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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development of the Suited Injury Modes and Effects Analysis for Identification of Top Injury Risks in Lunar Missions and Training

A new Exploration Extravehicular Activity Suit (xEVAS) is being designed to replace the current Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Artemis program to return astronauts to the lunar surface. This new suit will allow for increased range of motion compared the current EMU and Apollo era suits and will have additional features that will enhance the health and safety of exploration. With the design of lunar missions and the xEVAS progressing, it is important to consider possible injuries and injury mechanisms that could occur in the suit. To address these concerns, the suited Injury Modes and Effects Analysis (IMEA) was developed to outline suited injury scenarios and rank them based on risk score. The IMEA documents possible scenarios and underlying mechanisms of injury while wearing an extravehicular activity (EVA) suit. Tasks during lunar surface EVA as well as training events to prepare for lunar missions were considered as history has shown that more suit injuries occur during training than in flight. Each scenario is ranked with a consequence and likelihood scoring based on our current understanding of the suit and Artemis design reference missions to identify high-risk cases that will drive further work in suited injury. Injuries, mechanisms of injury, and mitigation strategies are evaluated within each scenario. The Suited Injury Summit was held on January 5, 2022, to vet the IMEA with external experts. This was an all-day virtual meeting with the suited injury team, ergonomists, suit engineers, safety engineers, the flight operations directorate, flight doctors, astronauts, astronaut strength, conditioning, and rehabilitation specialists (ASCRS), and external subject matter experts (SMEs). External SMEs consisted of surgeons with varying specialties. The intent of this meeting was to walk through the top injury risks identified in the analysis, identify any gaps that were not captured, and discuss mitigations. With participation from all groups, countless lessons-learned came from the Summit meeting. Using the lessons-learned and discussion from the Summit, the top 10 risks have been identified: neutral buoyancy laboratory training, hand/glove injuries, poor suit fit, field training, specific EVA tasks/design of task, boots/ankle injuries, falls from heights, background radiation, repetitive contact, and ambulation/long-distance ambulation. Mitigation steps have also been determined for each of the top risks. The IMEA and documentation of top risks is a living document. Yearly meetings are planned to update the analysis and reevaluate top risks and mitigations. The IMEA is being used to drive work in suited injury, and this work will continue to evolve with IMEA and lunar mission updates.

Teresa Reiber↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development of the Suited Injury Modes and Effects Analysis for Identification of Top Injury Risks in Lunar Missions and Training

Tessa Reiber↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development of Aluminum/Air Battery as High-Capacity Primary Battery Energy Source for SUSAN Electrofan Project

High-capacity, high-performance, and safe battery technologies are demanded by the Subsonic Single Aft eNgine (SUSAN) Electrofan concept design project under National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) electrified aircraft development program. These battery technologies, including both secondary (i.e., rechargeable) batteries for hybrid/electric propulsion and primary batteries (i.e. non-rechargeable or single-use) for backup/emergency use in case of turbine engine failure, are important and vital components in SUSAN concept design. This paper is focused on aluminum (Al)-air battery, which is considered to be the most promising candidate to meet the energy goal of primary batteries for SUSAN project. However, there are challenges for Al-air batteries, including aluminum self-corrosion with hydrogen (H2) gassing and sluggish kinetics of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in air-cathode. In this paper, the preliminary results on investigation of electrolytes and additives on controlling aluminum self-corrosion/H2 gassing suppression and the study of air-cathode design for ORR improvement are presented and discussed.

James Wu↗

NASA NTRS2024

A Distributed Simulation Framework Applied to Artemis Analysis, Studies, Integration, and Test

