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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2000

Technical Report Series on the Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) RSS-19 1994 CASI At-Sensor Radiance and Reflectance Images

The Remote Sensing Science (RSS)-19 team collected Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) images from the Chieftain Navaho aircraft in order to observe the seasonal change in the radiometric reflectance properties of the boreal forest landscape. CASI was deployed as a site-specific optical sensor during Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) field campaigns. Image data were collected with CASI on 36 days during five field campaigns between February and September 1994, primarily at flux tower sites located at study sites near Thompson, Manitoba, and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. A variety of CASI data collection strategies were used to meet the following scientific objectives: 1) canopy bidirectional reflectance, 2) canopy biochemistry, 3) spatial variability, and 4) estimates of up and downwelling Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) and spectral albedo, as well as changes along transects across lakes and transects the Northern Study Area (NSA) and Southern Study Area (SSA). The images are stored as binary image files. A subset of the 1994 CASI acquisitions have been compressed and included on the BOREAS CD-ROM set. This subset includes three images for the NSA-OBS (Old Black Spruce) site on 06 Jun 94, 08 Aug 94, and 06 Sep 94, one image for the SSA-OBS site on 24 Jul 94; and one image for the NSA-Fen site on 08 Aug 94. The CASI imagery on the BOREAS CD-ROMs have been compressed using the Gzip program. The rest of the 1994 BOREAS CASI archive are not contained on the BOREAS CD-ROM set. Inventory listing files are supplied on the CD-ROM to inform users of the data that were collected. The RSS-19 1994 CASI images are available from the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC). The data files are available on a CD-ROM (see document number 20010000884).

Miller, John↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Crew Autonomy through Self-Scheduling: Guidelines for Crew Scheduling Performance Envelope and Mitigation Strategies

Future long duration exploration missions (LDEMs) bring new challenges to astronaut crews in deep space, one of which is increased communication latencies with ground stations. As a result, crews will have to behave more autonomously by self-scheduling their own operational timelines in an efficient and effective manner. To support crew autonomy, our team has spent the last few years developing Playbook, a mission planning and scheduling tool. Our research focuses on investigating scheduling performance using Playbook to inform the deployment of novel aids that streamline the timeline creation process and proposing relevant standards and guidelines for autonomous crews in LDEMs. Summarizing yearly progress of research analysis and experiment in HERA.

user experience↗
NASA NTRS2024

Assessment of landscape-scale fluxes of carbon dioxide and methane in subtropical coastal wetlands of South Florida

Coastal wetlands play a significant role in the storage of “blue carbon,” indicating their importance in the carbon biogeochemistry in the coastal zone and in global climate change mitigation strategies. We present airborne eddy covariance observations of CO 2 and CH 2 fluxes collected in southern Florida as part of the NASA BlueFlux mission during April 2022, October 2022, February 2023, and April 2023. The flux data generated from this mission consists of over 100 flight hours and more than 6,000 km of horizontal distance over coastal saline and freshwater wetlands. We find that the spatial and temporal heterogeneity in CO 2 and CH 2 exchange is primarily influenced by season, vegetation type, ecosystem productivity, and soil inundation. The largest CO 2 uptake fluxes of more than 20 μmol m -2 s -1 were observed over mangroves during all deployments and over swamp forests during flights in April. The greatest CH 4 effluxes of more than 250 nmol m -2 s -1 were measured at the end of the wet season in October 2022 over freshwater marshes and swamp shrublands. Although the combined Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve region was a net sink for carbon, CH 4 emissions reduced the ecosystem carbon uptake capacity (net CO 2 exchange rates) by 11%–91%. Average total net carbon exchange rates during the flight periods were −4 to −0.2 g CO 2 -eq m -2 d -1 . Our results highlight the importance of preserving mangrove forests and point to potential avenues of further research for greenhouse gas mitigation strategies.

