ALBERT

Description: The designers of the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) utilize an intensive simulation program in order to predict the launch and landing characteristics of the Crew Impact Attenuation System (CIAS). The CIAS is the energy absorbing strut concept that dampens loads to levels sustainable by the crew during landing and consists of the crew module seat pallet that accommodates four to six seated astronauts. An important parameter required for proper dynamic modeling of the CIAS is knowledge of the suited center of mass (COM) variations within the crew population. Significant center of mass variations across suited crew configurations would amplify the inertial effects of the pallet and potentially create unacceptable crew loading during launch and landing. Established suited, whole-body, and posture-based mass properties were not available due to the uncertainty of the final CEV seat posture and suit hardware configurations. While unsuited segmental center of mass values can be obtained via regression equations from previous studies, building them into a model that was posture dependent with custom anthropometry and integrated suit components proved cumbersome and time consuming. Therefore, the objective of this study was to quantify the effects of posture, suit components, and the expected range of anthropometry on the center of mass of a seated individual. Several elements are required for the COM calculation of a suited human in a seated position: anthropometry; body segment mass; suit component mass; suit component location relative to the body; and joint angles defining the seated posture. Anthropometry and body segment masses used in this study were taken from a selection of three-dimensional human body models, called boundary manikins, which were developed in a previous project. These boundary manikins represent the critical anthropometric dimension extremes for the anticipated astronaut population. Six male manikins and 6 female manikins, representing a subset of the possible maximum and minimum sized crewmembers, were segmented using point-cloud software to create 17 major body segments. The general approach used to calculate the human mass properties was to utilize center of volume outputs from the software for each body segment and apply a homogeneous density function to determine segment mass 3-D coordinates. Suit components, based on the current consensus regarding predicted suit configuration values, were treated as point masses and were positioned using vector mathematics along the body segments based on anthropometry and COM position. A custom MATLAB script then articulates the body segment and suit positions into a selected seated configuration, using joint angles that characterize a standard seated position and a CEV specific seated position. Additional MATLAB(r) scripts are finally used to calculate the composite COM positions in 3-D space for all 12 manikins in both suited and unsuited conditions for both seated configurations. The analysis focused on two aspects: (1) to quantify how much the whole body COM varied from the smallest to largest subject and (2) the impacts of the suit components on the overall COM in each seat configuration. The location across all boundary manikins of the anterior- posterior COM varied by approximately 7cm, the vertical COM varied by approximately 9-10cm, and the mediolateral COM varied by approximately 1.2 cm from the midline sagittal plane for both seat configurations. This variation was surprisingly large given the relative proportionality of the mass distribution of the human body. The suit components caused an anterior shift of the total COM by approximately 2 cm and a shift to the right along the mediolateral axis of 0.4 cm for both seat configurations. When the seat configuration is in the standard posture, the suited vertical COM shifts inferiorly by up to 1 cm whereas in the CEV posture the vertical COM has no appreciable change. These general differences were due the high proportion of suit mass located in the boots and lower legs and their corresponding distance from the body COM as well as the prevalence of suit components on the right side of the body.

Description: No abstract available

Description: BACKGROUND: Astronaut spacewalk training can result in a variety of symptom complaints and possible injuries. This study quantified and characterized signs, symptoms, and injuries resulting from extravehicular activity spacesuit training at NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, immersion facility. METHODS: We identified the frequency and incidence of symptoms by location, mechanisms of injury, and effective countermeasures. Recommendations were made to improve injury prevention, astronaut training, test preparation, and training hardware. At the end of each test, a questionnaire was completed documenting signs and symptoms, mechanisms of injury, and countermeasures. RESULTS: Of the 770 tests, there were 190 in which suit symptoms were reported (24.6%). There were a total of 352 reported suit symptom comments. Of those symptoms, 166 were in the hands (47.16%), 73 were in the shoulders (20.7%), and 40 were in the feet (11.4%). Others ranged from 6.0% to 0.28%, respectively, from the legs, arms, neck, trunk, groin, and head. Causal mechanisms for the hands included moisture and hard glove contacts resulting in fingernail injuries; in the shoulders, hard contact with suit components and strain mechanisms; and in the feet, hard boot contact. The severity of symptoms was highest in the shoulders, hands, and feet. CONCLUSIONS: Most signs and symptoms were mild, self-limited, of brief duration, and were well controlled by available countermeasures. Some represented the potential for significant injury with consequences affecting astronaut health and performance. Correction of extravehicular activity training-related injuries requires a multidisciplinary approach to improve prevention, medical intervention, astronaut training, test planning, and suit engineering.

Description: Operation of aerobic biological reactors in space is controlled by a number of challenging constraints, mainly stemming from mass transfer limitations and phase separation. Immobilized-cell packed-bed bioreactors, specially designed to function in the absence of gravity, offer a viable solution for the treatment of gray water generated in space stations and spacecrafts. A novel gravity-independent wastewater biological processor, capable of carbon oxidation and nitrification of high-strength aqueous waste streams, is presented. The system, consisting of a fully saturated pressurized packed bed and a membrane oxygenation module attached to an external recirculation loop, operated continuously for over one year. The system attained high carbon oxidation efficiencies often exceeding 90% and ammonia oxidation reaching approximately 60%. The oxygen supply module relies on hydrophobic, nonporous, oxygen selective membranes, in a shell and tube configuration, for transferring oxygen to the packed bed, while keeping the gaseous and liquid phases separated. This reactor configuration and operating mode render the system gravity-independent and suitable for space applications.

Description: This paper describes a technique for viewing and interacting with 2-D medical data in three dimensions. The approach requires little pre-processing, runs on personal computers, and has a wide range of application. Implementation details are discussed, examples are presented, and results are summarized.

Description: In this paper, we will present a new methodology that measures the "worth" of deploying an additional testing instrument (sensor) in terms of the amount of information that can be retrieved from such measurement. This quantity is obtained using a probabilistic model of RLV's that has been partially developed in the NASA Ames Research Center. A number of correlated attributes are identified and used to obtain the worth of deploying a sensor in a given test point from an information-theoretic viewpoint. Once the information-theoretic worth of sensors is formulated and incorporated into our general model for IHM performance, the problem can be formulated as a constrained optimization problem where reliability and operational safety of the system as a whole is considered. Although this research is conducted specifically for RLV's, the proposed methodology in its generic form can be easily extended to other domains of systems health monitoring.

Description: To sustain affordable human and robotic space exploration, the ability to live off the land at the exploration site will be essential. NASA calls this ability in situ resource utilization (ISRU) and is focusing on finding ways to sustain missions first on the Moon and then on Mars. The ISRU project aims to develop capabilities to technology readiness level 6 for the Robotic Lunar Exploration Program and early human missions returning to the Moon. NASA is concentrating on three primary areas of ISRU: (1) excavating, handling, and moving lunar regolith, (2) extracting oxygen from lunar regolith, and (3) finding, characterizing, extracting, separating, and storing volatile lunar resources, especially in the permanently shadowed polar craters. To meet the challenges related to technology development for these three primary focus areas, the Regolith and Environment Science and Oxygen and Lunar Volatile Extraction (RESOLVE) project was initiated in February 2005, through funding by the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. RESOLVE's objectives are to develop requirements and conceptual designs and to perform breadboard concept verification testing of each experiment module. The final goal is to deliver a flight prototype unit that has been tested in a relevant lunar polar environment. Here we report progress toward the third primary area creating ways to find, characterize, extract, separate, and store volatile lunar resources. The tasks include studying thermal, chemical, and electrical ways to collect such volatile resources as hydrogen, water, nitrogen, methane, and ammonia. We approached this effort through two subtasks: lunar water resource demonstration (LWRD) and regolith volatile characterization (RVC).

Description: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) inevitably accumulate in enclosed habitats such as the International Space Station and the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) as a result of human metabolism, material off-gassing, and leaking equipment. Some VOCs can negatively affect the quality of the crew's life, health, and performance; and consequently, the success of the mission. Air quality must be closely monitored to ensure a safe living and working environment. Currently, there is no reliable air quality monitoring system that meets NASA's stringent requirements for power, mass, volume, or performance. The ultimate objective of the project -- the development of a Real-Time, Miniaturized, Autonomous Total Risk Indicator System (RT.MATRIX).is to provide a portable, dual-function sensing system that simultaneously determines total organic carbon (TOC) and individual contaminants in air streams.

Description: A spacecraft's Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) system enables and maintains a habitable and sustaining environment for its crew. A typical ECLS system provides for atmosphere consumables and revitalization, environmental monitoring, pressure, temperature and humidity control, heat rejection (including equipment cooling), food and water supply and management, waste management, and fire detection and suppression. The following is a summary of ECLS systems used in United States (US) and Russian human spacecraft.

Description: The world's first extravehicular activity (EVA) was performed by A. A. Leonov on March 18, 1965 during the Russian Voskhod-2 mission. The first US EVA was executed by Gemini IV astronaut Ed White on June 3, 1965, with an umbilical tether that included communications and an oxygen supply. A hand-held maneuvering unit (HHMU) also was used to test maneuverability during the brief EVA; however the somewhat stiff umbilical limited controlled movement. That constraint, plus difficulty returning through the vehicle hatch, highlighted the need for increased thermal control and improved EVA ergonomics. Clearly, requirements for a useful EVA were interrelated with the vehicle design. The early Gemini EVAs generated requirements for suits providing micro-meteor protection, adequate visual field and eye protection from solar visual and infrared radiation, gloves optimized for dexterity while pressurized, and thermal systems capable of protecting the astronaut while rejecting metabolic heat during high workloads. Subsequent Gemini EVAs built upon this early experience and included development of a portable environmental control and life support systems (ECLSS) and an astronaut maneuvering unit. The ECLSS provided a pressure vessel and controller with functional control over suit pressure, oxygen flow, carbon dioxide removal, humidity, and temperature control. Gemini EVA experience also identified the usefulness of underwater neutral buoyancy and altitude chamber task training, and the importance of developing reliable task timelines. Improved thermal management and carbon dioxide control also were required for high workload tasks. With the Apollo project, EVA activity was primarily on the lunar surface; and suit durability, integrated liquid cooling garments, and low suit operating pressures (3.75 pounds per square inch absolute [psia] or 25.8 kilopascal [kPa],) were required to facilitate longer EVAs with ambulation and significant physical workloads with average metabolic rates of 1000 BTU/hr and peaks of up to 2200 BTU/hr. Mobility was further augmented with the Lunar Roving Vehicle. The Apollo extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) was made up of over 15 components, ranging from a biomedical belt for capturing and transmitting biomedical data, urine and fecal containment systems, a liquid cooling garment, communications cap, a modular portable life support system (PLSS), a boot system, thermal overgloves, and a bubble helmet with eye protection. Apollo lunar astronauts performed successful EVAs on the lunar surface from a 5 psia (34.4 kPa) 100% oxygen environment in the Lunar Lander. A maximum of three EVAs were performed on any mission. For Skylab a modified A7LB suit, used for Apollo 15, was selected. The Skylab astronaut life support assembly (ALSA) provided umbilical support through the life support umbilical (LSU) and used open loop oxygen flow, rather than closed-loop as in Apollo missions. Thermal control was provided by liquid water circulated by spacecraft pumps and electrical power also was provided from the spacecraft via the umbilical. The cabin atmosphere of 5 psia (34.4 kPa), 70% oxygen, provided a normoxic atmosphere and because of the very low nitrogen partial pressures, no special protocols were required to protect against decompression sickness (DCS) as was the case with the Apollo spacecraft with a 5 psi, 100% oxygen environment.

Description: The toxicological assessments of 2 grab sample canisters (GSCs) from the Shuttle are reported. Analytical methods have not changed from earlier reports. The Shuttle atmosphere was acceptable for human respiration.

Description: Spacecraft maximum allowable concentrations (SMACs) for C3 to C8, straight-chain, aliphatic aldehydes have been previously assessed and have been documented in volume 4 of Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations for Selected Airborne Contaminants (James, 2000). These aldehydes as well as associated physical properties are shown in Table 1. The C3 to C8 aliphatic aldehydes can enter the habitable compartments and contaminate breathing air of spacecraft by several routes including incomplete oxidation of alcohols in the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) air revitalization subsystem, as a byproduct of human metabolism, through materials off-gassing, or during food preparation. These aldehydes have been detected in the atmosphere of manned space vehicles in the past. Analysis performed by NASA of crew cabin air samples from the Russian Mir Space Station revealed the presence of C3 to C8 aldehydes at concentrations peaking at approximately 0.1 mg/cu m.

Description: This chapter discusses potential technologies for achieving artificial gravity in a space vehicle. We begin with a series of definitions and a general description of the rotational dynamics behind the forces ultimately exerted on the human body during centrifugation, such as gravity level, gravity gradient, and Coriolis force. Human factors considerations and comfort limits associated with a rotating environment are then discussed. Finally, engineering options for designing space vehicles with artificial gravity are presented.

