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NASA NTRS1987

CELSS Program Meeting

A meeting on the potential contributions of plant science to the goals of Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) research produced discussions that helped to focus on a variety of topics. In the area of volatiles and soluble organics, microbial activity, disease, and productivity, participants emphasized the need to know more about the consequences of closure for the growth of plants. Under nutrient delivery systems, the problems focus on the need to maintain a stable, optimum nutrient system. Lighting systems discussions emphasized unique methods of direct lighting and development of improved irradiation sources. Flight experiment opportunities were outlined by one speaker. Documentation of the Plant Growth Module was discussed. The last day's discussion focused on the organization of the research group to be involved in the development and use of a two to three cubic meter sealed chamber and ancillary equipment.

Tremor, John W.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Plant Growth Module (PGM) conceptual design

The Plant Growth Module for the Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS), designed to answer basic science questions related to growing plants in closed systems, is described functionally with artist's conception drawings. Subsystems are also described, including enclosure and access; data acquisition and control; gas monitor and control; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; air delivery; nutrient monitor and control; microbial monitoring and control; plant support and nutrient delivery; illumination; and internal operations. The hardware development plan is outlined.

Schwartzkopf, Steven H.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Design concepts for bioreactors in space

Microbial food sources are becoming viable and more efficient alternatives to conventional food sources, especially in the context of closed ecological life support systems (CELSS) in space habitats. Two bioreactor design concepts presented represent two dissimilar approaches to grappling with the absence of gravity in space habitats and deserve to be tested for adoption as important components of the life support function aboard spacecraft, space stations and other extra-terrestrial habitats.

Seshan, P. K.↗

NASA NTRS1988

History of wildland fires on Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

The fire history of the past 50 years for Vandenberg AFB, California was determined using aerial photography, field investigation, and historical and current written records. This constitutes a record of the vegetation age classes for the entire base. The location, cause, and fuel type for sixty fires from this time period were determined. The fires were mapped and entered into a geographic infomation system (GIS) for Vandenberg. Fire history maps derived from this GIS were printed at 1:9600 scale and are on deposit at the Vandenberg Environmental Task Force Office. Although some ecologically significant plant communities on Vandenberg are adapted to fire, no natural fire frequency could be determined, since only one fire possibly caused by lightning occurred in the area now within the base since 1937. Observations made during this study suggest that burning may encourage the invasion of exotic species into chaparral, in particular Burton Mesa or sandhill chaparral, an unusual and geographically limited form of chaparral found on the base.

Hickson, Diana E.↗

NASA NTRS1987

A review of recent activities in the NASA CELSS program

A CELSS (Controlled Ecological Life Support System) is a device that utilizes photosynthetic organisms and light energy to regenerate waste materials into oxygen and food for a crew in space. The results of theoretical and practical studies conducted by investigators within the CELSS program suggest that a bioregenerative life support system can be a useful and effective method of regenerating consumable materials for crew sustenance. Experimental data suggests that the operation of a CELSS in space will be practical if plants can be made to behave predictably in the space environment. Much of the work currently conducted within the CELSS program centers on the biological components of the CELSS system. The work is particularly directed at ways of achieving high efficiency and long term stability of all components of the system. Included are explorations of the conversion of nonedible cellulose to edible materials, nitrogen fixation by biological and chemical methods, and methods of waste processing. It is the intent of the presentation to provide a description of the extent to which a bioregenerative life support system can meet the constraints of the space environment, and to assess the degree to which system efficiency and stability can be increased during the next decade.

Macelroy, R. D.↗

NASA NTRS1987

A university team approach to regenerative concepts

An interdisciplinary team of university-affiliated scientists and engineers has undertaken the design of a controlled ecological life support system that employs physical, chemical, and biological components to supply and efficiently recycle food, atmospheric gases, water, and waste products. An Integrated Waste and Water Management System furnishes the basic capabilities for waste product preprocessing and for the establishment of baseline comparisons with proven physical and chemical systems. Attention is given to the relationships between food and oxygen supply and the mass fraction of algae in food, as well as to the potential for O2 production.

