Morphlab

Morphlab (Modular Roving Planetary Habitat, Laboratory, and Base) was a lunar exploration system proposed by the University of Maryland. It was composed of several modules that would land and assemble autonomously, forming a long duration manned base. Once the manned phase was complete, the modules would disassemble and move autonomously to an alternate lunar site, up to 1000 km away.

During transit, one power module would be connected to two habitable modules to form a vehicle assembly. All three modules would have drive systems powered by the electrical power module.

At a base location, the modules would dock together through inflatable tunnels to form a base with both living and laboratory space. It would then be resupplied and then await another crew for further lunar study. The complete base would consist of six 4 m diameter habitable modules and four power modules. Each habitat module consisted of a habitat unit on a powered chassis, with a total mass of 3700 kg. The use of circular pressure vessels allowed clustering with other units. Electrical power was provided to each chassis, and each module provided its own mechanical locomotion with 4 x 1m spherical wheels. The Dynamic Isotope Power System contained in four separate modules produced a maximum of 20 kw peak power total. The system was designed to fit in current launch vehicles, with a total of 26 Delta IVH launches required to launch the system to the moon. Reserves and redundancy meant that a mission could still proceed even with the failure of 1 power and 1 habitat module. A crew of four would be accommodated on 90 day lunar missions.

.General design constraints for Morphlab were:

• The program would support a series of ten manned moon missions between 2015 and 2020.
• A manned mission would consist of four crew members on the moon's surface for three lunar day/night cycles, or about three months.
• Morphlab components would be launched from the Delta IV Heavy or Atlas V Launch Vehicle. Specifics of the crew arrival and departure vehicle were not included in the scope of this program.
• Morphlab would be designed such that the failure or loss of any single module at any time would not disruption nominal activities. In the event of loss or failure of any two modules during a manned mission phase, Morphlab would support the crew for a worst-case interval until a lunar launch window occurred and the crew could return.
• No design feature of Morphlab would preclude its adaptation for use on the Martian surface.
• The design would adhere to NASA STD-3000 specifications for crew systems.
• All system technologies would be at a minimum NASA technology readiness level (TRL) of 3 on Jan. 1, 2005, and be capable of reaching a TRL of 6 by the technology cut-off date of Jan. 1, 2010.

Crew Size: 4. Length: 4.00 m (13.10 ft). Basic Diameter: 4.00 m (13.10 ft). Mass: 3,700 kg (8,100 lb). Electrical System: Dynamic isotope power. Electric System: 20.00 average kW.