HANDS-OFF APPROACH FOR UAE’S AIRLOCK ON MOON CRAFT
▶ Lunar Gateway to be autonomous as it will have crew just a month a year
Nasa is working with the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre to help integrate autonomous features into the design of the airlock the UAE is contributing to the Lunar Gateway space station.
The US space agency wants the Moon-orbiting craft to be able to function without physical hands-on maintenance, as astronauts will only be there for one month a year.
A Nasa delegation has been visiting the MBRSC in Dubai this week to discuss features of the airlock – which is used to enter and exit the station.
Nasa officials also took part in a panel session on the project at the Sharjah Academy of Astronomy, Space Sciences and Technology on Thursday.
The Lunar Gateway is expected to be launched at the end of this decade.
Lunar Gateway programme manager Jon Olansen said that autonomous control for the entire moon space station was being created at Nasa’s Lyndon B Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas.
“We’re going to have a crew there for 30 days a year or so – the rest of the time that station needs to operate, and you can choose to have operations controlled on the ground or have the station operate itself,” said Mr Olansen.
“We are actually building in the ability to evolve our autonomous capabilities for that station, so that is technology that will actually flow together with all of the different elements.
“We will be working with UAE and MBRSC on their software development of the airlock.”
Humans have been continuously present on board the International Space Station since it began operations more than 20 years ago. Astronauts help maintain the ISS, assist arriving crew and use the station’s robotic arm to receive cargo.
But with ageing infrastructure and the ISS nearing retirement, Nasa is looking to send humans to the Moon, then eventually to Mars, as part of the Artemis programme.
As well as performing maintenance on the Lunar Gateway, automated systems will also ensure scientific tests and monitoring continue with no astronauts on-board – paving the way for Red Planet missions.
“We will need that type of capability to actually execute transit to Mars,” said Mr Olansen.
He said his team was looking to adopt “cutting-edge technology, advancing it and using Gateway in a similar way that we use the ISS to advance technologies that enabled us to do Gateway today”.
The Nasa delegation’s visit to the UAE comes less than three weeks after an agreement for the Emirates to supply a crew and science airlock for the Lunar Gateway. Under this, an Emirati astronaut will fly to the station – becoming the first Arab to orbit the Moon.
Discussions between Nasa and the MBRSC will include a focus on safety elements of the airlock, said Mr Olansen.
He said questions to address include: “How do you improve your pressure control systems? Or your carbon dioxide removal systems? What levels of oxygen can you be at? What exercise capabilities do you need to provide?
“All of these are things need to be factored into the initial design of the spacecraft.
“So, these are the conversations we started this week with MBRSC, as they look at design and development of an airlock.
Mr Olansen said that “humans are going to be in that airlock in their spacesuits”, so it is vital to understand “all the different functionalities you need, what you need to do if something goes wrong and how you get those crews back in safely”.
MBRSC will work with UAE and international companies to develop the airlock.