Results for “scientific discovery” — Page 27

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

iMETRO (Integrated Mobile Evaluation Testbed for Robotics Operations) Facility

Exploration crew time in space is precious – every hour could yield immense scientific discovery. However, overhead tasks such as logistics, maintenance, and assembly greatly limit crew time available for science and exploration. Robotic remote operations capabilities offer a solution, but operating mobile dexterous robots in human centered environments presents many unknowns and challenges, therefore testing is needed. iMETRO is a NASA JSC robotics test facility for terrestrial robotic technology adaptation for space exploration use cases, including logistics, maintenance, and science utilization. iMETRO focuses on Intra-Vehicular task environments, such as surface habitats, pressurized rover cabins, and space station modules (both Gateway & LEO). Its goal is to advance the Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) of remote space robot operations systems with Earth supervision.

Robotics↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Exploring the Potential of Hydrogen as a Lift Gas for Nasa’s Scientific Balloon Program

The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Balloon Program has a rich history of conducting scientific research in the stratosphere, offering a unique platform for experiments in the near-space environment. One critical component of these high-altitude balloons is the choice of lift gas, which is pivotal to achieving the desired altitude and, thus, mission objectives. Traditionally, helium has been the preferred lift gas due to its inert properties and safety considerations. However, the increasing demand and limited global helium reserves have prompted NASA to explore alternative lift gases, with hydrogen emerging as the most logical choice. Hydrogen boasts several advantages, including its abundant availability, cost-effectiveness, and enhanced lift capability compared to helium. Moreover, it can support a wide range of scientific payloads, enabling extended mission durations and increased payload capacities, ultimately strengthening the program’s scientific potential. However, adopting hydrogen as a lift gas is not without challenges. Safety concerns, especially during the launch and recovery phases, are paramount. NASA and the other major players in the scientific ballooning community have been developing stringent safety protocols and engineering solutions to mitigate these risks. This development includes specialized support systems, leak detection mechanisms, and enhanced launch and recovery procedures. Additionally, environmental considerations must be carefully evaluated. Hydrogen release has the potential to increase concentrations of various greenhouse gases, and its usage must be balanced against the benefits it offers to scientific research and exploration. This paper delves into the ongoing research and development efforts to ensure balloon-based research’s long-term sustainability and its ability to continue pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery. This research demonstrates NASA’s commitment to innovation, safety, and environmental responsibility while maintaining its mission to advance our understanding of the Earth and the cosmos.

balloon↗

NASA NTRS2024

The NASA Facility for Astromaterials Research at the Johnson Space Center – A National Laboratory for Planetary Research

The Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division at the NASA Johnson Space Center houses a unique combination of laboratories, instruments, infrastructure, technical expertise, and other assets for conducting broad-based world-class planetary research. These facilities have been accessed for decades by hundreds of external scientists, including faculty, post-docs, students, and interns, most at no-cost and on a collaborative basis. With funding through NASA’s Planetary Science Enabling Facilities (PSEF) program, we have established the NASA Facility for Astromaterials Research (NFAR) to expand access to and enhance these laboratories for a diverse and inclusive external user base, focusing on training of the next generation of scientists and, thus, maximizing the science return from research funded by R&A programs in NASA’s Planetary Science Division (PSD). NFAR enables new planetary sample analyses, making new scientific discoveries possible, including training the next generation of planetary scientists. NFAR laboratories are co-located with JSC Curation that houses the NASA-controlled astromaterials collections, thus enabling direct access to both research and curation expertise, to facilitate specialized sample handling and analysis of allocated samples to sample PIs, particularly those affiliated with institutions that historically have limited access to or lack in-house analytical or experimental facilities.

