National Aeronautics And Space Administration Space Research Articles

Evaluation of Fluid Loading Protocols for Use Before Returning from Spaceflight

Reductions in plasma volume (PV) during spaceflight contribute to post-spaceflight orthostatic intolerance (OI) during re-exposure to a gravitational environment. Both the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Russian Space Agency (RSA) utilize fluid loading prior to re-entry to expand PV and mitigate the risk of post flight OI, but the timing of ingestion differs. Before landing NASA crewmembers consume 1-1.5 L of water with salt tablets to produce an isotonic solution in ~1 hour, whereas RSA cosmonauts consume the same, over ~4 hours. Anecdotal reports suggest low palatability and gastrointestinal (GI) distress with salt tablet and water fluid loading. To address this concern, the NASA Space Food Systems Laboratory developed an electrolyte solution. The purpose of this study is to test the effcacy and palatability of the two fluid loading compositions ingested in 1 hour versus 4 hours. Seven participants (2 Female, 39±9 years, 178.2±9.9 cm, 74.9±8.6 kg) completed four randomized visits separated ≥ 48 hours. The four visits were (1) no fluid loading (control), (2) 4 hour ingestion of the electrolyte solution (4hr-Electro), (3) 1 hour ingestion of the electrolyte solution (1hr-Electro), and (4) 4 hour ingestion of salt tablets and water (4hr-Salt). Participants reported to the lab at ~7:00 a.m. fasted, and PV was measured using a carbon monoxide re-breathing technique. During each visit subjects consumed 500 mL of water representing normal daily water intake through the first five hours of the session along with breakfast and lunch meals identical to those provided to astronauts. During the control visit, no other fluid consumption was allowed. During the three fluid loading visits, participants also consumed up to 1.2 L of additional fluid, either water with salt tablets or the electrolyte solution. After completion of the fluid loading protocol no additional fluid was consumed during the final 3.5 hours of the test. Participants remained seated for all portions of the study. Hemoglobin and hematocrit were measured at 0, 1, 2, 3, and 3.5 hours after cessation of food and fluid intake to assess changes in PV. In these preliminary data, PV was not significantly different from baseline at any timepoint during the control and 4hr-Electro sessions ( P>0.20). PV increased from baseline at all timepoints for the 1hr-Electro session ( P<0.003) and at all timepoints, other than 0 ( P=0.17 ), for the 4hr-Salt condition ( P<0.01 ). GI distress was reported by participant during the 4hr-Electro (n=2), 1hr-Electro (n=1), and 4hr-Salt protocols (n=4). No GI distress was reported during the control visit. The most severe GI symptom (18/20) was nausea reported with the 4hr-Salt protocol. These data suggest that both the 4hr-Salt and 1hr-Electro fluid loading protocols successfully expands PV, however the 1hr-Electro results in fewer participants reporting GI symptoms. Supported by Mars Campaign Development - Exploration Capabilities. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Recommendations on quantum education

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and The White House have an interest in expanding quantum education in the US. This report summarizes the findings of NASA Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program fellowship and is focused on making recommendations regarding improving and expanding quantum education nationwide. To make informed and effective recommendations, qualitative data was collected regarding the current state of quantum education in the US. The information collected from meeting with experts in the fields of quantum and education was assessed before recommendations and suggestions were made. Topics addressed include guidance for selecting locations to initially focus quantum education efforts, potential problems with teachers incorporating quantum in their instructions, potential solutions to those problems, steps to increase quantum education nationwide, potential quantum programs at universities, the quantum job market, quantum demonstrations at the K-12 level, and quantum curriculum.

Space food packaging: A review of its past, present and future materials and technologies

