Exploration life support technology challenges for the Crew Exploration Vehicle and future human missions

As NASA implements the U.S. Space Exploration Policy, life support systems must be provided for an expanding sequence of exploration missions. NASA has implemented effective life support for Apollo, the Space Shuttle, and the International Space Station (ISS) and continues to develop advanced systems. This paper provides an overview of life support requirements, previously implemented systems, and new technologies being developed by the Exploration Life Support Project for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) and Lunar Outpost and future Mars missions. The two contrasting practical approaches to providing space life support are (1) open loop direct supply of atmosphere, water, and food, and (2) physicochemical regeneration of air and water with direct supply of food. Open loop direct supply of air and water is cost effective for short missions, but recycling oxygen and water saves costly launch mass on longer missions. Because of the short CEV mission durations, the CEV life support system will be open loop as in Apollo and Space Shuttle. New life support technologies for CEV that address identified shortcomings of existing systems are discussed. Because both ISS and Lunar Outpost have a planned 10-year operational life, the Lunar Outpost life support system should be regenerative like that for ISS and it could utilize technologies similar to ISS. The Lunar Outpost life support system, however, should be extensively redesigned to reduce mass, power, and volume, to improve reliability and incorporate lessons learned, and to take advantage of technology advances over the last 20 years. The Lunar Outpost design could also take advantage of partial gravity and lunar resources.     

金刚石研磨和加工精度的实现

"金刚石"这个词使人想到是"昂贵",但是用金刚石磨料进行研磨加工,却相对"低廉"——更少的金刚石研磨浆被消耗,每小时更低的运行成本,产生更少的废料,更短的加工时间,更低的废品率,更少的工序步骤。     

On the Detectability and Use of Normal Modes for Determining Interior Structure of Mars

The InSight mission to Mars is well underway and will be the first mission to acquire seismic data from a planet other than Earth. In order to maximise the science return of the InSight data, a multifaceted approach will be needed that seeks to investigate the seismic data from a series of different frequency windows, including body waves, surface waves, and normal modes. Here, we present a methodology based on globally-averaged models that employs the long-period information encoded in the seismic data by looking for fundamental-mode spheroidal oscillations. From a preliminary analysis of the expected signal-to-noise ratio, we find that normal modes should be detectable during nighttime in the frequency range 5–15 mHz. For improved picking of (fundamental) normal modes, we show first that those are equally spaced between 5–15 mHz and then show how this spectral spacing, obtained through autocorrelation of the Fourier-transformed time series can be further employed to select normal mode peaks more consistently. Based on this set of normal-mode spectral frequencies, we proceed to show how this data set can be inverted for globally-averaged models of interior structure (to a depth of \(\sim 250~\mbox{km}\)), while simultaneously using the resultant synthetically-approximated normal mode peaks to verify the initial peak selection. This procedure can be applied iteratively to produce a “cleaned-up” set of spectral peaks that are ultimately inverted for a “final” interior-structure model. To investigate the effect of three-dimensional (3D) structure on normal mode spectra, we constructed a 3D model of Mars that includes variations in surface and Moho topography and lateral variations in mantle structure and employed this model to compute full 3D waveforms. The resultant time series are converted to spectra and the inter-station variation hereof is compared to the variation in spectra computed using different 1D models. The comparison shows that 3D effects are less significant than the variation incurred by the difference in radial models, which suggests that our 1D approach represents an adequate approximation of the global average structure of Mars.     

Development and chromosome mechanics in nematodes: results from IML-1.

A subset of the Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes flown aboard Biorack on IML-1 was analyzed for the fidelity of development and the mechanics of chromosomes at meiosis. To assess meiosis, mutant worms marked at two linked or unlinked loci were inoculated as heterozygous hermaphrodites and allowed to self fertilize. Mendelian segregation ratios and recombination frequency were measured for offspring produced at 1XG or in microgravity. To assess development, worms and embryos were fixed and stained with the DNA dye, DAPI, or antibodies specific for antigens expressed in germ cells, pharyngeal and body wall muscles, and gut cells. The distribution of cytoplasmic determinants, cell nuclei counts and positions were scored to assess symmetry relations and anatomical features.     

The biosphere 2 project and its potential role in assisting space exploration

Space Biospheres Ventures is developing technologies for its Biosphere 2 project — a 3 acre materially closed ecological system with human habitat, intensive agriculture and five wilderness biomes — and other life-support testbeds for space habitats in microgravity and the Moon and Mars, as well as for ecological research pertinent to the biosphere of Earth. These include soil bed reactors for air purification and biomass production; aquatic waste processing systems; real-time analytic systems; and computer systems of control and management. A space policy pursuing joint Earth and ‘space biospheres’ objectives and implications is discussed.     

Balloon materials and designs

Improvements of materials can extend the performance of scientific balloon flights in altitude, suspended load and duration. The impact of new materials is considered in the design of superpressure balloons for long duration improvement, ultra light weight for sounding balloons, and a launch technique for minimizing relative wind problems.     

Toward optimizing lighting as a countermeasure to sleep and circadian disruption in space flight

Light is being used as a pre-launch countermeasure to circadian and sleep disruption in astronauts. The effect of light on the circadian system is readily monitored by measurement of plasma melatonin. Our group has established an action spectrum for human melatonin regulation and determined the region of 446-477 nm to be the most potent for suppressing plasma melatonin. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of 460 and 555 nm for suppressing melatonin using a within-subjects design. Subjects (N=12) were exposed to equal photon densities (7.18 x 10(12) photons/cm2/s) at 460 and 555 nm. Melatonin suppression was significantly stronger at 460 nm (p<0.02). An extension to the action spectrum showed that 420 nm light at 16 and 32 microW/cm2 significantly suppressed melatonin (p<0.04 and p<0.002). These studies will help optimize lighting countermeasures to circadian and sleep disruption during spaceflight.     

Structured methods for identifying and correcting potential human errors in space operations

Human performance plays a significant role in the development and operation of any complex system, and human errors are significant contributors to degraded performance, incidents, and accidents for technologies as diverse as medical systems, commercial aircraft, offshore oil platforms, nuclear power plants, and space systems. To date, serious accidents attributed to human error have fortunately been rare in space operations. However, as flight rates go up and the duration of space missions increases, the accident rate could increase unless proactive action is taken to identity and correct potential human errors in space operations. The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) has developed and applied structured methods of human error analysis to identify potential human errors, assess their effects on system performance, and develop strategies to prevent the errors or mitigate their consequences. These methods are being applied in NASA-sponsored programs to the domain of commercial aviation, focusing on airplane maintenance and air traffic management. The application of human error analysis to space operations could contribute to minimize the risks associated with human error in the design and operation of future space systems.