Description: Optimal cognition during complex and sustained operations is a critical component for success in current and future military operations. "Cognitive Performance, Judgment, and Decision-making" (CPJD) is a newly organized U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command research program focused on sustaining operational effectiveness of Future Force Warriors by developing paradigms through which militarily-relevant, higher-order cognitive performance, judgment, and decision-making can be assessed and sustained in individuals, small teams, and leaders of network-centric fighting units. CPJD evaluates the impact of stressors intrinsic to military operational environments (e.g., sleep deprivation, workload, fatigue, temperature extremes, altitude, environmental/physiological disruption) on military performance, evaluates noninvasive automated methods for monitoring and predicting cognitive performance, and investigates pharmaceutical strategies (e.g., stimulant countermeasures, hypnotics) to mitigate performance decrements. This manuscript describes the CPJD program, discusses the metrics utilized to relate militarily applied research findings to academic research, and discusses how the simulated combat capabilities of a synthetic battle laboratory may facilitate future cognitive performance research.

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: Human motion tracking systems represent a crucial technology in the area of modeling and simulation. These systems, which allow engineers to capture human motion for study or replication in virtual environments, have broad applications in several research disciplines including human engineering, robotics, and psychology. These systems are based on several sensing paradigms, including electro-magnetic, infrared, and visual recognition. Each of these paradigms requires specialized environments and hardware configurations to optimize performance of the human motion tracking system. Ideally, these systems are used in a laboratory or other facility that was designed to accommodate the particular sensing technology. For example, electromagnetic systems are highly vulnerable to interference from metallic objects, and should be used in a specialized lab free of metal components.

Description: In this paper, we present a space invariant architecture to enable the Independent Component Analysis (ICA) to solve chemical detection from two unknown mixing chemical sources. The two sets of unknown paired mixture sources are collected via JPL 16-ENose sensor array in the unknown environment with, at most, 12 samples data collected. Our space invariant architecture along with the maximum entropy information technique by Bell and Sejnowski and natural gradient descent by Amari has demonstrated that it is effective to separate the two mixing unknown chemical sources with unknown mixing levels to the array of two original sources under insufficient sampled data. From separated sources, they can be identified by projecting them on the 11 known chemical sources to find the best match for detection. We also present the results of our simulations. These simulations have shown that 100% correct detection could be achieved under the two cases: a) under-completed case where the number of input (mixtures) is larger than number of original chemical sources; and b) regular case where the number of input is as the same as the number of sources while the time invariant architecture approach may face the obstacles: overcomplete case, insufficient data and cumbersome architecture.

Description: The candidate crops for planetary food systems include: wheat, white and sweet potatoes, soybean, peanut, strawberry, dry bean including le ntil and pinto, radish, rice, lettuce, carrot, green onion, tomato, p eppers, spinach, and cabbage. Crops such as wheat, potatoes, soybean, peanut, dry bean, and rice can only be utilized after processing, while others are classified as ready-to-eat. To process foods in space, the food processing subsystem must be capable of producing a variety of nutritious, acceptable, and safe edible ingredients and food produ cts from pre-packaged and resupply foods as well as salad crops grown on the transit vehicle or other crops grown on planetary surfaces. D esigning, building, developing, and maintaining such a subsystem is b ound to many constraints and restrictions. The limited power supply, storage locations, variety of crops, crew time, need to minimize waste , and other equivalent system mass (ESM) parameters must be considere d in the selection of processing equipment and techniques.

Description: Over the past year, NASA's focus has turned to crewed long duration and exploration missions. On these journeys, crewmembers will be required to execute thousands of procedures to maintain life support systems, check out space suits, conduct science experiments, and perform medical exams. To support the many complex tasks crewmembers undertake in microgravity, NASA is interested in providing crewmembers a hands-free work environment to promote more efficient operations. The overarching objective is to allow crewmembers to use both of their hands for tasks related to their mission, versus holding a paper manual or interacting with a display. The use of advanced, hands-free tools will undoubtedly make the crewmembers task easier, but they can also add to overall task complexity if not properly designed. A leading candidate technology for supporting a hands-free environment is the Head-Mounted Display (HMD). A more recent technology (e-book reader) that could be easily temp-stowed near the work area is also a potential hands-free solution. Previous work at NASA involved the evaluation of several commercially available HMDs for visual quality, comfort, and fit, as well as suitability for use in microgravity. Based on results from this work, three HMDs were selected for further evaluation (along with an e-book reader), using International Space Station (ISS)-like maintenance procedures. Two evaluations were conducted in the Space Station Mockup and Trainer Facility (SSMTF) located at the NASA Johnson Space Center (building 9). The SSMTF is a full scale, medium fidelity replica of the pressurized portions of the ISS. It supports crew training such as ingress and egress, habitability, and emergency procedures. In each of the two evaluations, the participants performed two maintenance procedures. One maintenance procedure involved inspecting air filters in a life support system and replacing them with a clean filter if one were found to be contaminated. The second maintenance procedure focused on working in a confined space; specifically, pulling down a rack to inspect wiring configurations, and rewiring in a different pattern. The maintenance procedures were selected to assess mobility, tool use, and access to multiple document sources during task performance. That is, the participant had to move from rack to rack, use a wrench, a camera, etc., replace components, and refer to diagrams to complete tasks. A constraint was imposed that the ISS-like format of the procedures was to be retained, and not modified or optimized for the electronic device ("plug and play" approach). This was based on future plans to test with real procedures on ISS.

Description: The NASA Software Assurance Research Program (in part) performs studies as to the feasibility of technologies for improving the safety, quality, reliability, cost, and performance of NASA software. This study considers the application of commercial automated source code analysis tools to mission critical ground software that is in the operations and sustainment portion of the product lifecycle.

Description: A new class of strong, lightweight, porous materials has been invented as an outgrowth of an effort to develop reinforced silica aerogels. The new material, called X-Aerogel is less hygroscopic, but no less porous and of similar density to the corresponding unmodified aerogels. However, the property that sets X-Aerogels apart is their mechanical strength, which can be as much as two and a half orders of magnitude stronger that the unmodified aerogels. X-Aerogels are envisioned to be useful for making extremely lightweight, thermally insulating, structural components, but they may also have applications as electrical insulators, components of laminates, catalyst supports, templates for electrode materials, fuel-cell components, and filter membranes.

Description: An effort to extend the low-temperature operational limit of supercapacitors is currently underway. At present, commercially available non-aqueous supercapacitors are rated for a minimum operating temperature of -40 C. A capability to operate at lower temperatures would be desirable for delivering power to systems that must operate in outer space or in the Polar Regions on Earth. Supercapacitors (also known as double-layer or electrochemical capacitors) offer a high power density (〉1,000 W/kg) and moderate energy density (about 5 to 10 Wh/kg) technology for storing energy and delivering power. This combination of properties enables delivery of large currents for pulsed applications, or alternatively, smaller currents for low duty cycle applications. The mechanism of storage of electric charge in a supercapacitor -- at the electrical double-layer formed at a solid-electrode/liquid-electrolyte interface -- differs from that of a primary or secondary electrochemical cell (i.e., a battery) in such a manner as to impart a long cycle life (typically 〉10(exp 6) charge/discharge cycles).

Description: A design has been proposed for a photodetector that would exhibit a high quantum efficiency (as much as 90 percent) over a wide wavelength band, which would typically be centered at a wavelength of 1.55 m. This and similar photodetectors would afford a capability for detecting single photons - a capability that is needed for research in quantum optics as well as for the practical development of secure optical communication systems for distribution of quantum cryptographic keys. The proposed photodetector would be of the hot-electron, phonon-cooled, thin-film superconductor type. The superconducting film in this device would be a meandering strip of niobium nitride. In the proposed photodetector, the quantum efficiency would be increased through incorporation of optiA design has been proposed for a photodetector that would exhibit a high quantum efficiency (as much as 90 percent) over a wide wavelength band, which would typically be centered at a wavelength of 1.55 m. This and similar photodetectors would afford a capability for detecting single photons - a capability that is needed for research in quantum optics as well as for the practical development of secure optical communication systems for distribution of quantum cryptographic keys. The proposed photodetector would be of the hot-electron, phonon-cooled, thin-film superconductor type. The superconducting film in this device would be a meandering strip of niobium nitride. In the proposed photodetector, the quantum efficiency would be increased through incorporation of opti-

Description: This viewgraph presents a review of the development of food systems for the use during a Mars Mission. It review some of the food delivery systems developed for all of the NASA space programs from Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, to the Space Shuttle, International Space Station. The goals and objectives of the program are to: provide an adequate food system and develop a safe food system, that is nutritious and acceptable to astronauts, and to provide a food system that efficiently balances vehicle resources.

Description: Suited human performance studies in reduced gravity environments to date include limited observations from Apollo Lunar surface Extravehicular Activities (EVA) and from previous studies conducted in partial gravity simulation environments. The Constellation Program EVA Systems Project office has initiated tests to develop design requirements for the next generation Lunar EVA suit. Theses studies were conducted in the Space Vehicle Mock-Up Facility (SVMF) at Johnson Space Center from which the results provided recommendations for suit weight, mass, center of gravity, pressure, and suit kinematic constraints that optimize human performance in partial gravity environments.

Description: The Lunar Mars Life Support Test series successfully demonstrated integration and operation of advanced technologies for closed-loop life support systems, including physicochemical and biological subsystems. Increased closure was obtained when targeted technologies, such as brine dewatering subsystems, were added to further process life support system byproducts to recover resources. Physicochemical and biological systems can be integrated satisfactorily to achieve desired levels of closure. Imbalances between system components, such as differences in metabolic quotients between human crews and plants, must be addressed. Each subsystem or component that is added to increase closure will likely have added costs, ranging from initial launch mass, power, thermal, crew time, byproducts, etc., that must be factored into break even analysis. Achieving life support system closure while maintaining control of total mass and system complexity will be a challenge.

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: In January 2004, NASA established a new, long-term exploration program to fulfill the President's Vision for U.S. Space Exploration. The primary goal of this program is to establish a sustained human presence in space, beginning with robotic missions to the Moon in 2008, followed by extended human expeditions to the Moon as early as 2015. In addition, the program places significant emphasis on the development of joint human-robot systems. A key difference from previous exploration efforts is that future space exploration activities must be sustainable over the long-term. Experience with the space station has shown that cost pressures will keep astronaut teams small. Consequently, care must be taken to extend the effectiveness of these astronauts well beyond their individual human capacity. Thus, in order to reduce human workload, costs, and fatigue-driven error and risk, intelligent robots will have to be an integral part of mission design.

Description: Famine early warning systems use remote sensing in combination with socio-economic and household food economy analysis to provide timely and rigorous information on emerging food security crises. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) is the US Agency for International Development's decision support system in 20 African countries, as well as in Guatemala, Haiti and Afghanistan. FEWS NET provides early and actionable policy guidance for the US Government and its humanitarian aid partners. As we move into an era of climate change where weather hazards will become more frequent and severe, understanding how to provide quantitative and actionable scientific information for policy makers using biophysical data is critical for an appropriate and effective response.

Description: A tool makes it possible to couple a torque wrench to an externally knurled, internally threaded, round cable connector. The purpose served by the tool is to facilitate the tightening of multiple such connectors (or the repeated tightening of the same connector) to repeatable torques. The design of a prior cable-connector/ torque-wrench coupling tool provided for application of the torque-wrench jaws to a location laterally offset from the axis of rotation of the cable connector, making it necessary to correct the torque reading for the offset. Unlike the design of the prior tool, the design of the present tool provides for application of the torque-wrench jaws to a location on the axis of rotation, obviating correction of the torque reading for offset. The present tool (see figure) consists of a split collet containing a slot that provides clearance for inserting and bending the cable, a collet-locking sleeve, a collet-locking nut, and a torque-wrench adaptor that is press-fit onto the collet. Once the collet is positioned on the cable connector, the collet-locking nut is turned to force the collet-locking sleeve over the collet, compressing the collet through engagement of tapered surfaces on the outside of the collet and the inside of the locking sleeve. Because the collet is split and therefore somewhat flexible, this compression forces the collet inward to grip the connector securely. The torque wrench is then applied to the torque-wrench adaptor in the usual manner for torquing a nut or a bolt.

Description: On-the-Fly Reprocessing (OTFR) is a collection of data-processing routines that work within the context of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) pipeline data-flow system. The purpose served by OTFR is to generate, on demand, scientifically useful data products from raw HST data stored in an archive. First, on the basis of the requested final data products, OTFR retrieves the corresponding sets of raw data from the archives. Next, OTFR processes the raw data sets to remove artifacts and to establish proper header and other template information. Finally, the calibration routines appropriate to the specific data sets are invoked to produce the requested data products, and the data products are released to an archive distribution system for transmission to the requesting party. OTFR offers two notable advantages: (1) Inasmuch as calibrated data occupy about 8 times as much storage space as do raw data, by obviating storage of calibrated data, OTFR reduces the storage capacity needed by the archive; and (2) the calibration routines can be updated to give requesters the benefit of the most recent calibrations.

