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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 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2013

First Results from NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE)

As of early August, 2013, the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission is scheduled for launch on a Minotaur V rocket from Wallops Flight Facility during a five-day launch period that opens on Sept. 6, 2013 (early Sept. 7 UTC). LADEE will address 40 year-old mysteries of the lunar atmosphere and the question of levitated lunar dust. It will also pioneer the next generation of optical space communications. LADEE will assess the composition of the lunar atmosphere and investigate the processes that control its distribution and variability, including sources, sinks, and surface interactions. LADEE will also determine whether dust is present in the lunar exosphere, and reveal its sources and variability. These investigations are relevant to our understanding of surface boundary exospheres and dust processes occurring at many objects throughout the solar system, address questions regarding the origin and evolution of lunar volatiles, and have potential implications for future exploration activities. Following a successful launch, LADEE will enter a series of phasing orbits, which allows the spacecraft to arrive at the Moon at the proper time and phase. This approach accommodates any dispersion in the Minotaur V launch injection. LADEE's arrival at the moon in early October. The spacecraft will approach the moon from its leading edge, travel behind the Moon out of sight of the Earth, and then re-emerge and execute a three-minute Lunar Orbit Insertion maneuver. This will place LADEE in an elliptical retrograde equatorial orbit with an orbital period of approximately 24 hours. A series of maneuvers is then performed to reduce the orbit to become nearly circular with a 156-mile (250- kilometer) altitude. Spacecraft checkout and science instrument commissioning will commence in early-October and will nominally span 30 days but can be extended for an additional 30 days in the event of contingencies. Following commissioning, the 100-day Science Phase is performed at an orbit with periapsis between 20-60 km. This orbit must be constantly managed due to the Moon's highly inhomogeneous gravity field. During the Science Phase, the moon will rotate more than three times underneath the LADEE orbit. LADEE employs a high heritage instrument payload: a Neutral Mass Spectrometer (NMS) from Goddard Space Flight Center, an Ultraviolet/Visible Spectrometer (UVS) from Ames Research Center, and a dust detection experiment (LDEX) from the University of Colorado/LASP. It will also carry the Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration (LLCD) as a technology demonstration. The LLCD is funded by the Human Exploration Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD), managed by GSFC, and built by the MIT Lincoln Lab. Contingent upon LADEE's successful lunar orbit insertion and checkout, we will report the early results from the science investigations.

Moon↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Mitigating Microbial Contamination Risks in CO 2 Removal Systems for Long-Duration Space Missions

Crewed missions to Mars and beyond pose new challenges for the crew and the technological solutions they depend upon. Crucial considerations in designing the next generation of Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) include enhanced reliability and autonomy, given the challenges of resupply and resource recovery in remote missions. One significant challenge faced in various sectors of the International Space Station and ECLSS is the phenomena of microbial growth, particularly biofilm formation. As such, microbial growth is a critical consideration in the design phase of new ECLSS systems. Two novel CO2 removal systems—Liquid-Amines CO2 Removal (LACR) and Cold-Surface CO2 Deposition (CDep)—are currently under development at the NASA Ames Research Center to meet the needs of extended space travel. In this presentation, the authors aim to make a risk assessment of microbial growth in LACR and CDep through: 1) a comprehensive literature review to identify LACR and CDep components most vulnerable to microbial contamination and 2) wet lab testing commencing with a subscale test of the most susceptible component of CDep. The literature review revealed that the hollow-fiber Liqui-Cel membrane employed in CDep exhibits the highest susceptibility to microbial growth. Our wet lab tests corroborated these findings, as airborne microbes introduced into the membrane led to considerable biomass accumulation. These results indicate a significant risk of microbial invasion into the membranes. To prevent microbial growth in CDep or other CO2 removal systems, proper ECLSS arrangement is essential—a CO2 removal system should remain behind the charcoal-HEPA filters, condensing heat exchanger, and Trace Contaminant Control System. In summary, anticipating potential microbial interactions within ECLSS for remote crewed missions is vital to mission success. It should, therefore, be included as one of the many factors when designing future ECLSS systems to perform reliably and consistently to support astronaut life.

