Robonaut Flexes for the Camera

In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the dexterous humanoid astronaut helper Robonaut (R2) flexes its mechanical muscles during a media event hosted by NASA. R2 will fly to the International Space Station aboard space shuttle Discovery on the STS-133 mission. Although it will initially only participate in operational tests, upgrades could eventually allow the robot to realize its true purpose -- helping spacewalking astronauts with tasks outside the space station.

Image credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann, Aug. 13, 2010

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/multimedia/images/10-08-13.html

Ping-Pong Balls to Float Crew Capsule Simulator

If ping-pong balls can float a sunken boat, they should be able to keep an uncrewed space capsule simulator from sinking.

Right?

That's what a team of summer students and engineers think at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. Langley is fabricating a proposed design of an astronaut crew module simulator for uncrewed flight-testing as part of the agency's effort to build a vehicle to replace the space shuttle.

The Orion crew exploration vehicle is the nation's next generation spacecraft designed to carry up to four astronauts to low Earth orbit and beyond.

Orion's first suborbital flight test will launch to 400,000 feet, or 75 miles above Earth. Because the crew module will not be pressurized during the test, it will not have the buoyancy of a pressurized spacecraft. This puts the simulated crew module at risk of sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean after splashdown.

To save the valuable test article for analysis and possible reuse, Langley called on a team of creative minds for a solution.

NASA Langley students gather around the crew module mockup that they propose to keep afloat with ping-pong balls after it splashes down. From left, front row: Edward Tillistrand, Brice Collamer, Patrick Cragg, Caroline Kirk and Kurian Thomas. In the capsule, from left; Joseph Randall Hunt, Heather Blount and Victor Stewart. Credit: NASA/Sean Smith

And as it turned out, inexpensive, lightweight ping-pong balls provided the answer. Langley engineer John DiNonno proposed the idea, and the Orion Flight Test Office told the team to study it.

The idea quickly became "very plausible," said student Caroline Kirk.

Way to go

"At first we didn't really realize that we were going to get so far in proving that it would be possible," said Kirk, a Suffolk, Va., native attending Virginia Tech as an aerospace engineering major. "But when we thought about everything logically, it just seemed like ping-pong balls were the way to go."

She and a team of seven other students worked the project in Langley's Mechanical Systems Branch, where they were assigned for the summer.

DiNonno got the idea from a Discovery Channel program about raising a sunken boat using 27,000 ping-pong balls.

Engineer David Covington said that when DiNonno suggested the ping-pong ball idea, "I just laughed. Not a 'what are you thinking' kind of laugh, but more of a 'that's the most awesome thing I've heard in a long time' laugh. I asked him 'are you serious?' and he said 'yeah, we're authorized to do a four-week study.' So we went straight to work."

Ensuring the outcome would be relatively low-cost was a top priority, said DiNonno.

"Recovering the capsule was not a requirement, but it was a desire," he said. "So there wasn't going to be a lot of investment in it."

Testing process

The students divided the tasks needed to determine if the idea was feasible, each becoming a "principal investigator" for a specific area.

They tested ping-pong balls of varying quality, much the way spacecraft hardware is tested. They studied how the balls would react to the near-vacuum at the edge of space. Using buoyancy tests, they determined how well the balls would float.

The students also subjected the ping-pong balls to mechanical loads using a hydraulic press, and heated them to see how they would react to the high temperatures of descent into the Earth's atmosphere. And they performed electrostatic discharge tests to determine if the balls would produce a static charge that could disrupt the space capsule's electronics.

Ping-Pong Ball Facts

›› Ping-pong balls are made of celluloid, which is processed cotton.
›› Each ping-pong ball weighs less than an ounce (2.7 grams) and is roughly 1.5 inches (38 - 40 mm) in diameter.
›› Ping-pong ball quality is rated from zero to three stars.

Credit: Microsoft

The ping-pong balls passed all the challenges, said Heather Blount, a materials science engineering student at Virginia Tech.

"Through all our testing and calculations, we figured out that it could be a safe and viable option," said Blount, of Yorktown, Va.

Keeping the crew module afloat would take at least 150,000 ping-pong balls, the students estimate, at a retail price of 50 cents or less each -- a fraction of the cost of traditional options. The students hope to reduce the cost through a bulk purchase.

If the flight test is approved, the ping-pong ball concept would still need to be vetted with the flight test team and reviewed by NASA senior management. If implemented, the ping-pong balls probably will be put into netted bags and secured inside the crew module just prior to launch. They would virtually fill the available space inside the uncrewed capsule.

Then, when the unsealed capsule splashes down, the buoyancy of the ping-pong balls will offset the weight of incoming water and it will float instead of sink.

The ping-pong balls also will reduce the volume of air that needs to be vented from the capsule during ascent - as well as drawn in during descent - as the capsule travels through significant changes in atmospheric pressure.

'Awesome' students

Approval of the flight test, as well as a launch date, has yet to be determined. "Even if it is not used, it's an idea that's out there that someone else could use," said Langley engineer Amanda Cutright, a student mentor.

Cutright said she has been enthused by the students.

"It's awesome working with them," she said. "They bring a different perspective. I've been really impressed with how quickly they pick up new ideas and new technology. It seems each team of students that we mentor learns quicker and is able to provide creative ideas."

Yammer

The ping-pong ball team has been using a social media tool called Yammer to communicate with each other, share files, links, work status, questions, and solutions.

"Yammer has been a great tool to communicate with the interns," said Brendan Shaughnessy, an engineer in the Mechanical Systems Branch. "They can post updates on their work or links to websites they found. I can also let them all know about something I need them to do or that I've done in one quick message."

To join NASA's Yammer site, you must have an email address that ends in nasa.gov.

The Orion FTA Students site is open to anyone with a NASA Yammer account.

Credit: Yammer.com

Kirk said the ping-pong ball project has been a unique experience. At school, she said, "we do lab experiments but nothing similar to this at all. Being able to develop an experiment that will be used for space flight tests is an opportunity of a lifetime."

NASA employees and contractors involved in the project include engineers Amanda Cutright; Brendan Shaughnessy, Analytical Services and Materials Inc.; David Covington, ATK Space Systems Inc.; and John DiNonno, all of the Mechanical Systems Branch.

