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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Astrobee: Completed, Current, and Future Research Using Free Flying Robots on the International Space Station

After four years on the International Space Station (ISS), the Astrobee Research Facility, has completed over 130 Test Sessions logging over 1000 hours of operations. Managed by the NASA ISS Program OZ office and supported by NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) in California, the Astrobee Team maintains three identical free-flying Astrobee robots for research on the ISS. As a technology demonstration platform, the Astrobee Robots are available for Guest Scientists to use for a spectrum of research capabilities.

Astrobee↗
NASA NTRS2012

International Space Station Benefits for Humanity

The ISS partnership has seen a substantial increase in research accomplished, crew efforts devoted to research, and results of ongoing research and technology development. The ISS laboratory is providing a unique environment for research and international collaboration that benefits humankind. Benefits come from the engineering development, the international partnership, and from the research results. Benefits can be of three different types: scientific discovery, applications to life on Earth, and applications to future exploration. Working across all ISS partners, we identified key themes where the activities on the ISS improve the lives of people on Earth--not only within the partner nations, but also in other nations of the world. Three major themes of benefits to life on earth emerged from our review: benefits to human health, education, and Earth observation and disaster response. Other themes are growing as use of the ISS continues. Benefits to human health range from advancements in surgical technology, improved telemedicine, and new treatments for disease. Earth observations from the ISS provide a wide range of observations that include: marine vessel tracking, disaster monitoring and climate change. The ISS participates in a number of educational activities aimed to inspire students of all ages to learn about science, technology, engineering and mathematics. To date over 63 countries have directly participated in some aspect of ISS research or education. In summarizing these benefits and accomplishments, ISS partners are also identifying ways to further extend the benefits to people in developing countries for the benefits of humankind.

Thumm, Tracy L.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Fundamental Biological Research on the International Space Station

The fundamental Biology Program of NASA's Life Sciences Division is chartered with enabling and sponsoring research on the International Space Station (ISS) in order to understand the effects of the space flight environment, particularly microgravity, on living systems. To accomplish this goal, NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) has been tasked with managing the development of a number of biological habitats, along with their support systems infrastructure. This integrated suite of habitats and support systems is being designed to support research requirements identified by the scientific community. As such, it will support investigations using cells and tissues, avian eggs, insects, plants, aquatic organisms and rodents. Studies following organisms through complete life cycles and over multiple generations will eventually be possible. As an adjunct to the development of these basic habitats, specific analytical and monitoring technologies are being targeted for maturation to complete the research cycle by transferring existing or emerging analytical techniques, sensors, and processes from the laboratory bench to the ISS research platform.

Souza, K. A.↗
NASA NTRS2008

An Overview of the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) Facility, and the Gravity-Dependent Phenomena Research Performed in the MSG on the International Space Station (ISS)

The Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) is a double rack facility aboard the International Space Station (ISS) designed for gravity-dependent phenomena investigation handling. The MSG has been operating in the ISS US Laboratory Module since July 2002. The MSG facility provides an enclosed working area for investigation manipulation and observation, The MSG's unique design provides two levels of containment to protect the ISS crew from hazardous operations. Research investigations operating inside the MSG are provided a large 255 liter work volume, 1000 watts of dc power via a versatile supply interface (120, 28, +/-12, and 5 Vdc), 1000 watts of cooling capability, video and data recording and real time downlink, ground commanding capabilities, access to ISS Vacuum Exhaust and Vacuum Resource Systems, and gaseous nitrogen supply. With these capabilities, the MSG is an ideal platform for research required to advance the technology readiness levels (TRL) needed for the Crew Exploration Vehicle and the Exploration Initiative. Areas of research that will benefit from investigations in the MSG include thermal management, fluid physics, spacecraft fire safety, materials science, combustion, reaction control systems, in situ fabrication and repair, and advanced life support technologies. This paper will provide a detailed explanation of the MSG facility, a synopsis of the research that has already been accomplished in the MSG and an overview of investigations planning to operate in the MSG. In addition, this paper will address possible changes to the MSG utilization process that will be brought about by the transition to ISS as a National Laboratory.

