Posts Tagged ‘Pat Rawlings’

This week’s concept post is a combination of NASA, JAXA and one ESA concept. The first three being JAXA’s vision of a space plane, the next two feature the space station, and the last seven are all about moonbase concepts.

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Late concept post, with four instead of the usual six. Sorry about that, but here you go.

The `once upon a time’ science fiction concept of a space elevator has been envisioned and studied as a real mass transportation system in the latter part of the 21st century. David Smitherman of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center’s Advanced Projects Office has compiled plans for such an elevator. The space elevator concept is a structure extending from the surface of the Earth to geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) at 35,786 km in altitude. The tower would be approximately 50 km tall with a cable tethered to the top. Its center mass would be at GEO such that the entire structure orbits the Earth in sync with the Earth’s rotation maintaining a stationary position over its base attachment at the equator. Electromagnetic vehicles traveling along the cable could serve as a mass transportation system for transporting people, payloads, and power between space and Earth. This illustration by artist Pat Rawling shows the concept of a space elevator as viewed from the geostationary transfer station looking down the length of the elevator towards the Earth.

This artist rendering shows a proposed ice-penetrating cryobot and a submersible hydrobot that could be used to explore the ice-covered ocean on Jupiter’s large satellite, Europa. Scientists propose first testing these instrument-ladened robots by sending them to Lake Vostok, a subglacial lake in Antarctica. The cryobot would melt its way through the ice cover and then deploy a hydrobot, a self-propelled underwater vehicle that would analyze the chemical composition of the ice and water in a search for signs of life. This proposed mission to Lake Vostok and Europa is being discussed by scientists and engineers at JPL, NASA, the National Science Foundation and universities and other agencies around the world.

This artists concept depicts a Magnetic Launch Assist vehicle clearing the track and shifting to rocket engines for launch into orbit. The system, formerly referred as the Magnetic Levitation (MagLev) system, is a launch system developed and tested by Engineers at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) that could levitate and accelerate a launch vehicle along a track at high speeds before it leaves the ground. Using an off-board electric energy source and magnetic fields, a Magnetic Launch Assist system would drive a spacecraft along a horizontal track until it reaches desired speeds. The system is similar to high-speed trains and roller coasters that use high-strength magnets to lift and propel a vehicle a couple of inches above a guideway. A full-scale, operational track would be about 1.5-miles long, capable of accelerating a vehicle to 600 mph in 9.5 seconds, and the vehicle would then shift to rocket engines for launch into orbit. The major advantages of launch assist for NASA launch vehicles is that it reduces the weight of the take-off, the landing gear, the wing size, and less propellant resulting in significant cost savings. The US Navy and the British MOD (Ministry of Defense) are planning to use magnetic launch assist for their next generation aircraft carriers as the aircraft launch system. The US Army is considering using this technology for launching target drones for anti-aircraft training.

Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Surveyor, future Mars scout possibility.

It can be easy to forget that I do this blog for enjoyment, but you certainly won’t hear me complaining. No matter how many bad days I have, and everybody has them, I can never see myself quitting Space Gizmo. So hopefully none of you got the impression I was going anywhere, got plenty in stored for improving the site but at the moment my first priority is keeping the same level of quality in my postings if not improving them.

So without further from me (if you haven’t already skipped down), here are two posts instead of the usual one to make up the one I missed last week. Enjoy, and I hope you all have a good Friday.

An evolutionary approach to settling the inner solar system would begin with an outpost on the Moon. Here, just three days away from Earth, we could become experienced in living and working on another planetary body. The explorer in the foreground, wearing a constant-volume, hard space suit with rotating joints, is a representative of a commercial enterprise that intends to develop and exploit extraterrestrial resources. A lunar oxygen production plant, set between the two large solar panels, is generating a supply of rocket fuel that will be used for later journeys to Mars. The lunar base can be seen in the distance. Artwork by Mark Dowman and Mike Stovall of Eagle Engineering, Incorporated.

