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NASA NTRS2018

Distributed Attitude Control and Maneuvering for Deep Space SmallSats

The aim of the Distributed Attitude Control and Maneuvering for Deep Space SmallSats project is to advance a multi-purpose, deep space mission-enabling technology for low-power attitude and thermal control of small satellites to a flight demonstration technology readiness level (TRL). The film-evaporation microelectromechanical systems tunable array (FEMTA) small satellite technology combines innovative microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microfabrication and microscale effects in fluid surface tension to produce a thermally actuated capillary valve. Using water as the propellant, the FEMTA thruster can generate finely controllable thrust at a thrust to power ratio of about 200 microNewton per Watt (W).

thermal control↗
NASA NTRS2019

Evaluation of Matthews-WLR-CH4: A New Wetland, Lake, and Reservoir Methane Emissions Data Set

Methane (CH4) is emitted from a variety of sources, both natural and anthropogenic, and is the second most important greenhouse gas contributing to climate change. Natural wetlands are the largest single contributor to annual global CH4 emissions and other inland water sources, such as lakes and reservoirs, produce CH4 but have received less attention. These emission sources are among the most uncertain components of the global CH4 cycle. These uncertainties stem from numerous issues, including the vast variability in these ecosystems and the sensitivity of CH4 emissions to interannual climate variations. Existing CH4 emission models display large differences in wetland spatial extent and include simplified, or lack all together, wetland-type classifications. Furthermore, CH4 emissions from lakes and reservoirs are typically combined with wetlands, or ignored, on a regional and global scale. Our NASA Interdisciplinary Research in Earth Science (IDS) study is focused on developing a suite of data sets on wetlands, lakes, and reservoirs (WLR) including global distributions of types, CH4-centric classifications, and daily CH4 emission rates (hereafter Matthews-WLR-CH4). This project is unique in that it comprises source-independent emission data for WLR, the first spatially-explicit data set of lake and reservoir CH4 emissions, and wetland emissions comprising numerous different wetland-type classifications.The focus of this study is to perform the initial evaluation of the wetland and lake CH4 emissions data from Matthews-WLR-CH4. This evaluation will focus on the domain of North America and include: 1) estimates of the contribution of wetland and lake sources to total CH4 emissions and atmospheric mixing ratios, 2) comparisons of wetland fraction and CH4 emissions to a suite of existing models (e.g., Wetland and Wetland CH4 Inter-comparison of Models Project (WETCHIMP), Global Carbon Project (GCP)), and 3) an accuracy assessment with in situ airborne and tower-based atmospheric CH4 observations when the Matthews-WLR-CH4 emissions are implemented in forward and inverse CarbonTracker-Lagrange (CT-L) CH4 model simulations. Here we will present the new Matthews-WLR-CH4 wetland and lake CH4 emissions data, the initial evaluation of these products, and the path forward for our project.

Reservoir↗
NASA NTRS2020

Arctic Ocean Primary Productivity: The Response of Marine Algae to Climate Warming and Sea Ice Decline

Autotrophic single-celled algae living in sea ice (ice algae) and water column (phytoplankton) are the main primary producers in the Arctic Ocean. Through photosynthesis, they transform dissolved inorganic carbon into organic material. Consequently, primary production provides a key ecosystem service by providing energy to the entire food web in the oceans. Primary productivity is strongly dependent upon light availability and the presence of nutrients, and thus is highly seasonal in the Arctic. The melting and retreat of sea ice during spring are strong drivers of primary production in the Arctic Ocean and its adjacent shelf seas, owing to enhanced light availability and stratification (Barber et al. 2015; Leu et al. 2015; Ardyna et al. 2017). Recent studies have emphasized that primary production occurs under lower light conditions and earlier in the seasonal cycle than previously recognized (Randelhoff et al. 2020). Other studies suggest that increased nutrient supply have also influenced overall production (Henley et al. 2020; Lewis et al. 2020). Furthermore, while declines in Arctic sea ice extent over the past several decades (see essay Sea Ice) have contributed substantially to shifts in primary productivity throughout the Arctic Ocean, the response of primary production to sea ice loss has been both seasonally and spatially variable (e.g., Tremblay et al. 2015; Hill et al. 2018). Here we present satellite-based estimates of algal chlorophyll-a (occurring in all species of phytoplankton), based on ocean color, and subsequently provide calculated primary production estimates. These results are shown for ocean areas with less than 10% sea ice concentration and, therefore, do not include production by sea ice algae or under-ice phytoplankton blooms, which can be significant (e.g., Lalande et al. 2019).