Spivey, Reggie A.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Preparing for Human Missions to Mars: The role of ISS and Artemis as Analogs for Research and Technology Testing

The hazards of spaceflight to the human system are present in in varying degrees on different spaceflight platforms: altered gravity, isolation and confinement, distance from Earth, radiation, and hostile closed environments. A strategic view of the fidelity of hazards experienced on different platforms can shape the testing plans for human research and technology demonstration related to crew health and performance. Working across the international partnership, the International Space Station (ISS) is planning periods of modified operations to improve the fidelity of Mars simulations. To understand transit durations as an independent variable, a series of 1-year, 6-month and 30-45 day missions are being planned on ISS. Standard measurements across ISS missions of different durations, lunar missions and ground analogs offers the opportunity to distinguish different hazards and their effects in the context of the relevance to future mission concepts. The ISS partnership is planning for additional test cases that are aligned with Mars mission plans. (1) Evaluating crew performance capabilities when transitioning to gravity after long durations in microgravity representative of a Mars transit. (2) Simulating crew medical care under Mars-like autonomous operations. (3) Identification and testing of operations under communications delay and autonomy expected for Mars missions and the linked effects on behavioral health and performance of the crew. Artemis missions serve as a valuable analogs for Mars surface operations, with partial gravity and deep space radiation hazards, but with crewmembers that are probably more physically capable than their counterparts would be after a Mars transit. Getting unobtrusive data from early Artemis missions, and knowledge gained from operational experience as Artemis operations develop can improve engineering design, medical requirements and countermeasures, and ultimately ensure mission success on Mars. Linking Mars architectures with the plans and capabilities for ISS and Artemis allows us to plan to most operationally relevant tests of crew health and performance on current spaceflight missions to inform planning for future missions to Mars. By using human spaceflight platforms as well as ground simulation in an integrated way, the international community can improve exploration readiness, develop countermeasures and reduce risks of future human space missions.

International Space Station↗
NASA NTRS2014

WetLab-2: Tools for Conducting On-Orbit Quantitative Real-Time Gene Expression Analysis on ISS

The objective of NASA Ames Research Centers WetLab-2 Project is to place on the ISS a research platform capable of conducting gene expression analysis via quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) of biological specimens sampled or cultured on orbit. The project has selected a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) qRT-PCR system, the Cepheid SmartCycler and will fly it in its COTS configuration. The SmartCycler has a number of advantages including modular design (16 independent PCR modules), low power consumption, rapid ramp times and the ability to detect up to four separate fluorescent channels at one time enabling multiplex assays that can be used for normalization and to study multiple genes of interest in each module. The team is currently working with Cepheid to enable the downlink of data from the ISS to the ground and provide uplink capabilities for programming, commanding, monitoring, and instrument maintenance. The project has adapted commercial technology to design a module that can lyse cells and extract RNA of sufficient quality and quantity for use in qRT-PCR reactions while using a housekeeping gene to normalize RNA concentration and integrity. The WetLab-2 system is capable of processing multiple sample types ranging from microbial cultures to animal tissues dissected on-orbit. The ability to conduct qRT-PCR on-orbit eliminates the confounding effects on gene expression of reentry stresses and shock acting on live cells and organisms or the concern of RNA degradation of fixed samples. The system can be used to validate terrestrial analyses of samples returned from ISS by providing on-orbit gene expression benchmarking prior to sample return. The ability to get on orbit data will provide investigators with the opportunity to adjust experiment parameters for subsequent trials based on the real-time data analysis without need for sample return and re-flight. Researchers will also be able to sample multigenerational changes in organisms. Finally, the system can be used for analysis of air, surface, water, and clinical samples to monitor environmental contaminants and crew health. The verification flight of the instrument is scheduled to launch on SpaceX-7 in June 2015.