Student team members:

Brice Collamer, Virginia Tech, Langley Aerospace Research Summer Scholars (LARSS) program
→ Principal investigator for electrostatic discharge tests
Patrick Cragg, Princeton University, DEVELOP program
→ Principal investigator for further testing and research
Kurian Thomas, University of Virginia, DEVELOP program
→ Principal investigator for loading tests and cost analysis
Caroline Kirk, Virginia Tech, LARSS
→ Co-principal investigator for vacuum oven tests
Joseph Randall Hunt, Western Carolina University, Undergraduate Student Research Program
→ Principal investigator for packing efficiency tests and operations concerns
Heather Blount, Virginia Tech, LARSS
→ Co-principal investigator for vacuum oven tests
Edward Tillistrand, University of Virginia, DEVELOP program
→ Principal investigator for buoyancy tests and quantity analysis
Victor Stewart, Virginia Tech, Cooperative Education Program
→ Principal investigator for support and review of experiment work

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/orion/orionfta-pingpong.html

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Backpack, Communications Network Face Desert Test

Science experiments don't always involve bubbling beakers and people dressed in lab coats and goggles. In the case of NASA's Desert RATS project, an experiment can look like a plastic box bolted to a backpack frame and be carried around the Arizona desert for a month.

Inside the plastic box is a host of off-the-shelf electronics capable of telling the backpacker where he is, letting him talk to distant colleagues and beaming pictures of notable objects to geologists and other scientists.

"The backpack tells you where you are, where you were and it allows you to communicate and share your experience with someone in a different location," said Marc Seibert, a senior research engineer at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. "This backpack has been dreamed about for 10 years."

The backpack is an important part of Kennedy's role in the Desert Research and Technology Studies project, which is set up as a large-scale experiment to find out what equipment and operations scenarios NASA needs to explore the surface of an alien world, such as an asteroid, the moon or Mars.

A team of astronauts, scientists and engineers from several NASA centers head to Arizona's desert each year to simulate the unique environment of space explorers. The effort is meant to test equipment and people to find out the best way to explore another world.

Kennedy's engineers develop the communications, navigation and data transmission networks needed, a task that includes a semitrailer set up as a mission operations center, a command vehicle, a specialized RV, a pair of Humvees plus enough communications gear to set up a wireless network for a small crew of explorers to talk back to "Earth" like they will from other planets.

Equipment from other centers, such as a pair of large rovers, has to work on the same communications network. The rovers, for example, relay the signals from the backpacks to the mission operations center.

Although the area they test in is not a perfect stand-in for the moon or Mars in terms of having breathable air and normal gravity, the site does a pretty good job of isolating the participants, said Mike Miller, communications research engineer at Kennedy.

"We have to take everything to the site, just like we will to other planet surfaces," Miller said.

The research program began 13 years ago, and grows in complexity with each annual run. The 2010 program is focused largely on seeing how effectively astronauts can explore a foreign surface under different communications scenarios and rover modes of operation. It also will put pressure on the scientists to have daily plans ready when the explorers awake each day. That means long nights of studying the day's findings to find out what should be done the next.

"This is probably the highest fidelity lunar simulation that's ever been done," Seibert said.

The backpack carries a pair of cameras, a GPS antenna to pinpoint location and all the electronics needed to store then transmit information. The person wearing the backpack controls its systems using an electronic wrist display, supplied by NASA's Glenn Research Center in Ohio, that is generations ahead of the flip cards Apollo astronauts used during the first trips to the moon. Researchers will also test an iPod Touch from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Image above: Mike Miller demonstrates one of the backpacks his team designed and built for the Desert Research and Technology Studies project's upcoming field test in Arizona. Miller led the team that developed the backpacks. The backpacks are equipped with GPS antennas, communications components and cameras. They are meant to show researchers what an astronaut might need to explore an alien world and give designers a look at the hardships the equipment could encounter. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux

Right now, the backpack and its host of attached gear only has to stand up to the winds and heat of a desert on Earth.

"Environment is a big thing out there," Miller said. "The winds are very high, it gets very hot. We are pretty much out in the middle of nowhere."

Designers don't have to worry just yet about the life support systems that would be required for any astronaut working on another world. The life support functions will be incorporated into the backpacks as they evolve and improve. Other parts of the backpack design will be incorporated into the rover so the astronauts can quickly leave the vehicle for a spacewalk.

Miller said the month-long exercise should show them whether the design works technically and what can be improved.

Image above: Isaac Hutson assembles components at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for one of the backpacks that will be tested during the Desert Research and Technology Studies project's upcoming field test in Arizona. The backpacks are equipped with GPS antennas, communications components and cameras. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux

"Success would be to have all the systems up and working, for the scientists to get the science data and the test team to meet their objectives," Miller said.

Miller and his team were given the backpack assignment only a couple months before the equipment had to be assembled and shipped out.

"We only had two to three months here for everything, the design and building, getting the parts, everything," Miller said as others on his team put the finishing touches on a couple of backpacks.

With the short time frame, Miller said his group worked with Glenn partners and with off-the-shelf equipment to get the job done. The software for the controls was written from scratch to make the gear work with each other and operate to their needs.

"The whole communications infrastructure has been upgraded this year," Miller said.

The biggest challenge, he said, was keeping the weight down since the individual components could not be made from scratch by Miller's team.

Between excursions, the Desert RATS participants catalog what they've learned and look at ways to incorporate changes for the next one, along with passing on changes to other in-depth research programs NASA runs.

The backpack's capabilities are designed with space exploration in mind, but the arrangement may have applications for earthbound explorers, too. Basically, a geologist or other explorer could make a solo trek with the backpack and, on his return, play back the whole trip or selected highlights for those who weren't on the journey.

"Any explorer could use this backpack," Seibert said.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/moonandmars/desert_rats_backpack.html

Star Wars Meets UPS as Robonaut Packed for Space

Getting into space isn't necessarily easy for astronauts, and it's not much easier for a robotic astronaut, either.

Cocooned inside an aluminum frame and foam blocks cut out to its shape, Robonaut 2, or R2, is heading to the International Space Station inside the Permanent Multipurpose Module in space shuttle Discovery's payload bay as part of the STS-133 mission.

Once in place inside the station, R2, with its humanlike hands and arms and stereo vision, is expected to perform some of the repetitive or more mundane functions inside the orbiting laboratory to free astronauts for more complicated tasks and experiments. It could one day also go along on spacewalks.

