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NASA NTRS2021

A Short Glossary of Inclusive Language

Words matter—that old adage that many of us may have heard as children, Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me, is a harmful fallacy. In reality, the language we use has tremendous power to alienate, exclude, deride, humiliate, and wound. On the other hand, thoughtful use of language can signal openness, inclusivity, admiration, and celebration, or simply be an expression of empathy and care for our fellow humans. As part of The Oceanography Society (TOS) Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee’s series of columns in Oceanography, here we provide a glossary of terms that are often used while discussing topics such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity. It should be explicitly stated that this list is neither definitive nor exhaustive. Indeed, the terms included here are likely heavily influenced by the authors’ own lived experiences and the lenses through which we see the world. Language is a living entity, a fluid social construct subject to rapid changes and overlaid with regional nuances. Indeed, what may be accurate and acceptable terminology for one person may be entirely unacceptable for another. Keeping this in mind, the following glossary is an attempt to group together some of the acronyms and phrases that are most commonly used today in social justice studies and bodies of work and that may have particular relevance to our community of ocean-related scientists, technologists, and stakeholders. We have borrowed heavily from a wide range of excellent existing scholarship and activism and have cited all sources used. We encourage the reader to follow the links to these multimedia resources and, perhaps, use them as teaching and discussion materials with your students, colleagues, and mentees. Finally, it is our hope that this glossary, along with the links provided to more comprehensive definitions and discussions, helps to define terms that you may have heard used, but not understood, and that it will serve to remind us of the power of the words we use in our everyday professional and personal lives. We begin by defining the very words that form the name of our committee: Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI)

Susanne E. Craig↗

NASA NTRS2021

Remote Concurrent Engineering: A-Team Studies in the Virtual World

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s (JPL’s)Architecture Team (A-Team) has nearly a decade of experiencein maturing early formulation mission and technology conceptsby combining innovative collaborative engineering methodswith cutting-edge subject matter expertise and advancedanalysis tools in an in-person environment. When COVID-19forced JPL’s workforce to work remotely in March 2020, ATeamhad to quickly pivot from an in-person collaborativeenvironment to a remote working environment.Through introspection, careful planning, and considerablepractice, A-Team was able to develop new operating proceduresto effectively continue early formulation studies in a virtualenvironment. A-Team has held over 57 remote studies in the 10months since the start of mandatory telework at JPL in March2020. In the remote setting, A-Team conducts studies in half-daysessions with clients and subject matter experts (SMEs) viavideoconferencing, shared computer screens, and digitalcollaborative tools.The key lesson is that increased staffing and planning is neededto prepare and successfully run remote A-Team studies. RemoteA-Team studies require careful selection of the appropriatetools for security, accessibility, and usability within theNASA/JPL environment. Knowledge capture methods andtemplates need to be thought out and agreed upon in advance asthere is less room for improvising in a remote format. Variouscommunication channels have to be monitored to allow for teamcoordination while maintaining fruitful participant engagementduring a session. In addition, technical backup for all roleswithin the A-Team have to be identified to allow the study tocontinue even if a team member’s connectivity is temporarilyinterrupted. Finally, careful thought has to be put into methodsand processes to create a collaborative environment in a virtualspace such that a group of experts who are only connected viathe internet can experience the creative spark and flow of a greatcollaborative and innovative study.

Zusack, Steven↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Engaging Learners with NASA's Antarctic Meteorites and Apollo Moon Rocks

A primary goal of our Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Science Engagement team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) has been to engage students, educators, the science community, and the public with NASA’s Astromaterials assets including Astromaterials samples, specialized facilities, and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). Our team has facilitated this through in-person events, hands-on activities, and virtual connections with educator and student (grades 3-12+) audiences. During COVID, our team initiated an effort, focusing on NASA’s Antarctic Meteorite and Apollo Lunar Collections, to reimagine existing resources and content to facilitate access to these assets whether an educator or SME is connecting with audiences virtually or in-person, or ultimately when a learner is exploring on their own. These collections provide rich scientific data for the science community but they can also be used to help inspire the public, including the next generation of scientists.

