SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Life Extension”

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 NTRS2012

Software Programs Derive Measurements from Photographs

Even under the most unfortunate circumstances, NASA continues on a path of innovation. After the Space Shuttle Columbia reentered the atmosphere on February 1, 2003, it experienced a catastrophic failure, and the entire crew and vehicle were lost. For the two weeks prior to the accident, Columbia STS-107 was on a mission to perform physical, life, and space sciences research in the unique environment of microgravity. Following the accident, the remaining shuttles - Endeavor, Atlantis, and Discovery - were grounded, and an intense investigation ensued. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board spent nearly 7 months examining the cause of the accident and determining what would ensure a safe return to flight. To this end, investigators performed an extensive review down five analytic paths: aerodynamic, thermodynamic, sensor data timeline, debris reconstruction, and imaging. As part of the evaluation of all the available imagery from Columbia's ascent, orbit, and entry, investigators needed a new method for analyzing still video images to determine the size of the material that fell from Columbia, as well as the distance that the material traveled. John Lane, a scientist at Kennedy Space Center, devised a software program to calculate the unknown dimension of the material in the images, and soon after the investigation was complete, continued to enhance the technology. Eventually, the program that assisted in the Columbia investigation became available for licensing.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2025

Innovative Drug Selection, Storage, and Shelf-Life Strategies for Exploration Spaceflight

Medications have been a part of space travel dating back to the Apollo missions. A safe and effective medication formulary is essential to maintaining crew health and performance during long-duration spaceflight outside of low Earth orbit (LEO). Distance from Earth creates four key operational changes that increase medical risks, including communication, resupply, crewmember health, and evacuation. The current spaceflight pharmaceutical formulary consists of medications indicated to treat a variety of anticipated medical events and healthcare needs during spaceflight, but depends on a robust consumables resupply chain, which may be strained for a Lunar, and possibly non-existent for a Mars mission. The specific medications selections for the formulary may change to optimally align with the mission, crew compliment, and spacecraft design. Medical support at long-duration exploration missions will differ from LEO missions due to mission duration, lack of consumables resupply, prolonged exposure to space radiation, and the absence of emergency medical return capability. Loss of medication resupply limits or removes the ability to replace medications that have been exhausted or degraded, potentially exacerbating the medical risk posture. To address these anticipated risks, long-duration missions must consider use of novel medical technologies, treatment modalities, and smart medical systems that offer greater crew autonomy, such as physiologically based pharmacokinetic modeling, drug repurposing, on demand drug synthesis, or wearable drug delivery / monitoring devices. Once an ideal formulary for exploration space is determined, it is essential to establish the chemical and physical stability of each medication compound, as well as its safety by identifying its degradation profiles and products. Although few studies have been conducted to provide evidence on the physicochemical stability of pharmaceuticals during space missions, the data suggests that the spaceflight environment may promote degradation in some pharmaceuticals. Formulary drug purity and efficacy should be verified by pharmaceutical stability assessments, and can be realized non-destructively, and accessed in remote environments. Non-destructive pharmaceutical analysis and statistical modelling techniques could optimize exploration spaceflight medical care by enabling early detection of suboptimal therapeutics. Likewise, novel packaging, storage strategies, and dosage form innovations are promising countermeasures to optimize pharmaceutical shelf life, purity, and quality of exploration spaceflight medications. As we prepare for more distant exploration missions, risk management planning for astronaut healthcare should include the assembly of a medication formulary that is comprehensive enough to prevent or treat anticipated medical events, remains safe and chemically stable, and retains sufficient potency to last for the duration of the mission. Following extensive review of the literature, we will present innovative formulary optimization strategies, pharmaceutical stability assessment techniques, and storage and packaging solutions that could enhance drug safety and efficacy for future exploration spaceflight missions.

