Results for “Sustainability Strategies” — Page 4

NASA NTRS2011

High-Payoff Space Transportation Design Approach with a Technology Integration Strategy

A general architectural design sequence is described to create a highly efficient, operable, and supportable design that achieves an affordable, repeatable, and sustainable transportation function. The paper covers the following aspects of this approach in more detail: (1) vehicle architectural concept considerations (including important strategies for greater reusability); (2) vehicle element propulsion system packaging considerations; (3) vehicle element functional definition; (4) external ground servicing and access considerations; and, (5) simplified guidance, navigation, flight control and avionics communications considerations. Additionally, a technology integration strategy is forwarded that includes: (a) ground and flight test prior to production commitments; (b) parallel stage propellant storage, such as concentric-nested tanks; (c) high thrust, LOX-rich, LOX-cooled first stage earth-to-orbit main engine; (d) non-toxic, day-of-launch-loaded propellants for upper stages and in-space propulsion; (e) electric propulsion and aero stage control.

McCleskey, C. M.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Bioinspired Engineering of Exploration Systems (BEES) - its Impact on Future Missions

This paper describes an overview of our "Bioinspired Engineering of Exploration Systems for Mars" ( "BEES for Mars") project. The BEES approach distills selected biologically inspired strategies utilizing motion cues/optic flow, bioinspired pattern recognition, biological visual and neural control systems, bioinspired sensing and communication techniques, and birds of prey inspired search and track algorithmic systems. Unique capabilities so enabled, provide potential solutions to future autonomous robotic space and planetary mission applications. With the first series of tests performed in September 2003, August 2004 and September 2004, we have demonstrated the BEES technologies at the El Mirage Dry Lakebed site in the Mojave Desert using Delta Wing experimental prototypes. We call these test flyers the "BEES flyer", since we are developing them as dedicated test platform for the newly developed bioinspired sensors, processors and algorithmic strategies. The Delta Wing offers a robust airframe that can sustain high G launches and offers ease of compact stowability and packaging along with scaling to small size and low ReynOld's number performance for a potential Mars deployment. Our approach to developing light weight, low power autonomous flight systems using concepts distilled from biology promises to enable new applications, of dual use to NASA and DoD needs. Small in size (0.5 -5 Kg) BEES Flyers are demonstrating capabilities for autonomous flight and sensor operability in Mars analog conditions. The BEES project team spans JPL, NASA Ames, Australian National University (ANU), Brigham Young University(BYU), DC Berkeiey, Analogic Computers Inc. and other institutions. The highlights from our recent flight demonstrations exhibiting new Mission enabling capabilities are described. Further, this paper describes two classes of potential new missions for Mars exploration: (1) the long range exploration missions, and (2) observation missions, for real time imaging of critical ephemeral phenomena, that can be enabled by use of BEES flyers. For example, such flyers can serve as a powerful black-box for critical descent and landing data and enablers for improved science missions complementing and supplementing the existing assets like landers and rovers by providing valuable exploration and quick extended low-altitude aerial coverage of the sites of interest by imaging them and distributing instruments to them. Imaging done by orbiters allows broad surface coverage at limited spatial resolution. Low altitude air-borne exploration of Mars offers a means for imaging large areas, perhaps up to several hundred kilometers, quickly and efficiently, providing a close-up birds-eye view of the planetary terrain and close-up approach to constrained difficult areas like canyons and craters. A novel approach to low-mass yet highly capable flyers is enabled by small aircraft equipped using sensors and processors and algorithms developed using BEES technology. This project is focused towards showing the direct impact of blending the best of artificial intelligence attributes and bioinspiration to create a leap beyond existing capability for our future Missions.

navigation↗

NASA NTRS2013

The Space Launch System: NASA's Exploration Rocket

Powerful, versatile, and capable vehicle for entirely new missions to deep space. Vital to NASA's exploration strategy and the Nation's space agenda. Safe, affordable, and sustainable. Engaging the U.S. aerospace workforce and infrastructure. Competitive opportunities for innovations that affordably upgrade performance. Successfully meeting milestones in preparation for Preliminary Design Review in 2013. On course for first flight in 2017.