K. E. Frey↗
NASA NTRS2021

Canopy reflectance models illustrate varying NDVI responses to change in high latitude ecosystems

Multiyear trends in Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) have been used as metrics of high latitude ecosystem change based on the assumption that NDVI change is associated with ecological change, generally as changes in green vegetation amount (green leaf area index [LAI] or plant cover). Further, no change in NDVI is often interpreted as no change in these variables. Three canopy reflectance models including linear mixture model, the SAIL (Scattering from Arbitrarily Inclined Leaves) model, and the GeoSail model were used to simulate scenarios representing high latitude landscape NDVI responses to changes in LAI and plant cover. The simulations showed inconsistent NDVI responses. Clear increases in NDVI are generally associated with increases in LAI and plant cover. At higher values of LAI, the change in NDVI per unit change in LAI decreases, with very little change in spruce forest NDVI where crown cover is >50% and at the tundra–taiga ecotone with transitions from shrub tundra to spruce woodland. These lower responses may bias the interpretation of greening/browning trends in boreal forests. Variations in water or snow coverage were shown to produce outsized nonbiological NDVI responses. Inconsistencies in NDVI responses exemplify the need for care in the interpretation of NDVI change as a metric of high latitude ecosystem change, and that landscape characteristics in terms of the type of cover and its characteristics, such as the initial plant cover, must be taken into account in evaluating the significance of any observed NDVI trends.

Karl F Huemmrich↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Plasma Activated Water Developments for Lunar and Martian Applications

Plasma activated water (PAW) would be of great use for space applications, due to the myriad of on-demand uses. Some of these applications were directly explored at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center including: Space crop production, Martian systems, and acid-base production. The presence of any nitrogen in the gas stream, including in a simulated Martian atmospheric composition, allows for nitrates to form in water during plasma treatment. These nitrates form nitric acid and drive down the pH while also being in a readily useable form by plants. Inedible biomass ash, which can be created using the same plasma system that treats the water, can be added into the acidic PAW to raise the pH. Measured pH values ranged from 2.7 to 11.5 using this process. Both the nitrates and the nutrients from the inedible biomass are beneficial for the plants, and the pH control allows for use with many different plant species. This methodology is also enabling for space-based hydroponic systems. At KSC, growth studies of Cherry Belle radishes showed comparable dry masses of edible biomass grown with Hoagland’s nutrient solution (a best-case scenario solution that is impractical for launch transportation) and the edible biomass grown with plasma water with the added ash. Both solutions showed substantial improvements over the deionized water that is most similar to what is available in Space systems via the water processor assembly. Additionally, the ability to produce both acidic PAW and basic PAW has benefits for sanitation as well. Preliminary studies showed a 5.8 log reduction of P. Aeruginosa when exposed to PAW mixtures, which shows the ability to remove this common biofilm.

Ryan Patrick Gott↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Plasma Activated Water Developments for Lunar and Martian Applications

Plasma activated water (PAW) could be of great use for space applications, due to the myriad of on-demand uses. The presence of any nitrogen in the gas stream, including in a simulated Martian atmospheric composition, allows for nitrates to form in water during plasma treatment. These nitrates form nitric acid and drive down the pH while also being in a readily useable form by plants. By varying the reactions and mixing in natural additives, pH values from 2.7 to 11.5 were achieved. The pH control allows for use with many different plant species. This methodology is also enabling for space-based hydroponic systems. Growth studies of Cherry Belle radishes showed comparable dry masses of edible biomass grown with Hoagland’s nutrient solution (a best-case scenario solution that is impractical for launch transportation) and the edible biomass grown with PAW. Both solutions showed substantial improvements over the deionized water that is most similar to what is available in Space systems via the water processor assembly. Additionally, the ability to produce both acidic PAW and basic PAW has benefits for sanitation as well. Preliminary studies showed a 5.8 log reduction of P. Aeruginosa when exposed to PAW mixtures, which shows the ability to remove this common biofilm.

