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NASA NTRS2005

Interstellar PAH Analogs in the Laboratory: Comparison with Astronomical Data

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are an important and ubiquitous component of carbon-bearing materials in space. PAHs are the best-known candidates to account for the IR emission bands (UIR bands) and PAH spectral features are now being used as new probes of the ISM. PAHs are also thought to be among the carriers of the diffuse interstellar absorption bands (DIBs). In the model dealing with the interstellar spectral features, PAHs are present as a mixture of radicals, ions and neutral species. PAH ionization states reflect the ionization balance of the medium while PAH size, composition, and structure reflect the energetic and chemical history of the medium. A major challenge for laboratory astrophysics is to reproduce (in a realistic way) the physical conditions that exist in the emission and/or absorption interstellar zones. An extensive laboratory program has been developed at NASA Ames to assess the physical and chemical properties of PAHs in such environments and to describe how they influence the radiation and energy balance in space and the interstellar chemistry. In particular, laboratory experiments provide measurements of the spectral characteristics of interstellar PAH analogs from the ultraviolet and visible range to the infrared range for comparison with astronomical data. This paper will focus on the recent progress made in the laboratory to measure the direct absorption spectra of neutral and ionized PAHs in the near-UV and visible range. Intrinsic band profiles and band positions of cold gas-phase PAHs can now be measured with high-sensitivity spectroscopy and directly compared to the astronomical data. Preliminary conclusions from the comparison of the laboratory data with astronomical observations will also be presented.

Salama, Farid↗
NASA NTRS2005

Comparison of Grammar-Based and Statistical Language Models Trained on the Same Data

This paper presents a methodologically sound comparison of the performance of grammar-based (GLM) and statistical-based (SLM) recognizer architectures using data from the Clarissa procedure navigator domain. The Regulus open source packages make this possible with a method for constructing a grammar-based language model by training on a corpus. We construct grammar-based and statistical language models from the same corpus for comparison, and find that the grammar-based language models provide better performance in this domain. The best SLM version has a semantic error rate of 9.6%, while the best GLM version has an error rate of 6.0%. Part of this advantage is accounted for by the superior WER and Sentence Error Rate (SER) of the GLM (WER 7.42% versus 6.27%, and SER 12.41% versus 9.79%). The rest is most likely accounted for by the fact that the GLM architecture is able to use logical-form-based features, which permit tighter integration of recognition and semantic interpretation.

Hockey, Beth Ann↗
NASA NTRS2005

Magnetic and Electrical Characteristics of Cobalt-Based Amorphous Materials and Comparison to a Permalloy Type Polycrystalline Material

Magnetic component designers are always looking for improved soft magnetic core materials to increase the efficiency, temperature rating and power density of transformers, motors, generators and alternators, and energy density of inductors. In this paper, we report on the experimental investigation of commercially available cobalt-based amorphous alloys which, in their processing, were subjected to two different types of magnetic field anneals: A longitudinal magnetic field anneal or a transverse magnetic field anneal. The longitudinal field annealed material investigated was Metglas 2714A. The electrical and magnetic characteristics of this material were investigated over the frequency range of 1 to 200 kHz and temperature range of 23 to 150 C for both sine and square wave voltage excitation. The specific core loss was lower for the square than the sine wave voltage excitation for the same maximum flux density, frequency and temperature. The transverse magnetic field annealed core materials include Metglas 2714AF and Vacuumschmelze 6025F. These two materials were experimentally characterized over the frequency range of 10 to 200 kHz for sine wave voltage excitation and 23 C only. A comparison of the 2174A to 2714AF found that 2714AF always had lower specific core loss than 2714A for any given magnetic flux density and frequency and the ratio of specific core loss of 2714A to 2714AF was dependent on both magnetic flux density and frequency. A comparison was also made of the 2714A, 2714AF, and 6025F materials to two different tape thicknesses of the polycrystalline Supermalloy material and the results show that 2714AF and 6025F have the lowest specific core loss at 100 kHz over the magnetic flux density range of 0.1 to 0.4 Tesla.

Wieserman, William R.↗
NASA NTRS2006

RSA/Legacy Wind Sensor Comparison: Western Range - Part 1

This report describes a comparison of data from ultrasonic and cup-and-vane anemometers on 5 wind towers at Vandenberg AFB. The ultrasonic sensors are scheduled to replace the Legacy cup-and-vane sensors under the Range Standardization and Automation (RSA) program. Because previous studies have noted differences between peak wind speeds reported by mechanical and ultrasonic wind sensors, the latter having no moving parts, the 30th and 45th Weather Squadrons wanted to understand possible differences between the two sensor types. The period-of-record was 13-30 May 2005. A total of 153,961 readings of I-minute average and peak wind speed/direction from each sensor type were used. Statistics of differences in speed and direction were used to identify 18 out of 34 RSA sensors having the most consistent performance, with respect to the Legacy sensors. Data from these 18 were used to form a composite comparison. A small positive bias in the composite RSA average wind speed increased from +0.5 kts at 15 kts, to +1 kt at 25 kts. A slightly larger positive bias in the RSA peak wind speed increased from +1 kt at 15 kts, to +2 kts at 30 kts.