Vernie R Daniels↗

NASA NTRS2010

Human Factors, Habitability and Environmental Health and the Human Integration Design Handbook

For decades, Space Life Sciences and NASA as an Agency have considered NASA-STD-3000, Man-Systems Integration Standards, a significant contribution to human spaceflight programs and to human-systems integration in general. The document has been referenced in numerous design standards both within NASA and by organizations throughout the world. With research program and project results being realized, advances in technology and new information in a variety of topic areas now available, the time arrived to update this extensive suite of requirements and design information. During the past several years, a multi-NASA center effort has been underway to write the update to NASA-STD-3000 with standards and design guidance that would be applicable to all future human spaceflight programs. NASA-STD-3001 - Volumes 1 and 2 - and the Human Integration Design Handbook (HIDH) were created. Volume 1, Crew Health, establishes NASA s spaceflight crew health standards for the pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight phases of human spaceflight. Volume 2, Human Factors, Habitability and Environmental Health, focuses on the requirements of human-system integration and how the human crew interacts with other systems, and how the human and the system function together to accomplish the tasks for mission success. The HIDH is a compendium of human spaceflight history and knowledge, and provides useful background information and research findings. And as the HIDH is a stand-alone companion to the Standards, the maintenance of the document has been streamlined. This unique and flexible approach ensures that the content is current and addresses the fundamental advances of human performance and human capabilities and constraints research. Current work focuses on the development of new sections of Volume 2 and collecting updates to the HIDH. The new sections in development expand the scope of the standard and address mission operations and support operations. This effort is again collaboration with representatives from the Johnson Space Center Missions Operations and Space Life Sciences Directorates and the Engineering Directorate from Kennedy Space Center as well as discipline experts from across the Agency.

Houbec, Keith↗

DOE OSTI2023

Roadmap on energy harvesting materials

Ambient energy harvesting has great potential to contribute to sustainable development and address growing environmental challenges. Converting waste energy from energy-intensive processes and systems (e.g. combustion engines and furnaces) is crucial to reducing their environmental impact and achieving net-zero emissions. Compact energy harvesters will also be key to powering the exponentially growing smart devices ecosystem that is part of the Internet of Things, thus enabling futuristic applications that can improve our quality of life (e.g. smart homes, smart cities, smart manufacturing, and smart healthcare). To achieve these goals, innovative materials are needed to efficiently convert ambient energy into electricity through various physical mechanisms, such as the photovoltaic effect, thermoelectricity, piezoelectricity, triboelectricity, and radiofrequency wireless power transfer. By bringing together the perspectives of experts in various types of energy harvesting materials, this Roadmap provides extensive insights into recent advances and present challenges in the field. Additionally, the Roadmap analyses the key performance metrics of these technologies in relation to their ultimate energy conversion limits. Building on these insights, the Roadmap outlines promising directions for future research to fully harness the potential of energy harvesting materials for green energy anytime, anywhere.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2022

Enabling Sustainable Landscape Design for Continual Improvement of Operating Bioenergy Supply Systems

This unique and highly effective project catalyzed collaboration among government, university, and private sector partners through a multi-state research and technology transfer project designed to support continuous improvement of bioenergy feedstock supply systems. Conceived and built upon the foundation created by prior DOE investments in the Billion Ton Study, Sun Grant Regional Project, and many other feedstock production, harvest, storage and transportation studies, this project addressed seven tasks with more than 29 subtasks. All goals were met with key accomplishments being: (1) on-farm establishment of potential perennial plant mixtures that could not only become sustainable feedstock sources but also enhance soil health, (2) a reduction in potential wind and water erosion by improving corn stover harvest techniques and incorporating cover crops into current row-crop production systems, (3) reduced potential for surface and groundwater contamination while also increasing potential biodiversity and sustainability of Midwestern USA landscapes, and (4) development of site-specific land management, data visualization, and sustainability assessment tools. Twenty-two Case Studies highlighting accomplishments and lessons learned through this public-private partnership investment are incorporated into this final report. On-farm and replicated field plot studies were used to provide the real-world data needed to verify baseline assumptions for extensive feedstock logistic modeling and greenhouse gas (GHG) assessments needed to develop sustainable bioenergy and bio-product industries at national and international scales.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