atmosphere↗
NASA NTRS1988

LDR structural experiment definition

A system study to develop the definition of a structural flight experiment for a large precision segmented reflector on the Space Station was accomplished by the Boeing Aerospace Company for NASA's Langley Research Center. The objective of the study was to use a Large Deployable Reflector (LDR) baseline configuration as the basis for focusing an experiment definition, so that the resulting accommodation requirements and interface constraints could be used as part of the mission requirements data base for Space Station. The primary objectives of the first experiment are to construct the primary mirror support truss and to determine its structural and thermal characteristics. Addition of an optical bench, thermal shield and primary mirror segments, and alignment of the optical components, would occur on a second experiment. The structure would then be moved to the payload point system for pointing, optical control, and scientific optical measurement for a third experiment. Experiment 1 will deploy the primary support truss while it is attached to the instrument module structure. The ability to adjust the mirror attachment points and to attach several dummy primary mirror segments with a robotic system will also be demonstrated. Experiment 2 will be achieved by adding new components and equipment to experiment one. Experiment 3 will demonstrate advanced control strategies, active adjustment of the primary mirror alignment, and technologies associated with optical sensing.

Russell, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Mars Orbit Rendezvous Strategy for the Mars 2003/2005 Sample Return Mission

The primary objective of the Mars 2003/2005 Sample Return Project is to return Martian surface materials to Earth from two different sites by the year 2008. The baseline mission plan relies heavily on the use of a Mars orbit rendezvous strategy similar to the lunar orbit rendezvous scheme used for the Apollo missions. The 2003 mission consists of a single spacecraft comprised of a Lander, Rover, and Mars ascent vehicle (MAV). The 2003 mission will be launched on a Delta-III-class launch vehicle in May/June 2003 and arrive at Mars in December 2003/January 2004. The Lander deploys the Rover to collect surface samples from several sites and return them to the Lander where they are transferred to a sample canister onboard the MAV. The MAV is launched into a low Mars orbit (targeted for 600 km circular, 45 deg inclination) and releases the sample canister to await retrieval by an Orbiter launched in 2005. (The sample canister is a passive vehicle with no maneuvering capability.) The duration of Mars surface operations is at most about 90 days. The 2005 mission consists of two separate spacecraft: a Lander/Rover/MAV spacecraft identical to that used for the 2003 mission and an Orbiter carrying an Earth Entry Vehicle (EEV). Both spacecraft will be launched on a single Ariane-5 in August 2005 and arrive at Mars in July/August 2006. A second sample canister is delivered to Mars orbit using the same scenario as was used for the 2003 mission. The Orbiter uses aerocapture for insertion into Mars orbit (targeted for 250 x 1400 km, 45 deg inclination). During its approximately one-year stay at Mars, the Orbiter will search for and attempt to rendezvous first with the 2003 sample canister and then with the 2005 sample canister. After retrieval, each sample canister is transferred to the EEV. The Orbiter departs Mars in July 2007 and returns to Earth in October 2008 on a trajectory targeted for landing at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). After deploying the EEV, the Orbiter performs a deflection maneuver to avoid reentry into Earth's atmosphere.

DAmario, Louis A.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Efficient 1.6 Micron Laser Source for Methane DIAL

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and on a per molecule basis has a warming influence 72 times that of carbon dioxide over a 20 year horizon. Therefore, it is important to look at near term radiative effects due to methane to develop mitigation strategies to counteract global warming trends via ground and airborne based measurements systems. These systems require the development of a time-resolved DIAL capability using a narrow-line laser source allowing observation of atmospheric methane on local, regional and global scales. In this work, a demonstrated and efficient nonlinear conversion scheme meeting the performance requirements of a deployable methane DIAL system is presented. By combining a single frequency 1064 nm pump source and a seeded KTP OPO more than 5 mJ of 1.6 μm pulse energy is generated with conversion efficiencies in excess of 20%. Even without active cavity control instrument limited linewidths (50 pm) were achieved with an estimated spectral purity of ~95%. Tunable operation over 400 pm (limited by the tuning range of the seed laser) was also demonstrated. This source demonstrated the critical needs for a methane DIAL system motivating additional development of the technology.

