Progress Update 1 Mars Planetary Space Suit Team Pablo de León, Jennie Untener, & Mark Williamson NDSTaR 2005 North Dakota Space Grant Consortium Department of Space Studies University of North Dakota February 16, 2005

Accomplishments to Date  Crafting of Project Mission Statement.  Development of Design Requirements.  Review relevant background information.  Continuing review of major manufacturing challenges.  Initiation of Concurrent Engineering.  Development of initial project process flow – Design-to-Delivery.  Identification of strategies to mitigate management challenges.  Identification of key preparatory work need for project growth.  Drafting a recruitment flyer for skilled CAD designers.  Initiation of team website.

Immediate Challenges  Complete first iteration of CE within 4 weeks.  Develop overall program schedule for the design Proposal, Preliminary Design Review, and Critical Design Review.  Identification of potential design, schedule, and manufacturing critical blockages including outsourcing requirements and tooling.  Develop target schedules and process instructions for each component team.  Become familiar with specific manufacturing techniques.

Project Mission Statement Mars-analogue research activities on Earth can benefit from a prototype Mars planetary suit that simulates many of the challenges future explorers will face during extra-vehicular activities on the Martian surface. Recognizing the iterative nature of planetary suit development, knowledge gained by designing, constructing, testing, and evaluating such a suit on Earth can be applied to future planetary suit development projects. To this end, the North Dakota Space Training and Research 2005 (NDSTaR2005) program will develop a Mars-analogue planetary suit that serves the needs of on-going Mars simulation activities. By developing the suit with the participation of other educational institutions in North Dakota, this project also aims to cultivate a knowledge and experience base needed for future space suit development projects. Ultimately, the fundamental guiding principle of this coordinated effort is to produce the highest quality product delivered on time and within budget.

Ultimate goal is to create the highest quality product delivered on time and within budget. Team Developed Requirements  Pressurized to simulate the challenges of operating within a planetary suit.  Able to don/off the suit in no greater than [10] minutes.  Able to safely ascend and descend a ladder  Conduct standard geological field study and construction activities with modified tools  Conduct standard geological field study and construction activities.  Traverse [45 deg] inclined terrain consisting of loose surface material.  Able to operate a motorized rover while seated.  Material selection and mechanism design suitable for a Martian dust.  Able to quickly remove the helmet in an emergency.  Function safely in the suit unaided for [1.5] hours

More Team Developed Requirements  Re-supply of suit consumables in less than [5] minutes.  Able to operate in the suit for [4 hours] without compromising user health.  Able to accommodate a drinking bag for the user.  Able to communicate to a remote station with voice and video data.  Contain a telemetry system to transmit suit temperature, gas composition, humidity, and toxins measurements.  Telemetry system must transmit heart rate and body temperature information.  Must be able to accommodate a liquid cooling garment.  Excellent helmet field of view.  Suit, life support system, other components must be designed to be repairable.  Suit must be delivered by [March 2006] to the "customer."  Development costs of the suit must not exceed the program’s budget.

Concurrent Engineering

Management Structure

Preliminary Development Process

Summary The team recognizes that the thoroughness of the initial planning and concurrent engineering processes has a direct and irreversible effect on the quality of the final product. We are totally committed to the development of a prototype Mars planetary suit that reflects the technical and organizational capabilities of the institution of higher-education in the State of North Dakota.