SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Demographics”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 757 records · Page 42

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

HAT m:N Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA)

This Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) study was designed to understand the capability of the m:N Tactical Operator (TO) interfaces developed by the Human-Autonomy Teaming Laboratory at NASA Ames to support operators responsible for simplified pilot operations of 100 independently operated small UAS (sUAS) in a constrained geographic area. The m:N sUAS TO interface includes a central Tactical Situation Display (TSD) digital map with moving icons reflecting the sUAS location and planned flight route. The interface also has two side panels. The left panel includes a tabular list of UAS assets and mission tasking, a list of recently viewed assets, and a list of events and alerts. The right panel includes a tabular list of UAS assets and their associated telemetry, text-based chat communication window, and a tabbed checklist window. This CTA was adapted from the incident-based applied cognitive task analysis (Militello & Hutton, 1998) and included demographics questions, scenario-based simulations, a task diagram and knowledge audit methods. In addition to examining the support provided by this m:N sUAS TO interface, this CTA study, conducted with aviation subject matter experts in analogous roles to the future tactical operator, was designed to illuminate and project likely cognitive requirements of the tactical operator. Interviewees participated in two scenario-based simulations using the m:N sUAS TO interfaces. In the first simulation, the interviewees supervised 12 sUAS operating in downtown San Diego, California transiting to and from a central sUAS Hive, restaurant locations, and customer drop off locations. Interviewees were asked to react to a UAS Volume Reservation (UVR) event with a two-phase impact on food delivery operations. In the second scenario, the interviewees supervised 100 sUAS operating in the same airspace and with the same mission. Interviewees used the interfaces to recognize and react to two sUAS air vehicle problems. After each scenario, we asked the interviewees a semi-structured list of questions to elicit their reflections about using the interfaces. Interviewees were confident in their ability to respond to two off-nominal situations in each simulation. Interviewees felt that, given high levels of automation on the sUAS, they would be able to manage the events without requiring additional support or handing off the sUAS to a colleague or supervisor in both the n=12 or n=100 sUAS settings. In the n=12 sUAS condition, interviewees used the center map to understand the asset location and progress along with mission tasking. An additional display window, Asset Telemetry, helped interviewees understand battery state and sUAS altitude. When the number of sUAS increased, interviewees altered their behavior. Rather than maintaining awareness of individual assets, interviewees appeared to become more reactive, managing exceptions. Interviewees reported that they spent less time looking at the nominal aircraft, and focused their attention primarily on the off-nominal aircraft. In addition, in the second simulation with n=100 sUAS, interviewees reported that they relied more on the side panels (Mission Timeline and Asset Telemetry) to gather information.

human-autonomy teaming↗

NASA NTRS2020

Mock Catalogs for the Extragalactic X-ray Sky: Simulating AGN Surveys with ATHENA and with the AXIS Probe

We present a series of new, publicly available mock catalogs of X-ray selected active galactic nuclei (AGNs), nonactive galaxies, and clusters of galaxies. These mocks are based on up-to-date observational results on the demographic of extragalactic X-ray sources and their extrapolations. They reach fluxes below 10-20 erg cm-2 s-1 in the 0.5–2 keV band, that is, more than an order of magnitude below the predicted limits of future deep fields, and they therefore represent an important tool for simulating extragalactic X-ray surveys with both current and future telescopes. We used our mocks to perform a set of end-to-end simulations of X-ray surveys with the forthcoming ATHENA mission and with the AXIS probe, a subarcsecond resolution X-ray mission concept proposed to the Astro 2020 Decadal Survey. We find that these proposed, next generation surveys may transform our knowledge of the deep X-ray Universe. As an example, in a total observing time of 15 Ms, AXIS would detect ~225 000 AGNs and ~50 000 nonactive galaxies, reaching a flux limit of f0:5-2 ~ 5 x 10-19 erg cm-2 s-1 in the 0.5–2 keV band, with an improvement of over an order of magnitude with respect to surveys with current X-ray facilities. Consequently, 90% of these sources would be detected for the first time in the X-rays. Furthermore, we show that deep and wide X-ray surveys with instruments such as AXIS and ATHENA are expected to detect ~20 000 z > 3 AGNs and ~250 sources at redshift z > 6, thus opening a new window of knowledge on the evolution of AGNs over cosmic time and putting strong constraints on the predictions of theoretical models of black hole seed accretion in the early universe.

