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At least 469 records · Page 26

The Gandalf Staff: A Mobile Tool for Lunar Exploration (2nd year of development)

The Gandalf Staff is a mobile tool designed to be a flexible device supporting crewed and uncrewed operations on the lunar surface. The core of the device is a 24v battery with communications and data storage systems. Initial optional components supporting crewed Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) include a LiDAR and 360˚ camera. These provide 3D mapping of the traverse for documentation, and to aid future planning. The mapping also creates outreach opportunities for the public to “stand beside” the astronaut in Virtual Reality (VR). The staff provides external lighting for field site illumination in the south polar region low sun angle environment. Navigation instruments for crew position determination with Lunar Search and Rescue (LunaSAR) are also included. The staff itself can be used as a walking aid or as a splint for Incapacitated Crew Rescue (ICR). As a stand-alone device, the staff operates as a long duration untended science platform collecting environmental data and sending it to a lunar base station. The stand-alone mode requires connection to an auxiliary power source (e.g. solar array) and energy storage system (e.g. battery), so it could become an electrical recharging station. To make rapid progress in the 1st year, and also to demonstrate innovative project management techniques, NASA guided a private industry partner, T STAR, in leading Capstone Engineering student teams at Texas A&M University (TAMU) for proof-of-concept development and testing. These teams developed the power system and demonstrated successful integration of LiDAR, WiFi communications, and external lighting subsystems. Another industry team at Jacobs Technology prototyped a tripod to hold the staff upright. For the 2nd year (FY’22), NASA will again collaborate with partners to prototype enhanced power and lighting concepts. Year 2 will also add new capability for LunaSAR and geophysical science instrumentation using a heat probe. The heat probe is based upon Apollo heritage but modified to measure subsurface volatile ice regimes at the Artemis landing site. Components of the Gandalf Staff can be developed, tested, and deployed independently, or on the integrated staff, rovers, or utility trailers. The project supports crew safety, lunar sample curation, mission science, and public outreach goals of NASA. PLAIN TEST SUMMARY: Gandalf Staff is a 24v battery powered mobile tool for the lunar surface supporting crewed geologic field site exploration, or as a stand-alone science platform. As a tool assisting astronauts conducting field geology, the Gandalf Staff provides external lighting to illuminate shadowed regions on the surface. It also documents the process of collecting rocks and dust samples using a LiDAR (laser range instrument) and cameras. The staff provides a beacon for emergency location of astronauts and augments communications when the astronauts are blocked by large boulders. As a standalone science platform, the Gandalf Staff provides a power system for instruments and sensors to measure the lunar environment over long periods of time. The staff gathers data and sends the results to a lunar base station for analysis.

External Lighting↗

Novel Platform for Digitization of Radiation Measurements, Decommissioning and Dismantling and Nuclear Waste Management - 18229

An innovative Platform for a seamless digitization of the information produced during the characterization of radioactive waste, contaminated objects, and in general radioprotection measurements has ben developed by CAEN SyS. The Platform is based on a spectroscopic handheld instrument integrating RFID technology, barcode reader, camera, voice recorder, and geo-localization, a selection of radiation tolerant RFID tags tested above 300 Gy integrated dose, ruggedized portable RFID readers and a secure database framework capable to collect data also from external sources such as gamma scanners and imaging systems. The Platform allows for real-time measurement of dose rate, radiation spectroscopy, tagging, tracking and inventorying of items. All data produced by the Platform are securely stored into the non-volatile memory of the RFID tags and in the database for both onsite and remote access to the information by operators. This paper presents the current development of the Platform and shows the advantages of such approach to achieve an easy yet reliable waste traceability, waste bagging optimization, and a structured methodology for radiation measurements, meeting an excellent quality control as increasingly required by Safety Authorities. Applications here envisaged and explored are dismantling and decontamination operations, radioprotection measurements and patrols, nuclear material management, safeguards and verification inspections. More in general, the Platform can address the needs of all plants, research laboratories and facilities that are looking to improve their Safety Standards, decrease operational costs, have a precise knowledge of the contaminated environment and objects as well as optimization for personnel dose minimization. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