Shuman, Timothy↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Cyber Resiliency and the Implementation of a Host-Based Intrusion Detection System in an Urban Air Mobility Environment

With the growth in urban air mobility systems and the increasing reliance on interconnected technologies, ensuring the security of these complex infrastructures has become critical. As cities evolve into smart urban centers, the vulnerability to cyber threats escalates, possibly endangering citizens’ safety and the efficiency of transportation networks. In response to these challenges, this paper presents a study on implementing a Host-Based Intrusion Detection System (HIDS) tailored explicitly to urban mobility environments’ unique demands. This study explores the design, development, and deployment of the proposed HIDS, focusing on its adaptability to monitor the hybrid nature of the urban mobility environment. Leveraging machine learning algorithms and anomaly detection techniques, the HIDS is equipped to continuously monitor and analyze the behavior of individual host systems, vehicles, and devices, thereby providing a proactive approach to threat detection. Implementing a HIDS is a pivotal strategy for enhancing cyber resiliency, as it gives an organization granular visibility into internal system activities, enables rapid detection and response to anomalous behavior and cyber threats, and fortifies the organization’s overall cybersecurity posture. In conclusion, this paper highlights the significance of host-based intrusion detection in urban mobility environments and underscores the necessity of tailored security solutions to safeguard against emerging cyber threats.

UAM↗
NASA NTRS2000

BOREAS RSS-19 1996 CASI At-Sensor Radiance and Reflectance Images

The BOREAS RSS-19 team collected CASI images from the Chieftain Navaho aircraft in order to observe the seasonal change in the radiometric reflectance properties of the boreal forest landscape. CASI was deployed as a site-specific optical sensor as part of BOREAS. The overall objective of the CASI deployment was to observe the seasonal change in the radiometric reflectance properties of the boreal forest landscape. In 1996, image data were collected with CASI on 15 days during a field campaign between 18-July and 01 -August, primarily at flux tower sites located at study sites near Thompson, Manitoba, and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. A variety of CASI data collection strategies were used to meet the following scientific objectives: 1) canopy bidirectional reflectance, 2) canopy biochemistry, 3) spatial variability, and 4) estimates of up and downwelling PAR spectral albedo, as well as changes along transects across lakes at the southern site and transects between the NSA and SSA. The images are stored as binary image files. The data files are available on a CD-ROM (see document number 20010000884) or from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC).

Miller, John↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Conceptual Thermal Control System Design for a Lunar Surface Habitat

NASA is currently considering a Surface Habitat (SH) to provide 30-60 day habitability for a crew of up to four to explore the Lunar surface at a South Pole location. The SH concept is comprised of an inflatable volume for the habitable space, a metallic airlock and a descent stage with access to a pressurized rover and other surface assets provided through the airlock. A conceptual architecture for the SH Thermal Control System (TCS) is presented with resource estimates. The TCS design employs a dual loop architecture with a water/propylene glycol mix for the internal crew spaces with a freeze tolerant coolant utilized for the external loop. The internal loop is partitioned into low and moderate temperature service with a sublimator available for operational scenarios prior to thermal radiator deployment (or redeployment). Analytical models are utilized to optimize radiator geometry/orientation as well as the TCS internal/external loop architecture. Heritage hardware is utilized for the TCS concept wherever possible and low mass, dust tolerant, deployable/retractable thermal radiators (in partial gravity) present a technology challenge. The TCS must accommodate infrequent eclipse periods lasting up to 100 hours in duration and mitigation strategies to reduce the energy needed to maintain the SH and associated systems above survival temperature limits during this period are explored. Mitigation options include retractable or freezable radiators, other reconfigurable radiator geometries, alternate fluids, re-generable heat exchangers, temperature excursions, thermal energy storage and optimized inflatable optical properties. Finally, TCS sensitivity to SH Electrical Power System (EPS) growth is considered with both operational and dormant impacts quantified.

Thermal Control↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Conceptual Thermal Control System Design for a Lunar Surface Habitat

