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Ancillary Data Services of NASA's Planetary Data System

JPL's Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility (NAIF) has primary responsibility for design and implementation of the SPICE ancillary information system, supporting a wide range of space science mission design, observation planning and data analysis functions/activities. NAIF also serves as the geometry and ancillary data node of the Planetary Data System (PDS). As part of the PDS, NAIF archives SPICE and other ancillary data produced by flight projects. NAIF then distributes these data, and associated data access software and high-level tools, to researchers funded by NASA's Office of Space Science. Support for a broader user community is also offered to the extent resources permit. This paper describes the SPICE system and customer support offered by NAIF.

Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility NAIF↗

Search and Rescue under the Forest Canopy using Multiple UAS

We consider the problem of multi-robot search and rescue under the forest canopy. Forest is a particularly challenging environment for collaborative mapping and exploration, mainly due to the existence of severe perceptual aliasing, which hinders reliable mutual localization and map fusion. Our proposed system features unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with onboard sensing and autonomy. Each UAV runs a lightweight filtering algorithm for local state estimation, and a dynamic-aware frontier selection algorithm for fast exploration. The essential and computationally intensive task of collaborative simultaneous localization and mapping (CSLAM) is performed at a central ground station. To handle perceptual aliasing, we make use of stable landmarks extracted from trees, which significantly improve precision and recall during place recognition. Furthermore, to recover from incorrect pairwise data associations during loop closure, we propose a novel procedure for global data association based on recently developed techniques on cycle consistent multiway matching. Our algorithm returns a global data association that is guaranteed to be cycle consistent, and is shown to significantly improve precision compared to the input pairwise associations. The overall multi-UAV system is extensively validated during real-world collaborative exploration missions in a forest at NASA Langley Research Center.

Multi-robot systems↗

Description of Data Archiving Associated With the NASA Goddard Grant NAGS-9590

Data restoration and archiving activities for this project have resulted in the restoration of 100% of the original Mariner 9 raw data set as well as many of the secondary analysis data sets. These data sets have been submitted to the Planetary Data System (PDS) Atmospheric Node, along with their PDS labels and descriptive metadata. In addition, a useful visualization and analysis tool has also been developed which allows the user to compare these Mariner 1971 Ultraviolet spectral data with several choices of related data sets: Mariner 9 images, USGS geologic data, MGS MOLA topography, Viking images (Viking MDIM) and thermal inertia data (MGS TES).

Simmons, K. E.↗

The Use of Interactive Raster Graphics in the Display and Manipulation of Multidimensional Data

Techniques for the review, display, and manipulation of multidimensional data are developed and described. Multidimensional data is meant in this context to describe scalar data associated with a three dimensional geometry or otherwise too complex to be well represented by traditional graphs. Raster graphics techniques are used to display a shaded image of a three dimensional geometry. The use of color to represent scalar data associated with the geometries in shaded images is explored. Distinct hues are associated with discrete data ranges, thus emulating the traditional representation of data with isarithms, or lines of constant numerical value. Data ranges are alternatively associated with a continuous spectrum of hues to show subtler data trends. The application of raster graphics techniques to the display of bivariate functions is explored.

Anderson, D. C.↗

A Frequency-Domain Substructure System Identification Algorithm

A new frequency-domain system identification algorithm is presented for system identification of substructures, such as payloads to be flown aboard the Space Shuttle. In the vibration test, all interface degrees of freedom where the substructure is connected to the carrier structure are either subjected to active excitation or are supported by a test stand with the reaction forces measured. The measured frequency-response data is used to obtain a linear, viscous-damped model with all interface-degree of freedom entries included. This model can then be used to validate analytical substructure models. This procedure makes it possible to obtain not only the fixed-interface modal data associated with a Craig-Bampton substructure model, but also the data associated with constraint modes. With this proposed algorithm, multiple-boundary-condition tests are not required, and test-stand dynamics is accounted for without requiring a separate modal test or finite element modeling of the test stand. Numerical simulations are used in examining the algorithm's ability to estimate valid reduced-order structural models. The algorithm's performance when frequency-response data covering narrow and broad frequency bandwidths is used as input is explored. Its performance when noise is added to the frequency-response data and the use of different least squares solution techniques are also examined. The identified reduced-order models are also compared for accuracy with other test-analysis models and a formulation for a Craig-Bampton test-analysis model is also presented.

