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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2020

Evaluation of Performance, Fatigue and Workload during Real-time, Reactive Telerobotic Mission Control Operations

Telerobotic operations involve a user operating a robot from a different location from where the activity is taking place. It can be difficult for humans to maintain performance when faced with physiological stressors, such as fatigue or illness. Operations require vigilance for extended periods, raising safety concerns surrounding operator’s fatigue and workload. Every hour of wakefulness increases the drive to sleep, causing decreased reaction time (RT), increased lapses in attention (RT > 500 ms), and decreased memory capability. The NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) was created to evaluate the multiple attributes surrounding workload (e.g., mental and physical demands). The upcoming Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission involves remotely controlling a lunar vehicle from an Earth-based mission control station. The goal of VIPER is to excavate the moon for volatiles (water) deep in the surface near the South Pole for a 100-day, continuous operation.

Fatigue↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA GeneLab: The NASA Systems Biology Platform for Spaceomics Repository, Analysis and Visualization

At NASA Ames Research Center, the GeneLab Open Science Project is on a mission to gather all large -omics datasets relevant to space biology research. These datasets come from various organisms flown in multiple space habitats such as the International Space Station or the Space Shuttle, in addition to mimicking space-like conditions on ground. Researchers and citizen scientists all around the world have used the data and the analytical tools put together by the GeneLab team to start deciphering new biological impact of microgravity, space ionizing radiation and other space stressors.

GeneLab↗
NASA NTRS1990

Development of microcomputer-based mental acuity tests for repeated-measures studies

The purpose of this report is to detail the development of the Automated Performance Test System (APTS), a computer battery of mental acuity tests that can be used to assess human performance in the presence of toxic elements and environmental stressors. There were four objectives in the development of APTS. First, the technical requirements for developing APTS followed the tenets of the classical theory of mental tests which requires that tests meet set criteria like stability and reliability (the lack of which constitutes insensitivity). To be employed in the study of the exotic conditions of protracted space flight, a battery with multiple parallel forms is required. The second criteria was for the battery to have factorial multidimensionality and the third was for the battery to be sensitive to factors known to compromise performance. A fourth objective was for the tests to converge on the abilities entailed in mission specialist tasks. A series of studies is reported in which candidate APTS tests were subjected to an examination of their psychometric properties for repeated-measures testing. From this work, tests were selected that possessed the requisite metric properties of stability, reliability, and factor richness. In addition, studies are reported which demonstrate the predictive validity of the tests to holistic measures of intelligence.

Kennedy, R. S.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Supporting Crew Medical Decisions on Deep Space Missions: A Real-Time Performance Monitoring

Crewed missions into deep space will require astronauts to respond autonomously to safety- and time-critical anomalies. These and other potential issues will require the continuous monitoring and recognition of potentially subtle, but complex, anomalous data patterns. NASA continues to investigate real-time metrics for Extravehicular Operations1 and for providing feedback to improve performance2. Since it is unknown how long-term exposure to deep space will affect crew health, continuous monitoring of clinical and subclinical status is warranted. NASA is characterizing crew medical decision-support needs and identifying the recommended requirements of a Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) within the Exploration Medical Capability Element (ExMC) of the Human Research Program3. Early detection, and continuous monitoring, of performance may provide an effective prognostic capability for assessing crew health state, and the identified requirements could be provided for an in-vehicle CDSS that acts as an assistant for delivering optimal health and performance and medical care during exploration missions. There is evidence to suggest that automatic, unobtrusive collection of keystroke features, such as alphanumeric key latencies, backspaces or typing rhythm, could be a valuable performance screening tool. Keystroke features show significant differences between control subjects and patients with overt clinical illness, such as multiple sclerosis4 and Parkinson’s disease5, as well as behavioral health and performance issues, such as mild cognitive impairment6 and depression7. This work is exploring a capability for the assessment of early task performance decline in crew as they perform daily activities. Timestamped keyboard entries are continuously collected and stored. Nominal keystroke interactions are compared to those obtained after exposure to spaceflight stressors, e.g., fatigue, to determine the methods sensitivity. This work will pave the way toward an objective detection tool that may be deployed in a spaceflight setting.

