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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2016

Plant Habitat (PH)

The International Space Station (ISS) will soon have a platform for conducting fundamental research of Large Plants. Plant Habitat (PH) is designed to be a fully controllable environment for high-quality plant physiological research. PH will control light quality, level, and timing, temperature, CO2, relative humidity, and irrigation, while scrubbing ethylene. Additional capabilities include leaf temperature and root zone moisture and oxygen sensing. The light cap will have red (630 nm), blue (450 nm), green (525 nm), far red (730 nm) and broad spectrum white LEDs. There will be several internal cameras (visible and IR) to monitor and record plant growth and operations.

Advanced Plant Habitat↗
DOE OSTI2026

Juvenile Salmon and Their Habitats in the Columbia River Estuary: A Review and Synthesis of Knowledge Development 2000–2025

[This is a 90% discussion draft.] This is the third Synthesis Memorandum funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and developed for the Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program (CEERP) on the topic of habitat restoration in the Columbia River Estuary (CRE) from Bonneville Dam to the river mouth. While the first two were developed by PNNL and NOAA without the benefit of stakeholder participation, for the current memo, two key activities were initiated: (1) review, by the Expert Regional Technical Group (ERTG), of status and trends monitoring and action effectiveness monitoring funded by CEERP, and (2) a workshop including representatives of the Bonneville Power Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the action agencies [AAs]), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), major research agencies contributing to CEERP, and sponsors who implement CEERP restoration actions. A systematic literature review was conducted using ClarivateTM Web of ScienceTM database. The topics of interest for CRE relevant research included salmon ecology, physical processes, and wetland habitats, and therefore required the use of broad search terms. Our final search criteria included a combination of Boolean operators and an approach to combine different sets of search terms. The final search result yielded 669 records. The records were classified by groups and assigned to the relevant disciplinary expert for review. The review identified substantive advances in understanding the provision of salmon habitat functions through spatiotemporally dynamic physical and ecological processes, and the use of CRE habitats by numerous stocks of juvenile salmon. It also uncovered heretofore unincorporated historical documentation of riparian habitats across the CRE. The characterization of the structural components of floodplain habitat including plant associations and channel networks has advanced considerably, together with the understanding of seasonal changes and long-term trends. The relative influence of salmon-habitat location in the CRE as compared with temporal factors, mainly season, has been well described, which affects the prioritization of restoration. Stressors on the ecosystem and fish, and the drivers of these stressors, have been more carefully elucidated and predictive models are in various stages of development. The vision, aims, and design of restoration projects have advanced together with methods of data collection, analysis, and modeling that have seen substantial improvements. Experiments intended to inform the design of restoration projects are underway or have been completed. An important outstanding area of research that has lagged behind the advances in fundamental understanding of the ecosystem and salmon habitat functions remains the peer-reviewed documentation of the outcomes of restoration for both habitats and fish functions.

estuary↗
DOE OSTI2023

Specificity in plant-mycorrhizal fungal relationships: prevalence, parameterization, and prospects

Species interactions exhibit varying degrees of specialization, ranging from generalist to specialist interactions. For many interactions (e.g., plant-microbiome) we lack standardized metrics of specialization, hindering our ability to apply comparative frameworks of specificity across niche axes and organismal groups. Here, we discuss the concept of plant host specificity of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi, including the predominant theories for their interactions: Passenger, Driver, and Habitat Hypotheses. We focus on five major areas of interest in advancing the field of plant-mycorrhizal fungal host specificity: phylogenetic specificity, host physiology specificity, functional specificity, habitat specificity, and mycorrhizal fungal-mediated plant rarity. Considering the need to elucidate foundational concepts of specificity in this globally important symbiosis, we propose standardized metrics and comparative studies to enhance our understanding. We also emphasize the importance of analyzing global mycorrhizal data holistically to draw meaningful conclusions and suggest a shift toward single-species analyses to unravel the complexities underlying these associations.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1994

