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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Habitability Assessments And Lessons-learned From 3-day And 11-day Enriched Oxygen Hypobaric Chamber Tests At NASA Johnson Space Center

INTRODUCTION: Decompression sickness (DCS) is a risk to the health and performance of astronauts and high-altitude aircrew. Tolerance to flammability, hypoxia, prebreathe duration, and DCS risk varies across different organizations, vehicles, suits, and destinations, necessitating a variety of DCS risk mitigation approaches. Existing models of altitude DCS risk are often insufficient to enable accurate risk-informed decisions during hardware development, mission planning, and flight operations. METHODS: NASA completed outfitting of a dedicated facility at Johnson Space Center to support testing of up to eight human subjects for multiple days in hypobaric and enriched oxygen atmospheres. The primary purpose of the testing capability is validation of DCS risk mitigation protocols for Artemis missions to the Moon; however, it will also support development and validation of a generalizable altitude DCS risk estimation tool. A 3-day and an 11-day prebreathe validation test were completed in 2022, each with 8 human subjects living at 56.5 kPa (8.2 psia), 34% O2, 66% N2, with 5 simulated EVAs performed on masks at 29.6 kPa (4.3 psi), 85% O2, 15% N2. Facility and organizational lessons-learned and process improvements were recorded during and following the tests, and subjective habitability ratings were recorded daily during the 11-day test. Hypoxia and DCS-related physiological and cognitive outcome measures were recorded during both tests and are reported in companion presentations. RESULTS & DISCUSSION: All subjects completed each of the tests. Primary habitability issues related to mask discomfort during simulated EVAs and poor sleep quality due to thin mattresses. Polybenzimidazole (PBI) clothing was worn by all subjects due to the increased fire risk and may be required for Artemis missions; clothing was found to be acceptable overall with the worst ratings being due to poor fit and inelasticity. Chamber O2 and CO2 sensor inconsistency was observed that did not result in test termination but required post-test follow-up. Forward plans include additional hypobaric testing and integration of existing and future physiological outcome data into an open-source Aerospace Estimation Tool for Hypobaric Exposure Risk (AETHER). NASA is also working to make the testing capability available to commercial companies.

Andrew Abercromby↗
NASA NTRS2024

HPIC: The Habitable Worlds Observatory Preliminary Input Catalog

The Habitable Worlds Observatory Preliminary Input Catalog (HPIC) is a list of ∼13,000 nearby bright stars that will be potential targets for the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) in its search for Earth-sized planets around Sun-like stars. We construct this target list using the TESS and Gaia DR3 catalogs and develop an automated pipeline to compile stellar measurements and derived astrophysical properties for all stars. We benchmark the stellar properties in the HPIC relative to those of the manually curated ExEP HWO Precursor Science Stars list and find that, for the 164 best targets for exo-Earth direct imaging, our stellar properties are consistent. We demonstrate the utility of the HPIC by using it as an input for yield calculations to predict the science output of various mission designs, including those with larger telescope diameters and those focused on other planet types besides Earth analogs, such as Jupiter-mass planets. The breadth and completeness of the HPIC is essential for accurate HWO mission trade studies, and it will be useful for other exoplanet studies and general astrophysics studying the population of bright nearby stars.

Noah W. Tuchow↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Habitable Worlds Observatory Technology Development Plan

The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is NASA’s next large space telescope, selected by the 2020 Decadal Survey in Astronomy and Astrophysics to search for and characterize habitable exoplanets while enabling a broad range of transformative astrophysics. In August 2024, the HWO Technology Maturation Project Office (TMPO) was formed to begin exploring the HWO science, technology, and mission architectures toward a Mission Concept Review (MCR) at the end of the decade. A primary deliverable of this effort is a technology development plan that identifies critical technologies that enable the mission, defines a process for assessing the readiness of those technologies, and outlines a strategy for developing those technologies to a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 5 before the MCR. In this paper we summarize the HWO technology development plan which comprises three “tracks”: Coronagraph System technologies, Ultra-stable Telescope System technologies, and High-sensitivity Ultraviolet and Visible Instrumentation technologies. Each track has completed an initial assessment of technology gaps, prioritized the gaps for investment, and laid out development roadmaps to mature candidate technologies to close those gaps.

