ESA Document - Emits - ESA

s
IV. Bio-Lock Sample containers placed in ERC Containers
• Externally mounted transport containers
� Transfer performed by Astronaut EVA
� Explosive weld sealing.
• Environmental Containment Verification Level 3
� Sealing Verification
• Inert gas pressurisation
• Pressure and gas concentration monitoring
HMM
Assessment Study
Report: CDF-20(A)
February 2004
page 324 of 422
V. Environmental Containment Verification Level 3
• Quarantine period during Mars orbit to verify Level 2 & 3 sealing (prior to EOI).
• Both powered and monitored through ERC I/F
4.3.9.2.2 Conclusions
• Maintaining the samples outside the habitable volume leads to a complex sample
transfer system having the following non-preferable characteristics:
� External Ladder access to MAV required through the potential fairing.
� Contaminated Sample containers transported to the orbiting TV.
� TV mounted external ‘Bio-lock’ facility required- extra mass
� Remote manipulator required to transfer sample containers from the MAV
to the ‘Bio-lock’ facility.
1 Large disadvantage due to required complexity for such a ‘simple’
ge associated mass.
� EVA required to transfer and install Bio-containers on the ERC.
� (Small) risk of contamination being transferred to external surface of
ERC.
� Sample containment verification done in Mars Orbit
1 Any non-conformance means loss of samples with no possibility of
replacement.
Performing a similar analysis with a modified sample handling constraint to allow the samples to
be transported internally in the MAV leads to the following.
Figure 4-64 shows a schematic for the sample transfer:
Surface
Surface
Container
Bio-Lock
Processing
1 st On-Mars
Quarantine
MAV
Container
Launch
2 nd On-Mars
Quarantine
Docking
ERC
Transport
On-Orbit
Quarantine
Figure 4-64: Sample transfer schematic II
The first two steps are performed by the EVA astronaut on the surface and are described briefly
in the above text. The sequence will then continue as above. The steps and the consequences are
briefly outlined below.