ALBERT

Description: A deep-space mission has been proposed to identify and redirect an asteroid to a distant retrograde orbit around the moon, and explore it by sending a crew using the Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft. The Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission (ARCM), which represents the third segment of the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), could be performed on EM-3 or EM-4 depending on asteroid return date. Recent NASA studies have raised questions on how we could progress from current Human Space Flight (HSF) efforts to longer term human exploration of Mars. This paper will describe the benefits of execution of the ARM as the initial stepping stone towards Mars exploration, and how the capabilities required to send humans to Mars could be built upon those developed for the asteroid mission. A series of potential interim missions aimed at developing such capabilities will be described, and the feasibility of such mission manifest will be discussed. Options for the asteroid crewed mission will also be addressed, including crew size and mission duration.

Description: The Logistics Reduction and Repurposing project includes the heat melt compactor (HMC), a device that compacts waste containing plastic into a tile that will minimize volume, and may be used as materials for radiation shielding. During the process, a small purge gas stream is directed through the HMC chamber to transport out gasses and humidity released from the process. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center is tasked with developing and delivering a contamination control system to clean the purge gas prior to exhausting it back into the cabin for crew inhalation.

Description: Atmosphere Resource Recovery and Environmental Monitoring (ARREM) is a project focused on evolving existing and maturing emerging 'closed loop' atmosphere revitalization (AR) life support systems that produce clean, breathable air for crewmembers, and developing a suite of low mass, low power environmental monitors to detect and measure air- and waterborne constituents and contaminants. The objective is to improve reliability and efficiency, reduce mass and volume, and increase recovery of oxygen from carbon dioxide created by human metabolism from 43% to greater than 90%. The technology developments under ARREM are vital to extending human space missions from low-Earth orbit like the International Space Station to destinations deeper into space such as Mars where dependency on Earth for resupply of maintenance items and critical life support elements such as water and oxygen is not possible. The primary goal of the ARREM project is to demonstrate that systems meet the more stringent performance parameters for deep space exploration and are compatible with other systems within closed loop life support through a series of integrated tests performed in an environmental test chamber capable of simulating human metabolic activities and measuring systems outputs.

Description: The patent-pending Glove-Enabled Computer Operations (GECO) design leverages extravehicular activity (EVA) glove design features as platforms for instrumentation and tactile feedback, enabling the gloves to function as human-computer interface devices. Flexible sensors in each finger enable control inputs that can be mapped to any number of functions (e.g., a mouse click, a keyboard strike, or a button press). Tracking of hand motion is interpreted alternatively as movement of a mouse (change in cursor position on a graphical user interface) or a change in hand position on a virtual keyboard. Programmable vibro-tactile actuators aligned with each finger enrich the interface by creating the haptic sensations associated with control inputs, such as recoil of a button press.

Description: The barriers to forming human settlements on Mars are high but surmountable within our lifetime. While the Apollo astronauts carried their life support with them, our success in exploring and forming settlements on Mars depends on our ability to use local Martian resources to generate the materials and conditions humans need to survive, so-called in situ resource utilization (ISRU). On Earth, biology provides us with food, shelter, oxygen, and other materials. Off-planet, synthetic biology will enable numerous parallel productions: optimized food production, water treatment, air treatment, environmental monitoring, regolith biomining, waste management, cell based biomaterial production, biocementation, and in situ synthesis based on received DNA sequences. How will the organisms responsible for these synthetic production systems obtain organic carbon and fixed nitrogen in the hostile Martian environment? We envision a synthetic-biology enabled Martian colony and introduce here the critical intermediate component a biological power source needed to transform the in situ resources found on Mars into biological feedstocks to enable growth of production organisms. Here, we present our first PowerCell, a photosynthetic and nitrogen-fixing filamentous cyanobacterium engineered to provide a carbon-rich fuel source for a biological life support system on Mars. We provide a vision of how the PowerCell system will operate in a Martian colony based on ground experiments and preparations for testing in space as a NASA secondary payload aboard the upcoming DLR Eu:CROPIS satellite mission experiments.

Description: Molecular biomarkers are the most direct biosignatures of life on early Earth and a key target in the search for life on Mars. Lipid biomarkers are of particular interest given their ability to survive oxidative degradation and record microbial presence and activity of microorganisms that occurred billions of years ago (Eigenbrode, 2008). Environmental conditions that suspend biotic and abiotic degradative processes prior to lithification can lead to enhanced biomolecular preservation over geological time-scales. The hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile offers a unique environment to investigate lipid biomarker taphonomy under extreme and prolonged dryness. We investigated the accumulation and degree of preservation of lipid biomarkers in million-year-old hyperarid soils where primarily abiotic conditions influence their taphonomy. Soils were extracted and free and membrane bound lipids were analyzed across a vertical profile of 2.5 meters in the Yungay hyper-arid core of the Atacama Desert. Due to the extremely low inventory of biomass in Atacama soils, samples were collected by scientists wearing cleanroom suits to minimize anthropogenic contamination during sampling. Fatty acids were found to be well preserved in Yungay soils, and were most abundant in the clay-rich soils at approx.2 m depth (approx.750 ng of fatty acid methyl ester/g of soil). These buried clays layers were fluvially deposited approximately 2 million years ago, and have been excluded from exposure to rainwater and modern surficial processes since their emplacement (Ewing et al., 2008). Monocarboxylic fatty acid, monohydroxy fatty acid, glycerol tetraether, and n-alkane hydrocarbon content was found to change with depth. Lipid biomarker content in deeper soil layers is suggestive of soils having been formed at a time when environmental conditions were capable of supporting active microbial communities and plants. In short, total lipid extracts reveal a remarkable degree of lipid biomarker preservation even in the oldest soils analyzed (ca. 2 Myr) indicating that typical diagenetic processes of lipid destruction are arrested under extreme dryness. This result has implications for the search for molecular biomarkers on Mars, which could have experienced millions to billions of years of extreme hyperaridity.

Description: A low gravity material experiment will be performed in the Material Science Research Rack (MSRR) on International Space Station (ISS). The flight experiment will conduct crystal growths of ZnSe and related ternary compounds, such as ZnSeS and ZnSeTe, by physical vapor transport (PVT). The main objective of the project is to determine the relative contributions of gravity-driven fluid flows to the compositional distribution, incorporation of impurities and defects, and deviation from stoichiometry observed in the grown crystals as results of buoyancy-driven convection and growth interface fluctuations caused by irregular fluid-flows on Earth. The investigation consists of extensive ground-based experimental and theoretical research efforts and concurrent flight experimentation. The objectives of the ground-based studies are (1) obtain the experimental data and conduct the analyses required to define the optimum growth parameters for the flight experiments, (2) perfect various characterization techniques to establish the standard procedure for material characterization, (3) quantitatively establish the characteristics of the crystals grown on Earth as a basis for subsequent comparative evaluations of the crystals grown in a low-gravity environment and (4) develop theoretical and analytical methods required for such evaluations. ZnSe and related ternary compounds have been grown by vapor transport technique with real time in-situ non-invasive monitoring techniques. The grown crystals have been characterized extensively by various techniques to correlate the grown crystal properties with the growth conditions. This talk will focus on the ground-based studies on the PVT crystal growth of ZnSe and related ternary compounds, especially the effects of different growth orientations related to gravity direction on the grown crystals.

Description: We requested and have been approved for 5 Hayabusa samples in order definitively establish the degree of shock experienced by the regolith of asteroid Itokawa, and to devise a bridge between shock determinations by standard light optical petrography, crystal structures as determined by synchrotron X-ray diffraction (SXRD), and degree of crystallinity as determined by electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) [1,2]. As of the writing of this abstract we are awaiting the approved samples. We propose measurements of astromaterial crystal structures and regolith processes. The proposed research work will improve our understanding of how small, primitive solar system bodies formed and evolved, and improve understanding of the processes that determine the history and future of habitability of environments on other solar system bodies. The results of the proposed research will directly enrich the ongoing asteroid and comet exploration missions by NASA, JAXA and ESA, and broaden our understanding of the origin and evolution of small bodies in the early solar system, and elucidate the nature of asteroid and comet regolith.

Description: Titan is Saturn's largest moon, with a thick (1.45 bar) atmosphere composed primarily of molecular nitrogen and methane. Atmospheric photochemistry results in the production of a wide range of complex organic molecules, including hydrocarbons, nitriles, aromatics and other species of possible pre-biotic relevance. Titan's carbon-rich atmosphere may be analogous to that of primitive terrestrial planets throughout the universe, yet its origin, evolution and complete chemical inventory are not well understood. Here we present spatially-resolved maps of emission from C2H5CN, HNC, HC3N, CH3CN and CH3CCH in Titan's atmosphere, observed using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in 2012-2013. These data show previously-undetected spatial structures for the observed species and provide the first spectroscopic detection of C2H5CN on Titan. Our maps show spatially resolved peaks in Titan's northern and southern hemispheres, consistent with photochemical production and transport in the upper atmosphere followed by subsidence over the poles. The HNC emission peaks are offset from the polar axis, indicating that Titan's mesosphere may be more longitudinally variable than previously thought.

Description: Many programs/projects use a simple meteoroid environment based on Grun's 1985 paper or the old NASA space station spec in their design and risk assessments. These models, which are omni directional and mono-velocity, bear little resemblance to the actual meteoroid environment, which is sun-fixed, very directional, and which has a complex speed distribution varying by source and particle size. As a result, the simple meteoroid models lead to estimates that underestimate the spacecraft/vehicle risk by a factor of 2 or more. In addition, programs often over-emphasize the risk posed by meteor showers, which typically account for less than ten percent of the meteoroid risk over the vehicle lifetime. Fueled by popular media, the emphasis on meteor showers (the risks from which can usually be mitigated operationally) can lead to ambivalence to the real risk driver, which is the sporadic background.

Description: As the Shuttle/ISS EMU Program exceeds 30 years in duration and is still supporting the needs of the International Space Station (ISS), a critical benefit of such a long running program with thorough documentation of system and component failures is the ability to study and learn from those failures when considering the design of the next generation space suit. Study of the subject failure history leads to changes in the Advanced EMU Portable Life Support System (PLSS) schematic, selected component technologies, as well as the planned manner of ground testing. This paper reviews the Shuttle/ISS EMU failure history and discusses the implications to the AEMU PLSS.

Description: Astronauts sustain injuries of various natures such as finger delamination, joint pain, and redness due to their interaction with the space suit. The role of the Anthropometry and Biomechanics Facility is to understand the biomechanics, environmental variables, and ergonomics of the suit. This knowledge is then used to make suggestions for improvement in future iterations of the space suit assembly to prevent injuries while allowing astronauts maneuverability, comfort, and tactility. The projects I was involved in were the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) space suit stiffness study and the glove feasibility study. The EMU project looked at the forces exerted on the shoulder, arm, and wrist when subjects performed kinematic tasks with and without a pressurized suit. The glove study consisted of testing three conditions - the Series 4000 glove, the Phase VI glove, and the no glove condition. With more than forty channels of sensor data total, it was critical to develop programs that could analyze data with basic descriptive statistics and generate relevant graphs to help understand what happens within the space suit and glove. In my project I created a Graphical User Interface (GUI) in MATLAB that would help me visualize what each sensor was doing within a task. The GUI is capable of displaying overlain plots and can be synchronized with video. This was helpful during the stiffness testing to visualize how the forces on the arm acted while the subject performed tasks such as shoulder adduction/abduction and bicep curls. The main project of focus, however, was the glove comparison study. I wrote MATLAB programs which generated movies of the strain vectors during specific tasks. I also generated graphs that summarized the differences between each glove for the strain, shear and FSR sensors. Preliminary results indicate that the Phase VI glove places less strain and shear on the hand. Future work includes continued data analysis of surveys and sensor data. In the end, the ideal glove is one that provides more tactility for the astronauts but lessens injuries. Often times, a more tactile glove transmits forces better to the hand; thus, achieving a balance of both a tactile and safe glove is the main challenge present.