X-ray galaxies↗

NASA NTRS2020

Unmasking secondary vegetation dynamics in the Brazilian Amazon

Secondary vegetation (SV) from land abandonment is a common transition phase between agricultural uses following tropical deforestation. The impact of SV on carbon sequestration and habitat fragmentation across tropical forest frontiers therefore depends on SV dynamics and demographics. Here, we used time series of annual MapBiomas land cover data to generate the first estimates of SV extent, age, and net carbon uptake in the Brazilian Amazon between 1985 and 2017. SV increased over time, totaling 12 Mha in 2017, 44% of which was ≤5 years old. Between 1988 and 2017, 19.6 Mha of SV was cleared, adding 45.5% to the area of primary deforestation detected by the Brazilian monitoring system (PRODES). Rates of SV loss have exceeded PRODES deforestation since 2011. Based on the age and extent of gains and losses, SV was a small net carbon sink during this period (8.9 Tg C/yr). As SV is not formally protected by national environmental legislation or monitored by PRODES, long-term benefits from SV in the Brazilian Amazon remain uncertain.

Brazilian Amazon↗

NASA NTRS2021

Sacramento Urban Development: Quantifying and Mapping Urban Heat to Support Urban Planning Initiatives in Sacramento, California

The combined effects of increasing urbanization and climate change have exacerbated the urban heat island (UHI) effect and heat-related risks for city dwellers. Vulnerability to heat-related illnesses is further compounded by risk factors such as demographics, socioeconomic status, and pre-existing health conditions. The City of Sacramento, as California’s fastest growing city in terms of population, is particularly invested in combatting the UHI effect. The team collaborated with the City of Sacramento and urban planning firm, Dyett and Bhatia, on three main goals: assessing urban heat at the neighborhood scale; identifying priority areas for cooling interventions; and assessing heat risk to the population. This project utilized NASA Earth observation products to identify hotspots within the community areas of Sacramento and create maps of urban heat, the heat-mitigation index, and heat risk of the study period from 2016-2020. The Surface Reflectance product were used from Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) and ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) thermal infrared sensor. Additionally, the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) Urban cooling model was used to assess the impact of increased tree canopy scenarios. Urban hotspots were identified in central Sacramento and along major transportation corridors such as Stockton Boulevard, while highest risk areas were identified in the community areas of Fruitridge/Broadway and North Sacramento. This project identified these high-opportunity areas for heat mitigation to inform the City of Sacramento's General Plan. This will inform the partners’ plans to reduce citizen risk by addressing urban heat islands.

Karina Alvarez↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Open-Science Approach to Address Individual Response to Simulated GCR In Genetically Diverse Populations of Mice and Humans

