SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Human Space Exploration”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 775 records · Page 43

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS2002

Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Annual Report 2001

For many years before the clock counted down to midnight and the arrival of the year 2000, the world had anticipated 2001 as a special time and a new era. Now we know that 2001 will be a year none of us will ever forget. We began a new year, a new century, and a new millennium. Yet after September 11, the world in many ways seems profoundly changed. On that day we witnessed both the worst and best in human nature. Space exploration is one pursuit that points towards the best instincts in our nature. And certainly the pioneering spirit, so much a part of the American character, is a value deeply embedded into all the work we undertake at JPL. We are privileged that the nation has entrusted us with exploring space on its behalf. And we are fortunate to find ourselves part of two of the world's most accomplished institutions - NASA and the California Institute of Technology. Looking back over the past four decades, JPL has carried out an initial reconnaissance of nearly all of the solar systems planets. Today we have more than a dozen missions flying, and many more in various stages of development. Our challenge now is to create missions that help us understand these places more deeply. And in addition to exploring and understanding our solar system, we want to discover neighboring solar systems and explore them as well. The 21st century is upon us. So is a tremendous era of space exploration. There were many events in 2001 to celebrate, one being the arrival of the Mars Odyssey orbiter, which joins the Mars Global Surveyor orbiter in providing continuous coverage of the red planet. This is a major step in establishing a permanent robotic presence at Mars. Ahead for JPL will be both rewarding and challenging moments; thats the nature of being pioneers and explorers.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NAS↗

NASA NTRS2011

The Effect of Dose Rate on Composite Durability When Exposed to a Simulated Long-Term Lunar Radiation Environment

Human exploration of space beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) requires a safe living and working environment for crew. Composite materials are one type of material being investigated by NASA as a multi-functional structural approach to habitats for long-term use in space or on planetary surfaces with limited magnetic fields and atmosphere. These materials provide high strength with the potential for decreased weight and increased radiation protection of crew and electronics when compared with conventional aluminum structures. However, these materials have not been evaluated in a harsh radiation environment, as would be experienced outside of LEO or on a planetary surface. Thus, NASA has been investigating the durability of select composite materials in a long-term radiation environment. Previously, NASA exposed composite samples to a simulated, accelerated 30-year radiation treatment and tensile stresses similar to those of a habitat pressure vessel. The results showed evidence of potential surface oxidation and enhanced cross-linking of the matrix. As a follow-on study, we performed the same accelerated exposure alongside an exposure with a decreased dose rate. The slower dose ]rate is comparable to a realistic scenario, although still accelerated. Strain measurements were collected during exposure and showed that with a fastdose rate, the strain decreased with time, but with a slow ]dose rate, the strain increased with time. After the radiation exposures, samples were characterized via tensile tests, flexure tests, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The results of these tests will be discussed.

Rojdev, Kristina↗

NASA NTRS2014

Response of Staphylococcus Aureus to Simulated Microgravity

Mitigate microbial risk to crew health, safety, and performance during the human exploration of space

Hinshaw, Robert↗

NASA NTRS2015

Challenges of Rover Navigation at the Lunar Poles

Observations from Lunar Prospector, LCROSS, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), and other missions have contributed evidence that water and other volatiles exist at the lunar poles in permanently shadowed regions. Combining a surface rover and a volatile prospecting and analysis payload would enable the detection and characterization of volatiles in terms of nature, abundance, and distribution. This knowledge could have impact on planetary science, in-situ resource utilization, and human exploration of space. While Lunar equatorial regions of the Moon have been explored by manned (Apollo) and robotic missions (Lunokhod, Cheng'e), no surface mission has reached the lunar poles.