NASA is currently considering a Surface Habitat (SH) to provide 30-60 day habitability for a crew of up to four to explore the Lunar surface at a South Pole location. The SH concept is comprised of an inflatable volume for the habitable space, a metallic airlock and a descent stage with access to a pressurized rover and other surface assets provided through the airlock. A conceptual architecture for the SH Thermal Control System (TCS) is presented with resource estimates. The TCS design employs a dual loop architecture with a water/propylene glycol mix for the internal crew spaces with a freeze tolerant coolant utilized for the external loop. The internal loop is partitioned into low and moderate temperature service with a sublimator available for operational scenarios prior to thermal radiator deployment (or redeployment). Analytical models are utilized to optimize radiator geometry/orientation as well as the TCS internal/external loop architecture. Heritage hardware is utilized for the TCS concept wherever possible and low mass, dust tolerant, deployable/retractable thermal radiators (in partial gravity) present a technology challenge. The TCS must accommodate infrequent eclipse periods lasting up to 100 hours in duration and mitigation strategies to reduce the energy needed to maintain the SH and associated systems above survival temperature limits during this period are explored. Mitigation options include retractable or freezable radiators, other reconfigurable radiator geometries, alternate fluids, re-generable heat exchangers, temperature excursions, thermal energy storage and optimized inflatable optical properties. Finally, TCS sensitivity to SH Electrical Power System (EPS) growth is considered with both operational and dormant impacts quantified.

Thermal Control↗
NASA NTRS2024

Low-Cost Sensor Performance Intercomparison, Correction Factor Development, and 2+ Years of Ambient PM2.5 Monitoring in Accra, Ghana

Particulate matter air pollution is a leading cause of global mortality, particularly in Asia and Africa. Addressing the high and wide-ranging air pollution levels requires ambient monitoring, but many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remain scarcely monitored. To address these data gaps, recent studies have utilized low-cost sensors. These sensors have varied performance, and little literature exists about sensor intercomparison in Africa. By colocating 2 QuantAQ Modulair-PM, 2 PurpleAir PA-II SD, and 16 Clarity Node-S Generation II monitors with a reference-grade Teledyne monitor in Accra, Ghana, we present the first intercomparisons of different brands of low-cost sensors in Africa, demonstrating that each type of low-cost sensor PM2.5 is strongly correlated with reference PM2.5, but biased high for ambient mixture of sources found in Accra. When compared to a reference monitor, the QuantAQ Modulair-PM has the lowest mean absolute error at 3.04 μg/m3, followed by PurpleAir PA-II (4.54 μg/m3) and Clarity Node-S (13.68 μg/m3). We also compare the usage of 4 statistical or machine learning models (Multiple Linear Regression, Random Forest, Gaussian Mixture Regression, and XGBoost) to correct low-cost sensors data, and find that XGBoost performs the best in testing (R2: 0.97, 0.94, 0.96; mean absolute error: 0.56, 0.80, and 0.68 μg/m3 for PurpleAir PA-II, Clarity Node-S, and Modulair-PM, respectively), but tree-based models do not perform well when correcting data outside the range of the colocation training. Therefore, we used Gaussian Mixture Regression to correct data from the network of 17 Clarity Node-S monitors deployed around Accra, Ghana, from 2018 to 2021. We find that the network daily average PM2.5 concentration in Accra is 23.4 μg/m3, which is 1.6 times the World Health Organization Daily PM2.5 guideline of 15 μg/m3. While this level is lower than those seen in some larger African cities (such as Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo), mitigation strategies should be developed soon to prevent further impairment to air quality as Accra, and Ghana as a whole, rapidly grow.

Humidity↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Cyber Resiliency and the Implementation of a Host-Based Intrusion Detection System in an Urban Air Mobility Environment

With the growth in Urban Air Mobility systems and the increasing reliance on interconnected technologies, ensuring the security of these complex components has become critical. As cities evolve into smart urban centers, the vulnerability to cyber threats escalates, possibly endangering citizens safety and the efficiency of transportation networks.In response to these challenges, this paper presents a study on the need for cyber resilient techniques within future air traffic environments. It will pay specific attention to the implementation of a Host-Based Intrusion Detection System (HIDS) utilizing Atomic OSSEC software, tailored specifically to a NASA simulation of an UrbanAirMobility environments’ unique demands. Further, this study seeks to outline the rational for NASA’s recommendation for a HIDS in such environments. It explores the design, development, and deployment of the proposed HIDS, focusing on its adaptability to monitor the hybrid nature of the Urban Air Mobility environment. Leveraging machine learning algorithms and anomaly detection techniques, the HIDS is equipped to continuously monitor and analyze the behavior of individual host systems, vehicles, and devices, thereby providing a proactive approach to threat detection. Implementing a HIDS is a pivotal strategy for enhancing cyber resiliency, as it gives an organization granular visibility into internal system activities, enables rapid detection and response to anomalous behavior and cyber threats, and fortifies the organizations overall cybersecurity posture. Finally, this study aims to provide recommendations and include learned takeaways that the Urban Air Mobility industry should consider. In brief, this paper highlights the significance of host-based intrusion detection in UrbanAirMobility environments and underscores the necessity of tailored security solutions to safeguard against emerging cyber threats.

