PISCES : A "Stepping Stone" to International SpaceExploration and Development

Mr. Joe T. Howell

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Marshall Space Flight Center,Huntsville, Alabama, United States, joe.howell@,nasa..qov

Mr. Mark Henley

The Boeing Company, Huntington Beach, California, United States,mark.w.henley_,boeinq.com

Mr. Frank SchowengerdtAffiliate Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Director of PISCES

University of Hawaii at Hilo

schowenq_hawaii.edu

ABSTRACT

The Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES) was initiatedby the Japan/US Science, Technology and Space Application Programs (JUSTSAP) toadvance research and education in space exploration technology and systems working

closely with the State of Hawaii. Hawaii has a heritage with space exploration includingthe training of Apollo astronauts and testing of lunar rover systems in some of the mostrealistic terrestrial sites available. The high altitude dry environment with greater solarinsolation, and the dry lunar regolith-like volcanic ash and cratered terrain makeHawaiian sites ideal to support, international space exploration technology development,demonstration, education and training.

This paper will summarize development and roles of PISCES in lunar surface analogs,simulations, technology demonstrations, research and training for space explorationtechnology and systems.

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20070037451 2020-01-23T23:40:46+00:00Z

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

Realizing the need to support advanceddevelopment for the Vision for SpaceExploration the Pacific International Space'Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES)was initiated by the Japan/US Science,Technology and Space ApplicationPrograms (JUSTSAP) to advance researchand education in space explorationtechnology and systems working closelywith the State of Hawaii. JUSTSAP is a bi­lateral organization founded to fostercooperation between the US and Japan inspace research and applications. Hawaiihas a heritage with space explorationincluding the training of Apollo astronautsand testing of lunar rover systems in someof the most realistic terrestrial sitesavailable. The high altitude dry environmentwith greater solar radiation intensity, thelunar regolith-like volcanic ash and thelocation make Hawaiian sites ideal tosupport international space explorationtechnology development, demonstration,education and training.

Initial capabilities will include a test rangefor demonstration of robotic explorationsystems on Hawaiian volcanic terrain.Subsequent capabilities will include asimulated human outpost, long durationtechnology test beds, a high vacuum facility,research and educational components.PISCES will be supported initially by theState of Hawaii, but is intended to becomeself-supporting as its user communitygrows.

During Apollo, astronauts were trained thereand regarded the area as the most lunar­like that they had observed. High elevations,dry weather conditions and availability oflunar regolith-like deposits of volcanic ashcontribute to the similitude. The sites areeasily accessible and can be affordedservices by the near-by Hilo area and by theUniversity of Hawaii campus at Hilo. Notingthese possibilities, the Japan-U. S. SpaceTechnology and Applications Program(JUSTSAP) recommended in 2006 that a

Apollo Astronaut Alan Shepard training onthe Big Island of Hawaii

The Big Island of Hawaii

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simulation facility be constructed that couldbe utilized by space agencies, industry andacademic personnel to test anddemonstrate exploration systems.

JUSTSAP emphasized the potentialbenefits of a Hawaiian facility for U. S. andJapan cooperation in space exploration.PISCES will be supported by the State ofHawaii and expected to have initial fundingin the summer of 2007. The program will bea part of the State's efforts to build itstechnical and scientific capabilitiesassociated with advanced technology andspace exploration. In 2006, PISCESreceived a unanimous resolution of supportfrom the Hawaii State Legislature.

In the summer of 2007 PISCES did receiveinitial authorization from the State of Hawaii.

PLAN AND SCOPE

PISCES will eventually feature a fullysimulated lunar outpost on the Big Island ofHawaii as part of a complex for researchand development of new technologies toenable long-term stays on the Moon andother extra-terrestrial bodies. Initialsimulations of robotic field experimentscould take place jn the 2007-2008 timeframe. In time, PISCES will have uniquecapabilities in In-Situ Resource Utilization(ISRU), including fully equipped laboratoryfacilities, pilot-scale testing on fine volcanicash, and field areas in the moon-like settingof the Big Island volcanoes. The Center willprovide an unparalleled opportunity forISRU research and development inpartnerships between industry, academiaand government in both the US and Japan.Scientists and engineers will be able tomove new technologies rapidly from thelaboratory out into one of the highest-fidelitylunar simulation environments on Earth.Other capabilities of PISCES will includerobot testing on lunar-like terrain, astronauttraining in areas where the Apolloastronauts trained, and educationaloutreach through the auspices of the

University of Hawaii and other participating,universities. A distinguishing feature ofPISCES will be the promotion of

Thick deposits of volcanic ash on Hawaii's"Big Island" could simulate lunar regolith

collaborative research and education inspace exploration. PISCES will be a userfacility for groups located primarily in the USand Japan. A PISCES ISRU user grouphas currently been formed.

