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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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NASA NTRS2003

A Near-Infrared (NIR) Global Multispectral Map of the Moon from Clementine

In May and June of 1994, the NASA/DoD Clementine Mission acquired global, 11- band, multispectral observations of the lunar surface using the ultraviolet-visible (UVVIS) and near-infrared (NIR) camera systems. The global 5-band UVVIS Digital Image Model (DIM) of the Moon at 100 m/pixel was released to the Planetary Data System (PDS) in 2000. The corresponding NIR DIM has been compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey for distribution to the lunar science community. The recently released NIR DIM has six spectral bands (1100, 1250, 1500, 2000, 2600, and 2780 nm) and is delivered in 996 quads at 100 m/pixel (303 pixels/degree). The NIR data were radiometrically corrected, geometrically controlled, and photometrically normalized to form seamless, uniformly illuminated mosaics of the lunar surface.

Eliason, E. M.↗
NASA NTRS2003

The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter Archive: Final Precision Experiment Data Record Release and Status of Radiometry

A final release (Version L) of the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Precision Experiment Data Record (PEDR) has been submitted to the Planetary Data System (PDS). Additional gridded data record products are forthcoming. These products have evolved since their original description, owing in part to improved gravity modeling and cartographic reference frames, and in part to refinements in calibration. An additional component, the 1064 nm narrowband radiometry data, is also being archived. These data will be invaluable for future studies by Mars explorers and scientists.

Neumann, Gregory A.↗
NASA NTRS2004

[Calibration, Analysis, and Interpretation of SERTS and EUNIS Observation]

We have made satisfactory and expected progress in the first year of this project. The spectrophotometric data for the S asteroids of interest have been reduced, and lightcurve effects accounted for. We have begun mixing models for spectra of 6 Hebe, and expect to have a publication late in 2004 or early in 2005 on that part of the project. Preliminary models suggest that Hebe requires hydrated minerals to explain its spectrum in the 3-pm region. We will also perform mixing models with additional data which has been recently obtained. We have been able to constrain thermal properties on near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) as a result of thermal modeling done as part of this project. This work provides a means of obtaining albedo data from common visible-near IR data. This portion of the project has been presented at the DPS meeting in Monterey, and is being presented in expanded form at the Yarkovsky workshop at Arecibo Observatory in February. A manuscript is in preparation. In the coming year we expect to finish the thermal corrections for the spectrophotometric data, and complete the mixing models. The results will be prepared for publication, and the data offered to the PDS. It will also be available on the SMASS website (smass.mit.edu), for which the PI is webmaster.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2004

Volume and Mass Estimation of Three-Phase High Power Transformers for Space Applications

Spacecraft historically have had sub-1kW(sub e), electrical requirements for GN&C, science, and communications: Galileo at 600W(sub e), and Cassini at 900W(sub e), for example. Because most missions have had the same order of magnitude power requirements, the Power Distribution Systems (PDS) use existing, space-qualified technology and are DC. As science payload and mission duration requirements increase, however, the required electrical power increases. Subsequently, this requires a change from a passive energy conversion (solar arrays and batteries) to dynamic (alternator, solar dynamic, etc.), because dynamic conversion has higher thermal and conversion efficiencies, has higher power densities, and scales more readily to higher power levels. Furthermore, increased power requirements and physical distribution lengths are best served with high-voltage, multi-phase AC to maintain distribution efficiency and minimize voltage drops. The generated AC-voltage must be stepped-up (or down) to interface with various subsystems or electrical hardware. Part of the trade-space design for AC distribution systems is volume and mass estimation of high-power transformers. The volume and mass are functions of the power rating, operating frequency, the ambient and allowable temperature rise, the types and amount of heat transfer available, the core material and shape, the required flux density in a core, the maximum current density, etc. McLyman has tabulated the performance of a number of transformers cores and derived a "cookbook" methodology to determine the volume of transformers, whereas Schawrze had derived an empirical method to estimate the mass of single-phase transformers. Based on the work of McLyman and Schwarze, it is the intent herein to derive an empirical solution to the volume and mass estimation of three-phase, laminated EI-core power transformers, having radiated and conducted heat transfer mechanisms available. Estimation of the mounting hardware, connectors, etc. is not included.

