Larry Toups

Transportation-driven mars surface operations supporting an evolvable mars campaign

This paper describes the results of a study evaluating options for supporting a series of human missions to a single Mars surface destination. In this scenario the infrastructure emplaced during previous visits to this site is leveraged in following missions. The goal of this single site approach to Mars surface infrastructure is to enable “Steady State” operations by at least 4 crew for up to 500 sols at this site. These characteristics, along with the transportation system used to deliver crew and equipment to and from Mars, are collectively known as the Evolvable Mars Campaign (EMC). Information in this paper is presented in the sequence in which it was accomplished. First, a logical buildup sequence of surface infrastructure was developed to achieve the desired “Steady State” operations on the Mars surface. This was based on a concept of operations that met objectives of the EMC. Second, infrastructure capabilities were identified to carry out this concept of operations. Third, systems (in the form of conceptual elements) were identified to provide these capabilities. This included top-level mass, power and volume estimates for these elements. Fourth, the results were then used in analyses to evaluate three options (18t, 27t, and 40t landed mass) of Mars Lander delivery capability to the surface. Finally, Mars arrival mass estimates were generated based upon the entry, descent, and landing requirements for inclusion in separate assessments of in-space transportation capabilities for the EMC.

Lunar Architecture Team: Phase 2 Architecture Option — 2 Habitation Concepts

This paper will describe an overview of the Lunar Architecture Team phase 2 (LAT-2) Option-4 architecture surface habitation definition performed during LAT-2. The LAT-2 architecture study focused on three primary habitation strategies. The three strategies are 1) habitats that are small, modular, and unloaded from the lander to create an outpost, 2) a monolithic habitat strategy that remained on the lander, and 3) habitats that remain on the lander and are mobile. This paper will describe the 2.75 meter diameter by 5 meter long mini.habitats that were defined for the Option 2 architecture. Each mini-hab is an aluminum.lithium pressure shell with an integrated cargo frame used for handling, integration with the lander, and surface emplacement. Each mini.hab contains 27.5 cubic meters of volume and 5 mini-habs are used to make up the outpost. The modular mini.habs allows for flexibility and adaptability to the lander integration and emplacement on the surface. This paper will describe the mass and master equipment list of the systems. The internal architecture and configuration will be described.

Mars surface habitability options

This paper reports on current habitability concepts for an Evolvable Mars Campaign (EMC) prepared by the NASA Human Spaceflight Architecture Team (HAT). For many years NASA has investigated alternative human Mars missions, examining different mission objectives, trajectories, vehicles, and technologies; the combinations of which have been referred to as reference missions or architectures. At the highest levels, decisions regarding the timing and objectives for a human mission to Mars continue to evolve while at the lowest levels, applicable technologies continue to advance. This results in an on-going need for assessments of alternative system designs such as the habitat, a significant element in any human Mars mission scenario, to provide meaningful design sensitivity characterizations to assist decision-makers regarding timing, objectives, and technologies. As a subset of the Evolvable Mars Campaign activities, the habitability team builds upon results from past studies and recommends options for Mars surface habitability compatible with updated technologies.

Planning and Logistics for the In-Field Demonstration of NASA's Habitat Demonstration Unit (HDU) Pressurized Excursion Module (PEM) at Desert RATS 2010

This paper describes the construction, assembly, subsystem integration, transportation, and field testing operations associated with the Habitat Demonstration Unit (HDU) Pressurized Excursion Module (PEM) and discusses lessons learned. In a one-year period beginning summer 2009, a tightly scheduled design-develop-build process was utilized by a small NASA “tiger team” to produce the functional HDU-PEM prototype in time to participate in the 2010 Desert Research and Technology Studies (Desert RATS) field campaign. The process required the coordination of multiple teams, subcontractors, facility management and safety staff. It also required a well-choreographed material handling and transportation process to deliver the finished product from the NASA-Johnson Space Center facilities to the remote Arizona desert locations of the field test. Significant findings of this paper include the team’s greater understanding of the HDU-PEM’s many integration issues and the in-field training the team acquired which will enable the implementation of the next-generation of improvements and development of high-fidelity field operations in a harsh environment. The Desert RATS analog environment is being promoted by NASA as an efficient means to design, build, and integrate multiple technologies in a mission architecture context, with the eventual goal of evolving the technologies into robust flight hardware systems. The HDU-PEM in-field demonstration at Desert RATS 2010 provided a validation process for the integration team, which has already begun to retool for the 2011 field tests that require an adapted architecture.

