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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Method Development for In-situ Detection of Latent Herpesvirus DNA from Saliva using Nanopore Sequencing

Research toward latent herpesvirus reactivation has been intensively addressed through Space Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) investigations. This work has provided the understanding that persistent reactivation of herpesviruses from asymptomatic crew can be detected through viral shedding in saliva, urine, and blood. Occasionally, viral reactivation from the latency stage can pose a threat to crew health (clinical manifestation) before, during, and after flight missions. Furthermore, previous work detailing correlations with immunity indicate that monitoring viral reactivation could be implemented to assess potential immune dysfunction. While in-flight monitoring is desirable, there is no well-established procedure or method for real-time evaluations, and research to date has relied on postflight, ground-based analysis. The development of portable molecular technologies like the miniPCR™ (miniPCR Bio) thermal cycler and the MinION™ sequencer (Oxford Nanopore Technologies) have confirmed that real-time monitoring is possible in extreme and low resource environments. These devices, combined with simple sample preparation methods, have been used to demonstrate bacterial identification onboard the ISS, as well as rapid viral detection in remote locations on Earth. The work here builds upon previous molecular advancements onboard the ISS toward the development and validation of a spaceflight-compatible method for viral detection from crew samples. Several herpesviruses can be detected in saliva, which provides a non-invasive means to collect samples for monitoring. While the basis for this method lies in previous spaceflight investigations, key points for method optimization include DNA extraction from saliva, viral primer selection, and bioinformatic processes for data analysis. To increase viral yield, numerous DNA extraction methods have been evaluated and will be discussed in detail. For initial development and testing, varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is being targeted though open reading frame 51 and 63 (ORF51, ORF63), as the replication origin-binding protein is highly expressed during latency. Optimization of the thermal cycling parameters has resulted in the ability to test the entire process. The full method has been tested with both viral VZV DNA standards and saliva spiked with varying concentrations of VZV. Viral sequence data were mapped to the reference sequence using minimap2. Prior to mapping, DNA sequencing reads were filtered for length and quality, barcodes were removed, and alignment identity calculated. Following further assessments, statistics were compared across multiple sequencing experiments and are being used to determine the success of the protocols. Forward work will include the incorporation of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) primers as well as the validation of results to the terrestrial qPCR standard assay. Upon full validation of the developed method, saliva will be collected from 20 healthy subjects and spiked with viral DNA. These samples will be split and assayed with the MinION and standard qPCR assay.

Hang N Nguyen↗
NASA NTRS2022

Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover SHERLOC Instrument Isolation System

The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) successfully landed the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover at Jezero Crater on the Martian surface. Perseverance’s main mission objective is to cache Martian rock and regolith samples in hermetically sealed tubes to be brought back to Earth by future missions. To achieve this goal the rover is equipped with a 2-meter-long Robotic Arm (RA) which manipulates the Turret to interact with the surface. The Turret is comprised of science instruments and tools that enable surface sampling and science. The backbone of the Turret hardware is the Rotary Percussive Coring Drill. The science instruments, which are directly mounted to the structural housing of this drill, must be able to withstand not only the launch and entry, descent and landing (EDL) loads of the vehicle but also the dynamic percussive environment, induced by the drill throughout surface operations. This paper discusses the technical hardware design, development and testing of a vibration isolation system to protect the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) Instrument from these dynamic environments. The hardware design aspect of this problem was limited by both size and mass constraints. The Turret is tightly configured and the physical space in which hardware can reside is restricted due to multiple axes of surface interaction points. Another driving requirement is the extreme range of thermal non-operational environment from -135C to +90C. This, in addition to SHERLOC being a heavier instrument than previously integrated on a turret, made the use of isolation systems employed on previous rover missions problematic. The final design incorporates custom wire mesh springs preloaded within titanium hexapod struts equipped with flexure ends. Custom versions of commercially available wire mesh springs were designed and tested. These custom springs differed in dimension, density and stiffness from the off the shelf options. The newly designed springs went through various stages of flight acceptance testing. Detailed physics-based modeling to understand what loads the isolation system would experience was used to define the test conditions for the springs and entire isolation subsystem. The testing program developed around this was extensive to fully characterize the isolation performance over cleanliness levels, temperature and life. Another major aspect of this work was developing a method of replicating the drill’s percussive environment for performance and life testing of Turret mounted hardware. Attaching the instrument to an operating drill for testing was not a viable option. A method of using a Highly Accelerated Life Test (HALT) table was developed and applied across the project as the most representative and tunable option to physically simulate this new environment. This method, along with launch environment random vibration testing, was used to build an entire dynamic qualification and flight hardware test program. The results of the design, modeling, testing and analysis of the SHERLOC Isolation System is described throughout the following paper.

