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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Language Model For Earth Science: Exploring Potential Downstream Applications As Well As Current Challenges

The use of deep learning techniques to build transformer language models such as SciBERT and GPT3 have transformed the natural language technology (NLT) landscape. These new NLTs are being used in speech to text and vice versa, auto-mated text classification, sentiment analysis, topic modeling, text summarization, and cognitive assistants. While Earth science has no shortage of unstructured data such as journal and conference papers, little efforts have focused on harnessing NLTs for knowledge extraction and supporting the scientific process. This paper surveys the use of language models in different science. BERT-E, a new Earth science-specific language model, is presented. BERT-E is generated using a transfer learning solution. A language model that has already been trained for general Science (SciBERT) is fine-tuned using abstracts and full text extracted from various Earth science-related articles. A downstream keywords classification application is used for evaluation, and the use of BERT-E shows improved performance. The need to develop a robust set of benchmarks in evaluating the language model such as BERT-E is discussed. Finally, example applications are presented to inspire additional ideas for applications using domain-specific language models.

R Ramachandran↗
NASA NTRS2011

Lessons Learned for Planning and Estimating Operations Support Requirements

Operations (phase E) costs are typically small compared to the spacecraft development and test costs. This, combined with the long lead time for realizing operations costs, can lead projects to focus on hardware development schedules and costs, de-emphasizing estimation of operations support requirements during proposal, early design, and replan cost exercises. The Discovery and New Frontiers (D&NF) programs comprise small, cost-capped missions supporting scientific exploration of the solar system. Even moderate yearly underestimates of the operations costs can present significant LCC impacts for deep space missions with long operational durations, and any LCC growth can directly impact the programs ability to fund new missions. The D&NF Program Office at Marshall Space Flight Center recently studied cost overruns for 7 D&NF missions related to phase C/D development of operational capabilities and phase E mission operations. The goal was to identify the underlying causes for the overruns and develop practical mitigations to assist the D&NF projects in identifying potential operations risks and controlling the associated impacts to operations development and execution costs. The study found that the drivers behind these overruns include overly optimistic assumptions regarding the savings resulting from the use of heritage technology, late development of operations requirements, inadequate planning for sustaining engineering and the special requirements of long duration missions (e.g., knowledge retention and hardware/software refresh), and delayed completion of ground system development work. This presentation summarizes the study and the results, providing a set of lessons NASA can use to improve early estimation and validation of operations costs.

Newhouse, Marilyn↗
NASA NTRS2021

Pointing Error Budget Development and Methodology on the Psyche Project

The Psyche mission was selected by NASA as the 14th mission in the Discovery Program in 2017. The Psyche spacecraft utilizes solar electric propulsion, and will journey to the asteroid (16) Psyche during a 3.5 year trajectory after its planned 2022 launch. The spacecraft instrument suite includes a magnetometer, a multispectral imager, a gamma ray neutron spectrometer, and an X-band radio telecommunications system. It also includes the Deep Space Optical Communication technical demonstration. These instruments along with other spacecraft components require pointing accuracy to meet their scientific and engineering performance requirements. Early on in the project development, the team established a methodology by which pointing accuracy (knowledge and control) is analyzed against the system requirements by means of pointing error budgets and requirement allocations. A margin policy was implemented to ensure the instrument and engineering component pointing accuracy requirements will be met during verification and in flight. Psyche’s pointing management framework defines detailed rationales for the system and subsystem error allocations of the top level pointing accuracy requirements, with sufficient project level pointing margin, and supports end-to-end pointing requirement verification. This paper will present an overview of the Psyche project’s pointing error budget development process, and discuss the rationale behind the methodology. Psyche’s pointing budget methodology integrates best practices and lessons learned from heritage missions, while focusing on the specific needs of the Psyche spacecraft and its science instruments. Key challenges in the pointing error budget development will be reviewed, and a deep dive into two key Psyche pointing budgets are presented. The systems engineering of Psyche’s pointing budget methodology outlined in this paper will serve as a resource for future deep space missions.