J. I. Simon↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Selection, Production and Properties of Regolith Polymer Composite for Lunar Construction

NASA’s Artemis program has the goal of creating a sustained lunar presence to provide unprecedented opportunities for scientific discovery and to ensure industry’s access to the unlimited resources and commercial potential in space. To achieve this goal, NASA must incrementally develop and expand its capabilities beyond the short lunar stays of the Apollo program to a robust continued presence with infrastructure and equipment to reduce mission risk. Kennedy Space Center’s Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations laboratory (a.k.a. Swamp Works) has partnered with SpaceFactory and LERA Consulting Structural Engineers to develop the architectural and structural design of a robotically constructable unpressurized shelter. The shelter, called Lunar Infrastructure Asset (LINA), is designed to protect astronauts and surface assets from radiation, meteoroid impact, thermal gradients, and to withstand moonquakes. A Fused Granular Fabrication (FGF) construction process using regolith polymer composites was developed. The construction system and associated print parameters are discussed along with the environmental simulation equipment and a summary of test conditions. Test samples were printed in dirty thermal vacuum conditions (~10-3 torr, ~-200 °C,) and subscale versions of LINA were printed on a regolith simulant substrate in vacuum (~10-4 torr). Full scale LINA design optimization, simulation, and construction concept of operations are discussed.

lunar infrastructure↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lessons Learned from Astrobee Operations on the International Space Station

Since its launch in 2019, NASA has been operating three Astrobee free-flying robots providing an autonomous and adaptable research platform aboard the International Space Station (ISS). These robots have not only facilitated a myriad of national and international research endeavors in microgravity but have also served as a STEM outreach platform for student competitions aboard the ISS. Amidst its extensive operational tenure, spanning over five years and exceeding 1200 hours of cumulative free-flyer operation as of April 2024, the Astrobee robots have encountered software and hardware anomalies. Despite its inherent design for on-orbit repair or replacement, certain anomalies have proven to be complex, necessitating remote resolution via software and firmware updates or, in extreme cases, hardware replacements or the return of faulty units to NASA's ground facilities for repair. Such challenges underscore the delicate balance between the autonomous functionality of Astrobee and the occasional need for human intervention to maintain optimal performance. One recurring point of failure identified during Astrobee's operational lifespan has been the SD card, a critical component utilized by the different Astrobee processors and the Dock Station. The occurrence of SD card anomalies, both on orbit and within ground units, has provided invaluable insights into the improvement of Astrobee's systems and mitigation to future faults. This presentation will focus on four key areas: 1. Overview of Faults and Anomalies: A comprehensive examination of the diverse array of faults and anomalies encountered by Astrobee and its associated systems both in orbit and on the ground. From software glitches to hardware malfunctions, this section provides insights into the challenges faced during Astrobee's operational tenure. 2. Resolution Processes and Procedures: An in-depth discussion of the methodologies and procedures implemented to resolve the encountered anomalies. This includes remote troubleshooting, software patches, firmware updates, and, when necessary, the logistics involved in hardware replacements or down-massing for repair. 3. Implementation of Software Updates and Hardware Upgrades: A detailed exploration of the strategies employed to mitigate the risk of recurring anomalies through the implementation of software updates and hardware upgrades. This section highlights the iterative nature of Astrobee's development, emphasizing the continuous pursuit of robustness and reliability. 4. Lessons Learned and Future Directions: Reflecting on the insights gained from addressing anomalies, this section examines the lessons learned and outlines future directions for enhancing Astrobee's robustness and resilience. It underscores the iterative nature of space exploration and the importance of adaptability and continuous improvement in the pursuit of scientific discovery. Through a nuanced examination of Astrobee's operational challenges and the strategies employed to overcome them, this presentation sheds light on the complexities of operating autonomous robotic systems in the ISS environment. It underscores NASA's commitment to pushing the boundaries of exploration and innovation while navigating the inherent challenges of space exploration.

Astrobee↗

NASA NTRS2024

Women’s Health in Spaceflight: Life Beyond Low Earth Orbit

Historically, only 75 women have flown in space and while this inequity has been recently addressed with astronaut candidates about 50% female, research defining female biological responses to spaceflight remain limited. The NASA Artemis Campaign aims to land the first woman on the Moon for purposes of scientific discovery, technology advancement, and learning how to live and work on another world in preparation for human missions to Mars. The need to understand how sex and gender affect a wide range of physiological functions, impacting numerous health outcomes is critical. The purpose of this chapter is to summarize recent findings in women’s health in spaceflight, past studies examining female mammalian responses to spaceflight and highlight the need for additional studies to help reduce risk and enhance countermeasure development specific to female astronauts. The promise of artificial intelligence approaches for advancing the pace of research is discussed with the caveat that, at present, fundamental research on women’s health in space and sex-specificity of response to spaceflight stressors is not sufficiently robust to achieve this goal.