Description: Functional Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs) with high precision gloves are essential for the success of Extravehicular Activity (EVA). Previous research done at NASA has shown that total strength capabilities and performance are reduced when wearing a pressurized EMU. The goal of this project was to characterize the human-space suit glove interaction and assess the risk of injury during common EVA hand manipulation tasks, including pushing, pinching and gripping objects. A custom third generation sensor garment was designed to incorporate a combination of sensors, including force sensitive resistors, strain gauge sensors, and shear force sensors. The combination of sensors was used to measure the forces acting on the finger nails, finger pads, finger tips, as well as the knuckle joints. In addition to measuring the forces, data was collected on the temperature, humidity, skin conductance, and blood perfusion of the hands. Testing compared both the Phase VI and Series 4000 glove against an ungloved condition. The ungloved test was performed wearing the sensor garment only. The project outcomes identified critical landmarks that experienced higher workloads and are more likely to suffer injuries. These critical landmarks varied as a function of space suit glove and task performed. The results showed that less forces were acting on the hands while wearing the Phase VI glove as compared to wearing the Series 4000 glove. Based on our findings, the engineering division can utilize these methods for optimizing the current space suit glove and designing next generation gloves to prevent injuries and optimize hand mobility and comfort.

Description: Brine water recovery represents a current technology gap in water recycling for human spaceflight. The role of a brine processor is to take the concentrated discharge from a primary wastewater processor, called brine, and recover most of the remaining water from it. The current stateoftheart primary processor is the ISS Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) that currently achieves 70% water recovery. Recent advancements in chemical pretreatments are expected to increase this to 85% in the near future. This is a welcome improvement, yet is still not high enough for deep space transit. Mission architecture studies indicate that at least 95% is necessary for a Mars mission, as an example. Brine water recovery is the technology that bridges the gap between 85% and 95%, and moves life support systems one step closer to full closure of the water loop. Several brine water recovery systems have been proposed for human spaceflight, most of them focused on solving two major problems: operation in a weightless environment, and management and containment of brine residual. Brine residual is the leftover byproduct of the brine recovery process, and is often a viscous, sticky paste, laden with crystallized solid particles. Due to the chemical pretreatments added to wastewater prior to distillation in a primary processor, these residuals are typically toxic, which further complicates matters. Isolation of crewmembers from these hazardous materials is paramount. The Coiled Brine Recovery Assembly (CoBRA) is a recently developed concept from the Johnson Space Center that offers solutions to these challenges. CoBRA is centered on a softgoods evaporator that enables a passive fill with brine, and regeneration by discharging liquid brine residual to a collection bag. This evaporator is meant to be lightweight, which allows it to be discarded along with the accumulated brine solids contained within it. This paper discusses design and development of a first CoBRA prototype, and reports initial test results.

Description: The food systems slated for future NASA missions must meet crew nutritional needs, be acceptable for consumption, and use resources efficiently. Although the current food system of prepackaged, moderately stabilized food items works well for International Space Station (ISS) missions, many of the current space menu items do not maintain acceptability and/or nutritive value beyond 2 years. Longer space missions require that the food system can sustain the crew for 3 to 5 years without replenishment. The task "Integration of Product, Package, Process, and Environment: A Food System Optimization" has the objective of optimizing food-product shelf life for the space-food system through product recipe adjustments, new packaging and processing technologies, and modified storage conditions. Two emergent food processing technologies were examined to identify a pathway to stable, wet-pack foods without the detrimental color and texture effects. Both microwave-assisted thermal sterilization (MATS) and pressure-assisted thermal stabilization (PATS) were evaluated against traditional retort processing to determine if lower heat inputs during processing would produce a product with higher micronutrient quality and longer shelf life. While MATS products did have brighter color and better texture initially, the advantages were not sustained. The non-metallized packaging film used in the process likely provided inadequate oxygen barrier. No difference in vitamin stability was evident between MATS and retort processed foods. Similarly, fruit products produced using PATS showed improved color and texture through 3 years of storage compared to retort fruit, but the vitamin stability was not improved. The final processing study involved freeze drying. Five processing factors were tested in factorial design to assess potential impact of each to the quality of freeze-dried food, including the integrity of the microstructure. The initial freezing rate and primary freeze drying temperature and pressure were linked to final product quality in freeze-dried corn, indicating processing modifications that could lead to improved product shelf life. Storage temperatures and packaging systems were also assessed for the impact to food quality. Reduced temperature storage had inconclusive impact to the progression of rancidity in butter cookies. Frozen storage was detrimental to fruit and vegetable textural attributes but refrigerated storage helped to sustain color and organoleptic ratings for plant-based foods. With regard to packaging systems, the metallized film overwrap significantly decreased the progression of the rancidity of butter cookies as compared to the highest barrier non-metallized film. The inclusion of oxygen scavengers resulted in noticeable moisture gains in butter cookies over time, independent of packaging film systems. Neither emergent processing technology nor the freeze dry optimization resulted in compelling quality differences from current space food provisions such that a five-year shelf life is likely with these processing changes alone. Using a combination of refrigeration and PATS processing is expected to result in organoleptically-acceptable fruit quality for most fruits through five years. The vitamin degradation will be aided somewhat by the cold temperatures but, given the labile nature of vitamin C, a more stable fortification method, such as encapsulation, should also be investigated to ensure vitamin delivery throughout the product life. Similarly, significant improvement to the packaging film used in the MATS processing, optimization of formulation for dielectric properties, vitamin fortification, and reduced temperature storage should be investigated as a hurdle approach to reach a five year shelf life in wet-pack entrees and soups. Baked goods and other environmentally-sensitive spaceflight foods will require an almost impenetrable barrier to protect the foods from oxygen and moisture ingress but scavengers and reduced storage temperature did not improve baked good shelf life and are not recommended at this time for these foods.

Description: A Human-In-The-Loop (HITL) Portable Life Support System 2.0 (PLSS 2.0) test has been conducted at NASA Johnson Space Center in the PLSS Development Laboratory from October 27, 2014 to December 19, 2014. These closed-loop tests of the PLSS 2.0 system integrated with human subjects in the Mark III Suit at 3.7 psi to 4.3 psi above ambient pressure performing treadmill exercise at various metabolic rates from standing rest to 3000 BTU/hr (880 W). The bulk of the PLSS 2.0 was at ambient pressure but effluent water vapor from the Spacesuit Water Membrane Evaporator (SWME) and the Auxiliary Membrane Evaporator (Mini-ME), and effluent carbon dioxide from the Rapid Cycle Amine (RCA) were ported to vacuum to test performance of these components in flight-like conditions. One of the objectives of this test was to determine the heat transfer coefficient (UA) of the Liquid Cooling Garment (LCG). The UA, an important factor for modeling the heat rejection of an LCG, was determined in a variety of conditions by varying inlet water temperature, flowrate, and metabolic rate. Three LCG configurations were tested: the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) LCG, the Oceaneering Space Systems (OSS) LCG, and the OSS auxiliary LCG. Other factors influencing accurate UA determination, such as overall heat balance, LCG fit, and the skin temperature measurement, will also be discussed.

Description: The NASA Autonomous Mission Operations (AMO) project conducted an experiment to turn over operation and management of selected International Space Station (ISS) sys- tems to the on-board crew. ISS crews managed two different spacecraft systems: the Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA), a water quality analyzer, and Station Support Com- puters (SSC) laptops, which are non-critical crew computer systems. These systems were selected because they are representative of systems a future crew may need to operate au- tonomously during a deep space mission. The crew autonomously operated these systems, taking on mission operations functions traditionally performed by support teams on the ground, using new software tools that provide decision support algorithms for planning, monitoring and fault management, hardware schematics, system briefs, and data displays that are normally unavailable to the crew. The experiment lasted seven months, during which ISS crews managed TOCA and SSCs on 22 occasions. The AMO software processed data from TOCA and SSCs continuously during this seven month period. The combined performance of the software and crew achieved a 88 success rate on managing TOCA activity, the system for which ground-truth was available.

Description: A Human-In-The-Loop (HITL) Portable Life Support System 2.0 (PLSS 2.0) test has been conducted at NASA Johnson Space Center in the PLSS Development Laboratory from October 27, 2014 to December 19, 2014. These closed-loop tests of the PLSS 2.0 system integrated with human subjects in the Mark III Suit at 3.7 psi to 4.3 psi above ambient pressure performing treadmill exercise at various metabolic rates from standing rest to 3000 BTU/hr (880 W). The bulk of the PLSS 2.0 was at ambient pressure but effluent water vapor from the Spacesuit Water Membrane Evaporator (SWME) and the Auxiliary Membrane Evaporator (Mini-ME), and effluent carbon dioxide from the Rapid Cycle Amine (RCA) were ported to vacuum to test performance of these components in flight-like conditions. One of the objectives of this test was to determine the overall heat transfer coefficient (UA) of the Liquid Cooling Garment (LCG). The UA, an important factor for modeling the heat rejection of an LCG, was determined in a variety of conditions by varying inlet water temperature, flow rate, and metabolic rate. Three LCG configurations were tested: the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) LCG, the Oceaneering Space Systems (OSS) LCG, and the OSS auxiliary LCG. Other factors influencing accurate UA determination, such as overall heat balance, LCG fit, and the skin temperature measurement, will also be discussed.

Description: Injuries to the hands are common among astronauts who train for extravehicular activity (EVA). When the gloves are pressurized, they restrict movement and create pressure points during tasks, sometimes resulting in pain, muscle fatigue, abrasions, and occasionally more severe injuries such as onycholysis. A brief review of the Lifetime Surveillance of Astronaut Health's injury database reveals that 58% of total astronaut hand and arm injuries from NBL training between 1993 and 2010 occurred either to the fingernail, MCP, or fingertip. The purpose of this study was to assess the potential of using small sensors to measure force acting on the fingers and hand within pressurized gloves and other variables such as blood perfusion, skin temperature, humidity, fingernail strain, skin moisture, among others. Tasks were performed gloved and ungloved in a pressurizable glove box. The test demonstrated that fingernails saw greater transverse strain levels for tension or compression than for longitudinal strain, even during axial fingertip loading. Blood perfusion peaked and dropped as the finger deformed during finger presses, indicating an initial dispersion and decrease of blood perfusion levels. Force sensitive resistors to force plate comparisons showed similar force curve patterns as fingers were depressed, indicating suitable functionality for future testing. Strategies for proper placement and protection of these sensors for ideal data collection and longevity through the test session were developed and will be implemented going forward for future testing.

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Description: The NASA Space Science Day Event follows the same format of planning and execution at all host universities and colleges. These institutions realized the importance of such an event and sought funding to continue hosting NSSD events. In 2014, NASA Johnson Space Center ARES team has supported the following universities and colleges that have hosted a NSSD event; the University of Texas at Brownsville, San Jacinto College, Georgia Tech University and Huston-Tillotson University. Other universities and colleges are continuing to conduct their own NSSD events. NASA Space Science Day Events are supported through continued funding through NASA Discovery Program. Community Night begins with a NASA speaker and Astromaterials display. The entire community surrounding the host university or college is invited to the Community Night. This year at the Huston-Tillotson (HTU) NSSD, we had Dr. Laurie Carrillo, a NASA Engineer, speak to the public and students. She answered questions, shared her experiences and career path. The speaker sets a tone of adventure and discovery for the NSSD event. After the speaker, the public is able to view Lunar and Meteorite samples and ask questions from the ARES team. The students and teachers from nearby schools attended the NSSD Event the following day. Students are able to see the university or college campus and the university or college mentors are available for questions. Students rotate through hour long Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) sessions and a display area. These activities are from the Discovery Program activities that tie in directly with k- 12 instruction. The sessions highlight the STEM in exploration and discovery. The Lunar and Meteorite display is again available for students to view and ask questions. In the display area, there are also other interactive displays. Angela Green, from San Jacinto College, brought the Starlab for students to watch a planetarium exhibit for the NSSD at Huston-Tillotson University. Many HTU mentors were leading activities in the display room such as build a comet, volcano layering and robotics manipulation. Students were exposed to a variety STEM career possibilities and information. The students could relate the displays and sessions to what they were learning in school. The HTU mentors made the connection clear for the students. The students ended the event with a mission design presentation. They were able to take what they had learned during the day and were able to create a mission. Students presented their Mission Design and gained confidence in STEM. Conclusion: NASA Space Science Day Events provides an out of school experiential learning environment for students to enhance their STEM curriculum and let students see a college campus. The experiences students gain from attending NSSD gives them the confidence to see themselves on a college campus, possibly majoring in a STEM degree, and understand the importance of completing school.

