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At least 181 records · Page 10

Sample Processing Instrumentation to Enable Lab-like Analysis of Lipids, Hydrocarbons, and Kerogen in situ

Introduction: Over the last decade, our team based out of NASA Ames Research Center has made advances in fluidic technologies to enable laboratory-grade processes in space environments. More recently, we have designed and developed two instruments that utilize sample processing steps to extract and purify organic molecules that are key targets in the search for life. The first instrument targets soluble lipids and hydrocarbons that have been preserved in soil or rock material for millions to billions of years called ExCALiBR (Extractor for Chemical Analysis of Lipid Biomarkers in Regolith). The second instrument called KAMELOT (Kerogen and Macromolecule Extractor Liberating Organics Thermolytically) targets kerogen or insoluble macromolecular material that reside in the residue left behind after solvent extraction. Together, these instruments can be coupled to existing flight sample acquisition and analytical instrumentation (e.g., mass spectrometers) to achieve our overall science goal of identifying molecular patterns and features that are diagnostic of how the organic matter was synthesized, either through biological or non-biological processes.

Mary Beth Wilhelm↗

CABLE Stage 3 – Ultra‐High Strength/Highly Conductive Al Alloys

This work is to be conducted in support of the CABLE Conductor Manufacturing Prize Program awarded by NREL. The intent is to connect competitor teams with national laboratories that can help accelerate the development of innovative solutions and products. Teams who receive CABLE Prize awards are eligible to utilize vouchers at national laboratories to advance their ideas. NanoAL LLC has been awarded a voucher to utilize at Ames National Laboratory. Ames National Laboratory will perform a scale‐up trial of Nano 6000‐T9 to evaluate and optimize the heat treatment and other processing variables to validate the lab‐scale work done at NanoAL. The final processing schedule will be used to fabricate the submission samples for the Stage 3 contest. All work will be supported by mechanical and electrical conductivity testing be performed by Ames.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Suppressing Ordering in Equiatomic Fe-Co via Laser Powder Bed Fusion

Neutron and electron diffraction was employed to evaluate the effectiveness of thermal management strategies in suppressing the formation of the equilibrium-ordered B2 (CsCl) phase in equiatomic binary Fe-Co specimens fabricated by laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing. Specimens with a tensile dogbone geometry were fabricated using various combinations of process parameters (laser power and raster speed) and thermal management strategies (no support struts, struts only in the top gauge section, and struts throughout the gauge section). Diffraction results demonstrate that the rapid solidification during PBF-L effectively minimized B2 formation, with laser power and effective scan velocity having no significant impact on the degree of ordering. Furthermore, the inclusion of support struts in the top grip region had no perceivable impact on ordering, whereas specimens with support struts in the gauge region exhibited no detectable ordering. Results are discussed in the context of thermal finite element analysis predictions.

Laser Material Processing↗

AztechSat-1, a First Collaborative CubeSat Between NASA and Mexico

An international collaboration program for capacity building in space technology is being established between NASA and the Mexican Space Agency (AEM). Its objective is to develop a series of CubeSats collaboratively in a way that benefits both agencies. For AEM, this experience will support the development of human capital required for its space program. This project provides an opportunity for NASA future missions to benefit from commercially available technologies demonstrated in space. AEM was recently created by the Mexican Government to use and develop space technology in Mexico. Current AEM plans call for having the capability of developing its own communication satellites by 2030, so the need for having a Mexican cadre of space experts is mandatory. The program will start with the development and launching of AztechSat-1, the first AEM CubeSat project to be deployed from the International Space Station (ISS). Several public Mexican universities will participate in this project to demonstrate GlobalStar, a satellite communications provider using a constellation of LEO satellites, as an option for small satellite missions. AztechSat-1 mission objectives are:(1) Develop a flight ready CubeSat for deployment from the ISS; (2) Demonstrate GlobalStar´s Network as a method to advance communications in CubeSat missions. AztechSat-1 is envisioned as a 1U CubeSat and will be designed and constructed by Mexican graduate students from two major universities in Mexico: UNAM and IPN. The students will be mentored and supervised by researchers from NASA Ames Research Center (NARC). Flight acceptance tests are going to be done both at Mexican university labs as well as at NARC. Funding for the project will be provided concurrently by AEM, the Mexican participating universities, and other Mexican entities. The development of AztechSat-1 will emphasize the transfer of knowledge in space mission analysis and design, flight acceptance testing and other areas of space technology which are not well developed in Mexico yet. Mexican students will benefit from their mentoring from NASA researchers and will provide a multiplier effect in the development of the next generation of Mexican aerospace engineers. AztechSat-1 will be developed in a period of twelve months and will be launched by late 2015. AztechSat´s success will define the future of collaboration between NASA and AEM in capacity building. A plan for developing a series of AztechSat’s in a one per year basis, with increasing capabilities and complexity is currently being negotiated between NASA an AEM.