Robotics↗

NASA NTRS2015

GeneLab: A Systems Biology Platform for Spaceflight Omics Data

NASA's mission includes expanding our understanding of biological systems to improve life on Earth and to enable long-duration human exploration of space. Resources to support large numbers of spaceflight investigations are limited. NASA's GeneLab project is maximizing the science output from these experiments by: (1) developing a unique public bioinformatics database that includes space bioscience relevant "omics" data (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) and experimental metadata; (2) partnering with NASA-funded flight experiments through bio-sample sharing or sample augmentation to expedite omics data input to the GeneLab database; and (3) developing community-driven reference flight experiments. The first database, GeneLab Data System Version 1.0, went online in April 2015. V1.0 contains numerous flight datasets and has search and download capabilities. Version 2.0 will be released in 2016 and will link to analytic tools. In 2015 Genelab partnered with two Biological Research in Canisters experiments (BBRIC-19 and BRIC-20) which examine responses of Arabidopsis thaliana to spaceflight. GeneLab also partnered with Rodent Research-1 (RR1), the maiden flight to test the newly developed rodent habitat. GeneLab developed protocols for maxiumum yield of RNA, DNA and protein from precious RR-1 tissues harvested and preserved during the SpaceX-4 mission, as well as from tissues from mice that were frozen intact during spaceflight and later dissected. GeneLab is establishing partnerships with at least three planned flights for 2016. Organism-specific nationwide Science Definition Teams (SDTs) will define future GeneLab dedicated missions and ensure the broader scientific impact of the GeneLab missions. GeneLab ensures prompt release and open access to all high-throughput omics data from spaceflight and ground-based simulations of microgravity and radiation. Overall, GeneLab will facilitate the generation and query of parallel multi-omics data, and deep curation of metadata for integrative analysis, allowing researchers to uncover cellular networks as observed in systems biology platforms. Consequently, the scientific community will have access to a more complete picture of functional and regulatory networks responsive to the spaceflight environment.. Analysis of GeneLab data will contribute fundamental knowledge of how the space environment affects biological systems, and enable emerging terrestrial benefits resulting from mitigation strategies to prevent effects observed during exposure to space. As a result, open access to the data will foster new hypothesis-driven research for future spaceflight studies spanning basic science to translational science.

proteomics↗

NASA NTRS2016

The Exploration of Mars Launch and Assembly Simulation

Advancing human exploration of space beyond Low Earth Orbit, and ultimately to Mars, is of great interest to NASA, other organizations, and space exploration advocates. Various strategies for getting to Mars have been proposed. These include NASA's Design Reference Architecture 5.0, a near-term flyby of Mars advocated by the group Inspiration Mars, and potential options developed for NASA's Evolvable Mars Campaign. Regardless of which approach is used to get to Mars, they all share a need to visualize and analyze their proposed campaign and evaluate the feasibility of the launch and on-orbit assembly segment of the campaign. The launch and assembly segment starts with flight hardware manufacturing and ends with final departure of a Mars Transfer Vehicle (MTV), or set of MTVs, from an assembly orbit near Earth. This paper describes a discrete event simulation based strategic visualization and analysis tool that can be used to evaluate the launch campaign reliability of any proposed strategy for exploration beyond low Earth orbit. The input to the simulation can be any manifest of multiple launches and their associated transit operations between Earth and the exploration destinations, including Earth orbit, lunar orbit, asteroids, moons of Mars, and ultimately Mars. The simulation output includes expected launch dates and ascent outcomes i.e., success or failure. Running 1,000 replications of the simulation provides the capability to perform launch campaign reliability analysis to determine the probability that all launches occur in a timely manner to support departure opportunities and to deliver their payloads to the intended orbit. This allows for quantitative comparisons between alternative scenarios, as well as the capability to analyze options for improving launch campaign reliability. Results are presented for representative strategies.

Cates, Grant↗

NASA NTRS2016

The Exploration of Mars Launch and Assembly Simulation

Cates, Grant↗

NASA NTRS2016

Aerospace Communications Technologies in Support of NASA Mission

NASA is endeavoring in expanding communications capabilities to enable and enhance robotic and human exploration of space and to advance aero communications here on Earth. This presentation will discuss some of the research and technology development work being performed at the NASA Glenn Research Center in aerospace communications in support of NASAs mission. An overview of the work conducted in-house and in collaboration with academia, industry, and other government agencies (OGA) to advance radio frequency (RF) and optical communications technologies in the areas of antennas, ultra-sensitive receivers, power amplifiers, among others, will be presented. In addition, the role of these and other related RF and optical communications technologies in enabling the NASA next generation aerospace communications architecture will be also discussed.

