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ESDMD #0403: Physiological Countermeasures for Extended Habitation in Space

Countermeasures for health problems that long missions bring, such as spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome, weakened immune function and infectious or allergenic disease, that work with communication delay and without resupply (bin 5, rating 41 of 57). There is "no validated immune countermeasure protocol compatible with operations in deep space". Targets are 365 days in space for the Moon and 2–3 years for Mars (Tech gaps spreadsheet, ESDMD #0403).

Quotations below are from row ESDMD #0403 of the tech gaps spreadsheet unless marked otherwise. ADD Rev C's Appendix D prints the same table for this gap, and it matches the row field for field (ADD Rev C, p. 220).

Description

"Long mission durations do not yet have complete countermeasures in this area (e.g., spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome, reduction in immune function, and infectious and allergenic diseases), which need improvements due to increased isolation, resource constraints, and communications delay. As missions increase in duration and become more Earth-independent, the crew’s on-board equipment and tools need to be adequate to maintain crew health and be compatible with future missions/systems. Physiological countermeasures and assessment tools in low-gravity and microgravity environments need to be improved for long duration crewed missions to accurately maintain and monitor physical health and performance during exploration missions."

Impacts and benefits: "Impacts require closer investigation, but non-closure of the gap may result in increased clinical risks to crewmembers during prolonged deep space missions. Decremented crew performance may also affect mission in other aspects beyond risk."

Current state of the art

"Countermeasures on ISS currently include neuro-ocular monitoring, Crew Health Stabilization Program, stringent environmental and food monitoring, and the use of disinfectants and biocides. There is no validated immune countermeasure protocol compatible with operations in deep space. Countermeasures already deployed to ISS seem to benefit immunity but are largely incompatible with deep space missions."

Performance target

  • Moon/Mars: "Long-duration exploration mission-compatible physiological countermeasures performing adequately to reduce adverse crew health outcomes with communication delay and without resupply."
  • Moon: "In addition, support mission durations up to 365 days in space."
  • Mars: "In addition, support mission durations on the order of 2-3 years."

Child gaps

  • 0403-01: Neuro-ocular countermeasures and mitigation
  • 0403-02: Microbially-induced disease countermeasures
  • 0403-03: Immune system dysregulation countermeasures

Traceability

  • Use cases and functions: UC-X-103 L -- FN-X-103 L; UC-X-104 L -- FN-X-104 L; UC-X-101 M -- FN-X-101 M; UC-X-102 M -- FN-X-102 M. The four crew countermeasure gaps (#0401–#0404) list exactly these four pairs.
  • Against the Mars decomposition: the Mars spreadsheet doesn't make either Mars pair. It puts FN-X-101 M under UC-H-102 M, UC-H-104 M, UC-X-105 M and UC-X-107 M, and FN-X-102 M under UC-H-103 M, UC-H-105 M, UC-X-106 M and UC-X-108 M. UC-X-101 M and UC-X-102 M (medical care and emergency response) have emergency functions instead (FN-H-123 M to FN-H-126 M, FN-X-109 M to FN-X-112 M, FN-L-301 M, FN-L-302 M). The pairs are kept as the gap prints them (Mars use cases; open question 60).
  • Definition tasks: Mars: Maximum Total Crew Mission Duration
  • Cross-reference: FN-X-103 L, "Provide crew countermeasure system(s) to support the crew for moderate durations (month+) on the lunar surface", is also one of the Users Guide's Phase 1 functional gaps (Users Guide, p. 9; see Phase 1 functional gaps). This link joins the two sources; neither makes it. UC-X-103 L -- FN-X-103 L also appears under #0401, #0402, #0404 and #0405.

Segments and sub-architectures

Priority

Priority bin 5, overall prioritization rating 41 of 57. The rating is "the gap's location in the prioritized list of gaps", so 1 is the highest priority, and bins group gaps of similar priority, bin 1 highest. Criticality, urgency, breadth and depth set the order; cost is not considered (ADD Rev C, pp. 78, 199; method on the gaps index).

Moon Base relevance

Not established by the sources so far. The Users Guide does not name #0403 among its near-term Moon Base challenges (Technology and knowledge challenges). Its Mars-forward area "Human factors" says the Moon Base "will offer scientists better insight into human responses to human spaceflight hazards", without citing this gap (Users Guide, p. 14; see Mars-forward).

Sources

Tech gaps spreadsheet, ESDMD #0403 · ADD Rev C, pp. 78, 199, 220 · Users Guide, pp. 9, 14