INTERMITTENTLY PRESSURIZED LUNAR TERRAIN VEHICLE
Systems and methods for operating a vehicle in an environment that requires an astronaut in the vehicle to wear a spacesuit, are presented. The vehicle may be a lunar rover or a rover to be used on Mars. An astronaut will be in a spacesuit while in the vacuum of the Moon. This vacuum or thin atmosphere will give rise to a pressure differential between the inside and the outside of the spacesuit. This pressure differential reduces the flexibility of the spacesuit, such that the joints of the spacesuit resist bending or flexing. Spacesuit stiffness is substantially reduced while an astronaut is in a pressurizable cabin of the vehicle, where the pressure differential can be reduced or eliminated. The spacesuit may provide all necessary life support while the cabin of the rover provides a cabin pressure that is substantially the same as the pressure in the spacesuit.
1 . A method for operating a rover, the method comprising:
attaching a first end of an umbilical to a spacesuit worn by an occupant in a cabin of the rover and a second end of the umbilical to a part of the rover;
pressurizing the cabin to a cabin pressure that is substantially the same as a pressure in a spacesuit worn by the occupant in the cabin; and
manipulating one or more controls of the rover to operate the rover.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein oxygen provided to the occupant in the cabin is provided by the spacesuit during the operating of the rover.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the spacesuit includes an amine swing bed scrubber and an evaporator that provides cooling in the spacesuit.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the umbilical carries CO2 gas from the amine swing bed scrubber to the part of the rover.
5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the umbilical carries water from the evaporator to the part of the rover.
6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising purging the cabin of a gas used to pressurize the cabin to a cabin pressure that is substantially the same as a pressure outside the cabin.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the gas is purged through a dust sump to outside the cabin.
8 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the gas is purged into a storage tank on the rover.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the cabin is pressurized to the cabin pressure at least partially with the gas from the storage tank.
10 . A vehicle operable by an occupant wearing a pressurizable suit, the vehicle comprising:
a cabin that is configured to pressurize to a cabin pressure that is substantially the same as a pressure in the pressurizable suit worn by the occupant in the cabin, wherein the pressure in the pressurizable suit is greater than a pressure outside the cabin;
a first end of an umbilical configured to attach to the pressurizable suit worn by the occupant in the cabin, wherein a second end of the umbilical is connected to a part of the vehicle; and
one or more controls of the vehicle accessible to the occupant to operate the vehicle.
11 . The vehicle of claim 10 , wherein oxygen provided to the occupant in the cabin is provided by the pressurizable suit during the operating of the vehicle.
12 . The vehicle of claim 10 , wherein a gas used to pressurize the cabin is purged through a dust sump to outside the cabin.
13 . The vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the one or more controls of the vehicle include a controller for a mechanical manipulator outside the cabin, a vehicle steering control, or a vehicle speed control.
14 . A method for operating a rover during an extravehicular activity (EVA), the method comprising:
detaching a first end of an umbilical from a spacesuit worn by an occupant in a cabin of the rover, wherein a second end of the umbilical remains attached to a part of the rover;
depressurizing the cabin from a cabin pressure that is substantially the same as a pressure in a spacesuit worn by the occupant in the cabin to a cabin pressure that is substantially the same as a pressure outside the cabin; and
exiting the rover to perform the EVA.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein depressurizing the cabin comprises purging a pressurizing gas in the cabin through a dust sump to outside the cabin.
16 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising, after the EVA:
returning to the depressurized cabin;
attaching the first end of the umbilical to the spacesuit; and
pressurizing the cabin to the cabin pressure that is substantially the same as a pressure in the spacesuit.
17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein oxygen provided to the occupant wearing the spacesuit is provided by the spacesuit while the occupant operates the rover.
18 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the spacesuit includes an amine swing bed scrubber and an evaporator that provides cooling in the spacesuit.
19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the umbilical carries CO2 gas from the amine swing bed scrubber to the part of the rover.
20 . The method of claim 14 , wherein all flows in the umbilical are from the spacesuit to the part of the rover.