In Space Infrastructure, Living in Space, Space Settlement

Space habitat reports – May.6.2024

Here is this week’s selection of videos and news items about space habitats, living in space, and space settlement.

=== International Space Station & NASA

** Space Station Crew Talks with Syracuse.com – The Post-Standard – Friday, May 3, 2024 – NASA Video

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 71 Flight Engineers Jeanette Epps and Matt Dominick of NASA discussed life and work aboard the orbital outpost during an in-flight interview May 3 with the Post-Standard/Syracuse.com. Epps and Dominick are in the midst of a long-duration mission aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration flights as part of NASA’s Moon and Mars exploration approach, including lunar missions through NASA’s Artemis program.

** SpaceX Crew-8 Dragon relocation – SciNews

SpaceX’s Crew-8 “Endeavour” Crew Dragon spacecraft, with NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, was relocated from the forward-facing port to the space-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module, on 2 May 2024. The relocation was performed in order to make way for the arrival of for the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on Boeing’s Crew Flight Test, currently scheduled for 6 May 2024. The “Endeavour” Crew Dragon previously supported the Demo-2, Crew-2, Ax-1 and Crew-6 missions.
Credits: NASA/SpaceX

=== Commercial space habitats

** Axiom Space tests their lunar spacesuit in the Neutral Buoyance Laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston:

** Testing underway for Axiom’s “Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU)” space suit for lunar surface activities:

** Sierra Space shows the development path for their inflatable space stations

See the blog post at Building the World’s First Commercial Space Station | Sierra Space – Apr.30.2024

Our LIFE (Large Integrated Flexible Environment) technology launches on a conventional rocket. Its inflatable structure remains tightly packed upon deployment. One of the first in our product line, LIFE 285, will inflate into a structure that is three stories tall and 27 feet in diameter once it reaches space—essentially the size of a three-story apartment, with each floor being nine feet tall.

The inflatable structural shell is made up of a tightly woven fabric (Vectran) that’s up to five times stronger than steel once inflated and offers a balance of properties unmatched by other high-performance fibers. This strong structural shell, as well as its spacious interior, makes it perfect for both LEO and long-duration missions to the moon, Mars and the stars.

Why an inflatable softgoods shell? The problem with large, metallic space stations is that they’re hard (and expensive) to launch into space. That’s where the magic of an inflatable spacecraft comes into play. Launched in a packed state, it can easily reach space and expand to huge volumes.

Once fully inflated, the interior of LIFE 285 will be able to accommodate anywhere from four to twelve people, depending on the purpose and length of the mission.

It can also be fully packed with essential supplies and work space tools, including an Astro Garden® for a constant supply of fresh produce, ample sleeping quarters, a medic chamber, and exercise equipment. It will help serve as a place where innovations and groundbreaking research come together for longer duration space missions.

—- Sierra continues pressure tests of the inflatable module structures:

** VAST

=== Chinese space habitats

** Shenzhou-17 undocking – SciNews

The Shenzhou-17 (神舟十七) crew spacecraft undocked from the Tianhe Core Module (天和核心舱), departing the China Space Station (中国空间站), on 30 April 2024, at 00:43 UTC (08:43 China Standard Time). The Shenzhou-17 spacecraft is expected to make a parachute-assisted landing at the Dongfeng landing site, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, returning the sixth crew of three astronauts on a mission to the China Space Station (中国空间站): Hongbo Tang (汤洪波, commander), Shengjie Tang (唐胜杰) and Xinlin Jiang (江新林).

** Research Aboard China Space Station to Probe Origins of Life – CCTV Video News Agency

The China Space Station will undertake a number of new experiments during the Shenzhou-18 mission that may help answer key questions about the origins of life and work toward breakthroughs in medicine and spaceflight engineering.

=== Lunar habitation

** DARPA-backed study examines architectures for lunar bases.

The Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium (LSIC) is a NASA supported organization based at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab (JHU/APL). LSIC recently hosted a meeting for DARPA’s  10-Year Lunar Architecture (LunA-10), a seven month program that

aims to rapidly develop foundational technology concepts that move away from individual scientific efforts within isolated, self-sufficient systems, toward a series of shareable, scalable systems that interoperate — minimizing lunar footprint and creating monetizable services for future lunar users. 

Participant teams in LunA-10 presented their findings at the LSIC meeting. Here, for example, are some slides from SpaceX, which presented plans for development of a lunar base using Starships:

Presentations from all the teams are available in this document (pdf).

For even more about lunar base technologies, see the presentation, NASA Lunar Surface Operations & Power Grid (pdf), given by Jeffrey Csank of NASA Glenn Research Center at a 2023 meeting.