Matthew R Bolcar↗
NASA NTRS2014

Progressive Climate Change on Titan: Implications for Habitability

Titan's landscape is profoundly shaped by its atmosphere and comparable in magnitude perhaps with only the Earth and Mars amongst the worlds of the Solar System. Like the Earth, climate dictates the intensity and relative roles of fluvial and aeolian activity from place to place and over geologic time. Thus Titan's landscape is the record of climate change. We have investigated three broad classes of Titan climate evolution hypotheses (Steady State, Progressive, and Cyclic), regulated by the role, sources, and availability of methane. We favor the Progressive hypotheses, which we will outline here, then discuss their implication for habitability.

implication for habitability↗
NASA NTRS2015

Volatiles and Isotopes and the Exploration of Ancient and Modern Martian Habitability with the Curiosity Rover

The Mars Science Laboratory Mission was designed to pave the way for the study of life beyond Earth through a search for a habitable environment in a carefully selected landing site on Mars. Its ongoing exploration of Gale Crater with the Curiosity Rover has provided a rich data set that revealed such an environment in an ancient lakebed [1]. Volatile and isotope measurements of both the atmosphere and solids contribute to our growing understanding of both modern and ancient environments.

curiosity rover↗
NASA NTRS2015

The Nitrate/Perchlorate Ratio on Mars as an Indicator for Habitability

Discovery of indigenous martian nitrogen in Mars surface materials has important implications for habitability and the potential development of a nitrogen cycle at some point in martian history. The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity Rover detected evolved nitric oxide (NO) gas during pyrolysis of scooped aeolian sediments and drilled mudstone acquired in Gale Crater. The detection of NO suggests an indigenous source of fixed N, and may indicate a mineralogical sink for atmospheric N2 in the form of nitrate. The ratio of nitrate to oxychlorine species (e.g. perchlorate) may provide insight into the extent of development of a nitrogen cycle on Mars.

Mars↗
NASA NTRS2014

Habitable Zones Around Main-Sequence Stars: Dependence on Planetary Mass

The ongoing discoveries of extra-solar planets are unveiling a wide range of terrestrial mass (size) planets around their host stars. In this Letter, we present estimates of habitable zones (HZs) around stars with stellar effective temperatures in the range 2600 K-7200 K, for planetary masses between 0.1M and 5M. Assuming H2O-(inner HZ) and CO2-(outer HZ) dominated atmospheres, and scaling the background N2 atmospheric pressure with the radius of the planet, our results indicate that larger planets have wider HZs than do smaller ones. Specifically, with the assumption that smaller planets will have less dense atmospheres, the inner edge of the HZ (runaway greenhouse limit) moves outward (approx.10% lower than Earth flux) for low mass planets due to larger greenhouse effect arising from the increased H2O column depth. For larger planets, the H2O column depth is smaller, and higher temperatures are needed before water vapor completely dominates the outgoing long-wave radiation. Hence the inner edge moves inward (approx.7% higher than Earth's flux). The outer HZ changes little due to the competing effects of the greenhouse effect and an increase in albedo. New, three-dimensional climate model results from other groups are also summarized, and we argue that further, independent studies are needed to verify their predictions. Combined with our previous work, the results presented here provide refined estimates of HZs around main-sequence stars and provide a step toward a more comprehensive analysis of HZs.

main sequence starts↗
NASA NTRS2016

Microorganisms, Organic Carbon, and Their Relationship with Oxidant Activity in Hyper-Arid Mars-Like Soils: Implications for Soil Habitability

Soil samples from the hyper-arid region in the Atacama 23 Desert in Southern Peru (La Joya Desert) were analyzed for total and labile organic carbon (TOC & LOC), phospholipid fatty acids analysis (PLFA), quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), 4',6- diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI)-fluorescent microscopy, culturable microorganisms, and oxidant activity, in order to understand the relationship between the presence of organic matter and microorganisms in these types of soils. TOC content levels were similar to the labile pool of carbon suggesting the absence of recalcitrant carbon in these soils. The range of LOC was from 2 to 60 micro-g/g of soil. PLFA analysis indicated a maximum of 2.3 x 10(exp 5) cell equivalents/g. Culturing of soil extracts yielded 1.1 x 10(exp 2)-3.7 x 10(exp 3) CFU/g. qRT-PCR showed between 1.0 x 10(exp 2) and 8 x 10(exp 3) cells/g; and DAPI fluorescent staining indicated bacteria counts up to 5 x 104 cells/g. Arid and semiarid samples (controls) showed values between 10(exp 7) and 10(exp 11) cells/g with all of the methods used. Importantly, the concentration of microorganisms in hyper-arid soils did not show any correlation with the organic carbon content; however, there was a significant dependence on the oxidant activity present in these soil samples evaluated as the capacity to decompose sodium formate in 10 hours. We suggest that the analysis of oxidant activity could be a useful indicator of the microbial habitability in hyper-arid soils, obviating the need to measure water activity over time. This approach could be useful in astrobiological studies on other worlds.

