities on the lunar surface. Autonomous payload handling is one of the first activities the LSMS can support that develops capabilities that are extensible to other surface operations. Payload handling is required to: remove payloads from a lander; place payloads on mobile agents for transport from a lander to construction site/assembly point; emplace payloads in their operational configuration, and aggregate components to create an asset. As an example of this critical gap, manifested CLPS missions do not currently have a ubiquitous payload offloading capability; payloads (excluding rovers) are designed to remain on the lander. Why Autonomy? Autonomous robotic systems capable of carrying out excavation and construction operations are a fundamental and critical capability required for realizing the NASA Artemis program vision to “emplace and build the infrastructure, systems, and robotic missions that can enable a sustained lunar surface presence.” While teleoperation is still feasible for lunar surface operations, increased latency at Mars will require validated supervised autonomous technologies capable of operating with minimal human involvement (human-on-the-loop) unless an unexpected event occurs requiring human intervention. Autonomy reduces operator burden, allows operations to continue during uncrewed periods, in-creases the safety of operations by automatically detecting and handling faults, and allows operating in high latency environments. Development Activities: LANDO is extending critical autonomous operations to the manipulation domain and creating an integrated system, based on reusable software modules, that is capable of planning and executing payload handling and autonomous surface operations without requiring hu-man intervention beyond a supervisory role. The priority features under development are 1) autonomously offload payloads from a tilted lander deck without buckling the LSMS; 2) sensing whether a payload is safe to lift and handle; and 3) integrate with Astrobotic’s CLPS lander. The poster presentation will highlight current development activities over the past year on LSMS-L35 prototype hard-ware design, and autonomy software.

in-space assembly↗

NASA NTRS2013

Apollo Medical Operations Project: Recommendations for EVA and Lunar Surface Operations

The potential risk of injury to crewmembers is inherent in aggressive surface activities, whether they be Moon-, Mars-, or asteroid-based. In December 2005, the Space Medicine Division at JSC requested a study to identify Apollo mission issues that had an impact to crew health or performance or both. This talk focused on the Apollo EVA suit and lunar surface operations concerning crew health and performance. There were roughly 20 recommendations from this study of Apollo for improving these two areas for future exploration missions, a few of which were incorporated into the Human Systems Integration Requirements (HSIR). Dr. Richard Scheuring covered these topics along with some of the analog work that has been done regarding surface operations and medical contingencies.

Scheuring, R. A.↗

NASA NTRS2017

Modeling and Simulating Airport Surface Operations with Gate Conflicts

The Surface Operations Simulator and Scheduler (SOSS) is a fast-time simulation platform used to develop and test future surface scheduling concepts such as NASAs Air Traffic Demonstration 2 of time-based surface metering at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT). Challenges associated with CLT surface operations have driven much of SOSS development. Recently, SOSS functionality for modeling hardstand operations was developed to address gate conflicts, which occur when an arrival and departure wish to occupy the same gate at the same time. Because surface metering concepts such as ATD2 have the potential to increase gates conflicts as departure are held at their gates, it is important to study the interaction between surface metering and gate conflict management. Several approaches to managing gate conflicts with and without the use of hardstands were simulated and their effects on surface operations and scheduler performance compared.

Zelinski, Shannon↗

NASA NTRS2017

Modeling and Simulating Airport Surface Operations with Gate Conflicts

The Surface Operations Simulator and Scheduler (SOSS) is a fast-time simulation platform used to develop and test future surface scheduling concepts such as NASA's Air Traffic Demonstration 2 of time-based surface metering at Charlotte Douglass International Airport (CLT). Challenges associated with CLT surface operations have driven much of SOSS development. Recently, SOSS functionality for modeling harsdstand operations was developed to address gate conflicts, which occur when an arrival and departure wish to occupy the same gate at the same time. Because surface metering concepts such as ATD2 have the potential to increase gates conflicts as departures are held at their gates, it is important to study the interaction between surface metering and gate conflict management. Several approaches to managing gate conflicts with and without the use of hardstands were simulated and their effects on surface operations and scheduler performance compared.

Zelinski, Shannon↗

NASA NTRS2008

A Lunar Surface Operations Simulator

The Lunar Surface Operations Simulator (LSOS) is being developed to support planning and design of space missions to return astronauts to the moon. Vehicles, habitats, dynamic and physical processes and related environment systems are modeled and simulated in LSOS to assist in the visualization and design optimization of systems for lunar surface operations. A parametric analysis tool and a data browser were also implemented to provide an intuitive interface to run multiple simulations and review their results. The simulator and parametric analysis capability are described in this paper.

Nayar, H.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Enhanced Vision Flight Deck Technology for Commercial Aircraft Low-Visibility Surface Operations

NASA Langley Research Center and the FAA collaborated in an effort to evaluate the effect of Enhanced Vision (EV) technology display in a commercial flight deck during low visibility surface operations. Surface operations were simulated at the Memphis, TN (FAA identifier: KMEM) air field during nighttime with 500 Runway Visual Range (RVR) in a high-fidelity, full-motion simulator. Ten commercial airline flight crews evaluated the efficacy of various EV display locations and parallax and mini cation effects. The research paper discusses qualitative and quantitative results of the simulation experiment, including the effect of EV display placement on visual attention, as measured by the use of non-obtrusive oculometry and pilot mental workload. The results demonstrated the potential of EV technology to enhance situation awareness which is dependent on the ease of access and location of the displays. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Arthur, Jarvis J., III↗

