NASA Technical Report Server Research Articles

Strategies, Research Priorities, and Challenges for the Exploration of Space Beyond Low Earth Orbit

Abstract NASA's recent emphasis on human exploration of the Moon and, ultimately, Mars necessitates a transition from a focus of its research in the biological sciences from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to platforms beyond LEO. Fundamental research questions need to be addressed to enable humans to thrive in deep space. Work beyond LEO necessitates a shift in technology and the utilization of organisms in autonomous experiments, especially in the near term. The Beyond LEO Instrumentation & Science Series Science Working Group (BLISS-SWG) was established to provide NASA's Space Biology Program input on its strategy for developing research priorities and tools for exploration beyond LEO. Here, we present an abridged version of the first annual report of the BLISS-SWG, which is publicly available on the NASA Technical Reports Server. Seven priority areas and pertinent research questions were identified for research beyond LEO in the coming 2–5 years. Appropriate experimental organisms and technology development needs for research addressing these questions are summarized. The BLISS-SWG aims for this review to serve as a resource for the space biology and science and engineering communities as they develop research to understand risks and mitigation strategies for deep-space stressors on human crew, plants, and their microbiomes.

Matrix metalloproteinases in extracellular matrix remodeling: molecular, cellular and tissue aspects

Matrix metalloproteinases are an integral component of the organ-specific tissue microenvironment, primarily participating in the regulation of the state of the integrative-buffer metabolic environment, tissue remodeling, morphogenesis and immunogenesis, and the genesis of pathological vascular diseases. Therefore, issues related to regulation of matrix metalloproteinase activity under altered gravity are a matter of high urgency for space biomedicine. The review highlights aspects of regulation of matrix metalloproteinase activity under altered gravity. The study results included in the current systematic review were searched for in independent literature sources in the PubMed and Cochrane databases, Google Scholar and the NASA Technical Reports Server. A variety of stress factors associated with space flights, in particular, exposure to radiation, enhances the expression of transforming growth factor beta and matrix metalloproteinases-2. Experimental data obtained during several flights demonstrate that microgravity affects the architecture of cells and increases the expression of matrix metalloproteinases-1 and interleukin-6. Microgravity reduces the expression of collagen I, and the level of fibrillar collagen, which affects the mechanical properties of the intracellular matrix. Matrix metalloproteinases -1, -3, -10 demonstrated an increased activity in flight samples of 16-week-old female C57BL/6J mice (n = 8) during 15 days aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery, the STS-131 mission, compared to ground control (12.94; 2.98 and 16.85 times, respectively, P<0.05), while matrix metalloproteinases inhibitors – tissue metalloproteinase inhibitors-1, -2, and -3, demonstrated no statistically significant changes in gene expression. There were determined significant differences in the gene expression profiles in the lungs of animals of the space flight and ground control groups. The genes that revealed more than doubled expression were CTGF, MMP-2, NACM1, SPARC, SPOCK1 and TIMP-3, while the genes with the greatest decrease in expression were LAMA1, MMP-3, MMP-7, MMP-13, VCAM-1, and SELE.