Martinez, Andres↗

Techniques for hot structures testing

Hot structures testing have been going on since the early 1960's beginning with the Mach 6, X-15 airplane. Early hot structures test programs at NASA-Ames-Dryden focused on operational testing required to support the X-15 flight test program, and early hot structures research projects focused on developing lab test techniques to simulate flight thermal profiles. More recent efforts involved numerous large and small hot structures test programs that served to develop test methods and measurement techniques to provide data that promoted the correlation of test data with results from analytical codes. In Nov. 1988 a workshop was sponsored that focused on the correlation of hot structures test data with analysis. Limited material is drawn from the workshop and a more formal documentation is provided of topics that focus on hot structures test techniques used at NASA-Ames-Dryden. Topics covered include the data acquisition and control of testing, the quartz lamp heater systems, current strain and temperature sensors, and hot structures test techniques used to simulate the flight thermal environment in the lab.

Deangelis, V. Michael↗

Data reduction by computer processing

The automated analysis of remote sensing data, specifically digital processing of LANDSAT or other image data in numerical form was considered in a technical workshop which covered the teaching of digital image processing, including both theoretical and applied subjects and laboratory experience, and also reviewed NASA developed image processing software, and hardware/software systems employed at NASA-Ames Research Center in support of the Western Regional Applications Program (WRAP). A course titled Image Processing Lab, one of two courses required for a graduate minor in remote sensing at Arizona is examined as well as the rationale, content, and hardware/software support for this course.

Lumb, D. R.↗

Software of Seismic Proportions Promotes Enjoyable Learning

While working for NASA, Jack Sculley and Terry Brooks had a revelation. They wanted to find a novel and unique way to present the scientific principles of NASA research to the public, so as to not only enlighten, but entertain. Suddenly, their revelation morphed into something even grander. "Why stop at NASA?" they asked themselves. With this thought, Sculley and Brooks left NASA and set out to convey voluminous scientific findings from different organizations in the form of digital, interactive media that would enhance the exploration and adventure interests of people of all ages. Sculley, a former researcher at Ames Research Center, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and Apple, Inc. s and LucasFilm Ltd. s multimedia labs, and Brooks, a former public information officer at JPL and an Emmy award-winning documentary film producer, founded Seismic Entertainment in 1989 to communicate their "edutainment" ideas. The two acknowledge that NASA has provided much of the inspiration and content for Seismic Entertainment over the past decade and a half. Additionally, Sculley s experience as a virtual reality and Mars specialist and Brooks s experience creating NASA public access programs were significant to the San Francisco-based company s success. Its most recent project, "Inside NASA," provides virtual tours of NASA s field centers and allows for a comprehensive focus on the broad range of NASA programs for the benefit of the general public

Source record↗

Observation of the axion quasiparticle in 2D MnBi 2 Te 4

The axion is a hypothetical fundamental particle that is conjectured to correspond to the coherent oscillation of the θ field in quantum chromodynamics. Its existence would solve multiple fundamental questions, including the strong CP problem of quantum chromodynamics and dark matter, but the axion has never been detected. Electrodynamics of condensed-matter systems can also give rise to a similar θ, so far studied as a static, quantized value to characterize the topology of materials. Coherent oscillation of θ in condensed matter has been proposed to lead to physics directly analogous to the high-energy axion particle—the dynamical axion quasiparticle (DAQ). Here we report the observation of the DAQ in MnBi 2 Te 4 . By combining a two-dimensional electronic device with ultrafast pump–probe optics, we observe a coherent oscillation of θ at about 44 gigahertz, which is uniquely induced by its out-of-phase antiferromagnetic magnon. This represents direct evidence for the presence of the DAQ, which in two-dimensional MnBi 2 Te 4 is found to arise from the magnon-induced coherent modulation of the Berry curvature. The DAQ also has implications in light–matter interaction and coherent antiferromagnetic spintronics, as it might lead to axion polaritons and electric control of ultrafast spin polarization. Finally, the DAQ could be used to detect axion particles. We estimate the detection frequency range and sensitivity in the millielectronvolt regime, which has so far been poorly explored.