Blades, Eric L.↗

TESS Science Processing Operations Center Pipeline Status and Updates

The past eighteen months have seen a number of important changes for the TESS Science Processing Operations Center (SPOC) and our archival data products as TESS embarked upon its first extended mission. First, the SPOC developed and deployed a new 20-sec cadence pipeline, promising to unveil exciting new astrophysics at these short timescales for up to 1000 targets per observing sector. We also developed an FFI light curve pipeline that creates light curves and associated data products for up to 160,000 targets in each sector and archive these as High-Level Science Products (HLSP) at the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST). Soon we plan to perform transiting planet searches on these light curves and to release Data Validation reports and associated data products to the MAST. We also present results from the first multi-year transiting planet search of sectors 1 through 36. Finally, we discuss major changes to the SPOC pipeline that motivated the reprocessing of the first year of data, including the application of target-and cadence-specific scattered light flags, and an update to the sky background correction algorithm to mitigate bias in the original algorithm for dim and/or severely crowded stars.

TESS↗

Multi-target tracking using a hybrid joint transform correlator

A technique using data association target tracking in a motion sequence via an adaptive joint transform correlator is presented. The massive data in the field of view can be reduced to a few correlation peaks. The average velocity of a target during the tracking cycle is then determined from the location of the correlation peak. A data-association algorithm is used for the analysis of these correlation signals, for which multiple targets can be tracked. A phase-mostly liquid-crystal TV is used in the hybrid joint transform correlation system, and simultaneous tracking of three targets is demonstrated.

Yu, Francis T. S.↗

Instrumentation, techniques and data reduction associated with airfoil testing programs at Wichita State University

Two dimensional airfoil testing was conducted at the Wichita State University Beech Wind Tunnel for a number of years. The instrumentation developed and adapted during this period of testing for determination of flow fields along with traversing mechanisms for these probes are discussed. In addition, some of the techniques used to account for interference effects associated with the apparatus used for this two dimensional testing are presented. The application of a minicomputer to the data reduction and presentation is discussed.

Rodgers, E. J.↗

System for Secure Integration of Aviation Data

The Aviation Data Integration System (ADIS) of Ames Research Center has been established to promote analysis of aviation data by airlines and other interested users for purposes of enhancing the quality (especially safety) of flight operations. The ADIS is a system of computer hardware and software for collecting, integrating, and disseminating aviation data pertaining to flights and specified flight events that involve one or more airline(s). The ADIS is secure in the sense that care is taken to ensure the integrity of sources of collected data and to verify the authorizations of requesters to receive data. Most importantly, the ADIS removes a disincentive to collection and exchange of useful data by providing for automatic removal of information that could be used to identify specific flights and crewmembers. Such information, denoted sensitive information, includes flight data (here signifying data collected by sensors aboard an aircraft during flight), weather data for a specified route on a specified date, date and time, and any other information traceable to a specific flight. The removal of information that could be used to perform such tracing is called "deidentification." Airlines are often reluctant to keep flight data in identifiable form because of concerns about loss of anonymity. Hence, one of the things needed to promote retention and analysis of aviation data is an automated means of de-identification of archived flight data to enable integration of flight data with non-flight aviation data while preserving anonymity. Preferably, such an automated means would enable end users of the data to continue to use pre-existing data-analysis software to identify anomalies in flight data without identifying a specific anomalous flight. It would then also be possible to perform statistical analyses of integrated data. These needs are satisfied by the ADIS, which enables an end user to request aviation data associated with de-identified flight data. The ADIS includes client software integrated with other software running on flight-operations quality-assurance (FOQA) computers for purposes of analyzing data to study specified types of events or exceedences (departures of flight parameters from normal ranges). In addition to ADIS client software, ADIS includes server hardware and software that provide services to the ADIS clients via the Internet (see figure). The ADIS server receives and integrates flight and non-flight data pertaining to flights from multiple sources. The server accepts data updates from authorized sources only and responds to requests from authorized users only. In order to satisfy security requirements established by the airlines, (1) an ADIS client must not be accessible from the Internet by an unauthorized user and (2) non-flight data as airport terminal information system (ATIS) and weather data must be displayed without any identifying flight information. ADIS hardware and software architecture as well as encryption and data display scheme are designed to meet these requirements. When a user requests one or more selected aviation data characteristics associated with an event (e.g., a collision, near miss, equipment malfunction, or exceedence), the ADIS client augments the request with date and time information from encrypted files and submits the augmented request to the server. Once the user s authorization has been verified, the server returns the requested information in de-identified form.