Mars-like soils↗
NASA NTRS2017

Habitable Exoplanet Imager Optical Telescope Concept Design

Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx) is a concept for a mission to directly image and characterize planetary systems around Sun-like stars. In addition to the search for life on Earth-like exoplanets, HabEx will enable a broad range of general astrophysics science enabled by 100 to 2500 nm spectral range and 3 x 3 arc-minute FOV. HabEx is one of four mission concepts currently being studied for the 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Survey.

Habitable↗
NASA NTRS2019

Habitable Climate Scenarios for Proxima Centauri B with a Dynamic Ocean

The nearby exoplanet Proxima Centauri b will be a prime future target for characterization, despite questions about its retention of water. Climate models with static oceans suggest that Proxima b could harbor a small dayside surface ocean despite its weak instellation. We present the first climate simulations of Proxima b with a dynamic ocean. We find that an ocean-covered Proxima b could have a much broader area of surface liquid water but at much colder temperatures than previously suggested, due to ocean heat transport and/or depression of the freezing point by salinity. Elevated greenhouse gas concentrations do not necessarily produce more open ocean because of dynamic regime transitions between a state with an equatorial Rossby-Kelvin wave pattern and a state with a day-night circulation. For an evolutionary path leading to a highly saline ocean, Proxima b could be an inhabited, mostly open ocean planet with halophilic life. A fresh water ocean produces a smaller liquid region than does an Earth salinity ocean. An ocean planet in 3:2 spin-orbit resonance has a permanent tropical waterbelt for moderate eccentricity. A larger vs. smaller area of surface liquid water for similar equilibrium temperature may be distinguishable using the amplitude of the thermal phase curve. Simulations of Proxima Centauri b may be a model for the habitability of weakly irradiated planets orbiting slightly cooler or warmer stars, e.g., in the TRAPPIST-1, LHS 1140, GJ 273, and GJ 3293 systems.

Aquaplanet↗
NASA NTRS2015

AHED: The Astrobiology Habitable Environments Database

About the AHED (Astrobiology Habitable Environments Database): Mineral spectroscopy database; Rigid structure; Any change in structure requires extensive re‐programming; Diverse datatypes; Flexible structure; Ability to change design and include new data at any time.

The Astrobiology Habitable Environments Database↗
NASA NTRS2012

Variable Vector Countermeasure Suit (V2Suit) for Space Habitation and Exploration

The "Variable Vector Countermeasure Suit (V2Suit) for Space Habitation and Exploration" is a visionary system concept that will revolutionize space missions by providing a platform for integrating sensors and actuators with daily astronaut intravehicular activities to improve human health and performance. The V2Suit uses control moment gyroscopes (CMGs) within a miniaturized module placed on body segments to provide a "viscous resistance" during movements and a countermeasure to the sensorimotor and musculoskeletal adaptation performance decrements that manifest themselves while living and working in microgravity and during gravitational transitions during long-duration spaceflight, including post-flight recovery and rehabilitation. Through an integrated design, system initialization, and control systems approach the V2Suit is capable of generating this "viscous resistance" along an arbitrarily specified direction of "down." When movements are made, for example, parallel to that "down" direction a resistance is applied, and when the movement is perpendicular to that direction no resistance is applied. The V2Suit proposes to be a countermeasure to this spaceflight-related adaptation and de-conditioning and the unique sensorimotor characteristics associated with living and working in 0-G, which are critical for future long-duration space missions.This NIAC Phase I project focused on detailing several aspects of the V2Suit concept, including human-system integration, system architecture, computer aided design (CAD) modeling, and closed-loop simulation and analysis. In addition, early-stage breadboard prototyping of several aspects of the V2Suit system modules enabled characterization of expected performance and identified areas for further research and development to enable operational implementation of the V2Suit. In particular, potential challenges with integration of commercial-off-the-shelf components were identified. The key enabler for operational use and adoption of the V2Suit is a low-profile body worn form factor that does not interfere with normal, everyday movements and interfaces adequately with the body as to provide the generated gyroscopic torque for the perceptions of movement with a "viscous resistance." These aspects were investigated through mockups using a life-size mannequin, and through body attachment mechanisms on the breadboard prototype. Through the evaluation and investigation of commercially-available components, as well as an identification of desirable form factors, CAD models of the V2Suit modules were developed. These models included all of the required elements and spin motors, flywheel masses, gimbal motors, slip rings, inertial measurement units, motor controllers, and the required mounting brackets/hardware and cabling. The configuration and orientation of the control moment gyroscopes (CMGs) was specified according to results from the modeling, simulation and analysis. Two revisions of the CAD model were investigated through closed-loop simulation of the CMGs, and their ability to generate a resultant reaction force during movement and null undesirable torques due to changes in the direction of the angular momentum vector as a result of the normal body movements.

space missions↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lessons from Earth Bioaerosol Sampling for Venus Habitability & Biosignature Science