spaceflight↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lessons Learned from Astrobee Operations on the International Space Station

Since its launch in 2019, NASA has been operating three Astrobee free-flying robots providing an autonomous and adaptable research platform aboard the International Space Station (ISS). These robots have not only facilitated a myriad of national and international research endeavors in microgravity but have also served as a STEM outreach platform for student competitions aboard the ISS. Amidst its extensive operational tenure, spanning over five years and exceeding 1200 hours of cumulative free-flyer operation as of April 2024, the Astrobee robots have encountered software and hardware anomalies. Despite its inherent design for on-orbit repair or replacement, certain anomalies have proven to be complex, necessitating remote resolution via software and firmware updates or, in extreme cases, hardware replacements or the return of faulty units to NASA's ground facilities for repair. Such challenges underscore the delicate balance between the autonomous functionality of Astrobee and the occasional need for human intervention to maintain optimal performance. One recurring point of failure identified during Astrobee's operational lifespan has been the SD card, a critical component utilized by the different Astrobee processors and the Dock Station. The occurrence of SD card anomalies, both on orbit and within ground units, has provided invaluable insights into the improvement of Astrobee's systems and mitigation to future faults. This presentation will focus on four key areas: 1. Overview of Faults and Anomalies: A comprehensive examination of the diverse array of faults and anomalies encountered by Astrobee and its associated systems both in orbit and on the ground. From software glitches to hardware malfunctions, this section provides insights into the challenges faced during Astrobee's operational tenure. 2. Resolution Processes and Procedures: An in-depth discussion of the methodologies and procedures implemented to resolve the encountered anomalies. This includes remote troubleshooting, software patches, firmware updates, and, when necessary, the logistics involved in hardware replacements or down-massing for repair. 3. Implementation of Software Updates and Hardware Upgrades: A detailed exploration of the strategies employed to mitigate the risk of recurring anomalies through the implementation of software updates and hardware upgrades. This section highlights the iterative nature of Astrobee's development, emphasizing the continuous pursuit of robustness and reliability. 4. Lessons Learned and Future Directions: Reflecting on the insights gained from addressing anomalies, this section examines the lessons learned and outlines future directions for enhancing Astrobee's robustness and resilience. It underscores the iterative nature of space exploration and the importance of adaptability and continuous improvement in the pursuit of scientific discovery. Through a nuanced examination of Astrobee's operational challenges and the strategies employed to overcome them, this presentation sheds light on the complexities of operating autonomous robotic systems in the ISS environment. It underscores NASA's commitment to pushing the boundaries of exploration and innovation while navigating the inherent challenges of space exploration.

Astrobee↗

NASA NTRS2024

iMETRO (Integrated Mobile Evaluation Testbed for Robotics Operations) Facility

Crew time in space is precious – every hour could yield immense scientific discoveries and exploration milestones. However, overhead tasks such as logistics, maintenance, and assembly take a large portion of crew time. Remotely operated robotics capabilities offer a way to free the crew from many overhead tasks, but operating mobile dexterous robots in human-centered environments presents many unknowns and challenges for potential technology providers, limiting adoption for flight missions. iMETRO is a NASA JSC robotics test facility for terrestrial robotic technology adaptation to space exploration use cases, including logistics, maintenance, and science utilization. iMETRO focuses on Intra-Vehicular (IVA) environments, such as surface habitats, pressurized rover cabins, and space station modules (both Gateway & LEO). Its goal is to advance the Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) of integrated technologies for missions requiring remote space robotics operations.

iMETRO↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Enabling Open and Interoperable Science: Multi-Omics Data Processing Platform with NASA GeneLab Standardized Bioinformatics Workflows for Space and Earth Research