** China is Building a Lunar Satellite Constellation – Dongfang Hour – YouTube

As China ramps up its lunar exploration program in the coming decade, space-based lunar infrastructure is going to be a key enabler. Spacecraft and ground-based vehicles will increasingly need positioning and communication services, which is why China has launched a plan to establish a lunar satellite constellation called the “Queqiao constellation”. The focus on the back side and the lunar south pole also means that communications will require relay satellites.
In preparation for this lunar constellation, expected in the 2030s, China has been launching single Queqiao spacecraft: the “Queqiao” in 2018, “Queqiao-2” in March 2024, and “Queqiao-3” by the end of the decade.
In this video, we cover this quest for lunar infrastructure, a low key but essential milestone for the establishment of China’s future lunar outpost, the ILRS.

If you like what you see and would like to support me, please consider joining our small Patreon community at / dongfanghour !
We also have some very cool space merch available at https://shop.dongfanghour.com .

00:00 Introduction
00:17 Lunar exploration & tidal locking
01:11 Queqiao-1 and Queqiao-2 relay missions
03:11 Launching the Queqiao lunar constellation
05:47 Equivalent projects by NASA and ESA

See also China’s Next Moon Lander – Ready for Sample-collecting Sendoff | Leonard David – Apr.28.2024.

** China unveils international moon base concept animation – VideoFromSpace

China has unveiled a concept video for a international research base on the moon.

=== Mars habitation

=== Future space habitat designs

** How Robots Will Help Humans Conquer The Moon – Fraser Cain

When humans will return to the Moon they will need a lot of assistance to set up a settlement and carry out all the missions. They will need a lot of robots to do that. How exactly will it pan out? Figuring out with Professor Yang Gao from King’s College London.

** When you hear “Bernal Sphere”…  – SSI: Space Studies Institute Youtube – SSI Website

Just a little video for fun.
Oh, and this design isn’t public domain. Just sayin’. Credit where credit is due please, and Thank you.

Want to know the story of “The Model”? Look here: https://ssi.org/an-oneill-colony-in-s…
And scroll down to the bottom to see what is and what is not a “Bernal Sphere” …and why.

** Jerry Stone illustrates Island 0, a Gerard O’Neill Island 1 demonstrator – Space Renaissance

Jerry Stone illustrates Island 0, a Gerard O’Neill Island 1 demonstrator, in the frame of the Expanding Humanity To Outer Space International Cooperation Youth Event (EHTOS)
Moderator: Ghanim Alotaibi
Lecturer: Jerry Stone
Participants: Werner Grandl, Guy çignolet, Mahhad, B. Daniel, Adriano V. Autino

=== Polaris Program – SpaceX EVA suit unveiled. Will be used on first Polaris mission

On May 4th, the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Suit designed by SpaceX was unveiled to the public. The initial application of the suit will be during the Polaris Dawn mission, which aims to reach the highest altitude yet for a Dragon spacecraft. They will attempt also to carry out the first EVA by private astronauts.

At approximately 700 kilometers above the Earth, the crew will attempt the first-ever commercial extravehicular activity (EVA) with SpaceX-designed extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuits, upgraded from the current intravehicular (IVA) suit. Building a base on the Moon and a city on Mars will require thousands of spacesuits; the development of this suit and the execution of the EVA will be important steps toward a scalable design for spacesuits on future long-duration missions.

The Dragon has no airlock so when the hatch is opened, all four crew members must be in suits.

=== The Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Suit – SpaceX Youtube

At ~700 km above Earth, the EVA suit will support the Polaris Dawn crew in the vacuum of space during the first-ever commercial astronaut spacewalk.

Evolved from the Intravehicular Activity (IVA) suit, the EVA suit provides greater mobility, a state-of-the-art helmet Heads-Up Display (HUD) and camera, new thermal management textiles, and materials borrowed from Falcon’s interstage and Dragon’s trunk.

Building a base on the Moon and a city on Mars will require millions of spacesuits. The development of this suit and the execution of the spacewalk will be important steps toward a scalable design for spacesuits on future long-duration missions as life becomes multiplanetary.

=== Other space habitat and settlement news and articles:

=== Earth views from ISS

** Highlight: Mexico City and Volcanic activity – May 5, 2024 07:40 CST – ISS Above

NASA EHDC6 Live views of the Earth from the International Space Station — Watch live at / issaboveyou

** Live Video from the International Space Station (Official NASA Stream) – NASA

Watch live video from the International Space Station, including inside views when the crew aboard the space station is on duty. Views of Earth are also streamed from an external camera located outside of the space station. During periods of signal loss due to handover between communications satellites, a blue screen is displayed.

The space station orbits Earth about 250 miles (425 kilometers) above the surface. An international partnership of five space agencies from 15 countries operates the station, and it has been continuously occupied since November 2000. It’s a microgravity laboratory where science, research, and human innovation make way for new technologies and research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. More: https://go.nasa.gov/3CkVtC8

Did you know you can spot the station without a telescope? It looks like a fast-moving star, but you have to know when to look up. Sign up for text messages or email alerts to let you know when (and where) to spot the station and wave to the crew: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov

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ISS after undocking of STS-132

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Outpost in Orbit:
A Pictorial & Verbal History of the Space Station