Group dynamics training for manned spaceflight and the CAPSULS mission: prophylactic against incompatibility and its consequences?

On February 7, 1994, four Canadian Astronauts were sealed off in a hyperbaric chamber at the Canadian Government's Defense and Civil Institute for Environmental Medicine in Toronto, Canada. This space lab training mission lasted seven days and was the first to be conducted with astronauts outside of Russia.

The objective of this mission was to give Canadian astronauts, space scientists and the staff of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the opportunity to gain first hand experience on preparational and operational aspects of a typical space mission. Twenty-one scientific experiments involving six countries from several disciplines were involved in this mission.

This paper describes the goals and preliminary results of a psychological experiment/training program that used the CAPSULS mission as a test bed for its application in the manned space flight environment. The objective of this project was to enhance the understanding of small group behaviour with a view to maximizing team effectiveness and task accomplishment in teams living and working in isolation under difficult and confined conditions. The application of this model in the light of future missions is a key thesis in this paper.     

航天航空中急性缺氧条件下功效改变的研究

受试者为84名男性青年和实验工作人员,在低压舱1500、2500、3000、4000、5000和6000米高度上停留60分钟。每次实验一个高度,总共133人次。实验中,记录了数字记忆、听觉警觉和跟踪操作等多项功效指标。应用统计和模型方法对结果进行了分析,并试用模糊集理论对五种基本功效进行综合评定,得到了急性缺氧下功效改变有意义的结果。这些结果可为飞行员执行飞行任务,航天员在船舱内或穿着航天服在舱外执行任务及制订医学保证方案提供了科学依据。     

One hundred US EVAs: a perspective on spacewalks

In the 36 years between June 1965 and February 2001, the US human space flight program has conducted 100 spacewalks, or extravehicular activities (EVAs), as NASA officially calls them. EVA occurs when astronauts wearing spacesuits travel outside their protective spacecraft to perform tasks in the space vacuum environment. US EVA started with pioneering feasibility tests during the Gemini Program. The Apollo Program required sending astronauts to the moon and performing EVA to explore the lunar surface. EVA supported scientific mission objectives of the Skylab program, but may be best remembered for repairing launch damage to the vehicle and thus saving the program. EVA capability on Shuttle was initially planned to be a kit that could be flown at will, and was primarily intended for coping with vehicle return emergencies. The Skylab emergency and the pivotal role of EVA in salvaging that program quickly promoted Shuttle EVA to an essential element for achieving mission objectives, including retrieving satellites and developing techniques to assemble and maintain the International Space Station (ISS). Now, EVA is supporting assembly of ISS. This paper highlights development of US EVA capability within the context of the overarching mission objectives of the US human space flight program.     

The cost benefits of the Spacelab system to scientific investigations and space applications

In the past, one of the major problems in performing scientific investigations in space has been the high cost of developing, integrating, and transporting scientific experiments into space. The limited resources of unmanned spacecraft, coupled with the requirements for completely automated operations, was another factor contributing to the high costs of scientific research in space. In previous space missions after developing, integrating and transporting costly experiments into space and obtaining successful data, the experiment facility and spacecraft have been lost forever, because they could not be returned to earth. The objective of this paper is to present how the utilization of the Spacelab System will result in cost benefits to the scientific community, and significantly reduce the cost of space operations from previous space programs.The following approach was used to quantify the cost benefits of using the Spacelab System to greatly reduce the operational costs of scientific research in space. An analysis was made of the series of activities required to combine individual scientific experiments into an integrated payload that is compatible with the Space Transportation System (STS). These activities, including Shuttle and Spacelab integration, communications and data processing, launch support requirements, and flight operations were analyzed to indicate how this new space system, when compared with previous space systems, will reduce the cost of space research. It will be shown that utilization of the Spacelab modular design, standard payload interfaces, optional Mission Dependent Equipment (MDE), and standard services, such as the Experiment Computer Operating System (ECOS), allow the user many more services than previous programs, at significantly lower costs. In addition, the missions will also be analyzed to relate their cost benefit contributions to space scientific research.The analytical tools that are being developed at MSFC in the form of computer programs that can rapidly analyze experiment to Spacelab interfaces will be discussed to show how these tools allow the Spacelab integrator to economically establish the payload compatibility of a Spacelab mission.The information used in this paper has been assimilated from the actual experience gained in integrating over 50 highly complex, scientific experiments that will fly on the Spacelab first and second missions. In addition, this paper described the work being done at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to define the analytical integration tools and techniques required to economically and efficiently integrate a wide variety of Spacelab payloads and missions. The conclusions reached in this study are based on the actual experience gained at MSFC in its roles of Spacelab integration and mission managers for the first three Spacelab missions. The results of this paper will clearly show that the cost benefits of the Spacelab system will greatly reduce the costs and increase the opportunities for scientific investigation from space.     