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) established the Artemis Program, a series of missions to return humans to the Moon and explore further than before. To execute the Artemis missions, NASA is collaborating with commercial and international partners to create the necessary infrastructure and logistics plan that will establish a long term presence on the Moon ahead of exploring Mars. NASA and its partners are developing a collection of space and surface systems to support crewed missions to the lunar surface that will provide the mobility, habitation, logistics, and exploration support necessary for Artemis mission successes which includes robust scientific investigations. This paper details the design, capabilities, and uses of the Artemis Distributed Simulation (ADS) being developed by the NASA Exploration Systems Simulations (NExSyS) Team to support Artemis architecture studies. ADS utilizes international interoperability standards to connect a collection of independent vehicle and service simulations; these include but are not limited to elements such as rovers, landers, and habitation elements along with services like communications, environment, visualization, and data logging. ADS’s distributed nature allows for the complex aggregation of constituent Artemis elements; this includes efficient scenario modification with the addition or removal of individual simulations representing Artemis elements or services. This capability provides support for the rapid performance of various Artemis mission trade studies exploring alternate configurations. Currently, ADS uses NASA developed simulations for development and testing; however, through the use of international simulation interoperability standards, ADS provides an integration framework to incorporate dissimilar authoritative vendor simulations as Artemis systems mature and vendor simulations become available. Vendor simulations will be able to join ADS and interact with other Artemis elements and vehicles while limiting the exposure of proprietary data. This paper describes the expansion of an existing distributed simulation infrastructure to accommodate a collaborative and dynamic framework for the Artemis Program. This work includes updated federation designs, integration into existing NASA facilities, advancements in visualizations, and advancements in human driven inputs. This paper will also outline recently completed and ongoing support and collaboration with NASA studies and testing, namely results from energetics and Human-In-The-Loop (HITL) studies. The paper concludes with a plan for future developments and facility integration to enable enhanced studies in preparation for a return of humans to the lunar surface.

Artemis↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Progress of Aluminum/Air Battery Development for SUSAN Electrofan Project

Safe and high-performance battery technologies are demanded by the Subsonic Single Aft eNgine (SUSAN) Electrofan concept design project under National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) electrified aircraft development program. Aluminum (Al)-air battery with very high theoretical specific energy density, is considered as promising battery chemistry which has the potential to meet the targeted specific energy goal of primary battery energy technology for the SUSAN project. In addition to having the exceptional electrochemical properties, aluminum is light weight, rich abundance, low cost, environmentally friendly, and has a good electrical conductivity and recyclability, which is among the key characteristics of SUSAN project on battery energy needs. A non-flammable aqueous electrolyte is used to prevent the fire and thermal runaway hazard for the safety of this battery chemistry. However, there are challenges for Al-air battery in practical application, mainly due to self-corrosion of Al and slow kinetics of oxygen reduction in air-cathode to impact the high-rate performance. Progress on addressing these challenges was made and some of the results were reported in our previous paper. In this paper, the focus is on the investigation of various factors, including electrolyte concentrations, temperature, and air-cathode loadings on ionic transport properties and discharge performance at different current densities. The results are discussed, and the progress is reported.

James J Wu↗

NASA NTRS2004

A Summer Research Program of NASA/Faculty Fellowships at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory

The NASA Faculty Fellowship Program (NFFP) is designed to give college and university faculty members a rewarding personal as well as enriching professional experience. Fellowships are awarded to engineering and science faculty for work on collaborative research projects of mutual interest to the fellow and JPL host colleague. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have participated in the NASA Faculty Fellowship Program for the past 25 years. Administrative offices are maintained both at the Caltech Campus and at JPL; however, most of the activity takes place at JPL. The Campus handles all fiscal matters. The duration of the program is ten continuous weeks. Fellows are required to conduct their research on-site. To be eligible to participate in the program, fellows must be a U.S. citizen and hold a teaching or research appointment at a U.S. university or college. A travel allowance is paid to those fellows outside the 50-mile radius of JPL.

Albee, Arden↗

NASA NTRS2010

Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Reporting (TAMDAR) Sensor Validation and Verification on National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Lockheed WP-3D Aircraft

As part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Aviation Safety and Security Program, the Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Reporting project (TAMDAR) developed a low-cost sensor for aircraft flying in the lower troposphere. This activity was a joint effort with support from Federal Aviation Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and industry. This paper reports the TAMDAR sensor performance validation and verification, as flown on board NOAA Lockheed WP-3D aircraft. These flight tests were conducted to assess the performance of the TAMDAR sensor for measurements of temperature, relative humidity, and wind parameters. The ultimate goal was to develop a small low-cost sensor, collect useful meteorological data, downlink the data in near real time, and use the data to improve weather forecasts. The envisioned system will initially be used on regional and package carrier aircraft. The ultimate users of the data are National Centers for Environmental Prediction forecast modelers. Other users include air traffic controllers, flight service stations, and airline weather centers. NASA worked with an industry partner to develop the sensor. Prototype sensors were subjected to numerous tests in ground and flight facilities. As a result of these earlier tests, many design improvements were made to the sensor. The results of tests on a final version of the sensor are the subject of this report. The sensor is capable of measuring temperature, relative humidity, pressure, and icing. It can compute pressure altitude, indicated air speed, true air speed, ice presence, wind speed and direction, and eddy dissipation rate. Summary results from the flight test are presented along with corroborative data from aircraft instruments.