P. V. Graff↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Pipeline for Assessing the Quality of Rna-Seq Datasets in GeneLab

Transcriptome profiling by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) is a powerful approach to identify gene expression changes in organisms exposed to unique environments such as spaceflight. One of the challenges of evaluating RNA-seq data both within and across different space-relevant studies is the ability to control for technical differences, including the use of different library preparation kits, sequencing platforms, RNA yield, and person-to-person variation. To help address this issue, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, nist.gov) initiated a consortium, at the request of industry and academia, to develop a set of controls for gene expression measurements. The result was a set of 92 unlabeled, polyadenylated transcripts that range from 250 – 2,000 nucleotides in length to mimic natural eukaryotic mRNAs. These External RNA Controls Consortium (ERCC) genes can be used in any RNA-seq experiment, by adding known concentrations of the ERCC genes to samples after RNA extraction, to offer a standard measurement for data comparison. At NASA GeneLab, we employ these controls as part of our standard operating procedures for every in-house RNA-seq study to assess the limit of detection, dynamic range, and power of differential expression analysis both within and across experiments. Here we will discuss the use, benefits, and limitations of ERCC genes and other types of controls, such as universal RNA references, to generate quality control information for RNA-seq studies conducted at GeneLab.

GeneLab↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Food Acceptability, Menu Fatigue, and Aversion During the Sirius-21 Analog Mission

Spaceflight food systems are closed systems, meaning they are restricted to the variety and quantity of food launched within resource limitations of the mission. The acceptability of the food system has been linked to caloric intake and associated nutritional benefits. ISS crew members receive substantial personal food preferences (around 25% of their total intake) but have noted in debriefs that they would prefer more food variety and preference for the length of the missions and they tire of certain foods over six months. Limits on variety and personal preference are expected to increase as missions become further from Earth. It is possible that menu fatigue leads to decreases in acceptability and increased aversion to available foods that may contribute to the body mass loss often experienced by spaceflight crews. However, the impact of repeat food consumption on acceptability has not yet been systematically investigated across potential spaceflight food systems. Limited variety and crew preferences within food categories may have more severe physical and behavioral health and performance consequences as mission duration increases. Characterizing the relationship between food acceptability and mission duration will contribute to defining requirements for an acceptable food system that will support crew health and performance on long duration missions. This study evaluated acceptability of the food system used in the SIRIUS-21 8-month mission in Moscow, Russia. To capture in situ scoring of repeat consumption experiences, we administered a weekly food acceptability questionnaire to all 5 crewmembers throughout the mission. Crewmembers scored foods they consumed at 3 meals every 6 days on a 9-point hedonic scale and provided open-ended feedback regarding food context, attributes, and the meal. The sequence was intended to capture all days in the 7-day menu cycle. The repetition was intended to target repeat food ratings that may provide insight into onset of menu fatigue where they might stop eating some foods or limit their choices to their favorites. Every 30 days crewmembers completed two additional surveys to characterize the food system, any changes to the food system, and their experience with the food system. Data collection is complete. Data are currently being assessed by descriptive statistics and visualizations of the ratings over time. The primary goal is to look for trends in the trajectories of ratings of the food items over time – both within and between individuals – to determine if there are substantial decreases in acceptability across all foods, or within specific food categories (e.g., vegetables). The number of times a particular item is scored provides some information on the frequency of consumption (preference), and the overall number of unique items can give a measure of overall variety. We will assess whether individuals were more likely to have more observations on food items that are rated higher, and whether those who rated foods higher had more or less overall variety. Since the data are composed of longitudinal subjective ratings, repeated measures techniques will be used to quantify trends over time and how these may relate to preference and variety. We will assess how these trends relate to their characterization of and experience with the SIRIUS-21 food system. We will also provide content analysis of any additional feedback collected on the open-ended questions and debrief interviews.

