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At least 577 records · Page 32

Physical and biological studies with protons and HZE particles in a NASA supported research center in radiation health

NASA has established and supports a specialized center for research and training (NSCORT) to specifically address the potential deleterious effects of HZE particles on human health. The NSCORT in radiation health is a joint effort between Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and Colorado State University (CSU). The overall scope of research encompasses a broad range of subjects from microdosimetric studies to cellular and tissue responses to initial damage produced by highly energetic protons and heavy charged particles of the type found in galactic cosmic rays (GCR) spectrum. The objectives of the microdosimetry studies are to determine the response of Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter (TEPC) to cosmic rays using ground based accelerators. This includes evaluation of energy loss due to the escape of high-energy delta rays and increased energy deposition due to the enhanced delta ray production in the wall of the detector. In this report major results are presented for 56Fe at 1000, 740, 600 and 400 MeV/nucleon. An assessment of DNA repair and early development of related chromosomal changes is extremely important to our overall understanding of enhanced biological effectiveness of high LET particle radiation. Results are presented with respect to the fidelity of the rejoining of double strand breaks and the implications of misrejoining. The relationship between molecular and cytogenetic measurements is presented by studying damage processing in highly heterochromatic supernumerary (correction of sypernumerary) X chromosomes and the active X-chromosome. One of the important consequences of cell's inability to handle DNA damage can be evaluated through mutation studies. Part of our goal is the assessment of potential radioprotectors to reduce the mutation yield following HZE exposures, and some promising results are presented on one compound. A second goal is the integration of DNA repair and mutation studies. Results are presented on a direct comparison of initial double strand breaks induction, the time course and fidelity of double strand break rejoining, cell killing and mutation induction in the same human model system. In order to understand the carcinogenic potential of protons and HZE particles, the role of damaged microenvironment in this process must be understood. In this project it has been postulated that radiation affects the microenvironment, which then modifies cell interactions in a manner conducive to neoplastic progression. Both TGF-beta and FGF-2 are important components of microenvironment. A recent result on the assessment of the role of FGF-2 and its cross-talk with TGF-beta as a function of radiation quality is presented. Theoretical modeling has so far played a central role in analyzing and integrating experimental data on repair and mutation studies and predicting new phenomena. The integrated NSCORT program also provides a broad training experience for students and postdoctoral fellows in space radiation health.

NASA Discipline Radiation Health↗

Advanced Microgravity Acceleration Measurement Systems (AMAMS) Being Developed

The Advanced Microgravity Acceleration Measurement Systems (AMAMS) project is part of NASA s Instrument Technology Development program to develop advanced sensor systems. The primary focus of the AMAMS project is to develop microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for acceleration sensor systems to replace existing electromechanical sensor systems presently used to assess relative gravity levels aboard spacecraft. These systems are used to characterize both vehicle and payload responses to low-gravity vibroacoustic environments. The collection of microgravity acceleration data is useful to the microgravity life sciences, microgravity physical sciences, and structural dynamics communities. The inherent advantages of semiconductor-based systems are reduced size, mass, and power consumption, with enhanced long-term calibration stability.

Sicker, Ronald J.↗

Space Launch System: SLS Real Time Rollout Monitoring for MPCV

The NASA Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, Orion spacecraft, and Mobile Launcher (ML) are transported to Pad 39B from the Vehicle Assembly Building on a large, tracked vehicle known as the Crawler Transporter (CT). The CT is a holdover from the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs but has been extensively upgraded to accommodate the SLS. The Dynamic Rollout Test (DRT) on March 17, 2022 marked the first full rollout of the SLS and ML. Analysis indicated that loads and vibrations would be well below design limits, but out of an abundance of caution it was decided to monitor the response in real time during the rollout to assure that loads remained within predicted limits. This first rollout was outfitted with extensive test instrumentation such as accelerometers, pressure sensors, and strain gauges. This instrumentation remained in place following the integrated vehicle modal test and was being used for additional Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) during the rollout in addition to the real-time monitoring. This presentation discusses the specific loads and accelerations monitored during the rollout, how and why those responses were chosen, and how the system was implemented. Finally, a post-rollout loads reconstruction is used to assess the process and the analysis tools used for the rollout analysis.