LOCATION

The program of PISCES is intended to bebroad, including simulation, technologydemonstration, research, and education.The facility will be a distributed one, inwhich the simulation facilities will be aprincipal component. A primary, permanentlocation could be selected within the nextyear, following a survey of availablelocations on the flanks of Mauna Loa andMauna Kea and appropriate coordinationwith the local community with regard toenvironmental issues and Hawaiian culturalmatters. Initial robotic field experiments maytake place at temporary sites beforeselection of a permanent PISCES location.Funding for the procurement of capitalequipment will be sought from privatesources.

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Example Analog and Simulation Sites near Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii

Mauna KeaObservatories

(13,800 ft)

Example AreaUsed for Apollo"Moon Valley"

(11.000 ft)

Ellison Onizuka(Shuttle Astronaut

Visitor Center.

Saddle RoadTo Kona ......t----.

& Waimea

l._a.. • ~ .. J._L.......Jn , :> mIle,

Conlour ;nl.rvol, 200 felt ~ IJI...

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SIMULATION CAPABILITIES

For robotic field simulations, a location willbe selected that will allow equipment to betested over 1 kilometers in range and onslopes of 20-30 degrees, including smallcraters. Infrastructure capabilities willinclude solar power and communicationslinks. Investigators will be expected toprovide their own documentationequipment. Over the first three years ofPISCES buildup, a simulated lunar outpostwill be designed and implemented. Theoutpost will include lunar habitats, lifesupport, power, communications, ISRUprocessing, and other principal systems ofan early lunar outpost. An initial facility may.be sized for 6 crewmembers; as fundingallows, and additional facilities may beadded in time to represent a full lunar base.

EDUCATION

One of PISCES' programmatic objectives iseducation at all levels. PISCES plans tosupport the exploration and settlement ofspace through research and educationdirected toward the development oftechnologies needed to sustain human lifeon extraterrestrial bodies. This will beachieved through the Center established atUH-Hilo, with field locations to bedetermined on the Big Island. UH-Hilofaculty, students, affiliated personnel andresident and visiting staff of the Center willwork toward the development of a simulatedlunar outpost where research will beconducted, new technologies will be tested,students will be educated, astronauts will betrained and the public will be invited toexperience first-hand what it will be like tolive and work on the Moon and, eventually,on Mars. The Center will function in twogeneral ways. First, it will conduct its ownresearch, develop its own educationalprograms and provide opportunities forstudents of UH-Hilo and the broadercommunity. Second, it will serve as avenue for research and educationaloutreach conducted by visiting personnel,

NASA, the University of Hawaii, and Boeinghave already demonstrated benefits ofusing Hawaii's volcanic terrain in Hawaii forrobotic field experiments

and institutions whose presence willenhance the already-growing programs atUH-Hilo. Visitors will bring with them bothfinancial and intellectual capital that willcontribute both to UH-Hilo and to thecontinuation of PISCES as a viable entity.Hawaiian school children will be introducedto space exploration through observation offield experiments and crew simulations.Undergraduate and graduate science andengineering students can take advantage ofPISCES' student design competition todefine the characteristics of a lunar outpostand its terrestrial simulation. For moredetails see the PISCES web site(http://www.pisces.hilo.hawaii.edu).

PISCES will extend developing curriculumat UH-Hilo in Astronomy, Geology andrelated education programs in preparationfor the coming era of space exploration andsettlement. It will provide funding forstudents and faculty to carry out researchand to participate in educational programsrelevant to the purposes of PISCES. Theseresearch and education programs willstrengthen the Science, Technology·,Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)programs at UH-Hilo. They will inspirestudents, including students of Hawaiianand Pacific Island ancestry, to enter theSTEM disciplines through the excitement of

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being a part of the movement of humankindinto space on a permanent basis. With theconcurrence of the relevant faculty andadministrative bodies, a new program inSpace Exploration Technology will becomeavailable to the UH-Hilo curriculum, which

will build upon existing courses in theDepartments of Physics and Astronomy,Geology and Geography. Participants fromthe U.S and around the World, will come to

the Big Island to work on PISCES projects,will help teach UH-Hilo students and act asrole models. Undergraduates will beemployed as interns in PISCES.