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Description: The Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission (ARCM) requires a Launch/Entry/Abort (LEA) suit capability and short duration Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) capability from the Orion spacecraft. For this mission, the pressure garment selected for both functions is the Modified Advanced Crew Escape Suit (MACES) with EVA enhancements and the life support option that was selected is the Exploration Portable Life Support System (PLSS) currently under development for Advanced Exploration Systems (AES). The proposed architecture meets the ARCM constraints, but much more work is required to determine the details of the suit upgrades, the integration with the PLSS, and the tools and equipment necessary to accomplish the mission. This work has continued over the last year to better define the operations and hardware maturation of these systems. EVA simulations were completed in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL) and interfacing options were prototyped and analyzed with testing planned for late 2014. This paper discusses the work done over the last year on the MACES enhancements, the use of tools while using the suit, and the integration of the PLSS with the MACES.

Description: Missions outside of Earth's magnetic field are impeded by the presence of radiation from galactic cosmic rays and solar particle events. To overcome this issue, NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems Radiation Works Storm Shelter (RadWorks) has been studying different radiation protective habitats to shield against the onset of solar particle event radiation. These habitats have the capability of protecting occupants by utilizing available materials such as food, water, brine, human waste, trash, and non-consumables to build short-term shelters. Protection comes from building a barrier with the materials that dampens the impact of the radiation on astronauts. The goal of this study is to develop a discrete event simulation, modeling a solar particle event and the building of a protective shelter. The main hallway location within a larger habitat similar to the International Space Station (ISS) is analyzed. The outputs from this model are: 1) the total area covered on the shelter by the different materials, 2) the amount of radiation the crew members receive, and 3) the amount of time for setting up the habitat during specific points in a mission given an event occurs.

Description: With over 50 years of experience with NASA spacesuit development and operations, as well as for early U.S. Air Force pressure suits, Jim McBarron shared his significant knowledge about modifications to the Apollo spacesuit for use in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP). This included requirements and design changes implemented to establish the ASTP spacesuit design baseline. Additionally, he identified Apollo spacesuit contact details including quantity of spacesuits delivered to support the Apollo and Skylab Programs, and the ASTP. He concluded by identifying a summary of noteworthy lessons learned with recommendations for future spacesuit development.

Description: This paper is intended to evaluate the sample collection process with respect to sample characterization and decision making. In some cases, it may be sufficient to know whether a given outcrop or hand sample is the same as or different from previous sampling localities or samples. In other cases, it may be important to have more in-depth characterization of the sample, such as basic composition, mineralogy, and petrology, in order to effectively identify the best sample. Contextual field observations, in situ/handheld analysis, and backroom evaluation may all play a role in understanding field lithologies and their importance for return. For example, whether a rock is a breccia or a clast-laden impact melt may be difficult based on a single sample, but becomes clear as exploration of a field site puts it into context. The FINESSE (Field Investigations to Enable Solar System Science and Exploration) team is a new activity focused on a science and exploration field based research program aimed at generating strategic knowledge in preparation for the human and robotic exploration of the Moon, near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) and Phobos and Deimos. We used the FINESSE field excursion to the West Clearwater Lake Impact structure (WCIS) as an opportunity to test factors related to sampling decisions. In contract to other technology-driven NASA analog studies, The FINESSE WCIS activity is science-focused, and moreover, is sampling-focused, with the explicit intent to return the best samples for geochronology studies in the laboratory. This specific objective effectively reduces the number of variables in the goals of the field test and enables a more controlled investigation of the role of the crewmember in selecting samples. We formulated one hypothesis to test: that providing details regarding the analytical fate of the samples (e.g. geochronology, XRF/XRD, etc.) to the crew prior to their traverse will result in samples that are more likely to meet specific analytical objectives than samples collected in the absence of this premission information. We conducted three tests of this hypothesis. Our investigation was designed to document processes, tools and procedures for crew sampling of planetary targets. This is not meant to be a blind, controlled test of crew efficacy, but rather an effort to recognize the relevant variables that enter into sampling protocol and to develop recommendations for crew and backroom training in future endeavors. Methods: One of the primary FINESSE field deployment objectives was to collect impact melt rocks and impact melt-bearing breccias from a number of locations around the WCIS structure to enable high precision geochronology of the crater to be performed [1]. We conducted three tests at WCIS after two full days of team participation in field site activities, including using remote sensing data and geologic maps, hiking overland to become familiar with the terrain, and examining previously-collected samples from other islands. In addition, the team members shared their projects and techniques with the entire team. We chose our "crew members" as volunteers from the team, all of whom had had moderate training in geologic fieldwork and became familiar with the general field setting. The first two tests were short, focused tests of our hypothesis. Test A was to obtain hydrothermal vugs; Test B was to obtain impact melt and intrusive rock as well as the contact between the two to check for contact metamorphism and age differences. In both cases, the test director had prior knowledge of the site geology and had developed a study-specific objective for sampling prior to deployment. Prior to the field deployment, the crewmember was briefed on the sampling objective and the laboratory techniques that would be used on the samples. At the field sites (Fig. 2), the crewmember was given 30 minutes to survey a small section of outcrop (10-15 m) and acquire a suite of three samples. The crewmember talked through his process and the test director kept track of the timeline in verbal cues to the crewmember. At the conclusion, the team member conducting the scientific study appraised the samples and train of thought. Test C was a 90-minute EVA simulation using two crewmembers working out of line-of-sight in communication with a science backroom. The science objectives were determined by the science backroom team in advance using a Gigapan image of the outcrop (Fig. 1). The science team formulated hypotheses for the outcrop units and created sampling objectives for impact-melt lithologies; the science team turned these into a science plan, which they communicated to the crew in camp prior to crew deployment. As part of the science plan, the science team also discussed their sample needs in depth with the crewmembers, including laboratory methods, objectives, and samples sizes needed. During the deployment, the two crewmembers relayed real-time information to the science backroom by radio with no time delay. Both the crew and science team re-evaluated their hypotheses and science plans in real-time. Discussion: Upon evaluation, we found that the focused tests (Tests A and B) were successful in meeting their scientific objectives. The crewmember used their knowledge of how the samples were to be used in further study (technique, sample size, and scientific need) to focus on the sampling task. The crewmember was comfortable spending minimal time describing and mapping the outcrop. The crewmember used all available time to get a good sample. The larger test was unsuccessful in meeting the sampling objectives. When the crewmembers began describing the lithologies, it was quickly apparent that the lithologies were not as the backroom expected and had communicated to the crew. When the outcrop wasn't as expected, the crew members instinctively switched to field characterization mode, taking significant time to characterize and map the outcrop. One crew member admitted that he "kind of lost track" of the sampling strategy as he focused on the basic outcrop characterization. This is the logical first step in a field geology campaign, that a significant amount of time must be spent by the crew and backroom to understand the outcrop and its significance. Basic field characterization of an outcrop is a focused activity that takes significant time and training [2, 3]. Sampling of representational lithologies can be added to this activity for little cost [4]. However, we have shown that identification of unusual or specific samples for laboratory study also takes significant time and knowledge. We suggest that sampling of this type be considered a separate activity from field characterization, and that crewmembers be trained in sampling needs for different kinds of studies (representative lithologies vs. specialized samples) to acquire a mindset for sampling similar to field mapping. Sampling activities should be given a significant amount of specifically allocated time in scheduling EVA activities; and in the better case, that sampling be done as a second activity to a previously studied outcrop where both crew and backroom are comfortable with its context and characteristics. Our hypothesis posited that crewmember knowledge of how the samples would be used upon return would aid them in choosing relevant samples. Our testing bore this hypothesis out to some extent. We therefore recommend that crewmember training should include exposure to the laboratory techniques and analyses that will be used on the samples to foster this knowledge. There is also the potential for increasing crewmember contextual knowledge real-time in the field through the introduction of in situ geochemical technologies such as field portable XRF. The presence of field portable geochemical technology could enable the astronauts to interrogate the samples for K abundance real-time, ensuring they could collect valuable and dateable samples [5]. Though simulations such as these can teach us a fair bit about decision making processes and timeline building, one EVA participant noted that when he wasn't collecting "real" samples, he wasn't at his best. This effect suggests that higher-fidelity studies involving truly remote participants conducting actual scientific studies merit further attention to capture lessons for application to future crew situations.

Description: The recent Brine Processing Test compared the NASA Forward Osmosis Brine Dewatering (FOBD), Paragon Ionomer Water Processor (IWP), UMPQUA Ultrasonic Brine Dewatering System (UBDS), and the NASA Brine Evaporation Bag (BEB). This paper reports the results of the BEB. The BEB was operated at 70 deg C and a base pressure of 12 torr. The BEB was operated in a batch mode, and processed 0.4L of brine per batch. Two different brine feeds were tested, a chromic acid-urine brine and a chromic acid-urine-hygiene mix brine. The chromic acid-urine brine, known as the ISS Alternate Pretreatment Brine, had an average processing rate of 95 mL/hr with a specific power of 5kWhr/L. The complete results of these tests will be reported within this paper.

Description: The world food crisis in 2008 highlighted the susceptibility of the global food system to price shocks. Here we use annual staple food production and trade data from 1992-2009 to analyse the changing properties of the global food system. Over the 18-year study period, we show that the global food system is relatively homogeneous (85 of countries have low or marginal food self-sufficiency) and increases in complexity, with the number of global wheat and rice trade connections doubling and trade flows increasing by 42 and 90, respectively. The increased connectivity and flows within these global trade networks suggest that the global food system is vulnerable to systemic disruptions, especially considering the tendency for exporting countries to switch to non-exporting states during times of food scarcity in the global markets. To test this hypothesis, we superimpose continental-scale disruptions on the wheat and rice trade networks. We find greater absolute reductions in global wheat and rice exports along with larger losses in network connectivity as the networks evolve due to disruptions in European wheat and Asian rice production. Importantly, our findings indicate that least developed countries suffer greater import losses in more connected networks through their increased dependence on imports for staple foods (due to these large-scale disturbances): mean (median) wheat losses as percentages of staple food supply are 8.9 (3.8) for 1992-1996, increasing to 11 (5.7) for 20052009. Over the same intervals, rice losses increase from 8.2 (2.2) to 14 (5.2). Our work indicates that policy efforts should focus on balancing the efficiency of international trade (and its associated specialization) with increased resilience of domestic production and global demand diversity.

Description: No abstract available

Description: Flammability experiments on silicone samples were conducted in anticipation of the Spacecraft Fire Experiment (Saffire). The sample geometry was chosen to match the NASA 6001 Test 1 specification, namely 5 cm wide by 30 cm tall. Four thicknesses of silicone (0.25, 0.36, 0.61 and 1.00 mm) were examined. Tests included traditional upward buoyant flame spread using Test 1 procedures, downward opposed flow flame spread, horizontal and angled flame spread, forced flow upward and downward flame spread. In addition to these configurations, upward and downward tests were also conducted in a chamber with varying oxygen concentrations. In the upward buoyant flame spread tests, the flame generally did not burn the entire sample. As thickness was increased, the flame spread distance decreased before flame extinguishment. For the thickest sample, ignition could not be achieved. In the downward tests, the two thinnest samples permitted the flame to burn the entire sample, but the spread rate was lower compared to the corresponding upward values. The other two thicknesses could not be ignited in the downward configuration. The increased flammability for downward spreading flames relative to upward ones is uncommon. The two thinnest samples also burned completely in the horizontal configuration, as well as at angles up to 75 degrees from the horizontal. The upward and downward flammability behavior was compared in atmospheres of varying oxygen concentration to determine a maximum oxygen concentration for each configuration. Upward tests in air with an added forced flow were more flammable. Complementary analyses using SEM and TGA techniques suggest the importance of the silica layer formed on the burned sample surface. As silicone burns upward, silica deposits downstream If the silicone is ignited in the downward configuration, it burns the entire length of the sample Burning upward at an angle increases the burn length in some cases possibly due to less silica deposition Forced flow in the upward burning case increases flammability, likely due to an increase in convective flow preventing silica from depositing Samples in upward configuration burning under forced flow self extinguish after forced flow is removed

Description: In space, there is a need to monitor astronauts' vital signs and assess their readiness to perform specific tasks during a mission. Currently, NASA does not have the capability to noninvasively monitor crew for extended periods of time. The Canadian Space Agency is working with the Psychophysiology Lab at NASA ARC to determine if the Astroskin could be used as a solution to this problem. Astroskin, a commercially available garment with built-in biosensors, can be comfortably worn under clothing or a spacesuit and relay information to the crewman's own mobile device. Data can also be sent wirelessly to the on-board Exploration Medical System. To determine if Astroskin meets requirements for health monitoring, it must first be validated in spaceflight analog environments. In the current study Astroskin data will be compared to traditional biomedical instrument measures of electrocardiography (ECG), respiration rate, and systolic blood pressure. The data will be recorded during Autogenic Feedback Training Exercise (AFTE), which is a type of physiological self-regulation training designed for astronauts. The data will also be recorded during simulations of the Orion spacecraft re-entry. The results to date suggest that Astroskin is a suitable ambulatory monitoring system that allows astronauts to self-diagnose and self-regulate adverse autonomic nervous system responses to sustained exposure to microgravity of spaceflight.