Krafchak, Todd↗
NASA NTRS1997

The Problem of Size in Robust Design

To facilitate the effective solution of multidisciplinary, multiobjective complex design problems, a departure from the traditional parametric design analysis and single objective optimization approaches is necessary in the preliminary stages of design. A necessary tradeoff becomes one of efficiency vs. accuracy as approximate models are sought to allow fast analysis and effective exploration of a preliminary design space. In this paper we apply a general robust design approach for efficient and comprehensive preliminary design to a large complex system: a high speed civil transport (HSCT) aircraft. Specifically, we investigate the HSCT wing configuration design, incorporating life cycle economic uncertainties to identify economically robust solutions. The approach is built on the foundation of statistical experimentation and modeling techniques and robust design principles, and is specialized through incorporation of the compromise Decision Support Problem for multiobjective design. For large problems however, as in the HSCT example, this robust design approach developed for efficient and comprehensive design breaks down with the problem of size - combinatorial explosion in experimentation and model building with number of variables -and both efficiency and accuracy are sacrificed. Our focus in this paper is on identifying and discussing the implications and open issues associated with the problem of size for the preliminary design of large complex systems.

Koch, Patrick N.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Designing, Modeling, Constructing, and Testing a Flat Panel Speaker and Sound Diffuser for a Simulator

The goal of this project was to design, model, build, and test a flat panel speaker and frame for a spherical dome structure being made into a simulator. The simulator will be a test bed for evaluating an immersive environment for human interfaces. This project focused on the loud speakers and a sound diffuser for the dome. The rest of the team worked on an Ambisonics 3D sound system, video projection system, and multi-direction treadmill to create the most realistic scene possible. The main programs utilized in this project, were Pro-E and COMSOL. Pro-E was used for creating detailed figures for the fabrication of a frame that held a flat panel loud speaker. The loud speaker was made from a thin sheet of Plexiglas and 4 acoustic exciters. COMSOL, a multiphysics finite analysis simulator, was used to model and evaluate all stages of the loud speaker, frame, and sound diffuser. Acoustical testing measurements were utilized to create polar plots from the working prototype which were then compared to the COMSOL simulations to select the optimal design for the dome. The final goal of the project was to install the flat panel loud speaker design in addition to a sound diffuser on to the wall of the dome. After running tests in COMSOL on various speaker configurations, including a warped Plexiglas version, the optimal speaker design included a flat piece of Plexiglas with a rounded frame to match the curvature of the dome. Eight of these loud speakers will be mounted into an inch and a half of high performance acoustic insulation, or Thinsulate, that will cover the inside of the dome. The following technical paper discusses these projects and explains the engineering processes used, knowledge gained, and the projected future goals of this project

Dillon, Christina↗
NASA NTRS2019

Evaluation Methodologies for Early Conceptual Design Using Virtual Reality and Physical Test Environments

In this study, human factor design engineers wanted to know, by using subject matter experts (SMEs), if there would be any differences in testing low-fidelity conceptual designs in a physical environment compared to a digital/virtual one. Results indicated that when testing a design concept at this early stage, a high correlation between the two environments exists, meaning SMEs found little to no difference when evaluating a design in either a physical or a digital/virtual environment. There are advantages and limitations to both environments. The virtual world gave the experts a better sense of the microgravity space environment and the relationships of space and human presence that are difficult to simulate in a 1-g physical environment. However, the interaction between human and mechanics is better enhanced in the physical world compared to the virtual world. These advantages and limitations of each environment are important; however, cost is also an important consideration when early design concepts are being used. With the cost analysis of materials, hardware, and labor conducting for this study, virtual reality showed a 68% decrease in cost over the physical mock-up build. Thus, taking all aspects of the study into consideration, at this early design life cycle phase, virtual reality shows great promise as an evaluation environment for testing early design concepts that will cost less, give more options, and increase designer’s time to design.