Grace L. Douglas↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

INFLUENCE OF ACTN3 GENE ON MUSCLE HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS TO INFORM FUTURE INTERVENTIONS IN SPACEFLIGHT MISSIONS

INTRODUCTION: Exposure to reduced gravity environments leads to diminished muscle size, strength, and endurance. Preservation of physical fitness is critical for mission essential tasks such as extravehicular activities or adaptation to changes in gravity loads. Current countermeasures to maintain ISS astronauts’ muscle mass and fitness include dedicated time for a combination of cardiovascular exercise and resistance training. Countermeasure effectiveness is monitored through VO2 max and isometric mid-thigh pulls. It is important to understand both environmental and genetic contributors to astronaut physical fitness. Multiple genes, including ACTN3, are known to correlate with exercise phenotypes and have the potential to help personalize countermeasures based on an astronaut’s genotypic makeup. TOPIC: The ACTN3 gene encodes a protein expressed only in fast-twitch muscles and correlates with sprint and power phenotypes. A common polymorphism in ACTN3 gene is R577X (rs1815739), produced by a C−to−T base substitution resulting in a nonsense mutation from arginine (R) to a premature stop codon (X) present in approximately 18% of the population. This polymorphism causes an absence of α−actinin−3 in type II muscle fibers but does not lead to a disease phenotype. The RR genotype is associated with elite athletes, especially in sprint and power sports. The XX genotype is believed to be more common in endurance athletes. The ACTN3 gene also has potential associations with training adaptation, post-exercise recovery, and exercise-associated injuries. APPLICATION: Understanding how ACTN3 and other genetic determinates of fitness phenotypes affect astronaut physical performance can inform personalized exercise and recovery prescriptions. For example, individuals with the RR or RX genotype may respond better to high-load and low repetition exercise, while XX may benefit from high repetition with low weight exercise. Since the wild-type protein may confer more resistance to muscle damage, those individuals with the RR or RX genotype may benefit from high intensity interval training for improved VO2 max, whereas those with an XX genotype may benefit from low intensity, high volume endurance activity. Additionally, omics data related to health and performance could be used as biomarkers to monitor astronaut fitness and the effectiveness of training regimens during a mission. Learning objectives: • Learn about the phenotypic effects on muscle function and fitness secondary to R577X mutation in the ACTN3 gene • Learn how mutations in the ACTN3 gene may inform future countermeasures for future spaceflight missions

Lynn K Stanwyck↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA's Professional DEVELOPment - Evaluating 10 Weeks of Capacity Building

Under NASA’s Applied Sciences, the NASA DEVELOP Program is centered on dual capacity building. Projects bring together partners and participants to learn how Earth observation data can enhance environmental decision-making practices and inform action. During their time with DEVELOP, participants build technical skills around remotely sensed data and professional skills through interactions with team members, science advisors, and partners. To further refine the participant experience, DEVELOP explores which technical and professional skills individuals report improving during the 10-week program. An analysis of self-reported assessments from 2018 to 2021 included projects that were conducted in-person and virtually. Participants consistently indicated a strong improvement in technical and professional skills yet there was clear variation between in-person and virtual opportunities. When comparing between 2019 and 2021, self-reporting showed a higher percentage of participants reporting an increase in networking in the virtual environment and an increase in building professional relationships with project partners virtually. This analysis suggests that professional opportunities available in the virtual environment may in fact bolster early career scientists’ networking abilities. This presentation will identify DEVELOP’s approach to monitoring and evaluation, highlight interesting trends introduced by the pandemic, and lessons learned.