This project addresses the challenge of understanding and predicting individual radiation sensitivity by integrating genetics, demographics and biomarker characteristics across species (mice and humans). We hypothesize that ex vivo DNA repair response to GCR components is a central determinant of cancer risk from space radiation and can serve as a biomarker of radiation risk in combination with genetics. Automated image quantification of 53BP1+ radiation-induced foci (RIF) during the first 4-48 h post-irradiation was performed as a function of dose and LET in non-immortalized primary skin fibroblasts derived from 76 mice across 15 strains (5 inbred reference strains and 10 collaborative-cross strains) exposed to X rays (0.1, 1 and 4 Gy), 350 MeV/n 40Ar and 600 MeV/n 56Fe (1.1 and 3 particles/100sq. μm), as well as in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 768 healthy donors (matched ethnicity, 50/50 male/female, 18-70 years old) exposed to gamma rays (0.1 and 1 Gy), 350 MeV/n 28Si, 350 MeV/n 40Ar and 600 MeV/n 56Fe (1.1 and 3 particles/100sq. μm). A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed on the mouse strains between DNA damage responses to space radiation and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We found SNPs, which were significantly associated to the RIF phenotype, mapped to genes and pathways that are functionally linked to health hazards for deep space exploration (e.g. carcinogenesis, nervous system damage and immune dysfunction). Some of these SNPs were located within protein coding regions, potentially interfering with protein functions and providing promising genetic targets for countermeasures. We also found correlations between both spontaneous and radiation-induced DNA damage and SNPs mapped to pathways associated with cellular metabolism. GWAS is undergoing for the human data. All data have been made available via the NASA Space Biology Open-Science database (genelab.nasa.gov) and we will discuss how various genomic and transcriptomic datasets can be accessed for modeling and integrated using machine learning methods for discovering new radiation biology.

Sylvain V Costes↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Controlled Rest: Investigating the Use of an In-Flight Sleepiness Countermeasure

INTRODUCTION: Sleepiness is commonly reported amongst commercial airline pilots and is recognized as a safety risk due to its impact on performance. Controlled Rest (CR) refers to a short, voluntary nap opportunity taken by pilots on the flight deck as a countermeasure to unanticipated sleepiness in flight. This study explores the profile of CR use in a long-haul commercial airline. METHODS: Forty-four pilots filled in an application-based sleep/work diary and wore actiwatches for approximately 2 weeks. Complete data sets from 239 flights including sleep diaries, actigraphy, and schedules were merged and analyzed. Sleep diary entries were used to set CR intervals in the actigraphy software, which was then used to predict sleep within these intervals. All time-stamps of sleep periods and flight schedules were adjusted for home-base time of the pilots. Pearson Correlations were used to assess the influence of pilot demographics on CR use. A mixed-effects logistic regression was used to analyze the impact of schedule factors on CR. RESULTS: Pilots reported taking CR on 46% (n=110) of observed flights. Average CR attempt duration was 43.1 ± 11.0 minutes. Eighty-percent (n=106/133) of all CR attempts were estimated by actigraphy to have successfully achieved sleep with an average sleep duration during successful rest periods of 31.7 ± 12.2 minutes. Captains reported taking CR on 38% of flights (n=39/102), compared to First Officers reporting 52% (n=71/137) of flights with CR (p=0.131). Age, experience, BMI, and sleep need were not associated with the percentage of flights with CR (all p>0.244). The following schedule factors were associated with a higher frequency of CR: night (55%, n=76) vs. day flights (34%, n=34); <10h (63%, n=80) vs. >10h duration flights (27%, n=30); return (60%, n=71) vs. outbound flights (33%, n=39); and 2-pilot (69%, n=83) vs. >2-pilot flights (23%, n=27) (all p≤0.001). There was a trend for more CR on eastbound flights, but this was not significant (eastbound: 51%, n= 57; westbound: 40%, n= 44; p=0.059). Of note, 22% (n=26) of augmented flights (>2-pilots) contained both CR and Bunk Rest (in a designated rest facility). DISCUSSION: Data from this airline show that pilots commonly use CR to mitigate sleepiness in-flight, especially on flights <10h duration and during home-base nighttime flights. Future studies are required to determine generalizability of these results to other airlines.

sleepiness↗

NASA NTRS2021

Population Viability Analysis (PVA) as a Platform for Predicting Outcomes of Management Options for the Florida Scrub-Jay in Brevard County

