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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 NTRS2007

Adaptive Responses in Eye-Head-Hand Coordination Following Exposures to a Virtual Environment as a Possible Space Flight Analog

Virtual environments (VE) offer unique training opportunities, particularly for training astronauts and preadapting them to the novel sensory conditions of microgravity. Sensorimotor aftereffects of VEs are often quite similar to adaptive sensorimotor responses observed in astronauts during and/or following space flight. The purpose of this research was to compare disturbances in sensorimotor coordination produced by dome virtual environment display and to examine the effects of exposure duration, and repeated exposures to VR systems. The current study examined disturbances in eye-head-hand (EHH) and eye-head coordination. Preliminary results will be presented. Eleven subjects have participated in the study to date. One training session was completed in order to achieve stable performance on the EHH coordination and VE tasks. Three experimental sessions were performed each separated by one day. Subjects performed a navigation and pick and place task in a dome immersive display VE for 30 or 60 min. The subjects were asked to move objects from one set of 15 pedestals to the other set across a virtual square room through a random pathway as quickly and accurately as possible. EHH coordination was measured before, immediately after, and at 1 hr, 2 hr, 4 hr and 6 hr following exposure to VR. EHH coordination was measured as position errors and reaction time in a pointing task that included multiple horizontal and vertical LED targets. Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to analyze the data. In general, we observed significant increases in position errors for both horizontal and vertical targets. The largest decrements were observed immediately following exposure to VR and showed a fairly rapid recovery across test sessions, but not across days. Subjects generally showed faster RTs across days. Individuals recovered from the detrimental effects of exposure to the VE on position errors within 1-2 hours. The fact that subjects did not significantly improve across days suggests that in order to achieve dual adaptation of EHH coordination may require more than three training sessions. These findings provide some direction for developing training schedules for VE users that facilitate adaptation, support the idea that preflight training of astronauts may serve as useful countermeasure for the sensorimotor effects of space flight, and support the idea that VEs may serve as an analog for sensorimotor effects of spaceflight.

Harm, Deborah L.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Scientific Hybrid Realtiy Environments (SHyRE): Bringing Field Work into the Laboratory

The use of analog environments in preparing for future planetary surface exploration is key in ensuring we both understand the processes shaping other planetary surfaces as well as develop the technology, systems, and concepts of operations necessary to operate in these geologic environments. While conducting fieldwork and testing technology in relevant terrestrial field environments is crucial in this development, it is often the case that operational testing requires a time-intensive iterative process that is hampered by the rigorous conditions (e.g. terrain, weather, location, etc.) found in most field environments. Additionally, field deployments can be costly and must be scheduled months in advance, therefore limiting the testing opportunities required to investigate and compare science operational concepts to only once or twice per year.

SHyRE↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

X-ray Amorphous Materials in Soils from the Antarctica Dry Valleys: Insights into Aqueous Alteration Processes on Mars

The CheMin XRD instrument onboard the Curiosity rover has discovered abundant quantities of X-ray amorphous materials (25-40 wt. %) in windblown deposits and sedimentary rocks on Mars. The large amounts of X-ray amorphous materials on Mars is surprising because these materials are usually not found in large abundances in terrestrial soils. We have previously identified short-range ordered or X-ray amorphous materials in Antarctica Dry Valleys (ADV) soils. The ADV are one of the driest and coldest environments on Earth and provide an ideal process analog environment for Mars. The objective of this study was to further characterize the chemistry and mineralogy of ADV soils, specifically to quantify and characterize the X-ray amorphous materials. Two soils were characterized from different elevations in the ADV - a low elevation, coastal, subxerous soil in Taylor Valley and a high elevation, ultraxerous soil in University Valley. Rietveld analysis of XRD patterns generated with a CheMin-like analog instrument indicated up to 40 and 15 wt. % X-ray amorphous materials in the Taylor and University Valley soils, respectively. The high abundance of X-ray amorphous materials in Taylor Valley is surprising for one of the driest places on Earth. These materials may have been physically and chemical altered during soil formation, however, the limited interaction with water and low temperatures may have resulted in the formation of “immature” X-ray amorphous or SRO materials. Perhaps, a similar process contributes to the formation of the high content of X-ray amorphous materials detected on Mars.

