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Project Title:  Validation of Fitness for Duty Standards Using Pre- and Post-Flight Capsule Egress and Suited Functional Performance Tasks in Simulated Reduced Gravity Reduce
Images: icon  Fiscal Year: FY 2024 
Division: Human Research 
Research Discipline/Element:
HRP HHC:Human Health Countermeasures
Start Date: 01/30/2019  
End Date: 12/01/2027  
Task Last Updated: 02/08/2024 
Download report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Norcross, Jason  M.S. / KBR/NASA Johnson Space Center 
Address:  2400 NASA Pkwy 
 
Houston , TX 77058-3711 
Email: Jason.norcross-1@nasa.gov 
Phone: 281-483-7114  
Congressional District: 36 
Web:  
Organization Type: NASA CENTER 
Organization Name: KBR/NASA Johnson Space Center 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Karina, Marshall-Goebel  Ph.D. NASA Johnson Space Center 
Young, Millennia  Ph.D. NASA Johnson Space Center 
Schlotman, Taylor  KBR 
Peters, Brian  KBR 
Cox, Lauren  JES Tech 
Strock, Nicole  Ph.D. KBR 
Key Personnel Changes / Previous PI: Dr. Nicole Strock has taken over the PI responsibilities for the Space Phys study and has replaced Dr. Eric Rivas. Dr. Karina Marshall-Goebel has replaced Dr. Andrew Abercromby as Co-I in the role of H-3PO Research Lead.
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. Internal Project 
Responsible Center: NASA JSC 
Grant Monitor: Stenger, Michael  
Center Contact: 281-483-1311 
michael.b.stenger@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 12294 
Solicitation / Funding Source: 2017-2018 HERO 80JSC017N0001-BPBA Topics in Biological, Physiological, and Behavioral Adaptations to Spaceflight. Appendix C 
Grant/Contract No.: Internal Project 
Project Type: FLIGHT 
Flight Program:  
TechPort: No 
No. of Post Docs:  
No. of PhD Candidates:  
No. of Master's Candidates:  
No. of Bachelor's Candidates:  
No. of PhD Degrees:  
No. of Master's Degrees:  
No. of Bachelor's Degrees:  
Human Research Program Elements: (1) HHC:Human Health Countermeasures
Human Research Program Risks: (1) EVA:Risk of Injury and Compromised Performance Due to EVA Operations
(2) Sensorimotor:Risk of Altered Sensorimotor/Vestibular Function Impacting Critical Mission Tasks
Human Research Program Gaps: (1) EVA-101:Determine limitations of EVA performance and physiological metrics shortly post-landing on a planetary surface (with compromised physiology based on flight duration).
(2) SM-101:Characterize the effects of short and long-duration weightlessness, with and without deep-space radiation, on postural control and locomotion (gross motor control) after G transitions.
Flight Assignment/Project Notes: NOTE: End date changed to 12/1/2027 per HHC element/JSC (Ed., 12/14/20)

Task Description: Rigorous adherence to available inflight countermeasures has effectively mitigated losses or maintained muscle strength and aerobic capacity in some returning long-duration International Space Station (ISS) crewmembers; however, all astronauts demonstrate significant decrements in functional performance upon return to a gravity environment. These losses in functional performance can be largely attributed to neurovestibular / sensorimotor deficits that can take days or weeks from which to recover and for which there is no current operational countermeasure. Although these losses are tolerable for current land-based returns to Earth, where ground personnel can quickly support the crew at the landing site, this will not be the case for future off-nominal water-based Orion landings or for nominal Mars surface landings, both of which will require crewmembers to be capable of egressing their landing vehicle unassisted.

Quantification of astronauts' post-landing functional capacity including ability to perform an unassisted capsule egress and critical planetary extravehicular activity (EVA) tasks is necessary to design concepts of operation for Moon and Mars exploration mission systems and ultimately to promote exploration mission success. These results can then be reviewed in combination with other pre-flight, in-flight, and post-landing measures and determinants of health and performance (e.g., sleep, nutrition, exercise) to help develop and select necessary countermeasures capable of protecting all crewmembers or to identify characteristics (both behavioral and inherent) that might allow for selection of crew dependent on mission objectives.

Data collected in this proposal will provide unique data on unassisted capsule egress while either shirt-sleeved or wearing an unpressurized launch, entry, abort (LEA) suit in Earth's gravity and on EVA-relevant functional task performance by testing astronauts shortly after return to Earth while suited and pressurized in a simulated reduced gravity analog. The research product will be a temporal profile of unassisted capsule egress and planetary EVA task performance pre-flight and at multiple post-landing intervals, the timing of which will be determined based on post-landing logistics and coordination with other investigations. Data will be collected for spaceflight missions ranging from 2 months, 6 months, and up to 1 year in duration. Results of the proposed study will be used in combination with subsequent definition and design of exploration mission systems and operations concepts to define data-based Fitness for Duty standards.