Description: Systems engineering (SE) discipline has revolutionized the way engineers and managers think about solving issues related to design of complex systems: With continued development of state-of-the-art technologies, systems are becoming more complex and therefore, a systematic approach is essential to control and manage their integrated design and development. This complexity is driven from integration issues. In this case, subsystems must interact with one another in order to achieve integration objectives, and also achieve the overall system's required performance. Systems engineering process addresses these issues at multiple levels. It is a technology and management process dedicated to controlling all aspects of system life cycle to assure integration at all levels. The Advanced Integration Matrix (AIM) project serves as the systems engineering and integration function for the Human Support Technology (HST) program. AIM provides means for integrated test facilities and personnel for performance trade studies, analyses, integrated models, test results, and validated requirements of the integration of HST. The goal of AIM is to address systems-level integration issues for exploration missions. It will use an incremental systems integration approach to yield technologies, baselines for further development, and possible breakthrough concepts in the areas of technological and organizational interfaces, total information flow, system wide controls, technical synergism, mission operations protocols and procedures, and human-machine interfaces.

Description: Within the scope of the Multi-purpose Crew Restraints for Long Duration Spaceflights project, funded by Code U, it was proposed to conduct a series of evaluations on the ground and on the KC-135 to investigate the human factors issues concerning confined/unique workstations, such as the design of crew restraints. The usability of multiple crew restraints was evaluated for use with the Life Sciences Glovebox (LSG) and for performing general purpose tasks. The purpose of the KC-135 microgravity evaluation was to: (1) to investigate the usability and effectiveness of the concepts developed, (2) to gather recommendations for further development of the concepts, and (3) to verify the validity of the existing requirements. Some designs had already been tested during a March KC-135 evaluation, and testing revealed the need for modifications/enhancements. This flight was designed to test the new iterations, as well as some new concepts. This flight also involved higher fidelity tasks in the LSG, and the addition of load cells on the gloveports.

Description: After forty years of experience with human space flight (Table 1), the current emphasis is on the design of space vehicles, habitats, and missions to ensure mission success. What lessons have we learned that will affect the design of spacecraft for future space exploration, leading up to exploring Mars? This chapter addresses this issue in four sections: Anthropometry and Biomechanics; Environmental Factors; Habitability and Architecture; and Crew Personal Sustenance. This introductory section introduces factors unique to space flight. A unique consideration for design of a habitable volume in a space vehicle is the lack of gravity during a space flight, referred to as microgravity. This affects all aspects of life, and drives special features in the habitat, equipment, tools, and procedures. The difference in gravity during a space mission requires designing for posture and motion differences. In Earth s gravity, or even with partial gravity, orientation is not a variable because the direction in which gravity acts defines up and down. In a microgravity environment the working position is arbitrary; there is no gravity cue. Orientation is defined primarily through visual cues. The orientation within a particular crew station or work area is referred to as local vertical, and should be consistent within a module to increase crew productivity. Equipment was intentionally arranged in various orientations in one module on Skylab to assess the efficiency in use of space versus the effects of inconsistent layout. The effects of that arrangement were confusion on entering the module, time spent in re-orientation, and conflicts in crew space requirements when multiple crew members were in the module. Design of a space vehicle is constrained by the three major mission drivers: mass, volume and power. Each of these factors drives the cost of a mission. Mass and volume determine the size of the launch vehicle directly; they can limit consumables such as air, water, and propellant; and they impact crew size and the types of activities the crew performs. Power is a limiting factor for a space vehicle. All environmental features (e.g., atmosphere, temperature, lighting) require power to maintain them. Power can be generated from batteries, from fuel cells, or from solar panels. Each of these sources requires lifting mass and volume from Earth, driving mission cost. All engineering decisions directly impact the design for habitation design and usage. For instance, if fuel cells are used they produce water, which is used for drinking and food preparation. If a different power source is used water has to be carried and stored on the vehicle which then directly impacts the food system choice as well as the launch weight of the vehicle.

Description: European Automated Transfer Vehicles (ATVs) can begin sending tons of logistics supplies to the International Space Station as early as 2006, now that the U.S./Russian crew has outfitted the exterior of the ISS with the final communications and GPS antennas needed for ATV rendezvous and docking. During their extravehicular activity (EVA) on Mar. 28, Expedition 10 commander astronaut Leroy Chiao and Russian flight engineer cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov also coordinated the hand-launch by Sharipov of a small Russian technology satellite. The crew wore Russian Orlan space suits during the 4 hr. 30 min. EVA, which they completed an hour earlier than expected. The EVA was the sixth for Chiao and the second for Sharipov. Both Expedition 10 crewmen had been outside together on Jan. 25 at the start of their six- month mission. The Expedition 11 replacement crew is to launch to the ISS Apr. 15, enabling the current crew to return to Earth Apr. 25. A detailed discussion about Chiao and Sharipov's EVA is presented.

Description: This article reports on research into atmospheric revitalization systems for long-term space travel and the use ofCOMSOL Multiphysics to understand how structured sorbents can be used to improve the performance of adsorption processes via thermal management. We are developing the next generation of atmosphere revitalization systems, which will reach for new levels of resource conservation via a high percentage of loop closure. For example, a high percentage of carbon dioxide, exhaled by crew, can be converted via reaction to drinking water, closing the loop from human metabolic waste to supply. Adsorption processes play a lead role in these new/closed loop systems.

Description: This document constitutes the publication of work performed by the Space Human Factors Laboratory (mail code SF5 at the time) at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in the months of June and July of 2000. At that time, the Space Human Factors Laboratory was part of the Space Human Factors Branch in the Flight Projects Division of the Space and Life Directorate. This report was originally to be a document for internal consumption only at JSC as it was seen to be only preliminary work for the further development of solid state illumination for general lighting on future space vehicles and the International Space Station (ISS). Due to funding constraints, immediate follow-on efforts were delayed and the need for publication of this document was overcome by other events. However, in recent years and with the development and deployment of a solid state light luminaire prototype on ISS, the time was overdue for publishing this information for general distribution and reference. Solid state lights (SSLs) are being developed to potentially replace the general luminaire assemblies (GLAs) currently in service in the International Space Station (ISS) and included in designs of modules for the ISS. The SSLs consist of arrays of light emitting diodes (LEDs), small solid state electronic devices that produce visible light in proportion to the electrical current flowing through them. Recent progressive advances in electrical power-to-light conversion efficiency in LED technology have allowed the consideration of LEDs as replacements for incandescent and fluorescent light sources in many circumstances, and their inherent advantages in ruggedness, reliability, and life expectancy make them attractive for applications in spacecraft. One potential area of application for the SSLs in the U.S. Laboratory Module of the ISS. This study addresses the suitability of the SSLs as replacements for the GLAs in this application.

Description: This document contains some of the descriptions of payload and experiment related to life support and habitation. These describe experiments that have or are scheduled to fly on the International Space Station. There are instructions, and descriptions of the fields that make up the database. The document is arranged in alphabetical order by the Payload

Description: A new and advanced portable life support system (PLSS) for space suit surface exploration will require a durable, compact, and energy efficient system to transport the ventilation stream through the space suit. Current space suits used by NASA circulate the ventilation stream via a ball-bearing supported centrifugal fan. As NASA enters the design phase for the next generation PLSS, it is necessary to evaluate available technologies to determine what improvements can be made in mass, volume, power, and reliability for a ventilation transport system. Several air movement devices already designed for commercial, military, and space applications are optimized in these areas and could be adapted for EVA use. This paper summarizes the efforts to identify and compare the latest fan and bearing technologies to determine candidates for the next generation PLSS.

Description: N5 Sensors, Inc. and NASA through a STTR program are jointly developing ultra-small, low-power carbon dioxide (CO2) gas sensors, suited for monitoring CO2 levels inside the spacesuits. Due to the unique environmental conditions within the spacesuits, such as high humidity, large temperature and operating pressure swings, measurement of key gases relevant to astronaut's safety and health such as carbon dioxide, is quite challenging. Conventional non-dispersive infrared absorption based CO2 sensors cannot be effectively implemented inside the spacesuits due to their sizes, weights, and power constraints. Metal-oxide based sensors have been effectively miniaturized for several applications, however detection of CO2 utilizing metal-oxide based sensors is challenging due to the chemical inertness and high stability of CO2 at room-temperatures. To mitigate these limitations, unique chip-scale, nanoengineered chemiresistive gas-sensing architecture has been developed - to allow the Metal-oxide sensors to operate in space-suite environmental conditions. Unique design combining the selective adsorption properties of the nanophotocatalytic clusters of metal-oxides and metals, provides selective detection of CO2 in high relative humidity conditions. All electronic design provides a compact and low-power solution, which can be implemented for multipoint detection of CO2 inside the spacesuits. This paper will describe a novel approach in refining the sensor architecture, development of new photocatalytic material for better sensor performance.

Description: NASA's exploration mission is to send humans to the Moon and Mars, in which the purpose is to learn how to live and work safely in those harsh environments. A critical aspect of living in an extreme environment is habitation, and within that habitation element there are key systems which monitor the habitation environment to provide a safe and comfortable living and working space for humans. Expandable habitats are one of the options currently being considered due to their potential mass and volume efficiencies. This paper discusses a joint project between the National Science Foundation (NSF), ILC Dover, and NASA in which an expandable habitat was deployed in the extreme environment of Antarctica to better understand the performance and operations over a one-year period. This project was conducted through the Innovative Partnership Program (IPP) where the NSF provided the location at McMurdo Station in Antarctica and support at the location, ILC Dover provided the inflatable habitat, and NASA provided the instrumentation and data system for monitoring the habitat. The outcome of this project provided lessons learned in the implementation of an inflatable habitat and the systems that support that habitat. These lessons learned will be used to improve current habitation capabilities and systems to meet the objectives of exploration missions to the moon and Mars.

Description: Following Z-2 space suit testing that occurred from 2016-2017, the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) Project was tasked with building a demonstration unit of the xEMU space suit to test on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2023. This suit is called xEMU Demonstration Suit (xEMU Demo). Based on feedback from astronauts during the Z-2 NBL test series, design changes were made, resulting in a new prototype suit called the Z-2.5 space suit. The design of the Z-2.5 space suit with an exploration Portable Life Support Systems (xPLSS) mock-up represents the architecture of xEMU Demo. The team is testing Z-2.5 in the NBL to evaluate this architecture and validate changes made from Z-2. The results will inform the xEMU Demo design going forward to its Preliminary Design Review (PDR) in the summer of 2019. This Z-2.5 NBL test series focuses on evaluating the microgravity performance of the suit and the ability to complete ISS-related tasks. The series is comprised of 10 manned runs and an unmanned corn-man run. Six test subjects, including four astronauts, will participate. The test objective is to evaluate ability xEMU Demo architecture to perform ISS microgravity tasks. Each crew members will complete both a familiarization run and a nominal EMU EVA timeline run. Qualitative and quantitative data will be collected to aid the assessment of the suit. Preliminary feedback from astronauts who have completed the test series evaluate the xEMU Demo architecture as acceptable to complete a demonstration mission on the ISS.

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: Human missions to Mars may require radical changes in the approach to extra-vehicular (EVA) suit design. A major challenge is the balance of building a suit robust enough to complete multiple EVAs under intense ultraviolet (UV) light exposure without losing mechanical strength or compromising the suit's mobility. To study how the materials degrade on Mars in-situ, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) invited the Advanced Space Suit team at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) to place space suit materials on the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument's calibration target of the Mars 2020 rover. In order to select materials for the rover and understand the effects from Mars equivalent UV exposure, JSC conducted ground testing on both current and new space suit materials when exposed to 2500 hours of Mars mission equivalent UV. To complete this testing, JSC partnered with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center to utilize their UV vacuum chambers. Materials tested were Orthofabric, polycarbonate, Teflon, Dacron, Vectran, spectra, bladder, nGimat coated Teflon, and nGimat coated Orthofabric. All samples were measured for mass, tensile strength, and chemical composition before and after radiation. Mass loss was insignificant (less than 0.5%) among the materials. Most materials loss tensile strength after radiation and became more brittle with a loss of elongation. Changes in chemical composition were seen in all radiated materials through Spectral Analysis. Results from this testing helped select the materials that will fly on the Mars 2020 rover. In addition, JSC can use this data to create a correlation to the chemical changes after radiation-which is what the rover will send back while on Mars-to the mechanical changes, such as tensile strength.