Lai, Peter↗
NASA NTRS2007

Science in Exploration: From the Moon to Mars and Back Home to Earth

NASA is embarking on a grand journey of exploration that naturally integrates the past successes of the Apollo missions to the Moon, as well as robotic science missions to Mars, to Planet Earth, and to the broader Universe. The US Vision for Space Exporation (VSE) boldly lays out a plan for human and robotic reconnaissance of the accessible Universe, starting with the surface of the Moon, and later embracing the surface of Mars. Sustained human and robotic access to the Moon and Mars will enable a new era of scientific investigation of our planetary neighbors, tied to driving scientific questions that pertain to the evolution and destiny of our home planet, but which also can be related to the search habitable worlds across the nearby Universe. The Apollo missions provide a vital legacy for what can be learned from the Moon, and NASA is now poised to recapture the lunar frontier starting with the flight of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) in late 2008. LRO will provide a new scientific context from which joint human and robotic exploration will ensue, guided by objectives some of which are focused on the grandest scientific challenges imaginable : Where did we come from? Are we alone? and Where are we going? The Moon will serve as an essential stepping stone for sustained human access and exploration of deep space and as a training ground while robotic missions with ever increasing complexity probe the wonders of Mars. As we speak, an armada of spacecraft are actively investigating the red planet both from orbit (NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey Orbiter, plus ESA's Mars Express) and from the surface (NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers, and in 2008 NASA's Phoenix polar lander). The dramatically changing views of Mars as a potentially habitable world, with its own flavor of global climate change and unique climate records, provides a new vantage point from which to observe and question the workings of our own planet Earth. By 2010 NASA will have its first mobile analytical laboratory operating on the surface of Mars (Mars Science Laboratory) in search of potentially subtle expressions of past life or at least of life-hospitable environments. Meanwhile back here on Planet Earth, NASA will be continuing to implement an increasingly comprehensive program of robotic missions that address major issues associated with global climate variability, and the "state variables" that affect the quality of human life on our home planet. Ultimately, the fmits of NASA's emergent program of Exploration (VSE) will provide never-beforepossible opportunities for scientific leadership and advancement, culminating in a new state of awareness from which to better plan for the sustainability of life on Earth and for extending Earth life to the Moon and eventually to Mars. As NASA nears its 50th anniversary, the unimaginable and unexpected wealth of strategic knowledge its missions have generated about Earth, the Universe, and our local Solar System boggles the mind and serves as a legacy of knowledge for Educators to inspire future generations.

Garvin, James B.↗
NASA NTRS2018

SLS Ambassador Program

Overview of the agency’s plans for deep space exploration: (1) NASA has a phased approach to ensure our nation’s leadership in space exploration, beginning in Earth orbit, developing our skills in lunar space, and extending those skills and technologies to a human mission to Mars. (2) Currently, NASA is commercializing low-Earth orbit using commercial companies to transport supplies and scientific experiments to the ISS. NASA is working closely with them to launch American astronauts to the station from American soil soon. (3) ISS is our platform to better understand living and working in space. NASA paved the way for commercial companies to take over that work so that we could focus on human exploration of deep space. (4) NASA will establish a Lunar Orbiting Platform – Gateway to establish an outpost near the moon. It will enable us to get to Mars in a step-by-step fashion, with lessons learned in each phase of the process informing the next steps. SLS is the only launch vehicle with the power to get Orion and an in-space propulsion system to an orbit and a speed capable of enabling travel to the moon and beyond.