Harry L. Litaker Jr↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Design and Hardware Progress on a Magnetically-Geared Actuator for Extremely Cold Lunar Environments

Introduction: Under the Motors for Dusty and Extremely Cold Environments (MDECE) Project, NASA Glenn Research Center is developing a magnetically-geared actuator for extremely cold space environments to avoid the wiring and significant efficiency penalty associated with heating grease-lubricated actuators as well as the stringent life and loading constraints imposed by dry film lubricated mechanical gears. The heating penalty can be equivalent to up to a 90% efficiency reduction in permanently shadowed regions on the Moon. This poster or presentation will summarize the progress made over the past 6-12 months on designing the fully-functional actuator and building a proof-of-concept actuator and testing it in an ambient environment. Design Progress: A critical design review was successfully completed at the end of June 2023. This presentation will touch on the key highlights from that review in the areas of electro-magnetic design and optimization, bearing optimization, thermal analysis, structural analysis, and mechanical design and manufacturing. The predicted technical performance measures of the actuator will be mentioned. The team is currently finishing some actions from the review and finalizing the drawing package in preparation for hardware procurement. Hardware Progress: Despite some significant delays in receiving fabricated parts and magnetic subassemblies, progress was made in manufacturing and assembling a proof-of-concept version of both the actuator’s magnetically-geared motor (Fig. 1) and the actuator’s cycloidal-type output magnetic gear stage (Fig. 2) [3]. The presentation will mention key lessons learned to date from the fabrication, assembly, and testing of the proof of concept.

Lunar surface↗
NASA NTRS1988

Petrology and tectonic development of supracrustal sequence of Kerala Khondalite Belt, Southern India

The granulite terrain of southern India, of which the Kerala Khondalite belt (KKB) is a part, is unique in exposing crustal sections with arrested charnockite growth in different stages of transformation and in varied lithological association. The KKB with rocks of surficial origin and incipient charnockite development, poses several problems relating to the tectonics of burial of vast area and mechanisms involved in expelling initial H2O (causes of dryness) for granulite facies metamorphism. It is possible to infer the following sequence of events based on the field and laboratory studies: (1) derivation of protoliths of KKB from granitic uplands and deposition in fault bounded basin (cratonic rift); (2) subhorizontal deep burial of sediments; (3) intense deformation of infra and supracrustal rocks; (4) early granulite facies metamorphism predating F sub 2 - loss of primary structure in sediments and formation of charnockites from amphibole bearing gneisses and khondalites from pelites; (5) migmatisation and deformation of metasediments and gneisses; (6) second event of charnockite formation probably aided by internal CO2 build-up; and (7) isothermal uplift, entrapment of late CO2 and mixed CO2-H2O fluids, formation of second generation cordierites and cordierite symplectites.

