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Completed TRL 1 (started at 1, targeting 1)
This proposed effort builds on a 2017 CIF/IRAD titled Safe Crew Abort and Recovery for Ascent and Descent at the Moon and Mars that presented a reusable transportation system concept known as Hercules that validated the conceptual capability to perform safe crew aborts at both the moon (during descent and ascent phases) and at Mars (during ascent, entry, descent and landing phases). The Hercules vehicle concept, developed initially to support Mars landings, now supports a range of mission segments including Earth launch, cis-lunar operations, lunar landings, interplanetary transfer between Earth and Mars, and at Mars as a single-stage reusable lander. The commonality of the vehicle structure and configuration across a range of missions with increasing capability beyond Earth orbit provides a low cost development strategy that can initiate in the near term to support cis-lunar and lunar landing operations while buying down the risk of future missions supporting Mars. In addition, key technologies and capabilities needed for many beyond low-Earth orbit missions are proven in the near term using the Hercules platform by flying low cost, low risk missions at Earth and in cis-Lunar space. These technologies include several "system-level" capabilities that are at or near Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5 or 6 but lack the system development and demonstration in relevant environments to cross the proverbial technology "valley of death". This includes technologies and capabilities such as: 1) demonstration of large-scale EDL, 2) demonstration of aerocapture; 3) demonstration of cryogenic propellant management and long-duration propellant storage; and 4) demonstration of cryogenic propellant resupply.\nIdea Description\n Today, optimization of vehicle performance for each mission segment drives NASA to procure unique systems for each segment. While optimal from a mass performance and near-term affordability standpoint, these systems often neglect or give lip-service to the risk mitigation, crew safety, and long-term affordability attributes of the architecture when viewed not as a single mission but as a long-term campaign. Hercules' reusable, commonality-driven design in support of a long-term settlement campaign strategy allows design and operations risks to be mitigated/retired in the near-term while long-term affordability and risk benefits are realized through demonstrated reusability and crew safety. This strategy is extremely important to NASA and commercial enterprises interested in economic development of the moon and space. If successful, the common Hercules vehicle platform will enable both NASA (science, exploration and settlement) and industry (economic development) goals over several decades.
The goal of the proposed effort is to fully extend the reusability, commonality, crew safety and operational flexibility features of Hercules to the Earth and cis-lunar applications discussed above by conducting the requisite engineering analysis on the Hercules concept for missions at Earth and in cis-lunar space. This includes evaluation of aerothermodynamics, flight performance, sizing, and thermal protection systems for Earth aeroassist events including entry and/or aerocapture from low-Earth orbit, lunar-distance waypoints, and Mars arrivals (including both minimum-energy and fast-transit Mars-to-Earth transfers). The objective is to enable a transportation system architecture that supports near- and far-term mission objectives including the moon and Mars with a common evolvable vehicle configuration. Utilization of a common platform offers affordability and risk reduction benefits not possible when developing unique, one-of-a-kind systems to support each different mission segment (which is typical of large scale aerospace endeavors). The objective is to enable a transportation system architecture that supports near- and far-term mission objectives including the moon and Mars with a common evolvable vehicle configuration. Utilization of a common platform offers affordability and risk reduction benefits not possible when developing unique, one-of-a-kind systems to support each different mission segment (which is typical of large-scale aerospace endeavors).This strategy is extremely important to NASA and commercial enterprises interested in economic development of the moon and space. If successful, the common Hercules vehicle platform will enable both NASA (science, exploration, and settlement) and industry (economic development) goals over several decades.
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