LunAres III (SPECTRA): Lucy Electric LLC Trident oil Ring Main Unit (RMU) High Voltage Switch EVA and recommendations for immersive tools for visualising the performance data to support future work in safe lunar power distribution.

Ground-Based Preparatory Activities (11)

Sarah Jane Pell & David G. Barnes

The prominent design of LunAres III (SPECTRA) lunar analogue mission focused on putting into practice systems thinking, innovation and human factors in the operations of a remote lunar outstation. For example, a high-fidelity simulated Loss of Power [LoP] emergency scenario that required the manual operation of the Trident oil Ring Main Unit (RMU) hardware in a dark simulation crater under time-tagged and evaluation pressures. The EVA comprised of three stages: the build, the training, and the procedure. 1) Lucy Electric LLC builds industrial electrical equipment. Products such as a High Voltage Switch will be required for a lunar power distribution system. We installed a Trident oil Ring Main Unit (RMU) in LunAres to evaluate the crew ability to safely manually operate the machinery within a Loss of Power (LoP) scenario in the darkened crater. 2) Practon Group develop training for operating the Trident fixed FRMUs with VR developers Sentient Computing. All crew learn to the operate equipment via paper-based manuals, and presenter-teaching models. Two crew members have additional VR training. 3) Two days later, the Mission Commander signals to the Flight Director to initiate two scheduled surprise (simulated) power-outages which required Emergency Loss of Power (LoP) response EVAs. Crew had to locate tools, find the Trident oil RMU and safely restore power to the habitat life support system without assistance in a set time. Teams were assessed on readiness for problem-solving under pressure, mechanical operation, teamwork, recall and understanding of new technical knowledge to derive insights for future training. Crew provided vital user-experience feedback, and technology partners examined opportunities for a formal study under controlled conditions, and comparative space analogue mission simulation sites. A post-mission review conducted by the author/mission commander and the Monash Immersive Visualisation Platform investigated further tools for immersive visualisation /representation of the performance data including real-time multi-person keypoint detection to support future work in augmented assistive technologies for complex high-risk operational planning of lunar power distribution.

This interactive presentation (GLEX-2020,11,x55236.brief) has been proposed to the 3rd Global Spaceflight Exploration Conference GLEX Interactive Presentations session.

Copyright 2020 by Sarah Jane Pell & David G. Barnes. All rights reserved.

Tektite 2020: Women of the Ocean. Launching a 10-day subsea habitat mission at Aquarius Reef Habitat on the 50th Anniversary of the first all-women subsea habitat crew at Tektite II.

Interactive Presentations (IP)

Sarah Jane Pell & Tierney Thys

We celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the first all-women subsea habitat crew: Tektite II (1970) Mission 6 with the launch of a future-focused women-led Tektite2020 mission at the Aquarius Reef Habitat off Key Largo Florida. Our mission comprises two continuous phases. First, we recreate aspects of the original 10-day Tektite II mission 6 which was led by Sylvia Earle at a depth of 15m in the U.S. Virgin Island’s Great Lameshur Bay. In homage to the pioneering women's team of Renate True, Anne Hartline, Anna Szmant, Peggy Ann Lucus and Sylvia Earle "labelled aqua babes by the press", we too wear 1970’s bright red wet-suits and bikinis and commit to a suite of comparable research studies in decompression tables, saturation diving, human physiology and psychology in extreme environments, and the ecology of algae and coral reef fishes. We enact many of the infamous human factor activities including pranks, food studies, and reading a scripted surface-to-base radio theatre play between mission support and crew. We host linkups and special events with members of the original crew and operations personnel, to discuss the challenges, achievements and lessons-learned along the way. In phase two of the mission, starting on day 5, lead Aquanauts Pell and Thys look at where we are, and where we hope to be in the future. Tektite2020 pairs new technology demonstrations with deep cultural engagement and environmental custodianship. Contributing to new and ongoing research with today’s state of the art technology from cooperative robotics to circadian lighting, ocean-aware wearables to bio-fabrication, studying microclimates and microbiomes, testing space analogue operating systems and reef generative systems, producing generative art (including a marine story quilt, and cinematic VR) and hosting public conversations, together we reimagine tomorrow’s SeaSpace exploration. The goal of this program is to redefine our relationship with the ocean: establishing partnerships in holistic earth-sensing with leaders who promote diversity and responsibility in exploration from a transdisciplinary lens.

This paper (GLEX-2020,IP,x55237) has been proposed to the 3rd Global Spaceflight Exploration Conference GLEX Ground-Based Preparatory Activities session.

Copyright 2020 by Sarah Jane Pell. All rights reserved.

This paper includes work from the Performing Astronautics project assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.

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