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At least 631 records · Page 35

Yuma 2022 Rotorcraft Acoustic Flight Test

A cooperative flight test campaign between U.S. Navy, Army, Marine Corps, and NASA was performed at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma from 19 January to 15 February 2022. The primary purpose of testing military vehicles was to characterize the acoustic signature of the MV-22 rotorcraft and Stalker unmanned aerial system for typical mission gross weight, configuration, and for a range of typical mission operating conditions. Additionally, a civilian MD530 vehicle was tested to characterize the acoustic emissions for both legacy blades and S411 main rotor blades. This report provides an overview of the test, documents the data acquired, and describes the formats of the stored data.

Acoustics↗

A Plausible Prebiotic Path to Nucleosides: Ribosides and Related Aldosides Generated from Ribulose, Fructose, and Similar Abiotic Precursors

The prebiotic origins of ribose, nucleosides, and eventually RNA are enduring questions whose answers are central to the RNA world hypothesis. The abiotic synthesis of sugars was first demonstrated over a century ago, but no known prebiotic reaction produces ribose (an aldose sugar) selectively and in good yield. In contrast, ribulose, and fructose (ketose sugars) and other monosaccharides are formed in high yield by several robust abiotic reactions. It is reported here that ketose sugars - both ketopentoses and ketohexoes - serve as precursors for the formation of ribosides and other aldosides, as demonstrated by glycoside-forming reactions involving barbituric acid, a plausibly prebiotic nucleobase. Moreover, a one-pot reaction of glyceraldehyde and barbituric acid was discovered which under mild conditions, and without special minerals or other catalysts, results in the formation of glycosides. These results reveal that an exclusive or high-yielding generation of free ribose was not required for its incorporation into processes that provided the foundations for life.

Tyler P. Roche↗

Percolative Sulfide Core Formation in Oxidized Meteorite Parent Bodies

Most models of planetary differentiation involve the formation of metallic cores during or after extensive silicate melting, but some volatile-rich reservoirs in the protoplanetary disk did not accrete substantial amounts of Fe,Ni-metal. Instead, their potential core-forming assemblages were dominated by Fe,Ni-sulfides and oxides due to high ƒ O 2 and ƒ S 2 . Derivative melts from these assemblages may have been capable of percolative migration leading to core formation prior to silicate melting. However, no direct evidence for this process has been reported in meteoritic literature. Similarly, while many iron meteorites are thought to represent cores of their respective parent bodies, no direct evidence for Fe,Ni-sulfide/oxide cores have been reported to-date. The most promising potential for such evidence may be found in the anomalous noble metal trace element proportions of restitic oxidized primitive achondrites (i.e., brachinites, log ƒ O 2 ~IW-1), which are similar to those found in sulfides of Rumuruti-type chondrites (RCs) that contain only trace amounts of Fe,Ni-metal at log ƒ O 2 ≥ IW-1. This work addresses the following outstanding questions: (1) Are molten sulfides in oxidized meteorite assemblages capable of percolative melt migration? (2) How is this process recorded in the noble metal (i.e., siderophile/chalcophile) trace element geochemistry of relevant meteorites? (3) Did O,S-rich meteorite parent bodies form sulfide cores?

S. D. Crossley↗

Vesicles in Apollo 15 Green Glasses: The Nature of Ancient Lunar Gases

Detailed studies of Apollo 15 green glass and related beads have shown they were formed in gas-rich fire fountains.. As the magmatic fluid became super-saturated in volatile gas, bubbles or vesicles formed within the magma. These exsolved gases became trapped within vesicles as the glasses were ejected from the fire-fountain and subsequently quenched. One of the keys to understanding formation processes on the ancient moon includes determining the composition of volatile species and elements, including metals, dissolved in magmatic gases. Here we report the nature of mineral phases spatially associated with vesicles in a green glass bead from Apollo sample 15411,42. The phases reflect the composition of the cooling/degassing magmatic vapors and fluids present at the time of bead formation approx, 3 Ga ago

Thomas-Keprta, K. L.↗

Parent-body models for the formation of iron meteorites.