Kulkarni, Deepak↗

A pilot study to determine relationships between North Pacific precipitation from Nimbus-7 Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer data and associated atmospheric conditions

Relationships between the large scale field and the location of cyclone tracks are found by deriving monthly precipitation positions in the North Pacific. The precipitation locations are determined from Nimbus-7 SMMR data for the winter seasons 1978-1979 and 1979-1980. These locations are compared to the large scale atmospheric conditions.

Anderson, Mark R.↗

Real-Time Radar-Based Tracking and State Estimation of Multiple Non-Conformant Aircraft

In this study, a novel solution for automated tracking of multiple unknown aircraft is proposed. Many current methods use transponders to self-report state information and augment track identification. While conformant aircraft typically report transponder information to alert surrounding aircraft of its state, vehicles may exist in the airspace that are non-compliant and need to be accurately tracked using alternative methods. In this study, a multi-agent tracking solution is presented that solely utilizes primary surveillance radar data to estimate aircraft state information. Main research challenges include state estimation, track management, data association, and establishing persistent track validity. In an effort to realize these challenges, techniques such as Maximum a Posteriori estimation, Kalman filtering, degree of membership data association, and Nearest Neighbor Spanning Tree clustering are implemented for this application.

RADAR tracking↗

Where's My Data - WMD

WMD provides a centralized interface to access data stored in the Mission Data Processing and Control System (MPCS) GDS (Ground Data Systems) databases during MSL (Mars Science Laboratory) Testbeds and ATLO (Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations) test sessions. The MSL project organizes its data based on venue (Testbed, ATLO, Ops), with each venue's data stored on a separate database, making it cumbersome for users to access data across the various venues. WMD allows sessions to be retrieved through a Web-based search using several criteria: host name, session start date, or session ID number. Sessions matching the search criteria will be displayed and users can then select a session to obtain and analyze the associated data. The uniqueness of this software comes from its collection of data retrieval and analysis features provided through a single interface. This allows users to obtain their data and perform the necessary analysis without having to worry about where and how to get the data, which may be stored in various locations. Additionally, this software is a Web application that only requires a standard browser without additional plug-ins, providing a cross-platform, lightweight solution for users to retrieve and analyze their data. This software solves the problem of efficiently and easily finding and retrieving data from thousands of MSL Testbed and ATLO sessions. WMD allows the user to retrieve their session in as little as one mouse click, and then to quickly retrieve additional data associated with the session.