(6 August 1996) – This artist’s rendering shows Pathfinder’s unique descent to the surface of Mars. The spacecraft, enclosed in a cocoon of airbags, has just been severed from the tether which connected it to a huge parachute and Viking-derived heatshield used to slow the spacecraft’s speed after entry in the Martian atmosphere. Once the spacecraft comes to a halt, the airbags will deflate and the spacecraft will stand itself side up, then open its panels to expose its solar panels. As the Sun rises over Mars, Pathfinder will power on, along with a miniature companion rover, called Sojourner, which sits on the inside of one of its panels. Sojourner will use one of two exit ramps to roll off the lander and drive onto the surface of Mars. There it will begin a week of science experiments on the surface of Mars, while the lander takes panoramic photographs of the Martian terrain.

A one-meter transit telescope is shown mounted to a robotic lunar lander on the surface of the Moon. The Moon is a uniquely suitable platform for astronomy, which could include extreme ultraviolet images of Earth’s magnetosphere (permitting study of solar wind interaction), the first far ultraviolet sky survey, and first-generation optical interferometers and very long wavelength radio telescopes. The instrument illustrated is a Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope Experiment (LUTE), which takes advantage of the stable and atmosphere-free lunar surface, and uses the Moon’s rotation to survey the ultraviolet sky. The lander is an “Artemis” – class lander capable of delivering up to 200 kilograms to the lunar surface. The “Artemis” robotic lunar lander is designed for cost-effective delivery of payloads to the Moon to study lunar geology, astronomy, and as a precursor to human lunar expeditions. This image was produced for NASA by John Frassanito and Associates. Technical concepts from NASA’s Planetary Projects Office (PPO), Johnson Space Center (JSC).

(1991) – An “Artemis” – class lander, capable of delivering up to 200 kilograms to the lunar surface, has delivered a teleoperated rover to the lunar surface. The rover has surveyed the landing site for an eventual human landing. The piloted vehicle is shown in the background during the final stage of its descent. The “Artemis” robotic lunar lander is designed for cost-effective delivery of payloads to the Moon to study lunar geology, astronomy, and as a precursor to human lunar expeditions. This image was produced for NASA by Pat Rawlings. Technical concepts from NASA’s Planetary Projects Office (PPO), Johnson Space Center (JSC).

(1993) – Pressurized surface rovers allow lunar explorers to extend their travel capabilities far beyond the limitations imposed by their space suits. The crew can service remote facilities, such as lunar telescopes, and conduct long-range geological traverses. This image was produced for NASA by John Frassanito and Associates. Technical concepts from NASA’s Planetary Projects Office (PPO), Johnson Space Center (JSC).

(1997) – Ice deposits suggested by the NASA-United States Ballistic Missile Defense Organization’s (BMDO) Clementine spacecraft in peretually shadowed craters at the lunar South Pole open new possibilities for human expansion into the Solar System. In this unique location, a solar-powered colony could produce fuel and launch spacecraft from the Moon’s one-sixth gravity. Water from potential ice resources or the regolith circulated through the dome’s cells could attenuate dangerous radiation. This image produced for NASA by Pat Rawlings, (SAIC).

(1993) A crew of four descends to the lunar surface in a spacecraft designed to utilize oxygen produced on the Moon for propellant. Because of the high performance advantages of in situ propellants, the spacecraft does not need to rendezvous with a second spacecraft in lunar orbit. This image was produced for NASA by John Frassanito and Associates. Technical concepts from NASA’s Planetary Projects Office (PPO), Johnson Space Center (JSC).

(1993) – The lunar crew refills the propellant tanks on their spacecraft with oxygen produced on the Moon. This allows them to return directly to Earth, reentering the atmosphere in the conical crew module, and touching down at a prepared landing site. This image was produced for NASA by John Frassanito and Associates. Technical concepts from NASA’s Planetary Projects Office (PPO), Johnson Space Center (JSC).

(April 2004) – This artist’s rendering represents a concept of possible activities during future space exploration missions. It depicts an astronaut performing a field repair on a rover on the moon’s south pole.

(April 2004) – This artist’s rendering represents a concept of possible activities during future space exploration missions. It depicts remote operations with a pressurized rover.

(April 2004) – This artist’s rendering represents a concept of possible activities during future space exploration missions. It depicts remote sample collection at the moon’s south pole.