Making sure the first humanoid robot to head into space still works when it gets there has been the focus of workers at NASA's Kennedy and Johnson space centers. Engineers and technicians with decades of experience among them packing for space have spent the last few months devising a plan to secure the 330-pound machine against the fierce vibrations and intense gravity forces during launch.

Robonaut2 is designed as an assistant to astronauts on the International Space Station. But to to get there, it will need some assistance of its own from engineers and technicians on Earth. Photo credit: NASA

"I think back in May we realized we had a huge challenge on our hands," said Michael Haddock, a mechanical engineer designing the procedures and other aspects of preparing R2 for launch, including careful crane operations inside the Space Station Processing Facility's high bay.

Though it was fast-paced, intense work, the payoff of getting to help R2 into space added extra motivation for the engineers involved.

By spaceflight standards, planning for the packing effort moved quite quickly, particularly considering R2 is perhaps the heaviest payload to be taken into space inside a cargo module.

"The mass is what's driving the crane operations, otherwise we'd be handling the robot by hand," Haddock said. "But the robot itself weighs on the order of 333 pounds and when it is installed in the structural launch enclosure, it will weigh over 500 pounds."

As they must when loading anything for spaceflight, the engineers designed the packaging so astronauts could easily remove R2 from its launch box, known by its acronym SLEEPR or Structural Launch Enclosure to Effectively Protect Robonaut.

"We were trying to do something very unique and very fast," said Scott Higginbotham, payload manager for the STS-133 mission. "And we've got the best team in the world for dealing with things like that."

There was talk of simply strapping the robot into the empty seat on the shuttle's middeck, Higginbotham said, but R2 was too heavy for that. So the teams came up with a plan to fasten R2 to a base plate and use struts to support the back and shoulders. Then dense foam will provide more support, followed by an aluminum frame. A clamshell of foam tops off the package.

Assembling the packing precisely is important for R2 because a space shuttle accelerates to more than three times the force of gravity during its eight-minute climb into orbit.

"The team had to educate ourselves, learn the uniqueness of it as well as learn how to install it into the vehicle," said Ken Koby, lead systems engineer for Boeing. "That's what the team has basically been doing every day for the last three months, educating ourselves about Robonaut."

Coincidentally, detailed analysis showed that R2's best position to withstand the launch forces will be the same as the astronauts -- facing toward the nose of the shuttle with the back taking all the weight.

"The orientation is just like the crew flies," Koby said. "The crew will be facing straight up on their backs and Robonaut will be the same direction, obviously 30 feet behind them in the module here."

The astronauts of STS-133 met Robonaut at NASA's Johnson Space Center before the launch of Discovery. Photo credit: NASA

Although the robot is fundamentally a very complex machine full of state-of-the-art sensors and operated by phenomenally sophisticated software, it is its shape that stirs fascination. Designed by NASA and General Motors as a robotic assistant for astronauts working in space, R2 looks like the upper torso of a sculpted bodybuilder and is topped with a helmeted head that includes two cameras to give it three-dimensional vision plus other sensors.

Its look has been compared to Star Wars bounty hunter Boba Fett, the endoskeleton from the Terminator films and the animated robot that plays football on Fox Sports.

"It's rather intimidating at first sight because of its size, its physique and you can't see its eyes," Haddock said.

"From the moment you walk into the room and see R2, it's everything you'd expect from a robot, from the gold-shield face to the thickness, the broadness of his shoulders," Koby said. "It's truly very science fiction-like, but it's all fact in this case."

It also has a pair of beefy arms and two hands, complete with four fingers and one thumb each, that can shake hands. Its programming is sensitive enough to respond to a handshake with the same amount of force as the person squeezing R2's hands. In other words, it can hold a piece of equipment in space without crushing it.

"It really grabs people's attention," said Higginbotham. "It's so incredibly cool. It can use the same tools and procedures as an astronaut."

This Robonaut was not meant to fly at first. Instead, it was strictly a developmental model to be tested and perfected on the ground. However, it was adapted for flight and has tested well for launch. That is a bit of a theme for the STS-133 mission because the Permanent Multipurpose Module that Discovery is taking to the station also was retrofitted to add more capabilities. The PMM was formerly a Multipurpose Logistics Module known as Leonardo and was built to stay in space for only short periods at a time. But its mission has changed and engineers built up its armor and added some interior features so it can be permanently attached to the station and used as more of a storage closet than the moving van first envisioned.

"Someone said this mission is anything but ordinary," said Higginbotham, "and that is a fact."

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/behindscenes/robonautpacking.html

This Month in Exploration - August

From the early days of experimental airplanes to NASA’s soaring space shuttles, the evolution of flight has mirrored the evolution of society. The ongoing scientific discoveries that are part of aeronautics and space flight have improved life on Earth and allowed humans to begin investigating the secrets of the universe. “This Month in Exploration” presents the rich history of human flight, contextualizing where we’ve been and examining the exploration history NASA is making today.

100 Years Ago

August 31, 1910: Glenn Curtiss established a record for longest flight over water when he completed a course from Euclid beach in Cleveland, Ohio to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Flying his biplane over Lake Erie parallel to the shore, Curtiss completed the trip in about an hour and fifteen minutes.

A Loening Amphibian aircraft similar to the three used on the MacMillan Arctic Expedition. Credit: NASA

85 Years Ago

August 1, 1925: Under the command of Lt. Cmdr. Richard E. Byrd, a U.S. Naval Air detail began aerial exploration of a 30,000-square-mile area near Etah, North Greenland using three Loening amphibian seaplanes introduced the previous year. The excursion was part of the MacMillan Arctic Expedition, the United States’ contribution to the global race to Earth’s last unexplored frontiers, the North and South Poles.

75 Years Ago

August 28, 1935: The Equipment Laboratory at Wright Field tested automatic radio-navigation equipment, called the Sperry automatic pilot, by mechanically linking it to a standard radio compass.

50 Years Ago

August 12, 1960: NASA launched its first communications satellite, the Echo 1, via a Thor- Delta rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The satellite transmitted a radio message from President Dwight D. Eisenhower across the nation, demonstrating the feasibility of global radio communications via satellites. Echo 1 was the most visible and largest satellite launched at that time. Although the mission was successful, it was quickly superseded by active-repeater communications satellites such as Telstar.