Description: NASA has established the goal of traveling beyond low-Earth orbit and extending manned exploration to Mars. The length of proposed Mars missions and the lack of resupply missions increases the importance of nutritional content in the food system, which will need a five-year shelf life. The purpose of this research is to assess the stability of vitamin supplementation in traditionally processed spaceflight foods. It is expected that commercially available fortification nutrients will remain stable through a long duration exploration mission at sufficient levels if compatible formulation, processing, and storage temperatures are achieved. Five vitamins (vitamin E, vitamin K, pantothenic acid, folic acid, and thiamin) were blended into a vitamin premix (DSM, Freeport, TX) such that the vitamin concentration per serving equaled 25% of the recommended daily intake after two years of ambient storage. Four freeze-dried foods (Scrambled Eggs, Italian Vegetables, Potatoes Au Gratin, Noodles and Chicken) and four thermo-stabilized foods (Curry Sauce with Vegetables, Chicken Noodle Soup, Grilled Pork Chop, Rice with Butter) were produced, with and without the vitamin premix, to assess the impact of the added fortification on color and taste and to determine the stability of supplemental vitamins in spaceflight foods. The addition of fortification to spaceflight foods did not greatly alter the organoleptic properties of most products. In most cases, overall acceptability scores remained above 6.0 (minimum acceptable score) following six months and one year of low-temperature storage. Likewise, the color of fortified products appears to be preserved over one year of storage. The only exceptions were Grilled pork Chop and Chicken Noodle Soup whose individual components appeareddegrade rapidly over one year of storage. Finally, most vitamins appeared to be stable during long-term storage. The only exception was thiamin, which degraded rapidly during the first year of storage at 35C. It was previously believed that the imprecise method of fortification would prove problematic for nutrient quantification; however, this was only an issue in stored samples of Grilled Pork Chop, Italian Vegetables and Curry Sauce with Vegetables. Year two data may further reveal the extent to which this is a problem, as well as identify overall quality changes over time.

Description: The LDST is a flight experiment demonstration designed to expose current and future candidate carbon dioxide removal system sorbents to an actual crewed space cabin environment to assess and compare sorption working capacity degradation resulting from long term operation. An analysis of sorbent materials returned to earth after approximately one year of operation in the International Space Station's (ISS) Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) indicated as much as a 70% loss of working capacity of the silica gel desiccant material at the extreme system inlet location, with a gradient of capacity loss down the bed. The primary science objective is to assess the degradation of potential sorbents for exploration class missions and ISS upgrades when operated in a true crewed space cabin environment. A secondary objective is to compare degradation of flight test to a ground test unit with contaminant dosing to determine applicability of ground testing.

Description: Design of advanced carbon dioxide removal systems begins with the study of sorbents. Specifically, new CO2 sorbents and desiccants need to be studied to enable greater productivity from existing and future spaceflight systems. This presentation will discuss the studies used as input for selecting future CO2 sorbent materials. Also, the adjoining issues of understanding the effects of water co-adsorption and material selection for desiccant beds will be discussed. Current sorbents for CO2 removal are based on 5A zeolites, but a transition to sorbents derived from 13X will be necessary as CO2 levels in cabin air become leaner. Unfortunately, these 13X zeolites are more susceptible to long-term performance loss due to water co-adsorption than 5A due at achievable regeneration temperatures. A study on how impactful the presence of trace water will be to the cyclic operation of small-scale beds will be discussed. Also, methods to recover the performance of beds in a space environment after a major moisture adsorption event will be discussed. The information obtained from the water co-adsorption studies will play a major part in selecting a CO2 sorbent for advanced removal systems. Pellet structural properties play another major role in the selection process. One factor for long-term, hands-off operation of a system is pellet integrity. Maintaining integrity means preventing pellet fracture and the generation of fines due to various thermal and mechanical means which would eventually clog filters or damage downstream systems. Either of these problems require significant shutdowns and maintenance operations and must be avoided. Therefore, study of high-integrity pellets and design of new pellets will be discussed.

Description: State-of-the-art United States Atmospheric Revitalization carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction is based on the Sabatier reaction process, which recovers approximately 50% of the oxygen (O2) from crew metabolic CO2. Oxygen recovery from carbon dioxide is constrained by the limited availability of reactant hydrogen. Post-processing of methane to recover hydrogen with the Umpqua Research Company Plasma Pyrolysis Assembly (PPA) has the potential to further close the Atmospheric Revitalization oxygen loop. The PPA decomposes methane into hydrogen and hydrocarbons, predominantly acetylene, and a small amount of solid carbon. The hydrogen must then be purified before it can be recycled for additional oxygen recovery. Long duration testing and evaluation of a four crew-member sized PPA and a discussion of hydrogen recycling system architectures are presented.

Description: The International Space Station (ISS) is a manned laboratory operating in orbit around the Earth that was built and is currently operated by several countries across the world. The ISS is a platform for novel scientific research as well as a testbed for technologies that will be required for the next step in space exploration. In order for astronauts to live on ISS for an extended period of time, it is vital that on board systems consistently provide a clean atmosphere. One contaminant that must be removed from the atmosphere is carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2 levels on ISS are higher than those on Earth and can cause crew members to experience symptoms such as headaches, lethargy and mental slowness. A variety of systems exist on ISS to remove carbon dioxide, including adsorbent technologies which can be reused and testbed technologies for future space vehicles.

Description: In any human spaceflight mission, a number of Environmental Control & Life Support System (ECLSS) technologies work together to provide the conditions astronauts need to live healthily, productively, and comfortably in space. In a long-duration mission, many of these ECLSS technologies may use materials supplied by In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), introducing more interactions between systems. The Human Exploration Spacecraft Test-bed for Integration & Advancement (HESTIA) Project aims to create a test-bed to evaluate ECLSS and ISRU technologies and how they interact in a high-fidelity, closed-loop, human-rated analog habitat. Air purity and conditioning are essential components within any ECLSS and for HESTIA's first test they were achieved with the Air Revitalization System (ARS) described below. The ARS provided four essential functions to the test-bed chamber: cooling the air, removing humidity from the air, removing trace contaminants, and scrubbing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. In this case, the oxygen supply function was provided by ISRU. In the current configuration, the ARS is a collection of different subsystems. A fan circulates the air, while a condensing heat exchanger (CHX) pulls humidity out of the air. A Trace Contaminant Removal System (TCRS) filters the air of potentially harmful contaminants. Lastly, a Reactive Plastic Lithium Hydroxide (RP-LiOH) unit removes CO2 from the breathing air. During the HESTIA Phase I test in September 2015, the ARS and its individual components each functioned as expected, although further analysis is underway. During the Phase I testing and in prior bench-top tests, the energy balance of heat removed by the CHX was not equal to the cooling it received. This indicated possible instrument error and therefore recalibration of the instruments and follow-up testing is planned in 2016 to address the issue. The ARS was tested in conjunction with two other systems: the Human Metabolic Simulator (HMS) and the Electrolyzer. They behaved as anticipated as well. The HMS added humidity, CO2, and heat to the chamber while removing oxygen, and the Electrolyzer (an ISRU technology) added oxygen. The objective for HESTIA in 2015 was achieved: the creation of a high-fidelity test-bed for ECLSS and ISRU technologies. With the 'backbone' technologies installed, more technologies will be added to increase the analog habitat's fidelity over the next few years. The ARS was designed with this in mind, and as new technologies develop and mature, the strategic installation of the existing components will allow for them to be replaced with the new technologies.

Description: The Exploration Laboratory Analysis (ELA) project supports the Exploration Medical Capability (ExMC) risk to minimize or reduce the risk of adverse health outcomes and decrements in performance due to in-flight medical capabilities on human exploration missions. To mitigate this risk, the availability of inflight laboratory analysis instrumentation has been identified as an essential capability for manned exploration missions. Since a single, compact space-ready laboratory analysis capability to perform all exploration clinical measurements is not commercially available, the ELA project objective is to demonstrate the feasibility of emerging operational and analytical capability as a biomedical diagnostics precursor to long duration manned exploration missions. The initial step towards ground and flight demonstrations in fiscal year (FY) 2015 was the downselection of platform technologies for demonstrations in the space environment. The technologies selected included two Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) performers: DNA Medicine Institute's rHEALTH X and Intelligent Optical System's lateral flow assays combined with Holomic's smartphone analyzer. The selection of these technologies were based on their compact size, breadth of analytical capability and favorable ability to process fluids in a space environment, among several factors. These two technologies will be advanced to meet ground and flight demonstration success criteria and requirements. The technology demonstrations and metrics for success will be finalized in FY16. Also, the downselected performers will continue the technology development phase towards meeting prototype deliverables in either late 2016 or 2017.

Description: This paper continues the annual tradition of summarizing at this conference the results of chemical analyses performed on archival potable water samples returned from the International Space Station (ISS). 2016 represented a banner year for life on board the ISS, including the successful conclusion for two crew members of a record one-year mission. Water reclaimed from urine and/or humidity condensate remained the primary source of potable water for the crew members of ISS Expeditions 46-50. The year 2016 was also marked by the end of a long-standing tradition of U.S. sampling and monitoring of Russian Segment potable water sources. Two water samples taken during Expedition 46 in February 2016 and returned on Soyuz 44, represented the final Russian Segment samples to be collected and analyzed by the U.S. side. Although anticipated for 2016, a rise in the total organic carbon (TOC) concentration of the product water from the U.S. water processor assembly due to breakthrough of organic contaminants from the system did not materialize, as evidenced by the onboard TOC analyzer and archive sample results.

Description: Utilizing geometry based static phase separation exhibited in the radial vaned capillary drying tray, a system was conceived to recover water from brine. This technology has been named the Capillary BRIC; abbreviated CapiBRIC. The CapiBRIC utilizes a capillary drying tray within a drying chamber. Water is recovered from clean water vapor evaporating from the free surface leaving waste brine solids behind. A novel approach of optimizing the containment geometry to support passive capillary flow and static phase separation provides the opportunity for a low power system that is not as susceptible to fouling as membranes or other technologies employing physical barriers across the free brine surface to achieve phase separation in microgravity. Having been optimized for operation in microgravity, full-scale testing of the CapiBRIC as designed cannot be performed on the ground as the force of gravity would dominate over the capillary forces. However, subscale units relevant to full-scale design were used to characterize fill rates, containment stability, and interaction with a variable volume reservoir in the PSU Dryden Drop Tower (DDT) facility. PSU also using tested units scaled such that capillary forces dominated in a 1-g environment to characterize evaporation from a free-surface in 1-g upward, sideways and downward orientations. In order to augment the subscale testing performed by PSU, a full scale 1-g analogue of the CapiBRIC drying unit was initiated to help validate performance predictions regarding expected water recovery ratio, estimated processing time, and interface definitions for inlets, outlets, and internal processes, including vent gas composition. This paper describes the design, development and test of the terrestrial CapiBRIC prototypes.

Description: From 2012 to 2015 The NASA/JSC AdvSS (Advanced Space Suit) PLSS (Primary Life Support Subsystem) team, with support from UTC Aerospace Systems, performed the build-up, packaging and testing of PLSS 2.0. A key aspect of that testing was the evaluation of the long-term health of the water cooling circuit and the interfacing components. Intermittent and end-of-test water, residue and hardware analyses provided valuable information on the status of the water cooling circuit, and the approaches that would be necessary to enhance water cooling circuit health in the future. The evaluated data has been consolidated, interpreted and woven into an action plan for the maintenance of water cooling circuit health for the planned FY (fiscal year) 2016 through FY 2018 PLSS 2.5 testing. This paper provides an overview of the PLSS 2.0 water cooling circuit findings and the associated steps to be taken in that regard for the PLSS 2.5 testing.

Description: The development of the Rapid Cycle Amine (RCA) swing-bed technology for carbon dioxide (CO2) removal has been in progress since favorable results were published in 1996. Shortly thereafter, a prototype was designed, developed, and tested successfully and delivered to Johnson Space Center in 1999. An improved prototype was delivered to NASA in 2006 and was notated as RCA 1.0 and sized for the extravehicular activity (EVA). The new RCA swing-bed technology is a regenerative system which employs two alternating solid-amine sorbent beds to remove CO2 and water. The two- bed design employs a chemisorption process whereby the beds alternate between adsorbtion and desorbsion. This process provides for an efficient operation of the RCA so that while one bed is in adsorb (uptake) mode, the other is in the desorb (regeneration) mode. The RCA has now progressed through several iterations of technology readiness levels. Test articles have now been designed, developed, and tested for the advanced space suit portable life support system (PLSS) including RCA 1.0, RCA 2.0, and RCA 3.0. The RCA 3.0 was the most recent RCA fabrication and was delivered to NASA-JSC in June 2015. The RCA 1.0 test article was designed with a pneumatically actuated linear motion spool valve. The RCA 2.0 and 3.0 test articles were designed with a valve assembly which allows for switching between uptake and regeneration modes while minimizing gas volume losses to the vacuum source. RCA 2.0 and 3.0 also include an embedded controller design to control RCA operation and provide the capability of interfacing with various sensors and other ventilation loop components. The RCA technology is low power, small, and has fulfilled all test requirements levied upon the technology during development testing thus far. This paper will provide an overreview of the design and development of RCA 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 including detail differences between the design specifications of each.