(1995) – Lunar resources, such as lunar oxygen from regolith or possibly from south pole ice deposits, would increase our motivation to return to the Moon and could significantly enhance the economics of future lunar colonization. Initially, work crews from Earth transported in highly modular transportation systems would supplement automated mining operations. As industrial operations grow, lunar settlement would follow. This image produced for NASA by Pat Rawlings, (SAIC).

Its now 11:31 p.m. EST on Friday and I missed a concept post. It totally slipped my mind. Below is something a little different than usual, these are concept images of actual spacecraft that have actually gone from idea to reality. Though the ESA’s ExoMars has a future that is still somewhat uncertain at this time.

Above each image is the name of the spacecraft, agency, launch date, mission time, and the status of the mission. Active means just what you think it means, that the mission is still active. For details on each mission, click the spacecraft name link.

Mariner 2
Agency: NASA
Launch Date: 08/27/1962
Mission Type: Venus Flyby
Status: Successfully Completed Its Mission.

Galileo
Agency: NASA
Launch Date: 10/18/1989
Mission Type: Jupiter Orbiter
Status: Successfully Completed Its Mission.

Pathfinder, later renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station.
Agency: NASA
Launch Date: 12/04/1996
Mission Type: Mars lander, and communications relay for the Sojourner rover.
Status: Successfully Completed Its Mission.
Image Credit: Pat Rawlings

2001 Mars Odyssey
Agency: NASA
Launch Date: 04/07/2007
Mission Type: Mars Orbiter
Status: Active

Deep Impact
Agency: NASA
Launch Date: 01/12/2005
Mission Type: Comet Impactor
Status: Successfully Completed Its Mission.
Credit: Pat Rawlings

Mars Exploration Rover (Spirit & Opportunity).
Agency: NASA
Launch Date (Spirit): 06/10/2003
Launch Date (Opportunity): 07/08/2003
Mission Type: Twin Rovers
Status: Both rovers are still active at the time of this posting. Though Spirit is “stuck”.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Agency: NASA
Launch Date: 08/12/2005
Mission Type: Mars Orbiter
Status: Active

Mars Science Laboratory
Agency: NASA
Launch Date: 2011
Mission Type: Mars Rover
Status: Hasn’t launched yet.

ExoMars
Agency: ESA
Launch Date: 2018 at earliest.
Mission Type: Mars Rover.
Status: Hasn’t launched yet.

Post two of three today.

(1993) – The Mars In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Sample Return (MISR; pronounced “miser”) mission will send a small, robotic lander to Mars in order to collect Martian rock, soil and atmospheric samples, and then return those samples to Earth. The key to a low-cost mission is to send as small a mass as possible to Mars. Consequently, the two-meter-tall MISR lander will set down on the Mars surface with empty propellant tanks for its return trip home. Utilizing ISRU technology, a propellant production facility will take in carbon dioxide from the Martian atmosphere and manufacture the needed Mars-ascent and Earth-return propellants. During the approximate 300 day stay required to manufacture the propellants, two small micro-rovers – each the size of a big shoe box – will be teleoperated from Earth to collect the rock and soil samples. By the time the appropriate Earth-Mars planetary alignment occurs, the Martian samples will have been safely stowed in the return capsule and the propellant tanks will be fully fueled. The vehicle ascends off from Mars and begins its voyage to bring the Martian treasures back to Earth. These images produced for NASA by John Frassanito and Associates.

(February 1988) – In this artist’s concept of a 1984 mission to Mars, a pair of Rovers (Vikings on Wheels) would follow up and extend the 1976 Martian explorations. The Rovers would gather scientific data from several wide-ranging areas and send it to the mother Orbiter for relay to Earth. Two pairs of rovers could traverse up to 5 kilometers (3 miles) daily each and help one another as needed.

(July 1997) – A fully assembled Mars spacecraft is checked out in Earth-orbit and made ready for its voyage to the red planet. These images produced for NASA by John Frassanito and Associates.

(July 1997) – After a 125 million mile journey in space, the cargo mission nears its rendezvous with the planet Mars. These images produced for NASA by John Frassanito and Associates.

The crew habitat is just moments away from landing on Mars in this artist concept produced for NASA by John Frassanito and Associates.