Antarctica↗
NASA NTRS2001

Modeling and simulation for space medicine operations: preliminary requirements considered

The NASA Space Medicine program is now developing plans for more extensive use of high-fidelity medical simulation systems. The use of simulation is seen as means to more effectively use the limited time available for astronaut medical training. Training systems should be adaptable for use in a variety of training environments, including classrooms or laboratories, space vehicle mockups, analog environments, and in microgravity. Modeling and simulation can also provide the space medicine development program a mechanism for evaluation of other medical technologies under operationally realistic conditions. Systems and procedures need preflight verification with ground-based testing. Traditionally, component testing has been accomplished, but practical means for "human in the loop" verification of patient care systems have been lacking. Medical modeling and simulation technology offer potential means to accomplish such validation work. Initial considerations in the development of functional requirements and design standards for simulation systems for space medicine are discussed.

Non-programmatic↗
NASA NTRS2001

Requirements for Modeling and Simulation for Space Medicine Operations: Preliminary Considerations

The NASA Space Medicine program is now developing plans for more extensive use of high-fidelity medical Simulation systems. The use of simulation is seen as means to more effectively use the limited time available for astronaut medical training. Training systems should be adaptable for use in a variety of training environments, including classrooms or laboratories, space vehicle mockups, analog environments, and in microgravity. Modeling and simulation can also provide the space medicine development program a mechanism for evaluation of other medical technologies under operationally realistic conditions. Systems and procedures need preflight verification with ground-based testing. Traditionally, component testing has been accomplished, but practical means for "human in the loop" verification of patient care systems have been lacking. Medical modeling and simulation technology offer potential means to accomplish such validation work. Initial considerations in the development of functional requirements and design standards for simulation systems for space medicine are discussed.

Dawson, David L.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Mineralogical Signatures of Cold and Icy Climates on Ancient and Modern Mars

Liquid water was abundant on early Mars, but whether the climate was warm and wet or cold and icy with punctuated periods of melting is still poorly understood. Modern climate models for Mars tend to predict a colder, icier early climate than previously imagined [e.g., 1]. However, any model for the early climate on Mars must be reconciled with the chemical record. We currently do not understand how alteration mineralogy formed in snow and ice dominated conditions compares to that of warmer climates, and it is unclear whether cold climate weathering could form all or any of the aqueous alteration phases expressed on early martian surfaces [2]. To help resolve this knowledge gap, we synthesize results from glacial Mars analog sites at the Three Sisters, Oregon and mafic regions of the Antarctic ice sheet, and compare them to the surface mineralogy of Mars. These sites provide the opportunity to investigate weathering in environments analogous to glacial environments on Mars throughout geologic time, including snowpacks or smaller wet-based or polythermal glaciers [3, 4] as well as the proposed extensive ice sheets of the late Noachian icy highlands model

Scudder, N. A.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Assessment of Cryogenic Analog Electronics for Lunar Environment

Assessment of Analog Electronics for Lunar Power Hibernation Non-nuclear robotic spacecraft on the Moon may not reliably operate past the first lunar day due to the subsequent long lunar night with an extreme low temperature range of 50K-100K. To address this concern, the NASA Glenn Research Center is developing a lunar power hibernation protocol that could enable spacecraft to passively survive the lunar night without any additional heating source and then reactivate at lunar dawn. Low cost lunar robotic missions could extend their mission lifetime from a single lunar cycle to potentially many months, thus greatly extending science data gathering and return on investment for commercial missions. This approach centers on evidence that lithium-ion battery cells can recover to full operation after being subjected to cryogenic temperatures. Exploiting this battery capability requires that all spacecraft electronics, including power system and avionics, passively tolerate the extreme cold without degradation. Key elements in the power system will also need to be capable of actively operating in the extreme cold to perform the functions required to restore the system to full operation after solar power returns at lunar dawn. This presentation provides an assessment of extreme-cold tolerance and operational capability of analog electronics where choices in semiconductor material, device type, and circuit fabrication technology has a dramatic impact on circuit behavior and reliability at low temperatures.