NASA NTRS1992

Building an intellectual infrastructure for space commerce

Competition in commerce requires an 'intellectual infrastructure', that is, a work force with extensive scientific and technical knowledge and a thorough understanding of the business world. This paper focuses on the development of such intellectual infrastructure for space commerce. Special consideration is given to the contributions to this development by the 17 Centers for the Commercial Development of Space Program conducting commercially oriented research in eight specialized areas: automation and robotics, remote sensing, life sciences, materials processing in space, space power, space propulsion, space structures and materials, and advanced satellite communications. Attention is also given to the Space Business Development Center concept aimed at addressing a variety of barriers common to the development of space commerce.

Stone, Barbara A.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Measuring the Resilience of Advanced Life Support Systems

Despite the central importance of crew safety in designing and operating a life support system, the metric commonly used to evaluate alternative Advanced Life Support (ALS) technologies does not currently provide explicit techniques for measuring safety. The resilience of a system, or the system s ability to meet performance requirements and recover from component-level faults, is fundamentally a dynamic property. This paper motivates the use of computer models as a tool to understand and improve system resilience throughout the design process. Extensive simulation of a hybrid computational model of a water revitalization subsystem (WRS) with probabilistic, component-level faults provides data about off-nominal behavior of the system. The data can then be used to test alternative measures of resilience as predictors of the system s ability to recover from component-level faults. A novel approach to measuring system resilience using a Markov chain model of performance data is also developed. Results emphasize that resilience depends on the complex interaction of faults, controls, and system dynamics, rather than on simple fault probabilities.

Bell, Ann Maria↗

NASA NTRS2015

V-SUIT Model Validation Using PLSS 1.0 Test Results

The dynamic portable life support system (PLSS) simulation software Virtual Space Suit (V-SUIT) has been under development at the Technische Universitat Munchen since 2011 as a spin-off from the Virtual Habitat (V-HAB) project. The MATLAB(trademark)-based V-SUIT simulates space suit portable life support systems and their interaction with a detailed and also dynamic human model, as well as the dynamic external environment of a space suit moving on a planetary surface. To demonstrate the feasibility of a large, system level simulation like V-SUIT, a model of NASA's PLSS 1.0 prototype was created. This prototype was run through an extensive series of tests in 2011. Since the test setup was heavily instrumented, it produced a wealth of data making it ideal for model validation. The implemented model includes all components of the PLSS in both the ventilation and thermal loops. The major components are modeled in greater detail, while smaller and ancillary components are low fidelity black box models. The major components include the Rapid Cycle Amine (RCA) CO2 removal system, the Primary and Secondary Oxygen Assembly (POS/SOA), the Pressure Garment System Volume Simulator (PGSVS), the Human Metabolic Simulator (HMS), the heat exchanger between the ventilation and thermal loops, the Space Suit Water Membrane Evaporator (SWME) and finally the Liquid Cooling Garment Simulator (LCGS). Using the created model, dynamic simulations were performed using same test points also used during PLSS 1.0 testing. The results of the simulation were then compared to the test data with special focus on absolute values during the steady state phases and dynamic behavior during the transition between test points. Quantified simulation results are presented that demonstrate which areas of the V-SUIT model are in need of further refinement and those that are sufficiently close to the test results. Finally, lessons learned from the modelling and validation process are given in combination with implications for the future development of other PLSS models in V-SUIT.

