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At least 253 records · Page 14
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Overview of the Capture, Containment, and Return System (CCRS)

The Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign is one of the most ambitious and complex planetary exploration missions currently underway. With the participation of NASA, ESA, and a large number of industry partners, MSR aims to bring Martian soil, rock, and atmospheric samples back to Earth, in order to answer key questions about Mars’ biological evolution. To accomplish this goal the campaign relies on four coordinated missions, each fulfilling a fundamental role to bring the samples to Earth. The Mars Perseverance rover, the first of the four missions, landed safely on Mars on February 18, 2021 and has already acquired candidate samples for Earth return. A selection of the samples of Martian soil and atmosphere that Perseverance has captured during its mission will be recovered, launched into Mars orbit, and transported back to Earth. The Sample Fetch Rover and Mars Ascent System, both parts of the Sample Return Lander project, perform the Mars surface missions to retrieve the collected samples and launch them into Mars orbit. NASA’s Capture, Containment, and Return System (CCRS), hosted on ESA’s Earth Return Orbiter (ERO), brings the samples back to Earth from Mars orbit. These retrieval and return missions are currently in the planning and design stages of development. The NASA-provided CCRS is the payload of the ESA ERO and is the focus of this presentation. ERO will enter Mars orbit and provide communication relay to Earth for the other MSR elements. The Sample Return Lander systems will fetch the sample tubes and integrate them into a protective vessel – the Orbiting Sample (OS) system – which is then launched into low Mars orbit. ERO will perform rendezvous maneuvers, allowing its CCRS payload to capture the OS, contain it, and perform the first automated in-space assembly of a spacecraft, the Earth Entry System (EES), while in Mars orbit. ERO will then begin its journey back to Earth, with CCRS and its assembled EES spacecraft. Three days prior to arrival, CCRS will release the EES on an Earth entry trajectory from a distance beyond the orbit of the Moon. The passive EES spacecraft will then enter Earth’s atmosphere, flying on a ballistic trajectory, followed by a terminal descent (without a parachute) and landing at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). This presentation will show the current design of the CCRS system and its concept of operations. ERO and CCRS will perform several firsts in planetary exploration: (a) orbital rendezvous and capture in Mars orbit, (b) in-space sterilization and containment, (c) on-orbit spacecraft assembly at Mars, and (d) fully-passive entry, descent, and landing sequence for sample return.

Carlie H. Zumwalt↗
NASA NTRS2023

The Planetary Protection Strategy of Mars Sample Return’s Earth Return Orbiter Mission

The Mars Sample Return campaign aims to use three flight missions and one ground element to safely bring rock cores, regolith and atmospheric samples from the surface of Mars to Earth to answer key questions about the geologic and climate history of Mars, including the potential for ancient life. Since its landing in Jezero Crater in 2021, the first mission, NASA’s Mars 2020, has collected a number of samples on the crater floor and on the delta using the Perseverance rover. Subsequent missions would recover the sealed sample tubes, launch them into Mars orbit, and transport them back to Earth. The ground element would be a high-containment facility that would isolate and protect the samples during initial sample characterization, which would include sample safety assessments and time-sensitive scientific investigations. These elements are currently in the planning and design stages of development, and represent an international effort of NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and many industry partners. The work presented here provides an overview of the planetary protection strategy of the third flight mission, the ESA-led Earth Return Orbiter (ERO), which hosts the NASA-provided Capture, Containment, and Return System (CCRS). ERO-CCRS would capture the container with up to 30 sealed tubes previously put in Martian orbit, contain them in redundant containers to ensure that no potentially hazardous Mars particles are released, and return them to Earth through an entry vehicle. Both NASA and ESA policies comply with the United Nations’ Outer Space Treaty by planning to protect Earth’s biosphere from any potential adverse effects from material returned from solar system bodies beyond the Earth-Moon system. In the conduct of Mars Sample Return, the two agencies have agreed to apply approaches consistent with their own planetary protection standards to the campaign elements each provides.

