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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Final Report of the COSPAR Meeting Series on Knowledge Gaps in Planetary Protection for Crewed Missions to Mars

The international scientific community has, through a Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) meeting series, participated in a seven-year review of knowledge gaps in planetary protection for crewed missions to Mars. This meeting series first identified a prioritized list of knowledge gaps that, if addressed, would permit development of an implementable planetary protection policy for the initial crewed Mars mission. Next, a consideration of the available venues (ground, LEO, deep space, planetary surfaces) yielded a roadmap of potential future investigations needed to close the knowledge gaps. Finally, the meeting series evaluated topic-specific measurements that are essential to establishing the figures of merit needed for hardware engineering design requirements. The three main topic threads considered within the meeting series were: microbial and human health monitoring; natural transport of terrestrial biological contamination on Mars, and; technologies and operations for contamination control (of spacecraft systems). Participants at the meeting series included engineers, scientists, managers and various subject matter experts from space agencies, academic and research institutions, commercial companies, and other government departments. This paper provides a detailed summary review of the findings of the meeting series, including descriptions of the basis for each of the figures of merit (where they were identified), and considerations of how planetary protection implementation and policy for crewed missions may progress from the current state of the art.

J Andy Spry↗

DOE OSTI2023

Freeze range of a condensing gas propagating in a liquid helium-cooled tube

Understanding air propagation and condensation following a catastrophic vacuum break in particle accelerator beamlines cooled by liquid helium is crucial for maintaining the operational safety of these facilities. Previous experimental investigations on nitrogen gas propagation in both normal liquid helium (He I) and superfluid helium (He II) cooled copper tubes unveiled a nearly exponential deceleration of the gas propagation. A comprehensive theoretical model incorporating gas dynamics, heat transfer, and condensation mechanisms has been developed, which effectively reproduces various key experimental observations. An intriguing phenomenon uncovered in our model simulation is that the gas propagation appears to nearly stop beyond a certain distance from the location where condensation starts. We refer to this distance as the freeze range. In this paper, we present our systematic study of the freeze range at various inlet mass fluxes and tube diameters. We show that the results can be well described by a simple correlation. The underlying physical mechanism that supports this useful correlation is explained. Knowing the freeze range may allow accelerator engineers to develop protocols for controlling frost-layer contamination in the beamline tubes, which is of great practical importance.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Inertia-induced mixing and reaction maximization in laminar porous media flows

Solute transport and biogeochemical reactions in porous and fractured media flows are controlled by mixing, as are subsurface engineering operations such as contaminant remediation, geothermal energy production, and carbon sequestration. Porous media flows are generally regarded as slow, so the effects of fluid inertia on mixing and reaction are typically ignored. Here, we demonstrate through microfluidic experiments and numerical simulations of mixing-induced reaction that inertial recirculating flows readily emerge in laminar porous media flows and dramatically alter mixing and reaction dynamics. An optimal Reynolds number that maximizes the reaction rate is observed for individual pore throats of different sizes. This reaction maximization is attributed to the effects of recirculation flows on reactant availability, mixing, and reaction completion, which depend on the topology of recirculation relative to the boundary of the reactants or mixing interface. Recirculation enhances mixing and reactant availability, but a further increase in flow velocity reduces the residence time in recirculation, leading to a decrease in reaction rate. The reaction maximization is also confirmed in a flow channel with grain inclusions and randomized porous media. Interestingly, the domain-wide reaction rate shows a dramatic increase with increasing Re in the randomized porous media case. This is because fluid inertia induces complex three-dimensional flows in randomized porous media, which significantly increases transverse spreading and mixing. This study shows how inertial flows control reaction dynamics at the pore scale and beyond, thus having major implications for a wide range of environmental systems.