Description: No abstract available

Description: In membrane-aerated biofilm reactors (MABRs), hollow fibers are used to supply oxygen to the biofilms and bulk fluid. A pressure and concentration gradient between the inner volume of the fibers and the reactor reservoir drives oxygen mass transport across the fibers toward the bulk solution, providing the fiber-adhered biofilm with oxygen. Conversely, bacterial metabolic gases from the bulk liquid, as well as from the biofilm, move opposite to the flow of oxygen, entering the hollow fiber and out of the reactor. Metabolic gases are excellent indicators of biofilm vitality, and can aid in microbial identification. Certain gases can be indicative of system perturbations and control anomalies, or potentially unwanted biological processes occurring within the reactor. In confined environments, such as those found during spaceflight, it is important to understand what compounds are being stripped from the reactor and potentially released into the crew cabin to determine the appropriateness or the requirement for additional mitigation factors. Reactor effluent gas analysis focused on samples provided from Kennedy Space Center's sub-scale MABRs, as well as Johnson Space Center's full-scale MABRs, using infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography techniques. Process gases, such as carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, nitrogen dioxide, and nitrous oxide, were quantified to monitor reactor operations. Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME) GC-MS analysis was used to identify trace volatile compounds. Compounds of interest were subsequently quantified. Reactor supply air was examined to establish target compound baseline concentrations. Concentration levels were compared to average ISS concentration values and/or Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentration (SMAC) levels where appropriate. Based on a review of to-date results, current trace contaminant control systems (TCCS) currently on board the ISS should be able to handle the added load from bioreactor systems without the need for secondary mitigation.

Description: The Heat Melt Compactor is a proposed utility that will compact astronaut trash, extract the water for eventual re-use, and form dry square tiles that can be used as additional ionizing radiation shields for future human deep space missions. The Heat Melt Compactor has been under development by a consortium of NASA centers. The downstream portion of the device is planned to recover a small amount of water while in a microgravity environment. Drop tower low gravity testing was performed to assess the effect of small particles on a capillary-based water/air separation device proposed for the water recovery portion of the Heat Melt Compactor.

Description: No abstract available

Description: No abstract available

Description: No abstract available

Description: The state-of-the-art Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) has been reliably producing breathing oxygen for the crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for over eight years. Lessons learned from operating the ISS OGA have led to proposing incremental improvements to advance the baseline design for use in a future long duration mission. These improvements are intended to reduce system weight, crew maintenance time and resupply mass from Earth while increasing reliability. The proposed improvements include replacing the cell stack membrane material, deleting the nitrogen purge equipment, replacing the hydrogen sensors, deleting the wastewater interface, replacing the hydrogen dome and redesigning the cell stack power supply. The development work to date will be discussed and forward work will be outlined. Additionally, a redesigned system architecture will be proposed.

Description: As the commercial spaceflight industry transitions from suborbital brevity to orbital outposts, spacewalking will become a major consideration for tourists, scientists, and hardware providers. The challenge exists to develop a space suit designed for the orbital commercial spaceflight industry. The unique needs and requirements of this industry will drive space suit designs and costs that are unlike any existing product. Commercial space tourists will pay for the experience of a lifetime, while scientists may not be able to rely on robotics for all operations and external hardware repairs. This study was aimed at defining space suit operational and functional needs across the spectrum of spacewalk elements, identifying technical design drivers and establishing appropriate options. Recommendations from the analysis are offered for consideration

Description: Key points discussed in this chapter are (1) the importance of aurora research to scientific advances and space weather applications, (2) space weather products at CCMC that are relevant to aurora monitoring and forecasting, and (3) the need for more effort from the whole community to achieve a better and longleadtime forecast of auroral activity. Aurora, as manifestations of solar windmagnetosphereionosphere coupling that occurs in a region of space that is relatively easy to access for sounding rockets, satellites, and other types of observational platforms, serves as a natural laboratory for studying the underlying physics of the complex system. From a space weather application perspective, auroras can cause surface charging of technological assets passing through the region, result in scintillation effects affecting communication and navigation, and cause radar cluttering that hinders military and civilian applications. Indirectly, an aurora and its currents can induce geomagnetically induced currents (GIC) on the ground, which poses major concerns for the wellbeing and operation of power grids, particularly during periods of intense geomagnetic activity. In addition, accurate auroral forecasting is desired for auroral tourism. In this chapter, we first review some of the existing auroral models and discuss past validation efforts. Such efforts are crucial in transitioning a model(s) from research to operations and for further model improvement and development that also benefits scientific endeavors. Then we will focus on products and tools that are used for auroral monitoring and forecasting at the Space Weather Research Center (SWRC). As part of the CCMC (Community Coordinated Modeling Center), SWRC has been providing space weather services since 2010.

Description: We are Co-Investigators for the Floating Potential Measurement Unit (FPMU) on the International Space Station (ISS) and members of the FPMU operations and data analysis team. We are providing this memo for the purpose of classifying raw and processed FPMU data products and ancillary data as NASA science data with unrestricted, public availability in order to best support science uses of the data.

Description: This report is intended to help NASA program and project managers incorporate Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) technologies that have gone through Phase II of the SBIR program into NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) programs. Other Government and commercial project managers can also find this information useful.

Description: Oxygen recovery from respiratory CO2 is an important aspect of human spaceflight. Methods exist to sequester the CO2, but production of oxygen needs further development. The current ISS Carbon Dioxide Reduction System (CRS) uses the Sabatier reaction to produce water (and ultimately breathing air). Oxygen recovery is limited to 50% because half of the hydrogen used in the Sabatier reactor is lost as methane, which is vented overboard. The Bosch reaction is the only real alternative to the Sabatier reaction, but in the last reaction in the cycle (Boudouard) the resulting carbon buildup will eventually foul the nickel or iron catalyst, reducing reactor life and increasing consumables. To minimize this fouling, find a use for this waste product, and increase efficiency, we propose testing various self-cleaning catalyst designs in an existing MSFC Boudouard reaction test bed and to determine which one is the most reliable in conversion and lack of fouling. Challenges include mechanical reliability of the cleaning method and maintaining high conversion efficiency with lower catalyst surface area. The above chemical reactions are well understood, but planned implementations are novel (TRL 2) and haven't been investigated at any level.

Description: Lighting intensity and color have a significant impact on human circadian rhythms. Advanced solid state lighting was developed for the Advanced Exploration System (AES) Deep Space Habitat(DSH) concept demonstrator. The latest generation of assemblies using the latest commercially available LED lights were designed for use in the Bigelow Aerospace Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) simulator and the University of Hawaii's Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (Hi-SEAS) habitat. Agreements with both these organizations will allow the government to receive feedback on the lights and lighting algorithms from long term human interaction.

Description: This project proposes to evaluate perennial woody fruit species, and in particular, genetically modified plum trees for inclusion as a crop for Advanced Life Support (ALS) system designs.

Description: An oxygen concentrator is needed to provide enriched oxygen in support of medical contingency operations for future exploration human spaceflight programs. It would provide continuous oxygen to an ill or injured crew member in a closed cabin environment. Oxygen concentration technology is being pursued to concentrate oxygen from the ambient environment so oxygen as a consumable resource can be reduced. Because oxygen is a critical resource in manned spaceflight, using an oxygen concentrator to pull oxygen out of the ambient environment instead of using compressed oxygen can provide better optimization of resources. The overall goal of this project is to develop an oxygen concentrator module that minimizes the hardware mass, volume, and power footprint while still performing at the required clinical capabilities. Should a medical event occur that requires patient oxygenation, the release of 100 percent oxygen into a small closed cabin environment can rapidly raise oxygen levels to the vehicles fire limit. The use of an oxygen concentrator to enrich oxygen from the ambient air and concentrate it to the point where it can be used for medical purposes means no oxygen is needed from the ultra-high purity (99.5+% O2) oxygen reserve tanks. By not adding oxygen from compressed tanks to the cabin environment, oxygen levels can be kept below the vehicle fire limit thereby extending the duration of care provided to an oxygenated patient without environmental control system intervention to keep the cabin oxygen levels below the fire limits. The oxygen concentrator will be a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearable device. A demonstration unit for the International Space Station (ISS) is planned to verify the technology and provide oxygen capability. For the ISS, the demonstration unit should not exceed 10 kg (approximately 22 lb), which is the soft stowage mass limit for launch on resupply vehicles for the ISS. The unit's size should allow for transport within the spacecraft to an ill crewmember. The user interface needs to be designed for ease of use by the local care provider and with consideration to the limited amount of training available to the astronaut corps for medical equipment and procedures.

Description: Photocatalysis is a process in which light energy is used to 'activate' oxidation/reduction reactions. Unmodified titanium dioxide (TiO2), a common photocatalyst, requires high-energy UV light for activation due to its large band gap (3.2 eV). Modification of TiO2 can reduce this band gap, leading to visible-light-responsive (VLR) photocatalysts. These catalysts can utilize solar and/or visible wavelength LED lamps as an activation source, replacing mercury-containing UV lamps, to create a "greener," more energy-efficient means for air and water revitalization. Recently, KSC developed several VLR catalysts that, on preliminary evaluation, possessed high catalytic activity within the visible spectrum; these samples out-performed existing commercial VLR catalysts.

Description: Microbial monitoring during spaceflight is crucial to maintain crew health and ensure water purifications systems are functioning properly. Current protocols for in-flight enumeration of bacteria in potable water systems require culture based methods. In this project, we aim to develop a flight- and microgravity-compatible flow cytometer capable of counting total microbial counts in the water supply and differentiating live from dead bacteria.

Description: A concentric split flow filter may be configured to remove odor and/or bacteria from pumped air used to collect urine and fecal waste products. For instance, filter may be designed to effectively fill the volume that was previously considered wasted surrounding the transport tube of a waste management system. The concentric split flow filter may be configured to split the air flow, with substantially half of the air flow to be treated traveling through a first bed of filter media and substantially the other half of the air flow to be treated traveling through the second bed of filter media. This split flow design reduces the air velocity by 50%. In this way, the pressure drop of filter may be reduced by as much as a factor of 4 as compare to the conventional design.

Description: The objectives of the High Performance EVA Glove task are to develop advanced EVA gloves for future human space exploration missions and generate corresponding standards by which progress may be quantitatively assessed. New technologies and manufacturing techniques will be incorporated into the new gloves to address finger and hand mobility, injury reduction and durability in nonpristine environments. Three prototypes will be developed, each focusing on different technological advances. A robotic assist glove will integrate a powered grasping system into the current EVA glove design to reduce astronaut hand fatigue and hand injuries. A mechanical counter pressure (MCP) glove will be developed to further explore the potential of MCP technology and assess its capability for countering the effects of vacuum or low pressure environments on the body by using compression fabrics or materials to apply the necessary pressure. A gas pressurized glove, incorporating new technologies, will be the most flight-like of the three prototypes. Advancements include the development and integration of aerogel insulation, damage sensing components, dust-repellant coatings, and dust tolerant bearings.