A static inflation test of the 135 foot satellite Echo 1. Credit: NASA

45 Years Ago

August 21-29, 1965: NASA launched the Gemini-V via Titan-II rocket. Several records were set during this eight-day orbital flight, including the single longest manned spaceflight, total U.S. manned hours in space and a new altitude record for an American spacecraft. American astronaut Gordon Cooper was also the first man to make a second orbital flight and achieved the record for the most spaceflight time.

35 Years Ago

August 20, 1975: NASA launched Viking 1 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla. It was the first of two spacecraft on the historic mission to the planet Mars. The primary objectives of the Viking mission were to return high-resolution images of the Martian surface, analyze the structure and composition of the atmosphere and surface and search for evidence of life on Mars.

25 Years Ago

August 27, 1985: NASA launched space shuttle Discovery (STS-51I) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The shuttle deployed three communications satellites and retrieved, repaired and re-launched the TELSAT-1 Communications Satellite, Syncom IV-3.

10 Years Ago

August 9, 2000: The European Space Agency launched the second pair of Cluster II mission satellites, named Rumba and Tango, aboard a Soyuz-Fregat rocket from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome. The Cluster mission used simultaneous measurements from four satellites to provide detailed analysis of the effects of solar wind on Earth’s magnetic field. The mission is still in effect today and has resulted in around 1000 scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong in the Lunar Module during the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. Credit: NASA

5 Years Ago

August 12, 2005: NASA launched the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla. aboard the first Atlas V rocket used for an interplanetary mission. The ongoing mission was to map the physical features of Mars, including its atmosphere and its subterranean layering.

Present Day

August 5, 2010: Neil A. Armstrong turns 80 this year. Born in Wapakoneta, Ohio in 1930, Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon. He is credited with the famous quote: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

August 22, 2010: Science fiction writer Ray Bradbury was born 100 years ago on this day in Waukegan, Ill. He wrote “The Martian Chronicles” published in 1949. Among his poems is one inspired by a trip to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla. where he compared his tour of the Saturn hanger to “walking around inside Shakespeare’s head.”

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/thismonth/this_month_aug10.html

Robot Goes to Work While Crew Prepares for Spacewalks

Robotics and spacewalk preparations took center stage Tuesday aboard the International Space Station as the Expedition 24 crew orbited above the Earth.

Dextre, an agile, two-armed extension for the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm, continues its debut task to replace a failed Remote Power Control Module (RPCM) from a truss segment on the station’s port side. On Tuesday flight controllers in Houston began conducting a “dress rehearsal” of the actual replacement as they commanded Dextre to partially remove and reinstall an RPCM on the P1 truss. After Dextre successfully completes the test, Mission Control plans to swap the failed RPCM with a spare from the P3 truss Wednesday.

Meanwhile the Expedition 24 crew continued its own preparations to venture outside the station for an upcoming pair of spacewalks.

Image above: The Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft (partially out of frame in the foreground), docked to the Rassvet Mini-Research Module 1, and the ISS Progress 37 resupply vehicle, docked to the Pirs Docking Compartment, are featured in this image. Credit: NASA

Cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Mikhail Kornienko, both flight engineers, prepared the cooling loops of the Russian Orlan spacesuits they will wear during a six-hour spacewalk set to begin the evening of July 26. The pair will install Kurs automated rendezvous equipment on the exterior of the recently delivered Rassvet module to facilitate future dockings with Russian spacecraft.

Flight Engineers Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson continued preparations for their Aug. 5 spacewalk as they each conducted a session of onboard training for Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue, or SAFER. Should a spacewalker become untethered during a spacewalk and begin floating away, the small nitrogen-jet thrusters of SAFER could help the astronaut get back to the station.

Shannon Walker, also a station flight engineer, assisted with the American spacewalk preparations as she inspected safety and waist tethers for structural integrity and reviewed spacewalk procedures.

The Expedition 24 crew also tackled a number of science investigations Tuesday. Commander Alexander Skvortsov spent part of his day working with a Russian experiment known as Russalka, which involves using a camera equipped with an ultraviolet filter to collect measurements of methane and carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Wheelock prepared the Solution Crystallization Observation Facility for a Japanese study of facet-like crystallization. The results of this experiment may provide valuable data on creating high quality materials for industrial use such as superconducting magnets.

The Americans also continued maintenance work on the Oxygen Generation System, flushing the components that allow liquid to flow through the system so that oxygen can be extracted from recycled water to provide air for the crew to breathe.

Later, Walker assisted Wheelock with the latest session of Kids In Micro-Gravity!, an experiment that gives students a hands-on opportunity to design a demonstration that can be performed both in the classroom and aboard the station. Tuesday’s activity, a look at whether blowing across the tops of bottles filled with different amounts of water will create the same tones in space as on Earth, was developed by fifth grade students at Vaughan Elementary in Powder Springs, Ga.

Researchers can learn more about opportunities to develop and fly science experiments on the International Space Station (ISS) at the NASA ISS Research Academy Aug. 3-5 in League City, Texas.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

All-American Salute

Astronaut John W. Young, commander of the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission, leaps from the lunar surface as he salutes the United States flag at the Descartes landing site during the first Apollo 16 extravehicular activity. Astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot, took this picture. The Lunar Module "Orion" is on the left. The Lunar Roving Vehicle is parked beside Orion and the object behind Young (in the shadow of the Lunar Module) is the Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph. Stone Mountain dominates the background of this lunar scene.

Image Credit: NASA

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1704.html

Space Sim

STS-133 astronauts Michael Barratt and Nicole Stott, both mission specialists, participate in an exercise in the systems engineering simulator in the Avionics Systems Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center. The facility includes moving scenes of full-sized International Space Station components over a simulated Earth.

Image credit: NASA/JSC, June 8, 2010

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts133/multimedia/gallery/10-06-08.html

Growing Plants and Vegetables in a Space Garden

Lettuce, peas and radishes are just a few vegetables that are found in a summer garden. But did you know these same vegetables also can be grown in space? Crew members aboard the International Space Station have been growing such plants and vegetables for years in their "space garden."

A space station study is helping investigators develop procedures and methods that allow astronauts to grow and safely eat space-grown vegetables. The experiment also is investigating another benefit of growing plants in space: the non-nutritional value of providing comfort and relaxation to the crew.

"Growing food to supplement and minimize the food that must be carried to space will be increasingly important on long-duration missions," said Shane Topham, an engineer with Space Dynamics Laboratory at Utah State University in Logan. "We also are learning about the psychological benefits of growing plants in space -- something that will become more important as crews travel farther from Earth."

