Results for “Human and Technology Integration” — Page 48

NASA NTRS1991

Evolving the SP-100 reactor in order to boost large payloads to GEO and to low lunar orbit via nuclear-electric propulsion

In striving to reduce exploration cost and exploration risks, a crucial aspect of the plans is program continuity, i.e., the continuing application of a given technology over a long period so that experience will accumulate from extended testing here on earth and from a diversity of applications in space. An integrated view needs to be formed of the missions SEI will carry out, near term as well as far, and of the ways in which these missions can mutually support one another. Near term programs should be so constituted as to provide for the long term missions both the enabling technologies and the accumulation of experience they need. In achieving this, missions in earth orbit should both evolve and show the technologies crucial to long term missions on the lunar surfaces, and the program for the lunar labs should evolve and show the enabling technologies for exploration of the surface of Mars and for flights of human beings to Mars and return. In the near term, the program for the Space Station should be directed and funded to develop and demonstrate the solar Brayton power plant that will be most useful as the power generator for the SP-100 nuclear reactor.

English, Robert E.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Robotics in a controlled, ecological life support system

Controlled, Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS) that utilize plants to provide food, water and oxygen could consume considerable amounts of labor unless crop production, recovery and processing are automated. Robotic manipulators equipped with special end-effectors and programmed to perform the sensing and materials handling tasks would minimize the amount of astronaut labor required. The Human Rated Test Facility (HRTF) planned for Johnson Space Center could discover and demonstrate techniques of crop production which can be reliably integrated with machinery to minimize labor requirements. Before the physical components (shelves, lighting fixtures, etc.) can be selected, a systems analysis must be performed to determine which alternative processes should be followed and how the materials handling tasks should be automated. Given that the current procedures used to grow crops in a CELSS may not be the best methods to automate, then what are the alternatives? How may plants be grown, harvested, processed for food, and the inedible components recycled? What commercial technologies current exist? What research efforts are underway to develop new technologies which might satisfy the need for automation in a CELSS? The answers to these questions should prove enlightening and provide some of the information necessary to perform the systems analysis. The planting, culturing, gathering, threshing and separation, food processing, and recovery of inedible portions of wheat were studied. The basic biological and materials handling processes of each task are defined and discussed. Current practices at Johnson Space Center and other NASA centers are described and compared to common production practices in the plant production industry. Technologies currently being researched which might be applicable are identified and illustrated. Finally, based on this knowledge, several scenarios are proposed for automating the tasks for wheat.

Miles, Gaines E.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Autonomous Contingency Management In Urban Air Mobility: The Communication Network Awareness Machine System

Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) has begun the modernization of the nation’s air transportation system (NAS), with goals to improve system safety, increase operation efficiency and capacity, provide enhanced predictability, resilience and robustness [1]. The overall objective of the Air Traffic Management-eXploration (ATM-X) project is to facilitate the goals of NextGen by conducting research to enable the growing demand of new, mission variant, air vehicles with safe access to the NAS. The implementation and utilization of new and burgeoning technologies that are both flexible, scalable, and systematically user-focused are requisite for ATM-X to achieve its intention of NAS safe entry [2]. Researchers from NASA Langley’s Flight Deck Integration Team have developed a system architecture that would allow ATM-X to leverage the necessary capabilities of an Increasingly Autonomous System (IAS), machine-agent that will promote the safe access and operation of air vehicles within what has become the byproduct of NextGen modernization, a Net-Centric airspace architecture and an Urban Air Mobility (UAM) community. Conducting flight operations within this type of architecture constrains the human-agent’s natural ability by data management. When the massive volume of data, its types, and the acquisition speed at which the data is ingested is observed it becomes evident that the human-agent will be functioning at an operational disadvantage. Therefore, the development and integration of intelligent machine-agents into the flight deck are a necessary implementation to achieve ATM-X overall objective of safe access and operation in the NAS.

