Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium:

Extreme Access -- Monthly Focus Group Meeting

Thursday, November 9, 2023

https://lsic-wiki.jhuapl.edu/display/EA/EA+Monthly+Meeting

Venue: Virtual (Zoom)

Featured Speakers

Alexander Pletta

Astrobotic

Bio

Benjamin Younes

Astrobotic

Bio

Topics/Speakers:

Abstract:

Rapid space developments within the next decade target resource extraction and future scientific outposts. However, lunar terrain is cratered, unstructured, rocky, and unforgiving. With the promising growth in usage of autonomous work systems on Earth, they have become an essential part of current and future plans to make lunar bases and resource infrastructure, such as landing pads, roads, or foundations. Although earth priors exist for terrestrial construction, they require massive energetics and mass, both of which are limited on the lunar surface. We target the extension from earth-based priors by developing surface grading/smoothing autonomy and controls for geotechnical preparations.

Bios:

Alexander Pletta is a Flight Software Engineer in the Lunar Surface Systems department at Astrobotic. He completed a M.S. Robotic Systems Development at Carnegie Mellon University following a double B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science at UW-Madison. His work focuses primarily on planning & navigation, localization, controls, and systems engineering, with additional breadth extending to computer vision and machine learning. He specializes in space robotics for lunar sitework autonomy with numerous previous experiences in off-road and on-road autonomous vehicles.

Benjamin Younes is a Flight Software Engineer in the Lunar Surface Systems department of Astrobotic. Benjamin has had contributions to the Mars 2020 Rover, Mars Sample Return Mission, Dragonfly Mission to Titan, and the VIPER Rover, just to name a few. A holistic “big picture view” of end-to-end robotic aerospace systems gives Ben insight to solving the most challenging multidisciplinary problems. Ben received a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and an M.S. in Robotic Systems Development from the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

https://mrsdprojects.ri.cmu.edu/2022teama/

Event Details

Date: Thursday, November 9, 2023

Location: Virtual (Zoom)

Post-Event Media

November 2023: Extreme Access -- Monthly Focus Group Meeting

Speaker: Alexander Pletta

Chief Exploration Scientist of Advanced Exploration Systems

Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate

Dr. Bleacher is a planetary geologist who is currently the Chief Exploration Scientist in NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Division within the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) at NASA headquarters. In this role he is the science advocate for NASA technology and architecture development that is intended to enable human exploration of the Moon, deep space and beyond. He also serves as a primary contact with NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and the science community external to NASA. Dr. Bleacher earned a BS in Geosciences from Franklin and Marshall College and Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from the Arizona State University. During his Ph.D. research he worked on the European Space Agency’s Mars Express Mission by conducting geologic mapping of the initial images acquired of the large Tharsis province volcanoes by the Mission’s High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). Dr. Bleacher joined NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) as a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow after which he was hired by NASA as a research scientist. Dr. Bleacher’s research focuses on understanding the volcanic history the Earth, Moon and Mars by remote sensing mapping and field work. Upon joining the NASA workforce he began supporting the Constellation Program Office to conduct studies examining potential landing sites and developing science traverse plans to help define requirements for hardware on the lunar surface. Dr. Bleacher served as a science team member and test subject as a crew member for NASA’s Desert Research and Technology Studies (Desert RATS), which focused on field tests of operations associated with prototype human rovers for the Moon. He has served as the lead for the Goddard Instrument Field team, in which he organized GSFC’s planetary science field research deployments as well as GSFC’s Lead Exploration Scientist, for which he worked to create cross-Center awareness of ongoing human exploration projects. Dr. Bleacher is a co-author on a number of peer reviewed science publications including a cover article for the journal Nature focused on explosive volcanism on Mars as well as the chapter on Mars Volcanism in the Encyclopedia of Volcanoes, 2nd edition. He has served on a series of Special Action Teams (SATs) for the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) and Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) including the Lunar Sample Acquisition and Curation Review, Candidate Scientific Objectives for the Human Exploration of Mars, and Geological Astronaut Training and has served on NASA’s In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Systems Capability Leadership Team. He applies a strong interest in both scientific research and human exploration to his current role at NASA headquarters.

