The Regenerative Enclosed Life Support Module Simulator (REMS) was designed to simulate the conditions aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This unique terrestrial, encapsulated environment for humans and their associated organisms allowed investigations into the microbial communities within an enclosed habitat system, primarily with respect to diversity, phylogeny and the possible impact on human health. To assess time-and/or condition-dependent changes in microbial diversity within REMS, a total of 27 air samples were collected during three consecutive months. The microbial burden and diversity were elucidated using culture-dependent and culture-independent molecular methods. The results indicate that during controlled conditions the total microbial burden detected by culture-dependent techniques (below a detectable level to 10 2 cells m x3 of air) and intracellular ATP assay was significantly low (10 2 -10 3 cells m x3 of air), but increased during the uncontrolled post-operation phase (y10 4 cells m x3 of air). Only Gram-positive and a-proteobacteria grew under tested culture conditions, with a predominant occurrence of Methylobacterium radiotolerans, and Sphingomonas yanoikuyae. Direct DNA extraction and 16S rDNA sequencing methodology revealed a broader diversity of microbes present in the REMS air (51 species). Unlike culture-dependent analysis, both Gram-positive and proteobacteria were equally represented, while members of a few proteobaterial groups dominated (Rhodopseudomonas, Sphingomonas, Acidovorax, Ralstonia, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, and Psychrobacter). Although the presence of several opportunistic pathogens warrants further investigation, the results demonstrated that routine maintenance such as controlling the humidity, crew's daily cleaning, and air filtration were effective in reducing the microbial burden in the REMS. Sample collectionSamples were collected from the REMS during three different sampling trips in three consecutive months using a C. Moissl et al. 132

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This paper analyzes NASA's increasing effort to invite greater public participation in its technoscientific work through open innovation methodologies. First we examine why NASA has expanded its use of these approaches, noting the roles of an intertwined set of forcing functions including budget constraints, the growth of scientific data, availability of technological resources, political climate, and committed individuals. Next we outline the strategies the agency has invoked to engage the public in research, technology development, and other activities to advance and shape NASA's mission. As we show, promoting greater public involvement has entailed facilitating the NASA workforce's familiarity with open innovation approaches as well as developing projects and creating outreach strategies appropriate to the envisioned participant base. We then discuss the wide variety of outcomes NASA's open innovation initiatives have yielded in support of NASA research and development objectives as well as benefits to participants and others. We conclude with a discussion of the remaining barriers to the use of open innovation techniques as a standard practice and the strategies in work to overcome those barriers so the full potential of a democratized approach to innovation can be realized.

Exploring the frontiers of deep space continues to be defined by the technological challenges presented by safely transporting a crew to and from destinations of scientific interest. Living and workng on that frontier requires highly reliable and efficient life support systems that employ robust, proven process technologies.

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