Description: For the first time in more than 30 years, an advanced space suit Portable Life Support System (PLSS) design was operated inside a vacuum chamber representative of the flight operating environment. The test article, PLSS 2.0, was the second system-level integrated prototype of the advanced PLSS design, following the PLSS 1.0 Breadboard that was developed and tested throughout 2011. Whereas PLSS 1.0 included five technology development components with the balance the system simulated using commercial-off-the-shelf items, PLSS 2.0 featured first generation or later prototypes for all components less instrumentation, tubing and fittings. Developed throughout 2012, PLSS 2.0 was the first attempt to package the system into a flight-like representative volume. PLSS 2.0 testing included an extensive functional evaluation known as Pre-Installation Acceptance (PIA) testing, Human-in-the-Loop testing in which the PLSS 2.0 prototype was integrated via umbilicals to a manned prototype space suit for 19 two-hour simulated EVAs, and unmanned vacuum environment testing. Unmanned vacuum environment testing took place from 1/9/15-7/9/15 with PLSS 2.0 located inside a vacuum chamber. Test sequences included performance mapping of several components, carbon dioxide removal evaluations at simulated intravehicular activity (IVA) conditions, a regulator pressure schedule assessment, and culminated with 25 simulated extravehicular activities (EVAs). During the unmanned vacuum environment test series, PLSS 2.0 accumulated 378 hours of integrated testing including 291 hours of operation in a vacuum environment and 199 hours of simulated EVA time. The PLSS prototype performed nominally throughout the test series, with two notable exceptions including a pump failure and a Spacesuit Water Membrane Evaporator (SWME) leak, for which post-test failure investigations were performed. In addition to generating an extensive database of PLSS 2.0 performance data, achievements included requirements and operational concepts verification, as well as demonstration of vehicular interfaces, consumables sizing and recharge, and water quality control.

Description: The function of the infrared gas transducer used during extravehicular activity (EVA) in the current space suit is to measure and report the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the ventilation loop. The next generation portable life support system (PLSS) requires highly accurate CO2 sensing technology with performance beyond that presently in use on the International Space Station extravehicular mobility unit (EMU). Further, that accuracy needs to be provided over the full operating pressure range of the suit (3 to 25 psia). Accommodation within space suits demands that optical sensors meet stringent size, weight, and power requirements. A laser diode (LD) sensor based on infrared absorption spectroscopy is being developed for this purpose by Vista Photonics, Inc. Version 1.0 prototype devices were delivered to NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) in September 2011. The prototypes were upgraded with more sophisticated communications and faster response times to version 2.0 and delivered to JSC in July 2012. The sensors incorporate a laser diode based CO2 channel that also includes an incidental water vapor (humidity) measurement. The prototypes are controlled digitally with an field-programmable gate array microcontroller architecture. Based on the results of the iterative instrument development, further prototype development and testing of instruments were performed leveraging the lessons learned where feasible. The present development extends and upgrades the earlier hardware for the advanced PLSS 2.5 prototypes for testing at JSC. The prototypes provide significantly enhanced accuracy for water vapor measurement and eliminate wavelength drift affecting the earlier versions. Various improvements to the electronics and gas sampling are currently being advanced including the companion development of engineering development units that will ultimately be capable of radiation tolerance. The combination of low power electronics with the performance of a long wavelength laser spectrometer enables multi-gas sensors with significantly increased performance over that presently offered in the EMU.

Description: NASA is developing an advanced portable life support system (PLSS) to meet the needs of a new NASA advanced space suit. The PLSS is one of the most critical aspects of the space suit providing the necessary oxygen, ventilation, and thermal protection for an astronaut performing a spacewalk. The ventilation subsystem in the PLSS must provide sufficient carbon dioxide (CO2) removal and ensure that the CO2 is washed away from the oronasal region of the astronaut. CO2 washout is a term used to describe the mechanism by which CO2 levels are controlled within the helmet to limit the concentration of CO2 inhaled by the astronaut. Accumulation of CO2 in the helmet or throughout the ventilation loop could cause the suited astronaut to experience hypercapnia (excessive carbon dioxide in the blood). A suited manikin test apparatus (SMTA) integrated with a space suit ventilation test loop was designed, developed, and assembled at NASA in order to experimentally validate adequate CO2 removal throughout the PLSS ventilation subsystem and to quantify CO2 washout performance under various conditions. The test results from this integrated system will be used to validate analytical models and augment human testing. This paper presents the system integration of the PLSS ventilation test loop with the SMTA including the newly developed regenerative Rapid Cycle Amine component used for CO2 removal and tidal breathing capability to emulate the human. The testing and analytical results of the integrated system are presented along with future work.

Description: The development of new, robust, life support systems is critical to NASA's continued progress in space exploration. One vital function is maintaining the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the cabin at levels that do not impair the health or performance of the crew. The CO2 removal assembly (CDRA) is the current CO2 control technology on-board the International Space Station (ISS). Although the CDRA has met the needs of the ISS to date, the repeated cycling of the molecular sieve sorbent causes it to break down into small particles that clog filters or generate dust in the cabin. This reduces reliability and increases maintenance requirements. Another approach that has potential advantages over the current system is a membrane that separates CO2 from air. In this approach, cabin air contacts one side of the membrane while other side of the membrane is maintained at low pressure to create a driving force for CO2 transport across the membrane. In this application, the primary power requirement is for the pump that creates the low pressure and then pumps the CO2 to the oxygen recovery system. For such a membrane to be practical, it must have high CO2 permeation rate and excellent selectivity for CO2 over air. Unfortunately, conventional gas separation membranes do not have adequate CO2 permeability and selectivity to meet the needs of this application. 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 air. In a recently completed Phase II SBIR project, Reaction Systems, Inc. fabricated an SLM that is very close to meeting permeability and selectivity objectives for use in the advanced space suit portable life support system. This paper describes work carried out to evaluate its potential for use in spacecraft cabin application.

Description: This panel will present NASA's plans for ongoing and future research to define the requirements for Artificial Gravity (AG) as a countermeasure against the negative health effects of long-duration weightlessness. AG could mitigate the gravity-sensitive effects of spaceflight across a host of physiological systems. Bringing gravity to space could mitigate the sensorimotor and neuro-vestibular disturbances induced by G-transitions upon reaching a planetary body, and the cardiovascular deconditioning and musculoskeletal weakness induced by weightlessness. Of particular interest for AG during deep-space missions is mitigation of the Visual Impairment Intracranial Pressure (VIIP) syndrome that the majority of astronauts exhibit in space to varying degrees, and which presumably is associated with weightlessness-induced fluid shift from lower to upper body segments. AG could be very effective for reversing the fluid shift and thus help prevent VIIP. The first presentation by Dr. Charles will summarize some of the ground-based and (very little) space-based research that has been conducted on AG by the various space programs. Dr. Paloski will address the use of AG during deep-space exploration-class missions and describe the different AG scenarios such as intra-vehicular, part-of-vehicle, or whole-vehicle centrifugations. Dr. Clement will discuss currently planned NASA research as well as how to coordinate future activities among NASA's international partners. Dr. Barr will describe some possible future plans for using space- and ground-based partial-G analogs to define the relationship between physiological responses and G levels between 0 and 1. Finally, Dr. Stenger will summarize how the human cardiovascular system could benefit from intermittent short-radius centrifugations during long-duration missions.

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: We continue the development of our concept of a biotechnological loop for in-situ resource extraction along with propellant and food production at a future lunar outpost, based on the cultivation of litholytic cyanobacteria (LCB) with lunar regolith (LR) in a geobioreactor energized by sunlight. Our preliminary studies have shown that phototropic cultivation of LCB with simulants of LR in a low-mineralized medium supplemented with CO2 leads to rock dissolution (bioweathering) with the resulting accumulation of Fe, Mg and Al in cyanobacterial cells and in the medium. LCB cultivated with LR simulants produces more O2 than the same organisms cultivated in a high-mineralized medium. The loss of rock mass after bioweathering with LCB suggests the release of O from regolith. Further studies of chemical pathways of released O are required. The bioweathering process is limited by the availability of CO2, N, and P. Since lunar regolith is mainly composed of O, Si, Ca, Al and Mg, we propose to use organic waste to supply a geobioreactor with C, N and P. The recycling of organic waste, including urine, through a geobioreactor will allow for efficient element extraction as well as oxygen and biomass production. The most critical conclusion is that a biological life support system tied to a geobioreactor might be more efficient for supporting an extraterrestrial outpost than a closed environmental system.

Description: This paper describes the use of the molten oxide electrolysis (MOE) process for the extraction of oxygen for life support and propellant, and silicon and metallic elements for use in fabrication on the Moon. The Moon is rich in mineral resources, but it is almost devoid of chemical reducing agents, therefore, molten oxide electrolysis is ideal for extraction, since the electron is the only practical reducing agent. MOE has several advantages over other extraction methods. First, electrolytic processing offers uncommon versatility in its insensitivity to feedstock composition. Secondly, oxide melts boast the twin key attributes of highest solubilizing capacity for regolith and lowest volatility of any candidate electrolytes. The former is critical in ensuring high productivity since cell current is limited by reactant solubility, while the latter simplifies cell design by obviating the need for a gas-tight reactor to contain evaporation losses as would be the case with a gas or liquid phase fluoride reagent operating at such high temperatures. Alternatively, MOE requires no import of consumable reagents (e.g. fluorine and carbon) as other processes do, and does not rely on interfacing multiple processes to obtain refined products. Electrolytic processing has the advantage of selectivity of reaction in the presence of a multi-component feed. Products from lunar regolith can be extracted in sequence according to the stabilities of their oxides as expressed by the values of the free energy of oxide formation (e.g. chromium, manganese, Fe, Si, Ti, Al, magnesium, and calcium). Previous work has demonstrated the viability of producing Fe and oxygen from oxide mixtures similar in composition to lunar regolith by molten oxide electrolysis (electrowinning), also called magma electrolysis having shown electrolytic extraction of Si from regolith simulant. This paper describes recent advances in demonstrating the MOE process by a joint project with participation by NASA KSC and MSFC, and Ohio State University and MIT. Progress in measuring cell efficiency for oxygen production, development of non reacting electrodes, and cell feeding and withdrawal will be discussed.

Description: In 2009, the Cascade Distillation Subsystem (CDS) wastewater processor (Honeywell International, Torrance, CA) was assessed in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Exploration Life Support (ELS) distillation comparison test. The purpose of the test was to collect data to support down-selection and development of a primary distillation technology for application in a lunar outpost water recovery system. The CDS portion of the comparison test was conducted between May 6 and August 19, 2009. The system was challenged with two pretreated test solutions, each intended to represent a feasible wastewater generated in a surface habitat. The 30-day equivalent wastewater loading volume for a crew of four was processed for each wastewater solution. Test Solution 1 consisted of a mixed stream containing human-generated urine and humidity condensate. Test Solution 2 contained the addition of human-generated hygiene wastewater to the solution 1 waste stream components. Approximately 1500 kg of total wastewater was processed through the CDS during testing. Respective recoveries per solution were 93.4 +/- 0.7 and 90.3 +/- 0.5%. The average specific energy of the system was calculated to be less than 130 W-hr/kg. The following paper provides detailed information and data on the performance of the CDS as challenged per the ELS distillation comparison test.

Description: This paper summarizes investigations conducted on different orthostatic intolerance protection garments. This paper emphasizes on the engineering and operational aspects of the project. The current Shuttle pneumatic Anti-G Suit or AGS at 25 mmHg (0.5 psi) and customized medical mechanical compressive garments (20-30 mmHg) were tested on human subjects. The test process is presented. The preliminary results conclude that mechanical compressive garments can ameliorate orthostatic hypotension in hypovolemic subjects. A mechanical compressive garment is light, small and works without external pressure gas source; however the current garment design does not provide an adjustment to compensate for the loss of mass and size in the lower torso during long term space missions. It is also difficult to don. Compression garments that do not include an abdominal component are less effective countermeasures than garments which do. An early investigation conducted by the Human Adaptation and Countermeasures Division at Johnson Space Center (JSC) has shown there is no significant difference between the protection function of the AGS (at 77 mmHg or 1.5 psi) and the Russian anti-g suit, Kentavr (at 25 mmHg or 0.5 psi). Although both garments successfully countered hypovolemia-induced orthostatic intolerance, the Kentavr provided protection by using lower levels of compression pressure. This more recent study with a lower AGS pressure shows that pressures at 20-30 mmHg is acceptable but protection function is not as effective as higher pressure. In addition, a questionnaire survey with flight crewmembers who used both AGS and Kentavr during different missions was also performed.

Description: Reactive distillation designs are considered to reduce the presence of volatile organic compounds in the purified water. Reactive distillation integrates a reactor with a distillation column. A review of the literature in this field has revealed a variety of functional reactive columns in industry. Wastewater may be purified by a combination of a reactor and a distiller (e.g., the EWRS or VPCAR concepts) or, in principle, through a design which integrates the reactor with the distiller. A review of the literature in reactive distillation has identified some different designs in such combinations of reactor and distiller. An evaluation of reactive distillation and reactive air stripping is presented with regards to the reduction of volatile organic compounds in the contaminated water and air. Among the methods presented, an architecture is presented for the evaluation of the simultaneous oxidation of organics in air and water. These and other designs are presented in light of potential improvements in power consumptions and air and water purities for architectures which include catalytic activity integrated into the water processor. In particular, catalytic oxidation of organics may be useful as a tool to remove contaminants that more traditional distillation and/or air stripping columns may not remove. A review of the current leading edge at the commercial level and at the research frontier in catalytically active materials is presented. Themes and directions from the engineering developments in catalyst design are presented conceptually in light of developments in the nanoscale chemistry of a variety of catalyst materials.