NASA Liaison

DARPA

Shawn Britton currently serves as a NASA liaison to the DARPA LunA-10 Government Integration Team (GIT) supporting efforts to develop a commercial lunar surface technical framework for the early 2030s. He is the Associate Director for Data Systems for the Research Directorate (RD) at NASA’s Langley Research Center responsible for oversight of hardware and software aspects of RD’s portfolio of Data Acquisition capabilities for large scale testing facilities. Additionally, Shawn is the assistant branch head for the Advanced Measurement and Data Systems branch at Langley. Prior to his tenure in RD, Shawn was a member of the Game Changing Development (GCD) Program Office in the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) as a Program Element Manager where he managed a portfolio of technology maturation projects from across the Agency and JPL, focusing on Robotics, OSAM, Large Scale Excavation and Construction, Nuclear Thermal Propulsion and Extreme Environment survivability. Shawn additionally served as the Lead for the Digital Operations and Transformation (DOT) Team within GCD responsible for GCD’s digital presence and data and analytics efforts. Shawn began his NASA career as Metrology and Calibration Program Manager and Standard Practice Engineer for Langley, providing center guidance and insight for international and industry measurement controls and standards. Prior to NASA, Shawn served as the lead technical manager for the Test Measurement and Diagnostic (TMDE) Metrology Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, MD, a Nuclear Design Engineer on Primary Loop Reactor Components and Systems for Los Angeles (SSN688) Class Submarines at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Honolulu, HI and the Lead Test Engineer on Steering Systems for Nimitz-Class Carriers (CVN) for Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, VA. He holds a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Hawai‘i M?noa in Honolulu, HI and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, PA. Shawn is the recipient of a NASA Exceptional Achievement Award, two NASA Group Achievement Awards and the STMD Outstanding Performance Award. In his spare time, Shawn enjoys spending time with his family of three creative kids, a wonderful wife and two spoiled dogs.

Chief Technologist

NASA

As agency chief technologist, A.C. Charania serves as principal advisor to NASA’s administrator on technology policy and programs. He leads technology innovation at the agency and aligns NASA’s agencywide technology investments with mission needs across its six mission directorates. Charania also oversees technology collaboration with other federal agencies and the private sector while coordinating with external stakeholders. Charania works within NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (OTPS). He succeeds OTPS Associate Administrator Bhavya Lal, who had been serving as acting agency chief technologist. Charania is an experienced leader in entrepreneurial space and aviation ventures. His private sector work includes projects under contract for NASA, the Air Force, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). His experience spans multiple areas including launch vehicles, hypersonics, human/robotic exploration, lunar landers, planetary defense, small satellites, and aviation autonomy. Before joining NASA, he served as vice president of product strategy at Reliable Robotics, a firm working to bring certified autonomous vehicles to commercial aviation. Charania led overall corporate strategy for the company, including working to mature product fit, leading/conducting market and competitive assessments, and engaging with global customers and partners. He also led program management for their Department of Defense autonomy projects. Prior to Reliable Robotics, Charania worked on advanced development programs at Blue Origin. He helped define their lunar permanence strategy, created and advanced the Blue Moon lunar lander strategy, and engaged with customers and technical partners. He also moved multiple technology projects forward, including many with NASA. Charania previously worked as a strategy and business development leader for the Virgin Galactic (now Virgin Orbit) LauncherOne small satellite launch vehicle program. While there, he advocated for using a 747-400 aircraft to air-launch a rocket carrying payloads to space and then captured a contract for several dozen launches.

Associate Administrator

NASA

Jim Free is NASA’s associate administrator, its third highest-ranking executive and highest-ranking civil servant. He is the senior advisor to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. In his role, Free leads the agency’s 10 center directors as well as the mission directorate associate administrators at NASA Headquarters in Washington. He acts as the agency’s chief operating officer for more than 18,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $25 billion. Previously, Free was associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. In that role, Free was responsible for the development of NASA’s Moon to Mars architecture, defining and managing the systems development for NASA’s Artemis missions and planning for NASA’s integrated deep space exploration approach. Prior to his selection as head of Exploration Systems Development, Free spent several years in various private sector roles after he left NASA in 2017. In his previous role at NASA, he served as the agency’s deputy associate administrator for technical in the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. Prior to joining NASA Headquarters, he worked his way up to center director at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, where he was responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the activities required to accomplish the missions assigned to the center.? Free has served a variety of roles at NASA centers since beginning his career in 1990 at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. A native of Northeast Ohio, Free earned his bachelor’s degree in aeronautics from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and his master’s degree in space systems engineering from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.? Free is the recipient of the Presidential Rank Award, NASA Distinguished Service Medal, NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, NASA Exceptional Service Medal, NASA Significant Achievement Medal, and numerous other awards.?