The Florida scrub-jay (FSJ) is a species in decline because of extinction debt caused by habitat fragmentation and degradation. Understanding and managing the species and its habitats is challenging due to the complex interactions among the social system, a dynamic mosaic of scrub habitat, and active management. To provide insights into the possible fates of the FSJ populations of mainland, cape, and island sections of Brevard County, we modeled the population dynamics using the Vortex population viability analysis (PVA) software. Vortex is an individual-based simulation that allowed us to include such factors as demographic rates dependent on habitat state, impact of helpers on breeding success, and helper to breeder transition probabilities responding to availability of nearby vacant optimal habitat and vacancies due to the death of breeders. Detailed modeling of the FSJ was possible only because a lot of data about the species and its habitats have been gathered over decades of intensive research. We followed a phased approach to constructing population models that incorporated the best available science and data to address a variety of conservation actions. The first phase focused on constructing a model that incorporates sociobiology and source-sink habitat dynamics. This model allowed us to address some of the most important questions about population size and habitat quality. Once the model framework was in place, we considered the real landscapes and actual local populations, rather than just generic representations of typical FSJ dynamics. After examining the viability of the metapopulations under current conditions, we explored the likely consequences of various management actions that might slow or reverse population declines.

Population Viability Analysis↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Process Model of Interpersonal Relationship Formation in Isolated and Confined Environments

Future space crews will face several challenges such as living and working in a confined environment, isolated from others. These circumstances increase the importance of interpersonal compatibility, teamwork, and team performance. The interpersonal compatibility of space crews has been and continues to be of interest to both NASA and the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP), whose research informs operations for Roscosmos. In NASA-sponsored research, interpersonal compatibility has been examined in terms of how the combination of team members’ personality traits, values, and demographics shape team member relationships and team performance overtime. IBMP-sponsored research mostly has moved away from trait-based approaches toward an idiographic (in-depth, heavily descriptive) approach to researching crew interpersonal relations. This research uses software such as Personal Self-Perception and Attitudes (PSPA), network approaches to team member relations, and content analysis of interactions to assess interpersonal compatibility, and infer states and team dynamics. Our research program integrated these ideas. Our primary research aim was to develop and empirically test a process model of interpersonal relationship formation in isolated and confinement environments. We created a model, collected data from teams in an isolated and confined environment, and applied a novel analytical strategy that combines trait, state, and interaction data (i.e., relational events). We focused specifically on the formation of strained relationships in isolation and confinement—or with whom fellow crewmembers find it difficult to work.

S T Bell↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Assessing Flooding Vulnerability to Assist High Water Intervention and Urban Planning Programs in the Charles River Watershed with NASA DEVELOP

The Charles River watershed intersects 35 municipalities within the Boston Metropolitan Area and has a total population of 1.2 million, making it one of the most densely populated watersheds in New England. In recent years, the watershed has observed higher rates of flood inundation, mainly due to increased development, extreme precipitation events, and increased surface runoff. As the frequency of flooding events increases and a changing climate poses an ongoing threat to local communities, governments and organizations in Massachusetts are in need of accurate flood risk assessments. NASA DEVELOP partnered with the Charles River Watershed Association, the Town of Natick’s Office of Sustainability, and the Massachusetts Audubon Society to assess flood vulnerability and susceptibility in the watershed. The team used Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper, Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager, Sentinel-1 C-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar, and Sentinel-2 MultiSpectral Instrument to assess the feasibility of identifying the extent of past flood events using remote sensing. After identifying images that overlapped with reported flood events, the team concluded that it was not feasible to use Earth observation data to detect localized flooding in the time available for this study. Instead, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 100-year floodplain was used as a proxy for areas where flooding may occur. The team used statistical regression analysis and validation and supervised classification to develop a flood susceptibility map, incorporating several flood conditioning factors. The susceptibility maps were calibrated to various thresholds, including two that highlight hypothetical flooding under more liberal and more conservative planning scenarios. These were overlaid with demographic and socioeconomic data to create flood vulnerability maps. The team’s flood susceptibility maps showed an improvement in capturing known flood events over the FEMA 100-year and 500-year floodplain maps. These results will be improved with the addition of stormwater drainage mapping and precipitation data. Results can be used to fill in the gaps to help the stakeholders understand their communities’ vulnerability and susceptibility to flooding and improve their preparedness plans.