Blackerby, Christopher↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA's Small Spacecraft and Distributed Systems: Development and Demonstration of Technologies Enabling Swarms and New Spacecraft Platforms with AI and Edge Computing

NASA’s Small Spacecraft & Distributed Systems (SSDS) within the Research and Technology Mission Directorate (RTMD) expands U.S. capability to execute unique missions through targeted investment, rapid development, and flight demonstration of small spacecraft technologies applicable to exploration, science and the commercial space sector. SSDS strategically invests in technology development and on-orbit demonstrations executed across NASA, other government agencies, industry, and academia. The program’s University SmallSat Technology Partnerships initiative awards academic researchers with the opportunity to collaborate with NASA to mature innovative technology. Capabilities aligned with RTMD’s technology shortfalls and interests - power, processing, propulsion, sensors, communications, autonomous navigation, architectures, and advanced applications like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and edge computing - are prioritized in SSDS investments. These investments enable distributed, autonomous, and cooperative small spacecraft systems that support swarm missions extending beyond low Earth orbit into cislunar and deep space. This paper highlights representative SSDS flight demonstrations that mature these capabilities to enable a future operational infrastructure needed to support sustained exploration of the Moon and beyond. SSDS’s investment strategy emphasizes rapid development and on-orbit demonstration to validate spacecraft technologies required for swarms and distributed mission architectures. The Starling swarm technology demonstration mission exemplifies this approach by advancing distributed spacecraft autonomy, cooperative operations, and space situational awareness. Extended flight testing and ongoing studies of next generation swarm configurations and on-orbit space traffic monitoring and management continue to inform future swarm designs. DiskSat’s four-spacecraft demonstration mission represents SSDS’s strategic vision to expand the design space for future small spacecraft through its commitment to advance novel platform concepts that can impact how science is performed on orbit. Continuing to invest in future platforms, the notional PY12 concept is a 12-spacecraft swarm hosting neuromorphic processors and is envisioned as an on-orbit testbed for AI, edge computing, and positioning, navigation and timing technologies. SSDS also invests in single-spacecraft technology demonstrations that underpin the success of future swarm missions and accelerate the availability of validated technologies across the small spacecraft ecosystem. Examples of such demonstrations include Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator-3 (PTD-3), which performed high-rate optical communications; PTD-R, which demonstrated a camera capable of simultaneous ultraviolet and short-wave infrared optical sensing; and CAPSTONE, the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology and Operations Navigation Experiment, which validated autonomous navigation in cislunar space. Collectively, SSDS-funded demonstrations advance capabilities across swarms and illustrate a coordinated investment strategy to mature high-impact technologies required for autonomous, distributed, and cooperative small spacecraft systems for low Earth orbit, cislunar, and deep space applications. Technology demonstrations strengthen SSDS partnerships with industry, academia, and other government agencies, and promote small spacecraft community adoption of capabilities required to close technical gaps for swarm missions.

Jan Stupl↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA's Small Spacecraft and Distributed Systems: Development and Demonstration of Technologies Enabling Swarms and New Spacecraft Platforms with AI and Edge Computing

NASA’s Small Spacecraft & Distributed Systems (SSDS) within the Research and Technology Mission Directorate (RTMD) expands U.S. capability to execute unique missions through targeted investment, rapid development, and flight demonstration of small spacecraft technologies applicable to exploration, science and the commercial space sector. SSDS strategically invests in technology development and on-orbit demonstrations executed across NASA, other government agencies, industry, and academia. The program’s University SmallSat Technology Partnerships initiative awards academic researchers with the opportunity to collaborate with NASA to mature innovative technology. Capabilities aligned with RTMD’s technology shortfalls and interests - power, processing, propulsion, sensors, communications, autonomous navigation, architectures, and advanced applications like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and edge computing - are prioritized in SSDS investments. These investments enable distributed, autonomous, and cooperative small spacecraft systems that support swarm missions extending beyond low Earth orbit into cislunar and deep space. This paper highlights representative SSDS flight demonstrations that mature these capabilities to enable a future operational infrastructure needed to support sustained exploration of the Moon and beyond. SSDS’s investment strategy emphasizes rapid development and on-orbit demonstration to validate spacecraft technologies required for swarms and distributed mission architectures. The Starling swarm technology demonstration mission exemplifies this approach by advancing distributed spacecraft autonomy, cooperative operations, and space situational awareness. Extended flight testing and ongoing studies of next generation swarm configurations and on-orbit space traffic monitoring and management continue to inform future swarm designs. DiskSat’s four-spacecraft demonstration mission represents SSDS’s strategic vision to expand the design space for future small spacecraft through its commitment to advance novel platform concepts that can impact how science is performed on orbit. Continuing to invest in future platforms, the notional PY12 concept is a 12-spacecraft swarm hosting neuromorphic processors and is envisioned as an on-orbit testbed for AI, edge computing, and positioning, navigation and timing technologies. SSDS also invests in single-spacecraft technology demonstrations that underpin the success of future swarm missions and accelerate the availability of validated technologies across the small spacecraft ecosystem. Examples of such demonstrations include Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator-3 (PTD-3), which performed high-rate optical communications; PTD-R, which demonstrated a camera capable of simultaneous ultraviolet and short-wave infrared optical sensing; and CAPSTONE, the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology and Operations Navigation Experiment, which validated autonomous navigation in cislunar space. Collectively, SSDS-funded demonstrations advance capabilities across swarms and illustrate a coordinated investment strategy to mature high-impact technologies required for autonomous, distributed, and cooperative small spacecraft systems for low Earth orbit, cislunar, and deep space applications. Technology demonstrations strengthen SSDS partnerships with industry, academia, and other government agencies, and promote small spacecraft community adoption of capabilities required to close technical gaps for swarm missions.