(1985) – This is a close-up view of a manned Mars mission and construction of a permanent base are two of the many options being studied that could impact the space station. In a recent study for NASA outlined surface and transportation requirements for a Mars base using information synthesized from many current studies on manned Mars missions. This artist’s concept depicts such possibilities as greenhouses, segmented traverse vehicles, tunneling machines, water wells and robotic front end loaders. Artwork done for NASA by Pat Rawlings, of Eagle Engineering Incorporated.

(1991) – The first humans on Mars may revisit the landing site of the Viking 2 Lander in order to study the effects that the Martian surface and atmosphere have had on the spacecraft. These images produced for NASA by Pat Rawlings. Technical concepts from NASA’s Planetary Projects Office, Johnson Space Center (JSC).

Friday concept post is here again, and its a bit of a milestone. This is my 300th post on Space Gizmo, not bad for almost three months eh?

(September 1976) – An artist’s concept of an Orbiting Lunar Station (OLS), one of the potential options for space activity being studied. The picture appeared in a September 1977 publication from the NASA-JSC Program Planning Office entitled “A Compendium of Future Space Activities”. The objectives of such a station would be to perform a broad spectrum observation of the lunar surface; to conduct surface sorties, and to support and control unmanned orbital and surface operations.

(April 1988) – Here, a Lunar Base traverse mission crew stands on the northern tip of Vallis Schroteri during an exploration mission to the Aristarchus plateau region. The crewmembers are looking into the 600-meter deep, 0.5 kilometer-wide inner rille which meanders its way along the floor of the outer rille toward the outlet of volcanic channels in Oceanus Procellarum 60 kilometers to the west of where the crew and the wagon-train-like traverse vehicles are located. The scene is a 150 degree panorama which extends from NNE to SSE. The crew and vehicles in this concept are located at 25.5 degrees north latitude and 49.7 degrees west latitude. The painting was done by Pat Rawlings of Eagle Engineering. A series of Lunar Base paintings were done on subcontract to, and under the technical and scientific direction of, Lockheed Engineering and Management Services Co. The work was sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Johnson Space Center.

(April 1988) – Here, a surface exploration crew begins its investigation of a typical, small lava tunnel, to determine if it could serve as a natural shelter for the habitation modules of a Lunar Base. One member of the expedition is standing on the lip of the rille near the point where the original tunnel disgorged its lava into an open channel. The two crew members in the foreground are standing in the lava channel. As indicated by the lack of meteorite erosion and debris burial, a section of the original tunnel’s roof collapses sometime in the relatively recent past, perhaps due to the impact which formed the l5-meter diameter crater behind the crew member at the rille’s edge. The collapse of this section of the tunnel roof exposed the layering in the volcanic rocks and displaced the mouth of the tunnel some 50 meters upstream of its original position. The painting is by John Lowery of Eagle Engineering and was done on subcontract to, and under the technical and scientific direction of Lockheed Engineering and Management Services Company. The work was sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Johnson Space Center.

(June 1977) – A base being constructed to supply lunar materials to chemical plants in space is depicted here during the second day of construction. These four large horizontal cylinders contain the base habitat, maintenance facility, soil-packaging plant and loading facility for the lunar mass driver, which is in effect an electromagnetic cannon designed in this particular schemes to eject four-kilogram packages of lunar soil from the Moon to a point in deep space where the packages will be collected and then transferred to a chemical plant nearer the Earth. Solar cell array (left) being deployed will be used to power the base and mass driver. Some 25 persons would work four months to emplace the large base. An operating crew of 10 persons would stay on the lunar surface to provide necessary maintenance.

(January 1989) – Some scientists feel that the lunar far side, quiet, seismically stable and shielded from Earth’s electronic noise, may be the solar system’s best location for an observatory. The facility would consist of optical telescope arrays, stellar monitoring telescopes and radio telescopes, allowing nearly complete coverage of the radio and optical spectra. The observatory would also serve as a base for geologic exploration and for a modest life sciences laboratory. In the left foreground, a large fixed radio telescope is mounted on a crater. The telescope focuses signals into a centrally located collector, which is shown suspended above the crater. The lander in which the crew would live can be seen in the distance on the left. Two steerable radio telescopes are placed on the right; the instrument in the foreground is being serviced by scientists. The other astronaut is about to replace a small optical telescope that has been damaged by a micrometeorite. A very large baseline optical interferometer system can be seen in the right far background. The painting was done by Mark Dowman and Doug McLeod.