Sarah Payne↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Remotely Administered Psychoacoustic Test for sUAS Noise to Gauge Feasibility of Remote UAM Noise Study

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) remotely administered a psychoacoustic test in fall of 2022 as the first of two phases of a cooperative Urban Air Mobility (UAM) vehicle noise human response study. The first phase, the Feasibility Test, described in this paper, determined the feasibility of the remote test method, in contrast to a previous in-person psychoacoustic test that found an annoyance response difference between small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) noise and ground vehicle noise. This paper discusses the Feasibility Test online layout, sound calibration method, remote test software development, stimuli selection, test subject recruitment, and test administration. Test performance is measured through comparison of annoyance response data with the previous in-person test results. The paper also investigates if providing a contextual cue to test subjects influenced their annoyance response. Response differences between test subjects in geographically distinct areas are analyzed. Administrative challenges that were encountered during the test are discussed. The second phase of this study, the implementation phase, will use a remote (web-based) test method and leverage the cooperation of multiple government agencies, academia, and industry to gain human response insights from a wide range of UAM vehicle sounds that would be challenging for a single organization to acquire. Improvements to administering a remote test for the implementation phase of the UAM vehicle noise human response study are recommended.

Remote Psychoacoustic Test↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Remotely Administered Psychoacoustic Test for sUAS Noise to Gauge Feasibility of Remote UAM Noise Study

Remote Psychoacoustic Test↗

NASA NTRS2024

GCAS Visualization Codebase Augmentation Migration to Modern Standards and Feature Enhancements

The Glenn Research Center Communication Analysis Suite (GCAS) includes many analysis tools that can be used to support a wide range of scenarios. It includes a visualization tool that implements the three.js graphics library to display a three-dimensional (3D) representation of its results. This software will enable researchers, engineers, and mission planners to interact intuitively with and understand the results of their analyses, which might not be apparent from raw data. With NASA’s efforts to return humans to the Moon as a part of the Artemis missions, the GCAS has been used extensively for lunar terrain and landing system development analysis, which is vital to ensuring mission achievability and safety. This has created the need to add several significant features to the visualization tool, such as the ability to display the terrain of the lunar surface accurately and to provide information demonstrating how a given region might impact mission objectives. Many of the changes made to the visualization tool can be separated into one of three general advancements: code restructuring to adhere to modern coding standards and practices, new user camera controls for first-person and third-person perspective views, and a terrain generation feature to enable rendering highly accurate terrains based on any celestial body’s digital elevation model (DEM) in GeoTIFF format. These improvements notably elevate the visualization tool's functionality, accuracy, and user interaction while providing a robust foundation for future development.

Visualization↗

NASA NTRS2024

Effect of Varying HUT Sizing on Human-Spacesuit Contact Patterns

Fit, comfort, and mobility of the spacesuit rely on the location, magnitude, and type of contact between the suit and wearer. Typically, spacesuits include the Hard Upper Torso (HUT) comprising the upper torso of the spacesuit. Potential injuries from hard contact between the wearer’s shoulders and the HUT are a concern; therefore, to investigate spacesuit-wearer contact patterns, data from a retrospective study was analyzed. This study had eight subjects wearing the Shuttle Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit in two configurations, one with a nominally sized HUT and another with an oversized HUT. The subjects were sized per the NASA standard suit fit procedure. The suit’s arms and lower body were also resized to provide nominal arm and lower body fit, accounting for the larger HUT. Subjects held various shoulder postures (neutral posture, and various maximum shoulder rotations) with the suit pressurized to 4.3 PSI. For each posture, subjects reported the intensity of their perceived contact with the suit on a Borg CR10 scale, 0 indicating a non-existent contact intensity, and 10 representing a maximal contact intensity. Ratings were recorded for 11 regions covering the upper body and these ratings were used to determine the impact of body shape and size on suit contact. Our preliminary findings suggest that oversized HUTs had less contact regions than compared to the nominal HUT; and the region of contact, contact patterns, and contact intensities varied from person to person with the oversized HUT. This variance could be linked to subjects’ body shape and size. The next goal is to establish a causal factor between body shape and size, pose, contact region, and the HUT size. The outcome is expected to help understand the overall contact trends and insights into the influence of HUT sizing on suit fit.