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: The core focus of this study is to facilitate safe exploration of Mars and return back to Earth, which albeit has limited direct impact to the people on Earth, but to the extent that space exploration is for the good of all humanity, this study will facilitate more successful missions to Mars.

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2024 
Task Progress: The Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval has been completed and maintained for the pilot study (JSC eIRB STUDY00000242) and CIPHER Egress Fitness (JSC eIRB STUDY00000169) and test readiness review (TRR) documentation has been completed and maintained for both studies. [Ed. Note: CIPHER is the short title for a set of 14 studies sponsored by NASA and international partner agencies ( https://www.nasa.gov/feature/experiments-to-unlock-how-human-bodies-react-to-long-space-journeys ). CIPHER stands for "Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research".]

Pilot Egress Fitness is unchanged since the last report and has enrolled 10 total subjects (4 complete, 4 dropped, 2 in progress). The remaining 2 subjects have had their flight delayed several times, but offer an interesting opportunity to explore Egress Fitness integration using a new space vehicle, hence the study remains open.

CIPHER Egress Fitness has enrolled 5 total subjects, with 1 withdrawal. One subject has completed all pre-flight sessions, and one has completed the suit fit and L-180 extravehicular activity (EVA) familiarization session (however, we lost the L-60 ARGOS EVA session due to an adverse incident investigation resulting from another study that shut down the ARGOS facility from May 2023). The third subject withdrew; the fourth subject will perform capsule egress only due to the ARGOS shutdown, and a fifth subject has been enrolled but has not begun testing.

There has been significant effort over the past few months to defend the importance of CIPHER Egress Fitness at multiple control boards and integration panels. ARGOS is currently scheduled to be back in service in time for the next post-flight Egress Fitness subject in February 2024.

Since the last Task Book report, the only significant change has been the development of a lighter and more portable capsule egress mockup. The original version used a modified commercial tripod rescue winch and 80/20 T-slot aluminum, as well as custom machined brackets. The new version relied primarily on carbon fiber tubing to reduce the overall mass and also allowed us to reduce the longest length to 36 inches.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 02/21/2024) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
Abstracts for Journals and Proceedings Norcross JR, Schlotman TE, Cox LI, Rhodes R, Rivas E, Young M, Abercromby AFJ, "Validation of fitness for duty standards using pre-and post-flight capsule egress and suited performance tasks in simulated reduced gravity." 2023 NASA Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop, “To the Moon: The Next Golden Age of Human Spaceflight”, Galveston, TX, February 7-9, 2023.

Abstracts. 2023 NASA Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop, “To the Moon: The Next Golden Age of Human Spaceflight”, Galveston, TX, February 7-9, 2023. https://custom.cvent.com/5802E71AA4E24C3FA9A1B3F099BBD52D/files/8706f1f66af74e2f876a4715c8cfdcf3.pdf , Feb-2023

Project Title:  Validation of Fitness for Duty Standards Using Pre- and Post-Flight Capsule Egress and Suited Functional Performance Tasks in Simulated Reduced Gravity Reduce
Images: icon  Fiscal Year: FY 2023 
Division: Human Research 
Research Discipline/Element:
HRP HHC:Human Health Countermeasures
Start Date: 01/30/2019  
End Date: 12/01/2027  
Task Last Updated: 02/07/2023 
Download report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Norcross, Jason  M.S. / KBR/NASA Johnson Space Center 
Address:  2400 NASA Pkwy 
 