clinical↗
DOE OSTI2023

A multiscale landscape approach for prioritizing river and stream protection and restoration actions

River and stream conservation programs have historically focused on a single spatial scale, for example, a watershed or stream site. Recently, the use of landscape information (e.g., land use and land cover) at multiple spatial scales and over large spatial extents has highlighted the importance of incorporating a landscape perspective into stream protection and restoration activities. Previously, we developed a novel framework that links information about watershed-, catchment-, and reach-scale integrity with stream biological condition using scatterplots and a landscape integrity map. Here we examined an application of this approach for streams in urban and other settings in King County, Washington State, United States, where we related stream macroinvertebrate condition to two indices of landscape integrity, the US Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) nationally available Index of Watershed Integrity (IWI) and Index of Catchment Integrity (ICI). We generated a scatterplot of IWI versus ICI for sample sites, where points represented site macroinvertebrate condition from poor to good. The same data were also visualized as a landscape integrity map that displayed catchments of King County according to the level of watershed and catchment integrity (high or low IWI/ICI). Almost three-quarters of poor-condition sites were associated with high-integrity watersheds and catchments (i.e., underperforming sites), which suggested that either one or both national indicators were insufficient for this area, and that sites underperformed because of local-scale factors. In response, we used a catchment-scale indicator related to forest condition (PctForestCat) after examining several GIS-based dispersal indicators from the National Hydrography Dataset and other candidates from the USEPA's StreamCat dataset. We then compared the results of the scatterplots and maps based on the current and original analyses and found that many of the sites previously classified as underperforming now performed as expected, that is, they were poor-condition sites in poor-condition catchments. This analysis demonstrates how results based on a national dataset can be improved by developing an alternative that represents regionally important stressors. The methods used to develop an effective landscape indicator based on StreamCat datasets, and the utility of the multiscale approach, could provide important tools for prioritizing, optimizing, and communicating stream conservation actions.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2014

Protecting Neural Structures and Cognitive Function During Prolonged Space Flight by Targeting the Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor Molecular Network

Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is the main activity-dependent neurotrophin in the human nervous system. BDNF is implicated in production of new neurons from dentate gyrus stem cells (hippocampal neurogenesis), synapse formation, sprouting of new axons, growth of new axons, sprouting of new dendrites, and neuron survival. Alterations in the amount or activity of BDNF can produce significant detrimental changes to cortical function and synaptic transmission in the human brain. This can result in glial and neuronal dysfunction, which may contribute to a range of clinical conditions, spanning a number of learning, behavioral, and neurological disorders. There is an extensive body of work surrounding the BDNF molecular network, including BDNF gene polymorphisms, methylated BDNF gene promoters, multiple gene transcripts, varied BDNF functional proteins, and different BDNF receptors (whose activation differentially drive the neuron to neurogenesis or apoptosis). BDNF is also closely linked to mitochondrial biogenesis through PGC-1alpha, which can influence brain and muscle metabolic efficiency. BDNF AS A HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT COUNTERMEASURE TARGET Earth-based studies reveal that BDNF is negatively impacted by many of the conditions encountered in the space environment, including oxidative stress, radiation, psychological stressors, sleep deprivation, and many others. A growing body of work suggests that the BDNF network is responsive to a range of diet, nutrition, exercise, drug, and other types of influences. This section explores the BDNF network in the context of 1) protecting the brain and nervous system in the space environment, 2) optimizing neurobehavioral performance in space, and 3) reducing the residual effects of space flight on the nervous system on return to Earth

Schmidt, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Circulating miRNA Signature Predicts Health Risks Associated with Radiation and Microgravity

