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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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NASA NTRS1994

Bioregenerative life-support systems

Long-duration future habitation of space involving great distances from Earth and/or large crew sizes (eg, lunar outpost, Mars base) will require a controlled ecological life-support system (CELSS) to simultaneously revitalize atmosphere (liberate oxygen and fix carbon dioxide), purify water (via transpiration), and generate human food (for a vegetarian diet). Photosynthetic higher plants and algae will provide the essential functions of biomass productivity in a CELSS, and a combination of physicochemical and bioregenerative processes will be used to regenerate renewable resources from waste materials. Crop selection criteria for a CELSS include nutritional use characteristics as well as horticultural characteristics. Cereals, legumes, and oilseed crops are used to provide the major macronutrients for the CELSS diet. A National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Specialized Center of Research and Training (NSCORT) was established at Purdue University to establish proof of the concept of the sustainability of a CELSS. The Biosphere 2 project in Arizona is providing a model for predicted and unpredicted situations that arise as a result of closure in a complex natural ecosystem.

NASA Discipline Life Support Systems↗

NASA NTRS1992

Water Purifier

The Floatron water purifier combines two space technologies - ionization for water purification and solar electric power generation. The water purification process involves introducing ionized minerals that kill microorganisms like algae and bacteria. The 12 inch unit floats in a pool while its solar panel collects sunlight that is converted to electricity. The resulting current energizes a specially alloyed mineral electrode below the waterline, causing release of metallic ions into the water. The electrode is the only part that needs replacing, and water purified by the system falls within EPA drinking water standards.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1967

Study of life support systems for space missions exceeding one year in duration, phase 1A. Volume 2 - Mission studies

The study covered by this report is a continuation of the work conducted under ' contract NAS 2-3012, Study of Life Support Systems For Space Missions Exceeding One Year In Duration Phase I. The previous work compared biological and chemical food processing systems with a stored food system for hypothetical missions of from 10 to 100 men for one to three years. The follow-on work Phase IA, the subject of this report, reviewed new concepts for waste processing and food manufacture in the closed system such as wastes for radiation shielding, wastes for propulsion, glycerol synthesis using chromatographic reactors, glycerol synthesis using acetylene as an intermediate, animal links, the use of radiophosphors for algae illumination, and new biological system approaches. The most promising of these new concepts were combined with the food producing systems evolved in Phase I and compared for three specific model missions; Earth orbit, lunar and mars. The effects of spacecraft power penalty, leakage rate, radiation shielding requirements and extravehicular expendable requirements were assessed and a cost effectiveness analysis was completed for each mission. The cost analysis compared the launch cost savings of the advanced systems with the R&D costs required to produce a flight ready system. The study results indicate that systems using wastes for radiation shielding, leakage makeup, or EVA expendables are very competitive with the biological and chemical food systems for all missions. The stored food baseline system and wastes for propulsion ranked poorly in the comparison studies.

R. B. Jagow↗

NASA NTRS2020

Satellite and airborne remote sensing of gross primary productivity in boreal Alaskan lakes

In terrestrial and marine ecosystems, remote sensing has been used to estimate gross primary productivity (GPP) for decades, but few applications exist for shallow freshwater ecosystems.Here we show field-based GPP correlates with satellite and airborne lake color across a range of optically and limnologically diverse lakes in interior Alaska. A strong relationship between in situ GPP derived from stable oxygen isotopes (δ18O) and space-based lake color from satellites (e.g. Landsat-8, Sentinel-2 and CubeSats) and airborne imagery (AVIRIS-NG) demonstrates the potential power of this technique for improving spatial and temporal monitoring of lake GPP when coupled with additional field validation measurements across different systems. In shallow waters clear enough for sunlight to reach lake bottoms, both submerged vegetation (macrophytes and algae) and phytoplankton likely contribute to GPP. The stable isotopes and remotely sensed shallow lake color used here integrate both components. These results demonstrate the utility of lake color as a feasible means for mapping lake GPP from remote sensing. This novel methodology estimates GPP from remote sensing in shallow lakes by combining field measurements of oxygen isotopes with airborne, satellite and CubeSat imagery. This use of lake color for providing insight into ecological processes of shallow lakes is recommended, especially for remote arctic and boreal landscapes.

airborne remote sensing↗

NASA NTRS1981

Unconventional processes for food regeneration in space - An overview

Alternatives to conventional plant agriculture for the regeneration of food during space missions of extended duration are examined. The options considered, which may be used in combination with conventional agriculture, include the production of food from plant wastes, the chemical synthesis of food from carbon dioxide and other simple molecules or the substitution of edible chemicals, and the use of microrganisms for food and oxygen regeneration, with suitable processing. A comparison of solar energy conversion efficiencies is presented for nonphotosynthetic bacteria grown on hydrogen and algal systems photosynthetically, and it is shown that hydrogen bacteria are potentially more attractive than photosynthetic algae using artificial light. Weight-volume requirements for the conventional plant, algae and hydrogen bacteria systems are also compared to demonstrate the advantages of microbial systems.

Stokes, B. O.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Satellite Radiation Products for Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry: Needs, State-Of-The-Art, Gaps, Development Priorities, and Opportunities

Knowing the spatial and temporal distribution of the underwater light field, i.e., the spectral and angular structure of the radiant intensity at any point in the water column, is essential to understanding the biogeochemical processes that control the composition and evolution of aquatic ecosystems and their impact on climate and reaction to climate change. At present, only a few properties are reliably retrieved from space, either directly or via water-leaving radiance. Existing satellite products are limited to planar photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) and ultraviolet (UV) irradiance above the surface and diffuse attenuation coefficient. Examples of operational products are provided, and their advantages and drawbacks are examined. The usefulness and convenience of these products notwithstanding, there is a need, as expressed by the user community, for other products, i.e., sub-surface planar and scalar fluxes, average cosine, spectral fluxes (UV to visible), diurnal fluxes, absorbed fraction of PAR by live algae (APAR), surface albedo, vertical attenuation, and heating rate, and for associating uncertainties to any product on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Methodologies to obtain the new products are qualitatively discussed in view of most recent scientific knowledge and current and future satellite missions, and specific algorithms are presented for some new products, namely sub-surface fluxes and average cosine. A strategy and roadmap (short, medium, and long term) for usage and development priorities is provided, taking into account needs and readiness level. Combining observations from satellites overpassing at different times and geostationary satellites should be pursued to improve the quality of daily-integrated radiation fields, and products should be generated without gaps to provide boundary conditions for general circulation and biogeochemical models. Examples of new products, i.e., daily scalar PAR below the surface, daily average cosine for PAR, and sub-surface spectral scalar fluxes are presented. A procedure to estimate algorithm uncertainties in the total uncertainty budget for above-surface daily PAR, based on radiative simulations for expected situations, is described. In the future, space-borne lidars with ocean profiling capability offer the best hope for improving our knowledge of sub-surface fields. To maximize temporal coverage, space agencies should consider placing ocean-color instruments in L1 orbit, where the sunlit part of the Earth can be frequently observed.

Frouin, Robert↗