The development of the hardware for studying biological clock systems under microgravity conditions,using scorpions as animal models

The study of internal clock systems of scorpions in weightless conditions is the goal of the SCORPI experiment. SCORPI was selected for flight on the International Space Station (ISS) and will be mounted in the European facility BIOLAB, the European Space Agency (ESA) laboratory designed to support biological experiments on micro-organisms, cells, tissue, cultures, small plants and small invertebrates. This paper outlines the main features of a breadboard designed and developed in order to allow the analysis of critical aspects of the experiment. It is a complete tool to simulate the experiment mission on ground and it can be customised, adapted and tuned to the scientific requirements. The paper introduces the SCORPI-T experiment which represents an important precursor for the success of the SCORPI on BIOLAB. The capabilities of the hardware developed show its potential use for future similar experiments in space.     

Life science experiments during the German-Russian MIR '97 mission

Manned spaceflight has been an important element of the German space program over the last decades. This is demonstrated by the nationally managed space missions Spacelab D-l (1985), D-2 (1993), and MIR '92 as well as by the participation in the 1st Spacelab mission FSLP (1983), the NASA missions IML-1 (1992) and IML-2 (1994), as well as in the ESA missions EUROMIR '94 and '95. On February 12th, this year, the German cosmonaut Reinhold Ewald was launched together with his Russian colleagues Wasilij Zibliew and Alexander Lasudkin onboard of a Soyuz spacecraft for another stay of a German cosmonaut onboard of the Russian Space Station MIR. This mission--the so-called German/Russian MIR '97--was, of course, another cornerstone with regard to the cooperation between Russian and German space organizations. The cooperation in the area of manned missions began 1978 with the flight of the German cosmonaut Sigmund Jahn onboard of Salyut 6, at that time a cooperation between the Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic in the frame of the Interkosmos Program. In March 1992, it was followed by the flight of Klaus Dietrich Flade with his stay onboard of MIR. After two further successful ESA missions, EUROMIR '94 and '95 with the two German cosmonauts Ulf Merbold and Thomas Reiter and with a marked contribution of German scientists, the decision was taken to perform another German/Russian MIR mission, the so-called MIR '97. In Germany, MIR'97 was managed and performed in a joint effort between several partners. DARA, the German Space Agency, was responsible for the overall program and project management, while DLR, the German Aerospace Research Establishment, was responsible for the cosmonaut training, for medical operations, for the mission control at GSOC in Oberpfaffenhofen as well as for user support.     

Lunar polar ice deposits: scientific and utilization objectives of the Lunar Ice Discovery Mission proposal

The Clementine mission has revived interest in the possibility that ice exists in shadowed craters near the lunar poles. Theoretically, the problem is complex, with several possible sources of water (meteoroid, asteroid, comet impact), several possible loss mechanisms (impact vaporization, sputtering, photoionization), and burial by meteorite impact. Opinions of modelers have ranged from no ice to several times 10(16) g of ice in the cold traps. Clementine bistatic radar data have been interpreted in favor of the presence of ice, while Arecibo radar data do not confirm its presence. The Lunar Prospector mission, planned to be flown in the fall of 1997, could gather new evidence for the existence of ice. If ice is present, both scientific and utilitarian objectives would be addressed by a lunar polar rover, such as that proposed to the NASA Discovery program, but not selected. The lunar polar rover remains the best way to understand the distribution and characteristics of lunar polar ice.     

