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At least 433 records · Page 24

InSight Entry, Descent and Landing Post-Flight Performance Assessment

On November 26, 2018, the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander successfully touched down on the surface of Mars. NASA Langley Research Center’s (LaRC) Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories II (POST2) was used during both project development and flight operations to assess the Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) vehicle performance against related requirements across the expected range of possible environmental and spacecraft conditions. During flight operations, these analyses were used to evaluate the need for updating flight software EDL parameters and the effects of executing a trajectory correction maneuver (TCM). Therefore, the NASA LaRC POST2 simulation had a critical role during the cruise, approach and ultimately EDL phases of the mission. This paper presents results of the final pre- and post- EDL flight performance assessments. A summary of the reconstructed “as-flown” trajectory with a comparison of key EDL metrics to the nominal and three-sigma bound pre-EDL predictions is also provided. Emphasis on the trajectory between entry interface and parachute deploy is provided as this is the period during which deviations from the pre-EDL prediction occurred. The post-flight assessment provides important verification of the POST2 models and analysis techniques used for InSight, providing critical feed-forward information to future lander missions.

Robert W Maddock↗

Mars InSight Entry, Descent, and Landing Trajectory and Atmosphere Reconstruction

The InSight mission landed on the surface of Mars on November 26th, 2018. The InSight system performance met all design requirements, although several performance metrics fell near the boundaries of the predictions. The peak deceleration was high, the overall timeline was short, and the landing site was uprange and crossrange from the target. This paper describes the reconstruction of the entry, descent, and landing trajectory and atmosphere. The approach utilizes a Kalman filter to blend sensor data to obtain the vehicle trajectory. The aerodynamic database is used in combination with the sensed accelerations to obtain estimates of the atmosphere-relative state, which in turn is used to derive the free-stream atmospheric conditions during entry, until the time of parachute deployment. The results indicate that the reconstructed atmosphere was approximately 1σbelow the preflight atmosphere. Analysis of the reconstructed vehicle attitude angles indicate that the aerodynamic lift was oriented downward at entry. The vehicle developed a roll rate during entry, which directed a component of the lift to the north. The low density and aerodynamic lift direction are determined to be the primary causes of the high deceleration, short timeline, and location of the landing site relative to the target.

Christopher D Karlgaard↗

Mars InSight Entry, Descent, and Landing Trajectory and Atmosphere Reconstruction

The InSight mission landed on the surface of Mars on November 26th, 2018. The InSight system performance met all design requirements, although several performance metrics fell near the boundaries of the predictions. The peak deceleration was high, the overall timeline was short, and the landing site was uprange and crossrange from the target. This paper describes the reconstruction of the entry, descent, and landing trajectory and atmosphere. The approach utilizes a Kalman filter to blend sensor data to obtain the vehicle trajectory. The aerodynamic database is used in combination with the sensed accelerations to obtain estimates of the atmosphere-relative state, which in turn is used to derive the free-stream atmospheric conditions during entry, until the time of parachute deployment. The results indicate that the reconstructed atmosphere was approximately 1σbelow the preflight atmosphere. Analysis of the reconstructed vehicle attitude angles indicate that the aerodynamic lift was oriented downward at entry. The vehicle developed a roll rate during entry, which directed a component of the lift to the north. The low density and aerodynamic lift direction are determined to be the primary causes of the high deceleration, short timeline, and location of the landing site relative to the target.

Christopher D Karlgaard↗

Terrestrial Single-Station Analog for Constraining the Martian Core and Deep Interior: Implications for InSight

We used a terrestrial single-station seismometer to quantify the uncertainty of InSight (INterior explorations using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) data for determining Martian core size. To mimic Martian seismicity, we formed a catalog using 917 terrestrial earthquakes, from which we randomly selected events. We stacked ScS amplitudes on modeled arrival times and searched for where ScS produced coherent seismic amplitudes. A core detection was defined by a coherent peak with small offset between predicted and user-selected arrival times. Iterating the detection algorithm with varying signal-to-noise (SNR) ranges and quantity of events determined the selection frequency of each model and quantified core depth uncertainty. Increasing the quantity of events reduced core depth uncertainty while increasing the recovery rate, while increasing event SNR had little effect. Including ScS2 multiples increased the recovery rate and reduced core depth uncertainty when we used low quantities of events. The most-frequent core depths varied by back azimuth, suggesting our method is sensitive to the presence of mantle heterogeneities. When we added 1° in source distance errors, core depth uncertainty increased by up to 11 km and recovery rates decreased by <5%. Altering epicentral distances by 25% added ~35 km of uncertainty and reduced recovery rates to <50% in some cases. From these experiments, we estimate that if InSight can detect five events with high location precision (< 10% epicentral distance errors), that there is at least an 88% chance of core depth recovery using ScS alone with uncertainty in core depth approaching 18 km and decreasing as more events are located.

