Advanced Inflatable Airlock System for EVA

Campbell, A. C.; Barido, Richard; Knudsen, Jeff; MacKnight, Allen; Lerner, Robert E.; Heppel, Peter; Dalland, Todd; Jarvis, Christine W.; Raines, Tom; Trevino, Luis

doi:10.4271/2002-01-2314

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…In any case, the most obvious way of reducing the amount of habitat gas leaking into the Martian atmosphere through the airlock is reducing airlock volume. A volume sufficient for at least two suited astronauts is considered the bare minimum 56,57 . For reference, the volume of the Crew Lock of the Quest module is 8.8 m 3 .…”

Section: Gas Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

An airlock concept to reduce contamination risks during the human exploration of Mars

Vrankar,

Verseux,

Heinicke

2023

npj Microgravity

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Protecting the Martian environment from contamination with terrestrial microbes is generally seen as essential to the scientific exploration of Mars, especially when it comes to the search for indigenous life. However, while companies and space agencies aim at getting to Mars within ambitious timelines, the state-of-the-art planetary protection measures are only applicable to uncrewed spacecraft. With this paper, we attempt to reconcile these two conflicting goals: the human exploration of Mars and its protection from biological contamination. In our view, the one nominal mission activity that is most prone to introducing terrestrial microbes into the Martian environment is when humans leave their habitat to explore the Martian surface, if one were to use state-of-the-art airlocks. We therefore propose to adapt airlocks specifically to the goals of planetary protection. We suggest a concrete concept for such an adapted airlock, believing that only practical and implementable solutions will be followed by human explorers in the long run.

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Section: Gas Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

An airlock concept to reduce contamination risks during the human exploration of Mars

Vrankar,

Verseux,

Heinicke

2023

npj Microgravity

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“…The shape of the CL is an oblate spheroid, made of various fabrics of aluminium, with a length of 2.44 m and a height of 2.13 m, and having a volume of 1.6 m 3 , which becomes 6.4 m 3 when deployed. Main issues of the CL design 8 are the gas recovery system, the pressurization system, which is composed of three separate S/Ss: internal pressure control S/S, air beams pressure control S/S and pneumatic muscles control S/S, and the retraction system for which the use of telescoping (motor-driven) mechanisms was envisaged.…”

Section: Hab S/s Sizingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conceptual design of a habitation module for a deep space exploration mission

Viscio

Viola

Gargioli

et al. 2012

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part G:

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The article deals with the conceptual design of a habitable module conceived for long-duration space exploration missions. The pressurized habitation module was specifically sized for a near-Earth asteroid mission, named ‘humAn Exploration mission to a Near Earth Asteroid’. This mission is conceived as an intermediate step before going to further destinations and aims at testing technologies necessary for reaching more challenging targets. In accordance to the mission objectives, the habitation module was devised as a reusable space infrastructure, suitable for different exploration scenarios with only minor changes in the architecture/design. This article describes the design process that, starting from the mission statement, was followed to define the objectives, the requirements and the architecture of the module in terms of system and subsystem configuration. In particular, the habitation module was designed to safely sustain the life of four astronauts, for a mission to a near-Earth asteroid lasting about 6 months. The main subsystems of the habitation module were sized in order to provide the astronauts with the needed resources, support the activities during all operational phases, including the extra-vehicular activities on the asteroid’s surface and protect them against the external environment, with particular attention to space radiation, one of the most critical aspects of this kind of mission. In this regard, appropriate analyses were carried out for selecting the best shielding strategy. For the execution of the extra-vehicular activities on the asteroid surface, a dedicated airlock and specific extra-vehicular activity support tools were included. This article reports a detailed description of the subsystems and their innovative aspects. Starting from the mission phases and the related scenarios, different modes of operations were identified. System budgets were evaluated for the envisaged operational modes. This article illustrates both the applied methodologies and the results, highlighting the major criticalities to be faced (long exposure to space radiations, extra-vehicular activity operations on the asteroid surface) and the key technologies (radiation shielding, inflatable technology, extra-vehicular activity support tools).

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“…In order to minimize the total launch mass and volume of the vehicle, an inflatable airlock (Ref. 43) was used for the study.…”

Section: Alssat's Applications In Trade Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%