smartsuit for extravehicular activity (eva)€¦ · •eva is one of the most dangerous parts of a...

30
SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA) Current Challenges and Spacesuit Technology Development to Enable Future Planetary Exploration Missions Prof. Ana Diaz Artiles Aerospace Engineering, Texas A&M University Landmark Innovation Forum & Expo 2019 August 28 th 2019

Upload: others

Post on 15-Oct-2020

7 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)Current Challenges and Spacesuit Technology

Development to Enable Future Planetary Exploration Missions

Prof. Ana Diaz Artiles

Aerospace Engineering, Texas A&M University

Landmark Innovation Forum & Expo 2019

August 28th 2019

Page 2: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

2

Page 3: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

3

Page 4: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

4

Page 5: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)

• Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity performed by a pressure-suited crewmember in unpressurized space environment

@DiazArtiles 5

• Why do we want to send humans on EVA?- Limitations on remote control

- Limits on perception, dexterity, mobility

- Time delays

• EVAs have facilitated:- Repair of satellites, including the Hubble Space Telescope

- Construction of the International Space Station (ISS)

- Exploration of the MoonCredits: ESA/NASA

Hoffman and Musgrave repairing the HST, Dec 1993

Page 6: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

Spacesuit – “Tiniest” Spacecraft

• Smallest aircraft capable of sustaining human life

• What do you need to survive in space?

@DiazArtiles 6

- Oxygen- Carbon dioxide removal- Pressure- Thermal control- Water- Food- Waste collection- Power- Communication- Radiation protection

Credits: NASA

Diagram of Apollo 14 EMU Suit

Page 7: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

First EVAs• Alexei Leonov perform the first spacewalk on March 18th

1965 - Zvesda Berkut suit , connected by a 15.5m tether, 12 min of EVA

- The suit stiffening force him to reduce the pressure to get back into the airlock

- Heat expenditure exceeded suit capacity

- Sweat, visor, body temp

@DiazArtiles 7

• First American spacewalk:- Ed White – 21 min on June 3rd 1965 (Gemini IV)

- Tethered life support, mobility issues

• Lessons learned: mobility, thermal control, training (pool training, equipment)

Credits: NASA

Page 8: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

Apollo EVA

• Arguable the most memorable EVAs ever performed

- Critical for Apollo mission success

• 15 Lunar EVAs by 12 men on 6 missions

• Returned 382 kg of lunar samples

@DiazArtiles 8

Aldrin, Apollo 11 (ILC A7L suit, HS-6 portable life support system)

Page 9: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

9

Page 10: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

10

Page 11: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

Apollo Suits

@DiazArtiles 11

Figure 6.7.12 in U. S. Spacesuits. 2011 Kenneth S. Thomas. ISBN 978-1441995650

• Function: IVA & EVA• Customized garments!!!!!• Operating pressure: 3.7 psi (25.5 KPa)• Portable life support systems up to 7

hours• Liquid cooling garment for thermal

control• Convolute joints for mobility

Page 12: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

Extravehicular Mobility Unit• Spacesuit pressurized to 29.6 KPa (4.3 psi), 100% oxygen and 14 different layers

@DiazArtiles 12

• Three main components:- Liquid cooling and ventilation

garment (LCVG)

• Maintain body temperature

• Proper air circulation

- The Spacesuit Assembly (SSA)

• Hard Upper Torso (HUT): pivoted and planar version

• Arm and glove assembly

• Lower torso assembly: waist, lower torso, legs and feet

- Life Support System (LSS)

• Backpack

Image courtesy of “Human Spaceflight”

Strauss, 2005; Newman, 1997

Page 13: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

13

Page 14: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

EVA-related Injuries

@DiazArtiles 14

Strauss, 2004

Jones, 2006Dervay, NASA JSC

Tiger Team, 2003

Tiger Team, 2003

Page 15: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

EVA is a Challenging Activity

• EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission

• Highly pressurized spacesuits:- Low mobility, high strength required, fatigue- Injuries and discomfort

• Current EMU (4.3 psi), 100% oxygen- Only microgravity environment

• Risks are significant- Fatigue and exhaustion due to poor mobility- Suit injuries- Equipment failure- Decompression sickness- Thermal stress- Radiation exposure

@DiazArtiles 15

Page 16: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

SmartSuit – Soft-robotics, self-healing & Smart Sensing

1. Full body soft-robotic layer within the gas-pressurized suit to provide high mobility- Layer also provides mechanical counterpressure, allowing a reduction in

gas-operating pressure, further increasing mobility

2. Outer layer made of stretchable self-healing skin

3. Stretchable, integrated, and transparent sensors embedded in the membrane

- Collects and displays environment and skin membrane structural health data

@DiazArtiles 16

Hybrid, intelligent, and highly mobile SmartSuit for EVA on a planetary surface (e.g. Mars or Moon)