Nicks, Oran W.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Design and performance of the KSC Biomass Production Chamber

NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System program has instituted the Kennedy Space Center 'breadboard' project of which the Biomass Production Chamber (BPC) presently discussed is a part. The BPC is based on a modified hypobaric test vessel; its design parameters and operational parameters have been chosen in order to meet a wide range of plant-growing objectives aboard future spacecraft on long-duration missions. A control and data acquisition subsystem is used to maintain a common link between the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system, the illumination system, the gas-circulation system, and the nutrient delivery and monitoring subsystems.

Prince, Ralph P.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Geological and vegetational applications of Shuttle Imaging Radar-B, Mineral County, Nevada

Multiple-incidence angle and multi-azimuth radar data were acquired from a Shuttle platform over test sites in Nevada in October 1984. An attempt was made to correlate these data with ground features for the purpose of evaluating the use of such data for geological and vegetational assessment. Standard ecological parameters with respect to the flora (community composition, dominance, and relative cover) were recorded in the field at the time of overflight. Although a total of 33 species representing 11 plant families were recognized, and plant cover ranged from 13 to 26 percent, radar data could not be used to separate plant communities. The signal return is more a function of abiotic conditions than vegetative characteristics. Illumination geometry plays an important role in the ability to detect strike-slip and dip-slip faults. Local incidence angle is the most important parameter, and SIR-B data takes with small incidence angles are superior for identifying certain styles of faulting. Look direction is critical for detecting faults with a dip-slip component. New structural features were not observed. Problems with radar antenna power and recording significantly affected data quality.

Borengasser, M. X.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Evaluating North American net primary productivity with satellite observations

An ecological model is developed to estimate annual net primary productivity (NPP) in 12 North American biomes. The model combines existing models which address canopy photosynthesis in response to light, temperature, and moisture availability, and account for respiration. Climate data, solar radiation data, and spectral vegetation index data are utilized. Estimates of NPP from the model compare well with data in the literature, but a systematic error is suspected. Difficulties encountered in specifying certain model parameters are discussed as possible sources of this error. The results of this study suggest the promise of remotely sensed measurements for macroscale evaluation and modeling of NPP.

Goward, Samuel N.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Unconventional food regeneration in space - Opportunities for microbial food production

The possible role of microbial species in regenerating food is considered, and three areas where microbial systems can be used in controlled ecological life support systems are discussed. Microbial species can serve as the biological portion of hybrid chemical/biological schemes for primary food products, as a means more fully to utilize waste materials from agronomical food production, and as a source of nutritional supplements to conventional plant foods. Work accomplished in each of these areas is described. The role of microgravity fermenters in this technology is addressed.

Petersen, Gene R.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Integration, design, and construction of a CELSS breadboard facility for bioregenerative life support system research

Design criteria for the Biomass Production Chamber (BPC), preliminary operating procedures, and requirements for the future development of the Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) are discussed. CELSS, which uses a bioregenerative system, includes the following three major units: (1) a biomass production component to grow plants under controlled conditions; (2) food processing components to derive maximum edible content from all plant parts; and (3) waste management components to recover and recycle all solids, liquids, and gases necessary to support life. The current status of the CELSS breadboard facility is reviewed; a block diagram of a simplified version of CELSS and schematic diagrams of the BPS are included.

Prince, R.↗

NASA NTRS1987

A 'breadboard' biomass production chamber for CELSS

The Breadboard Project of the Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Program is the first attempt by NASA to integrate the primary components of a bioregenerative life support system into a functioning system. The central component of this project is a Biomass Production Chamber (BPC). The BPC is under construction, and when finished will be sealed for the study of the flux of gases, liquids, and solids through the production module of a CELSS. Features of the CELSS breadboard facility will be covered as will design requirements for the BPC. Cultural practices developed for wheat for the BPC wil be discussed.

Prince, Ralph P.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Reflectance spectra of subarctic lichens

Lichens constitute a major portion of the ground cover of high latitude environments, but little has been reported concerning their in situ solar spectral reflectance properties. Knowledge of these properties is important for the interpretation of remotely sensed observations from high latitude regions, as well as in studies of high latitude ecology and energy balance climatology. The spectral reflectance of common boreal vascular plants is similar to that of vascular plants of the midlatitudes. The dominant lichens, in contrast, display variable reflectance patterns in visible wavelengths. The relative reflectance peak at 0.55 microns, common to green vegetation, is absent or indistinct in spectra of pervasive boreal forest and tundra lichens, despite the presence of chlorophyll in the inner algal cells. Lichens of the dominant genus, Cladina, display strong absorption of ultraviolet energy and short-wavelength blue light relative to their absorption in other visible wavelengths. Since the Cladinae dominate both the surface vegetation in open woodlands of the boreal forest and the low arctic tundra, their unusual spectral reflectance patterns will enable accurate monitoring of the boreal forest-tundra ecotone and detection of its vigor and movement in the future.