Venus’s clouds are often discussed as a potential habitat. Several high-priority science goals – cloud aerosol composition, internal radiative flux, and aerosol residence time and circulation models – will improve our understanding of Venus in an astrobiology context. Lessons from Earth’s aerobiosphere can inform these requirements and interpretation of results. A stable Venus aerobiosphere would need microorganisms to reproduce faster than they settle out due to gravity. This is a joint constraint of the potential nutrients and energy influx, bioenergetic costs such as desiccation and radiation damage, and aerosol dynamics. Though life cycles involving S- and Fe-based redox metabolism have been proposed, at an optimistic estimate of 75% H2SO4, Venus aerosol water activity (aw) is still ~0.02, far below the observed microbial growth limit of ~0.6. Long-term desiccation with brief spurts of repair, growth and reproduction in response to transient water influx (perhaps volcanism) is the most likely model for Earth-like life on Venus – a ‘desert bloom’ scenario. In Earth’s troposphere, clouds can carry 103 – 105 cells/mL, some metabolically active. A better analogue may be Earth’s stratospheric sulfate aerosol layer: supercooled sulfuric acid aerosols (acid weight fraction 0.6 – 0.85, 0.1 – 1 µm diameter, 0.1 – 1 cm-3) with little water activity, long residence times, high UV radiation, and only sporadic influx from surface particle sources. Viable cells isolated from this region are rare (~102 cells/m3), though ‘hot spots’ at tropospheric mixing occur. Cells are primarily in inactive forms such as spores, and it is unclear if any are associated with sulfate aerosols or simply co-located. Given the heterogeneities in Venus clouds and the model of a sparse, largely dormant ecosystem, a single transect on descent would most likely pass through a low-water, inactive region, missing potential signs of habitability or biosignatures. Even a passive aerial platform (balloon) may end up following a single air mass over its lifetime. A better strategy for Venus would target an aerial region with some upwelling from surface sources, and take multiple transects separated in time and space. Earth’s stratospheric bioaerosol population could provide a starting point for estimating the required lower volume and detection limits.

Earth↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Habitability of Cloudy Worlds: Intersecting Constraints and Unknowns

"Follow the water" has long been a theme of astrobiology. Where there are terrestrial worlds with water, there are likely to be clouds. Earth's clouds carry active microbes, in addition to inactive life that comprises a significant minority of dry dust. Both Venus and Mars are believed to have had significant early water; on Venus, the limited water retained in the clouds has been suggested as a potential refuge for life, a parallel to Mars's subsurface water. Conversely, as microbes on Earth do not stay airborne for very long, a hypothetical exoplanet with more persistent cloud cover could be even more favorable to an airborne biosphere than Earth. Airborne microbiology is significant at a planetary scale for Earth. Effects include weather (microbes as condensation and ice nuclei), climate (alteration of cloud and surface albedo), and water and air chemistry (through metabolic processing). Some of these effects, if present on exoplanets, could be detectable through remote observation. Understanding the parameters that constrain the habitability of clouds is therefore necessary to help guide the search for life. Paper includes the extended abstract.

Habitability↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Residence Time and Trajectory as Constraints on Cloud-Based Habitability

Rocky, geologically active worlds with water, including Venus, are often considered potential origins for Earthlike biochemistries. They are also some of the likeliest worlds to have clouds.Yet the requirements for cloud habitability – the potential for aerobiospheres – is rarely studied. Earth's clouds carry significant numbers of active microbes (Amato et al., 2017), which affect planetary weather(as condensation and ice nuclei), climate (alteration of cloud and surface albedo), and water and air chemistry (through metabolic processing) (Delort et al., 2010).However, we have not yet observed airborne microbial reproduction in the field, and one likely reason is that microbes suspended in clouds on Earth have residence times at best equivalent to typical generation times – hours to days.

Residence↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Technological Developments of NexGen Micro-Shutter Array (NGMSA) for the Future Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) Flagship Mission

We present the most up to date advancements in production, design, and performance of the NexGen Micro-Shutter Array (NGMSA) for Multi-object Spectroscopy (MOS), intended for the future Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) Flagship. A microshutter array functions as a programmable slit mask, to generate slits corresponding to sparsely distributed sources in the field of view of a telescope. In contrast to the magnetic/electrostatic microshutter arrays used in the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the NGMSA is fully operated by electrostatics, simplifying overall system. Our small pilot array proved its capability from FORTIS sounding rocket mission in 2019. As we are switching to a larger HWO flight size array process, we encounter multiple processing related issues. Also, there has been individual shutter level issue that impairs operation and performance. We will discuss those problems and strategies to overcome the challenges to achieve an on/off contrast of >1e5 with near 100% shutter operability.

Microshutter↗