Quach, William L.↗

Simultaneous Localization and Mapping for Satellite Rendezvous and Proximity Operations Using Random Finite Sets

Future space missions require that spacecraft have the capability to autonomously navigate non-cooperative environments for rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO). Current relative navigation filters can have difficulty in these situations, diverging due to complications with data association, high measurement uncertainty, and clutter, particularly when detailed a priori maps of the target object or spacecraft do not exist. The goal of this work is to demonstrate the feasibility of random finite set (RFS) filters for spacecraft relative navigation and pose estimation. The approach is to formulate satellite relative navigation and pose estimation as a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) problem, in which an observer spacecraft seeks to simultaneously estimate the location of features on a target object or spacecraft as well as its relative position, velocity and attitude. This work utilizes a filter developed using the framework of RFS which are well suited to multi-target SLAM operations, avoiding data association entirely. Relevant RPO scenarios with simulated flash LIDAR measurements are tested with a Probability Hypothesis Density (PHD) RFS filter embedded in a particle filter to obtain a feature map of a target and a relative pose estimate between the target and observer. Preliminary results show that an RFS-based filter can successfully perform SLAM in a spacecraft relative navigation scenario with no a priori map of the target. These results demonstrate the feasibility of RFS filtering for spacecraft relative navigation and motivate future studies which may expand to tracking space objects for space situational awareness, as well as relative navigation around small bodies.

Schlenker, Lauren↗

Simultaneous Localization and Mapping for Satellite Rendezvous and Proximity Operations using Random Finite Sets

Future space missions require that spacecraft have the capability to autonomously navigate non-cooperative environments for rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO). Current relative navigation filters can have difficulty in these situations, diverging due to complications with data association, high measurement uncertainty, and clutter, particularly when detailed a priori maps of the target object or spacecraft do not exist. The goal of this work is to demonstrate the feasibility of random finite set (RFS) filters for spacecraft relative navigation and pose estimation. The approach is to formulate satellite relative navigation and pose estimation as a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) problem, in which an observer spacecraft seeks to simultaneously estimate the location of features on a target object or spacecraft as well as its relative position, velocity and attitude. This work utilizes a filter developed using the framework of RFS which are well suited to multi-target SLAM operations, avoiding data association entirely. Relevant RPO scenarios with simulated flash LIDAR measurements are tested with a Probability Hypothesis Density (PHD) RFS filter embedded in a particle filter to obtain a feature map of a target and a relative pose estimate between the target and observer. Preliminary results show that an RFS-based filter can successfully perform SLAM in a spacecraft relative navigation scenario with no a priori map of the target. These results demonstrate the feasibility of RFS filtering for spacecraft relative navigation and motivate future studies which may expand to tracking space objects for space situational awareness, as well as relative navigation around small bodies.

Schlenker, Lauren↗

MISSE in the Materials and Processes Technical Information System (MAPTIS )

Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) data is now being collected and distributed through the Materials and Processes Technical Information System (MAPTIS) at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. MISSE data has been instrumental in many programs and continues to be an important source of data for the space community. To facilitate great access to the MISSE data the International Space Station (ISS) program office and MAPTIS are working to gather this data into a central location. The MISSE database contains information about materials, samples, and flights along with pictures, pdfs, excel files, word documents, and other files types. Major capabilities of the system are: access control, browsing, searching, reports, and record comparison. The search capabilities will search within any searchable files so even if the desired meta-data has not been associated data can still be retrieved. Other functionality will continue to be added to the MISSE database as the Athena Platform is expanded

Burns, DeWitt↗

Development of Machine Learning Algorithms to Segment and Study Images of Astromaterial Samples

