Nutrition and balance
Preparation, taste, and nutritional balance of NASA freeze-dehydrated diet
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Preparation, taste, and nutritional balance of NASA freeze-dehydrated diet
Nutritional evaluation of precooked dehydrated and bite-size compressed food diet as sole nutriment for six weeks
Biochemical and physiological evaluation of human nutritional requirements under simulated aerospace conditions
Nutritional evaluation of liquid diets for man in space
The problem of feeding experimental animals during biological studies on rockets and balloons which last for only a few hours, or certainly not more than lO hours, does not arise.
Container with feeding device for animal study during space flight of mice
Circadian clocks have evolved to predict and coordinate physiologic processes with the rhythmic environment on Earth. Space studies in non-human primates and humans have suggested that this clock persists in its rhythmicity in space but that its function is altered significantly in long-term space flight. Under normal circumstances, the clock is synchronized by the light-dark cycle via the retinohypothalamic tract and the suprachiasmatic nucleus. It is also entrained by restricted feeding regimes via a suprachiasmatic nucleus-independent circadian oscillator. The site of this suboscillator (or oscillators) is not known, but new evidence has suggested that peripheral tissues in the liver and viscera may express circadian clock function when forced to do so by restricted feeding schedules or other homeostatic disruptions. New research on the role of the circadian clock in the control of feeding on Earth and in space is warranted.
The primary goal of the National Launch System (NLS) program was to design an operationally efficient, highly reliable vehicle with minimal recurring launch costs. To achieve this goal, trade studies of key main propulsion subsystems were performed to specify vehicle design requirements. These requirements include the use of passive recirculation to thermally condition the liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LO2) propellant feed systems and Space Transportation Main Engine (STME) fuel pumps. Rockwell International (RI) proposed a joint independent research and development (JIRAD) program with Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to study the LH2 feed system passive recirculation concept. The testing was started in July 1992 and completed in November 1992. Vertical and sloped feedline designs were used. An engine simulator was attached at the bottom of the feedline. This simulator had strip heaters that were set to equal the corresponding heat input from different engines. A computer program is currently being used to analyze the passive recirculation concept in the LH2 vertical feedline tests. Four tests, where the heater setting is the independent variable, were chosen. While the JIRAD with RI was underway, General Dynamics Space Systems (GDSS) proposed a JIRAD with MSFC to explore passive recirculation in the LO2 feed system. Liquid nitrogen (LN2) is being used instead of LO2 for safety and economic concerns. To date, three sets of calibration tests have been completed on the sloped LN2 test article. The environmental heat was calculated from the calibration tests in which the strip heaters were turned off. During the LH2 testing, the environmental heat was assumed to be constant. Therefore, the total heat was equal to the environmental heat flux plus the heater input. However, the first two sets of LN2 calibration tests have shown that the environmental heat flux varies with heater input. A Systems Improved Numerical Differencing Analyzer and Fluid Integrator (SINDA/FLUINT) model is currently being built to determine if this variation in environmental heat is due to a change in the wall temperature. During the third set of calibration tests, a faulty reference junction was found. Based on this anomaly with the reference junction, the heat flux calculations from the first two calibration sets are now considered questionable.
The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has been developing a space deployable, lightweight membrane concentrator to focus solar energy into a solar furnace while remaining aligned to the sun. For an inner surface, this furnace has a cylindrical heat exchanger cavity coaligned to the optical axis; the furnace warms gas to propel the spacecraft. The membrane concentrator is a 1727 mm (68.00 in.) diameter, F/1.7 Fresnel lens. This large membrane is made from polyimide and is 0.076 mm (0.0030 in.) thick; it has the Fresnel grooves cast into it. The solar concentrator system has a super fast paraboloid reflector near the lens focus and immediately adjacent to the cylindrical exchanger cavity. The paraboloid collects the wide bandwidth and some of the solar energy scattered by the Fresnel lens. Finally, the paraboloid feeds the light into the cylinder. The Fresnel lens also possesses a narrow annular zone that focuses a reference beam toward four detectors that keep the optical system aligned to the sun; thus, occurs a refracting lens that focuses two places! The result can be summarized as a composite Fresnel lens for solar concentration and alignment.
NISAR (NASA ISRO SAR, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Indian Space Research Organization, Synthetic Aperture Radar) is an Earth science project currently in its final development phase at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and at ISRO. Due for launch in 2022 it will assess how our planet changes over time by measuring differences in the Earth’s solid surface due to factors like climate change, movement and melting of glaciers, earthquakes, land-slides, deforestation, agriculture and others. The enabling instrument for this mission is a dual band radar (L-band and S-band) that feeds a 12m deployable mesh reflector. This paper describes the measurement campaign of the L-band flight feed in its passive configuration. Further measurements will be done using the antenna with the active radar components but they are not part of this paper.
NISAR (NASA ISRO SAR, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Indian Space Research Organization, Synthetic Aperture Radar) is an Earth science project currently in its final development phase at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and at ISRO. Due for launch in 2022 it will assess how our planet changes over time by measuring differences in the Earth’s solid surface due to factors like climate change, movement and melting of glaciers, earthquakes, land-slides, deforestation, agriculture and others. The enabling instrument for this mission is a dual band radar (L-band and S-band) that feeds a 12m deployable mesh reflector. This paper describes the measurement campaign of the L-band flight feed in its passive configuration. Further measurements will be done using the antenna with the active radar components but they are not part of this paper.