Ryan Gott↗
NASA NTRS2021

Southwest Water Resources: Monitoring Surface Water Extents of Remote Stock Ponds in the Southwestern United States Using Earth Observing Systems for Enhanced Water Resources Management

Due to increasingly frequent and severe drought conditions in the southwestern US, land managers and livestock producers need to monitor stock ponds with increasing regularity. The ability to assess stock pond water levels with Earth observing satellite systems would enhance monitoring efforts of partners at the US Forest Service, Arizona Department of Game and Fish, and the Diablo Trust. This study employed Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI), Sentinel-1 C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (C-SAR), and Sentinel-2 Multispectral Instrument (MSI) to monitor surface water extent for hundreds of critical stock ponds in Arizona. Using methods adapted from previously developed image processing workflows, this project conducted a time-series analysis to capture seasonal and interannual variations in surface water area between 2013 to 2021. In addition, end users can monitor the surface water extent of stock ponds through the developed Google Earth Engine software tool called Surface Water Identification and Forecasting Tool (SWIFT). SWIFT incorporates the Automated Water Extraction Index, Modified Normalized Difference Water Index, and Tasseled Cap-Wetness Index for optical imagery and the incidence angle, VV and VH polarization bands for Sentinel-1 imagery to detect small water bodies in the study area with an overall accuracy range of 88-93%. These tools will empower our partners to monitor the extents of water in their stock ponds remotely, enabling them to develop data-informed and sustainable management solutions for decades to come.

Rainey Aberle↗
NASA NTRS1992

On-site manufacture of propellant oxygen from lunar resources

The Aerojet Carbothermal Process for the manufacture of oxygen from lunar resources has three essential steps: the reduction of silicate with methane to form carbon monoxide and hydrogen; the reduction of carbon monoxide with hydrogen to form methane and water; and the electrolysis of water to form oxygen and hydrogen. This cyclic process does not depend upon the presence of water or water precursors in the lunar materials; it will produce oxygen from silicates regardless of their precise composition and fine structure. Research on the first step of the process was initiated by determining some of the operating conditions required to reduce igneous rock with carbon and silicon carbide. The initial phase of research on the second step is completed; quantitative conversion of carbon monoxide and hydrogen to methane and water was achieved with a nickel-on-kieselguhr catalyst. The equipment used in and the results obtained from these process studies are reported in detail.

Rosenberg, Sanders D.↗
NASA NTRS1979

The seasonal variation of ozone density in the Martian atmosphere

A one-dimensional, time-dependent model has been developed to investigate seasonal variations in ozone density in the Martian atmosphere. The model utilizes data for atmospheric temperature, pressure, and water vapor abundance observed by Viking. The results indicate that a high ozone density is not produced near the winter solstice but is in rather late winter, when the amount of water vapor is still small and the solar radiation can penetrate more deeply. A similar condition met in early winter does not necessarily produce a high ozone density because of the predicted higher HO2 density. Seasonal variations in ozone abundance are discussed in terms of the abundances of H2O and H2 and the seasonal variations in their reaction products H2O2 and HOx. The roles of transport, the effects of ozone loss to the surface, and the differences between northern and southern hemisphere ozone distributions are also discussed.

Shimazaki, T.↗
NASA NTRS2018

NASA Fluid Lensing & MiDAR - Next-Generation Remote Sensing Technologies for Aquatic Remote Sensing

Piti's Tepungan Bay and Tumon Bay, two of five marine preserves in Guam, have not been mapped to a level of detail sufficient to support proposed management strategies. This project addresses this gap by providing high resolution maps to promote sustainable, responsible use of the area while protecting natural resources. Dr. Chirayath, a research scientist at the NASA Ames Laboratory, developed a theoretical model and algorithm called 'Fluid Lensing'. Fluid lensing removes optical distortions caused by moving water, improving the clarity of the images taken of the corals below the surface. We will also be using MiDAR, a next-generation remote sensing instrument that provides real-time multispectral video using an array of LED emitters coupled with NASA's FluidCam Imaging System, which may assist Guam's coral reef response team in understanding the severity and magnitude of coral bleaching events. This project will produce a 3D orthorectified model of the shallow water coral reef ecosystems in Tumon Bay and Piti marine preserves. These 3D models may be printed, creating a tactile diorama and increasing understanding of coral reefs among various audiences, including key decision makers. More importantly, the final data products can enable accurate and quantitative health assessment capabilities for coral reef ecosystems.