Description: With the new vision of space travel aimed at traveling back to the Moon and eventually to Mars, NASA is designing a new spacesuit glove. The purpose of this study was to baseline hand strength while wearing the current Extravehicular Activity (EVA) glove, the Phase VI. By varying the pressure in the glove, hand strength could be characterized as a function of spacesuit pressure. This finding is of extreme importance when evaluating missions that require varying suit pressures associated with different operations within NASA's current human spaceflight program, Constellation. This characterization fed directly into the derivation of requirements for the next EVA glove. This study captured three types of maximum hand strength: grip, lateral pinch, and pulp-2 pinch. All three strengths were measured under varying pressures and compared to a bare-hand condition. The resulting standardized data was reported as a percentage of the bare-hand strength. The first wave of tests was performed while the subjects, four female and four male, were wearing an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) suit supported by a suit stand. This portion of the test collected data from the barehand, suited unpressurized, and suited pressurized (4.3 psi) conditions. In addition, the effects of the Thermal Micrometeoroid Garment (TMG) on hand strength were examined, with the suited unpressurized and pressurized cases tested with and without a TMG. It was found that, when pressurized and with the TMG, the Phase VI glove reduced applied grip strength to a little more than half of the subject s bare-hand strength. The lateral pinch strength remained relatively constant while the pulp-2 pinch strength actually increased with pressure. The TMG was found to decrease maximum applied grip strength by an additional 10% for both pressurized and unpressurized cases, while the pinch strengths saw little to no change. In developing requirements based on human subjects, it is important to attempt to derive results that encompass the variation within the entire population. The current EMU does not accommodate humans at the extremes of the anthropometric spectrum. To account for this and to ensure that these requirements cover the population, another phase of testing will be conducted in a differential pressure glove box. This phase will focus on smaller females and very large males that do not have a properly fitted EMU suit. Instead, they would wear smaller or larger gloves and be tested in the glove box as a means to compare and contrast their strength capabilities against the EMU accommodated hand size subjects. The glove box s ability to change pressures easily will also allow for a wider range of glove pressures to be tested. Compared to the data collected on the subjects wearing the EMU suit, it is expected that there will be similar ratios to bare-hand. It is recommended that this topic be sent to the Physical Ergonomics Board for review.

Description: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) mission to expand space exploration will return humans to the Moon with the goal of maintaining a long-term presence. One challenge that NASA will face returning to the Moon is managing the lunar regolith found on the Moon's surface, which will collect on extravehicular activity (EVA) suits and other equipment. Based on the Apollo experience, the issues astronauts encountered with lunar regolith included eye/lung irritation, and various hardware failures (seals, screw threads, electrical connectors and fabric contamination), which were all related to inadequate lunar regolith mitigation. A vacuum cleaner capable of detaching, transferring, and efficiently capturing lunar regolith has been proposed as a method to mitigate the lunar regolith problem in the habitable environment on lunar surface. In order to develop this vacuum, a modified "off-the-shelf" vacuum cleaner has been used to determine detachment efficiency, vacuum requirements, and optimal cleaning techniques to ensure efficient dust removal in habitable lunar surfaces, EVA spacesuits, and air exchange volume. During the initial development of the Lunar Surface System vacuum cleaner, systematic testing was performed with varying flow rates on multiple surfaces (fabrics and metallics), atmospheric (14.7 psia) and reduced pressures (10.2 and 8.3 psia), different vacuum tool attachments, and several vacuum cleaning techniques to determine the performance requirements for the vacuum cleaner. The data recorded during testing was evaluated by calculating percent removal, relative to the retained simulant on the tested surface. In addition, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) imaging was used to determine particle size distribution retained on the surface. The scope of this paper is to explain the initial phase of vacuum cleaner development, including historical Apollo mission data, current state-of-the-art vacuum cleaner technology, and vacuum cleaner testing that has focused on detachment capabilities varying pressure environments.

Description: The International Space Station (ISS) crew compliment has increased in size from 3 to 6 crew members . In order to support this increase in crew on ISS, the United States on-orbit Segment (USOS) has been outfitted with a suite of regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) hardware including an Oxygen Generation System(OGS), Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC), and a Water Recovery System (WRS). The WRS includes the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) and the Water Processor Assembly (WPA). With this additional life support hardware, the ISS has achieved full redundancy in its on-orbit life support system between the USOS and Russian Segment (RS). The additional redundancy created by the Regenerative ECLS hardware creates the opportunity for independent support capabilities between segments, and for the first time since the start of ISS, the necessity to revise Life Support strategy agreements. Independent operating strategies coupled with the loss of the Space Shuttle supply and return capabilities in 2010 offer new and unique challenges. This paper will discuss the evolution of the ISS Life Support hardware strategy in support of 6-Crew on ISS, as well as the continued work that is necessary to ensure the support of crew and ISS Program objectives through the life of station.

Description: This paper discusses the effort in evaluating and selecting a light weight impact protection material for the Constellation Space Suit Element (CSSE) Portable Life Support Subsystem (PLSS) conceptual packaging study. A light weight material capable of holding and protecting the components inside the PLSS is required to demonstrate the viability of the flexible PLSS packaging concept. The material needs to distribute, dissipate, and absorb the impact energy of the PLSS falling on the lunar surface. It must also be very robust and function in the extreme lunar thermal vacuum environment for up to one hundred Extravehicular Activity (EVA) missions. This paper documents the performance requirements for selecting a foam protection material, and the methodologies for evaluating commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) foam protection materials. It also presents the materials properties test results and impact drop test results of the various foam materials evaluated in the study. The findings from this study suggest that a foam based flexible protection system is a viable solution for PLSS packaging. However, additional works are needed to optimize COTS foam properties or to develop a composite foam system that will meet all the performance requirements for the CSSE PLSS flexible packaging.

Description: The International Space Station (ISS) United States Operational Segment (USOS) has four permanent rack sized ISS Crew Quarters (CQ) providing a private crewmember space. The CQ uses Node 2 cabin air for ventilation/thermal cooling, as opposed to conditioned ducted air from the ISS Temperature Humidity Control System or the ISS fluid cooling loop connections. Consequently, CQ can only increase the air flow rate to reduce the temperature delta between the cabin and the CQ interior. However, increasing airflow causes increased acoustic noise so efficient airflow distribution is an important design parameter. The CQ utilized a two fan push-pull configuration to ensure fresh air at the crewmember s head position and reduce acoustic exposure. The CQ interior needs to be below Noise Curve 40 (NC-40). The CQ ventilation ducts are open to the significantly louder Node 2 cabin aisle way which required significantly acoustic mitigation controls. The design implementation of the CQ ventilation system and acoustic mitigation are very inter-related and require consideration of crew comfort balanced with use of interior habitable volume, accommodation of fan failures, and possible crew uses that impact ventilation and acoustic performance. This paper illustrates the types of model analysis, assumptions, vehicle interactions, and trade-offs required for CQ ventilation and acoustics. Additionally, on-orbit ventilation system performance and initial crew feedback is presented. This approach is applicable to any private enclosed space that the crew will occupy.

Description: The Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS), located within the ventilation loop of the Portable Life Support System (PLSS) of the Constellation Space Suit Element (CSSE), is responsible for removing hazardous trace contaminants from the space suit ventilation flow. This paper summarizes the results of a trade study that evaluated if trace contaminant control could be accomplished without a TCCS, relying on suit leakage, ullage loss from the carbon dioxide and humidity control system, and other factors. Trace contaminant generation rates were revisited to verify that values reflect the latest designs for CSSE pressure garment materials and PLSS hardware. Additionally, TCCS sizing calculations were performed and a literature survey was conducted to review the latest developments in trace contaminant technologies.

Description: A space suit s mobility is critical to an astronaut s ability to perform work efficiently. As mobility increases, the astronaut can perform tasks for longer durations with less fatigue. The term mobility, with respect to space suits, is defined in terms of two key components: joint range of motion and joint torque. Individually these measures describe the path which in which a joint travels and the force required to move it through that path. Previous space suits mobility requirements were defined as the collective result of these two measures and verified by the completion of discrete functional tasks. While a valid way to impose mobility requirements, such a method does necessitate a solid understanding of the operational scenarios in which the final suit will be performing. Because the Constellation space suit system requirements are being finalized with a relatively immature concept of operations, the Space Suit Element team elected to define mobility in terms of its constituent parts to increase the likelihood that the future pressure garment will be mobile enough to enable a broad scope of undefined exploration activities. The range of motion requirements were defined by measuring the ranges of motion test subjects achieved while performing a series of joint maximizing tasks in a variety of flight and prototype space suits. The definition of joint torque requirements has proved more elusive. NASA evaluated several different approaches to the problem before deciding to generate requirements based on unmanned joint torque evaluations of six different space suit configurations being articulated through 16 separate joint movements. This paper discusses the experiment design, data analysis and results, and the process used to determine the final values for the Constellation pressure garment joint torque requirements.

Description: Portable life support systems in future space suits will include a ventilation subsystem driven by a dedicated fan. This ventilation fan must meet challenging requirements for pressure rise, flow rate, efficiency, size, safety, and reliability. This paper describes research and development that showed the feasibility of a regenerative blower that is uniquely suited to meet these requirements. We proved feasibility through component tests, blower tests, and design analysis. Based on the requirements for the Constellation Space Suit ventilation fan, we designed the critical elements of the blower. We measured the effects of key design parameters on blower performance using separate effects tests, and used the results of these tests to design a regenerative blower that will meet the ventilation fan requirements. We assembled a proof-of-concept blower and measured its performance at low pressures that simulate a PLSS environment. We obtained head/flow performance curves over a range of operating speeds, identified the maximum efficiency point for the blower, and used these results to specify the design and operating conditions for the ventilation fan. We designed a compact motor that can drive the blower under all anticipated operating requirements and operate with high efficiency during normal operation. We identified materials for the blower that will enhance safety for operation in a lunar environment. We produced a solid model that illustrates the final design. The proof-of-concept blower produced the flow rate and pressure rise needed for the CSSS ventilation subsystem while running at 5400 rpm and consuming only 9 W of electric power and using a non-optimized, commercial motor and controller and inefficient bearings. Scaling the test results to a complete design shows that a lightweight, compact, reliable, and low power blower can meet the performance requirements for future PLSSs.

Description: The Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development - Portable Test System, known as LOCAD-PTS, was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-116) on December 9th,2006. Since that time, it has remained onboard ISS and has been operated by the crew on 10 separate occasions LOCAD-PTS is a handheld device for rapid biochemical analysis; it consists of a spectrophotometer, a series of interchangeable cartridges, a pipette and several clean/sterilized swabbing kits to obtain samples from ISS surfaces. Sampling, quantitative analysis and data retrieval is performed onboard, therefore reducing the need to return samples to Earth. Less than 20 minutes are required from sampling to data, significantly faster than existing culture-based methods on ISS, which require 3-5 days. Different cartridges are available for the detection of different target molecules (simply by changing the formulation within each cartridge), thereby maximizing the benefit and applications addressed by a single instrument. Initial tests on ISS have focused on the detection of the bact.erial macromolecule endotoxin, a component of bacterial cell walls. LOCAD-PTS detects endotoxin with a cartridge that contains a formulation known as Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) assay. LAL is derived from blood of the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, and detects enodotoxin with an enzyme cascade that triggers generation Of a yellow colored dye, p-nitroanaline. The more p-nitroanaline product, the more endotoxin is in the original sample. To enable quantitative analysis, the absorbance of this color is measured by LOCAD-PTS through a 395 nm filter and compared with an internal calibration curve, to provide a reading on the LED display that ranges from 0.05 Endotoxin Units (EU)/ml to 5 EU/ml. Several surface sites were analyzed within ISS between March 2007 and February 2008, including multiple locations in the US Laboratory Destiny, Node 1 Unity, AMock, and Service Module Zvezda. The goals of this initial study were to i) test the cleanliness of reagents/supplies on orbit, ii) test the crew's ability to collect and process a sample in microgravity without contamination, iii) demonstrate nominal function of the LOCAD-PTS, and iv) provide a general survey of endotoxin within the ISS. The surface sites varied greatly in terms of their frequency-of-use and material texture/composition; from relatively smooth aluminum, to fabric, to the room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) rubber of a Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit. Results showed that: i) the swabbing kits and reagents remained clean on orbit, ii) the crew could collect and process a sample without contamination, and iii) the LOCAD-PTS functioned nominally in 〉 99% of the 55 tests completed. We will present detailed results of the survey of endotoxin on ISS surfaces. These results and technology are important in the near-term - by providing an extra tool in the toolbox for ISS microbial monitoring. They are also important in the longer term as valuable preparation for human exploration of the Moon and Mars. One of the proposed science goals for the human exploration of Mars will be to detect and characterize any indigenous biological molecules that may exist on the Martian surface. To achieve that goal, the crew must have the technology available onboard to differentiate indigenous biology from any terrestrial biological material brought to Mars by the spacecraft and crew (termed 'forward contamination'). The LAL assay is already one of the official methods used by NASA's planetary protection program to certify cleanliness of interplanetary robotic spacecraft prior to launch; and therefore endotoxin is a good marker of forward contamination (as well as other microbial molecules detectable with LOCAD-PTS e.g. box-1, 3-glucan and lipoteichoic acid). Furthermore, the distribution and abundance of these molecules on the ISS provides a good indicator of what to expect on the Crew Exploratioehicle Orion, the lunar lander Antares, and future crewed spacecraft destined for Mars. In addition, technology such as LOCAD-PTS has been proposed to help evaluate forward contamination during lunar surface operations by the crew, as preparation for the human exploration of Mars.