Tsoucalas, George↗

NASA NTRS1997

Trenholm State (AL) Technical College High School Science Enrichment Program 1996-1997 Evaluation Report

This document presents findings based on a third-year evaluation of Trenholm State (AL) Technical College's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) - supported High School Science Enrichment Program (HSSEP). HSSEP is an external (to school) program for area students from groups that are underrepresented in the mathematics, science, engineering and technology (MSET) professions. In addition to gaining insight into scientific careers, HSSEP participants learn about and deliver presentations that focus on mathematics applications, scientific problem-solving and computer programming during a seven-week summer or 10-week Academic-Year Saturday session.

Ross, Elizabeth G.↗

NASA NTRS1984

New directions in the NASA program

This paper reports on the current activities of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and discusses several new directions in NASA's program. The Space Transportation System (STS) is operational and is now performing a wide variety of missions, including repair of spacecraft on orbit. A family of upper stages are available for missions requiring higher energy than the Shuttle alone can provide. With routine access to space assured by the STS, the U.S. is ready to take its next logical step into space with development of a permanently manned Space Station. In addition, NASA is supporting a program for increased commercial development of space through a government-industry partnership.

Sakss, U. J.↗

NASA NTRS1973

A Full-Scale Fire Program to Evaluate New Furnishings and Textile Materials Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The plans for the present series of full-scale experimental fires were initiated at the suggestion of NASA following the presentation of a film and discussion illustrating Battelle-Columbus' recent work in fire research. That film showed bedroom-type fires carried out as a part of a program to determine the influence of the cyclic characteristics of real fires under limited ventilation on the burning and pyrolysis properties of the room furnishings. A new series of fires was suggested by NASA designed to show the performance of new fire resistant and fire retardant materials by providing comparative fire and smoldering environmental conditions. More recently, the goal for the new series of fires was written in a meeting with NASA personnel and others at Battelle on May 3 and 4, 1972. The goal was as follows: To establish the need for special materials of improved fire safety in domiciliary settings of public concern, and to assess, in a professionally acceptable manner, the potential of materials arising from the new space-age technology for this purpose. It was anticipated that some new materials arising from the space-age technology and not yet available through conventional commercial channels might provide significant improvements in fire safety if the best of the commercially available materials showed important shortcomings in this area. It was the intent of this program to assess the benefits that could accrue from the use of these new materials. Fire safety is a matter requiring the evaluation of a number of factors. For example, fire resistance and fire spread, visibility during the fire, toxicity of evolved gases, and the fire-fighting problem that is created must be evaluated before the relative hazard can be assessed. The plan of the program provided for sampling and instrumentation to evaluate these factors, consistent with the goal of technological utilization that has been specified. Arrangements were made with the Columbus Fire Department to use an existing six-story concrete building', designed and used as a fire training tower, as the site for the experimental fires. The visual evidence provided by TV and photographic coverage of the four experimental room fires showed clearly that the rooms responded very differently to a common ignition condition. In particular: (1) The Typical room, furnished from conventional retail sources, ignited easily and burned rapidly so that after 8 minutes the contents of the room were nearly destroyed. (2) The Improved room, furnished with materials selected as being among the best commercially available, showed substantial improvement over the Typical room in that there was slower fire spread. However, the relatively complete destruction of the room contents that resulted, and the large amounts of smoke, made it clear that substantial further improvements were needed. This fire was stopped after 29 minutes. (3) The Space-age room, furnished completely with new materials that were not yet commercially available, did not ignite under the common ignition condition and soon demonstrated the substantial improvement in fire resistance available for those components close to the ignition source. A second and larger ignition arrangement showed that this room can burn, but the difficulty with which this was brought about confirmed the improved fire resistance available with use of these materials. (4) The Mixed room ensemble, furnished with 'materials identical to the Typical room except for the substitution of the bed from the Space-age room, illustrated the improvement in control of fire spread available by careful placement of fire materials in the important paths of fire development of an otherwise ordinary room. The most significant hazards at early times in each fire were due to the rapid rise in heat flux and the abrupt obscuration of vision by smoke. The most consistent toxicity hazard was due to CO and its importance would depend on the ability of the occupant to survive the initial heat and smoke menace which characterized each fire room. Other gases and vapors were shown to reach hazardous levels in certain fire rooms and, again, their significance to an occupant, would relate to the times in which such hazards occurred, and probably to the synergistic nature of the hazard arising from mixtures of such gases. Fire retardant items in the room are caused to pyrolyze by the heat of burning from other items in the room and so contribute to combustible and toxic vapor accumulations, even though they may not have entered into the burning process. This effect of a mixture of combustible materials to produce burning and pyrolysis not characteristic of any one item individually we have chosen to call the "ensemble effect". Further full-scale fire trials may be expected to show the significant changes that control the burning and pyrolytic processes and in that event a programmed fire chamber should be developed to yield realistic laboratory results.