The many known health risks currently associated with space travel include increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, central nervous system related diseases, muscle degeneration, and changes with host-gut microbiome interactions that can have profound impact with these and other health risks. The majority of the risk from space travel stem of the two components of the space environment which are microgravity and radiation. From our earlier work (Beheshti et al, PLOS One, 2018), we predicted that there is a systemic component of the host that causes general increased health risks due to spaceflight driven by a circulating microRNA (miRNA) signature consisting of 13 miRNAs that directly regulates both p53 and TGF1. MiRNAs are small non-coding RNA molecules with a negative and post-transcriptional regulation on gene expression) are increasingly recognized as major systemic regulators of responses to stressors, including microgravity, oxidative stress, and DNA damage. In addition, due to the size and stability of miRNAs, it is known that miRNAs can circulate throughout the body and have been found in the majority of the bodily fluids including blood, urine, saliva, and tears. Here, we start to dissect the actual impact of this miRNA signature on both the radiation and microgravity components and prove that this miRNA signature actually exists in the circulation of a host. To achieve this, we obtained multiple tissues including, serum, liver, and spleen and utilizing droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), we start to show how this circulating miRNA signature impacts which component of the spaceflight. The tissue was obtained from experiments performed on C57BL/6 male mice (N=10 for each condition) that were hindlimb unloaded (HU) to simulated microgravity, irradiated with 2Gy gamma (IR), HU plus IR, and control mice under normal conditions. It was shown that these miRNAs were present in the serum as predicted by the in silico prediction from our earlier predictions. The HU vs Controls show significant increases of the predicted miRNAs in the serum for more than half of the miRNA signature, with remaining miRNAs increasing comparing to the controls close to statistical significance. IR vs control mice showed increases for the miRNAs, but not has pronounced as the HU conditions. Finally, the combination of the HU+IR vs controls showed increases for the majority of the miRNA signature. The data indicates that the miRNA signature originally predicted through in silico methods is mainly associated with the microgravity component and is circulating throughout the host resulting in a systemic impact of the miRNAs on the host. These miRNAs are shown in the literature to potentially increase health risks associated with several diseases. In addition, we have begun testing the potential of utilizing antagonists to this miRNA signature to act as a potential countermeasure to mitigate radiation impact on the organism. This work demonstrates for the first time the potential of a minimally invasive novel biomarker and countermeasure that can be used to mitigate both radiation and microgravity effects.

Beheshti, Afshin↗
DOE OSTI2025

​​Hydrogen Transportation and Distributed Energy Systems Seismic Risk Assessment for Cascadia Subduction Zone Airport Facilities​

Portland International Airport in Oregon is exploring operating a fleet of 28 fuel cell electric buses to support airport operations and possibly provide backup power during outages. In this report, we evaluate the risk of hydrogen deployment at an airport considering the potential for seismic activity. We present a seismic risk assessment for pressurized piping for a generic hydrogen refueling station at the airport. Only pressurized piping was considered in the risk analysis because of its vulnerability and availability of fragility information unlike the other components. Seismic capacity of other components should be included as more information becomes available. To characterize the seismic hazard, we considered the initiating event frequency of a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake event based on data from the literature. Seismic stressors that translate to the site from an earthquake event are expressed as peak ground acceleration. Site disturbance is characterized as a function of soil conditions, represented by different shear wave velocity values, which affect how seismic waves propagate and impact structures. Pipe fragility curves as a function of seismic capacity were used to correlate ground acceleration and failure probability. These fragility characteristics were combined with site-specific soil conditions to calculate the probability of pipe rupture during a seismic event. It should be noted that multiple simultaneous failures due to an earthquake event as a common cause are not considered. Some epistemic uncertainties such as self-exciting shocks, aftershocks, and the time variant nature of the ground motion are not considered either.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2022

Evolution of zygomycete secretomes and the origins of terrestrial fungal ecologies

Fungi survive in diverse ecological niches by secreting proteins and other molecules into the environment to acquire food and interact with various biotic and abiotic stressors. Fungal secretome content is, therefore, believed to be tightly linked to fungal ecologies. We sampled 132 genomes from the early-diverging terrestrial fungal lineage zygomycetes (Mucoromycota and Zoopagomycota) and characterized their secretome composition. Our analyses revealed that phylogeny played an important role in shaping the secretome composition of zygomycete fungi with trophic mode contributing a smaller amount. Reconstruction of the evolution of secreted digestive enzymes revealed lineage-specific expansions, indicating that Mucoromycota and Zoopagomycota followed different trajectories early in their evolutionary history. We identified the presence of multiple pathogenicity-related proteins in the lineages known as saprotrophs, suggesting that either the ecologies of these fungi are incompletely known, and/or that these pathogenicity-related proteins have important functions associated with saprotrophic ecologies, both of which invite further investigation.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Crew Performance Support System to Aid in Anomaly Resolution: Concept of Operations

