Evolutionary Development of Exploration EVA Systems Design and Operations Through Analog Field Tests: Lessons from the NASA Haughton-Mars Project, 2008-2010

Hamilton Sundstrand has collaborated with NASA’s Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) over the past decade in order to develop a better understanding of the design requirements for, and challenges facing, Extravehicular Activity (EVA) systems for planetary exploration. Each summer, mock-up systems emphasizing specific aspects of EVA system design have been deployed to the Haughton Crater test site on Devon Island, High Arctic, for evaluation in the context of NASA’s broader analog environment research effort. During the summers of 2008, 2009, and 2010, the systems deployed and field evaluation activities have focused on the effective integration of a rear entry EVA suit system design and suit-port interface with evolving NASA exploration system concepts. The fielded mock-up systems, although of limited fidelity and technical maturity, have contributed significantly to NASA’s investigation of exploration operational concepts, and the field test experience has contributed directly to advances in design concepts for EVA suit system – suit-port integration. This paper describes the field research activities in which HS participated, HS mock-up systems employed, and principal test results at HMP over the past three years. It discusses lessons learned and resulting design concept improvements, and illustrates the role of analog environment field research experience in exploration system development and of the potential synergy between evolving hardware designs and operational concepts in analog environment field tests.