Lindstrom, Marcia↗
NASA NTRS2023

Gateway Program Safety and Mission Assurance Integration - The Future of Safe Deep Space Human Exploration

As a foundational element of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Artemis Campaign, the Gateway is an incrementally built cislunar spacecraft that will serve as a platform for deep space human exploration, science, and technology demonstration. The Gateway will be a unifying catalyst for partners around the world to establish sustained deep space scientific investigations, lunar surface access, and missions to Mars. As human exploration moves farther from Earth, spacecraft designs must optimize mass and volume while minimizing human and spacecraft risk. To accomplish this, the Gateway Program Safety and Mission Assurance (S&MA) office develops, implements, and ensures compliance with requirements, in concert with the accurate characterization and transparent communication of residual hazard risks, for integrated safety, reliability and maintainability, and quality assurance. This paper will detail the evolution of the Gateway Program S&MA integration functions, and provide its current status and lessons learned for future human spaceflight programs.

Helen Vaccaro↗
NASA NTRS2006

Spitzer Space Telescope Sequencing Operations Software, Strategies, and Lessons Learned

The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) was launched in August, 2003, and renamed to the Spitzer Space Telescope in 2004. Two years of observing the universe in the wavelength range from 3 to 180 microns has yielded enormous scientific discoveries. Since this magnificent observatory has a limited lifetime, maximizing science viewing efficiency (ie, maximizing time spent executing activities directly related to science observations) was the key operational objective. The strategy employed for maximizing science viewing efficiency was to optimize spacecraft flexibility, adaptability, and use of observation time. The selected approach involved implementation of a multi-engine sequencing architecture coupled with nondeterministic spacecraft and science execution times. This approach, though effective, added much complexity to uplink operations and sequence development. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) manages Spitzer s operations. As part of the uplink process, Spitzer s Mission Sequence Team (MST) was tasked with processing observatory inputs from the Spitzer Science Center (SSC) into efficiently integrated, constraint-checked, and modeled review and command products which accommodated the complexity of non-deterministic spacecraft and science event executions without increasing operations costs. The MST developed processes, scripts, and participated in the adaptation of multi-mission core software to enable rapid processing of complex sequences. The MST was also tasked with developing a Downlink Keyword File (DKF) which could instruct Deep Space Network (DSN) stations on how and when to configure themselves to receive Spitzer science data. As MST and uplink operations developed, important lessons were learned that should be applied to future missions, especially those missions which employ command-intensive operations via a multi-engine sequence architecture.

missions operations↗
NASA NTRS2016

Status and Path Forward for the Large Ultraviolet Optical Infrared Surveyor (LUVOIR) Mission Concept Study

In preparation of the 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Survey, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has commenced a process for the astronomical community to study several large mission concepts leveraging the lessons learned from past Decadal Surveys. This will enable the Decadal Survey committee to make more informed recommendations to NASA on its astrophysics science and mission priorities with respect to cost and risk. Four astrophysics large mission concepts were identified. Each of them had a Science and Technology Definition Teem(STDT) chartered to produce scientifically compelling, feasible, and executable design reference mission (DRM)concepts to present to the 2020 Decadal Survey. In addition, The Aerospace Corporation will perform an independent cost and technical evaluation (CATE) of each of these mission concept studies in advance of the 2020 Decadal Survey by interacting with the STDTs to provide detailed technical details on certain areas for which deep dives are appropriate. This paper presents the status and path forward for one of the four large mission concepts, namely, the Large UltraViolet, Optical, InfraRed surveyor (LUVOIR).

Study Office: science analyses↗
NASA NTRS2018

Digital Technologies at NASA for Science and Engineering

While scientific and engineering advancements used to rely primarily on theoretical studies and physical experiments, today digital technology enabled by petaflops-scale supercomputers is an equal, if not a greater, contributor to such achievements. In addition, computational modeling and simulation serves as a predictive tool that is not otherwise available. As a result, the use of high performance computing is integral to NASA's work in all mission areas such as space exploration, aeronautics, and scientific discovery. But traditional supercomputing alone is not sufficient for all of the space agency's needs. The success of many NASA missions depends on solving complex computing challenges, some of which are NP-hard (decision theory) if using classical solution methods. Quantum computing promises an unprecedented ability to solve such intractable problems by harnessing quantum mechanical effects such as tunneling, superposition, and entanglement. Another disruptive digital technology is neuromorphic computing that uses brain-inspired lessons to generate new architectures that are much more energy efficient, and capable of massive parallel processing and learning in-situ. Finally, with large amounts of observational and computational data sets, the opportunities of big data and data analytics can be leveraged to enable deep learning and knowledge discovery - it's all a massive digital transformation. This talk will be an overview how NASA utilizes digital technologies for its science and engineering efforts.