Description: No abstract available

Description: The Additive Construction with Mobile Emplacement (ACME) project is developing technology to build structures on planetary surfaces using in-situ resources. The project focuses on the construction of both 2D (landing pads, roads, and structure foundations) and 3D (habitats, garages, radiation shelters, and other structures) infrastructure needs for planetary surface missions. The ACME project seeks to raise the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of two components needed for planetary surface habitation and exploration: 3D additive construction (e.g., contour crafting), and excavation and handling technologies (to effectively and continuously produce in-situ feedstock). Additionally, the ACME project supports the research and development of new materials for planetary surface construction, with the goal of reducing the amount of material to be launched from Earth.

Description: The invention comprises a method and/or an apparatus using computer configured exercise equipment and an electric motor provided physical resistance in conjunction with a game system, such as a video game system, where the exercise system provides real physical resistance to a user interface. Results of user interaction with the user interface are integrated into a video game, such as running on a game console. The resistance system comprises: a subject interface, software control, a controller, an electric servo assist/resist motor, an actuator, and/or a subject sensor. The system provides actual physical interaction with a resistance device as input to the game console and game run thereon.

Description: NASA's Johnson Space Center is a big place, encompassing 1,620 acres and more than a hundred buildings. Furthermore, there are reportedly 15 thousand employees, all of which have somewhere to be. To facilitate the movement of all these people JSC has historically relied on human power. Pedaling their way towards deep space, bicycles have been the go to method. Currently there are about 200 Free Range Bicycles at JSC. Free Range Bicycles belong to nobody, except NASA, and are available for anybody to use. They are not to be locked or hidden (although frequently are) and the intention is that there will always be a bike to hop on to get where you're going (although it may not be the bike you rode in on). Although not without its own shortcomings, the Free Range Bicycle Program has continued to provide low cost, simple transportation for NASA's JSC. In addition to the approximately 200 Free Range Bicycles, various larger divisions (like engineering) will often buy a few dozen bikes for their team members to use or individuals will bring their own personal bike to either commute or use on site. When these bicycles fall into disrepair or are abandoned (from retirees etc) they become a problem at JSC. They are an eye sore, create a safety hazard and make it harder to find a working bike in a time of need. The Free Range Program hopes to address this first problem by "tagging out" abandoned or out of service bicycles. A bright orange "DO NOT OPERATE" tag is placed on the bike and given a serial number for tracking purposes. See picture to the right. If the bike has an active owner with intentions to repair the bike the bottom of the tag has instructions for how to claim the abandoned bicycle. After being tagged the owner of the bicycle has 30 days to claim the bicycle and either haul it off site or get it repaired (and labeled) in accordance with Johnson's Bicycle Policy. If the abandoned bicycle is not claimed within 30 days it becomes the property of the Government. The bicycle is then (in short) repaired, labeled, documented and converted to a free range bicycle. Bikes beyond repair are cannibalized of useable parts and then scrapped. That was nearly the first thing I did when arriving at work. After getting settled in and coordinating the purchase of 50 new bicycles (elaboration below); I started combing the Center. Bikes are hidden and tucked away in the oddest of places and it was my priority to root all of them out. I tagged 70 bikes on the center, setting a record. I tagged so many bikes I ran out tags and had to make more. Long ago it was discovered that the same harsh elements that wreak havoc on the bikes, destroy the tags before the 30 day timeframe. The tags are labeled with instructions on how to claim the bike and numbered, then these paper labels are laminated with packing tape. It sounds like a simple process but nothing fits right, everything has to be trimmed, put on straight and is generally a pain in the neck. So I made an assembly process and knocked out a few hundred to save having to do it again for a while. I walked the center and tagged bikes at every building hiding in nearly every nook and cranny. Thus, in conclusion, I've done many things here at JSC on my first term and had a blast doing it. I've learned a lot from my multi-faceted roles and continual challenges. In short I've done my best to get folks at JSC on bikes and keep folks at JSC on bikes and tended a flock of free range bicycles. Everything from turning the rusty bolts and oiling chains to coordinating a $20,000 deal on 50 new free range bicycles. I am proud of the bicycle shop I have built and am infinitely grateful to the people who lead, help, guide and support me. I have fixed a great number of bicycles and cleaned the center of unsightly and unsafe piles of bicycles. I am immensely thankful for this opportunity to learn and serve and appreciate the privilege of coming back for a second term. A second term, in which I will continue to develop this awesome program.

Description: The advanced Solid State Lighting (SSL) assemblies augmented 2nd generation modules under development for the Advanced Exploration Systems Deep Space Habitat in using color therapy to synchronize crew circadian rhythms. Current RGB LED technology does not produce sufficient brightness to adequately address general lighting in addition to color therapy. The intent is to address both through a mix of white and RGB LEDs designing for fully addressable alertness/relaxation levels as well as more dramatic circadian shifts.

Description: The dynamic portable life support system (PLSS) simulation software Virtual Space Suit (V-SUIT) has been under development at the Technische Universitat Munchen since 2011 as a spin-off from the Virtual Habitat (V-HAB) project. The MATLAB(trademark)-based V-SUIT simulates space suit portable life support systems and their interaction with a detailed and also dynamic human model, as well as the dynamic external environment of a space suit moving on a planetary surface. To demonstrate the feasibility of a large, system level simulation like V-SUIT, a model of NASA's PLSS 1.0 prototype was created. This prototype was run through an extensive series of tests in 2011. Since the test setup was heavily instrumented, it produced a wealth of data making it ideal for model validation. The implemented model includes all components of the PLSS in both the ventilation and thermal loops. The major components are modeled in greater detail, while smaller and ancillary components are low fidelity black box models. The major components include the Rapid Cycle Amine (RCA) CO2 removal system, the Primary and Secondary Oxygen Assembly (POS/SOA), the Pressure Garment System Volume Simulator (PGSVS), the Human Metabolic Simulator (HMS), the heat exchanger between the ventilation and thermal loops, the Space Suit Water Membrane Evaporator (SWME) and finally the Liquid Cooling Garment Simulator (LCGS). Using the created model, dynamic simulations were performed using same test points also used during PLSS 1.0 testing. The results of the simulation were then compared to the test data with special focus on absolute values during the steady state phases and dynamic behavior during the transition between test points. Quantified simulation results are presented that demonstrate which areas of the V-SUIT model are in need of further refinement and those that are sufficiently close to the test results. Finally, lessons learned from the modelling and validation process are given in combination with implications for the future development of other PLSS models in V-SUIT.

Description: The development of a new, robust, portable life support system (PLSS) is a high priority for NASA in order to support longer and safer extravehicular activity (EVA) missions. One of the critical PLSS functions is maintaining the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the suit at acceptable levels. Although the Metal Oxide (MetOx) canister has historically performed very well, it has a finite CO2 adsorption capacity. Therefore, the size and weight of the unit would have to be increased to extend EVA times. Consequently, new CO2 control technologies must be developed in order to meet mission objectives without increasing the size of the PLSS. Recent work has centered on sorbents that can be regenerated during the EVA; however, this strategy increases the system complexity and power consumption. A much simpler approach is to employ a membrane that vents CO2 to space and retains oxygen (O2). A membrane has many advantages over current technology: it is a continuous system with no limit on capacity, it requires no consumables, and it does not need any hardware to switch beds between absorption and regeneration. Unfortunately, conventional gas separation membranes do not have the needed selectivity for use in the PLSS. However, the required performance could be obtained with a supported liquid membrane (SLM), which consists of a microporous material filled with a liquid that selectively reacts with CO2 over O2. In a recently completed Phase II SBIR project, Reaction Systems, Inc. achieved the required CO2 permeance and selectivity with an SLM in a flat sheet configuration. This paper describes work to convert the SLM into a more compact form and to scale it up to handle more representative process flow rates.

Description: The Rapid Cycle Amine (RCA) 3.0 system is currently under development by NASA, the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) in conjunction with United Technologies Corporation Aerospace Systems (UTAS). The RCA technology is a new carbon dioxide (CO2) and humidity removal system that has been baselined for the Advanced Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AEMU) Portable Life Support System. The evolution of the RCA development has progressed through several iterations of technology readiness levels including RCA 1.0, RCA 2.0, and RCA 3.0 test articles. The RCA is an advancement over currently technologies due to its unique regeneration capability. The RCA is capable of simultaneously removing CO2 and humidity from an influent air steam and subsequent regeneration when exposed to a vacuum source. The RCA technology uses two solid amine sorbent beds in an alternating fashion to adsorb CO2 and water (uptake mode) and desorb CO2 and water (regeneration mode) at the same time. The two beds operate in an efficient manner so that while one bed is in the uptake mode, the other is in the regeneration mode, thus continuously providing an on-service sorbent bed by which CO2 and humidity may be removed. The RCA 2.0 and 3.0 test articles were designed with a novel valve assembly which allows for switching between uptake and regeneration modes with only one moving part while minimizing gas volume losses to the vacuum source by means of an internal pressure equalization step during actuation. The RCA technology also is low power, small, and has performed extremely well in all development testing thus far. A final design was selected for the RCA 3.0, fabricated, assembled, and performance tested in 2014 with delivery to NASAJSC in January 2015. This paper will provide an overview on the RCA 3.0 system design and results of pre-delivery testing with references to the development of RCA 1.0 and RCA 2.0.

Description: NASA is building a high fidelity prototype of an advanced portable life support system (PLSS) as part of the Advanced Exploration Systems Program. This new PLSS, designated as PLSS 2.5, will advance component technologies and systems knowledge in order to inform a future flight program. The oxygen ventilation loop of its predecessor, PLSS 2.0, is driven by a centrifugal fan developed using specifications from over five years ago. PLSS technology and system parameters have matured to the point where the existing fan will not perform adequately for the new prototype. In addition, areas of potential improvement have been identified with the existing fan that could be addressed in a new design. As a result, a new fan was designed and tested for the PLSS 2.5. The PLSS 2.5 fan is a derivative of the one used in PLSS 2.0. It uses the same basic non-metallic can around the motor, but with a larger volute and impeller to meet the higher pressure drop requirements of the PLSS 2.5 loop. This allows it to operate at rotational speeds that are matched to rolling element bearings, and which create reasonably low impeller tip speeds. Development of the fan also considered a shrouded impeller design that allows larger clearances for greater oxygen safety and better performance.

Description: During the Apollo Program, space suit outerlayer fabrics were badly abraded after performing just a few extravehicular activities (EVAs). For example, the Apollo 12 commander reported abrasive wear on the boots that penetrated the outerlayer fabric into the thermal protection layers after less than 8 hrs of surface operations. Current plans for the exploration planetary space suits require the space suits to support hundreds of hours of EVA on a lunar or Martian surface, creating a challenge for space suit designers to utilize materials advances made over the last 40 years and improve on the space suit fabrics used in the Apollo Program. Over the past 25 years the NASA Johnson Space Center Crew and Thermal Systems Division has focused on tumble testing as means of simulating wear on the outer layer of the space suit fabric. Most recently, in 2009, testing was performed on 4 different candidate outer layers to gather baseline data for future use in design of planetary space suit outer layers. In support of the High Performance EVA Glove Element of the Next Generation Life Support Project, testing a new configuration was recently attempted in which require 10% of the fabric per replicate of that need in 2009. The smaller fabric samples allowed for reduced per sample cost and flexibility to test small samples from manufacturers without the overhead to have a production run completed. Data collected from this iteration was compared to that taken in 2009 to validate the new test method. In addition the method also evaluated the fabrics and fabric layups used in a prototype thermal micrometeoroid garment (TMG) developed for EVA gloves under the NASA High Performance EVA Glove Project. This paper provides a review of previous abrasion studies on space suit fabrics, details methodologies used for abrasion testing in this particular study, results of the validation study, and results of the TMG testing.