Trista Brophy↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Evening with NASA Scientists and Engineers: A Senior Living Community Outreach Program

Introduction: An Evening with NASA Scientists and Engineers is an outreach program for senior living communities, where participants learn from and interact with a scientist or engineer in a virtual setting. Participants learn about NASA science and engineering through a behind-the-scenes look from the people who work at NASA. The program focuses on both the stories behind the discoveries and the stories behind the people. The audience tunes in to the events via the NASA Zoom Webinar platform, where they have the opportunity to ask questions throughout the approximately 30-minute program. By bringing the audience into the conversation, we build rapport and thus improve their connection with NASA. Overview: An Evening with NASA Scientists and Engineers began in September 2020 when we identified a need for outreach to this particular demographic, as senior living communities had been hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program covers a wide range of topics, including heliophysics, astrophysics, planetary science, Earth science, planetary defense, and more, depending on what is topically appropriate at the time, and occurs on a roughly monthly basis. Each interactive presentation is between 20-25 minutes with 5-10 minutes of dedicated Q&A. Future dates and topics may change depending on new developments to NASA missions and stories. Audience: As of December 2021, we have four regularly attending senior living communities, spanning the East Coast from New Hampshire to Florida, with each joining the overall program at various stages of its development. The ability to reach many different senior living communities is crucial so that a diversity of people may benefit from this program. The audience consists of seniors with varying experience and comprehension levels – some are very familiar with the sciences while others are simply curious to learn more. Residents tune in to each event from their individual rooms or from their larger community rooms. RiverWoods Exeter. The RiverWoods Exeter community was our initial audience who acted as our “guinea pig” to see how this program might be implemented and to work out any major issues. They are located in Exeter, NH but also have two additional campuses in Durham, NH and Manchester, NH, that joined us a few months into the program. Culpepper Garden. Our second community to join the program was Culpepper Garden, a senior living community in Arlington, VA that provides both independent and assisted living housing to low-income seniors. Edinburgh Square. Our third community, Edinburgh Square, connected with us after hearing about the program through Culpepper Garden. Edinburgh Square is an HUD-subsidized retirement community in Roanoke, VA that houses both seniors and those living with disabilities. Moonstruck Astronomy Club. The Moonstruck Astronomy Club consists of residents from the On Top of the World retirement community in Ocala, FL and was the latest senior living community to join us. NASA Zoom Webinar: An Evening with NASA Scientists and Engineers reaches numerous senior living communities through live presentations that we host using the NASA Zoom Webinar virtual platform. Participants are typically already familiar with the Zoom platform which enables a lower barrier to entry. A recording of each talk is added to a designated video playlist on the NASA STEM YouTube channel so that audiences worldwide may view them [1]. These recordings began with our April 1, 2021 presentation, as this was when NASA Zoom Webinar was implemented, thus enabling us to record each talk. Metrics: We record attendance numbers from the senior living communities for each event as well as those from YouTube views after the presentation recording is posted online. Depending on which communities tune in, typical attendance numbers are between 60-100 people. RiverWoods Exeter has the most regularly attending residents, with an average of 55 attendees per event. As of December 2021, we have hosted fourteen events, nine of which were recorded and posted to our designated NASA STEM YouTube Channel playlist. The nine recordings combined have roughly 4,000 YouTube views thus far, with specific videos seeing higher view counts around launch dates (e.g. NASA’s DART mission) and trending topics (e.g. JWST). A list of speakers, topics, and links to presentation recordings is shown in Table 1. Future Program Expansion: Thus far, we have been adding communities on an individual basis. To make this process more streamlined, we are looking into working with senior living community networks and organizations such as LeadingAge [2]. In this manner, we will be able to reach more communities while also making it easier to send and receive relevant information.

