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NASA NTRS2024

Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program (EHP) Exploration EVA (xEVA) System Compatibility Standards

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) is a significant capability for Artemis Systems which includes Gateway Program (modules), Human Landing System (HLS) Program (Integrated Lander and Human Class Delivery Lander), Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), Pressurized Rover (PR), Payloads, and any other future lunar surface assets that will be utilized for exploration or science. The EVA and Human Surface Mobility Program (EHP) will provide the following: Exploration EVA (xEVA) suits, xEVA tools and crew aids along with vehicle integration/support hardware, LTV, and PR. Being a distributed and dynamic capability (moving components), xEVA System hardware will interface with almost all elements of the Artemis architecture. As such, it is important to document a singular set of EVA compatibility standards at the programmatic level to articulate “how to interface with xEVA suit hardware” and “how to design hardware that EVA crewmembers will access and manipulate.”

Exploration↗
NASA NTRS2024

LTV-xEVA Applied Injury Biomechanics

Beginning in Artemis V, Lunar Terrain Vehicles (LTV) will be utilized to enable astronauts to explore the lunar south pole and conduct science farther from the landing site than during the Apollo program. However, LTV operation has the potential to cause injury to the suited crew member during their Extravehicular Activity (EVA). Injury risk caused by LTV acceleration and jerk combined with blunt loading from rigid suit components needs to be better understood. An effort began to create requirements for, model, and address the injury risk caused by the LTV combined with Exploration EVA (xEVA) suits. Mitigation of crew injury is a shared responsibility between LTV and the suit since neither can accomplish this independently. The modeling completed in Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) helped to verify the fidelity of the requirements and parse out vendor responsibility (LTV, xEVAS, or NASA) for Artemis V and beyond. The scope of the modeling in FY23 used the LTV System Requirements Document (SRD) as worst-case inputs and modeled female 5th-, male 50th-, and male 95th-percentile subjects in hard-mounted seated and semi-standing postures. Soft-mounted (i.e., lap belt) and testing to validate the analysis was determined out of scope for FY23 work.

Spacesuit↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

LTV-xEVA Applied Injury Biomechanics

Beginning in Artemis V, Lunar Terrain Vehicles (LTV) will be utilized to enable astronauts to explore the lunar south pole and conduct science farther from the landing site than during the Apollo program. However, LTV operation has the potential to cause injury to the suited crew member during their Extravehicular Activity (EVA). Injury risk caused by LTV acceleration and jerk combined with blunt loading from rigid suit components needs to be better understood. An effort began to create requirements for, model, and address the injury risk caused by the LTV combined with Exploration EVA (xEVA) suits. Mitigation of crew injury is a shared responsibility between LTV and the suit since neither can accomplish this independently. The modeling completed in Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) helped to verify the fidelity of the requirements and parse out vendor responsibility (LTV, xEVAS, or NASA) for Artemis V and beyond. The scope of the modeling in FY23 used the LTV System Requirements Document (SRD) as worst-case inputs and modeled female 5th-, male 50th-, and male 95th-percentile subjects in hard-mounted seated and semi-standing postures. Soft-mounted (i.e., lap belt) and testing to validate the analysis was determined out of scope for FY23 work.

Spacesuit↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Preliminary Assessment of Cognition and Fatigue During Simulated Lunar Surface Extravehicular Activities