Communications Architectures↗

NASA NTRS2017

An Overview of Recent Cryogenic Fluid Management Developments

Long-term storage, supply, and transfer of cryogenic fluids are critical capabilities needed to advance the human exploration of space. Technologies and advanced development programs have been pursued to address issues likely to confront the designers and developers of future cryogenic fluid management (CFM) subsystems and propulsion systems. NASA and aerospace industries have continued to conduct research and development for the propulsion applications of cryogenic fluids. From the well known in-space applications, to new applications involving superconducting motors within multiple different aircraft, and a renewed interest in production of oxygen on Mars, NASA continues to probe cryogenic applications within propulsion. This article presents brief reviews of several of the current CFM efforts to support future space missions. NASA GRC is currently focusing on understanding some of the finer points in the application of multilayer insulation. GRC recently finished the activation of a new calorimeter that operates at 20 K with a warm boundary that can operate either around 90 K or at 300 K. Current testing is focused on investigating multiple different seam concepts, initially between temperatures of 300 K and 20 K, and between 20 K and 90 K. One of the larger recent NASA investments has been on the Structural Heat Intercept, Insulation, and Vibration Experiment Rig (SHIIVER). SHIIVER is a 4 m diameter tank that is approximately 1/2 scale of the planned upper stage of the new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. SHIIVER is focused on demonstrating the thermal benefits of multilayer insulation on the tank domes and boil-off vapor cooling on structural cylinders that hold the tank in-line on the rocket. It will also quantify any damage that may incur during the acoustic environment of over 160 decibels that SLS will experience on its trip to Earth orbit. In support of the possible production of oxygen out of the Mars' atmosphere, a team comprised of four NASA centers (GRC, MSFC, JSC, and KSC) collaborated to investigate multiple different hardware combinations, refrigeration cycles, and integration techniques to minimize power and mass of the storage and liquefaction system. Moreover, high efficiency, high capacity cryocoolers are an element of CFM which is essential for achieving NASA's future long duration missions. Currently in development is a 20W at 20K unit for use with liquid hydrogen. It is scheduled for delivery to NASA in the summer of 2017. Two Phase I SBIRS have recently concluded resulting in the preliminary design of two different 90K units, each having a refrigeration capacity of approximately 150W. Once the development efforts are complete, these high capacity 90K units will be integrated into the design of NASA's Liquid Oxygen (LOX)/Methane applications such as the Lander and Ascent Vehicles, or possibly an in-space stage. CFM technology is critical to the success of missions to Mars, Planetary Exploration, and In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) for cryogenic propellant production. NASA is focusing on the development of CFM technologies needed to provide necessary data and relevant experience to support informed decisions on implementation of design of cryogenic systems for long term space missions. Lessons learned from the described CFM developments would lead to enhanced safety and reliability and enabling technologies which could allow NASA to meet future space exploration goals.

Hedayat, A.↗

NASA NTRS2017

EVA Systems Technology Gaps and Priorities 2017

Performance of Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVA) has been and will continue to be a critical capability for human space flight. Human exploration missions beyond LEO will require EVA capability for either contingency or nominal activities to support mission objectives and reduce mission risk. EVA systems encompass a wide array of products across pressure suits, life support systems, EVA tools and unique spacecraft interface hardware (i.e. EVA Translation Paths and EVA Worksites). In a fiscally limited environment with evolving transportation and habitation options, it is paramount that the EVA community's strategic planning and architecture integration products be reviewed and vetted for traceability between the mission needs far into the future to the known technology and knowledge gaps to the current investments across EVA systems. To ascertain EVA technology and knowledge gaps many things need to be brought together, assessed and analyzed. This includes an understanding of the destination environments, various mission concept of operations, current state of the art of EVA systems, EVA operational lessons learned, and reference advanced capabilities. A combined assessment of these inputs should result in well-defined list of gaps. This list can then be prioritized depending on the mission need dates and time scale of the technology or knowledge gap closure plan. This paper will summarize the current state of EVA related technology and knowledge gaps derived from NASA's Exploration EVA Reference Architecture and Operations Concept products. By linking these products and articulating NASA's approach to strategic development for EVA across all credible destinations an EVA could be done in, the identification of these gaps is then used to illustrate the tactical and strategic planning for the EVA technology development portfolio. Finally, this paper illustrates the various "touch points" with other human exploration risk identification areas including human health and performance.

