Systems Engineering 



kinds of systems required for missions to the Moon and Mars, and the types 

 of countermeasures that will help the crew resist the health hazards associated 

 with pathogenic bacteria that may build up during space flight or other 

 possible contamination problems. 



Recommendations 



• NASA must support development of an environmental-health- 

 monitoring system capable of detecting all possible sources and types of 

 contamination or other life-threatening factors from air, water, and food 

 systems. Included in the former category are toxic and microbial 

 contaminants. Additional hazards involve problems associated with radiation 

 and fire, vibroacoustics, debris, and thermal regulation systems. 



• The research and development program for environmental monitoring and 

 decontamination should investigate countermeasures to help the crew resist 

 the health hazards associated with contaminants and other life-threatening 

 factors. In addition, the program should investigate the contingencies 

 required and establish the responsibilities for managing the needed actions 

 in the event of a contamination problem. 



Radiation Protection 



Finding 



• The variety of radiological hazards, primary and secondary at different locations 

 within a spacecraft, are not known with sufficient precision to make adequate 

 engineering specifications for shielding possible. 



Recommendations 



• Research should be undertaken to measure the radiation more precisely 

 during missions at various locations both within and outside the spacecraft. 



• Studies should be made not only of crew health but also of crew 

 productivity with the use of such radiation protective measures as water 

 tanks. 



• NASA should increase support for research into the development of 

 experimental design solutions for limiting the crew's exposure to radiation. 



Life Support Systems 



Findings 



• Closed-loop life support systems (i.e., regenerative systems for air, water, food, 

 and the absorption of carbon dioxide), which will become increasingly 

 important for longer term missions, are far from operational. Many key 

 questions require resolution. Systems need to be redundant, using different 

 components, and optimum combinations need to be developed. 



• Ground-based research needs to be conducted to develop life support systems, 

 which should be tested on the Space Station, preferably in a life sciences 

 module. 



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