Kimnach, Greg L.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Unified Planetary Coordinates System: A Searchable Database of Geodetic Information

Over the past 40 years, an enormous quantity of orbital remote sensing data has been collected for Mars from many missions and instruments. Unfortunately these datasets currently exist in a wide range of disparate coordinate systems, making it extremely difficult for the scientific community to easily correlate, combine, and compare data from different Mars missions and instruments. As part of our work for the PDS Imaging Node and on behalf of the USGS Astrogeology Team, we are working to solve this problem and to provide the NASA scientific research community with easy access to Mars orbital data in a unified, consistent coordinate system along with a wide variety of other key geometric variables. The Unified Planetary Coordinates (UPC) system is comprised of two main elements: (1) a database containing Mars orbital remote sensing data computed using a uniform coordinate system, and (2) a process by which continual maintainance and updates to the contents of the database are performed.

Becker, K. J.a↗
NASA NTRS2005

Public Outreach and Archiving of Data from the High Resolution Stereo Camera Onboard Mars Express: 2004 The First Year

During the first year of operation, corresponding to the calendar year 2004, the HRSC imaging experiment onboard ESA's Mars Express mission recorded 23 Gigabyte of 8-bit compressed raw data. After processing, the amount of data increased to more than 344 Gigabyte of decompressed and radiometrically calibrated scientifically useable image products. Every six months these HRSC Level 2 data are fed into ESA's Planetary Science Archive (PSA) that sends all data also to the Planetary Data System (PDS) to ensure easy availability to the interested user. On their respective web portals, the European Space Agency published in cooperation with the Principal Investigator-Group at Freie Universitat Berlin and the German Space Agency (DLR) almost 40 sets of high-level image scenes and movies for PR needs that have been electronically visited many hundred thousand times.

Koehler, U.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Error Analysis of Remotely-Acquired Mossbauer Spectra

On the Mars Exploration Rovers, Mossbauer spectroscopy has recently been called upon to assist in the task of mineral identification, a job for which it is rarely used in terrestrial studies. For example, Mossbauer data were used to support the presence of olivine in Martian soil at Gusev and jarosite in the outcrop at Meridiani. The strength (and uniqueness) of these interpretations lies in the assumption that peak positions can be determined with high degrees of both accuracy and precision. We summarize here what we believe to be the major sources of error associated with peak positions in remotely-acquired spectra, and speculate on their magnitudes. Our discussion here is largely qualitative because necessary background information on MER calibration sources, geometries, etc., have not yet been released to the PDS; we anticipate that a more quantitative discussion can be presented by March 2005.

Schaefer, Martha W.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Connection Between X-Ray Emission and Relativistic Jets in the Radio Galaxies 3C 111 and 3C 120

This work represents a part of a longterm study of the X-ray flux variability in radio galaxies and its relation to flux and structural changes in the associated radio jet. The work described here included: 1) continued study of the emission properties of the FR I radio galaxy 3C 120 known to exhibit a jet/disk connection from our past work; and 2) the commencement of monitoring of a second radio galaxy, the FR I1 object 3C 111 which was selected because of similar radio and X-ray properties to 3C 120, including the presence of Fe K a emission. The association between X-ray dips and new superluminal components, suggesting a picture in which the radio jet is fed by accretion events near the black hole, was identified in 3C 120 using combined RXTE and radio flux monitoring data and bi-monthly to monthly imaging data from the VLBA at 43 GHz. Such data were also obtained for both targets during the period described here. Specific goals were to more broadly investigate the X-ray dip/superluminal connection in 3C 120, thereby determining the epochs of X-ray minima and superluminal ejections more accurately (and hence more precisely determining the distance between the accretion disk and the core of the radio jet), and to determine whether a similar pattern is present in the data for a second radio galaxy. In 3C 111 a different time scale (longer time delays between X-ray dips and superluminal ejections) was expected due to the higher black hole mass implied by its higher radio luminosity: no black hole mass is published for this object but one can be determined from a PDS analysis of the RXTE data. The addition of the second source to the study would identify whether a similar connection was present in other sources and, if found, would provide important information on how time scale (and hence size scale) of accretion disk/jet systems depends on black hole mass. The grant included funding for the reduction and analysis of data obtained during the time period of Rossi XTE cycle 9. During this time window, the project was awarded 2 RXTE pointings weekly for 3C 111 and 4 pointing weekly for 3C 120, excluding time when the target was too close to the sun for observation. T