Mizuna lettuce growing aboard the International Space Station before being harvested and frozen for return to Earth. Image credit: NASA

The experiment, known as Lada Validating Vegetable Production Unit -- Plants, Protocols, Procedures and Requirements -- uses a very simple chamber similar to a greenhouse. Water and light levels are controlled automatically.

The experiment has four major objectives: to find out if the produce grown in space can be consumed safely; what types of microorganisms might grow on the plants and what can be done to reduce the threat of microorganisms in the hardware prior to launch; what can be done to clean or sanitize the produce after it has been harvested; and how to optimize production compared to the resources required to grow it.

Since 2002, the Lada greenhouse has been used to perform almost continuous plant growth experiments on the station. Fifteen modules containing root media, or root modules, have been launched to the station and 20 separate plant growth experiments have been performed.

The most recent "crop" -- a type of Japanese lettuce called Mizuna -- returned to Earth in April aboard space shuttle Discovery. It was the first time two chamber experiments were conducted simultaneously for a side-by-side comparison of plants grown using different fertilizers and treatments.

"The idea was to validate in space the results of ground tests, to show that minimizing water usage and salt accumulations would produce healthier plants in space," said Topham. "For years we've used the same method for packing root modules, so this was a comparison study between old and potential improvements and so far we have found a couple of surprising results."

First, a sensor failure in the traditional root module on the station caused the plants to receive higher than specified water levels. Investigators believed the overwatering would disrupt nutrients and oxygen in the traditional module, making the newer improved module look better in the comparison.

Surprises in microgravity research are not unusual, though, and it turned out that overwatered traditional module sprouted and developed leaves about twice as fast. "This suggests the conservative water level we have been using for all our previous experiments may be below optimal for plant growth in microgravity," said Topham.

The second surprising result was discovered when the root modules were unpacked on the ground. The new fertilizer being tested had a slower and more even release rate, which had helped lower the plants' accumulation of salts during ground studies. Investigators expected to see higher salt accumulation in the space modules, but the opposite occurred.

The harvested Mizuna sample kit is stored in a frozen return lab at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., hours after landing aboard space shuttle Discovery in April. Image credit: NASA

"The current theory is that the extra water and larger plant uptake of fertilizer caused the root modules to remove nutrients faster and release fertilizer faster, thus preventing the salt accumulations that were observed in the slower-growing ground studies," said Topham.

"The space station's ability to provide on-the-spot adjustments to experiment conditions or opportunities to quickly repeat microgravity experiments with new conditions are a big plus for researchers," said Julie Robinson, International Space Station program scientist at Johnson Space Center. "This work also shows the surprising results that investigators find when they take a well-understood experiment on Earth and reproduce it on the space station."

Data from this investigation also will help advance Earth-based greenhouses and controlled-environment agricultural systems and help farmers produce better, healthier crops in small spaces using the optimum amount of water and nutrients.

The experiment takes advantage of a 20-year-old cooperative agreement between the Space Dynamics Laboratory and the Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow, Russia. Each organization benefits from resources provided by their respective national space programs -- the Space Dynamics Laboratory with NASA, and the Institute for Biomedical Problems with the Russian Federal Space Agency.

Root modules with seeds are launched to the space station on Russian Progress supply vehicles. Russian crew members water the plant seeds and perform maintenance. They also harvest the vegetables and place them in a station freezer before transferring them to a space shuttle freezer for return to Earth for analysis by U.S. investigators at the Space Dynamics Laboratory.

"I don’t see future space crews leaving the Earth for long durations without having the ability to grow their own food," said Topham. "The knowledge that we are gaining is enabling us to extend our exploration and future colonization of space."

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/10-074.html

Expedition 24 Crew Checks Out Soyuz

JSC2010-E-092046 (11 June 2010) --- At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the prime and backup crews to join Expedition 24 on the International Space Station pose for a picture in front of their Soyuz booster rocket in its integration building June 11, 2010. From left to right are prime crew members Doug Wheelock, Soyuz Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Shannon Walker, with backup crew members Cady Coleman, Dmitri Kondratiev and Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency. Wheelock, Yurchikhin and Walker will launch next week in the Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft on a two-day trip to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Victor Zelentsov

JSC2010-E-092042 (11 June 2010) --- At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Paolo Nespoli, backup flight engineer, representing the European Space Agency, peers into the Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft June 11, 2010 during a final vehicle inspection. Prime crew members Doug Wheelock and Shannon Walker of NASA and cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, Soyuz commander, with the Russian Federal Space Agency, will lift off next week in the Soyuz on a two-day trip to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Victor Zelentsov

JSC2010-E-092043 (11 June 2010) --- At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, astronaut Shannon Walker, flight engineer, of NASA poses for a picture during a final vehicle inspection of the Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft June 11, 2010. Walker will launch next week with astronaut Doug Wheelock of NASA and cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, Soyuz commander, of the Russian Federal Space Agency on a two-day trip to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Victor Zelentsov

JSC2010-E-092044 (11 June 2010) --- At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock, Expedition 24 flight engineer, poses for a picture during a final vehicle inspection of the Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft June 11, 2010. Wheelock will launch next week with astronaut Shannon Walker, flight engineer, of NASA and cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, Soyuz commander, with the Russian Federal Space Agency on a two-day trip to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Victor Zelentsov

JSC2010-E-092045 (11 June 2010) --- At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the prime crew assigned to join Expedition 24 on the International Space Station pose for a picture in front of their Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft June 11, 2010. From left to right are prime crew members Shannon Walker, Soyuz Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Doug Wheelock. Walker, Yurchikhin and Wheelock will launch next week in the Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft on a two-day trip to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Victor Zelentsov

JSC2010-E-092047 (11 June 2010) --- At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, NASA astronaut Shannon Walker signs a picture of a Soyuz rocket on the wall of the Korolev Museum near the launch pad during a tour of the facility June 11, 2010. Walker, Soyuz Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock will launch next week in the Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft on a two-day trip to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Victor Zelentsov

JSC2010-E-092048 (11 June 2010) --- At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock signs a picture of a Soyuz rocket on the wall of the Korolev Museum near the launch pad during a tour of the facility June 11, 2010. Wheelock, Soyuz Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and NASA astronaut Shannon Walker will launch next week in the Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft on a two-day trip to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Victor Zelentsov

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/multimedia/exp24_inspect.html

NASA Kicks off New Summer of Innovation Initiative

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden kicked off the agency's new Summer of Innovation initiative today while at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calf.