SLS↗

Responses of blind fish to gravitational changes as achieved in parabolic flight

Blind fish, during parabolic flight, display a measurable and consistent behavior. The most spectacular new behavioral response is the forward looping of blind fish in or near weightlessness. This response shows no measurable adaptation during the entire period of weightlessness of about 30 sec. During the entrance and exit of weightless parabolas (pushover and pullout) respectively, the fish assumes a forward tilted diving position. Parabolic flight with negative g in the range between 0g and -1g causes similar diving responses of the fish with the only difference being that the dive is directed toward the top of the fish tank. When the response to a g value less than 1g is compared to the response to increased g load on the ground (escape of darting response) an essential difference is seen: higher horizontal acceleration or jerk on the ground causes fish to swim, or even dart, against the direction of inertial force; fish during weightless parabolas move into the direction of the inertial or gravitational force. Since the vestibular system of fish is homologous to that of man, the observed behavior of fish in weightless flight could help to better understand human performance and sensations in comparable situations.

Vonbaumgarten, R. J.↗

Vibrations measured in the passenger cabins of two jet transport aircraft

Accelerations in the lateral and vertical directions were measured at two locations on the floor of a three-jet-engine aircraft and at two locations on the floor of a two-jet-engine aircraft during a total of 13 flights, each of which included taxiing, takeoff, ascent, cruise, descent, and landing. Accelerations over the frequency range 0 to 25 Hz were recorded continuously on magnetic tape and were synchronized with the VGH recorders in the aircraft so that vibratory accelerations could be correlated with the operating conditions of the aircraft. From the results it was indicated that the methodology used in segmenting the data, which were obtained in a continuous and repetitive manner, contributes to establishing baseline data representative of the flight characteristics of aircraft. Significant differences among flight conductions were found to occur. The lateral accelerations were approximately 15 percent of the vertical accelerations during flight but as much as 50 to 100 percent of the vertical accelerations during ground operations. The variation between the responses of the two aircraft was not statistically significant. The results also showed that more than 90 percent of the vibratory energy measured during flight occurred in the 0- to 3.0-Hz frequency range. Generally, the vibration amplitudes were normally distributed.

Catherines, J. J.↗

Air transport flight parameter measurements program - Concepts and benefits

A program is described in which statistical flight loads and operating practice data for both narrow- and wide-body airline transport aircraft, intended primarily for use by manufacturers in updating design criteria, are obtained from existing, on-board digital flight data recorders. Procedures for editing and processing the data are explained, and differences between these and past NACA/NASA analog data are discussed. One major such difference is the automatic bandpass filtering of normal acceleration data to separate high-frequency gust response from low-frequency maneuver response. Plans and preliminary efforts for the development of an on-board data processing system, able to derive statistical aircraft operating parameters directly from real-time data, are also reviewed.

Morris, G. J.↗

Large sounding rockets as a base for probing the distant magnetosphere

The Echo program's use of large sounding rockets to inject electron beams into the outer trapping region where the earth's plasma sheet interacts with the inner magnetosphere is discussed. The beams pass through the plasma sheet and the trapping region, reflect at the southern hemisphere conjugate point and return to the vicinity of the rocket where they are detected and analyzed for acceleration and diffusion processes which may also be responsible for the radiation belts. The motion of electron beams in the magnetosphere is discussed from the standpoint of single particle motion, and the trajectories of electrons injected with known energy, known angle between the electron velocity vector and the local magnetic field vector, and known position are examined. The interaction between the rocket motion and the electron drift motion is described, and the advantages and drawbacks of beam detection by optical methods and by throwaway detectors are compared. Planned Echo experiments using the Space Shuttle are discussed

Winckler, J. R.↗

Current status of the dissipative thermal model for solar hard X-ray bursts

The existing dissipative thermal models for hard X-ray bursts are briefly examined, and it is shown that the model with additional acceleration is the best candidate for explaining the whole hard X-ray burst. In both phases, but especially in the thermal phase, the plasma beta approaches unity, and two-dimensional modeling of the hydrodynamics is required. Following the accelerated electrons only, without taking into account the response of the bulk of the plasma, is inadequate. It is suggested that a useful approach might be a multifluid one using approximately 15 fluids with the possibility of transfer between fluids in one and two dimensions. It is concluded that, while the model is a promising one, many details remain to be worked out.

