Earth and Space 2022 Symposium
Symposium Tracks/Topics
Presentations will be in the following areas:
Symposium 1 – Granular Materials in Space Exploration
Chair: Phil Metzger, University of Central Florida
This symposium will focus on the science and engineering of granular materials in space exploration. When we visit a planetary body, we land on granular materials, drive on them, dig in them, extract resources from them, build with them, and study them for science. Because granular materials can rearrange on a mesoscopic scale, their emergent behaviors are difficult to predict and are the subject of intensive research by physicists, engineers, geologists, and other disciplines. Research includes experiments, computer modeling, and collection of data from planetary missions. Technologies are being developed to study granular materials on the Moon, Mars, asteroids, and beyond. Sessions in this symposium will focus on lunar regolith and dust, asteroid regolith, soil mechanics, granular flow, rocket exhaust interactions with regolith, and anything that requires or supports our understanding of granular materials in space.
Session Topics:
- The Physics of Regolith: Mechanics, Heat, and Volatiles
- Regolith Simulants
- Instruments and Methods to Measure Regolith Mechanics
- Modeling Methods for Regolith
- Rocket Exhaust Interactions with Regolith
- Trafficability of Regolith: Designing Rovers to Not Get Stuck
- Particulate Processes under Low Gravity Environments Granular Mechanics
Symposium 2 – Exploration and Utilization of Extra-Terrestrial Bodies
Co-chairs: Rob Mueller, NASA Kennedy Space Center; Kris Zacny, Honeybee Robotics
This symposium will focus on methodologies, techniques, instruments, concepts, missions and system level designs associated with exploration and utilization of Solar System bodies, with emphasis on the Moon, Mars, Ocean Worlds, and Asteroids. The topic covers both robotic and human exploration. Many of the various types of civil, geological, mining, chemical and materials engineering fields are needed to sustain space exploration and space commercialization. The topic also covers legal and ethical aspects of space exploration and space mining.
Standard practices will have to be adapted, and new practices will have to be developed, to be able to rely on the natural resources of near-Earth asteroids, the Moon, and Mars to sustain human and robotic activities in space. Engineering systems and economics concepts, as well as mechanical, robotic, and structural engineering solutions are needed as well. While there is always room for robust and innovative new concepts, the testing, refining, and more testing of previously proposed concepts are especially sought.
Session Topics:
- Robotic Mobility in Extreme Terrain
- Drilling and Sample Handling
- Space mining
- In Situ Resource Utilization
- Instruments and Sensors
- Resource Prospecting
- Mission Concepts
- Space habitats and structures
Symposium 3 – Advanced Materials and Designs for Aerospace and Terrestrial Structures under Extreme Environments
Co-Chairs: Nick Zhou, University of Tennessee; An Chen; Arif Masud, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
New techniques in experimental, computational, and analytical mechanics are expanding the understanding of the behavior of composite, smart, and other materials with applications to aerospace structures and other terrestrial structures under extreme environmental conditions. Exciting combinations of fundamental studies and practical applications by government and industry are expanding the design and analysis capabilities for aerospace structures as well as terrestrial structures to be used in extreme environments. Recent advances and studies on materials and structures as well as their design aspects in terrestrial aviation and space applications and related structures are particularly solicited.
Session Topics:
- Ballistic Impact and Crashworthiness of Aerospace Structures
- Energy Efficient Structures and Habitats
- Advanced and Alternative Cementitious Materials
- Composite materials for Aerospace
- Advanced Numerical Methods for Additive Manufacturing
Symposium 4 – Structures in Challenging Environments: Dynamics, Controls, Smart Structures, Health Monitoring and Sensors
Co-Chairs: Wei Zang, University of Connecticut; Shi Yan, Gangbing Song, University of Houston
The technical areas of dynamics, controls, and evaluation and condition monitoring of engineering structures and systems, specially designed and built to operate in challenging environments on Earth and in space, are of extreme importance. Integration of sensors into structural and material systems enables more effective and precisely tuned performance, as well as remote evaluation and control of space and terrestrial structures systems. The design and analysis of structures in challenging environments on any planetary body need special care beyond current terrestrial practice. Space environments – on planetary surfaces or in orbit – expose systems to radiation, micro/reduced gravity, vacuum, debris/meteoroid impact, and temperature extremes. Overcoming these significant challenges is imperative to the success of any structure in space and in extreme and challenging environments on Earth. In addition, educators face challenges in using emerging technology to improve the education of the engineers of the future.
Session Topics:
- Tensegrity – Concepts and Applications in Challenging Environments
- Structures under Extreme Environments: Theory and Applications
- Specialized Sensors-based Structural Damage Detection and Health Monitoring
- Advanced Concepts on Renewable and Green Energy Harvesting
Symposium 5 – Space Engineering, Construction, and Architecture for Moon, Mars, and Beyond
Co-Chairs: Ramesh B. Malla, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT; Melissa Sampson, Denver, CO; Alexander Jablonski, P.Eng, Canadian Space Agency, Ottawa, Canada; and Gerald (Jerry) B. Sanders, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
There have been increased activities and interests in space activities, especially lunar and Martian exploration by the public and private sectors alike. Many national and international agencies and space industry are currently involved in the planned lunar missions. The United States Space Policy Directive 1 directs NASA to focus on lunar exploration with a new human return to the Moon and then crewed/human missions to Mars. These efforts will involve both robotic and human missions. The recent landing of the Chinese lunar surface probe Chang’e-4 on the far side of the Moon has opened up a new chapter in lunar exploration with plans by several space actors for humans to follow in the late 2020’s.
As the world’s space community prepares to return to the Moon with humans, this time to stay, explore and then settle elsewhere in the Solar System on a long term basis, it is imperative that we continue to support the development of qualified engineering, construction and architecture concepts and guidance for these developments. On Earth, multiple new spaceports have been constructed with modernized methods and operations, providing new insights into enhanced operational efficiencies, This symposium deals with innovative concepts, methods, designs, research, development, and applications related to all aspects of human space exploration, architecture, engineering and construction, including facilities in orbit and on planetary surfaces such as the Moon, Mars, moons of Mars and asteroids, as well as terrestrial spaceports.
Session Topics:
- Innovative Engineering and Construction on the Moon and Mars Utilizing and Harnessing Indigenous Geo-Environmental Resources
- Technical Requirements for Lunar Systems
- Tensegrity Structural Systems for Moon and Mars Space Applications
- Architecture on the Moon and Mars: Designing for Human Space Exploration
- Structural morphology for space structures on the Moon, Mars and other extreme environments
- Lunar and Martian Habitats: Design Considerations and Construction Challenges
- Inflatable Structures: Habitable Applications for Space and Planetary Environments
- Strategies for Achieving Resilient Extraterrestrial Habitats
- Innovative Construction Techniques for Lunar and Martian Environments
- Robotics Development for Lunar and Martian Constructions
- 3D Printing Applications for Lunar and Martian Construction
- Building Information Modeling (BIM): digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of space facilities
- Terrestrial Spaceports: New Construction Projects and lessons learned