Introduction: Artemis astronauts will be required to complete more rigorous Extravehicular Activity (EVA) schedules than during ever before. While new spacesuits are designed to sustain high physical workloads during exploration EVAs (xEVA), crewmembers must also sustain cognitive performance throughout xEVA timelines. It is therefore necessary to characterize the effects of surface xEVA tasks and timelines on cognition and fatigue. Methods: This study utilized NASA Johnson Space Center’s Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) to simulate lunar gravity and assess xEVA tasks and cognitive performance. Two subjects completed two ~5-hour EVAs in a pressurized Mark III spacesuit, completing simulated lander operations, cable routing, crew rescue, geology, payload relocation, and traverses. Subjects completed two cognitive assessments (Digit-Symbol Substitution Task (DSST) and Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT)) before the first and after the second simulated EVA to assess effects of xEVA tasks on processing speed and vigilant attention. Additionally, sleep (e.g., quality, duration, and efficiency) was monitored (Oura Ring) for ≥7 days prior to the simulated EVAs, as well as between each EVA, to account for possible effects of sleep decrements on cognitive metrics. Results: Cognitive performance changed minimally from pre to post EVA for both DSST (response time (RT): S1 Δ129.1ms, S2 Δ40.7ms; Accuracy: S1 preEVA = 1.0, S1 postEVA = 0.98, S2 preEVA = 1.0, S2 postEVA = 1.0) and PVT (S1 PVT RT Δ17.7 ms, S2 PVT RT Δ-2.7 ms). Subjects’ sleep duration immediately prior to EVA showed minimal deviation from baseline (Δhrs; S1 preEVA1= + 0.67, S1 preEVA2 = -.03, S2 preEVA1 = - 1.1, S2 preEVA2 = -1.39) and efficiency (Δ%; S1 preEVA1 = 0.09, S1 preEVA2 = 9.54, S2 preEVA1 = 0, S2 preEVA2= 12). Notably, sleep waketime shifted earlier for one subject by ~1 hr which may have impacted performance. Conclusion: Understanding the impacts of xEVA workloads on cognitive performance will be instrumental to future exploration mission planning and success. Future work will expand the subject pool and test new spacesuit designs to better characterize cognitive performance and impacts of sleep during simulated xEVA and inform modeling and prediction capabilities for future Artemis xEVA planning.

Taylor E. Schlotman↗
NASA NTRS2020

Exploration EVA System Concept of Operations

The Exploration Extravehicular Activity (xEVA) System concept of operations (con ops) captures the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) current aims future missions to all potential Exploration destinations. This document captures the mission architectures, stakeholder expectations, and high level definitions of the capabilities and interfaces associated with the xEVA System. This includes missions to Gateway in cislunar space, the lunar surface, a redirected asteroid in cislunar space, Near Earth Asteroids (NEA), Mars’ orbit, the moons of Mars (Phobos and Deimos), and the surface of Mars. These missions, which include microgravity, milli-gravity, and partial-gravity surface EVAs, will involve a variety of engineering (maintenance, contingency, pioneering, construction) and science tasks. This document also captures information concerning vehicles and habitats with which the xEVA System will interface. The concepts of operations (con ops) detailed in this document are informed by the Artemis Program and a multitude of Exploration studies, and are also influenced by various integrated operational analog testing.

David Coan↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Preliminary Assessment of Cognition and Fatigue During Simulated Lunar Surface Extravehicular Activities

Exploration Extravehicular Activity (xEVA), or spacewalks, during NASA’s future Lunar (Artemis) missions are expected to be more physically and cognitively demanding than any previous missions. Characterizing the effects of xEVA tasks and timelines on cognition and fatigue will be valuable, and perhaps essential, to the preservation of crew health and performance during xEVA.

Taylor E. Schlotman↗
NASA NTRS2020

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Office Exploration EVA System Technical Standards

The purpose of this Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Office specification is to define the types of Programmatic-level standards to be used for design, manufacturing, testing, and quality control for the Exploration EVA (xEVA) System. The xEVA system includes both space suits and EVA hardware elements (e. EVA Tools, Airlock hardware, etc.). Many of the standards referenced in this document can be substituted for similar standards used in industry; this document provides the scope of which standards need to be considered. This document is the EVA-centric implementation of Chapter 3 of NPR 7120.10, Technical Standards for National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Programs and Projects: Select technical standards for use as program/project requirements. This also addresses the intent of Section 2.2.6 of NPR 8705.2, Human-Rating Requirements for Space Systems.

EVA↗
NASA NTRS2017

U.S. Exploration EVA: ConOps, Interfaces and Test Objectives for Airlocks

NASA is moving forward on defining the xEVA System Architecture and its implications to the spacecraft that host exploration EVA systems. This presentation provides an overview of the latest information for NASA's Concept of Operations (ConOps), Interfaces and corresponding Test Objectives for Airlocks hosting the xEVA System.

