NASA Johnson Space Center Research Articles

(Invited) Benchmarking and Predicting the Risks of Commercial Li-Ion Cells Undergoing Thermal Runaway

The performance of commercial Li-ion batteries increases year after year. New mechanical designs of cells as well as changing electrolyte and active material compositions continually push performance boundaries forward. With such changes, the risks associated with thermal runaway of cells change too and a challenge persists in recording and benchmarking risks to determine whether increased performance comes at the expense of increased risk in the event of thermal runaway. The Battery Failure Databank provides a record of thermal and mass ejection behaviors of past and present commercial cells and provides a valuable resource for benchmarking behaviors and determining the predictability of risks associated with thermal runaway.A Fractional Thermal Runaway Calorimeter (FTRC), developed by the NASA Johnson Space Center in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), distinctly measures heat emitted from the body of commercial cells and heat that is ejected from the cell. The FTRC also facilitates in-situ high-speed radiography to link phenomena occurring inside the cell with external thermal measurements. The FTRC was used for all tests recorded in the Battery Failure Databank and high-speed radiographs accompany each thermal dataset. Having thermal, mass ejection, and internal dynamics behaviors from hundreds commercial cells under mechanical and thermal abuse conditions facilitates statistical analyses of cell behaviors and evaluation of the efficacy of machine learning methods for predicting risks associated with thermal runaway.Using data from the Battery Failure Databank, the following three topics will be covered in this talk: Correlations between heat generation and mass ejection: The total heat output from cells showed a strong correlation with the quantity of material ejected. An explanation for this based on distinct heat measurements from ejected and non-ejected materials will be discussed. Potential causes of outlier cells that produce exceptionally high heat: Upon conducting numerous repeat tests for each cell, outlier cells that produce exceptionally high quantities of heat were observed. High-speed radiography data revealed that internal dynamic phenomena can lead to extreme variations in thermal and ejection behavior observed externally. The predictability of thermal runaway outcomes using machine learning methods and limited data: With limited data on thermal behavior, mass ejection, and cell specifications, the accuracy of zero- and one-shot approaches to predicting the variation and distribution of heat output during thermal runaway of a new cell type, based on training data in the Battery Failure Databank, will be discussed. The analyses and open-access resources provided with this work are expected to provide a foundation for benchmarking the behavior and predictability of risks associated with thermal runaway of past and present commercial Li-ion cells. In addition to providing a valuable resource for designing safe battery systems, it is expected that this data will be imperative as we evaluate next generation cell designs and assess their respective failure mechanisms and associated risks.

Design and Development of an Augmented Reality Interface for Space Exploration

The Holographic Augmented Reality Visualization Interface for Exploration (HARVIE) was developed for the 2022 NASA SUITS (Spacesuit User Interface for Students) challenge. HARVIE assists astronauts with elevated demands of the lunar surface through navigation, terrain sensing, and an optimal display of suit status elements (e.g., oxygen, battery, and heart rate). Considering environmental constraints, the system architecture promotes efficient cross modal communication between the mission control center, other astronauts, and the user interface. Currently, the system utilizes a hands-free modality such as speech recognition. Throughout the design process, we conducted heuristic evaluations on a low-fidelity prototype. Then, we implemented HARVIE into a high-fidelity prototype on the HoloLens 2 and utilized the Rapid Iterative Testing & Evaluation (RITE) method for human-in-the-loop testing. Lastly, we evaluated our final design at NASA Johnson Space Center. Our interface serves as a novel approach to enhance how astronauts navigate on missions using augmented reality.

Operational Considerations for Crew Fatality on the International Space Station.

