An Evaluation of Sleepiness, Performance, and Workload Among Operators During a Real-Time Reactive Telerobotic Lunar Mission Simulation

Objective We assessed operator performance during a real-time reactive telerobotic lunar mission simulation to understand how daytime versus nighttime operations might affect sleepiness, performance, and workload. Background Control center operations present factors that can influence sleepiness, neurobehavioral performance, and workload. Each spaceflight mission poses unique challenges that make it difficult to predict how long operators can safely and accurately conduct operations. We aimed to evaluate the performance impact of time-on-task and time-of-day using a simulated telerobotic lunar rover to better inform staffing and scheduling needs for the upcoming Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission. Methods We studied seven trained operators in a simulated mission control environment. Operators completed two five-hour simulations in a randomized order, beginning at noon and midnight. Performance was evaluated every 25 minutes using the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale, Psychomotor Vigilance Task, and NASA Task Load Index. Results Participants rated themselves as sleepier (5.06 ± 2.28) on the midnight compared to the noon simulation (3.12 ± 1.44; p < .001). Reaction time worsened over time during the midnight simulation but did not vary between simulations. Workload was rated higher during the noon (37.93 ± 20.09) compared to the midnight simulation (32.09 ± 21.74; p = .007). Conclusion Our findings suggest that work shifts during future operations should be limited in duration to minimize sleepiness. Our findings also suggest that working during the day, when distractions are present, increases perceived workload. Further research is needed to understand how working consecutive shifts and taking breaks within a shift influence performance.

Trajectory optimization for the Horyu-VI international lunar mission

The Horyu-VI nano-satellite is an international lunar mission with the purpose of studying the lunar horizon glow (LHG)—a still unclear phenomenon caused by electrostatically charged lunar dust particles. This study analyzes the mission trajectory with the hypothesis that it is launched as a secondary payload of the NASA ARTEMIS-II mission. In particular, the effect of the solar gravity gradient is studied; in fact, depending on the starting relative position of the Moon, the Earth, and the Sun, the solar gradient acts differently on the trajectory—changing it significantly. Therefore, the transfer and lunar capture problem is solved in several cases with the initial Sun-Earth-Moon angle as the key parameter. Furthermore, the inclination with respect to the Moon at capture is constrained to be equatorial. Finally, the problem of stabilization and circularization of the lunar orbit is addressed in a specific case, providing an estimate of the total propellant cost to reach the final orbit around the Moon.

Overview of the Flight Dynamics Subsystem for Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter Mission

Korea’s first lunar mission, the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), aims to launch in mid-2022 via the Space-X Falcon-9 launch vehicle. For the successful flight operation of KPLO, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) has designed and developed the Flight Dynamics Subsystem (FDS). FDS is one of the subsystems in the KPLO Deep-Space Ground System (KDGS), which is responsible for the overall flight dynamics-related operation. FDS is currently successfully implemented and meets all of the requirements derived from the critical design phases. The current work addresses the design and implementation results for the KPLO FDS. Starting from overviews on KPLO payloads, bus systems, and mission trajectory characteristics, a review on KDGS is also treated briefly. Details on the design philosophy, unique characteristics, and functionalities of all six different modules nested inside the FDS with its Graphical User Interface (GUI) design are discussed. Moreover, efforts currently devoted to the flight operation preparation of the KPLO are summarized, including many collaborative works between KARI and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) teams.

The science system on-board the Emirates Lunar Mission's Rashid rover

&lt;p&gt;The Emirates Lunar Mission is developing the small and light weight &quot;Rashid&quot; rover. The goals for this rover are to traverse several hundred meters on the lunar surface during the course of one lunar day. The Rashid rover's science objectives cover both fundamental science as well as engineering topics with the goal to enable future missions to the lunar surface, and other airless solar system bodies. Hence, Rashid will carry a suite of scientific instruments and an experiment, covering a wide range of the physical properties at the lunar surface. The focus of investigation for the microscopic imager (CAM-M) will be to measure the regolith particle size distribution, and the lunar surface structure at microscopic scales. The Langmuir probe system (LNG) will address&amp;#160; the&amp;#160; electron density profile of the sheath, its behavior over the course of the lunar day, and its dependence on topographic features.&amp;#160; A thermal imager (CAM-T) with low spatial resolution is also foreseen. Finally, the in-situ testing of the adhesive and abrasive properties of various materials to lunar regolith is planned to be conducted by the MAD experiment.&amp;#160; In this paper the science program and instrumentation of the Rashid mission will be outlined. &lt;/p&gt;