NISAR (NASA ISRO SAR, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Indian Space Research Organization, Synthetic Aperture Radar) is an Earth science project currently in its final development phase at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and at ISRO. Due for launch in 2022, it will assess how our planet changes overtime by measuring differences in the Earth’s solid surface due to factors like climate change, movement and melting of glaciers, earthquakes, land-slides, deforestation, agriculture and others. The enabling instrument for this mission is a dual band radar (L-Band and S-Band) that feeds a 12m deployable mesh reflector. This paper describes the antenna measurement campaign of the L-Band feed array developed at JPL. The SBand feed array is developed by ISRO and is not part of this paper. While Measurements of the Engineering Model have been published before, this paper focuses on the first measurements done with the Flight Model.
The capabilities for preflight feeding of flight personnel and the supply and control of the space shuttle flight food system were investigated to determine ground support requirements; and the functional details of an onboard food system galley are shown in photographic mockups. The elements which were identified as necessary to the efficient accomplishment of ground support functions include the following: (1) administration; (2) dietetics; (3) analytical laboratories; (4) flight food warehouse; (5) stowage module assembly area; (6) launch site module storage area; (7) alert crew restaurant and disperse crew galleys; (8) ground food warehouse; (9) manufacturing facilities; (10) transport; and (11) computer support. Each element is discussed according to the design criteria of minimum cost, maximum flexibility, reliability, and efficiency consistent with space shuttle requirements. The galley mockup overview illustrates the initial operation configuration, food stowage locations, meal assembly and serving trays, meal preparation configuration, serving, trash management, and the logistics of handling and cleanup equipment.
Some results are presented of a research and development program to continue the development of a method to generate oxygen for crew metabolic consumption during extended manned space flights. The concept being pursued is that of static feed water electrolysis. Specific major results of the work included: (1) completion of a 30-day electrode test using a Life Systems, Inc.-developed high performance catalyst. During startup the cell voltages were as low as 1.38 V at current densities of 108 mA/sq cm (100 ASF) and temperatures of 355 K (180 F). At the end of 30 days of testing the cell voltages were still only 1.42 V at 108 mA/sq cm, (2) determination that the Static Feed Water Electrolysis Module does not release an aerosol of the cell electrolyte into the product gas streams after a break-in period of 24 hours following a new electrolyte charge, and (3) completion of a detailed design analysis of an electrochemical Oxygen Generation Subsystem at a three-man level (4.19 kg/day (9.24 lb/day) of oxygen).
The verification approach here proposed for large, beam-type space structures consists of a first part, which removes the gravity effect on the substructure tested and identifies its on-orbit dynamic characteristics, on the basis of ground test measurements, and a second part which develops an adequate scaling law that extrapolates the dynamic characteristics of the prototype structure by using results from the substructure. These approaches are presently demonstrated for the cases of a wrap-rib antenna's feed support structure and a candidate Space Shuttle flight experiment.
The Space Construction Experiment (SCE) was defined for integration into the Space Shuttle. This included development of flight assignment data, revision and update of preliminary mission timelines and test plans, analysis of flight safety issues, and definition of ground operations scenarios. New requirements for the flight experiment and changes for a large space antenna feed mask test article were incorporated. The program plan and cost estimates were updated. Revised SCE structural dynamics characteristics were provided for simulation and analysis of experimental tests to define and verify control limits and interactions effects between the SCE and the Orbiter digital automatic pilot.
The effects of 18.5 days of weightlessness aboard a satellite, stress of restricted feeding, stress of noise and vibration to simulate space flight and 21 days of head down suspension via the Morey-Holton model for simulated weightlessness was studied. Nuclear size of fibroblastlike cells in PDL on the anterior surface of maxillary first molars was classified as: (1) A-cells, self perpetuating precursors with a nuclear volume 80 micron B-cells, nonosteogenic fibroblasts with a nuclear volume of 80-119 micron 3, C-cells, preosteoblasts that are in G1 stage of the cell cycle with a nuclear size of 120-170 micro, and D-cells, preosteoblasts that are in G2 stage of the cell cycle with a nuclear size 170 micro.
The static gravitational field of the earth has been an important selective pressure that has shaped the evolution of biological organisms. This is illustrated by the evolution of tetrapods from a water environment where gravitational force was partially negated to a terrestrial environment where gravity is of greater consequence. Terrestrial invasion resulted in a series of new structural, physiological, and behavioral features. Therefore, it is not surprising that alterations in the gravitational field can cause widespread effects in many physiological systems and behaviors. Our previous studies have demonstrated that both exposure to hyperdynamic fields and the microgravity condition of space flight have significant effects on body temperature, heartrate, activity, feeding, drinking, and circadian rhythms. However, it has not been determined whether these physiological adaptations are associated with changes in neural activity within the hypothalamic nuclei that regulate these functions. This study examined the changes in body temperature, activity, body weight and food and water intake in rats caused by exposure to a hyperdynamic field. In addition, the immediate early gene activation marker, c-Fos, was used to examine potential protein synthesis changes in the hypothalamic nuclei that regulate these functions.