iDDS: intelligent distributed dispatch and scheduling for workflow orchestration

The intelligent distributed dispatch and scheduling (iDDS) service is a versatile workflow orchestration system designed for large-scale, distributed scientific computing. iDDS extends traditional workload and data management by integrating data-aware execution, conditional logic, and programmable workflows, enabling automation of complex and dynamic processing pipelines. Originally developed for the ATLAS experiment at the large hadron collider, iDDS has evolved into an experiment-agnostic platform that supports both template-driven workflows and a Function-as-a-Task model for Python-based orchestration. This paper presents the architecture and core components of iDDS, highlighting its scalability, modular message-driven design, and integration with systems such as PanDA and Rucio. We demonstrate its versatility through real-world use cases: fine-grained tape resource optimization for ATLAS, orchestration of large Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) workflows for the Rubin Observatory, distributed hyperparameter optimization for machine learning applications, active learning for physics analyses, and AI-assisted detector design at the electron–ion collider. By unifying workload scheduling, data movement, and adaptive decision-making, iDDS reduces operational overhead and enables reproducible, high-throughput workflows across heterogeneous infrastructures. We conclude with current challenges and future directions, including interactive, cloud-native, and serverless workflow support.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

OpenCHAMI Developer Summit [Slides]

The mission of the OpenCHAMI consortium is to steward the collaborative development and continuous evolution of cloud-like software to manage High Performance Computing capacity regardless of the size or deployment platform. We are guided by the operators and practitioners who use modern tooling and concepts to address the needs of classical HPC applications and the growing AI/ML and Data Science community that wish to leverage HPC capacity within their own workflows, to meet their needs with their own tools.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

A KBase Case Study on Genome-wide Transcriptomics and Plant Primary Metabolism in Sorghum

A better understanding of the genetic and metabolic mechanisms that confer stress resistance and tolerance in plants is key to engineering new crops through advanced breeding technologies. This requires a systems biology approach that builds on a genome-wide understanding of the regulation of gene expression, plant metabolism, physiology and growth. In this study, we examine the response to drought stress in Sorghum, as we leverage the tools for transcriptomics and plant metabolic modeling we have implemented at the U.S. Department of Energy Systems Biology Knowledgebase (KBase). KBase enables researchers worldwide to collaborate and advance research by allowing them to upload private or public data into the KBase Narrative Interface, empowering them to analyze this data using a rich, extensible array of computational and data-analytics tools, and allows them to securely share scientific workflows and conclusions. We demonstrate how to use the current RNA-seq tools in KBase, applicable to both plants and microbes, to assemble and quantify long transcripts and identify differentially expressed genes effectively. More specifically, we demonstrate the utility of the platform by identifying key genes that are differentially expressed during drought-stress in Sorghum bicolor, which is an important sustainable production crop plant. We then show how to use KBase tools to predict the membership of genes in metabolic pathways and examine expression data in the context of metabolic subsystems. We demonstrate the power of the platform by making the data analysis and interpretation available to the biologists in the reproducible, re-usable, point-and-click format of a KBase Narrative thus promoting FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) guiding principles for scientific data management and stewardship.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

The need to measure man-made radiation from orbit for spectrum management

Measurements of RF radiation from orbiting spacecraft are discussed as an approach to improving man-made radio-wave spectrum management for avoidance and prediction of harmful RF interferences. It is pointed out that a measurement program is required for acquisition of data on electromagnetic fields to be expected in orbits, and that several types of satellites could provide platforms for such missions. Papers by Reich et al. (1972) and Kelleher et al. (1972) are referred to for descriptions as to how such platforms could be used. An electromagnetic field spectrum measurement program is outlined for orbital missions.

Eckerman, J.↗

A science perspective of the Space Station

On-orbit scientific research involving the presence of humans has been hampered during Shuttle flights due to the brevity of the missions and the limited power supplies and data management facilities. The solutions to these limitations are the Space Station and extended duration Orbiter, the latter offering 2.5 weeks on-orbit operations. The Space Station configuration is to include polar orbiting and co-orbiting unmanned platforms serviced, initially, by the Shuttle. The longer duration operations on the Space Station will permit lowering the amount of on-the-ground training in favor of on-orbit experience, thereby enhancing the flexibility of experimental opportunities and expanding the breadth of investigations. The goal of all the developments is to furnish groundside experimenters access to space, along with minimized adaptation of experimental procedures to exploit the space environment.

