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Integration of Advanced Structures and Materials Technologies for a Robust Lunar HabitatNASA’s Artemis program plans to have a sustainable lunar base deployed on the Moon by 2028. The base calls for a foundation surface habitat that can support a crew of four members for a minimum mission duration of 28-days. The lack of a magnetic field and significant lunar atmosphere extends the lifetime of secondary radiation emitted from metallic structures, which is a health hazard for exposed astronauts. Integration of non-metallic structural materials into surface habitat design may alleviate some of these concerns. Additionally, it is favorable for the structure to be collapsible for transportation to optimize payload volume, mass efficiency, and monetary constraints. As a result, inflatable structures are being investigated due to their improved packing efficiency at launch, optimal mass-to-volume ratio, and large surface area that can efficiently disperse structural loads and heat. Currently, only two inflatable airlocks have been deployed in space. Thus, there is a significant need to advance technologies associated with inflatable structures to provide greater options for future missions, i.e., Artemis and beyond. This study focused on the inflatable lunar habitat applications of emerging NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) technologies and their required development steps to become space qualified. The Bowling Habitat architecture was generated from 13 of these NASA LaRC technologies, five of which were deemed critical, five determined as enhancing technologies, and three were classified as transformational technologies for the Artemis program. To address the payload constraints, the study also considered a tentative timeline that aligned with the current Artemis schedule for transporting the Bowling Habitat to the Moon. Ultimately, the Bowling Habitat mainly addressed the structural needs of an inflatable lunar habitat, meaning that major areas pertaining to the life-style aspects of the habitat must be improved. Areas include, but are not limited to, hard connection points, the monitoring of human health, and extra radiation protection for solar proton events.
Document ID
20205008605
Acquisition Source
Langley Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Lauren Bowling
(Universities Space Research Association Columbia, Maryland, United States)
Bryce Horvath
(Langley Research Center Hampton, Virginia, United States)
Christopher Wohl
(Langley Research Center Hampton, Virginia, United States)
Date Acquired
October 13, 2020
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Meeting Information
Meeting: IEEE Aerospace Conference
Location: Virtual
Country: US
Start Date: March 6, 2021
End Date: March 13, 2021
Sponsors: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Funding Number(s)
WBS: 295670.01.21.23.16
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Technical Review
Single Expert
Keywords
Inflatable Habitat
Sustained Presence
Lunar Exploration
Gap Analysis
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