Houston , TX 77058-3711 
Email: Jason.norcross-1@nasa.gov 
Phone: 281-483-7114  
Congressional District: 36 
Web:  
Organization Type: NASA CENTER 
Organization Name: KBR/NASA Johnson Space Center 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Abercromby, Andrew  Ph.D. NASA Johnson Space Center 
Young, Millennia  Ph.D. NASA Johnson Space Center 
Schlotman, Taylor  KBR 
Peters, Brian  KBR 
Cox, Lauren  JES Tech 
Rivas, Eric  KBR 
Key Personnel Changes / Previous PI: Several changes in personnel have been made since the inception of this project, including the departure of several Co-Investigators. Dr. Millard Reschke retired. Dr. Marissa Rosenberg left KBR for another position. Dr. Jeffrey Ryder has changed roles within KBR and is no longer supporting this project. In place of Drs. Reschke and Rosenberg, we added Dr. Brian Peters from the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Neurosciences Laboratory as a subject matter expert in Neuroscience; and in place of Dr. Rosenberg's deputy PI and study coordinator role, Dr. Taylor Schlotman of the JSC H-3PO Laboratory has been added. Dr. Ryder's role was taken over by Dr. Eric Rivas of H-3PO, who has since also left KBR for another position and his role will likely transition to Dr. Nicole Strock as she has taken over PI responsibilities for the Space Phys study. Dr. Lauren Cox has been added as part of the research and data test team.
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. Internal Project 
Responsible Center: NASA JSC 
Grant Monitor: Stenger, Michael  
Center Contact: 281-483-1311 
michael.b.stenger@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 12294 
Solicitation / Funding Source: 2017-2018 HERO 80JSC017N0001-BPBA Topics in Biological, Physiological, and Behavioral Adaptations to Spaceflight. Appendix C 
Grant/Contract No.: Internal Project 
Project Type: FLIGHT 
Flight Program:  
TechPort: No 
No. of Post Docs:  
No. of PhD Candidates:  
No. of Master's Candidates:  
No. of Bachelor's Candidates:  
No. of PhD Degrees:  
No. of Master's Degrees:  
No. of Bachelor's Degrees:  
Human Research Program Elements: (1) HHC:Human Health Countermeasures
Human Research Program Risks: (1) EVA:Risk of Injury and Compromised Performance Due to EVA Operations
(2) Sensorimotor:Risk of Altered Sensorimotor/Vestibular Function Impacting Critical Mission Tasks
Human Research Program Gaps: (1) EVA-101:Determine limitations of EVA performance and physiological metrics shortly post-landing on a planetary surface (with compromised physiology based on flight duration).
(2) SM-101:Characterize the effects of short and long-duration weightlessness, with and without deep-space radiation, on postural control and locomotion (gross motor control) after G transitions.
Flight Assignment/Project Notes: NOTE: End date changed to 12/1/2027 per HHC element/JSC (Ed., 12/14/20)

Task Description: Rigorous adherence to available inflight countermeasures has effectively mitigated losses or maintained muscle strength and aerobic capacity in some returning long-duration International Space Station (ISS) crewmembers; however, all astronauts demonstrate significant decrements in functional performance upon return to a gravity environment. These losses in functional performance can be largely attributed to neurovestibular / sensorimotor deficits that can take days or weeks from which to recover and for which there is no current operational countermeasure. Although these losses are tolerable for current land-based returns to Earth, where ground personnel can quickly support the crew at the landing site, this will not be the case for future off-nominal water-based Orion landings or for nominal Mars surface landings, both of which will require crewmembers to be capable of egressing their landing vehicle unassisted.

Quantification of astronauts' post-landing functional capacity including ability to perform an unassisted capsule egress and critical planetary extravehicular activity (EVA) tasks is necessary to design concepts of operation for Moon and Mars exploration mission systems and ultimately to promote exploration mission success. These results can then be reviewed in combination with other pre-flight, in-flight, and post-landing measures and determinants of health and performance (e.g., sleep, nutrition, exercise) to help develop and select necessary countermeasures capable of protecting all crewmembers or to identify characteristics (both behavioral and inherent) that might allow for selection of crew dependent on mission objectives.

Data collected in this proposal will provide unique data on unassisted capsule egress while wearing an unpressurized launch, entry, abort (LEA) suit in Earth's gravity and on EVA-relevant functional task performance by testing astronauts shortly after return to Earth while suited and pressurized in a simulated reduced gravity analog. The research product will be a temporal profile of unassisted capsule egress and planetary EVA task performance pre-flight and at multiple post-landing intervals, the timing of which will be determined based on post-landing logistics and coordination with other investigations. Data will be collected for spaceflight missions ranging from 2 months, 6 months, and up to 1 year in duration. Results of the proposed study will be used in combination with subsequent definition and design of exploration mission systems and operations concepts to define data-based Fitness for Duty standards.

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: The core focus of this study is to facilitate safe exploration of Mars and return back to Earth, which albeit has limited direct impact to the people on Earth, but to the extent that space exploration is for the good of all humanity, this study will facilitate more successful missions to Mars.

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2023 
Task Progress: Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval has been completed and maintained for the pilot study (JSC eIRB STUDY00000242) and Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Research (CIPHER) Egress Fitness (JSC eIRB STUDY00000169) and test readiness review (TRR) documentation has been completed and maintained for both studies. Pilot Egress Fitness has enrolled 8 total subjects (4 complete, 2 dropped, 2 in progress).

Hardware development for the capsule egress task is on the new revision, with general design approved and further modifications only for reduction of mass and volume to allow for much easier deployment when traveling to different landing sites. Hardware development and task instructions have been finalized for all tasks incorporating lessons learned and feedback from the crew and test subjects in other related studies. With the start of CIPHER, we have added the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) extravehicular activity (EVA) suit for use in our small to medium-sized crew, but still rely on the MKIII for larger crews. Working with teammates from the Anthropometry and Biomechanics Facility (ABF), we have determined the final gimbal settings and necessary added mass to simulate the weight of the portable life support system (PLSS). Final gimbal settings determine where the gimbal axis of rotation aligns with the suited subject’s overall system center of gravity.