UAM↗
NASA NTRS1996

Distributed Large Data-Object Environments: End-to-End Performance Analysis of High Speed Distributed Storage Systems in Wide Area ATM Networks

We have developed and deployed a distributed-parallel storage system (DPSS) in several high speed asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) wide area networks (WAN) testbeds to support several different types of data-intensive applications. Architecturally, the DPSS is a network striped disk array, but is fairly unique in that its implementation allows applications complete freedom to determine optimal data layout, replication and/or coding redundancy strategy, security policy, and dynamic reconfiguration. In conjunction with the DPSS, we have developed a 'top-to-bottom, end-to-end' performance monitoring and analysis methodology that has allowed us to characterize all aspects of the DPSS operating in high speed ATM networks. In particular, we have run a variety of performance monitoring experiments involving the DPSS in the MAGIC testbed, which is a large scale, high speed, ATM network and we describe our experience using the monitoring methodology to identify and correct problems that limit the performance of high speed distributed applications. Finally, the DPSS is part of an overall architecture for using high speed, WAN's for enabling the routine, location independent use of large data-objects. Since this is part of the motivation for a distributed storage system, we describe this architecture.

Johnston, William↗
NASA NTRS2022

EarthShine: Observing Our World as an Exoplanet from the Surface of the Moon

NASA’s return to the Moon coincides with explosive growth in exoplanet discovery. Missions are being formulated to search for habitable planets orbiting other stars, making this the ideal time to deploy an instrument suite to the lunar surface to help us recognize a habitable exoplanet when we see it. We present EarthShine, a technically mature, three-instrument suite to observe the whole Earth from the Moon as an exoplanet proxy. Earth Shine data will validate and improve models critical for designing missions to image and characterize exoplanets, thus informing observing strategies for flagship missions to directly image exoplanets. EarthShine will answer interconnected questions in Earth and lunar science, exoplanets, and astrobiology, related to the credo“ follow the water.” Earth Shine can take advantage of current NASA programs to conduct science from the Moon with low-cost, mature space hardware to reduce risk and assure success. Like the 1968 Apollo Earthrise image of our home planet, lonely in the black sky, the appeal of Earth Shine to a multidisciplinary array of researchers in Earth Science, Planetary Science, and astrophysics will maximize both its scientific impact and its impact on the general public.

EarthShine↗
NASA NTRS2016

iSat Surface Charging and Thruster Plume Interactions Analysis

Characterizing the electromagnetic interaction of a satellite in low Earth, high inclination orbit with the space plasma environment and identifying viable charging mitigation strategies is a critical mission design task. High inclination orbits expose the vehicle to auroral charging environments that can potentially charge surfaces to kilovolt potentials and electric thruster propulsion systems will interact with the ambient plasma environment throughout the orbit. NASA is designing the Iodine Satellite (iSAT) cubesat mission to demonstrate operations of an iodine electric thruster system. The spacecraft will be deployed as a secondary payload from a launch vehicle which has not yet been identified so the program must plan for the worst case environments over a range of orbital inclinations. We will first present results from a NASA and Air Force Charging Analyzer Program (Nascap) -2k surface charging calculation used to evaluate the effects of auroral charging on the spacecraft and to provide the charging levels at other locations in orbit for a thruster plume interaction analysis for the iSAT mission. We will then discuss results from the thruster interactions analysis using the Electric Propulsion Interactions Code (EPIC) with inputs from Nascap-2k. The results of these analyses are being used by the iSAT program to better understand how their spacecraft will interact with the space plasma environment in the range of environments that could be encountered when the final mission orbit is selected.