Johnson, Brian J.↗

NASA NTRS2017

NASA's GeneLab Phase II: Federated Search and Data Discovery

GeneLab is currently being developed by NASA to accelerate 'open science' biomedical research in support of the human exploration of space and the improvement of life on earth. Phase I of the four-phase GeneLab Data Systems (GLDS) project emphasized capabilities for submission, curation, search, and retrieval of genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics ('omics') data from biomedical research of space environments. The focus of development of the GLDS for Phase II has been federated data search for and retrieval of these kinds of data across other open-access systems, so that users are able to conduct biological meta-investigations using data from a variety of sources. Such meta-investigations are key to corroborating findings from many kinds of assays and translating them into systems biology knowledge and, eventually, therapeutics.

exobiology↗

NASA NTRS2017

13kW Advanced Electric Propulsion Flight System Development and Qualification

The next phase of robotic and human deep space exploration missions is enhanced by high performance, high power solar electric propulsion systems for large-scale science missions and cargo transportation. Aerojet Rocketdynes Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) program is completing development, qualification and delivery of five flight 13.3kW EP systems to NASA. The flight AEPS includes a magnetically-shielded, long-life Hall thruster, power processing unit (PPU), xenon flow controller (XFC), and intrasystem harnesses. The Hall thruster, originally developed and demonstrated by NASAs Glenn Research Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, operates at input powers up to 12.5kW while providing a specific impulse over 2600s at an input voltage of 600V. The power processor is designed to accommodate an input voltage range of 95 to 140V, consistent with operation beyond the orbit of Mars. The integrated system is continuously throttleable between 3 and 13.3kW. The program has completed the system requirement review; the system, thruster, PPU and XFC preliminary design reviews; development of engineering models, and initial system integration testing. This paper will present the high power AEPS capabilities, overall program and design status and the latest test results for the 13.3kW flight system development and qualification program.

Jackson, Jerry↗

NASA NTRS2017

NASAs GeneLab Phase II: Federated Search and Data Discovery

GeneLab is currently being developed by NASA to accelerate open science biomedical research in support of the human exploration of space and the improvement of life on earth. Phase I of the four-phase GeneLab Data Systems (GLDS) project emphasized capabilities for submission, curation, search, and retrieval of genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics (omics) data from biomedical research of space environments. The focus of development of the GLDS for Phase II has been federated data search for and retrieval of these kinds of data across other open-access systems, so that users are able to conduct biological meta-investigations using data from a variety of sources. Such meta-investigations are key to corroborating findings from many kinds of assays and translating them into systems biology knowledge and, eventually, therapeutics.

genome↗

NASA NTRS2018

Preliminary Analysis of the Gradient Field Imploding Liner Fusion Propulsion Concept

The advancement of human deep space exploration requires the continued development of energetic in-space propulsion systems, advancing from current chemical engines to nuclear thermal rockets to future high energy concepts such as nuclear fusion. This paper presents the initial results of a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase I study funded to investigate the feasibility of a new pulsed fusion propulsion concept based on the rapid implosion of a fuel target injected at high velocity into a strong stationary magnetic field. The proposed concept takes advantage of the significant advances in terrestrial magneto-inertial fusion designs while attempting to mitigate the most common engineering impediments to in-space propulsion applications. A semi-analytic numerical model used to estimate target compression physics and energy release is presented, leading to estimates for engine performance. A preliminary vehicle design concept is outlined, and representative trajectory analyses for rapid Mars and Saturn missions are provided. The paper concludes with an overview of proposed next steps for theoretical and experimental validation of the concept.

