National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Small Business Innovation Research 2002 Program Solicitations

TOPIC H2 Space Resources Development

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H2.01 In Situ Resources Utilization of Planetary Materials for Human Space Missions
H2.02 Human Centered Computing

The goal of this topic is to drive down the cost of human/robotic exploration missions and campaigns. This includes supporting improved health/safety for human explorers beyond Earth orbit. It also includes working with the space science community to test concepts and technologies. Specific objectives of this topic include 1) developing and validating the technology to utilize local resources, such as Regolith / Minerals, Ices and Atmosphere -- in order to produce, process and deliver consumables, including propellants -- storable and cryogenic; Life Support and other gases; and Water, 2) fabricate key physical structural systems/elements from local materials, including radiation shielding; structural elements (e.g., trusses, panels, etc.); and mechanical spares for mission system elements, 3) Enable local fabrication of selected "finished products" and/or "end-items", including photo- voltaic cells and solar arrays, wires, tubes, connectors, etc., and pressurized volumes, 4) Testing key technologies and demonstrate innovative new systems concepts in space, and 5) establishing a foundation for profitable commercial development of space applications of these technologies in the mid- to far-term.

H2.01 In Situ Resources Utilization of Planetary Materials for Human Space Missions
Lead Center: JSC
Participating Center(s): KSC, MSFC

Significant benefits for future human missions in near-Earth space (Earth-Moon and Earth-Sun libration points and the lunar surface), and to Mars and other planetary bodies may be attained by making maximum use of local, indigenous materials as a source for products such as propellants, life support consumables, radiation protection, and construction materials. By pursuing the philosophy of "make what you need where you need it" instead of bringing it all the way from Earth, In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) can result in a reduction of mass requirements for exploration missions, a reduction in mission risk and cost, and expanded human presence in near-Earth space and on extraterrestrial surfaces. It can also enable the long-term commercial development of space by enabling low cost transportation and providing the resources, technologies, and infrastructure required to allow commercial development activities to grow.

In support of NASA's goal of expanding the frontiers of space and knowledge by exploring, using, and enabling the development of space for human enterprise, studies, mission design efforts, and technology and system development activities are being pursued that can significantly reduce mission mass, cost, and risk while enhancing or enabling robotic and human exploration initiatives beyond low Earth Orbit. Key goals are to minimize the mass which must be brought from the Earth (including the equipment required to move or process the resource), minimize power consumption and Earth supplied processing consumables, enable or enhance new mission concepts not possible without the use of space produced products and consumables, and develop infrastructure, resources, and products to promote the commercial development of space.

Proposals may be submitted for ISRU concepts at various destinations, including near-Earth space (Earth-Moon and Earth-Sun libration points and the lunar surface), asteroids, Mars, planetary moons, etc. Areas for investigation of specific methods and processes for in situ resource utilization include the following:

• Methods and systems for digging, sorting, mineral separation, and transporting regolith or other surface materials to a processing reactor in reduced gravity. Such systems should be lightweight, efficient, and capable of operating with minimal human supervision and maintenance in extreme environments.
• Methods for extracting, collecting, and processing in situ materials into mission enabling or enhancing consumables (propellants, oxygen, etc.) or commercially viable products from atmospheric, surface, and subsurface space resources and life support and power system byproducts and waste that are power efficient, minimize the mass and volume of equipment that must be brought from Earth, and require a minimum of Earth-supplied reagents. Emphasis should be placed on innovative designs and processes. Proposals for water/ice extraction or drilling should recognize the uncertainty and potential variability of both the location and abundance of such water.
• Methods for processing Moon, Mars, and asteroid surface materials into useful equipment (e.g., solar panels, radio antennas, replacement parts, etc.) and construction materials which require little or no further manufacturing or assembly that enable long-term settlement.
• Methods of packaging ISRU collection, reactor, separation, distribution, and control equipment that significantly reduce total package mass, volume, and power requirements for use in robotic and human mission applications.

