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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 775 records · Page 43

Mexico Disasters: Comparing Feasibility of Flood Detection Methods Using Google Earth Engine and Open Data Cube for Flood Mitigation in Mexico

In coordination with out partner's, we identified three case studies for the application of the flood detection algorithms. The first case study analyzes the impacts of Hurricane Sally on Villahermosa, Tabasco resulting in urban flooding and impacting adjacent cropland. The second case study investigates floods in Salto de Agua, Chiapas caused by Hurricane Eta, where the Xanil River level exceeded 14 meters, pouring into the surrounding villages. Finally, we look further north to Tula de Allende, Hidalgo during Hurricane Ida, where floods collapsed the power supply citywide and caused numerous deaths.

John Willis↗

An At-Home Evaluation of a Light Intervention to Mitigate Sleep Inertia Symptoms

Introduction: Sleep inertia symptoms typically occur after waking from nocturnal sleep. Under laboratory settings, light exposure upon waking has been shown to improve alertness, mood, and vigilant attention. We investigated whether a field-deployable light-emitting device would help to improve alertness and working memory in a real-world setting. Methods: Thirty-five participants (18 female; 26.4 ± 6.0 y) completed an at-home, within-subject, randomized crossover study. Participants wore actiwatches during their normal sleep-wake schedule for five nights ahead of the adaptation and experimental nights. On the experimental night, participants performed baseline testing before their self-selected bedtime. Forty-five minutes after bedtime, participants received a phone call and were instructed to perform test bouts while wearing light-emitting glasses with the light either on (light condition) or off (control). A 3-minute descending subtraction task (DST) and the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) were performed at +7, +17, +27, and +37 minutes after the call. Participants were then instructed to go back to sleep and were called 45 minutes after lights out to repeat the test bouts in the opposite condition. A series of mixed-effects models were performed with fixed effects of condition, test bout, and their interaction, and a random effect of participant. Condition order, sex, and baseline were included as covariates. Results: There was a significant effect of test bout for DST total responses (χ2 [3] = 17.42; p < .001) and total correct (χ2 [3] = 21.29; p < .001) with improved performance at +27 and +37 minutes compared to +7 minutes. Sex was a significant predictor for KSS (F1,30 = 10.26; p = .003), with females (8.20 ± 0.23) rating higher sleepiness than males (7.10 ± 0.25). There were no other significant effects for DST or KSS outcomes (p > .05). Conclusion: These results suggest that the intervention was not able to improve working memory or alertness under naturalistic at-home settings. Further analysis is needed to determine whether these results are applicable to other cognitive performance domains.

light↗

Spacecraft Line-Of-Sight Jitter Management and Mitigation Lessons Learned And Engineering Best Practices

Predicting, managing, controlling, and testing spacecraft line-of-sight (LoS) jitter caused by micro-vibrations due to on-board internal disturbance sources is a formidable multidisciplinary engineering task. It is especially challenging for those missions hosting high-performance (e.g., nano-radian/milli-arcsecond class), vibration-sensitive optical sensor payloads with stringent pointing stability requirements. The Nation Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) are planning technically aggressive spaceflight missions that include ultra-high-performance optical payloads with delicate, highly vibration-sensitive scientific and observational instruments. The guidance, navigation, and control community of practice will need to leverage collective experiences and document their best practices and lessons learned to address future micro-vibration challenges. To identify lessons learned and best practices the NASA Engineering & Safety Center sponsored a 2-day Spacecraft LoS Jitter Workshop in late 2019. The workshop’s goal was to provide a multidisciplinary forum to elicit deeper understanding of the issues related to addressing the spacecraft LoS jitter/micro-vibration problem. The primary objective was to identify, document, and share lessons learned, best practices, and preferred options for jitter-related analysis and test activities. Representatives from NASA, ESA, along with NASA’s industrial partners, independent consultant subject matter experts, and members of academia participated in the workshop. This paper will describe the motivation for the workshop and summarize the identified findings and recommendations.

