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2014 Decompression Sickness/Extravehicular Activity Risks Standing Review PanelThe 2014 Decompression Sickness (DCS)/Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Risks Standing Review Panel (from here on referred to as the SRP) met for a site visit in Houston, TX on November 4 - 5, 2014. The SRP reviewed the Research Plans for The Risk of Decompression Sickness and the Risk of Injury and Compromised Performance due to EVA Operations, as well as the Evidence Reports for both of these Risks. The SRP found that the NASA DCS/EVA team did an excellent job of presenting their research plans. The SRP considers it critical that NASA proceeds with the high priority tasks identified in this report (DCS1, DCS3, DCS5). The highest priority is to determine the acceptable DCS and hypoxia risk associated with the planned human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. The risk of DCS is highly dependent upon the pressure within the exploration vehicle. If slightly more hypoxia is permitted then (even with the same percentage of oxygen) the pressure within the exploration vehicle can be lowered thus further mitigating the risk of DCS. The second highest priority is to test and validate the recommended 8.2psi/34% O2 atmosphere. Development of procedures and equipment for human exploration missions are very limited until the results of this testing are completed. The SRP also suggests that DCS7 be separated into two Gaps. Gap DCS7 should deal with DCS treatment while a new Gap should be created to deal with the long-term effects of DCS. The SRP also encourages NASA to increase collaboration with other organizations and pool resources where possible. The current NASA DCS/EVA team has the extensive expertise and a wealth of knowledge in this area. The SRP suggests that increased manpower for this team would be highly productive.
Document ID
20150008159
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Other
Authors
Steinberg, Susan
(Wyle Integrated Science and Engineering Group Houston, TX, United States)
Mahon, Richard
(Naval Medical Research Center Bethesda, MD, United States)
Klaus, David
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Neuman, Tom
(California Univ. San Diego, CA, United States)
Pilmanis, Andrew
Regis, David
(Naval Medical Research Center Silver Spring, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
May 15, 2015
Publication Date
January 1, 2014
Subject Category
Aerospace Medicine
Report/Patent Number
JSC-CN-33305
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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