Mars Sample Return↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Planetary Protection Strategy of Mars Sample Return Earth Return Orbiter Mission

The Mars Sample Return campaign aims to use three flight missions and one ground element to safely bring rock cores, regolith and atmospheric samples from the surface of Mars to Earth to answer key questions about the geologic and climate history of Mars, including the potential for ancient life. Since its landing in Jezero Crater in 2021, the first mission, NASA’s Mars 2020, has collected a number of samples on the crater floor and on the delta using the Perseverance rover. Subsequent missions would recover the sealed sample tubes, launch them into Mars orbit, and transport them back to Earth. The ground element would be a high-containment facility that would isolate and protect the samples during initial sample characterization, which would include sample safety assessments and time-sensitive scientific investigations. These elements are currently in the planning and design stages of development, and represent an international effort of NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and many industry partners. The work presented here provides an overview of the Planetary Protection strategy of the third flight mission, the ESA-led Earth Return Orbiter (ERO), which hosts the NASA-provided Capture, Containment, and Return System (CCRS). ERO-CCRS would detect and capture the container with up to 30 sealed tubes previously put in Martian orbit, contain them in redundant containers to ensure that no potentially hazardous Mars particles are released, and return them to Earth through an entry vehicle. Both NASA and ESA policies comply with the United Nations’ Outer Space Treaty by planning to protect Earth’s biosphere from any potential adverse effects from material returned from solar system bodies beyond the Earth-Moon system. In the conduct of Mars Sample Return, the two agencies have mutually agreed to apply approaches consistent with their own planetary protection standards to the campaign elements they each provides.

mars sample return↗
NASA NTRS2023

Increasing Diversity on Spacecraft Mission Teams Reduces Risk

Many of the NASA spacecraft sent into Earth orbit and throughout the Solar System are competitively selected and led by principal investigators (PIs). These senior scientists are responsible for directing research activities, managing the use of funds, and reporting to the funding agency. Additionally, the European Space Agency (ESA) has competitively selected missions that are led by ESA-nominated project scientists and include instruments that are overseen by PIs. Usually, the PIs and project scientists form a science working team that provides scientific leadership of the mission. These NASA and ESA PI roles require a deep understanding of the mission’s scientific goals and engineering design aspects. And, importantly, these roles also require skills in team management.

Kathleen E. Mandt↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The European Radioisotope Power Systems Program: Updates & Synergies

Radioisotope power systems (RPS) are an essential building block of the space exploration strategies of a number of countries around the world. The UK, US and the European Space Agency (ESA) view RPS technologies as enabling for a range of scientific space missions targeting the most challenging, distant, and cold environments in the solar system over the coming decades. However, RPS interest and associated capabilities are growing across the globe, where drivers include the increasing importance of space to address defense and commercial interests. Most missions have utilized 238 Pu as the radioisotope of choice to generate electrical power and to produce heat for the operation and thermal management of spacecraft systems. In Europe, since 2009, 241 Am in ceramic form has been selected for the ESA RPS development program. The ESA program has evolved in the past few years into a cross directorate program. This paper provides an update on this RPS technology program with a focus on technology updates, missions and partnerships.

Americium↗
NASA NTRS2024

The Planetary Protection Strategy of Mars Sample Return’s Earth Return Orbiter Mission

The Mars Sample Return campaign aims to use three flight missions and one ground element to safely bring rock cores, regolith and atmospheric samples from the surface of Mars to Earth to answer key questions about the geologic and climate history of Mars, including the potential for ancient life. Since its landing in Jezero Crater in 2021, the first mission, NASA’s Mars 2020, has collected a number of samples on the crater floor and on the delta using the Perseverance rover. Subsequent missions would recover the sealed sample tubes, launch them into Mars orbit, and transport them back to Earth. The ground element would be a high-containment facility that would isolate and protect the samples during initial sample characterization, which would include sample safety assessments and time-sensitive scientific investigations. These elements are currently in the planning and design stages of development, and represent an international effort of NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and many industry partners. The work presented here provides an overview of the planetary protection strategy of the third flight mission, the ESA-led Earth Return Orbiter, which hosts the NASA-provided Capture, Containment, and Return System. The orbiter would detect and capture the container with up to 30 sealed tubes previously put in Martian orbit, contain them in redundant containers to ensure that no potentially hazardous Mars particles are released, and return them to Earth through an entry vehicle. Both NASA and ESA policies comply with the United Nations’ Outer Space Treaty by planning to protect Earth’s biosphere from any potential adverse effects from material returned from solar system bodies beyond the Earth-Moon system. In the conduct of Mars Sample Return, the two agencies have mutually agreed to apply approaches consistent with their own planetary protection standards to the campaign elements they each provide.

