About The Expedition

Safety, Environmental and Mission Assurance

Independent Risk Assessment

What is the Role of the NASA Ames Safety, Environmental, and Mission Assurance (SEMA) Directorate in Preparing for the Licancabur Expedition?

To understand this role, you must first understand how the Licancabur Expedition contributes to the overall NASA vision and mission.

What is the NASA Vision for the Future?

To improve life here,
To extend life to there,
To find life beyond.

What is the NASA Mission?

To understand and protect our home planet;
To explore the Universe and search for life;
To inspire the next generation of explorers as only NASA can.

Without Risk There Can be Little Discovery

You now know that the Expedition offers an “astrobiological gold mine.” But you can also see that climbing to 19,000 ft. and diving in a relatively unexplored lake entails uncertainty and risk! Projects such as the Expedition are necessary to help achieve NASA’s mission. But we must also assess the risks and pursue our missions as safely as possible.

Safety First

Safety is a core value at NASA, as reflected in our motto “Mission Success Starts with Safety.” The SEMA charter is “To assure the safety and enhance the success of all NASA activities.” Safety refers to protection of people, the environment, and high value NASA assets. Risk Management is the process used to assess project safety, ensure compliance with NASA policies, and to help achieve mission success.

Risk Management

Effective risk management is crucial to assuring safety and achieving mission success. The implementation of a thorough, disciplined risk management approach is now required of all NASA programs and projects. NASA uses a process called “Continuous Risk Management” or CRM.

Of course each project presents different risks, and the process must be tailored in a practical way to fit the unique needs of the program

Licancabur Safety Review Board

The SEMA organization conducted an independent risk assessment of the Expedition. A Safety Review Board was chartered to review the project. The Board was comprised of diverse technical experts to ensure a thorough assessment of the risks:

Robert Navarro, Chair
Deputy Director Q/Safety, Environmental and Mission Assurance

Stephanie Langhoff, PhD
Chief Scientist

David King
Chief, Safety, Health & Medical Services Division

Ralph Pellagra, MD
Medical Services Officer

Harry Gobler
Chief, Safety and Mission Assurance Division

Peter Hackett, MD
High Altitude Physiologist, St. Mary’s Hospital
Mountaineering Expert

Risk Assessment Results

The independent risk assessment was led by Orbital Sciences/Alexis Flippen, supported by Hernandez Engineering/Kirsten Smith and NASA Ames/Ken Zander. Seventeen (17) hazards were identified and resolved. SEMA worked hand-in-hand with the Expedition team to understand and control the risks in a viable and practical manner to support the experiments and achieve mission success without compromising safety.

Assessing these hazards required an integrated risk perspective from the three divisions within the SEMA Directorate:

Environmental Services Division
Chief - Sandra Olliges

Safety, Health & Medical Services Division
Chief - David King

System Safety and Mission Assurance Division
Chief (Acting) - Owen Greulich

What Risks were Discovered and Mitigated for the Licancabur Expedition?

1. Compromised health or preventable injury from inadequate/improper conditioning
2. Undetected medical conditions
3. Disease/dysentery (vectors in Chile/Andes)
4. Impaired physical performance at altitude as evidenced by exhaustion, during ascent, descent, summit, and diving operations
5. High altitude illness (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema - HAPE, High Altitude Cerebral Edema - HACE, Acute Mountain Sickness - AMS, hypoxia/hypoxemia), other altitude-induced conditions, and impaired judgement/cognition, fatigue
6. Hypothermia, frostbite, reduced comfort/performance
7. UV exposure
8. Environmental impacts
9. Damage/disturbance of artifacts
10. Slips, trips, falls
11. Volcano eruption
12. Avalanches, rock slides, earthquakes
13. Inadvertent release of high pressure gas from failed pressure vessel
    (supplemental O2 cylinders)
14. Inability to control/retrieve diver (nominal)
15. Sickness/contamination from water
16. Physiological response to free diving at altitude
17. Inability to safely rescue/revive injured/sick team member

In a Nutshell, What Can Happen to Our Bodies and Minds at Extreme Altitudes?