A DLR small satellite mission for the investigation of hot spots, vegetation and clouds

Starting from their FIRES proposal [1]the DLR makes a new approach in the design of a small satellite mission dedicated to hot spot detection and evaluation: the BIRD mission. The new approach is characterized by a strict design-to-cost philosophy. A two-channel infrared sensor system in combination with a Wide-Angle Optoelectronic Stereo Scanner (WAOSS) shall be the payload of a small satellite (80kg) considered for piggyback launch. So the launch is not a main cost driver as for other small satellite missions with dedicated launchers. The paper describes the mission objectives, the scientific payload, the spacecraft bus, and the mission architecture of a small satellite mission dedicated to the investigation of hot spots (forest fires, volcanic activities, burning oil wells or coal seams), of vegetation condition and changes and of clouds. The paper represents some results of a phase A study and of the progressing phase B.     

An alternative approach to solar system exploration planning

Planning for the future exploration of the solar system has involved the structuring of a series of missions that address major scientific objectives at a minimum runout cost for the entire endeavor. In many cases, however, the optimal structuring of a program that would minimize the runout cost would entail an unacceptable high annual funding. Our actual planning must consider the planning wedge imposed on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It is vital that a plan be structured that copes with the annual restraint. If we do not recognize this, our plan will not be realized and a queing problem will result, thus negating all of our planning efforts.This paper presents ideas as to how planetary initiatives can be structured, wherein the peak annual funding is minimized. One vital aspect in the plan is to have a transportation capability that can launch a mission in any planetary opportunity. Solar electric propulsion can provide this capability. Another cost reduction approach would be to structure a mission set in a time sequenced fashion that could utilize essentially the same spacecraft for the implementation of several missions. This opportunity does exist. A third technique would be to fulfill a scientific objective in several sequential missions rather than attempt to accomplish all of the objectives with one mission. This approach might be applied to a mission currently in the planning stage designated the Saturn Orbiter Dual Probe mission. The current concept involves the delivery of a Saturn probe, a Titan probe, and a Saturn Orbiter by a one Shuttle launch. In this case, the orbiter must serve as a relay station for both probes; map the magnetosphere of Saturn; conduct a survey of Saturn's major satellites; and perform the planetological observation of Saturn itself. This mission entails the development of a complex spacecraft that would be required to have a fairly long life due to the extended mission operations at the benefit of accomplishing the mission with one launch. An alternate approach would be to break the mission into two separate elements. We could, for example, launch a Saturn orbiter carrying a Saturn entry probe. After serving as a communications relay system for the Saturn probe, the orbiter would then be specialized to map the magnetosphere of Saturn. A second launch would involve the delivery of a Titan probe by another orbiter where after delivery the orbiter would conduct the planetological observation of Saturn and its satellites. For the split-launch option, the runout cost for the two missions would be greater than the single launch option. However, optimum structuring of the two missions could materially reduce the peak annual funding.This paper presents data on the estimated cost on a year by year basis of a mission set structured to minimize the runout cost with no concern as to the peak annual funding as compared to a mission set that would yield the same scientific objectives in a slightly longer time span wherein the annual peak funding would be minimized. The consequences of this revised plan are analyzed.     