A. Nicolas Whitlock↗
NASA NTRS2008

Software Simulates Sight: Flat Panel Mura Detection

In the increasingly sophisticated world of high-definition flat screen monitors and television screens, image clarity and the elimination of distortion are paramount concerns. As the devices that reproduce images become more and more sophisticated, so do the technologies that verify their accuracy. By simulating the manner in which a human eye perceives and interprets a visual stimulus, NASA scientists have found ways to automatically and accurately test new monitors and displays. The Spatial Standard Observer (SSO) software metric, developed by Dr. Andrew B. Watson at Ames Research Center, measures visibility and defects in screens, displays, and interfaces. In the design of such a software tool, a central challenge is determining which aspects of visual function to include while accuracy and generality are important, relative simplicity of the software module is also a key virtue. Based on data collected in ModelFest, a large cooperative multi-lab project hosted by the Optical Society of America, the SSO simulates a simplified model of human spatial vision, operating on a pair of images that are viewed at a specific viewing distance with pixels having a known relation to luminance. The SSO measures the visibility of foveal spatial patterns, or the discriminability of two patterns, by incorporating only a few essential components of vision. These components include local contrast transformation, a contrast sensitivity function, local masking, and local pooling. By this construction, the SSO provides output in units of "just noticeable differences" (JND) a unit of measure based on the assumed smallest difference of sensory input detectable by a human being. Herein is the truly amazing ability of the SSO, while conventional methods can manipulate images, the SSO models human perception. This set of equations actually defines a mathematical way of working with an image that accurately reflects the way in which the human eye and mind behold a stimulus. The SSO is intended for a wide variety of applications, such as evaluating vision from unmanned aerial vehicles, measuring visibility of damage to aircraft and to the space shuttles, predicting outcomes of corrective laser eye surgery, inspecting displays during the manufacturing process, estimating the quality of compressed digital video, evaluating legibility of text, and predicting discriminability of icons or symbols in a graphical user interface.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1996

Defining X-Ray Diffraction Parameters for the Design and Operation of a Planetary-Surface Rock Analyzer

Our joint research effort was aimed at developing techniques for X-ray diffractometry that was being investigated by NASA as possible flight instrumentation for the exploration of Mars. SJSU would provide the use of in-house X-ray facilities for calibration of the instrumentation , and would provide technical expertise regarding interpretation of data acquired during both laboratory testing, and during field testing of instruments on the Marsokhod rover at Ames. Accomplishments are: (1) quantification of X-ray signals from rock surfaces using San Jose State University (SJSU) diffractometer; (2) development of criteria for fingerprinting rock samples using pattern recognition of diffraction spectra, and augmentation of diffraction data with X-ray fluorescence information; (3) calibration of NASA instrumentation using SJSU-generator data; and (4) assistance in the development, lab testing, and field deployment of the NASA instrument on the Russian Marsokhod roving vehicle designed for martian exploration.

Metzger, Ellen P.↗
DOE OSTI2021

germs-lab/LAMPS-miscanthus-microbiome

Data and analysis to accompany our submitted paper characterizing the LAMPS Miscanthus Microbiome comparing 16S rRNA gene DNA sequencing of Miscanthus in a staggered-start experiment. Authors for this analysis include Fernando Igne Rocha, Lanying Ma, and Adina Howe.

Igne Rocha, Fernando↗
NASA NTRS2017

Ames Engineering Directorate

The Ames Engineering Directorate is the principal engineering organization supporting aerospace systems and spaceflight projects at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. The Directorate supports all phases of engineering and project management for flight and mission projects-from R&D to Close-out-by leveraging the capabilities of multiple divisions and facilities.The Mission Design Center (MDC) has full end-to-end mission design capability with sophisticated analysis and simulation tools in a collaborative concurrent design environment. Services include concept maturity level (CML) maturation, spacecraft design and trades, scientific instruments selection, feasibility assessments, and proposal support and partnerships. The Engineering Systems Division provides robust project management support as well as systems engineering, mechanical and electrical analysis and design, technical authority and project integration support to a variety of programs and projects across NASA centers. The Applied Manufacturing Division turns abstract ideas into tangible hardware for aeronautics, spaceflight and science applications, specializing in fabrication methods and management of complex fabrication projects. The Engineering Evaluation Lab (EEL) provides full satellite or payload environmental testing services including vibration, temperature, humidity, immersion, pressure/altitude, vacuum, high G centrifuge, shock impact testing and the Flight Processing Center (FPC), which includes cleanrooms, bonded stores and flight preparation resources. The Multi-Mission Operations Center (MMOC) is composed of the facilities, networks, IT equipment, software and support services needed by flight projects to effectively and efficiently perform all mission functions, including planning, scheduling, command, telemetry processing and science analysis.

