Proceedings, Global Space Exploration Conference 2012

What are the important benefits provided to the United States and other countries by human spaceflight endeavors? The ability to place humans in space is exciting to the public, and demonstrates the technological maturity and stature of each spacefaring nation. Such a visible and peaceful demonstration of cutting edge technology fosters foreign policy by showing strength without engaging in conflict i . Human spaceflight sparks the imagination and serves an instinctive need to explore. Astronauts are ambassadors for all of humanity in a very personal way. Men and women in space suits inspire people – of all cultures and demographics – to achieve excellence, to believe in a common cause and to pursue a noble goal. Furthermore, humans in space have unique abilities and attributes (eyes, fingers, and onsite reasoning) to pursue scientific research and commercial development that cannot be achieved by robotic means. American leadership, as demonstrated by the continuous success of human...

2016

This paper presents the preliminary design of the international space mission HECATE (Human Exploration of Cis-lunar space via Assets Tele-operated from EML-2), aimed at exploring the far side of the Moon via tele-robotic activities during the 2020s. The exploration is realized by astronauts from HOPE (Human Orbiting Protected Environment), a space habitat in a halo orbit around the Earth-Moon Lagrange Point 2, a critical staging location for future robotic and human deep space missions. Inside the habitat, astronauts have access to tele-robotic hardware and instruments, used to tele-operate rovers and scientific equipment on the surface of the Moon. Plans to resupply and maintain HOPE for future missions, using a solar electric tug, are given. Ultimately, HOPE represents an energetically favorable intermediate locations for missions to Mars, Near-Earth Asteroids, and beyond.

Acta Astronautica, 2018

Returning to the Moon has kept gaining interest lately in the scientific community as a mandatory step for answering a cohort of key scientific questions. This paper presents a novel Lunar mission design to demonstrate enabling technologies for deep-space exploration, in accordance with the Global Exploration Roadmap and the National Research Council. This mission, named ALCIDES, takes advantage of some of the systems that are currently under development as a part of the HERACLES exploration architecture: these include the Orion module, the Space Exploration Vehicle, the Boeing Reusable Lander, the Ariane 6, the Falcon Heavy, the Space Launch System, as well as the Evolvable Deep-Space Habitat placed in EML2. A consistent part of the efforts in designing the ALCIDES mission accounts for innovative exploration scenarios: by analysing state of the art in robotics and planetary exploration, we introduce a mission architecture in which robots and humans collaborate to achieve several tasks, both autonomously and through cooperation. During this mission, high-performance mobility, extravehicular activity and habitation capabilities would be carried out and implemented. This project aims to demonstrate the human capability to live and work in the Lunar environment through the development of a long-term platform. We selected the Amundsen-Ganswindt basin as the landing site for multiple reasons: the possible presence of permanently shadowed regions, its position within the South Pole and its proximity to the Schrödinger basin. The main objectives of the ALCIDES mission are to study the Lunar cold trap volatiles, to gain understanding of the Lunar highlands geology through sampling and in-situ measurements and to study Human-Robotic interactions. In addition, factors such as psychology, legal issues and outreach regarding this mission were also considered. In particular, four traverses connecting the Amundsen crater with the Schrödinger basin were proposed, three of which to be performed by a tele-operated rover, and the remaining one to be carried out by a human crew with rover assistance. During these traverses, the rover will collect samples from several points of interest as well as perform insitu measurements with a suite of instruments on board, helping to locate a convenient place for future human habitation. The ALCIDES mission results will help the scientific community to better understand the Moon and to take advantage of its resources for future space exploration. Gaining this knowledge will allow us to move forward in the development of systems and capabilities for manned missions to Mars and beyond.

2008

The paper presents the development of a space architecture designed to support long-term exploration and the permanent habitation of the surface of the moon. Additionally, through the development of judicious, efficient and adaptable systems, this architecture will directly support future Mars exploration efforts. The concept presented herein establishes a functionally simple and reusable inter-lunar cargo transfer infrastructure. A team of graduate architecture students at the University of Houston’s Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture (SICSA) have, during a two semester period, been researching and designing the proposed exploration architecture based on the newly ascribed space exploration initiative and the evident need for adaptable, flexible and long term program architectures. This work examines a single methodology built upon a review of current, historical and functional assemblages of vehicles combined with the goal of establishing a long lasting and adapt...

1984

Workshop attendees generally believe that a lunar base goal has a high enough potential payoff that it should be adopted by NASA in the near future. Potential gains include new possibilities for scientific investigation, utilization of the natural resources of the moon to benefit lunar and space operations, and development of a long-term capability for human self-sufficiency on another planet. To reduce the risk that near-term decisions will be made that result in future difficulties or additional unnecessary costs to a lunar base program, we must consider near-term development issues, such as the Space Station and the orbital transfer vehicle technology, in light of their potential application to a lunar base program. The lunar base program is envisioned as being less of a technological challenge and less expensive annually than Apollo was.

AIAA Proceedings.[np]. …, 2009

As we lay down plans and ramp up development of transportation systems for returning people to the Moon, alternative concepts are being proposed for activities to conduct there in order to gain the experience necessary to prepare for more ambitious human interplanetary expeditions to Mars and beyond. Fully employing NASA's Constellation transportation systems such as the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle and the Altair Lunar Lander as baseline elements, the USC ASTE527 Return to the Moon: Looking Glass 204 Project pondered the following question: What activities precisely can we do on the Moon, with crew and robots, that can immediately (very short timeframe-2015-2040) benefit not only the science and engineering community, but also humanity as a whole, on a permanent basis ? The establishment of a sturdy cislunar communications system followed by critical crew rescue capability in the proximity of a primary lunar habitat are seen as the foundation blocks for this architecture. Once the foundation is reliably established, essential physical infrastructure to support the emplacement of a suite of permanent, evolvable observatories, long-range traverses to conduct geology and astrobiology, and critical crew support were addressed. Manned, pressurized rovers are essential in order for crew to access observatory sites to set up, calibrate and evolve these man tended facilities which are located along the proposed traverse route. Rovers and crew are also needed to deploy, service and evolve science payloads that are autonomously landed far apart in remote regions of the lunar globe. Participants were tasked to create their own system concepts, which they thought were useful. They presented material on pertinent concepts listed below: 1.

We describe a hopping science payload solution designed to exploit the Moon's lower gravity to leap up to 20m above the surface. The entire solar-powered robot is compact enough to fit within a 10cm cube, whilst providing unique observation and mission capabilities by creating imagery during the hop. The LunaRoo concept is a proposed payload to fly onboard a Google Lunar XPrize entry. Its compact form is specifically designed for lunar exploration and science mission within the constraints given by PTScientists. The core features of LunaRoo are its method of locomotion -hopping like a kangaroo -and its imaging system capable of unique over-thehorizon perception. The payload will serve as a proof of concept, highlighting the benefits of alternative mobility solutions, in particular enabling observation and exploration of terrain not traversable by wheeled robots. in addition providing data for beyond line-of-sight planning and communications for surface assets, extending overall mission capabilities.

Bulletin of the AAS, 2021

Advances in Space Research, 2008

The upcoming fleet of lunar missions, and the announcement of new lunar exploration initiatives, show an exciting ''Journey to the Moon", covering recent results, science, future robotic and human exploration. We review some of the questions, findings and perspectives given in the papers included in this issue of Advances in Space Research.