EDEN: a payload dedicated to neurovestibular research for Neurolab

The European Space Agency contributes to the Neurolab mission through the delivery of the ESA Developed Elements for Neurolab (EDEN). Those elements include one set supporting the Autonomic Nervous System experiment and one set supporting the Neurovestibular (so-called ATLAS) experiment. This second set is called the Visual and Vestibular Investigation System (VVIS). This paper describes the main characteristics of the VVIS and its various subsystems. The scientific objectives and operational constraints of the ATLAS experiment to be carried out with this equipment during Neurolab are presented to underline the correspondence between the VVIS design and the scientific requirements. Further scientific and technical perspectives for the VVIS, particularly within the scope of the International Space station, are also proposed.     

How the science and engineering of spaceflight contribute to understanding the plasticity of spinal cord injury.

Space programs support experimental investigations related to the unique environment of space and to the technological developments from many disciplines of both science and engineering that contribute to space studies. Furthermore, interactions between scientists, engineers and administrators, that are necessary for the success of any science mission in space, promote interdiscipline communication, understanding and interests which extend well beyond a specific mission. NASA-catalyzed collaborations have benefited the spinal cord rehabilitation program at UCLA in fundamental science and in the application of expertise and technologies originally developed for the space program. Examples of these benefits include: (1) better understanding of the role of load in maintaining healthy muscle and motor function, resulting in a spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation program based on muscle/limb loading; (2) investigation of a potentially novel growth factor affected by spaceflight which may help regulate muscle mass; (3) development of implantable sensors, electronics and software to monitor and analyze long-term muscle activity in unrestrained subjects; (4) development of hardware to assist therapies applied to SCI patients; and (5) development of computer models to simulate stepping which will be used to investigate the effects of neurological deficits (muscle weakness or inappropriate activation) and to evaluate therapies to correct these deficiencies.     

Why rover preparatory programmes? The example of the French programme “VAP”

The very first activities concerning planetary rovers began in 1964 in the Soviet Union and in the United States for lunar missions. Nowadays, with the increase of new mission needs and technical possibilities, several space agencies have engaged in some preliminary programmes in that area with the following objectives:

• —to prepare their involvement in future international rover missions

• —to ease contacts/discussions between scientists and engineers

• —to study and develop a new generation of in situ experiments

• —to perform system/mission analysis in conjunction with the definition of the mission objectives

• —to analyze robotic problematics and implement robotic concepts in the rover architectures.

To perform these activities, several organizations have been set up in Russia, the United States, Japan, Italy and France, according to the relative weight of space engineering over robotic research.

In the case of the French programme (‘VAP—Automatic Planetary Rover’), the organization is based on a partnership between the CNES, a scientific committee, four national research laboratories and industries in order to optimize scientific and technical work, with an optimal use of past robotic research studies, as well as to generate spin-offs for Earth applications. Indeed, as a preliminary result, we now have a co-operative agreement with Russia to procure cameras and associated software for the autonomous navigation of the Marsokhod 96 and 2 projects for terrestrial applications of robotic concepts defined within the framework of the VAP programme.     

Influence of graviceptives cues at different level of visual information processing: the effect of prolonged weightlessness

We evaluated the influence of prolonged weightlessness on the performance of visual tasks in the course of the Russian-French missions ANTARES, Post-ANTARES and ALTAIR aboard the MIR station. Eight cosmonauts were subjects in two experiments executed pre-flight, in-flight and post-flight sessions.

In the first experiment, cosmonauts performed a task of symmetry detection in 2-D polygons. The results indicate that this detection is locked in a head retinal reference frame rather than in an environmentally defined one as meridional orientations of symmetry axis (vertical and horizontal) elicited faster response times than oblique ones. However, in weightlessness the saliency of a retinally vertical axis of symmetry is no longer significantly different from an horizontal axis. In the second experiment, cosmonauts performed a mental rotation task in which they judged whether two 3-D objects presented in different orientations were identical. Performance on this task is basically identical in weightlessness and normal gravity.     

