RESUMEN

There is a synergistic relationship between analog field testing and the deep space telecommunication capabilities necessary for future human exploration. The BASALT (Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains) research project developed and implemented a telecommunications architecture that serves as a high-fidelity analog of future telecommunication capabilities for Mars. This paper presents the architecture and its constituent elements. The rationale for the various protocols and radio frequency (RF) link types required to enable an interdisciplinary field mission are discussed, and the performance results from the BASALT field tests are provided. Extravehicular Informatics Backpacks (EVIB) designed for BASALT and tested by human subjects are also discussed, and the proceeding sections show how these prototype extravehicular activity (EVA) information systems can augment future human exploration. The paper concludes with an aggregate analysis of the data product types and data volumes generated, transferred, and utilized by the ground team and explorers over the course of the field deployments.

Asunto(s)

Exobiología/organización & administración , Medio Ambiente Extraterrestre , Marte , Vuelo Espacial/organización & administración , Telecomunicaciones/organización & administración , Exobiología/tendencias , Predicción , Humanos , Sistemas de Información/organización & administración , Sistemas de Información/tendencias , Vuelo Espacial/tendencias , Simulación del Espacio/métodos , Telecomunicaciones/tendencias , Estados Unidos , United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration

RESUMEN

Exploration analog field tests, missions, and deployments enable the integration and validation of new and experimental concepts and/or technologies through strategic experimental design. The results of these operations often create new capabilities for exploration and increase confidence in, and credibility of, emerging technologies, usually at very low cost and risk to the test subjects involved. While these experiments resemble missions 10-30 years into the future, insights obtained are often of immediate value. Knowledge gained in the field translates into strategic planning data to assist long-range exploration planners, and planners influence the experimental design of field deployments, creating a synergistic relationship. The Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains (BASALT) communication architecture is a high-fidelity analog program that emulates conditions impacting future explorers on the martian surface. This article provides (1) a brief historical review of past analog operations that deliberately used elements of a flight-like telecommunication infrastructure to add fidelity to the test, (2) samples of the accomplishments made through analog operations, and (3) potentially significant deep-space telecommunication insights gained from the BASALT program in support of future extravehicular activity exploration of Mars. This article is paired with and complements Miller et al. in this issue which focuses on the telecommunication infrastructure utilized by the BASALT team during the field deployment.

Asunto(s)

Exobiología/organización & administración , Marte , Comunicaciones por Satélite/organización & administración , Vuelo Espacial/organización & administración , Simulación del Espacio , Astronautas , Comunicación , Exobiología/historia , Exobiología/tendencias , Predicción , Historia del Siglo XX , Humanos , Comunicaciones por Satélite/historia , Comunicaciones por Satélite/tendencias , Vuelo Espacial/historia , Vuelo Espacial/tendencias , Planificación Estratégica , Estados Unidos , United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration

RESUMEN

PURPOSE: Precision oncology depends on the availability of up-to-date, comprehensive, and accurate information about associations between genetic variants and therapeutic options. Recently, a number of knowledge bases (KBs) have been developed that gather such information on the basis of expert curation of the scientific literature. We performed a quantitative and qualitative comparison of Clinical Interpretations of Variants in Cancer, OncoKB, Cancer Gene Census, Database of Curated Mutations, CGI Biomarkers (the cancer genome interpreter biomarker database), Tumor Alterations Relevant for Genomics-Driven Therapy, and the Precision Medicine Knowledge Base. METHODS: We downloaded each KB and restructured their content to describe variants, genes, drugs, and gene-drug associations in a common format. We normalized gene names to Entrez Gene IDs and drug names to ChEMBL and DrugBank IDs. For the analysis of clinically relevant gene-drug associations, we obtained lists of genes affected by genetic alterations and putative drug therapies for 113 patients with cancer whose cases were presented at the Molecular Tumor Board (MTB) of the Charité Comprehensive Cancer Center. RESULTS: Our analysis revealed that the KBs are largely overlapping but also that each source harbors a notable amount of unique information. Although some KBs cover more genes, others contain more data about gene-drug associations. Retrospective comparisons with findings of the Charitè MTB at the gene level showed that use of multiple KBs may considerably improve retrieval results. The relative importance of a KB in terms of cancer genes was assessed in more detail by logistic regression, which revealed that all but one source had a notable impact on result quality. We confirmed these findings using a second data set obtained from an independent MTB. CONCLUSION: To date, none of the existing publicly available KBs on gene-drug associations in precision oncology fully subsumes the others, but all of them exhibit specific strengths and weaknesses. Consideration of multiple KBs, therefore, is essential to obtain comprehensive results.