ISR Process Controller
Rad-Hard SBC Hosting Mining Plant Coordination Software
The ISR process controller is a 1.5-kilogram, 12-watt radiation-hardened single-board computer that coordinates autonomous lunar mining and processing subsystems—including excavators, haulers, ice extractors, and volatile capture units—into an integrated production line. Operating in the unshielded lunar radiation environment, the 3U cPCI board relies on a quad-core 200 MHz processor with error-correcting memory to maintain system integrity over a 25-year lifetime. Because Earth-in-the-loop control is infeasible for rapid fault containment across mobile hardware, the unit executes local 10 Hz control loops and manages subsystems across a 100-millisecond mesh network, automatically halting upstream feeds if downstream stages fail.
Rad-tolerant single-board computer hosting the ISR mining-plant coordination software stack — coordinates excavators, haulers, ice-extraction, beneficiation, and volatile capture as an integrated production line with feedback loops on ore grade and product quality.
Purpose
Provide the integrated control authority for the entire ISR system, treating it as a multi-stage production plant rather than independent sub-tools — enabling end-to-end optimization, fault propagation analysis, and unified telemetry.
Context
Sits at L2-ISR top of the ISR autonomy hierarchy; receives high-level resource-production goals from L2-CDH-AUTO; sends commands to L3-ISR-EXC, ICE, VOL, BEN, TRANS subsystem controllers; reports unified production telemetry up to L1-CDH.
Principles
- ▸Hierarchical control architecture: top-level goals (kg water/day) → process plan → tool-level commands
- ▸Industrial DCS (Distributed Control System) pattern adapted for spacecraft: modular controllers + central coordinator
- ▸Real-time scheduling of tool operations (sequencing, parallelization, dependencies)
- ▸Fault propagation analysis: if one stage fails, upstream stops feeding, downstream graceful shutdown
- ▸Production data historian: stores all telemetry for trend analysis and predictive maintenance
- ▸MES (Manufacturing Execution System) concepts: track each batch from raw regolith to final product
Typical implementations
- ▸Industrial DCS (Honeywell Experion, Yokogawa CENTUM, ABB 800xA — terrestrial)
- ▸ESA SAVOIR avionics framework
- ▸NASA cFS — re-used for multi-subsystem control coordination
- ▸Industrial mining operations control rooms (Caterpillar, Komatsu)
- ▸ISS Command and Control Computer (CCC) heritage
- ▸Communications Engineering 2024 — autonomous mining parallel intelligence
Lunar considerations
- ▸Autonomous operation without Earth-in-the-loop drives ML/AI integration for fault handling
- ▸Rad-hard SBC (BAE RAD5545, Cobham GR740, Vorago VA10800) for long-mission reliability
- ▸TMR FPGA for safety-critical commands (e.g., emergency stop on multiple haulers)
- ▸Communication latency to L1-CDH negligible; latency to mobile units (haulers) via mesh ~100 ms
- ▸Long-mission firmware updates via authenticated DTN with staged rollback
- ▸Production data historian growing over years — periodic compaction and archival to L1-DVT
Specifications
Functional
| primary function | Coordinate ISR mining/processing plant as integrated production system |
| inputs | High-level production goals from L2-CDH-AUTO, Sensor telemetry from all L3-ISR-* subsystems, Time reference from L3-COM-TIME-DIST, Power from L1-PDM |
| outputs | Commands to L3-ISR-EXC, ICE, VOL, BEN, TRANS subsystems, Unified production telemetry to L1-CDH, Production data historian to L1-DVT, Health/heartbeat to L1-CDH safety supervisor |
| cpu cores | 4 |
| cpu clock mhz | 200 |
| memory ram mb | 1024 |
| non volatile storage gb | 16 |
| control loop rate hz | 10 |
| telemetry rate hz | 1 |
| rad tolerant | True |
| verification standard | NASA-STD-8739.8 Class B |
Physical
| mass kg | 1.5 |
| dimensions | 180 × 120 × 30 mm 3U cPCI board |
| materials | BAE RAD5545 or Cobham GR740 SoC, Rad-hard SRAM with EDAC, Rad-hard NOR flash for code, MRAM for critical state, Polyimide PCB, Aluminum chassis |
| operating temperature c | -40, 70 |
| radiation tid krad | 100 |
| seu let threshold mev cm2 per mg | 80 |
Operational
| power consumption w | 12 |
| thermal range c | -40, 70 |
| lifetime years | 25 |
| mtbf hours | 300000 |
Interfaces
Provides
- Excavation commands
- Routing and dispatch commands
- Sublimation chamber control
- Beneficiation control
- Production telemetry to top-level autonomy
Requires
- Production goals
- Always-on 28 V supply
- Time reference
- Historian archival storage
Cite this entry
Lunar Ark Codex. "ISR Process Controller" (L3-ISR-CTRL-PROC). Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://lunarark.com/entry/L3-ISR-CTRL-PROC
Licensed CC-BY-SA 4.0. You may reuse and adapt this entry with attribution, under the same licence.