Biswas, Rupak↗
NASA NTRS2010

NASA Tech Briefs, July 2010

Topics covered include: Wirelessly Interrogated Wear or Temperature Sensors; Processing Nanostructured Sensors Using Microfabrication Techniques; Optical Pointing Sensor; Radio-Frequency Tank Eigenmode Sensor for Propellant Quantity Gauging; High-Temperature Optical Sensor; Integral Battery Power Limiting Circuit for Intrinsically Safe Applications; Configurable Multi-Purpose Processor; Squeezing Alters Frequency Tuning of WGM Optical Resonator; Automated Computer Access Request System; Range Safety for an Autonomous Flight Safety System; Fast and Easy Searching of Files in Unisys 2200 Computers; Parachute Drag Model; Evolutionary Scheduler for the Deep Space Network; Modular Habitats Comprising Rigid and Inflatable Modules; More About N2O-Based Propulsion and Breathable-Gas Systems; Ultrasonic/Sonic Rotary-Hammer Drills; Miniature Piezoelectric Shaker for Distribution of Unconsolidated Samples to Instrument Cells; Lunar Soil Particle Separator; Advanced Aerobots for Scientific Exploration; Miniature Bioreactor System for Long-Term Cell Culture; Electrochemical Detection of Multiple Bioprocess Analytes; Fabrication and Modification of Nanoporous Silicon Particles; High-Altitude Hydration System; Photon Counting Using Edge-Detection Algorithm; Holographic Vortex Coronagraph; Optical Structural Health Monitoring Device; Fuel-Cell Power Source Based on Onboard Rocket Propellants; Polar Lunar Regions: Exploiting Natural and Augmented Thermal Environments; Simultaneous Spectral Temporal Adaptive Raman Spectrometer - SSTARS; Improved Speed and Functionality of a 580-GHz Imaging Radar; Bolometric Device Based on Fluxoid Quantization; Algorithms for Learning Preferences for Sets of Objects; Model for Simulating a Spiral Software-Development Process; Algorithm That Synthesizes Other Algorithms for Hashing; Algorithms for High-Speed Noninvasive Eye-Tracking System; and Adapting ASPEN for Orbital Express.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2021

Temporal Interpolation of Geostationary Satellite Imagery With Optical Flow

Applications of satellite data in areas such as weather tracking and modeling, ecosystem monitoring, wildfire detection, and land-cover change are heavily dependent on the tradeoffs to spatial, spectral, and temporal resolutions of observations. In weather tracking, high-frequency temporal observations are critical and used to improve forecasts, study severe events, and extract atmospheric motion, among others. However, while the current generation of geostationary (GEO) satellites has hemispheric coverage at 10-15-min intervals, higher temporal frequency observations are ideal for studying mesoscale severe weather events. In this work, we present a novel application of deep learning-based optical flow to temporal upsampling of GEO satellite imagery. We apply this technique to 16 bands of the GOES-R/Advanced Baseline Imager mesoscale dataset to temporally enhance full-disk hemispheric snapshots of different spatial resolutions from 10 to 1 min. Experiments show the effectiveness of task-specific optical flow and multiscale blocks for interpolating high-frequency severe weather events relative to bilinear and global optical flow baselines. Finally, we demonstrate strong performance in capturing variability during convective precipitation events.