Will Green↗

NASA NTRS2024

SMAnalytics Automated Shape Memory Test Analysis Software User's Manual: UCFTC, UPER, and DSC Test Methods, Version 1.0.2

Over the course of 60 years of shape memory alloy research and development, the properties of these alloys have been measured using various testing methods, which are often customized by the organization performing the test. However, commercial adoption of shape memory alloys in aeronautic actuator applications requires reducing property uncertainty through standardizing test methods. Historically, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has been used to measure transformation temperatures under stress-free conditions. This testing method is well established, and tests are run under the applicable standard, ASTM F2004-17: Standard Test Method for Transformation Temperature of Nickel-Titanium Alloys by Thermal Analysis. Two other test methods for measuring strains and transformation temperatures under constant load or free recovery after prestraining have only recently been standardized—ASTM E3097: Standard Test Method for Mechanical Uniaxial Constant Force Thermal Cycling of SMAs (UCFTC) and ASTM E3098: Standard Test Method for Mechanical Uniaxial Pre-Strain and Thermal Free Recovery of SMAs (UPFR). These standards represent a critical step forward in producing reliable material property data for the use of these alloys in aeronautics and other commercial areas. However, no standard programs or software packages were previously available for postprocessing UCFTC- and UPFR-type test data to extract property data. Each organization that performed the testing analyzed data using its own custom manual methods, such as using a plot and a straight edge, spreadsheet plotting methods, or custom code routines, to extract the required values for strains, stresses, and transformation temperatures. SMAnalytics represents the first publicly available uniform software package for processing data generated using the DSC, UCFTC, and UPFR test methods, as well as many modifications of these methods, including loading in martensite versus austenite and performing multiple thermal cycles at stress. In doing so, it provides a tool for reducing potential error or variability in the measured values due to the precision of the technique used and person-to-person variability. It is also expected that this automated data-parsing tool can accelerate the data analysis phase of the test campaign, especially for large data files. This User’s Manual describes how the SMAnalytics software works and the method for its use.

Shape Memory Alloy↗

NASA NTRS2024

Premature Deaths Due to Heat Exposure: the Potential Effects of Neighborhood-Level Versus City-Level Acclimatization Within Us Cities

For the population of a given US city, the risk of premature death associated with heat exposure increases as temperatures rise, but risks in hotter cities are generally lower than in cooler cities at equivalent temperatures due to factors such as acclimatization. Those living in especially hot neighborhoods within cities might therefore suffer much more than average if such adaptation is only at the city-wide level, whereas they might not experience greatly increased risk if adjustment is at the neighborhood level. To compare these possibilities, we use high spatial resolution temperature data to evaluated heat-related deaths assuming either adjustment at the city-wide or at the neighborhood scale in 10 large US cities. On average, we find that if inhabitants are adjusted to their local conditions, a neighborhood that was 10°C hotter than a cooler one would experience only about 1.0–1.5 excess heat deaths per year per 100,000 persons. By contrast, if inhabitants are acclimatized to city-wide temperatures, the hotter neighborhood would experience about 15 excess deaths per year per 100,000 persons. Using idealized analyses, we demonstrate that current city-wide epidemiological data do not differentiate between these differing adjustments. Given the very large effects of assumptions about neighborhood-level acclimatization found here, as well as the fact that current literature is conflicting on the spatial scale of acclimatization, more neighborhood-level epidemiological data are urgently needed to determine the health impacts of variations in heat exposure within urban areas, better constrain projected changes, and inform mitigation efforts.

