Desert Research and Technology Studies

NASA's Desert Research and Technology Studies (Desert RATS or D-RATS) is a group of teams which perform an annual series of field trials seeking to demonstrate and test candidate technologies and systems for human exploration of the surface of the Moon, Mars, or other rocky bodies.

[1] The field season takes place for around two weeks each year, usually in September, in planned locations surrounding Flagstaff, Arizona.

[9] During the trials, researchers study the effectiveness of new designs for space suits, robots, rovers, surface networking and communications, exploration information systems and computing, habitats, and other equipment, and gain experience in the use of new technologies designed to make planetary exploration safer, easier, and more efficient.

[11] Space suits tested during Desert RATS include ILC Dover's Mark III and I-Suit.

[12] At D-RATS 2004 technology demonstrated included the: Spacesuits, Matilda (autonomous robotic support vehicle), an electric tractor, mobile geology lab, a wireless network and other.

[13] At D-RATS 2005 technology demonstrated included the: Spacesuits, SCOUT (Science, Crew, Operations and Utility Testbed) Rover, a system to recharge air tanks while they're in use and other.

The system must have minimal volume and mass, be self-powered and recharging, wireless and suitable for planetary exploration and astronaut training.

[21][22] In late August/Early Sept 2011 D-RATS made their 14th trip to the Arizona Desert to continue testing the technology NASA will need to enable multiple destinations for future human exploration including the Moon, near-Earth asteroids (NEAs), Mars moons, and ultimately the surface of Mars.

Effective strategies for communicating under these conditions include utilizing text messaging, specific voice protocols, and a relay crew member that is not participating in the EVA.