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AJ-SICSA MARS DESIGN

INSPIRATION MARS MISSION DESIGN REPORT March 15, 2014

1 AJ-SICSA Mars Design A report by Abhishek Jain guided by Professor Olga Bannova University of Houston, Houston TX

Table of Contents 1. SUMMARY: ..................................................................................................................................... 3 2. INTRODUCTION: ............................................................................................................................ 4 3. LV SELECTION CRITERIA ............................................................................................................ 5 4. LAUNCH VEHICLE CATALOG ..................................................................................................... 5 5. INSPIRATION MARS MISSION ..................................................................................................... 7 5.1 Mission Overview ........................................................................................................................ 7 5.2 Mission Details ............................................................................................................................ 7 5.3 Mission Trajectory ....................................................................................................................... 7 5.4 Mission Requirements ................................................................................................................. 8 5.5 Propellant Calculations ................................................................................................................ 8 5.6 Propulsion Selection .................................................................................................................... 8 5.7 Mission Statistics ......................................................................................................................... 9 5.8 Mission Architecture Design ....................................................................................................... 9 5.8.1 Mission Time-line ................................................................................................................. 9 5.8.2 Mission Bat chart ................................................................................................................ 10 5.8.3 Mission Components........................................................................................................... 10 5.9 Spacecraft Assembly .................................................................................................................. 11 5.10 Habitat Design ......................................................................................................................... 13 6.

COST ESTIMATION .................................................................................................................. 30

7.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT.............................................................................................................. 32

8.

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................ 32


Inspiration Mars mission design: Habitat design concept Abhishek Jain University of Houston Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture (SISCA), USA, [email protected] Guided by Prof. Olga Bannova 1. SUMMARY: This report summarizes a detailed mission proposal for Mars fly-by mission for 2018 launch window. The detailed study of mission components and mission requirements helped in deciding the payload requirement of the mission for a period of 501 days for a free return trajectory. First part of the research involved the study of the launch vehicles involved and their credibility in terms of mission. Working on the mission guidelines formed by Inspiration Mars various mission scenarios were studied in terms of space systems, ease of operations changing payload mass and the habitable volume. Planning for long-duration Mars exploration mission must provide appropriate human support accommodations to optimize crew comfort, health, morale, performance and safety. This report presents considerations and concepts for the architecture of Mars mission. This report addresses general habitat structure based on the volume analysis and constrains involved which must comply with Earth launch vehicles in terms of fairing size and the payload mass. This report presents a thorough study of the systems involved and the necessities over the mission span of 501 days to mars. A detailed table of volumes and masses is created to take care of every possible requirement during the mission. The last part of the report discusses the design of habitat for the crew with a minimalistic approach to reduce the mission size and mass. The concept of reconfigurable spaces is involved, providing multiple functionality to the space, with flexible environment and minimum structure to conserve the mass and volume. Adaptability is one of the primary benefits of this concept and the ability to reconfigure interior spaces can be very beneficial.

Acronyms and Abbreviations IM = DRM5 = EVA = ERV = HAB =

Inspiration Mars Mars Design Reference Mission 5 Extra Vehicular Activity Earth Re-entry Vehicle Habitation Module

LVs MT LOX LH2 LEO TMI

= = = = = =

Launch Vehicles Metric Tons Liquid Oxygen Liquid Hydrogen Low Earth Orbit Trans Mars Injection


2. INTRODUCTION: his research started with an urge to develop the study on launch vehicles into a more useful and easy way to design the missions. Prudent planning for Mars mission should provide an architectural evolutionary configuration and system development pathway that leads from limited to expanded capacities in a coherent, progressively additive manner. Accomplishment of this planning demands a strategic approach that anticipates mission requirements. Important priorities are to maximize standardization of elements to: achieve overall commonality of structures, interfaces and support systems; focus and expedite technology development/testing; and realize least-cost implementation and operational economies. A detailed study of the existing launch vehicles with medium lift and heavy lift capacities on the factors of payload, fairing size, and success rate were the main drivers for the design. The selected vehicles have arrangements of the mission propellants and components tagged along with their volumes and masses. The four vehicles selected from the list of studied LV’s shown in chart 1 are Falcon Heavy/9, Atlas V, Ariane 5, and H II-B. A comparison graph for various LV’s in consideration and a list of selected vehicles is shown in figure 1 and chart 2 respectively.