Buffington, J.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Vision and Objectives

The purpose of Industry Day is to exchange information with industry to increase understanding of the Government's current vision and objectives for the xEVA Production and Services Contract. The presentation provides industry with the opportunity to provide input into the xEVAPS procurement strategy and encourage offerors to submit questions and comments. A technical overview of the xEVA System serves as the foundation for the content related to draft requirements in the SOW.

Hansen, Chris↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development of the Suited Injury Modes and Effects Analysis for Identification of Top Injury Risks in Lunar Missions and Training

A new Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) suit is being designed to replace the current Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Artemis program to return astronauts to the lunar surface. This new suit will allow for increased range of motion compared to the current EMU and Apollo era suits and additional features will enhance the health and safety of exploration. With the design of lunar missions and the xEVAS suit progressing, it is important to consider possible injuries and injury mechanisms that could occur in the suit. To address these concerns, the suited Injury Modes and Effects Analysis (IMEA) was developed to outline suited injury scenarios and rank them based on risk score. The IMEA documents possible scenarios and underlying mechanisms of injury. History has shown that more suit injuries occur during training than in flight; therefore, currently planned training events to prepare for lunar missions and tasks during lunar surface EVAs were considered. Each scenario is ranked with likelihood and consequence scorings based on our current understanding of suit and application of Artemis design reference missions. The scoring allowed identification of the high-risk cases that will drive further work in suited injury. Mechanisms of injury, injury outcomes, and mitigation strategies are evaluated within each scenario. The Suited Injury Summit was held on January 5, 2022, to vet the IMEA with external experts. This was an all-day virtual meeting with the suited injury team; ergonomists; suit engineers; safety engineers; the flight operations directorate; flight doctors; astronauts; astronaut strength, conditioning, and rehabilitation specialists (ASCRS); and external subject matter experts (SMEs). External SMEs consisted of surgeons with varying specialties. The intent of this meeting was to walk through the top injury risks identified in the analysis, identify any gaps that were not captured, and discuss mitigations. With participation from all groups, countless lessons-learned came from the Summit meeting. Using these, the top 10 risks have been identified: neutral buoyancy laboratory training, hand/glove injuries, poor suit fit, field training, specific EVA tasks/design of task, boots/ankle injuries, falls from heights, background radiation, repetitive contact, and ambulation/longdistance ambulation. Mitigation steps have also been determined for each of the top risks. The IMEA and documentation of top risks is a living document. Yearly meetings are planned to update the analysis and reevaluate top risks and mitigations. The IMEA is being used to drive work in suited injury, and this work will continue to evolve with IMEA and lunar mission updates.

Teresa Reiber↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development of the Suited Injury Modes and Effects Analysis for Identification of Top Injury Risks in Lunar Missions and Training

A new Exploration Extravehicular Activity Suit (xEVAS) is being designed to replace the current Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Artemis program to return astronauts to the lunar surface. This new suit will allow for increased range of motion compared the current EMU and Apollo era suits and will have additional features that will enhance the health and safety of exploration. With the design of lunar missions and the xEVAS progressing, it is important to consider possible injuries and injury mechanisms that could occur in the suit. To address these concerns, the suited Injury Modes and Effects Analysis (IMEA) was developed to outline suited injury scenarios and rank them based on risk score. The IMEA documents possible scenarios and underlying mechanisms of injury while wearing an extravehicular activity (EVA) suit. Tasks during lunar surface EVA as well as training events to prepare for lunar missions were considered as history has shown that more suit injuries occur during training than in flight. Each scenario is ranked with a consequence and likelihood scoring based on our current understanding of the suit and Artemis design reference missions to identify high-risk cases that will drive further work in suited injury. Injuries, mechanisms of injury, and mitigation strategies are evaluated within each scenario. The Suited Injury Summit was held on January 5, 2022, to vet the IMEA with external experts. This was an all-day virtual meeting with the suited injury team, ergonomists, suit engineers, safety engineers, the flight operations directorate, flight doctors, astronauts, astronaut strength, conditioning, and rehabilitation specialists (ASCRS), and external subject matter experts (SMEs). External SMEs consisted of surgeons with varying specialties. The intent of this meeting was to walk through the top injury risks identified in the analysis, identify any gaps that were not captured, and discuss mitigations. With participation from all groups, countless lessons-learned came from the Summit meeting. Using the lessons-learned and discussion from the Summit, the top 10 risks have been identified: neutral buoyancy laboratory training, hand/glove injuries, poor suit fit, field training, specific EVA tasks/design of task, boots/ankle injuries, falls from heights, background radiation, repetitive contact, and ambulation/long-distance ambulation. Mitigation steps have also been determined for each of the top risks. The IMEA and documentation of top risks is a living document. Yearly meetings are planned to update the analysis and reevaluate top risks and mitigations. The IMEA is being used to drive work in suited injury, and this work will continue to evolve with IMEA and lunar mission updates.