Smith, D. F.↗

Analytical investigation of the dynamics of tethered constellations in Earth orbit, phase 2

A control law was developed to control the elevator during short-distance maneuvers along the tether of a 4-mass tethered system. This control law (called retarded exponential or RE) was analyzed parametrically in order to assess which control parameters provide a good dynamic response and a smooth time history of the acceleration on board the elevator. The short-distance maneuver under investigation consists of a slow crawling of the elevator over the distance of 10 m that represents a typical maneuver for fine tuning the acceleration level on board the elevator. The contribution of aerodynamic and thermal perturbations upon acceleration levels was also evaluated and acceleration levels obtained when such pertubations are taken into account were compared to those obtained by neglecting the thermal and aerodynamic forces. In addition, the preparation of a tether simulation questionnaire is illustrated. Analytic solutions to be compared to numerical cases and simulator test cases are also discussed.

Lorenzini, Enrico C.↗

Conservatism implications of shock test tailoring for multiple design environments

A method for analyzing shock conservation in test specifications that have been tailored to qualify a structure for multiple design environments is discussed. Shock test conservation is qualified for shock response spectra, shock intensity spectra and ranked peak acceleration data in terms of an Index of Conservation (IOC) and an Overtest Factor (OTF). The multi-environment conservation analysis addresses the issue of both absolute and average conservation. The method is demonstrated in a case where four laboratory tests have been specified to qualify a component which must survive seven different field environments. Final judgment of the tailored test specification is shown to require an understanding of the predominant failure modes of the test item.

Baca, Thomas J.↗

Computational aspects of sensitivity calculations in linear transient structural analysis

The calculation of sensitivities of displacements, velocities, accelerations, and stresses in linear, structural, and transient response problems is studied. Several existing sensitivity calculation methods and two new methods are compared for three example problems. Approximation vectors such as vibration mode shapes are used to reduce the dimensionality of the finite model. To be computationally practical in large-order problems, the overall finite difference methods must use the approximation vectors from the original design in the analyses of the perturbed models. This was found to result in poor convergence of stress sensitivities in several cases. Two semianalytical techniques are developed to overcome this poor convergence. Both new methods result in very good convergence of the stress sensitivities; the computational cost is much less than would result if the vibration modes were recalculated and then used in an overall finite difference method.

Greene, W. H.↗

Regolith-structure modeling

Early lunar missions have provided a basic understanding of the physical and strength properties of lunar regolith, which have been shown to differ from those of dry terrestrial granular soils. Lunar regolith is predominantly a fine sand of which nearly 40 percent can be characterized as silt with a particle size smaller than 100 micrometers. The top 10 to 20 cm of the regolith can be characterized as being in a loose to medium-loose state. The density of the regolith, however, rapidly increases below a depth of 20 cm. The highly irregular and angular shapes of the regolith particles tend to interlock and create relatively strong mechanical bonds that give the particulate mass substantial cohesive properties and smaller amounts of tensile strength properties. In addition, the friction angle of lunar regolith at medium to high densities is quite high and often exceeds 55 degrees. These known properties of lunar regolith have been matched in a terrestrially-manufactured analog known as Minnesota Lunar Simulant. A variety of experiments were conducted using this simulant to both verify existing information and generate new information on the physical and constitutive properties of lunar regolith. These experiments include maximum and minimum density determinations, specific mass of solids, grain-size distribution, conventional triaxial compression and extension, isotropic compression, one-dimensional compression, direct shear, and direct tension. Direct shear experiments were conducted under atmospheric and vacuum conditions. Results of the physical and strength experiments compare closely to results obtained from lunar missions. Results of simulant strength experiments performed in vacuum indicated no observable difference from results obtained in air. A test bed currently under study is one involving a regolith shield covering a first-generation human habitat module. It is understood that regolith in depths ranging from 3 to 5 meters is required for radiation shielding for habitation and workspace. The habitat module is treated as a rigid cylindrical tube with a smooth exterior. By making the cylinder rigid, a complex interaction problem is reduced to a situation where we can consider the support regolith and the shielding regolith as behaving independently of the structural properties of the cylindrical structure. Medium-dense lunar simulant was placed around a scaled model of the habitat module to provide a radiation shield. This embankment-type shield was constructed in relatively thin but fine layers by compacting, by mechanical vibratory means, layer upon layer of simulant placed adjacent to the horizontally-aligned cylinder. The slope angles were constructed at 55 degrees. The model described above was studied in a geotechnical centrifuge, which allows for the scaling of model dimensions to prototype dimensions by increasing the acceleration of gravity on the model. The deformation response can be scaled up to prototype dimensions to provide an assessment of the deformation patterns of the lunar structure. The actual process of local and/or global growth of instabilities or skip planes can also be observed.

