ESA PREPARATION FOR HUMAN LUNAR EXPLORATION Scott Hovland European Space Agency, HME-HFH, ESTEC, Scott.Hovland@esa.int 1
Aurora Core Programme Outline Main goals of Core Programme: To establish set of exploration mission options for decision at next C/Min- 2008 To develop strategic capabilities in support of mission options To pursue coordinated development strategy towards longer term capabilities To establish foundations of possible future programme elements Use of the ISS for Exploration Preparation (operational experience, capability demonstration, hardware validation) The Ministerial Council of 2008 will represent a major milestone in the progress of the Aurora Core Programme 2
Core Programme Outline The Core Programme is looking at all aspects of preparation for exploration Strategy Scenario and Architecture Capability development (Human Lunar Exploration and MSR) Mission/System Definition All these steps are necessary to put in place the best development roadmap for exploration and definition of early precursor missions Strategy, Scenario and Architecture Activities Development Roadmaps Targeted Capability Development Precursor Mission/Activity Definition System Studies International Coordination 3
Exploration Roadmaps Strategy and Architecture First draft of European Long-Term Strategy for Space Exploration has been drafted and is under review The Strategy will be a key element to be addressed at the upcoming International Space Exploration Conference (8 and 9 November 2007) in Berlin, Germany Analysis of long-term architectures for space exploration has been initiated and in particular: Parallel industrial activities are in place to analyse different architecture segments (planetary surface operations, in-space services, transportation) ESA architecture integration approach has been defined and related models have been prepared (integration will be supported by ESA Concurrent Design Facility) High-level architecture requirements for lunar exploration have been defined and have been subject of a formal review First results of an architecture driven by lunar exploration objectives will be available by end 2007 and a fully integrated architecture considering also detailed requirements for Mars and other destination by mid 2008. 4
CSTS Human and robotic surface exploration support Sustained surface operations Human access to space Human rated autonomous Rendezvous and docking Sustain human health in space Advanced closed loop systems / ARES Advanced EVA systems A European Exploration Roadmap Radiation countermeasures Aeroassist manoeuvres Human transportation systems Soft landing Ascent Enabling technologies Advanced propulsion and power Long term cryo storage Surface mobility Drilling Aero braking Soft landing Ascent Rendezvous Earth re-entry Rendezvous in Mars orbit- Aero braking/ Net Science Sustained presence Sortie mission OR ExoMars 2013 Intl. MSR 2020 NEXT 2016 Moon Soft landing mobility/ In-situ Science 5
General Exploration Technology & Preparation for Lunar Exploration In preparation for a European participation in a wider lunar exploration programme, a range of activities address several key capabilities required for human exploration, e.g. Habitation, Life Support and Crew Aspects Space Transportation Robotics/Mobility ISRU Power Management System Mission Studies 6
Inflatable Habitat Breadboard Activities Requirements for the multilayer Structural Wall Selection of Materials & Configuration for the Structural Wall Analytical Trade-off for Materials Selection & Materials Configuration Test Plan for Materials Selection & Materials Configuration IMOD bread board Demonstrator ready for manufacturing 7
Inflatable Habitat Leakage Detection, Localisation and Repair qualitative analysis of the structure and of the environment has been performed in order to identify all the possible sources of leakage in the module (inflatable and hard shell, junctions, valves, seals etc.) Development of innovative technology for leakage detection Additional testing, including Hyper Velocity Impacts of selected materials Lunar Dust Mitigation Evaluation of the impacts of lunar dust on the specific SpaceHaven design and operations, and identification of the sensitive parts Mission Options Compatibility with US LSAM Relocation to Lunar surface 8
MELiSSA Food Characterisation Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative MELiSSA MELiSSA participation to bed rest campaigns confirm the extreme uncertainties on Food quality prediction (nutritional content) Food Characterisation will be performed on recipes to better understand the nutritional values of the food (both for future tests as well as space flights) 9
MELiSSA Pilot Plant The MELiSSA Pilot Plant in Barcelona, Spain, is being put together to be able to test the different compartments of MELiSSA in an integrated fashion. Specific achievements to date: Facility built Design, assembly and test of the Consumer Compartment Design, assembly and test of the Higher Plant Compartment and functional tests, Initial operation of the Pilot Plant 10
MELiSSA Higher Plant Compartment The final compartment of the MELiSSA loop is dedicated to growing plants The ground model for the MELiSSA Pilot Plant will be delivered to Spain this year 11
ARES Regenerative Life Support System ARES is a regenerative Life Support System which will recycle the Oxygen from the Carbon Dioxide in a spacecraft atmosphere Present activities are geared towards development of a flight demonstrator experiment onboard ISS with a potential launch date in 2011 ARES would be the first European Regenerative Air Revitalisation System in Space and allow Europe to gain valuable experience in the installation, checkout and operation of such systems in space 12
