NASA Invites Media To Experience Future Of Human Space Exploration
HOUSTON -- To see what life might be like on a distant planet,
reporters need only travel to the Arizona desert. NASA's Research and
Technology Studies, or Desert RATS, will make its 13th trip to the
desert this fall to test rovers, habitats and robots that could be
used in future exploration missions.
A media day for the tests will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 15, to
allow reporters to observe the activities. Interested news media
should contact Brandi Dean at 281-483-5111 by Thursday, Sept. 9.
Access to the test site is restricted, so media must be pre-registered.
NASA also requires a letter of assignment on company letterhead for credentials.
The desert tests offer a chance for a NASA-led team of engineers,
astronauts and scientists from across the country to test concepts
for future missions. The location offers a good test area for future
destinations of exploration missions.
NASA will demonstrate a variety of hardware during this year's test,
including:
-- Space Exploration Vehicles: two rovers astronauts could live in for
seven days at a time.
-- Habitat Demonstration Unit/Pressurized Excursion Module: a
simulated habitat where the rovers can dock to allow the crew room to
perform experiments or deal with medical issues.
-- All-Terrain Hex-Legged Extra-Terrestrial Explorers: two heavy-lift
rover platforms that allow the habitat, or other large items, to go
where the action is.
-- Portable Communications Terminal: a rapidly deployable
communications station.
-- Centaur 2: a possible four-wheeled transportation method for NASA
Robonaut 2.
-- Portable Utility Pallets: mobile charging stations for equipment.
-- A suite of new geology sample collection tools, including a
self-contained GeoLab glove box for conducting in-field analysis of
various collected rock samples.
The public was involved in test preparation by helping NASA decide
what areas should be explored. NASA posted online several
possibilities online and allowed members of the public to vote on the
most promising. Several thousand ballots were cast and 67 percent
favored a location that appeared to be home of several overlapping
lava flows.
NASA centers involved in the Desert RATS tests include Johnson Space
Center in Houston; Langley Research Center in Va.; Jet Propulsion
Laboratory and Ames Research Center, both in California; Kennedy
Space Center, in Florida; Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland;
Glenn Research Center in Cleveland; Marshall Space Flight Center in
Alabama; and NASA Headquarters in Washington.
In addition, professors and students from various universities, as
well as the Canadian Space Agency, are participating in the Desert
RATS field tests.
For more information about NASA's field tests and to follow Desert
RATS on various social media sites, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/
Follow the Desert RATS tests on Twitter at:
www.twitter.com/Desert_RATS
Source: NASA
