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A SysML tool for generating Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) concept of operations timelines is described. The NASA Artemis program calls for long-duration missions and traverses at the Lunar polar regions. In contrast to equatorial regions with a 14-day/14-night diurnal solar exposure, some polar geographies may have shorter daylit or shadowed conditions that could affect solar recharging, battery sizes, and power management. The solar illuminated conditions constantly change depending on the current location of the rover, date, and time. In addition, communication access to the vehicle depends on relative Lunar and Earth orbits and position of artificial satellites or relay systems. A SysML model-based tool has been developed that organizes LTV events and activities into swimlanes showing participation of various operations and planning teams, communications relay systems, data-gathering instruments, and vehicle subsystems for the purpose of establishing relationships in decision-making nodes and functions. The tool tracks various rover and environmental parameters and simulates energy use over time. Based on a chosen traverse path, starting date, and time, the tool is capable of accessing Lunar terrain and lighting databases to provide information on how long a particular patch of landscape will remain illuminated, to assist planning teams with optimization of timing, velocity, and progress of the traverse. As the tool simulates various use cases, it automatically generates a timeline of events and a profile of energy use.
Howe et al. (Sat,) studied this question.