Data collected for both tasks include task completion time, photo, and video. The EVA portion also includes a collection of metabolic and heart rate. Pilot Egress Fitness study has completed both baseline and post-flight testing on four astronaut subjects, with all four able to complete post-flight EVA testing and three able to complete post-flight capsule egress testing. Preliminary results observe individual physiological variations, which were to be expected but also suggest the need to carefully track the timeline from undocking to landing to testing. Furthermore, some task performance instructions and equipment needed to be adjusted to ensure results were primarily physiological.

The following results are applicable to the Pilot Phase of this study only.

Capsule egress times increased from post-flight to pre-flight for all subjects who completed post-flight testing, with the larger increase coming during the capsule egress portion. There is also very wide variability in task duration for the 3 subjects who completed testing.

Planetary EVA testing was completed for all 4 subjects. All subjects were able to complete all tasks. Spotters were eager to help during the very first post-flight session and although we do not think it affected the data, we have changed instructions to the crew subjects and spotters that they are not to help unless the crew specifically asks or if the crew is at risk of falling. For tasks with very clear instructions and completion criteria, the trend is that tasks typically take longer to complete, but that the crew can and will perform near the same average metabolic rate. For some tasks, namely the umbilical task board, some subjects had trouble with clearance and positions and the original task instructions included operational relevance that contributed to task duration diversity. The task instruction has been simplified and clearances for suited helmets and hands have been provided in hopes of reducing the variability surrounding the task duration and metabolic rate.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 02/21/2024) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
 None in FY 2023
Project Title:  Validation of Fitness for Duty Standards Using Pre- and Post-Flight Capsule Egress and Suited Functional Performance Tasks in Simulated Reduced Gravity Reduce
Images: icon  Fiscal Year: FY 2022 
Division: Human Research 
Research Discipline/Element:
HRP HHC:Human Health Countermeasures
Start Date: 01/30/2019  
End Date: 12/01/2027  
Task Last Updated: 09/29/2022 
Download report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Norcross, Jason  M.S. / KBR/NASA Johnson Space Center 
Address:  2400 NASA Pkwy 
 
Houston , TX 77058-3711 
Email: Jason.norcross-1@nasa.gov 
Phone: 281-483-7114  
Congressional District: 36 
Web:  
Organization Type: NASA CENTER 
Organization Name: KBR/NASA Johnson Space Center 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Abercromby, Andrew  Ph.D. NASA Johnson Space Center 
Young, Millennia  Ph.D. NASA Johnson Space Center 
Schlotman, Taylor  KBR 
Peters, Brian  KBR 
Cox, Lauren  JES Tech 
Rivas, Eric  KBR 
Key Personnel Changes / Previous PI: Several changes in personnel have been made since the inception of this project, including the departure of several Co-Investigators. Dr. Millard Reschke retired. Dr. Marissa Rosenberg left KBR for another position. Dr. Jeffrey Ryder has changed roles within KBR and is no longer supporting this project. In place of Drs. Reschke and Rosenberg, we added Dr. Brian Peters from the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Neurosciences Laboratory as a subject matter expert in Neuroscience; and in place of Dr. Rosenberg's deputy PI and study coordinator role, Dr. Taylor Schlotman of the JSC H-3PO Laboratory has been added. Dr. Ryder's role has been taken over by Dr. Eric Rivas of H-3PO. Dr. Lauren Cox has been added as part of the research and data test team.
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. Internal Project 
Responsible Center: NASA JSC 
Grant Monitor: Stenger, Michael  
Center Contact: 281-483-1311 
michael.b.stenger@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 12294 
Solicitation / Funding Source: 2017-2018 HERO 80JSC017N0001-BPBA Topics in Biological, Physiological, and Behavioral Adaptations to Spaceflight. Appendix C 
Grant/Contract No.: Internal Project 
Project Type: FLIGHT 
Flight Program:  
TechPort: No 
No. of Post Docs:  
No. of PhD Candidates:  
No. of Master's Candidates:  
No. of Bachelor's Candidates:  
No. of PhD Degrees:  
No. of Master's Degrees:  
No. of Bachelor's Degrees:  
Human Research Program Elements: (1) HHC:Human Health Countermeasures
Human Research Program Risks: (1) EVA:Risk of Injury and Compromised Performance Due to EVA Operations
(2) Sensorimotor:Risk of Altered Sensorimotor/Vestibular Function Impacting Critical Mission Tasks
Human Research Program Gaps: (1) EVA-101:Determine limitations of EVA performance and physiological metrics shortly post-landing on a planetary surface (with compromised physiology based on flight duration).
(2) SM-101:Characterize the effects of short and long-duration weightlessness, with and without deep-space radiation, on postural control and locomotion (gross motor control) after G transitions.
Flight Assignment/Project Notes: NOTE: End date changed to 12/1/2027 per HHC element/JSC (Ed., 12/14/20)

