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NASA plans with the Space Launch System and the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle to do deep space exploration missions to an asteroid, Martian moon, dead comet, whatever.
Long term trips of more than Orion's 2 week life support capability requires a habitat. That isn't the subject of this post - NASA itself, Bigelow Aerospace, ESA and others are addressing that problem.
While Orion can take astronauts up and down and handle many duties, it is not a lander, rover, overland explorer, mining truck, 2001-style space pod, overland crew taxi or any of the other configurations necessary to work once you get where you are going.
These could all be individually designed and built, but making a modular system that can be configured to numerous jobs makes more sense - the prototype for that is the Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV.)
There are many images to go with this, but first a word as to how SEV works. Up front is a cockpit, and to either side are docking or berthing ports. To the rear in most configurations are 2 spacesuit ports, which pretty much eliminate the need for an airlock.
Each suit is on the outside of the vehicle and has a trap door on its rear. Astronauts would open a corresponding hatch in the SEV, open the suit, then crawl in like the doctor and nurse got into their isolation suits in The Andromeda Strain.
The underside can be wheeled, or it can be set up to fly free as that 2001 pod did, including manipulator arms. Cabins too can be swapped onto the driving platform to do different jobs, such as acting like a pickup truck or straight land taxi. In the NASA lab it's on a float table - a reverse air hockey table it pumps air between the floor and SEV so they can practice using the controls.
Time for pictures and a video -
Long term trips of more than Orion's 2 week life support capability requires a habitat. That isn't the subject of this post - NASA itself, Bigelow Aerospace, ESA and others are addressing that problem.
While Orion can take astronauts up and down and handle many duties, it is not a lander, rover, overland explorer, mining truck, 2001-style space pod, overland crew taxi or any of the other configurations necessary to work once you get where you are going.
These could all be individually designed and built, but making a modular system that can be configured to numerous jobs makes more sense - the prototype for that is the Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV.)
There are many images to go with this, but first a word as to how SEV works. Up front is a cockpit, and to either side are docking or berthing ports. To the rear in most configurations are 2 spacesuit ports, which pretty much eliminate the need for an airlock.
Each suit is on the outside of the vehicle and has a trap door on its rear. Astronauts would open a corresponding hatch in the SEV, open the suit, then crawl in like the doctor and nurse got into their isolation suits in The Andromeda Strain.
The underside can be wheeled, or it can be set up to fly free as that 2001 pod did, including manipulator arms. Cabins too can be swapped onto the driving platform to do different jobs, such as acting like a pickup truck or straight land taxi. In the NASA lab it's on a float table - a reverse air hockey table it pumps air between the floor and SEV so they can practice using the controls.
Time for pictures and a video -
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