MANAGING TRANSITIONS IN DEEP SPACE HABITATS: CONTINGENCY PLANNING AND REACTIVE SCHEDULING

<p dir="ltr">The successes associated with the Artemis 1 mission have reinforced interest in deep space exploration, inspiring future missions to the Moon and Mars. Deep space exploration introduces new challenges such as long mission durations and long distances from Earth. If, in the past, space habitats were designed to support either crewed or dormant states, now habitats need to be capable of supporting both states. This new expectation introduces the need to carefully orchestrate actions involving different systems during the transition between crewed and dormant states. In case of disruptions occurring during a transition, the schedule needs to be adjusted accordingly to ensure the safety of the crew and habitat, and optimize the usage of limited available resources. However, research specifically addressing transitions in space habitats remains limited, despite their increasing importance for future missions, leaving substantial gaps in current understanding and best practices. </p><p dir="ltr">Motivated by these gaps, the primary objective of this research is to develop a structured approach for transition planning in deep space habitats with a particular focus on off-nominal operating conditions. To achieve this, this dissertation pursues the following specific objectives.</p><p dir="ltr">The first objective is to model disruption initiation, propagation, detection, and repair processes within a deep space habitat using simulation tools having varying levels of model fidelity. </p><p dir="ltr">The second objective is to evaluate the impact of alternative repair strategies on resource consumption and crew safety during simulated crewed missions.</p><p dir="ltr">Third, this dissertation aims to define and analyze transition actions and their scheduling, including the simulation of nominal transition sequences and the comparison of different contingency strategies considering off-nominal scenarios. This objective includes the development of scheduling approaches that optimize performance during disrupted operations.</p><p dir="ltr">Finally, to experimentally validate a reactive scheduling algorithm by using a cyber-physical testbed.</p><p dir="ltr">Collectively, these objectives aim to enhance the capability to plan safe and efficient transitions between dormant and crewed habitat states, ultimately contributing to resource-efficient and resilient deep space missions.</p>