NASA wants ideas on how to haul injured moonwalkers
- Reference: 1731949865
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/11/18/nasa_injured_astronaut_transport/
- Source link:
The [1]problem has vexed the US space agency for some time. Though Apollo featured the [2]Buddy Secondary Life Support System (BSLSS) that allowed crew members to share cooling water in the event of a life support system failure while roaming the lunar surface, the problem for Artemis is more complicated. NASA wants a solution to allow the transport of a fully incapacitated crew member back to the lander from a distance of up to two kilometers.
The design must not make use of a lunar rover, must be low in mass (less than 23 kilograms), and must be of minimal volume since it is going to have to be transported by a crew member over the entire duration of extravehicular activity (EVA). It must also be able to deal with the extremes of temperature on the lunar surface and function in the presence of lunar dust.
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The design must also be able to handle slopes of up to 20 degrees up or down, as well as the rocks and craters that pepper the lunar surface. On the plus side, it doesn't need to provide any medical attention or life support. It just needs to be something that can be quickly and easily deployed to transport the incapacitated astronaut back to the lander.
It's an interesting mental exercise. How would such a device work? There have been [7]studies [PDF] on the subject, which came to the conclusion that a wheeled transport device "provides the highest risk reduction potential," although attaching something like that to an Artemis EVA suit will present a challenge. Other walking assistance options don't meet the [8]"fully incapacitated" requirement .
[9]
The first crewed landing of the Artemis program is scheduled for not earlier than 2026, meaning that little time remains for a design to be implemented. NASA would like comprehensive technical design concepts, ideally with some preliminary CAD models, submitted by January 23, 2025, and will announce the winners on February 27. ®
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[1] https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/prizes-challenges-crowdsourcing-program/center-of-excellence-for-collaborative-innovation-coeci/south-pole-safety-designing-the-nasa-lunar-rescue-system/
[2] https://www.nasa.gov/history/alsj/WOTM/WOTM-BSLSS.html
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/16/microsoft_nasa_earth_copilot/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/13/nasas_jet_propulsion_laboratory_layoffs/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/12/trump_space_program/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/08/nasa_fires_up_x_59/
[7] https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20230005461/downloads/EVA%20Map%20Mit%20Risk%20Crew%20IAASS%20final%20v20230420.pdf
[8] https://www.herox.com/NASASouthPoleSafety
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZzvHESqfLBQIO550D_-9TgAAAQ8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
I've seen something like that in use at Bryce Canyon in Utah, hauling people up out of the canyon. Eight local volunteers, from the fire department and other locals, come down with it, strap the casualty to it and then wheel them back up the narrow path. It's at 9000ft, so I suspect they get plenty of practice with all the visiting sea-level dwellers.
In lunar gravity, couldn't you just drag the bugger on an inflatable Kevlar sled or something? I guess you would also need a bottle of compressed nitrogen to inflate it. Sorted. So, how big a share of the $45000 do I get?
Just toss 'em.
I was thinking of an inflatable version of Musk's Pedo Submarine.
Giant Steps Are What You Take?
An astronaut who weighs 120kg (with suit) on Earth weighs 20kg on the Moon. Can't their colleagues just pick them up and carry them?
Re: Giant Steps Are What You Take?
if there is three in a group, then a telescopic pole between the two and a strap to carry the third, bump up their suit pressure so they dont sag
Re: Giant Steps Are What You Take?
'sag'
aloo or bhaji?
Re: Giant Steps Are What You Take?
What? held under the dorsal feathers?
The traditional boy scout method
Would involve their walking staffs threaded through their inside out jackets to make a stretcher.
But probably the other astronauts won't want to take their jackets off, so something with four large wheels - like a bicycle - and an expandable frame would seem to fit the bill. Like a pram... Or indeed, fewer wheels, per Alan Wilie's example above.
Re: The traditional boy scout method
I was wondering if they could just sew a channel in the legs and sides of the suit to thread a pole through.
Travois
Native Americans used a thing dubbed a "travois" by French colonists. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travois
Poles that drag on the surface at one end, with a way to carry a load between them.
Sturdy telescoping poles might be useful for other things on the lunar surface too.
£35.515.76
Is that all? Don't give much of a shit do they!
Check Lowes
I have a pretty sturdy handtruck that should do the trip.
Jet Pack
We all need one.
Re: Jet Pack
Lunahelicopter.
Make the spaces suits out of Velcro - thick strips of the 3M industrial grip stuff alternating hook and loop. Colleague injured? Lay on them to pick em up and then romp on back to base. £35k to me please!
I assume a self-assembly trebuchet wouldn't meet the spec?
Make them easy to cut into smalll pieces and out then into a box?
For £20k, I propose you just shout "BUFFET'S OPEN".
That moves everything, including the dead.
Self Assemby Sedan Chair from IKEA
As long as the others figure out the instructions
[1]Lyon equipment make just the thing (image)
[2]web site
[1] https://www.lyonequipment.com/images/products/l/ls/lsws-macinnesstretcher2.jpg
[2] https://lyon.co.uk/lyon-stretcher-products