Introduction: Micrometer-scale chemical analyses of chondritic meteorites and mission-returned asteroid samples can reveal details of the physical and chemical processes operating in the early solar system, including processes that gave rise to planets, moons, and minor bodies. These primitive astromaterials are comprised of chondrules, calcium- and aluminum-rich inclusions (CAI), and many other silicates, oxides, metals, sulfides, and fine-grained materials. The chemical and mineralogical complexity of these samples, vast populations of different components, and heterogeneity across mm to km scales, all limit our understanding of the origin and evolution of these materials. Here, we describe recent efforts to use machine learning techniques to automate the segmentation of chemical maps of chondritic meteorites, designed to aid studies of asteroid samples returned by spacecraft. By automating the task of segmentation it will become possible to rapidly analyze and interpret the sizes, shapes, mineralogy, chemistry, and other properties of every chondrule, calcium- and aluminum-rich inclusion (CAI) and other clast within and between asteroid samples. Sample return missions significantly accelerate and heighten the need to develop such new data analysis techniques, and associated data repositories. Techniques: Neural networks require abundant training data, i.e. images which have been segmented by a human user. We have manually segmented data available from previous petrologic and chemical work at NASA Johnson Space Center and the American Museum of Natural History [1-4]. These data were derived from energy- and wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS, WDS) mapping of samples from many chondrite groups. The Deeplabv3+ [5] neural network architecture was trained on human-labeled masks and used to create machine-labeled masks. Several different algorithms were investigated, with inputs ranging from common RGB image formats through to hyperspectral datasets, with raw data comprising greyscale maps of Mg, Ca, and Al, with or without Si, Fe, Ti for both EDS and WDS data, and extending to other elements in EDS only. Each greyscale image was paired with a binary mask for each labelled particle type. Results: The trained algorithms can segment (Fig 1), classify, and measure the dimensions of thousands of particles in chemical maps of a standard 1-inch round petrographic section in seconds to minutes, rather than many hours needed by a human. Accuracy of the algorithms varied from chondrite to chondrite and across particle types. Further results and details of the algorithms will be presented at the workshop. Future directions: Machine learning has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of complex particle populations contained within primitive astromaterial, with segmentation being a critical first step. Example applications include better understanding of particle transport, nebular reservoirs, parent body accretion, and a deeper understanding of the relationships between particle populations and bulk rock elemental and isotopic compositions. In addition to benefits that machine learning can bring to individual researchers, building a community data repository of thousands to millions of particles across hundreds of samples will open up many other possibilities. For example, with a large enough dataset it will be possible to search for exceptionally closely matching particles across disparate samples. Such a capability would enable a single CAI from OSIRISREx or Hayabusa/II samples to be matched to chondritic CAIs that exhibit near-identical size, texture, and mineralogy, down to the level of similar core phenocrysts, zonation, and rim sequences. Such comparative analyses will help to disentangle precursor chemistry, chronology, gas/dust reservoirs during heating, and accretion. Such an endeavor would be impossible without machine learning and a large community data repository of astromaterial chemical/mineralogic maps.

Machine Learning↗

Image Mapping and Visual Attention on the Sensory Ego-Sphere

The Sensory Ego-Sphere (SES) is a short-term memory for a robot in the form of an egocentric, tessellated, spherical, sensory-motor map of the robot s locale. Visual attention enables fast alignment of overlapping images without warping or position optimization, since an attentional point (AP) on the composite typically corresponds to one on each of the collocated regions in the images. Such alignment speeds analysis of the multiple images of the area. Compositing and attention were performed two ways and compared: (1) APs were computed directly on the composite and not on the full-resolution images until the time of retrieval; and (2) the attentional operator was applied to all incoming imagery. It was found that although the second method was slower, it produced consistent and, thereby, more useful APs. The SES is an integral part of a control system that will enable a robot to learn new behaviors based on its previous experiences, and that will enable it to recombine its known behaviors in such a way as to solve related, but novel, task problems with apparent creativity. The approach is to combine sensory-motor data association and dimensionality reduction to learn navigation and manipulation tasks as sequences of basic behaviors that can be implemented with a small set of closed-loop controllers. Over time, the aggregate of behaviors and their transition probabilities form a stochastic network. Then given a task, the robot finds a path in the network that leads from its current state to the goal. The SES provides a short-term memory for the cognitive functions of the robot, association of sensory and motor data via spatio-temporal coincidence, direction of the attention of the robot, navigation through spatial localization with respect to known or discovered landmarks, and structured data sharing between the robot and human team members, the individuals in multi-robot teams, or with a C3 center.

Fleming, Katherine Achim↗