Centrifuge Facility for the International Space Station Alpha

The Centrifuge Facility planned for the International Space Station Alpha has under-one considerable redesign over the past year, primarily because the Station is now viewed as a 10 year mission rather than a 30 year mission and because of the need to simply the design to meet budget constraints and a 2000 launch date. The basic elements of the Centrifuge Facility remain the same, i.e., a 2.5 m diameter centrifuge, a micro-g holding unit, plant and animal habitats, a glovebox and a service unit. The centrifuge will still provide the full range of artificial gravity from 0.01 a to 2 - as originally planned; however, the extractor to permit withdrawal of habitats from the centrifuge without stopping the centrifuge has been eliminated. The specimen habitats have also been simplified and are derived from other NASA programs. The Plant Research Unit being developed by the Gravitational Biology Facility will be used to house plants in the Centrifuge Facility. Although not as ambitious as the Centrifuge Facility plant habitat, it will provide much better environmental control and lighting than the current Shuttle based Plant Growth Facility. Similarly, rodents will be housed in the Advanced Animal Habitat being developed for the Shuttle program. The Centrifuge Facility and ISSA will provide the opportunity to perform repeatable, high quality science. The long duration increments available on the Station will permit multigeneration studies on both plants and animals which have not previously been possible. The Centrifuge Facility will accommodate sufficient number of specimens to permit statistically significant sampling of specimens to investigate the time course of adaptation to altered gravity environments. The centrifuge will for the first time permit investigators to use gravity itself as a tool to investigate fundamental processes, to investigate the intensity and duration of gravity to maintain normal structure and function, to separate the effects of micro-g from other 0 environmental factors and to examine artificial gravity as a potential countermeasure for the physical deconditioning observed during spaceflight.

Johnson, Catherine C.↗
NASA NTRS2003

The Application of Advanced Cultivation Techniques in the Long Term Maintenance of Space Flight Plant Biological Systems

The development of the International Space Station (ISS) presents extensive opportunities for the implementation of long duration space life sciences studies. Continued attention has been placed in the development of plant growth chamber facilities capable of supporting the cultivation of plants in space flight microgravity conditions. The success of these facilities is largely dependent on their capacity to support the various growth requirements of test plant species. The cultivation requirements for higher plant species are generally complex, requiring specific levels of illumination, temperature, humidity, water, nutrients, and gas composition in order to achieve normal physiological growth and development. The supply of water, nutrients, and oxygen to the plant root system is a factor, which has proven to be particularly challenging in a microgravity space flight environment. The resolution of this issue is particularly important for the more intensive crop cultivation of plants envisaged in Nasa's advanced life support initiative. BioServe Space Technologies is a NASA, Research Partnership Center (RPC) at the University of Colorado, Boulder. BioServe has designed and operated various space flight plant habitat systems, and placed specific emphasis on the development and enhanced performance of subsystem components such as water and nutrient delivery, illumination, gas exchange and atmosphere control, temperature and humidity control. The further development and application of these subsystems to next generation habitats is of significant benefit and contribution towards the development of both the Space Plant biology and the Advanced Life Support Programs. The cooperative agreement between NASA Ames Research center and BioServe was established to support the further implementation of advanced cultivation techniques and protocols to plant habitat systems being coordinated at NASA Ames Research Center. Emphasis was placed on the implementation of passive-based water and nutrient support systems and techniques, which can be used to minimize demands on power, mass, and operational complexity in space flight studies. This effort has direct application to the development of next-generation space flight plant chambers such as the Plant Research Unit (PRU). Work was also directed at the development of in-flight plant preservation techniques and protocols consistent with the interest in applying recent developments in gene chip micro array technologies. Cultivation technologies and protocols were evaluated in a 55 day space flight plant growth study, conducted on the ISS, mission 9A (10/7/02 - 12/7/02).