Hillenbrand, L. J.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Earth observations from space: History, promise, and reality. Executive summary

In this report the Committee on Earth Studies (CES), a standing committee of the Space Studies Board (SSB) within the National Research Council (NRC), reviews the recent history (nominally from 1981 to 1995) of the U.S. earth observations programs that serve civilian needs. The principal observations programs examined are those of NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Air Force' s Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) is discussed, but only from the perspective of its relationship to civil needs and the planned merger with the NOAA polar-orbiting system. The report also reviews the interfaces between the earth observations satellite programs and the major national and international environmental monitoring and research programs. The monitoring and research programs discussed are the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP), the World Climate Research Program (WCRP), related international scientific campaigns, and operational programs for the sharing and application of environmental data. The purpose of this report is to provide a broad historical review and commentary based on the views of the CES members, with particular emphasis on tracing the lengthy record of advisory committee recommendations. Any individual topic could be the subject of an extended report in its own right. Indeed, extensive further reviews are already under way to that end. If the CES has succeeded in the task it has undertaken. This report will serve as a useful starting point for any such more intensive study. The report is divided into eight chapters: ( I ) an introduction, (2) the evolution of the MTPE, (3) its relationship to the USGCRP, (4) applications of earth observations data, (5) the role that smaller satellites can play in research and operational remote sensing, (6) earth system modeling and information systems, (7) a number of associated activities that contribute to the MTPE and the USGCRP, and (8) organizational issues in the conduct of civil earth observations programs. Following the body of the report is a series of appendixes: after a list of acronyms and abbreviations and collected short biographies of CES members, six brief tutorials discuss several scientific topics important to the science and applications of earth observations. Highlights from the eight chapters follow.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2000

A Hybrid Cadre Concept for International Space Station (ISS) Operations

The International Space Station (ISS) is a continuously operating on-orbit facility, with a ten to fifteen year lifetime. The staffing and rotation concepts defined and implemented for the ISS program must take into account the unique aspects associated with long duration mission operations. Innovative approaches to mission design and operations support must be developed and explored which address these unique aspects. Previous National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) man-based space programs, with the exception of Skylab, dealt primarily with short duration missions with some amount of down time between missions; e.g., Shuttle, Spacelab, and Spacehab programs. The ISS Program on the other hand requires continuous support, with no down time between missions. ISS operations start with the first element launch and continue through the end of the program. It is this key difference between short and long duration missions that needs to be addressed by the participants in the ISS Program in effectively and efficiently staffing the positions responsible for mission design and operations. The primary drivers considered in the development of staffing and rotation concepts for the ISS Program are budget and responsiveness to change. However, the long duration aspects of the program necessitate that personal and social aspects also be considered when defining staffing concepts. To satisfy these needs, a Hybrid Cadre concept has been developed and implemented in the area of mission design and operations. The basic premise of the Hybrid Cadre concept is the definition of Increment-Independent and Increment-Dependent cadre personnel. This paper provides: definitions of the positions required to implement the concept, the rotation scheme that is applied to the individual positions, and a summary of the benefits and challenges associated with implementing the Hybrid Cadre concept.

Hagopian, Jeff↗

NASA NTRS1990

NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program, 1990, volume 2

The 1990 Johnson Space Center (JSC) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Summer Faculty Fellowship Program was conducted by the University of Houston-University Park and Johnson Space Centers (JSC). A compilation of the final reports on the research projects is presented. The following topics are covered: the Space Shuttle; the Space Station; lunar exploration; mars exploration; spacecraft power supplies; mars rover vehicle; mission planning for the Space Exploration Initiative; instrument calibration standards; a lunar oxygen production plant; optical filters for a hybrid vision system; dynamic structural analysis; lunar bases; pharmacodynamics of scopolamine; planetary spacecraft cost modeling; and others.