T

Funding Private Government Private Government Private/Government Government Government Government Government Government

Status Under dev Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active Active

Producer Space-X Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Space-X TsSKB-Progress United Launch Alliance ESA (Astrium) CALT United Launch Alliance United Launch Alliance/Boeing Yuzhnoye Design Bureau

Payload to Fairing Successes Country Vehicle name LEO (mT) diameter(m) rate US Falcon Heavy 53.00 5.2 0% Japan H-IIB 19.00 4.6 100% US Falcon 9 13.15 5.2 100% Russia Soyuz-FG 7.80 4.11 100% US Delta IV Heavy 22.95 4.57 95% EU Ariane 5 21.00 4.57 94% China Long March 3B 12.00 3.35 80% US Atlas V 29.40 5 97% US Delta II 7.10 2.44 98% Ukraine Zenit 2 13.74 3.3 71% [2]

Chart 1- currently active medium lift launch vehicles

Figure 1- Comparison of launch vehicles


3. LV SELECTION CRITERIA The LV’s were selected on the basis of their: Falcon Heavy and Atlas V were selected on the basis of various factors for this mission. 1. capability of human crew transfer 2. maximum payload carrying capacity to LEO 3. fairing size 4. Excess Delta V 5. current status 6. success rate Proton M is a suitable candidate for the catalog due its payload capacity but it does not enjoy a very good success rate and thus been excluded from the study. Other LV’s such as Soyuz, Long March, Zenit 2, and Delta II were left behind in terms of payload capacity and fairing diameter even though they enjoy a good success rate. [2] 4. LAUNCH VEHICLE CATALOG The catalog is designed for an easy chose and pick of LV’s based on the fairing arrangement of propellant tanks and other mission components. The application of catalog will be discussed later in this report for Inspiration Mars mission. Catalog has two parts 1. Propellant 2. Mission components The first part discusses the arrangement of Liquid Oxygen (hereinafter LOX) and Liquid Hydrogen (hereinafter LH2) tanks in the fairing volume of the LV’s. The difference in the densities of fuel (LH2) and the oxidizer (LOX) plays an important role in the arrangement and is the main driving force behind the arrangement. With LH2, which has a very low density, the payload mass capacity of a LV is limited; thus we are unable to use the LVs efficiently. However, when using LOX, which has a very high density, we are capable of transferring more in a single launch, better utilizing the LVs maximum payload capacity. The efficient selection of a LV for a particular mission is important and is discussed in the catalog. The catalog is designed for chemical propulsion using LH2 as fuel and LOX as oxidizer with a mixing ratio of 1:6. A variety of possible and efficient arrangements are shown in the propellant catalog and a few of them are shown below. A set of complete catalogs for both propellant and mission components can be obtained at www.uh.edu/sicsa. Examples of propellant catalog:


Image 1- Example showing the propellant catalog for Falcon 9/Heavy

The second part of the catalog discusses the arrangement of various components that may or may not be a part of a particular mission but their use might vary depending on the mission requirements. This catalog provides a variety of options of the arrangement of such components, which are ready to choose and pick for any given mission. Examples of this section of the catalog are shown below.

Image 2- Example showing the mission components catalog for Falcon 9/Heavy 6 AJ-SICSA Mars Design A report by Abhishek Jain guided by Professor Olga Bannova University of Houston, Houston TX

5. INSPIRATION MARS MISSION 5.1 Mission Overview The mission is to safely bring back a crew of two from a 501 day roundtrip to Mars by using a minimalistic approach to mission planning and design, with highest priority to crew comfort and safety. In 2018, the planets will literally align, offering a unique orbit opportunity to travel to Mars and back to Earth in only 501 days. Inspiration Mars is committed to sending a two-person American crew – a man and a woman – on an historic journey to fly within 100 miles around the Red Planet and return to Earth safely. The mission’s target launch date is Jan. 5, 2018. This exceptionally quick, free-return orbit opportunity occurs twice every 15 years. After 2018, the next opportunity won’t occur again until 2031. The mission will provide a platform for unprecedented science, engineering and education opportunities, using state-of-the-art technologies derived from NASA and the International Space Station. It will be financed primarily through philanthropic donations, with some potential support from government sources. 5.2 Mission Details  501 Day Mission + >10 for the Aero capture/reentry  C3 38.8 km2/sec2 for a delta V excess of 4.86 km/sec at departure  Return Velocity of 14.18 km/sec  January 5, 2018 Departure  August 20, 2018 Mars Arrival  Return Date May 21, 2019  Crew of 2 people  Quick free return trajectory  Launch Vehicle – Falcon Heavy for Habitat and Atlas V for Orion (ERP) 5.3 Mission Trajectory The mission uses a Mars free return trajectory as described in the Mars Free-Return (1995– 2020), Patel et al. This trajectory requires leaving the Earth with a C3 of 38.835 km2/sec2 and returning with a velocity at perigee of 14.18 km/sec.