Task Description: Rigorous adherence to available inflight countermeasures has effectively mitigated losses or maintained muscle strength and aerobic capacity in some returning long-duration International Space Station (ISS) crewmembers; however, all astronauts demonstrate significant decrements in functional performance upon return to a gravity environment. These losses in functional performance can be largely attributed to neurovestibular / sensorimotor deficits that can take days or weeks from which to recover and for which there is no current operational countermeasure. Although these losses are tolerable for current land-based returns to Earth, where ground personnel can quickly support the crew at the landing site, this will not be the case for future off-nominal water-based Orion landings or for nominal Mars surface landings, both of which will require crewmembers to be capable of egressing their landing vehicle unassisted.

Quantification of astronauts' post-landing functional capacity including ability to perform an unassisted capsule egress and critical planetary extravehicular activity (EVA) tasks is necessary to design concepts of operation for Moon and Mars exploration mission systems and ultimately to promote exploration mission success. These results can then be reviewed in combination with other pre-flight, in-flight, and post-landing measures and determinants of health and performance (e.g., sleep, nutrition, exercise) to help develop and select necessary countermeasures capable of protecting all crewmembers or to identify characteristics (both behavioral and inherent) that might allow for selection of crew dependent on mission objectives.

Data collected in this proposal will provide unique data on unassisted capsule egress while wearing an unpressurized launch, entry, abort (LEA) suit in Earth's gravity and on EVA-relevant functional task performance by testing astronauts shortly after return to Earth while suited and pressurized in a simulated reduced gravity analog. The research product will be a temporal profile of unassisted capsule egress and planetary EVA task performance pre-flight and at multiple post-landing intervals, the timing of which will be determined based on post-landing logistics and coordination with other investigations. Data will be collected for spaceflight missions ranging from 2 months, 6 months, and up to 1 year in duration. Results of the proposed study will be used in combination with subsequent definition and design of exploration mission systems and operations concepts to define data-based Fitness for Duty standards.

Research Impact/Earth Benefits: The core focus of this study is to facilitate safe exploration of Mars and return back to Earth, which albeit has limited direct impact to the people on Earth, but to the extent that space exploration is for the good of all humanity, this study will facilitate more successful missions to Mars.

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2022 
Task Progress: The transition between gravity environments will involve one of the most complex high risk phases of any mission. For example, physiological deconditioning adaptations that occur in microgravity, coupled with the stressors of re-entry into a partial gravity environments, will increase risks to crew as a result of reduced functional capacity, even with rigorous adherence to inflight countermeasures. Quantification of the astronauts’ post-landing functional performance is necessary to design a Concept of Operations (ConOps) for exploration missions. Specifically, these two high-risk scenarios may be required to be performed soon after gravity transitions: • Nominal and/or emergency unassisted capsule egress task after return to Earth • Planetary extravehicular activity (EVA) soon after landing on Mars or the Moon

This study is broken down into two phases. Phase 1: A feasibility study that will assess the overall feasibility and demonstrate the capability to do these tasks shortly after landing, and Phase 2: the full Egress Fitness study, which is part of the Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Research (CIPHER). This study uses a task-based approach to characterize functional performance of these high-risk scenarios in long-duration International Space Statino (ISS) crewmembers before flight and shortly after return to Earth. Prior to any testing, each astronaut subject completes a suit fit check to ensure adequate sizing, and a mobility assessment to confirm completion of the EVA tasks. Pilot Egress Fitness pre-flight and post-flight testing includes an Earth-based emergency egress out of a functional capsule mockup, and a short Mars gravity EVA simulation including suit donning, hatch egress, ladder descent, task board cable operations, baggage transfer over sand/rocky regolith, alignment with a rear entry port, and suit egress. Pre-flight testing will occur at any timepoint prior to flight. Post-flight assessment is much more critical with the capsule egress test that will occur 1-4 hours after landing and the planetary EVA approximately 18-36 hours after landing. The CIPHER study will incorporate additional pre-flight sessions, longer EVA tasks that include traverse and geology sampling, and post-flight sessions on R+1, 4, and 8 to characterize the timeframe of recovery.

