Thesis Defense by Eryn Beisner on May 11th

Space Studies master’s student, Eryn Beisner, will defend her M.S. thesis on Friday, May 11th.  All Space Studies students and faculty are encouraged to attend.

When:
Friday, May 11, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. (Central Daylight Savings Time)

Where:  Ryan Hall, Room 111

Title: “QUANTIFYING EVA PERFORMANCE DEGRADATION DUE TO SUSTENANCE DEPRIVATION”

About the topic: EVAs onboard the International Space Station are all-day events wherein astronauts do not stop to eat, nor do they have the capabilities to consume sustenance in their spacesuits. Astronauts typically endure ten to twelve hours without food and very little water. With the future of human space exploration taking aim at the Moon, Mars, and beyond, EVAs are likely to become more demanding than ever. The lack of sustenance during these periods of sustained, high intensity work disregards a major human factor and potentially increases the likelihood of a catastrophic event. This research conducted an experiment on astronauts to determine whether their physical and cognitive abilities during an EVA were impacted by acute starvation, as well as to test if their performance could be improved utilizing a basic in-suit feeding system.

About the presenter:   Eryn Beisner is a UND Space Studies graduate student, specializing in Human Factors. She has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno and currently lives in Houston, Texas. She works at the NASA-Johnson Space Center on the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Flight Control Team, training astronauts for spacewalks onboard the International Space Station and overseeing their safety from the Mission Control Center.

******Those unable to attend in person may view the live webcast******

1)      A simple live webcast will be available here.

2)      Via Adobe ConnectPro.  Sign in as a guest, or use your Connect-Pro log-in.