ON THE CURVE

Lunar Lowdown

On April 1, the first crewed flight of the NASA-led Artemis program and first crewed flight to go beyond low Earth orbit since 1972 launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Below are just a few of the ways the pumps industry played a part in the historic lunar mission.

The water tower for the ignition overpressure and sound suppression system holds around 400,000 gallons of water. To help reduce and dampen damaging acoustic and thermal energy and high-pressure soundwaves, the entire reservoir was dumped on the mobile launcher and inside the flame trench at ignition and liftoff in less than 30 seconds. Peak flow rate is 1.1 million gallons per minute, enough to empty around two Olympic-sized swimming pools in one minute.

IMAGE 1: The Artemis II crew. Clockwise from left: Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman and Pilot Victor Glover (Image courtesy of NASA)

IMAGE 2: NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems conducts a water flow test with the mobile launcher (Image courtesy of NASA/Kim Shiflett)

NASA upgraded one of its crawler-transporters for the Artemis II mission. The redesigned vehicle features upgraded roller bearings, an improved lubrication system and a new assembly that can carry a greater load. The crawler is larger than the size of a baseball infield, has a load capacity of 18 million pounds and is powered by locomotive engines and large electrical power generators. It holds the Guiness World Record for the heaviest self-powered vehicle.

IMAGE 2: NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems conducts a water flow test with the mobile launcher (Image courtesy of NASA/Kim Shiflett)

The Artemis crew had a potable water dispenser to use for rehydrating food and drink packages and for medical emergencies. The Orion European Service Module carried four water tanks, each containing around 125 pounds of water. The tanks contained bellows that pressurized the water with a regulated nitrogen source and were connected to a water manifold that had two water lines leading to the module. Each water line had a manually operated valve at the crew end and a quick disconnect. The crew would attach an external potable filter assembly to a disconnect to remove impurities from the water before use.

The Artemis crew had a new space toilet on the mission called the Universal Waste Management System (UWMS). The UWMS was self-contained and compact, measuring about 5 cubic feet in volume. Shortly after launch, the toilet’s pump was not working due to not having enough water to be primed but was up and running after being topped off. The crew also dealt with an issue of clogged pipelines.

IMAGE 4: Astronaut Jeremy Hansen (middle) receiving training on Orion’s potable water dispenser (Image courtesy of NASA)

IMAGE 5: Astronaut Christina Koch—Artemis II’s space plumber—receiving training on the UWMS. (Image courtesy of NASA)