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The use of biofilters for the control of air contaminants in Advanced Life Support (ALS) systems is currently being investigated by the Waste Processing and Resource Recovery research team of the New Jersey - NSCORT (NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training). Ammonia (NH3) was selected as a test air contaminant as it presents special challenges to the sustained operation of a biofilter. Ammonia loading to the ALS atmosphere will likely be from waste treatment (biological treatment of human, plant and food wastes) and food processing operations. This NH3 has the potential of causing adverse effects on plant growth and humans.

The On-line Project Information System (OPIS) is the Exploration Life Support (ELS) mechanism for task data sharing and annual reporting. Fiscal year 2008 (FY08) was the first year in which ELS Principal Investigators (PI's) were required to complete an OPIS annual report. The reporting process consists of downloading a template that is customized to the task deliverable type(s), completing the report, and uploading the document to OPIS for review and approval. In addition to providing a general status and overview of OPIS features, this paper describes the user critiques and resulting system modifications of the first year of OPIS reporting efforts. Specifically, this paper discusses process communication and logistics issues, user interface ambiguity, report completion challenges, and the resultant or pending system improvements designed to circumvent such issues for the fiscal year 2009 reporting effort.

The On-line Project Information System (OPIS) is a LAMP-based (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) system being developed at NASA Ames Research Center to improve Agency information transfer and data availability, largely for improvement of system analysis and engineering. The tool will enable users to investigate NASA technology development efforts, connect with experts, and access technology development data. OPIS is currently being developed for NASA's Exploration Life Support (ELS) Project. Within OPIS, NASA ELS Managers assign projects to Principal Investigators (PI), track responsible individuals and institutions, and designate reporting assignments. Each PI populates a “Project Page” with a project overview, team member information, files, citations, and images. PI's may also delegate on-line report viewing and editing privileges to specific team members. Users can browse or search for project and member information.

A workshop entitled the “Life Support & Habitation and Planetary Protection Workshop” was held in Houston, TX in April, 2005. The main objective of the workshop was to initiate communication, understanding, and a working relationship between the Life Support and Habitation1 (LSH) and Planetary Protection (PP) communities regarding the effect of the implementation of Mars human exploration PP policies on the Advanced Life Support2 (ALS), Advanced Extravehicular Activity (AEVA), and Advanced Environmental Monitoring and Control (AEMC) programs. This paper presents an overall summary of the workshop that includes workshop organization, objectives, starting assumptions, findings and recommendations. Specific result topics include the identification of knowledge and technology gaps, research and technology development (R&TD) needs, potential forward and back contaminants and pathways, mitigation alternatives, and PP requirements definition needs.

Newly outlined missions in the Vision for U.S. Space Exploration include extended human habitation on Mars. During these missions, large amounts of waste materials will be generated in solid, liquid and gaseous form. Returning these wastes to Earth will be extremely costly, and increase the opportunity for back contamination. Therefore, it is advantageous to investigate the potential for wastes to remain on Mars after mission completion. Untreated, these wastes are a reservoir of live/dead organisms and molecules considered “biomarkers” (i.e., indicators of life). If released to the planetary surface, these materials can potentially interfere with exobiology studies, disrupt any existent martian ecology and pose human safety concerns. Waste Management (WM) systems must therefore be specifically designed to control release of problematic materials both during the active phase of the mission, and for any specified post-mission duration.

An ongoing effort is underway at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) to develop an On-line Project Information System (OPIS) for the Advanced Life Support (ALS) Program. The objective of this three-year project is to develop, test, revise and deploy OPIS to enhance the quality of decision-making metrics and attainment of Program goals through improved knowledge sharing. OPIS will centrally locate detailed project information solicited from investigators on an annual basis and make it readily accessible by the ALS Community via a Web-accessible interface. The data will be stored in an object-oriented relational database (created in MySQL®) located on a secure server at NASA ARC. OPIS will simultaneously serve several functions, including being an research and technology development (R&TD) status information hub that can potentially serve as the primary annual reporting mechanism for ALS-funded projects.

Since the mid 1980s, NASA has developed advanced waste management technologies that collect and process waste. These technologies include incineration, hydrothermal oxidation, pyrolysis, electrochemical oxidation, activated carbon production, brine dewatering, slurry bioreactor oxidation, composting, NOx control, compaction, and waste collection. Some of these technologies recover resources such as water, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon, fuels, and nutrients. Other technologies such as the Waste Collection System (WCS - the commode) collect waste for storage or processing. The need for waste processing varies greatly depending upon the mission scenario. This paper reviews the waste management technology development activities conducted by NASA since the mid 1980s and explores the drivers that determine the application of these technologies to future missions.