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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 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

Recent technology products from Space Human Factors research

The goals of the NASA Space Human Factors program and the research carried out concerning human factors are discussed with emphasis given to the development of human performance models, data, and tools. The major products from this program are described, which include the Laser Anthropometric Mapping System; a model of the human body for evaluating the kinematics and dynamics of human motion and strength in microgravity environment; an operational experience data base for verifying and validating the data repository of manned space flights; the Operational Experience Database Taxonomy; and a human-computer interaction laboratory whose products are the display softaware and requirements and the guideline documents and standards for applications on human-computer interaction. Special attention is given to the 'Convoltron', a prototype version of a signal processor for synthesizing the head-related transfer functions.

Jenkins, James P.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Management of Service Projects in Support of Space Flight Research

Goal:To provide human health and performance countermeasures, knowledge, technologies, and tools to enable safe, reliable, and productive human space exploration . [HRP-47051] Specific Objectives: 1) Develop capabilities, necessary countermeasures, and technologies in support of human space exploration, focusing on mitigating the highest risks to human health and performance. 2) Define and improve human spaceflight medical, environmental, and human factors standards. 3) Develop technologies that serve to reduce medical and environmental risks, to reduce human systems resource requirements (mass, volume, power, data, etc.) and to ensure effective human-system integration across exploration systems. 4) Ensure maintenance of Agency core competencies necessary to enable risk reduction in the following areas: A. Space medicine B. Physiological and behavioral effects of long duration spaceflight on the human body C. Space environmental effects, including radiation, on human health and performance D. Space "human factors" [HRP-47051]. Service projects can form integral parts of research-based project-focused programs to provide specialized functions. Traditional/classic project management methodologies and agile approaches are not mutually exclusive paradigms. Agile strategies can be combined with traditional methods and applied in the management of service projects functioning in changing environments. Creative collaborations afford a mechanism for mitigation of constrained resource limitations.

Love, J.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Examining Runner’s Outdoor Heat Exposure Using Urban Microclimate Modeling and GPS Trajectory Mining

It is important to quantify human heat exposure in order to evaluate and mitigate the negative impacts of heat on human well-being in the context of global warming. This study proposed a human-centric framework to examine human personal heat exposure based on anonymous GPS trajectories data mining and urban microclimate modeling. The mean radiant temperature (Tmrt) that represents the human body’s energy balance was used to indicate human heat exposure. The meteorological data and high-resolution 3D urban model generated from multispectral remotely sensed images and LiDAR data were used as inputs in urban microclimate modeling to map the spatio-temporal distribution of the Tmrt in the Boston metropolitan area. The anonymous human GPS trajectory data collected from fitness Apps was used to map the spatiotemporal distribution of human outdoor activities. By overlaying the anonymous GPS trajectories on the generated spatio-temporal maps of Tmrt, this study further examined the heat exposure of runners in different age-gender groups in the Boston area. Results show that there is no significant difference in terms of heat exposure for female and male runners. The female runners in the age of 45-54 are exposed to more heat than female runners of 18-24 and 25-34, while there is no significant difference among male runners. This study proposed a novel method to estimate human heat exposure, which would shed new light on mitigating the negative impacts of heat on human health.

Personal heat exposure↗
NASA NTRS1988

Association of sex and age with responses to lower-body negative pressure

The effects of age and sex on the human-body responses to -50 torr LBNP were investigated in subjects who have undergone LBNP tests at the Kennedy Space Center. The comparison of results obtained on women and age-matched men indicated that men had larger relative increases in calf circumference and greater increases in peripheral resistance during the exposure to LBNP than the women; on the other hand, women displayed greater increases in thoracic impedance and heart rate. The comparison of the results on men of different ages (between 29 and 56 y) indicated that older subjects had greater increases in peripheral resistance and less heart rate elevation in response to LBNP. It is suggested that the age-related circulatory differences were due to a reduction in vagal response and a switch to predominant sympathetic nervous system influence in older men.

Frey, Mary Anne Bassett↗
NASA NTRS2013

The Next Generation of Cold Immersion Dry Suit Design Evolution for Hypothermia Prevention