Mars Free-Return (1995–2020), Patel et al


5.4 Mission Requirements In light of the overview, mission requirements are discussed in this section of the report. 1. Habitat 2. Earth Re-entry Vehicle (ERV) (Orion for this mission) 3. Science laboratory 4. Transfer propellant 5. 2 people on board 6. Radiation protection solutions 7. EVA concepts 8. Flight subsystems 9. Interior spaces flexibility 10. Reconfigurable interiors 11. Ergonomic design These requirements in general are very basic and need to be implemented for the mission’s success. The idea of a minimalistic mission can be achieved by reducing the mission requirements or by combining them and providing more efficient solutions. It has been observed that in most of the missions proposed by different agencies the re-entry capsule stays docked during the entire mission without any other significant use but to return to Earth. Considering reentry as a very crucial part of any mission the aspect of safety cannot be neglected but providing usefulness to ERV won’t affect the mission success. In this mission the scientific laboratory is a part of ERV and any experiments to be conducted to keep the crew busy shall be the part of this capsule. The usefulness of this concept saves unnecessary transfer of experiments from habitat to ERV; it also avoids any chance of infection in the living space and helps with saving some space in the habitat which can be utilized to increase crew comfort. The habitat is provisioned with space for an extra crew member if necessary. These features will be discussed later in the report. A list of mission components with their masses, volume and usability is shown in image 6 below. 5.5 Propellant Calculations Chemical propulsion Payload mass= 15mT Delta V for Mars C3 transfer = 4.7 Km/s Propellant for TMI = 30mT LOX= 25mT LH2= 5mT Third stage of Falcon heavy (Capacity to LEO=53mT) will be left with approximately 45mT of propellant after reaching LEO with approximately 5.3Km/s of excess delta V to ignite the spacecraft for TMI. 5.6 Propulsion Selection Deciding on the mission requirements and mission components is very much dependent upon the type of LV and propulsion being used to transfer the payload. It also governs the amount of propellant required and is a crucial part of the mission. In particular to this mission Falcon heavy is the primary LV to transfer the habitat with its third stage (i.e. chemical propulsion) attached to it, which will be burnt at the time of TMI from LEO. 8 AJ-SICSA Mars Design A report by Abhishek Jain guided by Professor Olga Bannova University of Houston, Houston TX

5.7 Mission Statistics

Chart 3- Inspiration Mars mission statistics

5.8 Mission Architecture Design The Mission will consist to two launches, one Falcon Heavy for mission components to be placed in the LEO with its third stage attached to the HAB, and the second launch of Atlas V for the crew Transfer. Falcon Heavy will be launched on 31st of Dec 2017 followed by Atlas V carrying Orion with a crew of 2 on 4th Jan 2018. The Orion will rendezvous with the habitat already in LEO and the crew will transfer to the habitat. The spacecraft will check and update all its systems for one more day in the LEO. On 5th Jan 2018, the booster will ignite and place the spacecraft with 2 humans in free return trajectory for their first journey out in deep space. 5.8.1 Mission Time-line 2017 MISSION IM

J

F

M A M J

J

2018 A S

O N

D J

F M A M J

J

2019 A S

O N

D

J

LEO Outbound Inbound


F M A M J

J

A S O N D

5.8.2 Mission Bat chart

Image 3- Inspiration Mars Bat Chart (Mission Architecture) 5.8.3 Mission Components

Image 4- Inspiration mars mission components 10 AJ-SICSA Mars Design A report by Abhishek Jain guided by Professor Olga Bannova University of Houston, Houston TX

5.9 Spacecraft Assembly

Image 5

Image 6- Inspiration Mars EVA concept 11 AJ-SICSA Mars Design A report by Abhishek Jain guided by Professor Olga Bannova University of Houston, Houston TX

Image 7- Inspiration Mars

Image 8- Inspiration Mars 12 AJ-SICSA Mars Design A report by Abhishek Jain guided by Professor Olga Bannova University of Houston, Houston TX

Image 9- Inspiration Mars 5.10 Habitat Design The next step is to design a livable environment inside a cylindrical can or habitat with 4.5m of diameter and survive a crew of 2 for 501 days. Designing interiors is a challenge in itself given the pre-requisites and the environmental conditions in space. Many configurations were designed and tried to see the usability and efficiency of the habitat and finally the design discussed below has been proposed for the same. The habitat is divided into 4 sections. Starting from top- the nose cone- the upper module- the lower module and the water storage. The light storages are at the top the heavier in the bottom. The upper module is mostly flexible with less structure and noiseless activities with an airlock to access the space for EVA’s. The lower module is mostly a service module with a contingency control panel and safe haven. This distribution allows for the separation between the clean and potentially dirty and noisy environments. The services in the lower module can be accessed from outside the habitat as well, depending upon the need of the situation. The concept behind the design is to utilize almost every inch of this small shell and make it functional for the crew so that they can perform all their personal and official commands with ease. Please refer to the images below for volume distribution.