Abstract20 July 1969: approximately 240 000 mi away from Earth, two astronauts named Neil Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. landed on the moon. 20 October 2020: approximately 200 million miles away from Earth, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) managed to land a spacecraft on an asteroid named Bennu and collect a sample from its surface. Sometime 2030s: approximately 34 million miles away from Earth, NASA is looking to successfully send humans to Mars. So, why is all this important? The effects of climate change are apparent on Earth today—temperatures around the world higher than normal, a rising sea level, natural disasters increasing in frequency and strength—and these effects continue to become ever more apparent as time goes on; thus, there is a need for solutions, which outer space has become one that is simultaneously grown in seriousness over the years. Colonizing space, traveling to distant planets and inhabiting them, these are definite possibilities for humans, as evidenced above by the remarkable progress NASA has made; however, one of the biggest obstacles NASA is dealing with in bringing those possibilities into fruition is their food system—all the actors and interactions within a food chain, meaning those who grow the food, those who process the food, those who transport the food, those who sell the food and finally, those who consume and dispose of the food. The shelf life of NASA's current food system will not last past 18 months in the unique environment of space, where there are the hazards of galactic cosmic rays, solar radiation and microgravity. Recognizing this—essentially recognizing that achieving such aforementioned feats would require a food system that can last much longer—NASA and others have constantly been researching and experimenting with their food system, ranging from how its food is grown, processed and preserved to the focus of this literature review: how it is packaged. Henceforth, the purpose of this literature review is to chronologically look at and discuss the major materials and technologies used in NASA's space food packaging of the past—the 1960s–1970s—look at and discuss those of the present—the 1980s–2000s—and finally, look ahead and discuss those of the future, entailing materials and technologies currently being worked on or considered for future use in NASA space missions. At that, here's to 60 years of activity in space.

(Invited) Thermal and Electrical Conductivity of Carbon Nanotube Network Materials: Theoretical Analysis and Mesoscopic Simulations

A general framework for theoretical analysis and numerical calculations of the effective thermal and electrical conductivity of homogeneous and isotropic disordered materials composed of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is developed. The model utilizes similarity in the mathematical description of thermal and electrical transport in nanotube materials. The analysis accounts for both the inter-tube contact conductance and intrinsic conductivity of CNTs, and is performed in a wide space of governing parameters that includes the fiber aspect ratio, Biot number calculated for a single contact between nanotubes, and density ranging from values corresponding to the percolation threshold up to those characteristic of dense fiber networks. For dense networks, exact theoretical equations for the effective conductivity of materials composed of nanotubes with arbitrary aspect ratio and Biot number are derived. The effect of the intrinsic conductivity of nanotubes on the thermal and electrical transport is found to depend on the density of inter-tube contacts and, thus, is usually significant in the dense materials. The theoretical finding are confirmed in large-scale simulations of quasi-two-dimensional CNT films and three-dimensional CNT aerogels, where nanotubes form continuous networks of intertwined bundles. The simulations are performed based on a mesoscopic model of CNT materials, where every nanotube is represented by a curved chain of stretchable cylindrical segments. The dependences of the conductivity on the CNT length, Biot number, and material density predicted in these simulations agree well with the scaling laws derived theoretically. The comprehensive theoretical description developed in this work can facilitate tailoring thermal and electrical conductivity of CNT materials to the needs of practical applications by varying the material density, CNT length, and aspect ratio. Financial support for this work is provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) through an Early Stage Innovations grant from NASA's Space Technology Research Grants Program (grant NNX16AD99G). A.N.V. also acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation through the CAREER award CMMI-1554589.

Plutonium-238: The Fuel Crisis

Plutonium-238 is currently still the best fuel to power satellites to be sent to deep space in regions where the solar panels can no longer efficiently receive the sunlight. For 50 years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has used this radioisotope as a fuel in radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) installed on satellites such as Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2, Cassini-Huygens and New Horizons, as well as the various rovers sent to the Moon and to Mars, among others. Plutonium-238 is not a naturally occurring isotope on the planet, it was produced in greater quantity during the Cold War period as a by-product of the production of Plutonium-239 used for nuclear bombs. However, after the shutting down of the Savannah River reactors in 1988 and the ending of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States stock of Plutonium-238 has been increasingly reduced, which threatens NASA's future space projects. This paper presents a brief bibliographic review about the subject, as well as commentaries on the options available to the United States, from restarting the production of this fuel, to possible alternatives for a new type of fuel or equipment that may supply the spacecrafts.