Ko, Hon-Yim↗

Noble gases in ancient asteroidal atmospheres

Analytical and numerical results presented here suggest that acceleration of photoions by the solar wind motional field is a significant loss process for Xe on asteroids about 200 km in radius or larger, if the Xe is thermalized by its interactions with the surface. For Ar, photoion acceleration can only become important for asteroids nearly 500 km in radius. Thus photoion acceleration, previously invoked for lunar samples, could be responsible for excess fission-produced Xe found associated with solar wind Xe in howarditic meteorites. The lack of such Xe in other types of meteorites may reflect either smaller parent bodies or later times of regolith exposure. Similarly, the failure to observe solar-wind-associated radiogenic Ar-40 in meteorites is consistent with the much smaller likelihood that Ar will be photoionized.

Swindle, Timothy D.↗

Nonthermal radio emission associated with a coronal disconnection event

We have found possible radio signatures of a coronal disconnection event observed by the Solar Maximum Mission Coronagraph/Polarimeter. The radio emission seems to be produced by charged particles accelerated during the same reconnection process which is responsible for the disconnection event. We discuss the implications of the radio emission characteristics to the reconnection process.

Gopalswamy, N.↗

What Drives the Outflows in Broad Absorption Line QSOs?

We have made progress in the areas related to the propulsion and confinement of gas responsible for broad absorption troughts in QSOs: Radiative Acceleration in BALQSOs; The "Ghost" of Lyman (alpha); and Magnetic Confinement of Absorbing Gas.

Begelman, Mitchell C.↗

Effects of Radiation on Rat Retina after 18 days of Space Flight

Although cumulative effects an retina from low-dose radiation during prolonged spaceflight are not known, ary impairment of vision could set limits for spaceflight duration. Cosmic rays are now considered to be the cause of the "light flashes" seen during spaceflight by activating retina cells as they pass through the photoreceptors. Previous studies have also shown retinal cellular alterations and cell necrosis from high-energy, particle (HZE) radiation. Ten rats, 5 centrifuged during flight (FC) to simulate gravity and 5 in-flight stationary (FS) experiencing hypogravity, orbited Earth for 18.5 days on Cosmos 936. The animals were sacrificed 25 days post-recovery and the eyes flown to Ames Res. Ctr. The pattern of cell necrosis in the retinas from the FC group showed the same response to radiation as the FS. This would indicate that hypogravity was not a factor in the observed results. Also the cellular response in the retinas exposed in the Berkeley accelerator again matched both the FC and FS eyes. Thus all three conditions provide comparable changes and indicate HZE particles as the possible cause of the cellular alterations, channels, and breakdown.

Philpott, D.↗

Development of an in-vitro circulatory system with known resistance and capacitance

An in-vitro (hydrodynamic) model of the circulatory system was developed. The model consisted of a pump, compliant tubing, and valves for resistance. The model is used to simulate aortic pressure and flow. These parameters were measured using a Konigsburg Pressure transducer and a Triton ART2 flow probe. In addition, venous pressure and flow were measured on the downstream side of the resistance. The system has a known compliance and resistance. Steady and pulsatile flow tests were conducted to determine the resistance of the model. A static compliance test was used to determine the compliance of the system. The aortic pressure and flow obtained from the hydrodynamic model will be used to test the accuracy of parameter estimation models such as the 2-element and 4-element Windkessel models and the 3-element Westkessel model. Verifying analytical models used in determining total peripheral resistance (TPR) and systemic arterial compliance (SAC) is important because it provides insight into hemodynamic parameters that indicate baroreceptor responsiveness to situations such as changes in gravitational acceleration.

NASA Discipline Cardiopulmonary↗