quantitative PCR↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Laminar Non-Premixed Flames of Gaseous Fuel Aboard the International Space Station

From late 2017 to early 2022, six independent studies with flames of gaseous fuels were conducted on the International Space Station (ISS) in the U.S. combustion research facility. An exploration of flames at the extremes of high sooting and high dilution was conducted with a coaxial coflow burner, where the fuel and oxidizer velocities were typically matched. An investigation of electric-field effects also used the same coflow burner as well as a simple gas-jet burner, with a circular electrode mesh, downstream of the burner, at voltages of either polarity up to 10 kV. A study focused on material flammability in a quiescent atmosphere emulated the burning of condensed-phased fuels using cylindrical burners with a flat perforated outlet instrumented to measure the heat flux to the burner, i.e., emulated fuel. Three studies of soot processes, flame dynamics, and low-temperature combustion used porous spherical burners, yielding a nominally one-dimensional flame structure. The objectives and selected findings of each investigation will be briefly discussed after a short review of the advantages of studying combustion in microgravity, earlier ISS research, and the experimental hardware and its operation.

flames↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Laminar Non-Premixed Flames of Gaseous Fuel Aboard the International Space Station

From late 2017 to early 2022, six independent studies with flames of gaseous fuels were conducted on the International Space Station (ISS) in the U.S. combustion research facility. An exploration of flames at the extremes of high sooting and high dilution was conducted with a coaxial coflow burner, where the fuel and oxidizer velocities were typically matched. An investigation of electric-field effects also used the same coflow burner as well as a simple gas-jet burner, with a circular electrode mesh, downstream of the burner, at voltages of either polarity up to 10 kV. A study focused on material flammability in a quiescent atmosphere emulated the burning of condensed-phased fuels using cylindrical burners with a flat perforated outlet instrumented to measure the heat flux to the burner, i.e., emulated fuel. Three studies of soot processes, flame dynamics, and low-temperature combustion used porous spherical burners, yielding a nominally one-dimensional flame structure. The objectives and selected findings of each investigation will be briefly discussed after a short review of the advantages of studying combustion in microgravity, earlier ISS research, and the experimental hardware and its operation.

flames↗
NASA NTRS2011

Examination of Communication Delays on Team Performance: Utilizing the International Space Station (ISS) as a Test Bed for Analog Research

Operational conjectures about space exploration missions of the future indicate that space crews will need to be more autonomous from mission control and operate independently. This is in part due to the expectation that communication quality between the ground and exploration crews will be more limited and delayed. Because of potential adverse effects on communication quality, both researchers and operational training and engineering experts have suggested that communication delays and the impact these delays have on the quality of communications to the crew will create performance decrements if crews are not given adequate training and tools to support more autonomous operations. This presentation will provide an overview of a research study led by the Behavioral Health and Performance Element (BHP) of the NASA Human Research Program that examines the impact of implementing a communication delay on ISS on individual and team factors and outcomes, including performance and related perceptions of autonomy. The methodological design, data collection efforts, and initial results of this study to date will be discussed . The results will focus on completed missions, DRATS and NEEMO15. Lessons learned from implementing this study within analog environments will also be discussed. One lesson learned is that the complexities of garnishing a successful data collection campaign from these high fidelity analogs requires perseverance and a strong relationship with operational experts. Results of this study will provide a preliminary understanding of the impact of communication delays on individual and team performance as well as an insight into how teams perform and interact in a space-like environment . This will help prepare for implementation of communication delay tests on the ISS, targeted for Increment 35/36.