Kumar, G. R. Ravindra↗
NASA NTRS2014

NASA's Space Launch System: Momentum Builds Toward First Launch

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) is gaining momentum toward the first launch of a new exploration-class heavy lift launch vehicle for international exploration and science initiatives. The SLS comprises an architecture that begins with a vehicle capable of launching 70 metric tons (t) into low Earth orbit. It will launch the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) on its first autonomous flight beyond the Moon and back in December 2017. Its first crewed flight follows in 2021. SLS can evolve to a130-t lift capability and serve as a baseline for numerous robotic and human missions ranging from a Mars sample return to delivering the first astronauts to explore another planet. The SLS Program formally transitioned from the formulation phase to implementation with the successful completion of the rigorous Key Decision Point C review in 2014. As a result, the Agency authorized the Program to move forward to Critical Design Review, scheduled for 2015. In the NASA project life cycle process, SLS has completed 50 percent of its major milestones toward first flight. Every SLS element manufactured development hardware for testing over the past year. Accomplishments during 2013/2014 included manufacture of core stage test articles, preparations for qualification testing the solid rocket boosters and the RS-25 main engines, and shipment of the first flight hardware in preparation for the Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) in 2014. SLS was conceived with the goals of safety, affordability, and sustainability, while also providing unprecedented capability for human exploration and scientific discovery beyond Earth orbit. In an environment of economic challenges, the SLS team continues to meet ambitious budget and schedule targets through the studied use of hardware, infrastructure, and workforce investments the United States made in the last half century, while selectively using new technologies for design, manufacturing, and testing, as well as streamlined management approaches that have increased decision velocity and reduced associated costs. This paper will summarize recent SLS Program accomplishments, as well as the challenges and opportunities ahead for the most powerful and capable launch vehicle in history.

May, Todd A.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Evening with NASA Scientists and Engineers: A Senior Living Community Outreach Program

Introduction: An Evening with NASA Scientists and Engineers is an outreach program for senior living communities, where participants learn from and interact with a scientist or engineer in a virtual setting. Participants learn about NASA science and engineering through a behind-the-scenes look from the people who work at NASA. The program focuses on both the stories behind the discoveries and the stories behind the people. The audience tunes in to the events via the NASA Zoom Webinar platform, where they have the opportunity to ask questions throughout the approximately 30-minute program. By bringing the audience into the conversation, we build rapport and thus improve their connection with NASA. Overview: An Evening with NASA Scientists and Engineers began in September 2020 when we identified a need for outreach to this particular demographic, as senior living communities had been hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program covers a wide range of topics, including heliophysics, astrophysics, planetary science, Earth science, planetary defense, and more, depending on what is topically appropriate at the time, and occurs on a roughly monthly basis. Each interactive presentation is between 20-25 minutes with 5-10 minutes of dedicated Q&A. Future dates and topics may change depending on new developments to NASA missions and stories. Audience: As of December 2021, we have four regularly attending senior living communities, spanning the East Coast from New Hampshire to Florida, with each joining the overall program at various stages of its development. The ability to reach many different senior living communities is crucial so that a diversity of people may benefit from this program. The audience consists of seniors with varying experience and comprehension levels – some are very familiar with the sciences while others are simply curious to learn more. Residents tune in to each event from their individual rooms or from their larger community rooms. RiverWoods Exeter. The RiverWoods Exeter community was our initial audience who acted as our “guinea pig” to see how this program might be implemented and to work out any major issues. They are located in Exeter, NH but also have two additional campuses in Durham, NH and Manchester, NH, that joined us a few months into the program. Culpepper Garden. Our second community to join the program was Culpepper Garden, a senior living community in Arlington, VA that provides both independent and assisted living housing to low-income seniors. Edinburgh Square. Our third community, Edinburgh Square, connected with us after hearing about the program through Culpepper Garden. Edinburgh Square is an HUD-subsidized retirement community in Roanoke, VA that houses both seniors and those living with disabilities. Moonstruck Astronomy Club. The Moonstruck Astronomy Club consists of residents from the On Top of the World retirement community in Ocala, FL and was the latest senior living community to join us. NASA Zoom Webinar: An Evening with NASA Scientists and Engineers reaches numerous senior living communities through live presentations that we host using the NASA Zoom Webinar virtual platform. Participants are typically already familiar with the Zoom platform which enables a lower barrier to entry. A recording of each talk is added to a designated video playlist on the NASA STEM YouTube channel so that audiences worldwide may view them [1]. These recordings began with our April 1, 2021 presentation, as this was when NASA Zoom Webinar was implemented, thus enabling us to record each talk. Metrics: We record attendance numbers from the senior living communities for each event as well as those from YouTube views after the presentation recording is posted online. Depending on which communities tune in, typical attendance numbers are between 60-100 people. RiverWoods Exeter has the most regularly attending residents, with an average of 55 attendees per event. As of December 2021, we have hosted fourteen events, nine of which were recorded and posted to our designated NASA STEM YouTube Channel playlist. The nine recordings combined have roughly 4,000 YouTube views thus far, with specific videos seeing higher view counts around launch dates (e.g. NASA’s DART mission) and trending topics (e.g. JWST). A list of speakers, topics, and links to presentation recordings is shown in Table 1. Future Program Expansion: Thus far, we have been adding communities on an individual basis. To make this process more streamlined, we are looking into working with senior living community networks and organizations such as LeadingAge [2]. In this manner, we will be able to reach more communities while also making it easier to send and receive relevant information.

