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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 397 records · Page 22
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2014

Pulmonary and Systemic Immune Response to Chronic Lunar Dust Inhalation

Background: Due to millennia of meteorite impact with virtually no erosive effects, the surface of the Moon is covered by a layer of ultra‐fine, reactive Lunar dust. Very little is known regarding the toxicity of Lunar dust on human physiology. Given the size and electrostatic characteristics of Lunar dust, countermeasures to ensure non‐exposure of astronauts will be difficult. To ensure astronaut safety during any future prolonged Lunar missions, it is necessary to establish the effect of chronic pulmonary Lunar dust exposure on all physiological systems. Methods: This study assessed the toxicity of airborne lunar dust exposure in rats on pulmonary and system immune system parameters. Rats were exposed to 0, 20.8, or 60.8 mg/m3 of lunar dust (6h/d; 5d/wk) for up to 13 weeks. Sacrifices occurred after exposure durations of 1day, 7 days, 4 weeks and 13 weeks post‐exposure, when both blood and lung lavage fluid were collected for analysis. Lavage and blood assays included leukocyte distribution by flow cytometry, electron/fluorescent microscopy, and cytokine concentration. Cytokine production profiles following mitogenic stimulation were performed on whole blood only. Results: Untreated lavage fluid was comprised primarily of pulmonary macrophages. Lunar dust inhalation resulted in an influx of neutrophils and lymphocytes. Although the percentage of lymphocytes increased, the T cell CD4:CD8 ratio was unchanged. Cytokine analysis of the lavage fluid showed increased levels of IL‐1b and TNFa. These alterations generally persisted through the 13 week sampling. Blood analysis showed few systemic effects from the lunar dust inhalation. By week 4, the peripheral granulocyte percentage was elevated in the treated rats. Plasma cytokine levels were unchanged in all treated rats compared to controls. Peripheral blood analysis showed an increased granulocyte percentage and altered cytokine production profiles consisting of increased in IL‐1b and IL‐6, and decreased IL‐2 production. Conclusion: Lunar dust inhalation results in significant lung inflammation, and some systemic effects, that does not resolve through 13 weeks. Lunar dust may therefore represent a crew health risk during sortie or long‐duration Lunar missions.

Crucian, Brian↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Evidence for a CERES-Sized, Water-Rich, Carbonaceous Chondrite Parent Asteroid: A Missing Link Found in the Almahata Sitta Meteorite

We have discovered abundant (~10 vol.%) tremolite amphibole in a carbonaceous chondrite (CC) fragment (202, C-ung) from the Almahata Sitta (AhS, Ur-anom) meteorite. Terrestrially, tremolite is a fairly common hydrous mineral that forms under greenschist facies conditions (300-500° C and ~2-8 kbar). Amphibole has been identified in two R chondrites at similar abundances, but it is virtually unknown in CC, having been identified only in Allende (CV3oxA) at trace to minor (likely <<1 vol.%) abundances. Thus, AhS 202 provides evidence of a previously unrecognized CC parent body that must have been of sufficient size (~500-1400 km diameter) to support prolonged, fluid-assisted metamorphism at intermediate pressures and temperatures. The previous detection of amphibole in a CC, even at very low abundances, is noteworthy as it indicates that conditions for that mineral’s formation existed in the early solar system, no matter how briefly or how localized. However, our detection of abundant amphibole in a second CC that implicates a second, large parent body suggests that moderately elevated, hydrous P/T conditions may have been more widespread than previously thought based on meteorites. The apparent absence of amphibole in most carbonaceous chondrites may reflect bias in our meteorite collections and/or failure to identify it in other samples. Finally, samples like AhS 202 provide important missing links if spaceflight missions such as Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS-REx return samples that differ from what exists in meteorite collections.