Image 10- Habitat Exterior view and volume distribution concept.

Image 11- Habitat layout with dimensions. Designing a habitat in space comes along with a need of studying all the related subsystems and their operations. The study of different subsystems as per the requirements gave a volume and mass chart for the mission of 501 days. Please refer to chart 4. The pie graph below shows the amount of percentage mass of individual subsystems for a total habitat weight of 9mT.


Subsystems

Volume(m3)

C.A. - Galley and Food Systems C.A. - Waste collection system C.A. - Clothing C.A. - Recreatoinal equipment & Personal Stowage C.A. - Housekeeping C.A. - Operational Supplies & Restraints C.A. - Maintenance / All Repairs in Habitable Areas C.A. - Photography C.A. - Crew Health Care E.S.S - Guidance, Navigation and Control E.S.S - Electrical Power Systems E.S.S - Thermal Control System E.S.S - Communications and Tracking E.S.S - Command and Data Handling E.S.S - Avionics E.S.S - ECLSS E.S.S - Structures and Mechanisms E.S.S - Others(Spare margin, Hydroponics, furniture)

Total Chart 4- Subsystems mass and volume

Image 12- subsystems percentage mass comparison


Mass(Kg) 13 3 1 2 2 1 3 1 2 2

1677 137 20 50 77 80 245 25 75 350

2 2 2 2 1

1200 300 200 100 100

5 3 10

800 3000 400

54

8836

Image 13- Subsystems mass-volume graph The main concept involved in the design is FLEXIBLE and RE-CONFIGURABLE interior spaces. The usage of the space can be seen in detail in images later. The challenge of designing a small space of the size of a room to survive 2 people for 501 days is itself a driving force for the design. Modularity is considered as an approach to achieve the amount of space required for various functions. The service module and the noisy areas are kept separate from the main living module and a deploy-able safe haven for radiation protection has been provided in the design. Upper module The images below show various functions and spaces being used by the astronauts in space. The crew is able to change the quality of spaces from open to enclosed (in other words, from public to private) with just the push of a button. All the functions were able to fit in, as referred from NASA's Design reference Mission 5.0. The interiors can also be simulated for images of Earth, mood lighting, etc., for crew being in a state of depression due to long term isolation exposure. The upper module has a limited fixed structure that is also used as an attachment point for other activities. The multi usage of the structure that is limited in itself is one consideration in the design. An airlock is provided and is made accessible from the main living area and is a separate structure in itself. The walls of the airlock serve as an attachment point for heavy activities like exercising. Image 14 shows the upper module with no structure other than the fixed one. Image 15 is showing a view when temporary partitions and cabinets are deployed with the help of the attachment points to form the enclosed spaces such as crew quarters and exercise area. This provides a meaning to the open space and highlights the flexibility and re-configurability of the design. These temporary spaces can further be modified into a larger space if necessary for the crew comfort as shown in image 16. This concept prevents the crew from monotonous surroundings and helps with psychological factors as well. The upper module is provided with 3 medium sized windows for crew to make visual connection to the outer space, though nothing much is visible but stars. These windows have a cover that can be closed or open depending upon the requirement of the crew. Three important functions provided in the upper module are command & control, Communication & tracking, and Guidance & navigation. These are all interchangeable to other functions (such as crew quarters 16 AJ-SICSA Mars Design A report by Abhishek Jain guided by Professor Olga Bannova University of Houston, Houston TX

and exercise area) as per the needs and requirement. There is no separate space allocated for these activities but it can be extracted out from the space not being used or partially being used, at that point of time. To utilize every possible inch in the habitat, the storages are provided and made accessible from the floor. Normally the upper module is connected with the lower module but they can be separated by a stretchable fabric whenever required. Images below show the detailed views of the activities and functions inside the habitat. Image 14