S L Tiedeken↗
NASA NTRS2015

Development of Logistics for Building Radiation Storm Shelters and Their Operational Evaluation

Over the past three years NASA has been studying the operational effectiveness and astronaut protection efficacy of numerous radiation protection shelters for use in space exploration activities outside of earth's magnetosphere. The work presented was part of NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) RadWorks Storm Shelter project. This paper is a summary of the concept development activities of this third year. Fabricated items were integrated into mock up deep space habitat vehicle sections for operational evaluations. Two full scale human-in-loop simulations were designed, fabricated, and implemented through an Institutional Review Board approved solicited participant assessment process. Fabricated items are described, along with usage scenarios of two protection approaches. Existing ISS type logistics along with proposed variations of those logistics were used. Preliminary Discrete Event Simulation (DES) work is noted to be useful in quantifying and documenting operational performance measures for the two primary shelter methods, including some characterization of radiation dose accumulation over a mission timeline. The project also performed correlation analyses between effective radiation dose and the Risk of Exposure Induced Death (REID) to show that concept level work may be able to include such a performance metric in early stages of mission scenario habitat design trade space investigation.

Cerro, Jeffrey A.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Learning from the Mars Rover Mission: Scientific Discovery, Learning and Memory

Purpose: Knowledge management for space exploration is part of a multi-generational effort. Each mission builds on knowledge from prior missions, and learning is the first step in knowledge production. This paper uses the Mars Exploration Rover mission as a site to explore this process. Approach: Observational study and analysis of the work of the MER science and engineering team during rover operations, to investigate how learning occurs, how it is recorded, and how these representations might be made available for subsequent missions. Findings: Learning occurred in many areas: planning science strategy, using instrumen?s within the constraints of the martian environment, the Deep Space Network, and the mission requirements; using software tools effectively; and running two teams on Mars time for three months. This learning is preserved in many ways. Primarily it resides in individual s memories. It is also encoded in stories, procedures, programming sequences, published reports, and lessons learned databases. Research implications: Shows the earliest stages of knowledge creation in a scientific mission, and demonstrates that knowledge management must begin with an understanding of knowledge creation. Practical implications: Shows that studying learning and knowledge creation suggests proactive ways to capture and use knowledge across multiple missions and generations. Value: This paper provides a unique analysis of the learning process of a scientific space mission, relevant for knowledge management researchers and designers, as well as demonstrating in detail how new learning occurs in a learning organization.

Linde, Charlotte↗
NASA NTRS1997

Studies of Magmatic Inclusions in the Basaltic Martian Meteorites Shergotty, Zagami, EETA 79001 and QUE 94201

