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3 ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND CONTROL
Pages 61-81

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From page 61...
... (This also implies that acceptable limits have been established and that detection methodologies are available.) The term "control" implies some form of feedback to the systems responsible for maintaining each parameter.
From page 62...
... A wide variety of these chemicals have been identified, and their individual concentrations have been measured in the cabin air during previous Space Shuttle or Mir missions. One can expect that similar contamination will be present during future space missions, especially if the missions become more complex (such as revisiting the Moon, transit to Mars, or the development of lunar or Mars bases)
From page 63...
... Qualitative methodologies provide information on the types of chemical contaminants present in an environment. This information can be used for making decisions related to the development of spacecraft maximum allowable concentrations (SMACs)
From page 64...
... Monitoring for infectious agents involves identifying specific reservoirs and developing monitoring protocols based on background data and risk assessments that include the nature of the 2The most recent report on SMAC levels is by the NRC's Committee on Toxicology, Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations for Selected Airborne Contaminants (vol.
From page 65...
... In case of equipment failure or off-nominal conditions, sampling can be focused on the specific failure scenarios that could have caused the fault. Neither monitoring nor sampling are useful unless guidelines are available for interpreting data, and the guidelines are tied to control strategies.
From page 66...
... Therefore, the continual development of sensitive, reliable, and validated technologies for monitoring spacecraft atmospheres for chemical contamination is essential. Crew Health and Safety Chemical Pollutants The monitoring of airborne chemical contaminants must be detailed enough to ensure the health, performance, and comfort of the crew.
From page 67...
... . Such microbial amplification raises concerns about specific infectious diseases in the closed spacecraft environment, where space-induced changes in hosts, and possible changes in the virulence of organisms, may increase risks to the crew.
From page 68...
... Advances in sensor technologies may enable new approaches to monitoring and controlling spacecraft environments. The 1996 Advanced EMC Strategic Plan provides strategic goals, objectives, deliverables and metrics for the program.
From page 69...
... Research Currently Funded by the Environmental Monitoring and Control Program The 17 technical development projects funded in 1995-1996 by the EMC program are summarized in Table 3-6. The majority of current NASA-funded EMC research is focused on the detection of chemical compounds and infectious agents in air and water.
From page 70...
... · Continuing development of advanced EMC technologies 2005-2010 · Fully integrated monitoring and control systems demonstrated in high-fidelity ground testbeds with humans in the loop · Full autonomous control of ALS systems achieved · Integrated monitoring and control systems demonstrated aboard ISS · Continuing development of advanced EMC technologies 2010-2015 · Integrated EMC of ISS achieved · Delivery of technologies suitable for EMC on lunar and planetary missions Source: NASA, 1996a. TABLE 3-6 Funded Technical Development Projects (1995-1996)
From page 71...
... The development of risk-based prioritization processes, understanding the ramifications of system perturbations, and the development of a detailed plan to use the ISS as a testbed for advanced EMC technologies and issues related to environmental chemical contaminants and microbiology on longduration missions are the highest priority technologies. Finding.
From page 72...
... The ISS provides a unique opportunity for NASA to improve the fundamental understanding of how living and working in a microgravity environment can influence the needs of various ALS systems and how such an environment may accumulate and distribute toxic environmental contaminants. Human and animal studies for assessing the physiological changes during long-term space flights require that sensors be developed and strategically placed to assess the adequacy of strategies for controlling possible life support system perturbations and/or failures.
From page 73...
... Finding. Adequate monitoring and control of advanced human life support cannot occur without the development of a successful advanced EMC system.
From page 74...
... Examples of these needs are the challenges associated with measuring and interpreting data in microgravity, and the identification of technical challenges associated with allocating volume and electric power. The Advanced EMC Program Strategic Plan provides a long-term strategy for designing programs and projects that need to be accomplished if the longterm goals and objectives of the Advanced Human Support Technology Program are to be met.
From page 75...
... Recommendation 3-7. NASA should implement the environmental monitoring and control program largely as described in the 1996 Advanced Environmental Monitoring and Control Program Strategic Plan.
From page 76...
... Although the Advanced EMC Program Strategic Plan states that SMACs for longer durations in space need to be established, it is not evident that a plan is being developed to establish them. NASA recognizes that the spacecraft environment may become periodically contaminated by trace chemicals, which could adversely affect the health and well-being of the crew or impair their performance.
From page 77...
... Spacecraft maximum allowable concentrations have been established for many, but not all, airborne chemical contaminants for durations of up to 180 days. NASA should now develop or adapt methodologies for assessing the relative environmental health risks from airborne and waterborne contaminants on long-term space missions.
From page 78...
... Less critical, but also important, should be the ability to work interactively with the developers of advanced life support system hardware, system simulations, and testbeds. This will become increasingly important to program management in later years, particularly as control needs become better defined by maturing system-level tests and simulations.
From page 79...
... The development of highly automated monitoring and control technologies that are fully capable of interacting directly with systems that control environmental contaminants and life support systems should be a high priority. The environmental monitoring and control program and the advanced life support program need to directly address the necessary synergy between monitoring/control issues and advanced life support technologies.
From page 80...
... Recommendation 3-15. NASA should develop a program for personnel exchanges or regularly scheduled exchanges of information between the environmental monitoring and control program and the three other programs in the OLMSA Advanced Human Support Technology Program.
From page 81...
... 1996. Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations for Selected Airborne Contaminants.


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