topological matter↗

NASA Ames Institutional Scientific Collection (ISC)

NASA's current human space flight research is directed towards enabling human space exploration beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The Space Flight Payload Projects; Rodent Research, Cell Science, and Microbial Labs, flown on the International Space Station (ISS), benefit both the global life sciences and commercial space communities. Verified data sets, science results, peer-reviewed publications, and returned biospecimens, collected and analyzed for flight and ground investigations, are all part of the knowledge base within NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate’s Space Life and Physical Sciences Research and Applications (SLPSRA) Division, specifically the Human Research and Space Biology Programs. These data and biospecimens are made available through the public LSDA website. The Ames Institutional Scientific Collection (ISC), or ARC Biobank, stores flight and ground biospecimens from Space Shuttle and ISS programs. These specimens are curated and managed by the Ames Life Sciences Data Archive (ALSDA), an internal node of NASA's Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA). The ARC Biolbank stores over 15,000 specimens from experiments dating from 1984 to present. Currently available specimens include tissues from the circulatory, digestive, endocrine, excretory, integumentary, muscular, neurosensory, reproductive, respiratory and skeletal systems. The most recent contributions include RNA, DNA and protein extracts from Rodent Research 1 and tissues from Rodent Research 4. NASA's biospecimen collection represents a unique and limited resource. The use of these biospecimens maximizes utilization and scientific return from these unique spaceflight payload and ground control research subjects. These biospecimens are harvested following complex, costly NASA research activities to meet primary scientific objectives. Once the primary scientific objectives have been met, the remaining specimens are made available to provide secondary opportunities for complementary studies or new investigations to broaden research without large expenditures of time or resources. Innovative ways of sharing this information ultimately advances the frontiers of human space exploration as well as scientific understanding of the effects of gravity on life on earth.

French, Alison J.↗

HamLib: A library of Hamiltonians for benchmarking quantum algorithms and hardware

In order to characterize and benchmark computational hardware, software, and algorithms, it is essential to have many problem instances on-hand. This is no less true for quantum computation, where a large collection of real-world problem instances would allow for benchmarking studies that in turn help to improve both algorithms and hardware designs. To this end, here we present a large dataset of qubit-based quantum Hamiltonians. The dataset, called HamLib (for Hamiltonian Library), is freely available online and contains problem sizes ranging from 2 to 1000 qubits. HamLib includes problem instances of the Heisenberg model, Fermi-Hubbard model, Bose-Hubbard model, molecular electronic structure, molecular vibrational structure, MaxCut, Max- k -SAT, Max- k -Cut, QMaxCut, and the traveling salesperson problem. The goals of this effort are (a) to save researchers time by eliminating the need to prepare problem instances and map them to qubit representations, (b) to allow for more thorough tests of new algorithms and hardware, and (c) to allow for reproducibility and standardization across research studies.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Methods for Measuring and Computing the Reference Temperature in Newton’s Law of Cooling for External Flows

Newton’s law of cooling requires a reference temperature (𝑇 𝑟𝑒𝑓 ) to define the heat-transfer coefficient (ℎ). For external flows with multiple temperatures in the freestream, obtaining 𝑇 𝑟𝑒𝑓 is a challenge. One widely used method, referred to as the adiabatic-wall (AW) method, obtains 𝑇 𝑟𝑒𝑓 by requiring the surface of the solid exposed to convective heat transfer to be adiabatic. Another widely used method, referred to as the linear-extrapolation (LE) method, obtains 𝑇 𝑟𝑒𝑓 by measuring/computing the heat flux ($𝑞^{′′}_𝑠$) on the solid surface at two different surface temperatures (𝑇 𝑠 ) and then linearly extrapolating to $𝑞^{′′}_𝑠$ = 0. A third recently developed method, referred to as the state-space (SS) method, obtains 𝑇 𝑟𝑒𝑓 by probing the temperature space between the highest and lowest in the flow to account for the effects of 𝑇 𝑠 or $𝑞^{′′}_𝑠$ on 𝑇 𝑟𝑒𝑓 . This study examines the foundation and accuracy of these methods via a test problem involving film cooling of a flat plate where $𝑞^{′′}_𝑠$ switches signs on the plate’s surface. Results obtained show that only the SS method could guarantee a unique and physically meaningful 𝑇 𝑟𝑒𝑓 where 𝑇 𝑠 =𝑇 𝑟𝑒𝑓 on a nonadiabatic surface $𝑞^{′′}_𝑠$ = 0. The AW and LE methods both assume 𝑇 𝑟𝑒𝑓 to be independent of 𝑇 𝑠 , which the SS method shows to be incorrect. Though this study also showed the adiabatic-wall temperature, 𝑇 𝐴𝑊 , to be a good approximation of 𝑇 𝑟𝑒𝑓 (<10% relative error), huge errors can occur in ℎ about the solid surface where |𝑇 𝑠 −𝑇 𝐴𝑊 | is near zero because where 𝑇 𝑠 =𝑇 𝐴𝑊 , $𝑞^{′′}_𝑠$ ≠ 0.