التطبيقات التكنولوجية الحديثة ودورها في إدارة الوثائق والبيانات الضخمة وفق منهجيات إدارة الوثائق والأرشفة الإلكترونية : تجربة الإدارة الوطنية للملاحة الجوية والفضاء (ناسا) نموذجا = Modern Technological Applications and Their Role in Managing Records and Big Data According to Methodologies of Records Management and Electronic Archiving : The Experience of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Model

الأرشفة الإلكترونية | إدارة الوثائق | البيانات الضخمة | الإدارة الوطنية للملاحة الجوية والفضاء | وكالة ناسا الفضائية | الوثائق | الأرشيف | Electronic Archiving | Records Management | Big Data | National Aeronautics and Space Administration | NASA Space Agency | Records | Archive

(Invited) Thermal and Electrical Conductivity of Carbon Nanotube Network Materials: Theoretical Analysis and Mesoscopic Simulations

A general framework for theoretical analysis and numerical calculations of the effective thermal and electrical conductivity of homogeneous and isotropic disordered materials composed of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is developed. The model utilizes similarity in the mathematical description of thermal and electrical transport in nanotube materials. The analysis accounts for both the inter-tube contact conductance and intrinsic conductivity of CNTs, and is performed in a wide space of governing parameters that includes the fiber aspect ratio, Biot number calculated for a single contact between nanotubes, and density ranging from values corresponding to the percolation threshold up to those characteristic of dense fiber networks. For dense networks, exact theoretical equations for the effective conductivity of materials composed of nanotubes with arbitrary aspect ratio and Biot number are derived. The effect of the intrinsic conductivity of nanotubes on the thermal and electrical transport is found to depend on the density of inter-tube contacts and, thus, is usually significant in the dense materials. The theoretical finding are confirmed in large-scale simulations of quasi-two-dimensional CNT films and three-dimensional CNT aerogels, where nanotubes form continuous networks of intertwined bundles. The simulations are performed based on a mesoscopic model of CNT materials, where every nanotube is represented by a curved chain of stretchable cylindrical segments. The dependences of the conductivity on the CNT length, Biot number, and material density predicted in these simulations agree well with the scaling laws derived theoretically. The comprehensive theoretical description developed in this work can facilitate tailoring thermal and electrical conductivity of CNT materials to the needs of practical applications by varying the material density, CNT length, and aspect ratio. Financial support for this work is provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) through an Early Stage Innovations grant from NASA's Space Technology Research Grants Program (grant NNX16AD99G). A.N.V. also acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation through the CAREER award CMMI-1554589.

LEU NTP Engine System Trades and Mission Options

The future of human exploration missions to Mars is dependent on solutions to the technology challenges being worked on by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and industry. One of the key architecture technologies involves propulsion that can transport the human crew from Earth orbit to other planets and back to Earth with the lowest risk to crew and the mission. Nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) is a proven technology that provides the performance required to enable benefits in greater payload mass, shorter transit time, wider launch windows, and rapid mission aborts due to its high specific impulse and high thrust. Aerojet Rocketdyne (AR) has stayed engaged for several decades in working NTP engine systems and has worked with NASA recently to perform an extensive study on using low-enriched uranium NTP engine systems for a Mars campaign involving crewed missions from the 2030s through the 2050s. Aerojet Rocketdyne has used a consistent set of NASA ground rules and they are constantly updated as NASA adjusts its sights on obtaining a path to Mars, now via the Lunar Operations Platform-Gateway. Building on NASA’s work, AR has assessed NTP as the high-thrust propulsion option to transport the crew by looking at how it can provide more mission capability than chemical or other propulsion systems. The impacts of the NTP engine system on the Mars transfer vehicle configuration have been assessed via several trade studies since 2016, including thrust size, number of engine systems, liquid hydrogen stage size, reaction control system sizing, propellant losses, NASA Space Launch System (SLS) payload fairing size impact, and aggregation orbit. An AR study activity in 2018 included examining NTP stages derived from Mars crew mission elements to deliver extremely large cargo via multiple launches or directly off the NASA SLS. This paper provides an update on the results of the ongoing engine system and mission trade studies.

The Way It Was.

Mary Osborn was a native Californian. She was an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley, where she worked in the laboratory of I.L. Chaikoff. She received her PhD at the University of Washington, where her work on the role of folic acid coenzymes in one-carbon metabolism revealed the mechanism of action of methotrexate. After postdoctoral training with Bernard Horecker in the Department of Microbiology at New York University (NYU), she embarked on her research career as a faculty member in the NYU Department of Microbiology and in the Department of Molecular Biology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In 1968 she moved as one of the founding faculty of the new medical school of the University of Connecticut, where she remained until her retirement in 2014. Her research was focused on the biosynthesis of the endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of gram-negative bacteria and on the assembly of the bacterial cell envelope. She made seminal contributions in these areas. She was the recipient of numerous honors and served as president of several important scientific organizations. Later in her career she served as chair of the National Research Council Committee on Space Biology and Medicine, advisory to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which produced an influential report that plotted the path for NASA's space biology research program in the first decade of the twenty-first century. Dr. Osborn died on Jan. 17, 2019.

