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Completed TRL 3 (started at 1, targeting 3)
Docking seal/sealing technical design aspects needing attention include seal-on-seal evaluation; effects from long term environment exposure from UV radiation, atomic oxygen, and dust; and alternate seal materials and design approaches to mitigate performance deficiencies.
Current docking system seals were designed to permit seal-on-seal docking, but certification was not performed. Proposed activity would characterize seal-on-seal performance including leak rates, compression loads, and adhesion loads under aligned and misaligned conditions at sub-scale. Future lunar systems such as landers, ascent vehicles, habitation modules, and rovers and their hatches, airlocks, suitport and logistic carrier interfaces will require more robust seals to achieve low leak rates required for extended missions. Current SOA seals exhibit higher leak rates when subjected to even short exposures to space environments (e.g. UV). Providing seal protection covers with mechanisms adds significant mass and new failure modes. Space environment mitigation approaches and/or alternate seal designs and materials will be required to achieve desired seal performance and enable future missions.
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