Urban Air Mobility↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Gateway as a Building Block for Space Exploration and Development

The Gateway, which will be a small, human-tended space station in orbit around the Moon, is an example of the building block approach to space exploration and development. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) leads the Gateway Program and serves as the integrator of the spaceflight capabilities and contributions of U.S. commercial partners and international partners. Gateway is a cornerstone of deep space human exploration, one critical element of the strategies and architectures that will enable human exploration of the solar system. This paper will outline: 1) The concept of operations and describe how Gateway is a multipurpose space station, supporting lunar surface missions, cis-lunar research, and as a proving ground for human missions to Mars; 2) Gateway’s international partnerships as an expansion of the partnerships of the “second generation of space programmes,” namely the International Space Station (ISS); and 3) Future commercial, scientific, and technology demonstration opportunities that this infrastructure building block provides. Lastly, the strategies and architectures for future space exploration and development must include thoughtful approaches to the management and business operations of government space programs. This includes planning for limited outyear growth in budgets, partnership and acquisition strategies, pursuing public-private partnerships and the use of firm-fixed price contracts, enabling vendor-to-vendor relationships, the use of multilateral interoperability standards, and incorporating key lessons learned from prior governmental Programs. This paper will discuss the strategies and approaches undertaken when establishing the Gateway Program at the NASA Johnson Space Center in 2019 and the current operational status of this new, lean, and efficient Program.

Gateway↗

NASA NTRS2009

Strategies for Ground Testing of Manned Lunar Surface Systems

One of the primary objectives of NASA's Vision for Space Exploration is the creation of a permanently manned lunar outpost. Facing the challenge of establishing a human presence on the moon will require new innovations and technologies that will be critical to expanding this exploration to Mars and beyond. However, accomplishing this task presents an unprecedented set of obstacles, one of the more significant of which is the development of new strategies for ground test and verification. Present concepts for the Lunar Surface System (LSS) architecture call for the construction of a series of independent yet tightly coupled modules and elements to be launched and assembled in incremental stages. Many of these will be fabricated at distributed locations and delivered shortly before launch, precluding any opportunity for testing in an actual integrated configuration. Furthermore, these components must operate flawlessly once delivered to the lunar surface since there is no possibility for returning a malfunctioning module to Earth for repair or modification. Although undergoing continual refinement, this paper will present the current state of the plans and models that have been devised for meeting the challenge of ground based testing for Constellation Program LSS as well as the rationale behind their selection.

Beyer, Jeff↗

NASA NTRS1987

Man-machine interface issues in space telerobotics: A JPL research and development program

Technology issues related to the use of robots as man-extension or telerobot systems in space are discussed and exemplified. General considerations are presentd on control and information problems in space teleoperation and on the characteristics of Earth orbital teleoperation. The JPL R and D work in the area of man-machine interface devices and techniques for sensing and computer-based control is briefly summarized. The thrust of this R and D effort is to render space teleoperation efficient and safe through the use of devices and techniques which will permit integrated and task-level (intelligent) two-way control communication between human operator and telerobot machine in Earth orbit. Specific control and information display devices and techniques are discussed and exemplified with development results obtained at JPL in recent years.

Bejczy, A. K.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Functional nanocomposites prepared by self-assembly and polymerization of diacetylene surfactants and silicic acid

Conjugated polymer/silica nanocomposites with hexagonal, cubic, or lamellar mesoscopic order were synthesized by self-assembly using polymerizable amphiphilic diacetylene molecules as both structure-directing agents and monomers. The self-assembly procedure is rapid and incorporates the organic monomers uniformly within a highly ordered, inorganic environment. By tailoring the size of the oligo(ethylene glycol) headgroup of the diacetylene-containing surfactant, we varied the resulting self-assembled mesophases of the composite material. The nanostructured inorganic host altered the diacetylene polymerization behavior, and the resulting nanocomposites show unique thermo-, mechano-, and solvatochromic properties. Polymerization of the incorporated surfactants resulted in polydiacetylene (PDA)/silica nanocomposites that were optically transparent and mechanically robust. Molecular modeling and quantum calculations and (13)C spin-lattice relaxation times (T(1)) of the PDA/silica nanocomposites indicated that the surfactant monomers can be uniformly organized into precise spatial arrangements prior to polymerization. Nanoindentation and gas transport experiments showed that these nanocomposite films have increased hardness and reduced permeability as compared to pure PDA. Our work demonstrates polymerizable surfactant/silica self-assembly to be an efficient, general approach to the formation of nanostructured conjugated polymers. The nanostructured inorganic framework serves to protect, stabilize, and orient the polymer, mediate its performance, and provide sufficient mechanical and chemical stability to enable integration of conjugated polymers into devices and microsystems.