The Summer of Innovation program will engage thousands of middle school students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) during the summer months when many students experience what's known as the "summer slide," a loss of skills acquired during the school year. The program is a cornerstone of the Educate to Innovate campaign announced by President Obama last November.

About 250 middle school students from the Los Angeles area participated in the kickoff festivities, which included an opportunity to interact with astronauts, NASA scientists and engineers, several hands-on educational activities; and a visit to the facility where the next Mars rover is being built. The students also were treated to musical entertainment provided by actor/rapper Daniel Curtis Lee.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., hosts the national kickoff of NASA's Summer of Innovation. Image credit: NASA/JPL

"It is wonderful to feel the excitement generated by these students as they experienced first-hand what fascinating and challenging opportunities exist for students who follow STEM career paths," said Administrator Bolden. "I hope that by getting these students involved in NASA's missions and programs now, it may pave the way for a new generation of scientists and engineers, which is critically important to our nation's future."

NASA's Summer of Innovation program is a broad, nationwide effort that will leverage partnerships with academia, industry and government. This program and the agency's other education programs support NASA's commitment to excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, which will play a key role in preparing, inspiring, encouraging and nurturing the nation's future work force.

To learn more about this program and the opportunities available, visit http://www.nasa.gov/soi . For information about NASA education programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/education.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/summer/home/sio20100610.html

Final Planned Flight of Atlantis Delivers New 'Dawn'

Space shuttle Atlantis thundered away from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on May 5, 2010 at 2:20 p.m. The on-time liftoff under a picturesque Florida sky was a perfect beginning to Atlantis' last scheduled mission, STS-132. The shuttle carried a six-person crew on a journey to deliver a new Russian module and several critical spare parts to the International Space Station.

"There are thousands of folks out there that have taken care of this bird for a long time," Commander Ken Ham said after Atlantis was cleared for launch. "We're going to take her on her 32nd flight, and if you don't mind, we'll take her out of the barn and make a few more laps around the planet."

Tucked into the shuttle's payload bay was the Russian-built Mini Research Module-1 known as "Rassvet," meaning "dawn." Nearly 20 feet long and weighing more than 17,700 pounds including its cargo, the module features eight workstations designed for a variety of science experiments and educational research.

Image above: An exhaust plume surrounds the mobile launcher platform as Atlantis launches. Image credit: NASA/Tony Gray and Tom Farrar

The ambitious tasks ahead would be taken on by a crew of experienced space fliers. Ham was joined by Pilot Tony Antonelli, Mission Specialists Garrett Reisman, Michael Good, Steve Bowen and Piers Sellers.

During the astronauts' first full day in orbit, the standard inspection of the orbiter's protective thermal coverings was completed using a backup camera system when a snagged cable temporarily prevented use of the intended laser and digital cameras. Both the primary and backup systems are part of the orbiter boom sensor system that attaches to the shuttle's robotic arm.

Atlantis docked with the International Space Station on May 16, two days after liftoff. Ham guided the orbiter through a graceful backflip known as a "rendezvous pitch maneuver," giving station crew members the chance to take nearly 400 photos of the shuttle. Finally, the two spacecraft linked up at 10:28 a.m. EDT as the pair sailed 220 miles above the South Pacific Ocean.

Image above: Anchored to the Canadarm2, Mission Specialist Garrett Reisman holds a space-to-ground antenna during the mission's first spacewalk. Image credit: NASA

The hatches between shuttle and station were opened at 12:18 p.m. and the six STS-132 astronauts were welcomed aboard by the station's six residents: cosmonauts Oleg Kotov, Expedition 23 commander, Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Kornienko, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi, and U.S. astronauts T.J. Creamer and Tracy Caldwell Dyson.

"We've been here before, but it's bigger than we remember -- and, speaking for myself, better than I remember," Ham said as docked operations officially began. "I love this place!"

The combined crew got right to work, using the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm to remove a cargo carrier from Atlantis' open payload bay to the station's mobile transporter. Mounted on the carrier were important new equipment and spares to be installed during the mission's three spacewalks, including a backup space-to-ground antenna and six 375-pound batteries.

The first of the mission's three spacewalks started the next morning at 7:54 a.m. when Reisman and Bowen switched their spacesuits to battery power and floated out of the station's Quest airlock. Riding the station's robotic arm, Reisman carried the boom for the new antenna from the cargo pallet up to the Z1 truss and returned to the cargo pallet to grab the six-foot-wide

Image above: The Russian-built Mini-Research Module 1 is removed from Atlantis' payload bay. Image credit: NASA

The pair then installed the antenna on the waiting boom, where it will help provide two-way data, voice and video communications for station residents. Reisman and Bowen added a spare-parts platform to the station's Dextre robotic arm and loosened the bolts holding the new batteries to the cargo carrier before wrapping up the 7-hour, 25-minute outing.

Installation of the Rassvet research module was the crew's next assignment. Ham and Antonelli used Atlantis' robotic arm to lift the nearly-20-foot-long component from the shuttle's payload bay, then handed it off to the station's robotic arm. Reisman guided the new module into the Earth-facing port on the Zarya module, achieving a flawless docking with one millimeter of clearance on either side of Rassvet's docking probe.

"Looks like a pretty good docking," Sellers reported to Mission Control. "Straight down the middle, got capture and contact."

Good joined Bowen for the second spacewalk, which got off to a head start at 6:38 a.m. May 19. First, Bowen fixed the snagged cable that had interfered with the early inspection of Atlantis' heat shield. After adjusting the cable and using a plastic tie to keep it in place, Mission Control announced the fix was successful.

Image above: Atlantis' belly is visible in a crystal-clear blue sky as it approaches touchdown on Runway 33. Image credit: NASA/Tony Gray and Tom Farrar

Next, the astronauts installed four of six new batteries on the station's port 6 truss, the station's backbone, transferring the old batteries to the cargo carrier for the return trip to Earth. Good and Bowen tightened the bolts on the new space-to-ground antenna before coming back inside as the 7-hour, 9-minute spacewalk ended.

Hatches between the station and Rassvet were opened the following day, as Atlantis and crew finished the mission's first week and enjoyed a few hours of off-duty time.

