Digital Commons Network^™

Automated Plant Morphological Assessment And Microbial Community Monitoring In Simulated Lunar Regolith, Collin R. Topolski

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Upcoming lunar bases will need to leverage in-situ resources to ensure long-term sustainability and reduce mission costs. One key challenge is food production, which could be addressed by growing crops in lunar regolith-based substrates. However, lunar regolith lacks essential nutrients, requiring organic amendments to support continuous plant cultivation. This study examined the impact of manure-amended lunar regolith simulant on Mizuna mustard growth while assessing microbial community diversity and functionality. To support this effort, a custom software pipeline utilizing an open-source library, PlantCV, was developed to automatically track plant leaf area and height via image analysis. Results indicated that amended rhizosphere …

Relationship Identification Between Triggers And Electrophysiological Changes In The Brain And The Overall Human Physiology During Migraines, Dominic Sandell

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

This research aims to reinforce that migraines have environmental triggers, establish that migraines cause changes in the brain’s electronics and the body’s overall electrophysiology, and define the relationship between the changes and the triggers. The hypothesis is that there is a relationship between environmental triggers and specific electrophysiological changes in the brain and the overall human electrophysiology. The population will be the young adults of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and the sample size will be determined using the aforementioned gender split between female and male as well as the Sample Size for Known Population equation. Throughout the study, the participants will …

Admissions Magazine Spring 2024, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Admissions Magazine

Altitude: Students Take A Giant Leap Forward

• Science That Works
• Education At A Higher Altitude: At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daring to Think Big and Push Boundaries Is A Way Of Life
• A Crash Course In Safety
• The Perfect Fit
• Seizing the Moment
• Broadened Perspectives
• The Perfect Bond
• Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite
• A Well-Balanced Education
• Mechanical Engineering Major Looks to Make Environmental Impact
• Molecular Level Science
• Not An Optical Illusion
• Asia Campus Lab Advances Uncrewed Systems Training
• A Giant Leap Forward
• Getting His Hands on the Future
• An Additive Experience
• Space Launch System
• The M-Star Program
• A Giant Leap …

Experimental Environmental Profiles And Sloshing Dynamics Aboard Zero-G Aircraft, Pedro J. Llanos, Sathya Gangadharan, Kevin Crosby

Publications

This study presents the results of a parabolic flight experiment to study the sloshing dynamics of the magneto-active propellant management device experiment. This device utilizes a magnetoactive membrane and magnets located external to the tank to effectively damp the liquid free surface motion. This research work establishes a benchmark with sloshing analytical formulation and sensor calibration methods that can be used to characterize future research parabolic flights while providing important environmental profiles measured during flight, such as accelerations, pitch angle, velocity, temperature, total volatile content, carbon dioxide, relative humidity, magnetic field, and radiation. Correlation between these flight variables and the …

Validation Of A Biomechanical Injury And Disease Assessment Platform Applying An Inertial-Based Biosensor And Axis Vector Computation, Wangdo Kim, Emir A. Vela, Sean S. Kohles, Victor Huayamave

Publications

Inertial kinetics and kinematics have substantial influences on human biomechanical function. A new algorithm for Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)-based motion tracking is presented in this work. The primary aims of this paper are to combine recent developments in improved biosensor technology with mainstream motion-tracking hardware to measure the overall performance of human movement based on joint axis-angle representations of limb rotation. This work describes an alternative approach to representing three-dimensional rotations using a normalized vector around which an identified joint angle defines the overall rotation, rather than a traditional Euler angle approach. Furthermore, IMUs allow for the direct measurement of …

Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Operator Workload And Situation Awareness Utilizing First Person View Techniques, Ross Lucas Stephenson Jr

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The small, unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) sector within the aviation industry is experiencing unprecedented growth. However, the regulatory guidance for the safe integration of sUAS into the National Airspace System (NAS) has not kept pace with this technological growth within the market. Current regulatory limitations of line-of-sight operations may have an impact on the establishment of an equivalent level of safety for sUAS operations as maintained by manned aircraft. The focal point of the discussion of line-of-sight operations has been the ability of the sUAS pilot to see and avoid all obstacles and other aircraft in a safe and timely …

Blue Origin's Suborbital Research: Messi/Mcximus, Pedro Llanos, Sathya Gangadharan

Faculty Research Projects

The following studies were conducted with Co-PIs Dr. Sathya Gangadharan (ERAU) and Kristina Andrijauskaite (University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio [UTHSCSA]).