For those new to Space Gizmo, it should be known that I do a weekly concept art post. I know a lot of you have been referred here from Bad Astronomy, stumbleupon and others. These posts are scheduled every Friday and involve future exploration as well as other concepts.
You’ll find descriptions of the images are directly below the art, and you might have noticed the differences in where I put the caption this time around. So here it is, the 14th concept art posted at 1:53 AM in the morning. Enjoy.

Originally investigated in the 1960′s by Marshall Space Flight Center plarners as part of the Nuclear Energy for Rocket Vehicle Applications (NERVA) program, nuclear-thermal rocket propulsion has been more recently considered in spacecraft designs for interplanetary human exploration. This artist’s concept illustrates a nuclear-thermal rocket with an aerobrake disk as it orbits Mars.

NASA artist’s conception of a human mission to Mars (1989 painting by Les Bossinas of NASA Lewis Research Center).

(1990) – Artist’s concept of the landing of the first human mission to Mars in the year 2019. In the foreground, astronauts conduct scientific observations, recording wind speed with an anemometer and planetary features with a hand-held camera. A dust storm is approaching the cratered area near the landing site. The Martian moons of Phobos and Deimos are visible in the twilight sky. The Mars excursion vehicle in the background serves as crew quarters for the mission. An interplanetary transfer vehicle carried the crew to Mars, with the excursion vehicle launched independently to rendezvous with the transfer vehicle in orbit around Mars. The excursion vehicle will return the crew to the transfer vehicle, parked in Mars orbit, for the return trip to Earth. Crews on later missions will construct surface habitats using Martian materials. The artwork was done for NASA and the NASA Art Program by Ren Wicks. This art concept has a copyright. NASA has a royalty-free license to exercise all rights under the copyright claimed herein for governmental purposes. All other rights reserved by the copyright owner.

The Soviet Union had conceptual plans in the 1980s to send manned spacecraft to Mars in the 1990s, even though its program to land cosmonauts on the moon failed. The mission would have required launching the spacecraft’s components into Earth orbit for assembly. The round-trip journey to Mars would have taken at least a year. Post-Soviet Russia canceled the program due to its expense and questions regarding its feasibility.
Mars Lander
by Brian McMullin, 1986

(February 1991) – Five hundred kilometers above the Chryse Planitia region of Mars, an orbital platform uses a laser sensor to autonomously rendezvous with an approaching sample-return ascent stage. The platform’s robotic arm will remove the sample canister and store it with samples from other locations for delivery to Earth. Artwork done for NASA by Pat Rawlings, of SAIC.

Artist’s concept of possible colonies on future mars missions.

Its Friday and I am in love with concept art! Here you go! Unless I say otherwise, all photos on Space Gizmo are able to become larger with a single mouse click. Just a reminder.

(February 1992) - Passing from sunlight into the Earth-lit shadow of the Moon, a nuclear thermal transfer vehicle prepares to dock with a lunar lander. Using a building block approach, a Mars transfer vehicle could be constructed from components common to the lunar stage. Artwork by Pat Rawlings, of SAIC.

(July, 1989) - With a number of studies ongoing for possible lunar explorations, many concepts for living and working on Earth's natural satellite have been examined. This art concept reflects the evaluation and study at JSC by the Man Systems Division and Johnson Engineering personnel.

(April 1988) - Here, two jubilant scientists of an ice prospecting, lunar lander mission examine an ice-encrusted drill stem as they stand in the frigid (60 degrees K),permanently shadowed part of a south polar region crater. The painting was done by Mike Stovall of Engineering.

(April 1988) - Here, a Lunar Base traverese mission crew stands on the northern tip of Vallis Schroteri during an exploration mission to the Aristarchus plateau region. The crewmembers are looking into the 600-meter deep, 0.5 kilometer-wide inner rille which meanders its way along the floor of the outer rille toward the outlet of volcanic channels in Oceanus Procellarum 60 kilometers to the west of where the crew and the wagon-train-like traverse vehicles are located. The painting was done by Pat Rawlings of Eagle Engineering.