Black, D. C.↗

Performance Evaluation of an Intelligent Sensor Platform for Radiation Monitoring Applications

Accurate, rugged, and reliable radiation detection systems are important for area and environmental monitoring applications. The desire for spectroscopic capability has increased in monitoring aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle to provide fast characterization of the radiation profile of a situation, such as the planned or unplanned release of material. The reduction or elimination of having to conduct sampling for laboratory analysis can result in significant cost savings for an industry, government agency, or regulatory body. A new system, comprised of a NaI:Tl scintillator and a G-M tube, has been designed and tested, taking into account the following end-user requirements: ease-of-use, capability to network and supervise multiple units, compact form factor, low power consumption, versatility, and stability. The detector sizes were selected to accommodate a dose rate up to 1 Sv/hr. Several algorithms and analysis routines have been developed to incorporate these key needs without sacrificing on accuracy, dynamic range, nuclide identification, and sensitivity. This presentation will introduce the major hardware and software components of the platform, as well as the user interface and data analysis workflow. Key features of the hardware include an environmentally robust housing, low power signal processing electronics, patented LED-based gain stabilization, and an embedded processor for unattended instrument management and data analysis. New and improved algorithms for determining scintillator gamma dose rates, total integrated dose, and nuclide identification will be introduced. The two detector elements were modeled with MCNP and validated experimentally. The results of the radiological testing shall be presented including energy resolution, throughput, dose response, and minimum detectable activities. The dose response has been evaluated in simulations and with measurements to ensure accurate response with respect to energy spectrum of the dose field and direction of the incident radiation. Spectroscopy evaluations, such as nuclide detection probability and false alarm rates, were performed and comparisons to existing algorithms shall also be presented. (authors)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Evaluating Corn (Zea Mays L.) N Variability Via Remote Sensed Data

Transformations and losses of nitrogen (N) throughout the growing season can be costly. Methods in place to improve N management and facilitate split N applications during the growing season can be time consuming and logistically difficult. Remote sensing (RS) may be a method to rapidly assess temporal changes in crop N status and promote more efficient N management. This study was designed to evaluate the ability of three different RS platforms to predict N variability in corn (Zea mays L.) leaves during vegetative and early reproductive growth stages. Plots (15 x 15m) were established in the Coastal Plain (CP) and Appalachian Plateau (AP) physiographic regions each spring from 2000 to 2002 in a completely randomized design. Treatments consisted of four N rates (0, 56, 112, and 168 kg N/ha) applied as ammonium nitrate (NH4N03) replicated four time. Spectral measurements were acquired via spectroradiometer (lambda = 350 - 1050 nm), Airborne Terrestrial Applications Sensor (ATLAS) (lambda = 400 - 12,500 nm), and the IKONOS satellite (lambda = 450 - 900 nm). Spectroradiometer data were collected on a biweekly basis from V4 through R1. Due to the nature of - satellite and aircraft acquisitions, these data were acquired per availability. Chlorophyll meter (SPAD) and tissue N were collected as ancillary data along with each RS acquisition. Results showed vegetation indices derived from hand-held spectroradiometer measurements as early as V6-V8 were linearly related to yield and tissue N content. ATLAS data was correlated with tissue N at the AP site during the V6 stage (r2 = 0.66), but no significant relationships were observed at the CP site. No significant relationships were observed between plant N and IKONOS imagery. Using a combination of the greenness vegetation index (GNDVI) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), RS data acquired via ATLAS and the spectroradiometer could be used to evaluate tissue N variability and estimate corn yield variability under ideal growing conditions.

Sullivan, D. G.↗

Satellite NO 2 Trends and Hotspots Over Offshore Oil and Gas Operations in the Gulf of Mexico

The Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is populated with numerous oil and natural gas (ONG) platforms which produce NO x (NO x = NO + NO 2 ), a major component of air pollution. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is mandated to ensure that the air quality of coastal states is not degraded by these emissions. As part of a NASA-BOEM collaboration, we conducted a satellite data-based analysis of nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) patterns and trends in the GOM. Data from the OMI and TROPOMI sensors were used to obtain 18+ year records of tropospheric column (TrC) NO 2 in three GOM regions: (a) Houston urban area, (b) near shore area off the Louisiana coast, and a (c) deepwater area off the Louisiana coast. The 2004–2022 time series show a decreasing trend for the urban (−0.027 DU/decade) and near shore (−0.0022 DU/decade) areas, and an increasing trend (0.0019 DU/decade) for the deepwater area. MERRA-2 wind and TROPOMI NO 2 data were used to reveal several NO2 hotspots (up to 25% above background values) under calm wind conditions near individual platforms. The NO 2 signals from these deepwater platforms and the high density of shallow water platforms closer to shore were confirmed by TrC NO 2 anomalies of up to 10%, taking into account the monthly TrC NO 2 climatology over the GOM. The results presented in this study establish a baseline for future estimates of emissions from the ONG hotspots and provide a methodology for analyzing NO 2 measurements from the new geostationary TEMPO instrument.

