LESSON LEARNED FROM SPACE HAB FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT LAB: SPIN-IN/OUT OF TECHNOLOGY AND KNOWLEDGE FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT FACILITY

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the development and evaluation of a new disaster management facility concept from Space to Earth. Habitats would be designed to be easy to develop, maintain, and reconfigure, while taking a holistic approach to hazard protection and psychological health as well as applying innovative technology from smart textile material to the communication. This paper focuses particularly on building habitats that are affordable, maintainable, expandable, mobile, and self-sustaining. Concepts that are issues both for Space (spin-in knowledge from Earth to Space) and Earth (spin-off knowledge from Space to Earth) are included in this study. In particular this paper takes a systematic approach to minimising both external hazards of extreme environments and internal vulnerabilities with a multidisciplinary methodology. It considers the transfer of knowledge from a specific set of habitat designs for early Deep Space missions, and the application of those lessons to small habitats on Earth used in the context of extreme environments, such as in a disaster facility

ARCHITECTURAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS IN OPTIMIZED RADIATION SHIELDING DESIGN FOR SPACE APPLICATIONS

NewSpace bears all the hallmarks of past revolutions in technology. Since we have other examples of exponential growth of specific technologies, we should maximize the economic and engineering potential of this movement by expanding the envelopes for long term crewed habitats in deep space. We should also take an approach that minimizes waste in both design and fabrication as these bases expand. This paper provides a systematic approach to habitats optimized for volume, radiation protection, crew psychology, reusability, affordability, crowd-sourced subsystem design, and expansion. These habitats and systems are designed to be as “future proof” as possible to allow rapid and safe technological advancement within the structures. One of major “showstoppers” of human space exploration is cosmic and solar events radiation. It is a serious problem that may cause cancer and other types of tissue damage and equipment malfunction. It has to be addressed in space vehicles design especially for long-term space exploration missions and future Moon or Mars surface settlements. This paper discusses a unique layered system incorporated into a habitat structure, which may help to reduce the radiation hazard to the crew and interior equipment and systems. The paper also argues that a successful mitigation of radiation impact on human health should be based on a multidisciplinary methodology that also includes psychophysiological approach to the problem. Multiple techniques and practices to minimize psychological stress that may suppress immune system and reduce resistance to cancer, are presented and compared. Conclusions are drawn upon results of those comparisons and a multidisciplinary design concept is proposed to be applied both in long-duration human space exploration missions and in radioactive environment on Earth

PRACTICAL DESIGN EXAMPLES FOR HUMAN HABITATS IN SPACE, OFF-GRID, AND IN LOW-IMPACT COMMUNITIES

All human habitat problems fall into three major categories- the environment, the habitat itself, and the occupants. By breaking these problems down into common themes and addressing them directly, we can build a common knowledge base for all three challenges faced by humanity. A crew living in space has the new problems of coping with radiation, microgravity, and vacuum. All the while, they are dealing the usual issues of eating, sleeping, and getting along with the rest of the occupants. By isolating the differences between space and earth habitats, we can create common architectural styles for each human habitat challenge where commonality is appropriate. We can then examine the differences, then isolate and modularize the secondary systems where possible. This simplifies experimentation and testing of the physical and psychological design of a structure on Earth prior to attempting use in space. It also allows spin-off architectures for extreme environments, off-grid settlements, research bases, and low impact communities on Earth. By isolating and testing each attribute of the system in parallel with control groups, we can scientifically refine the systems for human shelter regardless of environment. This paper will show numerous examples of architectures designed for space or space analog research bases. These designs can be both de-scoped to off-grid sustainable architecture, and scoped up for space habitat applications. Concepts such as internal greenhouses, enclosed permaculture, thermal protection, energy management, and radiation shielding are included for both minimal habitats and large bases. These systems can then be applied for disaster first responders, research bases in extreme environments, o-grid homes, and low-impact communities

Extreme genome diversity in the hyper-prevalent parasitic eukaryote Blastocystis

Blastocystis is the most prevalent eukaryotic microbe colonizing the human gut, infecting approximately 1 billion individuals worldwide. Although Blastocystis has been linked to intestinal disorders, its pathogenicity remains controversial because most carriers are asymptomatic. Here, the genome sequence of Blastocystis subtype (ST) 1 is presented and compared to previously published sequences for ST4 and ST7. Despite a conserved core of genes, there is unexpected diversity between these STs in terms of their genome sizes, guanine-cytosine (GC) content, intron numbers, and gene content. ST1 has 6,544 protein-coding genes, which is several hundred more than reported for ST4 and ST7. The percentage of proteins unique to each ST ranges from 6.2% to 20.5%, greatly exceeding the differences observed within parasite genera. Orthologous proteins also display extreme divergence in amino acid sequence identity between STs (i.e., 59%–61%median identity), on par with observations of the most distantly related species pairs of parasite genera. The STs also display substantial variation in gene family distributions and sizes, especially for protein kinase and protease gene families, which could reflect differences in virulence. It remains to be seen to what extent these inter-ST differences persist at the intra-ST level. A full 26% of genes in ST1 have stop codons that are created on the mRNA level by a novel polyadenylation mechanism found only in Blastocystis. Reconstructions of pathways and organellar systems revealed that ST1 has a relatively complete membrane-trafficking system and a near-complete meiotic toolkit, possibly indicating a sexual cycle. Unlike some intestinal protistan parasites, Blastocystis ST1 has near-complete de novo pyrimidine, purine, and thiamine biosynthesis pathways and is unique amongst studied stramenopiles in being able to metabolize ?-glucans rather than ?-glucans. It lacks all genes encoding heme-containing cytochrome P450 proteins. Predictions of the mitochondrion-related organelle (MRO) proteome reveal an expanded repertoire of functions, including lipid, cofactor, and vitamin biosynthesis, as well as proteins that may be involved in regulating mitochondrial morphology and MRO/endoplasmic reticulum (ER) interactions. In sharp contrast, genes for peroxisome-associated functions are absent, suggesting Blastocystis STs lack this organelle. Overall, this study provides an important window into the biology of Blastocystis, showcasing significant differences between STs that can guide future experimental investigations into differences in their virulence and clarifying the roles of these organisms in gut health and disease

New Methodology for Analogue Study: Debriefing and Observation for Habitability and Quality of Life

The International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) EuroMoonMars campaign from 2010 to 2013, carried out at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah to test exploration procedures in Analogue Moon/Mars Base Infrastructure, featured a Habitability Project. Inside the station, the feasibility and limitations of human and robotic planetary exploration were investigated by two crews of seven and six members, respectively, for a period of two weeks each. This paper presents the development of the analysis performed by the crews on safety, performance, and comfort during living and working activities. During each mission the living conditions were investigated with the “Habitability Debriefing” developed as new methodology by Dr. Schlacht. The debriefing was performed by the crew members together at the end of each mission. The methodological aim was to identify each possible problem and problem solution covering all the human factor aspects related to human space missions