Global measurement of the Earth gravity field using a gradiometric satellite

Two techniques are able to permit a significant progress in the global measurement of the Earth gravity field: satellite to satellite tracking and gradiometry. The preliminary results concerning the study of a gradiometric satellite to be launched by Ariane are presented.After stating the scientific objectives and the mission specifications, one focuses on the definition of the gradiometer and the gradiometric satellite. After analysis of the problems associated with gradiometry based upon differential accelerometry, one presents the Cactus accelerometer design evolution and the implications on the satellite configuration and interfaces with the gradiometer. Finally a short mission analysis is presented.     

TanDEM-X: A radar interferometer with two formation-flying satellites

TanDEM-X (TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurements) is an innovative formation-flying radar mission that opens a new era in spaceborne radar remote sensing. The primary objective is the acquisition of a global digital elevation model (DEM) with unprecedented accuracy (12 m horizontal resolution and 2 m relative height accuracy). This goal is achieved by extending the TerraSAR-X synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mission by a second, TerraSAR-X like satellite (TDX) flying in close formation with TerraSAR-X (TSX). Both satellites form together a large single-pass SAR interferometer with the opportunity for flexible baseline selection. This enables the acquisition of highly accurate cross-track interferograms without the inherent accuracy limitations imposed by repeat-pass interferometry due to temporal decorrelation and atmospheric disturbances. Besides the primary goal of the mission, several secondary mission objectives based on along-track interferometry as well as new bistatic and multistatic SAR techniques have been defined, representing an important and innovative asset of the TanDEM-X mission. TanDEM-X is implemented in the framework of a public–private partnership between the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and EADS Astrium GmbH. The TanDEM-X satellite was successfully launched in June 2010 and the mission started its operational data acquisition in December 2010. This paper provides an overview of the TanDEM-X mission and summarizes its actual status and performance. Furthermore, results from several scientific radar experiments are presented that show the great potential of future formation-flying interferometric SAR missions to serve novel remote sensing applications.     

Cost effectiveness of Spacelab experiments

Spacelab permits investigation in new seicntific disciplines like material processing, life sciences, chemistry, etc. The large mass and volume capabilities of Spacelab offer better possibilities for some areas of traditional space sciences like infrared astronomy, multi-spectral solar observations and large instruments for astronomical observations.Since free-flyers will require normally a new spacecraft development for each mission, the reusability of space qualified components and experiments will be a significant cost reduction factor over a long period. In the early phase of Spacelab utilisation, however, the scaling factor introduced by Spacelab utilisation, however, the scaling factor introduced by Spacelab results in higher payload development costs than originally appreciated.The costs of Spacelab utilisation are computed and compared with those of conventional free-flying satellites. The mission implementation costs and experiment development costs are shown for both cases. The Spacelab mission implementation costs are subdivided into NASA charges for the Standard Shuttle Mission, NASA charges to fly and operate Spacelab, the European costs of Spacelab payload integration and experiment development costs. In order to evaluate and compare mission implementation costs, the simple parameters are adopted of the cost per kg of experiments and the data collection-transmission capability of Shuttle/Spacelab and ESRO/ESA satellites. The mission implementation costs turn out to be very favourable for Spacelab. The experiment development costs, which are not included in the mission implementation costs, are compared for several free flyers with the corresponding development costs for several experiments of the first Spacelab payload. The comparison shows that the cost per kg of Spacelab experiment development is about five times less than of satellite experiments.     