Victoria E Hamilton↗
DOE OSTI2022

Explicit quantification of residence and flushing times in the Salish Sea using a sub-basin scale shoreline resolving model

The Salish Sea, located in the Pacific Northwest region of North America has complex currents and circulation features distributed over numerous interconnected deep basins with islands. Increased risk of exposure to oil spills and untreated wastewater from maritime emergencies and treatment plant failures have led to a need for quantifying residence and flushing characteristics at a sub-basin scale using a shoreline resolving hydrodynamic model. An unstructured grid model of the Salish Sea was developed using FVCOM with a ≈75-100m shoreline resolution. In addition to 7 tides and 23 salinity and temperature monitoring stations, an extensive currents data set from 135 stations collected over a span of three years was used for skill assessment and validation. Explicit forward computations were then conducted to define and quantify residence and flushing times in various sub-basins of interest using (a) Lagrangian particles and (b) Numerical/virtual dye experiments. The results in most basins show expected seasonal variability with longer flushing time associated with summer lower tides and lower freshwater inflows. However, contrary to expectation, flushing time is significantly longer in wintertime in large fjord-like basins such as Hood Canal (≈138 days), likely due to increased stratification and reduced mixing. The flushing time for the Puget Sound region of the Salish Sea is ≈115 days, while Georgia Basin is 240 days when analyzed as stand-alone basins with zero background concentrations. When examined as part of the flushing of the entire Puget Sound filled with virtual dye, the compounded flushing times for embedded sub-basins can be significantly longer in order of magnitudes and largely dictated by the flushing time of Puget Sound. The computed residence and flushing time scales tabulated over 36 sub-basins provide an improved understanding of water renewal in the system, informing pollution management actions.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2003

Virtual Reality Training: "Cybersickness" and Effects on Sensorimotor Functions

The overall goal of this study is to examine the extent to which exposure to virtual reality (VR) systems produces motion sickness and disrupts sensorimotor functions. Two of the major problems in using VRs are: 1) potential "cybersickness", a form of motion sickness, and 2) maladaptive sensorimotor coordination following virtual environment (VE) training. It is likely that users will eventually adapt to any unpleasant perceptual experiences in a virtual environment. However the most critical problem for training applications is that sensorimotor coordination strategies learned in the VE may not be similar to the responses required in the real environment. This study will evaluate and compare responses to the two types of VR delivery systems (head-mounted display [HMD] and a dome-projection system [DOME]), two exposure duration periods (30 minutes or 60 minutes), and repeated exposures (3 sessions). Specific responses that we will examine include cybersickness severity and symptom patterns, and several sensorimotor functions (eye-hea.d and eye-head-hand coordination, and postural equilibrium). To date, all hardware and software acquisition, development, integration and testing has been completed. A database has been developed and tested for the input, management and storage of all questionnaire data. All data analysis scripts have been developed and tested. Data was collected from 20 subjects in a pilot study that was conducted to determine the amount of training necessary to achieve a stable performance level. Seven subjects are currently enrolled in the study designed to examine the effects of exposure to VE systems on postural control. Data has been collected from two subjects, and it is expected that the results from ten subjects will be presented.

Harm, Deborah L.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Water Flow Performance of a Superscale Model of the Fastrac Liquid Oxygen Pump

As part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's ongoing effort to lower the cost of access to space, the Marshall Space Flight Center has developed a rocket engine with 60,000 pounds of thrust for use on the Reusable Launch Vehicle technology demonstrator slated for launch in 2000. This gas generator cycle engine, known as the Fastrac engine, uses liquid oxygen and RP-1 for propellants and includes single stage liquid oxygen and RP-1 pumps and a single stage supersonic turbine on a common shaft. The turbopump design effort included the first use and application of new suction capability prediction codes and three-dimensional blade generation codes in an attempt to reduce the turbomachinery design and certification costs typically associated with rocket engine development. To verify the pump's predicted cavitation performance, a water flow test of a superscale model of the Fastrac liquid oxygen pump was conducted to experimentally evaluate the liquid oxygen pump's performance at and around the design point. The water flow test article replicated the flow path of the Fastrac liquid oxygen pump in a 1.582x scale model, including scaled seal clearances for correct leakage flow at a model operating speed of 5000 revolutions per minute. Flow entered the 3-blade axial-flow inducer, transitioned to a shrouded, 6-blade radial impeller, and discharged into a vaneless radial diffuser and collection volute. The test article included approximately 50 total and static pressure measurement locations as well as flush-mounted, high frequency pressure transducers for complete mapping of the pressure environment. The primary objectives of the water flow test were to measure the steady-state and dynamic pressure environment of the liquid oxygen pump versus flow coefficient, suction specific speed, and back face leakage flow rate. Results showed excellent correlation between the predicted and experimentally measured pump head rise at low suction specific speeds. Likewise, only small circumferential variations in steady-state impeller exit and radial diffuser pressure distributions were observed from 80% to 120% of the design flow coefficient, matching the computational predictions and confirming that the integrated design approach has minimized any exit volute-induced distortions. The test article exhibited suction performance trends typically observed in inducer designs with virtually constant head rise with decreasing inlet pressure until complete pump head breakdown. Unfortunately, the net positive suction head at 3% head fall-off occurred far below that predicted at all tested flow coefficients, resulting in a negative net positive suction head margin at the design point in water. Additional testing to map the unsteady pressure environment was conducted and interesting rotating phenomena at the inducer inlet were observed. These rotating phenomena's cell numbers, direction, and speed were correlated with pump operating parameters. The impact of the unsteady phenomena and their corresponding energy losses on the unexpectedly poor pump performance is also discussed.