Short, David A.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Comparisons of Temporal and Spatial Trends in the Spatially Complete Global Spectral Surface Albedos Products

Five years of spatially complete snow-free land surface albedo data have been prepared using high quality white-sky and black-sky land surface albedo observations (MOD43B3) from the MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite platform. The data were generated using an updated ecosystem-dependent temporal interpolation technique. In this paper, we describe the refinements in the technique and the creation of a spatially complete snow-free five-year aggregate climatology product. This paper also describes an error analysis of the interpolation technique. The filled albedo products are examined through comparisons of temporal and spatial trends for pixels that have been filled versus pixels that have been retained in the original MOD43B3 values. The variability in the trends showcase how the filling technique maintains the pixel-level spatial, spectral, and temporal integrity of the MOD43B3 data. These comparisons are made for both a single-year of filled data, year 2002, and for the five-year aggregate climatology product.

Moody, Eric G.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Comparison of a Simple Patched Conic Trajectory Code to Commercially Available Software

Often in spaceflight proposal development, mission designers must eva luate numerous trajectories as different design factors are investiga ted. Although there are numerous commercial software packages availab le to help develop and analyze trajectories, most take a significant amount of time to develop the trajectory itself, which isn't effectiv e when working on proposals. Thus a new code, PatCon, which is both q uick and easy to use, was developed to aid mission designers to condu ct trade studies on launch and arrival times for any given target pla net. The code is able to run quick analyses, due to the incorporation of the patched conic approximation, to determine the trajectory. PatCon provides a simple but accurate approximation of the four body moti on problem that would be needed to solve any planetary trajectory. P atCon has been compared to a patched conic test case for verification, with limited validation or comparison with other COTS software. This paper describes the patched conic technique and its implementation i n PatCon. A description of the results and comparison of PatCon to ot her more evolved codes such as AGI#s Satellite Tool Kit and JAQAR As trodynamics# Swingby Calculator is provided. The results will include percent differences in values such as C3 numbers, and Vinfinity at a rrival, and other more subjective results such as the time it takes to build the simulation, and actual calculation time.

AndersonPark, Brooke M.↗
NASA NTRS2006

An Overview of Inter-comparison Methodologies for Terra and Aqua MODIS Calibration

With increasing efforts on data fusion and long-term climate data records (CDR) using observations made by multiple sensors, on the same or different platforms, their cross-calibration and validation work has become more and more important. The uncertainties of the climate models and data records depend not only on the calibration quality of individual sensors but also on their calibration consistency. This paper provides an overview of methodologies used by the MODIS Characterization Support Team (MCST) at NASA GSFC for the inter-comparison studies of Terra and Aqua MODIS on-orbit calibration. Each MODIS was built with a set of onboard calibrators (OBC) that include a blackbody (BB), a solar diffuser (SD), and a solar diffuser stability monitor (SDSM). The BB is primarily used for the thermal emissive bands (TEB) calibration and the SD/SDSM system for the reflective solar bands (RSB) calibration. Although the-instrument design and calibration approach are nearly identical for both Terra and Aqua MODIS and they all went through an extensive and similar pre-launch calibration and characterization process, still their on-orbit calibration consistency needs to be carefully examined and validated as many science products have been generated from observations made by both instruments. Methodologies discussed in this paper include inter-comparison studies using the Moon, a third sensor, and ground targets. Our results show that Terra and Aqua reflective solar bands and thermal emissive bands have been calibrated consistently with excellent long-term stabilities. For the 11 and 12 micrometers sea surface temperature (SST) bands, the calibration difference of Terra and Aqua MODIS is less than 0.2K.

