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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 505 records · Page 28
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

VIPER: Pathfinding Lunar Resource Understanding

With the Artemis Program, NASA plans to return humans to the Moon to stay. To help support extended stays on the moon, use of local materials -so-called in-situ resources could be invaluable. Since the moon’s polar regions have confirmed the presence of volatiles, as revealed by LCROSS, LRO and other lunar missions, the next step is to understand the nature and distribution of those candidate resources and how they might be extracted. Recent studies have even indicated that if those volatiles are practically available for harvesting, they could be processed into propellants and human life-support resources, significantly aiding in sustaining humans on the Moon, and eventually and later to sup-port missions to Mars.

Daniel Andrews↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Sustainable Ozone & Aerosol Measurements from a 6U CubeSat: The Stratospheric Aerosol & Gas Experiment (SAGE) IV Pathfinder

The Clean Air Act mandates NASA to monitor atmospheric ozone.Stratospheric aerosols and ozone are Targeted Observables under the 2017 Decadal Survey. NASA LaRC has been the Center of expertise for ozone and stratospheric aerosol science over four decades through the development, launch, and operation of four Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) instruments.SAGE III is the calibration standard for multiple ozone-measuring instruments. SAGE III continues to be very successful through almost three years of Phase E operations/science data collection for a nominal 3-year mission (launched February 19, 2017).

Michael Drew Obland↗
NASA NTRS1993

Mars Microrover For Mesur Pathfinder

The advent of spacecraft miniaturization promises a new generation of affordable planetary missions; they will be more cost effective - by one to two orders of magniture - than those of traditional design.

Mars↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Dione: A Pathfinder Mission for Understanding the Iono-sphere-Thermosphere Responses to Magnetospheric Forcing

Dione is a NASA small satellite prototype for future constellations that in different configurations will provide global and localized measurements of Ionosphere-Thermosphere responses to Magnetospheric energy input in a variety of scales, enabling their better forecast and prediction. This is done with a comprehensive sensor package which includes four instruments: a miniaturized fluxgate magnetometer providing magnetic field measurements with two sensor heads, an ion sensor that measures vector plasma drifts and deduce the in-situ electric fields, an electrostatic analyzer that measures precipitating electrons and up-going secondary electrons, and a neutral mass spectrometer measuring total neutral density and composition. Dione is 3-axis stabilized in a circular low-earth (400-600 km), high-inclination orbit, traversing the auroral precipitation and high latitude currents in every orbit. This paper focuses on the mission-level architecture, but provides contextual information on the science objectives, instruments, and space-craft.

Jaime Esper↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The NASA Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) Flight Demonstration: A Technology Pathfinder for Practical Smallsat Solar Sailing

NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) is developing a new generation of compactly packageable composite booms designed specifically for small spacecraft applications where volumes for deployable structures are limited. NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) will be the first spaceflight application of this boom technology. ACS3 will also be NASA’s first practical solar sail. Objectives of the ACS3 project are to deploy an 80 m2composite boom solar sail in low Earth orbit, and as an extended goal, demonstrate controlled solar sailing flight, including orbit raising and lowering. An overview of the ACS3 project and objectives, including descriptions of ACS3’s solar sail structures and materials technology, 12U CubeSat spacecraft systems, and flight concept of operations, is provided here. Scalability of the ACS3 solar sail to future, near-term smallsat solar sailing mission requirements will also be discussed. Launch of ACS3 is currently anticipated for mid to late 2022.

Keats Wilkie↗