Skelley, Stephen↗
NASA NTRS1995

The scheme machine: A case study in progress in design derivation at system levels

The Scheme Machine is one of several design projects of the Digital Design Derivation group at Indiana University. It differs from the other projects in its focus on issues of system design and its connection to surrounding research in programming language semantics, compiler construction, and programming methodology underway at Indiana and elsewhere. The genesis of the project dates to the early 1980's, when digital design derivation research branched from the surrounding research effort in programming languages. Both branches have continued to develop in parallel, with this particular project serving as a bridge. However, by 1990 there remained little real interaction between the branches and recently we have undertaken to reintegrate them. On the software side, researchers have refined a mathematically rigorous (but not mechanized) treatment starting with the fully abstract semantic definition of Scheme and resulting in an efficient implementation consisting of a compiler and virtual machine model, the latter typically realized with a general purpose microprocessor. The derivation includes a number of sophisticated factorizations and representations and is also deep example of the underlying engineering methodology. The hardware research has created a mechanized algebra supporting the tedious and massive transformations often seen at lower levels of design. This work has progressed to the point that large scale devices, such as processors, can be derived from first-order finite state machine specifications. This is roughly where the language oriented research stops; thus, together, the two efforts establish a thread from the highest levels of abstract specification to detailed digital implementation. The Scheme Machine project challenges hardware derivation research in several ways, although the individual components of the system are of a similar scale to those we have worked with before. The machine has a custom dual-ported memory to support garbage collection. It consists of four tightly coupled processes--processor, collector, allocator, memory--with a very non-trivial synchronization relationship. Finally, there are deep issues of representation for the run-time objects of a symbolic processing language. The research centers on verification through integrated formal reasoning systems, but is also involved with modeling and prototyping environments. Since the derivation algebra is basd on an executable modeling language, there is opportunity to incorporate design animation in the design process. We are looking for ways to move smoothly and incrementally from executable specifications into hardware realization. For example, we can run the garbage collector specification, a Scheme program, directly against the physical memory prototype, and similarly, the instruction processor model against the heap implementation.

Johnson, Steven D.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Training to Facilitate Adaptation to Novel Sensory Environments

After spaceflight, the process of readapting to Earth s gravity causes locomotor dysfunction. We are developing a gait training countermeasure to facilitate adaptive responses in locomotor function. Our training system is comprised of a treadmill placed on a motion-base facing a virtual visual scene that provides an unstable walking surface combined with incongruent visual flow designed to train subjects to rapidly adapt their gait patterns to changes in the sensory environment. The goal of our present study was to determine if training improved both the locomotor and dual-tasking ability responses to a novel sensory environment and to quantify the retention of training. Subjects completed three, 30-minute training sessions during which they walked on the treadmill while receiving discordant support surface and visual input. Control subjects walked on the treadmill without any support surface or visual alterations. To determine the efficacy of training, all subjects were then tested using a novel visual flow and support surface movement not previously experienced during training. This test was performed 20 minutes, 1 week, and 1, 3, and 6 months after the final training session. Stride frequency and auditory reaction time were collected as measures of postural stability and cognitive effort, respectively. Subjects who received training showed less alteration in stride frequency and auditory reaction time compared to controls. Trained subjects maintained their level of performance over 6 months. We conclude that, with training, individuals became more proficient at walking in novel discordant sensorimotor conditions and were able to devote more attention to competing tasks.