BACKGROUND: While catastrophic spaceflight events resulting in crew loss have occurred, human spaceflight has never suffered an on-orbit fatality with survival of other crewmembers on board. Historical plans for management of an on-orbit fatality have included some consideration for forensic documentation and sample collection, human remains containment, and disposition of remains; however, such plans have not included granular detailing of crew or ground controller actions. The NASA Johnson Space Center Contingency Medical Operations Group, under authority from the Space and Occupational Medicine Branch, the Space Medicine Operations Division, and the Human Health and Performance Directorate, undertook the development of a comprehensive plan, including an integrated Mission Control Center response for flight control teams and Flight Surgeons for a single on-orbit crew fatality on the International Space Station (ISS) and subsequent events. Here we detail the operational considerations for a crew fatality should it occur during spaceflight onboard the ISS, including forensic and timeline constraints, behavioral health factors, and considerations for final disposition of decedent remains. Future considerations for differential survival and crewmember fatality outside of low-Earth orbit operations will additionally be discussed, including consideration of factors unique to planetary and surface operations and disposition limitations in exploration spaceflight. While the efforts detailed herein were developed within the constraints of the ISS concept of operations, future platforms may benefit from the procedural validation and product verifications steps described. Ultimately, any response to spaceflight fatality must preserve the goal of handling decedent remains and disposition with dignity, honor, and respect.Stepaniak PC, Blue RS, Gilmore S, Beven GE, Chough NG, Tsung A, McMonigal KA, Mazuchowski EL II, Bytheway JA, Lindgren KN, Barratt MR. Operational considerations for crew fatality on the International Space Station. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2023; 94(9):705-714.

The importance of time-resolved personal Dosimetry in space: The ISS Crew Active Dosimeter

Monitoring space radiation is of vital importance for risk reduction strategies in human space exploration. Radiation protection programs on Earth and in space rely on personal and area radiation monitoring instruments. Crew worn radiation detectors are crucial for successful crew radiation protection programs since they measure what each crewmember experiences in different shielding configurations within the space habitable volume. The Space Radiation Analysis Group at NASA Johnson Space Center investigated several compact, low power, real-time instruments for personal dosimetry. Following these feasibility studies, the Crew Active Dosimeter (CAD) has been chosen as a replacement for the legacy crew passive radiation detectors. The CAD device, based on direct ion storage technology, was developed by Mirion Dosimetry Services to meet the specified NASA design requirements for the International Space Station (ISS) and Artemis programs. After a successful Technology demonstration on ISS, the CAD has been implemented for ISS Crew operations since 2020. The current paper provides an overview of the CAD development, ISS results and comparison with the ISS Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) and the Radiation Environment Monitor 2 (REM2) instruments.

Velocimeter Light-Detection-and-Ranging–Informed Terrain Relative Navigation

Velocimeter light-detection-and-ranging (LIDAR)–informed batch and sequential estimation approaches for terrain relative navigation applications are developed in this paper. State-of-the-art velocimeter LIDAR sensors are capable of delivering simultaneous three-dimensional relative position, relative Doppler velocity, and reflectivity measurements for every point in the field of view. The proposed batch estimation algorithm yields accurate and statistically consistent vehicle velocity estimates in unknown (uncooperative) environments. This work presents novel pointwise relative position and Doppler velocity measurement models that can be utilized in the presence of known (cooperative) environments. Rate estimates obtained by the batch estimator are fused with the pointwise measurement models and classical inertial measurement unit formulations in the form of a multiplicative extended Kalman filter. This Doppler LIDAR-based sensor fusion approach yields informative terrain relative navigation solutions suitable for both cooperative and uncooperative environments. Results from extensive emulation robotics testing performed at NASA Johnson Space Center and Texas A&M’s Land, Air, and Space Robotics laboratory are presented to validate the proposed methodologies.

Space vehicle docking system standardization

The International Docking System Standard (IDSS) was developed and establish to aid on-orbit crew rescue and joint operations between different spacecraft. For the International Space Station (ISS), the IDSS has successfully enabled Global interoperability for Commercial Crew and it is now being extended to the Artemis campaign. Similarly, as more companies, agencies, and nations announce their intentions to explore and occupy Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Cis-Lunar space, including the Lunar surface, it is a natural supposition that new, vehicle interface standards will be required to support the build-up of infrastructure for campaign-based exploration or permanent occupation by national and multi-national Agencies, Industries, and Companies.A surface version of the IDSS, a.k.a. IDSS-Surface (IDSS-S), is under consideration at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) by the docking discipline leads responsible for the leadership of technical development and negotiation of the original IDSS over a decade ago. The IDSS-S, like its predecessor, will ultimately detail the physical geometric mating interface and design load requirements to ensure physical interoperability and to support a broad set of design reference missions which, if accommodated, increases the probability of successful Lunar surface docking between different modules enabling the accessibility and inclusivity required for multi-national, sustainable Lunar exploration.