NASA NTRS1993

Lunar surface operations. Volume 1: Lunar surface emergency shelter

The lunar surface emergency shelter (LSES) is designed to provide survival-level accommodations for up to four astronauts for a maximum of five days. It would be used by astronauts who were caught out in the open during a large solar event. The habitable section consists of an aluminum pressure shell with an inner diameter of 6 ft. and a length of 12.2 ft. Access is through a 4 in. thick aluminum airlock door mounted at the rear of the shelter. Shielding is provided by a 14.9 in. thick layer of lunar regolith contained within a second, outer aluminum shell. This provides protection against a 200 MeV event, based on a 15 REM maximum dose. The shelter is self-contained with a maximum range of 1000 km. Power is supplied by a primary fuel cell which occupies 70.7 cu ft. of the interior volume. Mobility is achieved by towing the shelter behind existing lunar vehicles. It was assumed that a fully operational, independent lunar base was available to provide communication support and tools for set-up and maintenance. Transportation to the moon would be provided by the proposed heavy lift launch vehicle. Major design considerations for the LSES were safety, reliability, and minimal use of earth materials.

Shields, William↗

NASA NTRS2022

Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Surface Operations Commissioning Phase Overview

This paper presents work done by the Mars 2020 Project to plan, test, and execute the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover surface operations commissioning phase. Immediately after the successful landing of Mars 2020 Perseverance rover at Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021, the rover autonomously initiated mission critical commanding necessary to transition the vehicle from a Cruise/EDL to Surface operations configuration. This began the surface operations commissioning phase, referred to as Surface Operations Transition (SOX). The objective of SOX phase is to establish vehicle health and safety and to verify that the operational characteristics of the vehicle, now operating in the Martian environment, are as-expected and safe to proceed into nominal operations. The SOX commissioning phase is organized into six logical sub-phases occurring in the following chronological order; (1) SOX1a, (2) FSW Transition, (3) SOX1b, (4) SOX2a, (5) Heli, (6) SOX2b. In total, the SOX commissioning phase was expected to take up-to 111 sols (Martian days). The Perseverance rover is an extremely complex, highly-integrated, robotic system-of-systems that requires numerous activities to incrementally and methodically verify their safe operations. This paper will discuss the development process used to plan, test, and execute the SOX commissioning phase for Mars 2020 Perseverance rover surface operations. We will discuss key challenges associated with SOX development as well as actual operations execution experience.

Koch, Justin↗

NASA NTRS2015

A Stochastic Scheduler for Integrated Arrival, Departure and Surface Operations in Los Angeles

In terminal airspace, integrating arrivals, departures, and surface operations with competing resources provides the potential of improving operational efficiency by removing barriers between different operations. This work develops a centralized stochastic scheduler for operations in a terminal area including airborne and surface operations using Non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm and Monte Carlo simulations. The scheduler handles completing resources between different flows, such as runway allocations, runway crossing, departure fixes, and other interaction way points between arrivals and departures. Meanwhile, the scheduler also takes time-varied uncertainties into account when optimizing schedules. The scheduler is run sequentially to identify the best and robust schedule for the next planning window. Resulting schedules decide the routes, speed or delays, and runway assignments with separation constraints at mergingdiverging waypoints in the air and crossing and separations on runways. The Los Angels terminal area was used as an example. The implementation of this stochastic scheduler for integrated arrival, departure and surface operations is completed. And several preliminary runs are finished for over 1,200 flights in LAX in a typical day. Sensitivity studies on various planning window sizes are presented, which shows that trade-off exits between planning window size and achievable minimum delay. Preliminary results on runway usage are also presented in this abstract. Because arrivals on the outer runways have to be followed by crossings on the inner runways, algorithmic runway allocation prefers inner runways for arrivals and outer runways for departures. More results will be presented in the final paper. And current terminal arrival and departure procedures based on first-come-first-serve procedure will also be set up and used as a baseline for comparison.

integrated scheduler↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Uncrewed Lunar Surface Operations and Support Activities

This presentation summarizes the contents of the uncrewed lunar surface operations and support activities paper. It outlines the functions, features, and capabilities that support sustained human and robotic surface operations. It summarizes the complexities associated with the development and operation of autonomous systems and discusses a simulation tool for integrated surface operations planning.

Lunar↗

NASA NTRS2009

Surface Operations Systems Improve Airport Efficiency

With Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts from Ames Research Center, Mosaic ATM of Leesburg, Virginia created software to analyze surface operations at airports. Surface surveillance systems, which report locations every second for thousands of air and ground vehicles, generate massive amounts of data, making gathering and analyzing this information difficult. Mosaic?s Surface Operations Data Analysis and Adaptation (SODAA) tool is an off-line support tool that can analyze how well the airport surface operation is working and can help redesign procedures to improve operations. SODAA helps researchers pinpoint trends and correlations in vast amounts of recorded airport operations data.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1993

Airport surface operations requirements analysis

This report documents the results of the Airport Surface Operations Requirements Analysis (ASORA) study. This study was conducted in response to task 24 of NASA Contract NAS1-18027. This study is part of NASA LaRC's Low Visibility Surface Operations program, which is designed to eliminate the constraints on all-weather arrival/departure operations due to the airport/aircraft ground system. The goal of this program is to provide the capability for safe and efficient aircraft operations on the airport surface during low visibility conditions down to zero. The ASORA study objectives were to (1) develop requirements for operation on the airport surface in visibilities down to zero; (2) survey and evaluate likely technologies; (3) develop candidate concepts to meet the requirements; and (4) select the most suitable concept based on cost/benefit factors.

Groce, John L.↗