Several of the world's major space agencies have announced plans to return humans to the Moon within the next two to three decades. Primary objectives for these missions include using the Moon as a stepping-stone towards crewed missions to Mars, testing advanced technology, and furthering exploration of the Moon for scientific research and in-situ resource utilization. Meeting these objectives will require a sustained human presence on the lunar surface and the performance of a wide variety of tasks to establish and operate a lunar base. In doing so, ensuring the integrity of the crew's health and safety will be paramount.A nine-week intensive analysis of lunar exploratory robotic tasks for safety (ALERTS) was performed by an international and interdisciplinary team. During this study, the ALERTS team investigated the maximization of crew safety on the lunar surface through the use of a symbiotic relationship between astronauts and robots.By focusing on lunar surface operations necessary for all lunar bases, irrespective of architecture, a list of 66 general tasks were generated and consolidated under ten categories. These tasks were then used as the foundation to identify different risks astronauts will be exposed to. A novel set of risk assessment criteria was developed based on a compromise between risk assessment criteria used by space agencies and health and safety institutions from around the world. Using these criteria, the impact of each risk on crew safety was quantified in terms of the probability of occurrence (likelihood), and consequence (severity). A decision tree was then constructed to rapidly identify the most appropriate robotic platform for tasks that require astronaut involvement, but can be assisted using a robotic system. Finally, the establishment of an International Space Exploration Safety Board (ISESB) is suggested to harmonize safety standards related to human spaceflight at the international level; particularly with regards to the application of robotics for human space exploration.
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