Swanson, Davin K.↗

Validation of Decompression Sickness Risk Mitigation Protocols for Planetary Spaceflight Missions

BACKGROUND: Apollo missions used a 100% O2 cabin atmosphere which effectively eliminated the risk of decompression sickness (DCS) during extravehicular activity (EVA) on the moon. NASA’s future missions to the moon and Mars are expected to use nitrox gas mixtures of up to 34% O2, 66% N2, which will reduce flammability risk compared with Apollo, but will necessitate Oxygen prebreathe prior to EVA to reduce DCS risk to acceptable levels. Prebreathe protocols used on the space shuttle and International Space Station are validated for microgravity EVAs, but the significantly increased risk of DCS during equivalent ambulatory EVAs make these protocols inapplicable to planetary EVA. An “exploration atmosphere” of 56.5 kPa (8.2 psia), 34% O2, 66% N2 has been recommended by NASA as a compromise that balances prebreathe duration, hypoxia, and flammability risk, assuming a 29.6 kPa (4.3 psi) spacesuit. However, this atmosphere may not be used for vehicles that do not support frequent EVA, and with commercial providers and international providers expected to provide landers, pressurized rovers, habitats, and spacesuits, different combinations of vehicle and spacesuit atmospheres are possible and will each require validated prebreathe protocols. OVERVIEW: Key components of a multi-year strategic roadmap include: 1) Establish hypobaric chamber facility capable of supporting 8-person EVA prebreathe validation tests at saturation atmospheres up to 36% O2; 2) validate an EVA physical workload simulation for use during prebreathe validation testing; 3) validate the recommended “exploration atmosphere” prebreathe protocol; 4) validate prebreathe protocols for additional atmospheric combinations that bound the most likely potential operating ranges of future vehicles and spacesuits; and 5) update DCS risk estimation models based on results of prebreathe validation studies. DISCUSSION: Details and data from completion of the first two steps of the strategic roadmap will be presented; the third step is currently underway, with pilot results provided in a companion presentation. Steps four and five will require a multi-year series of chamber tests; collaborations are being pursued.

Andrew F. J. Abercromby↗

Wichita Climate: Using Satellite Data to Identify Neighborhoods Vulnerable to Extreme Heat for Equitable Climate Mitigation and Planning

Wichita, Kansas is facing a host of climate threats, one being extreme heat that is manifested through the urban heat island (UHI) effect. The uneven distribution of heat risk in Wichita across socioeconomic status is an environmental justice issue. We worked with the City of Wichita to map heat exposure, tree canopy, and heat risk in order to support the City's climate resilience initiatives. To visualize heat exposure, we quantified and mapped average summer heat from 2013–2021 using Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) night-time LST. To understand tree canopy cover gaps, we created a tree canopy map using 2021 PlanetScope imagery, which identified 20% more trees than the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Land Cover Database (NLCD) tree canopy coverage estimates for Wichita. To characterize high risk areas, we used socioeconomic census data and existing social vulnerability indices, highlighting populations that were exposed and vulnerable to extreme heat. The spatial analyses demonstrated that heat exposure is concentrated in the city center and southwest Wichita, areas that are also low in tree canopy coverage. The three census block groups and 17 census tracts with the highest heat risk primarily circle the city center, in areas home to more socially vulnerable populations and near enough to the dense urban center to feel significant urban heat island effects.

Brooke Laird↗

Error Sources and Mitigation Strategies for Thermocouples Integrated in Flexible Thermal Protection System Materials

• The flexible thermal protection system (FTPS) on NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) vehicle will be instrumented with thermocouples (TCs) to measure the in-depth thermal response during entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Accurate flight temperature measurements are critical for verifying vehicle performance and reducing thermal model uncertainties. • The TC leads are routed from the measurement location to the data acquisition system within the same FTPS layer that they are monitoring the temperature. This approach eliminates the need to put holes in the FTPS layers. However, the insulated TC leads are exposed to high temperatures and large thermal gradients. • The baseline TCs were commercially available 30 AWG Type K TCs with a binder impregnated glass braid insulation. The glass braid is rated to a maximum continuous use temperature of 482°C. LOFTID’s heat pulse will be on the order of minutes and the maximum predicted temperature beneath the outermost FTPS layers is 1350°C.

R. A. Miller↗

Mitigating the Impact of Momentum Unloads on Station Keeping Around Libration Point Orbits

The Space Weather Follow On (SWFO) observatory will observe the Sun from L1, collecting solar wind data and coronal imagery, while providing early warning for space weather events. SWFO is a ride-share mission on SpaceX Falcon9 that is carrying IMAP. The spacecraft will be operated by NOAA and is expected to launch in February 2025. In order to meet NOAA’s operational requirements SWFO must maintain a Sun-Earth-Vehicle (SEV) angle between 4 and 13 degrees for at least 5 years. This constraint drives the size of the Lissajous orbit. SWFO is required keep a Sun pointing attitude in order to perform the Sun observations. Frequent Momentum Unloads are required to desaturate its reaction wheals. Station-keeping maneuvers are required to stay in orbit around L1, they are planned to be performed every 30 days.

Libration Point Orbits↗