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Getting tomorrow's
technology ready
for the future is the
purpose of the Technology
Demonstration Missions
Program. Taking today's
most promising exploration
technology and raising it
to the level of maturity
that mission planners
require, means that TDM puts
the technology to the
test. The projects include
communication, materials,
propulsion and robotics.
Key to any exploration
program is effective
communication. Current
technology is hitting a bandwidth
and wavelength ceiling.
Tomorrow's missions will
need a new technology. NASA
is leading the effort to
make laser light reinforce
the current radio or RF
based communications. The
Laser Communications Relay
Demonstration or "Laser
Comm" project will provide
an orbital test-bed for a
wide variety of scenarios
to simulate future
missions. In the near future
laser communications could
increase the amount of
information to tens of
gigabits per second. This
would be an improvement of
data rates of between 10-100
times. The project will
use laser light transmitted
to a satellite payload and
back to an earth station
to simulate and test a
large number of possible
mission scenarios. Another
foundational technology being
improved by the TDM Program
involves a basic component
of all exploration missions�
time. The Deep Space
Atomic Clock project promises
to reduce cost, improve
space navigation, data
quality and the next GPS
system. To test this
concept, the project will fly
the deep space atomic clock
along with a GPS receiver
on a commercial communication
satellite. Ground
based systems require
two-way communication, with an
onboard atomic clock
DSAC allows for 1 way
navigation-using NASA's Deep
Space Network more efficiently!
Eventually this will
enable deep space autonomous
navigation. Communications
and science payloads
need advanced warning of
Solar Flares. One way to
do that includes
station-keeping capabilities like
the current NOAA solar
activity warning instrument.
The TDM Solar Sail project
takes a previously tested
propulsion technology and
infuses it into an even
better warning system 2
times closer to the sun. The
Solar Sail project
pushes the technology to a
practical application while
simultaneously maturing the
system so that future
mission planners can chose it
for a whole range of missions.
All of NASA's Technology
Demonstration Missions are
infusing mature technology
from the realm of tested
to ready and proven,
but one of those
demonstrations tests the very
materials that are used for
space craft construction.
That project is a continuation
of a heritage project
called MISSE; Materials
International Space Station
Experiment. Building on
the previous missions,
MISSE-X seeks to provide
low-cost access to space
technology experiments
using robotically installed
"plug and play" features.
MISSE-X plans to monitor the
payloads by collecting
data and photographic images
in near real-time. This
allows for faster testing
of materials and greater
opportunities for educators
to have easy access to
the ISS as an experimental
platform. Maturing materials
and technology continues
to be an objective of
the TDM Program. Sometimes
that means putting instruments
on the spacecraft of
other NASA Missions to further
our collective knowledge.
One project that does that is
MEDLI. MEDLI stands for Mars
Science Laboratory Entry Descent
and Landing Instrumentation.
MEDLI is an instrumentation
suite embedded in and behind the
heat shield of the Mars Science
Laboratory now on its way to a
Martian landing this summer.
The instruments gather real-time
data on the atmosphere, thermal
protection system, or heat
shield, and aerodynamics during
entry and descent. The MEDLI
data will improve modeling and
predictive capabilities for future
missions, ensuring safer and
less expensive missions to a
larger variety of destinations.
Along with the MEDLI data, NASA
will see the fruits of research
into entry in low density
atmospheres like Mar's with the
Low Density Supersonic Decelerator
or LDSD project. On Mars for
example, increasingly massive
payloads and eventually human
missions will require new ways to
slow down to subsonic speeds, high
in the thin Martian Atmosphere,
allowing more landing site
options. These heavier spacecraft
will need large drag generating
devices and the LDSD project
will test 3 of them. Two of the
test articles will be inflatable
inner tube type devices that
surround the entry capsule.
These 6 and 9 meter devices will
be flown at supersonic speeds
high in the earth's atmosphere.
The third device will be a
large 30 meter parachute tested
several times to collect data
for future exploration missions.
All the previous exploration
enabling technologies will be
dependent on propulsion to get
to their destination. Long
duration missions require special
considerations for the cryogenic
propellant likely to be used
for human exploration missions.
On short missions, the natural
boiling off of cryogenic fluids
is not as serious a concern,
but on long missions it
becomes critically important.
Propellants are heavy and expensive
to lift to orbit and therefore
too precious to lose. Anything
we can learn to minimize this
pays back huge dividends! There
are a variety of approaches to
meet this challenge including
passive systems like insulation
and active ones like refrigeration.
Another important part
of this research is lossless
transfer of cryogenic fluids and
accurate measurement. Once
completed, the flight demonstration
technology projects will be
extremely valuable, enabling
us to reach our exploration
goals� beyond Earth orbit. As we
begin to land even more ambitious
crewed and robotic missions,
one of the most challenging
aspects of those missions will be
landing in a large variety
of conditions. The Autonomous
Landing and Hazard Avoidance
Technology� ALHAT, uses sensors to
rapidly map the ground in 3D,
and measure range and velocity far
more accurately than existing
radar systems. ALHAT has already
made tremendous strides in
meeting the challenge of safely
landing in some very difficult
terrain. In the near future ALHAT
will be integrated with a
vertical test bed named Morpheus
to test and demonstrate advanced
propulsion and safe landing
techniques; critical for future
missions. Some of those future
missions will include humans,
other robots, and some will
be a symbiotic combination of
both. The Telerobotics project
is working onboard the International
Space Station, integrating
robotics seamlessly into the
nation's space exploration
goals. From measuring environmental
conditions on the ISS with
free-flying robots called "Smart
Spheres" to dexterous two armed
humanoid robots like "Robonaut2,"
NASA sees a growing role for
intelligent robotic devices.
TeleRobots can also save precious
resources by doing Extra-vehicular
activities. Working before
and after humans. Each of these
programs has been carefully
chosen because they contribute
critical technology and functional
knowledge to our nation's
exploration objectives. They improve
safety and reduce cost. The
Technology Demonstration Missions
Program provides new knowledge
and capabilities needed to enable
NASA's future missions.
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