S L Tiedeken↗

NASA NTRS2021

The Heraklion Extragalactic Catalogue (HECATE): A Value-added Galaxy Catalogue for Multimessenger Astrophysics

We present the Heraklion Extragalactic Catalogue, or HECATE, an all-sky value-added galaxy catalogue, aiming to facilitate present and future multiwavelength and multi messenger studies in the local Universe. It contains 204 733 galaxies up to a red shift of 0.047 (D200 Mpc), and it is>50 per cent complete in terms of the B-band luminosity density at distances in the0–170 Mpc range. By incorporating and homogenizing data from astronomical data bases and multiwavelength surveys, the catalogue offers positions, sizes, distances, morphological classifications, star formation rates, stellar masses, metallicities, and nuclear activity classifications. This wealth of information can enable a wide range of applications, such as (i) demographic studies of extragalactic sources, (ii) initial characterization of transient events, and (iii) searches for electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational-wave events. The catalogue is publicly available to the community at a dedicated portal, which will also host future extensions in terms of the covered volume and data products.

K Kovlakas↗

NASA NTRS2021

MOA-2006-BLG-074: Recognizing Xallarap Contaminants in Planetary Microlensing

MOA-2006-BLG-074 was selected as one of the most promising planetary candidates in a retrospective analysis of the MOA collaboration: its asymmetric high-magnification peak can be perfectly explained by a source passing across a central caustic deformed by a small planet. However, after a detailed analysis of the residuals, we have realized that a single lens and a source orbiting with a faint companion provides a more satisfactory explanation for all the observed deviations from a Paczynski curve and the only physically acceptable interpretation. Indeed the orbital motion of the source is constrained enough to allow a very good characterization of the binary source from the microlensing light curve. The case of MOA-2006-BLG-074 suggests that the so-called xallarap effect must be taken seriously in any attempts to obtain accurate planetary demographics from microlensing surveys.

Gravitational microlensing exoplanet detection↗

NASA NTRS2022

Optimal Locations for Air Mobility Vertiports

The purpose of this study was to effectively solicit the public to obtain inputs on potential Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) vertiport locations for UAM and RAM operations that transport people, specifically: where they would like to see vertiports located, and how they would like to use this new mode of transport (e.g. for “local” trips across town, for more “regional” trips between cities/towns, for business-related purposes, for leisure/personal purposes, routinely or only for “special” occasions, etc.) Maven conducted an electronic survey of individuals residing in specific geographies in order to obtain a broadly representative sample of the citizenry across all demographics and population density designations (e.g. rural, exurban, suburban, and urban). For the purposes of this survey, Maven received input from over 1,500 individuals divided between the Los Angeles Metropolitan area (as a general proxy for urban residents), and the state of Ohio (as a general proxy for suburban, exurban, and rural residents).

Advanced air mobility↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Noise Impact Analysis for Urban Air Mobility in Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex

This study supports re-design of airspace and procedures for management of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) fleet operations in a given metropolitan area. A goal of UAM is to maintain geographic separation of UAM flight tracks from densely populated areas in order to reduce the potential negative community impact of UAM and manage flight trajectory in anticipation of allowable noise levels and current land use. A UAM route inventory and a demographic-data-optimized topographic map are developed for the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex to identify routes or baseline route segments for reduction of noise impact. Noise contours are computed for baseline route and alternative route design given the desired UAM demand level. The impact of UAM fleet noise is predicted based on predicted number of people and noise-sensitive facilities located inside the noise contours.

Urban Air Mobility↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Noise Impact Analysis for Urban Air Mobility in Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex

Urban Air Mobility↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Modeling approaches to estimate community annoyance due to sonic booms using data from repeated surveys

In an on-going project for NASA, we are developing a modeling approach to analyze the relationship between the noise level of sonic booms from an experimental supersonic plane and the level of annoyance measured through community response surveys. The goal of the project is to obtain a quantitative relationship between noise level and annoyance that is representative for the affected population. Particular modeling challenges include multiple annoyance measurements per survey respondent and very few occurrences of annoyance overall. To address these challenges, we propose a two-stage model for the presence of high annoyance, with the first stage modeling the probability that a respondent is ever highly annoyed and the second stage a multilevel logistic regression model for high annoyance based on noise level and demographic characteristics. We use a variation of Multilevel Regression and Poststratification (Gelman and Little, 1997) to obtain an overall representative noise-annoyance curve for the population. The approach is applied to data from a NASA pilot study.