Image processing↗
NASA NTRS2016

Internship at the Office of the Chief Scientist

The NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) is part of the Center Management. The OCS adds value to the organization by encouraging and facilitating innovation and value to the Agency, Nation, and the scientific community through its well-developed, diverse, and strategically formed charter. The OCS provides the Center with the oversight and advice by facilitating and evaluating the Scientific Innovation Fund (SIF) and promoting science-based research partnerships. Additionally, the Office contributes to to the Agency by organizing annual Summer Series Colloquia, Workshops, and support to the Early Career Network, which allows for international and inter-agency collaborations. Working at the OCS allowed me to further learn about the working of the Office and how the Office engages and provides guidance with rest of the Center and the Agency. As part of my internship, I am working on developing the initial infrastructure required for the organization of the Standardized Distributed Workshop and further developing the layout for the Hibernation Workshop. The Standardized Distributed System workshop will investigate the scope of developing and using standardized distributed systems for a wide range of applications including satellite systems, aerospace-oriented systems, water-based systems, automobiles, and various other robotics applications. The goal of this workshop is to determine the feasibility of developing a standardized distributed system that can be customized for different technological applications, which will enable resource sharing, openness, robustness, and fault tolerance. This workshop will bring together experts from different fields, including satellite operations, unmanned aerial vehicles, aircraft operation and management, and artificial intelligence to provide a global evaluation of the aspects associated with the development and adoption of distributed systems. The workshop will also guide the participants through state of the art distributed systems, discuss some of the challenges in designing control systems with a distributed structure, and consider the future of distributed system based technologies for future applications. Additionally, I am also working on finalizing the details and documentation for the proposed Hibernation Workshop. This workshop will address the phenomenon of hibernation through three major aspects: hibernation on Earth, hibernation in space, and knowledge gaps in the approaches to future deep space exploration. The primary objective of the workshop is to explore the current state of science in the area of hibernation, and as a scientific community, explore the gaps and challenges preventing this scientific field from advancing to the next level. This workshop will consist of presentations, panel discussions, and breakout sessions focused on addressing this scientific field, and bringing experts from educational and commercial sectors together. As a part of my internship report, I will be document the process of planning these workshops and further provide a brief summary of my experience with the 2016 NASA Ames Summer Series and various professional visits.

ISU↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Gateway as a Building Block for Space Exploration and Development

The Gateway, which will be a small, human-tended space station in orbit around the Moon, is an example of the building block approach to space exploration and development. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) leads the Gateway Program and serves as the integrator of the spaceflight capabilities and contributions of U.S. commercial partners and international partners. Gateway is a cornerstone of deep space human exploration, one critical element of the strategies and architectures that will enable human exploration of the solar system. This paper will outline: 1) The concept of operations and describe how Gateway is a multipurpose space station, supporting lunar surface missions, cis-lunar research, and as a proving ground for human missions to Mars; 2) Gateway’s international partnerships as an expansion of the partnerships of the “second generation of space programmes,” namely the International Space Station (ISS); and 3) Future commercial, scientific, and technology demonstration opportunities that this infrastructure building block provides. Lastly, the strategies and architectures for future space exploration and development must include thoughtful approaches to the management and business operations of government space programs. This includes planning for limited outyear growth in budgets, partnership and acquisition strategies, pursuing public-private partnerships and the use of firm-fixed price contracts, enabling vendor-to-vendor relationships, the use of multilateral interoperability standards, and incorporating key lessons learned from prior governmental Programs. This paper will discuss the strategies and approaches undertaken when establishing the Gateway Program at the NASA Johnson Space Center in 2019 and the current operational status of this new, lean, and efficient Program.

