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At least 1,045 records · Page 58
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2019

TriTruss: A New and Novel Structural Concept Enabling Modular Space Telescopes and Space Platforms

Modular structures that can be assembled on-orbit will be the backbone for all future persistent missions, including in-space assembled telescopes and platforms for science and communications. The TriTruss is a new and innovative structural module that has been conceived by researchers at the NASA Langley Research Center for platform and telescope applications. Some of the innovative features of the TriTruss include: very compact packaging for launch, the possibility of staged packaging, simple robotic deployment, ease of embedding payload components, an innovative structural connector that has linear structural performance, ease of module-to-module robotic assembly, design versatility, and ease of customizing its design for specific applications. This paper will introduce the TriTruss concept and describe how it can serve as the foundation for many different mission applications, in particular, a 20-meter diameter large space telescope and a beam-type platform that can host a variety of payloads and instruments. The geometry of the TriTruss will be described and the various truss design variables (such as truss depth, member diameter, material modulus, etc.) and each of their impacts on the truss performance will be illustrated. The TriTruss can be mapped to a variety of structural forms, such as beams, two-dimensional platforms and filled curved apertures (for antennas and telescopes), and examples will be illustrated. The TriTruss lends itself to a large variety of packaging schemes; the structural concepts associated with packaging and deployment will be described, as well as the means for robotically deploying TriTruss modules and locking them into their final configuration. TriTruss module-to-TriTruss module robotic assembly operations will also be described. Equations will be presented to structurally size TriTruss modules, such that when assembled into the final persistent platform, the platform achieves a desired level of global structural performance. A status of the TriTruss development will also be presented. This material will cover design and fabrication of TriTruss hardware for platform and telescope applications as well as structural testing of that hardware (the struts, connectors and platforms). Robotic assembly of TriTruss modules is also being performed, and the results of those tests will be summarized.

Doggett, William↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

In-Space Manufacturing Systems Development: Using the International Space Station (ISS) as a Testbed for Manufacturing on the Lunar Surface and Mars

In-space manufacturing has the potential to reduce logistics and enhance crew safety on long duration, long endurance missions. This presentation provides an overview of plans for NASA’s in-space manufacturing (ISM) project through 2024. Areas of focus include: 1) on-demand manufacturing of metals, polymers, and electronics, and 2) recycling and reuse. The presentation will highlight current work and technical challenges. Manufacturing technologies will be demonstrated on ISS and transitioned for use on lunar surface missions or other persistent orbital platforms. The work of the ISM project will be key to realizing the goals of sustainable exploration and decreasing dependence on frequent resupply missions.

Tracie Prater↗
NASA NTRS2021

Mitigation and Use of Biofilms in Space for the Benefit of Human Space Exploration

Biofilms are groups of cells of the same or different species living in communities. Such structures are usually attached to surfaces, and on Earth, they have been found in diverse and extreme environments. Such agglomerations have been described as recalcitrant or protective when facing adversity. In space systems, biofilms have been found on a multitude of hardware surfaces. Different studies have identified genetic changes that may impact human health. The insufficiency of consistent research may return inconclusive arguments as to what extent microgravity encourages virulence and how biofilms could exacerbate crewed spaceflight–especially ones to remote areas with a lack of resupply and service missions. However, biofilms are also beneficial to plant biology, and they may supply in metabolic pathways that produce useful organic and inorganic components to maintain life in other celestial bodies. There are expansive areas of research that look into biofilms in space and scientific recommendations that reflect on expanding the aerospace industry’s knowledge of biofilms, how to mitigate, or use them to the advantage of spaceflight.

Yo-ann Velez Justiniano↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Plants in Space, Veggie, and Space Crop Production

As astronauts venture farther from Earth, and for longer periods, the space food system will increase in importance. Crop production can supplement a packaged diet to provide additional nutrients and dietary variety for astronauts. Several unique challenges exist for growth of plants in microgravity and on other planetary surfaces. Testing with the Veggie and Advanced Plant Habitat chambers on the International Space Station is allowing us to understand the impacts of gravity and spaceflight on crop growth, nutritional content, and food acceptability, and the importance of plants to astronauts living and working away from our blue home planet.

Gioia Massa↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Plants in Space, Veggie, and Space Crop Production

As astronauts venture farther from Earth, and for longer periods, the space food system will increase in importance. Crop production can supplement a packaged diet to provide additional nutrients and dietary variety for astronauts. Several unique challenges exist for growth of plants in microgravity and on other planetary surfaces. Testing with the Veggie and Advanced Plant Habitat chambers on the International Space Station is allowing us to understand the impacts of gravity and spaceflight on crop growth, nutritional content, and food acceptability, and the importance of plants to astronauts living and working away from our blue home planet.

Gioia Massa↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Plants in Space, Veggie, and Space Crop Production

Presentation to visiting student group. As astronauts venture farther from Earth, and for longer periods, the space food system will increase in importance. Crop production can supplement a packaged diet to provide additional nutrients and dietary variety for astronauts. Several unique challenges exist for growth of plants in microgravity and on other planetary surfaces. Testing with the Veggie and Advanced Plant Habitat chambers on the International Space Station is allowing us to understand the impacts of gravity and spaceflight on crop growth, nutritional content, and food acceptability, and the importance of plants to astronauts living and working away from our blue home planet.