Curation planning and facilities for asteroid Bennu samples returned by the OSIRIS‐REx mission

AbstractNASA's OSIRIS‐REx spacecraft collected samples from carbonaceous near‐Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu on October 20, 2020, and will deliver them to the Earth on September 24, 2023. The samples will be processed at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), where most of the sample collection will be subsequently curated in a new cleanroom suite. The spacecraft collected loose regolith two ways: in a bulk sample chamber capable of holding up to 2 kg, and on industrial Velcro “contact pads” intended to collect small particles at the surface. Included in the JSC collection will be the bulk sample, the contact pads, contamination‐monitoring witness plates, and supporting hardware. Planning for the curation of the samples and hardware started at the earliest phase of proposal development and continued in parallel with project development and execution. Because a major mission goal is characterization of organic compounds in the Bennu samples, extra effort was spent in the design stage to ensure a clean curation environment. Here, we describe the preparations to receive the sample, including the design, construction, outfitting, and monitoring of the cleanrooms at JSC; the planned recovery of the sample‐containing capsule when it lands on Earth; and the approach to characterizing and cataloging the samples. These curation efforts will result in the distribution of pristine Bennu samples from JSC to the OSIRIS‐REx science team, international partners, and the global scientific community for years to come.

Cell collection in cell therapy — quality matters

Watch the video or view the poster to:Review the cell therapy manufacturing cycle   Learn why optimizing the cell collection is so importantLearn about the factors that play a role in the success or failure of an apheresis collection.Understand how data analytics can help optimize cell collections for cell therapySara Lewandowski has a master's degee in biomedical engineering and has been with Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies for 15 years. Sara started her career in the aerospace industry and after several years at the NASA Johnson Space Center, she joined Terumo BCT and shifted her focus to her current role in Global Services where she develops and executes data analytics services for cell collectors and cell gene therapy manufacturers. 

Identification of Factors Associated With the Development of Optic Disc Edema During Spaceflight

Approximately 70% of crew members who complete long-duration missions to the International Space Station develop signs of optic disc edema, a hallmark finding of spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome. The onset and magnitude of edema differ across individuals, and the reason for this variability remains unknown. Identifying risk factors for spaceflight-induced disc edema is important because this condition may become more severe during extended-duration missions to the moon and Mars and could be associated with irreversible vision loss. To assess whether preflight indicators of crowded optic nerve head morphology, other ocular measures (such as choroid thickness and axial length), body weight, body mass index, sex, age, and previous flight experience are associated with optic disc edema development. This cohort study analyzed ocular, body weight, and demographic data collected from 31 US and international crew members before, during, and after spaceflight at the NASA Johnson Space Center and International Space Station. Ocular factors assessed included preflight and in-flight peripapillary total retinal thickness, minimum rim width, optic cup volume, mean cup depth, mean cup width, cup-disc ratio, Bruch membrane opening area, retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, choroid thickness, axial length, and refractive error. In addition, body weight, body mass index, sex, age, and previous spaceflight experience were assessed for associations with optic disc edema development. The data were analyzed from August 2021 to June 2022. Approximately 6 to 12 months of spaceflight. In-flight increases in peripapillary total retinal thickness. Linear mixed models were used to assess for associations between a wide range of risk factors and in-flight increases in peripapillary total retinal thickness, which is a sensitive objective measure for detecting optic disc edema. This study included 31 International Space Station crew members with a mean (SD) age of 46.9 (6.0) years (25 men [80.6%]). During spaceflight, mean (SE) peripapillary total retinal thickness increased from 392.0 (5.8) μm to 430.2 (9.6) μm (P < .001), and greater individual changes were associated with smaller preflight cup volume (slope [SE], -62.8 [18.9]; P = .002), shallower preflight cup depth (slope [SE], -0.11 [0.03]; P < .001), and narrower preflight cup width (slope [SE], -0.03 [0.01]; P = .03). No associations were observed between changes in peripapillary total retinal thickness and any other variable evaluated. Findings of this cohort study suggest that smaller optic cup morphology may be associated with optic disc edema development during spaceflight. Crew members with this cup profile may benefit from enhanced ophthalmic monitoring during spaceflight and use of countermeasures against spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome.