Craniofacial Bones and Teeth in Spacefarers: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Estimating the risk of dental problems in long-duration space missions to the Moon and Mars is critical for avoiding dental emergencies in an environment that does not support proper treatment. Previous risk estimates were constructed based on the experience in short-duration space missions and isolated environments on Earth. However, previous estimates did not account for potential changes in dental structures due to space travel, even though bone loss is a known problem for long-duration spaceflights. The objective of this study was to systematically analyze the changes in hard tissues of the craniofacial complex during spaceflights. Comprehensive search of Medline, Embase, Scopus, the NASA Technical Report Server, and other sources identified 1,585 potentially relevant studies. After screening, 32 articles that presented quantitative data for skull in humans (6/32) and for calvariae, mandible, and lower incisors in rats (20/32) and mice (6/32) were selected. Skull bone mineral density showed a significant increase in spacefaring humans. In spacefaring rodents, calvariae bone volume to tissue volume (BV/TV) demonstrated a trend toward increasing that did not reach statistical significance, while in mandibles, there was a significant decrease in BV/TV. Dentin thickness and incisor volume of rodent incisors were not significantly different between spaceflight and ground controls. Our study demonstrates significant knowledge gaps regarding many structures of the craniofacial complex such as the maxilla, molar, premolar, and canine teeth, as well as small sample sizes for the studies of mandible and incisors. Understanding the effects of microgravity on craniofacial structures is important for estimating risks during long-duration spaceflight and for formulating proper protocols to prevent dental emergencies. Avoiding dental emergencies in long-duration spaceflights is critical since this environment does not support proper treatment. Prior risk estimates did not account for changes in dental structures due to space travel. We reviewed and synthesized the literature for changes in craniofacial complex associated with spaceflight. The results of our study will help clinicians and scientists to better prepare to mitigate potential oral health issues in space travelers on long-duration missions.

Exogenic olivine on Vesta from Dawn Framing Camera color data

In this paper we present the results of a global survey of olivine-rich lithologies on (4) Vesta. We investigated Dawn Framing Camera (FC) High Altitude Mapping Orbit (HAMO) color cubes (∼60m/pixel resolution) by using a method described in Thangjam et al. (Thangjam, G., Nathues, A., Mengel, K., Hoffmann, M., Schäfer, M., Reddy, V., Cloutis, E.A., Christensen, U., Sierks, H., Le Corre, L., Vincent, J.-B, Russell, C.T. [2014b]. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. arXiv:1408.4687 [astro-ph.EP]). In total we identified 15 impact craters exhibiting olivine-rich (>40wt.% ol) outcrops on their inner walls, some showing olivine-rich material also in their ejecta and floors. Olivine-rich sites are concentrated in the Bellicia, Arruntia and Pomponia region on Vesta’s northern hemisphere. From our multi-color and stratigraphic analysis, we conclude that most, if not all, of the olivine-rich material identified is of exogenic origin, i.e. remnants of A- or/and S-type projectiles. The olivine-rich lithologies in the north are possibly ejecta of the ∼90km diameter Albana crater. We cannot draw a final conclusion on their relative stratigraphic succession, but it seems that the dark material (Nathues, A., Hoffmann, M., Cloutis, E.A., Schäfer, M., Reddy, V., Christensen, U., Sierks, H., Thangjam, G.S., Le Corre, L., Mengel, K., Vincent, J.-B., Russell, C.T., Prettyman, T., Schmedemann, N., Kneissl, T., Raymond, C., Gutierrez-Marques, P., Hall, I. Büttner, I. [2014b]. Icarus (239, 222--237)) and the olivine-rich lithologies are of a similar age. The origin of some potential olivine-rich sites in the Rheasilvia basin and at crater Portia are ambiguous, i.e. these are either of endogenic or exogenic origin. However, the small number and size of these sites led us to conclude that olivine-rich mantle material, containing more than 40wt.% of olivine, is basically absent on the present surface of Vesta. In combination with recent impact models of Veneneia and Rheasilvia (Clenet, H., Jutzi, M., Barrat, J.-A., Gillet, Ph. [2014]. Lunar Planet Sci. 45, #1349; Jutzi, M., Asphaug, E., Gillet, P., Barrat, J.-A., Benz, W. [2013]. Nature 494, 207–210), which predict an excavation depth of up to 80km, we are confident that the crust–mantle depth is significantly deeper than predicted by most evolution models (30km; Mittlefehldt, D.W. [2014]. Asteroid 4 Vesta: A Fully Differentiated Dwarf Planet. NASA Technical Reports Server (20140004857.pdf)) or, alternatively, the olivine-content of the (upper) mantle is lower than our detection limit, which would lead to the conclusion that Vesta’s parent material was already depleted in olivine compared to CI meteorites.