Venus Express—Science observations experience at Venus

The Venus Express mission is the European Space Agency's (ESA) first spacecraft at Venus. It was launched in November 2005 by a Soyuz–Fregat launcher and arrived at Venus in April 2006. The mission covers a broad range of scientific goals including physics, chemistry, dynamics and structure of the atmosphere as well as atmospheric interaction with the surface and several aspects of the surface itself. Furthermore, it investigates the plasma environment and interaction of the solar wind with the atmosphere and escape processes.One month after the arrival at Venus the Venus Express spacecraft started routine science operations. Since then Venus Express has been observing Venus every day for more than one year continuously making new discoveries.In order to ensure that all the science objectives are fulfilled the Venus Express Science Operations Centre (VSOC) has the task of coordinating and implementing the science operations for the mission. During the first year of Venus observations the VSOC and the experiment teams gained a lot of experience in how to make best use of the observation conditions and payload capabilities. While operating the spacecraft in orbit we also acquired more knowledge on the technical constraints and more insight in the science observations and their results.As the nominal mission is coming to an end, the extended mission will start from October 2007. The Extended Science Mission Plan was developed taking into account the lessons learned. At the same time new observations were added along with specific fine-tuned observations in order to complete the science objectives of the mission.This paper will describe how the previous observations influence the current requirements for the observations around Venus today and how they influence the observations in the mission extension. Also it will give an overview of the Extended Science Mission Plan and its challenges for the future observations.     

MarcoPolo-R: Near-Earth Asteroid sample return mission selected for the assessment study phase of the ESA program cosmic vision

This paper presents the sample return mission to a primitive Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) MarcoPolo-R proposed to the European Space Agency in December 2010. MarcoPolo-R was selected in February 2011 with three other missions addressing different science objectives for the two-year Assessment Phase of the Medium-Class mission competition of the Cosmic Vision 2 program for launch in 2022. The baseline target of MarcoPolo-R is the binary NEA (175706) 1996 FG3, which offers an efficient operational and technical mission profile. A binary target also provides enhanced science return. The choice of a binary target allows several scientific investigations to occur more easily than through a single object, in particular regarding the fascinating geology and geophysics of asteroids. MarcoPolo-R will rendezvous with a primitive, organic-rich NEA, scientifically characterize it at multiple scales, and return a bulk sample to Earth for laboratory analyses. The MarcoPolo-R sample will provide a representative sample from the surface of a known asteroid with known geologic context, and will contribute to the inventory of primitive material that is probably missing from the meteorite collection. The MarcoPolo-R samples will thus contribute to the exploration of the origin of planetary materials and initial stages of habitable planet formation, to the identification and characterization of the organics and volatiles in a primitive asteroid and to the understanding of the unique geomorphology, dynamics and evolution of a binary asteroid that belongs to the Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) population.     

R3DE: Radiation Risk Radiometer-Dosimeter on the International Space Station--optical radiation data recorded during 18 months of EXPOSE-E exposure to open space

Radiation Risk Radiometer-Dosimeter E (R3DE) served as a device for measuring ionizing and non-ionizing radiation as well as cosmic radiation reaching biological samples located on the EXPOSE platform EXPOSE-E. The duration of the mission was almost 1.5 years (2008-2009). With four channels, R3DE detected the wavelength ranges of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, 400-700?nm), UVA (315-400?nm), UVB (280-315?nm), and UVC (<280?nm). In addition, the temperature was recorded. Cosmic ionizing radiation was assessed with a 256-channel spectrometer dosimeter (see separate report in this issue). The light and UV sensors of the device were calibrated with spectral measurement data obtained by the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) satellite as standard. The data were corrected with respect to the cosine error of the diodes. Measurement frequency was 0.1?Hz. Due to errors in data transmission or temporary termination of EXPOSE power, not all data could be acquired. Radiation was not constant during the mission. At regular intervals of about 2 months, low or almost no radiation was encountered. The radiation dose during the mission was 1823.98 MJ m(-2) for PAR, 269.03 MJ m(-2) for UVA, 45.73 MJ m(-2) for UVB, or 18.28 MJ m(-2) for UVC. Registered sunshine duration during the mission was about 152 days (about 27% of mission time).The surface of EXPOSE was most likely turned away from the Sun for considerably longer. R3DE played a crucial role on EXPOSE-EuTEF (EuTEF, European Technology Exposure Facility), because evaluation of the astrobiology experiments depended on reliability of the data collected by the device. Observed effects in the samples were weighted by radiation doses measured by R3DE.