Mars Sample Return↗
DOE OSTI2017

Energy Savings Performance Contract Energy Sales Agreement Toolkit

FEMP developed the Energy Savings Performance Contracting Energy Sales Agreement (ESPC ESA) Toolkit to provide federal agency contracting officers and other acquisition team members with information that will facilitate the timely execution of ESPC ESA projects.

energy sales agreements↗
DOE OSTI2017

Distributed Energy Implementation Options

This presentation covers the options for implementing distributed energy projects. It distinguishes between options available for distributed energy that is government owned versus privately owned, with a focus on the privately owned options including Energy Savings Performance Contract Energy Sales Agreements (ESPC ESAs). The presentation covers the new ESPC ESA Toolkit and other Federal Energy Management Program resources.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2026

Forest aboveground biomass estimation through integration of sentinel-2 and PALSAR-2 time series: assessing models trained on GEDI and field inventory benchmarks

Accurate and spatially explicit forest Aboveground Biomass (AGB) mapping through remote sensing is critical for quantifying terrestrial carbon stocks and informing effective forest management strategies. However, AGB estimation in dense forests with complex terrain remains challenging due to satellite sensor signal saturation problem (saturation issue occurs in high biomass forests), structural complexity, and limited ground truth for calibration. This study presents a novel framework that integrates multi-temporal Sentinel-2 optical imagery, ALOS PALSAR-2 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, and topographic variables with explainable Machine Learning to map AGB across mountainous forests within subtropical and temperate oceanic climate zones of Mexico. We evaluate the effects of temporal granularity and sensor synergy by comparing multiple temporal inputs and sensor configurations (Sentinel-2, PALSAR-2, and their fusion), and assess model performance using two reference datasets: NASA GEDI LiDAR-derived biomass and Mexico’s National Forest and Soil Inventory (INFyS). Our results showed that models trained on INFyS consistently outperformed those trained on GEDI, highlighting limitations in GEDI’s reliability in biomass estimates within this study region. Furthermore, the integration of Sentinel-2 and PALSAR-2 provided improved predictions compared to single-sensor models, particularly when combined with temporally explicit yearly statistics. The best-performing model, which was trained on INFyS data, and considered both Sentinel-2 and PALSAR-2 yearly statistics, as well as topographic variables, achieved an R2 of 0.64, RMSE of 51.10 Mg/ha, and relative RMSE (rRMSE) of 58.69%. Explainable ML analysis identified Sentinel-2 spectral indices and topographic features as key predictors, while PALSAR-2 metrics provided complementary information, partially mitigating saturation effects in high-biomass areas. Specifically, integrating both sensors substantially improved AGB estimation in high biomass forest (≥200 Mg/ha), yielding 98% gains over optical-only model, with resulting estimates exceeding GEDI L4B by 29% and ESA-CCI-BIOMASS by 174%. Terrain-stratified analysis indicated close agreement with GEDI in low-slope areas, with increasing divergence as slope steepness increased, while estimates remained consistently higher than ESA-CCI-BIOMASS across all slope classes. The proposed approach advances multi-sensor fusion and temporal feature engineering for AGB mapping using open-access satellite datasets, providing a scalable and reproducible framework for annual biomass monitoring in topographically complex mountainous forests. The resulting 25 m resolution biomass product has the potential to provide spatially detailed information for forest monitoring and may support applications in carbon accounting and forest management.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Photochemically induced deposition of protective alumina coatings onto UV emitting phosphors for Xe excimer discharge lamps

Highlights: • A UV-reactor for the pH induced precipitation of inorganic material is described. • The photolysis of Azide (N{sub 3}{sup −}) leads to a steady pH increase used for precipitation. • A UV induced Al(OH){sub 3} precipitation is used to craft Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} coatings onto YPO{sub 4}:Bi. • The influence of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} coated onto YPO{sub 4}:Bi with different thicknesses is discussed. • SEM, VUV-spectroscopy and ESA measurements were performed on Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} coated samples. - Abstract: This work concerns the particle coating of the UV-C emitting phosphor YPO{sub 4}:Bi, targeting a stability enhancement of the phosphor material for Xe excimer lamp operation. To this end, the material is coated by the wide band gap material Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}. In order to obtain a thin and homogeneous coating layer, a novel process based on the photochemical cleavage of NaN{sub 3} in water was developed. This results in a slow and continuous enhancement of the pH value due to ongoing NaOH formation, which results in the precipitation of Al(OH){sub 3} from an Al{sub 2}(SO{sub 4}){sub 3} {sub ×} 18H{sub 2}O solution. It turned out that the obtained particle coatings are of much better quality, i.e. homogeneity, compared to coatings made from a wet-chemical homogeneous precipitation process. The morphology and electrochemical properties of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} coated YPO{sub 4}:Bi are discussed on the basis of optical spectroscopy, ESA measurements, and SEM/EDX investigations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Modeling Momentum Transfer from Kinetic Impacts: Implications for Redirecting Asteroids