MESSI Summary: This project was ERAU's second suborbital payload aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard launched May 2, 2019. We analyzed the effects of suborbital flight stressors and various light conditions (red, white, no light) on the Arthrospira platensis, commonly known as Spirulina, aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard launch vehicle. Commercially available cyanobacterium species were cultivated and closely monitored in mother colonies several months before the flight. The aim was to estimate biomass production and growth as …

Bicycle Transportation Accessibility: How Electronic-Assist Bicycles Can Supplement Human Physiology, Charles Hruda

Student Research Symposium (SRS)

Global environmental and urban planning concerns have resulted in a large push for people to use cycling as a mode of transport. Topography, particularly uphill slopes can be huge deterrents for potential commuter cyclists, but electronic-assist bicycles are able to account for the physiological shortcomings of human beings. This paper analyzes and compares the required power output for professional cyclists against e-bike commuters to discover how much e-bikes can close the physiological gap between the two groups. For cycling on flat terrain, the majority of power is used to overcome aerodynamic resistance, which can vary heavily depending on rider position, …

Business Benefits Associated With Improving Fatigue Regulations For Cargo Pilots, Arthur Chiari, Bruna De Gois E Silva, Nelson Christianini

Student Works

The central idea of this research is to assess business-related factors in the Pilots ́ Fatigue Regulations and evaluate if a more flexible regulation would improve productivity of airline cargo pilots in Brazil.

The results of the study have indicated that Brazilian Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) can create a regulatory environment that may lead up to 34,28% of improved productivity of pilots ́ availability in cargo operations, which may contribute for gains up to USD $3.6 million for an airline with cargo 70 pilots flying 16.500 hours per year.

Aviation fatigue regulations are an extremely important subject in the aviation …

Stroboscopic Augmented Reality As An Approach To Mitigate Gravitational Transition Effects During Interplanetary Spaceflight, Ethan Waisberg, Joshua Ong, Nasif Zaman, Sharif Amit Kamran, Andrew G. Lee, Alireza Tavakkoli

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

During interplanetary spaceflight, periods of extreme gravitational transitions will occur such as transitions between hypergravity, hypogravity, and microgravity. Following gravitational transitions, rapid sensorimotor adaptation or maladaptation may occur which can affect gaze control and weaken dynamic visual acuity in astronauts. A reduction in dynamic visual acuity during spaceflight could possibly impact or impair mission critical activities (e.g., control of extraterrestrial machinery/vehicles and other important tasks). Stroboscopic visual training is an emerging visual tool that has been terrestrially observed to enhance visual performance and perception by performing tasks under conditions of intermittent vision. This technique has also been seen to increase …

Noise And Time Pressure Effects On Situation Awareness And Aviation Maintenance Tasks, Syaza R. M. Haris

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Aircraft maintenance technicians (AMTs) working in a line maintenance work setting are very susceptible to the deafening occupational noise from the airport vicinity or the maintenance machinery itself. Compared to a base maintenance working period, a line maintenance job requires AMTs to complete a task within a short time frame. The current study's objective is to determine if different noise levels and time pressure influence AMTs' performance and situation awareness (SA). Sixteen Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University students majoring in Aviation Maintenance Science participated in a within-subject experimental design. Each participant's performance, SA level, and perceived workload were measured during maintenance tasks …

Background Flow Influence On Impulsive Jet-Driven Micro Droplet Dispersal, Vaishak Thiruvenkitam

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Accurately predicting the airborne spread of infectious diseases is crucial in controlling the COVID­19 pandemic today. Studies have shown the spread of expiratory droplets depends on ambient thermodynamic conditions and flow properties of the jet emitted by the activity. However, the droplet spread in conditions of background flow is not yet comprehensively understood. This study uses the Eulerian­-Lagrangian model with k−ω turbulence modelling to simulate spread of particles and study the factors affecting it in a closed environment with a background flow. Respiratory activities are modeled as a non-­isothermal jet of air with droplets suspended in them in a predetermined …

Design, Development, And Testing Of Research Payloads On Various Suborbital Flight-Test Platforms, Vijay Vishal Duraisamy

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

With recent advances in the commercial space industry, suborbital payload launches have become more common and accessible to researchers actively seeking solutions for problems involving prolonged space travel and future missions to Moon and Mars. Suborbital payload missions compared to orbital launches are less expensive and offer faster turnaround times; however, the novelty of this domain provides unique challenges. This multidisciplinary research effort aims to tackle some of these challenges by detailing the design, development, and testing techniques followed in the successful launch and recovery of payload experiments in currently active and upcoming suborbital launch vehicles. The research methodology involves …

Lunar/Mars Exploration (Moderator: Mark Kirasich, Gateway/Hls/Ltv), Kathy Lueders, Joel Kearns, Eric Ianson, Sean Mahoney, Ian Fichtenbaum

Spaceport Summit

No abstract provided.