Xiong, X.↗
NASA NTRS2007

RF and Optical Communications: A Comparison of High Data Rate Returns From Deep Space in the 2020 Timeframe

As NASA proceeds with plans for increased science data return and higher data transfer capacity for science missions, both RF and optical communications are viable candidates for significantly higher-rate communications from deep space to Earth. With the inherent advantages, smaller apertures and larger bandwidths, of optical communications, it is reasonable to expect that at some point in time and combination of increasing distance and data rate, the rapidly emerging optical capabilities would become more advantageous than the more mature and evolving RF techniques. This paper presents a comparison of the burden to a spacecraft by both RF and optical communications systems for data rates of 10, 100, and 1000 Mbps and large distances. Advanced technology for RF and optical communication systems have been considered for projecting capabilities in the 2020 timeframe. For the comparisons drawn, the optical and RF ground terminals were selected to be similar in cost. The RF system selected is composed of forty-five 12-meter antennas, whereas the selected optical system is equivalent to a 10-meter optical telescope. Potential differences in availability are disregarded since the focus of this study is on spacecraft mass and power burden for high-rate mission data, under the assumption that essential communications will be provided by low-rate, high availability RF. For both the RF and optical systems, the required EIRP, for a given data rate and a given distance, was achieved by a design that realized the lowest possible communications subsystem mass (power + aperture) consistent with achieving the lowest technology risk. A key conclusion of this paper is that optical communications has great potential for high data rates and distances of 2.67 AU and beyond, but requires R&D and flight demonstrations to prove out technologies.

Williams, W. Dan↗
NASA NTRS2007

A Comparison of Two Skip Entry Guidance Algorithms

The Orion capsule vehicle will have a Lift-to-Drag ratio (L/D) of 0.3-0.35. For an Apollo-like direct entry into the Earth's atmosphere from a lunar return trajectory, this L/D will give the vehicle a maximum range of about 2500 nm and a maximum crossrange of 216 nm. In order to y longer ranges, the vehicle lift must be used to loft the trajectory such that the aerodynamic forces are decreased. A Skip-Trajectory results if the vehicle leaves the sensible atmosphere and a second entry occurs downrange of the atmospheric exit point. The Orion capsule is required to have landing site access (either on land or in water) inside the Continental United States (CONUS) for lunar returns anytime during the lunar month. This requirement means the vehicle must be capable of flying ranges of at least 5500 nm. For the L/D of the vehicle, this is only possible with the use of a guided Skip-Trajectory. A skip entry guidance algorithm is necessary to achieve this requirement. Two skip entry guidance algorithms have been developed: the Numerical Skip Entry Guidance (NSEG) algorithm was developed at NASA/JSC and PredGuid was developed at Draper Laboratory. A comparison of these two algorithms will be presented in this paper. Each algorithm has been implemented in a high-fidelity, 6 degree-of-freedom simulation called the Advanced NASA Technology Architecture for Exploration Studies (ANTARES). NASA and Draper engineers have completed several monte carlo analyses in order to compare the performance of each algorithm in various stress states. Each algorithm has been tested for entry-to-target ranges to include direct entries and skip entries of varying length. Dispersions have been included on the initial entry interface state, vehicle mass properties, vehicle aerodynamics, atmosphere, and Reaction Control System (RCS). Performance criteria include miss distance to the target, RCS fuel usage, maximum g-loads and heat rates for the first and second entry, total heat load, and control system saturation. The comparison of the performance criteria has led to a down select and guidance merger that will take the best ideas from each algorithm to create one skip entry guidance algorithm for the Orion vehicle.

Rea, Jeremy R.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Comparison of JPL and European Environmental Testing Standards

A comparison of JPL and European environmental testing standards is presented. The contents include: 1) JPL Environmental Testing Documents; 2) Focus of the Comparison; 3) Test Policy; 4) Documentation; 5) Programmatics; 6) Functional Testing; 7) Reporting; 8) Dynamics Test Levels, Durations, & Margins; 9) Thermal Test Levels, Durations, & Margins; and 10) EMC Test Levels, Durations, & Margins.

spacecraft↗
NASA NTRS2006

Comparisons of Remote Sensing Retrievals and in situ Measurements of Aerosol Fine Mode Fraction during ACE-Asia

We present sunphotometer-retrieved and in situ fine mode fractions (FMF) measured onboard the same aircraft during the ACE-Asia experiment. Comparisons indicate that the latter can be used to identify whether the aerosol under observation is dominated by a mixture of modes or a single mode. Differences between retrieved and in situ FMF range from 5-20%. When profiles contained multiple layers of aerosols, the retrieved and measured FMF were segregated by layers. The comparison of layered and total FMF from the same profile indicates that columnar values are intermediate to those derived from layers. As a result, a remotely sensed FMF cannot be used to distinguish whether the aerosol under observation is composed of layers each with distinctive modal features or all layers with the same modal features. Thus, the use of FMF in multiple layer environments does not provide unique information on the aerosol under observation.