Parker, L. Neergaard↗
NASA NTRS2010

Moving Toward Space Internetworking via DTN: Its Operational Challenges, Benefits, and Management

The international space community has begun to recognize that the established model for management of communications with spacecraft - commanded data transmission over individual pair-wise contacts - is operationally unwieldy and will not scale in support of increasingly complex and sophisticated missions such as NASA's Constellation project. Accordingly, the international Inter-Agency Operations Advisory Group (IOAG) ichartered a Space Internetworking Strategy Group (SISG), which released its initial recommendations in a November 2008 report. The report includes a recommendation that the space flight community adopt Delay-Tolerant Networking (DTN) to address the problem of interoperability and communication scaling, especially in mission environments where there are multiple spacecraft operating in concert. This paper explores some of the issues that must be addressed in implementing, deploying, and operating DTN as part of a multi-mission, multi-agency space internetwork as well as benefits and future operational scenarios afforded by DTN-based space internetworking.

Delay Tolerant Networking↗
NASA NTRS2005

Using Wind Driven Tumbleweed Rovers to Explore Martian Gully Features

Gully features have been observed on the slopes of numerous Martian crater walls, valleys, pits, and graben. Several mechanisms for gully formation have been proposed, including: liquid water aquifers (shallow and deep), melting ground ice, snow melt, CO2 aquifers, and dry debris flow. Remote sensing observations indicate that the most likely erosional agent is liquid water. Debate concerns the source of this water. Observations favor a liquid water aquifer as the primary candidate. The current strategy in the search for life on Mars is to "follow the water." A new vehicle known as a Tumbleweed rover may be able to conduct in-situ investigations in the gullies, which are currently inaccessible by conventional rovers. Deriving mobility through use of the surface winds on Mars, Tumbleweed rovers would be lightweight and relatively inexpensive thus allowing multiple rovers to be deployed in a single mission to survey areas for future exploration. NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) is developing deployable structure Tumbleweed concepts. An extremely lightweight measurement acquisition system and sensors are proposed for the Tumbleweed rover that greatly increases the number of measurements performed while having negligible mass increase. The key to this method is the use of magnetic field response sensors designed as passive inductor-capacitor circuits that produce magnetic field responses whose attributes correspond to values of physical properties for which the sensors measure. The sensors do not need a physical connection to a power source or to data acquisition equipment resulting in additional weight reduction. Many of the sensors and interrogating antennae can be directly placed on the Tumbleweed using film deposition methods such as photolithography thus providing further weight reduction. Concepts are presented herein for methods to measure subsurface water, subsurface metals, planetary winds and environmental gases.

Antol, Jeffrey↗
NASA NTRS2004

Using Wind Driven Tumbleweed Rovers to Explore Martian Gully Features

Gully features have been observed on the slopes of numerous Martian crater walls, valleys, pits, and graben. Several mechanisms for gully formation have been proposed, including: liquid water aquifers (shallow and deep), melting ground ice, snow melt, CO2 aquifers, and dry debris flow. Remote sensing observations indicate that the most likely erosional agent is liquid water. Debate concerns the source of this water. Observations favor a liquid water aquifer as the primary candidate. The current strategy in the search for life on Mars is to "follow the water." A new vehicle known as a Tumbleweed rover may be able to conduct in-situ investigations in the gullies, which are currently inaccessible by conventional rovers. Deriving mobility through use of the surface winds on Mars, Tumbleweed rovers would be lightweight and relatively inexpensive thus allowing multiple rovers to be deployed in a single mission to survey areas for future exploration. NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) is developing deployable structure Tumbleweed concepts. An extremely lightweight measurement acquisition system and sensors are proposed for the Tumbleweed rover that greatly increases the number of measurements performed while having negligible mass increase. The key to this method is the use of magnetic field response sensors designed as passive inductor-capacitor circuits that produce magnetic field responses whose attributes correspond to values of physical properties for which the sensors measure. The sensors do not need a physical connection to a power source or to data acquisition equipment resulting in additional weight reduction. Many of the sensors and interrogating antennae can be directly placed on the Tumbleweed using film deposition methods such as photolithography thus providing further weight reduction. Concepts are presented herein for methods to measure subsurface water, subsurface metals, planetary winds and environmental gases.

Antol, Jeffrey↗