Kinetic impactors are one way to deflect a potentially hazardous object headed for Earth. The Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) mission is designed to test the effectiveness of this approach and is a joint effort between NASA and ESA. The NASA-led portion is the Double Asteroid Redirect Test (DART) and is composed of a ~300-kg spacecraft designed to impact the moon of the binary system 65803 Didymos. The deflection of the moon will be measured by the ESA-led Asteroid Impact Mission (AIM) (which will characterize the moon) and from ground-based observations. Because the material properties and internal structure of the target are poorly constrained, however, analytical models and numerical simulations must be used to understand the range of potential outcomes. Here, we describe a modeling effort combining analytical models and CTH simulations to determine possible outcomes of the DART impact. We examine a wide parameter space and provide predictions for crater size, ejecta mass, and momentum transfer following the impact into the moon of the Didymos system. For impacts into “realistic” asteroid types, these models produce craters with diameters on the order of 10 m, an imparted Δv of 0.5–2 mm/s and a momentum enhancement of 1.07 to 5 for a highly porous aggregate to a fully dense rock.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Turbulence Heating ObserveR – satellite mission proposal

The Universe is permeated by hot, turbulent, magnetized plasmas. Turbulent plasma is a major constituent of active galactic nuclei, supernova remnants, the intergalactic and interstellar medium, the solar corona, the solar wind and the Earth’s magnetosphere, just to mention a few examples. Furthermore, energy dissipation of turbulent fluctuations plays a key role in plasma heating and energization, yet we still do not understand the underlying physical mechanisms involved. THOR is a mission designed to answer the questions of how turbulent plasma is heated and particles accelerated, how the dissipated energy is partitioned and how dissipation operates in different regimes of turbulence. THOR is a single-spacecraft mission with an orbit tuned to maximize data return from regions in near-Earth space – magnetosheath, shock, foreshock and pristine solar wind – featuring different kinds of turbulence. We summarize the THOR proposal submitted on 15 January 2015 to the ‘Call for a Medium-size mission opportunity in ESAs Science Programme for a launch in 2025 (M4)’. THOR has been selected by European Space Agency (ESA) for the study phase.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Hubble Asteroid Hunter

Context: The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) archives constitute a rich dataset of high-resolution images to mine for strong gravitational lenses. While many HST programmes specifically target strong lenses, they can also be present by coincidence in other HST observations. Aims: Our aim is to identify non-targeted strong gravitational lenses, without any prior selection on the lens properties, in almost two decades of images from the ESA HST archive (eHST). Methods: We used crowdsourcing on the Hubble Asteroid Hunter (HAH) citizen science project to identify strong lenses, along with asteroid trails, in publicly available large field-of-view HST images. We visually inspected 2354 objects tagged by citizen scientists as strong lenses to clean the sample and identify the genuine lenses. Results: We report the detection of 252 strong gravitational lens candidates, which were not the primary targets of the HST observations. A total of 198 of them are new, not previously reported by other studies, consisting of 45 A grades, 74 B grades and 79 C grades. The majority are galaxy-galaxy configurations. The newly detected lenses are, on average, 1.3 magnitudes fainter than previous HST searches. This sample of strong lenses with high-resolution HST imaging is ideal to follow up with spectroscopy for lens modelling and scientific analyses. Conclusions: This paper presents the unbiased search of lenses that enabled us to find a wide variety of lens configurations, including exotic lenses. We demonstrate the power of crowdsourcing in visually identifying strong lenses and the benefits of exploring large archival datasets. This study shows the potential of using crowdsourcing in combination with artificial intelligence for the detection and validation of strong lenses in future large-scale surveys such as ESA’s Euclid mission or in James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) archival images.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Low temperature high frequency coaxial pulse tube for space application