NO2↗

SONET: a semantic ontological network graph for managing points of interest data heterogeneity

Scalability, standardization, and management are important issues when working with very large Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI). VGI is a rich and valuable source of Points of Interest (POI) information, but its inherent heterogeneity in content, structure, and scale across sources present major challenges for interlinking data sources for analysis. To be useful at scale, the raw information needs to be transformed into a standardized schema that can be easily and reliably used by data analysts. In this work, we tackle the problem of unifying POI categories (e.g. restaurants, temple, and hotel) across multiple data sources to aid in improving land use maps and population distribution estimation as well as support data analysts wishing to fuse multiple data sources with the OpenStreetMap (OSM) mapping platform or working with projects that are already configured in the OSM schema and wish to add additional sources of information. Graph theory and its implementation through the SONET graph database, provides a programmatic way to organize, store, and retrieve standardized POI categories at multiple levels of abstraction. Additionally, it addresses category heterogeneity across data sources by standardizing and managing categories in a way that makes cross-domain analysis possible.

Palumbo, Rachel↗

Satellite communications provisions on NASA Ames instrumented aircraft platforms for Earth science research/applications

Earth science activities at NASA Ames are research in atmospheric and ecosystem science, development of remote sensing and in situ sampling instruments, and their integration into scientific research platform aircraft. The use of satellite communications can greatly extend the capability of these agency research platform aircraft. Current projects and plans involve satellite links on the Perseus UAV and the ER-2 via TDRSS and a proposed experiment on the NASA Advanced Communications Technology Satellite. Provisions for data links on the Perseus research platform, via TDRSS S-band multiple access service, have been developed and are being tested. Test flights at Dryden are planned to demonstrate successful end-to-end data transfer. A Unisys Corp. airborne satcom STARLink system is being integrated into an Ames ER-2 aircraft. This equipment will support multiple data rates up to 43 Mb/s each via the TDRS S Ku-band single access service. The first flight mission for this high-rate link is planned for August 1995. Ames and JPL have proposed an ACTS experiment to use real-time satellite communications to improve wildfire research campaigns. Researchers and fire management teams making use of instrumented aircraft platforms at a prescribed burn site will be able to communicate with experts at Ames, the U.S. Forest Service, and emergency response agencies.

Shameson, L.↗

Water-management models in Florida from ERTS-1 data

The author has identified the following significant results. The usefullness of ERTS 1 to improving the overall effectiveness of collecting and disseminating data was evaluated. ERTS MSS imagery and in situ monitoring by DCS were used to evaluate their separate and combined capabilities. Twenty data collection platforms were established in southern Florida. Water level and rainfall measurements were collected and disseminated to users in less than 2 hours, a significant improvement over conventional techniques requiring 2 months. ERTS imagery was found to significantly enhance the utility of ground measurements. Water stage was correlated with water surface areas from imagery in order to obtain water stage-volume relations. Imagery provided an economical basis for extrapolating water parameters from the point samples to unsampled data and provided a synoptic view of water mass boundaries that no amount of ground sampling or monitoring could provide.

Higer, A. L.↗

A PI’s Guide to Analog Research

Congratulation on being awarded a grant to conduct research in a spaceflight analog! NASA funded research in a Human Research Program (HRP) managed analog environment is very different from research in a traditional laboratory. This presentation will provide a guide to help investigators successfully plan studies for integration and implementation in an HRP analog platform. There are many things to consider when planning a study for implementation in an analog facility and campaign or mission. How do you get from grant approval to data analysis? This is where HRP’s Research Operations and Integration (ROI) team comes in. The ROI team works with sponsoring HRP elements and PI teams to capture requirements and help the PI teams through the phases of research complement development, integration and implementation. A complement is comprised of a group of studies requiring a common platform and/or scenario that are able to be integrated on a noninterference basis for implementation. Properly defining and documenting requirements and study needs is crucial in successful integration and implementation. This presentation will outline and provide the information needed for PI teams to understand the integration process and the role of the ROI team in the successful integration and implementation of their study. Topics to be discussed will include but not be limited to science requirement definition and documentation, NASA IRB submissions, subject recruitment, screening and selection, study integration process, efficiency in data collection and data sharing, daily crew schedules, hardware and software shipping, receipt and checkout, biological sample collection, mission support, data management and receipt of data.