As missions progress into deep space, communication delays and disruptions will disenable the crew’s reliance on Earth experts. There are also limitations in the amount of data that can be downlinked to the ground. It is prudent to assume that critical, complex vehicle or habitat sub-systems will malfunction at a time when a lunar or Mars’ crew cannot rely on the Earth-Support team to detect, diagnose and resolve the problem and it is impractical to expect a small crew to step-in with the same level of expertise as 50+ authorities. The crew will need novel processes and advanced technological support to independently identify and resolve safety- and time-critical anomalies. That a self-reliant crew is unable to respond appropriately to time-critical anomalies is a significant risk to crew safety and mission success. This risk is driven by several factors; novel and unanticipated anomalies would not have been trained pre-flight, the crew could forget their pre-flight training or spaceflight stressors could impair the crew’s problem-solving ability. At last year’s IWS, Beard reported that a single spaceflight stressor (elevated CO2) could undermine the crew’s ability to independently respond to emergencies. Concept of Operations (ConOps) provide a common view of future system functions to all stakeholders. For the current project, a ConOps was developed that describes the operational processes, practices and capabilities needed by a crew of astronauts on deep space missions to autonomously respond to anticipated and unanticipated anomalies. It is crucial to recognize that, as of August 2018 existing technologies are unable to effectively support crew anomaly response to unanticipated events. “Intelligent technology” has not reached a maturity level that permits generalizing a solution to novel situations. For example, to train intelligent technology requires volumes of data that do not exist. The complexities involved in a manned mission to Mars cannot be compared to sending rovers to Mars using scripted software. This ConOps proposes a Crew Performance Support System (CPSS) that will push NASA and its industry partners toward what will be required for a safe and successful manned mission to Mars. Anomaly resolution during a deep space mission will take place within a dynamic, or changing, context. The figure to the left shows five broad contextual variables: the organizational culture, mission context, system characteristics, team characteristics and individual characteristics. The yellow arrow indicates that spaceflight and task-related stressors can affect system, team and individual crewmember characteristics and therefore anomaly response potential. The figure depicts a protective umbrella of Human-System Integration (HSI) principles that should be instituted during CPSS development including a balanced workload, shared situation awareness and building an appropriate level of trust in the automation. The figure also depicts two interrelated and cooperative components, an HSI Data System and other Enabling Capabilities will be required to support crew anomaly response and Earth-Support situation awareness. As we journey from ISS to Gateway to Mars, multiple, simultaneous and integrated research and development efforts (i.e., support systems co-evolution) must be implemented to meet the problem-solving challenges a self-reliant crew will face on a Mars’ mission. The crossovers between the capabilities are just as important as the discrete capabilities themselves. As the capabilities mature, the lines between the support subdomains will blur and an integrated system will emerge. The ConOps summarizes current knowledge about how highly trained people solve anomalies in safety- and time-critical situations, describes a group of capabilities that could help to reduce the extant risk and documents requirements levied on additional systems that provides critical inputs to the CPSS. Scenarios are used to promote a shared understanding of processes, practices and technological goals needed for safe and productive manned missions beyond LEO.

HSIA risk↗
DOE OSTI2022

Ecophysiological and genomic analyses of a representative isolate of highly abundant Bacillus cereus strains in contaminated subsurface sediments