To assess marine cloud brightening's technical feasibility, we need to know what to study—and when to stop

To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, it’s paramount that we decarbonize the economy and preserve and restore natural ecosystems. Unfortunately, pledges made from countries thus far will not limit warming to below 1.5 °C, even after accounting for the more ambitious targets set at the recent COP26 climate summit in Glasgow (1). Meeting the 1.5 °C Paris Agreement goal will likely require a massive deployment of CO2 removal technologies that remain unproven at scale (2). As a result, many scientists—including an expert panel recently convened by the US National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM)—have advocated for research into solar climate interventions that would offset some effects of greenhouse gas-driven warming by reflecting more sunlight back to space (3). This would temporarily cool the Earth, giving mitigation and adaptation efforts more time to scale up. One such approach, marine cloud brightening (MCB), would seed low-altitude clouds over the ocean with salt particles to produce more and smaller cloud droplets, leading to brighter clouds (4, 5). Right now, research into climate interventions such as marine cloud brightening lacks a comprehensive framework to produce and assess the information needed for sound decision making. Image credit: Shutterstock/Venera Salman. A view of marine clouds as seen from the International Space Station. Bands of brighter clouds are created by the pollution from ships' smokestacks. Marine cloud brightening proposals would aim to replicate this effect using sea salt. Astronaut photograph ISS059-E-36734. Image credit: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center, and NASA Earth Observatory. We endorse the need for a transdisciplinary research program focused on MCB and other solar climate interventions. However, climate intervention research currently lacks a comprehensive framework to objectively produce and assess the information needed for sound decision-making. This is attributable in part to a … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: michael.diamond{at}noaa.gov. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1

Elucidating evolution processes of Solar System bodies: Approaches by mineralogical study of various kinds of extraterrestrial materials

For the past 30 years, I have performed a mineralogical study of various kinds of extraterrestrial materials focusing on evolution processes of Solar System bodies. The samples analyzed range from primitive chondritic materials returned by spacecrafts to differentiated meteorites including Martian and lunar samples. The first of these analyzed meteorites was an angrite, one of the oldest known achondrites, in collaboration with researchers at NASA's Johnson Space Center, USA. I pointed out the importance of olivine xenocrysts by studying many quenched angrites and showed that bulk compositions of quenched angrites were controlled by resorption degrees of these xenocrysts. Soon I became involved in studying Martian meteorites. In my early works, I found that some shergottite Martian meteorites experienced undercooling of magma and represented parent magma compositions by combining crystallization experimental results. I also revealed that nakhlite Martian meteorites had correlated petrography and mineralogy that could be explained by crystallization at different locations (burial depths) in a common cooling cumulate pile. The presence of remarkable shock features (e.g., darkening of olivine) in Martian meteorites is striking, and it appears that prolonged post-shock heating history largely erased the high-pressure polymorphs in many cases. My research deals with primitive solar system materials including Wild 2 cometary particles and Itokawa asteroidal particles. Studying these samples using electron beam and synchrotron radiation analyses has strengthened the interpretations of their origins. Another important tool employed is electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis. I applied this technique to identify several new minerals such as dmitryivanovite, andreyivanovite, and kushiroite in early 2000s. EBSD was also used to analyze preferred crystallographic orientation of olivine in brachinites, revealing rigorous magmatic and/or rheological activities in the parent body. At present I am analyzing Ryugu samples returned by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft as a preliminary analysis team member, which broadens our understanding of the formation and evolution processes of solid materials in the early Solar System.