Knowledge Network Embedding Of Transcriptomic Data From Spaceflown Mice Uncovers Signs And Symptoms Associated With Terrestrial Diseases, Amber M. Paul, Charlotte A. Nelson, Ana Uriarte Acuna, Ryan T. Scott, Atul J. Butte, Egle Cekanaviciute, Sergio E. Baranzini

Publications

There has long been an interest in understanding how the hazards from spaceflight may trigger or exacerbate human diseases. With the goal of advancing our knowledge on physiological changes during space travel, NASA GeneLab provides an open-source repository of multi-omics data from real and simulated spaceflight studies. Alone, this data enables identification of biological changes during spaceflight, but cannot infer how that may impact an astronaut at the phenotypic level. To bridge this gap, Scalable Precision Medicine Oriented Knowledge Engine (SPOKE), a heterogeneous knowledge graph connecting biological and clinical data from over 30 databases, was used in combination with GeneLab …

Psychology 2e, Rose M. Spielman, William Jenkins, Marilyn Lovett

Open Access Textbooks

Psychology 2e is designed to meet scope and sequence requirements for the single-semester introduction to psychology course. The book offers a comprehensive treatment of core concepts, grounded in both classic studies and current and emerging research. The text also includes coverage of the DSM-5 in examinations of psychological disorders. Psychology incorporates discussions that reflect the diversity within the discipline, as well as the diversity of cultures and communities across the globe.

The second edition contains detailed updates to address comments and suggestions from users. Significant improvements and additions were made in the areas of research currency, diversity and representation, and …

Physiological Effects During Aerobatic Flights On Science Astronaut Candidates, Pedro Llanos, Diego M. Garcia

Publications

Spaceflight is considered the last frontier in terms of science, technology, and engineering. But it is also the next frontier in terms of human physiology and performance. After more than 200,000 years humans have evolved under earth’s gravity and atmospheric conditions, spaceflight poses environmental stresses for which human physiology is not adapted. Hypoxia, accelerations, and radiation are among such stressors, our research involves suborbital flights aiming to develop effective countermeasures in order to assure sustainable human space presence. The physiologic baseline of spaceflight participants is subject to great variability driven by age, gender, fitness, and metabolic reserve. The objective of …

Physiological Effects On Scientist Astronaut Candidates: Hypobaric Training Assessment, Pedro Llanos, Diego Garcia

Publications

This paper is addressed to expanding our understanding of the effects of hypoxia training on our bodies to better model its dynamics and leverage some of its implications and effects on human health. Hypoxia training is a recommended practice for military and civilian pilots that allow them to recognize their early hypoxia signs and symptoms, and Scientist Astronaut Candidates (SACs) who underwent hypobaric hypoxia (HH) exposure as part of a training activity for prospective suborbital flight applications. This observational-analytical study describes physiologic responses and symptoms experienced by a SAC group before, during and after HH exposure and proposes a model …

Effects Of Altered Gravity On The Central Nervous System Of Drosophila Melanogaster, Amber M. Paul, Siddhita Mhatre, Janani Iyer, Jhony A. Zavaleta, Ravikumar Hosamani

Publications

A comprehensive understanding of the effects of spaceflight and altered gravity on human physiology is necessary for continued human space exploration and long-term space habitation. Spaceflight includes multiple factors such as microgravity, hyper gravity, ionizing radiation, physiological stress, and disrupted circadian rhythms and these have been shown to contribute to pathophysiological responses that target immunity, bone and muscle integrity, cardiovascular and nervous systems. In terrestrial conditions, some of these factors can lead to cancer and neuroimmunological disorders. In this study, we used a well-established spaceflight model organism, Drosophila melanogaster, to assess spaceflight-associated changes in the nervous system. We hypothesize that …

Infographic: Stem And Medical Careers Related To Sports, Melanie Canfield, Leroy Long Iii

Publications

This infographic includes science, technology, engineering, math and medical (STEMM) careers related to sports. The targeted audience for the infographic is college counselors, professors, coaches and student-athletes who pursue STEMM degrees while playing a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sport. The infographic may also be useful to K-12 students, parents, teachers and coaches. A job description, average salary, and undergraduate major are listed for a variety of careers such as data scientist, video game designer, sports engineer, sports economist, physical therapist, and mental health clinician.