Newton's law of cooling↗

SIDS-toADF File Mapping Manual

The "CFD General Notation System" (CGNS) consists of a collection of conventions, and conforming software, for the storage and retrieval of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) data. It facilitates the exchange of data between sites and applications, and helps stabilize the archiving of aerodynamic data. This effort was initiated in order to streamline the procedures in exchanging data and software between NASA and its customers, but the goal is to develop CGNS into a National Standard for the exchange of aerodynamic data. The CGNS development team is comprised of members from Boeing Commercial Airplane Group, NASA-Ames, NASA-Langley, NASA-Lewis, McDonnell-Douglas Corporation (now Boeing-St. Louis), Air Force-Wright Lab., and ICEM-CFD Engineering. The elements of CGNS address all activities associated with the storage of data on external media and its movement to and from application programs. These elements include: 1) The Advanced Data Format (ADF) Database manager, consisting of both a file format specification and its I/O software, which handles the actual reading and writing of data from and to external storage media; 2) The Standard Interface Data Structures (SIDS), which specify the intellectual content of CFD data and the conventions governing naming and terminology; 3) The SIDS-to-ADF File Mapping conventions, which specify the exact location where the CFD data defined by the SIDS is to be stored within the ADF file(s); and 4) The CGNS Mid-level Library, which provides CFD-knowledgeable routines suitable for direct installation into application codes. The SIDS-toADF File Mapping Manual specifies the exact manner in which, under CGNS conventions, CFD data structures (the SIDS) are to be stored in (i.e., mapped onto) the file structure provided by the database manager (ADF). The result is a conforming CGNS database. Adherence to the mapping conventions guarantees uniform meaning and location of CFD data within ADF files, and thereby allows the construction of universal software to read and write the data.

McCarthy, Douglas↗

Advanced Data Format (ADF) Software Library and Users Guide

The "CFD General Notation System" (CGNS) consists of a collection of conventions, and conforming software, for the storage and retrieval of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) data. It facilitates the exchange of data between sites and applications, and helps stabilize the archiving of aerodynamic data. This effort was initiated in order to streamline the procedures in exchanging data and software between NASA and its customers, but the goal is to develop CGNS into a National Standard for the exchange of aerodynamic data. The CGNS development team is comprised of members from Boeing Commercial. Airplane Group, NASA-Ames, NASA-Langley, NASA-Lewis, McDonnell-Douglas Corporation (now Boeing-St. Louis), Air Force-Wright Lab., and ICEM-CFD Engineering. The elements of CGNS address all activities associated with the storage of data on external media and its movement to and from application programs. These elements include: 1) The Advanced Data Format (ADF) Database manager, consisting of both a file format specification and its 1/0 software, which handles the actual reading and writing of data from and to external storage media; 2) The Standard Interface Data Structures (SIDS), which specify the intellectual content of CFD data and the conventions governing naming and terminology; 3) The SIDS-to-ADF File Mapping conventions, which specify the exact location where the CFD data defined by the SIDS is to be stored within the ADF file(s); and 4) The CGNS Mid-level Library, which provides CFD-knowledgeable routines suitable for direct installation into application codes. The ADF is a generic database manager with minimal intrinsic capability. It was written for the purpose of storing large numerical datasets in an efficient, platform independent manner. To be effective, it must be used in conjunction with external agreements on how the data will be organized within the ADF database such defined by the SIDS. There are currently 34 user callable functions that comprise the ADF Core library and are described in the Users Guide. The library is written in C, but each function has a FORTRAN counterpart.