The Public Domain, the National Interest, and the Fate of the NASA Technical Reports Server

On March 20, 2013, the NASA Technical Reports Server was taken off line. This vital repository of aerospace knowledge has become a focal point for a discussion on the public dissemination of technical information: it raises questions as to what is the true meaning of the "Public Domain." NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, prompted by Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va), directed a thorough reevaluation of the contents of NASA public servers. At the time of this writing, only a fraction of the original data repository has been made generally accessible again. This manuscript introduces and reviews modern legal theories governing intellectual property law. It seeks to find policy positions whereby historical, but competitively sensitive information can be restricted from world-wide dissemination but once again be made available to hard-working U.S. nationals who further the progress of science and useful arts through their scholarship in aeronautics and space. Precedent for new law may be found in the Semiconductor Protection Act of 1984.

NTRS: NASA Technical Reports Server

NTRS: NASA Technical Reports Server

OAI and NASA’s scientific and technical information

The Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI‐PMH) is an evolving protocol and philosophy regarding interoperability for digital libraries (DLs). Previously, “distributed searching” models were popular for DL interoperability. However, experience has shown distributed searching systems across large numbers of DLs to be difficult to maintain in an Internet environment. The OAI‐PMH is a move away from distributed searching, focusing on the arguably simpler model of “metadata harvesting”. We detail NASA’s involvement in defining and testing the OAI‐PMH and experience to date with adapting existing NASA distributed searching DLs (such as the NASA Technical Report Server) to use the OAI‐PMH and metadata harvesting. We discuss some of the entirely new DL projects that the OAI‐PMH has made possible, such as the Technical Report Interchange Project. We explain the strategic importance of the OAI‐PMH to the mission of NASA’s Scientific and Technical Information Program.

TRSkit

This paper introduces TRSkit, a simple and effective toolkit for building digital libraries on the World Wide Web. The toolkit was developed for the creation of the Langley Technical Report Server and the NASA Technical Report Server, but is applicable to most simple distribution paradigms. TRSkit contains a handful of freely available software components designed to be run under the UNIX operating system and served via the World Wide Web. The intended customer is the person that must continuously and synchronously distribute anywhere from 100 - 100,000''s of information units and does not have extensive resources to devote to the problem.

Optimizing the NASA Technical Report Server

Explains how the NASA Technical Report Server, a World Wide Web report distribution NASA technical publications service, has been modified for performance enhancement, greater protocol support and human interface optimization. Results include: parallel database queries, significantly decreasing user access times by an average factor of 2.3; access from clients behind firewalls and/or proxies which truncate excessively long Uniform Resource Locators; access to non‐Wide Area Information Server (WAIS) databases and compatibility with the Z39‐50.3 protocol; and a streamlined user interface.

The NASA Technical Report Server

The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and charged it to “provide for the widest practicable and appropriate dissemination of information concerning ... its activities and the results thereof”. The search for innovative methods to distribute NASA′s information led a grassroots team to create the NASA Technical Report Server (NTRS), which uses the World Wide Web and other popular Internet‐based information systems.

Accessing NASA technology with the World Wide Web

NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) began using the World Wide Web (WWW) in the summer of 1993, becoming the first NASA installation to provide a center-wide home page. This coincided with a reorganization of LaRC to provide a more concentrated focus on technology transfer to both aerospace and non-aerospace industry. Use of WWW and NCSA Mosaic not only provides automated information dissemination, but also allows for the implementation, evolution and integration of many technology transfer and technology awareness applications. This paper describes several of these innovative applications, including the on-line presentation of the entire Technology Opportunities Showcase (TOPS), an industrial partnering showcase that exists on the Web long after the actual 3-day event ended. The NASA Technical Report Server (NTRS) provides uniform access to many logically similar, yet physically distributed NASA report servers. WWW is also the foundation of the Langley Software Server (LSS), an experimental software distribution system which will distribute LaRC-developed software. In addition to the more formal technology distribution projects, WWW has been successful in connecting people with technologies and people with other people. >