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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 NTRS2003

Optimized bioregenerative space diet selection with crew choice

Previous studies on optimization of crew diets have not accounted for choice. A diet selection model with crew choice was developed. Scenario analyses were conducted to assess the feasibility and cost of certain crew preferences, such as preferences for numerous-desserts, high-salt, and high-acceptability foods. For comparison purposes, a no-choice and a random-choice scenario were considered. The model was found to be feasible in terms of food variety and overall costs. The numerous-desserts, high-acceptability, and random-choice scenarios all resulted in feasible solutions costing between 13.2 and 17.3 kg ESM/person-day. Only the high-sodium scenario yielded an infeasible solution. This occurred when the foods highest in salt content were selected for the crew-choice portion of the diet. This infeasibility can be avoided by limiting the total sodium content in the crew-choice portion of the diet. Cost savings were found by reducing food variety in scenarios where the preference bias strongly affected nutritional content.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1997

Calcium bioavailability of vegetarian diets in rats: potential application in a bioregenerative life-support system

Calcium bioavailability of vegetarian diets containing various proportions of candidate crops for a controlled ecological life-support system (CELSS) was determined by femur 45Ca uptake. Three vegetarian diets and a control diet were labeled extrinsically with 45Ca and fed to 5-wk old male rats. A fifth group of rats fed an unlabeled control diet received an intraperitoneal (IP) injection of 45Ca. There was no significant difference in mean calcium absorption of vegetarian diets (90.80 +/- 5.23%) and control diet (87.85 +/- 5.25%) when calculated as the percent of an IP dose. The amounts of phytate, oxalate, and dietary fiber in the diets did not affect calcium absorption.

NASA Discipline Life Support Systems↗
NASA NTRS1996

NASA's Biomass Production Chamber: a testbed for bioregenerative life support studies

The Biomass Production Chamber (BPC) located at Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA provides a large (20 m2 area, 113 m3 vol.), closed environment for crop growth tests for NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) program. Since the summer of 1988, the chamber has operated on a near-continuous basis (over 1200 days) without any major failures (excluding temporary power losses). During this time, five crops of wheat (64-86 days each), three crops of soybean (90 to 97 days), five crops of lettuce (28-30 days), and four crops of potato (90 to 105 days were grown, producing 481 kg of dry plant biomass, 196 kg edible biomass, 540 kg of oxygen, 94,700 kg of condensed water, and fixing 739 kg of carbon dioxide. Results indicate that total biomass yields were close to expected values for the given light input, but edible biomass yields and harvest indices were slightly lower than expected. Stand photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration, and nutrient uptake rates were monitored throughout growth and development of the different crops, along with the build-up of ethylene and other volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere. Data were also gathered on system hardware maintenance and repair, as well as person-hours required for chamber operation. Future tests will include long-term crop production studies, tests in which nutrients from waste treatment systems will be used to grow new crops, and multi-species tests.

NASA Center KSC↗
NASA NTRS1993

The role of bioregenerative life-support systems in a manned future in space

Thus far in the manned space program, human life support has depended on storage of air, water, food, and energy. There are no refrigerators on Shuttle, and fresh foods are limited to what can be stowed in lockers for the first 3 days of a mission, when spoilage becomes a factor. Oxygen is stored, CO2 is scrubbed, and water is stored and treated. As we approach the Space Station era, life support will be a combination of storage and resupply. Duty cycles will be 90 days, and physico-chemical (P/C) systems will be important for recycling oxygen and water. Nutritionists seek a capability for refrigerated storage of fresh food on Station. However, most food still will be thermostabilized, rehydratables that can be stored at room temperature. Present Shuttle food is not much more sophisticated than repackaged camp food, and tends to be high in salt content. Hopefully, menus will be healthier on Station, where dietary countermeasures against biomedical responses to chronic microgravity might be implemented, and certainly need to be studied.

NASA Discipline Number 93-10↗
NASA NTRS2001

Performance of Sweetpotato for Bioregenerative Life Support

Sweetpotato was successfully grown to harvest maturity in a large-scale atmospherically-closed controlled environment chamber. Yield of edible biomass and capacity for contributing to air revitalization and water recovery were documented. Yield was slightly less than that found in smaller-scale studies, but this is not unusual (Wheeler 1999). Continued work is suggested to improve control of storage root initiation, bulking and vine growth.

Barta, Daniel J.↗
NASA NTRS2018

NASA's Interests in Bioregenerative Life Support

NASA and other space agencies and around the world have had long-standing interest in using plants and biological approaches for regenerative life support. In particular, NASA's Kennedy Space Center, has conducted research in this area for over 30 years. One unique aspect to this testing was NASA's Biomass Production Chamber, which had four vertically stacked growing shelves inside a large, 113 cubic meter chamber. This was perhaps one of the first working examples of a vertical agriculture system in the world. A review of some of this research along with some of the more salient findings will be presented.

Wheeler, Raymond M.↗