Keeton, K. E.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Levitation Technology in International Space Station Research

The International Space Station (ISS) is a unique multidisciplinary orbiting laboratory for science and technology research, enabling discoveries that benefit life on Earth and exploration of the universe. ISS facilities for containerless sample processing in Materials Science experiments include levitation devices with specimen positioning control while reducing containment vessel contamination. For example, ESA's EML (ElectroMagnetic Levitator), is used for melting and solidification of conductive metals, alloys, or semiconductors in ultra-high vacuum, or in high-purity gaseous atmospheres. Sample heating and positioning are accomplished through electromagnetic fields generated by a coil system. EML applications cover investigation of solidification and microstructural formation, evaluation of thermophysical properties of highly reactive metals (whose properties can be very sensitive to contamination), and examination of undercooled liquid metals to understand metastable phase convection and influence convection on structural changes. MSL utilization includes development of novel light-weight, high-performance materials. Another facility, JAXA's ELF (Electrostatic Levitation Furnace), is used to perform high temperature melting while avoiding chemical reactions with crucibles by levitating a sample through Coulomb force. ELF is capable of measuring density, surface tension, and viscosity of samples at high temperatures. One of the initial ELF investigations, Interfacial Energy-1, is aimed at clarification of interfacial phenomena between molten steels and oxide melts with industrial applications in control processes for liquid mixing. In addition to these Materials Science facilities, other ISS investigations that involve levitation employ it for biological research. For example, NASA's "Magnetic 3D Culturing and Bioprinting" investigation uses magnetic levitation for three-dimensional culturing and positioning of magnetized cells to generate spheroid assemblies for biomedical applications. Levitation is also used as a modeled microgravity ground analog in the NASA OsteoOmics ISS investigation, which tests whether magnetic levitation accurately simulates microgravity conditions by studying gravitational regulation of osteoblast and osteoclast genomics and metabolism. Elucidating the cellular mechanisms of bone loss in microgravity contributes to the understanding of bone loss in medical disorders on Earth, which may lead to development of preventive or therapeutic countermeasures. Thus, the ISS state-of-the-art laboratory offers various levitation capability platforms with applications for innovative research in Materials and Life Sciences disciplines, with benefits for humanity.

Guinart-Ramirez, Y.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Innovation in Extraterrestrial Service Systems - A Challenge for Service Science

This presentation was prepared at the invitation of Professor Yukio Ohsawa, Department of Systems Innovation, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, for delivery at the International Workshop on Innovating Service Systems, sponsored by the Japanese Society of Artificial Intelligence (JSAI) as part of the JSAI Internation Symposium on AI, 2010. It offers several challenges for Service Science and Service Innovation. the goal of the presentation is to stimulate thinking about how service systems viII evolve in the future, as human society advances from its terrestrial base toward a permanent presence in space. First we will consider the complexity of the International Space Station (ISS) as it is today, with particular emphasis of its research facilities, and focus on a current challenge - to maximize the utilization of ISS research facilities for the benefit of society. After briefly reviewing the basic principles of Service Science, we will discuss the potential application of Service Innovation methodology to this challenge. Then we viII consider how game-changing technologies - in particular Synthetic Biology - could accelerate the pace of sociocultural evolution and consequently, the progression of human society into space. We will use this provocative vision to advance thinking about how the emerging field of Service Science, Management, and Engineering (SSME) might help us anticipate and better handle the challenges of this inevitable evolutionary process.

Bergner, David↗
NASA NTRS2008

The Importance of the International Space Station for Life Sciences Research: Past and Future

The International Space Station (ISS) celebrates ten years of operations in 2008. While the station did not support permanent human crews during the first two years of operations, it hosted a few early science experiments months before the first international crew took up residence in November 2000. Since that time, science returns from the ISS have been growing at a steady pace. To date, early utilization of the U.S. Operating Segment of ISS has fielded nearly 200 experiments for hundreds of ground-based investigators supporting U.S. and international partner research. This paper will summarize the life science accomplishments of early research aboard the ISS both applied human research for exploration, and research on the effects of microgravity on life. At the 10-year point, the scientific returns from ISS should increase at a rapid pace. During the 2008 calendar year, the laboratory space and research facilities (both pressurized and external) will be tripled, with multiple scientific modules that support a wide variety of research racks and science and technology experiments conducted by all of the International Partners. A milestone was reached in February 2008 with the launch and commissioning of ESA s Columbus module and in March of 2008 with the first of three components of the Japanese Kibo laboratory. Although challenges lie ahead, the realization of the international scientific partnership provides new opportunities for scientific collaboration and broadens the research disciplines engaged on ISS. As the ISS nears completion of assembly in 2010, we come to full international utilization of the facilities for research. Using the past as an indicator, we are now able to envision the multidisciplinary contributions to improving life on Earth that the ISS can make as a platform for life sciences research.

