EDEN Versatile End-effector (EVE): An Autonomous Robotic System to Support Food Production on the Moon

Spacefaring nations have already expressed their plans for a sustainable human and robotic exploration on the Moon. This endeavor highlighted in the Global Exploration Roadmap (GER) foresees the development of infrastructures such as habitats, greenhouses, science labs, power plants, and mining facilities. Following this long-term vision, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) EDEN LUNA Project presents a Moon-analogue greenhouse facility which can demonstrate nearly closed-loop bio-regenerative life support systems technology and aim to produce fresh food for astronauts on the Moon in the near future. To optimize the food production and overcome challenges inherent to space missions, the EDEN Versatile End-effector (EVE) is integrated to the EDEN LUNA Greenhouse. This support system is a valuable payload which will automatize the tasks of the entire plant cultivation process: from germination to harvesting. The automatization is particularly relevant when the food production is intensified either seasonally or in a future scaled-up scenario. The EVE system encompasses a linear rail system installed on the ceiling of the greenhouse, a 7-Degrees of Freedom (DOF) autonomous robotic arm with high precision joint configuration, a sensorized robotic hand which can grasp delicate objects, and a sophisticated computer vision camera with plant monitoring capabilities. When in operation, the EVE system uses shared autonomy features. Thus, while it maintains the human in the loop for some of the decision-making processes, it can also function with some level of autonomy. A set of tasks previously defined by an astronaut in the end of an operational day and carried out autonomously during the night by the EVE system is one example of this human-robot collaboration. In addition, an optimized motion planning will ensure that the EVE system can perform constrained manipulation tasks in a limited workspace observing energy efficiency and safety requirements. This is explained in the paper with the abstraction of the different robotic control levels which range from the high-level view for non-experts in robotics to the motion planning level and their interconnections. The EVE system is currently in development at the DLR Robotic and Mechatronics Center (RMC) in Oberpfaffenhofen. In 2024, it will be integrated to the EDEN LUNA Greenhouse at the DLR Institute of Space Systems in Bremen. Finally, by the end of 2025, it will start operations in the ESA/DLR LUNA facility at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne

The Eu:Cropis Assembly, Integration and Verification Campaigns: Building the first DLR Compact Satellite

Eu:CROPIS (Euglena Combined Regenerative Organic Food Production In Space) is the first mission of DLR's Compact Satellite program. The Compact Satellite is a small, highly customizable and high performance satellite bus, providing a platform for scientific research as well as for demonstration of innovative concepts in space tech-nology. The launch of Eu:CROPIS onboard a Falcon 9 is scheduled in Q4 2018 within Spaceflight Industries SSO-A mission. The name-giving primary payload features a biological experiment in the context of coupled life support systems. The stability of such kind of a system shall be proven under different gravity levels with a focus on long term operations. In this context the rotation of the spacecraft will be used to utilize simulated gravity for the first time. A further biological experiment dealing with synthetic biology comprising genetically modified organisms (GMOs) was provided by NASA Ames Research Center as secondary payload. The integration and acceptance of a satellite flight model containing biological experiments faces constraints regard-ing schedule, facility certification and process definition. The driving parameters for the Eu:CROPIS AIV campaign are the degradation time of chemicals stored inside the primary payload, the GMOs used in the secondary payload, which cause handling and transport restrictions due to biosafety regulations, as well as schedule constraints due to the chosen dedicated rideshare mission. Furthermore the development of a spin stabilized system for gravity simula-tion had impact on the overall verification approach, especially towards the attitude control subsystem. This paper describes the model and verification strategies to design and build the spacecraft under said constraints. The applied verification processes comprises the hardware, software as well as all third party payloads and focuses on the utilization of a flexible tabletop engineering model approach. To achieve a smooth transition to project phase E, this concept enables co-alignment of the ground segment development and verification with spacecraft AIV as of early phase C. Furthermore scientific projects like Eu:CROPIS, with small project teams and financial budgets, en-counter few personnel redundancy. The existing structural organization gets confronted with challenges where de-pendability, testability and safety of the processes and the product are expected to be achieved with minimal effort. The paper presents how the technical management adapts work flows, cooperation and tools in project phases C and D to achieve a reliable system realization

A small satellite with a dual-frequency heterodyne spectrometer for the detection of atomic oxygen in the atmosphere of Earth