Olthoff, Claas↗

NASA NTRS2001

Deformation and Life Analysis of Composite Flywheel Disk and Multi-disk Systems

In this study an attempt is made to put into perspective the problem of a rotating disk, be it a single disk or a number of concentric disks forming a unit. An analytical model capable of performing an elastic stress analysis for single/multiple, annular/solid, anisotropic/isotropic disk systems, subjected to both pressure surface tractions, body forces (in the form of temperature-changes and rotation fields) and interfacial misfits is derived and discussed. Results of an extensive parametric study are presented to clearly define the key design variables and their associated influence. In general the important parameters were identified as misfit, mean radius, thickness, material property and/or load gradation, and speed; all of which must be simultaneously optimized to achieve the "best" and most reliable design. Also, the important issue of defining proper performance/merit indices (based on the specific stored energy), in the presence of multiaxiality and material anisotropy is addressed. These merit indices are then utilized to discuss the difference between flywheels made from PMC and TMC materials with either an annular or solid geometry. Finally two major aspects of failure analysis, that is the static and cyclic limit (burst) speeds are addressed. In the case of static limit loads, upper, lower, and out-of-plane bounds for disks with constant thickness are presented for both the case of internal pressure loading (as one would see in a hydroburst test) and pure rotation (as in the case of a free spinning disk). The results (interaction diagrams) are displayed graphically in designer friendly format. For the case of fatigue, a representative fatigue/life master curve is illustrated in which the normalized limit speed versus number of applied cycles is given for a cladded TMC disk application.

Arnold, S. M.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Operations planning simulation model extension study. Volume 1: Long duration exposure facility ST-01-A automated payload

Ground processing and operation activities for selected automated and sortie payloads are evaluated. Functional flow activities are expanded to identify payload launch site facility and support requirements. Payload definitions are analyzed from the launch site ground processing viewpoint and then processed through the expanded functional flow activities. The requirements generated from the evaluation are compared with those contained in the data sheets. The following payloads were included in the evaluation: Long Duration Exposure Facility; Life Sciences Shuttle Laboratory; Biomedical Experiments Scientific Satellite; Dedicated Solar Sortie Mission; Magnetic Spectrometer; and Mariner Jupiter Orbiter. The expanded functional flow activities and descriptions for the automated and sortie payloads at the launch site are presented.

Marks, D. A.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Low drag attitude control for Skylab orbital lifetime extension

In the fall of 1977 it was determined that Skylab had started to tumble and that the original orbit lifetime predictions were much too optimistic. A decision had to be made whether to accept an early uncontrolled reentry with its inherent risks or try to attempt to control Skylab to a lower drag attitude in the hope that there was enough time to develop a Teleoperator Retrieval System, bring it up on the Space Shuttle and then decide whether to boost Skylab to a higher longer life orbit or to reenter it in a controlled fashion. The end-on-velocity (EOVV) control method is documented, which was successfully applied for about half a year to keep Skylab in a low drag attitude with the aid of the control moment gyros and a minimal expenditure of attitude control gas.

Glaese, J. R.↗

DOE OSTI2025

A dynamic protein interactome drives energy conservation and electron flux in Thermococcus kodakarensis

ABSTRACT Life is supported by energy gains fueled by catabolism of a wide range of substrates, each reliant on the selective partitioning of electrons through redox ( red uction and ox idation) reactions. Electron flux through tunable and regulated protein interactions provides dynamic routes for energy conservation, but how electron flux is regulated in vivo , particularly for archaeal metabolisms that support rapid growth at the thermodynamic limits of life, is poorly understood. Identification of bona fide in vivo protein assemblies and how such assemblies dictate the totality of electron flux is critical to our understanding of the regulation imposed on metabolism, energy production, and energy conservation. Here, 25 key proteins in central metabolic redox pathways in the model, genetically accessible, hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus kodakarensis , were purified to reveal an extensive, dynamic, and tightly interconnected network of protein interactions that responds to environmental cues (such as the availability of various reductive sinks) to direct electron flux to maximize energetic gains. Interactions connecting disparate functions suggest many catabolic and anabolic activities occur in spatial proximity in vivo , and while protein complexes have been historically defined under optimal conditions, many of these complexes appear to maintain alternative partnerships in changing conditions. The totality of the results obtained redefines our understanding of in vivo assemblies driving ancient metabolic strategies supporting the growth of modern Archaea. IMPORTANCE Given the potential for rational genetic manipulations of biofuel- and biotech-promising archaea to yield transformative results for major markets, it is a priority to define how the metabolisms of such species are controlled, at least in part, by in vivo protein assemblies, and from such, define routes of energy flux that can be most efficiently altered toward biofuel or biotechnological gains. Proteinaceous electron carriers (PECs, such as ferredoxins) offer the potential for specific protein–protein interactions to coordinate selective reductive flow. Employing the model, genetically accessible, hyperthermophilic archaeon, Thermococcus kodakarensis , we establish the metabolic protein interactome of 25 key redox proteins, revealing that each redox active protein has a dynamic partnership profile, suggesting catabolic and anabolic activities may occur in concert and in temporal and spatial proximity in vivo . These results reveal critical importance in evaluating the newly identified partnerships and their role and utility in providing regulated redox flux in T. kodakarensis .

