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From ESMD site: “this project will investigate concepts for
Lunar Regolith Excavation equipment and propose solutions
in the form of completed designs and prototypes”, using a
Systems Engineering Approach
Topic: “Lunar Regolith Excavation for Oxygen Production
and Outpost Emplacement”
A standalone Systems Engineering Overview for
Application of the Process on a Student Project
Technical Contact and Monitor: Rob Mueller, Surface
Systems Lead Engineer
Don’t give students any design ideas – let their creative
juices flow!
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I teach a senior project class (“capstone design”), working
with a team of students assigned to a project. You could be
AE, ME, EE, etc.
Minimal or no lecturing – students spend their time on a
project designing and building a prototype.
Faculty guides the student team through the design process.
Project could, but not necessarily, be multidisciplinary
(single subsystem or many subsystems).
So does this describe your situation??????
AND
Are you interested in a NASA capstone design project???
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NASA will support student teams with $7K through the
Space Grant Consortium
Pick a Project from the ESMD website; I chose the lunar
excavator
But students need some background information to
proceed:
 Need to know about designing for the lunar
environment (although they build a prototype for use
on the earth)
 Need to know about Systems Engineering because
NASA wants a Systems Engineering Approach
What Resources are Available????
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On Systems Engineering (SE): Provides background by a brief, but complete
SE guidebook chapter (Chapter 3) for a student-team Systems Engineering
Project.
 Student Friendly, with lots of examples and direction meant to simplify a
complex process and APPLY IT.
 Faculty Friendly – faculty lectures for 2 weeks, and then guides the
process per the process in the handbook and webpage (webpage is “stepby-step”).
 Co-authored by a NASA Systems Engineer.
 Strongly influenced by a special NASA SE course developed and tested at
Univ of Texas Spring 08, by a NASA engineer with 20 years experience in
SE.
 An application example project is presented in Chapter 4 on the CubeSat led by JM Wersinger
On the Lunar Environment: Provides background on past and future lunar
missions, lunar environment, materials and components, thermal control,
CAE
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Made it “student friendly”. Cut through the clutter
that SE literature is full of.
A “linking webpage” – a chronology for the course,
basis for the 2 weeks of lectures.
Meant not to impede student design efforts with lots of
lectures.
Faculty should lecture about 2 weeks on SE, taking
students through the webpage. Students read Chapter
3 (Systems Engineering) and CubeSat chapter. Quiz
Students
Thereafter faculty guides student team, who are
referring back to the webpage for guidance.
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Webpage is a “Cliff Notes” format and project
chronology, that links to the in-depth content
of the following chapters:
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Systems Engineering
Chapter 3: Systems Engineering Example of a Cubesat
Chapter 4: Systems Engineering Tools
Chapter 5: The Lunar Environment
Chapter 6: Component Design and Selection
Chapter 7: Thermal Control
Chapter 8: CAE Tools
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Best reference: The “Lunar Sourcebook”, the
book by Eckhart if you can find it.
Review of the LPI website with the students.
Objective: Provide background. Excite
students. Students have little knowledge about
what happened in early lunar missions, rovers
are fun and legacy, neat lunar bases,
teleoperated and autonomous “robonaut”,
“chariot”.
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Best references: AU CubeSat Report, NASA SE
Handbook as a reference, U of Texas Course notes.
Systems Engineering literature is a mess, particularly if
you want to apply it and learn it quickly. Complex and
inconsistent terminology.
Big questions: How to simplify SE, and apply on a
student project?
Sought help from experts who have applied it: Dick
Cook, Lisa Guerra, Joe Bonometti, JM Wersinger
It is possible to use these chapter for any SE student
project!!!
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The Vee Chart: “Vee Chart” for the lifecycle,
from –A through D
The 11 SE functions: NASA Document
GPG7120: Used this and description of 11 SE
functions
A Good Example: JM Wersinger’s student
report that demonstrate SE tools, management
structure, documentation, requirements,
architecture, condensed in Chapter 3.
Domain of Systems Engineering
Domain of Engineering
Design
Pre-Phase A: Concept Studies
Mission-Level Objectives +
multiple R/A/C concepts +
Mission Validation Plan
Phase A: Concept Development
Single System-level R/A/C
+ Trade Studies + System
Verification Plan
Phase D(4): SAITL
System Demonstration
and Validation
Phase D(3): SAITL
Integrate Subsystems and
Verify System Performance
Phase B: Preliminary Design
Subsystem-level R/A/C
+ Interfacing + complete technology
+ Subsystems Verification Plan
Phase D(2): SAITL
Integrate Components and
Verify Subsystem Performance
Phase C(1): Final Design and Fabrication
Final Detailed Design
Phase D(1): SAITL
Verify Component Performance
Phase C(2): Final Design and Fabrication
Fabric hardware and software
Mission
Requirements
& Priorities
System
Demonstration
& Validation
Develop System
Requirements &
System Architecture
Integrate System &
Verify
Performance Specs
Allocate Performance
Specs & Build
Verification Plan
Design
Components
Component
Integration &
Verification
Verify
Component
Performance
Fabricate, Assemble,
Code &
Procure Parts
Systems
Engineering
Domain
Component
Engineering
Domain
Input: Mission
Objectives (Starts PreValidate and Verify
Phase A)
Derived
Requirements
Architecture
/Design
Validate and Verify
Other SE Functions:
• Interfaces
•Mission Environment
•Resource Budgets
•Risk Management
•Configuration Management
•Reviews
Validate and Verify
Concept
of
Operations
Output: Proceed to
next Phase, ending at
Operations (Phase E)
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1 The Lunar Environment and Issues for Engineering Design
1.1 Gravity and the Lunar Vacuum
1.2 The Lunar Day and Night
1.3 Radiation
1.3.1
Electromagnetic and Particle Radiation (Smithers, 2007; Tribble,
2003)
1.3.2
Ionizing Radiation
1.3.3
Radiation and Survivability
1.4 Surface Temperature
1.5 Micrometeoroids
1.6 Regolith
1.6.1
General Characteristics
1.6.2
Other Physical Properties
1.6.3
Chemistry
1.6.4
Geotechnical and Engineering properties
1.6.5
Regolith Simulants
1.7 Summary of Lunar Resources
1.8 APPENDIX – SOIL AND ROVER FORCE CALCULATIONS
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Best Reference: Conley (Satellites), Lunar Rover pages
at LPI
When designing the excavator, not much guidance is
available in the literature for lunar components, so
turned to space engineering literature that focused on
satellites.
The Lunar Rover represents legacy, students can view
a successful lunar product
I sent students out to do “trade studies”, looking at
materials for a bit, conveyor belt, support structure, etc.
Found and listed a number of standards
Considered fasteners, bearings, motors, power
components
Modeling and simulating is often used in the
design phases of Systems Engineering
Demonstrated a multi-body dynamic simulation
of a excavator using Dynamic Designer
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In response to and suggested by reviewer
Rearrangement of order of topics to suit a
course
Content when needed in the course, based on
SE approach and sequence of SE events as the
course proceedes.
Also a kind of “Cliff Notes” with links to
content already in other chapters
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Follow the Process on the Webpage
Pick a mission objective
 Get money in place from Space Grant
 Contact other faculty for multidisciplinary teams
(although you can run just an ME team with the
mechanical excavator missions objective)
 Design and build for one or two semesters,
excavator to mate to KSC vehicle
 Test in bin full of dry concrete.
 Compete???
 Send video to NASA+ report
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David Beale
334-844-3336
dbeale@eng.auburn.edu
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http://www.eng.auburn.edu/~dbeale/ESMDCourse/
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