Jan Stupl↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Approach to Critical Ablative TPS Capabilities Sustainment for Future NASA Missions

We plan to present an approach for NASA to maintain critical ablative TPS capabilities through small, sus-tained, smart and targeted investment. Historically, we have been pound foolish and penny wise for decades and paid very little attention to sustainability of abla-tive TPS and as a result, spent couple of decades in learning what we lost and inventing newer technology solutions. NASA’s ablative TPS history has been one of in-vesting in new and unique capabilities in anticipation of needs, and once flight proven, letting the capability atrophy due to lack of subsequent near-term mission needs [1]. When the need arises, NASA has resorted to two options: (1) revive the capability at considerable cost impact, or (2) develop an alternate capability with considerable schedule impact. Both these options have had considerable mission impact. The third alternate is to maintain proven capabilities in a cost effective manner. A risk informed decision process in terms of maintaining ablative TPS capabilities is feasible with planning and sustained support. Assured TPS availa-bility will allow the science community to propose competed missions with confidence and at a lower risk for selection. We submitted a white paper to the cur-rent Decadal Survey [2] on the need for and im-portance of sustainability. Since then, we have been formulating an executable cost effective strategy. The intent of this presentation is to outline the develop-ments since the submission of the white paper. NASA and DoD have had a working group related to critical technologies to periodically assess and make recommendations on at-risk items from a national need perspective. This inter-agency working group typically focuses on raw materials availability. While we agree that at-risk raw materials are important, fo-cus solely on them is not sufficient. Instead, we advo-cate for a broader focus that includes not only raw material but also industrial manufacturing and processing, and NASA expertise in design, testing and flight hardware certification. In this proposed presentation, we will give a brief overview of NASA’s ablative TPS history along with recent examples of atrophy to highlight case studies related to the PICA and Carbon-Phenolic TPS. We will present the rationale for sustaining PICA, HEEET and 3MDCP for future NASA missions. We will present an approach for how targeted small investments could lead to maintaining mission critical capabilities over long periods.

E Venkatapathy↗

NASA NTRS2011

Product Lifecycle Management and the Quest for Sustainable Space Exploration Solutions

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is an outcome of lean thinking to eliminate waste and increase productivity. PLM is inextricably tied to the systems engineering business philosophy, coupled with a methodology by which personnel, processes and practices, and information technology combine to form an architecture platform for product design, development, manufacturing, operations, and decommissioning. In this model, which is being implemented by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Engineering Directorate, total lifecycle costs are important variables for critical decision-making. With the ultimate goal to deliver quality products that meet or exceed requirements on time and within budget, PLM is a powerful concept to shape everything from engineering trade studies and testing goals, to integrated vehicle operations and retirement scenarios. This briefing will demonstrate how the MSFC Engineering Directorate is implementing PLM as part of an overall strategy to deliver safe, reliable, and affordable space exploration solutions and how that strategy aligns with the Agency and Center systems engineering policies and processes. Sustainable space exploration solutions demand that all lifecycle phases be optimized, and engineering the next generation space transportation system requires a paradigm shift such that digital tools and knowledge management, which are central elements of PLM, are used consistently to maximum effect. Adopting PLM, which has been used by the aerospace and automotive industry for many years, for spacecraft applications provides a foundation for strong, disciplined systems engineering and accountable return on investment. PLM enables better solutions using fewer resources by making lifecycle considerations in an integrative decision-making process.

