Microgravity research in support of technologies for the human exploration and development of space and planetary bodies

The report presents an assessment of scientific and related technological issues that face NASA's Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS) endeavor. The committee examined mission enabling and enhancing technologies that require an improved understanding of fluid and material behavior in reduced gravity environments. A survey of technologies for HEDS examined power generation and storage, space propulsion, life support, hazard control, materials production and storage, construction and maintenance, and matrices of subsystems, processes, and phenomena. Phenomena of importance in reduced gravity include interfacial phenomena, multiphase flow, heat transfer, solidification, chemical transformation, and behavior of granular materials. Other concerns include the indirect effects of reduced gravity on design; microgravity countermeasures; and predictive models, reliability, and probabilistic risk assessment.