Aquatic↗
NASA NTRS1992

Technology for Water Treatment

There are approximately 500,000 water cooling towers in the United States, all of which must be kept clear of "scale" and corrosion and free of pollutants and bacteria. Electron Pure, Ltd. manufactures a hydro cooling tower conditioner as well as an automatic pool sanitizer. The pool sanitizer consists of two copper/silver electrodes placed in a chamber mounted in the pool's recirculation system. The tower conditioner combines the ionization system with a water conditioner, pump, centrifugal solids separator and timer. The system saves water, eliminates algae and operates maintenance and chemical free. The company has over 100 distributors in the U.S. as well as others in 20 foreign countries. The buildup of scale and corrosion is the most costly maintenance problem in cooling tower operation. Jet Propulsion Laboratory successfully developed a non-chemical system that not only curbed scale and corrosion, but also offered advantages in water conservation, cost savings and the elimination of toxic chemical discharge. In the system, ozone is produced by an on-site generator and introduced to the cooling tower water. Organic impurities are oxidized, and the dissolved ozone removes bacteria and scale. National Water Management, a NASA licensee, has installed its ozone advantage systems at some 200 cooling towers. Customers have saved money and eliminated chemical storage and discharge.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1992

Technology for Water Treatment (National Water Management)

The buildup of scale and corrosion is the most costly maintenance problem in cooling tower operation. Jet Propulsion Laboratory successfully developed a non-chemical system that not only curbed scale and corrosion, but also offered advantages in water conservation, cost savings and the elimination of toxic chemical discharge. In the system, ozone is produced by an on-site generator and introduced to the cooling tower water. Organic impurities are oxidized, and the dissolved ozone removes bacteria and scale. National Water Management, a NASA licensee, has installed its ozone advantage systems at some 200 cooling towers. Customers have saved money and eliminated chemical storage and discharge.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2023

Inland Water Greenhouse Gas Budgets for RECCAP2: 2. Regionalization and Homogenization of Estimates

Inland waters are important emitters of the greenhouse gasses (GHGs) carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ), and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) to the atmosphere. In the framework of the 2 nd phase of the REgional Carbon Cycle Assessment and Processes (RECCAP-2) initiative, we synthesize existing estimates of GHG emissions from streams, rivers, lakes and reservoirs, and homogenize them with regard to underlying global maps of water surface area distribution and the effects of seasonal ice cover. We then produce regionalized estimates of GHG emissions over 10 extensive land regions. According to our synthesis, inland water GHG emissions have a global warming potential of an equivalent emission of 13.5 (9.9-20.1) and 8.3 (5.7-12.7) Pg CO 2 -eq. yr -1 at a 20 and 100 year horizon (GWP 20 and GWP 100 ), respectively. Contributions of CO 2 dominate GWP100, with rivers being the largest emitter. For GWP 20 , lakes and rivers are equally important emitters, and the warming potential of CH4 is more important than that of CO2. Contributions from N 2 O are about two orders of magnitude lower. Normalized to the area of RECCAP-2 regions, S-America and SE-Asia show the highest emission rates, dominated by riverine CO 2 emissions.

Ronny Lauerwald↗
NASA NTRS1994

Adsorption and Desorption of Carbon Dioxide and Water Mixtures on Synthetic Hydrophobic Carbonaceous Adsorbents

Several synthetic carbonaceous adsorbents produced through pyrolysis of polymeric materials are available commercially. Some appear to have advantages over activated carbon for certain adsorption applications. In particular, they can have tailored hydrophobicities that are significantly greater than that of activated carbon, while moderately high surfaces areas are retained. These sorbents are being investigated for possible use in removing trace contaminants and excess carbon dioxide from air in closed habitats, plant growth chambers, and other applications involving purification of humid gas streams. We have analyzed the characteristics of a few of these adsorbents through adsorption and desorption experiments and standard characterization techniques. This paper presents pure and multicomponent adsorption data collected for carbon dioxide and water on two synthetic carbonaceous adsorbents having different hydrophobicities and capillary condensation characteristics. The observations are interpreted through consideration of the pore structure and surface chemistry of the solids and interactions between adsorbed carbon dioxide, water, and the solvent gas.

