TB 26-05 Webbings for Use in Elevated Oxygen Environments

Flammability test results for commercial-off-the-shelf webbings that meet NASA flammability requirements are reported for use in elevated oxygen environments anticipated for future lunar and Martian missions. The institutional report frames the development in practical terms and ties it to the broader mission or observing effort.

That matters because Earth science becomes stronger when local observations can be placed inside a broader physical pattern that spans time and geography. The planet operates as a coupled system in which atmospheric, oceanic, cryospheric and solid-Earth processes interact across timescales from days to millions of years. A measurement that captures one variable at one location and one moment has limited interpretive value until it is embedded in the longer series and wider spatial coverage that allow natural variability to be separated from forced change. Testing demonstrated that a webbing composed of 60% Kevlar®/40% polybenzimidazole (PBI) from Sturges Manufacturing Company, Inc, specifically the natural version, passed. Flammability test results for commercial-off-the-shelf webbings that meet NASA flammability requirements are reported for use in elevated oxygen environments Article Flammability.

Background An elevated oxygen environment is planned for future crewed missions to the Moon and Mars to reduce the prebreathe time before extravehicular activities. The strategy is being implemented by the Mars Campaign Office and Johnson Space Center with support from the NESC.

The first phase is testing commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) textiles with high potential to meet flammability requirements. Test Methods/Data Collection NASA-STD-6001B Test 1 was performed on the webbing candidates at White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) to determine the maximum oxygen concentration (MOC).

The MOC test refers to the maximum oxygen concentration at which a minimum of five samples tested pass the NASA-STD-6001B criteria at a fixed pressure. One-inch-width natural and black webbings, composed of 60% Kevlar and 40% PBI produced by Sturges Manufacturing (see Figure 1), were tested.

The broader interest lies in linking the observation to climatic, geophysical or environmental dynamics that extend well beyond the immediate event or location. Earth science is unusual in that its most important questions operate on timescales that no single research career can observe directly, making the archival record, whether in ice, sediment, rock or satellite data, as important as any new measurement. Results that can be embedded in that record, and that either confirm or challenge the patterns it reveals, carry disproportionate scientific weight.

The available webbing widths range from ¼ to 8 inches. Analysis and Results Table 1 summarizes the webbing properties and test results.

Because the account originates with NASA News Releases, it functions best as a primary institutional report that is close to the data and operations, not as independent scientific validation. Institutional communications are produced by organizations with legitimate interests in presenting their work in a favorable light, which does not make them unreliable but does make them partial. Details that complicate the narrative, including instrument limitations, unexpected failures and results below projections, tend to be minimized relative to progress messages. Technical documentation and peer-reviewed publications, where they exist, provide the complementary layer that institutional releases cannot substitute.

The next step is to place the result inside longer time series and to compare it with independent instruments and independent sites. Earth system observations gain most of their interpretive power from network density and temporal depth, not from any single measurement however precise. Model simulations that assimilate the new data will help clarify whether the observation fits comfortably within known natural variability or represents a shift that existing models do not reproduce.

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