Description: The Space Suit Assembly (SSA) Development Team at NASA Johnson Space Center has invested heavily in the advancement of rearentry planetary exploration suit design but largely deferred development of extravehicular activity (EVA) glove designs, and accepted the risk of using the current flight gloves, Phase VI, for exploration missions. However, as design reference missions mature, the risks of using heritage hardware have highlighted the need for developing robust new glove technologies. To address the technology gap, the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate's GameChanging Development Program provided startup funding for the High Performance EVA Glove (HPEG) Element as part of the Next Generation Life Support (NGLS) Project in the fall of 2013. The overarching goal of the HPEG Element is to develop a robust glove design that increases human performance during EVA and creates pathway for implementation of emergent technologies, with specific aims of increasing pressurized mobility to 60% of barehanded capability, increasing the durability in onpristine environments, and decreasing the potential of gloves to cause injury during use. The HPEG Element focused initial efforts on developing quantifiable and repeatable methodologies for assessing glove performance with respect to mobility, injury potential, thermal conductivity, and abrasion resistance. The team used these methodologies to establish requirements against which emerging technologies and glove designs can be assessed at both the component and assembly levels. The mobility performance testing methodology was an early focus for the HPEG team as it stems from collaborations between the SSA Development team and the JSC Anthropometry and Biomechanics Facility (ABF) that began investigating new methods for suited mobility and fit early in the Constellation Program. The combined HPEG and ABF team used lessons learned from the previous efforts as well as additional reviews of methodologies in physical and occupational therapy arenas to develop a protocol that assesses gloved range of motion, strength, dexterity, tactility, and fit in comparative quantitative terms and also provides qualitative insight to direct hardware design iterations. The protocol was evaluated using five experienced test subjects wearing the EMU pressurized to 4.3psid with three different glove configurations. The results of the testing are presented to illustrate where the protocol is and is not valid for benchmark comparisons. The process for requirements development based upon the results is also presented along with suggested performance values for the High Performance EVA Gloves to be procured in fiscal year 2015.

Description: Per the NASA Human Health, Life Support and Habitation System Technology Area 06 report "crewed missions venturing beyond Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) will require technologies with improved reliability, reduced mass, self-sufficiency, and minimal logistical needs as an emergency or quick-return option will not be feasible." To meet this need, the development team of the second generation Cascade Distillation System (CDS 2.0) opted a development approach that explicitely incorporate consideration of safety, mission assurance, and autonomy. The CDS 2.0 prelimnary design focused on establishing a functional baseline that meets the CDS core capabilities and performance. The critical design phase is now focused on incorporating features through a deliberative process of establishing the systems failure modes and effects, identifying mitigative strategies, and evaluating the merit of the proposed actions through analysis and test. This paper details results of this effort on the CDS 2.0 design.

Description: The ability to recover and purify water is crucial for realizing long-term human space missions. The National Aeronautics and Space Admininstration and Honeywell co-developed a five-stage vacuum rotary distillation water recovery system referred to as the Cascade Distillation Subsystem (CDS). Over the past three years, NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Water Recovery Project (WRP) has been working toward the development of a flight-forward CDS design. In 2012 the original CDS prototype underwent a series of incremental upgrades and tests intened to both demonstrate the feasibility of a on-orbit demonstration of the system and to collect operational and performance data to be used to inform a second generation design. The latest testing of the CDS Generation 1.0 prototype was conducted May 29 through July 2, 2014. Initial system performance was benchmarked by processing deionized water and sodium chloride. Following, the system was challenged with analogue urine waste stream solutions stabilized with an Oxone-based and the two International Space Station baseline and alternative pretreatment solutions. During testing, the system processed more than 160 kilograms of wastewater with targeted water recoveries between 75 and 85% depending on the specific waste stream tested. For all wastewater streams, contaminant removals from wastewater feed to product water distillate, were estimated at greater than 99%. The average specific energy of the system was less than 120 Watt-hours/kilogram. The following paper provides detailed information and data on the performance of the CDS as challenged per the WRP test objectives.

Description: Being the only U.S. Government entity charged with monitoring the meteor environment, the Meteoroid Environment Office has deployed a network of all sky and wide field meteor cameras, along with the appropriate software tools to quickly analyze data from these systems. However, the coverage of this network is still quite limited, forcing the incorporation of data from other cameras posted to the internet in analyzing many of the fireballs reported by the public and media. A procedure has been developed that determines the analysis process for a given fireball event based on the types and amount of data available. The differences between these analysis process will be explained and outlined by looking at three bolide events, all of which were large enough to produce meteorites. The first example is an ideal event - a bright meteor that occurred over NASA's All Sky Camera Network on August 2, 2014. With clear video of the event from various angles, a high-accuracy trajectory, beginning and end heights, orbit and approximate brightness/size of the event are able to be found very quickly using custom software. The bolide had the potential to have dropped meteorites, so dark flight analysis and modeling was performed, allowing potential fall locations to be mapped as a function of meteorite mass. The second case study was a bright bolide that occurred November 3, 2014 over West Virginia. This was just north of the NASA southeastern all-sky network, and just south of the Ohio-Pennsylvania network. This case study showcases the MEO's ability to use social media and various internet sources to locate videos of the event from obscure sources (including the Washington Monument) for anything that will permit a determination of a basic trajectory and fireball light curve The third case study will highlight the ability to use doppler weather radar in helping locate meteorites, which enable a definitive classification of the impactor. The input data and analysis steps differ for each case study, but the goals remain the same - a trajectory, orbit, and mass estimate for the bolide within hours of the event, and, for events with a high probability of producing meteorites, a location of the strewn field within a day.

Description: The recent reports of methane in the atmosphere of Mars, as well as the findings of hypersaline paleo-environments on that planet, have underscored the need to evaluate the importance of biological (as opposed to geological) trace gas production and consumption. Methane in the atmosphere of Mars may be an indication of life but might also be a consequence of geologic activity and/or the thermal alteration of ancient organic matter. Hypersaline environments have now been reported to be extremely likely in several locations in our solar system, including: Mars, Europa, and Enceladus. Modern hypersaline microbial mat communities, (thought to be analogous to those present on the early Earth at a period of time when Mars was experiencing very similar environmental conditions), have been shown to produce methane. However, very little is known about the physical and/or biological controls imposed upon the rates at which methane, and other important trace gases, are produced and consumed in these environments. We describe here the results of our investigations of methane production in hypersaline environments, including field sites in Chile, Baja California Mexico, California, USA and the United Arab Emirates. We have measured high concentrations of methane in bubbles of gas produced both in the sediments underlying microbial mats, as well as in areas not colonized by microbial mats in the Guerrero Negro hypersaline ecosystem, Baja California Mexico, in Chile, and in salt ponds on the San Francisco Bay. The carbon isotopic (13C) composition of the methane in the bubbles exhibited an extremely wide range of values, (ca. -75 per mille ca. -25 per mille). The hydrogen isotopic composition of the methane (2H) ranged from -60 to -30per mille and -450 to -350per mille. These isotopic values are outside of the range of values normally considered to be biogenic, however incubations of the sediments in contact with these gas bubbles reveals that the methane is indeed being produced by these sediments. Substrate limitation of methanogenesis in these environments, and not methane oxidation, would explain the isotopic values of the methane in these environments. Incubations with both isotopically labeled and unlabeled putative substrates for methanogenesis have shown that the substrates most important for methanogenesis in these environments are the so-called non-competitive substrates, e.g., methylamines, dimethylsulfide, and methanol. Acetate and bicarbonate appear not to be important substrates for methanogens in these environments. Extraction of DNA and analysis of a gene used for methane production (mcrA) has revealed that the community composition of methanogens is consistent with organisms known to use non-competitive substrates. Our work has shown that hypersaline environments have the potential to both produce and preserve methane for analysis, e.g., by capable rovers. Our work expends the range of methane isotopic values now known to be produced by active methanogenesis

Description: Results are presented on the development of reversible sorbents for the combined carbon dioxide, moisture, and tracecontaminant (TC) removal for use in Extravehicular Activities (EVAs), and more specifically in the Primary Life Support System (PLSS). The currently available life support systems use separate units for carbon dioxide, trace contaminants, and moisture control, and the longterm objective is to replace the above three modules with a single one. Furthermore, the current TCcontrol technology involves the use of a packed bed of acidimpregnated granular charcoal, which is nonregenerable, and the carbonbased sorbent under development in this project can be regenerated by exposure to vacuum at room temperature. In this study, several carbon sorbents were fabricated and tested for simultaneous carbon dioxide, ammonia, formaldehyde, and water sorption. Multiple adsorption/vacuumregeneration cycles were demonstrated at room temperature, and also the enhancement of formaldehyde sorption by the presence of ammonia in the gas mixture.

Description: A new vision is needed for the development of a wardrobe for NASA's journey to Mars in the 2030s. All human space missions require significant logistical mass and volume that add an unprecedented burden on long-duration missions beyond low-Earth orbit. The logistical burden is at least twice as great for prolonged exploration and settlements on planetary surfaces compared to missions in low-Earth orbit. The space wear vision is to design apparel that uniquely meets criteria and constraints for sustaining human presence in space. For long duration missions without landing on planetary surface, humans can use only what they carry in their spacecraft, while for settlements, additional resources may be available. The immediate space wear goal is to develop those elements needed for prolonged manned exploration beyond low Earth orbit. Three major objectives have been identified for achieving this goal: satisfying crew preferences, logistics reduction and repurposing, and systems integration. Garments must be comfortable, durable, safe to wear, and aesthetically pleasing. In addition, with limited cleaning resources, garments must be developed to reduce the logistical burden by reducing clothing mass and extending clothing wear. Furthermore, garments must have minimal impact on the life support systems of spacecraft. The approach to achieving the immediate space wear goal is to conduct multiple studies on Earth and on the International Space Station (ISS), thus laying out the path for finding materials and designing garments that meet the three objectives of prolonged manned exploration. Several studies have been undertaken recently for the first time, namely, to ascertain garment length of wear and to assess the acceptance of such extended wear. Most garments in these studies have been exercise T-shirts and shorts, and routine-wear T-shirts. Eleven studies have been completed: five studies of exercise T-shirts, three of exercise shorts, two of routine wear T-shirts, and one of shirts used as sleep-wear. The IVA (Intra Vehicular Activity) Clothing Study has been the first study with Roscosmos under the "Utilization Sharing Plan On-Board ISS," while the other studies have been conducted at the Johnson Space Center in a controlled environment similar to the ISS. For exercise clothing, study participants wore garments during aerobic exercise. For routine wear clothing, study participants wore the T-shirts daily in an office or laboratory. Daily questionnaires collected data on ordinal preferences of nine sensory elements and on reasons for retiring a used garment. More studies have been initiated on Earth, and some should be planned to engage more astronauts and cosmonauts in the design of the new space wear. Future studies will extend to other types of garments in the wardrobe; another will address microbial growth on textiles. Others will address cleaning and sanitation of clothing in space vehicles. Efforts will be made for additional ISS studies with NASA's international partners.

Description: NASA plans to send humans to Mars in about 20 years. The NASA Human Research Program supports research to mitigate the major risks to human health and performance on extended missions. However, there will undoubtedly be unforeseen events on any mission of this nature - thus mitigation of known risks alone is not sufficient to ensure optimal crew health and performance. Research should be directed not only to mitigating known risks, but also to providing crews with the tools to assess and enhance resilience, as a group and individually. We can draw on ideas from complexity theory and network theory to assess crew and individual resilience. The entire crew or the individual crewmember can be viewed as a complex system that is composed of subsystems (individual crewmembers or physiological subsystems), and the interactions between subsystems are of crucial importance for overall health and performance. An understanding of the structure of the interactions can provide important information even in the absence of complete information on the component subsystems. This is critical in human spaceflight, since insufficient flight opportunities exist to elucidate the details of each subsystem. Enabled by recent advances in noninvasive measurement of physiological and behavioral parameters, subsystem monitoring can be implemented within a mission and also during preflight training to establish baseline values and ranges. Coupled with appropriate mathematical modeling, this can provide real-time assessment of health and function, and detect early indications of imminent breakdown. Since the interconnected web of physiological systems (and crewmembers) can be interpreted as a network in mathematical terms, we can draw on recent work that relates the structure of such networks to their resilience (ability to self-organize in the face of perturbation). There are many parameters and interactions to choose from. Normal variability is an established characteristic of a healthy physiological response. Healthy coupling has been investigated less extensively, but there are cases in which too tight or too loose coupling can be problematic. This might be in inter-individual behaviors, such as sleep cycles, coordination of work and meal times, and coupled motions during communication. Less apparent are couplings of physiological systems, nevertheless examples abound of coupled systems which might be monitored: cardio-respiratory rhythms; circadian rhythms, body temperature, and sleep; stress markers and cognition, sleep, and performance; profiles of biochemical markers related to immune function and nutritional status; sensorimotor aspects such as motion sickness, ataxia, reaction time, and manual control. Tools for resilience are then the means to measure and analyze these parameters, incorporate them into appropriate models of normal variability and interconnectedness, and recognize when parameters or their couplings are outside of normal limits. What to do when a problem is identified depends on its nature. Changes can be made to crew procedures, work pacing, interpersonal interactions, sleep cycles, meal timing and content, as guided by the model. Use and continued development of these methods could not only provide tools for resilience, but also meaningful autonomous work for the crew on an extended flight.