Currently there are 12 meteorites thought by planetary scientists to be martian samples, delivered to the Earth after violent impacts on that planet's surface. Of these 12 specimens, 4 are basaltic: Shergotty, Zagami, EETA 79001 and QUE 94201. Basalts are particularly important rocks to planetary geologists- they are the most common rocks found on the surfaces of the terrestrial planets, representing volcanic activity of their parent worlds. In addition, because they are generated by partial melting of the mantle and/or lower crust, they can serve as guide posts to the composition and internal processes of a planet. Consequently these four meteorites can serve as 'ground-truth' representatives of the predominant volcanic surface rocks of Mars, and offer researchers a glimpse of the magmatic history of that planet. Unfortunately, unraveling the parentage of a basaltic rock is not always straightforward. While many basalts are simple, unaltered partial melts of the mantle, others have undergone secondary processes which change the original parental chemistry, such as assimilation of other crustal rocks, mixing with other magmas, accumulation, re-equilibration between mineral species after crystallization, loss of late-stage magmatic fluids and alteration by metamorphic or metasomatic processes. Fortunately, magmatic inclusions can trap the evolving magmatic liquid, isolating it from many of these secondary processes and offering a direct look at the magma during different stages of development. These inclusions form when major or minor phases grow skeletally, surrounding small amounts of the parental magma within pockets in the growing crystal. The inclusion as a whole (usually consisting of glass with enclosed crystals) continues to represent the composition of the parental magma at the time the melt pocket closed, even when the rock as a whole evolves under changing conditions. The four basaltic martian meteorites contain several distinct generations of melt inclusions; those found within early-forming pigeonite, intermediate and late-forming Ti, Fe-oxides and sulfides, and intermediate to late-forming phosphates. In this summer' s study we have made a detailed study of all of the various forms of inclusions found within the 4 basaltic martian meteorites listed above. Glasses and minerals within the inclusions were analyzed using the Camera SX-100 Electron Microprobe in Building 31. The mineralogy and textural context of the inclusions will then be used to explore the crystallization history of these specimens, and to investigate any differences in crystallization history or parental magma compositions between these rocks. In this manner, the magmatic inclusions provide a road map backwards toward the 'parental' compositions for the basaltic martian meteorites and provide significant insight into the igneous processes found within the crust of Mars.

Harvey, Ralph P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Venus tectonic styles and crustal differentiation

Two of the most important constraints are known from Pioneer Venus data: the lack of a system of spreading rises, indicating distributed deformation rather than plate tectonics; and the high gravity/topography ratio, indicating the absence of an asthenosphere. In addition, the high depth/diameter ratios of craters on Venus indicate that Venus probably has no more crust than Earth. The problems of the character of tectonics and crustal formation and recycling are closely coupled. Venus appears to lack a recycling mechanism as effective as subduction, but may also have a low rate of crustal differentiation because of a mantle convection pattern that is more distributed, less concentrated, than Earth's. Distributed convection, coupled with the nonlinear dependence of volcanism on heat flow, would lead to much less magmatism, despite only moderately less heat flow, compared to Earth. The plausible reason for this difference in convective style is the absence of water in the upper mantle of Venus. We have applied finite element modeling to problems of the interaction of mantle convection and crust on Venus. The main emphasis has been on the tectonic evolution of Ishtar Terra, as the consequence of convergent mantle flow. The early stage evolution is primarily mechanical, with crust being piled up on the down-stream side. Then the downflow migrates away from the center. In the later stages, after more than 100 m.y., thermal effects develop due to the insulating influence of the thickened crust. An important feature of this modeling is the entrainment of some crustal material in downflows. An important general theme in both convergent and divergent flows is that of mixing vs. stratification. Models of multicomponent solid-state flow obtain that lower-density crustal material can be entrained and recycled, provided that the ration of low-density to high-density material is small enough (as in subducted slabs on Earth). The same considerations should apply in upflows; a small percent of partial melt may be carried along with its matrix and never escape to the surface. Models that assume melt automatically rising to the crust and no entrainment or other mechanism of recycling lower-density material obtain oscillatory behavior, because it takes a long time for heat to build up enough to overcome a Mg-rich low-density residuum. However, these models develop much thicker crust than consistent with estimates from crater depth/diameter ratios.