Bloomberg, J. J.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Simulation Evaluation of a Large-Scale Implementation of Virtual-Phase Link-Based Model Predictive Control

Traffic congestion is a serious problem in the US, and traffic signal control is one of the effective solutions to congestion. Previous research on model predictive control (MPC)-based traffic signal control showed substantial benefits over conventional methods. This study focused on implementing MPC over a large-scale network with complex intersections and the impact of cycle length, network size, and imperfect state estimation on performances. This study implemented a virtual phase link (VPL)-based model predictive control method which used the number of vehicles in each VPL as input state variables and was suitable for National Electrical Manufacturing Association (NEMA) ring-barrier control. To test the impact of network size, the performance of distributed MPC (36 intersections in the network are divided into five subnetworks) was compared with that of MPC over the full network for a set of cycle lengths. To test the impact of imperfect state estimation, we synthetically infused estimation error and developed two scenarios, MPC-error and MPC-error narrow, which had higher and lower estimation errors, respectively. The performance of these MPC methods was compared with that of the existing time-of-day (TOD) method and an offline method that used Webster's method for split and MULTIBAND for cycle length and offset optimization. Trajectory and linkwise signal performance measures were collected from the simulation to evaluate performance. The distributed MPC method with perfect state estimation had the lowest delay and highest energy efficiency of all the methods. The performance of MPC decreased as the prediction inaccuracy increased. MPC-error had 7% and 11% more delay than MPC-error narrow in the morning and evening peaks, respectively. Overall, simulation results suggest that even with imperfect state estimation, MPC methods will outperform offline methods significantly.

large-scale simulation↗
NASA NTRS1994

Performance evaluation of the Engineering Analysis and Data Systems (EADS) 2

The Engineering Analysis and Data System (EADS)II (1) was installed in March 1993 to provide high performance computing for science and engineering at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). EADS II increased the computing capabilities over the existing EADS facility in the areas of throughput and mass storage. EADS II includes a Vector Processor Compute System (VPCS), a Virtual Memory Compute System (CFS), a Common Output System (COS), as well as Image Processing Station, Mini Super Computers, and Intelligent Workstations. These facilities are interconnected by a sophisticated network system. This work considers only the performance of the VPCS and the CFS. The VPCS is a Cray YMP. The CFS is implemented on an RS 6000 using the UniTree Mass Storage System. To better meet the science and engineering computing requirements, EADS II must be monitored, its performance analyzed, and appropriate modifications for performance improvement made. Implementing this approach requires tool(s) to assist in performance monitoring and analysis. In Spring 1994, PerfStat 2.0 was purchased to meet these needs for the VPCS and the CFS. PerfStat(2) is a set of tools that can be used to analyze both historical and real-time performance data. Its flexible design allows significant user customization. The user identifies what data is collected, how it is classified, and how it is displayed for evaluation. Both graphical and tabular displays are supported. The capability of the PerfStat tool was evaluated, appropriate modifications to EADS II to optimize throughput and enhance productivity were suggested and implemented, and the effects of these modifications on the systems performance were observed. In this paper, the PerfStat tool is described, then its use with EADS II is outlined briefly. Next, the evaluation of the VPCS, as well as the modifications made to the system are described. Finally, conclusions are drawn and recommendations for future worked are outlined.

Debrunner, Linda S.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Vertical velocity in oceanic convection off tropical Australia

Time series of 1-Hz vertical velocity data collected during aircraft penetrations of oceanic cumulonimbus clouds over the western Pacific warm pool as part of the Equatorial Mesoscale Experiment (EMEX) are analyzed for updraft and downdraft events called cores. An updraft core is defined as occurring whenever the vertical velocity exceeds 1 m/sec for at least 500 m. A downdraft core is defined analogously. Over 19,000 km of straight and level flight legs are used in the analysis. Five hundred eleven updraft cores and 253 downdraft cores are included in the dataset. Core properties are summarized as distributions of average and maximum vertical velocity, diameter, and mass flux in four altitude intervals between 0.2 and 5.8 km. Distributions are approximately lognormal at all levels. Examination of the variation of the statistics with height suggests a maximum in vertical velocity between 2 and 3 km; slightly lower or equal vertical velocity is indicated at 5 km. Near the freezing level, virtual temperature deviations are found to be slightly positive for both updraft and downdraft cores. The excess in updraft cores is much smaller than that predicted by parcel theory. Comparisons with other studies that use the same analysis technique reveal that EMEX cores have approximately the same strength as cores of other oceanic areas, despite warmer sea surface temperatures. Diameter and mass flux are greater than those in the Global Atmospheric Research Program (GATE) but smaller than those in hurricane rainbands. Oceanic cores are much weaker and appear to be slightly smaller than those observed over land during the Thunderstorm Project. The markedly weaker oceanic vertical velocities below 5.8 km (compared to the continental cores) cannot be attributed to smaller total convective available potential energy or to very high water loading. Rather, it is suggested that water loading, although less than adiabatic, is more effective in reducing buoyancy of oceanic cores because of the smaller potential buoyancy below 5.8 km. Entrainment appears to be more effective in reducing buoyancy to well below adiabatic values in oceanic cores, a result consistent with the smaller oceanic core diameters in the lower cloud layer. It is speculated further that core diameters are related to boundary layer depth, which is clearly smaller over the oceans.