High altitude illness (HAI) is experienced by 75% of individuals at elevations over 10,000 feet and by some individuals at elevations as low as 6,000 feet. Initial symptoms include headache, decreased appetite or nausea, malaise, decreased energy, and irregular sleep. Judgment and cognition can also be impaired. Illness occurs when an individual is ascending too rapidly.

HAI can take several forms that can be fatal if not recognized and treated. HAI refers to cerebral (brain) and pulmonary (heart and lungs) syndromes that can develop in unacclimatized persons shortly after ascent to high altitude:

• HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema). Accumulation of fluid in the lungs.
• HACE (High Altitude Cerebral Edema). Characterized by the he onset of ataxia, altered consciousness, or both, in someone with acute mountain sickness or HAPE.
• Ataxia. Failure of muscular coordination, irregularity of muscular action.
• AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). The presence of headache in an unacclimatized person who has recently arrived at an altitude above 8200 feet, plus the presence of one or more of the following: gastrointestinal symptoms (anorexia, nausea, or vomiting), insomnia, dizziness, & lassitude or fatigue

The best treatment is descent. There are also some preventive measures, such as the herb ginkgo biloba that the team will be taking. There are medications that can also help with HAI management, and these will be taken on the Expedition in accordance with Dr. Hackett’s instructions.

Ref: Hackett, P.H. & Roach, R.C. High-altitude illness. New England Journal of Medicine 2001; 345: 107-14.

Key Contributions from SEMA and the Safety Review Board

The systematic risk assessment performed by SEMA resulted in the discovery and control of the risks associated with the Expedition. Because of the risk factors associated with extreme altitude, it was necessary to also enlist an expert high altitude physiologist and mountaineering expert to help properly define an ascent strategy that would permit the achievement of science while not subjecting the team to undue health risks.

Peter Hackett, M.D., who reached the summit of Mt. Everest in 1981 (without oxygen!), is a world authority on high altitude medicine and physiology who joined the Safety Board in this capacity.

A reasonable ascent strategy was developed to permit the Expedition team to safely climb, work, sleep, and even dive at these extreme altitudes by “acclimatizing” gradually to permit the body to adjust to the pressure changes and a reduced oxygen environment.

Further, the use of a pulse oximeter, a device placed on the finger, permitted the team to objectively monitor oxygen concentration in the blood during the earlier reconnaissance mission. These readings help to differentiate between “real” and “perceived” symptoms of altitude sickness so that appropriate countermeasures can be employed as needed.

Pulse Oximeter

The actual data collected for Dr. Cabrol and Dr. Grin are displayed in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Pulse Oximetry Data

Figure 2 indicates the normal blood oxygen concentration. Compared to the Figure 1 data, the team’s physiological record shows a satisfactory adaptation to altitude.

Figure 2. Norms for Blood Space Oxygen Saturation

Importance of Project Responsibility for Safety

While SEMA provided guidance and consultation for achieving a safe and successful mission, the ultimate responsibility for safety rests with the project. The Expedition team, headed by Drs. Nathalie Cabrol and Edmond Grin has exemplified this principle. The investigators have recognized the importance of safety and the value that a systematic risk assessment can add to ensuring a successful mission. They have been intimately involved in all aspects of the risk assessment. Most importantly, they have taken a proactive role in engendering a safety culture throughout the project.

NASA Ames SEMA Responsible Points of Contact

Robert Navarro, Deputy Director
Safety, Environmental and Mission Assurance
NASA Ames Research Center, M/S 218-7
Voice: (650) 604-5640, Fax: (650) 604-6508
email: rnavarro@mail.arc.nasa.gov

A. A. Flippen, Senior Scientist-Risk Management
Orbital Sciences
NASA Ames Research Center, M/S 244-30
Moffett Field, CA 94035 USA
Voice: (650) 604-4901, Fax: (650) 964-8600
email: aflippen@mail.arc.nasa.gov

High Altitude Illness Article. (PDF, 109KB)