This new utility patent is an active design that relies on the lung's role as an organic heat exchanger for providing deep body core heating of air. It is based on the fact that the greatest heat loss mechanism for an insulated human body immersed in a cold water environment is due to heat loss through respiration. This innovation successfully merges two existing technologies (cold immersion suit and existing valve technologies) to produce a new product that helps prevent against the onset of hypothermia at sea. During normal operations, a human maintains an approximate body temperature of [98.6 F (37 C)]. A mechanism was developed to recover the warm temperature from the body and reticulate it in a survival suit. The primary intention is to develop an encompassing systems design that can both easily and cost effectively be integrated in all existing currently manufactured cold water survival suits, and as such, it should be noted that the cold water immersion suit is only used as a framework or tool for laying out the required design elements. At the heart of the suit is the Warm Air Recovery (WAR) system, which relies on a single, large Main Purge Valve (MPV) and secondary Purge Valves (PV) to operate. The main purge valve has a thin membrane, which is normally closed, and acts as a one-way check valve. When warm air is expelled from the lungs, it causes the main purge valve to open. Air forced from the MPV is dumped directly into the suit, thereby providing warmth to the torso, legs, and arms. A slight positive over-pressure in the suit causes warm waste air (or water if the suit is punctured) to be safely vented into the sea through large PVs located at the bottom of each arm and leg. The secondary purge valves act to prevent the buildup of large concentrations of CO2 gas and help guard against asphyxia. It is noted that the MPV causes the inhalation and exhalation cycles to be completely isolated from one another in the current suit design.

Galofaro, Joel↗
NASA NTRS2010

The Graphical Representation of the Digital Astronaut Physiology Backbone

This report summarizes my internship project with the NASA Digital Astronaut Project to analyze the Digital Astronaut (DA) physiology backbone model. The Digital Astronaut Project (DAP) applies integrated physiology models to support space biomedical operations, and to assist NASA researchers in closing knowledge gaps related to human physiologic responses to space flight. The DA physiology backbone is a set of integrated physiological equations and functions that model the interacting systems of the human body. The current release of the model is HumMod (Human Model) version 1.5 and was developed over forty years at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC). The physiology equations and functions are scripted in an XML schema specifically designed for physiology modeling by Dr. Thomas G. Coleman at UMMC. Currently it is difficult to examine the physiology backbone without being knowledgeable of the XML schema. While investigating and documenting the tags and algorithms used in the XML schema, I proposed a standard methodology for a graphical representation. This standard methodology may be used to transcribe graphical representations from the DA physiology backbone. In turn, the graphical representations can allow examination of the physiological functions and equations without the need to be familiar with the computer programming languages or markup languages used by DA modeling software.

Briers, Demarcus↗
NASA NTRS2010

Correlation of Wissler Human Thermal Model Blood Flow and Shiver Algorithms

The Wissler Human Thermal Model (WHTM) is a thermal math model of the human body that has been widely used to predict the human thermoregulatory response to a variety of cold and hot environments. The model has been shown to predict core temperature and skin temperatures higher and lower, respectively, than in tests of subjects in crew escape suit working in a controlled hot environments. Conversely the model predicts core temperature and skin temperatures lower and higher, respectively, than in tests of lightly clad subjects immersed in cold water conditions. The blood flow algorithms of the model has been investigated to allow for more and less flow, respectively, for the cold and hot case. These changes in the model have yielded better correlation of skin and core temperatures in the cold and hot cases. The algorithm for onset of shiver did not need to be modified to achieve good agreement in cold immersion simulations

Bue, Grant↗
NASA NTRS2003

Optoelectronic Apparatus Measures Glucose Noninvasively

An optoelectronic apparatus has been invented as a noninvasive means of measuring the concentration of glucose in the human body. The apparatus performs polarimetric and interferometric measurements of the human eye to acquire data from which the concentration of glucose in the aqueous humor can be computed. Because of the importance of the concentration of glucose in human health, there could be a large potential market for instruments based on this apparatus.

Ansari, Rafat R.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Monitoring Location and Angular Orientation of a Pill

A mobile pill transmitter system moves through, or adjacent to, one or more organs in an animal or human body, while transmitting signals from its present location and/or present angular orientation. The system also provides signals from which the present roll angle of the pill, about a selected axis, can be determined. When the location coordinates angular orientation and the roll angle of the pill are within selected ranges, an aperture on the pill container releases a selected chemical into, or onto, the body. Optionally, the pill, as it moves, provides a sequence of visually perceptible images. The times for image formation may correspond to times at which the pill transmitter system location or image satisfies one of at least four criteria. This invention provides and supplies an algorithm for exact determination of location coordinates and angular orientation coordinates for a mobile pill transmitter (PT), or other similar device that is introduced into, and moves within, a GI tract of a human or animal body. A set of as many as eight nonlinear equations has been developed and applied, relating propagation of a wireless signal between either two, three, or more transmitting antennas located on the PT, to four or more non-coplanar receiving antennas located on a signal receiver appliance worn by the user. The equations are solved exactly, without approximations or iterations, and are applied in several environments: (1) association of a visual image, transmitted by the PT at each of a second sequence of times, with a PT location and PT angular orientation at that time; (2) determination of a position within the body at which a drug or chemical substance or other treatment is to be delivered to a selected portion of the body; (3) monitoring, after delivery, of the effect(s) of administration of the treatment; and (4) determination of one or more positions within the body where provision and examination of a finer-scale image is warranted.

