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This paper describes three innovative concepts for a mobile lunar base. These concept combine design research for habitat architecture, mobility systems, habitability, radiation protection, human factors, and living and working environments on the lunar surface. The mobile lunar base presents several key advantages over conventional static base notions. These advantages concern landing zone safety, the requirement to move modules over the lunar surface, and the ability to stage mobile reconnaissance with effective systemic redundancy. All of these concerns lead to the consideration of a mobile walking habitat module and base design. The key issues involve landing zone safety, the ability to transport habitat modules across the surface, and providing reliability and redundancy to exploration traverses in pressurized vehicles. With self-ambulating lunar base modules, it will be feasible to have each module separate itself from its retro-rocket thruster unit, and walk five to ten km away from the LZ to a pre-selected site. These mobile modules can operate in an autonomous or teleoperated mode to navigate the lunar surface. At the site of the base, the mobile modules can combine together; make pressure port connections among themselves, to create a multi-module pressurized lunar base.

This essay presents a comparison between the Apollo Lunar Module (LM) and the current concepts and requirements for the Altair Lunar Lander. The basis of comparison reflects the difference between the Apollo Program, pursuing a Cold War era "Flag and Footsteps" mission, and the Constellation Program creating a more expansive program of exploration leading to a permanent human presence on the moon. The specific areas of comparison derive largely from the changes in mission philosophy and exploration strategy-not from technology or engineering. These factors illuminate the differences in the current design drivers for the Altair compared to the Apollo LM. Nomenclature ALARA As Low As Reasonably Achievable, refers to radiation exposure. ALHAT Autonomous Lander Hazard Avoidance Technology. Altair NASA's Lunar Lander to return crew and cargo to the moon. Ascent Module The Altair module with the flight crew station where the crew pilot the vehicle; the Ascent Module launches from the surface to return the crew to the Orion in LLO, leaving the DM behind. Ascent Stage The Apollo LM module with the flight crew station where the crew pilot the vehicle. The Ascent Stage launches from the surface to return the crew to the CSM in LLO, leaving the Descent Stage behind. BFO Blood forming organs. CARD Constellation Architecture Requirements Document, NASA CxP-70000. CEV Crew Exploration Vehicle. CM The Apollo Command Module, also the Orion Crew Module. ConOps Concept of Operations. CSM The Apollo Command and Service Module. EDS Earth Departure Stage. EOR Earth orbit rendezvous. ESAS Exploration Systems Architecture Study, December 2005. EVA Extra vehicular activity. GCR Galactic Cosmic Ray. Gray Gray (Gy) is the SI unit of absorbed [radiation] dose. One gray is equal to an absorbed dose of 1 Joule/kilogram (100 rads). US NRC § 20.1004 Units of radiation dose. An absorbed dose. Gy-Eq Gray equivalent-a [radiation] dose weighted for relative biological effectiveness (RBE). In the NCRP Report No. 132 (2000), dose limits for deterministic effects are expressed as the organ dose in gray multiplied by the relevant RBE for the specific organ and radiation. HSIR Human System Integration Requirements, NASA CxP-70024. HZE High Z (atomic number) and energy particles. Inconel A registered trademark of the Special Metals Corporation for a family of austentitic nickelchromium-based "superalloys," used with great success for the pressure vessel of the Apollo LM crew cabin. ISRU In situ resource utilization.

The crucial challenge to astrobiology research on Mars is for the astronaut crews to conduct the search for life past and present from a Mars surface base. The Mars base will require a highly specialized astrobiology science laboratory to facilitate this research. This paper presents an incremental strategy to develop the laboratory technology and facility necessary to enable the astrobiology investigation on Mars.

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This paper describes the application of aerospace design methodologies to the planning, design, and construction of space habitat analogues. These habitat designs occur along a spectrum from simple Foamcore and wood construction open to the ambient environment, to steel or composite pressure vessels for human occupancy with a hypobaric atmosphere. Success in developing and operating a mockup and simulator research program often depends upon careful code and standard research aimed at compliance to protect the health and safety of construction workers, researchers, test subjects, and visitors alike. Nomenclature ANSI = American National Standards Institute ASME = American Society of Mechanical Engineers ATM = atmosphere CERC = Controlled Environment Research Chamber GFI = ground fault interrupt HEDP = Human Exploration Demonstration Project HPC = Human-Powered Centrifuge ISS = International Space Station PVHO = pressure vessel for human occupancy TRL = technology readiness level

This paper presents a preliminary modeling method, Habitat Multivariate Design Model (HMVDM), to estimate the volume, size, shape, and configuration required for the design of a space habitat. The specific habitat used for this analysis is the "Habot" mobile lunar base concept.The HMVDM methodology begins with values for mass and volume from quantitative summation tools such as the NASA Office of Biological and Physical Research (OBPR) Crew Accommodations Guide. From these tools, it derives a more detailed analysis of mass and particularly of volume. The estimated volume is input into the model, written as a spreadsheet-based analytical modeling tool. In this pilot study, the diameter of a cylindrical module serves as the single independent variable. The dependent variables include: the number of pressure ports, the floor area, the height of the end dome, the height of the cylindrical portion of the module, the number of floor decks, the floor to floor height, and the volume of vertical circulation.The model affords an array of adjustable evaluation criteria and set point limits to assess the results in the dependent variables. This evaluation provides the ability to analyze the independent variable for which values meet the "requirements" of the mission and habitat design.

In 1963, Celentano, Amorelli, and Freeman of North American Aviation described a set of curves as an Index of Habitability that can predict the amount of pressurized volume necessary per crewmember to conduct a mission at "tolerable, performance, or optimal" levels. This paper presents an analysis of the "Celentano Curve" that depicts a relationship between spacecraft pressurized volume and the duration of a space mission. Since Yuri Gagarin flew in Vostok 1 in 1961, the US, Russia, and China have launched more than 250 human spaceflights. This survey collects the empirical data and tests the Celentano curves against it. The statistical approach treats the Celentano curve as the hypothesis stating a causal relationship between mission duration and volume. Many authors have published variations of the Celentano curve, and this author considers nine interpretations, plus three versions of the crew size hypothesis and one functional operations hypothesis. This analysis shows that pressurized volume increases as a function of mission duration, both as a power curve and a logarithmic curve. This volume trend does not level off but continues to rise throughout the historic envelope of human spaceflight. CAVEAT: VOLUME ESTIMATION FROM FIRST PRINCIPLES This research does not address design guidelines and methodologies to size pressurized spacecraft and space habitats. Certainly, those topics are essential future steps, but they exceed the scope of the present effort. • The scope of this study extends only to identifying, clarifying, and assessing the historical and empirical record of human spaceflight. It is not a substitute for