Lunar↗
NASA NTRS2020

Dust from Mars-Analog Plains (Iceland): Physico-Compositional Properties as a Function of Grain-Size Fraction

Dust is a key component of the geological and climatic systems of Earth and Mars. On Mars, dust is ubiquitous. It coats rocks and soils, and, in the atmosphere, it interacts strongly with solar and thermal radiation. Yet, key questions remain about the genesis and fate of martian dust, as well as its sources, composition, and properties. We collected wind-blown dust from basaltic plains in SW Iceland at Skjaldbreiðauhraun that represent a geologic Mars-analog environment. Icelandic dust differs from the typical continental sources (e.g. Sahara, Asia) because of its basaltic volcanogenic origin, which is similar to Mars. Dust collection took place in July of 2019 as a complementary project to the SAND-E: Semi-Autonomous Navigation for Detrital Environments project. Here we report preliminary analyses of this Mars-analog dust material, with the goal of understanding the processes that control the physico-chemical proper-ties of the different grain-size fractions.

Nachon, Marion↗
NASA NTRS2009

The Habitat Demonstration Unit Project

This paper will describe an overview of the NASA-led multi-center Habitat Demonstration Unit (HDU) Project. The HDU project is a technology-pull project that integrates technologies and innovations from numerous NASA centers. This project will be used to investigate and validate surface architectures, operations concepts, and requirements definition. The HDU project will be part of the 2010 Desert Research and Technologies Simulations (DRATS). The purpose of this project is to develop, integrate, test, and evaluate a HDU in the context of the mission architectures and surface operation concepts. This HDU is based on the Constellation Architecture Scenario 12.1 concept of a vertically oriented habitat module. A multi-center approach with be utilized to build, integrate, and test the HDU project through a shared collaborative effort of multiple NASA centers. This project is part of the strategic plan from the ESMD Directorate Integration Office (DIO) and the Lunar Surface Systems Project Office (LSSPO) to test surface elements in a surface analog environment which includes two Lunar Electric Rovers and the HDU during the 2010 analog field test. This paper will describe the overall objectives, its various configurations, strategic plan, and technology integration as it pertains to the 2010 and 2011 field analog tests.

Kennedy, Kriss J.↗
NASA NTRS2018

The Moon as a Stepping Stone to Human Mars Missions

Human space mission designers stretching back to von Braun and beyond have envisioned the moon as a waypoint to the more challenging missions to Mars. The moon is seen as a potential proving ground for technologies, equipment and operations, and a venue upon which to learn the art of surface exploration. Mars missions are years in duration with very limited Earth return opportunities, but the moon provides the opportunity to perfect exploration concepts while being only a few days from Earth. Though the environment and gravity differ from Mars, and will thereby not provide a perfectly analogous environment, the remoteness, limited logistics, and harsh conditions on the Moon provide an environment that can be used to stress many systems that will be used or will be extensible to hardware and operations that will be used on Mars. This paper begins by describing the systems, or options for systems, that together comprise a human Mars architecture. With this human Mars operational concept as a basis of comparison, each of these systems is analyzed in the context of a range of potential exploration missions that first targets lunar exploration experience, examining how the lunar experience can be best used to prepare for the eventual human mission to Mars. The paper concludes with a concise summary of specific areas that have the strongest applicability between exploration experience on the lunar surface and extensibility to human Mars exploration.

Connolly, John F.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Early SEI milestones - Underwater habitats and Antarctic research outposts as analogs for long duration spaceflight and lunar and Mars outposts

The use of analog environments for space research is considered focusing on underwater habitats and Antarctic research sites as analogous settings to long-duration space flight. It is pointed out that the use of these earth analogs can provide engineers, scientists, and future crew members with critical 'mission' experience at a relatively low cost.