The 4K stage is a critical step for space missions. The Hershel mission is using a helium bath, which is consumed day by day (after depletion, the space mission is over) while the Plank mission is equipped with one He4 Joule-Thomson cooler. Cryogenic chain without helium bath is a challenge for space missions and 4.2K Pulse-Tube working at high frequency (around 30Hz) is one option to take it up. A low temperature Pulse-Tube would be suitable for the ESA space mission EChO (Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory, expected launch in 2022), which requires around 30mW cooling power at 6K; and for the ESA space mission ATHENA (Advanced Telescope for High ENergy Astrophysics), to pre-cool the sub-kelvin cooler (few hundreds of mW at 15K). The test bench described in this paper combines a Gifford-McMahon with a coaxial Pulse-Tube. A thermal link is joining the intercept of the Pulse-Tube and the second stage of the Gifford-McMahon. This intercept is a separator between the hot and the cold regenerators of the Pulse-Tube. The work has been focused on the cold part of this cold finger. Coupled with an active phase shifter, this Pulse-Tube has been tested and optimized and temperatures as low as 6K have been obtained at 30Hz with an intercept temperature at 20K.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2014

Reciprocal relations in electroacoustics

In a colloidal suspension, one can generate sound waves by the application of an alternating electric field (Electrokinetic Sonic Amplitude, i.e., ESA). Another phenomenon is electrophoresis (Electrophoretic Mobility, i.e., EM) where a colloidal particle moves relative to the solvent in an electric field. Vice versa one can generate electric fields or electric currents by sound waves (Colloid Vibration Potential/Current, i.e., CVP/CVI). In 1988 and 1990, O’Brien [J. Fluid Mech. 190, 71–86 (1988) and O’Brien, J. Fluid Mech. 212, 81–93 (1990)] derived a reciprocal relation between the proportionality coefficients of the EM and CVI phenomena. In this paper, we will generalize his proof by constructing the relevant entropy production from which the linear force-flux relations follow. General relations are derived for electrolyte solutions, of which colloidal suspensions are a particular case. The relations between CVI, CVP, EM, and ESA are discussed. O’Brien's reciprocal relation then follows as an Onsager relation. The relation is valid for any applied electric field frequency, particle surface charge and particle concentration (even in the presence of particle-particle interactions) provided the system is isotropic.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

Broadband transient absorption spectroscopy with 1- and 2-photon excitations: Relaxation paths and cross sections of a triphenylamine dye in solution

1-photon (382 nm) and 2-photon (752 nm) excitations to the S{sub 1} state are applied to record and compare transient absorption spectra of a push-pull triphenylamine (TrP) dye in solution. After 1-photon excitation, ultrafast vibrational and structural molecular relaxations are detected on a 0.1 ps time scale in nonpolar hexane, while in polar acetonitrile, the spectral evolution is dominated by dipolar solvation. Upon 2-photon excitation, transient spectra in hexane reveal an unexpected growth of stimulated emission (SE) and excited-state absorption (ESA) bands. The behavior is explained by strong population transfer S{sub 1} → S{sub n} due to resonant absorption of a third pump photon. Subsequent S{sub n} → S{sub 1} internal conversion (with τ{sub 1} = 1 ps) prepares a very hot S{sub 1} state which cools down with τ{sub 2} = 13 ps. The pump pulse energy dependence proves the 2-photon origin of the bleach signal. At the same time, SE and ESA are strongly affected by higher-order pump absorptions that should be taken into account in nonlinear fluorescence applications. The 2-photon excitation cross sections σ{sup (2)} = 32 ⋅ 10{sup −50} cm{sup 4} s at 752 nm are evaluated from the bleach signal.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

Chlorophyll–carotenoid excitation energy transfer and charge transfer in Nannochloropsis oceanica for the regulation of photosynthesis

Nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) is a proxy for photoprotective thermal dissipation processes that regulate photosynthetic light harvesting. The identification of NPQ mechanisms and their molecular or physiological triggering factors under in vivo conditions is a matter of controversy. In this work, to view chlorophyll (Chl)–zeaxanthin (Zea) excitation energy transfer (EET) and charge transfer (CT) as possible NPQ mechanisms, we performed transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy on live cells of the microalga Nannochloropsis oceanica . We gained evidence for the operation of both EET and CT quenching by observing spectral features associated with the Zea S 1 and Zea •+ excited-state absorption (ESA) signals, respectively, after Chl excitation. Knockout mutants for genes encoding either violaxanthin de-epoxidase or LHCX1 proteins exhibited strongly inhibited NPQ capabilities and lacked detectable Zea S 1 and Zea •+ ESA signals in vivo, which strongly suggests that the accumulation of Zea and active LHCX1 is essential for both EET and CT quenching in N. oceanica .

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