Human-In-the-Loop Flight Vehicle Engineering for Exploration Missions

To establish a preliminary design of a flight vehicle for future Moon exploration missions, involving astronauts in the loop to improve robustness and reliability of the flight system 

This activity will achieve a preliminary design of a flight vehicle for future Moon exploration missions involving astronauts in the loop to improve robustness and reliability of the flight system. The nominal scenario starts in Near-rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) and ends with pinpoint landing close to the Moon South pole. The vehicle will be designed to allow astronauts to interact, monitor and command the flight vehicle in order to react to uncertainties, errors and contingencies. The performances of the Human-In-The-Loop (HITL) system shall be validated using representative simulations, including contingency cases. The human interaction shall be developed and be representative of actual flight conditions in terms of interface, reaction times, displays. The following tasks are foreseen:- Task 1: HITL Requirements and Human Performance Analysis- Task 2: HITL Design and Development- Task 3: HITL Validation and Verification- Task 4: Conclusions and Recommendations. The activity shall include the development of a prototype that shall demonstrate the most critical functionalities of the following key technologies: propulsion, structures (including deployment) and mechanisms, avionics, health monitoring systems and failure recovery to guarantee mission robustness. It is expected the involvement of ESA astronauts in the requirements and design of this activity.