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Dedicated technology has been developed to support long-term biological experiments on-board spacecraft. These developments include a microgravity compatible tubular photo bioreactor for the cultivation of micro algae at very high biomass concentrations and with very high gas exchange rates, a microgravity compatible gas / liquid phase separator which also works as a pneumatic low shear-stress pump, a microgravity compatible dehumidifier, and a maltose separating reverse osmosis unit. Integration of these technologies into a partially closed artificial ecosystem form the foundation of the SYMBIOSE concept (System for Microgravity Bioregenerative Support of Experiments).

This paper presents a conceptual design of a short-radius centrifuge for orbital application, contained in an inflatable structure. The objectives of this design are: to support the physical effectiveness of the crew by offering an exercise facility; to provide a test bed for biomedical experiments on human centrifugation in orbit; and to offer recreational benefits during long periods of confinement. The use of a pneumatic structure that can expand in orbit allows maximizing the radius of the centrifuge within mass and launch constraints. The proposed project is composed of elements with standard interfaces; its environmental design is based on human factor considerations from biomedical literature, and it respects current ergonomics and NASA standards.

Posture and gait controls underlie the fundamental physical and cognitive human factors necessary for astronauts’ safety and performance in Space. This central subsystem is adversely affected when exposed to an extreme or hostile environment. A specific stimulation, using dermal optical sensitivity, can be provided to the central nervous system to counteract peripheral stimulations due to microgravity as well as other negative stressors. We believe using dermal optical sensitivity-based stimulation can be key in the performance enhancement necessary to ensure human based space mission viability and success.

A sense of “personal integrity” blocks pilot use of new information about how he thinks. Research on human performance under stress done over the past fifty years indicates increased rigidity and regression to earlier learned behavior in high stress, and in low Stress a shift in attention to any domestic situation or on the job controversy which is of higher stress than that of the job at hand, all without the pilot's knowledge. Informal surveys of commercial pilot training and commercial pilot attitudes towards these studies indicate that the study findings directly confront learned cultural responses. Pilot and trainer reactions prevent the information from being adequately investigated or formally taught. The findings are not written into training manuals and pilots who are informally given the information do not have adequate access to the knowledge when it is needed.

Mathematical modeling and control of artificial ecosystems, such as MELISSA, require first the study of physical and biological characteristics in optimal and limiting conditions. Following the previous determination of the stoichiometric equations (Spirulina compartment) and regarding the two phototrophic compartments of MELISSA (Rhodospirillaceae and Spirulina), we have first to focus our control study on the growth kinetics for the light source. In this paper, we recall the theoretical equations of microbial growth kinetics and emphasise the problem of the light transfer in a photobioreactor. We present their adaptations to our pilot plant taking into account technological and biological specifics (lamp spectrum, working illuminated volume, growth rate,…). We then develop the principles and structure of the control system and describe tests of both the hardware and software for several steady state configurations.

In recent years there has been increasing interest in quantifying the emissions from aircraft in order to generate inventories of emissions for climate models, technology and scenario studies, and inventories of emissions for airline fleets typically presented in environmental reports. The preferred method for calculating aircraft engine emissions of NOx, HC, and CO is the proprietary “P3T3” method. This method relies on proprietary airplane and engine performance models along with proprietary engine emissions characterizations. In response and in order to provide a transparent method for calculating aircraft engine emissions non proprietary fuel flow based methods 1,2,3 have been developed. This paper presents derivation, updates, and clarifications of the fuel flow method methodology known as “Fuel Flow Method 2”.

Whether we live on land, underwater, or out there in space, what makes it possible is our ‘skin’. The one we were born with, the one we wear, the one we live in, and the one we travel in. The skin is a response to where we live: it protects as our first line of defense against a hostile environment; it regulates as part of our life-support system; and, it communicates as our interface to everything within and without. In the context of space architecture – we, our space suits, vehicles and habitats are all equipped with highly specialized ‘skins’ that pad us, protect us and become an integral part of the design expression. This paper approaches the subject from a holistic perspective considering ‘skins’ and their manifestation as structure, as vessel, as texture, and as membrane. The paper then goes on to showcase innovative use of materials in practice through two case studies: the ‘spacesuit’ and ‘inflatable habitats’.

