Using dynamic simulations and automated decision tools to design lunar habitats

This paper describes the role of transient simulations, heuristic techniques, and closed loop integrated control in designing and sizing habitat life support systems. The integration of these three elements allows for more accurate requirements to be derived in advance of hardware choices. As a test case, we used a typical lunar surface habitat. Large numbers of habitat configurations were rapidly tested and evaluated using automated decision support tools. Through this process, preliminary sizing for habitat life support systems were derived. Our preliminary results show that by using transient simulations and closed loop control, we substantially reduced the system mass required to meet mission goals. This has greater implications for general systems analyses and for life support systems. It is likely that transient models, real-time integrated control, and other analyses capable of capturing the uncertainties of systems can be useful for systems analyses much earlier in the system development life cycle than has previously been considered.