NASA Discipline Life Support Systems↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Utilizing Gaps and Key Performance Parameters to Inform NASA Environmental Control and Life Support and Human Health and Performance Capability Technology Decisions

Human spaceflight is a complex endeavor requiring multiple capabilities for transportation, crew health, scientific goals, and safe return to Earth. The difference between spaceflight proven capabilities and those needed for future exploration architectures is defined as a capability gap. Capability gaps are not technology specific. Each capability gap is approachable with a wide array of technologies that have unique benefits and challenges. Determining what a capability’s relevant and distinguishing key performance parameters (KPPs) are for a mission is critical. Mass, power, and volume are always constrained and important, but defining these in a way normalized by performance is challenging. Additionally, KPP definition for reliability, dormancy, and integration needs are very important and still evolving. This paper provides the approach of the Environmental Control and Life Support – Crew Health and Performance (ECLSS-CHP) System Capability Leadership Team (SCLT) has used to define gaps and KPPs in support of the NASA’s Capabilities Integration Team data call objectives. The nine ECLSS-CHP capability areas are decomposed to capabilities with ~76 gaps and supported with KPPs. Rather than defining very detailed gaps, ECLSS-CHP defines high-level gaps to be technology agnostic. Within a gap, detailed KPPs are defined to both compare technologies and measure progress within a technology over time. Ideally, KPPs are clearly defined, widely communicated both internally and externally, and provide a common nomenclature to describe the state of the art and the degree of improvement required for exploration missions. KPPs help define when the gap is closed, and the core mission objectives can be accomplished. Further technology improvements to enhance the capability, as measured by improved KPPs, must then be weighed against investments in open capability gaps that prevent NASA from achieving its exploration missions. It is uncommon that a technology maturation to improve all the relevant KPPs simultaneously but using KPPs is a critical technology investment decision making component. In addition to traditional technology selections, KPPs are informing how investments in ground testing prior to and in parallel with ISS technology demonstrations are required to improve reliability KPPs. The collection of all major technology activities within a capability area are captured on technology roadmaps to communicate how diverse program activities are coordinated to close gaps and infuse into exploration mission needs. A selection of ECLSS-CHP gaps and KPPs and their formulation, current state, and how they inform capability roadmap planning are discussed.

Life Support↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Gateway as a Building Block for Space Exploration and Development

The Gateway, which will be a small, human-tended space station in orbit around the Moon, is an example of the building block approach to space exploration and development. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) leads the Gateway Program and serves as the integrator of the spaceflight capabilities and contributions of U.S. commercial partners and international partners. Gateway is a cornerstone of deep space human exploration, one critical element of the strategies and architectures that will enable human exploration of the solar system. This paper will outline: 1) The concept of operations and describe how Gateway is a multi-purpose space station, supporting lunar surface missions, cis-lunar research, and as a proving ground for human missions to Mars; 2) Gateway’s international partnerships as an expansion of the partnerships of the “second generation of space programmes,” namely the International Space Station (ISS); and 3) Future commercial, scientific, and technology demonstration opportunities that this infrastructure building block provides. Lastly, the strategies and architectures for future space exploration and development must include thoughtful approaches to the management and business operations of government space programs. This includes planning for limited outyear growth in budgets, partnership and acquisition strategies, pursuing public-private partnerships and the use of firm-fixed price contracts, enabling vendor-to-vendor relationships, the use of multilateral interoperability standards, and incorporating key lessons learned from prior governmental Programs. This paper will discuss the strategies and approaches undertaken when establishing the Gateway Program at the NASA Johnson Space Center in 2019 and the current operational status of this new, lean, and efficient Program.

Gateway↗

NASA NTRS2017

ATM Technology Demonstration-1 Phase II Boeing Configurable Graphical Display (CGD) Software Design Description

This Software Description Document (SDD) captures the design for developing the Flight Interval Management (FIM) system Configurable Graphics Display (CGD) software. Specifically this SDD describes aspects of the Boeing CGD software and the surrounding context and interfaces. It does not describe the Honeywell components of the CGD system. The SDD provides the system overview, architectural design, and detailed design with all the necessary information to implement the Boeing components of the CGD software and integrate them into the CGD subsystem within the larger FIM system. Overall system and CGD system-level requirements are derived from the CGD SRS (in turn derived from the Boeing System Requirements Design Document (SRDD)). Display and look-and-feel requirements are derived from Human Machine Interface (HMI) design documents and working group recommendations. This Boeing CGD SDD is required to support the upcoming Critical Design Review (CDR).