Multi-omics biological data continues to be generated at an astounding pace. Genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and proteomics, or collectively known as multi-omics data, are used to assess biological functions, and provide invaluable insights into human, animal, plant, and environmental health both on Earth and in Space. Despite the abundance of these valuable data, the need for bioinformatics expertise, particularly as it relates to the niche filed of space biology, and a lack of accessible resources for processing these data limit their usefulness in deriving biological insights. The NASA Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) provides access to omics data from various spaceflight and analog studies. To enhance the accessibility and reusability of these data, GeneLab (part of OSDR) designs and implements standardized, community-driven, open-source bioinformatics workflows to transform raw omics data into standardized processed data. Currently, GeneLab-processed data from hundreds of space studies have been reused for meta-analyses. This has led to new insights and scientific publications that extend beyond the initial research, thereby enriching our understanding of molecular-scale biological responses to the space environment. To make these bioinformatics workflows open and accessible, GeneLab teamed up with DOE-funded initiatives, including the National Microbiome Data Collaborative (NMDC), to create the NASA EDGE [Empowering the Development of Genomics Expertise] Bioinformatics web-based platform. NASA EDGE utilizes shared compute resources to run the GeneLab standardized bioinformatics workflows, which eliminates the need for researchers to have their own high performance computing cluster. The web-based platform makes complicated biological analyses incredibly easy to perform, thus expanding the reach of these analyses to bioinformatics novices, students, and even citizen scientists enabling them to contribute to scientific discoveries and progress. The authors will demonstrate how the NASA EDGE platform can be used to process microbial omics data hosted on OSDR as well as user-generated omics datasets using GeneLab’s standard workflows.

Amanda M. Saravia-Butler↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Model-Specific Metadata for Enhancing Space Science Models

The Space Weather and Heliophysics modeling community, supported by the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC, https://ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov), provides a collaborative platform for space weather models and data. Flexible metadata is vital for advancing scientific research and fostering collaboration. Our work in expressing complex simulations of the Space Weather Modeling Framework (SWMF), particularly Global Magnetosphere (GM) grid components, in terms of simple metadata records shows great promise in creating searchable and reusable units of knowledge. Such records can be readily utilized to support the process of scientific discovery, closely aligning with the goals outlined in the Open Science initiative. Our primary goal is to show the scalability and benefits of metadata-focused methodologies. This presentation highlights the potential for applying metadata methodologies to other complex models, improving usability, supplying efficient documentation and fostering interdisciplinary research.

space weather↗

DOE OSTI2020

U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science Biological and Environmental Research (BER) Brochure

The Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program advances fundamental research and scientific user facilities to support Department of Energy (DOE) missions in scientific discovery and innovation, energy security, and environmental responsibility. BER seeks to understand the biological, biogeochemical, and physical principles needed to predict a continuum of processes occurring across scales, from molecular and genomics-controlled mechanisms at the smallest scales to environmental and Earth system change at the largest scales.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2020

Fuel Conversion Efforts at the High Flux Isotope Reactor – a 2020 Status Update

The High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) provides one of the world’s highest steady-state neutron fluxes in the world for neutron scattering experiments focused on impactful scientific discovery, as well as materials irradiation studies and production of medical, industrial, and research isotopes. Efforts are ongoing to convert HFIR from high-enriched uranium (HEU) to low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel while maintaining or enhancing current performance and safety margin, thus sustaining HFIR’s mission portfolio and reactor-based neutron science leadership. This paper presents a status update on the HFIR fuel conversion efforts.

Chandler, David↗

DOE OSTI2021

Fostering Remote Visualization: Experiences in Two Different HPC Sites

Visualization of scientific data is crucial for scientific discovery to gain insight into the results of simulations and experiments. Remote visualization is of crucial importance to access infrastructure, data and computational resources and, to avoid data movement from where data is produced and to where data will be analyzed. Remote visualization enables geographically diverse collaboration and enhances user experience through graphical user interfaces. This paper presents two approaches deployed by two different HPC centers: The SC3 - Supercomputación y Cálculo Científico Center in Colombia and the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility in USA. We overview our remote visualization experiences, adopted technologies, use cases, and challenges encountered. Our contribution is to signal the commonality between approaches in terms of the end goal, showing their fitness for their contexts, while not focusing only on attempting to provide a general picture of remote visualization, given the differences between centers in terms of purposes, needs, resources, and national impact.

