Apollo Medical Operations Project: Recommendations to Improve Crew Health and Performance for Future Exploration Missions and Lunar Surface Operations - EVA, Food, Hygiene, Illness, Radiation Issues

This NASA document - converted for accurate flowing-text ebook format reproduction - provides a comprehensive review of the inputs and recommendations of Apollo astronauts for future lunar exploration missions. The abstract notes:

Medical requirements for the future Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM), advanced Extravehicular Activity (EVA) suits and Lunar habitat are currently being developed. Crews returning to the lunar surface will construct the lunar habitat and conduct scientific research. Inherent in aggressive surface activities is the potential risk of injury to crewmembers. Physiological responses to and the operational environment of short forays during the Apollo lunar missions were studied and documented. Little is known about the operational environment in which crews will live and work and the hardware that will be used for long-duration lunar surface operations. Additional information is needed regarding productivity and the events that affect crew function, such as a compressed timeline. The Space Medicine Division at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) requested a study in December 2005 to identify Apollo mission issues relevant to medical operations that had impact to crew health and/or performance. The operationally oriented goals of this project were to develop or modify medical requirements for new exploration vehicles and habitats, create a centralized database for future access, and share relevant Apollo information with the multiple entities at NASA and abroad participating in the exploration effort.

A review of medical operations during Apollo missions 7 through 17 was conducted. Ten categories of hardware, systems, or crew factors were identified during preliminary data review generating 625 data records, which were captured in an Access database. The preliminary review resulted in 285 questions which were posed to surviving Apollo crewmembers using mail, face-to-face meetings, phone communications, or online interactions. Crewmember responses to these questions formed the basis for recommendations to items in each of the categories.

Fourteen of 22 surviving Apollo astronauts (64%) participated in the project. Approximately 236 pages of responses to the questions were generated based on the Apollo experiences, with 107 recommendations garnered for future vehicles, habitats, EVA suits, and lunar surface operations. The Apollo medical operations recommendations are being incorporated into the exploration mission architecture at various levels: 21 recommendations either validated, revised or created new requirements, 4 are currently in practice, 34 are being evaluated, and 54 are being considered. A centralized database has been developed, and the recommendations have been presented to the different organizations involved with building the new vehicles, habitats, suits, or systems that may impact crew health and performance. The Apollo crewmembers' input has proved to be an invaluable resource to a multitude of departments beyond space medicine. We will continue soliciting input from this group as we evolve and refine requirements for future exploration missions.