Life Sciences in the Space Program 



• In addition, life support requirements for a possible lunar base and a Mars 

 mission need to be identified to determine if parallel or separate developmental 

 efforts are required. 



Recommendation 



• NASA must intensify its efforts to determine the requirements for 

 regenerative air, water, and food systems that could support long-duration 

 missions, such as a lunar base or a Mars mission. The development of these 

 systems should be scheduled so that they can be tested and used on the 

 Space Station. Self-contained portable life support systems must be 

 developed for use in space missions and on the surfaces of planets. 



EVA Systems 



Findings 



• NASA has a clear requirement for a significant increase in EVA operations in 

 the next 20 years. 



• Research into EVA operations is not sufficiently emphasized within NASA and 

 needs to include the best cross section of experts. 



Recommendations 



• NASA should focus its research and development program on EVA systems 

 on the following: 



— Defining EVA operations for future missions 



— Identifying clear requirements for these missions 



— Delineating innovative options for optimal EVA systems 



— Developing technology for the identified EVA systems. 



• NASA should conduct a study to determine EVA requirements for the next 

 20 years. A panel should then be appointed to identify approaches for 

 meeting these requirements. The panel should comprise well-known 

 researchers in EVA suit design, perhaps including representatives from the 

 undersea diving industry, and a cross section of experts from Ames Research 

 Center, Johnson Space Center, NASA Headquarters, the Office of Aeronautics 

 and Space Technology, and the Office of Space Science and Applications. 



Habitability 



Finding 



• Systematic study has not been made of specific habitability requirements, such 

 as the amount of space required per person to maintain crew productivity and 

 well-being for lengthy missions and the relationship between environmental 

 stress and human tolerance and errors. 



B8 