Williams, Sere A. (ORCID:0000000235509590)↗

NASA NTRS2006

Processing of Space Resources to Enable the Vision for Space Exploration

The NASA human exploration program as directed by the Vision for Exploration (G.W. Bush, Jan. 14,2004) includes developing methods to process materials on the Moon and beyond to enable safe and affordable human exploration. Processing space resources was first popularized (O Neill 1976) as a technically viable, economically feasible means to build city sized habitats and multi GWatt solar power satellites in Earth/Moon space. Although NASA studies found the concepts to be technically reasonable in the post Apollo era (AMES 1979), the front end costs the limits of national or corporate investment. In the last decade analysis of space on has shown it to be economically justifiable even on a relatively small mission or commercial scenario basis. The Mars Reference Mission analysis (JSC 1997) demonstrated that production of return propellant on Mars can enable an order of magnitude decrease in the costs of human Mars missions. Analysis (by M. Duke 2003) shows that production of propellant on the Moon for the Earth based satellite industries can be commercially viable after a human lunar base is established. Similar economic analysis (Rapp 2005) also shows large cost benefits for lunar propellant production for Mars missions and for the use of lunar materials for the production of photovoltaic power (Freundlich 2005). Recent technologies could enable much smaller initial costs, to achieve mass, energy, and life support self sufficiency, than were achievable in the 1970s. If the Exploration Vision program is executed with a front end emphasis on space resources, it could provide a path for human self reliance beyond Earth orbit. This path can lead to an open, non-zero-sum, future for humanity with safer human competition with limitless growth potential. This paper discusses extension of the analysis for space resource utilization, to determine the minimum systems necessary for human self sufficiency and growth off Earth. Such a approach can provide a more compelling and comprehensive path to space resource utilization.

Curreri, Peter A.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Adaptive Algebraic Derivative Estimation for Battery Electric Buses Energy Consumption Forecasting

The limited service life of onboard batteries for EVs is a challenge, underscoring the need for real-time battery usage prediction. This paper proposes an adaptive Algebraic Derivative Estimation (ADE) approach for forecasting the energy consumption of battery electric buses. By dynamically adjusting the sliding window length, the adaptive ADE retains the fixed-length ADE’s key advantage—namely, operating online without reliance on extensive historical datasets—while substantially bolstering forecast accuracy by actively trading estimation bias off estimation variance. Comparative experiments against both the conventional ADE with a fixed length and a representative machine learning algorithm, XGBoost, were conducted, with performance evaluated via root mean square error, mean absolute error, and the coefficient of determination. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach significantly outperforms baseline methods.

Cui, Tianyang [The University of Texas at Dallas]↗

DOE OSTI2021

Probing the electrolyte/electrode interface with vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy: A review

Over the past decades, Lithium-ion batteries have seen extensive improvements, and as a result are now the primary choice in many applications for their power, energy, and durability. In recent years, battery cost has reduced by orders of magnitude through adoption of new materials and processes. Despite these advances, interfaces in these battery systems are yet to be fully understood. This is seen as a major limitation to further increase cycle life, calendar life, abuse tolerance, and performances. A major obstacle is a lack of comprehensive understanding of the complex dynamic chemical processes occurring at the electrolyte/electrode interface. In this context, vibrational sum frequency generation (vSFG) spectroscopy possesses the unique capability of probing a molecularly thin interfacial layer to obtain molecular-level information through nonlinear optical interaction. Probing the molecular level processes at the interfaces using such a versatile technique would be a game changer in the advancement of current battery research knowledge. This review article summarizes recent vSFG studies on the electrolyte/electrode interface of various electrode materials and nonaqueous electrolytes for LIBs and discusses future research perspectives. Finally, overall, this focused review highlights the advantages and versatility of vSFG that can be used to further advance present-day battery research.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