Reinforcement Learning for Satellite Communications: From LEO to Deep Space Operations

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is in the midst of defining and developing the future space and ground architecture for the coming decades to return science and exploration discovery data back to investigators on Earth. Optimizing the data return from these missions requires planning, design, standards, and operations coordinated from formulation and development throughout the mission. The use of automation enhanced by cognition and machine learning are potential methods for optimizing data return, reducing costs of operations, and helping manage the complexity of the automated systems. In this article, we discuss the potential role of machine learning in the linkto- link aspect of the communication systems. An experiment using NASA's Space Communication and Navigation Testbed onboard the International Space Station and the ground station located at NASA John H. Glenn Research Center demonstrates for the first time the benefits and challenges of applying machine learning to space links in the actual flight environment. The experiment used machine learning decisions to configure a space link from the ISS-based testbed to the ground station to achieve multiple objectives related to data throughput, bandwidth, and power. Aspects of the specific neural-network-based reinforcement learning algorithm formation and on-orbit testing are discussed.

Evaluation of Commercial High Energy Lithium Primary Cells for Wide Temperature Range Aerospace Applications

As NASA missions become increasingly demanding of robust, lightweight, and compact power sources, there is a need to develop long-life and high-energy battery systems. Lithium-ion batteries have been developed at JPL over the last two decades and have been successfully integrated into a number of NASA missions [1] in conjunction with solar arrays and radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) power sources. In the case of short-term missions in extremely harsh conditions (i.e., thirty days or less and/or at temperatures reaching -40 °C) without an active thermal management system, lithium primary cells may be considered for their high specific energy, especially in environments where recharging secondary cells would be challenging [2]. The icy moons of the Jovian system, for example, offer little sunlight for photovoltaic power and Jupiter’s intense magnetosphere leads to constant potentially damaging radiation.Many types of commercial lithium primary cells are available, reportedly offering high specific energies of ~500 Wh kg-1, with some designed specifically for low temperature operation. These commercial cells must be validated for space missions with extensive testing to demonstrate their performance, safety, reliability, and suitability for space environments. Radiation tolerance is also an important consideration, both as a method of sterilization for planetary protection and for survival in high radiation environments.In the present study, we have evaluated a number of commercial lithium primary cells (ranging from AA to DD+ sizes) of varying chemistries (with CFx, MnO2, SOCl2, SO2, and FeS2 cathodes) and manufacturers for possible future use in NASA’s deep space missions. We have assessed various performance characteristics of these cells, including low temperature energy, rate capability, and tolerance to radiation exposure, which will be reported here. Acknowledgement The work described herein was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and supported by the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate Game Changing Development Program.

Secondary light-ion transport from intermediate-energy hadron experiments

The aim of this research is to produce double differential thick target yields, angular distributions and integrated yields for the inclusive production of neutrons, protons, deuterons, tritons, 3 He, and 4 He from intermediate heavy-ion interactions on thick targets of aluminium, polyethylene and other targets of interest to the radiation shielding program as specified by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In tandem with the experimental research, transport model calculations of these thick target yields were also performed. The first such experimental run was conducted in May 2015, with the expectation of improved experimental results at a following March 2016 run at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) on the campus of Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). The May 2015 commissioning run served to test the electronics of the experimental setup, as well as the various detectors and other equipment under the conditions in which the following measurements will be run. The series of future accelerator-based experiments will rely on the inclusion of two separate upstream and downstream targets. Analysis of the data from both sets of detectors – liquid scintillator and sodium iodide – using both pulse height and time-of-flight methods will allow NASA to perform uncertainty quantification and sensitivity analysis on their transport codes and future shielding studies.

Jack B. Hartung (March 10, 1937–August 28, 2015)

Jack B. Hartung (March 10, 1937–August 28, 2015)

Review of NASA approach to space radiation risk assessments for Mars exploration.