Robinson, Julie A.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Experimental Design for Pre-Clinical Animal Model Study in Microgravity

The Rodent Research program at NASAs Ames Research Center (ARC) has pioneered a new research capability on the International Space Station in less than four years and has progressed toward translating research to the ISS utilizing commercial rockets, collaborating with academia and science industry, and training crew for research purposes on-orbit. Animal models are the foundation of pre-clinical research to understand human diseases and evaluate new therapeutics. Advancement in alleviating ground diseases such as muscle atrophy and osteoporosis can come from the study of similar conditions that are known to occur as a result of exposure to the spaceflight environment. During the completion of the flight phase of two missions, our practices, hardware and operations evolved from tested to developed standards, which successfully translated the studies from ground to space. Results from these studies contribute to the science community via both the primary investigation and banked samples that are shared in publicly available data repository such as GeneLab. Every completed mission sets a foundation to build and design greater complexity into future research and answer questions about common human diseases on ground and in space. Here, we present methods developed for the translation of a rodent experiment to the ISS including a description of hardware and kits available for investigators and a discussion of operational constraints.

Rodent Research↗
NASA NTRS2017

Novel End-to-End Molecular Biology Approach for Direct Nanopore 1D cDNA Sequencing of Reverse Transcribed mRNAs Purified from Cell Cultures by the NASA ISS WetLab2 SPM

Continued space bioscience research onboard the International Space Station (ISS) and future long-duration flight missions to the Moon or Mars will require the ability to conduct on-orbit molecular analysis of biological samples independently from Earth. In the last year two new molecular analytic technologies have been installed and the technologies demonstrated onboard the ISS: The Sample Prep Module (SPM) WetLab-2 (WL2) qRT-PCR toolbox and the Oxford Nanopore MinIon Biomolecule Sequencer. Here we describe protocol development and integration into existing ISS technology for end-to-end on-orbit biological sample processing and molecular analysis with real time results generated utilizing only field offline analytic software. For this experiment we isolated primary cells from bone marrow flushes of wild type B6129SF2 mice (Jackson Labs) long bones. The cell isolate was then processed using the SPM to produce total 147nanograms of RNA. The total RNA was purified to only messenger RNA (mRNA) and transferred to Smartcycler Thermocycle ISS kit consumable tube using Eppendorf gel loading pipette tips for further processing. Complementary first strand cDNA was synthesized using OLIGO dT priming followed by addition of SuperScript II Reverse Transcriptase and thermal cycling as per manufacturers instruction. All thermal cycling was conducted using the ISS WetLab-2 Cephid Smarcycler real time thermal cycler. Our protocol takes advantage of mRNAs native poly(A) tail, synthesized in vivo to protect the mRNA from degradation by endonucleases, to eliminate end-prep for adapter ligation. The adapted library is purified using MyOne C1 Streptavidin beads before elution in buffer. The pre-sequencing library is diluted in the loading buffer and injected into the MinIon sample port, drawn into the nanopore window by capillary action, and sequenced using the MinKnown software with local basecalling. The sequencing read produced 34.5 million events and local basecalling produced 117,301 successful reads. NCBI Blast of the data for the mouse genome resulted in 2,462 successful nucleotide collection matches (gene sequences) exceeding 70 homology. These results demonstrate the viability of this novel flight ready end-to-end sample analytic methodology and provide a real time homolog for flight experimentation utilizing supply kits and technologies that have already been demonstrated on ISS.

MinIon↗