Aller, Margo F.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Fabrication and Probabilistic Fracture Strength Prediction of High-Aspect-Ratio Single Crystal Silicon Carbide Microspecimens With Stress Concentration

Single crystal silicon carbide micro-sized tensile specimens were fabricated with deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) in order to investigate the effect of stress concentration on the room-temperature fracture strength. The fracture strength was defined as the level of stress at the highest stressed location in the structure at the instant of specimen rupture. Specimens with an elliptical hole, a circular hole, and without a hole (and hence with no stress concentration) were made. The average fracture strength of specimens with a higher stress concentration was larger than the average fracture strength of specimens with a lower stress concentration. Average strength of elliptical-hole, circular-hole, and without-hole specimens was 1.53, 1.26, and 0.66 GPa, respectively. Significant scatter in strength was observed with the Weibull modulus ranging between 2 and 6. No fractographic examination was performed but it was assumed that the strength controlling flaws originated from etching grooves along the specimen side-walls. The increase of observed fracture strength with increasing stress concentration was compared to predictions made with the Weibull stress-integral formulation by using the NASA CARES/Life code. In the analysis isotropic material and fracture behavior was assumed - hence it was not a completely rigorous analysis. However, even with these assumptions good correlation was achieved for the circular-hole specimen data when using the specimen data without stress concentration as a baseline. Strength was over predicted for the elliptical-hole specimen data. Significant specimen-to-specimen dimensional variation existed in the elliptical-hole specimens due to variations in the nickel mask used in the etching. To simulate the additional effect of the dimensional variability on the probabilistic strength response for the single crystal specimens the ANSYS Probabilistic Design System (PDS) was used with CARES/Life.

Nemeth, Noel N.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Modular High-Energy Systems for Solar Power Satellites

Modular High-Energy Systems are Stepping Stones to provide capabilities for energy-rich infrastructure located in space to support a variety of exploration scenarios as well as provide a supplemental source of energy during peak demands to ground grid systems. Abundant renewable energy at lunar or other locations could support propellant production and storage in refueling scenarios that enable affordable exploration. Renewable energy platforms in geosynchronous Earth orbits can collect and transmit power to satellites, or to Earth-surface locations. Energy-rich space technologies also enable the use of electric-powered propulsion systems that could efficiently deliver cargo and exploration facilities to remote locations. A first step to an energy-rich space infrastructure is a 100-kWe class solar-powered platform in Earth orbit. The platform would utilize advanced technologies in solar power collection and generation, power management and distribution, thermal management, electric propulsion, wireless avionics, autonomous in space rendezvous and docking, servicing, and robotic assembly. It would also provide an energy-rich free-flying platform to demonstrate in space a portfolio of technology flight experiments. This paper summary a preliminary design concept for a 100-kWe solar-powered satellite system to demonstrate in-flight a variety of advanced technologies, each as a separate payload. These technologies include, but are not limited to state-of-the-art solar concentrators, highly efficient multi-junction solar cells, integrated thermal management on the arrays, and innovative deployable structure design and packaging to enable the 100-kW satellite feasible to launch on one existing launch vehicle. Higher voltage arrays and power distribution systems (PDS) reduce or eliminate the need for massive power converters, and could enable direct-drive of high-voltage solar electric thrusters.