CONCLUSION

By 2011, a fully developed PISCES humanoutpost simulation facility will be available,in time to develop capabilities for the Visionfor Space Exploration's projects planned forthe mid to late 2010's. This vigorousprogram of simulation and education forlunar outpost operations, both on the Moonand on Earth, will become a centerpiece ofthe Pacific International Space Center forExploration Systems (PISCES).

REFERENCES

PISCES: HAWAII FACILITY FOR

SIMULATION AND TRAINING; M. B. Duke,

F. D. Schowengerdt, J. Crisafulli, S. M. D.Day, R. A. Fox, M. Henley, N. I. Marzwell,Lunar and Planetary Science Conference,Houston TX, USA, March, 2007

PISCES: A Lunar Outpost for ISRUPartnerships; F.D. Schowengerdt, M.B.Duke, R.A. Fox, M. Henley, N.I. Marzwell, J.Crisafulli, S.MD. Day; Space Technologyand Applications International Forum,AIbequerque, NM, USA, February, 2007

Telepresence Control of Mobile RobotsKilauea Marsokhod Experiment; C. Stokerand B. P. Hine, III, A9618301, AIAA 96-0338, 34th Aerospace Sciences Meetingand Exhibit, Reno, NV Jan 15-18, 1996

A Bill for an Act Relatin.q to AerospaceDevelopment, Senate Bill Number 907,Hawaii State Legislature, January 19, 2007

Content

PISCES Introduction and Background

• Apollo astronauts trained and regarded the area asthe most lunar-like; also, tested the lunar roversystems in the lunar regolith-like volcanic ash

• JapanlUS Science, Technology and SpaceApplication Program (JUSTSAP) realizied the needto support advanced development for the Vision forSpace Exploration and initiated the PacificInternational Space Center for Exploration Systems(PISCES)

• Initial capabilities will include a test range fordemonstration of robotic exploration systems on

Hawaiian volcanic terrain. Subsequent capabilitieswill include a simulated human outpost, longduration technology test beds, a high vacuumfacility, research and educational components

The basic goal: utilize some of the most realistic terrestrial sites available with high altitude dryenvironment, greater solar radiation intensity, lunar regolith-like volcanic ash, etc., to supportinternational space exploration technology development, demonstration, training and education.

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PISCES Plan and Scope

• Initial simulations of robotic field experiments could takeplace as early as the 2007-2008 time frame.

• In time, PISCES will have unique capabilities in In-SituResource Utilization (ISRU), including fully equippedlaboratory facilities, pilot-scale testing on fme volcanic ash,and field areas in the moon-like setting of the Big Islandvolcanoes.

• Scientists and engineers will be able to move new technologiesrapidly from the laboratory out into one of the highest-fidelitylunar simulation environments on Earth.

• Other capabilities of PISCES will include robot testing onlunar-like terrain, astronaut training in areas where theApollo astronauts trained, and educational outreach throughthe auspices of the University of Hawaii and otherparticipating, universities. A distinguishing feature ofPISCES will be the promotion of collaborative research andeducation in space exploration.

• PISCES will eventually feature a fully simulated lunar outposton the Big Island of Hawaii as part of a complex for researchand development of new technologies to enable long-term

stays on the Moon and other extra-terrestrial bodies.

Thick deposits of volcanic ash on Hawaii's"Big Island" could simulate lunar regolith

The Big Island of Hawaii

4

PISCES Location

5

rea of Apollo "Moon ValleY."(11,000 tt)

Candidate Area for "PIS(9,000 tt)

"Hale Pohaku"Hotel

OnizukaVisitor Center

Saddle Road ......f---~,

To Kana& Waimea

l._.&.. I J • L .. J._.L....Jn I 'mIlesConlour lnll!rvol!i 200 f~et tr VL 6

PISCES Simulation Capabilities

• A location will be selected for robotic field simulationsthat will allow equipment to be tested over 1kilometers in range and on slopes of 20-30 degrees,including small craters.

• Infrastructure capabilities will include solar powerand communications links. Investigators will beexpected to provide their own documentationequipment.

• Over the first three years of PISCES buildup, asimulated lunar outpost will be designed andimplemented. The outpost will include lunar habitats,life support, power, communications, ISRUprocessing, and other principal systems of an earlylunar outpost.

• An initial facility may be sized for 6 crewmembersand additional facilities may be added in time torepresent a full lunar base.

NASA, the University of Hawaii, andBoeing have already demonstratedbenefits of using Hawaii's volcanicterrain in Hawaii for robotic fieldexperiments

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PISCES Education

Conclusion

simulation and education