Space Electric Vehicles and Habitat Demonstration Unit

The Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV) is a

modular Broadly speaking, modularity is the degree to which a system's components may be separated and recombined, often with the benefit of flexibility and variety in use. The concept of modularity is used primarily to reduce complexity by breaking a s ...

vehicle concept developed by

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. It would consist of a pressurized cabin that can be mated either with a wheeled

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpa ...

to form a

rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, U ...

for planetary surface exploration (on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width ...

and elsewhere) or to a flying platform for open space missions such as servicing satellites and missions to

near-Earth asteroids A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body whose orbit brings it into proximity with Earth. By convention, a Solar System body is a NEO if its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) is less than 1.3 astronomical units (AU). ...

. The concept evolved from the Lunar Electric Rover (LER) concept, which in turn was a development of the Small Pressurized Rover (SPR) concept. Concept vehicles of the Lunar Electric Rover (and later, the SEV) were tested during the

Desert Research and Technology Studies NASA's Desert Research and Technology Studies (Desert RATS or D-RATS) is a group of teams which perform an annual series of field trials seeking to demonstrate and test candidate technologies and systems for human exploration of the surface of th ...

in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. One of the LER concept vehicles took part in the presidential inauguration parade of Barack Obama in 2009. The chassis and structural elements of these concept vehicles were fabricated by Off-Road International. Research and testing continued in 2012 in the

Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late ...

with a mock-up of a free-flying SEV simulating a mission to an asteroid. Development of the SEV has continued, producing variants called the Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle (MMSEV) and in 2013 a cabin for a possible lunar lander called the Alternate MMSEV (AMMSEV). The SEV is developed together with other projects under the Advanced Explorations Systems Program. The program's budget for FY 2010 was $152.9 million.

Features

The SEV is the size of a small

pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...

, it has 12 wheels, and can house two

astronauts An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

for up to two weeks. The SEV consists of a

and

cabin Cabin may refer to: Buildings * Beach cabin, a small wooden hut on a beach * Log cabin, a house built from logs * Cottage, a small house * Chalet, a wooden mountain house with a sloping roof * Cabin, small free-standing structures that serve as in ...

module. The SEV will allow the attachment of tools such as cranes, cable reels, backhoes and

winch A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the tension of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form, it consists of a spool (or drum) attac ...

es. Designed for two occupants, this vehicle is capable of supporting four in an emergency. With wheels that can pivot 360 degrees, the SEV is able to drive in any direction. Astronauts can enter and exit without

space suits A space suit or spacesuit is a garment worn to keep a human alive in the harsh environment of outer space, vacuum and temperature extremes. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, ...

directly from an airlock docking hatch, or through a

suitport A suitport or suitlock is an alternative technology to an airlock, designed for use in hazardous environments and in human spaceflight, especially planetary surface exploration. Suitports present advantages over traditional airlocks in terms of ...

without the need to depressurize the habitat module. The pressurized module contains a small bathroom with privacy curtains and a shower head producing a water mist for sponge baths. It also contains cabinets for tools, workbench areas and two crew seats that can fold back into beds.

Specifications

*Speed: *Range:

SEV

*Mass: *Payload: *Length: *Wheelbase: *Height: *Wheels: 12 wheels with each at in diameter, wide

Chassis

*Mass: *Payload: *Length: *Wheelbase: *Height: *Wheels: 12 wheels with each at in diameter, wide

References

External links

SEV Fact Sheet

LER Fact Sheet

on

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Mission concept video
{{Lunar Rovers Exploration of the Moon Missions to the Moon Lunar rovers Deep Space Habitat Off-road vehicles Planetary rovers

Features

Specifications

SEV

Chassis

See also

References

External links