Habitat Demonstration Unit Pressurized Excursion Module Systems Integration Strategy

1 Engineer, Lunar Systems Division, Mail Code LX-M, 2 Engineer, Lunar Systems Division, Mail Code LX-M, 3 Architect, Systems Architecture and Integration Office, Mail Code EA3 4 Engineer, Exploration Missions and Systems Office, Mail Code ZS 5 Engineer, Systems Architecture and Integration Office, Mail Code EA3 6 Architect, Mission Systems Concepts, Mail Code 312E Habitat Demonstration Unit Pressurized Excursion Module Systems Integration Strategy

Lunar Habitation Strategies

This paper will describe lunar habitation strategies necessary to support the Vision for Space Exploration. Space habitats are a re-creation of the earth environment for the purpose of sustaining human life beyond our home planet. Included are pressurized habitable volumes such as laboratories, living quarters, and repair and maintenance facilities. The space environment in which habitats must operate is characterized by vacuum, orbital debris, microgravity for orbital space stations and transfer missions, partial gravity for planetary exploration missions, radiation, and planetary dust. These characteristics are the major design challenges for space habitation systems. The objective is to achieve increasingly self-contained human habitats of various sizes and functionality for use in space and on planetary surfaces. As will be discussed in this paper, the space environment found on the moon is particularly inhospitable to human life and presents many challenges to designing lunar habitats such as mass constraints, volume requirements, efficient packaging, and managing risks to the crew.

Lunar Architecture Team - Phase 2 Habitat Volume Estimation: "Caution When Using Analogs"

The lunar surface habitat will serve as the astronauts’ “home on the moon,” providin g a pressurized facility for all crew living functions and serving as the primary location for a number of crew work functions. Adequate volume is required for each of these functions in addition to that devoted to housing the habitat systems and crew cons umables. The time constraints of the LAT -2 schedule precluded the Habitation Team from conducting a complete “bottoms -up” design of a lunar surface habitation system from which to derive true volumetric requirements. The objective of this analysis was to q uickly derive an estimated total pressurized volume and pressurized net habitable volume per crewmember for a lunar surface habitat, using a principled, methodical approach in the abs ence of a detailed design. Five “heuristic methods” were used: historica l spacecraft volu mes, human/spacecraft integration standards and design guidance , Earth -based analogs, parametric “sizing” tools, and conceptual point designs. Estimates for total pressurized volume, total habitable volume, and volume per crewmember were derived using these methods. All methods were found to provide some basis for volume estimates, but values were highly variable across a wide range, with no obvious convergence of values . Best current assumptions for required crew volume were provided as a range. Results of these analyses and future work are discussed. Earth & Space 2008

Mars surface systems common capabilities and challenges for human missions

This paper describes the current status of common systems and operations as they are applied to actual locations on Mars that are representative of Exploration Zones (EZ) - NASAs term for candidate locations where humans could land, live and work on the martian surface. Given NASAs current concepts for human missions to Mars, an EZ is a collection of Regions of Interest (ROIs) located within approximately 100 kilometers of a centralized landing site. ROIs are areas that are relevant for scientific investigation and/or development/maturation of capabilities and resources necessary for a sustainable human presence. An EZ also contains a habitation site that will be used by multiple human crews during missions to explore and utilize the ROIs within the EZ. The Evolvable Mars Campaign (EMC), a description of NASAs current approach to these human Mars missions, assumes that a single EZ will be identified within which NASA will establish a substantial and durable surface infrastructure that will be used by multiple human crews. With this assumption it becomes important to evaluate the current suite of surface systems and operations being evaluated for the EMC are likely to perform at a variety of proposed EZ locations. Four locations identified in MEPAGs Human Exploration of Mars Science Analysis Group (HEM-SAG) report are used in this paper as representative of candidate EZs that will emerge from the selection process that NASA has initiated. A field station site plan is developed for each of these four HEM-SAG sites. Several important findings have emerged from these preliminary assessments: (1) at each of the four HEM-SAG sites there was a 10 km × 10 km area at or near the proposed landing site within which it is reasonable to set up a landing site and habitation site consistent with the needs of a Mars surface field station, (2) at each of these 10 km × 10 km sites it is possible to set up a central location for a common power system and locate the landing and habitation zones in a radial configuration around this power system. However, additional analysis will be needed to look at alternative site layouts that could “better” utilize the natural features of a particular site, and (3) with the possible exception of a climb to the top of Arsia Mons, all of the proposed traverses appear to be feasible for the small pressurized rover currently envisioned for these surface missions. Based on these findings our recommendation is to continue (a) the selection process of EZs used in the recent workshop that will lead to one or more optimum surface locations, (b) continue to evaluate the minimum functionality required to establish a surface field station within the center of an EZ, and (c) identify those demonstrations that could be conducted at the Mars surface field station utilizing local resources to gradually establish the Earth independence necessary to sustain crews for long periods of time.