heat island↗

NASA NTRS2024

m:N Working Group Meeting Summary November 2023

From November 28th to 30th, 2023 the m:N UAS working group and its subgroups [small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS), Large UAS, High Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS), and Urban Air Mobility (UAM)] met at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA for an in person meeting. The subgroups meet multiple times throughout the year, virtually. Twice a year however, participants from all the subgroups come together in person to further identify and discuss challenges, and path forward ideas for incorporating UAS into the airspace. The m:N UAS working group is run by Jay Shively (Adaptive Aerospace) and Andy Thurling (Thurling Aero Consulting) and is comprised of members from government, industry, and academia in an effort to identify and reduce barriers to m:N operations. This effort also includes identifying requirements, use cases, and metrics to support organizations and groups including the FAA, RTCA, and ASTM. Each subgroup is run by a government/industry team (see below). sUAS Subgroup Garrett Sadler (NASA) Scott Scheff (HF Designworks) Large UAS Subgroup Conrad Rory (NASA) Brandon Suarez (Reliable Robotics) HAPS Subgroup Andy Thurling (Thurling Aero Consulting) Jeff Homola (NASA) UAM Subgroup Mike Politowicz (NASA) Scott Scheff (HF Designworks), member-at-large

m:N operations↗

NASA NTRS2024

Workshop on the Role of Design Assurance in System-Wide Safety’s Safety Demonstrator Series

This report summarizes a three-hour hybrid in-person/online workshop on June 7, 2024 on the topic of design assurance and the Safety Demonstrator Series (SDS), which was held at NASA Ames Research Center. The SDS provides an operational demonstration of, and recommendations for, requirements and standards necessary to monitor, assess, and mitigate risks to assure safety in disaster-oriented operations. Over sixty NASA personnel participated in the workshop. Four main topics were discussed: (1) assurance needs for the Safety Demonstrator Series, (2) assurance and the In-Time Aviation Safety Management System (IASMS), (3) in-time assurance: existing efforts and future opportunities, and (4) demonstrating assurance tools in the Safety Demonstrators. Key takeaways are as follows: 1. Design assurance tools can be used to assure an In-Time Aviation Safety Management System, the systems that comprise it, and other systems or missions. Assurance must consider both systems and components and include the interactions between elements in both a systems/aircraft context and a systems-of-systems/airspace context. 2. Design-time assurance activities can support the identification of monitors needed for operational assurance activities (i.e., the “monitor” function in the monitor-assess-mitigate paradigm at the heart of the IASMS concept). 3. A major opportunity for design-time assurance tools to contribute to the IASMS concept is to support rapid re-validation of systems. This will be particularly important for (1) supporting novel operations in the IASMS, where operational data may disprove design-time assumptions (motivating re-analysis of system safety) and (2) adapting technologies (e.g., AI/ML for autonomous operations) to new operational domains, where there may be new or different safety considerations not included in the initial scope of operations. 4. There are several design assurance tools under development in the System-Wide Safety project that can support assurance of Services, Functions, and Capabilities (SFCs) in the Safety Demonstrators. Transitioning these tools from one-off research projects into a functioning part of IASMS assurance will require closer integration between these tools. 5. It is not clear whether the role of design assurance tools is primarily as a part of IASMS architecture or as an external check on IASMS. The workshop consisted of four discussion topics initiated via four lightning talks by System-Wide Safety researchers. Discussions utilized Mural to engage both in-person and online participants in the hybrid format. Polls and surveys were also utilized to gather participant input. The workshop closed with a reflection activity for participants, as well as new ideas for collaboration and coordination of ongoing System-Wide Safety research.

design assurance↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Validation of Multisystem Countermeasures Protocol for Spaceflight during Antarctica Winter-over at Palmer Station (Palmer Countermeasures)

