The Lightweight Materials and Structures (LMS) project will mature high-payoff structures and materials technologies that have direct application to NASA’s future space exploration needs.
Note: Please note that this is an “archived project” and is no longer updated. This article is meant for historical purposes only.
The Lightweight Materials and Structures (LMS) project will mature high-payoff structures and materials technologies that have direct application to NASA’s future space exploration needs. One of the first objectives for LMS will be to demonstrate the significant weight savings afforded by the incorporation of composite cryogenic oxygen and methane propellant tanks.
LMS, in conjunction with Advanced Exploration Systems, is developing an inflatable airlock with high packaging density and efficiency (lightweight, compact volume) enabling extravehicular activity from any vehicle. This is an innovative flexible structure that significantly reduces launch volume and minimizes system mass. The team is leveraging existing work from inflatable structures efforts at NASA and industry. The target focus for LMS is the soft-goods hatch and seal system that is planned for integration into a deployable airlock demonstration.
LMS is also working to advance the technologies required for the rapid integration of composite structures into spacecraft systems by working closely with the Morpheus project. NASA’s Morpheus project developed a prototype planetary lander that has been designed to serve as a test bed for advanced spacecraft technologies. The vehicle provides a platform for bringing technologies from the laboratory into an integrated flight system at relatively low cost. This allows individual technologies to mature into capabilities that can be incorporated into human exploration missions.