Kaula, W. M.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Ares I-X: First Step in a New Era of Exploration

Since 2005, NASA's Constellation Program has been designing, building, and testing the next generation of launch and space vehicles to carry humans beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO). On October 28, 2009, the Ares Projects successfully launched the first suborbital development flight test of the Ares I crew launch vehicle, Ares I-X, from Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Although the final Constellation Program architecture is under review, data and lessons obtained from Ares I-X can be applied to any launch vehicle. This presentation will discuss the mission background and future impacts of the flight. Ares I is designed to carry up to four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). It also can be used with the Ares V cargo launch vehicle for a variety of missions beyond LEO. The Ares I-X development flight test was conceived in 2006 to acquire early engineering, operations, and environment data during liftoff, ascent, and first stage recovery. Engineers are using the test flight data to improve the Ares I design before its critical design review the final review before manufacturing of the flight vehicle begins. The Ares I-X flight test vehicle incorporated a mix of flight and mockup hardware, reflecting a similar length and mass to the operational vehicle. It was powered by a four-segment SRB from the Space Shuttle inventory, and was modified to include a fifth, spacer segment that made the booster approximately the same size as the five-segment SRB. The Ares I-X flight closely approximated flight conditions the Ares I will experience through Mach 4.5, performing a first stage separation at an altitude of 125,000 feet and reaching a maximum dynamic pressure ("Max Q") of approximately 850 pounds per square foot. The Ares I-X Mission Management Office (MMO) was organized functionally to address all the major test elements, including: first stage, avionics, and roll control (Marshall Space Flight Center); upper stage simulator (Glenn Research Center); crew module/launch abort system simulator (Langley Research Center); and ground systems and operations (KSC). Interfaces between vehicle elements and vehicle-ground elements, as well as environment analyses were performed by a systems engineering and integration team at Langley. Experience and lessons learned from these integrated product teams area are already being integrated into the Ares Projects to support the next generation of exploration launch vehicles.

Davis, Stephan R.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Building a Real-Time Flood Prediction Model for Improving Early Warning Systems in Ellicott City, Maryland

As flood events in the United States grow in frequency and intensity, the use of applied remote sensing analyses is increasingly necessary for effective flood monitoring and warning systems. The NASA DEVELOP National Program partnered with the local government of Howard County, Maryland, to investigate the use of machine learning for advanced flood risk detection, and to test the feasibility of integrating this approach into the county’s flood early warning system. To strengthen the efforts of the Howard County Office of Emergency Management (OEM), the project developed a statistical model capable of hindcasting the two severe flash flood events that devastated Ellicott City and transitioned to a ‘Long Short-Term Memory’ based sequence-to-sequence deep learning model with 8-hour forecast capability. The team combined data inputs from public sources including river and precipitation gauges, NASA and NOAA Earth observations, and numerical weather model products using scripts written in the Google Colaboratory Python scripting environment. In addition to designing the deep learning architecture, the team trained and tested the model, and evaluated its performance using Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency. The final product, the Sequentially Trained Real-time EstimAted Model (STREAM) predicts stage height for the Hudson Branch gauge in Ellicott City using data products available in near real-time, including the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh model’s accumulated precipitation forecasts supplemented by stream gauge data from the OEM and the U.S. Geological Survey. STREAM was incorporated into an online dashboard in a user-friendly interface capable of triggering the alarms that initiate emergency response protocols up to 8 hours in advance of a predicted severe flood event. The project demonstrated the potential for the integration of open data and Earth observations into a flood risk forecasting tool capable of informing near real-time decision making.

NASA DEVELOP↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Building a Real-Time Predictive Flood Model for Improving Early Warning Systems in Ellicott City, Maryland