Abstract Bacillus cereus strain CPT56D‐587‐MTF (CPTF) was isolated from the highly contaminated Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) subsurface. This site is contaminated with high levels of nitric acid and multiple heavy metals. Amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes (V4 region) in sediment from this area revealed an amplicon sequence variant (ASV) with 100% identity to the CPTF 16S rRNA sequence. Notably, this CPTF‐matching ASV had the highest relative abundance in this community survey, with a median relative abundance of 3.77% and comprised 20%–40% of reads in some samples. Pangenomic analysis revealed that strain CPTF has expanded genomic content compared to other B. cereus species—largely due to plasmid acquisition and expansion of transposable elements. This suggests that these features are important for rapid adaptation to native environmental stressors. We connected genotype to phenotype in the context of the unique geochemistry of the site. These analyses revealed that certain genes (e.g. nitrate reductase, heavy metal efflux pumps) that allow this strain to successfully occupy the geochemically heterogenous microniches of its native site are characteristic of the B. cereus species while others such as acid tolerance are mobile genetic element associated and are generally unique to strain CPTF.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2021

Advancing Space Life Science Research Using Drosophila Melanogaster

As we embark on exploring deep space, it is imperative to unravel the impacts of such unique and dynamic environments on biological systems. Multiple studies using D. melanogaster, a well-established spaceflight model, have paved the way towards our understanding of spaceflight-associated health risks. Further, Drosophila quantitative genomic experiments along with improved automated hardware systems will enable efficient and effective identification of the underlying genetic and molecular determinants capable of physiological adaptation to endure harsh space environments.

Quantitative genomics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Phylogeny, morphology, virulence, ecology, and host range of Ordospora pajunii (Ordosporidae), a microsporidian symbiont of Daphnia spp.

ABSTRACT The impacts of microsporidia on host individuals are frequently subtle and can be context dependent. A key example of the latter comes from a recently discovered microsporidian symbiont of Daphnia , the net impact of which was found to shift from negative to positive based on environmental context. Given this, we hypothesized low baseline virulence of the microsporidian; here, we investigated the impact of infection on hosts in controlled conditions and the absence of other stressors. We also investigated its phylogenetic position, ecology, and host range. The genetic data indicate that the symbiont is Ordospora pajunii , a newly described microsporidian parasite of Daphnia . We show that O. pajunii infection damages the gut, causing infected epithelial cells to lose microvilli and then rupture. The prevalence of this microsporidian could be high (up to 100% in the lab and 77% of adults in the field). Its overall virulence was low in most cases, but some genotypes suffered reduced survival and/or reproduction. Susceptibility and virulence were strongly host-genotype dependent. We found that North American O. pajunii were able to infect multiple Daphnia species, including the European species Daphnia longispina , as well as Ceriodaphnia spp. Given the low, often undetectable virulence of this microsporidian and potentially far-reaching consequences of infections for the host when interacting with other pathogens or food, this Daphnia–O. pajunii symbiosis emerges as a valuable system for studying the mechanisms of context-dependent shifts between mutualism and parasitism, as well as for understanding how symbionts might alter host interactions with resources. IMPORTANCE The net outcome of symbiosis depends on the costs and benefits to each partner. Those can be context dependent, driving the potential for an interaction to change between parasitism and mutualism. Understanding the baseline fitness impact in an interaction can help us understand those shifts; for an organism that is generally parasitic, it should be easier for it to become a mutualist if its baseline virulence is relatively low. Recently, a microsporidian was found to become beneficial to its Daphnia hosts in certain ecological contexts, but little was known about the symbiont (including its species identity). Here, we identify it as the microsporidium Ordospora pajunii . Despite the parasitic nature of microsporidia, we found O. pajunii to be, at most, mildly virulent; this helps explain why it can shift toward mutualism in certain ecological contexts and helps establish O. pajunii is a valuable model for investigating shifts along the mutualism-parasitism continuum.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1997

