Matthew Silver

Autonomous Logistics Technologies for Space Exploration: Experiment Results and Design Considerations

The ability to autonomously track and manage assets in space or at a planetary exploration site holds the potential to greatly improve multiple aspects of space missions. At the International Space Station (ISS) everything from food and clothing to tools and experiments is currently managed manually or tracked using simple bar-coding techniques, often at the expense of time and accuracy. An autonomous system, based on radio-frequency identification (RFID) or related technologies, could save precious time, increase planning accuracy, increase safety, and even amplify science returns for extended exploration missions. However, these benefits must be weighed against overall system complexity, mass, and other issues such as ease-of-use and astronaut training. Such trades hinge on the requirements for the system in question: What technologies can and should be used? What kinds of applications should be included? At what level should assets be tracked? Suitable answers to these kinds of questions demand actual hardware/software development and field-testing.

Remote Terrestrial Sites as Operational/Logistics Analogs for Moon/Mars Bases: the Haughton Mars Project

*† ‡ § ** Mission planners for future human space exploration enterprises face several challenges in the area of operations, including coordinating the logistics and resupply of far-flung planetary bases. A number of logistics methods have been perfected by commercial and military experts, but these are not well understood in the context of space exploration. This paper describes a field expedition to a Mars analog site in the high Arctic, at which terrestrial logistics methods were tested in the context of (analog) planetary exploration. A comprehensive comparison is drawn between the logistics scenarios at HMP and a potential lunar or Mars base, in order to determine the extent of the analogy between them. It appears that the analogy is quite good in certain categories of supplies and shipment, but breaks down in others. When certain straightforward differences are accounted for, the data gathered from HMP can be used to validate and inform planetary base logistics models in support of future human lunar and Mars exploration.

Paradigm Shift in Design for NASA's Space Exploration Initiative: Results from MIT's Spring 2004 Study

*† ‡ § ** †† ‡‡ This paper summarizes the findings of a comprehensive study commissioned by NASA’s space architect and conducted by graduate students and faculty at MIT during spring 2004. The goal of the study was to broadly analyze implications of NASA’s new space exploration initiative at the value, system architecture and vehicle levels. The space exploration system is expected to accomplish a wide variety of defined and undefined mission objectives throughout its lifetime, while doing so with limited resources. As a result, the traditional view of designing an optimal system that satisfies current mission objectives is no longer an effective design approach. A new approach is needed in which the system’s lifecycle is considered throughout the design process, and environmental factors such as political and budgetary uncertainty are incorporated alongside more traditional factors such as technology development and scientific interests. To promote a sustainable system design, the first step in the design process is the identification of the true value delivered by the system to its stakeholders. In this paper we argue that the true value of an exploration system is knowledge acquisition, not simply transportation of humans and cargo to planetary surfaces. The new design process is defined and then applied to the space exploration system with decisions and analysis guided by knowledge delivery as the ultimate purpose, resulting in the design of a sustainable exploration system.

Logistics Information Systems for Human Space Exploration

Space agencies around the world are gearing up for new human space exploration missions. In order to ensure that such programs are sustainable, it is worthwhile to examine the lessons learned from past experiences with space logistics and supply chain management. This paper offers an overview of the current state of the art in logistics management for space exploration focused on information systems, and highlights some emerging technologies that have the potential to significantly improve both the study and operation of space logistics systems.