Extravehicular Activity Framework for Exploration - 2019

The Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Framework for Exploration describes NASA’s EVA System Goals in the broader context of ongoing human spaceflight efforts. The purpose of this document is to drive integration, coordination and communication of the EVA community’s exploration development plans as crafted to meet long-term EVA needs. also Inclusive in the EVA community are NASA partners in academia and industry. The 2019 EVA Framework outlines the office’s current method to answer the following questions: What product does NASA use to compare, contrast and integrate across the elements of the EVA community’s perceived gaps, risks, and unfunded work, particularly for future systems intended for use beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO)? What product does NASA use to proactively coordinate support across the EVA community’s wide spectrum of exploration development work? Where can one go to obtain awareness of ongoing efforts, particularly during consideration of new-start activities and proposals? These questions lead to the need for a product that speaks to the distributed nature of the EVA System across human spaceflight programs, concept studies and flight vehicle architectural elements. This framework can be used and evaluated by the EVA community to assess the full spectrum of needs and answer the question of “what are we missing” or “are we doing things that just do not make sense”. In the end is the EVA community effectively pursuing the future needs of EVA? If answers to those questions reveal the need for change or re-prioritization then actions can be taken through existing project control processes as well as revision to this document and supporting project plans.