Finn, John E.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Satellite detection of phytoplankton export from the mid-Atlantic Bight during the 1979 spring bloom

Analysis of Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) imagery confirms shipboard and in situ moored fluorometer observations of resuspension of near-bottom chlorophyll within surface waters (1 to 10 m) by northwesterly wind events in the mid-Atlantic Bight. As much as 8 to 16 micrograms chl/l are found during these wind events from March to May, with a seasonal increase of algal biomass until onset of stratification of the water column. Rapid sinking or downwelling apparently occurs after subsequent wind events, however, such that the predominant surface chlorophyll pattern is approx. 0.5 to 1.5 micrograms/l over the continental shelf during most of the spring bloom. Perhaps half of the chlorophyll increase observed by satellite during a wind resuspension event represents in-situ production during the 4 to 5 day interval, with the remainder attributed to accumulation of algal biomass previously produced and temporarily stored within near-bottom water. Present calculations suggest that about 10% of the primary production of the spring bloom may be exported as ungrazed phytoplankton carbon from mid-Atlantic shelf waters to those of the continental slope.

Walsh, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Microbial biofilm studies of the Environmental Control and Life Support System water recovery test for Space Station Freedom

Analysis of biofilm accumulation, studies of iodine disinfection of biofilm, and the potential for microbially influenced corrosion in the water recovery test (WRT) are presented. The analysis of WRT components showed the presence of biofilms and organic deposits in selected tubing. Water samples from the WRT contained sulfate-reducing and acid-producing organisms implicated in corrosion processes. Corrosion of an aluminum alloy was accelerated in the presence of these water samples, but stainless steel corrosion rates were not accelerated.

Obenhuber, D. C.↗
NASA NTRS1979

U-2 water vapor burden observations through the tropopause

A U-2 aircraft provided a platform for an infrared radiometer inferring water vapor burdens associated with the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Flight altitudes were 16 to 23 km. The radiometer system, coupled with an algorithm to produce an inverse solution of the radiative transfer equation, resulted in an rms error of 20 percent in the inferred water vapor burden. A unique, bivariate solution including radiance and vertical temperature profiles produced an essentially real-time solution for the water vapor burden. Results of the July 1977 missions over the Canal Zone region between latitudes 7.5 degrees N and 11.0 degrees N are presented.

Kuhn, P. M.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

LIPA: Lunar Ice Perception Algorithm

Introduction: The highest concentration of Lu-nar water-ice stores exists within the Permanently Shadowed Regions (PSRs) of the Lunar South Pole [1-3]. As such, the ability to locate in situ water-ice stores in an accurate, systematic, and safe manner will prove vital for future Lunar activities which rely on hydrogen-based resources. Here we show how the strong absorptive properties of ice can be exploited so that surface ice located in PSRs can be easily differentiated from the surrounding frozen regolith. Testbeds which simulate an icy lunar landscape were created and then systematically imaged using a mid-wave infrared (MWIR) camera system. Testbeds were imaged under two filter modes (1) high-absorption (high-abs) mode: whereby imagery captured were confined to a single central wave-length (CWL) of 3.15 ± 0.03 μm and (2) low-absorption (low-abs) mode: whereby imagery cap-tured were confined to a single CWL of 3.80 ± 0.04 μm (Figure 1). High- and low-absorption modes are related to the absorptive properties of ice at each selected wavelength, respectively. Corresponding images from each filter mode were differenced (i.e., pixels were subtracted) to enhance contrast between ice-bearing and non-ice-bearing pixels, and then fed into a semantic segmen-tation model. The model was trained to detect and differentiate between water, ice, shadows, and lunar regolith. Results: Modeling results accurately discrimi-nated ice from other materials (such as frozen lunar regolith) and were used to visually resolve the spa-tial extent of surface ice. Further, outputs produced through semantic segmentation were used to estimate water-ice contents in collected imagery [(Pixels with Class = “Water Ice”)/(Sum of Pixels)*100]. Summary: These works prove promising for future in situ resource utilization (ISRU) missions which employ robotics in combination with infrared camera systems to advance science objectives (e.g., locate water-ice in frozen regolith) on the lunar sur-face. References: [1] Cannon K. M., Deutsch A. N., Head J. W., and Britt D. T. (2020) Geophysical Re-search Letters, 46, e2020GL088920. [2] Honniball C. I. et al. (2021) Nature Astronomy 5, no. 2, 121-127. [3] Li S. et al. (2018) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(36), 8907-8912.

A. Slabic↗