Heyenga, A. G.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Understanding local plant extinctions before it is too late: bridging evolutionary genomics with global ecology

Understanding evolutionary genomic and population processes within a species range is key to anticipating the extinction of plant species before it is too late. However, most models of biodiversity risk under global change do not account for the genetic variation and local adaptation of different populations. Population diversity is critical to understanding extinction because different populations may be more or less susceptible to global change and, if lost, would reduce the total diversity within a species. Here, two new modeling frameworks advance our understanding of extinction from a population and evolutionary angle: Rapid climate change-driven disruptions in population adaptation are predicted from associations between genomes and local climates. Furthermore, losses of population diversity from global land-use transformations are estimated by scaling relationships of species' genomic diversity with habitat area. Overall, these global eco-evolutionary methods advance the predictability – and possibly the preventability – of the ongoing extinction of plant species.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2005

The Performance of a Miniature Plant Cultivation System Designed for Space Flight Application

Constraints in both launch opportunities and the availability of in-flight resources for Shuttle and Space Station life science habitat facilities has presented a compelling impetus to improve the operational flexibility, efficiency and miniaturization of many of these systems. Such advances would not only invigorate the level of research being conducted in low Earth orbit but also present the opportunity to expand life science studies to outer space and planetary bodies. Work has been directed towards the development of a miniature plant cultivation module (PCM) capable of supporting the automated and controlled growth and spectral monitoring of small plant species such as Arabidopsis thaliana. This paper will present data on the operational performance and efficiency of the cultivation module, and the extent to which such a system may be used to support plant growth studies in low Earth orbit and beyond.

Heyenga, Gerard↗
NASA NTRS1991

Advanced air revitalization for optimized crew and plant environments

The Hybrid Air Revitalization System (HARS) closed ecosystem concept presented encompasses electrochemical CO2 and O2 separators, in conjunction with a mechanical condenser/separator for maintaining CO2, O2, and humidity levels in crew and plant habitats at optimal conditions. HARS requires no expendables, and allows flexible process control on the bases of electrochemical cell current, temperature, and airflow rate variations. HARS capacity can be easily increased through the incorporation of additional chemical cells. Detailed system flowcharts are provided.

Lee, M. G.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Modeling Advance Life Support Systems

Activities this summer consisted of two projects that involved computer simulation of bioregenerative life support systems for space habitats. Students in the Space Life Science Training Program (SLSTP) used the simulation, space station, to learn about relationships between humans, fish, plants, and microorganisms in a closed environment. One student complete a six week project to modify the simulation by converting the microbes from anaerobic to aerobic, and then balancing the simulation's life support system. A detailed computer simulation of a closed lunar station using bioregenerative life support was attempted, but there was not enough known about system restraints and constants in plant growth, bioreactor design for space habitats and food preparation to develop an integrated model with any confidence. Instead of a completed detailed model with broad assumptions concerning the unknown system parameters, a framework for an integrated model was outlined and work begun on plant and bioreactor simulations. The NASA sponsors and the summer Fell were satisfied with the progress made during the 10 weeks, and we have planned future cooperative work.

Pitts, Marvin↗
DOE OSTI2020

The Plant Microbiome: From Ecology to Reductionism and Beyond

Methodological advances over the past two decades have propelled plant microbiome research, allowing the field to comprehensively test ideas proposed over a century ago and generate many new hypotheses. Studying the distribution of microbial taxa and genes across plant habitats has revealed the importance of various ecological and evolutionary forces shaping plant microbiota. In particular, selection imposed by plant habitats strongly shapes the diversity and composition of microbiota and leads to microbial adaptation associated with navigating the plant immune system and utilizing plant-derived resources. Reductionist approaches have demonstrated that the interaction between plant immunity and the plant microbiome is, in fact, bidirectional and that plants, microbiota, and the environment shape a complex chemical dialogue that collectively orchestrates the plantmicrobiome. Finally, the next stage in plant microbiome research will require the integration of ecological and reductionist approaches to establish a general understanding of the assembly and function in both natural and managed environments.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2004