Caruso, Pamela W.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Integrated Logistics and Supportability Challenges of Sustained Human Lunar Exploration

NASA’s Artemis program plans to establish a sustained human presence on the lunar surface. The International Space Station other space station programs have demonstrated long-duration human spaceflight operations that reuse infrastructure in Low Earth Orbit, sometimes including long uncrewed “dormant” periods. In contrast, human lunar exploration to date has consisted solely of relatively short sortie missions, rather than a sustained presence. A sustained human outpost on the Moon that can support month-long crewed exploration missions and be reused by multiple crews will be more challenging than past operations, particularly from the perspective of logistics, supportability, and risk. This paper examines the integrated logistics and supportability challenges of sustained human lunar exploration and provides a review of historical spaceflight experience in terms of crewed mission endurance, uncrewed duration, transportation overhead, and access to abort. Planned Artemis Base Camp crewed mission endurance is approximately 2.5 times longer than past lunar surface crewed mission endurance, but similar to average time between resupply for the International Space Station. Sustained human spacecraft have only twice experienced uncrewed durations longer than the planned interval between Artemis Base Camp missions, and Artemis surface assets will face long uncrewed periods more regularly than any past sustained human spacecraft. Transportation of crew and cargo to and from the Moon will be more difficult and time-consuming than transportation to and from Low Earth Orbit, and crew access to abort will be more limited. The implications of Artemis lunar operations for crewed Mars mission planning are also discussed. Historical approaches to risk management—including logistics, supportability, and abort strategies—should be reexamined and re-optimized for this new mission context. Sustained lunar operations will provide a valuable proving ground for testing new approaches to crewed space exploration.

logistics↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Integrated Logistics and Supportability Challenges of Sustained Human Lunar Exploration

NASA’s Artemis program plans to establish a sustained human presence on the lunar surface. The International Space Station and other space station programs have demonstrated long-duration human spaceflight operations that reuse infrastructure in Low Earth Orbit, sometimes including long uncrewed “dormant” periods. In contrast, all human exploration beyond Low Earth Orbit to date has consisted solely of relatively short sortie missions, rather than a sustained presence. A sustained human outpost on the Moon that can support month-long crewed exploration missions and be reused by multiple crews will be more challenging than past operations, particularly from the perspective of logistics, supportability, and risk. This paper examines the integrated logistics and supportability challenges of sustained human lunar exploration and provides a review of historical spaceflight experience in terms of crewed mission endurance, uncrewed duration, transportation overhead, and access to abort. Planned Artemis Base Camp crewed mission endurance is approximately 2.5 times longer than past lunar surface crewed mission endurance, but similar to the average time between resupply for the International Space Station. Sustained human spacecraft have only twice experienced uncrewed durations longer than the planned interval between Artemis Base Camp missions, and Artemis surface assets will face long uncrewed periods more regularly than any past sustained human spacecraft. Transportation of crew and cargo to and from the Moon will be more difficult and time-consuming than transportation to and from Low Earth Orbit, and crew access to abort will be more limited. The implications of Artemis lunar operations for crewed Mars mission planning are also discussed. Historical approaches to risk management—including logistics, supportability, and abort strategies—should be reexamined and re-optimized for this new mission context. Sustained lunar operations will provide a valuable proving ground for testing new approaches to crewed space exploration.

logistics↗

NASA NTRS2024

Enterprise Digital Transformation: Transforming NASA's Workplace

NASA has a long history of serving the Nation and the world, by reaching for new heights and revealing the unknown for the benefit of all humankind. To ensure the agency will deliver on its mission in a hyper-connected, technology-enabled, globally-partnered, and rapidly-changing world, NASA launched a Digital Transformation initiative in late 2020 to modernize the way it works, the experience of its workforce and the agility of its workplace. At the core of its workplace transformation strategy, NASA is on a journey to leverage smart operational technologies, weaving together IoT, AI, intelligent automation, extended reality, and digital twins to build a network of reliable, adaptable and sustainable “Smart Centers” to execute its mission… on planet Earth and beyond. Come hear NASA’s digital strategy, the exciting progress being made, lessons learned from their journey, and how the AIMST community can enable NASA and its partners to serve humanity in a digital future.

