NASA will use the cold,
harsh, isolated landscape of Antarctica to test one of its concepts for
astronaut housing on the moon. The agency is sending a prototype inflatable
habitat to Antarctica to see how it stands up during a year of use.
Agency officials viewed the habitat Wednesday at ILC Dover in
Frederica, Del., as it was inflated one last time before being packed and
shipped to Antarctica's McMurdo Station. NASA is partnering on the project
with the National Science Foundation, Arlington, Va., which manages McMurdo
Station, and ILC Dover, the company that manufactured the prototype
structure. All three organizations will share data from the 13-month test,
which runs from January 2008 to February 2009. An inflatable habitat is one
of several concepts being considered for astronaut housing on the moon.
"Testing the inflatable habitat in one of the harshest, most remote
sites on Earth gives us the opportunity to see what it would be like to use
for lunar exploration," said Paul Lockhart, director of Constellation
Systems for NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, Headquarters,
Washington.
NASA's Constellation Program is working to send humans back to the moon
by 2020. After initial sorties, the astronauts will set up a lunar outpost
for long-duration stays, and they will need a place to live. The agency is
developing concepts for habitation modules that provide protection for the
astronauts and are easy to transport to the lunar surface.
"To land one pound of supplies on the lunar surface, it'll require us
to launch 125 pounds of hardware and fuel to get it there," Lockhart said.
"So our habitation concepts have to be lightweight as well as durable. This
prototype inflatable habitat can be taken down and redeployed multiple
times, and it only takes four crew members a few hours to set up,
permitting exploration beyond the initial landing area."
The structure looks something like an inflatable backyard bounce house
for children, but it is far more sophisticated. It is insulated and heated,
has power and is pressurized. It offers 384 square feet of living space and
has, at its highest point, an 8-foot ceiling. During the test period,
sensors will allow engineers to monitor the habitat's performance.
The National Science Foundation also is interested in lighter,
easier-to-assemble habitats. It currently uses a 50-year-old design known
as a Jamesway hut, which is bulky and complex in comparison to the habitat
being tested. Modern variations on the Jamesway, although lighter, are
still rigid and difficult to ship, with limited insulation. During the test
of the new inflatable habitat, the foundation will study improvements in
packing, transportation and set up, as well as power consumption and damage
tolerance for this newest variation of the concept.
To enable lunar exploration, the Constellation Program is developing a
new fleet of spacecraft and rockets, as well as transportation and power
systems for use on the surface of the moon.
Source: NASA
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