Taxonomy Category Summary

This taxonomy category is divided into three areas: in-situ resource utilization, mission infrastructure, sustainability, and supportability, and mission operations and safety. In-situ resource utilization identifies, acquires, and utilizes local resources, both natural and discarded for useful product and services. This process consists of first characterizing, sampling, and mapping the surface environment to pinpoint the location of materials and energy sources accessible from the surface. Second, resources will need to be isolated, concentrated, modified and purified. Finally, resources will need to be processed for various reasons. Mission infrastructure, sustainability, and supportability covers technologies required to establish a self-sufficient, sustainable and affordable space exploration program. This focuses on logistics management, in-situ manufacturing, maintenance, and repair, microgravity and surface construction and assembly, and particulate contamination prevention and mitigation. Mission operation and safety covers technology that manages space missions from point of launch through the end of the mission: mission planning and design, integrated flight operation systems, crew training, integrated risk assessment tools, and protection of the Earth-Moon system from threats from astronauts, hardware, and samples from Mars.

Research Affiliates

Below are our faculty affiliates whose research fall under this taxonomy category.