During several ISS missions, there were false alarms at both US and Russian smoke detectors. High local airborne particulate concentrations and interior deposits are considered the causes for such anomalies. Alternatives are proposed to replace or complement these faulty smoke detectors. The entrained zeolite particles may play a role in causing problems with check valves and air save pumps in CDRA and Vozdukh. Another incidence has been the dispersion of particulates out of Metox regeneration oven. Particulate matters with aerodynamic diameter of 15 microns and above, which normally settle down on earth, stay airborne under micro-gravity and thereby cause the above-mentioned nuisances. The motion of such a particle along a gas stream with an initial velocity can be expressed by theoretical equations. Stokes' Law leads to the descriptions of inertial precipitation of aerosols that are important in solving the issues.

The paper summarizes the experience gained on the ISS water management system during the missions of ISS-1 through ISS-16 (since November 2 2000, through December 31, 2007). The water supply sources and structure, consumption and supply balance at various phases of space station operation are reviewed. The performance data of the system for water recovery from humidity condensate SRV-K and urine feed and pretreatment system SPK-U in the Russian orbital segment are presented. The key role of water recovery on a board the ISS and the need to supplement the station's water supply hardware with a system for water reclamation from urine, water from a carbon dioxide reduction system and hygiene water is shown.

The purpose of this ARP is to provide criteria that will lead to and support existing regulatory standards of systems for UAM/AMM/eVTOL aircraft such that the emergency systems will facilitate egress under emergency conditions. Consideration is given to existing requirements of the FAA and to the recommendations of aircraft operators and those involved in the manufacture or use of the emergency lighting system. Occupant safety is the primary objective, with appropriate provisions for crew (pilot) system control taken into consideration. Consideration is also given to autonomous aircraft in which passengers are required to egress without the aid or direction of crew. The criteria established herein are intended to produce an emergency lighting system that will comply with the Federal and International Regulations. However, these recommendations are but one means of meeting the objective.

This paper discusses the findings for [Interior] Configuration Options, Habitability and Architectural Aspects of a first human spacecraft to Mars. In 2003 the space architecture office LIQUIFER was invited by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) AURORA program committee to consult the scientists and engineers from the European Space and Technology Center (ESTEC) and other European industrial communities with developing the first human mission to Mars, which will take place in 2030, regarding the architectural issues of crewed habitats. The task was to develop an interior configuration for a Transfer Vehicle (TV) to Mars, especially a Transfer Habitation Module (THM) and a Surface Habitat (SHM) on Mars. The total travel time Earth - Mars and back for a crew of six amounts to approximately 900 days. After a 200-day-flight three crewmembers will land on Mars in the Mars Excursion Vehicle (MEV) and will live and work in the SHM for 30 days.

The likelihood of transmission of potential disease agents between animals and man during spaceflight is a real concern. Development of disease exclusion lists for animals and refinement of animal containment units have been the principal means of providing protection to the crew members. Awareness of potential latent infections and a judicious use of the higher risk category of animals such as wild-caught nonhuman primates provides another level of protection. Use of high efficiency filters, gasketing, and differential air pressures have all enabled increasing levels of safety through containment of potential aerosol escape from animal habitats.

A zirconia electroysis cell is an all-solid state (mainly ceramic) device consisting of two electrodes separated by a dense zirconia electrolyte. The cell electrochemically reduces carbon dioxide to oxygen and carbon monoxide at elevated temperatures (800 to 1000°C). The zirconia electrolysis cell provides a simple, lightweight, low-volume system for Mars In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) applications. This paper describes the fabrication process and discusses the electrochemical performance and other properties of zirconia electrolysis cells made by the tape calendering method. Electrolytes produced by this method are very thin (micrometer-thick); the thin electrolyte reduces ohmic losses in the cell, permitting efficient operation at temperatures of 800°C or below.

This paper describes the testing of a waste management system designed and fabricated for use in a space vehicle. The system provides for the collection and inactivation of urine, feces, emergency diarrheal disorders, vomitus, and debris; the volumetric determination of each micturition; and onboard storage of the inactivated wastes within the waste management system compartment. The zero-gravity test program conducted in a KC-135 aircraft provided the primary verification of the performance of the waste collection and urine volume determination functions prior to actual space flight. The test hardware simulated the actual system to a high degree of fidelity with respect to operational characteristics of the airflow required in collection, mechanical functions and system pressure differentials, in order to minimize simulation errors.