Lucas, Christopher↗
DOE OSTI2025

Algorithms for coordinate reconstruction in position-sensitive virtual Frisch-grid detectors

Arrays of position-sensitive virtual Frisch-grid (VFG) CdZnTe (CZT) detectors provide a cost-effective solution for integrating large-area arrays for gamma-ray imaging and spectroscopy. These detectors employ high-aspect ratio CZT crystals (bars) with thicknesses up to 50 mm and cross-sections of up to 10 × 10 mm 2 . Despite the long drift distances of charge carriers in such crystals, the detectors have demonstrated excellent performance, achieving energy resolutions better than 1 % full width at half maximum (FWHM) at 662 keV and 3D position resolutions finer than 1 mm. The high spatial resolution is a critical feature of these detectors, as it enables correction of response non-uniformities caused by crystal defects, which remain present even in the highest-quality CZT material. Dislocations and dislocation walls are the primary defects responsible for variations in charge carrier losses as they drift from the interaction points toward the charge-collecting electrodes. The mechanism by which these defects affect carrier transport is generally well understood. Dislocations and sub-grain boundaries act as sinks for carrier-trapping centers, primarily impurities and secondary phases such as tellurium inclusions and precipitates. Here, these regions exhibit significantly higher carrier-trapping rates, leading to variations in the μτ-products. Because the locations of these micron-sized regions are fixed within the detector volume, fluctuations in the total collected charge arise from the random distribution of interaction sites. This results in non-uniform detector responses and degradation of energy resolution. However, by measuring the interaction-site locations with sufficient precision, charge-loss variations can be accurately corrected, allowing recovery of nearly intrinsic energy resolution.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

High-precision measurement of the W boson mass with the CMS experiment at the LHC

In the standard model of particle physics, the masses of the carriers of the weak interaction, the W and Z bosons, are uniquely related. Physics beyond the standard model could change this relationship through the effects of quantum loops of virtual particles, thus making it of great importance to measure these masses with the highest possible precision. Although the mass of the Z boson is known to the remarkable precision of 22 parts per million (2.0 MeV), the W boson mass is known much less precisely, given the difficulty of the measurement. A global fit to electroweak data, used to predict the W boson mass in the standard model, yields an uncertainty of 6 MeV. Reaching a comparable experimental precision would be a sensitive and fundamental test of the standard model. Furthermore, a precision measurement of the W boson mass performed by the CDF Collaboration at the Fermilab Tevatron has challenged the standard model by significantly disagreeing with the prediction of the global electroweak fit and the average of other $m_\mathrm{W}$ measurements. We report the first W boson mass measurement by the CMS Collaboration at the CERN LHC, based on a data sample collected in 2016 at the proton-proton collision energy of 13 TeV. The W boson mass is measured using a large sample of W$\toμν$ events via a highly granular binned maximum likelihood fit to the kinematic properties of the muons produced in the W$^{+}$ and W$^{-}$ boson decays. The significant in situ constraints of theoretical inputs and their corresponding uncertainties, together with an accurate determination of the experimental effects, lead to a precise W boson mass measurement, $m_\mathrm{W} =$ 80$\,$360.2 $\pm$ 9.9 MeV, in agreement with the standard model prediction.