Chen, Michael A. (ORCID:0000000294614710)↗

NASA NTRS1999

Oxygen/Alcohol Dual Thrust RCS Engines

A non-toxic dual thrust RCS engine offers significant operational, safety, and performance advantages to the space shuttle and the next generation RLVs. In this concept, a single engine produces two thrust levels of 25 and 870 lbf. The low thrust level is provided by the spark torch igniter, which, with the addition of 2 extra valves, can also be made to function as a vernier. A dual thrust RCS engine allows 38 verniers to be packaged more efficiently on a vehicle. These 38 vemiers improve translation and reduce cross coupling, thereby providing more pure roll, pitch, and yaw maneuvers of the vehicle. Compared to the 6 vemiers currently on the shuttle, the 38 dual thrust engines would be 25 to 40% more efficient for the same maneuvers and attitude control. The vernier thrust level also reduces plume impingement and contamination concerns. Redundancy is also improved, thereby improving mission success reliability. Oxygen and ethanol are benign propellants which do not create explosive reaction products or contamination, as compared to hypergolic propellants. These characteristics make dual-thrust engines simpler to implement on a non-toxic reaction control system. Tests at WSTF in August 1999 demonstrated a dual-thrust concept that is successful with oxygen and ethanol. Over a variety of inlet pressures and mixture ratios at 22:1 area ratio, the engine produced between 230 and 297 sec Isp, and thrust levels from 8 lbf. to 50 lbf. This paper describes the benefits of dual-thrust engines and the recent results from tests at WSTF.

Angstadt, Tara↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Advancements in Lunar Dust Mitigation and Leveraging the Contamination Control Community

Lunar Dust Contamination: As we get closer to putting landers, rovers, payloads, and astronauts on the Moon, dust mitigation is becoming more critical than ever. To address the many challenges of dust mitigation on the surface, engineers and scientists are looking at various technologies that may have relevance for the contamination control community. This includes active, passive, architectural, and operational solutions. There have been advances in coatings for dust mitigation at NASA and through commercial partnerships (see Wiesner, Wohl, et al). There have been advancements to previous solutions as well as novel solutions to address dust mitigation on the surface and on-orbit. There have been several efforts to better understand the effectiveness of various terrestrial and dust mitigation solutions with much of this data published in recent years. In the area of dust mitigation, dust contamination or infiltration refers to the impingement or contact of planetary dust with items not normally dusty and whose operation may therefore be compromised. Recent Advancements in Dust Mitigation: Dust mitigation strategies are becoming more common for hardware heading to the Moon, with most major programs implementing lunar dust contamination requirements for human health and equipment. In the last couple of years, NASA has created more guidance to assist hardware developers with dust mitigation. This includes NASA-STD-1008 (Classifications and Requirements for Testing Systems and Hardware to be Exposed to Dust in Planetary) and NASA TP 20220018746 (Lunar Dust Mitigation Guide and Reference). Several projects are testing hardware in relevant dusty environments to understand their tolerance to lunar dust. There has been a significant increase in the amount of testing with lunar simulants, with the NASA Simulant Advisory Committee serving a resource for NASA and our partners. There are new solutions for detecting and monitoring the dust internally and externally. Learning from the contamination control community: In addition to sharing potentially relevant solutions at the workshop, the dust mitigation community is also interested in learning from the contamination control community on ways to address lunar dust. For instance, a major aspect of managing the dust is monitoring and detection. This is critical for understanding when maintenance is needed and to inform future missions. Another challenge of working with lunar dust is quantifying and characterizing the smallest of particles. There are also challenges in modeling lunar dust and its behavior. The dust mitigation community can also leverage lessons learned from the planetary protection community.

dust mitagation↗

NASA NTRS1970

Molecular sieves control contamination and and insulate in thermal regenerators - A concept

Zeolitic molecular sieves prolong the lives of cryogenic engines by preventing contamination of the thermal regenerators on the cold ends of closed-cycle engines. Sieves also serve as thermal insulators by preventing conduction of heat along regenerators through contiguous disks of mesh.