Gateway↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Gateway as a Building Block for Space Exploration and Development

The Gateway, which will be a small, human-tended space station in orbit around the Moon, is an example of the building block approach to space exploration and development. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) leads the Gateway Program and serves as the integrator of the spaceflight capabilities and contributions of U.S. commercial partners and international partners. Gateway is a cornerstone of deep space human exploration, one critical element of the strategies and architectures that will enable human exploration of the solar system. This paper will outline: 1) The concept of operations and describe how Gateway is a multi-purpose space station, supporting lunar surface missions, cis-lunar research, and as a proving ground for human missions to Mars; 2) Gateway’s international partnerships as an expansion of the partnerships of the “second generation of space programmes,” namely the International Space Station (ISS); and 3) Future commercial, scientific, and technology demonstration opportunities that this infrastructure building block provides. Lastly, the strategies and architectures for future space exploration and development must include thoughtful approaches to the management and business operations of government space programs. This includes planning for limited outyear growth in budgets, partnership and acquisition strategies, pursuing public-private partnerships and the use of firm-fixed price contracts, enabling vendor-to-vendor relationships, the use of multilateral interoperability standards, and incorporating key lessons learned from prior governmental Programs. This paper will discuss the strategies and approaches undertaken when establishing the Gateway Program at the NASA Johnson Space Center in 2019 and the current operational status of this new, lean, and efficient Program.

Gateway↗
NASA NTRS1990

Design of a scientific probe for obtaining Mars surface material

With the recent renewed interest in interplanetary and deep space exploratory missions, the Red Planet, Mars, which has captured people's imagination for centuries, has again become a center of attention. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a series of Mariner missions performed fly-by investigations of the Mars surface and atmosphere. Later, in the mid 1970s, the data gathered by these earlier Mariner missions provided the basis of the much-publicized Viking missions, whose main objective was to determine the possibility of extraterrestrial life on Mars. More recently, with the dramatic changes in international politics, ambitious joint manned missions between the United States and the Soviet Union have been proposed to be launched in the early 21st century. In light of these exciting developments, the Spacecraft Design course, which was newly established at UCLA under NASA/USRA sponsorship, has developed its curriculum around a design project: the synthesis of an unmanned Martian landing probe. The students are required to conceive a preliminary design of a small spacecraft that is capable of landing at a designated site, collecting soil samples, and then returning the samples to orbit. The goal of the project is to demonstrate the feasibility of such a mission. This preliminary study of an interplanetary exploration mission has shown the feasibility of such a mission. The students have learned valuable lessons about the complexity of spacecraft design, even though the mission is relatively simple.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2024

Women’s Health in Spaceflight: Life Beyond Low Earth Orbit

Historically, only 75 women have flown in space and while this inequity has been recently addressed with astronaut candidates about 50% female, research defining female biological responses to spaceflight remain limited. The NASA Artemis Campaign aims to land the first woman on the Moon for purposes of scientific discovery, technology advancement, and learning how to live and work on another world in preparation for human missions to Mars. The need to understand how sex and gender affect a wide range of physiological functions, impacting numerous health outcomes is critical. The purpose of this chapter is to summarize recent findings in women’s health in spaceflight, past studies examining female mammalian responses to spaceflight and highlight the need for additional studies to help reduce risk and enhance countermeasure development specific to female astronauts. The promise of artificial intelligence approaches for advancing the pace of research is discussed with the caveat that, at present, fundamental research on women’s health in space and sex-specificity of response to spaceflight stressors is not sufficiently robust to achieve this goal.