Stressors associated with spaceflight induce persistent immune compromise in astronauts which increase subclinical latent virus reactivation. In select crews, adverse clinical events have been documented. Antarctica winter-over (AWO) mission most closely reproduces these mission stressors: prolonged deployment, extreme environment, circadian misalignment, isolation, station lifestyle, and personal risk. The US maintains three primary stations in Antarctica: South Pole Station, McMurdo, and Palmer. Previous studies suggest that stations located near the interior of Antarctica (South Pole, McMurdo) have confounding effects on the immune system due to persistent hypobaric hypoxia. We hypothesized that winter-over at a coastal station (Palmer) would be more akin to spaceflight due to its normoxic but still extreme environment. Therefore, AWO at Palmer Station was selected, and validated in a pilot study [2], as the platform for testing and validating the effectiveness of an immune-restorative countermeasure protocol designed for deep space missions. Specifics include diet modifications, nutritional supplementation (vitamin D, probiotic, etc.), prescribed aerobic and resistive exercise, and a protocol of stress relieving virtual reality exercises. A multitude of biological sample types, including blood, saliva, and hair will be collected in tandem with the countermeasures in order to examine the combined effectiveness of the countermeasures. Samples and logs from subjects will be transported from Palmer Station to Johnson Space Center for further processing and distribution to co-investigators at the end of each winter-over. Extracted samples will be analyzed by appropriate testing platforms (Multiplex, qPCR, ELISA, etc.) to monitor alterations in leukocyte distribution, T cell and NK function, cytokine profiles, reactivation of latent herpesviruses, and nutritional factors. The data collected will be compared to a control year in which no countermeasures were deployed to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the analog and to validate the candidate immune countermeasure strategy. AWO 2023 concluded with the 4th in-mission timepoint conducted in September 2023. Samples for 16 subjects, including blood, saliva, hair, surveys, and PCR data, were all successfully returned from Antarctica to NASA/JSC mid-November 2023. Samples have since been distributed to co-investigators for further processing and analysis. With the completion of the first countermeasure year, preliminary data on the effectiveness of the deep-space protocol is being evaluated, however, no conclusions can be drawn yet until the completion of the second AWO countermeasure year, AWO 2024. AWO 2024 commenced in late-March 2024, with 13 subjects consenting and performing their baseline data collections (BDCs). Unique to the 2024 deployment, NSF lifted certain COVID restrictions and rallied the crewmembers in Punta Arenas, Chile. All NSF activities were transferred to this location and NASA was allowed, for the first time, to perform consent briefings, baseline samplings and training in person. This augment greatly increased the likelihood of success for the overwinter activities.

Cody L Gutierrez↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Validation of Multisystem Countermeasures Protocol for Spaceflight during Antarctica Winter-over at Palmer Station (Palmer Countermeasures)

Stressors associated with spaceflight induce persistent immune compromise in astronauts which increase subclinical latent virus reactivation. In select crews, adverse clinical events have been documented. Antarctica winter-over (AWO) mission most closely reproduces these mission stressors: prolonged deployment, extreme environment, circadian misalignment, isolation, station lifestyle, and personal risk. The US maintains three primary stations in Antarctica: South Pole Station, McMurdo, and Palmer. Previous studies suggest that stations located near the interior of Antarctica (South Pole, McMurdo) have confounding effects on the immune system due to persistent hypobaric hypoxia. We hypothesized that winter-over at a coastal station (Palmer) would be more akin to spaceflight due to its normoxic but still extreme environment. Therefore, AWO at Palmer Station was selected, and validated in a pilot study, as the platform for testing and validating the effectiveness of an immune-restorative countermeasure protocol designed for deep space missions. Specifics include diet modifications, nutritional supplementation (vitamin D, probiotic, etc.), prescribed aerobic and resistive exercise, and a protocol of stress relieving virtual reality exercises. A multitude of biological sample types, including blood, saliva, and hair will be collected in tandem with the countermeasures in order to examine the combined effectiveness of the countermeasures. Samples and logs from subjects will be transported from Palmer Station to Johnson Space Center for further processing and distribution to co-investigators at the end of each winter-over. Extracted samples will be analyzed by appropriate testing platforms (Multiplex, qPCR, ELISA, etc.) to monitor alterations in leukocyte distribution, T cell and NK function, cytokine profiles, reactivation of latent herpesviruses, and nutritional factors. The data collected will be compared to a control year in which no countermeasures were deployed to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the analog and to validate the candidate immune countermeasure strategy. AWO 2023 concluded with the 4th in-mission timepoint conducted in September 2023. Samples for 16 subjects, including blood, saliva, hair, surveys, and PCR data, were all successfully returned from Antarctica to NASA/JSC mid-November 2023. Samples have since been distributed to co-investigators for further processing and analysis. With the completion of the first countermeasure year, preliminary data on the effectiveness of the deep-space protocol is being evaluated, however, no conclusions can be drawn yet until the completion of the second AWO countermeasure year, AWO 2024. AWO 2024 commenced in late-March 2024, with 13 subjects consenting and performing their baseline data collections (BDCs). Unique to the 2024 deployment, NSF lifted certain COVID restrictions and rallied the crewmembers in Punta Arenas, Chile. All NSF activities were transferred to this location and NASA was allowed, for the first time, to perform consent briefings, baseline samplings and training in person. This augment greatly increased the likelihood of success for the overwinter activities.

