A FEASIBLE, NEAR-TERM APPROACH TO HUMAN STASIS FOR LONG-DURATION - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

A FEASIBLE, NEAR-TERM APPROACH TO HUMAN STASIS FOR LONG-DURATION DEEP SPACE MISSIONS

International Astronautical Congress 2016 30 September 2016 | Guadalajara, Mexico

Mark Schaffer

Senior Engineer SpaceWorks Enterprises, Inc.

John E. Bradford, PhD.

President and COO SpaceWorks Enterprises, Inc.

Douglas Talk, M.D., M.P.H.

Medical Liaison

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CONCEPT

Place crew in inactive, low-metabolic Torpor state for deep space mission transit phases by expanding current medical practices in Therapeutic Hypothermia to support Prolonged Hypothermic Stasis and Metabolic Suppression.

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RATIONALE

• Significant decrease in mission consumables due to inactive crew

and reduced metabolic rates

• Large reduction in pressurized volume and size of radiation

protection systems required for habitation and living quarters

• Eliminate many ancillary crew accommodations such as food

galley, eating supplies, exercise equipment, entertainment, etc.

• Minimize psychological and social challenges for a crew in a

confined environment for long durations

• Potentially solves or mitigates a number of health issues with

human spaceflight

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THERAPEUTIC HYPOTHERMIA

• Common medical practice for

the treatment of Cardiac Arrest, Neonatal Encephalopathy, and

• ther conditions
• Involves actively cooling the

body to 32-34°C for 48-72 hours

• Sedatives administered to

suppress shivering and induce sleep

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THERMAL MANAGEMENT

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Effect of Body Temperature (°C) Evaporative Cooling Systems

Threshold for medical complications

Image Credit: Benechill Image Credit: Advanced Cooling Technologies

Normothermia Shivering starts Mild Hypothermia Moderate Hypothermia Deep Hypothermia Profound Hypothermia 38° 36° 34° 32° 30° 28° 26° 24° 22° 20° 18° 16° 14° Standard medical practice for Therapeutic Hypothermia (TH)

NUTRITION AND HYDRATION

• Nutrition and hydration can be

provided intravenously through Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN)

– Mixture of lipids, amino acids, dextrose, electrolytes, vitamins, and trace elements – Bypasses the usual process of eating and digestion – Routinely administered to patients recovering from an accident, surgery, or digestive disorder

• Metabolic suppression via torpor is

likely to reduce consumables mass requirements by 30%-60%

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NASA IVGEN System for in-space purification of IV-grade water Pinnacle System™ for automated TPN management

Image Credit: B. Braun Medical Inc. Image Credit: NASA

MEDICAL ADVANTAGES OF TORPOR

• TH has recently been recommended as a standard treatment for

reducing increased intracranial pressure in hospitals

• Recent medical testing on comatose patients indicates that

neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) can prevent muscle atrophy due to disuse

• Stationary crew simplifies implementation of induced artificial

gravity through rotation to combat bone demineralization

• Some medical studies have indicated the potential for reduced

damaging effects of radiation on animals when cooled

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IMPLEMENTATION IN SPACE

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Body Warming Thermal pads TPN administration Tunneled central venous catheters in chest and leg Body Cooling Thermal management system inserted through nasal cavity Health Monitoring Sensor leads across body (e.g. 12-lead ECG) Waste Collection Urine collection catheter and drain line

STUDY STATUS

• In 2013, conducted a Phase I study from NASA NIAC program to

study feasibility of using torpor to support human exploration missions to Mars

• Received Phase II funding from NASA NIAC in summer to continue

medical and engineering analysis

• Assembled a team of medical researchers to study biomedical

aspects of concept

• Currently pursuing additional funding, from both private sources

and government, to initiate preliminary medical evaluations

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NASA NIAC PHASE II STUDY

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• 2. Mars Mission Habitat Designs
• Habitat internal thermal environment

analysis

• Radiation shielding assessment
• Crew concept of operations
• Torpor habitat design refinement
• 1. Medical Assessments and Evaluations
• Nutrition and intravenous support
• Metabolic suppression approaches
• Prolonged hypothermia physiological

impacts

• Evaluation of prolonged hypothermia

in non-hibernating mammals

• Hypothermia induction process and

supporting hardware systems

• 4. Technology Roadmap Development
• Identification of key challenges
• Maturation costs
• Near-term and long-term development

roadmaps

• 3. Extensibility Beyond Mars
• Martian moons
• Main belt asteroids
• Jupiter and Saturn systems

MEDICAL TEAM

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Doug Talk, M.D., M.P.H. Medical Team Lead Naval Air Station Lemoore, CA Departmental Director of Surgical Services Kelly Drew, Ph.D. Neuroscientist, Professor Be Cool Pharmaceutics (BCP), LLC. Professor, University of Alaska Fairbanks Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Institute of Arctic Biology (IAB) Alejandro Rabinstein, M.D. Professor of Clinical Neurology Mayo Clinic Medical Director of Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Matthew Kumar, M.D.

• Asst. Professor of Anesthesiology

Mayo Clinic Health System Albert Lea/Austin Chair (Department of Anesthesiology) Leroy Chiao, Ph.D. Astronaut ISS Expedition 10 Commander, STS-65/72/92 Missions Doctorate in Chemical Engineering

KEY CHALLENGES

• Maximizing stasis period. Current common practice is 2-3 days, more

cases at 4-5 days, with some very limited cases at 14-days.

• Mitigating known complications of TPN and hypothermia

(thromboembolism, infection, fatty liver disease, etc.)

• Developing procedures for addressing medical issues that could occur

during transit with inactive crew, e.g. automated vs. human intervention

• Addressing slow wake times that are currently required during warming
• Uncertainty in effects of prolonged torpor on crew mental faculties

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FINAL REMARKS

• Therapeutic Hypothermia continues to appear as the most promising

approach toward enabling human stasis.

• Prolonged hypothermic stasis combined with metabolic suppression

may provide a number of unique benefits and solve a variety of medical challenges for space travel

• Our goal is to develop near-term and long-term technology

development roadmaps to mature this concept for human spaceflight

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We believe this capability will be critical for sustaining human presence in space and ultimately settling the solar system

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