Space Station Human Factors Research Review. Volume 1: EVA Research and Development

An overview is presented of extravehicular activity (EVA) research and development activities at Ames. The majority of the program was devoted to presentations by the three contractors working in parallel on the EVA System Phase A Study, focusing on Implications for Man-Systems Design. Overhead visuals are included for a mission results summary, space station EVA requirements and interface accommodations summary, human productivity study cross-task coordination, and advanced EVAS Phase A study implications for man-systems design. Articles are also included on subsea approach to work systems development and advanced EVA system design requirements

Intelligent monitoring and diagnosis systems for the Space Station Freedom ECLSS

Specific activities in NASA's environmental control and life support system (ECLSS) advanced automation project that is designed to minimize the crew and ground manpower needed for operations are discussed. Various analyses and the development of intelligent software for the initial and evolutionary Space Station Freedom (SSF) ECLSS are described. The following are also discussed: (1) intelligent monitoring and diagnostics applications under development for the ECLSS domain; (2) integration into the MSFC ECLSS hardware testbed; and (3) an evolutionary path from the baseline ECLSS automation to the more advanced ECLSS automation processes

Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS) conceptual design option study

Results are given of a study to explore options for the development of a Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) for a future Space Station. In addition, study results will benefit the design of other facilities such as the Life Sciences Research Facility, a ground-based CELSS demonstrator, and will be useful in planning longer range missions such as a lunar base or manned Mars mission. The objectives were to develop weight and cost estimates for one CELSS module selected from a set of preliminary plant growth unit (PGU) design options. Eleven Space Station CELSS module conceptual PGU designs were reviewed, components and subsystems identified and a sensitivity analysis performed. Areas where insufficient data is available were identified and divided into the categories of biological research, engineering research, and technology development. Topics which receive significant attention are lighting systems for the PGU, the use of automation within the CELSS system, and electric power requirements. Other areas examined include plant harvesting and processing, crop mix analysis, air circulation and atmosphere contaminant flow subsystems, thermal control considerations, utility routing including accessibility and maintenance, and nutrient subsystem design

Applied Analysis and Synthesis of Complex Systems: Proceedings of the IIASA-Kyoto University Joint Seminar, June 28-29, 2004

This two-day seminar aimed at introducing the new development of the COE by Kyoto University to IIASA and discussing general modeling methodologies for complex systems consisting of many elements, mostly via nonlinear, large-scale interactions. We aimed at clarifying fundamental principles in complex phenomena as well as utilizing and synthesizing the knowledge derived out of them. The 21st Century COE (Center of Excellence) Program is an initiative by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology (MEXT) to support universities establishing discipline-specific international centers for education and research, and to enhance the universities to be the world's apex of excellence with international competitiveness in the specific research areas. Our program of "Research and Education on Complex Functional Mechanical Systems" is successfully selected to be awarded the fund for carrying out new research and education as Centers of Excellence in the field of mechanical engineering in 2003 (five-year project), and is expected to lead Japanese research and education, and endeavor to be the top in the world. The program covers general backgrounds in diverse fields as well as a more in-depth grasp of specific branches such as complex system modeling and analysis of the problems including: nonlinear dynamics, micro-mesoscopic physics, turbulent transport phenomena, atmosphere-ocean systems, robots, human-system interactions, and behaviors of nano-composites and biomaterials. Fundamentals of those complex functional mechanical systems are macroscopic phenomena of complex systems consisting of microscopic elements, mostly via nonlinear, large-scale interactions, which typically present collective behavior such as self-organization, pattern formation, etc. Such phenomena can be observed or created in every aspect of modern technologies. Especially, we are focusing upon; turbulent transport phenomena in climate modeling, dynamical and chaotic behaviors in control systems and human-machine systems, and behaviors of mechanical materials with complex structures. As a partial attainment of this program, IIASA and Kyoto University have exchanged Consortia Agreement at the beginning of the program in 2003, and this seminar was held to introduce the outline of the COE program of Kyoto University to IIASA researchers and to deepen the shared understandings on novel complex system modeling and analysis, including novel climate modeling and carbonic cycle management, through joint academic activities by mechanical engineers and system engineers. In this seminar, we invited a distinguished researcher in Europe as a keynote speaker and our works attained so far in the project were be presented by the core members of the project as well as by the other contributing members who participated in the project. All IIASA research staff and participants of YSSP (Young Scientist Summer Program) were cordially invited to attend this seminar to discuss general modeling methodologies for complex systems

Greenhouse gas emissions charges and credits agricultural land: what can a model tell us?