NASA NTRS1974

Resin/graphite fiber composites

Techniques were developed that provided thermo-oxidatively stable A-type polyimide/graphite fiber composites using the approach of in situ polymerization of monomeric reactants directly on reinforcing fibers, rather than employing separately prepared prepolymer varnish. This was accomplished by simply mixing methylene dianiline and two ester-acids and applying this solution to the fibers for subsequent molding. Five different formulated molecular weight resins were examined, and an optimized die molding procedure established for the 1500 formulated molecular weight system. Extensive ultrasonic inspection of composites was successfully utilized as a technique for monitoring laminate quality. Composite mechanical property studies were conducted with this polyimide resin at room temperature and after various time exposures in a thermo-oxidative environment at 561 K (550 F), 589 K (600 F) and 617 K (650 F). It was determined that such composites have a long term life in the temperature range of 561 K to 589 K. The final phase involved the fabrication and evaluation of a series of demonstration airfoil specimens.

Cavano, P. J.↗

NASA NTRS2005

The Role of Structural Dynamics and Testing in the Shuttle Flowliner Crack Investigation

During a normal inspection of the main propulsion system at Kennedy Space Center, small cracks were noticed near a slotted region of a gimbal joint flowliner located just upstream from one of the Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME). These small cracks sparked an investigation of the entire Space Shuttle fleet main propulsion feedlines. The investigation was initiated to determine the cause of the small cracks and a repair method that would be needed to return the Shuttle fleet back to operation safely. The cracks were found to be initiated by structural resonance caused by flow fluctuations from the SSME low pressure fuel turbopump interacting with the flowliner. The pump induced backward traveling wakes that excited the liner and duct acoustics which also caused the liner to vibrate in complex mode shapes. The investigation involved an extensive effort by a team of engineers from the NASA civil servant and contractor workforce with the goal to characterize the root cause of the cracking behavior of the fuel side gimbal joint flowliners. In addition to working to identify the root cause, a parallel path was taken to characterize the material properties and fatigue capabilities of the liner material such that the life of the liners could be ascertained. As the characterization of the material and the most probable cause matured, the combination of the two with pump speed restrictions provided a means to return the Shuttle to flight in a safe manner. This paper traces the flowliner investigation results with respect to the structural dynamics analysis, component level testing and hot-fire flow testing on a static testbed. The paper will address the unique aspects of a very complex problem involving backflow from a high performance pump that has never been characterized nor understood to such detail. In addition, the paper will briefly address the flow phenomena that excited the liners, the unique structural dynamic modal characteristics and the variability of SSME operation which has ultimately ensured the safe and reliable operation of the shuttle main engines for each flight.

Frady, Gregory P.↗

NASA NTRS2009

Spacelab Science Results Study

Beginning with OSTA-1 in November 1981 and ending with Neurolab in March 1998, a total of 36 Shuttle missions carried various Spacelab components such as the Spacelab module, pallet, instrument pointing system, or mission peculiar experiment support structure. The experiments carried out during these flights included astrophysics, solar physics, plasma physics, atmospheric science, Earth observations, and a wide range of microgravity experiments in life sciences, biotechnology, materials science, and fluid physics which includes combustion and critical point phenomena. In all, some 764 experiments were conducted by investigators from the U.S., Europe, and Japan. The purpose of this Spacelab Science Results Study is to document the contributions made in each of the major research areas by giving a brief synopsis of the more significant experiments and an extensive list of the publications that were produced. We have also endeavored to show how these results impacted the existing body of knowledge, where they have spawned new fields, and if appropriate, where the knowledge they produced has been applied.

Naumann, R. J.↗