Description: An EMU water processing kit (Airlock Coolant Loop Recovery A/L CLR) was developed as a corrective action to Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) coolant flow disruptions experienced on the International Space Station (ISS) in May of 2004 and thereafter. Conservative schedules for A/L CLR use and component life were initially developed and implemented based on prior analysis results and analytical modeling. The examination of postflight samples and EMU hardware in November of 2006 indicated that the A/L CLR kits were functioning well and had excess capacity that would allow a relaxation of the initially conservative schedules of use and component life. A relaxed use schedule and list of component lives was implemented thereafter. Since the adoption of the relaxed A/L CLR schedules of use and component lives, several A/L CLR kit components, transport loop water samples and sensitive EMU transport loop components have been examined to gage the impact of the relaxed requirements. The intent of this paper is to summarize the findings of that evaluation, and to outline updated schedules for A/L CLR use and component life.

Description: Human exposure to microgravity during spaceflight causes bone loss. Calcium and other metabolic byproducts are excreted in urine voids. Frequent and accurate measurement of urine void volume and constituents is essential to determining crew bone loss and the effectiveness of countermeasures. Previous US Space Shuttle (SS) Urine Monitoring System (UMS) technology was unable to accurately measure urine void volumes due to cross contamination between users and fluid system instabilities. Currently, urine voids must be collected manually in a flexible plastic bag containing a known tracer quantity. The crew member must completely mix the bag then withdraw a representative syringe sample for later ground analysis. The current bag system accuracy is highly dependent on mixing technique. The International Space Station (ISS) UMS has been developed as an automated device that collects urine from the Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) urinal funnel interface, separates the urine, measures the void volume, and allows for syringe sampling. After operations, the ISS UMS delivers the urine to the WHC for normal processing then flushes its plumbing with a small water volume. The current ISS UMS design incorporates an innovative rotary separator that minimizes foaming, greatly reduces cross contamination between urine voids (〈 0.5 ml urine), and provides accurate volume measurements (〈 +/- 2% error for 100 to 1000 ml void volumes). The system performance has been validated with extensive ground tests and reduced gravity aircraft flights. The lockersized ISS UMS is currently being modified to interface with the ISS Node 3 WHC Russian ACY hardware. The operation principles, characteristics, and results are outlined in the paper.

Description: For future lunar extravehicular activities (EVA), one method under consideration for rejecting crew and electronics heat involves evaporating water through a hydrophobic, porous Teflon(Registered Trademark) membrane. A Spacesuit Water Membrane Evaporator (SWME) prototype using this membrane was successfully tested by Ungar and Thomas (2001) with predicted performance matching test data well. The above referenced work laid the foundation for the design of a compact sheet membrane SWME development unit for use in the Constellation System Spacesuit Element Portable Life Support System (Vogel and et. al., ICES 2008). Major design objectives included minimizing mass, volume, and manufacturing complexity while rejecting a minimum of 810 watts of heat from water flowing through the SWME at 91 kg/hr with an inlet temperature of 291K. The design meeting these objectives consisted of three concentric cylindrical water channels interlaced with four water vapor channels. Two units were manufactured for the purpose of investigating manufacturing techniques and performing thermal testing. The extensive thermal test measured SWME heat rejection as a function of water inlet temperatures, water flow-rates, water absolute pressures, water impurities, and water vapor back-pressures. This paper presents the test results and subsequent analysis, which includes a comparison of SWME heat rejection measurements to pretest predictions. In addition, test measurements were taken such that an analysis of the commercial-off-the-shelf vapor pressure control valve could be performed.

Description: The Constellation Program requires the development of a space suit system to meet new requirements for launch, entry, and abort crew survival functions, microgravity intravehicular and extravehicular activities, and lunar surface exploration. This paper summarizes recent work and the current status of the NASA Constellation Space Suit Element Pressure Garment and Crew Survival Subsystem (PG/CS). The emphasis of the work by the PGS/CS team has been in the areas of feasibility studies toward PGS/CS architecture definition, risk mitigation, and requirements development. Included are results from component level engineering studies, testing in the Orion Vehicle and Orion seat mockups, microgravity testing on the Reduced Gravity Aircraft, occupant protection sled testing, analyses and studies, and their implications on Constellation PG/CS subsystem.

Description: The development of the Advanced Life Support (ALS) Sizing Analysis Tool (ALSSAT) using Microsoft(Registered TradeMark) Excel was initiated by the Crew and Thermal Systems Division (CTSD) of Johnson Space Center (JSC) in 1997 to support the ALS and Exploration Offices in Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) design and studies. It aids the user in performing detailed sizing of the ECLSS for different combinations of the Exploration Life support (ELS) regenerative system technologies. This analysis tool will assist the user in performing ECLSS preliminary design and trade studies as well as system optimization efficiently and economically. The latest ALSSAT related publication in ICES 2004 detailed ALSSAT s development status including the completion of all six ELS Subsystems (ELSS), namely, the Air Management Subsystem, the Biomass Subsystem, the Food Management Subsystem, the Solid Waste Management Subsystem, the Water Management Subsystem, and the Thermal Control Subsystem and two external interfaces, including the Extravehicular Activity and the Human Accommodations. Since 2004, many more regenerative technologies in the ELSS were implemented into ALSSAT. ALSSAT has also been used for the ELS Research and Technology Development Metric Calculation for FY02 thru FY06. It was also used to conduct the Lunar Outpost Metric calculation for FY08 and was integrated as part of a Habitat Model developed at Langley Research Center to support the Constellation program. This paper will give an update on the analysis tool s current development status as well as present the analytical results of one of the trade studies that was performed.

Description: NASA is planning to return to the moon and then explore Mars. A permanent base at the south pole of the moon will be the test bed for Mars. At the moon base, two crewmembers are expected to conduct Extravehicular Activity (EVA) six days every week. Current spacesuits are cooled by the sublimation of water ice into vacuum. A single 7 hour EVA near the lunar equator in daylight can expend up to 5 kilograms of water. Because of the high cost of transporting spacesuit cooling water to the moon, the water for one EVA could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The lunar south pole and Mars have low surface temperatures that make cooling much easier than at the lunar equator. Alternate cooling methods and keeping to cool environments can reduce or eliminate the loss of water for spacesuit cooling. If cooling water is not needed, a recycling life support system can provide all the required crew water and oxygen without transporting additional water from Earth.

Description: A habitable atmosphere is a fundamental requirement for human spaceflight. To meet such a requirement, the cabin atmosphere must be constantly scrubbed to maintain human life and system functionality. The primary system for atmospheric scrubbing of the US on-orbit segment (USOS) of the International Space Station (ISS) is the Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS). As part of the Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) atmosphere revitalization rack in the US Lab, the TCCS operates continuously, scrubbing trace contaminants generated primarily by two sources: the metabolic offgassing of crew members and the offgassing of equipment in the ISS. It has been online for approximately 95% since activated in February 2001. The TCCS is comprised of a charcoal bed, a catalytic oxidizer, and a lithium hydroxide post-sorbent bed, all of which are designed to be replaced onorbit when necessary. In 2006, all three beds were replaced following an observed increase in the system resistance that occurred over a period several months. The beds were returned to ground and subjected to a test, teardown and evaluation to investigate the root cause(s) of the decrease in flow rate through the system. In addition, various chemical and physical analyses of the bed materials were performed to determine contaminant loading and any changes in performance. This paper will mainly focus on the results of these analyses and how this correlates with what has been observed from archival sampling and onorbit events. This may provide insight into the future performance of the TCCS and rate of change for orbital replacement units in the TCCS.

Description: Field of view has always been a design feature paramount to helmet design, and in particular space suit design, where the helmet must provide an adequate field of view for a large range of activities, environments, and body positions. For Project Constellation, a slightly different approach to helmet requirement maturation was utilized; one that was less a direct function of body position and suit pressure and more a function of the mission segment in which the field of view is required. Through taxonimization of various parameters that affect suited FOV, as well as consideration for possible nominal and contingency operations during that mission segment, a reduction process was able to condense the large number of possible outcomes to only six unique field of view angle requirements that still captured all necessary variables without sacrificing fidelity. The specific field of view angles were defined by considering mission segment activities, historical performance of other suits, comparison between similar requirements (pressure visor up versus down, etc.), estimated requirements from other teams for field of view (Orion, Altair, EVA), previous field of view tests, medical data for shirtsleeve field of view performance, and mapping of visual field data to generate 45degree off-axis field of view requirements. Full resolution of several specific field of view angle requirements warranted further work, which consisted of low and medium fidelity field of view testing in the rear entry ISuit and DO27 helmet prototype. This paper serves to document this reduction progress and followup testing employed to write the Constellation requirements for helmet field of view.

Description: With the increasing demands placed on extravehicular activity (EVA) for the International Space Station (ISS) assembly and maintenance, along with planned lunar and Martian missions, the need for increased human productivity and capability becomes ever more critical. This is most readily achieved by reduction in space suit weight and volume, and increased hardware reliability, durability, and operating lifetime. Considerable progress has been made with each successive generation of space suit design; from the Apollo A7L suit, to the current Shuttle Extravehicular Mobile Unit (EMU) suit, and the next generation Constellation Space Suit Element (CSSE). However, one area of space suit design which has continued to lag is the fluid pump used to drive the water cooling loop of the Primary Life Support System (PLSS). The two main types of fluid pumps typically used in space applications are rotodynamic pumps (pumping is achieved through a rotary vaned impeller) and displacement pumps (which includes rotary and diaphragm pumps). The rotating and moving parts found in the pumps and electric motor add significantly to the susceptibility to wear and friction, thermal mismatch, and complexity of the pumps. Electric motor-driven pumps capable of achieving high operational reliability are necessarily large, heavy, and energy inefficient. This report describes a development effort conducted for NASA by Lynntech, Inc., who recently demonstrated the feasibility of an electrochemically-driven fluid cooling pump. With no electric motor and minimal lightweight components, an electrochemically-driven pump is expected to be significantly smaller, lighter and achieve a longer life time than conventional rotodynamic and displacement pumps. By employing sulfonated polystyrene-based proton exchange membranes, rather than conventional Nafion membranes, a significant reduction in the actuator power consumption was demonstrated. It was also demonstrated that these membranes possess the necessary mechanical strength, durability, and temperature range for long life space operation. The preliminary design for a Phase II prototype pump compares very favorably to the fluid cooling pumps currently used in space suit portable life support systems (PLSS). Characteristics of the electrochemically-driven pump are described and the benefits of the technology as a replacement for electric motor pumps in mechanically pumped single-phase fluid loops (MPFLs) is discussed.

Description: NASA is currently engaged in an activity to facilitate effective operations on the International Space Station (ISS) after the Space Shuttle retires. Currently, the Space Shuttle delivers crew and cargo to and from ISS. The Space Shuttle provides the only large scale method of hardware return from ISS to the ground. Hardware that needs to be periodically repaired, refurbished, or recalibrated must come back from ISS on the Shuttle. One example of NASA flight hardware that is used on ISS and refurbished on the ground is the Compound Specific Analyzer for Oxygen (CSA-O2). The CSA-O2 is an electrochemical sensor that is used on orbit for about 12 months (depending on Shuttle launch schedules), then returned to the ground for sensor replacement. The shuttle is scheduled to retire in 2010, and the ISS is scheduled to operate until 2016. NASA needs a hand held sensor that measures oxygen in the ISS environment and has a 5-10 year service life. After conducting a survey of oxygen sensor systems, NASA selected a Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectrometer (TDLAS) as the method of measurement that best addresses the needs for ISS. These systems are compact, meet ISS accuracy requirements, and because they use spectroscopic techniques, the sensors are not consumed or altered after making a measurement. TDLAS systems have service life ratings of 5-10 years, based on the lifetime of the laser. NASA is engaged in modifying a commercially available sensor, the Vaisala OMT 355, for the ISS application. The Vaisala OMT 355 requires three significant modifications to meet ISS needs. The commercial sensor uses a wall mount power supply, and the ISS sensor needs to use a rechargeable battery as its source of power. The commercial sensor has a pressure correction setpoint: the sensor can be adjusted to operate at reduced pressure conditions, but the sensor does not self correct dynamically and automatically. The ISS sensor needs to operate in the airlock, and make accurate measurements in an environment that can change from 14.7 psia to 10.2 psia in 15 minutes. The commercial sensor needs to be repackaged into a configuration that is more compact, and better suited for ISS airlock operations. NASA has recently completed a prototype of the reconfigured system. The unit has been repackaged in a way that the optical path of the spectrometer is unchanged, but the electronics has been integrated into a case measuring 10.7 X 7.2 X 3.0 inches. Two flight qualified rechargeable batteries have been integrated into system. The batteries can power the sensor for 10 hours on a single charge. A pressure sensor has been added to the system. The modified unit automatically compensates for changes in pressure, and meets 0.2% accuracy requirements for oxygen measurements in an environment with 18 to 32% oxygen across a pressure range of 10.0 to 15.0 psia.