The iron meteorites appear to have formed by both igneous and non-igneous processes in asteroid-sized parent bodies. Evidence regarding the IIIA-IIIB irons (the most common iron meteorite group) favors their having originated as a central core, which experienced fractional crystallization during solidification. A reevaluation of available data does not confirm earlier reports of variable cooling rates within group IIIA. Members of group IA-IB contain chondritic silicates, have short I-Xe formation intervals and do not show evidence of fractional crystallization. They appear to have formed nonigneously by inhomogeneous agglomeration and accretion of solar nebular condensates.

Wasson, J. T.↗

Hybrid analog/digital, large format, photon counting detectors for astronomy

The development of a new microchannel plate photon-counting detector with an analog readout method based on a resistive anode is reported. This detector exhibits extremely high, stable electron gains of 10 to the 8th. At this gain, the spatial resolution is no longer primarily limited by the noise of the resistive anode, so that digital methods of readout, such as discrete conductors, lose their advantage. These detectors can be readily scaled to 40 mm and 70 mm formats to match plate scales of 2-m (and larger) telescopes. New, high speed digital electronics fully exploit the high spatial and time resolution made possible by gains of this level. Analysis of the theoretical performance of this detector shows that the major limitation to the spatial resolution is the proximity focus of the photocathode and the first microchannel plate. The detector has been mated to an echelle spectrograph developed.

Crocker, J.↗

Clump Giants in the Hyades

This report covers the NASA grant NAG5-9986 for the cycle 1 XMM Guest Observer Program. The project is entitled "Clump Giants in the Hyades." This observation of one of the late-type Hyades giants has implications for understanding the formation of late-type stellar coronae as a function of the evolutionary state of the star. As of the call for this report, the data had been obtained by the satellite, but not delivered to the PI until 2001 August 7. Thus the progress can only be described as preparation for the data to arrive. To this end the PI and Co-Is are working on spectral analysis tools for the X-ray band. The PI has attended two workshops this summer in which results on late-type stellar coronae were presented, including XMM results from GTO team members, one entitled "Stellar Coronae in the Era of Chandra and XMM-Newton" at ESTEC in Noordwijk, and the "Cool Stars Workshop" in Boulder, Colorado.

Brickhouse, N.↗

The 158 micrometer (CII) line: A measure of global star formation activity in galaxies

Some 158 micron (CII) fine structure line observations from a sample of fourteen gas rich galaxies are reported. These measurements confirm and generalize previous basic results that the (CII) line is bright amounting to approximately 0.1 to 1 percent of the Far Infra Red (FIR) luminosity of the nuclear regions of galaxies; the (CII) line is formed in the warm (temperature of the gas is greater than 200 K), dense (n sub H greater than 1000/cu cm) photodissociated gas at the interfaces between giant molecular clouds and ionized gas regions and is therefore associated with the molecular gas component in spiral galaxies; the (CII) line tracks the FIR continuum in a manner consistent with the PDR models; the integrated (CII) to isotope (12)CO (transition 1 to 0) line ratio is large (greater than or equal to 1000) in all galaxies studied, and is similarly large for galactic molecular clouds; the (CII) line is therefore energetically very important for the study of giant molecular clouds. Conclusions obtained from these results are given.

Stacey, G. J.↗

Space Shuttle Pinhole Formation Mechanism Studies

Pinholes have been observed to form on the wing leading edge of the space shuttle after about 10-15 flights. In this report we expand upon previous observations by Christensen (1) that these pinholes often form along cracks and are associated with a locally zinc-rich area. The zinc appears to come from weathering and peeling paint on the launch structure. Three types of experimental examinations are performed to understand this issue further: (A) Detailed microstructural examination of actual shuttle pinholes (B) Mass spectrometric studies of coupons containing, actual shuttle pinholes and (C) Laboratory furnace studies of ZnO/SiC reactions and ZnO/SiC protected carbon/carbon reaction. On basis of these observations we present a detailed mechanism of pinhole formation due to formation of a corrosive ZnO-Na-2-O-SiO2 ternary glass, which flows into existing cracks and enlarges them.