Gasso, Santiago↗
NASA NTRS2007

Comparison of Cloud Properties from CALIPSO-CloudSat and Geostationary Satellite Data

Cloud properties are being derived in near-real time from geostationary satellite imager data for a variety of weather and climate applications and research. Assessment of the uncertainties in each of the derived cloud parameters is essential for confident use of the products. Determination of cloud amount, cloud top height, and cloud layering is especially important for using these real -time products for applications such as aircraft icing condition diagnosis and numerical weather prediction model assimilation. Furthermore, the distribution of clouds as a function of altitude has become a central component of efforts to evaluate climate model cloud simulations. Validation of those parameters has been difficult except over limited areas where ground-based active sensors, such as cloud radars or lidars, have been available on a regular basis. Retrievals of cloud properties are sensitive to the surface background, time of day, and the clouds themselves. Thus, it is essential to assess the geostationary satellite retrievals over a variety of locations. The availability of cloud radar data from CloudSat and lidar data from CALIPSO make it possible to perform those assessments over each geostationary domain at 0130 and 1330 LT. In this paper, CloudSat and CALIPSO data are matched with contemporaneous Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), Multi-functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT), and Meteosat-8 data. Unlike comparisons with cloud products derived from A-Train imagers, this study considers comparisons of nadir active sensor data with off-nadir retrievals. These matched data are used to determine the uncertainties in cloud-top heights and cloud amounts derived from the geostationary satellite data using the Clouds and the Earth s Radiant Energy System (CERES) cloud retrieval algorithms. The CERES multi-layer cloud detection method is also evaluated to determine its accuracy and limitations in the off-nadir mode. The results will be useful for constraining the use of the passive retrieval data in models and for improving the accuracy of the retrievals.

Nguyen, L.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Statistical Analyses of Satellite Cloud Object Data from CERES: Comparison with Cloud-Resolving Model Simulations of Tropical Convective Clouds - Part III

The present study evaluates the ability of a cloud-resolving model (CRM) to simulate the physical properties of tropical deep convective cloud objects identified from a Clouds and the Earth s Radiant Energy System (CERES) data product. The emphasis of this study is the comparisons among the small-, medium- and large-size categories of cloud objects observed during March 1998 and between the large-size categories of cloud objects observed during March 1998 (strong El Ni o) and March 2000 (weak La Ni a). Results from the CRM simulations are analyzed in a way that is consistent with the CERES retrieval algorithm and they are averaged to match the scale of the CERES satellite footprints. Cloud physical properties are analyzed in terms of their summary histograms for each category. It is found that there is a general agreement in the overall shapes of all cloud physical properties between the simulated and observed distributions. Each cloud physical property produced by the CRM also exhibits different degrees of disagreement with observations over different ranges of the property. The simulated cloud tops are generally too high and cloud top temperatures are too low except for the large-size category of March 1998. The probability densities of the simulated top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) albedos for all four categories are underestimated for high albedos, while those of cloud optical depth are overestimated at its lowest bin. These disagreements are mainly related to uncertainties in the cloud microphysics parameterization and inputs such as cloud ice effective size to the radiation calculation. Summary histograms of cloud optical depth and TOA albedo from the CRM simulations of the large-size category of cloud objects do not differ significantly between the March 1998 and 2000 periods, consistent with the CERES observations. However, the CRM is unable to reproduce the significant differences in the observed cloud top height while it overestimates the differences in the observed outgoing longwave radiation and cloud top temperature between the two periods. Comparisons between the CRM results and the observations for most parameters in March 1998 consistently show that both the simulations and observations have larger differences between the large- and small-size categories than between the large- and medium-size, or between the medium- and small-size categories. However, the simulated cloud properties do not change as much with size as observed. These disagreements are likely related to the spatial averaging of the forcing data and the mismatch in time and in space between the numerical weather prediction model from which the forcing data are produced and the CERES observed cloud systems.

Luo, Yali↗
NASA NTRS2008

A Comparison of Lightning Flashes as Observed by the Lightning Imaging Sensor and the North Alabama Lightning Mapping Array

The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) aboard the TRMM satellite has been collecting optical lightning data since November 1997. A Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) that senses VHF impulses from lightning was installed in North Alabama in the Fall of 2001. A dataset has been compiled to compare data from both instruments for all times when the LIS was passing over the domain of our LMA. We have algorithms for both instruments to group pixels or point sources into lightning flashes. This study presents the comparison statistics of the flash data output (flash duration, size, and amplitude) from both algorithms. We will present the results of this comparison study and show "point-level" data to explain the differences. AS we head closer to realizing a Global Lightning Mapper (GLM) on GOES-R, better understanding and ground truth of each of these instruments and their respective flash algorithms is needed.