Gasser, M. G.↗

NASA NTRS2022

Thinking Inside the Box: A Hands-on Student Activity for Building a Contamination Containment Glovebox to Encourage Problem Solving in a Collaborative Environment

Engineers from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and education experts from the Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC) partnered together to create a hands-on student activity to teach students about problem solving, working in a collaborative environment, and about the unique career fields of contamination control and planetary protection. The activity focuses on contamination containment gloveboxes, which are sealed containers where operators outside the glovebox can safely manipulate hazardous or contamination-sensitive materials inside the glovebox through glove ports on the container. The activity utilizes common household materials and teams of students work together to design and build a glovebox using the materials provided. Once the glovebox has been constructed, students perform a task under a time constraint by using their glovebox to assemble a puzzle “contaminated” with corn starch. In a post-activity debrief, teams discuss lessons learned such as how the actual built glovebox differed from the sketched design, the challenge of managing a budget for materials, how the team dealt with surprises, and if their glovebox allowed enough room for the operator to perform the task. This activity has been part of VSGC’s Virginia Earth System Science Scholars (VESSS) summer academy program for high school students since 2016, and has been an engaging method to teach students teamwork, creativity, hands-on experimentation, communication, and reasoning skills while also teaching them about unique engineering fields such as contamination control and planetary protection.

Student activity↗

NASA NTRS2001

The Plume Impingement Contamination II Experiment: Motivation, Design, and Implementation Plan

The International Space Station (ISS) will have a long service life during which it must be able to serve as a capable platform for a wide variety of scientific investigations. In order to provide this capability, the ISS has, at the system level, a design requirement of no more than 100 Angstroms of contaminant deposition per year from "non-quiescent" sources. Non-quiescent sources include the plumes resulting from the firing of reaction control system (ReS) engines on space vehicles visiting the ISS as well as the engines on the ISS itself. Unfortunately, good general plume contamination models do not yet exist. This is due both to the complexity of the problem, making the analytic approach difficult, and to the difficulty in obtaining empirical measurements of contaminant depositions. To address this lack of flight data, NASA Johnson Space Center is planning to fly an experiment, Plume Impingement Contamination-II, to measure the contamination deposition from the Shuttle Orbiter's primary RCS engines as a function angle from plume centerline. This represents the first direct on-orbit measurement of plume impingement contamination away from the nozzle centerline ever performed, and as such is extremely important in validating mathematical models which will be used to quantify the cumulative plume impingement contamination to the ISS over its lifetime. The paper will elaborate further upon the motivation behind making these measurements as well as present the design and implementation plan of this planned experiment.

Lumpkin, Forrest E., III↗

NASA NTRS1993

Shuttle PRCS plume contamination analysis for Astro-2 mission

The Astro-2 mission scheduled for Jan. 1995 flight is co-manifested with the Spartan experiment. The Astro instrument array consists of several telescopes operating in the UV spectrum. To obtain the desired 300 observations with the telescope array in a shorter time than the Astro-1 mission, it will be necessary to use the primary reaction control system (PRCS) rather than just the Vernier reaction control system. The high mass flow rate of the PRCS engines cause considerable concern about contamination due to PRCS plume return flux. Performance of these instruments depends heavily on the environment they encounter. The ability of the optical system to detect a remote signal depends not only on the intensity of the incoming signal, but also on the ensuing transmission loss through the optical train of the instrument. Performance of these instruments is thus dependent on the properties of the optical surface and the medium through which it propagates. The on-orbit contamination environment will have a strong influence on the performance of these instruments. The finding of a two-month study of the molecular contamination environment of the Astro-2 instruments due to PRCS thruster plumes during the planned Astro-2 mission are summarized.

Wang, Francis C.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Mars Sample Receiving Facility Research and Development to Enable Preservation, Safe Containment, and Scientific Research of Martian Samples on Earth