Propulsion↗

NASA NTRS2018

Advanced Communications Technologies in Support of NASA Mission

NASA is currently working in expanding communications capabilities to enhance and enable robotic as well as human exploration of space and to advance aero communications on Earth. This presentation will discuss some of the research and technology developments being performed at the NASA Glenn Research Center in aerospace communications in support of NASA's mission. An overview of the work conducted in-house and in collaboration with other NASA Centers, Industry, Academia and Other Government Agencies (OGA) to advance radiofrequency (RF) and optical communication technologies in the areas of antennas, power amplifiers, receivers, and cognitive communications systems, among others will be presented. The roles of these and other RF and optical communication technologies in enabling NASA next generation aerospace communications architecture will be also discussed.

space communications; RF communications; optical c↗

NASA NTRS2018

Gradient Field Imploding Liner Fusion Propulsion System: NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Phase I Final Report

The advancement of human deep space exploration requires the continued development of energetic in-space propulsion systems, from current chemical engines to nuclear thermal rockets to future high energy concepts such as nuclear fusion. As NASA embarks on a program to develop near-term nuclear thermal propulsion, this NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase I activity was funded to investigate the feasibility of an innovative approach toward highly energetic pulsed fusion propulsion. Previous concept studies have proposed the conversion of fusion energy for in-space propulsion, ranging from laser-ignited fusion systems such as Gevaltig and VISTA, to the British Interplanetary Society's Daedalus concept and its more recent incarnation under Project Icarus, to steady-state spherical torus fusion systems. Recent NIAC studies have also evaluated several innovative fusion concepts, including the acceleration and compression of field reversed configuration plasmas in time-changing magnetic fields, magnetically driven liners imploding onto plasma targets, and high current z-pinch compression of material liners onto fission-fusion fuel targets. While each of these studies firmly established the potential benefits of fusion systems for interplanetary travel, they also identified significant challenges in successfully engineering such systems for spacecraft propulsion. The concept outlined in this Technical Publication (TP) builds on the lessons learned from these prior activities, approaching the quest for fusion-powered propulsion through an innovative variation of magneto-inertial fusion concepts developed for terrestrial power applications.

Lapointe, M. R.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Radiation and the Immune System

Radiation has profound effects on the immune system. This makes it particularly important to study in order to protect astronauts venturing into deep space and cancer patients considering radiotherapy treatments. Beyond the Earth's magentic field lies galactic cosmic radiation, which contains heavy ion based rays. Immune alterations in response to radiation depends on factors such as the type and amount of radiation, and potentially even the genes of the individual being exposed. In order to study the effects of cosmic radiation on the immune system, we are exposing primary human immune cells to various types and amounts of radiation. To measure sensitivity to radiation, we are quantifying the DNA damage within the cells before irradiation, 4 hours after irradiation, and 24 hours after irradiation. DNA damage is visualized by fluorescently staining for known DNA repair proteins, which get recruited to the site of damage within a cell. These results will be analyzed to search for correlations between immune cell responses and the type of radiation, amount of radiation, or any genetic markers present in the human blood donors. We will also be attempting to determine which specific immune cells are most suspectible to radiation damage. These correlations and discoveries will contribute to making long duration human deep space exploration a possibility, and can even be used to design more personalized and effective radiation treatments for cancer patients.

Malkani, Sherina S.↗

NASA NTRS2018

NASA's GeneLab: An Integrated Omics Data Commons and Workbench

GeneLab (http://genelab.nasa.gov) is a NASA initiative designed to accelerate “open science” biomedical research in support of the human exploration of space and the improvement of life on earth. The GeneLab Data Systems (GLDS) were developed to help investigators corroborate findings from “omics” (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) assays and translate them into systems biology knowledge and, eventually, therapeutics, including countermeasures to support life in space. Phase I of the project (completed) emphasized developing key capabilities for submission, curation, storage, search, and retrieval of omics data from biomedical research in and of space environments. The development focus for Phase II (completed) was federated data search and retrieval of these kinds of data from other open-access repositories. The last phase of the project (in work) entails developing an omics analysis tool set, and a portal to visualize processed omics data, emphasizing integration with the data repository and search functions developed during the prior phases. The final product will be an open-access system where users can individually or collaboratively publish, search, integrate, analyze, and visualize omics data.

genome↗