Teresa Reiber↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development of the Suited Injury Modes and Effects Analysis for Identification of Top Injury Risks in Lunar Missions and Training

A new Exploration Extravehicular Activity Suit (xEVAS) is being designed to replace the current Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Artemis program to return astronauts to the lunar surface. This new suit will allow for increased range of motion compared the current EMU and Apollo era suits and will have additional features that will enhance the health and safety of exploration. With the design of lunar missions and the xEVAS progressing, it is important to consider possible injuries and injury mechanisms that could occur in the suit. To address these concerns, the suited Injury Modes and Effects Analysis (IMEA) was developed to outline suited injury scenarios and rank them based on risk score. The IMEA documents possible scenarios and underlying mechanisms of injury while wearing an extravehicular activity (EVA) suit. Tasks during lunar surface EVA as well as training events to prepare for lunar missions were considered as history has shown that more suit injuries occur during training than in flight. Each scenario is ranked with a consequence and likelihood scoring based on our current understanding of the suit and Artemis design reference missions to identify high-risk cases that will drive further work in suited injury. Injuries, mechanisms of injury, and mitigation strategies are evaluated within each scenario. The Suited Injury Summit was held on January 5, 2022, to vet the IMEA with external experts. This was an all-day virtual meeting with the suited injury team, ergonomists, suit engineers, safety engineers, the flight operations directorate, flight doctors, astronauts, astronaut strength, conditioning, and rehabilitation specialists (ASCRS), and external subject matter experts (SMEs). External SMEs consisted of surgeons with varying specialties. The intent of this meeting was to walk through the top injury risks identified in the analysis, identify any gaps that were not captured, and discuss mitigations. With participation from all groups, countless lessons-learned came from the Summit meeting. Using the lessons-learned and discussion from the Summit, the top 10 risks have been identified: neutral buoyancy laboratory training, hand/glove injuries, poor suit fit, field training, specific EVA tasks/design of task, boots/ankle injuries, falls from heights, background radiation, repetitive contact, and ambulation/long-distance ambulation. Mitigation steps have also been determined for each of the top risks. The IMEA and documentation of top risks is a living document. Yearly meetings are planned to update the analysis and reevaluate top risks and mitigations. The IMEA is being used to drive work in suited injury, and this work will continue to evolve with IMEA and lunar mission updates.

Tessa Reiber↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Scientific Physical and Operations Characterization (SPOC): Studying Scientists in the Wild to Inform Human Planetary Exploration Operations

The objective of the Scientific Physical and Operational Characterization (SPOC) project is to build an evidence-based description of terrestrial field science to inform the operational, physical, and tool requirements for planetary exploration extravehicular activities (xEVAs). EVAs of the future, including Artemis 2024 and beyond, intend to promote scientific productivity (e.g., LEAG science goals)[1]; however, no clear, objective pathway currently exists to enable this goal, particularly with respect to the desired increase in autonomy imparted to future astronauts. The SPOC project applies expertise in the fields of cognitive systems engineering [2-5], biomechanics, wearable sensors [6-8] and hardware/software to more targetly address these issues. In doing so, a terrestrial fieldwork ground-truth can be established that will benefit human and robotic exploration of other planetary surfaces.

M J Miller↗