Petzold, Donald E.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Recruitment dynamics in complex life cycles

Factors affecting marine population fluctuations are discussed with particular attention given to a common barnacle species of the Pacific coast of North America. It is shown how models combining larval circulation with adult interactions can potentially forecast population fluctuations. These findings demonstrate how processes in different ecological habitats are coupled.

Roughgarden, Jonathan↗

NASA NTRS1988

NASA's future land remote sensing program

The NASA remote sensing plans for the Land Processes Program are reviewed in the context of the science driven programs in ecology, hydrology, and geology. The instrumental capabilities in place on airborne platforms, and those available on the Earth Observing System in the mid 1990s, are considered. Coordinated field experiments which are evolutionary from the First ISLSCP Field Experiment are discussed.

Murphy, R. E.↗

NASA NTRS1988

PC-CUBE: A Personal Computer Based Hypercube

PC-CUBE is an ensemble of IBM PCs or close compatibles connected in the hypercube topology with ordinary computer cables. Communication occurs at the rate of 115.2 K-band via the RS-232 serial links. Available for PC-CUBE is the Crystalline Operating System III (CrOS III), Mercury Operating System, CUBIX and PLOTIX which are parallel I/O and graphics libraries. A CrOS performance monitor was developed to facilitate the measurement of communication and computation time of a program and their effects on performance. Also available are CXLISP, a parallel version of the XLISP interpreter; GRAFIX, some graphics routines for the EGA and CGA; and a general execution profiler for determining execution time spent by program subroutines. PC-CUBE provides a programming environment similar to all hypercube systems running CrOS III, Mercury and CUBIX. In addition, every node (personal computer) has its own graphics display monitor and storage devices. These allow data to be displayed or stored at every processor, which has much instructional value and enables easier debugging of applications. Some application programs which are taken from the book Solving Problems on Concurrent Processors (Fox 88) were implemented with graphics enhancement on PC-CUBE. The applications range from solving the Mandelbrot set, Laplace equation, wave equation, long range force interaction, to WaTor, an ecological simulation.

Ho, Alex↗

NASA NTRS1988

A perspective on space exploration technology catalysis: A rationale for initiating 21st Century expansion of human civilization into outer space

The rationale for human exploration of space is examined. Observations of the technocatalytic potential are presented. Transferability to the terrestrial environment of 21st Century Earth is discussed. The many threats to future survival of this planet's sensitive ecosystem are also discussed in relation to the technoecological harmony that might be achievable due to the extreme demands that are naturally imposed on the development of (civilian/human) space technology. The human attempt to inhabit the inner solar system (the Moon, Mars, etc.) is proposed as the ultimate and most appropriate technology driver for the myriad of socioeconomic, ecological, and technological needs that will accompany 21st Century Earth societies.

Horsham, Gary A. P.↗

NASA NTRS1988

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, issue 19

This is the 19th issue of NASA's USSR Space Life Sciences Digest. It contains abstracts of 47 papers published in Russian language periodicals or presented at conferences and of 5 new Soviet monographs. Selected abstracts are illustrated with figures and tables from the original. Reports on two conferences, one on adaptation to high altitudes, and one on space and ecology are presented. A book review of a recent work on high altitude physiology is also included. The abstracts in this issue have been identified as relevant to 33 areas of space biology and medicine. These areas are: adaptation, biological rhythms, biospherics, body fluids, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, cytology, developmental biology, endocrinology, enzymology, biology, group dynamics, habitability and environmental effects, hematology, human performance, immunology, life support systems, man-machine systems, mathematical modeling, metabolism, microbiology, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, nutrition, operational medicine, perception, personnel selection, psychology, radiobiology, and space biology and medicine.

Hooke, Lydia Razran↗