Long duration space missions present unique radiation protection challenges due to the complexity of the space radiation environment, which includes high charge and energy particles and other highly ionizing radiation such as neutrons. Based on a recommendation by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, a 3% lifetime risk of exposure-induced death for cancer has been used as a basis for risk limitation by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for low-Earth orbit missions. NASA has developed a risk-based approach to radiation exposure limits that accounts for individual factors (age, gender, and smoking history) and assesses the uncertainties in risk estimates. New radiation quality factors with associated probability distribution functions to represent the quality factor's uncertainty have been developed based on track structure models and recent radiobiology data for high charge and energy particles. The current radiation dose limits are reviewed for spaceflight and the various qualitative and quantitative uncertainties that impact the risk of exposure-induced death estimates using the NASA Space Cancer Risk (NSCR) model. NSCR estimates of the number of "safe days" in deep space to be within exposure limits and risk estimates for a Mars exploration mission are described.

The impact of sex and gender on adaptation to space: commentary.

From the Microcosm of Space, sex and gender differences have an important impact on space exploration. Without an integrated focus on the impact of sex and gender on fundamental biology and clinical care, maintaining health during space missions could be compromised. This was the charge for a workshop sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the University of Missouri in 2002 and a jointly supported NASA and National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) decadal review and virtual workshop in 2013. Findings and recommendations for research priorities for sex and gender differences in six areas of medicine were once again provided during the 2013 review. Regarding the recommendations that were developed during the 2002 workshop, NASA is making progress in the following areas: (1) improving the understanding of the influences of sex on how biological systems adapt to challenging environments such as microgravity, (2) developing a multi-agency initiative to fund interdisciplinary research relevant to sex differences in fundamental biology for studies conducted on board the International Space Station, (3) establishing a databank and research center for basic science and clinical observations and discoveries through the increased availability of the Longitudinal Survey of Astronaut Health, (4) implementing a policy to cover Assisted Reproductive Technology services for both male and female astronauts, (5) supporting analog environments for space flight such as in Antarctica, and (6) assessing the design of new space suits based on anthropometric measurements and movement in which sex can have impact. While a decade has passed since the initial review and more individuals, human and animal, have participated in ground and flight-based studies and observations, there is still a paucity of data to make strong assertions about the impact of sex and gender on health outcomes. There are several reasons for this including (1) need for additional enforcement and oversight of the NASA and NSBRI policies on inclusion of men and women in trials which were based on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) policy on inclusion and adopted following the 2002 review, (2) lack of funding in basic and clinical research due to budgetary constraints, (3) lack of journal reviewers and editors requesting or publishing information regarding demographics such as sex when defining the populations being evaluated, (4) lack of segregated data by sex and gender and a tendency to pool data which would obscure the impact, and (5) lack of understanding of the definitions and usage of sex and gender which has become more complicated by the increased awareness of the influence of epigenetics. Another challenge to overcome is changing the perspective that small numbers of participants in studies and flights do not provide relevant information that is useful towards shaping policies, procedures, and countermeasures to maintain health. This deeply entrenched belief that only statistical significance is relevant has minimized the impact of these findings. Acknowledging that the limitations of space flight on achieving statistical significance because of small numbers of participants and power do occur, NASA charged the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to address these concerns. The IOM found that through statistical and computational modeling, there is value in small numbers and NASA should not negate the importance of these findings. Additionally, NIH has addressed similar concerns in their policies on inclusion by sex and gender with the concept of “valid analyses,” which is highlighted in their policies for phase 3 studies. Understanding small differences is especially important in the extreme environment of space where even small differences in how the body adapts can translate into critical health outcomes. An important recommendation from the 2002 review and again in the 2013 assessment was to encourage the development of educational and research training opportunities to nurture future generations of scientists and clinicians to think in terms of sex and gender similarities and differences in their approach to research and healthcare. Although the NIH and Food and Drug Administration have strongly encouraged this through their reports, conferences and policies, NASA has only recently increased its efforts in this area. Fortunately, through the activities of the private sector, including the Society for Women's Health Research, the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences, and the International Society for Gender Medicine, as well as other academically based programs, there has been momentum to achieve this goal. NASA has promoted the development of the commercial space sector for the transport of payloads and eventually humans. As efforts continue, there should be an emphasis on the impact of sex and gender on the development of equipment, machine–human interfaces, and countermeasures including the use of personalized medicine and genomics or –“astro-omics.” Through NASA's collaboration with other agencies, industry, academia, and foundations and a focus on sex and gender, the highest level of medical care can be provided to ensure that astronauts are healthy in space and on Earth.