Page 17: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

Introducing Soft-Robotics in the Spacesuit

• Current exosqueletons are composed of hard robotic elements

• Use of soft-robotic technology with highly compliant robotic elements to facilitate human-spacesuit interactions

• Soft-robotic layer to counteract spacesuit-induced torques on human joints

- Use of musculoskeletal dynamics to investigate its effect on human performance

@DiazArtiles 17

Zhao, 2015

Page 18: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

@DiazArtiles 18

Page 19: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

Biomechanics Approach• Soft-robotic elements to “counteract” the effects

of the spacesuit- Spacesuit is modeled as external torques applied to

human joints

- Based on experimental data

- Compilation of a torque-joint database on spacesuit joints

19

19

Schmidt, 2001

Valish, 2012

Schmidt, 2001

Page 20: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,
Page 21: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

Spacesuit impact on joint torques

@DiazArtiles 21

Page 22: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

Approach: Comprehensive human-spacesuit interaction analysis• Novel joint-torque relationships when using soft-robotic layer

- e.g. hip, knee, ankle, grasping motions

• Biomechanical analysis - Human joint torques, muscle strength, range of motion

• New operational constraints in a mission to Mars- Requirements for energy expenditures, consumables

• Some level of Mechanical Counterpressure- Less gas to pressurize the suit increase in mobility

- Improvement in pre-breathing times during EVA preparation

@DiazArtiles 22

Page 23: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

Stretchable Self-Healing Skin

• In situ damage to a spacesuit is a mission critical, life-threatening event

• We propose a self-healing formulation- Low-cost polyurethane elastomer composite of healing

material

- Rapidly healing in case of emergency & structural stable membrane

@DiazArtiles 23

Approach: explore healable foam composites and the mechanical properties ofdifferent formulations in the context of SmartSuit• Temperature compatibility, outgassing, fatigue life of composites, bacterial collection

Straining of Formulation B (1.25:1 plasticizer to elastomer ratio) after healing 20 minutes at room temperature

Li et al. Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2019, 40, 1800815

Page 24: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

Smart Sensing – Stretchable optical guidelights

• Stretchable optoelectronics will be embedded into the self-healing membrane to monitor spacesuit stress

- Collects strain information providing feedback to the user about potential failure, what EVA operations are more strenuous, membrane structural health

• Measure the change in power output through the lightguide based on external conditions (i.e. pressure)

@DiazArtiles 24

Approach: investigate sensor architectures and display technology• Design principles for SmartSuit, including rationales for material, sensor, and display

technology selection

Stretchable Guidelights

Page 25: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

*Zhao et al. in review

*Zhao et al. (2016)

Page 26: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

Networks of stretchable lightguides (“Optical Lace”) for Position and Force Sensing

*Xu et al. (in review)

Page 27: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

Xu et al., Sci. Rob. (in review)

Page 28: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

*Bai et al., unpublished

Light InE Light Out

Upper core

Lower core

Stretchable Lightguides for Continuous, Multimode Deformation Sensing Potential

**Xu et al., Science Robotics (in press)

Page 29: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

SmartSuit – Increase Human Performance on Several Fronts• Increase in mobility

- Reduced metabolic costs and pre-breathing times

• Increase reparability and usability• Reduction of EVA duration

- Reduced pre-breathing protocols, enhance dexterity, provides structural information and data from the environment

• Technical Approach- Human-spacesuit interaction analysis to quantify improved human factors

requirements• Novel joint-torque relationships, biomechanical analysis, strength, range of motion, metabolic

cost and impact on consumables, etc- Analyze materials and sensor architectures- Outline the Smartsuit system design and concept of operations, including rationales

for materials, sensor, and display technology selection

@DiazArtiles 29

Page 30: SmartSuit for ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA)€¦ · •EVA is one of the most dangerous parts of a space mission •Highly pressurized spacesuits: - Low mobility, high strength required,

Acknowledgement to Team Effort!

Texas A&M University

• Prof. Ana Diaz Artiles

• Logan Kluis

• Nathan Keller

@DiazArtiles 30

Cornell University

• Prof Robert Shepherd

• Lillia Bai

• Narahari Iyengar

Thanks!https://www.etsy.com

Work funded by the NASA Innovative Advance Concept program - Phase I

https://bhp.engr.tamu.edu/ https://orl.mae.cornell.edu/