NASA Advisory CouncilFebruary 5, 2009

Exploration Committee Fact Finding Review

•ESMD Status and Issues – James Abrahamson

•COTS – John Logsdon

•ad hoc Biomedical Committee Report – Steve Katz

For Section 508 Compliance, photos, illustrations and/or graphics lacking explanatory captions are described on the page following.

Illustrations on Title Page

• The header contains the following graphics from left to right:– Photo of a person in an EVA suit in a terrestrial desert location– Artist’s rendition of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter– Photo of a prototype 6-legged Athlete Rover in a terrestrial desert

location– Artist’s rendition of a lunar lander on the Moon’s surface with an

astronaut in an EVA suit approaching on foot– Artist’s rendition of the Ares-I and Ares-V rockets launching from KSC– Artist’s rendition of the Orion crew capsule separating from the

Service Module and re-entering Earth’s atmosphere– Artist’s rendition of a commercial rocket launch– Artist’s rendition of the fully assembled International Space Station in

orbit

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Speakers Bureau 3

Constellation Program

Lunar Precursor Robotic Program

Human ResearchProgram

TechnologyProgram

Advanced Capabilities Division (ACD)

Commercial Crew Cargo Program

Exploration Systems Mission Directorate Programs

Athlete Rover Desert Test

J2Z Engine Test Firing

Inflatable Lunar Habitat Concept

Human systems with known micro-g

effects: nervous, muscle, bone,

immune, cardio

Human testing micro-g exercise with vertical treadmillLRO

LCROSS

Ares-V Heavy LiftLauncher

Orion

Lunar Lander Concept

Lunar EVA Suit

Ares-I CrewLauncher

ISS Commercial Cargo Transport

Concept

ISS Commercial Launcher Concept

Constellation Program FY ‘08 Accomplishments

Constellation has been executing the program for ~3 years; now reaching end of formulation and preparing to enter development phase

• Design Reviews- “Season of System Design Reviews (SDRs)” for initial capability has

concluded; Ground Operations, Mission Operations, Orion and EVA are moving toward Preliminary Design Review (PDR)

- Constellation Program completed SDR baseline resynchronization June 15, 2008; the program approval review (PAR) to proceed to implementation is underway and expected to conclude in mid 2009

- Ares I has successfully completed PDR board; - J2X has initiated Critical Design Review (CDR)- Lunar Capability Concept Review (LCCR) was conducted in June 2008;

served as Mission Concept Review (MCR) for Ares V and Altair projects• Acquisitions in place

- Initial capabilities major development contracts are active and under way- Lunar Capability Phase I design support contracts strategies in formulation

• Technical/Hardware Progress- Moved beyond drawings and into hardware fabrication and testing - Construction of major facilities underway

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Exploration Technology Development Program – FY’08 Accomplishments

• Conducted field test at Moses Lake, WA of Chariot rover, ATHLETE rover, and payload handling crane to simulate lunar outpost assembly activities.

• Conducted human-in-the-loop testing of Carbon Dioxide and Moisture Removal Amine Swingbed (CAMRAS) system for Orion.

• Awarded contract with Aerojet to develop 5,500 lb-thrust LOx-methane engine for Altair’s ascent stage.

• Conducted helicopter flight test of flash lidar sensor for Altair’s autonomous landing and hazard avoidance system.

• Demonstrated sampling drill integrated with Scarab rover for lunar ice prospecting.

• Demonstrated Lunar Electric Rover and suit-port concept for enabling exploration far beyond the lunar outpost.

• Developed two prototype ISRU systems to produce oxygen for the lunar outpost.

• Delivered E-Nose instrument and Combustion Integrated Rack for launch to ISS on STS-126.

• Conducted InSPACE-2, CSLM-2, and SHERE experiments on ISS

ATHLETE rover

Lunar Electric Rover

ISRU oxygen production unit

Lunar Precursor Robotic Program (LPRP)FY ‘08 & Q1 FY ’09 Accomplishments

• LRO/LCROSS Initial Launch Capability (ILC):– April 24, 2009

• LRO– Completed the Systems Integration Readiness Review (SIRR) and

spacecraft integration; and thermal vacuum testing – Completed pre-Environmental Review (PER) and all environmental tests

• Including Vibration, Acoustic, EMI, Thermal Balance, Thermal Vacuum Cycling

– Established a Mission Operations Center and completed simulations of launch, lunar orbit insertion, data acquisition

• LCROSS– Completed integration and all environmental testing of space vehicle through

Systems Acceptance Review (SAR)– Established Mission Operations Center and completed simulations of launch,

lunar flyby, Centaur separation, and impact• Lunar Mapping Project

– Initiated formulation

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Human Research Program (HRP) – FY ’08 Accomplishments

• Institute of Medicine concluded review of human health-related risks for long term spaceflight and related research gaps in 07/08

• HRP conducted study on the “Combined whole-body vibration plus G-loading influences on visual performance and operator performance” using Ames 20G Centrifuge and Vibration Chair

• Internal NASA Final Report for Renal Stone Risk During Spaceflight: Assessment and Countermeasure Validation completed and delivered

• ISS experiment directly measuring Oxygen Uptake during submaximal exercise completed in-flight portion

• Finalized 105-day isolation and confinement study agreement with IBMP (Russia) 2008 Research & Tech Development to Support Crew Health & Performance in Space Exploration Missions (31 selections made 04/08)

• 2008 Ground-Based Studies in Space Radiobiology (9 proposals selected 07/08)

• 2008 NSBRI Center of Acute Radiation Research-CARR (1 award made 09/08)• 2008 NASA Radiation NRA for NASA Specialized Centers of Research

(NSCOR) – Solicitation released Sep 2008, proposals due 01/09

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