Gelvez Cortes, Sergio Augusto↗

DOE OSTI2021

Preparing an Incompressible-Flow Fluid Dynamics Code for Exascale-Class Wind Energy Simulations: Preprint

The US Department of Energy has identified Exascale-Class wind farm simulation tools as critical to wind energy scientific discovery. A primary objective of the Exawind project is to build high-performance, predictive Computational Fluid Dynamics tools that satisfy these modeling needs. GPU accelerators will serve as the computational thoroughbreds of next generation, Exascale-Class, platforms. Here, we report on our efforts for preparing the Exawind unstructured mesh solver, Nalu-Wind, for Exascale-Class machines. For computing at this scale, a simple port of the incompressible-flow algorithms to GPUs is not sufficient. One needs novel algorithms that are application aware, memory efficient, and optimized for latest generation GPU devices to get high-performance. The result of our efforts are unstructured mesh simulations of wind turbines that use 1/6 the compute resources of Summit supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Lab. In particular, we demonstrate a first-of-its-kind, simulation using Algebraic Multigrid solvers on over 4000 GPUs.

algebraic multigrid↗

DOE OSTI2021

hls4ml: An Open-Source Codesign Workflow to Empower Scientific Low-Power Machine Learning Devices

Accessible machine learning algorithms, software, and diagnostic tools for energy-efficient devices and systems are extremely valuable across a broad range of application domains. In scientific domains, real-time near-sensor processing can drastically improve experimental design and accelerate scientific discoveries. To support domain scientists, we have developed hls4ml, an open-source software-hardware codesign workflow to interpret and translate machine learning algorithms for implementation with both FPGA and ASIC technologies. We expand on previous hls4ml work by extending capabilities and techniques towards low-power implementations and increased usability: new Python APIs, quantization-aware pruning, end-to-end FPGA workflows, long pipeline kernels for low power, and new device backends include an ASIC workflow. Taken together, these and continued efforts in hls4ml will arm a new generation of domain scientists with accessible, efficient, and powerful tools for machine-learning-accelerated discovery.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2022

Irradiation Facilities and Irradiation Methods for High Power Target

High Power Target systems are key elements in future neutrino and other rare particle production in accelerators. These systems transform an intense source of protons into secondary particles of interest to enable new scientific discoveries. As beam intensity and energies increase, target systems face significant challenges. Radiation damages and thermal shocks in target materials were identified as the leading cross-cutting challenges of high-power target facilities. Target material R&D to address these challenges are essential to enable and ensure reliable operation of future-generation accelerators. Irradiation facilities and alternative methods are critical to provide a full support of material R&D and better address these critical challenges.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Report of the Instrumentation Frontier Working Group for Snowmass 2021

Detector instrumentation is at the heart of scientific discoveries. Cutting edge technologies enable US particle physics to play a leading role worldwide. This report summarizes the current status of instrumentation for High Energy Physics (HEP), the challenges and needs of future experiments and indicates high priority research areas. The Snowmass Instrumentation Frontier studies detector technologies and Research and Development (R&D) needed for future experiments in collider physics, neutrino physics, rare and precision physics and at the cosmic frontier. It is divided into more or less diagonal areas with some overlap among a few of them. We lay out five high-level key messages that are geared towards ensuring the health and competitiveness of the US detector instrumentation community, and thus the entire particle physics landscape.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2022

Report of the Instrumentation Frontier Working Group for Snowmass 2021

Detector instrumentation is at the heart of scientific discoveries. Cutting edge technologies enable US particle physics to play a leading role worldwide. This report summarizes the current status of instrumentation for High Energy Physics (HEP), the challenges and needs of future experiments and indicates high priority research areas. The Snowmass Instrumentation Frontier studies detector technologies and Research and Development (R&D) needed for future experiments in collider physics, neutrino physics, rare and precision physics and at the cosmic frontier. It is divided into more or less diagonal areas with some overlap among a few of them. We lay out five high-level key messages that are geared towards ensuring the health and competitiveness of the US detector instrumentation community, and thus the entire particle physics landscape.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