The final two port 6 truss batteries were installed during the mission's third and final spacewalk. Good and Reisman swapped out the remaining batteries and installed a backup ammonia coolant line between the port 4 and port 5 truss segments. They also left a new power and data grapple fixture inside the Quest airlock. The fixture will be installed by the station crew on the exterior of the Zarya module this summer.

With all the mission's major tasks accomplished, Good and Reisman headed back to the airlock after working outside the station for 6 hours and 46 minutes.

The astronauts finished transferring equipment and supplies from Atlantis to the space station as the docked portion of the STS-132 mission drew to a close.

"Thank you, Ken, and thank you to the whole crew," said station Commander Kotov as the Atlantis and station crews prepared to part ways. "Thank you for an excellent job, for your patience, for your work -- for everything."

Ham answered, "Through our entire docked timeframe here, we were a 12-person crew that operated together, and that was the only way we got everything done. ...We've had a great time together."

Image above: The STS-132 mission patch features Atlantis flying into the sunset as the end of the Space Shuttle Program approaches. However, the sun also is heralding the promise of a new day as it rises on the new ISS module, "Rassvet," the Russian word for dawn. Image credit: NASA

Atlantis undocked from the station May 23 at 11:22 a.m. after a weeklong stay at the orbiting complex. The shuttle circled the station at a distance of 400 to 600 feet and finally pulled away with a separation burn an hour and 15 minutes later.

The late inspection of Atlantis' protective skin went off without a hitch, and the shuttle was cleared to land.

Atlantis touched down at 8:48 a.m. May 26, gliding smoothly along Kennedy's Runway 33 after 186 orbits and nearly 12 full days in space. With Ham and Antonelli at the controls, the orbiter returned to its home port for what was planned to be the last time. During its 25 years of spaceflight, Atlantis completed 32 missions and traveled more than 120 million miles.

"We've all flown on Atlantis now, and some of us have flown on her a couple of times. She's a great ship," Antonelli said hours after landing, adding that it was a "real honor" to be on what may be its last flight. "We're happy to bring her back home to you here in Florida."

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts132/launch/132_overview.html

NASA Langley to Break Ground on Hydro Impact Basin

What goes up must come down, and it will be NASA Langley Research Center's job to make sure that when astronauts return from space, they land safely.

On June 8, NASA Langley will break ground on a $1.7 million Hydro Impact Basin that will serve to validate and certify that future space vehicles, such as NASA's Orion crew module, are designed for safe water landings.

The water basin will be 115 feet (35 m) long, 90 feet (27.4 m) wide and 20 feet (6.1 m) deep and will be built at the west end of Langley's historic Landing and Impact Research Facility, also known as the Gantry, where Neil Armstrong trained for walking on the moon. Construction will begin mid-June and will be completed by December 2010.

A series of water impact tests will be conducted using Orion drop test articles beginning in the spring of 2011. These tests will initially validate and improve the computer models of impact and acoustic loads used in the design and engineering process, and will ultimately qualify the final vehicle design for flight.

NASA Langley Research Center's Landing and Impact Research Facility will host a Hydro Impact Basin Groundbreaking ceremony Tues., June 8, 2010 in Hampton, Va.. Credit: NASA/Sean Smith

"We are excited about being a part of the nation's next space vehicle and it's landing system," said Lynn Bowman, who is managing the series of tests for the Orion project. "Our team has been involved with furthering the knowledge and testing of space vehicle landing systems and their components for the past few years."

The skill sets that NASA Langley engineers and technicians bring to the table as well as the capability of the gantry are two of the reasons the basin is being built at the center.

Bowman explains: "The Gantry provides the ability to control the orientation of the test article while imparting a vertical and horizontal impact velocity, which is required for human rating vehicles."

"This existing capability when combined with the water basin will provide a complete facility needed for landing certification of any manned spacecraft for water landing," added Bowman. "Even vehicles that do not perform a nominal water landing will need to certify for launch abort landings into water."

NASA aeronautics researchers recently dropped a small helicopter from a height of 35 feet (10.7 m) to see whether an expandable honeycomb cushion called a deployable energy absorber could lessen the destructive force of a crash. Credit: NASA/Sean Smith

Additionally, NASA Langley has more than 40 years experience with conducting controlled impact/landing tests of instrumented vehicles, said Lisa Jones, head of the Structural Testing Branch at NASA Langley.

NASA Langley's Gantry, built in 1963, was originally used to model lunar gravity. But after the Apollo program ended, it was transformed into the Impact Dynamics Research Facility and was used to test the crash worthiness of aircraft and rotorcraft.

In 2006 the Gantry experienced a revitalization as the country shifted its focus back to space exploration. The 240-foot (73 m) high Gantry provided engineers and astronauts a means to prepare for Orion's return to Earth.

When testing began in 2006, it was thought that a dry landing on Earth would be the preferred landing for the Orion capsule as it returned from space. During this phase, engineers studied the use of airbags during landings and dropped a total of 73 test articles, including a full-scale model of the Crew exploration vehicle, with different generations of airbags attached to the bottom.

More tests followed, including a series that evaluated the crew module's energy absorbing seat system, which protects the crew during a wide range of landing conditions. Langley engineers designed and built a 20,000-pound (9,072 kg) piece of steel hardware called the Crew Impact Attenuation System (CIAS) test article, which was dropped onto crushable honeycomb material sized to represent a broad range of landing conditions Orion could face.

The NASA Engineering and Safety Center recently performed a drop test of a 20,000-pound (9,072 kg) piece of steel hardware called the Crew Impact Attenuation System Test Article. The test article was dropped vertically on crushable honeycomb material. Credit: NASA/Sean Smith

In all, 117 drop tests were performed.

"This team really cranked out high quality testing and excellent analysis," said Bowman, who managed the Orion Landing System Team. "117 tests is a record."

Now that ground-landing tests are complete and the decision came to design Orion for landing in the water, the team at NASA Langley is ready to shift its focus to water. The team has already gotten its feet wet with a series of elemental water impact testing that began this past fall.

During these tests engineers dropped a 20-inch (50.8 cm) hemisphere from five feet (1.5 m) into a four-foot (1.2 m) deep pool so that they could build confidence in a design tool they might use to analyze data during the full-scale water impact tests to be done at the basin.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/orion/hydro-impact-basin.html

Discovery's OMS Pod Removed; Crew Practices Rendezvous, Docking

Workers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida removed Discovery's right-side orbital maneuvering system pod Friday and will move it to the Hazardous Maintenance facility today for processing. The shuttle is undergoing standard launch processing for the STS-133 mission to the International Space Station.