LSII Chief Scientist

View External Profile

Dr. Dana Hurley is a planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). Presently, she is Chief Scientist of APL’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative task in support of NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate. Her research interests center on understanding the evolution of water and other volatile compounds in planetary environments. Her Ph.D. research at Rice University analyzed Mars Global Surveyor magnetometer and electron reflectometer data to examine the martian space environment and the role that the solar wind interaction has in atmospheric escape at Mars. Next, she began modeling the lunar exosphere and the delivery and retention of water ice in lunar polar regions. As a co-investigator on the Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) instrument onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), she examined far ultraviolet spectra to characterize the physical parameters of the lunar exosphere. She built numerical models that reproduced the observed evolution of vapor from impacts on the Moon including the LCROSS and GRAIL spacecraft impacts and impacts from meteoroids. She adapted her exosphere model for application at Mercury and the plumes of Enceladus. Her data analysis experience spanning spectroscopic remote sensing, in situ ion and neutral particle measurements, and magnetic fields allows her to investigate sparse atmospheres and how they interact with planetary surfaces and space plasma environments. In 2016, NASA SSERVI recognized her with the Michael J. Wargo Award for significant contributions through the integration of exploration and planetary science. In addition to research, Dr. Hurley’s management roles at APL include the Assistant Supervisor of the Science and Space Instrumentation Branch and the Strategic Integration Lead for Planetary Sciences. As an active planetary science community leader, Dr. Hurley presently sits on the NASA Planetary Science Advisory Committee and the American Astronomical Society’s Division of Planetary Sciences Committee. She was founder and, for its first 6 years, leader of the “Friends of Lunar/NEO Volatiles” Focus Group, which furthers collaboration among the science and engineering professionals interested in lunar volatiles. She is also active in promoting a culture of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility within APL. More about Dr. Hurley can be found at: https://civspace.jhuapl.edu/people/dana-hurley

Senior Policy Analyst

NASA

Zachary Pirtle, Ph.D., is a researcher, engineer, and policy entrepreneur, who co-chaired the 2018 meeting of the Forum on Philosophy, Engineering and Technology (fPET). He has been engaged with the fPET community since its inception at the 2007 Workshop on Philosophy of Engineering at TU-Delft. With Guru Madhavan and David Tomblin, he co-edited the book Engineering and Philosophy: Reimagining Technology and Social Progress, published in 2021 by Springer Press. His research contributions have ranged from developing a framework for assessing independence among multiple models to help mitigate uncertainty (Pirtle et al, 2018, Pirtle et al 2010), exploring the difference between scientific and engineering models (Pirtle 2010) as well as studying the relationship between law- and non-law-based epistemologies and perceived views on engineering and innovation policy (Pirtle 2013). Separately, he has also researched what role of democratically determined values should have in engineering, including efforts to use public input in engineering decisions (Pirtle and Szajnfarber 2017, Pirtle and Tomblin 2017, Bertrand et al 2017). Separate from his academic research, Pirtle is an engineer and program executive at NASA Headquarters in the Science Mission Directorate. He leads non-traditional commercial approaches to get science and technology payloads to the Moon. He previously served as a program integration engineer at NASA headquarters, which he joined in 2010 as a civil servant. His work there supported integration for the Space Launch System, Orion spacecraft and associated ground systems. He also served NASA’s Strategic Investments Division, providing technical, strategic and policy guidance for NASA’s exploration programs, and performed major programmatic assessments of the James Webb Space Telescope and Space Launch System. He was a 2020 winner of the NASA Agency Early Career Achievement Medal. Since 2022, he’s also served as a senior policy analyst for the Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy.

Associate Administrator

NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate

Dr. Kurt “Spuds” Vogel is the associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) at NASA Headquarters in Washington, a position he has served since Jan. 16, 2024. In this role, he oversees executive leadership, strategic planning, and management of all technology maturation and demonstration programs executed under the directorate’s $1.2 billion budget. Before leading STMD, Vogel served as director of space architectures within the Office of the Administrator. Arriving at NASA in July 2021, he led multiple space architecture efforts, including the development of the Moon to Mars Strategy and Objectives, forming the agency’s blueprint for long-term, human-led scientific discovery in deep space. He also served as chair of NASA’s Agency Cross-Directorate Federated Board, whose purpose is to ensure NASA’s focus is integrated with common strategic goals and direction across the agency’s mission directorates. Vogel has more than 34 years of U.S. government service, primarily in the Defense Department, as a technical leader, senior program manager, and chief technologist. Prior to joining NASA, Vogel served six years at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), leading innovative research across a portfolio of classified, state-of-the-art, high-risk programs spanning multiple DARPA offices. From 2008 until 2015, Vogel led research and development at the Air Force Research Lab’s Systems Technology Office, where he directed a Defense Department science and technology portfolio. He also served as the acting chief technologist for the National Reconnaissance Office’s Survivability Assurance Office. Vogel retired from active duty in 2010 after serving in the air and space domains during a 21-year career as an officer in the United States Air Force. During his service, he led the USAF Red Team and served as chief technology officer for the Next Generation Bomber program. Vogel also is an Air Force Test Pilot School graduate, having flown over 40 different aircraft as a flight test engineer and civilian pilot. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Science in astronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s in astronautical engineering from the United States Air Force Academy. He is a member of the national engineering and aerospace engineering honor societies.