Description: Rodent research has played a key role in advancing biomedical discoveries both on Earth and in space. The National Research Counsels Decadal survey(1) emphasized the importance of expanding NASAs life sciences research to perform long duration, rodent experiments on the International Space Station (ISS). To accomplish this objective, flight hardware, operations, and science capabilities were developed at NASA ARC to support both commercial and government-sponsored rodent research.Rodent Research-1 (RR-1) was the first mission in which animals were delivered and maintained in the ISS for a long duration mission in modified Animal Enclosure Module hardware. Both RR validation and commercial science objectives were pursued on the RR-1 mission. Adult female mice (20 total Flight, FLT) were launched Sept 21, 2014 in RR hardware within a Dragon Capsule (SpaceX4), then after 4 days in transit, were transferred for habitation on the ISS for 17 days (commercial) or 33 days (validation), when animals were euthanized and select tissues recovered on orbit. Various controls groups consisted of: 1) Basal mice from the same cohorts as FLT mice, but tissues were recovered at time of launch, 2) Vivarium (VIV) were housed in standard cages 3) Ground Controls (GC) were housed in flight hardware within an environmental chamber at Kennedy Space Center. The health and behavior of all mice on the ISS were monitored by video feed on a daily basis. Mice were euthanized by injection of Euthasol, then either fast frozen intact or dissected to preserve livers (fast frozen) and spleens (RNAlater). Samples were stored at -80C until their return to Earth for later analyses.Hardware performed nominally throughout the mission and the planned in-flight science operations were completed successfully. FLT mice appeared generally more physically active on orbit than respective GC groups. After 33 days on the ISS, mean body weights of FLT mice did not differ from GC, with both groups showing a 6% rise compared to time of launch, while VIV mice showed an 8% rise over the same period. Importantly, there were no significant differences in body weights between groups at the end of 33 days on the ISS, providing an indication that the RR hardware supported the health of the mice both on Earth and in space. Based on the preliminary data obtained from the livers and spleens of mice after 17 days on the ISS, purified RNA was of high quality (RIN values of spleen: FLT=9.48 +0.40, GC=9.28 +0.44, n=5/group); therefore, RNA quality from samples retrieved on orbit was acceptable for even the most demanding transcriptomic analyses. In addition, liver enzyme activity levels (units/mg protein) of FLT mice (after 17d on ISS) and all control mice were similar in magnitude to samples that were optimally prepared by freezing in liquid nitrogen in the laboratory (enzymes analyzed included catalase, glutathione reductase and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase). Validation analyses still in progress include behavior and tissue biochemistries, as well as optimization of science return by post-flight recovery of tissues for biospecimen sharing and global expression analyses.Together, these preliminary findings demonstrate new capability for supporting long duration rodent research on the ISS to achieve both basic science and biomedical objectives.

Description: Although most asteroids and other near-Earth objects (NEOs) do not pose a threat to Earths inhabitants, impacts from objects that are just tens of meters in diameter can cause significant damage if they occur over a populated area. This paper forms the foundation of an effort at NASA Ames Research Center to quantify these risks and identify the greatest risk-driving parameters and uncertainties. An integrated risk model that couples dynamic probabilistic simulations of strike occurrences with physics-based models of NEO impact damage factors has been developed to generate casualty estimates for a range of NEO impact properties. Currently, the model focuses on the risk due to blast overpressure damage from airbursts and impacts on land. The model is first used to reproduce results from established sources, and then is extended to perform sensitivity studies that yield greater insights into risk driving parameters. Results show that meteor strength and entry angle play a role for small to mid-size NEOs, and that accounting for the specific target location significantly affects casualty estimates and dominates the risk. Future work will continue to refine and expand the models to better characterize key impact risk factors, include additional types of threats such as tsunamis and climate effects, and ultimately support assessments of potential asteroid mitigation strategies.

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Description: During 2014 the crews from Expeditions 38-41 were in residence on the International Space Station (ISS). In addition to the U.S. potable water reclaimed from humidity condensate and urine, the other water supplies available for their use were Russian potable water reclaimed from condensate and Russian ground-supplied potable water. Beginning in June of 2014 and for the fourth time since 2010, the product water from the U.S. water processor assembly (WPA) experienced a rise in the total organic carbon (TOC) level due to organic contaminants breaking through the water treatment process. Results from ground analyses of ISS archival water samples returned on Soyuz 38 confirmed that dimethylsilanediol was once again the contaminant responsible for the rise. With this confirmation in hand and based upon the low toxicity of dimethylsilanediol, a waiver was approved to allow the crew to continue to consume the water after the TOC level exceeded the U.S. Segment limit of 3 mg/L. Several weeks after the WPA multifiltration beds were replaced, the TOC levels returned to below the method detection limit of the onboard TOC analyzer (TOCA) as anticipated based upon experience from previous rises. This paper presents and discusses the chemical analysis results for the ISS archival potable-water samples returned in 2014 and analyzed by the Johnson Space Center's Toxicology and Environmental Chemistry laboratory. These results showed compliance with ISS potable water quality standards and indicated that the potable-water supplies were acceptable for crew consumption. Although dimethylsilanediol levels were at times elevated, they remained well below the 35 mg/L health limit so the continued consumption of the U.S. potable water was considered a low risk to crew health and safety. Excellent agreement between in-flight and archival sample TOC data confirmed that the TOCA performed optimally and continued to serve as a vital tool for monitoring organic breakthrough and planning remediation action.

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Description: Among the many "ocean worlds" of our solar system, Enceladus appears unique in its combination of astrobiologically relevant, exploration-worthy attributes: extensive liquid-water ocean with high-temperature hydrothermal activity, containing salts and organics expressed predictably into space. The Enceladus south polar plume allows direct access to telltale molecules, ions, isotopes, and potential cytofragments in space. Plume mass spectroscopy and sample return, in situ investigation of surface fallback deposits, direct vent exploration, and eventually oceanographic exploration can all be envisioned. However, building consensus to fund such ambitious exploration hinges on acquiring key new data. A roadmap is essential. It could start with cost-capped onramps: 1) flythrough analysis of the plume, following up on Cassini measurements with modern instruments; 2) sample return of plume material for analysis on Earth. A methodical mission sequence in which each step depends on emergent results from prior missions would push in situ oceanographic exploration into the second half of this century. Even for this scenario, prioritization by the next planetary Decadal Survey would be pivotal.

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Description: A metal film liftoff process includes applying a polymer layer onto a silicon substrate, applying a germanium layer over the polymer layer to create a bilayer lift off mask, applying a patterned photoresist layer over the germanium layer, removing an exposed portion of the germanium layer, removing the photoresist layer and a portion of the polymer layer to expose a portion of the substrate and create an overhanging structure of the germanium layer, depositing a metal film over the exposed portion of the substrate and the germanium layer, and removing the polymer and germanium layers along with the overlaying metal film.

Description: The Baseline Values and Assumptions Document (BVAD) provides analysts, modelers, and other life support researchers with a common set of values and assumptions which can be used as a baseline in their studies. This baseline, in turn, provides a common point of origin from which many studies in the community may depart, making research results easier to compare and providing researchers with reasonable values to assume for areas outside their experience. With the ability to accurately compare different technologies' performance for the same function, managers will be able to make better decisions regarding technology development.

Description: In flight simulation, motion filters are used to transform aircraft motion into simulator motion. When looking for the best match between visual and inertial amplitude in a simulator, researchers have found that there is a range of inertial amplitudes, rather than a single inertial value, that is perceived by subjects as optimal. This zone, hereafter referred to as the optimal zone, seems to correlate to the perceptual coherence zones measured in flight simulators. However, no studies were found in which these two zones were compared. This study investigates the relation between the optimal and the coherence zone measurements within and between different simulators. Results show that for the sway axis, the optimal zone lies within the lower part of the coherence zone. In addition, it was found that, whereas the width of the coherence zone depends on the visual amplitude and frequency, the width of the optimal zone remains constant.

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Description: Carbon Dioxide removal systems on submarines are compact and reliable. They use solubility chemistry. They spray a Carbon Dioxide adsorbing chemical directly into the air stream, and allow the liquid to settle. Carbon Dioxide removal systems on ISS are large and need repair. They use adsorption chemistry. They force air through a bed packed with granular zeolite, and heat the bed to desorb the Carbon Dioxide. The thermal cycles cause the zeolite to dust. New advances in additive manufacturing, and a better understanding of uid behavior in microgravity make it possible to expose a liquid directly to air in a microgravity environment. It is now practical to use submarine style solubility chemistry for atmosphere revitalization in space. It is now possible to develop space systems that achieve submarine levels of reliability. New developments in Ionic Liquid research make it possible to match the solubility performance characteristics of MEA used on submarines - with Ionic Liquids that do not release chemical vapors into the air. "Thirsty Walls" provide gentle, passive contact between ventilation air and Air Revitalization functions of temperature control, relative humidity control, and Carbon Dioxide removal. "Thirsty Walls" eliminates the need of large blowers and compressors that need to force air at high velocities through restrictive Air Revitalization hardware.

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Description: This report has been developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) Risk Management team in close coordination with the COTS Program. This document provides a point-in-time, cumulative, summary of actionable key lessons learned derived from the design project. Lessons learned invariably address challenges and risks and the way in which these areas have been addressed. Accordingly the risk management thread is woven throughout the document.

Description: In 2013, San Diego-based Aviation Technology Inc. obtained an exclusive license for the technology behind the cabin pressure monitor invented at Kennedy Space Center and built its own version of the product. The Alt Alert is designed to save lives by alerting aircraft pilots and crews when cabin pressure becomes dangerously low.

Description: Based on work Stanford Research Institute did for Ames Research Center, Joseph Trachtman developed a vision trainer to treat visual focusing problems in the 1980s. In 2014, Trachtman, operating out of Seattle, released a home version of the device called the Zone-Trac. The inventor has found the biofeedback process used by the technology induces an alpha-wave brain state, causing increased hand-eye coordination and reaction times, among other effects

Description: In the 1980s, Columbia, Maryland-based Martek Biosciences Corporation worked with Ames Research Center to pioneer the use of microalgae as a source of essential omega-3 fatty acids, work that led the company to develop its highly successful Formulaid product. Now the Nutritional Products Division of Royal DSM, the company also manufactures DHAgold, a nutritional supplement for pets, livestock and farm-raised fish that uses algae to deliver docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Description: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration initiated a new project focused on Planetary Defense on October 1, 2014. The new project is funded by NASAs Near Earth Object Program (Lindley Johnson, Program Executive). This presentation describes the objectives, functions and plans of four tasks encompassed in the new project and their inter-relations. Additionally, this project provides for outreach to facilitate partnerships with other organizations to help meet the objectives of the planetary defense community. The four tasks are (1) Characterization of Near Earth Asteroids, (2) Physics-Based Modeling of Meteor Entry and Breakup (3) Surface Impact Modeling and (4) Physics-Based Impact Risk Assessment.

