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NASA NTRS2015

Emplacement of Volcanic Domes on Venus and Europa

Placing firmer constraints on the emplacement timescales of visible volcanic features is essential to obtaining a better understanding of the resurfacing history of Venus. Fig. 1 shows a Magellan radar image and topography for a putative venusian lava dome. 175 such domes have been identified, having diameters that range from 19 - 94 km, and estimated thicknesses as great as 4 km [1-2]. These domes are thought to be volcanic in origin [3], having formed by the flow of a viscous fluid (i.e., lava) onto the surface. Among the unanswered questions surrounding the formation of Venus steep-sided domes are their emplacement duration, composition, and the rheology of the lava. Rheologically speaking, maintenance of extremely thick, 1-4 km flows necessitates higher viscosity lavas, while the domes' smooth upper surfaces imply the presence of lower viscosity lavas [2-3]. Further, numerous quantitative issues, such as the nature and duration of lava supply, how long the conduit remained open and capable of supplying lava, the volumetric flow rate, and the role of rigid crust in influencing flow and final morphology all have implications for subsurface magma ascent and local surface stress conditions. The surface of Jupiter's icy moon Europa exhibits many putative cryovolcanic constructs [5-7], and previous workers have suggested that domical positive relief features imaged by the Galileo spacecraft may be volcanic in origin [5,7-8] (Fig. 2). Though often smaller than Venus domes, if emplaced as a viscous fluid, formation mechanisms for europan domes may be similar to those of venusian domes [7]. Models for the emplacement of venusian lava domes (e.g. [9-10]) have been previously applied to the formation of putative cryolava domes on Europa [7].

timescales↗

NASA NTRS2008

Structural Definition and Mass Estimation of Lunar Surface Habitats for the Lunar Architecture Team Phase 2 (LAT-2) Study

The Lunar Architecture Team Phase 2 study defined and assessed architecture options for a Lunar Outpost at the Moon's South Pole. The Habitation Focus Element Team was responsible for developing concepts for all of the Habitats and pressurized logistics modules particular to each of the architectures, and defined the shapes, volumes and internal layouts considering human factors, surface operations and safety requirements, as well as Lander mass and volume constraints. The Structures Subsystem Team developed structural concepts, sizing estimates and mass estimates for the primary Habitat structure. In these studies, the primary structure was decomposed into a more detailed list of components to be sized to gain greater insight into concept mass contributors. Structural mass estimates were developed that captured the effect of major design parameters such as internal pressure load. Analytical and empirical equations were developed for each structural component identified. Over 20 different hard-shell, hybrid expandable and inflatable soft-shell Habitat and pressurized logistics module concepts were sized and compared to assess structural performance and efficiency during the study. Habitats were developed in three categories; Mini Habs that are removed from the Lander and placed on the Lunar surface, Monolithic habitats that remain on the Lander, and Habitats that are part of the Mobile Lander system. Each category of Habitat resulted in structural concepts with advantages and disadvantages. The same modular shell components could be used for the Mini Hab concept, maximizing commonality and minimizing development costs. Larger Habitats had higher volumetric mass efficiency and floor area than smaller Habitats (whose mass was dominated by fixed items such as domes and frames). Hybrid and pure expandable Habitat structures were very mass-efficient, but the structures technology is less mature, and the ability to efficiently package and deploy internal subsystems remains an open issue.

Dorsey, John T.↗

NASA NTRS2017

Milli-Watt Radioisotope Power to Enable Small, Long-Term Robotic “Probe” Space Exploration

Milli-watt Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) based on Radioisotope Heater Units (RHUs) could be an ideal power source for certain spacecraft that cannot use solar power due to large distances from the sun, or other environmental constraints, and where they enable or significantly enhance the ability of a mission to meet its scientific or operational goals. Various modular, compact RHU-based thermoelectric (TE) generator concepts developed or derived from current NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects satisfying this need have been investigated. These modular, compact and low mass power systems could support small, highly-mobile robotic exploration packages, and could be incorporated into different robotic package concepts, spacecraft or satellites. Current modular RPS design concepts with 40mW, 80mW and 120mW power levels use RHUs and Bi2Te3 TE converters. Skutterudites materials could be used in the future if new higher thermal energy output and higher temperature miniature heat sources were developed, for example, using technologies currently in the General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) used in higher electric power output RTGs. Small (a.k.a., “mice-like”) robotic packages could effectively utilize these RHU-driven power levels to accommodate crawling, climbing, monitoring, taking measurements, and communicating during long-term planetary missions aimed at gathering environmental and geologic data (i.e., over multiple decades). Waste heat from the cold side of the TE converter could also be directed toward the electronics and / or energy storage (e.g. batteries) to keep them within design temperature ranges. In addition to power generation and electronics / battery heating, the RHU / TE configuration could be designed to survive an external 500°C bake out procedure for critical spacecraft sterilization, environmental certification and planetary protection. Analytical studies have been performed to optimize various design configurations for power, mass, volume and robotic mobility. Specific power (mW/kg) and volumetric specific power (mW/cm3) characteristics of various design configurations will be presented and key conceptual design tradeoffs will be discussed. Hot- and cold-side thermal interfaces required to meet power and mass goals and associated design sensitivities will also be discussed. RHU / TE systems must overcome critical design challenges to survive high-g loadings in some robotic applications and we will examine the mass impacts required to satisfy various dynamic loading environments up to 10,000 g’s. Power can be generated for a minimum of 30 years or more using plutonium-238 dioxide heat sources (given that Pu-238 has an 87.7 year half-life) with some reduction in power as the heat source naturally degrades.

Bahrami, Poyan↗