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Perchonok, Michele

Publications and source records attributed to Perchonok, Michele.

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2014

NASA, We Have a Challenge and It's Food Packaging

Current Packaging: Freeze Dried Foods Packaging  The thermoformed base is fabricated from Combitherm PAXX230 [a coextrusion of nylon/medium-density polyethylene (MDPE)/nylon/ethylene-vinyl alcohol (EVOH)/nylon/MDPE/linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE)].  The lid is fabricated from Combitherm PAXX115 (a coextrusion of nylon/EVOH/nylon/LF adhesive/HV polyethylene/LLDPE)  Natural form (Bite size) foods  The bite-size food package is fabricated from Combitherm PAXX115, a coextrusion of nylon/EVOH/nylon/LF adhesive/HV polyethylene/LLDPE.  Overwrap  Packages are wrapped in a white pouch,.003-mm thick, fabricated from a laminate of polyester/polyethylene/aluminum foil/Surlyn®. This overwrap is removed before the food is prepared and heated. Requirements  High barrier packaging - low oxygen and water vapor transmission rates  No aluminum layer  Mass - <145 grams per m2  Flexible  Puncture resistant  Approved for food use  Amenable to sterilization  Able to be heat sealed  Preferred (not required)  Transparent  Retortable, microwavable, high pressure use. Small Business Innovative Research Program - 7 years  8 Phase I contracts  4 Phase II contracts  Two workshops to bring together food packaging experts  Three internal research tasks  Public Outreach - average of 3 presentations/yr. for 8 years describing NASA's challenges  Department of Defense Collaboration - Combat Feeding Program No significant improvement in food packaging capabilities after these efforts. It was unlikely that a food packaging solution could be found within the food science community  There was a need to go outside to other industries such as pharmaceutical or electrical  Although a positive result was preferred, a negative result would also be useful  Two Innovation Techniques were used as a comparison  InnoCentive - Theoretical Challenge to identify new technologies  Yet2.com - A matchmaker between NASA and commercial packaging manufacturers

Perchonok, Michele↗
NASA NTRS2014

Benefits for Health; NASA

The goal of HRP is to provide human health and performance countermeasures, knowledge, technologies, and tools to enable safe, reliable, and productive human space exploration. Presentation discusses (1) Bone Health: Vitamin D, Fish Consumption and Exercise (2) Medical Support in Remote Areas (3) ISS Ultrasound 4) Dry electrode EKG System (5) Environmental Factors and Psychological Health.

Perchonok, Michele↗
NASA NTRS2013

Effects of the 8 psia / 32% O2 Atmosphere on the Human in the Spaceflight Environment

Extravehicular activity (EVA) is at the core of a manned space exploration program. There are elements of exploration that may be safely and effectively performed by robots, but there are critical elements of exploration that will require the trained, assertive, and reasoning mind of a human crewmember. To effectively use these skills, NASA needs a safe, effective, and efficient EVA component integrated into the human exploration program. The EVA preparation time should be minimized and the suit pressure should be low to accommodate EVA tasks without undue fatigue, physical discomfort, or suit-related trauma. Commissioned in 2005, the Exploration Atmospheres Working Group (EAWG) had the primary goal of recommending to NASA an internal environment that allowed efficient and repetitive EVAs for missions that were to be enabled by the former Constellation Program. At the conclusion of the EAWG meeting, the 8.0 psia and 32% oxygen (O2) environment were recommended for EVA intensive phases of missions. As a result of selecting this internal environment, NASA gains the capability for efficient EVA with low risk of decompression sickness (DCS), but not without incurring additional negative stimulus of hypobaric hypoxia to the already physiologically challenging spaceflight environment. This paper provides a literature review of the human health and performance risks associated with the 8 psia/32% O2 environment. Of most concern are the potential effects on the central nervous system including increased intracranial pressure, visual impairment, sensorimotor dysfunction, and oxidative damage. Other areas of focus include validation of the DCS mitigation strategy, incidence and treatment of acute mountain sickness (AMS), development of new exercise countermeasures protocols, effective food preparation at 8 psia, assurance of quality sleep, and prevention of suit-induced injury. As a first effort, the trade space originally considered in the EAWG was re-evaluated looking for ways to decrease the hypoxic dose by further enriching the O2% or increasing the pressure. After discussion with the NASA engineering and materials community, it was determined that the O2 could be enriched from 32% to 34% and the pressure increased from 8.0 to 8.2 psia without significant penalty. These two small changes increase alveolar O2 pressure by 11 mmHg, which is expected to significantly benefit crewmembers. The 8.2/34 environment (inspired O2 pressure = 128 mmHg) is also physiologically equivalent to the staged decompression atmosphere of 10.2 psia / 26.5% O2 (inspired O2 pressure = 127 mmHg) used on 34 different shuttle missions for approximately a week each flight. Once decided, the proposed internal environment, if different than current experience, should be evaluated through appropriately simulated research studies. In many cases, the human physiologic concerns can be investigated effectively through integrated multi-discipline ground-based studies. Although missions proposing to use an 8.2/34 environment are still years away, it is recommended that these studies begin early enough to ensure that the correct decisions pertaining to vehicle design, mission operational concepts, and human health countermeasures are appropriately informed.