Small Satellites↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

HAT m:N Activity Overview

Since 2020, researchers from the Human Autonomy Teaming (HAT) Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center have conducted human-in-the-loop (HITL) simulation research to study a new control paradigm for operations involving multiple remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS). Colloquially referred to as "m:N," this paradigm is characterized by multiple operators collaboratively controlling multiple vehicles between them. The m:N name expresses a ratio whereby m is the number of operators and N is the number of vehicles shared between them. In this presentation, HAT Lab researchers provide a high-level overview of the m:N studies that have been performed to-date. These include a study of the m:N concept of operations (CONOPS) and the attending roles and responsibilities ("ConOps/R&R Sim"), a study focused on contingency management involving dynamic, inter-operator transfers of vehicles ("Handoff Sim"), and a study examining the effects of pilot-ATC communication systems on workload ("UAM Comms Sim"). A selection of key results are provided. The presentation concludes with a brief discussion of planned research into m:N operations.

m:N↗
NASA NTRS2009

Low Cost Rapid Response Spacecraft, (LCRRS): A Research Project in Low Cost Spacecraft Design and Fabrication in a Rapid Prototyping Environment

The Low Cost Rapid Response Spacecraft (LCRRS) is an ongoing research development project at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC), Moffett Field, California. The prototype spacecraft, called Cost Optimized Test for Spacecraft Avionics and Technologies (COTSAT) is the first of what could potentially be a series of rapidly produced low-cost satellites. COTSAT has a target launch date of March 2009 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The LCRRS research system design incorporates use of COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf), MOTS (Modified Off The Shelf), and GOTS (Government Off The Shelf) hardware for a remote sensing satellite. The design concept was baselined to support a 0.5 meter Ritchey-Chretien telescope payload. This telescope and camera system is expected to achieve 1.5 meter/pixel resolution. The COTSAT team is investigating the possibility of building a fully functional spacecraft for $500,000 parts and $2,000,000 labor. Cost is dramatically reduced by using a sealed container, housing the bus and payload subsystems. Some electrical and RF designs were improved/upgraded from GeneSat-1 heritage systems. The project began in January 2007 and has yielded two functional test platforms. It is expected that a flight-qualified unit will be finished in December 2008. Flight quality controls are in place on the parts and materials used in this development with the aim of using them to finish a proto-flight satellite. For LEO missions the team is targeting a mission class requiring a minimum of six months lifetime or more. The system architecture incorporates several design features required by high reliability missions. This allows for a true skunk works environment to rapidly progress toward a flight design. Engineering and fabrication is primarily done in-house at NASA Ames with flight certifications on materials. The team currently employs seven Full Time Equivalent employees. The success of COTSATs small team in this effort can be attributed to highly cross trained engineering team. The engineers on the team are capable of functioning in two to three engineering disciplines which allows highly efficient interdisciplinary engineering collaboration. NASA Ames is actively proposing mission concepts to use the COTSAT platform to accomplish science. If the COTSAT team validates this approach, it will allow the possibility for remote sensing missions to produce a high science yield for minimal cost and reduced schedule. Another aim of this approach is to yield an accelerated pathway from a Phase A study to mission launch. Leaders in the aerospace industry have shown interest in this methodology. Several visits and tours have been given in the lab. Although the concept of low-cost development is initially met with skepticism from some within the prohibitive aerospace industry, the project's efforts have been highly praised for the accomplishments met within a limited time and budget. Overall the development has progressed tremendously well and the team is answering critical questions for current and future low-cost small satellite developments. COTSAT subsystems are not limited to a specific weight class and could be adapted to produce smaller platforms and to fit various launch vehicles.