Autogenic-Feedback Training Exercise (AFTE) Method and System

The Autogenic-Feedback Training Exercise (AFTE) method of the present invention is a combined application of physiologic and perceptual training techniques. such as autogenic therapy and biofeedback. This combined therapy approach produces a methodology that is appreciably more effective than either of the individual techniques used separately. The AFTE method enables sufficient magnitude of control necessary to significantly reduce the behavioral and physiologic reactions to severe environmental stressors. It produces learned effects that are persistent over time and are resistant to extinction and it can be administered in a short period of time. The AFTE method may be used efficiently in several applications, among which are the following: to improve pilot and crew performance during emergency flying conditions; to train people to prevent the occurrence of nausea and vomiting associated with motion and sea sickness, or morning sickness in early pregnancy; as a training method for preventing or counteracting air-sickness symptoms in high-performance military aircraft; for use as a method for cardiovascular training, as well as for multiple other autonomic responses, which may contribute to the alleviation of Space Motion Sickness (SMS) in astronauts and cosmonauts; training people suffering from migraine or tension headaches to control peripheral blood flow and reduce forehead and/or trapezius muscle tension; training elderly people suffering from fecal incontinence to control their sphincter muscles; training cancer patients to reduce the nauseagenic effects of chemotherapy; and training patients with Chronic Intestinal Pseudo-obstruction (CIP).

Cowings, Patricia S.↗
DOE OSTI2020

DPSIR-ESA Vulnerability Assessment (DEVA) Framework: Synthesis, Foundational Overview, and Expert Case Studies

Land resources are central to understanding the relationship between humans and their environment. We broadly define a land resource to include all the ecological resources of climate, water, soil, landforms, flora, and fauna, and all the socioeconomic systems that interact with agriculture, forestry, and other land uses within some system boundary. Understanding the vulnerability of land resources to changes in land management or climate forcing is critical to developing sustainable land management strategies. Vulnerability assessments are complex given the multiple uses of the assessments, the multi-disciplinary nature of the problem, limited understanding, the dynamic structure of vulnerability, scale issues, and problems with identifying effective vulnerability indicators. Here, we propose a novel conceptual framework for vulnerability assessments of land resources that combines the driver– pressure–state–impact–response (DPSIR) framework adopted by the European Environment Agency to describe interactions between society and the environment, and the exposure-sensitivity-adaptive capacity (ESA) framework used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to assess impacts of climate change. The DPSIR-ESA Vulnerability Assessment (DEVA) framework operationalizes the process of assessing the vulnerability of a target system to external stressors. The DEVA framework includes the following elements: 1) Definition of the target system (Land resource), 2) Description of internal characteristics of the target system (State), 3) Description of target system vulnerability indicators (Adaptive capacity, Sensitivity), 4) Description of stressor characteristics (Drivers, Pressures), 5) Description of stressor vulnerability indicators (Exposure), 6) Description of target system response to stressors (Impacts), and 7) Description of modifications to target systems or stressors (Responses). In stating that they have “applied the DEVA framework”, analysts acknowledge that they have (a) considered the full breadth of each DEVA element, (b) have made conscious decisions to limit the scope and complexity of certain elements, and (c) can communicate both the rationale for these decisions and the impact of these decisions on the vulnerability assessment results and recommendations. The DEVA framework was refined during invited presentations and follow-up discussions from a series of Special Sessions with leading experts at two successive ASABE Annual International Meetings. Six case studies drawn from the sessions elaborate upon the DEVA framework and provide concrete examples of the key concepts. The DEVA approach gives engineers, planners, and analysts a new, flexible framework to apply a broad array of useful tools toward assessment of land resource system vulnerability.

Anandhi, Aauvadi↗
DOE OSTI2025

Roles for epigenetics in wood formation and stress response intrees–from basic biology to forest management

Annual model and crop species have been the subject of most epigenetic studies for plants. In contrast to annuals, forest trees persist on natural landscapes and experience environmental variation within and across seasons, years, and decades or even centuries. Most forest trees species are undomesticated and typically grown on variable landscapes with no irrigation or application of agricultural chemicals. Forest trees must thus rely on their inherent ability to alter growth and physiology to mitigate the effects of changing abiotic and biotic stressors. Like other plants, trees have mechanisms encoded in their genomic DNA sequence that can respond directly to stress events such as drought or heat. Hypothetically, it would be highly advantageous to join these mechanisms with a dynamic “memory” of past exposure to stress. It is now well established that annual model and crop plants can establish epigenetic-based memory of stress events that support more rapid and robust response to stress in the future. Here, evidence is discussed for epigenetic regulation and “memory” in two fundamental biological processes in trees, wood formation and abiotic stress response. Wood formation is an ideal trait for epigenetic research in trees, as wood formation is highly responsive to environmental conditions and includes multiple rapid developmental changes as cells adopt distinct fates within complex tissues. This is followed by a discussion of research needs that would provide the foundation for new epigenetic applications for forestry.