Interaction and Synergism of Microbial Fuel Cell Bacteria within Methanogenesis

Biological hydrogen production from waste biomass has both terrestrial and Martian advanced life support applications. On earth, biological hydrogen production is being explored as a greenhouse neutral form of clean and efficient energy. In a permanently enclosed space habitat, carbon loop closure is required to reduce mission costs. Plants are grown to revitalize oxygen supply and are consumed by habitat inhabitants. Unharvested portions must then be recycled for reuse in the habitat. Several biological degradation techniques exist, but one process, biophotolysis, can be used to produce hydrogen from inedible plant biomass. This process is two-stage, with one stage using dark fermentation to convert plant wastes into organic acids. The second stage, photofermentation, uses photoheterotrophic purple non-sulfur bacteria with the addition of light to turn the organic acids into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Such a system can prove useful as a co-generation scheme, providing some of the energy needed to power a larger primary carbon recovery system, such as composting. Since butyrate is expected as one of the major inputs into photofermentation, a characterization study was conducted with the bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides SCJ, a novel photoheterotrophic non-sulfur purple bacteria, to examine hydrogen production performance at 10 mM-100 mM butyrate concentrations. As butyrate levels increased, hydrogen production increased up to 25 mM, and then decreased and ceased by 100 mM. Additionally, lag phase increased with butyrate concentration, possibly indicating some product inhibition. Maximal substrate conversion efficiency was 8.0%; maximal light efficiency was 0.89%; and maximal hydrogen production rate was 7.7 Umol/mg/cdw/hr (173 ul/mg cdw/hr). These values were either consistent or lower than expected from literature.

Klaus, David↗
NASA NTRS1991

Project UM-HAUL: A self-unloading reusable lunar lander

The establishment of a lunar base is technologically and financially challenging. Given the necessary resources and political support, it can be done. In addition to the geopolitical obstacles, however, there are logistical problems involved in establishing such bases that can only be overcome with the acquisition of a significant transportation and communications network in the Earth-Moon spatial region. Considering the significant number of payloads that will be required in this process, the mass-specific cost of launching these payloads, and the added risk and cost of human presence in space, it is clearly desirable to automate major parts of such an operation. One very costly and time-consuming factor in this picture is the delivery of payloads to the Moon. Foreseeable payloads would include atmospheric modules, inflatable habitat kits, energy and oxygen plant elements, ground vehicles, laboratory modules, crew supplies, etc. The duration of high-risk human presence on the Moon could be greatly reduced if all such payloads were delivered to the prospective base site in advance of crew arrival. In this view, the idea of a 'Self-Unloading Reusable Lunar Lander' (SURLL) arises naturally. The general scenario depicts the lander being brought to low lunar orbit (LLO) from Earth atop a generic Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV). From LLO, the lander shuttles payloads down to the lunar surface, where, by means of some resident, detachable unloading device, it deploys the payloads and returns to orbit. The general goal is for the system to perform with maximum payload capability, automation, and reliability, while also minimizing environmental hazards, servicing needs, and mission costs. Our response to this demand is UM-HAUL, or the UnManned Heavy pAyload Unloader and Lander. The complete study includes a system description, along with a preliminary cost analysis and a design status assessment.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1999

Quantification and Characterization of Volatiles Evolved During Extrusion of Rice and Soy Flours

NASA Johnson Space Center is designing and building a habitat (Bioregenerative Planetary Life Support Systems Test Complex, BIO-Plex) intended for evaluating advanced life support systems developed for long duration missions to the Moon or Mars where all consumables will be recycled and reused. A food system based on raw products obtained from higher plants (such as soybeans, rice and wheat) may be a central feature of a biological ly-based Advanced Life Support System (ALSS). In order to convert raw crops to edible ingredients or food items, multipurpose processing equipment such as an extruder is ideal. Volatile compounds evolved during the manufacturing of these food products may accumulate reaching toxic levels. Additionally, off-odors often dissipated in open-air environments without consequence, may cause significant discomfort in the BIO-Plex. Rice and defatted soy flours were adjusted to 16% moisture and triplicate samples were extruded using a table top single-screw extruder. The extrudate was collected in specially designed Tedlar bags from which air samples could be extracted. The samples were analyzed by GC-MS with special emphasis on compounds with Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations (SMAC). Results showed a combination of alcohols, aldehydes, ketones and carbonyl compounds in the different flours. Each compound and its SMAC value as well as its impact on the air revitalization system was discussed.