Robyn Ferg↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Effects of Spaceflight and Microgravity Exposure on Female Astronaut Health and Performance

Over the past half century, our understanding of the physiological effects of space exploration and microgravity exposure have improved immensely. Microgravity causes incredible changes to the human body that increase risk of injury upon return to Earth and lunar/planetary egress scenarios. This is due to deconditioning of the cardiovascular and skeletal muscle systems that reduce aerobic capacity and muscular strength. With upcoming exploration class missions, such as NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration program which aims to send the first female astronaut to the lunar surface by 2030, as well as a long-term goal of Martian exploration, maintaining astronaut health during extended-duration space flight is critical for achieving mission objectives. However, our understanding of these physiological implications due to microgravity are based primarily on flight studies of male astronauts and 1g bedrest analog study participants, with few investigations focusing specifically on females. Innate physiologic differences in endocrine signaling and reproductive function impact sex-dependent responses to various health conditions, treatments, and environmental factors in nearly every system in the body. Therefore, to assume comparable alterations in females in response to microgravity exposure may be inappropriate and consequentially, could lead to lasting impacts on female astronaut health and impact mission success. Moreover, differences in sex hormones may also influence the regulation of cardiovascular control during egress activity after space flight-induced deconditioning and blood volume loss (i.e., risk for orthostatic intolerance). Other potential physiological systems and factors related to musculoskeletal health and aerobic capacity that warrant investigation with respect to microgravity include endocrine/reproductive function, vascular control, bone mineral density/microarchitecture, and soft-tissue health. The purpose of this investigation is two-fold: 1) to summarize the data available from space flight and simulated bedrest analog exposures to begin addressing these gaps in knowledge regarding impacts to female astronaut health, and 2) to describe differences in demographic health characteristics, injury prevalence, and aerobic capacity and muscular strength in NASA female and male astronauts. Female astronauts make up 50% of Artemis-specific astronaut corps and the extent to which microgravity exposure impacts female cardiovascular and musculoskeletal health, and whether these alterations are consistent with their male counterparts, is inconclusive. With the growing inclusion of female astronauts in the NASA space program and the increased duration of missions beyond low Earth orbit, a greater understanding of the sex-specific adaptation to space travel will help determine the development of appropriate countermeasures for minimizing risk and maintaining health of all astronauts.

Nicole Christine Strock↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Milwaukee Urban Development: Assessing the Drivers of Urban Flood Vulnerability in Milwaukee using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs Urban Flood Risk Mitigation Model (InVEST)

Milwaukee County has experienced an increase in flooding due to climate change and urbanization. The frequency and severity of flooding vary spatially due to differences in land cover, surface permeability, and infrastructure. Marginalized communities tend to experience disproportionately high flooding and damage due to infrastructural inequalities and limited access to resources. To quantify these differences, we used the Natural Capital Project’s Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) Urban Flood Risk Mitigation Model to calculate and create maps of runoff retention, nominal flood depth, and economic damage to buildings in Milwaukee. Our model inputs included land cover, surface permeability, and rainfall. To inform our precipitation inputs, we used NASA’s Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM IMERG) and National Weather Service (NWS) data. We assessed the relationship between flood risk and social and environmental spatial data including redlining, racial demographics, greenspace, and community resilience. The data demonstrate that flood risk is higher in historically redlined neighborhoods, majority Hispanic and Black census block groups, areas that lack parks and trees, and areas of low community resilience as measured by the Census Bureau’s Community Resilience Estimates (CRE). These findings will support our partners, Groundwork Milwaukee and Groundwork USA, in their efforts to promote the equitable distribution of resources and support environmental health in urban spaces. The end products of this project provide our partners with tools to assess urban flooding vulnerability, guide future intervention projects, quantify the effects of environmental injustice, and improve stakeholder access to data.

Madeleine Tango↗