Angela G Marusiak↗

Geology of the InSight Landing Site on Mars

The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) spacecraft landed successfully on Mars and imaged the surface to characterize the surficial geology. Here we report on the geology and subsurface structure of the landing site to aid in situ geophysical investigations. InSight landed in a degraded impact crater in Elysium Planitia on a smooth sandy, granule- and pebble-rich surface with few rocks. Superposed impact craters are common and eolian bedforms are sparse. During landing, pulsed retrorockets modified the surface to reveal a near surface stratigraphy of surficial dust, over thin unconsolidated sand, underlain by a variable thickness duricrust, with poorly sorted, unconsolidated sand with rocks beneath. Impact, eolian, and mass wasting processes have dominantly modified the surface. Surface observations are consistent with expectations made from remote sensing data prior to landing indicating a surface composed of an impact-fragmented regolith overlying basaltic lava flows.

M. Golombek↗

Insight Mission: early operations

This paper will describe the InSight mission and science objectives with a focus on the activities since the May 5, 2018 Launch including the InSight Mission Design, Navigation, and Cruise Phase Instrument check-out and the plans for the November Entry, Decent and Landing and Instrument Deployment Phases.

Imken, Travis↗

Orbiters, CubeSats, and radio telescopes, oh my; entry, descent, and landing communications for the 2018 InSight Mars lander mission

The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport (InSight) Mars lander mission was launched on May 5th, 2018 and its November 26, 2018 entry, descent, and landing sequence was observed by no less than five separate assets. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) in orbit about Mars, the two Mars Cube One (MarCO) probes flying by, and two radio telescopes back on Earth were all used for this critical event communication coverage. These many paths of communication were enabled via the InSight launch/arrival strategy design, MRO orbital phasing selection, and MarCO trajectory design

Wagner, Sean↗

Navigation performance of the 2018 InSight Mars Lander mission

The NASA InSight spacecraft was launched successfully from Vandenberg Air Force Base on an Atlas V 401 launch vehicle on May 5, 2018 and landed on November 26, 2018. Accurate targeting to the atmospheric entry point by the Navigation team achieved by carefully controlling the final entry flight path angle to -12.0 degrees with a tolerance of +/- 0.21 degrees. This paper will describe how the InSight Navigation team met this difficult task in the presence of frequent unbalanced thrusting for attitude control. The continuous correction for this unplanned ∆V far exceeded pre-launch expectations and proved a challenge to predict accurately.

Wallace, Mark↗

Biological Insights at the Interface of Multiple Arabidopsis Legacy Datasets

The NASA GeneLab database includes an open-access collection of datasets yielded by space biology experiments. Six Gene Lab Data Sets (GLDS’s) performed in Arabidopsis were selected for analysis (7/17/44/121/205/213), all of which included transcriptome data from spaceflight and ground control environments. Hardware, ecotype, environmental conditions, and other experimental conditions varied, allowing the observations of overarching gene expression impacts of microgravity on plant life without focusing on effects of specific experimental conditions. Using GeneLab pre-processed datasets as the basis for the study, RNA microarray data were analyzed to identify genes that showed altered expression in microgravity when compared to control samples for each individual GLDS. All differentially expressed genes were compared to locate differentially expressed genes common between spaceflight experiments. The most noteworthy result is that not one gene shared differential expression among the six GLDS’s. However, gene expression was not influenced randomly by the microgravity environment, as there were several gene ontology terms that were significantly enriched across all experiments. These included 20 significantly enriched biological processes, and although the genes which enriched each term varied, there were many cases of specific genes common to clusters of multiple GLDS’s. Gene expression such as NAC92 and ERF011 or membrane structural element FFP6 provide insight and direction toward understanding the plant response to spaceflight. Characterizing these common processes and the shared differentially expressed genes has demonstrated potential targets for further study to understand and modulate the biological response of plants in microgravity. Life on Earth has never been subjected to the absence of gravity as a selective pressure, so observing how life forms react to a microgravity environment could provide insight to our shared fundamental biological processes. It is also feasible that the genetic modification of specific genes linked to the microgravity response could improve health and yield of space crops.

Joseph Emhof↗

Preparation and Execution of the InSight Instrument Deployment Phase

The NASA InSight lander arrived at Mars on November 26, 2018 on a unique science mission to study the interior of the red planet. InSight’s instrument suite is investigating the geophysical characteristics of Mars, providing a glimpse into the formation and evolution of the planet and other similar Earth-like terrestrial bodies. Upon landing, the mission entered the Instrument Deployment Phase (IDP) to survey, deploy, and install the SEIS, WTS, and HP3 elements onto the Martian surface.

