National Aeronautics andSpaceAdministration Technology (ALHAT) project provide Autonomous Landing andHazard Avoidance Specifically, theMorpheus project andthe developing thesenecessary capabilities. several fast-pacedprojects thatare Exploration Systems(AES) portfolioincludes their safereturntoEarth.NASA’s Advanced extraterrestrial surfacesandtoprovide for support crews duringextendedstayson and insituresource utilization(ISRU)to landers, andprecursor robotic payloads; technologies toreduce riskstocrews, hazard detectionandavoidance asteroid, andplanetarymissions;automated space vehiclesforavarietyoflunar, architecture wouldincludeadvanced,robust an integratedarchitecture. Such presence across thesolarsystemrequires NASA’s strategic goalofextendinghuman into humanexplorationmissions. into capabilitiesthatcanbeincorporated This allowsindividualtechnologiestomature integrated flightsystemat relatively lowcost. technologies from thelaboratoryintoan vehicle provides aplatformforbringing for advancedspacecrafttechnologies,the Designed toserveasaverticaltestbed(VTB) capable ofverticaltakeoff andlanding. and testedaprototype planetarylander NASA’s MorpheusProject hasdeveloped NASA’s prototypeMorpheuslander, amidthekindofboulder-strewn terraininwhichitisdesignedtoland. Morpheus Lander integrated VTB offers aplatformtodevelop, planetary lander technologies.The vehicle fortesting integratedspacecraft and terrestrial verticaltake-off/vertical landing autonomous, reusable, rocket-powered, The Morpheusproject provides an beyond lowEarthorbit(LEO). architecture necessarytomovehumans components ofthegreater exploration technological foundationsforkey in thefieldandnavigateMorpheustoacontrolledsafelanding. The ALHAT systemwillautonomously determinethesafelandingareas

NASAfacts The Morpheus Control Room watches closely during a tethered test flight of the vehicle at the NASA Johnson Space Center Vertical Testbed Flight Complex.

Although Morpheus was designed and developed primarily at Johnson Space Center (JSC), other NASA centers, commercial entities, and academic institutions have supported its development and testing. For Morpheus and ALHAT, JSC has partnerships with Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for flight-testing; Stennis Space Center (SSC) for engine testing; Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) for engine development Morpheus executes one of many successful tether tests; crucial steps in preparations for free flights. and lander expertise; Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) for core flight software development; and mature, refine, and demonstrate advanced technologies Langley Research Center (LaRC) and the Jet Propulsion that increase autonomy, reliability, safety, and reusability, Laboratory (JPL) for ALHAT development. Commercial and improve navigation and landing capabilities. partnerships with enterprises such as Jacobs Morpheus provides a way to help develop these Engineering, Armadillo , Draper Labs, and technologies into systems that can be demonstrated and others have augmented the development and operation tested. Successfully implementing these capabilities will of many aspects of the project. enable access to landing sites that were previously considered too hazardous to risk a robotic lander NASA will use Morpheus and its smaller counterpart, the mission, much less a human mission. Mighty Eagle lander at the MSFC, to mature technologies needed to develop a new generation of The Morpheus vehicle is propelled by a scalable, smart, versatile robotic landers capable of (LOX)/liquid methane propulsion system that can provide achieving scientific and exploration goals on the surface a specific impulse of up to 321 seconds during space of planetary bodies. The specific technologies also have flight, and these cryogenic propellants burn cleanly, are potential application to future human missions. nontoxic, and can be stored easily in space. For future space missions, it may be possible to produce oxygen or methane in situ. Oxygen is already a necessary and Morpheus Facts compatible commodity for life support systems in Propellants: Methane and Liquid Oxygen , and oxygen/methane systems are being Cargo Capability: Scalable; reference mission studied for power generation. LOX and methane are also 500kg to lunar surface readily available and relatively safe and easy to handle, permitting frequent, low-cost ground testing. These Test Locations: NASA Johnson Space Center, attributes and potential capabilities make propulsion with Houston and NASA Kennedy LOX/methane an attractive technology. Space Center, Florida Potential Missions: Carry humanoid robot, rover or ALHAT, the primary Morpheus payload, provides propellant lab to lunar/ autonomous precision landing and hazard avoidance. planetary landing; rendezvous When a vehicle lands autonomously, it must identify a and propellant transfer safe landing site: one that is relatively flat and free of demonstrations in Earth orbit; large boulders, rocks, and craters. potential asteroid rendezvous.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration For more information visit us at: Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/exploration/morpheus/ Houston, 77058 http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov www.nasa.gov http://www.twitter.com/morpheuslander

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