Wilber, George F.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Long-Term Lunar Radiation Degradation Effects on Materials

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is focused on developing technologies for extending human presence beyond low Earth orbit. These technologies are to advance the state-of-the-art and provide for longer duration missions outside the protection of Earth's magnetosphere. One technology of great interest for large structures is advanced composite materials, due to their weight and cost savings, enhanced radiation protection for the crew, and potential for performance improvements when compared with existing metals. However, these materials have not been characterized for the interplanetary space environment, and particularly the effects of high energy radiation, which is known to cause damage to polymeric materials. Therefore, a study focusing on a lunar habitation element was undertaken to investigate the integrity of potential structural composite materials after exposure to a long-term lunar radiation environment. An overview of the study results are presented, along with a discussion of recommended future work.

Rojdev, Kristina↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Utilizing Gaps and Key Performance Parameters to Inform NASA Environmental Control and Life Support Capability Technology Decisions

Human spaceflight is a complex endeavor requiring multiple capabilities for transportation, crew health, scientific goals, and safe return to Earth. The difference between spaceflight proven capabilities and those needed for future exploration architectures is defined as a capability gap. Capability gaps are not technology specific. Each capability gap may be closed with a wide array of technologies that have unique benefits and challenges. Determining what a capability’s relevant and distinguishing key performance parameters (KPPs) are for a mission is critical. Mass, power, and volume are always constrained and important, but defining these in a way normalized by performance is very important. KPP definition for reliability, dormancy, and integration needs are hard to define but critical. Outside of technical considerations, the programmatic factors of the estimated time to develop the technology vs when a mission element is also a strong consideration in which technologies should be pursued. The Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLSS) capability areas include: life support, environmental monitoring, fire safety, and logistics. These capability areas are decomposed to high level gaps. While KPPs should be technology agnostic, they can be used to both compare technologies and measure progress of technology development over time. KPPs help define when the gap is closed, and the core mission objectives can be accomplished. Proposed technology improvements to enhance a capability should balance improved KPPs and against investments in other capabilities that are not yet closed. A selection of ECLSS gaps and KPPs and their formulation, current state, and how they inform capability roadmap planning are discussed.

Life Support↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Utilizing Gaps and Performance Measures to Inform NASA Environmental Control and Life Support Systems and Human Health and Performance Capability Technology Decisions

Human spaceflight is a complex endeavor requiring multiple capabilities for transportation, crew health, scientific goals, and safe return to Earth. The difference between spaceflight proven capabilities and those needed for future exploration architectures is defined as a capability gap. Capability gaps are not technology specific. Each capability gap may be closed with a wide array of technologies that have unique benefits and challenges. Determining what a capability’s relevant and distinguishing key performance parameters (KPPs) are for a mission is critical. Mass, power, and volume are always constrained and important, but defining these in a way normalized by performance is very important. KPP definition for reliability, dormancy, and integration needs are hard to define but critical. Outside of technical considerations, the programmatic factors of the estimated time to develop the technology and how the technology validation objectives are matured are strong considerations in which technologies should be pursued and how they should leverage earlier mission elements. The Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLSS) and Crew Health and Performance (CHP) capability areas are decomposed to high level gaps. While KPPs should be technology agnostic, they can be used to both compare technologies and measure progress of technology development over time. KPPs help define when the gap is closed, and the core mission objectives can be accomplished. Proposed technology improvements to enhance a capability should balance improved KPPs and against investments in other capabilities that are not yet closed. A selection of gaps, KPPs, and validation objectives and their formulation, current state, and how they inform capability roadmap planning are discussed.

Life Support↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Utilizing Gaps and Performance Measures to Inform NASA Environmental Control and Life Support Systems and Crew Health and Performance Technology Decisions

Human spaceflight is a complex endeavor requiring multiple capabilities for transportation, crew health, scientific goals, and safe return to Earth. The difference between spaceflight proven capabilities and those needed for future exploration architectures is defined as a capability gap. Capability gaps are not technology specific. Each capability gap may be closed with a wide array of technologies that have unique benefits and challenges. Determining what a capability’s relevant and distinguishing key performance parameters (KPPs) are for a mission is critical. Mass, power, and volume are always constrained and important, but defining these in a way normalized by performance is very important. KPP definition for reliability, dormancy, and integration needs are hard to define but critical. Outside of technical considerations, the programmatic factors of the estimated time to develop the technology and how the technology validation objectives are matured are strong considerations in which technologies should be pursued and how they should leverage earlier mission elements. The Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLSS) and Crew Health and Performance (CHP) capability areas are decomposed to high level gaps. While KPPs should be technology agnostic, they can be used to both compare technologies and measure progress of technology development over time. KPPs help define when the gap is closed, and the core mission objectives can be accomplished. Proposed technology improvements to enhance a capability should balance improved KPPs and against investments in other capabilities that are not yet closed. A selection of gaps, KPPs, and validation objectives and their formulation, current state, and how they inform capability roadmap planning are discussed.