Imken, Travis↗

Leveraging VIPER Geotechnical and Mobility Insights for Endurance Rover and Traverse Development

A new generation of lunar surface rover exploration is rapidly approaching. This is evidenced by the rise of commercially developed rovers from private companies (e.g., Lunar Outpost’s MAPP) and government agencies, like NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER), the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), and the Endurance/Intrepid rover concepts, and the INSPIRE mission concept. The drive distance requirements for off-world vehicles are also rapidly increasing. For example, LTV driving requirements dictate a 20 km range on a single battery charge, with an overall lifetime requirement of 13,000 km over a minimum 10-year service life. Similarly, NASA's Endurance-A mission concept requires a 2000 km vehicle traverse distance, which is nearly 50 times further than the USSR's Lunokhod 2, the longest lunar rover mission to date. Previous planetary surface missions on the Moon and Mars have revealed harsh mobility conditions: aggressive rocky terrains on Mars severely damaged the Curiosity rover’s wheels, soft lunar regolith caused the Lunokhod 2 rover to sink and NASA’s Apollo 15 LRV (Lunar Roving Vehicle) spun out due to poor traction, which required manual correction. This demonstrates that mobility challenges like wheel degradation and soft soil driving performance must be accounted for in a mission’s design phase to meet increasingly aggressive mission durations and mobility goals. The success of these long duration missions requires highly reliable and durable mobility platforms in conjunction with a more developed understanding of the geotechnical properties of the lunar surface. The VIPER mission is uniquely posed to inform future missions about mobility performance, wheel durability, and lunar surface soil mechanics of sunlit and shadowed regions through use of data streams that already exist for other mission purposes. VIPER’s mission to the lunar south pole will provide a new perspective into off-world mobility challenges including traversal into permanently shadowed regions. Mobility data from VIPER’s mission will represent a first glimpse into the surface mobility challenges of the lunar South Pole. Utilization of VIPER’s existing capabilities including cameras, inertial measurement unit (IMU) data, motor currents/torque, drill data, and the rover’s suspension state and kinematics provide the opportunity to determine potentially useful information for future rover and traverse designs, as well as on-Earth testing practices. Data products collected during VIPER’s mission could inform design considerations for the Endurance rover much earlier than NASA’s standard “lessons learned” approach as VIPER has a highly tactical mission operations structure. This work outlines the specific links between possible data products from the VIPER mission and their potential impact on the Endurance/Intrepid mission concepts in their early design phases. From VIPER, we will also gain insights for future development of onboard mobility software as VIPER is a way-point driven rover which requires more constant human operation on Earth than some other rover missions (non-lunar surface). Primary VIPER data products and insights of interest include wheel sinkage, wheel slip, wheel degradation, surface soil shear strength, and terrain slope estimation. VIPER data products will be made available via the Planetary Data System’s Geosciences and Cartography and Imaging Sciences nodes, conforming to the PDS4 standard.

mobility↗

Enhancing Future Commercial Space Stations: Applying ISS Insights to Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) Development

The expansion of space exploration to commercial space stations represents a shift from government-led endeavors to a new competitive era driven by private companies and innovative forces. The journey to actualize these celestial outposts is fraught with difficulties, including the intricate establishment of Environmental Control and Life Support systems (ECLSS) within these commercial space stations. By applying the insights gleaned from the ISS, particularly during the initial conceptual design phase of the commercial developments, there is an opportunity to circumvent some of the teething issues and optimize the development process. Furthermore, applying insights from the ISS ECLSS design, development, test, and maintenance phases has the potential to enhance system compatibility and mitigate the challenges associated with upgrading a fixed design. This approach can lead to lower costs due to fewer iterations and streamlined processes. This paper will conduct an in-depth evaluation of the ECLS system from both system and operational perspectives with the aim to provide a knowledge capture for early-stage design considerations to bolster the development of sustainable, efficient, and habitable commercial space stations.

ISS↗

Enhancing Future Commercial Space Stations: Applying ISS Insights to Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) Development

The expansion of space exploration to commercial space stations represents a shift from government-led endeavors to a new competitive era driven by private companies and innovative forces. The journey to actualize these celestial outposts is fraught with difficulties, including the intricate establishment of Environmental Control and Life Support systems (ECLSS) within these commercial space stations. By applying the insights gleaned from the ISS, particularly during the initial conceptual design phase of the commercial developments, there is an opportunity to circumvent some of the teething issues and optimize the development process. Furthermore, applying insights from the ISS ECLSS design, development, test, and maintenance phases has the potential to enhance system compatibility and mitigate the challenges associated with upgrading a fixed design. This approach can lead to lower costs due to fewer iterations and streamlined processes. This paper will conduct an in-depth evaluation of the ECLS system from both system and operational perspectives with the aim to provide a knowledge capture for early-stage design considerations to bolster the development of sustainable, efficient, and habitable commercial space stations.