Jill Marlowe↗

NASA NTRS2004

Mars Exploration Rovers Propulsive Maneuver Design

The Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity successfully landed respectively at Gusev Crater and Meridiani Planum in January 2004. The rovers are essentially robotic geologists, sent on a mission to search for evidence in the rocks and soil pertaining to the historical presence of water and the ability to possibly sustain life. In order to conduct NASA's 'follow the water' strategy on opposite sides of the planet Mars, an interplanetary journey of over 300 million miles culminated with historic navigation precision. Rigorous trajectory targeting and control was necessary to achieve the atmospheric entry requirements for the selected landing sites. The propulsive maneuver design challenge was to meet or exceed these requirements while preserving the necessary design margin to accommodate additional project concerns. Landing site flexibility was maintained for both missions after launch, and even after the first trajectory correction maneuver for Spirit. The final targeting strategy was modified to improve delivery performance and reduce risk after revealing constraining trajectory control characteristics. Flight results are examined and summarized for the six trajectory correction maneuvers that were planned for each mission.

trajectory↗

NASA NTRS1990

The Office of Space Science and Applications strategic plan, 1990: A strategy for leadership in space through excellence in space science and applications

A strategic plan for the U.S. space science and applications program during the next 5 to 10 years was developed and published in 1988. Based on the strategies developed by the advisory committees of both the National Academy of Science and NASA, the plan balances major, moderate, and small mission initiatives, the utilization of the Space Station Freedom, and the requirements for a vital research base. The Office of Space Science and Applications (OSSA) strategic plan is constructed around five actions: establish a set of programmatic themes; establish a set of decision rules; establish a set of priorities for missions and programs within each theme; demonstrate that the strategy will yield a viable program; and check the strategy for consistency within resource constraints. The OSSA plan is revised annually. This OSSA 1990 Strategic Plan refines the 1989 Plan and represents OSSA's initial plan for fulfilling its responsibilities in two major national initiatives. The Plan is now built on interrelated, complementary strategies for the core space science and applications program, for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, and for the Space Exploration Initiative. The challenge is to make sure that the current level of activity is sustained through the end of this century and into the next. The 1990 Plan presents OSSA's strategy to do this.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2019

NASA's Human Lunar Landing Strategy

In response to the 2018 White House Space Policy Directive-1 to lead an innovative and sustainable lunar exploration, and to the Vice President’s March 2019 direction to do so by 2024, NASA is working to establish humanity's presence on and around the Moon by: 1) sending payloads to its surface, 2) assembling the Gateway outpost in orbit, and 3) conducting the first human lunar landings since 1972. NASA’s Artemis program is implementing a multi-faceted and coordinated agency-wide approach with a focus on the lunar South Pole. The Artemis missions will demonstrate new technologies, capabilities and business approaches needed for future exploration, including Mars. Assessing options to accelerate development of systems, NASA is utilizing public-private engagements to develop and demonstrate capabilities that meet the agency’s human space exploration objectives while stimulating the commercial space industry. Utilizing efforts across mission directorates, the Artemis effort will benefit from programs such as the Science Mission Directorate’s Commercial Lunar Payloads Services program and the Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Tipping Point partnerships for Moon and Mars technologies. This paper will discuss the strategic landscape for NASA's exploration campaign, the agency's approach to accessing the lunar surface with an affordable human-rated landing system, current status and role of U.S. industry, and future plans.

Human landing system↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Defining a Global Lunar Position, Navigation, and Timing System

As NASA seeks to fulfill its mission of extending humanity’s reach through exploration as delineated in the Moon to Mars Strategy and Objectives Development and the Moon to Mars Architecture Definition Document, accurate and timely position, navigation, and timing (PNT) services are critical in the architecture, identifying a need to expand a PNT capability to the full lunar proximity service volume. This is echoed in the White House Office of Science, Technology, and Policy Cislunar Science and Technology Strategy, which pinpoints the fundamental need for PNT infrastructure to enable and sustain a vibrant cislunar ecosystem. While the Human Lunar Return segment seeks commercial services to provide a PNT service over a South Pole service volume for a limited period per Earth day, meeting the Sustained Lunar Evolution segment requires a Lunar Navigation System (LNS) focused on delivery of precise and resilient PNT services across the lunar globe and near-Moon space. This presentation describes the pre-Phase A system concept for an orbital constellation, the requisite lunar surface-based in-situ monitor and control segment, and an Earth control segment to provide lunar PNT services out to 200km altitude above the surface. The LNS leverages the foundational efforts on lunar reference system components such as the Lunar Geodetic System, Lunar Time System, and lunar ephemeris and orientation critical to safe, accurate, and seamless navigation.