A first step towards realization, a small satellite study for OSAS (Oxygen Spectrometer for Atmospheric Science) has been performed based on Concurrent Engineering methods

The facilitators and barriers to implementing patient reported outcome measures in organisations delivering health related services: a systematic review of reviews

Background There is increasing interest in using Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) within organisations delivering health related services. However, organisations have had mixed success in implementing PROMs and there is little understanding about why this may be. Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify the facilitators and barriers to implementing PROMs in organisations. Method A systematic review of reviews was undertaken. Searches were conducted of five electronic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, during the week of the 20th February 2017. Additional search methods included website searching and reference checking. To be included, a publication had to be a review of the literature, describe its methods and include information related to implementing PROMs. The reviews were extracted using a standardised form and assessed for their risk of bias using the Risk of Bias in Systematic Reviews tool. The findings were synthesised using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. The protocol was registered on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews database (PROSPERO) (CRD42017057491). Results Initially 2047 records were identified. After assessing eligibility, six reviews were included. These reviews varied in their review type and focus. Different issues arose at distinct stages of the implementation process. Organisations needed to invest time and resources in two key stages early in the implementation process: ‘designing’ the processes for using PROMs within an organisation; and ‘preparing’ an organisation and its staff. The ‘designing’ stage involved organisations planning not just which PROMs to use and how to administer them, but also how the data would be used for clinical purposes. The ‘preparing’ stage involved getting an organisation and its staff ready to use PROMs, particularly persuading clinicians of the validity and value of PROMs, delivering training, and developing electronic systems. Having an implementation lead overseeing the process and developing the process based on feedback were also identified as facilitating implementation. Conclusion Organisations implementing PROMs need to invest time and resources in ‘designing’ the PROMs strategy and ‘preparing’ the organisation to use PROMs. Focusing on these earlier stages may prevent problems arising when PROMs are used in practice

Worldwide trends in population-based survival for children, adolescents, and young adults diagnosed with leukaemia, by subtype, during 2000–14 (CONCORD-3) : analysis of individual data from 258 cancer registries in 61 countries

Background Leukaemias comprise a heterogenous group of haematological malignancies. In CONCORD-3, we analysed data for children (aged 0–14 years) and adults (aged 15–99 years) diagnosed with a haematological malignancy during 2000–14 in 61 countries. Here, we aimed to examine worldwide trends in survival from leukaemia, by age and morphology, in young patients (aged 0–24 years). Methods We analysed data from 258 population-based cancer registries in 61 countries participating in CONCORD-3 that submitted data on patients diagnosed with leukaemia. We grouped patients by age as children (0–14 years), adolescents (15–19 years), and young adults (20–24 years). We categorised leukaemia subtypes according to the International Classification of Childhood Cancer (ICCC-3), updated with International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, third edition (ICD-O-3) codes. We estimated 5-year net survival by age and morphology, with 95% CIs, using the non-parametric Pohar-Perme estimator. To control for background mortality, we used life tables by country or region, single year of age, single calendar year and sex, and, where possible, by race or ethnicity. All-age survival estimates were standardised to the marginal distribution of young people with leukaemia included in the analysis. Findings 164563 young people were included in this analysis: 121328 (73·7%) children, 22963 (14·0%) adolescents, and 20272 (12·3%) young adults. In 2010–14, the most common subtypes were lymphoid leukaemia (28205 [68·2%] patients) and acute myeloid leukaemia (7863 [19·0%] patients). Age-standardised 5-year net survival in children, adolescents, and young adults for all leukaemias combined during 2010–14 varied widely, ranging from 46% in Mexico to more than 85% in Canada, Cyprus, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, and Australia. Individuals with lymphoid leukaemia had better age-standardised survival (from 43% in Ecuador to ≥80% in parts of Europe, North America, Oceania, and Asia) than those with acute myeloid leukaemia (from 32% in Peru to ≥70% in most high-income countries in Europe, North America, and Oceania). Throughout 2000–14, survival from all leukaemias combined remained consistently higher for children than adolescents and young adults, and minimal improvement was seen for adolescents and young adults in most countries. Interpretation This study offers the first worldwide picture of population-based survival from leukaemia in children, adolescents, and young adults. Adolescents and young adults diagnosed with leukaemia continue to have lower survival than children. Trends in survival from leukaemia for adolescents and young adults are important indicators of the quality of cancer management in this age group.peer-reviewe