For human beings who have been reared on the earth with its 1 G gravitational field, the condition of weightlessness is a world with which we are unfamiliar. Even if the layout and equipment configuration of a spacecraft designed to compensate for operation under Zero-G conditions, there are some things which are not effective under actual weightless conditions. In the design of a manned spacecraft, it is necessary to accumulate design data on human performance in a weightless condition, then to undertake design evaluations and verification under weightless conditions. In this paper, testing for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of Zero-G simulation using neutral buoyancy, conducted first of all in Japan, and recommendations on the equipment and Facilities required to conduct such simulations, are described.

Manned spacecraft life suport systems must operate in a zero gravity environment. Lack of the “pull” of gravity affects heat and mass transfer, fluid transport, phase change, and chemical and electrochemical processes. This paper covers new concepts necessary for humidity control, evaporative coolers, distillation units, and similar equipment required for spacecraft life support. Specific applications used on the Space Shuttle and in development for advanced regenerative systems are discussed, including how they work, how they are tested on earth, and how much, if at all, the weightless environment penalizes the designs.

Spacecraft life support equipment is often challenged with two phase flow, where liquid and gas exist together. In the zero gravity environment of an orbiting spacecraft, the behavior of a liquid/gas interface is dominated by forces not usually observed in one “G” due to the overwhelming effects of gravity. The normal perceptions no longer apply. Water does not run down hill and bubbles do not rise to the surface. Surface energy, capillary forces, wetting characteristics and momentum effects predominate. Techniques and equipment have been developed to separate the liquid/gas mixture into its constituent parts with various levels of efficiency and power consumption.

The commercial aviation currently accounts for roughly 2.5 % of the global CO2 emissions and around 3.5% of world warming emissions, taking into account non CO2 effects on the climate. Its has grown faster in recent decades than the other transport modes (road, rail or shipping), with an average rate of 2.3%/year from 1990 to 2019, prior to the pandemic. Moreover, its share of Greenhouse (GHG) emissions is supposed to grow, with the increasing demand scenario of air trips worldwide. This scenario might threaten the decarbonization targets assumed by the aviation industry, in line with the world efforts to minimize the climate effects caused by the carbon emissions. In this context, hydrogen is set as a promising alternative to the traditional jet fuel, due to its zero carbon emissions.

This paper describes the ZENITH Nano-Satellite cum planetary atmospheric entry vehicle, called CanSat, the first Nano-Satellite project that has been developed by Delhi Technological University (Formerly Delhi College of Engineering), India. The satellite will function for monitoring the concentrations of various gases in the atmosphere. For this, the satellite consists of arduino microcontroller interfaced with the various Micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) gas sensors for measuring the concentrations of various gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, nitrous oxides, ozone, etc. The data obtained from the CanSat will be transmitted to the ground station where all the data will be stored and also the locations will be stored using GPS sensor. The academic goal of this project is to recruit students to the field of space science and technology.

Growth Temperatures And Lighting Intensity Are Key Factors That Directly Impact The Design, Engineering, And Horticultural Practices Of Sustainable Life-Support Systems For Future Long-Term Space Missions. The Effects Of Exposure Of Lettuce (Cv. Flandria), Radish (Cv. Cherry Bomb Ii). And Green Onion (Cv. Kinka) Plants To Controlled Environment Temperatures (Constant Day/Night Temperature Of 22, 25, Or 28 °C) And Lighting Intensities (8.6, 17.2, Or 25.8 Mol M−2 D−1 Photosynthetic Photon Flux [Ppf]) At Elevated Co2 (1200 µMol Mol−1) Was Investigated To Ascertain Overall Yield Responses. Following 35 Days Growth, The Yields Of Lettuce Indicated That Increasing The Growing Temperature From 22 To 28°C Slightly Increased The Edible Fresh Mass Of Individual Plants. However, Even Though Lettuce Plants Grown Under High Ppf Had The Highest Fresh Mass, The Resultant Increase In The Incidence And Severity Of Tipburn Reduced The Overall Quality Of The Lettuce Head.