Data collected for both tasks include task completion time, photo, and video. The EVA portion also includes collection of metabolic and heart rate. Pilot Egress Fitness study has completed both baseline and post-flight testing on four astronaut subjects, with all four able to complete post-flight EVA testing and three able to complete post-flight capsule egress testing. Preliminary results observe individual physiological variations, which were to be expected, but also suggest the need to carefully track the timeline from undock to landing to testing. Furthermore, some task performance instructions and equipment may need to be adjusted to ensure results are primarily physiological. These and other lessons learned will be addressed with minor protocol changes in the full CIPHER Egress Fitness study.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 02/21/2024) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
 None in FY 2022
Project Title:  Validation of Fitness for Duty Standards Using Pre- and Post-Flight Capsule Egress and Suited Functional Performance Tasks in Simulated Reduced Gravity Reduce
Images: icon  Fiscal Year: FY 2021 
Division: Human Research 
Research Discipline/Element:
HRP HHC:Human Health Countermeasures
Start Date: 01/30/2019  
End Date: 12/01/2027  
Task Last Updated: 04/07/2021 
Download report in PDF pdf
Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Norcross, Jason  M.S. / KBR/NASA Johnson Space Center 
Address:  2400 NASA Pkwy 
 
Houston , TX 77058-3711 
Email: Jason.norcross-1@nasa.gov 
Phone: 281-483-7114  
Congressional District: 36 
Web:  
Organization Type: NASA CENTER 
Organization Name: KBR/NASA Johnson Space Center 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Abercromby, Andrew  Ph.D. NASA Johnson Space Center 
Rosenberg, Marissa  Ph.D. KBR/NASA Johnson Space Center 
Reschke, Millard  Ph.D. NASA Johnson Space Center 
Ryder, Jeffrey  Ph.D. NASA Johnson Space Center 
Young, Millennia  Ph.D. NASA Johnson Space Center 
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. Internal Project 
Responsible Center: NASA JSC 
Grant Monitor: Stenger, Michael  
Center Contact: 281-483-1311 
michael.b.stenger@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 12294 
Solicitation / Funding Source: 2017-2018 HERO 80JSC017N0001-BPBA Topics in Biological, Physiological, and Behavioral Adaptations to Spaceflight. Appendix C 
Grant/Contract No.: Internal Project 
Project Type: FLIGHT 
Flight Program:  
TechPort: No 
No. of Post Docs:  
No. of PhD Candidates:  
No. of Master's Candidates:  
No. of Bachelor's Candidates:  
No. of PhD Degrees:  
No. of Master's Degrees:  
No. of Bachelor's Degrees:  
Human Research Program Elements: (1) HHC:Human Health Countermeasures
Human Research Program Risks: (1) EVA:Risk of Injury and Compromised Performance Due to EVA Operations
(2) Sensorimotor:Risk of Altered Sensorimotor/Vestibular Function Impacting Critical Mission Tasks
Human Research Program Gaps: (1) EVA-101:Determine limitations of EVA performance and physiological metrics shortly post-landing on a planetary surface (with compromised physiology based on flight duration).
(2) SM-101:Characterize the effects of short and long-duration weightlessness, with and without deep-space radiation, on postural control and locomotion (gross motor control) after G transitions.
Flight Assignment/Project Notes: NOTE: End date changed to 12/1/2027 per HHC element/JSC (Ed., 12/14/20)

Task Description: Rigorous adherence to available inflight countermeasures has effectively mitigated losses or maintained muscle strength and aerobic capacity in some returning long-duration International Space Station (ISS) crewmembers; however, all astronauts demonstrate significant decrements in functional performance upon return to a gravity environment. These losses in functional performance can be largely attributed to neurovestibular / sensorimotor deficits that can take days or weeks from which to recover and for which there is no current operational countermeasure. Although these losses are tolerable for current land-based returns to Earth, where ground personnel can quickly support the crew at the landing site, this will not be the case for future off-nominal water-based Orion landings or for nominal Mars surface landings, both of which will require crewmembers to be capable of egressing their landing vehicle unassisted.

Quantification of astronauts' post-landing functional capacity including ability to perform an unassisted capsule egress and critical planetary extravehicular activity (EVA) tasks is necessary to design concepts of operation for Moon and Mars exploration mission systems and ultimately to promote exploration mission success. These results can then be reviewed in combination with other pre-flight, in-flight, and post-landing measures and determinants of health and performance (e.g., sleep, nutrition, exercise) to help develop and select necessary countermeasures capable of protecting all crewmembers or to identify characteristics (both behavioral and inherent) that might allow for selection of crew dependent on mission objectives.

