Innovative Sensors for Inflatable Space Habitats

Working to get Luna fiber optic sensors into space

Luna.is working on a research project in collaboration with NASA, Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), and ILC Dover to develop an approach for structural health monitoring of inflatable space habitats using our innovative high-definition fiber optic sensing (HD-FOS). This team of industry partners are the leading candidates for deploying these inflatable structures into orbit as a component of NASA’sMoon to Mars Exploration Campaignplan, a NASA-led initiative seeking to send humans deeper into space thereby bringing back newfound knowledge and opportunities.

Motivated by theMoon to Mars Exploration CampaignLuna希望这项研究的结果将揭示其传感器作为充气空间栖息地的合适仪器。根据John Ohanian的说法，Luna在项目上的主要调查员称，我们的传感器可能会根据这一倡议的一部分解决各种应用。他解释说：“我们技术的第一个地方之一就是在月球网关上（见图1） - 一个将是轨道的仓库和去火星的分期点。网关中的居住模块可能是一种充气栖息地。充气物也可以用于过境到火星或月球表面或火星。“充气栖息地与所考虑的所有其他方法相比，每单位重量的最具生活空间 - 尽管他们也有自己的一系列挑战。

Inflatable habitats are favorable for space travel because they alleviate the weight and cost constraints; however, it is difficult to reliably monitor their structural health, which is essential to astronaut safety. Ohanian explains, “Putting sensors in highly flexible materials is very challenging because you can’t use the typical ways of measuring strain. Traditionally, you glue strain gages to rigid structures, but that does not work for these softgoods structures, which are made from flexible webbings, making it challenging to collect meaningful data to give an early warning of a potential failure in the material.”

These structures are prone to two main detrimental risks: creep and micrometeoroid impacts. Creep refers to strain growth over a long period of time, while micrometeoroids are small rocks which can weaken or puncture the fabric used in the inflatable space habitat. Both challenges would endanger astronauts’ lives. When the stakes for failure are that high, a greater degree of certainty is required.

巩固Luna作为创新设计方法的思想领导者的声誉，Luna团队已经发现了这个Shm障碍的解决方案：通过将传感器嵌入灵活的织带本身，我们消除了对外部传感器的需要（见图2）。“就嵌入式传感器而言，我们提出了各种创新方法，”俄亥俄州说。“在高级别的我们的传感技术已经解决了充气空间栖息地的两个最高风险模式：蠕变和微象性的影响。”俄亥俄州最近在Ascend 2020上提出了一篇关于这一主题的技术论文，由美国航空航天研究所（AIAA）主持了一个专注于空间的会议和研讨会。

By embedding sensors into the webbing of the inflatable space habitats, Luna has succeeded in providing unprecedented data quality for real-time, long-duration monitoring of the softgoods structure. With the success of the technology’s performance in a series of laboratory damage tests, creep tests, and simulated micrometeoroid impacts, Luna is excited to bring this innovative discovery to the next level. A NASA Tipping Point project is underway to test the sensors in a more realistic structure at 1/3-scale during ground testing. If our sensors are proven successful, they could be included in future space mission habitat structures such as the Lunar Gateway and even transit and orbital habitats for Mars missions.

For more technical detail, the paper is availablehere. A recorded video presentation is also availablehere.