Zasypkin, D.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Quantification and characterization of volatiles evolved during extrusion of rice and soy flours

NASA-Johnson Space Center is designing and building a habitat (Bioregenerative Planetary Life Support Systems Test Complex, BIO-Plex) intended for evaluating advanced life support systems developed for long-duration missions to the Moon or Mars where all consumables will be recycled and reused. A food system based on raw products obtained from higher plants (such as soybeans, rice, and wheat) may be a central feature of a biologically based Advanced Life Support System. To convert raw crops to edible ingredients or food items, multipurpose processing equipment such as an extruder is ideal. Volatile compounds evolved during the manufacturing of these food products may accumulate and reach toxic levels. Additionally, off-odors often dissipated in open-air environments without consequence may cause significant discomfort in the BIO-Plex. Rice and defatted soy flours were adjusted to 16% moisture, and triplicate samples were extruded using a tabletop single-screw extruder. The extrudate was collected in specially designed Tedlar bags from which air samples could be extracted. The samples were analyzed by GC-MS with special emphasis on compounds with Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations (SMACs). Results showed a combination of alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and carbonyl compounds in the different flours. Each compound and its SMAC value, as well as its impact on the air revitalization system, was discussed.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1996

Johnson Space Center's Regenerative Life Support Systems Test Bed

The Regenerative Life Support Systems (RLSS) Test Bed at NASA's Johnson Space Center is an atmospherically closed, controlled environment facility for human testing of regenerative life support systems using higher plants in conjunction with physicochemical life support systems. The facility supports NASA's Advanced Life Support (ALS) Program. The facility is comprised of two large scale plant growth chambers, each with approximately 11 m2 growing area. The root zone in each chamber is configurable for hydroponic or solid media plant culture systems. One of the two chambers, the Variable Pressure Growth Chamber (VPGC), is capable of operating at lower atmospheric pressures to evaluate a range of environments that may be used in a planetary surface habitat; the other chamber, the Ambient Pressure Growth Chamber (APGC) operates at ambient atmospheric pressure. The air lock of the VPGC is currently being outfitted for short duration (1 to 15 day) human habitation at ambient pressures. Testing with and without human subjects will focus on 1) integration of biological and physicochemical air and water revitalization systems; 2) effect of atmospheric pressure on system performance; 3) planetary resource utilization for ALS systems, in which solid substrates (simulated planetary soils or manufactured soils) are used in selected crop growth studies; 4) environmental microbiology and toxicology; 5) monitoring and control strategies; and 6) plant growth systems design. Included are descriptions of the overall design of the test facility, including discussions of the atmospheric conditioning, thermal control, lighting, and nutrient delivery systems.

NASA Discipline Number 61-10↗
NASA NTRS1972

Nuclear powerplants for mobile applications.

Mobile nuclear powerplants for applications other than large ships and submarines will require compact, lightweight reactors with especially stringent impact-safety design. This paper examines the technical and economic feasibility that the broadening role of civilian nuclear power, in general, (land-based nuclear electric generating plants and nuclear ships) can extend to lightweight, safe mobile nuclear powerplants. The paper discusses technical experience, identifies potential sources of technology for advanced concepts, cites the results of economic studies of mobile nuclear powerplants, and surveys future technical capabilities needed by examining the current use and projected needs for vehicles, machines, and habitats that could effectively use mobile nuclear reactor powerplants.

Anderson, J. L.↗