[meteorite-list] Media Invited To Simulated Asteroid Campout In Houston

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:53:34 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <201112132053.pBDKrYri004653_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

Dec. 13, 2011

J.D. Harrington/Michael J. Braukus
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-5241/1979
j.d.harrington at nasa.gov/michael.j.braukus at nasa.gov

Amiko Kauderer
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
amiko.kauderer-1 at nasa.gov


MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-248

MEDIA INVITED TO SIMULATED ASTEROID CAMPOUT IN HOUSTON

HOUSTON -- For three days this week, a small part of NASA's Johnson
Space Center in Houston will simulate a human mission to an asteroid.
Reporters are invited to observe what the mission might entail.

As NASA continues plans to send humans to explore asteroids and other
destinations beyond low-Earth orbit, a number of questions are being
asked about how astronauts could live and work in space. NASA
astronaut Mike Gernhardt and geologist Brent Garry of the Planetary
Science Institute in Tucson, Ariz., will spend three days and two
nights living inside the cabin of a prototype multi-mission Space
Exploration Vehicle (SEV) answering some of those questions.

Reporters may visit the test site at 10:30 a.m. CST on Thursday, Dec.
15, during a simulated spacewalk in which a crew member will use a
microgravity simulator. To attend contact Amiko Kauderer at
amiko.kauderer-1 at nasa.gov by 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
The public is invited to ask the crew questions via twitter
_at_Desert_RATS; for a Twitterview the crew will participate in at 11
a.m. on Friday, Dec. 16. Questions should be marked #SEV.

Normally, the cabin of the SEV prototype is used atop a wheeled
chassis, but wheels are of no use in the microgravity environment of
an asteroid. Instead, the cabin would be used on a propelled sled
allowing crew members to maneuver around the asteroid.

To simulate such an environment, the SEV will be on an air-bearing
floor allowing it to virtually float, much like an air hockey puck.
The crew will see how the SEV handles in a simulated microgravity
environment.

The tests are part of NASA's Research and Technology Studies (RATS)
program that will evaluate and provide data for future generations of
SEV cabins. The test will be repeated in January with a different
crew. Both tests will be used to develop a fully integrated RATS test
at Johnson in August.

This series of tests and will be used to evaluate existing tools that
could be used to simulate spacewalks on an asteroid. The only time
the crew will leave the SEV during the tests will be to perform
simulated spacewalks. Test equipment and laboratories include:

-- Johnson's virtual reality laboratory, also used to train astronauts
for both space shuttle and International Space Station spacewalks
-- A chair with thrusters previously used for testing the Manned
Maneuvering Unit, a jet pack designed to allow astronauts to perform
untethered spacewalks
-- The Active Response Gravity Offload System, or ARGOS, a system that
suspends astronauts in spacesuits from a beam and simulated different
amounts of gravity. During the media event, a crew member will
conduct a simulated spacewalk using ARGOS

For information about the Desert RATS tests, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/desertrats

For more information about the multi-mission Space Exploration
Vehicle, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/home/SEV.html

Follow Desert RATS via Twitter at:

http://www.twitter.com/Desert_RATS

-end-
Received on Tue 13 Dec 2011 03:53:34 PM PST