Life Support↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Data Sharing in Radiobiology; Towards FAIR

The value of scientific data depends on their findability, accessibility, integrability and reusability according to the FAIR principles. Together with the sustainability of data preservation and access, these principles underpin the long term benefits of scientific research. Within the domain of radiobiology we have a huge array of data types, themes and complexities which make standardisation of metadata, data structure and data integration very challenging. Moreover, it is clear that, for example, in the area of disaster preparedness, the ready discovery and availability of multiple types of data, for example on biological effects of exposure, climatology, ecology, human behavioural and attitudinal studies, is important for an integrated scientific approach. Because these data are spread over many databases, journal supplementary information resources and even the computers of the investigators, their discovery and reuse can be challenging. Despite exhortations from funding agencies and scientific institutions over the past two decades there is still a serious deficit in the willingness and in some cases the ability of investigators to share data, and although much may not be formally „Public domain“, information about the existence of the data, their metadata, and how to obtain them should always be available. We report the progress of work on three databases, the STORE and the NASA GeneLab and LSDA repositories to leverage the Radiation Biology Ontology (RBO), a structured terminology for metadata that can be used by all radiation biology-relevant databases to unite federated and automated data searches across multiple databases, for example using web services, and through semantic web technologies supporting data discovery. The initial primary use-cases for RBO were archiving data in the STORE database (https://www.storedb.org/), the repository used for the RadoNorm and Pianoforte Projects among others, and in the NASA Open Science Data Repository (https://osdr.nasa.gov/bio). The scope of radiobiology research ranges from basic physics to radiation oncology to sociolegal studies; no existing ontology had the necessary breadth or depth to fulfill this need. In addition, a formal ontology has the advantage of being usable for machine learning and, importantly, for tasks like data integration, knowledge extraction from the scientific literature and for query extension and data classification. Standardisation of metadata is one of the primary objectives of the FAIR principles for open data; RBO is an important landmark for FAIR-compliant radiation biology data sharing. The RBO is developed using the open-source tools of GitHub and the OBO Foundry-led Ontology Development Kit, and published through GitHub and the NIH/NCBI BioPortal website. This initial phase of concept modeling has yielded an ontology that has more than 300 declared concepts, with more than 3500 additional concepts imported from other OBO Foundry ontologies with relevance to radiation biology (for example, concepts from the ISO standard Basic Formal Ontology, the Environment Ontology and the Gene Ontology). We welcome input into the development of RBO and encourage its adoption.

