Space Sciences

Stereoscopic Head Mounted Display (HMD) The photograph shown here is a prototype Stereoscopic Head Mounted Display that ACI has developed for an application on the International Space Station (ISS). As a part of the Space Station Biological Research Program (SSBRP), there is a need for astronauts to perform delicate surgical operations on small insects under a microscope on the ISS. This type of operation requires true depth perception and therefore it is traditionally conducted under a binocular microscope. However, the glove box on the Space Station has a serious space limitation which precludes the use of a traditional, purely optical binocular microscope. There is also a requirement to downlink the stereo images to a ground station where many scientists can " remote view " the operation without compromising the true depth perception. Stereo images can be streamed at the rate of 30 frames per second using two embedded systems, one system dedicated to images for each eye, using MPEG-2 compression. Such a display system has future applications such as remote surgery and remote presence for scientific and security purposes.

Sound Power Tests of ISS Payload Bays The acoustic environment aboard space shuttles and the International Space Station can be hazardous to the Astronauts' long term health and mission safety. The confined spaces and abundance of experiment bays and equipment leads to a noisy environment for astronauts. While long-term health is an issue, the ability to hear commands during an emergency situation is also critical for safety reasons. Therefore, equipment and payloads must meet strict noise emission standards before they can be launched into space. ACI researchers, based at NASA Ames Research Center, measure the sound power of space-bound payload bays assessing whether existing equipment will meet these standards. More importantly, ACI researchers, experienced with earth-bound noise control problems, have developed new fan designs and other ideas for reducing payload noise.