Image 15

Image 16


Lower module The lower module, or service module, is an important part of the habitat, equipped by various subsystems for different functions. As per DRM 5.0 these subsystems were studied in detail and optimized according to the IM mission requirements. All the operations are located along the circumference of the module with a sufficient space in the center for multiple usages. The central space is a social area for the crew while they perform daily activities like eating and during their spare time. A hydroponics section is provided which adds to the crew’s social activities and a source of getting away from monotonous routine. A safe haven which is attached to the water storage can be deployed in case of solar flare events for protecting the crew from radiation doses, with a contingency storage that is accessible from the safe haven. Other than that lower module is equipped with functions like power systems, data systems, trash compactors, housekeeping & other storages, kitchen & galley and ECLSS. The panels outside the lower module provide an access to the services in case they are needed to be repaired. A contingency control panel is also provided in the module in case the upper and the lower module needs to be separated. The image below shows the lower module with the labelled functions. Image 17


Image 18

Image 19


Image 20

Images 21-34 are showing a detailed view of various activities inside the habitat. They also demonstrate the flexibility and re-configurability of spaces as per design objectives. Image 21


Image 22

Images below shows views of crew quarter deployed within the command & control area. Also visible is the flexibility of increasing the living space and the use of the temporary storage which are rotatable, from both inside and outside the quarters.


Image 23

Image 24


Image 25

Image 26


Image 27

Image 28


Image 29

Image 30


Image 31

Image 32


Image 33

Image 34


The state of depression might be common in space and few non-medical ways can be helpful in lightening the mood of the crew. Environment simulation is considered a way of relieving the crew from such a situation. The interior spaces are provisioned with the projection screens to simulate Earthly environments and to change the lighting to relax the mood of the crew. Image 1 shows a view of the astronaut in his crew quarter with mood lighting. Images below show the simulated environment in the lower module of the habitat. Image 35

Image 36


6. COST ESTIMATION Based on the current market scenario and references from earlier human Mars mission estimation, the cost for this mission is arrived at. An extra 15 % margin has been included in the overall cost and the total cost for Inspiration Mars mission is estimated less than 2 billion dollars.

Components

Quantity

Launch Vehicle Falcon Heavy (SpaceX) Atlas V Spacecraft Orion Spacecraft with trunk Mars Habitat Structure Space Suit Material Equipments Subsystems C.A. - Galley and Food Systems C.A. - Waste collection system C.A. - Clothing C.A. - Recreatoinal equipment & Personal Stowage C.A. - Housekeeping C.A. - Operational Supplies & Restraints C.A. - Maintenance / All Repairs in Habitable Areas C.A. - Photography C.A. - Crew Health Care E.S.S - Guidance, Navigation and Control E.S.S - Electrical Power Systems E.S.S - Thermal Control System E.S.S - Communications and Tracking E.S.S - Command and Data Handling E.S.S - Avionics E.S.S - ECLSS E.S.S - Structures and Mechanisms E.S.S - Others(Spare margin, Hydroponics, furniture) Mission Monitoring by NASA JSC

Payload (mT) 10 8

Costs(million $)

Mass (mT)

Quantity 1 1 Quantity 1 Quantity

360 135 225 510 510 150

Mass(mT) 1677 137 20 50 77 80 245 25 75 350 1200 300 200 100 100 800 3000 400

Volume(m3) 13.0835 2.84 0.672 2 1.57 1.04 2.9 0.5 1.5 1.6 1.9 1.5 2 2 1 4.5 3 10

200

200

Operations

Contingency Margin

200 TOTAL COST

1620

15%

243

TOTAL

1.8 billion



7. ACKNOWLEDGMENT My deep gratitude to Professor Olga Bannova for her patient guidance. My special thanks to my colleague and friends for their tremendous support in making this project happen.

8. REFERENCES 9. Tito, D., MacCallum, T., Carrico, J., and Loucks, M. "Feasibility Analysis for a Manned Mars Free-Return Mission in 2018 - FISO," Future In-Space Operations (FISO) telecon colloquium. Wilshire Associates Incorporated, 2013 10. Technology, A. S. "Expendable Launch Vehicles." Andrews Space & Technology 11. Stan Borowski, “Bimodal” Nuclear Thermal Rocket (BNTR) propulsion for future human mars exploration” missions 12. Marco Tantardini, “Low delta V trajectories to move a small asteroid to a Lagrange point”. Keck institute for space studies 13. Stacy Henze, “Mars Transfer Vehicle Concept, Utilizing Re-Configurable Building System”, SICSA 14. A. Scott Howe, Brent Sherwood, “Out of this world, A new field of Space Architecture” 15. James Doehring, “In Space Propulsion using Modular Building Blocks” 16. NASA-SP-2009-566, “Human exploration of mars, Design Reference Mission 5.0” 17. Tito, D. et al, “Inspiration Mars, Architecture Study Report”. 18. Charles D. Hunt, Michel O. van Pelt, “Comparing NASA and ESA Cost Estimating Methods for Human Missions to Mars”
