EVA 105: Fundamentals of Underwater Analog EVA
$3,500.00
EVA 105 extends upon the introductory life support system curriculum presented in EVA 101 to include specific EVA space suit systems and test and validation procedures in an underwater analog environment. The course covers a historical analysis of specific US and Russian EVA space suit development programs, EVA space suit systems, laboratory test protocols, terminology and etiquette, EVA space suit test development, and design drivers of future EVA space suit systems. Students will be responsible to develop testing procedures based on tools and procedures developed in EVA 102 (Operational Space Medicine), EVA 103 (Planetary Field Geology), or for microgravity operations.
Description
Objectives: EVA 105 extends upon the introductory life support system curriculum presented in EVA 101 to include specific EVA space suit systems and test and validation procedures in an underwater analog environment. The course covers a historical analysis of specific US and Russian EVA space suit development programs, EVA space suit systems, laboratory test protocols, terminology and etiquette, EVA space suit test development, and design drivers of future EVA space suit systems. Students will be responsible to develop testing procedures based on tools and procedures developed in EVA 102 (Operational Space Medicine), EVA 103 (Planetary Field Geology), or for microgravity operations.
Goals: To provide entry-level familiarization of operations and tasks associated with in-space EVA.
Curriculum:
1. Underwater environment: Classification: freediving, scuba diving, saturation diving, caisson works, Brief history of underwater testing for space application, Types of underwater tests, Benefits of underwater tests, Limitations of underwater testing, Certifications and requirements, Risks associated with underwater testing, Closed water vs open waters, Salt vs fresh water effects, Preserving wildlife and environment, Neutral buoyancy pools, Underwater habitats.
2. Human performance and limitations: Legal definition of a diving accident, Medical aspects of underwater activity, Saturation diving definition and associated problems, DCS, barotrauma, edema and other diving sickness, Saturation diving, Stings, bites, Blunt and crushing injuries, Sharp and penetrating wounds, bleeding, Loss of consciousness, Breathing problems, oxygen toxicity, breathing mixtures, Pressure equalization, Nitrogen narcosis, Diving accident treatment, DAN, first emergency response
3. Underwater Procedures: Sample collection and documentation, Search patterns, Emergency response and contingency protocols, CPR, medevac, emergency depress, Rescue diving procedures, Saturation diving rescue procedures, Saturation diving pressurized invasive treatment
4. Testing tools: Drills, Scoops, Carts, Pickers, Rock hammers and outcropping, Sample collection bags, Video cameras, photo cameras, handheld and mounted, In-situ measurements, Optical (laser) measurements and limitations, Measurements, Material performance and 3D printed tools, Explosives, Navigation
5. Testing suits: Suit types and applications, Human performance and limitations, Certifications and requirements, Design considerations, Salt water influence on material and metalic elements (corrosion), Hands, gloves and dexterity, Interfaces and operability, Operational procedures and leak checks, Stowage and handling, Light system and cooling, Communication, Life support, CO2 scrubbers and rebreathers, Biomedical parameter monitoring, Contingency situations (air starvation, CO2 buildup, leaks, ear-pressure, net entanglement, loosing buoyancy, accidental ascent), Suit floatation system, emergency egress.
6. EVA training: EVA pre-familiarization, Orientation and navigation, Tool handling, Manipulating massive objects, Tethers, traversal and transitions, Vocabulary and communicating intentions, Contingency procedures, Airlock egress and ingress (nominal, and contingency with incapacitated astronaut), Photo-shoots without viewfinder
7. Vehicle utilization: ROVs and AUVs, Diver Propulsion Vehicles, Crewed vehicles: one person, multi-crew, Pressure, materials and safety-margins, Propellers and propellants, Light systems and cooling, Life support systems, Communication, Grippers and manipulators, Human interfaces, Human robotic interaction, Safety protocols, Contingency situations
8. Reduced mobility and movement: Achieving neutral buoyancy, Loosing neutral buoyancy, Water resistance, Joint movement range, Reachability, Free-floating vs on-ground tests, Anchoring, traversing and translations, Ladders, ropes, ramps, climbing, boulders, Underwater navigation
9. Underwater habitats: Architectural variations, History of underwater habitation, Theoretical model, Life support systems, Maintenance problems, Crew composition, Accidents
10. Isolation studies: Dexterity and performance evaluation, Cognitive and psychomotor evaluation, Research Problems, Crew selection, Sociodynamics, Conflicts and resolutions, Work overload and productivity.