Rummel, John D.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Thinking Big and Broad About Isolation and Confinement Analogs: A Community Panel Discussion

As crewed spaceflight missions are set to explore greater distances from Earth and fly longer durations than ever before, we must expand our understanding of the impacts of prolonged isolation and confinement on the health, performance, and well-being of astronauts. In combination with flight research, ground-based analogs that simulate key mission conditions like the social and physical isolation associated with distance from Earth are essential research platforms for characterizing risk and developing validated and feasible countermeasures that support future crews and ground support teams. With several isolation and confinement analogs currently operating, and even more in development, there is great opportunity for a collaborative global analog environment to complement and optimize research efforts. The Research Operations and Integration team will moderate a panel discussion among analog operators and scientists who utilize isolation and confinement analogs. The focus of discussion will be the potential for strategic coordination, portability, and harmonization of science across different platforms; and identifying the valuable similarities and differences among isolation analogs as well as existing gaps within the analog community. A Q&A session will follow with attendees encouraged to ask questions and join in the discussion.

Reanna Elise Whiting↗
NASA NTRS2011

Examination of Communication Delays on Team Performance: Utilizing the International Space Station (ISS) as a Test Bed for Analog Research

Operational conjectures about space exploration missions of the future indicate that space crews will need to be more autonomous from mission control and operate independently. This is in part due to the expectation that communication quality between the ground and exploration crews will be more limited and delayed. Because of potential adverse effects on communication quality, both researchers and operational training and engineering experts have suggested that communication delays and the impact these delays have on the quality of communications to the crew will create performance decrements if crews are not given adequate training and tools to support more autonomous operations. This presentation will provide an overview of a research study led by the Behavioral Health and Performance Element (BHP) of the NASA Human Research Program that examines the impact of implementing a communication delay on ISS on individual and team factors and outcomes, including performance and related perceptions of autonomy. The methodological design, data collection efforts, and initial results of this study to date will be discussed . The results will focus on completed missions, DRATS and NEEMO15. Lessons learned from implementing this study within analog environments will also be discussed. One lesson learned is that the complexities of garnishing a successful data collection campaign from these high fidelity analogs requires perseverance and a strong relationship with operational experts. Results of this study will provide a preliminary understanding of the impact of communication delays on individual and team performance as well as an insight into how teams perform and interact in a space-like environment . This will help prepare for implementation of communication delay tests on the ISS, targeted for Increment 35/36.

Keeton, K. E.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Kinematic Navigation and Cartography Knapsack (KNaCK): Demonstrating SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) LiDAR as a Tool for Exploration and Mapping of Lunar Pits and Caves.

Renewed interest in deep space exploration has made establishing a persistent human presence on the Moon and eventually Mars a priority. Sustained habitation of the Moon will require in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) and protection from radiation at the lunar surface. Lunar caves are of interest to the space community because they could provide shelter from radiation, access to water deposits, and a space for habitation, as well as hold information about the geology, volcanology, and evolution of the Moon. Developing the tools to explore, map, and characterize these voids is key to understanding the Moon as a planetary body and to establishing a permanent human presence there. Our team is currently developing tools that enable ultra-high resolution terrain mapping and navigation using mobile light detection and ranging (LIDAR) technology and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithms in fully GPS-denied and no-light environments. 3D mapping with LiDAR and SLAM is relatively under-used, particularly in the context of planetary exploration and planetary analog environments. The backpack mounted LiDAR instrument currently under development by the KNaCK (Kinematic Navigation and Cartography Knapsack) team has demonstrated the potential of mobile SLAM LiDAR for lunar, planetary, and terrestrial cave exploration, study, and utilization. A description of the instrument and associated SLAM algorithms used for mapping in GPS-denied environments are referenced here.