David A. Landgrebe: Evolution of Digital Remote Sensing and Landsat

David Landgrebe, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Director of the Purdue University Laboratory for Applications of Remote Sensing (LARS), was a primary innovator in the field of digital image analysis and remote sensing of the environment. He and his LARS colleagues, along with a selected few other researchers at institutions including the University of Michigan, University of California Berkley, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and NASA Johnson Space Center, defined and developed remote sensing technology to monitor the Earth&#x0027;s terrestrial environment. This research led to the Landsat program, which has continued to monitor the Earth&#x0027;s land areas for a half century. These technologies have defined new fields of scientific query in digital image analysis, biophysical remote sensing, as well as remote sensing science and applications. Dr. Landgrebe&#x0027;s contributions to these research areas were substantial and profound. Understanding the early evolution of work is critical to understanding how this technology is still advancing today. The authors hope that current and future students of these fields will benefit from understanding how this all began.

Modernization of NASA Johnson Space Center’s Chamber A to support Cryogenic Vacuum Optical Testing of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

Abstract NASA is the mission lead for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the next of the “Great Observatories,” scheduled for launch in 2021. NASA is directly responsible for the integration and test (I&amp;T) program that culminated in an end-to-end cryo vacuum optical test of the flight telescope and instrument module in Chamber A at NASA Johnson Space Center. Historic Chamber A is the largest thermal vacuum chamber at Johnson Space Center and one of the largest space simulation chambers in the world. Chamber A has undergone a major modernization effort to support the deep cryogenic, vacuum and cleanliness requirements for testing the JWST. This paper describes the upgrades to the Chamber A facility: Thermal Shrouds, Helium Refrigeration, Liquid Nitrogen System, High Vacuum System, Clean Airflow System, and Utilities.

University based interdisciplinary space lab: Designing for astronaut health and wellbeing

The importance of interdisciplinary approaches through collaborative mindset, cross-field knowledge, and co-creative team actions is integral for continuing space exploration success as evidenced by past and ongoing terrestrial space habitat analog missions and extraordinary International Space Station (ISS) achievements.This paper presents the third annual iterative outcomes of an innovative university-based space program using Project Based Learning (PBL) methodology in creating design ideas for astronaut health support and wellbeing during a long duration mission (LDM) for a future inhabited lunar moon base or Mars Mission astronaut transit. University faculties including Built Environment, Industrial Design, Engineering, Science, and Health, at Western Sydney University Australia and supported by University of Houston USA are brought together to develop a new understanding of discipline capabilities with the prospect to co-creatively provide new opportunities and inspiration for teamwork across fields. This is of key interest to employers of new graduates in space or innovation-based industries where human factors and designing for high quality human-centered outcomes supports career resilience through currency, agility, and focus.The altruistic nature of interactions that make the ISS a success on multiple levels across cultural, scientific and humanitarian foundations provide the template for cross-disciplinary inspiration, that leverage synergies, and shared goals unattainable by single fields alone. It is not common for disciplines to work so closely together though industry has an expectation for this knowledge.Previously teams of three (2018); five (2019), and now ten undergraduates in 2020 represent team formation. Student numbers across the design for space theme have grown annually from fifteen, to twenty-five, to forty students in 2020. Now opportunities to respond to the complexities of the project in more detail are presented in addressing the overarching research domains in spatial design, human factors and design for health for LDMs. Team supervisory academic staff grew from 1-to-3 and provided further team guidance and discipline specialisations to inform three iterative project phases across the twelve activity weeks for four teams focusing on human spaceflight, exercise, related design performance and materials, and selected UNSDGs principles. The paper outlines the methodological approach, assessment methods, acculturation to working in teams and immersion in space knowledge for newcomers, and a review of forty collaborative outcomes all conducted by migrating Online during the COVID19 pandemic of 2020 by necessity.Periodic project collaborations with sports and health science, engineering, health informatics, space architects, a former astronaut, a representative from NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Flight Control, and industrial design academics (project host discipline and non-traditional space area) provided an environment for discussion, development, and co-creative processes that have led to new discoveries and stimuli for new collaboration, international understanding and advancing humankind in space and on earth.

