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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 379 records · Page 21
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2011

Update on the Fabrication and Performance of 2-D Arrays of Superconducting Magnesium Diboride (MgB2) Thermal Detectors for Outer-Planets Exploration

Detectors with better performance than the current thermopile detectors that operate at room temperature will be needed at the focal plane of far-infrared instruments on future planetary exploration missions. We will present an update on recent results from the 2-D array of MgB2 thermal detectors being currently developed at NASA Goddard. Noise and sensitivity results will be presented and compared to thermal detectors currently in use on planetary missions.

Lakew, Brook↗
NASA NTRS2012

CIRS and CIRS-Lite as Designed for the Outer Planets: TSSM, EJSM, JUICE

Passive spectroscopic remote sensing of planetary atmospheres and surfaces in the thermal infrared is a powerful tool for obtaining information about surface and atmospheric temperatures, composition, and dynamics (via the thermal wind equation). Due to its broad spectral coverage, the Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) is particularly suited to the exploration and discovery of molecular species. NASA Goddard's Cassini CIRS FTS has given us important new insights into stratospheric composition and jets on Jupiter and Saturn, the cryo-vo1cano and thermal stripes on Enceladus, and the polar vortex on Titan. We have designed a lightweight successor to CIRS - called CIRS-lite - with improved spectral resolution to separate blended spectral lines (such as occur with isotopes). CIRS-lite includes four key components: (1) high Tc superconductor bolometer/carbon nano-tube (CNT) absorber (approx 87K, YBCO) (2) synthetic diamond beam splitter (approx 140K) (3) moving mirror mechanism with crossed-roller bearings ( approx 110 K) (4) single crystal silicon for the input telescope primary

Brasunas, J.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Dual-Band Optical Bench for Terahertz Radiometer for Outer Planet Atmospheres (TROPA)

We have developed a wide-band dual frequency spectrometer for use in deep space planetary atmospheric spectroscopy. The instrument uses a dual-band architecture, both to be able to observe spectral lines from a wide range of atmospheric species, and to allow a higher precision retrieval of temperature/pressure/partial pressure and wind profiles. This dual-band approach requires a new design for the optical bench to couple both frequencies into their respective receivers.

submillitmeter↗
NASA NTRS2012

Terahertz Radiometer for Outer Planet and Moon Atmospheres (TROPA)

We are developing a prototype instrument platform to demonstrate the feasibility of a wideband spectrometer for planetary applications under a three-year NASA research program. This development focuses on three specific areas needing advancement. First, the terahertz portion consists of an optical bench with dual heterodyne Schottky-mixer based receivers, one for each band. The beams entering the horns of the two receivers are de-multiplexed from the input beam by a polarizing beam splitter. The blocks containing the 560 and 1200 GHz mixer are more highly integrated than previous space instruments to reduce mass and volume. The receivers take a fundamental pump frequency near 30 GHz and multiply up to the submillimeter range. Second, a rapid-tuning, low-phase noise, and low-power 33 GHz range LO synthesizer is being prototyped. The low phase noise requirement is needed because of the factor of 36 multiplication to reach 1200 GHz, giving a requirement that the integrated phase noise from 100 kHz up be less than 0.6 degrees. The synthesizer will require about 6 watts. Finally, we are developing an advanced polyphase filter back-end spectrum analyzer with a bandwidth of 750 MHz, and power consumption of about 3 Watts and 4096 channels. This system is based on a simple three-chip architecture, having a commercial 1.5 GS/s analog-to-digital converter, an ASIC to do the filtering and an advanced FPGA for data processing and control.

spectrometer↗
NASA NTRS2016

Atmospheric Mining in the Outer Solar System: Outer Planet Orbital Transfer and Lander Analyses

High energy propellants for human lunar missions are analyzed, focusing on very advanced ozone and atomic hydrogen. One of the most advanced launch vehicle propulsion systems, such as the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), used hydrogen and oxygen and had a delivered specific impulse of 453 seconds. In the early days of the space program, other propellants (or so called metapropellants) were suggested, including atomic hydrogen and liquid ozone. Theoretical and experimental studies of atomic hydrogen and ozone were conducted beginning in the late 1940s. This propellant research may have provided screenwriters with the idea of an atomic hydrogen-ozone rocket engine in the 1950 movie, Rocketship X-M. This paper presents analyses showing that an atomic hydrogen-ozone rocket engine could produce a specific impulse over a wide range of specific impulse values reaching as high as 1,600 seconds. A series of single stage and multistage rocket vehicle analyses were conducted to find the minimum specific impulse needed to conduct high energy round trip lunar missions.

lunar mission design↗
NASA NTRS2018

Extreme Environments Solar Power Project Enabling Solar Array Power To The Outer Planets

NASA missions such as DAWN and JUNO, as well as the planned Europa Clipper mission, rely on solar power despite their destination's extreme distance from the Sun and the high radiation environment typically encountered. This reliance on off-the-shelf state of the art solar cells has impacted mission design and ultimate performance, as solar cells designed for 1AU space applications suffer from low intensity, low temperature (LILT) performance effects and limited radiation tolerance has required additional shielding or overdesign in order to maintain EOL performance. While reasons for the performance degradation are reasonably well understood and solutions have been proposed, the lack of a continuous mission pull for improved performance has made a dedicated project to address these issues unpractical in the past. However, with NASA embarking on the Europa Clipper mission in the next decade and a recognition that improvements to radiation tolerance positively impact all space missions; NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate has initiated a project to develop advanced solar cells that are more efficient under LILT conditions and solar array concepts, such as concentrator systems, that improve overall performance under both LILT and high radiation conditions.

McNatt, Jeremiah↗
NASA NTRS2020

Status of Outer Planet Global Reference Atmospheric Model (GRAM) Upgrades

The inability to test planetary spacecraft in the flight environment prior to a mission requires engineers to rely on ground-based testing and models of the vehicle and expected environments. One of the most widely used engineering models of the atmosphere is the Global Reference Atmospheric Model (GRAM) developed and maintained by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) has provided funding support to upgrade the GRAMs.

Justh, H. L.↗