Data collected in this proposal will provide unique data on unassisted capsule egress while wearing an unpressurized launch, entry, abort (LEA) suit in Earth's gravity and on EVA-relevant functional task performance by testing astronauts shortly after return to Earth while suited and pressurized in a simulated reduced gravity analog. The research product will be a temporal profile of unassisted capsule egress and planetary EVA task performance pre-flight and at multiple post-landing intervals, the timing of which will be determined based on post-landing logistics and coordination with other investigations. Data will be collected for spaceflight missions ranging from 2 months, 6 months, and up to 1 year in duration. Results of the proposed study will be used in combination with subsequent definition and design of exploration mission systems and operations concepts to define data-based Fitness for Duty standards.

Research Impact/Earth Benefits:

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2021 
Task Progress: Progress report dated December 2020

Study Title: Pilot Egress Fitness

Brief Overview of Study Plan: This study aims to obtain pilot data for the full Egress Fitness study. Physiological adaptation to microgravity (i.e., transit to Mars) and subsequent readaptation during gravitational transitions are likely to result in reduced functional capacity after landing on Earth or at an exploration destination. Quantification of astronauts’ post-landing functional capacity is necessary to inform spaceflight hardware design and concepts of operation for exploration missions. Specifically, this study will quantify returning ISS crew performance of an unassisted capsule egress and planetary EVA. The study will accelerate the operational planning and implementation on how to execute this testing in the dynamic, operational environments of Soyuz, Boeing, and SpaceX landing zones.

Progress Report: Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval has been completed for the pilot study (JSC eIRB STUDY00000242). End-to-end human subject testing for engineering evaluation of this protocol has been completed for the planetary EVA tasks on ARGOS using the Mark III spacesuit and newly developed hardware for this study. The TRR (Technology Readiness Review) for the capsule egress portion of the Pilot Egress Fitness study is scheduled for 12/17/2020 and the TRR for the planetary EVA portion will follow in late December or the first week of January and will be led by the ARGOS team and include stakeholders from the study team, suit team, and ARGOS team. Informed consent briefing was pitched to SpaceX Crew 2 and two subjects have consented to participate. Informed consent briefing for USCV-3 Crew is schedule for 12/18/2020.

Hardware development for the capsule egress task is on the second revision, with general design approved and further modifications only for reduction of mass or improvement of stability. Analysis for the TRR documents will be completed for 12/17/2020. Hardware development for the planetary EVA tasks is complete for all tasks except for the alignment with a rear entry suitport/donning stand. Documentation of detailed procedures and presentation materials for crew briefings have been completed for the planetary EVA and capsule egress tasks.

Data collection has not been initiated and there are no preliminary results to share.

Schedule Update: The first 2 (of 3) crew subjects could complete baseline data collection as soon as late January 2021 with launch scheduled for March 2021. Post-flight data collection for these subjects is be expected to occur in late September 2021.

Study Title: Validation of Fitness for Duty Standards Using Pre- and Post-Flight Capsule Egress and Suited Functional Performance Tasks in Simulated Reduced Gravity

Brief Overview of Study Plan: Physiological adaptation to microgravity (i.e., transit to Mars) and subsequent readaptation during gravitational transitions are likely to result in reduced functional capacity after landing on Earth or at an exploration destination. Quantification of astronauts’ post-landing functional capacity is necessary to design concepts of operation for Moon and Mars missions and ultimately to promote exploration mission success. Specifically, the ability to perform an unassisted capsule egress task and planetary EVAs are critical performance parameters to quantify. These results can then be reviewed in combination with other preflight, in-flight, and post-landing measures to help develop necessary countermeasures or concept of operations that will be capable of protecting all crewmembers.

Progress: IRB Approval has been completed for Egress Fitness (JSC eIRB STUDY00000169). End to end development/engineering test have been completed for the immediate day of landing EVA test protocol on ARGOS using the Mark III spacesuit and newly developed hardware for this study. The tasks for the full EVA session have been evaluated for feasibility of executing on ARGOS, but a full end-to-end run using standard test procedures has not yet been done, but will be planned for FY21. The TRR for the partial EVA being performed in Pilot Egress Fitness study is scheduled for late December or first week of January 2021. A delta TRR will be needed to include the expanded task list for the full planetary EVA. Informed consent briefings will be handled through the full integration of the CIPHER study.

Hardware development for the capsule egress task is on the second revision and will be tested on 12/7/2020 and analysis for the TRR documents will be completed for 12/17/2020. The hardware has been optimized for stability, but further effort will be made on revision 3 to improve portability. Hardware development for the planetary EVA tasks is complete for all tasks but the alignment with a rear entry suitport/donning stand. Detailed procedures and crew briefings have been completed for the 24-hr planetary EVA and capsule egress tasks, but will be finalized for the additional EVA tasks.

