Home Away From Home May Be Destined For Lunar Surface
It's official -- the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will use
Antarctica's harsh environment to test a new tent-like architecture
for astronaut housing on the moon, according to the NSF.
NASA's Constellation Program is working to put men back to the
moon by 2020. After initial experiments, the astronauts will set up
a lunar outpost for long-duration stays, and they'll need a place
to live.
Scientists watched as the new home-away-from-home was inflated
one last time at a site in Frederica, DE before it was packed and
shipped to McMurdo Station, NSF's logistical hub in Antarctica. The
NSF operates three year-round stations in Antarctica in its role as
manager of the US Antarctic Program.
NSF and NASA are partners with ILC Dover, the company that
manufactured the prototype habitat structure that will be tested
for 13 months. The 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.
The inflatable structure is insulated and heated, has electrical
power, and is pressurized. Habitat offers 384 square feet of living
space and has, at its highest point, an eight-foot ceiling.
NSF is interested in lighter, easier-to-assemble housing for use
in the field in Antarctica. The NSF currently uses a 50-year-old
design known as a Jamesway hut that is bulky and complex, in
comparison to the habitat being tested.
Modern variations on the Jamesway are lighter, but rigid and
difficult to ship, with limited insulation.
During the test of the new inflatable habitat, NSF will study
improvements in packing, transportation and set up, as well as
power consumption and damage tolerance, fitted with sensors, for
this newest variation of the concept.
The agency is developing concepts for habitation modules that
not only provide protection for the astronauts, but also are easy
transport and set-up while on 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
a crew of four a few hours to set up, permitting exploration beyond
the initial landing area."
To further 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.
(Images courtesy of NSF's Peter West)
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