Black Water & Grey Water Recycling for Concordia The Black Water Treatment Unit (BWTU) is a complementary unit to the Grey Water treatment unit, successfully working in Concordia for the last 2 years Accumulated experience on the Operation in Concordia will benefit the BWTU implementation Concordia is a very harsh environment and all safety issues need to treated 13
Exploration Robotics An underwater prototype of Eurobot has been developed and successfully tested in the Neutral Buoyancy Facility at EAC Robot cooperated with EVA-astronaut (J.F.-Clervoy) Eurobot walked along handrails, handed over payloads and tools to astronaut, and performed inspection Robotics for exploration will be further developed through the Aurora Core Programme also addressing the needs for robotic aids on the lunar surface. 14
In Situ Resource Utilisation ISRU System and Technology Systems assessment of In-Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) technologies and the necessary developments Elaboration of future European strategy Strategic processes e.g.: Oxygen production for life support, propulsion Regolith for construction Water reclamation 15
Energy Provision and Management Study In order to better understand the requirements for power generation and storage of future large exploration missions the Aurora Core Programme will be looking at what power densities will be needed trade these against the traditional power management technologies as well as more innovative technologies that would need further development before being put to use Solar Cell Systems Fuel Cell Systems Nuclear Power Systems 16
General Exploration Technology & Preparation for Lunar Exploration System and Mission Studies The scenario and architecture activities will define strategic European elements for Lunar exploration A series of systems and mission studies will be carried out on several of these candidate elements Lunar Surface Greenhouse Lunar Pressurised Rover Lunar Base with Rovers Lunar Greenhouse 17
ISS for Exploration Study The European Columbus module is scheduled to be launched later this year and early next year the ATV has its maiden flight planned Having the ISS up and operating will give the exploration programme a fantastic tool to develop and demonstrate capabilities necessary for human exploration ESA will continue to define new P/Ls and equipment to be used for exploration preparation such as: New maintenance concepts Habitation enhancements Demonstration of new technologies 18
Analysis of Lagrangian Trajectories in the Earth Moon System Through previous exploration related studies the Earth Moon Lagrange points showed clear advantages as staging and transportation nodes for lunar exploration However reliable algorithms and analytical capabilities are needed to properly predict the trajectories to and from these nodes Predict the complicated movements of the spacecraft around the Lagrange points analyse the propellant needs for transfer and station keeping defining the control logics for keeping the spacecraft in a stable configuration This activity will improve the analytical capabilities of ESA and European Industry for Earth Moon Lagrangian trajectories 19
European Lunar Mission Studies The ESA Concurrent Design Facility (CDF) has been used to investigate several possible missions for Lunar Exploration Human Spaceflight Vision addressed the build up of a manned lunar base using a possible evolution of the European Ariane 5 launcher LES addressed Sustained Lunar Exploration and specifically long duration orbital flight (Mars transit simulation) and lunar surface time LES-CTS addressed cargo transportation to a Low Lunar Orbit and to the Lunar Surface using current Ariane 5 capabilities LES-3 European Robotic Lunar Mission Study Ongoing studies on NEXT and Overall Exploration Architectures Lunar Robotic Mission Lunar Orbit Transfer Vehicle Lunar Surface Transfer Vehicle Lunar Human Lander Lunar Cargo Lander 20
Crew Space Transportation System Development Crew Space Transportation is a key capability in overall human space exploration Europe has already gained some experience in critical technologies through programmes such as: Hermes, Atmospheric Re-Entry Demonstrator & ATV Current approach foresees potential European partnership with others in development of Crew Space Transportation Systems (CSTS) ESA Council recently adopted resolution to carry out preliminary investigations to identify: System requirements and concept consolidation Preliminary system design Design and bread-boarding Cooperation framework and related arrangements Discussions are ongoing to: Establish international cooperation on the development of a CSTS Establish internal European framework, based on existing experience & future priorities: E.g. Rendezvous and docking via the International Berthing and Docking Mechanism (IBDM) 21
Conclusion The Aurora Core Programme has the task to define the next steps that Europe can take within exploration, both robotically and with humans. Activities are in place to address strategy, scenarios and architectures, Mars Sample Return preparation, general exploration technology awareness The Core Programme will run over the period 2005 to 2009 and should be continued thereafter with the next phase. The Core Programme will supply Europe with plans and designs for the next exploration missions to be undertaken by Europe both on its own and in cooperation with other international partners. 22