Description: Extravehicular activities (EVAs) at remote locations must maximize limited resources such as oxygen (O2) and also minimize the risk of decompression sickness (DCS). A proposed remote denitrogenation (prebreathe) protocol requires astronauts to live in a mildly hypoxic atmosphere at 8.2 psia while periodically performing EVAs at 4.3 psia. Empirical data are required to confirm that the protocol meets the current accept requirements: less than or equal to 15% incidence of Type I DCS, less than or equal to 20% incidence of Grade IV venous gas emboli (VGE), both at 95% statistical confidence, with no Type II DCS symptom during the validation trial. METHODS: A repeated measures statistical design is proposed in which groups of 6 subjects with physical characteristics similar to active-duty astronauts would first become equilibrated to an 8.2 psia atmosphere in a hypobaric chamber containing 34% O2 and 66% N2, over 48 h, and then perform 4 simulated EVAs at 4.3 psia over the next 9 days. In the equilibration phase, subjects undergo a 3-h 100% O2 mask prebreathe prior to and during a 5-min ascent to 8.2 psia to prevent significant tissue N2 supersaturation on reaching 8.2 psia. Masks would be removed once 34% O2 is established at 8.2 psia, and subjects would then equilibrate to this atmosphere for 48 h. The hypoxia is equivalent to breathing air at 1,220 meters (4,000 ft) altitude, just as was experienced in the shuttle 10.2 psia - 26.5% O2 staged denitrogenation protocol and the current ISS campout denitrogenation protocol. For simulated EVAs, each subject dons a mask and breathes 85% O2 and 15% N2 during a 3-min depressurization to 6.0 psia, holds for 15 min, and then completes a 3-min depressurization to 4.3 psia. The simulated EVA period starts when 6.0 psia is reached and continues for a total of 240 min (222 min at 4.3 psia). During this time, subjects will follow a prescribed repetitive activity against loads in the upper and lower body with mean metabolic rate approaching 1500 BTU/hr [378 kcal/hr (O2 consumption about 1.3 l(sub STPD)/min)] in ambulatory subjects. Noninvasive Doppler ultrasound bubble monitoring for VGE in the pulmonary artery will be performed on subjects by 2 Doppler Technicians at about 15 min intervals while at 4.3 psia. At the end of this period, a 15-min repressurization returns all subjects back to 8.2 psia and the cycle is repeated 3 additional times with a day of rest between simulated EVAs. RESULTS: With an assumed 1.5% probability of DCS [P(DCS)] and accounting for within-subject correlation, running the proposed study with 20 subjects has a 95% probability of meeting the accept criterion for DCS. But if the true probability of DCS is 3.0%, then 30 subjects would be needed to achieve about the same probability to meet our accept criterion. These results assume a standard deviation of 1.4 for the between-subjects random component of P(DCS) on a logit scale, which was estimated from a previous study.

Description: To dramatically reduce the cost and risk of CO2 management systems in future extended missions, we have conducted preliminary studies on the materials and device development for advanced "artificial photosynthesis" reaction systems termed the High Tortuosity PhotoElectroChemical (HTPEC) system. Our Phase I studies have demonstrated that HTPEC operates in much the same way a tree would function, namely directly contacting the cabin air with a photocatalyst in the presence of light and water (as humidity) to immediately conduct the process of CO2 reduction to O2 and useful, "tunable" carbon products. This eliminates many of the inefficiencies associated with current ISS CO2 management systems. We have laid the solid foundation for Phase II work to employ novel and efficient reactor geometries, lighting approaches, 3D manufacturing methods and in-house grown novel catalytic materials.The primary objective of the proposed work is to demonstrate the scientific and engineering foundation for light-activated, compact devices capable of converting CO2 to O2 and mission-relevant carbon compounds. The proposed HTPEC CO2 management system will demonstrate a novel pathway with high efficiency and reliability in a compact, lightweight reactor architecture. The proposed HTPEC air processing concept can be developed in multiple architectures, such as centralized processing as well as "artificial leaves" distributed throughout the cabin that utilize pre-existing cabin ventilation (wind). Additionally, HTPEC can be deployed with spectrally tunable collection channels for selectable product generation. HTPEC employs light as its only energy source to remove and convert waste CO2 using a non-toxic composite catalyst.We have demonstrated in the Phase I studies the production, tunability and robustness of the novel composite catalysts following the preliminary work in the Chen laboratory. Additionally, we have designed, fabricated and tested all components of HTPEC device with active materials, including flow modeling to optimize flow mixing and pressure drop as well as the production of ethylene and other larger hydrocarbons. To best determine how this technology could be implemented, we also performed system integration optimization and trade studies. This includes parameters such as mass, volume, power in relation to selected mission configurations, CO2 delivery methods and light source/delivery approaches.

Description: This study describes a new technology for discerning the gravity fields and mass distribution of a solar system small body, without requiring dedicated orbiters or landers. Instead of a lander, a spacecraft releases a collection of small, simple probes during a flyby past an asteroid or comet. By tracking those probes from the host spacecraft, one can estimate the asteroid's gravity field and infer its underlying composition and structure. This approach offers a diverse measurement set,equivalent to planning and executing many independent and unique flyby encounters of a single spacecraft. This report assesses a feasible hardware implementation, derives the underlying models,and analyzes the performance of this concept via simulation.In terms of hardware, a small, low mass, low cost implementation is presented, which consists of a dispenser and probes. The dispenser contains roughly 12 probes in a tube and has a total size commensurate with a 6U P-Pod. The probes are housed in disc shaped sabots. When commanded,the dispenser ejects the top-most probe using a linear motor. The ejected probe separates from its sabots and unfolds using internal springs. There are two types of probes, each designed for a particular tracking modality. The reflective probe type, tracked by a telescope, unfolds to forma diffusely reflective sphere. The retroreflector probe type, tracked by a lidar, unfolds to form a corner-cube retroreflector assembly. Both types are designed to spherical so that their attitude doesn't affect the spacecraft's tracking performance.This analysis indicates that the point-mass term of small bodies larger than roughly 500 m in diameter can be observed from a host spacecraft that tracks locally deployed probes throughout a flyby to an uncertainty of better than 5%. The conditions by which this measurement is possible depends on the characteristics of the asteroid (size, type), the flyby velocity, and the type of tracking available (angles-only or angles+ranging). For most encounters, a few (1-3) well placed probes can be very effective, with marginal improvement for additional probes. Given realistic deployment errors, an encounter may require roughly 10-12 probes to ensure that 1-3 achieve their target. Long duration tracking of probes flying by large asteroids (〉5 km diameter) can sometimes provide observability of the gravity field's first spherical harmonic, J( sub 2). In summary, this method offers a feasible, affordable approach to enabling or augmenting flyby science.

Description: Human exploration missions to the moons of Mars are being considered within NASA's Evolvable Mars Campaign (EMC) as an intermediate step for eventual human exploration and pioneering of the surface of Mars. A range of mission architectures is being evaluated in which human crews would explore one or both moons for as little as 14 days or for as long as 500 days with a variety of orbital and surface habitation and mobility options being considered. Relatively little is known about the orbital, surface, or subsurface characteristics of either moon. This makes them interesting but challenging destinations for human exploration missions during which crewmembers must be able to effectively conduct scientific exploration without being exposed to undue risks due to radiation, dust, micrometeoroids, or other hazards. A robotic precursor mission to one or both moons will be required to provide data necessary for the design and operation of subsequent human systems and for the identification and prioritization of scientific exploration objectives. This paper identifies and discusses considerations for the design of such a precursor mission based on current human mission architectures. Objectives of a Mars' moon precursor in support of human missions are expected to include: 1) identifying hazards on the surface and the orbital environment at up to 50-km distant retrograde orbits; 2) collecting data on physical characteristics for planning of detailed human proximity and surface operations; 3) performing remote sensing and in situ science investigations to refine and focus future human scientific activities; and 4) prospecting for in situ resource utilization. These precursor objectives can be met through a combination or remote sensing (orbital) and in-situ (surface) measurements. Analysis of spacecraft downlink signals using radio science techniques would measure the moon's mass, mass distribution, and gravity field, which will be necessary to enable trajectory planning. Laser altimetry would precisely measure the moon's shape and improve the accuracy of radio science measurements. A telescopic imaging camera would map the moon at submeter resolution and photograph selected areas of interest at subcentimeter resolution and a visible and near-infrared (0.4-3.0 mm) imaging spectrograph would produce a global map of mineral composition variations at a resolution of tens of meters and maps of selected areas of interest at meter resolution. Additional remote sensing capabilities could include a thermal infrared imager (heat flow, thermal inertia, and grain size distributions), a gamma-ray and neutron detector (atomic composition), a ground-penetrating radar (internal structure), and a magnetometer and Langmuir probe (magnetic properties and plasma field). Once on the surface of Phobos or Deimos, necessary instrumentation would include a penetrometer (regolith compressive strength), a motion-imagery camera (to observe the penetrometer tests before, during, and after contact), a dust-adhesion witness plate and camera (dust levitation), a microimager (dust particle sizes and shapes), and an alpha-proton-X-ray, X-ray fluorescence, Mossbauer, or Raman spectrometer (atomic and mineral composition of surface materials) and an optional temperature probe (regolith thermal properties). A variety of robotic mission design options to enable both orbital and surface measurements are being considered that include fully integrated and modular approaches. In-situ measurements from at least one surface location would be required, with additional measurement locations possible through use of multiple landers, through propulsive relocation of a single lander, or through electromechanical surface translation by a walking or hopping lander vehicle, which could also serve to evaluate such mobility capabilities for subsequent human missions. Preliminary orbital analysis suggests that remote sensing would likely be performed while in a distant retrograde orbit around the target moon. Mission design options to enable characterization of both Mars moons in a single mission are also being studied.

Description: Reliable life support systems are required for deep space missions. The probability of a fatal life support failure should be less than one in a thousand in a multi-year mission. It is far too expensive to develop a single system with such high reliability. Using three redundant units would require only that each have a failure probability of one in ten over the mission. Since the system development cost is inverse to the failure probability, this would cut cost by a factor of one hundred. Using replaceable subsystems instead of full systems would further cut cost. Using full sets of replaceable components improves reliability more than using complete systems as spares, since a set of components could repair many different failures instead of just one. Replaceable components would require more tools, space, and planning than full systems or replaceable subsystems. However, identical system redundancy cannot be relied on in practice. Common cause failures can disable all the identical redundant systems. Typical levels of common cause failures will defeat redundancy greater than two. Diverse redundant systems are required for reliable space life support. Three, four, or five diverse redundant systems could be needed for sufficient reliability. One system with lower level repair could be substituted for two diverse systems to save cost.

Description: Brief human space missions supply all the crew's water and oxygen from Earth. The multiyear International Space Station (ISS) program instead uses physicochemical life support systems to recycle water and oxygen. This paper compares the Life Cycle Cost (LCC) of recycling to the LCC of resupply for potential future long duration human space missions. Recycling systems have high initial development costs but relatively low durationdependent support costs. This means that recycling is more cost effective for longer missions. Resupplying all the water and oxygen requires little initial development cost but has a much higher launch mass and launch cost. The cost of resupply increases as the mission duration increases. Resupply is therefore more cost effective than recycling for shorter missions. A recycling system pays for itself when the resupply LCC grows greater over time than the recycling LCC. The time when this occurs is called the recycling breakeven date. Recycling will cost very much less than resupply for long duration missions within the Earth-Moon system, such as a future space station or Moon base. But recycling would cost about the same as resupply for long duration deep space missions, such as a Mars trip. Because it is not possible to provide emergency supplies or quick return options on the way to Mars, more expensive redundant recycling systems will be needed.

Description: Water systems for human bases on the moon and Mars will recycle multiple sources of wastewater. Systems for both the moon and Mars will also store water to support and backup the recycling system. Most water system requirements, such as number of crew, quantity and quality of water supply, presence of gravity, and surface mission duration of 6 or 18 months, will be similar for the moon and Mars. If the water system fails, a crew on the moon can quickly receive spare parts and supplies or return to Earth, but a crew on Mars cannot. A recycling system on the moon can have a reasonable reliability goal, such as only one unrecoverable failure every five years, if there is enough stored water to allow time for attempted repairs and for the crew to return if repair fails. The water system that has been developed and successfully operated on the International Space Station (ISS) could be used on a moon base. To achieve the same high level of crew safety on Mars without an escape option, either the recycling system must have much higher reliability or enough water must be stored to allow the crew to survive the full duration of the Mars surface mission. A three loop water system architecture that separately recycles condensate, wash water, and urine and flush can improve reliability and reduce cost for a Mars base.

Description: NASA's Evolvable Mars Campaign (EMC) has identified several areas of technology that will require significant improvements in terms of performance, capacity, and efficiency, in order to make a manned mission to Mars possible. These include crew vehicle Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS), EVA suit Portable Life Support System (PLSS) and Information Systems, autonomous environmental monitoring, radiation exposure monitoring and protection, and vehicle thermal control systems (TCS). (MADMACS) in a Suit can be configured to simulate human metabolism, consuming crew resources (oxygen) in the process. In addition to providing support for testing Life Support on unmanned flights, MADMACS will also support testing of suit thermal controls, and monitor radiation exposure, body zone temperatures, moisture, and loads.