FOS: Physical sciences↗
NASA NTRS2007

Model Checker for Java Programs

Java Pathfinder (JPF) is a verification and testing environment for Java that integrates model checking, program analysis, and testing. JPF consists of a custom-made Java Virtual Machine (JVM) that interprets bytecode, combined with a search interface to allow the complete behavior of a Java program to be analyzed, including interleavings of concurrent programs. JPF is implemented in Java, and its architecture is highly modular to support rapid prototyping of new features. JPF is an explicit-state model checker, because it enumerates all visited states and, therefore, suffers from the state-explosion problem inherent in analyzing large programs. It is suited to analyzing programs less than 10kLOC, but has been successfully applied to finding errors in concurrent programs up to 100kLOC. When an error is found, a trace from the initial state to the error is produced to guide the debugging. JPF works at the bytecode level, meaning that all of Java can be model-checked. By default, the software checks for all runtime errors (uncaught exceptions), assertions violations (supports Java s assert), and deadlocks. JPF uses garbage collection and symmetry reductions of the heap during model checking to reduce state-explosion, as well as dynamic partial order reductions to lower the number of interleavings analyzed. JPF is capable of symbolic execution of Java programs, including symbolic execution of complex data such as linked lists and trees. JPF is extensible as it allows for the creation of listeners that can subscribe to events during searches. The creation of dedicated code to be executed in place of regular classes is supported and allows users to easily handle native calls and to improve the efficiency of the analysis.

Visser, Willem↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Overview of NASA’s Airborne and Field Data Resource Center

A key recommendation from NASA’s 2022 Airborne and Field Data Workshop called for the development of a virtual Resource Center for all stakeholders across the data lifecycle of airborne and field Earth observations. The agency’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) Project and Airborne Data Management Group (ADMG) have worked in concert to establish the newly launched NASA Airborne and Field Data Resource Center (AFDRC) to provide a single entry point for a wide assortment of information on and the effective, responsible stewardship of non-satellite observational data. The AFDRC compiles access to many existing resources, but does so in a newly organized way that integrates availability to increase efficiency and holistic understanding while simplifying users’ experience. Initially launched in fall of 2023, the AFDRC is a NASA Earthdata domain website that clarifies several previously disparate resources and provides newly updated information, including: Learning Resources: Educational resources to broaden understanding of the role airborne and field observations play in advancing understanding of our planet and NASA’s role in collecting and archiving these data. Support for data users to Find and Access Data: Advanced contextual browse/search capabilities that efficiently link researchers to data products suitable for their science objectives - this includes linking to NASA’s Catalog of Archived Suborbital Earth Science Investigations (CASEI). Working with Data: Tools specific to individual types of suborbital Earth Science data and their (inter-)disciplinary communities to provide access as well as guidance for their application. Stewardship Responsibilities: Resources for data producers with to lessen requirement burdens at the time of data transfer, and information for data stewards with consistent, authoritative guidance on best practices and agency- and/or community- specific archival procedures. This presentation will give an overview of the motivation for NASA’s AFDRC, approach for the design and content, iterative community-driven improvements, promote the use of the AFDRC, and solicit additional feedback from airborne and field data user communities.

Sara Lubkin↗
DOE OSTI2026

Bioenergy Cropping Reduces the Spatiotemporal Scaling of Soil Bacterial Biodiversity

Widespread bioenergy cropping can transform landscapes, strongly affecting biodiversity. However, the impact of bioenergy cropping on the spatiotemporal scaling of soil biodiversity remains virtually unknown, despite its profound implications for the functioning of the ecological community. Here, we investigated how bioenergy cropping influenced the spatiotemporal scaling of soil bacterial biodiversity in marginal soils (sandy loam and clay loam soils) in Oklahoma, USA. We detected strong, significant species-time-area relationships (STARs) and phylogenetic-time-area relationships (PTARs) in bacterial communities and their lineages, suggesting that STARs and PTARs exist in microbial ecology within the studied system. Also, spatiotemporal scaling rates (the slopes of STAR and PTAR models) varied substantially among bacterial lineages and were positively correlated with their 16S rRNA gene copy numbers, a genomic trait indicative of microbial growth potentials. Strikingly, bioenergy cropping significantly reduced spatiotemporal scaling rates by 6.8%-14.1%, with a more pronounced reduction observed in sandy loam soils, where those rates were significantly lower than in clay loam soils. The heterogeneity of soil phosphorus and carbon resulted in variations in bacterial spatiotemporal scaling rates. Collectively, our findings suggest that bioenergy cropping may alleviate rapid shifts in soil biodiversity across space and time, thereby stabilizing soil biodiversity and supporting its role as part of sustainable land management and climate mitigation strategies.

