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Research
Subject
Advancing Multiplanetary/Space Architecture
Space-Time Variable
First and second supervisors
Abstract
Our plans and aspirations for the exploration and utilization of Space require habitable structures and Advanced Architecture beyond LEO. The efficacy and quality of any design depend upon both the provision of a safe space and the ability to utilize this space so as to make the best use of the crew’s time. Considering the precedents/lessons learnt from space missions since the first years of operations at ISS, one of the most important resources to be allocated is crew time. This time dimension is currently considered late in the habitat design process, resulting in inefficiency of the crew's tasks and space usage.
This project will explore further this ‘time’ dimension and how it is reflected in such aspects as crew-experience, productivity, and physical/mental wellbeing. It will identify both qualitative and quantitative parameters related to time-space (e.g., workspace dimensions, anthropometric factors, crew tasks' durations), how these measures relate to the more tangible objectives mentioned above (productivity, wellbeing, experience) and how they manifest in actual designs. It will thus create crew activities scenarios and associated design concepts, test and select them through trade-offs, giving priority to the most relevant parameters/objectives.
The proposed novel approach is to consider integrated time-space parameters at an early stage in the design process, combining methods of quantification (e.g. multi-objective optimisation), qualification (e.g. Human In The Loop tests, VR/XR simulations) and design trade-offs, not traditionally used in space architecture. The added value of the proposed approach is to improve the predictability (i.e., the deterministic linkage between requirements and design), the efficient use of the habitable space and crew time and the user experience.
This PhD work is based on an ongoing inter-faculty, cross-disciplinary research project between Architecture and Engineering at The Bartlett, UCL, conducted by the PhD student Nona Zakoyan. It is supervised by professors from The Bartlett, Prof Dr Marjan Colletti, and Prof Alan Smith from the UCL Department of Space and Climate Physics, Director of the Space Domain. The work is based on the collaboration with TASI (Thales Alenia Space Italia), using the IHAB program as an application case.
To support this activity, external advisors and mentors are consulted, from the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Birkbeck University of London, from ILEWG & EuroMoonMars, VU Amsterdam/Leiden, NASA, Virgin Galactic, as well as ESA engineers from ESTEC and the European Astronaut Centre.
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Image: Material Synthesis from a Single Sample Image through Deep Convolutional Generative Adversarial Networks by Seda Zirek