Description of the "Liulin Ten-Koh" charged particles spectrometer for the Japanese "Ten-Koh" satellite

On 29 October 2018 at 13:08 Japanese Standard Time was successfully launched the Greenhouse gas Observing SATellite (GOSAT-2) from the JAXA Tanegashima Space Center. Piggy-back with the GOSAT-2 satellite in a circular (623 km), polar synchronous orbit, was launched the 22 kilogram mass satellite Ten-Koh (http://kit-okuyama-lab.com/en/ten-koh/). It was developed in Kyushu Institute of Technology by Prof. K. Okuyama, Chief Scientist of the Spacecraft. Ten-Koh satellite is observing Low Earth Environment (LEO). The primary purpose is to provide valuable data for future development of satellites for operation. Ten-Koh's primary science instrument is the Charged Particle Detector (CPD) developed at the Prairie View A&amp;M University, and NASA Johnson's Space Center of Houston, TX, USA. Principal Scientist of this payload is Prof. P. Saganti (https://www.pvamu.edu/raise/space-payload/charged-particle-detector-2018/). Principal Engineer of the CPD project is S. D. Holland (formerly with NASA-JSC and currently with Holland-Space LLC, Houston, TX, USA). SRTI-BAS received a request from Prof. Saganti to develop a Liulin type instrument to be part of the CPD payload. Scientists from SRTI's Solar-Terrestrial Physics Department have developed and handed three units per the request (engineering, flight, and operational models) of the instrument named ?Liulin Ten-Koh?. These instruments are similar to the RADOM instrument, which worked in 2008-2009 on the Indian Moon satellite Chadrayaan-1 [12]. This paper describes the flight model, ?Liulin Ten-Koh Saganti? instrument and the standard sources radiation tests, which were performed during the calibrations in the laboratory of SRTI-BAS. As of this writing, Ten-Koh spacecraft is making polar orbit passes as expected at about 623 km altitude and at 98 degree inclination with very healthy telemetry data as received by several ground stations across the world. The first received data from ?Liulin Ten-Koh Saganti? instrument of the Ten-Koh spacecraft are presented. The available at this moment Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) L-value profiles of the dose rate and the dose to flux ratio (D/F) from 11 December 2018 are compared with the R3DE profile at International Space Station (ISS). In addition, the integral ?Liulin Ten-Koh Saganti? instrument LET spectrum from 11 December 2018 is compared with spectra from other instruments, measured in and out of the Earth magnetosphere.

Cometary Glycolaldehyde as a Source of pre-RNA Molecules.

Over 200 molecules have been detected in multiple extraterrestrial environments, including glycolaldehyde (C2(H2O)2, GLA), a two-carbon sugar precursor that has been detected in regions of the interstellar medium. Its recent in situ detection on the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and through remote observations in the comae of others provides tantalizing evidence that it is common on most (if not all) comets. Impact experiments conducted at the Experimental Impact Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center have shown that samples of GLA and GLA mixed with montmorillonite clays can survive impact delivery in the pressure range of 4.5 to 25 GPa. Extrapolated to amounts of GLA observed on individual comets and assuming a monotonic impact rate in the first billion years of Solar System history, these experimental results show that up to 1023 kg of cometary GLA could have survived impact delivery, with substantial amounts of threose, erythrose, glycolic acid, and ethylene glycol also produced or delivered. Importantly, independent of the profile of the impact flux in the early Solar System, comet delivery of GLA would have provided (and may continue to provide) a reservoir of starting material for the formose reaction (to form ribose) and the Strecker reaction (to form amino acids). Thus, comets may have been important delivery vehicles for starting molecules necessary for life as we know it.

SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic Impacts on NASA Ground Operations to Protect ISS Astronauts

NASA implements required medical tests and clinical monitoring to ensure the health and safety of its astronauts. These measures include a pre-launch quarantine to mitigate the risk of infectious diseases. During space missions, most astronauts experience perturbations to their immune system that manifest as a detectable secondary immunodeficiency. On return to Earth, after the stress of re-entry and landing, astronauts would be most vulnerable to infectious disease. In April 2020, a crew returned from International Space Station to NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. Post-flight quarantine protocols (both crew and contacts) were enhanced to protect this crew from SARS-CoV-2. In addition, specific additional clinical monitoring was performed to determine post-flight immunocompetence. Given that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) prognosis is more severe for the immunocompromised, a countermeasures protocol for spaceflight suggested by an international team of scientists could benefit terrestrial patients with secondary immunodeficiency.