bacterial diversity↗
NASA NTRS2010

Training Enhances Both Locomotor and Cognitive Adaptability to a Novel Sensory Environment

During adaptation to novel gravitational environments, sensorimotor disturbances have the potential to disrupt the ability of astronauts to perform required mission tasks. The goal of this project is to develop a sensorimotor adaptability (SA) training program to facilitate rapid adaptation. We have developed a unique training system comprised of a treadmill placed on a motion-base facing a virtual visual scene that provides an unstable walking surface combined with incongruent visual flow designed to enhance sensorimotor adaptability. The goal of our present study was to determine if SA training improved both the locomotor and cognitive responses to a novel sensory environment and to quantify the extent to which training would be retained. Methods: Twenty subjects (10 training, 10 control) completed three, 30-minute training sessions during which they walked on the treadmill while receiving discordant support surface and visual input. Control subjects walked on the treadmill but did not receive any support surface or visual alterations. To determine the efficacy of training all subjects performed the Transfer Test upon completion of training. For this test, subjects were exposed to novel visual flow and support surface movement, not previously experienced during training. The Transfer Test was performed 20 minutes, 1 week, 1, 3 and 6 months after the final training session. Stride frequency, auditory reaction time, and heart rate data were collected as measures of postural stability, cognitive effort and anxiety, respectively. Results: Using mixed effects regression methods we determined that subjects who received SA training showed less alterations in stride frequency, auditory reaction time and heart rate compared to controls. Conclusion: Subjects who received SA training improved performance across a number of modalities including enhanced locomotor function, increased multi-tasking capability and reduced anxiety during adaptation to novel discordant sensory information. Trained subjects maintained their level of performance over six months.

Bloomberg, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS2014

NASA World Wind: Visualization Technology for Spatial Data

Spatial information intelligence is a global issue that will increasingly affect our ability to survive as a species. Collectively we must better appreciate the complex relationships that make life on Earth possible. Providing spatial information in its native context can accelerate our ability to process that information. To maximize this ability to process information, three basic elements are required: data delivery (server technology), data access (client technology), and data processing (information intelligence). NASA World Wind provides the open source client technology based on open standards. The possibilities for data processing and data sharing are enhanced by this inclusive infrastructure for geographic information. It is interesting that this open source and open standards approach, unfettered by proprietary constraints, provides for unlimited innovation with this technology.

Geospatial↗
NASA NTRS2025

Jemez Pueblo Agriculture: Monitoring Rangeland Conditions to Inform Drought and Land Management in New Mexico

The Jemez Pueblo, a community located in the semi-arid high desert region of northcentral New Mexico, faces challenges with drought mitigation and livestock management. NASA DEVELOP partnered with the Pueblo of Jemez Natural Resources Department and The Nature Conservancy to provide recent and historical rangeland conditions to aid present decision-making, which relies on cultural practices, site familiarity, available resources, and physical data. This partnership offers the opportunity to support management practices by leveraging remote sensing and virtual fencing technologies. Our project explored Rangeland Analysis Platform (RAP) products incorporating NASA Earth observation Landsat 5 TM, Landsat 7 ETM+, Landsat 8 OLI, and Landsat 9 OLI-2 remote-sensed imagery as an agricultural land management tool. We performed linear regression analysis to evaluate RAP data to field data and explored RAP annual herbaceous biomass, ground cover trends, and climatic factors at the pasture level. We then computed study area summary statistics, performed pixel-by-pixel trend analysis across the study period, and evaluated ground cover trends near water sources. Based on available data, RAP was poorly correlated to bare ground and herbaceous biomass, generally underestimating the former and overestimating the latter. To improve the evaluation of RAP products, we suggest increasing the spatiotemporal distribution of the field dataset. According to RAP, from 1986 to 2023, the site became hotter and drier, bare ground increased, and annual forbs and grasses increased while perennials decreased. RAP products did not agree with field-collected data; however, the trends over time may be useful for informing rangeland management actions.

cattle grazing management↗