LiDAR↗
NASA NTRS2011

Six-Degree Head-Down Tilt Bed Rest: Forty Years of Development as a Physiological Analog for Weightlessness

Early on, bed rest was recognized as a method for inducing many of the physiological changes experienced by spaceflight. Head-down tilt (HDT) bed rest was first introduced as an analog for spaceflight by a Soviet team led by Genin and Kakurin. Their study was performed in 1970 (at -4 degrees) and lasted for 30 days; results were reported in the Russian Journal of Space Biology (Kosmicheskaya Biol. 1972; 6(4): 26-28 & 45-109). The goal was to test physiological countermeasures for cosmonauts who would soon begin month-long missions to the Salyut space station. HDT was chosen to produce a similar sensation of blood flow to the head reported by Soyuz cosmonauts. Over the next decade, other tilt angles were studied and comparisons with spaceflight were made, showing that HDT greater than 4 degrees was superior to horizontal bed rest for modeling acute physiological changes observed in space; but, at higher angles, subjects experienced greater discomfort without clearly improving the physiological comparison to spaceflight. A joint study performed by US and Soviet investigators, in 1979, set the goal of standardization of baseline conditions and chose 6-degrees HDT. This effectively established 6-degree HDT bed rest as the internationally-preferred analog for weightlessness and, since 1990, nearly all further studies have been conducted at 6-degrees HDT. A thorough literature review (1970-2010) revealed 534 primary scientific journal articles which reported results from using HDT as a physiological analog for spaceflight. These studies have ranged from as little as 10 minutes to the longest duration of 370 days. Long-term studies lasting four weeks or more have resulted in over 170 primary research articles. Today, the 6-degree HDT model provides a consistent, thoroughly-tested, ground-based analog for spaceflight and allows the proper scientific controls for rigorous testing of physiological countermeasures; however, all models have their strengths and limits. The 6-degrees HDT model must continue to be scrutinized, re-examined, validated and compared to other analog environments whenever possible. Only by understanding the strengths and limits of this model, will it continue to serve as a critical physiological analog to spaceflight for many more years to come.

Spaceflight analog↗
NASA NTRS2011

Slow Wave Sleep and Long Duration Spaceflight

To review the literature on slow wave sleep (SWS) in long duration space flight, and place this within the context of the broader literature on SWS particularly with respect to analogous environments such as the Antarctic. Explore how SWS could be measured within the International Space Station (ISS) context with the aim to utilize the ISS as an analog for future extra-orbital long duration missions. Discuss the potential use of emergent minimally intrusive wireless technologies like ZEO for integrated prelaunch, flight, and return to Earth analysis and optimization of SWS (and general quality of sleep).

Orr, M.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Coordination of International Risk-Reduction Investigations by the Multilateral Human Research Panel for Exploration

Effective use of the unique capabilities of the International Space Station (ISS) for risk reduction on future deep space missions involves preliminary work in analog environments to identify and evaluate the most promising techniques, interventions and treatments. This entails a consolidated multinational approach to biomedical research both on ISS and in ground analogs. The Multilateral Human Research Panel for Exploration (MHRPE) was chartered by the five ISS partners to recommend the best combination of partner investigations on ISS for risk reduction in the relatively short time available for ISS utilization. MHRPE will also make recommendations to funding agencies for appropriate preparatory analog work. In 2011, NASA's Human Research Program (HRP) and the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) of the Russian Academy of Science, acting for MHRPE, developed a joint US-Russian biomedical program for the 2015 one-year ISS mission (1YM) of American and Russian crewmembers. This was to evaluate the possibilities for multilateral research on ISS. An overlapping list of 16 HRP, 9 IBMP, 3 Japanese, 3 European and 1 Canadian investigations were selected to address risk-reduction goals in 7 categories: Functional Performance, Behavioral Health, Visual Impairment, Metabolism, Physical Capacity, Microbial and Human Factors. MHRPE intends to build on this bilateral foundation to recommend more fully-integrated multilateral investigations on future ISS missions commencing after the 1YM. MHRPE has also endorsed an on-going program of coordinated research on 6-month, one-year and 6-week missions ISS expeditions that is now under consideration by ISS managers. Preparatory work for these missions will require coordinated and collaborative campaigns especially in the psychological and psychosocial areas using analog isolation facilities in Houston, Köln and Moscow, and possibly elsewhere. The multilateral Human Analogs research working group (HANA) is the focal point of those planning discussions, with MHRPE coordinating between the national programs and then supporting implementation on ISS. Experience gained during preparations for the 1YM has identified improvements in both American and Russian processes to enable well-integrated investigations on all subsequent ISS expeditions. Among those is that the greatest efficiency is to be gained with investigations that are fully integrated from their conception, with co-principal investigators, a consolidated proposal and integrated plans for crewmember time and other flight-related resources. Analog investigations preceding future ISS expeditions will employ these lessons in efficiency to evaluate the techniques and tools to be validated aboard ISS. In this way, the resources and capabilities of ISS can be applied most efficiently to solving the problems facing astronauts of all nations in missions deep into the solar system.