Development of polyetherimide composites for use as 3D printed thermal protection material

As additive manufacturing (AM) increasingly gains commercial and academic interest, government agencies, such as NASA Johnson Space Center, seek to produce thermal protection systems using AM methods, such as fused filament fabrication (FFF). The purpose of this study is to develop a suitable polyetherimide (ULTEM™ 1010) nanocomposite with enhanced ablation and thermal properties while maintaining compatibility with commercially available FFF machines. Eleven formulations were compounded using the twin-screw extruder with varying amounts of nanoclay, glass bubbles, and flame-retardant additives. All formulations were characterized via multiple instruments to be down-selected to four candidates for aerothermal testing. After discovering specific characteristics of some formulations, aerothermal test models were 3D printed for four formulations. Enhanced thermal properties among the composite formulations were demonstrated. Aerothermal testing also displayed promising results. In addition to experimental data, microstructural analyses were performed.

Optic Disc Edema and Choroidal Engorgement in Astronauts During Spaceflight and Individuals Exposed to Bed Rest

Optic disc edema develops in astronauts during long-duration spaceflight and is a risk for all future astronauts during spaceflight. Having a ground-based analogue of weightlessness that reproduces critical features of spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome will facilitate understanding, preventing, and/or treating this syndrome. To determine whether the ocular changes in individuals exposed to an analogue of weightlessness are similar to the ocular changes in astronauts exposed to a duration of spaceflight comparable to this analogue of weightlessness. This cohort study, conducted from 2012 to 2018, investigated 11 healthy test participants before, during, and after 30 days of strict 6° head-down tilt bed rest as well as 20 astronauts before and during approximately 30 days of spaceflight. Data were collected at NASA Johnson Space Center, the German Aerospace Center, and on board the International Space Station. Statistical analysis was performed from February 13 to April 24, 2019. Peripapillary total retinal thickness and peripapillary choroid thickness quantified from optical coherence tomography images. Peripapillary total retinal thickness increased to a greater degree among 11 individuals (6 men and 5 women; mean [SD] age, 33.4 [8.0 years]) exposed to bed rest than among 20 astronauts (17 men and 3 women; mean [SD] age, 46.0 [6.0] years), with a mean difference between groups of 37 μm (95% CI, 13-61 μm; P = .005). Conversely, choroid thickness did not increase among the individuals exposed to bed rest but increased among the astronauts, resulting in a mean difference between groups of 27 μm (95% CI, 14-41 μm; P < .001). These findings suggest that strict head-down tilt bed rest produces a different magnitude of edema than occurs after a similar duration of spaceflight, and no change in choroid thickness. It is possible that a mild, long-term elevation in intracranial pressure experienced by individuals exposed to bed rest is greater than the intracranial pressure experienced by astronauts during spaceflight, which may explain the different severity of optic disc edema between the cohorts. Gravitational gradients that remain present during bed rest may explain the lack of increase in choroid thickness during bed rest, which differs from the lack of gravitational gradients during spaceflight. Despite the possibility that different mechanisms may underlie optic disc edema development in modeled and real spaceflight, use of this terrestrial model of spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome will be assistive in the development of effective countermeasures that will protect the eyes of astronauts during future space missions.

Video-Based Ergonomic Assessment for Spacesuit Training in a Microgravity Analog

Astronauts are trained in a simulated reduced gravity environment at the NASA Johnson Space Center’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL), an underwater test facility. While crewmembers and spacesuits may have a net effect of weightlessness in this environment, their own weight still forces them against the suit. With the extensive amount of required spacesuit training, an association has been observed between suit exposure time and astronaut injuries. The goal of this study was to identify possible relationships between spacesuit training and extreme underwater work postures that are related to injury risk. Given the limitation of traditional ergonomic evaluation tools because of the complex motion of the spacesuit in an underwater environment, a new tool was developed and tested to measure the three-dimensional orientation of suited test subjects in analysis of NBL training videos. A wireless motion tracking device was paired with an event logging software to quantitatively log the upper body orientations throughout training videos.