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During the first two weeks of September, 2006, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center (JSC) Advanced Extra Vehicular Activity (AEVA) team led the field test portion of the 2006 Desert Research and Technology Studies (D-RATS) in the Flagstaff, AZ area. The Desert RATS field test activity is the year-long culmination of various individual science and advanced engineering discipline areas’ technology and operations development efforts into a coordinated field test demonstration under representative (analog) planetary surface terrain conditions. The 2006 Desert RATS was the ninth RATS field test and was the largest, most systems-oriented, integrated field test to date with participants from seven NASA field centers, three industry partners, and two research organizations. Each week of the test, RATS addressed specific sets of objectives. The first week of field testing focused on Lunar surface science and in-situ resource utilization tasks.

During the first two weeks of September 2005, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center (JSC) Advanced Extravehicular Activity (AEVA) team led the field test portion of the 2005 Research and Technology Studies (RATS). The Desert RATS field test activity is the culmination of the various individual science and advanced engineering discipline areas year-long technology and operations development efforts into a coordinated field test demonstration under representative (analog) planetary surface terrain conditions. The purpose of the RATS is to drive out preliminary exploration concept of operations EVA system requirements by providing hands-on experience with simulated planetary surface exploration extravehicular activity (EVA) hardware and procedures.

The space exploration enterprise that will lead to human exploration on Mars requires pressure suit system capabilities and characteristics that change significantly over time and between different missions and mission phases. These capabilities must be provided within tight budget constraints and severely limited launch mass and volume, and at a pace that supports NASA's over-all exploration timeline. As a result, it has not been obvious whether the use of a single pressure suit system (like Apollo) or combinations of multiple pressure suit designs (like Shuttle) will offer the best balance among life cycle cost, risk, and performance. Because the answer to this question is pivotal for the effective development of pressure suit system technologies that will met NASA's needs, ILC and Hamilton Sundstrand engineers have collaborated in an independent study to identify and evaluate the alternatives.

The Advanced Extravehicular Activity (EVA) team of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center (JSC) led the Desert Research and Technology Study (RATS) in September 2004, at various test site locations near Flagstaff, Arizona. The Desert RATS is a two-week integrated remote field site test with team members from several NASA centers, universities, and industry partners participating. The overall objective of the RATS is to investigate and evaluate prototype advanced EVA exploration systems and technologies in order to develop well-defined requirements for the Vision for Space Exploration. This is accomplished by conducting simulated planetary surface exploration activities. Shirtsleeve subjects and subjects in pressurized space suits perform tasks such as geologic field mapping, rock sample collection and analysis, and communication infrastructure deployment.

With a renewed focus on manned exploration, NASA is beginning to prepare for the challenges that lie ahead. Future manned missions will require a symbiosis of human and robotic infrastructure. As a step towards understanding the roles of humans and robots in future planetary exploration, NASA headquarters funded ILC Dover and the University of Maryland to perform research in the area of human and robotic interfaces. The research focused on development and testing of communication components, robotic command and control interfaces, electronic displays, EVA navigation software and hardware, and EVA lighting. The funded research was a 12-month effort culminating in a field test with NASA personnel.

The first ever Astronaut - Rover (ASRO) Interaction Field Test was conducted successfully on February 22-27, 1999, in Silver Lake, Mojave Desert, California in a representative surface terrain. This test was a joint effort between the NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California and the NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas to investigate the interaction between humans and robotic rovers for potential future planetary surface exploration. As prototype advanced planetary surface space suit and rover technologies are being developed for human planetary surface exploration, it is desirable to better understand the interaction and potential benefits of an Extravehiclar Activity (EVA) crewmember interacting with a robotic rover. This interaction between an EVA astronaut and a robotic rover is seen as complementary and can greatly enhance the productivity and safety of surface excursions.