ontologies↗

NASA NTRS2023

Data Sharing in Radiation Biology: Towards FAIR

The value of scientific data depends on their findability, accessibility, integrability and reusability according to the FAIR principles. Together with the sustainability of data preservation and access, these principles underpin the long term benefits of scientific research. Within the domain of radiobiology we have a huge array of data types, themes and complexities which make standardisation of metadata, data structure and data integration very challenging. Moreover, it is clear that, for example, in the area of disaster preparedness, the ready discovery and availability of multiple types of data, for example on biological effects of exposure, climatology, ecology, human behavioural and attitudinal studies, is important for an integrated scientific approach. Because these data are spread over many databases, journal supplementary information resources and even the computers of the investigators, their discovery and reuse can be challenging. Despite exhortations from funding agencies and scientific institutions over the past two decades there is still a serious deficit in the willingness and in some cases the ability of investigators to share data, and although much may not be formally "Public domain“, information about the existence of the data, their metadata, and how to obtain them should always be available. We report the progress of work on three databases, the STORE and the NASA GeneLab and LSDA repositories to leverage the Radiation Biology Ontology (RBO), a structured terminology for metadata that can be used by all radiation biology-relevant databases to unite federated and automated data searches across multiple databases, for example using web services, and through semantic web technologies supporting data discovery. The initial primary use-cases for RBO were archiving data in the STORE database (https://www.storedb.org/), the repository used for the RadoNorm and Pianoforte Projects among others, and in the NASA Open Science Data Repository (https://osdr.nasa.gov/bio). The scope of radiobiology research ranges from basic physics to radiation oncology to sociolegal studies; no existing ontology had the necessary breadth or depth to fulfill this need. In addition, a formal ontology has the advantage of being usable for machine learning and, importantly, for tasks like data integration, knowledge extraction from the scientific literature and for query extension and data classification. Standardisation of metadata is one of the primary objectives of the FAIR principles for open data; RBO is an important landmark for FAIR-compliant radiation biology data sharing. The RBO is developed using the open-source tools of GitHub and the OBO Foundry-led Ontology Development Kit, and published through GitHub and the NIH/NCBI BioPortal website. This initial phase of concept modeling has yielded an ontology that has more than 300 declared concepts, with more than 3500 additional concepts imported from other OBO Foundry ontologies with relevance to radiation biology (for example, concepts from the ISO standard Basic Formal Ontology, the Environment Ontology and the Gene Ontology). We welcome input into the development of RBO and encourage its adoption.

ontologies↗

NASA NTRS1999

Research Priorities for the International Space Station and Beyond

Advanced technology and the desire to explore space have resulted in increasingly longer manned space missions. Long Duration Space Flights (LDSF) have provided a considerable amount of scientific research on the ability of humans to adapt and function in microgravity environments. In addition, studies conducted in analogous environments, such as winter-over expeditions in Antarctica, have complemented the scientific understanding of human performance in LDSF. These findings indicate long duration missions may take a toll on the individual, both physiologically and psychologically, with potential impacts on performance. Significant factors in any manned LDSF are habitability, workload and performance. They are interrelated and influence one another, and therefore necessitate an integrated research approach. An integral part of this approach will be identifying and developing tools not only for assessment of habitability, workload, and performance, but also for prediction of these factors as well. In addition, these tools will be used to identify and provide countermeasures to minimize decrements and maximize mission success. The purpose of this paper is to identify research goals and methods for the International Space Station (ISS) in order to identify critical factors and level of impact on habitability, workload, and performance, and to develop and validate countermeasures. Overall, this approach will provide the groundwork for creating an optimal environment in which to live and work onboard ISS as well as preparing for longer planetary missions.

Whitmore, Mihriban↗

NASA NTRS1998

Information Systems for NASA's Aeronautics and Space Enterprises

The aerospace industry is being challenged to reduce costs and development time as well as utilize new technologies to improve product performance. Information technology (IT) is the key to providing revolutionary solutions to the challenges posed by the increasing complexity of NASA's aeronautics and space missions and the sophisticated nature of the systems that enable them. The NASA Ames vision is to develop technologies enabling the information age, expanding the frontiers of knowledge for aeronautics and space, improving America's competitive position, and inspiring future generations. Ames' missions to accomplish that vision include: 1) performing research to support the American aviation community through the unique integration of computation, experimentation, simulation and flight testing, 2) studying the health of our planet, understanding living systems in space and the origins of the universe, developing technologies for space flight, and 3) to research, develop and deliver information technologies and applications. Information technology may be defined as the use of advance computing systems to generate data, analyze data, transform data into knowledge and to use as an aid in the decision-making process. The knowledge from transformed data can be displayed in visual, virtual and multimedia environments. The decision-making process can be fully autonomous or aided by a cognitive processes, i.e., computational aids designed to leverage human capacities. IT Systems can learn as they go, developing the capability to make decisions or aid the decision making process on the basis of experiences gained using limited data inputs. In the future, information systems will be used to aid space mission synthesis, virtual aerospace system design, aid damaged aircraft during landing, perform robotic surgery, and monitor the health and status of spacecraft and planetary probes. NASA Ames through the Center of Excellence for Information Technology Office is leading the effort in pursuit of revolutionary, IT-based approaches to satisfying NASA's aeronautics and space requirements. The objective of the effort is to incorporate information technologies within each of the Agency's four Enterprises, i.e., Aeronautics and Space Transportation Technology, Earth, Science, Human Exploration and Development of Space and Space Sciences. The end results of these efforts for Enterprise programs and projects should be reduced cost, enhanced mission capability and expedited mission completion.

Kutler, Paul↗