Surface Infrastructure

Johnson Space Center (JSC) is at the forefront of enabling a sustained human presence on the lunar surface (and one day Mars) through its development of surface infrastructure, including habitats, life support systems, power generation and storage systems, communication systems, surface transportation, resource utilization, research and medical science instruments, and processes, training and procedures to operate these systems. For example, JSC experts offer design, development and testing of robotic technology, providing key capabilities such as Robonaut and the Electric Dexterous Manipulator Testbed (eDMT), designed for testing robotic interfaces for future Moon and Mars exploration missions. Additionally, the 15-foot Dirty Thermal Vacuum Chamber and Dust Containment and Preparation Lab allows testing of hardware in relevant planetary surface conditions. From unpressurized and pressurized rovers to resource utilization and power systems, JSC is committed to providing the surface infrastructure necessary for sustainable human presence beyond our Earth. We invite our partners to leverage our robust capabilities in surface infrastructure to collectively advance and expand humankind’s presence in the solar system. With our expertise, together we can pioneer innovative solutions for sustainable surface infrastructure crucial for establishing and maintaining human settlements. Let’s collaborate to unlock the next chapter of space exploration and propel humanity’s journey into the cosmos.

15-foot Dirty Thermal Vacuum Chamber

NASA JSC 15-foot dirty thermal vacuum chamber (TVAC) provides unique testing capabilities for dust and planetary surface environments. The 15-foot chamber is a spherical chamber designed to test advanced concepts, especially for battery power systems, space vehicle actuators and auxiliary power units. 

• 12.5-foot internal diameter spherical chamber with ~78-inch diameter clear entry for easy access
• Vacuum conditions: 1×10^-6 torr to 760 torr 
• Thermal conditions: -186°C to +120°C 
• Air, GN2 pressurization
• Feed-throughs for high-power electrical connections and high-channel count data 
• Control automation enabling low-cost operations 
• Ambient dust containment room for regolith control and testing 
• Hardware exposure testing to dust / regolith 
• Regolith bin for design and test of excavation, processing, or construction technology

3-foot Dirty Thermal Vacuum Chamber 

NASA JSC’s 3-foot dirty thermal vacuum chamber (TVAC) provides unique testing capabilities for dust and planetary surface environments. The 3-foot chamber is a 3ft x 3ft x 3ft cube designed to test component level concepts in a lunar simulated environment.

• Thermal Vacuum capability with dust mitigation for pumping system
• 36”x36”x36” (0.9m x 0.9m x 0.9m) cube shape
• Rough or High vacuum (10^-5 torr range quickly, 10^-7 torr demonstrated)
• Shroud temperature range of -300°F to +300°F (-185°C to +148°C)
• Shroud walls independently controlled for zone temperature conditioning if needed

Integrated Mobile Evaluation Testbed for Robotics Operations (iMETRO) 

iMETRO is designed to catalyze the adaptation of advanced terrestrial robotic technologies for space exploration use cases, such as logistics, maintenance, and science utilization within environments designed for human exploration on the Lunar and Martian surfaces. The iMETRO focus is on Intra-Vehicular Activity (IVA) environments, such as surface habitats, pressurized rover cabins, and space station internal modules. The iMETRO goal is to increase the availability of end-to-end systems enabling remote operation of robots in space supervised by humans on Earth. These systems include ground control user interfaces and software for managing robot remote control with realistic latency, bandwidth, and coverage interruptions for various mission environments (e.g., Low Earth Orbit, cis-Lunar, Lunar Surface, Mars Surface). 

iMETRO Virtual and Physical Components 

• The virtual facility includes open-source robot configurations (e.g., URDF) for iMETRO robots as well as models of mock-ups for space use cases, such as the crew access hatch and logistics stowage task trainer.
• The physical facility consists of a range of facility features and robot options. A variety of mock-ups and task trainers are available, and additional customized mockups can be designed and constructed by JSC staff for mission scenarios as needed. 