Environmental control↗
NASA NTRS2011

Comparison of Traditional and Innovative Techniques to Solve Technical Challenges

This slide presentation reviews the use of traditional and innovative techniques to solve technical challenges in food storage technology. The planning for a mission to Mars is underway, and the food storage technology improvements requires that improvements be made. This new technology is required, because current food storage technology is inadequate,refrigerators or freezers are not available for food preservation, and that a shelf life of 5 years is expected. A 10 year effort to improve food packaging technology has not enhanced significantly food packaging capabilities. Two innovation techniques were attempted InnoCentive and Yet2.com and have provided good results, and are still under due diligence for solver verification.

Perchonok, Michele↗
NASA NTRS2010

Feeding the Astronauts During Long Duration Missions

This slide presentation reviews the issues surrounding feeding astronauts during long duration missions. There is a brief history from the food and food packaging available during Project Mercury through the current food requirements. It shows the packaging and the requirements that have been used. The current food system includes thermostabilized and irradiated foods to reduce the potential of harmful microorganisms. There is an explanation of drinks available, rehydratable foods, and natural forms of food, (i.e., commercially available foods that are packaged in individual serving sizes). There is also discussion of the requirements for future missions, and the research gap for requirements for food that will last 5 years, with packaging and nutrients intact.

Perchonok, Michele↗
NASA NTRS2010

Risk as a Driver for Innovation

The Space Life Sciences directorate (SLSD) and Human Research Program (HRP) at NASA Johnson Space Center has implemented a system for managing human systems risks. These risks are defined as the health and performance risks posed to crew during and after spaceflight. Identification and evaluation of these risks has led to the identification of gaps in knowledge about the risks as well as gaps in technology needed to mitigate them. Traditional routes of closing technology gaps have, in some cases, proven to be too slow when a solution was required quickly. Therefore, certain gaps were used to drive the development of "challenges" for the scientific community. Partnering with open innovation service providers such as InnoCentive and Yet2.com, SLSD and HRP have decreased the amount of time from identification of a need to the evaluation of a solution. Although not all proposed solutions will result in a risk mitigation strategy or tool, the process has allowed faster evaluation of proposed solutions providing the researcher the ability to move to another possible solution if the first does not sufficiently address the problem. Moreover, this process engages the community outside of NASA and broadens the population from which to draw solutions. In the traditional grant funding structure, only those in the specific field will apply for the grant. However, using open innovation, solutions can come from individuals in many different fields. This can expand the general view of a field (way of thinking within a field) and the application of solutions form new fields while providing a pathway for the acquisition of novel solutions or refinements of current mitigations. Identification of the human systems risks has helped drive the development and evaluation of innovative solutions as well as engaging a broader scientific audience in working with NASA.