Description: The shuttle crew wears the Advanced Crew Escape Spacesuit (ACES) to protect themselves from cabin decompression and to support bail out during landing. ACES is cooled by a liquid-cooled garment (LCG) that interfaces to a heat exchanger that dumps heat into the cabin. The ACES outer layer is made of Gore-Tex(Registered TradeMark), permitting water vapor to escape while containing oxygen. The crew can only lose heat via insensible water losses and the LCG. Under nominal landing operations, the average cabin temperature rarely exceeds 75 F, which is adequate for the ACES to function. Problem A rescue shuttle will need to return 11 crew members if the previous mission suffers a thermal protection system failure, preventing it from returning safely to Earth. Initial analysis revealed that 11 crew members in the shuttle will increase cabin temperature at wheel stop above 80 F, which decreases the ACES ability to keep crew members cool. Air flow in the middeck of the shuttle is inhomogeneous and some ACES may experience much higher temperatures that could cause excessive thermal stress to crew members. Methods A ground study was conducted to measure the cooling efficiency of the ACES at 75 F, 85 F, and 95 F at 50% relative humidity. Test subjects representing 5, 50, and 95 percentile body habitus of the astronaut corps performed hand ergometry keeping their metabolic rate at 400, 600, and 800 BTU/hr for one hour. Core temperature was measured by rectal probe and skin, while inside and outside the suit. Environmental chamber wall and cooling unit inlet and outlet temperatures were measured using high-resolution thermistors ( 0.2 C). Conclusions Under these test conditions, the ACES was able to protect the core temperature of all test subjects, however thermal stress due to high insensible losses and skin temperature and skin heat flow may impact crew performance. Further research should be performed to understand the impact on cognitive performance.

Description: NASA s Constellation Program (CxP) will conduct a series of human space expeditions of increasing scope, starting with missions supporting the International Space Station and expanding to encompass the Moon and Mars. Although human-rating is an integral part of all CxP activities throughout their life cycle, NASA Procedural Requirements document NPR 8705.2B, Human-Rating Requirements (HRR) for Space Flight Systems, defines the additional processes, procedures, and requirements necessary to produce human-rated space systems that protect the safety of crew members and passengers on these NASA missions. In order to be in compliance with 8705.2B the CxP must show appropriate implementation or progression toward the HRR, or justification for an exception. Compliance includes an explanation of how the CxP intends to meet the HRR, analyses to be performed to determine implementation; and a matrix to trace the HRR to CxP requirements. The HRR requires the CxP to establish a human system integration team (HSIT), consisting of astronauts, mission operations personnel, training personnel, ground processing personnel, human factors personnel, and human engineering experts, with clearly defined authority, responsibility, and accountability to lead the human-system integration. For example, per the HRR the HSIT is involved in the evaluation of crew workload, human-in-the-loop usability evaluations, determining associated criteria, and in assessment of how these activities influenced system design. In essence, the HSIT is invaluable in CxP s ability to meet the three fundamental tenets of human rating: the process of designing, evaluating, and assuring that the total system can safely conduct the required human missions; the incorporation of design features and capabilities that accommodate human interaction with the system to enhance overall safety and mission success; and the incorporation of design features and capabilities to enable safe recovery of the crew from hazardous situations.

Description: The next generation space suit requires additional capabilities for controlling and adjusting internal pressure than previous design suits. Next generation suit pressures will range from slight pressure, for astronaut prebreath comfort, to hyperbaric pressure levels for emergency medical treatment. Carleton was awarded a contract in 2008 to design and build a proof of concept bench top demonstrator regulator having five setpoints which are selectable using input electronic signaling. Although the basic regulator architecture is very similar to the existing SOP regulator used in the current EMU, the major difference is the electrical selectivity of multiple setpoints rather than the mechanical On/Off feature found on the SOP regulator. The concept regulator employs a linear actuator stepper motor combination to provide variable compression to a custom design main regulator spring. This concept allows for a continuously adjustable outlet pressures from 8.2 psid (maximum) down to "firm" zero thus effectively allowing it to serve as a shutoff valve. This paper details the regulator design and presents test results on regulation band width, command set point accuracy; slue rate and regulation stability, particularly when the set point is being slued. Projections for a flight configuration version are also offered for performance, architectural layout and weight.

Description: The design and mass cost of a starship and its life support system are investigated. The mission plan for a multi generational interstellar voyage to colonize a new planet is used to describe the starship design, including the crew habitat, accommodations, and life support. Only current technology is assumed. Highly reliable life support systems can be provided with reasonably small additional mass, suggesting that they can support long duration missions. Bioregenerative life support, growing crop plants that provide food, water, and oxygen, has been thought to need less mass than providing stored food for long duration missions. The large initial mass of hydroponics systems is paid for over time by saving the mass of stored food. However, the yearly logistics mass required to support a bioregenerative system exceeds the mass of food solids it produces, so that supplying stored dehydrated food always requires less mass than bioregenerative food production. A mixed system that grows about half the food and supplies the other half dehydrated has advantages that allow it to breakeven with stored dehydrated food in about 66 years. However, moderate increases in the hydroponics system mass to achieve high reliability, such as adding spares that double the system mass and replacing the initial system every 100 years, increase the mass cost of bioregenerative life support. In this case, the high reliability half food growing, half food supplying system does not breakeven for 389 years. An even higher reliability half and half system, with three times original system mass and replacing the system every 50 years, never breaks even. Growing food for starship life support requires more mass than providing dehydrated food, even for multigeneration voyages of hundreds of years. The benefits of growing some food may justify the added mass cost. Much more efficient recycling food production is wanted but may not be possible. A single multigenerational interstellar voyage to colonize a new planet would have cost similar to that of the Apollo program. Cost is reduced if a small crew travels slowly and lands with minimal equipment. We can go to the stars!

Description: CO2 acquisition and utilization technologies will have a vital role in determining sustained and affordable life support and in-situ fuel production architectures for human and robotic exploration of Moon and Mars. For long-term human exploration to be practical, reliable technologies have to be implemented to capture and chemically reduce the metabolic CO2 from the cabin air to restitute oxygen consumption. Technologies that facilitate the in-situ capture and conversion of atmospheric CO2 to fuel are essential for a viable human mission to Mars and their demonstration on the moon is critical as well. This paper describes the concept and experimental investigation of a CO2 capture and reduction system that comprises an adsorption compressor and a CO2 and steam co-electrolysis unit. The process products include oxygen for life support and Syngas (CO and H2) for synthetic fuel production. Electrochemical performance in terms of CO2 conversion, oxygen production, and power consumption of a system with a capacity to process 1kg CO2 per day (1-person equivalent) will be discussed.

Description: A spacecraft water disinfection system, suitable for extended length space exploration missions, should prevent or control the growth of microbes, prevent or limit biofilm formation, and prevent microbiologically-influenced corrosion. In addition, the system should have minimal maintenance requirements, the effluent should be chemically compatible with all materials in contact with the water, be safe for human consumption, and suitable to be shared across international spacecraft platforms and mission architectures. Silver ions are a proven broad spectrum biocide. Silver is also the potable water biocide of choice for future exploration missions. Currently, the proposed method for implementing silver biocide in spacecraft systems relies on silver electrode technology to produce a controlled amount of silver ions. Unfortunately, electrolytic-based silver dosing presents multiple inherent challenges that affect performance and increase maintenance requirements over time. To decrease the risk of failure, an alternative silver biocide delivery method is needed. Control-release technology is an attractive option for developing a passive high-reliability silver dosing device. The concept of a nanoparticle/polyurethane (PU) composite foam for the controlled release of silver was prompted by the controlled release technology developed by NASA for the delivery of corrosion inhibitors and indicators. This paper presents the technical background and results from the synthesis and properties testing of the silver nanoparticles (AgNPs)/PU composite foam that is being developed for use in spacecraft potable water systems.

Description: This Summer I participated in two projects at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The projects focus on the NASA's Deep Space Gateway applications for future Mars travel. All of these projects use recycling technology to use resources found on Earth and on other planets for fuel and other environmental applications. The first project I took the lead on is Plasma Arc Gasification. Plasma is a high temperature and very efficient way to process waste to create usable byproducts. The plasma chamber in temperature is comparable to that of the sun and this energy will help create an environment in which the waste can be recycled properly for not only plant support, but also for possible fuel application as well. I preformed the tests in a quartz tube, which is used to hold the waste (cotton, plastics, nylon, paper and a human waste simulant) and the waste is then combusted using O2 (present in air) into gases such as H2, H2O, CH4 and CO2. I determined which gases are present using a Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) machine, which analyzes the peaks of the gases using liquid nitrogen. Problems arose in the beginning from the reactor emitting electromagnetic waves (EMI) that interfered with the technology of the experiment, specifically the thermocouples. This was solved through multiple tests with the positioning of the thermocouple power supply further away from the plasma reactor. I worked with another intern, Daniel Santander, who developed a space plant chamber which uses CO2 and H2O (harvested from the plasma reactor) to grow plants in space. The chamber possess a CO2 monitor, which controls the amount of gas that enters the chamber, along with a water integration system to supply the amount of water needed for proper plan growth. This technology will then be used for plant growth in space for the Astronauts on future space flights and possibly on the International Space Station (ISS). The second project I worked on is the Orbital Syngas / Commodity Augmentation Reactor (OSCAR) which focuses on the issues experienced in long-duration space flight regarding waste disposal. In previous space flight missions, waste was stored on board and returned to Earth for disposal. This technique is not applicable to long space flight missions to Mars due to the rocket being months away from Earth. OSCAR is using microgravity waste disposal techniques to produce fuels from the recycled waste. The waste is converted to syngas through a thermal degradation process. This process helps create an environmentally friendly way to dispose and reuse trash on board the space craft. Currently waste is being tested in the form of cotton and plastics. OSCAR is designed as a microgravity reactor that is currently being tested in a drop tower rig at Glenn Research Center. I helped design the 3D model for the insulation that will line the reactor. The first few trials, I dissolved the plastic of the mold in acetone. This method worked, but was very costly. I then received a silicone material to construct the mold from Swamp Works here at Kennedy. Through multiple trials with the silicone, this method worked best for developing the end pieces of the insulation for the chamber.

Description: A previous study reported that inadequate weigh outs of suited subjects contribute to fatigue and the risk of injury during training in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL). Another study suggested that shoulder injuries observed in suited subjects who train in the NBL may be attributed to excessive righting moments caused by a non-optimal weigh out. The purpose of this study was to develop a mathematical model to predict and maintain the neutral buoyancy of suited subjects during training operations at the NBL. Due to time constraints, one certified NBL support diver served as a subject (height: 66.54 in; weight: 182 lbs) for this study and only one complete test was conducted. The study was divided into two runs for which the first run required the NBL divers to perform a weigh out similar to a suited astronaut on a scuba diver wearing a mock Portable Life Support System and a Displays and Control Module. For the second run, the same subject and equipment were weighed out according to the mathematical model. The objective of each run was to achieve a neutrally buoyant subject floating 450 to the pool floor. Motion data was collected using two underwater cameras and analyzed using Dartfish video analysis software while force and moment data were recorded using an AMTI force plate. The results from the NBL divers visual run indicate that the subject was floating at an angle of 29.50 while the resultant force and moment data were 1.139 lb and 1.125 ft-lb respectively. The mathematical model s weigh out resulted in the subject floating at an angle of 37.40 and a resultant force of 0.765 lb and resultant moment of 1.248 ft-lb. The mathematical model was better able to orient the subject and reduce resultant moment and force as compared to the NBL divers.

Description: Outline of Content to be Presented: Session 1: Background on Human Space Flight, NASA Human Space Flight Programs: Apollo, Shuttle, ISS, U.S. Vision for Space Exploration, Goals of Human Spaceflight. Session. 2: Use of Polymers in NASA Technology Development, Life Support & Habitation Program, Spacecraft and Space Suit Requirements and Constraints Applications - Past, Current, Future Technologies in Development. Session 3: NASA Materials Database, Classes of Useful Polymers and Composites, Unique Requirements on Polymers in Space Applications of Synthetic and Biological Polymers. Session 4: Design of Polymer Parts for a Lunar Space Suit, Sample Activities for Teachers to Use in High School Classrooms.