navigation↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA's Development of Advanced Space Suits for Lunar Exploration

Significant work has been completed recently at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in the Space Suit and Crew Survival Systems Branch to design and mature an advanced exploration EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity) architecture. This effort culminated in the xEMU (eXploration Extra-vehicular Mobility Unit) space suit, which was completed in 2022 and tested extensively through 2023, including human performance, cycle life performance and thermal vacuum testing. An overview of the xEMU design and test campaign is provided, as well as its value as the government reference design supporting the transition to EVA commercial services for the Artemis program. Lastly, a development roadmap is discussed which outlines NASA’s identified strategy to enable the next generation of exploration EVA hardware for sustaining-class Lunar and Mars missions.

Shane M McFarland↗

NASA NTRS2004

Exploration Requirements Development Utilizing the Strategy-to-Task-to-Technology Development Approach

The Vision for Space Exploration provides direction for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to embark on a robust space exploration program that will advance the Nation s scientific, security, and economic interests. This plan calls for a progressive expansion of human capabilities beyond low earth orbit seeking to answer profound scientific and philosophical questions while responding to discoveries along the way. In addition, the Vision articulates the strategy for developing the revolutionary new technologies and capabilities required for the future exploration of the solar system. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration faces new challenges in successfully implementing the Vision. In order to implement a sustained and affordable exploration endeavor it is vital for NASA to do business differently. This paper provides an overview of the strategy-to-task-to-technology process being used by NASA s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate to develop the requirements and system acquisition details necessary for implementing a sustainable exploration vision.

Drake, Bret G.↗

NASA NTRS2018

NASA Fluid Lensing & MiDAR - Next-Generation Remote Sensing Technologies for Aquatic Remote Sensing

Piti's Tepungan Bay and Tumon Bay, two of five marine preserves in Guam, have not been mapped to a level of detail sufficient to support proposed management strategies. This project addresses this gap by providing high resolution maps to promote sustainable, responsible use of the area while protecting natural resources. Dr. Chirayath, a research scientist at the NASA Ames Laboratory, developed a theoretical model and algorithm called 'Fluid Lensing'. Fluid lensing removes optical distortions caused by moving water, improving the clarity of the images taken of the corals below the surface. We will also be using MiDAR, a next-generation remote sensing instrument that provides real-time multispectral video using an array of LED emitters coupled with NASA's FluidCam Imaging System, which may assist Guam's coral reef response team in understanding the severity and magnitude of coral bleaching events. This project will produce a 3D orthorectified model of the shallow water coral reef ecosystems in Tumon Bay and Piti marine preserves. These 3D models may be printed, creating a tactile diorama and increasing understanding of coral reefs among various audiences, including key decision makers. More importantly, the final data products can enable accurate and quantitative health assessment capabilities for coral reef ecosystems.

Aquatic↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Bio-stasis: A Strategy for Survivability and Payload Cost Reduction in Long-duration Space Missions

As humans proceed with long-term space voyages, involving flights with lasting duration of months or years, “adaptation to space” will eventually lead to hard realities resultant physiological and psychological conditions must be realistically estimated and considered before it occurs. It is obvious that humans in their lifespan cannot adopt to spaceflight environment by reversible modification of their complex biochemical reactions and physiological functions without jeopardizing sustainable homeostasis shaped by multiple generations during evolution. In this case Nature offers an evolutionary proven alternative strategy- a coordinative adjustment of metabolism in order to survive. Incorporation of this metabolic adjustment strategy along with the relevant life support system into space flight architecture would protect humans during long term space flight from many irreversible physiological alterations and may dramatically reduce overall cost of space missions. In addition to the harmful space radiation and prolonged weightlessness, incorporation of this strategy may also benefit by solving other major medical unknowns in interplanetary flight such as isolation and psychological stress which still remains a risk. It is one of the priorities of NASA and other space agencies to figure out not only how to keep long-distance travelers alive and in good cognitive health but also how to return them to normal life on Earth with a minimum rehabilitation period after prolonged exposure to space. Presently re-adaptation of astronauts to Earth conditions and recovery from spaceflight exposure may take many months and years and, in some cases, require medical intervention. Therefore, recognizing physiological adjustment of the energy-regulating system as a viable life support strategy for human space exploration beyond LEO is essential.

Bio-stasis;↗