Smith, Matthew↗

CGNS Mid-Level Software Library and Users Guide

The "CFD General Notation System" (CGNS) consists of a collection of conventions, and conforming software, for the storage and retrieval of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) data. It facilitates the exchange of data between sites and applications, and helps stabilize the archiving of aerodynamic data. This effort was initiated in order to streamline the procedures in exchanging data and software between NASA and its customers, but the goal is to develop CGNS into a National Standard for the exchange of aerodynamic data. The CGNS development team is comprised of members from Boeing Commercial Airplane Group, NASA-Ames, NASA-Langley, NASA-Lewis, McDonnell-Douglas Corporation (now Boeing-St. Louis), Air Force-Wright Lab., and ICEM-CFD Engineering. The elements of CGNS address all activities associated with the storage of data on external media and its movement to and from application programs. These elements include: - The Advanced Data Format (ADF) Database manager, consisting of both a file format specification and its I/O software, which handles the actual reading and writing of data from and to external storage media; - The Standard Interface Data Structures (SIDS), which specify the intellectual content of CFD data and the conventions governing naming and terminology; - The SIDS-to-ADF File Mapping conventions, which specify the exact location where the CFD data defined by the SIDS is to be stored within the ADF file(s); and - The CGNS Mid-level Library, which provides CFD-knowledgeable routines suitable for direct installation into application codes. The CGNS Mid-level Library was designed to ease the implementation of CGNS by providing developers with a collection of handy I/O functions. Since knowledge of the ADF core is not required to use this library, it will greatly facilitate the task of interfacing with CGNS. There are currently 48 user callable functions that comprise the Mid-level library and are described in the Users Guide. The library is written in C, but each function has a FORTRAN counterpart.

Poirier, Diane↗

Verification Tools Secure Online Shopping, Banking

Just like rover or rocket technology sent into space, the software that controls these technologies must be extensively tested to ensure reliability and effectiveness. Ames Research Center invented the open-source Java Pathfinder (JPF) toolset for the deep testing of Java-based programs. Fujitsu Labs of America Inc., based in Sunnyvale, California, improved the capabilities of the JPF Symbolic Pathfinder tool, establishing the tool as a means of thoroughly testing the functionality and security of Web-based Java applications such as those used for Internet shopping and banking.

Source record↗

Integrated Test and Evaluation (ITE) Flight Test Series 4

The integrated Flight Test 4 (FT4) will gather data for the UAS researchers Sense and Avoid systems (referred to as Detect and Avoid in the RTCA SC 228 ToR) algorithms and pilot displays for candidate UAS systems in a relevant environment. The technical goals of FT4 are to: 1) perform end-to-end traffic encounter test of pilot guidance generated by DAA algorithms; 2) collect data to inform the initial Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) for Detect and Avoid systems. FT4 objectives and test infrastructure builds from previous UAS project simulations and flight tests. NASA Ames (ARC), NASA Armstrong (AFRC), and NASA Langley (LaRC) Research Centers will share responsibility for conducting the tests, each providing a test lab and critical functionality. UAS-NAS project support and participation on the 2014 flight test of ACAS Xu and DAA Self Separation (SS) significantly contributed to building up infrastructure and procedures for FT3 as well. The DAA Scripted flight test (FT4) will be conducted out of NASA Armstrong over an eight-week period beginning in April 2016.

ITE↗

FEP Extensible Proxy

The FEP Extensible Proxy (FEP) provides schema-less micro-service JSON communications for the Airspace Operations Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center. The FEP grew out of a need to provide robust communications pathways for future airspace simulation capabilities for the lab. FEP provides a websocket based publish/subscribe communications pathway.

FEP Extensible Proxy↗

Proceedings of a conference on Cardiovascular Bioinstrumentation

The Ames Research Center (ARC) has a long history in the development of cardiovascular (CV) instrumentation for human and animal research. The ARC Cardiovascular Research Lab under the Space Physiology Branch, Space Research Directorate, supports both ground-based and space-based animal and human research goals. The Cardiovascular Research Laboratory was established at ARC in the mid 1960's to conduct ground-based animal research and support development of advanced cardiovascular instrumentation applicable to spaceflight. The ARC Biomedical Research Program also conducts human studies with a CV instrumentation focus.

Ballard, Rodney W.↗