The astronauts who will fly the mission are rehearsing in a simulator at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston for the rendezvous and docking at the station. The flight is targeted for launch in September.

Image above: Astronaut Tim Kopra sits in the flight engineer's position during a simulation earlier this year for the STS-133 mission. Commander Steve Lindsey is sitting in the left-hand seat in the front of the flight deck mockup as Pilot Eric Boe works in the right seat. Misison Specialist Alvin Drew is sitting beside Kopra. Image Credit: NASA

During space shuttle Discovery's final spaceflight, the STS-133 crew members will take important spares to the International Space Station along with the Express Logistics Carrier 4. Discovery is being readied for flight inside Kennedy's orbiter processing facility while its solid rocket boosters are stacked inside the nearby Vehicle Assembly Building. STS-133 is slated to launch in September.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

Tiny Technology With a Big Heart

When undergoing medical treatment, physicians frequently determine that a patient's vital signs need to be monitored. This includes closely monitoring things like blood pressure and heart rate. For most patients today, this means a variety of wires and sensors will be attached to their bodies. But thanks to technology developed at NASA, there might be a better way.

A new biomedical sensor which incorporates technology pioneered at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, is currently being developed by a company called Endotronix. The company is investigating using the sensors to measure blood pressure and heart rate.

"When this opportunity came about, we immediately understood that we could tailor our technology for a biomedical application. It was an opportunity for direct societal impact that could assist a lot of people in the medical community," says Dr. Félix Miranda, one of the two Glenn scientists responsible for the technology.

The sensors are about the size of the head of a pin—1 millimeter wide and .5 millimeter thick. Crafted out of gold and silicone, each tiny sensor also includes a multi-turn loop antenna, which means data collected from the sensor can be wirelessly transmitted to an external unit. Called Biomedical Microelectromechanical Systems, or Bio-MEMS, each sensor makes use of NASA patented radiofrequency technology.

Developed for Space, Used on Earth

Dr. Félix Miranda, a supervisory electronics engineer, and Dr. Rainee Simons, a supervisory physicist, are both part of the Communications, Instrumentation and Controls Division at Glenn. In 2001, the Technology Transfer and Partnership Office (TTPO) at Glenn awarded the team $50,000 to work towards finding a way to use Glenn's radiofrequency technology in the biomedical field.

Dr. Félix Miranda (background) and Dr. Rainee Simons investigate the miniature inductor/antenna on a Bio-MEMS sensor at NASA’s Glenn Research Center.
Photo Credit: NASA

"It is a testament to how much you can do with a small amount of seed money—how you can leverage that," Miranda says. "The center has gotten an acceptable return on investment on this effort, and it has given us satisfaction because we have been able to evolve technology."

Initially, the two were investigating the technology for potential use in space suits, as a way to remotely monitor astronauts' health. The initiative was especially important for astronauts performing space walks, and could prove essential as plans develop to send astronauts further into space.

"There is an emphasis to develop sensors for astronauts that are convenient as well as accurate. Safety is the initial motivation," Simons says.

Drs. Miranda and Simons achieved patents for their work in 2003 and 2007, and extensively published their work. Through these publications, Dr. Anthony Nunez, a cardiovascular surgeon and president of Endotronix, learned about the work at Glenn in 2006.

"Unlike other devices, ours is very small," Miranda says. "[Dr. Nunez] was very impressed by that, and decided that this was the technology he needed for his cardiovascular products."

Endotronix now holds the exclusive license for cardiovascular applications of the Glenn technology. Glenn and Endotronix signed a Space Act Agreement to work on developing and validating the technology for these particular medical uses. Though the Space Act Agreement has now ended, Endotronix keeps Drs. Miranda and Simons updated on their progress.

"We want [Endotronix] to succeed. That is what NASA's 'For the Benefit of All' is all about," Miranda says.

Monitoring and Wireless Transmitting

The cardiovascular sensors will operate by being implanted in the body of the patient. Each tiny unit doesn't require a battery, which means the unit can last indefinitely in the body while causing less damage to surrounding tissue and lessening the risk of infection or toxicity. The device, manufactured out of biocompatible materials, operates by sensing the pressure that the heart or an artery creates when the blood flows by a membrane. It transmits data to a small, portable external reader, which can be worn by the patient or kept nearby for readings. This transmission occurs wirelessly, and the absence of a wire in the body also helps prevent risk of infection and other negative side effects.

The tiny, 1 millimeter by 1 millimeter antenna, provides wireless signals of exceptional strength.
Photo Credit: NASA

Because the sensors are so small, they are not disruptive to the patients in whom they are implanted. All types of patients can potentially benefit from the device, from nursing home residents requiring intensive care to active patients who wish to travel, while still monitoring their health. The external readers are easy to use, allowing patients to take their own readings.

"As this technology evolves to be a product for the general public, it needs to be as simple as possible without sacrificing the accuracy of the information," Miranda says.

Building Bridges and Beyond

Drs. Miranda and Simons have received many accolades for their work. In October of 2009, the two were runners-up in the Wall Street Journal's Technology Innovation Awards, in the wireless category. They also won a 2010 Northeast Ohio Technology Coalition Innovation Award (NorTech Award) for their work, and received commendations from the Ohio State Senate and the Secretary of the State of Ohio.

Endotronix has licensed the technology for cardiovascular applications, but there are other potential uses for these pressure sensors. Companies have expressed interest in investigating the technology for other biomedical areas, such as general surgery and bone, neck and spine health. Other areas of human interest, like structural safety in bridges and buildings, could also benefit from this technology.

"We still have opportunities based on this concept that we'd like to explore, and the agency environment is consistent with this kind of effort. There are good opportunities ahead," Miranda says. "We can really tailor the concept to support diverse applications."

Impacting the Community

The technology, used for both aerospace and non-aerospace applications, is notable. It is the second largest licensing of intellectual property at Glenn and has pioneered a new area of collaboration with the commercial sector.

"This is the very first medical and surgical application for space biosensor technology," Simons says.

Drs. Miranda and Simons are pleased with how their research has been integrated into the medical field, and they are looking forward to seeing what new areas—biomedical and beyond—the sensors may influence.

"It is very gratifying to see that work like this found its way to some commercial use," Simons says. "The technology is doing good for the community, which is very satisfying."

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/topics/technology/features/tiny_tech.html