NASA: Back to Eating Seed Corn

S ince the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and its problems last appeared on this page, new administrator Michael Griffin has had about 6 months to deal with his budget problems, one of the largest of which is funding the space shuttle program. Operating the shuttle for the next 5 years could cost $5 billion more than NASA had projected. Just to remind you, there was some hope in April that President Bush's Vision for Space Exploration (VSE, or Moon-to-Mars) would neither cripple basic science programs nor signal the end of a number of planned robotic space missions. Alas, there has been even more damage to both than Science expected. That would be enough bad news, but there's more to the story and it is an international problem, not just a domestic one. Present concerns at NASA have gone beyond sorrow over the lost robotic missions. Instead, they now focus on the necessary preparations for the VSE mission itself. People are going to fly to the Moon, establish a base, and use the experience gained from getting and living there to send humans on the longest trip in history. Let's ponder the work that has to be done first. The International Space Station (ISS) has a limited crew (two or three instead of seven), and shuttle flights (of which NASA may only be able to afford eight) are arbitrarily scheduled to end at the end of this decade to meet the recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. Some hope for a complete ISS soon after that, but doubts remain. Remember that ISS is an international project, billed to serve as a science laboratory for non-U.S. users. Russia helped build it and is using it. The European Space Agency and Japan have produced major components of the station, on the promise that they will get to work there. But important modules such as the Centrifuge Accommodation Module constructed by the Japanese will not be launched. The international space science community is dismayed at the bait-and-switch appearance of the situation. ![Figure][1] CREDIT: TIM SMITH Because the Moon mission comes first, research in support of the long Mars mission is being eliminated or “deferred.” Basic science and technology programs, including physiology and life support, robotics, and information systems, have been “descoped”: that's NASA-speak for dropped. Worse still, NASA's life science program has been relegated to a corner in an exploration office that is more concerned with rockets than with cutting-edge research. How did all this come about? Charles Oman, the director of the Man Vehicle Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), was chair of NASA's Space Station Utilization Advisory Committee and was a member of its Biological and Physical Research Advisory Committee. When the president announced VSE, the latter group was assured by an associate administrator that basic research would be continued because it would be essential to the vision. Well, Oman's committee has been disbanded, and the associate administrator who gave the assurances has been reassigned. Oman adds that “all the NASA Advisory Council subcommittees that spoke to the value of basic research are gone.” What is likely to be the fate of science in this new vision for space exploration? Even if NASA finds the money and the will to do the research needed to protect the human travelers, the agency's history offers little reason for confidence. Larry Young, MIT bioengineer, longtime NASA adviser, and one-time payload specialist astronaut in training, has this to say about those prospects: “NASA always uses research as justification for its large manned missions, but once they are under way the engineering, political, and fiscal factors take over and the science constituency is often cast aside.” We can hope that VSE will come to represent the triumph of hope over experience. But will the basic and applied science be done beforehand that is necessary to keep the explorers safe and healthy, or will these professionals seem more like participants in another extreme sport? There are promises that some of these programs will be restarted after the Moon piece of VSE is done, but then the scientists will be someplace else, and NASA will need years to grow some more seed corn. Griffin should consider some fixes: First, restore NASA's Advisory Council to its full membership; second, ask it to conduct a thorough study of which life sciences efforts are essential to the new vision; and finally, rescue the life scientists and bring them back to the science office. [1]: pending:yes

Confusion at the Space Agency

Y ou would have thought there might be a little joy at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) after the fiscal year 2006 federal budget was released last month. With the success of the Mars rover missions, NASA's space scientists gained the astronomical equivalent of rock star