Facility Features 

• ROS2 compatible software interfaces 
• Frame-mounted PTZ cameras
• Remote operator situational awareness 
• Optical tracking ground truth for pose estimation and navigation 
• Isolated robot network with configurable latency and bandwidth restrictions (currently a future planned capability) 

iMETRO assets 

• Mobile 
• Relocatable 
• Work with other facilities and larger mockups 
• Gravity offload facility (ARGOS) 
• Extra-vehicular robot facility (eDMT)
• Robots working inside large mockups in the adjacent high bay 

Robot Options 

• Linear rail-mounted single manipulator (available now) 
  • Universal Robots UR10e
  • Robotiq hand-E Gripper w/ Custom Fingers 
  • Vention horizontally mounted 2.0m linear rail 
  • Ewellix Telescoping Lift Kit with 700mm Stroke 
  • Intel® RealSense™ Wrist-Mounted Depth Camera 
• Mobile Base Dual Manipulator (coming in 2024)
  • Universal Robots UR5e (2x) 
  • Robotiq Hand-E Grippers with Custom Fingers 
  • Arms mounted to dual, independent lift-kits of 500mm Stroke 
  • Clearpath Ridgeback Wheeled Mobile Base 
  • Intel® RealSense™ Wrist-Mounted Depth Cameras
• Bring Your Own Sensors and/or End Effectors 
  • Utilize standard interfaces 
• Bring Your Own Robot 
  • Test custom configurations with iMETRO space application mock-ups and end effectors 

Electric Dexterous Manipulator Testbed (eDMT)

The Electric Dexterous Manipulator Testbed (eDMT) is used for testing space robotic payloads, interfaces, and concepts of operation for ISS and future Moon and Mars exploration missions. It consists of two six-jointed, electromechanical, Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) serial manipulators. The larger Yaskawa Motoman manipulator is capable of handling heavy payloads and is integrated with an emulator for the International Space Station (ISS) Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) end effector. The smaller Kuka manipulator is more portable and capable of running real-time dynamic simulations for a wider variety of applications. 

Testbed Features: 

• Closed-loop force and moment accommodation 
• Detailed force and position metrology
• Mounted T-slot tables for mockup integration 
• On-orbit Tool Change Mechanism Emulator (OTCME) end effector for grasping standard interfaces 
• Optical motion tracking 

Yaskawa Motoman ES165RD-II:  

• 3 meter reach 
• 165 kg payload capacity 
• Permanent mount in facility 
• ISS emulation end effector

Kuka KR70 R2100: 

• 2.1 meter reach 
• 70 kg payload capacity 
• Fast response to sensor feedback, ideal for handling delicate payloads and testing autonomous operations 
• Pedestal mounted in facility, but lightweight enough to transport via forklift for integrated testing 
• Reconfigurable gripper interface

Surface Mating 

On-site expertise available for on-surface docking/mating related mechanisms (latches, lockdowns, linear actuators, umbilical drives, et al) and successful on-surface Docking linear and non-linear contact dynamics modeling, loads analysis, docking simulations, and testing. Includes the development and maintenance of on-surface Docking Standards and cross-interface system engineering and integration.

• Design, Development, Test and Evaluation of surface mating systems
• Component, System and Vehicle-level Systems Engineering and Integration 
• Analytical Simulation/Prediction, Independent Modeling and Model Validation 
• Dynamic, Static, and Natural/Induced Environmental Testing 
• System Management, Flight Hardware Acceptance, Joint Integrated Testing 
• Standards and Specifications Development
• Avionics, Software and Controls 
• Rapid Prototyping and Evaluation 
• Contact Modeling and Simulation 
• Collaborative Working Environment 

Lunar Surface Element/Module/Cargo/Payload Offloading

On-site expertise available for surface related module payload offloading mechanisms used to take objects delivered to the lunar surface which need to be taken off the lander and placed on the surface via grappling, lifting, positioning, and release; or moved and repositioned with accuracy. Includes design, analysis, linear and non-linear dynamics modeling, loads analysis, simulations, and testing, and the development and maintenance of systems and cross-interface system engineering and integration.

Systems with mechanisms, latches, lockdowns, linear actuators, drives:

• Design, Development, Test and Evaluation of offloading systems
• Component, System and Vehicle-level Systems Engineering and Integration
• Analytical Simulation/Prediction, Independent Modeling and Model Validation
• Dynamic, Static, and Natural/Induced Environmental Testing
• System Management, Flight Hardware Acceptance, Joint Integrated Testing
• Standards and Specifications Development
• Avionics, Software, and Controls
• Rapid Prototyping and Evaluation
• Contact Modeling and Simulation
• Collaborative Working Environment

Related Patents

Robonaut 2: Hazardous Environments