B. Caldwell↗

Experimental evaluation of a flexible I/O architecture for accelerating workflow engines in ultrascale environments

The increasing volume of scientific data and the limited scalability and performance of storage systems are currently presenting a significant limitation for the productivity of the scientific workflows running on both high-performance computing (HPC) and cloud platforms. Clearly needed is better integration of storage systems and workflow engines to address this problem. This paper presents and evaluates a novel solution that leverages codesign principles for integrating Hercules—an in-memory data store—with a workflow management system. We consider four main aspects: workflow representation, task scheduling, task placement, and task termination. As a result, the experimental evaluation on both cloud and HPC systems demonstrates significant performance and scalability improvements over existing state-of-the-art approaches.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

GeneDrugRepo.sol

An entry to the IDASH PRIVACY & SECURITY WORKSHOP 2019 - secure genome analysis competition, Track I: Distributed Gene-Drug Interaction Data Sharing based on Blockchain and Smart Contracts. The entire codebase is comprised of a single solidity file, GeneDrugRepo.sol. Solidity is a smart contract language for the Ethereum blockchain platform. SAND2019-13419 M Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

Pattengale, Nicholas↗

An Overview of the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) Facility and the Research Performed in the MSG on the International Space Station (ISS)

The Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) is a double rack facility aboard the International Space Station (ISS) designed for investigation handling. The MSG has been operating on the ISS since July 2002 and is currently located in the Columbus Laboratory Module. The unique design of the facility allows it to accommodate science and technology investigations in a workbench type environment. The facility has an enclosed working volume that is held at a negative pressure with respect to the crew living area. This allows the facility to provide two levels of containment for small parts, particulates, fluids, and gases. This containment approach protects the crew from possible hazardous operations that take place inside the MSG work volume. Research investigations operating inside the MSG are provided a large 255 liter enclosed work space, 1000 watts of dc power via a versatile supply interface (120, 28, +/- 12, and 5 Vdc), 1000 watts of cooling capability, video and data recording and real time downlink, ground commanding capabilities, access to ISS Vacuum Exhaust and Vacuum Resource Systems, and gaseous nitrogen supply. These capabilities make the MSG one of the most utilized facilities on ISS. In fact, the MSG has been used for over 5000 hours of scientific payload operations. MSG investigations involve research in cryogenic fluid management, fluid physics, spacecraft fire safety, materials science, combustion, plant growth, and life support technologies. MSG is an ideal platform for science investigations and research required to advance the technology readiness levels (TRLs) applicable to the Constellation Program. This paper will provide an overview of the MSG facility, a synopsis of the research that has already been accomplished in the MSG, an overview of future investigations currently planned for operation in the MSG, and potential applications of MSG investigations that can provide useful data to the Constellation Program. In addition, this paper will address the role of the MSG facility in the ISS National Lab.

Spivey, Reggie↗

Energy Material Network Data Hubs

In early 2015 the United States Department of Energy conceived of a consortium of collaborative bodies based on shared expertise, data, and resources that could be targeted towards the more difficult problems in energy materials research. The concept of virtual laboratories had been envisioned and discussed earlier in the decade in response to the advent of the Materials Genome Initiative and similar scientific thrusts. To be effective, any virtual laboratory needed a robust method for data management, communication, security, data sharing, dissemination, and demonstration to work efficiently and effectively for groups of remote researchers. With the accessibility of new, easily deployed cloud technology and software frameworks, such individual elements could be integrated, and the required collaboration architecture is now possible. The developers have leveraged open-source software frameworks, customized them, and merged them into a platform to enable collaborative energy materials science, regardless of the geographic dispersal of the people and resources. After five years in operations, the systems are demonstratively an effective platform for enabling research within the Energy Material Networks (EMN). This paper will show the design and development of a secured scientific data sharing platform, the ability to customize the system to support diverse workflows, and examples of the enabled research and results connected with some of the Energy Material Networks.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