Jacobson, Nathan S.↗

Stable Low Cloud Phase II: Nocturnal Event Study

This report describes the work done by the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) in developing a database of nights that experienced rapid (< 90 minutes) low cloud formation in a stable atmosphere, resulting in ceilings at the Shuttle Landing Facility (TTS) that violated Space Shuttle Flight Rules (FR). This work is the second phase of a similar AMU task that examined the same phenomena during the day. In the first phase of this work, the meteorological conditions favoring the rapid formation of low ceilings include the presence of any inversion below 8000 ft, high relative humidity (RH) beneath the inversion and a clockwise turning of the winds from the surface to the middle troposphere (-15000 ft). The AMU compared and contrasted the atmospheric and thermodynamic conditions between nights with rapid low ceiling formation and nights with low ceilings resulting from other mechanisms. The AMU found that there was little to discern between the rapidly-forming ceiling nights and other low ceiling nights at TTS. When a rapid development occurred, the average RH below the inversions was 87% while non-events had an average RH of 79%. One key parameter appeared to be the vertical wind profile in the Cape Canaveral, FL radiosonde (XMR) sounding. Eighty-three percent of the rapid development events had veering winds with height from the surface to the middle troposphere (-15,000 ft) while 61% of the non-events had veering winds with height. Veering winds indicate a warm-advection regime, which supports large-scale rising motion and ultimately cloud formation in a moist environment. However, only six of the nights (out of 86 events examined) with low cloud ceilings had an occurrence of rapidly developing ceilings. Since only 7% rapid development events were observed in this dataset, it is likely that rapid low cloud development is not a common occurrence during the night, or at least not as common as during the day. In the AMU work on the daytime rapid low cloud development (Case and Wheeler 2005), nearly 30% of the low cloud ceiling cases investigated were identified as rapidly developing events. Forecasters at the Space Meteorology Group (SMG) issue 30 to 90 minute forecasts for low cloud ceilings at TTS to support Space Shuttle landings. Mission verification statistics have shown ceilings to be the number one forecast challenge. More specifically, forecasters at SMG are concerned with any rapidly developing clouds/ceilings below 8000 R in a stable, capped thermodynamic environment. Therefore, the AMU was tasked to examine archived events of rapid stable cloud formation resulting in ceilings below 8000 ft, and document the atmospheric regimes favoring this type of cloud development. The AMU examined the cool season months of November to March during the years of 1994-2005 for nights that had low-level inversions and rapid, stable low cloud formation that resulted in ceilings violating the Space Shuttle FR. The AMU wrote and modified existing code to identify inversions from the evening and morning XMR radiosonde during the cool season and output pertinent sounding information. They parsed all days with cloud ceilings below 8000 ft at TTS, forming a database of possible rapidly-developing low ceiling events. Nights with precipitation or noticeable fog burn-off situations were excluded from the database. Only the nighttime hours were examined for possible ceiling development events since the daytime events were examined in the first phase of this work. The report presents one sample case of rapidly-developing low cloud ceilings. The case depicts the representative meteorological and thermodynamic characteristics of such events. The case also illustrates how quickly the cloud decks can develop, sometimes forming in 30 minutes or less. The report also summarizes the composite meteorological conditions for 6 event nights with rapid low cloud ceiling formation and 80 non-events nights consisting of advection or widespread low cloud ceilings. The teorological conditions were quite similar for both the event and non-event nights, since both types of nights experienced low cloud ceilings. Both types of nights had a relatively moist environment beneath an inversion based below 8000 ft.

