HRR - Gap - CNS - 7: What are the best shielding approaches to protect against CNS risks, and are shielding approaches for CNS and cancer risks synergistic?

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CNS - 7: What are the best shielding approaches to protect against CNS risks, and are shielding approaches for CNS and cancer risks synergistic?

Last Published: 11/23/20 11:55:10 AM (Central)

Responsible Element: Space Radiation (SR)

Status: Closed

Closure Rationale

Domain transferred to NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems - Space Radiation Analysis Group.

Closure Documentation:

No Closure Documentation Available

Description

Initial State of Gap:

The development of new biological understanding of CNS risks will determine whether strategies for shielding protection for CNS are distinct from shielding approaches to other radiation risks. Preliminary assessments suggest HZE nuclei with Z>6 or neutrons may be a higher relative concern for CNS than for other risks, and may place more emphasis on shielding these components. In particular, several CNS endpoints have shown extreme sensitivity to Ti ions with emerging results suggesting unique deficits for He as well. Within mission relevant exposures, CNS response vs dose also exhibits a unique situation where small doses and large doses have shown a decreased risk of adverse outcome while intermediate doses have shown an increased risk. New data on RBE will inform shield design requirements in units of mGy-eq to update shield requirements for comparison with Cancer (units of mSv).

Approach:

The development of new biological understanding of CNS responses to space radiation will determine whether strategies for shielding protection for CNS are distinct from shielding approaches used to mitigate other radiation risks. Systems biology approaches will be used, if required, to interpolate radiation quality and dose-rate effects for CNS adverse outcome measures. Shield assessments can then include strategies to shield for hyper sensitive particle types (e.g., Z=22 Titanium; Z=2 Helium) as well as strategies to assess and design for U-shaped dose vs. response curves. Shield specifications will be compared across all risk areas to optimize shielding for minimum mass and maximum risk mitigation.

Interim Steps:

Determine whether there are radiation quality dependent impacts on CNS irradiation reactions that may inform shielding design
Identify whether radiation quality differentially impacts CNS and cancer risks
Shielding assessment using indexed biomarker panels to monitor adverse CNS outcomes
Systems biology analysis to interpolate/convolve radiation quality, dose-rate effects, individual factors with CNS adverse outcomes

Target for Closure

Utilize systems biology model interpolation of heavy ion particle type, dose-rates and crew factors to identify CNS-specific radiation exposure signatures and biomarkers of adverse outcome pathways.
Determine the relative contributions or weighting to adverse outcomes elicited by GCR components.
Evaluate dose response curves utilizing available RBE data and refine strategies based on "U" shaped responses in mGy-eq. for mission relevant CNS decrements.
Validate complex exposure predictions with GCR simulations.
Compare cancer shielding requirements with CNS shielding requirements/strategies and provide cross-risk recommendation to designers.

Mappings

CNS - 7: What are the best shielding approaches to protect against CNS risks, and are shielding approaches for CNS and cancer risks synergistic?

Completed

High LET-radiation induced DNA repair mechanisms in Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPC) in vitro and in vivo - CCSB

Task Book: Entry
Principal Investigator: Naidu, Mamta

Short Title: OPC II

Responsible HRP Element: Space Radiation

Collaborating Org(s):

Funding Status: Completed - Task completed and produced a deliverable

Procurement Mechanism(s):

Solicited

Aims:

Determine the effects of high LET radiation on the nuclear and mitochondrial BER in two systems:

the central glia-4 (CG-4), a glial progenitor cell line that can differentiate into OL or astrocytes, and
In OPC cells isolated from rat spinal cord.

Resources (Other)

Deliverables (1)

Planned-Funded

Research Review: Human Capabilities Assessment for Autonomous Missions (HCAAM) Intelligent System: Monitoring & Countermeasures Performance Pathways

Task Book: Entry Unavailable
Principal Investigator: TBD

Short Title: CBS RR: HCAAM Intelligent System: Monitoring & CMs Performance Pathways

Responsible HRP Element: Human Factors and Behavioral Performance

Collaborating Org(s):

Human Health Countermeasures (HHC) Element

Space Radiation (SR) Element

Funding Status: Planned-Funded - Task expected to be within budget

Procurement Mechanism(s):

Solicited

Aims:
-Conduct Research Review focused on potential human system adaptations with autonomous systems and habitat in order to maintain operationally-relevant performance by leveraging both countermeasures (CM) and Human Capabilities Assessment for Autonomous Missions (HCAAM) Intelligent System that monitors Brain Performance Pathways and then responds with appropriate countermeasures to mitigate risk and/or compensate for decrements in performance throughout mission.

Resources (None Listed)

Deliverables (1)

Terminated

Biophysics Phase 1

Task Book: Entry Unavailable
Principal Investigator: Norbury, John

Short Title: Biophysics Phase 1

Responsible HRP Element: Space Radiation

Collaborating Org(s):

Funding Status: Terminated - A formerly active task that was stopped before its completion date due to deselection, descoping, reorganization etc.

Procurement Mechanism(s):

Directed

Aims:
Specific Aim 1: Improve radiation transport and nuclear physics theoretical formalisms and computational procedures to reduce uncertainties in quantifying mixed field environments behind complex shielding in deep space and on the Martian surface.

Specific Aim 2: Conduct thin target experiments at ground based accelerator facilities to measure cross sections of most importance to NASA space applications with the goal of filling important data gaps and reducing nuclear physics model uncertainty.

Specific Aim 3: Develop and integrate rigorous and comprehensive uncertainty estimates for combined models to reduce uncertainties in probabilistic cancer risk and cardiovascular disease projections.

Specific Aim 4: Integrate and apply state-of-the-art models, best practices, and expertise in nuclear physics and radiation transport in support of radiobiology studies to provide necessary information for GCR simulator development, animal studies, and future assessments for end-to-end Mars mission simulation at NSRL.

Note: Task being closed due to HRP program guidance and transfer of part of the content to AES.

Resources (None Listed)

Deliverables (1)

Documentation:

No Documentation Available

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BMed-104: Given the potentially negative spaceflight associated CNS changes and behavioral experiences of stressors during long-duration missions (e.g., isolation, confinement, reduced sensory stimulation, altered gravity, space radiation), what are validated modifications to habitat/vehicle to mitigate stressors impacting on CNS / cognition / behavioral health?

Common Item(s)
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BMed-105: Given the potentially negative spaceflight associated CNS/cognitive changes and behavioral experiences of stressors during long-duration missions (e.g., isolation, confinement, reduced sensory stimulation, altered gravity, space radiation), what are validated medical or dietary countermeasures to mitigate stressors impacting on CNS / cognition / behavioral health?

Common Item(s)
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BMed-107: What are the long-term changes and risks to astronaut health post-mission that, when using a continuity of care model, helps retrospectively identify and understand individual susceptibility (e.g., hereditary, dose, thresholds) to mitigate adverse CNS, cognitive, and behavioral health changes resulting from long-duration exploration missions, promoting the behavioral health of current and future crews?

Common Item(s)
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Common Item(s)
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Common Item(s)
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Cancer-301: Determine the tissue-specific contributions to overall space radiation carcinogenic risk and whether there are sex-specific dependencies.

Common Item(s)
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Common Item(s)
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Common Item(s)
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Common Item(s)
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Common Item(s)
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PRRs (1)

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