Hermes Experiment Opportunities Kristen John (PI) and Marc Fries Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX
Strata-1 and Hermes Strata-1 is a Class 1E mission to ISS Studies regolith under microgravity conditions for an extended period (one year) One of the first 1E missions Hermes is an evolutionary improvement on Strata-1 Modular design; removable Hermes Experiments Hermes provides space, power, and computing resources and Experiments come and go In planning phase; selectable for funding in 2017 1E call A NASA Request for Information (RFI) is currently open, seeking input from parties interested in sending experiments to Hermes
Strata-1: A Study of Small Body Regolith Four regolith simulants of increasing complexity Trapped in place on launch, released (within their evacuated tubes) upon installation on ISS One year in microgravity Hypothesis: Current models accurately describe regolith evolution on small bodies.
3. Initial crew service 4. Strata-1 autonomous 5. Memory card 6. Uninstall operations changeout Strata-1 2. Install in US Lab, ER8 Steps 4 & 5 are repeated every 50 days. Strata-1 Regolith in Microgravity 7. Stow for return 1. Launch Strata-1 assembly 8. Return Strata-1 hardware
Strata-1 Interior Images
HERMES Experiment Parameters Entire Hermes volume 44cm wide x 25cm tall x 52cm deep EXPRESS Rack locker insert The available space for individual experiments (i.e. tube, 3U CubeSat, etc.) Approximately 30 x 10 x 10 cm Experiments removed from Hermes on a regular basis Simple mechanisms used for crew members to remove and replace experiments sliding rack? Electrical Requirements All experiments must meet the electrical interface requirements of Hermes Modular Integrated Stackable Layers (MISL) Several layers of circuit boards to accommodate experiments with various electrical requirements Unplug old experiment chambers from the MISL interfaces, and plug in new ones MISL architecture can provide various layers for microcontrollers, communication, power, and sensors
Hermes Schedule Current schedule includes a Hermes call for experiments, timing TBD but aiming for late 2017 Hermes flight to ISS August 2018 Calls for experiments at least annually thereafter Pending approval of ISS 1E project office Waiting for RFI results
Hermes Missions: -A, -B, -C Hermes will accommodate any experiment, whether it is pure science, concept testing, equipment testing, exposure testing, TRL improvement in microgravity Experiments under consideration include: Asteroid regolith investigations following on from Strata-1 Small body regolith investigations, to include penetrometer measurements, granular gas ISRU: Materials handling in microgravity Anchoring in microgravity regolith Space suit material/component exposure testing versus microgravity regolith Filter performance testing Dust Mitigation Mars Sample Return (MSR) simulant testing Volatile evolution on young carbonaceous bodies Impact dynamics Food grain industry
Cubesats for Microgravity Testing on Hermes? The Hermes experiment volume compares well to a 3U cubesat Test components of 1-3U CubeSats, to include low-trl new components Test to failure, return for analysis? Test science and engineering experiments that require only a 3U CubeSat volume
We Need Your Input We need input from all parties interested in flying a Hermes experiment: How much power is appropriate? Data transfer volume? Lighting? Support structure? Interest in multiple experiment bays? Duration? ISS vacuum system access? Etc.
Interested? Please Respond to the RFI Responses to this RFI must be delivered to kristen.k.john@nasa.gov No later than Friday, June 16, 2017 at 5:00 pm CST. Responses should not exceed 5 pages in length, with no smaller than 12 point type.
Strata-1 Results to Date One-year mission is complete ~75 GB of imagery plus SAMS data Presentations at: 2016 Meteoritical Society (Berlin, Germany) 2016 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) 3 rd Int l Workshop on Instrumentation for Planetary Missions (Pasadena, CA) 2016 EISD Poster Session Two abstracts at 2017 Asteroids, Comets and Meteors (Uruguay) 2 abstracts for 2017 LPSC Publication pending in Acta Astronautica describing Strata-1 experiment Future publications will describe scientific conclusions and modeling results Data archiving will be achieved via Physical Science Informatics (PSI) database
SAMS Data A Vital Dataset The Space Acceleration Measurement System-II (SAMS) measures vibrational environment on Strata-1 Background, diurnal cycling, transients ( thumps ) are all similar in duration and magnitude on small bodies
Moving On: From Strata-1 to Hermes Strata-1 is an inexpensive pathfinder mission demonstrating: The 1E Process, a JSC initiative to simplify the process of sending experiments to ISS Simple design and hardware Hermes is an evolution from Strata-1: Similar design, similar design philosophy But now, a modular approach: Hermes provides the electronics and structure Individual, Strata-1 tube-sized experiments are installed and removed to perform individual experiments Individual experiments need only fit within the volume and contain electrical interfaces were required Simplified flight safety requirements