A Pressurized Emergency Shelter for Planetary Surface Operations

With near-future plans for lunar and Mars surface exploration there is a rapidly expanding effort to design and develop the many tools, technologies, and systems required for long-term stays far away from our home. While automated systems piloted by sophisticated algorithms are already replacing the traditional pilot and human hand, exploration by foot is a fundamental function of the human motivation to visit and eventually live on other worlds in our solar system. On the surfaces of the Moon and Mars rovers will carry human explorers to craters and hills beyond the reach of a pedestrian EVA, demanding that the exploration team be prepared for catastrophic failure of one or more systems. We describe the philosophy, design, fabrication and initial testing of a planetary pressurized rescue tent (PPRT) that will be demonstrated in a 24-hour test at the Space Analog for the Moon and Mars (SAM), a hi-fidelity, hermetically sealed habitat analog and research facility located at the University of Arizona’s Biosphere 2. Testing to date has focused on ergonomics and ease-of-use, employing compressed air as the breathing gas, a CO2 scrubber, operating pressure of 1.0-2.0PSIG and a transceiver for communications. Initial tests have been favorable regarding ergonomics and ease-of-use of the PPRT while encumbered by a pressurized EVA suit. We are currently fabricating a second test article for testing using 100% oxygen at 3.5-4.5PSIG for longer periods simulating the wait for rescue. Expansion of the concept to support more than one crew is reasonable for a variety of planetary surface operations architectures. We build upon prior ICES publications as the functional research parameters expand.