Innovation in Deep Space Habitat Interior Design: Lessons Learned From Small Space Design in Terrestrial Architecture

Increased public awareness of carbon footprints, crowding in urban areas, and rising housing costs have spawned a ‘small house movement’ in the housing industry. Members of this movement desire small, yet highly functional residences which are both affordable and sensitive to consumer comfort standards. In order to create comfortable, minimum-volume interiors, recent advances have been made in furniture design and approaches to interior layout that improve both space utilization and encourage multi-functional design for small homes, apartments, naval, and recreational vehicles. Design efforts in this evolving niche of terrestrial architecture can provide useful insights leading to innovation and efficiency in the design of space habitats for future human space exploration missions. This paper highlights many of the cross-cutting architectural solutions used in small space design which are applicable to the spacecraft interior design problem. Specific solutions discussed include reconfigurable, multi-purpose spaces; collapsible or transformable furniture; multi-purpose accommodations; efficient, space saving appliances; stowable and mobile workstations; and the miniaturization of electronics and computing hardware. For each of these design features, descriptions of how they save interior volume or mitigate other small space issues such as confinement stress or crowding are discussed. Finally, recommendations are provided to provide guidance for future designs and identify potential collaborations with the small spaces design community.

Integration Process for the Habitat Demonstration Unit

The Habitat Demonstration Unit (HDU) is an experimental exploration habitat technology and architecture test platform designed for analog demonstration activities. The HDU previously served as a test bed for testing technologies and sub-systems in a terrestrial surface environment. in 2010 in the Pressurized Excursion Module (PEM) configuration. Due to the amount of work involved to make the HDU project successful, the HDU project has required a team to integrate a variety of contributions from NASA centers and outside collaborators The size of the team and number of systems involved With the HDU makes Integration a complicated process. However, because the HDU shell manufacturing is complete, the team has a head start on FY--11 integration activities and can focus on integrating upgrades to existing systems as well as integrating new additions. To complete the development of the FY-11 HDU from conception to rollout for operations in July 2011, a cohesive integration strategy has been developed to integrate the various systems of HDU and the payloads. The highlighted HDU work for FY-11 will focus on performing upgrades to the PEM configuration, adding the X-Hab as a second level, adding a new porch providing the astronauts a larger work area outside the HDU for EVA preparations, and adding a Hygiene module. Together these upgrades result in a prototype configuration of the Deep Space Habitat (DSH), an element under evaluation by NASAs Human Exploration Framework Team (HEFT) Scheduled activates include early fit-checks and the utilization of a Habitat avionics test bed prior to installation into HDU. A coordinated effort to utilize modeling and simulation systems has aided in design and integration concept development. Modeling tools have been effective in hardware systems layout, cable routing, sub-system interface length estimation and human factors analysis. Decision processes on integration and use of all new subsystems will be defined early in the project to maximize the efficiency of both integration and field operations. In addition a series of tailored design reviews are utilized to quickly define the systems and their integration into the DSH configuration. These processes are necessary to ensure activities, such as partially reversing integration of the X-Hab second story of the HDU and deploying and stowing the new work porch for transportation to the JSC Rock Yard and to the Arizona Black Point Lava Flow Site are performed with minimal or no complications. In addition, incremental test operations leading up to an Integrated systems test allows for an orderly systems test program. For FY-11 activities, the HDU DSH will act as a laboratory utilizing a new X-Hab inflatable second floor with crew habitation features. In addition to the day to day operations involving maintenance of the HDU and exploring the surrounding terrain, testing and optimizing the use of the new X-Hab, work porch, Hygiene Module, and other sub-system enhancements will be the focus of the FY-11 test objectives. The HDU team requires a successful integration strategy using a variety of tools and approaches to prepare the DSH for these test objectives. In a challenging environment where the prototyping influences the system design, as well as Vice versa, results of the HDU DSH field tests will influence future designs of habitat systems.