Davis, Jeff↗
NASA NTRS2010

Comparison of Traditional and Innovative Techniques to Solve Technical Challenges

Although NASA has an adequate food system for current missions, research is required to accommodate new requirements for future NASA exploration missions. The Inadequate Food System risk reflects the need to develop requirements and technologies that will enable NASA to provide the crew with a safe, nutritious and acceptable food system while effectively balancing appropriate resources such as mass, volume, and crew time in exploratory missions. As we go deeper into space or spend more time on the International Space Station (ISS), there will be requirements for packaged food to be stored for 3 5 years. New food packaging technologies are needed that have adequate oxygen and water barrier properties to maintain the foods' quality over this extended shelf life. NASA has been unsuccessful in identify packaging materials that meet the necessary requirements when using several traditional routes including literature reviews, workshops, and internal shelf life studies on foods packaged in various packaging materials. Small Business Innovative Research grants were used for accelerating food packaging materials research with limited success. In order to accelerate the process, a theoretical challenge was submitted to InnoCentive resulting in a partial award. A similar food packaging challenge was submitted to Yet2.com and several potential commercial packaging material suppliers were identified that, at least partially, met the requirements. Comparisons and results of these challenges will be discussed.

Perchonok, Michele↗
NASA NTRS2008

Effect of Processing and Subsequent Storage on Nutrition

The objective of this research is to determine the effects of thermal processing, freeze drying, irradiation, and storage time on the nutritional content of food, to evaluate the nutritional content of the food items currently used on the International Space Station and Shuttle, and to establish the need to institute countermeasures. (This study does not seek to address the effect of processing on nutrients in detail, but rather aims to place in context the overall nutritional status at the time of consumption).

Perchonok, Michele↗
NASA NTRS2008

Comparative Packaging Study

This viewgraph presentation describes a comparative packaging study for use on long duration space missions. The topics include: 1) Purpose; 2) Deliverables; 3) Food Sample Selection; 4) Experimental Design Matrix; 5) Permeation Rate Comparison; and 6) Packaging Material Information.

Perchonok, Michele↗
NASA NTRS2008

The Challenges of Developing a Food System for a Mars Mission

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.

Perchonok, Michele↗
NASA NTRS2008

Launch-Off-Need Shuttle Hubble Rescue Mission: Medical Issues

The Space Shuttle Hubble repair mission (STS-125) is unique in that a rescue mission (STS-400) has to be ready to launch before STS-125 life support runs out should the vehicle become stranded. The shuttle uses electrical power derived from fuel cells that use cryogenic oxygen and hydrogen (CRYO) to run all subsystems including the Environmental Control System. If the STS-125 crew cannot return to Earth due to failure of a critical subsystem, they must power down all nonessential systems and wait to be rescued by STS-400. This power down will cause the cabin temperature to be 60 F or less and freeze the rest of the vehicle, preventing it from attempting a reentry. After an emergency has been declared, STS-125 must wait at least 7 days to power down since that is the earliest that STS-400 can be launched. Problem The delayed power down of STS-125 causes CYRO to be consumed at high rates and limits the survival time after STS-400 launches to 10 days or less. CRYO will run out sooner every day that the STS-400 launch is delayed (weather at launch, technical issues etc.). To preserve CRYO and lithium hydroxide (LiOH - carbon dioxide removal) the crew will perform no exercise to reduce their metabolic rates, yet each deconditioned STS-125 crewmember must perform an EVA to rescue himself. The cabin may be cold for 10 days, which may cause shivering, increasing the metabolic rate of the STS-125 crew. Solution To preserve LiOH, the STS-125 manifest includes nutrition bars with low carbohydrate content to maintain crew respiratory quotient (RQ) below 0.85 as opposed to the usual shuttle galley food which is rich in carbohydrates and keeps the RQ at approximately 0.95. To keep the crew more comfortable in the cold vehicle warm clothing also has been included. However, with no exercise and limited diet, the deconditioned STS-125 crew returning on STS-400 may not be able to egress the vehicle autonomously requiring a supplemented crash-and-rescue capability.

Hamilton, Douglas↗