As flood events in the United States grow in frequency and intensity, the use of applied remote sensing analyses is increasingly necessary for effective flood monitoring and warning systems. The NASA DEVELOP National Program partnered with the Howard County government in Maryland to investigate the use of machine learning for advanced flood risk detection, and to test the feasibility of integrating this approach into the county’s flood early warning system. To strengthen the efforts of the Howard County Office of Emergency Management (OEM), the project developed a prediction model capable of hindcasting the two severe flash flood events that devastated Ellicott City, and transitioned to an Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) based sequence-to-sequence deep learning model with 8-hour forecast capability. The team combined data inputs from public sources including river and precipitation gauges, NASA and NOAA Earth observations, and numerical weather model products using scripts written in the Google Colaboratory Python scripting environment. In addition to designing the deep learning architecture, the team trained and tested the model, and evaluated its performance using the Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE). The final product, called the Sequentially Trained Real-time EstimAted Model (STREAM), predicts stage height for the Hudson Branch gauge in Ellicott City using data products available in near real-time, including the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) model’s accumulated precipitation forecasts supplemented by stream gauge data from the OEM and the U.S. Geological Survey. STREAM was incorporated into an online dashboard in a user-friendly interface capable of triggering the alarms that initiate the OEM’s emergency response protocols up to 8 hours in advance of a predicted severe flood event. The project demonstrated the potential for the integration of open data and Earth observations into a flood risk forecasting tool capable of informing near real-time decision making.

Ryan Hammock↗
NASA NTRS2003

Microelectromechanical System (MEMS) Device Being Developed for Active Cooling and Temperature Control

High-capacity cooling options remain limited for many small-scale applications such as microelectronic components, miniature sensors, and microsystems. A microelectromechanical system (MEMS) using a Stirling thermodynamic cycle to provide cooling or heating directly to a thermally loaded surface is being developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center to meet this need. The device can be used strictly in the cooling mode or can be switched between cooling and heating modes in milliseconds for precise temperature control. Fabrication and assembly employ techniques routinely used in the semiconductor processing industry. Benefits of the MEMS cooler include scalability to fractions of a millimeter, modularity for increased capacity and staging to low temperatures, simple interfaces, limited failure modes, and minimal induced vibration. The MEMS cooler has potential applications across a broad range of industries such as the biomedical, computer, automotive, and aerospace industries. The basic capabilities it provides can be categorized into four key areas: 1) Extended environmental temperature range in harsh environments; 2) Lower operating temperatures for electronics and other components; 3) Precision spatial and temporal thermal control for temperature-sensitive devices; and 4) The enabling of microsystem devices that require active cooling and/or temperature control. The rapidly expanding capabilities of semiconductor processing in general, and microsystems packaging in particular, present a new opportunity to extend Stirling-cycle cooling to the MEMS domain. The comparatively high capacity and efficiency possible with a MEMS Stirling cooler provides a level of active cooling that is impossible at the microscale with current state-of-the-art techniques. The MEMS cooler technology builds on decades of research at Glenn on Stirling-cycle machines, and capitalizes on Glenn s emerging microsystems capabilities.

Beach, Duane E.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Evidence for a Stratified Upper Mantle Preserved within the South Pole - Aitken Basin

The evolution and compositional structure of the lunar mantle has been extensively modeled but insufficiently constrained by observations. Here, we identify and characterize mantle materials exposed by the Moon's largest impact basin to better understand the composition, stratigraphy, and evolution of the upper mantle. The vast South Pole-Aitken Basin (SPA) exhibits a broad, crescent-shaped thorium and potassium distribution. These incompatible elements are predicted to be concentrated in the dregs of the lunar magma ocean during end-stage crystallization. Through consideration of basin formation models convolved with subsequent geologic evolution, we demonstrate that the distribution and implied stratigraphy of Th- and K-bearing materials across SPA are consistent with an upper mantle ejecta origin. The most pristine exposures of these materials are confined to northwest SPA and also exhibit elevated Ti and Fe (relative to the farside highlands) in association with a gabbronoritic mineralogy. This is consistent with latestage magma ocean assemblages predicted by petrologic models. In contrast, SPA impact melt derived from greater depths is associated with a low-Ca pyroxene-dominated assemblage. Together, these compositional patterns are evidence for a stratified ancient upper mantle. Importantly, the incompatible-element-enriched, ilmenite-bearing ferroan gabbronoritic cumulates evidently had not participated in gravitational overturn at the time of SPA formation. Contrary to recent hypotheses invoking nearside sequestration of incompatible elements to explain hemispherical differences in crustal building and volcanic resurfacing, it follows that incompatible elements were globally distributed in the magma ocean at the time of SPA formation.

Lunar dichotomy↗