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H2.02 Human Centered Computing
Lead Center: ARC

NASA is planning to fill space with human explorers, highly trained with scientific and technical skills, to explore our solar system in ways never before possible. To survive years of living and working in space, these astronauts need to be outfitted with life support, data gathering, and spacecraft tools that will enable them to be productive and thrive in harsh and unpredictable environments. Not the least of the astronauts’ concerns will be coping with breakdowns and uncertainties in operating the increasingly complex technologies of spacecraft, rovers, and habitats, which will require ongoing monitoring, control, diagnosis, and repair.

To achieve NASA’s ambitious exploration goals, researchers must develop robust control systems and exploration tools that can be understood by people, easily learned, maintained, and directed. For example, life support systems for either spacecraft or habitat systems must aid people in diagnosis and repair. Operations assistants, integrated into just-in-time training systems, will be necessary to help people understand the state of the system and help them correct errant inappropriate or unworkable procedures. The design of computer systems necessarily must take into account not only how people will "interface" with the systems, but fundamental aspects of human perceptual-motor coordination, cognitive operations, and group dynamics. Human-centered computing focuses on the "delta" -- what is the difference between the best computer systems and people? What are the particular contributions of humans and machines? How can we design machines and operational procedures to complement each other?

Human-centered computing is a design approach that integrates computational systems with human performance and capabilities, such that the total system amplifies, corrects, and leverages the capabilities of both people and machines. The architectural requirements of autonomous systems are required, plus fundamental theories of human perceptual, cognitive, and social systems that anticipate the context and contribution of human behavior in which technologies are utilized and maintained. Beyond this, the harsh realities of working in space environments must be thoroughly understood, so tools such as electronic notebooks, alarm systems, and scheduling systems are adapted to the living and work environment of a space habitat or planetary surface rover.

To advance along these lines, proposals are sought in the following areas:

Perceptual Performance Enhancers

• Visualization tools combining "virtual reality" projection with actual objects in the environment, conveying information about object identity, part relationships, and assembly or operational procedures.
• "Cognitive prostheses" that qualitatively change the capabilities of human perception, pattern analysis, scientific domain modeling, reasoning, and collaborative activity. Such tools could incorporate any of a variety of modeling techniques such as knowledge-based systems and neural networks, and fit tool operations to ongoing human physical interaction, judgment, and collaborative activity.

Robust, Mixed-Initiative Information Systems

• Advanced AI systems/architectures for mixed-initiative system planning, monitoring, and control, with provision for crew oversight. Robust architectures that have predictable behaviors, leave people in control, and expose their workings in ways comprehensible to people with different skills.
• Agent-based tools for information gathering, reminding, and alerting; job performance aids that provide cognitive assistance in the context of the daily activities and interests of operations personnel and crew.
• Computing architectures that address the limitations of knowledge-based systems and neural networks, relative to human capabilities, advancing the state-of-the-art in automated perceptual categorization, non-verbal conceptualization, and coordination across multiple sensory modalities. Applications might include planetary probes and rovers with new kinds of instrumentation, signal processing, and sensing-through-movement.

Collaborative Knowledge Amplifiers for Scientists and Engineers

• Information technology enabling comprehensive sharing of project-related information and data, which supports intelligent organization, access, and presentation of the information. Particularly, tools that fit the human activities of scientific inquiry and engineering design, and relate the contributions of individuals to the developing plans and products of teams.
• "Knowledge management" tools that relate technical models of human knowledge to: a) nonverbal concepts and perceptual skills; b) the daily activities of workers, including especially how data-bases are actually used in practice; c) informal on-the-job learning; d) social knowledge about what can be said to whom and in what form; and e) the career trajectories of novices, experts, and retiring employees.
• Communication technologies and software tools that enable mission control teams to work together when they are located at different sites and working on several projects.
• Software systems that provide specialized support for collaborative science and engineering tasks, including design, data collection, experimentation, analysis, and model construction to enable scientists and engineers to collaborate as part of distributed project teams at physically separate sites.

Design Tools Grounded in Human Practices

• Tools for software requirements analysis that incorporate and relate models of databases, legacy systems, and work practices.
• Workflow systems that allow teams of users to formalize and routinely reconfigure their own document templates, processing categories, operating procedures, and archival records.

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