NASA and ESA are working together to plan a joint campaign to potentially bring back the first Martian samples to Earth in the early 2030s. On the surface of Mars, the Mars 2020Perseverance Rover is selecting and packaging samples that could be returned to Earth for careful examination by an international team of scientists. In preparation for this historic sample return, advance planning is underway to design and build a Mars Sample Receiving Facility (SRF) in the mid-2020s. In 2022, a Mars Sample Receiving Facility Assessment Study(MSAS) will be conducted to further define construction modality and capability options for a facility in the conterminous United States. Since Mars Sample Return (MSR) is currently categorized as a planetary protection restricted Earth return, this new facility would feature biosafety level 4 (BSL-4)-like high containment to protect Earth’s biosphere from any potential hazard. In addition, the facility also requires integration of cleanroom technologies to mitigate against terrestrial contamination and preserve sample integrity for science investigations. The integration of both clean handling and high containment requires significant technology research and development (R&D) by the mid-2020s to support the definition and planning of a SRF before commencing the site specific design phase. The SRF project will need to solidify the inorganic, organic, and biological contamination control (CC) requirements for the facility. This could entail a translation of Mars 2020 mission CC requirements for geologic material to engineering requirements for surfaces and airborne molecular contamination inside isolators and cleanrooms. In tandem, the project will need to determine precision cleaning and sterilization approaches for cleanrooms, isolators, equipment, and tools. Initial material selections for the facility construction materials, cleanrooms, isolators, and BSL-4 suits/garments are an important activity. The recent construction of the OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2 curation cleanroom laboratories greatly benefited from early materials testing, before the design phase, to reduced organic outgassing and particulate shedding inside the laboratory. While the early biohazard investigations in the SRF may deem the samples safe to release to laboratories throughout the world, sterilization methods need to be defined to safely release Martian samples. One key aspect of enabling simultaneous sample containment and cleanliness is the concept of a Double-Walled Isolator (DWI) that ESA has been pursuing. Further R&D is needed about DWIs, sample handling, and instrumentation interfaces before beginning the SRF site specific design phase. A working isolator/DWI engineering model should be developed and fabricated. Isolator sizes, connections, pass-through antechambers, and configurations and basic interfaces with instruments and tools as well as the use of robotic, mechanical, and/or human manipulation need to be considered. Inert high purity gas supply (one-pass or recirculation) and other isolator utilities must be determined. Special accommodations for large instruments (e.g., XCT,SEM, etc.) need to be developed. Techniques for opening the sample tubes packaged by M2020and extracting the headspace gas while keeping samples pristine will be challenging, requiring additional R&D, and engagement of the M2020 project. In addition, careful micromanipulation for subdivision and packaging of samples will also need to be included. These combined R&D activities are important before commencing the SRF design phase to ensure safe biohazard containment, sample preservation, and science integrity for the samples that would be studied in the SRF and in laboratories around the world.

mars sample return↗

NASA NTRS1994

Engineering Strategies for the Design of Plant Nutrient Delivery Systems for Use in Space: Approaches to Countering Microbiological Contamination

Microbiological contamination of crops within space-based crop growth research chambers has been postulated as a potentially significant problem. Microbial infestations; fouling of Nutrient Delivery System (NDS) fluid loops; and the formation of biofilms, have been suggested as the most obvious and important manifestations of the problem. Strict sanitation and quarantine procedures will reduce, but not eliminate, microbial species introduced into plant growing systems in space habitats. Microorganisms transported into space will most likely occur as contaminants on spacecraft components, equipment, the crew, and plant-propagative materials. Illustrations of the potential magnitude of the microbiological contamination issue will be drawn from the literature and from documentation of laboratory and commercial field experience. Engineering strategies for limiting contamination and for the development of countermeasures will be described. Microbiological control technologies and NDS hardware will be discussed. Configurations appropriate for microgravity research facilities, as well as anticipated bio-regenerative life support system implementations, will be explored. An efficiently designed NDS, capable of adequately meeting the environmental needs of crop plants in space, is considered to be critical in both the research and operational domains. Recommended experiments, tests and technology developments, structured to allow the development of prudent engineering solutions, will also be presented.