Gioia Massa↗
NASA NTRS2022

Developing High Performance Space Networking Capabilities for the International Space Station and Beyond

A performance optimized implementation of Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) with the capacity of gigabit-per second rates is developed for the International Space Station (ISS) and missions demanding large amounts of communications bandwidth. An overview of the High-rate Delay Tolerant Networking (HDTN) architecture and support for different convergence layers is provided. This paper then presents an overview of the testing and integration efforts to evaluate interoperability and capability in relevant environments. The first was interoperability testing with DTN Marshall Enterprise (DTNME) which resulted in near-gigabit per second data rates. This was followed by ISS emulation testing with the Software Development and Integration Laboratory (SDIL) at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) and local testing based on the ISS DTN network topology. The local tests resulted in the discovery of potential sources of performance loss in the network and demonstrated near-gigabit rates between HDTN and DTNME.

Daniel Raible↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Plants in Space, Veggie, and Space Crop Production

As astronauts venture farther from Earth, and for longer periods, the space food system will increase in importance. Crop production can supplement a packaged diet to provide additional nutrients and dietary variety for astronauts. Several unique challenges exist for growth of plants in microgravity and on other planetary surfaces. Testing with the Veggie and Advanced Plant Habitat chambers on the International Space Station is allowing us to understand the impacts of gravity and spaceflight on crop growth, nutritional content, and food acceptability, and the importance of plants to astronauts living and working away from our blue home planet.

Gioia Massa↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Plants in Space, Veggie, and Space Crop Production

Standard education and outreach talk. As astronauts venture farther from Earth, and for longer periods, the space food system will increase in importance. Crop production can supplement a packaged diet to provide additional nutrients and dietary variety for astronauts. Several unique challenges exist for the growth of plants in microgravity and on other planetary surfaces. Testing within the Veggie and Advanced Plant Habitat chambers on the International Space Station is allowing us to understand the impacts of gravity and spaceflight on crop growth, nutritional content, and food acceptability, and the importance of plants to astronauts living and working away from our blue home planet.

Gioia Massa↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Plants in Space, Veggie, and Space Crop Production

As astronauts venture farther from Earth, and for longer periods, the space food system will increase in importance, and crop production can supplement a packaged diet. Testing with the Veggie and Advanced Plant Habitat chambers on the International Space Station is allowing us to understand the impacts of gravity and spaceflight on crop growth, nutritional content, and food acceptability, and the importance of plants to astronauts living and working away from our blue home planet.

Gioia Massa↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Pick-and-Eat Space Crop Production Flight Testing on the International Space Station

Growing fresh, nutritious, palatable produce for crew consumption during spaceflight may provide health-promoting, bioavailable nutrients and enhance the astronaut dietary experience as we move toward longer-duration missions. However, requirements to support consistent growth of a variety of high-quality crops under spaceflight environmental conditions remain unclear. This study explores the potential to grow crops for consumption on the International Space Station (ISS) using Veggie, NASA’s vegetable production chamber system. VEG-04A and VEG-04B were two flight tests with ground components conducted with the leafy green crop mizuna mustard. In each location, mizuna was grown in two Veggie units simultaneously, with the chambers set to different red-to-blue-to-green light formulations. Preflight verification testing with various lighting treatments was conducted to down-select two treatments that contributed to the best desirable growth and sensory qualities in mizuna mustard. For the flight tests, one Veggie was programmed as “red-rich” with an average of 270 μmol m-2 s-1 of 630 nm red light, 30 μmol m-2 s-1 of 455 nm blue light, and 30 μmol m-2 s-1 of 530 nm green light. The second Veggie was “blue-rich” with an average of 150 µmol m-2 s-1 of 630 nm red light, 150 µmol m-2 s-1 of 455 nm blue light, and 30 µmol m-2 s-1 of 530 nm green light. Light quality is known to impact plant growth, nutrition, microbiology, and sensory characteristics on Earth, and the Veggie flight tests examined how these impacts might differ in microgravity. VEG-04A, a 35-day growth test with a single harvest, was initiated in June and harvested in July 2019. VEG-04B, a 56-day test with three harvests from the same plants, assessed sustained productivity. Preflight testing for VEG-04B was conducted after the VEG-04A flight test to improve the operations, approaches, and watering requirements, which resulted in better crop establishment in the VEG-04B flight test. VEG-04B was initiated in October 2019 with harvests at four, six, and eight weeks after initiation. At all of the harvests, the astronauts froze half of the edible plant tissue to return to Earth and weighed the remaining half using the Mass Measurement Device (MMD). Weighed samples were then cleaned with produce-sanitizing wipes, and consenting crew members participated in sensory evaluations of the fresh produce. The remaining sanitized produce was available for crew consumption as desired. Frozen flight samples were returned to Earth for chemical and microbial analyses to assess nutritional quality and food safety. Flight-grown mizuna was generally more acceptable to the crew and had higher nutrient levels, although mizuna grown in the ground control performed better in terms of higher yield and lower microbial load. This presentation will focus on results from the nutritional and sensory analyses, including how nutrients identified as key for supplementing the crew diet varied across lighting treatments, harvest approaches, and spaceflight versus ground conditions. It is our hope that these tests on the ISS will help mitigate the risk of an inadequate food supply for long-duration missions by adding fresh vegetables to the crew diet. This study was supported by NASA’s Human Research and Space Biology Programs through the HERO NNJ13ZSA002N-ILSRA grant solicitation.

Jess Bunchek↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Plants in Space and Space Crop Production

As astronauts venture farther from Earth, and for longer periods, food will become increasingly critical. Crop production can supplement a packaged diet to provide additional nutrients and dietary variety for astronauts, and plants may also provide psychological and environmental benefits. Several unique challenges exist for growth of plants in microgravity and on other planetary surfaces. Terrestrial tests in analog space environments contribute to our knowledge, while testing on the International Space Station allows us to better understand the impacts of gravity and spaceflight on crop growth and the importance of plants to astronauts living and working away from our blue home planet.

Gioia Massa↗