Field Analogue Simulations Investigating EVA/Robotic Collaboration in Lunar Exploration

Abstract

By the time that human missions to the moon resume, a half century or more will have passed since the last Apollo missions. Technologies only dreamed of in the days of Apollo will be available to assist, augment, and supplement human explorers on the moon and Mars. However, many of the current conceptualizations of human planetary surface exploration seem to start where Apollo left off, with robotic systems largely relegated to transport functions or operations independent of the human explorers. Under support from the NASA Lunar Advanced Science and Exploration Research (LASER) program, the University of Maryland (UMd) and Arizona State University (ASU) have teamed up in a four-year effort to investigate advanced collaborations between spacesuited humans and robots for lunar exploration. This investigation is focused on a series of annual field trials in the Arizona desert, wherein planetary geologists will serve as simulated astronauts using advanced space suit simulators and dexterous manipulator-equipped rovers created by the UMd/ASU team. In an homage to the long-standing NASA Desert Research and Technology Studies (RATS) test series, this stand-alone research investigation has been named the Desert Field Lessons in Engineering And Science, or Desert FLEAS. This paper covers the concept behind the Desert FLEAS research, and details the evolutionary set of annual field trials with increasing space suit and robotic system capabilities. In an early test series in September 2010, the UMd MX-A space suit simulator was paired with the Robotic Assist Vehicle for Extravehicular Navigation (RAVEN) astronaut assistance rover developed by the combined senior capstone design classes of the UMd Aerospace Engineering department and the ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration. In this proof-of-concept test, the MX-A suit was equipped with head-mounted displays with head-tracking sensors for hands-free gestural interface to an information data base, along with several approaches for EVA control of the RAVEN driving functions. These tests, performed on the ASU campus and in conjunction with the 2010 NASA Desert RATS tests at the Black Point Lava Flow, Arizona, included EVA-directed remote sampling via the RAVEN dexterous manipulator, and human/robot paired traverses across the analogue site. In the first formal LASER test series, the UMd/ASU team spent a week performing field trials in March, 2011 at the Warford Ranch volcano field in southwestern Arizona. In

CHELONIA: Development and Manufacturing of an Earth Analog Habitat Evaluation Facility

“…The details of the testing and results will be the subject of a future publication. 6,7 CHELONIA will also be used in conjunction with the SSL's Moonyard facility. The facility will be outfitted with equipment to support simulated EVA operations, including pressure suit operations.…”

Body Pose Measurement System: System Validation and Range of Motion/Kinematic Analysis of Three Pressure Suits

“…As of the completion of this work, 3 out of 5 planned field trials have taken place; the results are fully documented in the following publications. 2,3,5 While the LASER field trials to date have used unpressurized suit simulators rather than actual pressure suits during the trials, it was clear that using a real pressure suit should be the ultimate goal for these studies. The SSL is not new to designing and building pressure suits; the Maryland experimental series (MX-1/2) research suits are the proof.…”