Howell, Joe T.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Cassini/Huygens Program Archive Plan for Science Data

The purpose of this document is to describe the Cassini/Huygens science data archive system which includes policy, roles and responsibilities, description of science and supplementary data products or data sets, metadata, documentation, software, and archive schedule and methods for archive transfer to the NASA Planetary Data System (PDS).

NASA Planetary Science Data System↗
NASA NTRS1998

The Planetary Data System - A Case Study in the Development and Management of Meta-Data for a Scientific Digital Library

The Planetary Data System (PDS) is an active science data archive managed by scientists for NASA's planetary science community. With the advent of the World Wide Web the majority of the archive has been placed on-line as a science digital libraty for access by scientists, the educational community, and the general public.

Data System Meta-data scientific digital library↗
NASA NTRS2004

Software architecture for large scale, distributed, data-intensive systems

This paper presents our experience with OODT, a novel software architectual style, and middlware-based implementation for data-intensive systems. To date, OODT has been successfully evaluated in several different science domains including Cancer Research with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and Planetary Science with NASA's Planetary Data System (PDS).

software architecture↗
NASA NTRS2006

Data Model Management for Space Information Systems

The Reference Architecture for Space Information Management (RASIM) suggests the separation of the data model from software components to promote the development of flexible information management systems. RASIM allows the data model to evolve independently from the software components and results in a robust implementation that remains viable as the domain changes. However, the development and management of data models within RASIM are difficult and time consuming tasks involving the choice of a notation, the capture of the model, its validation for consistency, and the export of the model for implementation. Current limitations to this approach include the lack of ability to capture comprehensive domain knowledge, the loss of significant modeling information during implementation, the lack of model visualization and documentation capabilities, and exports being limited to one or two schema types. The advent of the Semantic Web and its demand for sophisticated data models has addressed this situation by providing a new level of data model management in the form of ontology tools. In this paper we describe the use of a representative ontology tool to capture and manage a data model for a space information system. The resulting ontology is implementation independent. Novel on-line visualization and documentation capabilities are available automatically, and the ability to export to various schemas can be added through tool plug-ins. In addition, the ingestion of data instances into the ontology allows validation of the ontology and results in a domain knowledge base. Semantic browsers are easily configured for the knowledge base. For example the export of the knowledge base to RDF/XML and RDFS/XML and the use of open source metadata browsers provide ready-made user interfaces that support both text- and facet-based search. This paper will present the Planetary Data System (PDS) data model as a use case and describe the import of the data model into an ontology tool. We will also describe the current effort to provide interoperability with the European Space Agency (ESA)/Planetary Science Archive (PSA) which is critically dependent on a common data model.

RDF↗
NASA NTRS2006

Model Output Is Data, Too: And Other Futuristic Views

The NASA space science data environment has been undergoing significant changes during the past decade: Data has become significantly more voluminous and more varied. At the same time it became much more openly available to the scientific community. As a result a number of efforts have been made to document the data content at NSSDC/SPDF, PDS, the ISTP program and more recently as part of the newly developing Virtual Observatories. Concurrently, our need to access data has become much more immediate dictating a distributed environment where users can obtain their data directly from the production sites. But where does this change lead? And what more needs to be done to further enable scientific productivity? A view of our data system 5- years in the future will be offered that envisions distributed data processing services whereby the user can obtain the type of data that is needed not necessarily what is produced. Moreover, in an ideal system the means should exist to treat models as instruments allowing the ready mixing of their output with spacecraft generated data.

Szabo, A.↗
NASA NTRS2003

A Distributed Data Architecture for 2001 Mars Odyssey Data Distribution

Newer instruments and communications techniques have given scientists unprecedented amounts of data, more than can be feasibly distributed through traditional methods such as mailed CD-ROM's. Leveraging the web makes sense since it enables scientists to request specific data and retrieve products as soon as they're available. Yet defining the middleware system to support such an application has remained just out of reach, until Odyssey. For the first time ever, data from all Odyssey mission instruments were made available through a single system immediately upon delivery to the Planetary Data System (PDS). The Object Oriented Data Technology (OODT) software made such an application possible.

distributed↗