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By NASA
NASA/JPL-Caltech Two full-scale development model rovers, part of NASA’s Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration (CADRE) technology demonstration, drive in the Mars Yard at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California in this image from August 2023. The project is designed to show that a group of robotic spacecraft can work together as a team to accomplish tasks and record data autonomously – without explicit commands from mission controllers on Earth.
A series of Mars Yard tests with the development models confirmed CADRE hardware and software can work together to accomplish key goals for the project. The rovers drove together in formation and adjusted their plans as a group when faced with unexpected obstacles.
CADRE is slated to arrive at the Reiner Gamma region of the Moon through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. The network of robots will spend the daylight hours of a single lunar day – about 14 Earth days – conducting experiments that will test their capabilities.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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By NASA
Astronauts will test drive NASA’s Orion spacecraft for the first time during the agency’s Artemis II test flight next year. While many of the spacecraft’s maneuvers like big propulsive burns are automated, a key test called the proximity operations demonstration will evaluate the manual handling qualities of Orion.
During the approximately 70-minute demonstration set to begin about three hours into the mission, the crew will command Orion through a series of moves using the detached upper stage of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket as a mark. The in-space propulsion stage, called the ICPS (interim cryogenic propulsion stage), includes an approximately two-foot target that will be used to evaluate how Orion flies with astronauts at the controls.
“There are always differences between a ground simulation and what an actual spacecraft will fly like in space,” said Brian Anderson, Orion rendezvous, proximity operations, and docking manager within the Orion Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “The demonstration is a flight test objective that helps us reduce risk for future missions that involve rendezvous and docking with other spacecraft.”
After NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen are safely in space, the Moon rocket’s upper stage will fire twice to put Orion on a high Earth orbit trajectory. Then, the spacecraft will automatically separate from the rocket stage, firing several separation bolts before springs push Orion a safe distance away.
As the spacecraft and its crew move away, Orion will perform an automated backflip to turn around and face the stage. At approximately 300 feet away, Orion will stop its relative motion. The crew will take control and use the translational and rotational hand controllers and display system to make very small movements to ensure Orion is responding as expected.
Next, the crew will very slowly pilot Orion to within approximately 30 feet of the stage. A two-foot auxiliary target mounted inside the top of the stage, similar to the docking target used by spacecraft visiting the International Space Station, will guide their aim.
“The crew will view the target by using a docking camera mounted inside the docking hatch window on the top of the crew module to see how well aligned they are with the docking target mounted to the ICPS,” Anderson said.
“It’s a good stand in for what crews will see when they dock with Starship on Artemis III and to the Gateway on future missions.”
About 30 feet from the stage, Orion will stop and the crew will checkout the spacecraft’s fine handling qualities to evaluate how it performs in close proximity to another spacecraft. Small maneuvers performed very close to the ICPS will be done using the reaction control system thrusters on Orion’s European Service Module.
Orion will then back away and allow the stage to turn to protect its thermal properties. The crew will follow the stage, initiate a second round of manual maneuvers using another target mounted on the side of the stage, approach within approximately 30 feet, perform another fine handling quality check out, then back away.
At the end of the demonstration, Orion will perform an automated departure burn to move away from the ICPS before the stage then fires to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere over a remote location in the Pacific Ocean. During Orion’s departure burn, engineers will use the spacecraft’s docking camera to gather precise positioning measurements, which will help inform navigation during rendezvous activities on future missions in the lunar environment, where there is no GPS system.
Because the Artemis II Orion is not docking with another spacecraft, it is not equipped with a docking module containing lights and therefore is reliant on the ICPS to be lit enough by the Sun to allow the crew to see the targets.
“As with many of our tests, it’s possible the proximity operations demonstration won’t go exactly as expected,” said Anderson. “Even if we don’t accomplish every part of the demonstration, we’ll continue on with the test flight as planned to accomplish our primary objectives, including evaluating Orion’s systems with crew aboard in the deep space environment and keeping the crew safe during the mission.”
The approximately 10-day Artemis II flight will test NASA’s foundational human deep space exploration capabilities, the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, for the first time with astronauts and will pave the way for lunar surface missions, including landing the first woman, first person of color, and first international partner astronaut on the Moon.
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By NASA
1 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Members of the Marine Corps Reserve (3rd Battalion, 25th Marine unit) stand in front of 10 boxes of toys donated by NASA Glenn Research Center employees. Credit: NASA/Bridget Caswell NASA’s Glenn Research Center continued a decades-long tradition of participating in the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program during the 2023 holiday season. On Dec. 11, members of the Marine Corps Reserve (3rd Battalion, 25th Marine unit) picked up 10 boxes of toys donated by employees from NASA Glenn’s Lewis Field in Cleveland and Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky. The Glenn Veterans Employee Resource Group led the donation drive. The Toys for Tots campaign collects and distributes new, unwrapped toys to less fortunate children in the area for Christmas.
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Graphic depiction of Magnetohydrodynamic Drive for Hydrogen and Oxygen Production in Mars TransferAlvaro Romero-Calvo Alvaro Romero-Calvo
Georgia Tech Research Corporation
Human space exploration is presented with multiple challenges, such as the near absence of buoyancy in orbit or the reliable, efficient, and sustainable operation of life support systems. The production and management of oxygen and hydrogen are of key importance for long-term space travel and, in particular, for the human transfer to Mars. However, existing technical solutions have failed to meet the reliability and efficiency levels required in such scenarios.
As an alternative, we propose an efficient water-splitting architecture that combines multiple functionalities into a minimum number of subsystems, hence enhancing the overall reliability of the mission. This new approach employs a magnetohydrodynamic electrolytic cell that extracts and separates oxygen and hydrogen gas without moving parts in microgravity, hence removing the need for a forced water recirculation loop and associated ancillary equipment such as pumps or centrifuges. Preliminary estimations indicate that the integration of functionalities leads to up to 50% mass budget reductions with respect to the Oxygen Generation Assembly architecture for a 99% reliability level. These values apply to a standard four-crew Mars transfer with 3.36 kg oxygen consumption per day.
A dedicated study is required to assess the feasibility of the concept and its integration into a suitable oxygen production architecture, motivating this proposal. Its successful development would effectively enable the recycling of water and oxygen in long-term space travel. Additional technologies of interest to NASA and the general public, such as water-based SmallSat propulsion or in-situ resource utilization, would also benefit from the concepts introduced here.
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