Spremo, Stevan↗
NASA NTRS2018

The Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology (RVLT) Project

The Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology (RVLT) Project is one of six projects in the Advanced Air Vehicles Program (AAVP) of the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. The overarching goal of the RVLT Project is to develop and validate tools, technologies, and concepts to overcome key barriers for vertical lift vehicles. The project vision is to enable the next generation of vertical lift vehicles with aggressive goals for efficiency, noise, and emissions, to expand current capabilities and develop new commercial markets. The RVLT Project invests in technologies that support conventional, non-conventional, and emerging vertical-lift aircraft in the very light to heavy vehicle classes. Research areas include acoustic, aeromechanics, drive systems, engines, icing, hybrid-electric systems, impact dynamics, experimental techniques, computational methods, and conceptual design. The project research is executed at NASA Ames, Glenn, and Langley Research Centers; the research extensively leverages partnerships with the US Army, the Federal Aviation Administration, industry, and academia. The primary facilities used by the project for testing of vertical-lift technologies include the 14- by 22-Ft Wind Tunnel, Icing Research Tunnel, National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex, 7- by 10-Ft Wind Tunnel, Rotor Test Cell, Landing and Impact Research facility, Compressor Test Facility, Drive System Test Facilities, Transonic Turbine Blade Cascade Facility, Vertical Motion Simulator, Mobile Acoustic Facility, Exterior Effects Synthesis and Simulation Lab, and the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Complex. To learn more about the RVLT Project, please stop by booth #1004 or visit their website at https://www.nasa.gov/aeroresearch/programs/aavp/rvlt.

NASA↗
NASA NTRS2009

Human Factors in Training - Space Medicine Proficiency Training

The early Constellation space missions are expected to have medical capabilities very similar to those currently on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS). For Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) missions to ISS, medical equipment will be located on ISS, and carried into CEV in the event of an emergency. Flight Surgeons (FS) on the ground in Mission Control will be expected to direct the Crew Medical Officer (CMO) during medical situations. If there is a loss of signal and the crew is unable to communicate with the ground, a CMO would be expected to carry out medical procedures without the aid of a FS. In these situations, performance support tools can be used to reduce errors and time to perform emergency medical tasks. Work on medical training has been conducted in collaboration with the Medical Training Group at the Space Life Sciences Directorate and with Wyle Lab which provides medical training to crew members, Biomedical Engineers (BMEs), and to flight surgeons under the JSC Space Life Sciences Directorate s Bioastronautics contract. The space medical training work is part of the Human Factors in Training Directed Research Project (DRP) of the Space Human Factors Engineering (SHFE) Project under the Space Human Factors and Habitability (SHFH) Element of the Human Research Program (HRP). Human factors researchers at Johnson Space Center have recently investigated medical performance support tools for CMOs on-orbit, and FSs on the ground, and researchers at the Ames Research Center performed a literature review on medical errors. The work proposed for FY10 continues to build on this strong collaboration with the Space Medical Training Group and previous research. This abstract focuses on two areas of work involving Performance Support Tools for Space Medical Operations. One area of research building on activities from FY08, involved the feasibility of just-in-time (JIT) training techniques and concepts for real-time medical procedures. In Phase 1, preliminary feasibility data was gathered for two types of prototype display technologies: a hand-held PDA, and a Head Mounted Display (HMD). The PDA and HMD were compared while performing a simulated medical procedure using ISS flight-like medical equipment. Based on the outcome of Phase 1, including data on user preferences, further testing was completed using the PDA only. Phase 2 explored a wrist-mounted PDA, and compared it to a paper cue card. For each phase, time to complete procedures, errors, and user satisfaction ratings were captured.

Connell, Erin↗
DOE OSTI2021

Streaming Readout of the CLAS12 Forward Tagger Using TriDAS and JANA2

An effort is underway to develop streaming readout data acquisition system for the CLAS12 detector in Jefferson Lab’s experimental Hall-B. Successful beam tests were performed in the spring and summer of 2020 using a 10GeV electron beam from Jefferson Lab’s CEBAF accelerator. The prototype system combined elements of the TriDAS and CODA data acquisition systems with the JANA2 analysis/reconstruction framework. This successfully merged components that included an FPGA stream source, a distributed hit processing system, and software plugins that allowed offline analysis written in C++ to be used for online event filtering. Details of the system design and performance are presented.

Ameli, Fabrizio↗
DOE OSTI2022

IER-523: Feasibility of Experiments Focused on Measuring the Effects of UO 2 BeO Material on Critical Configurations using 7uPCX [Slides]

Sandia National Labs has access to unused ACRR fuel, which is unique in its enrichment 35% and material composition BeO. ACRR fuel is available in quantities well above what is needed for experiments. Two experiment concepts have been investigated: UO 2 BeO fuel elements and pellets with 7uPCX fuel. The worth of UO 2 BeO is large enough to be well above the anticipated experiment uncertainties.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Methodology for Validation of Unsteady Pressure-Sensitive Paint Measurements using Pressure Transducers

Unsteady Pressure-Sensitive Paint (uPSP) technology provides simultaneously high-frequency and high-spatial resolution surface pressure fluctuation measurements. It has demonstrated value in wind tunnel test facilities to evaluate aerospace vehicle unsteady aerodynamics. The calibration of measurements from digital pixel counts into corresponding physical units relies on both lab-based and in-situ calibration steps, and its validation is both challenging and critical to adoption of the technology. We present a rigorous methodology for direct comparison of uPSP-derived surface pressure measurements to reference pressure transducer data based on a model of the camera-based measurement error, a model of the flow field pressure signal, and their propagation through the uPSP data reduction algorithm. The methodology is demonstrated on data collected in a small-scale, subsonic wind tunnel test as well as data collected from a Space Launch System unsteady aerodynamics characterization test at the NASA Ames Research Center Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel Complex.