Schipper, John F.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Immersive Simulations and Engineering Environment (iSEE): Improving Fidelity of Virtual Reality Simulations

The Immersive Simulation and Engineering Environment (iSEE) provides Kennedy Space Center (KSC) with accurate Human Systems Integration (HSI) analysis of the stresses on a human body incurred from physical work, along with accessibility and reach factors. Human Factors engineers can observe the simulations conducted by iSEE and work with the gathered data to help make the working environment at KSC safer. The software that runs the HSI analysis, however, provides users with a low fidelity virtual environment. Previously, this led to the addition and implementation of other iSEE programs that were capable of higher-fidelity simulations. The difficulties of streamlining the workflow in the lab with these new programs is currently being addressed.

Sein, Alexandr↗
NASA NTRS1989

Noninvasive estimation of fluid shifts between body compartments by measurement of bioelectric characteristics

Previous research has established that bioelectrical characteristics of the human body reflect fluid status to some extent. It has been previously assumed that changes in electrical resistance (R) and reactance (X) are associated with changes in total body water (TBW). The purpose of the present pilot investigation was to assess the correspondence between body R and X and changes in estimated TBW and plasma volume during a period of bedrest (simulated weightlessness). R and X were measured pre-, during, and post- a 13 day bedrest status. Although a clear relationship was not elucidated, evidence was found suggesting that R and X reflect plasma volume rather than TBW. Indirect evidence provided by previous studies which investigated other aspects of the electrical/fluid relationship, also suggests the independence of TBW and electrical properties. With further research, a bioelectrical technique for noninvasively tracking fluid changes consequent to space flight may be developed.

Bishop, Phillip A.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Physics of Artificial Gravity

This chapter discusses potential technologies for achieving artificial gravity in a space vehicle. We begin with a series of definitions and a general description of the rotational dynamics behind the forces ultimately exerted on the human body during centrifugation, such as gravity level, gravity gradient, and Coriolis force. Human factors considerations and comfort limits associated with a rotating environment are then discussed. Finally, engineering options for designing space vehicles with artificial gravity are presented.

Bukley, Angie↗
NASA NTRS2015

Exercise Sensing and Pose Recovery Inference Tool (ESPRIT) - A Compact Stereo-based Motion Capture Solution For Exercise Monitoring

Crew exercise is important during long-duration space flight not only for maintaining health and fitness but also for preventing adverse health problems, such as losses in muscle strength and bone density. Monitoring crew exercise via motion capture and kinematic analysis aids understanding of the effects of microgravity on exercise and helps ensure that exercise prescriptions are effective. Intelligent Automation, Inc., has developed ESPRIT to monitor exercise activities, detect body markers, extract image features, and recover three-dimensional (3D) kinematic body poses. The system relies on prior knowledge and modeling of the human body and on advanced statistical inference techniques to achieve robust and accurate motion capture. In Phase I, the company demonstrated motion capture of several exercises, including walking, curling, and dead lifting. Phase II efforts focused on enhancing algorithms and delivering an ESPRIT prototype for testing and demonstration.

Lee, Mun Wai↗
NASA NTRS2021

Demystification of Processes that Effect Prioritization of Space Radiation Element Research

In an effort to demystify how research funding priorities are established , the Space Radiation Element will present an introduction to the Human Space Risk Board (HSRB) framework that is that used to inform Human System Risk and can be found at https://humanresearchroadmap.nasa.gov/Risks/. These risks are based on the consequences of hazards (space radiation, altered gravity, isolation & confinement, distance from earth and hostile/closed environment) a human body is exposed to during spaceflight. The HSRB regularly evaluates risks to humans in space which includes updating the knowledge base to reflect emerging research, the development of effective countermeasures, and evolving operational approaches toward addressing those risks. To increase understanding and clarity, this talk will step through how risks (with the focus on Risk of Radiation Carcinogenesis) are assigned a rating (and color code) based on design reference missions, likelihood, and consequence. Further, The Space Radiation Element will discuss how risks, including the magnitude/rating, required technical deliverables, and expected products from current research efforts affect our element strategy and prioritization of research. In addition, navigation of the publicly available www.nasa.gov/hrp, will be demonstrated to inform principal investigators where this information can be readily accessed. Our primary objectives for this presentation/demonstration are to demystify The Space Radiation Element’s internal processes and to educate researchers concerning publicly available documents that can be used to better align their proposed objectives with Element priorities.

J A Zawaski↗