Chandrayaan-2: A Memorable Mission Conducted by ISRO

Aims: The Chandrayaan-2 aims to wave the Indian flag on the dark side (South Pole) of the Moon that had never been rendered by any country before. The mission had conducted to gather more scientific information about the Moon. There were three main components of the Chandrayann-2 spacecraft- an orbiter, a lander, and a rover, means to collect data for the availability of water in the South Pole of the Moon. Place and Duration of Study: The rover (Pragyan) was designed to operate for one Lunar day that is equivalent to 14 Earth days, whereas the orbiter is assumed to orbit the Moon for seven years instead of the previously planned for just one year. Overview: The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft launched by India's heavy-lift rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV MKIII) from the Satish Dhawan Space Center launch pad located on Sriharikota island of Andhra Prades. Unlike, Chandrayaan-1, this lunar mission aimed to perform a soft-landing on the South Pole of the Lunar surface and do scientific experiments with the help of the rover (Pragyan). Reason: The Chandrayaan-1, the first lunar mission of ISRO that detected water molecules on the Moon. The Chandrayaan-2 was a follow-on mission of Chandrayaan-1 to explore the presence of water molecules on the South Pole of the Moon. Conclusion: Although the orbiter fulfilled all of the command, unfortunately, the lander (Lander) lost its communication at the last moment to touch the Moon’s surface softly. Despite that, India again showed its potential in space missions. Chandrayaan- 2 was the most low budget lunar mission ever conducted by any space organization. The developing or even underdeveloped countries may come forward in their space program as ISRO is showing a convenient way in space missions.

Scientific Co-operative Rover with Artificial Intelligence for Futuristic Scientific Experiments on Moon

&lt;p&gt;With recent scientific experiments carried out and results have shown an immense studies in&lt;br /&gt;operation in the complex lunar environment and exploiting the moon base as a scientific platform&lt;br /&gt;for both research and major challenges in exploration. Notion Robotics Lab proposes a highly&lt;br /&gt;advanced lunar lander to prepare future missions on moon. The scientific areas for investigation&lt;br /&gt;on the lunar lander include the radiation environmental and its effect, dust, plasma, the most&lt;br /&gt;important being the properties of moon dust and its effect on human intervention. Notion&lt;br /&gt;Robotics Lab will propose a payload which interfaces the information and the boundary&lt;br /&gt;conditions. This paper discusses the scientific objectives for the futuristic mission which&lt;br /&gt;emphasizes human robot exploration and builds a prototype scientific payload to be part of the&lt;br /&gt;mission and also design of scientific instruments.&lt;br /&gt;Notion Robotics Lab has developed the sophisticated autonomous co-operative rovers with&lt;br /&gt;multiple intelligence systems to study life on lunar base and capable of handling multiple&lt;br /&gt;decisions without human interference. This rover will be built as per the map of the terrains in&lt;br /&gt;the lunar base thus operating different tasks. With advancement of different payloads and&lt;br /&gt;scientific instruments the rover may able to map the large tracts of the surface thus do complex&lt;br /&gt;tasks and experiments. Notion Robotics Lab plans to execute with the partnership with&lt;br /&gt;Universities and Space Agencies thus proposing broader experiments in futuristic lunar mission.&lt;br /&gt;Keywords:- Autonomous Co-operative Rover, Artificial Intelligence, Scientific Instruments,&lt;br /&gt;Understanding Life, Lunar Lander&lt;/p&gt;

Skylab, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Program, and Other Development Suits

This chapter discusses the space suits used aboard the Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz Test Program flights and outlines their differences from the lunar mission suits. It includes details of advanced suits ILC worked on at the time in support of the future Space Shuttle missions NASA had on their drawing boards.