Bauman, William H., III↗

Summary of scientific results

Preliminary results of the Apollo 16 lunar experiments are reported. The composition of geological samples from the landing site are discussed including the Cayley Formation and the Descartes highlands. The geological data substantiates the belief that lunar terra is underlain by plagioclase or anorthositic rocks. Other results are discussed for the following experiments: soil mechanics, passive and active seismic, lunar surface and portable magnetometer, far camera/spectrograph, solar wind composition, cosmic ray, and spectrometer.

England, A. W.↗

Combustion gas properties of various fuels of interest to gas turbine engineers

A series of computations were made using the gas property computational schemes of Gordon and McBride to compute the gas properties and species concentration of ASTM-Jet A and dry air. The computed gas thermodynamic properties in a revised graphical format which gives information which is useful to combustion engineers is presented. A series of reports covering the properties of many fuel and air combinations will be published. The graphical presentation displays on one chart of the output of hundreds of computer sheets. The reports will contain microfiche cards, from which complete tables and graphs can be obtained. The extent of the planned effort and is documented samples of the many tables and charts that will be available on the microfiche cards are presented.

Jones, R. E.↗

Application of computational fluid mechanics to atmospheric pollution problems

One of the most noticeable effects of air pollution on the properties of the atmosphere is the reduction in visibility. This paper reports the results of investigations of the fluid dynamical and microphysical processes involved in the formation of advection fog on aerosols from combustion-related pollutants, as condensation nuclei. The effects of a polydisperse aerosol distribution, on the condensation/nucleation processes which cause the reduction in visibility are studied. This study demonstrates how computational fluid mechanics and heat transfer modeling can be applied to simulate the life cycle of the atmosphereic pollution problems.

Hung, R. J.↗

Support activities to maintain SUMS flight readiness, volume 3. Attachment B: Flight STS-35 report, section A

The Shuttle Upper Atmosphere Mass Spectrometer (SUMS), a component experiment of the NASA Orbital Experiments Program (OEX), was flown aboard the shuttle Columbia (OV102) mounted at the forward end of the nose landing gear well with an atmospheric gas inlet system fitted to the lower fuselage (chin panel) surface. The SUMS was designed to provide atmospheric data in flow regimes inaccessible prior to the development of the Space Transportation System (STS). The experiment mission operation begins about 1 hour prior to shuttle de-orbit entry maneuver and continues until reaching 1.6 torr (about 86 km altitude). The SUMS flew a total of three missions, 61C, STS-35, and STS-40. Between flights, the SUMS was maintained in flight ready status. The flight data has been analyzed by the NASA LaRC Aerothermodynamics Branch. Flight data spectrum plots and reports are presented in the Appendices to the Final Technical Report for NAS1-17399. This volume presents flight data for flight STS-35 in graphical format.

Wright, Willie↗

The structure of NGC at 100, 160, and 200 microns - Continuum dust emission in a quiescent Sb galaxy

Observations of NGC 4565 at 100, 160, and 200 microns with the University of Chicago Far-Infrared Camera and the NASA-Kuiper Airborne Observatory are reported. In order to examine the dependence of FIR emission on spiral structure and star formation activity, these observations of NGC 4565, a quiescent Sb galaxy, are compared with observations of NGC 6946, an active Sc galaxy, made by Engargiola (1991) using the same instruments. Warm dust (30 K) in a bisymmetric spiral pattern superposed on an exponential disk of cool dust (20 K) can account for the FIR morphology of NGC 4565. Optical and IR data suggest that there are more embedded sources heating dust locally in the southeast arm region and more UV radiation from unobscured young stellar associations heating the cool, neutral medium in the northeast arm region.

Engargiola, G.↗

A search for anisotrophy in the cosmic microwave background on intermediate angular scales

The results of a search for anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background on angular scales near 1 deg are presented. Observations were simultaneously performed in bands centered at frequencies of 6, 9, and 12 per cm with a multifrequency bolometric receiver mounted on a balloon-borne telescope. The statistical sensitivity of the data is the highest reported to date at this angular scale, which is of critical importance for understanding the formation of structure in the universe. Signals in excess of random were observed in the data. The experiment, data analysis, and interpretation are described.

Alsop, D. C.↗