Using the simulation model Land Use in Rural New Zealand version 1 -climate (LURNZv1-climate), we simulate the effects of an agricultural land-use emissions charge and a reward for native forest and scrub regeneration. Our results are preliminary and at this stage should be considered illustrative. We find that, on its own, an agricultural emissions charge based on solely on land use would be disruptive and may not be very effective in reducing emissions. In addition, we find that including an additional policy that rewards regenerating forest and scrub without a similar reward for plantation forestry might negatively impact on plantation forestry, increasing emissions growth in the short-run. We are currently developing a second version of LURNZ-climate, which will be more robust and thus lend more weight to our future results.Climate change, land use, methane, nitrous oxide, dairy, sheep, beef, Government policy

Stakeholder engagement in sustainable housing refurbishment in the UK

The UK government is committed to effectively implement a viable sustainable agenda in the social housing sector. To this end housing associations and local authorities are being encouraged to improve the environmental performance of their new and existing homes. Whilst much attention has been focused on new housing (e.g. the Code for Sustainable Homes) little effort has been focussed on improving the 3.9 (approx) million homes maintained and managed by the public sector (in England), which, given the low rate of new build and demolition (<1% in England), will represent approximately 70% of the public housing stock in 2050. Thus, if UK is to achieve sustainable public housing the major effort will have to focus on the existing stock. However, interpreting the sustainability agenda for an existing housing portfolio is not a straight foreword activity. In addition to finding a ‘technical’ solution, landlords also haveto address the socio-economic issues that balance quality of expectations of tenants with the economic realities of funding social housing refurbishment. This paper will report the findings of a qualitative study (participatory approach) that examined the processes by which a large public landlord sought to develop a long-term sustainable housing strategy. Through a series of individual meetings and group workshops the research team identified: committed leadership; attitudes towards technology; social awareness; and collective understanding of the sustainability agenda as key issues that the organisation needed to address in developing a robust and defendable refurbishment strategy. The paper concludes that the challenges faced by the landlord in improving the sustainability of their existing stock are not primarily technical, but socio-economic. Further, while the economic challenges: initial capital cost; lack of funding; and pay-back periods can be overcome, if the political will exists, by fiscal measures; the social challenges: health & wellbeing; poverty; security; space needs; behaviour change; education; and trust; are much more complex in nature and will require a coordinated approach from all the stakeholders involved in the wider community if they are to be effectively addressed. The key challenge to public housing landlords is to develop mechanisms that can identify and interpret the complex nature of the social sustainability agenda in a way that reflects local aspirations (although the authors believe the factors will exist in all social housing communities, their relative importance is likely to vary between communities) whilst addressing Government agendas

Salford postgraduate annual research conference (SPARC) 2012 proceedings

These proceedings bring together a selection of papers from the 2012 Salford Postgraduate Annual Research Conference (SPARC). They reflect the breadth and diversity of research interests showcased at the conference, at which over 130 researchers from Salford, the North West and other UK universities presented their work. 21 papers are collated here from the humanities, arts, social sciences, health, engineering, environment and life sciences, built environment and business

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 125

This special bibliography lists 323 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in January 1974

CO2FIX at the landscape level - an application for the Veluwe area, the Netherlands

The carbon fixation model CO2FIX was adapted to run on landscape scale, and was applied to the Veluwe area, a forested region in the Netherlands. After a simulation of 500 years, the average carbon stock per hectare in the forest products compartment is about 10 Mg C per ha, the carbon stock in the soil about 125 and the carbon stock in the biomass about 100, in total 235 Mg C per ha. The proceeding average sink for the whole of the Veluwe area (73 180 ha) amounts to 0.037 Mt C in 2020, 0.034 Mt in 2032, and 0.009 Mt C in 2482. The actual annual sink saturates much earlier, around 2050, but continues to fluctuate. The spatial variability in the results is large and is a reflection of the temporal variability occurring in a rotation. The report discusses the accuracy of CO2FIX simulations, and compares results with other studies