Gonzales, A. A.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Engineering strategies for the design of plant nutrient delivery systems for use in space: approaches to countering microbiological contamination

Microbiological contamination of crops within space-based plant growth research chambers has been postulated as a potentially significant problem. Microbial infestations; fouling of Nutrient Delivery System (NDS) fluid loops; and the formation of biofilms have been suggested as the most obvious and important manifestations of the problem. Strict sanitation and quarantine procedures will reduce, but not eliminate, microbial species introduced into plant growth systems in space habitats. Microorganisms transported into space most likely will occur as surface contaminants on spacecraft components, equipment, the crew, and plant-propagative materials. Illustrations of the potential magnitude of the microbiological contamination issue will be drawn from the literature and from documentation of laboratory and commercial field experience. Engineering strategies for limiting contamination and for the development of countermeasures will be described. Microbiological control technologies and NDS hardware will be discussed. Configurations appropriate for microgravity research facilities, as well as anticipated bio-regenerative life support system implementations, will be explored. An efficiently designed NDS, capable of adequately meeting the environmental needs of crop plants in space, is considered to be critical in both the research and operational domains. Recommended experiments, tests, and technology developments, structured to allow the development of prudent engineering solutions also will be presented.

NASA Discipline Number 61-10↗

NASA NTRS1978

Short-term performance deterioration in JT9D-7A(SP) engine 695743

The level of performance deterioration that occurred during early service was studied and also the contribution of each engine module to the overall level of engine performance deterioration. To assist in the distribution of the performance losses to the module level, testing with expanded experimental instrumentation was accomplished to permit direct measurement of module performance. An analytical teardown of the engine was accomplished to permit assignment of module performance losses to individual mechanical damage mechanisms including blade and seal wear, roughness, and thermal distortion of turbine parts. The results of the testing show that the engine deteriorated 1.5 percent in thrust specific fuel consumption from its performance when new. Initial testing, which included water washing, showed that 0.2 percent in performance deterioration was due to surface contamination (dirt) and 0.1 percent was due to drift of the engine vane control system, leaving 1.2 percent in basic TSFC deterioration. This 1.2 percent TSFC loss was distributed among the engine modules with 0.6 percent caused by clearance changes, 0.4 percent loss due to thermal distortion, and 0.2 percent loss due to increased roughness of the fan and low-pressure compressor airfoils.

Bouchard, R. J.↗

DOE OSTI2021

Photocatalytic Oxidation of Dissolved Mn 2+ by TiO 2 and the Formation of Tunnel Structured Manganese Oxides

The redox reaction of manganese (Mn) is of great environmental, geological, and public health significance, as Mn oxides control the distribution and electron flow of numerous nutrients and contaminants in natural and engineered environments. Current understanding on the oxidation pathways of Mn(II) to Mn(III/IV) mainly focuses on biotic processes due to their much higher oxidation rates than those of abiotic processes. This study demonstrates rapid photocatalytic oxidation of Mn 2+ (aq) under circumneutral conditions catalyzed by naturally abundant semiconducting TiO 2 minerals. Notably, the photocatalytic oxidation rates are comparable to or even higher than those of reported biotic/abiotic processes. In addition, the rapid photocatalytic oxidation leads to the formation of large tunnel structured Mn oxides (todorokite and romanechite) on the surface of TiO 2 . These findings suggest that photocatalytic oxidation of Mn 2+ (aq) by natural semiconducting minerals is likely an important yet previously overlooked pathway for understanding the occurrence of natural Mn oxide coatings on rock surfaces. In addition, considering the increasing input of photoreactive engineered nanoparticles into environmental systems, this work shows the potential impacts of nanoparticles on influencing natural redox cycles.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

NASA NTRS2015

NASA's International Space Station: A Testbed for Planetary Protection Protocol Development

Wherever humans go, they inevitably carry along the critters that live in and on them. Conventional wisdom has long held that it is unlikely those critters could survive the space environment, but in 2007 some microscopic aquatic animals called Tardigrades survived exposure to space and in 2008 Cyanobacteria lived for 548 days outside the ISS. Unlike the Mars rovers that were cleaned once and sent on their way, crew members will provide a constantly regenerating contaminant source. Are we prepared to certify that we can meet forward contamination protocols as we search for life at new destinations? What about the organisms we might reasonably expect a crewed spacecraft to leak or vent? Do we even know what they are? How long might our tiny hitch-hikers survive in close proximity to a warm spacecraft that periodically leaks/vents water or oxygen and how might they mutate with long-duration exposure? How will these contaminants migrate from their source in conditions encountered in space or on other planetary surfaces? This project aims to answer some of these questions by bringing together key stakeholder communities to develop a human forward contamination test, analysis, and integration plan. A system engineering approach to identify the experiments, analysis, and modeling needed to develop the contamination control protocols required will be used as a roadmap to integrate the many different parts of this problem - from launch to landing, living, and working on another planetary surface.