Jupiter Quest

The authors describe a scientific endeavor that excites students and changes their thought processes as they embark on a journey of discovery. ALL SCIENCE teachers want to convey to students the true meaning of the scientific endeavor. We want them not just to understand science, but also to feel some part of the exhilaration that comes with scientific discovery. But there remains a significant difference between even advanced science classrooms and professional science. For students to get a taste of the world of professional science, they must have access to the scientific community and be given the chance to be real scientists. The Goldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope (GAVRT) Project began as a proposal from two educators at the Lewis Center for Educational Research (then called the Apple Valley Science & Technology Center) in Apple Valley, California, to allow students in middle and high schools to experience science using a 34-meter radio antenna located at the Goldstone (California) facility of NASA's Deep Space Network. The dish had already been scheduled to be decommissioned. This idea has given rise to a partnership involving NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Lewis Center for Educational Research. Today, the project has one complete curriculum package, called Jupiter Quest, and a number of others are under development. The new curriculum packages will focus on the sun/Earth relationship, the birth of new stars in our galaxy, and the mapping of radio sources on the galactic plane. The goal of all these curriculum packages is to allow students to step briefly into the world of professional research scientists and to experience the process of discovery. The Jupiter Quest curriculum concerns a hypothetical space mission to the Jovian system. Students work in teams to study Jupiter and its four largest moons. They perform experiments to understand science concepts that may be new to them, they observe Jupiter with the radio antenna, and they scrutinize data collected during observations. Then the students select Jupiter itself or one of its larger moons for further study and as a destination for a hypothetical manned or unmanned mission. They must consider environment, planetary geology, gravity, time, nutrition, and health concerns. In the process, they learn the importance of asking such questions as What further information is needed? and How do scientific teams plan missions to collect specific types of information? Depending on the focus of each class, students may investigate one or a few areas in depth while just touching on others. Skills in scientific reasoning, in the presentation of evidence, and in effective communication are stressed, while students learn the value of peer review and how research scientists discover, verify, and share information and ideas. Jupiter Quest, which partners middle schools and high schools nationwide with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Lewis Center for Educational Research, engages students in the process of scientific discovery while helping teachers provide a standards-based course of study. At the close of the 1999-2000 school year, 58 teachers in 36 schools in nine states had been trained to use Jupiter Quest. This project gives students a chance to become part of a team whose members truly depend on one another. It gives them a chance to collect and process real-world scientific data, using state-of-the-art equipment and software, and to contribute that information to the scientific community. Because Jupiter Quest is a real investigation, not a simulation in which nothing ever goes wrong, students must learn to anticipate likely problems and to handle those that cannot be anticipated as they arise. After the data from the antenna have been collected and analyzed, they are posted on a special Internet site along with other Jupiter data collected by other radio antennas or arrays of antennas, and a long- term picture of Jupiter's radio emissions emerges. …

Telecommunications technology development for the Deep Space Network

The Deep Space Network (DSN) is sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Office of Space Operations, and provides, communications and navigation support for NASA's deep space missions, lunar and high Earth orbiters. It has continuously evolving facilities whose instruments are also used for planetary radar, radio science, and radio astronomy. Over the past 30 years, the communications and navigation performance has increased many orders of magnitude. The receiving sensitivity and radio metric data accuracy are near the present-day achievable limits and are upgraded as mission needs, technology developments, and resources direct. Despite the technological evolution that is continuously underway, operations are highly reliable and versatile for the various mission requirements. Advanced technologies are being aggressively developed to improve future DSN capabilities. These advanced technologies, will be implemented into the DSN and will provide greater freedom to trade-off communications and navigational capability against mass and power on a spacecraft. The major areas that are currently being developed include Ka-Band (32 GHz) technology, beam waveguide antennas, low noise amplifiers, coding, navigation techniques, high power transmitters, and optical technology. This paper discusses the technology that is currently being developed for the DSN and its expected dividends during the mid-1990s and later.

A prototype gas exchange monitor for exercise stress testing aboard NASA Space Station.

A monitor was developed to track weightlessness deconditioning aboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Station by measuring the O2 uptake (VO2) and CO2 production (VCO2) and calculating maximum VO2 and anaerobic threshold during an exercise stress test. The system uses two flowmeters in series to achieve a completely automatic flow calibration, and it uses breath-by-breath compensation for sample line transport delay. The accuracy of the system was measured over the range of VO2 and VCO2 from 100 to 800 ml/min by means of simulation. Accuracy was 0.54% for VO2 and 2.9% for VCO2. The system was further evaluated using two laboratory methods, the first method being comparison with a breath-by-breath system. As volunteers performed a maximum effort on a cycle ergometer, the mean difference in readings between the two systems was 17 ml/min for VO2 and 8.0 ml/min for VCO2. The correlation coefficient squared was greater than 0.96 for both. The second laboratory test was to use the system for 2 mo in a Human Performance Laboratory. Readings of maximum VO2 (VO2max) and anaerobic threshold were repeatable and consistent with the individual's activity level. The accuracy and convenience of operation will make this a valuable instrument aboard the Space Station.