Data collection has not been initiated and there are no preliminary results to share.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 02/21/2024) 

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 None in FY 2021
Project Title:  Validation of Fitness for Duty Standards Using Pre- and Post-Flight Capsule Egress and Suited Functional Performance Tasks in Simulated Reduced Gravity Reduce
Images: icon  Fiscal Year: FY 2019 
Division: Human Research 
Research Discipline/Element:
HRP HHC:Human Health Countermeasures
Start Date: 01/30/2019  
End Date: 05/30/2020  
Task Last Updated: 04/19/2019 
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Principal Investigator/Affiliation:   Norcross, Jason  M.S. / KBR/NASA Johnson Space Center 
Address:  2400 NASA Pkwy 
 
Houston , TX 77058-3711 
Email: Jason.norcross-1@nasa.gov 
Phone: 281-483-7114  
Congressional District: 36 
Web:  
Organization Type: NASA CENTER 
Organization Name: KBR/NASA Johnson Space Center 
Joint Agency:  
Comments:  
Co-Investigator(s)
Affiliation: 
Abercromby, Andrew  Ph.D. NASA Johnson Space Center 
Bloomberg, Jacob  Ph.D. NASA Johnson Space Center 
Reschke, Millard  Ph.D. NASA Johnson Space Center 
Ryder, Jeffrey  Ph.D. NASA Johnson Space Center 
Young, Millennia  Ph.D. NASA Johnson Space Center 
Project Information: Grant/Contract No. Internal Project 
Responsible Center: NASA JSC 
Grant Monitor: Norsk, Peter  
Center Contact:  
Peter.norsk@nasa.gov 
Unique ID: 12294 
Solicitation / Funding Source: 2017-2018 HERO 80JSC017N0001-BPBA Topics in Biological, Physiological, and Behavioral Adaptations to Spaceflight. Appendix C 
Grant/Contract No.: Internal Project 
Project Type: FLIGHT 
Flight Program:  
TechPort: No 
No. of Post Docs:  
No. of PhD Candidates:  
No. of Master's Candidates:  
No. of Bachelor's Candidates:  
No. of PhD Degrees:  
No. of Master's Degrees:  
No. of Bachelor's Degrees:  
Human Research Program Elements: (1) HHC:Human Health Countermeasures
Human Research Program Risks: (1) EVA:Risk of Injury and Compromised Performance Due to EVA Operations
(2) Sensorimotor:Risk of Altered Sensorimotor/Vestibular Function Impacting Critical Mission Tasks
Human Research Program Gaps: (1) EVA-101:Determine limitations of EVA performance and physiological metrics shortly post-landing on a planetary surface (with compromised physiology based on flight duration).
(2) SM-101:Characterize the effects of short and long-duration weightlessness, with and without deep-space radiation, on postural control and locomotion (gross motor control) after G transitions.
Task Description: Rigorous adherence to available inflight countermeasures has effectively mitigated losses or maintained muscle strength and aerobic capacity in some returning long-duration International Space Station (ISS) crewmembers; however, all astronauts demonstrate significant decrements in functional performance upon return to a gravity environment. These losses in functional performance can be largely attributed to neurovestibular / sensorimotor deficits that can take days or weeks from which to recover and for which there is no current operational countermeasure. Although these losses are tolerable for current land-based returns to Earth, where ground personnel can quickly support the crew at the landing site, this will not be the case for future off-nominal water-based Orion landings or for nominal Mars surface landings, both of which will require crewmembers to be capable of egressing their landing vehicle unassisted.

Quantification of astronauts' post-landing functional capacity including ability to perform an unassisted capsule egress and critical planetary extravehicular activity (EVA) tasks is necessary to design concepts of operation for Moon and Mars exploration mission systems and ultimately to promote exploration mission success. These results can then be reviewed in combination with other pre-flight, in-flight, and post-landing measures and determinants of health and performance (e.g., sleep, nutrition, exercise) to help develop and select necessary countermeasures capable of protecting all crewmembers or to identify characteristics (both behavioral and inherent) that might allow for selection of crew dependent on mission objectives.

Data collected in this proposal will provide unique data on unassisted capsule egress while wearing an unpressurized launch, entry, abort (LEA) suit in Earth's gravity and on EVA-relevant functional task performance by testing astronauts shortly after return to Earth while suited and pressurized in a simulated reduced gravity analog. The research product will be a temporal profile of unassisted capsule egress and planetary EVA task performance pre-flight and at multiple post-landing intervals, the timing of which will be determined based on post-landing logistics and coordination with other investigations. Data will be collected for spaceflight missions ranging from 2 months, 6 months, and up to 1 year in duration. Results of the proposed study will be used in combination with subsequent definition and design of exploration mission systems and operations concepts to define data-based Fitness for Duty standards.

Research Impact/Earth Benefits:

Task Progress & Bibliography Information FY2019 
Task Progress: New project for FY2019.

Bibliography: Description: (Last Updated: 02/21/2024) 

Show Cumulative Bibliography
 
 None in FY 2019