Cody L Gutierrez↗

DOE OSTI2011

DimaSense™: A Novel Nucleic Acid Detection System

Recently, we developed a suite of methods for the rational design and fabrication of well-defined nanoparticle architectures, including clusters using bio-encoded nanoscale building blocks and layer-by-layer stepwise assembly on a solid support. In particular, the Nano-Assembly platform using Encoded Solid Supports (NAESS) allows for controlled interactions, purification of side products, modularity of design, and the construction of complex nanoparticle architectures. This approach offers several advantages over the current art of designing nanoparticle clusters, which include the high-yield synthesis of desired architectures, a 'plug-and-play' design allowing for the introduction of a variety of sensing modalities, and ease of scalability in high-throughput and synthesis yield. As a utility proof of concept, we implemented our unique cluster fabrication platform to design gold nanoparticle dimers which are linked via a single-stranded DNA oligonucleotide recognition motif. The design of this motif is such that binding of complementary nucleic acids results in specific, selective and rapid dimer dissociation, which can be monitored by dynamic light scattering (DLS). We demonstrated single level mismatch selectivity using this approach. The limit of detection was determined to be 1011 molecules of synthetic target RNA or DNA within 30 minutes of incubation at 33 C. This detection limit is determined by the dimer's concentration which can be probed by currently used standard DLS instruments. We also demonstrated a specific detection of target RNA in a solution containing competing 1,000-fold excess of non-complementary DNA fragments, 10% BSA, and endonucleases. Molecular diagnostic companies, RNA-based technology developers, and personalized medicine companies have applications that could benefit from using DimaSense{trademark}. The technology represents a platform which enables the simple and reasonably inexpensive design and fabrication of highly selective genetic sensors. These sensors operate with very low concentrations of target, can utilize standard instrumentation, produce detection results rapidly, and are robust enough to function in the presence of many competing genetic targets. Many current genetic target detection products/approaches/technologies rely upon methods (such as qPCR) which are more complicated, cumbersome, and costly to perform, and are not well suited to point-of-care diagnostic applications. Several clinical diagnostic applications, particularly point-of-care (POC) diagnostics for infectious diseases, are possible and appear to be a good fit for the technology. In addition, the advent of personalized medicine will create opportunities for molecular diagnostic companies with the capabilities of rapidly and quantitatively detecting nucleic acid sequences. The global POC market was {approx}$7.7B in 2010, with a recent annual growth rate of {approx}7%. A specific disease or disease-class diagnostic would need to be identified before a more meaningful sub-market value could be stated. Additional validation of the technology to show that it displays appropriate performance parameters for a commercial application on 'real world' samples is required for true commercial readiness. In addition, optimization of sensor design parameters, to effect a 10-fold increase in sensitivity, may be required to produce a commercially ready sensor system. These validation and sensor design optimization are estimated to require 3-4 months and {approx}$75k. For an unregulated product to give this sensor system a distinct competitive advantage, 2-3 years of product development and $1.5-3M are likely required. For regulated markets, time to market (through clinic) and cost would depend upon the product.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