(January 1989) - This is an artist's concept depicting a possible scene of an observatory on the far side of the moon. The painting was done by Mark Dowman and Doug McLeod.

(1989) - In this artist's concept, a spaceship is leaving a lunar base to journey homeward to low-Earth orbit.

Friday concept art is here at last, some more by Pat Rawlings. One by Mark Dowman, and the others were uncredited. Remember, you can find the credit for the artist in the caption and if not mentioned its because I couldn’t find the person to credit.

(1996) - An artist's rendering of the the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft's rendezvous with the asteroid Eros. Upon arrival, the spacecraft will orbit the mountain-sized body for nearly 13 months, sending back the first comprehensive dataset about an asteroid. This image produced for NASA by Pat Rawlings, (SAIC). Technical concepts for NASA's Exploration Office, Johnson Space Center (JSC).

(February 1995) - Earth's Moon, just 3 days away, is a good place to test hardware and operations for a human mission to Mars. A simulated mission, including the landing of an adapted Mars excursion vehicle, could test many relevant Mars systems and technologies. Artwork done for NASA by Pat Rawlings, of SAIC.

(1997) - The Carl Sagan Memorial Station, previously known as the Mars Pathfinder Lander, proved that a high degree of knowledge and innovation, coupled with a bit of luck, could put a very-low cost spacecraft on the surface of Mars. Depicted here by an aritist, the lander and rover surpassed their initial design life and went on to return many high resolution images of the ancient flood-washed plain of Ares Valles. This art work was produced for NASA by Pat Rawlings, (SAIC). Technical concepts for NASA's Exploration Office, Johnson Space Center (JSC).

(January 1989) - A NASA artist's concept of a vehicle which could provide an artificial-gravity environment of Mars exploration crews. The piloted vehicle rotates around the axis that contains the solar panels. Levels of artificial gravity vary according to the tether length and the rate at which the vehicle spans.

Mars Outpost as outlined in FY-89 Office of Exploration Annual Report, depicted during consolidation Phase. Projected time from start of Emplacement Phase to Consolidation Phase - 4 years with 4 years to complete consolidation and begin full utilization. Main components are a habitat module, pressurized rover dock/equipment lock, airlocks, and a 16 meter constructable (inflatable) habitat. Also visible in this image is a meteorological balloon, an unpressurized rover, a storage work area, a geophysical experiment area and a local area antenna. The Outpost is for 7 astronauts whose mission will focus on research related to Earth sciences such as mining of Mars and Phobos; life science research; advanced technical development; origin of life studies; and further solar system exploration. Mars Outpost elements and procedures are derived from an earlier lunar test bed. This painting was done by Mark Dowman of John Frassanito & Associates For NASA, JSC's of Office of Exploration.

(January 1989) - This is an artist's concept depicting a possible scene when the first human travelers might walk on the surface of Mars. The artwork was part of a NASA new initiatives study which surveyed possible future manned planetary expeditionary activity. The area depicted is Noctis Labyrinthus in the Valles Marineris system of enormous canyons. The scene is just after sunrise, and on the canyon floor four miles below, early morning clouds can be seen. The frost on the surface will melt very quickly as the Sun climbs higher in the Martian sky. The astronaut depicted on the left might be a planetary geologist seeking to get a closer look at the stratigraphic details of the canyon walls. On the right, the geologist's companion is setting up a weather station to monitor Martian climatology. In the far right frame is a six wheeled articulated rover, which transported the pair of astronauts here from their landing site. The vehicle is unpressurized.

(February 1995) - Two kilometers above the lava flows of Mars' Tharsis Bulge region, a geologist collects samples from the eastern cliff at the base of Olympus Mons, the solar system's largest known shield volcano. To better understand the evolution of the Arizona-sized volcano, the scientist investigates the layers of hardened lava that make up the massive feature. The block-like nature of the rock face, caused by columnar jointing, is similar to features on Earth, such as the Devil's Tower in Wyoming. Artwork done for NASA by Pat Rawlings, of SAIC.