Global survival trends for brain tumors, by histology: analysis of individual records for 556,237 adults diagnosed in 59 countries during 2000–2014 (CONCORD-3)

Background: Survival is a key metric of the effectiveness of a health system in managing cancer. We set out to provide a comprehensive examination of worldwide variation and trends in survival from brain tumors in adults, by histology. Methods: We analyzed individual data for adults (15–99 years) diagnosed with a brain tumor (ICD-O-3 topography code C71) during 2000–2014, regardless of tumor behavior. Data underwent a 3-phase quality control as part of CONCORD-3. We estimated net survival for 11 histology groups, using the unbiased nonparametric Pohar Perme estimator. Results: The study included 556,237 adults. In 2010–2014, the global range in age-standardized 5-year net survival for the most common sub-types was broad: in the range 20%–38% for diffuse and anaplastic astrocytoma, from 4% to 17% for glioblastoma, and between 32% and 69% for oligodendroglioma. For patients with glioblastoma, the largest gains in survival occurred between 2000–2004 and 2005–2009. These improvements were more noticeable among adults diagnosed aged 40–70 years than among younger adults. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the largest account to date of global trends in population-based survival for brain tumors by histology in adults. We have highlighted remarkable gains in 5-year survival from glioblastoma since 2005, providing large-scale empirical evidence on the uptake of chemoradiation at population level. Worldwide, survival improvements have been extensive, but some countries still lag behind. Our findings may help clinicians involved in national and international tumor pathway boards to promote initiatives aimed at more extensive implementation of clinical guidelines

A wireless communication and positioning experiment for the ISS based on IR-UWB

This paper introduces a wireless experiment for sensing and positioning to be deployed in the Columbus module of the International Space Station (ISS). The experiment allows the monitoring of environmental parameters and it demonstrates the motion tracking of astronauts or free-flying objects by utilizing impulse radio – ultra wideband (IR-UWB) in combination with Micro Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) sensors. Recent work revealed a great potential in utilizing WSN in space habitats; however, the focus was only based on sensing in the narrowband Industrial Scientific and Medical (ISM) 2.45 GHz band, whereas this work extends these capabilities by utilizing IR-UWB for positioning and it optionally uses internal light sources for energy harvesting to drive the sensor nodes. The paper describes the operational scenario and the hardware and software concept are presented in detail. Finally the expected results are presented, which focus on the analysis of different use cases for the implementation of wireless sensor networks and to help and to identify new applications for future space missions

Recent Developments on DLR`s Post-ISS Concept

What will happen after the International Space Station’s operational lifetime ends? How could a future crewed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) platform look like with the lessons learnt from the ISS experience in mind? How could a future role share be organized and what use cases and applications could a future platform offer? What is the longterm big picture for future human LEO activities? These questions are currently under investigation in the course of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) “Post-ISS” activities. A very promising answer is proposed by the Orbital Hub concept which has been developed by DLR’s System Analysis Space Segment department in Bremen together with scientists, international space industry and recently together with international institutions using DLR’s Concurrent Engineering Facility. The concept consists of a small modular crewed part called Base Platform and a dockable, serviceable, but uncrewed experiment platform referred to as Free Flyer. One major advantage of such a scenario is the decoupling of the habitat and the payload platform leading to higher flexibility, reduced attitude and pointing restrictions as well as less security concerns. The single modules of the Orbital Hub have been designed under the premise of modularity and each with their own dedicated functionalities and responsibilities. Therefore, they could also be used as building blocks for different platform concepts together with modules from other international partners and re-used ISS parts to serve for diverse mission objectives and political requirements. In the long-term, the DLR vision is to have the Orbital Hub as a central node of a platform cluster building up an environment for resource sharing, exchange and collaboration in LEO, referred to as “Space City”. The present paper gives an overview about the technical design, development progress and ongoing activities around this concept including e.g. joint studies with international partners. The paper assesses the possible combinations of the Orbital Hub modules together with both existing ISS parts and spacecraft under development or planned for the future. Furthermore, it offers an outlook on the role and opportunities of the Orbital Hub or similar platforms in the context of larger LEO formations for human space-flight