Groover, Andrew↗
NASA NTRS2016

NASA HRP Plans for Collaboration at the IBMP Ground-Based Experimental Facility (NEK)

NASA and IBMP are planning research collaborations using the IBMP Ground-based Experimental Facility (NEK). The NEK offers unique capabilities to study the effects of isolation on behavioral health and performance as it relates to spaceflight. The NEK is comprised of multiple interconnected modules that range in size from 50-250m(sup3). Modules can be included or excluded in a given mission allowing for flexibility of platform design. The NEK complex includes a Mission Control Center for communications and monitoring of crew members. In an effort to begin these collaborations, a 2-week mission is planned for 2017. In this mission, scientific studies will be conducted to assess facility capabilities in preparation for longer duration missions. A second follow-on 2-week mission may be planned for early in 2018. In future years, long duration missions of 4, 8 and 12 months are being considered. Missions will include scenarios that simulate for example, transit to and from asteroids, the moon, or other interplanetary travel. Mission operations will be structured to include stressors such as, high workloads, communication delays, and sleep deprivation. Studies completed at the NEK will support International Space Station expeditions, and future exploration missions. Topics studied will include communication, crew autonomy, cultural diversity, human factors, and medical capabilities.

Cromwell, Ronita L.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Extended Duration: The SIRIUS 21 Crew Perspective

The SIRIUS (Scientific International Research In a Unique terrestrial Station) missions represent a collaborative effort between NASA and Russia’s Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP) to conduct a series of long duration isolation and confinement spaceflight analog missions. Three missions of 17-day, 4-month, and 8-month duration (SIRIUS 17, 19, and 21) have been completed at IBMP’s Ground-Based Experimental Complex / Nazemnyy eksperimental'nyy kompleks (NEK) in Moscow, Russia. The international SIRIUS 21 crew comprising representatives from the United States, United Arab Emirates and Russia recently completed the 8-month analog lunar mission. The extended duration mission included simulated lunar transit, orbital, and surface operations with corresponding deep space communication delay, during which the crew participated in nearly 70 studies, eight of which were sponsored by NASA’s Human Research Program. The studies examined the effect of isolation and confinement on the behavioral health of research subjects, and investigated medical countermeasures, team performance, crew dynamics, crew autonomy, food system risks, consequences of confinement and associated physiological stressors. SIRIUS 21 crewmembers also participated in operational tasks such as Rover and CubeSat assembly, simulated lunar sample assessment, VR activities, robotic arm training, environmental systems monitoring, exercise, greenhouse maintenance and 3D printing. Communication with Mission Control was limited to 30-minute periods every two hours. Since access to the internet and email was restricted, simulated ground support provided the Crew’s primary source of daily news and mission information. This panel discussion will include presentations from the US SIRIUS 21 crewmembers – William Brown and Ashley Kowalski – about their experience participating in the mission and science. A facilitated question and answer session will follow with attendees encouraged to ask questions and join in discussion with the SIRIUS 21 crewmembers about their experiences. William Brown came to SIRIUS 21 with experience spread across multiple industries, including the military, defense contracting, healthcare consulting, software engineering, and logistics. He has lived in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Russia. A former Boren Scholar, Brown is fluent in Russian. He holds a Master of International Business degree from the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business. Prior to that, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Russian language, literature, and culture from the University of South Carolina. There, he also completed additional undergraduate coursework in computer science. Ashley Kowalski is a Project Leader in The Aerospace Corporation’s International Partnerships Department, where she works with, represents, and provides technical support to the the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command International Affairs (SSC/IA) office. Through her numerous national and international assignments (Russia, China, and Germany), she has worked on topics related to international space systems, national security space systems, civil systems (including human spaceflight and civil launch projects), space policy, satellite industry analysis, and satellite manufacturing start-ups. She is proficient in Russian and German, and fluent in Polish. Kowalski received her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in mechanical and aerospace engineering from George Washington University in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

S. E. Whiting↗