Reimagining Icarus: Ethics, Law And Policy Considerations For Commercial Human Spaceflight, Sara M. Langston

Publications

Commercial human spaceflight presents an area for engaging novel human activity and objectives, to include space exploration, entertainment, transportation and extraterrestrial resource acquisition. The inherent dangers and lack of scientific and medical certainty involved however raise interrelated questions of ethics, bioethics, law and public policy. This is particularly the case with spaceflight participant (SFP) screening, selection, and commercial human spaceflight activities where regulations are currently silent or lacking. In the absence of established law, ethics can play an important role by informing industry standards, policies and best practices. Understanding the fundamental ethical values at stake in the application of new …

Effects Of Lighting And Noise On Performance And Situation Awareness In Air Traffic Control Tasks, Saralee Pruksaritanon

Student Works

Work environment influences an individual’s performance and situation awareness (SA). This study aims to investigate the effects of lighting and noise on the performance and SA in air traffic control (ATC) tasks. These two variables are important in the domain of ATC because the tasks require an individual to receive and process information both visually and auditorily. The results are useful for designing air traffic control rooms, which are set differently among different air navigation service providers. The subjects are 16 students majoring in Air Traffic Management (ATM) at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) – Daytona Beach, FL. The research uses …

Age Differences In Helicopter Accidents: A Preliminary Investigation, Scott S. Burgess, Robert O. Walton, P. Michael Politano, Karina Mesarosova

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

This study utilized the NTSB database from 2006 to 2016 to examine differences in severity of accidents by age for helicopter operations. There were 1023 cases included in the data (97.1% male and 2.9% female). The average age for helicopter pilots in the database was 47.00 years (SD=13.78). The average number of flying hours was 5447.98 (SD=6825.90, sk=1.982).

An ANOVA was used to examine the effects of age on damage to the aircraft and injury to aircraft occupants. There was not a significant difference in pilot ages across the damage categories of none, minor, substantial, …

Visual Detection Of Small Unmanned Aircraft: Modeling The Limits Of Human Pilots, Gregory Stephen Woo

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the key physical variables for visual detection of small, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), and to learn how these variables influence the ability of human pilots, in manned-aircraft operating between 60-knots to 160-knots in the airport terminal area, to see these small, unmanned aircraft in time to avoid a collision. The study also produced a set of probability curves for various operating scenarios, depicting the likelihood of visually detecting a small, unmanned aircraft in time to avoid colliding with it. The study used the known limits of human visual acuity, based on the …

Battery Centric Serial Hybrid Aircraft Performance And Design Space, Lenny Gartenberg

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The design space and flight envelope of a battery centric serial hybrid aircraft has been analytically derived. The formulation assumes cruising flight only and all energy available is used. The flight envelope can be generated for any conventional propeller driven serial hybrid aircraft. The advantageous combination of an electric motor and controllable-pitch electric propeller was also explored. The results are used to be able to control efficiency and noise at constant thrust and therefore constant airspeed. Manufacturer provided electric motor and propeller data is used for efficiency purposes. Since the electric motor is virtually silent compared to the propeller, published …

The Issues And Complexities Surrounding The Future Of Long Duration Spaceflight, Solomon Miiro

Graduate Student Works

The Comprehensive Exam put forward by this proposal is intended to address the learning objectives covered by the Master of Aeronautical Science Degree with specializations in Aviation Aerospace Safety Systems and some limited aspects in Human Factors in Aviation Systems. This will be accomplished by researching the following topics: effects of long duration spaceflight on crew performance and functioning and the steps that should be taken to enable long term spaceflight mission crews in lieu of accomplishing important missions; a human factor analysis should current human-machine design interfaces be enhanced to make manual rendezvous and docking in space easier to …

Laboratory Development Of A Self-Powered Fontan For Treatment Of Congenital Heart Disease, Arka Das

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Around 8% of all newborns with a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) have only a single functioning ventricle. The Fontan operation has served as a palliation for this anomaly for decades, but the surgery entails multiple complications and survival rate is less than 50% by adulthood. A rapidly testable novel alternative is proposed by creating a bifurcating graft, or Injection Jet Shunt (IJS), used to “entrain” the pulmonary flow and thus provide assistance while reducing the caval pressure. A benchtop Mock Flow Loop (MFL) is configured to validate this hypothesis. The MFL is based on a Lumped-Parameter Model (LPM) of the …

Suitability Testing For Possum Scientist-Astronaut Candidates Using The Suborbital Space Flight Simulator With An Iva Spacesuit, Pedro J. Llanos, Erik Seedhouse, Ryan L. Kobrick

Publications

This paper evaluates key functional data parameters that must be considered for suborbital spaceflight participants wearing pressurized suits for intravehicular activity (IVA). Data parameters of an analog spacesuit worn in an analog flight environment were obtained from 40 civilian participants using the Suborbital Space Flight Simulator (SSFS) at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) while donning Final Frontier Design’s (FFD) fully pressurized third-generation spacesuit as part of their training for Project PoSSUM (the Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere Project). The physiological data collected included: blood pressure, electrocardiograms, heart rate, grip strength, and skin temperature. These parameters were measured using a …

Modular Low Earth Orbital-Hub Dlr Vision 2025, Dr. Oliver Romberg

Space Congress® Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Ohb Human Space Flight, Exploration, Science Projects, Dr. Marco Berg

Space Congress® Proceedings

No abstract provided.