Charles, John B.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NSCOR for Evaluating Risk Factors and Biomarkers for Adaptation and Resilience to Spaceflight: Emotional Valence and Social Processes in ICC/ICE Environments

Space exploration class missions, such as a mission to Mars, will require optimization of human performance, adaptability, and resilience. This NASA Specialized Center of Research (NSCOR) utilizes the NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework to identify biological and behavioral markers of individual social adaptation and emotional resilience (as well as vulnerability) to spaceflight-relevant stressors such as living in extended isolation. The overarching goal of this NSCOR is to obtain novel information to help identify biomarkers of individuals who are resilient and/or adaptable to the stressors of isolated, confined, and controlled (ICC) and isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environments.A total of N=90 healthy adult astronaut surrogates are being studied in three spaceflight-analog environments: (1) n=40 healthy adults in the Isolation and Confinement Analog Research Unit (ICARUS), an ICC at the University of Pennsylvania, during 7-day missions, for a target total of 280 subject days; (2) n=32 healthy adult astronaut surrogates studied in NASA’s Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA), an ICC at Johnson Space Center during 45-day missions, for a target total of 2,112 subject days; and (3) n=18 healthy adults in the Alfred-Wegener-Institute’s Neumayer Station III, an ICE in Antarctica, during 14-month missions, for a target total of 7,560 subject days. Dr. Nindl’s Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh is analyzing a priori selected protein biomarkers in blood, saliva, and urine. Complementary rodent models of exposure to early life stressors, confinement, and isolation are being evaluated at Dr. Hensch’s Laboratory to further validate the neurobehavioral and biological findings from the human studies.Given the inconsistency and varied definition of resilience/adaptation in the scientific literature, the NSCOR team developed a composite resilience/adaptation measure that reflects the most relevant outcomes to resilience/adaptation across psychosocial and neurobehavioral functions, as well as neurocognitive and spaceflight-relevant operational performance. To achieve this, group consensus was attained from subject matter experts to produce a rank-order of importance for each input variable. The final resilience/adaptation score included 36 variables that were collected across spaceflight analogs. As of 10/1/2021, the NSCOR project acquired data on n=27 subjects at ICARUS, n=16 at HERA, and n=18 at Neumayer. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed data acquisition at ICARUS and HERA.Among subjects studied to date, 99% of neural and neurobehavioral data (e.g., neuroimaging for structure and function, behavioral measures) as well as blood, saliva, and urine for biochemical assays have been acquired. For rodent models, Dr. Hensch’s laboratory has established biochemical and behavioral parameters reflecting confinement stress in social networks of mice for comparison to stress responses in the human spaceflight analog environments.Group social behaviors were measured with a Social Network Analysis (SNA) approach to define objective parameters associated with sociability and its plasticity by sex. This analytic approach may help identify a network of individuals who are more effective teammates or more likely to generate new social relationships. Data acquisition, biomarker assessment, and data quality control will continue through September 2022.

D F Dinges↗