spaceflight↗
NASA NTRS2022

Moon to Mars (M2M) Habitation Considerations: A Snap Shot As of January 2022

The following NASA Technical Memorandum (TM) is intended to provide a snapshot in time of NASA’s current considerations (ground rules and assumptions, functional allocations, logistics) for habitation systems for the lunar surface (non-roving) and Mars transits. As NASA continues to refine the reference designs to meet the needs of an evolving architecture, it is expected that this information will also be updated as a result. Where appropriate, relevant publicly released documents will be referenced to provide further detail. NASA’s human lunar exploration plan under the Artemis program calls for achieving the goal of sending the first woman and first person of color to the surface of the Moon in the mid- 2020s and working toward sustainable exploration by the end of the decade. Working with both commercial and international partners, NASA will establish a permanent human presence on the Moon to uncover new scientific discoveries and lay the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy. Longer duration missions on the lunar surface and in lunar orbit will also serve as a test bed for technologies to support future Mars exploration campaigns. The agency will use what we learn on the Moon to prepare for humanity's next giant leap – sending astronauts to Mars. NASA intends to establish a sustained lunar presence with the development of the Artemis Base Camp to prove technologies and capabilities that will one day enable humans to live and work on Mars, beginning with core elements including the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), the Pressurized Rover (PR), the lunar Surface Habitat (SH), power systems, and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) systems. For in space operations and eventual transport of humans to Mars, NASA will utilize a Mars Transit Habitat (TH). Following deployment, the TH will complete a series of longer duration missions and shakedown testing while docked at Gateway, leveraging Gateway’s habitation redundancy for safety measures. Proposed Gateway-TH missions will far exceed the longest duration cislunar human missions to date. They will be the first operational readiness tests of our long-duration deep space systems, and of the split crew (two crew on the surface, two crew in space) operations that are vital to the approach for the first human Mars mission. Both the SH and TH are major architectural elements of NASA’s Moon to Mars (M2M) approach, each with very different concepts of operation. The SH is intended for use on the lunar surface as a home for astronauts, surface operations base, science facility, hub for communications, extravehicular activity (EVA) equipment repair site, waste processing facility, and supply hub. It serves as an enabler for a sustained surface presence and preparation for partial gravity operations during Mars missions. The SH will be designed to be self-sufficient for operations on the lunar surface. The SH will independently provide several functions, including its own power generation, energy storage capability, sleep quarters, hygiene areas, work areas, and dining areas. It will be capable of communicating with surface assets, orbital assets, and directly with Earth ground stations. It is planned to operate with two crew in the habitat for ~28- day stays with crew swap-outs in which the PR crew of two trades places with the habitat crew. During the swap-out, the habitat will nominally support four crew for a short period of time. For contingency scenarios, the habitat must also be capable of supporting four crew for up to 7 days. The TH will be designed to be capable of up to ~1,200-day Mars missions with the ability to carry all food and supplies needed to support a crew of four for this duration. An assumed Mars mission profile for the TH is to carry crew and supplies for ~850-day roundtrips between Earth and Mars orbit that allows 30-day stays on the Martian surface. To test the systems for this long journey, the TH will be used to extend the duration of missions at Gateway, enabling the orbiting outpost to be used as a Mars analog. These analog missions will be accomplished by attaching the TH to Gateway and conducting lunar surface operations from the TH. The TH may also need to perform free-flying shakedown missions to test out all systems prior to leaving for Mars. The habitat provides many critical functions including: a contingency airlock, crew quarters, galley, hygiene areas, safe haven capability, and science equipment. It can receive docked items from either axial end or on a radial port.

Habitat↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

GeoNEX-ML: A Machine Learning System for Geostationary Satellite Imagery

Improved capabilities of earth monitoring satellites are enabling a wide range of studies on the environmental effects of climate change, often leveraging the recent advancements in machine learning. At the same time, the new capabilities, including higher spatial resolution and temporal frequency, are expanding the amount of data generated at exponential rates. Further, a large majority of archived datasets generated by scientific processing is never used. This motivates the development of an efficient machine learning system for end-to-end processing of multi-level satellite datasets, from level 1 top of atmosphere observations to user friendly environmental variables of interest. Using current generation geostationary satellites GOES-16/17 (NOAA/NASA), Himawari-8/9 (JAXA), and GK-2A (Korea), we present an interchangeable set of machine models to perform spectral adjustment, physical model emulation, LEO-GEO emulation, and optical flow in a high performance computing environment. We use these tools to generate consistent virtual observations across sensors, perform atmospheric correction and cloud detection, and estimate land surface temperature and atmospheric winds. This approach aims to improve the robustness of remotely sensed data processing by learning from diverse sets of observations while enabling near real-time and on-demand capabilities.

Geostationary satellites↗