Bateman, M. G.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Inter-Comparison of ILAS-II Version 1.4 Aerosol Extinction Coefficient at 780 nm with SAGE II, SAGE III, and POAM III Aerosol Data

The Improved Limb Atmospheric Spectrometer (ILAS) II on board the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS) II observed stratospheric aerosol in visible/near-infrared/infrared spectra over high latitudes in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Observations were taken intermittently from January to March, and continuously from April through October, 2003. We assessed the data quality of ILAS-II version 1.4 aerosol extinction coefficients at 780 nm from comparisons with the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) II, SAGE III, and the Polar Ozone and Aerosol Measurement (POAM) III aerosol data. At heights below 20 km in the Northern Hemisphere, aerosol extinction coefficients from ILAS-II agreed with those from SAGE II and SAGE III within 10%, and with those from POAM III within 15%. From 20 to 26 km, ILAS-II aerosol extinction coefficients were smaller than extinction coefficients from the other sensors; differences between ILAS-II and SAGE II ranged from 10% at 20 km to 34% at 26 km. ILAS-II aerosol extinction coefficients from 20 to 25 km in February over the Southern Hemisphere had a negative bias (12-66%) relative to SAGE II aerosol data. The bias increased with increasing altitude. Comparisons between ILAS-II and POAM III aerosol extinction coefficients from January to May in the Southern Hemisphere (defined as the non-Polar Stratospheric Cloud (PSC) season ) yielded qualitatively similar results. From June to October (defined as the PSC season ), aerosol extinction coefficients from ILAS-II were smaller than those from POAM III above 17 km, as in the case of the non-PSC season; however, ILAS-II and POAM III aerosol data were within 15% of each other from 12 to 17 km.

Saitoh, Naoko↗
NASA NTRS2005

Comparison between the Temperature Measurements by TIMED/SABER and Lidar in the Mid-Latitude

Comparisons of monthly-mean nighttime temperature profiles observed by the Sodium Lidar at Colorado State University and TIMED/SABER over passes are made. In the altitude range from 85 km to about 100 km, the two observations are in excellent agreement. Though within each other s error bars, important differences occur below 85 km in the entire year and above 100 km in the summer season. Possible reasons for these difference are high photon noise below 85 km in lidar observations, and less than accurate assumptions in the concentration of important chemical species like oxygen (and its quenching rate) in the SABER retrieval above 100 km. However, the two techniques both show the two-level mesopause thermal structure, with the times of change from one level to the other in excellent agreement. Comparison indicates that the high-level (winter) mesopause altitudes are also in excellent agreement between the two observations, though some difference may exist in the low-level (summer) mesopause altitudes between ground-based and satellite-borne data.

Xu, Jiyao↗
NASA NTRS2006

Comparisons of Integrated Radiation Transport Models with Microdosimetry Data in Spaceflight

Astronauts are exposed to galactic cosmic rays (GCR), trapped protons, and possible solar particle events (SPE) during spaceflight. For such complicated mixtures of radiation types and kinetic energies, tissue equivalent proportional counters (TEPC's) represent a simple time-dependent approach for radiation monitoring. Of interest in radiation protection is the average quality factor of a radiation field defined as a function of linear energy transfer, LET, Q(sub ave)(LET). However TEPC's measure the average quality factors as a function of lineal energy (y), Q(sub ave)(y) defined as the average energy deposition in a volume divided by the average chord length of the volume. Lineal energy, y deviates from LET due to energy straggling, delta-ray escape or entry, and nuclear fragments produced in the detector. Using integrated space radiation models that includes the transport code HZETRN/BRYNTRN, the quantum nuclear interaction model, QMSFRG, and results from Monte-Carlo track simulations of TEPC's response to ions, we consider comparisons of model calculations to TEPC results from NASA missions in low Earth orbit and make predictions for lunar and Mars missions. Good agreement between the model and measured spectra from past NASA missions is found. A finding of this work is that TEPC's values for trapped or solar protons of Q(sub ave)(y) range from 1.9-2.5, overestimating Q(sub ave)(LET), which ranges from 1.4-1.6 with both quantities increasing with shielding depth due to nuclear secondaries Comparisons for the complete GCR spectra show that Q(sub ave)(LET) for GCR is approximately 3.5-4.5, while TEPC's measure 2.9-3.4 for Q(sub ave)(y) with the GCR values decreasing with depth as heavy ions are absorbed in shielding material. Our results support the use of TEPC's for space radiation environmental monitoring when computational analysis is used for proper data interpretation.

Cucinotta, Francis A.↗