Bell, M. S.↗

NASA NTRS2015

Nasa's International Space Station: A Testbed for Planetary Protection Protocol Development

Bell, M. S.↗

DOE OSTI2022

National Ignition Facility. Facility and Infrastructure Systems Maintenance Plan

Ensuring the reliability of the NIF, including its support systems, laser systems, target diagnostic systems, and utilities, is essential to the availability of the NIF in its support of NNSA missions. NIF is a key capability in the DOE Stockpile Stewardship Program and supports high energy physics experiments for nuclear weapons, energy, and astrophysics applications. High system reliability provides opportunities for shots and scientific discoveries with opportunities to enhance and upgrade capabilities. This Maintenance Plan (MP) identifies the policies and procedures used to perform and support asset management of the NIF Facility and Infrastructure Systems (FInS), NIF Lasers & Alignment (LASE), NIF Target Experimental Operations (TOPS), NIF Target Area Science and Engineering (TASE), and NIF&PS Control Systems (NCS). The FInS systems include the facility, HVAC, contamination control, beampath, and Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) as well as utilities which create the beampath environments, such as vacuum, argon, or clean dry air. The LASE systems are Programmatic systems which include laser diagnostics, alignment, power conditioning, pulsed power, and input laser systems. The TOPS and TASE systems are also Programmatic systems which include target and diagnostic delivery systems and positioners, many different insertable and fixed target diagnostics, and cryogenic and target gas fill systems. Finally, the NCS systems include both software and hardware for industrial and shot operation control systems. Policies governing administrative and operational practices related to maintenance of FInS, LASE, TOPS, TASE, and NCS systems are described in this plan. In addition, the plan provides processes and procedures for managing, tracking, and documenting the work. This document, the NIF Operations Management Plan, NIF-5020544 (Ref. 1), and NIF Shot Operations Plan, NIF-5018506 (Ref. 2), together satisfy the requirements of the Conduct of Operations. Duties, responsibilities, and reporting requirements of the various positions associated with FInS, LASE, and TOPS maintenance are detailed in this plan. The FInS systems include both Real Property systems with asset management requirements specified in DOE Order 430.1C (Ref. 3) and Programmatic systems. In addition, for FInS, there is a list of the System Level Maintenance Plans (SLMPs) in NIF-1007419198 (Ref. 4) which provide the system descriptions and maintenance plan and schedule. In addition, the list includes the Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) and Experience Centered Maintenance (ECM) evaluations that have been performed for applicable FInS systems as well as reliability criticality per Section 3.5. The -AM version of the NIF Maintenance Plan focuses on the reliability program for FInS, LASE, TOPS, TASE, and NCS within the context of the overall NIF Reliability, Availability, and Maintainability (RAM) program and incorporates changes since the -AL version from August 2011 and has been updated to be fully consistent with the updates to Ref. 1. It also includes asset management considerations, updates to the Work Order (WO) process within the NIF Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) which is EAM infor® System Maintenance and Reliability Tracking (SMaRT) (Ref. 5), and updates to metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs).

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

NASA NTRS2009

A Design Basis for Spacecraft Cabin Trace Contaminant Control

Successful trace chemical contamination control is one of the components necessary for achieving good cabin atmospheric quality. While employing seemingly simple process technologies, sizing the active contamination control equipment must employ a reliable design basis for the trace chemical load in the cabin atmosphere. A simplified design basis that draws on experience gained from the International Space Station program is presented. The trace chemical contamination control design load refines generation source magnitudes and includes key chemical functional groups representing both engineering and toxicology challenges.

Perry, Jay L.↗