ISS↗

Analysis Insights, August 2015: Sustainable Transportation; NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

NREL Analysis Insights mines our body of analysis work to synthesize topical insights and key findings. In this issue, we examine transportation systems, alternative fuels, and implications of increasing electrification of transit. Moving people and goods from point A to B has never been easier, but our current transportation systems also take a toll on our environment. Transportation currently accounts for 71% of total U.S. petroleum use and 33% of the nation’s total carbon emissions. With new technology, can we make our transportation system cleaner and more cost effective? NREL is applying its analytical expertise and imagination to do just that. Solutions start with systems thinking. Connecting the dots between physical components - vehicles, fueling stations, and highways - and institutional components - traffic laws, regulations, and vehicle standards - helps illuminate solutions that address the needs of the transportation system's many stakeholders.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Transforming Energy Through Computational Excellence: Advanced Scientific Visualization Reveals Energy Insights

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's world-class researchers and analysts, along with the Insight Center (our state-of-the-art scientific visualization facility) make data immersion a reality, allowing users to step into and explore their data. With the rise of large, diverse, and distributed data sets, scientific visualization is now critical to the process of scientific discovery and to managing and analyzing data and extracting insights. NREL provides visualization capabilities and facilities that are supported by state-of-the-art equipment, leading-edge techniques, and expert staff.

data science↗

New opportunities for Insight into Emergence of Hadron Mass from Studies of Nucleon Resonance Electroexcitation

Understanding the emergence of hadron mass (EHM) represents one of the most challenging and still open problems in the Standard Model. Results of EHM studies from the nucleon resonance electroexcitation amplitudes (gvpN* electrocouplings) determined from exclusive meson electroproduction data measured with the CLAS detector will be presented in this talk. These CLAS data have provided the first and only available results on the evolution of the ?vpN* electrocouplings with photon virtuality Q2 up to 5 GeV2 for most nucleon resonances in the mass range up to 1.8 GeV. A successful description of the CLAS results on the Q2-evolution of the ?(1232)3/2+, N(1440)1/2+, and ?(1600)3/2+ electrocouplings achieved within the CSM approach by employing the same dressed quark mass function inferred from the QCD Lagrangian, which also provided a successful description of the pion elastic electromagnetic form factor and PDF, and nucleon elastic form factor, conclusively demonstrated the capability of gaining insight into EHM. The expected results from the CLAS12 detector on the Q2-evolution of the gvpN* electrocouplings for all prominent resonances in the mass range up to 2 GeV at the still almost unexplored range of Q2>5 GeV2 will allow us to place tight constraints on the dressed quark mass function in the range of quark momenta where the substantial part of hadron mass ~50% is expected to be generated. Consistent results on the momentum dependence of the dressed quark mass obtained from analyses of the ?vpN* electrocouplings of nucleon resonances of different structure will validate insight into EHM in a nearly model-independent way, allowing us to address key open problems in hadron physics on the emergence of hadron mass and nucleon resonance structure from QCD.

Mokeev, Viktor↗

Insights on fuel performance in advanced compression ignition engines: combining engine thermodynamic trajectory and fuel ignition delay iso-contour

With the development of various low temperature engine combustion strategies, the behavior of gasoline-type fuels under compression ignition conditions has attracted extensive research interest. In this study, gasoline surrogates based on toluene primary reference fuel blends (TPRF) with different research and motor octane numbers (i.e., RON and MON) and fuel octane sensitivity (OS) have been strategically designed using a recently established surrogate model, and their combustion chemistry is further described using a well-validated kinetic mechanism. Based on a typical advanced compression ignition engine configuration, the crank angle corresponding to 50% total heat release (CA50) was utilized as an indicator of the overall fuel reactivity, and representative engine operating conditions have been selected based on the regime exhibited from the CA50 iso-contours. By combining the thermodynamic trajectory and ignition delay isocontours, useful insights on the fuel reactivity and sensitivity have been obtained to evaluate the fuel performance under various engine operating regimes with distinct chemistry, accounting for the effects of equivalence ratio and ratio of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). This study provides useful insight on the different effects of engine operating conditions on a fuel’s performance following different engine trajectories, based on the different controlling fuel chemistry.

Tao, Mingyuan↗

An Insight-Centric Paradigm for Data Reduction and Inference Speed Improvement at the Scurry Area Canyon Reef Operator’s Committee (SACROC) Unit

The poster presents the work conducted under SMART focusing on using insight-centric approach to design a meaningful proxy for machine learning. Domain insights are critical not just in understanding the prediction results but also in designing the model. This study demonstrated that a single meaningful scaler (as an extreme case) can effectively replace full-size 3D geologic properties. The model's accuracies are on par with other models, and it is the fastest model to predict all test cases, 5,000 times faster than traditional simulations.

Shih, Chung Yan↗