Pressure-Sensitive Paint↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Validating uPSP with Transducers

Unsteady Pressure-Sensitive Paint (uPSP) technology provides simultaneously high-frequency and high-spatial resolution surface pressure fluctuation measurements. It has demonstrated value in wind tunnel test facilities to evaluate aerospace vehicle unsteady aerodynamics. The calibration of measurements from digital pixel counts into corresponding physical units relies on both lab-based and in-situ calibration steps, and its validation is both challenging and critical to adoption of the technology. We present a rigorous methodology for direct comparison of uPSP-derived surface pressure measurements to reference pressure transducer data based on a model of the camera-based measurement error, a model of the flow field pressure signal, and their propagation through the uPSP data reduction algorithm. The methodology is demonstrated on data collected in a small-scale, subsonic wind tunnel test as well as data collected from a Space Launch System unsteady aerodynamics characterization test at the NASA Ames Research Center Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel Complex.

Pressure-Sensitive Paint↗
NASA NTRS1993

A high fidelity video delivery system for real-time flight simulation research

The Flight Systems and Simulation Research Laboratory (Simlab) at the NASA Ames Research Center, utilizes an extensive network of video image generation, delivery, processing, and display systems coupled with a large amplitude Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS) to provide a high fidelity visual environment for flight simulation research. This paper will explore the capabilities of the current Simlab video distribution system architecture with a view toward technical solutions implemented to resolve a variety of video interface, switching, and distribution issues common to many simulation facilities. Technical discussions include a modular approach to a video switching and distribution system capable of supporting both coax and fiber optic video signal transmission, video scan conversion and processing techniques for lab observation and recording, adaptation of image generation and display system video interfaces to industry standards, an all raster solution for 'glass cockpit' configurations encompassing Head up, Head-down, and Out-the-Window display systems.

Wilkins, Daniel A.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Meteor over New York City: Brines in a primitive CM asteroid

The CI (Ivuna-type) carbonaceous material returned from asteroids Ryugu and Bennu contain mobilized sodium from the evaporation or freezing of liquid water into brines, shedding light on the internal structure of ice-rich CI-type worlds and the formation of prebiotic organic compounds. The formation of brines has not been demonstrated in CM (Mighei-type) carbonaceous chondrites, which also supplied organic matter to the early Earth. Here, we announce the fall of a primitive meteorite from a daytime fireball over the New York metropolitan area in July 2024. It is a CM2 breccia that contains unique CM1 clasts rich in water and sodium. The meteorite contains abundant amino acids and other products of organic chemistry in brines that reveal subsurface processes on CM-type asteroid parent bodies.

Geosciences↗
NASA NTRS1994

A Lab-Scale CELSS

It has been shown that prohibitive resupply costs for extended-duration manned space flight missions will demand that a high degree of recycling and in situ food production be implemented. A prime candidate for in situ food production is the growth of higher level plants. Research in the area of plant physiology is currently underway at many institutions. This research is aimed at the characterization and optimization of gas exchange, transpiration and food production of higher plants in order to support human life in space. However, there are a number of unresolved issues involved in making plant chambers an integral part of a closed life support system. For example, issues pertaining to the integration of tightly coupled, non-linear systems with small buffer volumes will need to be better understood in order to ensure successful long term operation of a Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS). The Advanced Life Support Division at NASA Ames Research Center has embarked on a program to explore some of these issues and demonstrate the feasibility of the CELSS concept. The primary goal of the Laboratory Scale CELSS Project is to develop a fully-functioning integrated CELSS on a laboratory scale in order to provide insight, knowledge and experience applicable to the design of human-rated CELSS facilities. Phase I of this program involves the integration of a plant chamber with a solid waste processor. This paper will describe the requirements, design and some experimental results from Phase I of the Laboratory Scale CELSS Program.

Flynn, Mark E.↗