Bannerot, Richard B.↗

NASA NTRS2017

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project: Advanced Collision Avoidance System for UAS (ACAS Xu) Interoperability White Paper Presentation

The Phase 1 DAA Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) provided requirements for two classes of DAA equipment: equipment Class 1 contains the basic DAA equipment required to assist a pilot in remaining well clear, while equipment Class 2 integrates the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance (TCAS) II system. Thus, the Class 1 system provides RWC functionality only, while the Class 2 system is intended to provide both RWC and Collision Avoidance (CA) functionality, in compliance with the Minimum Aviation System Performance (MASPS) for the Interoperability of Airborne Collision Avoidance Systems. The FAAs TCAS Program Office is currently developing Airborne Collision Avoidance System X (ACAS X) to support the objectives of the Federal Aviation Administrations (FAA) Next Generation Air Transportation System Program (NextGen). ACAS X has a suite of variants with a common underlying design that are intended to be optimized for their intended airframes and operations. ACAS Xu being is designed for UAS and allows for new surveillance technologies and tailored logic for platforms with different performance characteristics. In addition to Collision Avoidance (CA) alerting and guidance, ACAS Xu is being tuned to provide RWC alerting and guidance in compliance with the SC 228 DAA MOPS. With a single logic performing both RWC and CA functions, ACAS Xu will provide industry with an integrated DAA solution that addresses many of the interoperability shortcomings of Phase I systems. While the MOPS for ACAS Xu will specify an integrated DAA system, it will need to show compliance with the RWC alerting thresholds and alerting requirements defined in the DAA Phase 2 MOPS. Further, some functional components of the ACAS Xu system such as the remote pilots displayed guidance might be mostly references to the corresponding requirements in the DAA MOPS. To provide a seamless, integrated, RWC-CA system to assist the pilot in remaining well clear and avoiding collisions, several issues need to be addressed within the Phase 2 SC-228 DAA efforts. Interoperability of the RWC and CA alerting and guidance, and ensuring pilot comprehension, compliance and performance, will be a primary research area.

detect and avoid↗

NASA NTRS1974

Projection of school district enrollments

The objectives were to provide a better statistical basis for enrollment projections, to attempt to model the school district's enrollment, and to produce a single estimate of enrollment for each grade, grade group, and ethnic group, and for the total by year. Efforts were also made to provide error estimates for the projections, to design a simple, user-oriented computer program for use by school district administrators, and to work with real data from local school districts and aid them in making projections on an experimental basis. The study at Jet Propulsion Laboratory was concerned with projection methodology and production of a generally usable computer program.

Van Dillen, S. L.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Advanced space design program to the Universities Space Research Association and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The goal of the Fall 1987 class of EGM 4000 was the investigation of engineering aspects contributing to the development of NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS). The areas investigated were the geometry of plant growth chambers, automated seeding of plants, remote sensing of plant health, and processing of grain into edible forms. The group investigating variable spacing of individual soybean plants designed growth trays consisting of three dimensional trapezoids arranged in a compact circular configuration. The automated seed manipulation and planting group investigated the electrical and mechanical properties of wheat seeds and developed three seeding concepts based upon these properties. The plant health and disease sensing group developed a list of reliable plant health indicators and investigated potential detection technologies.

Nevill, Gale E., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1981

To Produce Nutrients for Plant Growth

On July 1, 1979 a new research program entitled "Development of a Prototype Experiment for Treating CELSS and PCELSS Wastes to Produce Nutrients for Plant Growth" was undertaken by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Georgia Institute of Technology under grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Ames Research Center. The program was designed to be completed over a five-year period, with the work divided into two phases. Phase I covers approximately two years and involves the development of necessary facilities, chemical methodologies and models to allow meaningful experiments during Phase II, which will involve interfacing waste oxidation with plant growth. Homogeneous samples of freeze-dried human feces and urine have been prepared to assure comparability of results among various CELSS waste treatment research groups. A model of food processing wastes within a PCELSS was developed, and an initial batch of waste was prepared. An automated gas chromatographic system to analyze oxidizer effluents was designed and is operational. A state-of-the-art quantitative elemental analysis capability, built around inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy and atomic absorption spectroscopy using electrothermal atomization, has been demonstrated. A continuous flow wet oxidation system was constructed and is now operational.

Michael Modell↗

NASA NTRS1992

NASA SBIR abstracts of 1991 phase 1 projects

The objectives of 301 projects placed under contract by the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are described. These projects were selected competitively from among proposals submitted to NASA in response to the 1991 SBIR Program Solicitation. The basic document consists of edited, non-proprietary abstracts of the winning proposals submitted by small businesses. The abstracts are presented under the 15 technical topics within which Phase 1 proposals were solicited. Each project was assigned a sequential identifying number from 001 to 301, in order of its appearance in the body of the report. Appendixes to provide additional information about the SBIR program and permit cross-reference of the 1991 Phase 1 projects by company name, location by state, principal investigator, NASA Field Center responsible for management of each project, and NASA contract number are included.

Schwenk, F. Carl↗