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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2004

Fleet Assignment Using Collective Intelligence

Product distribution theory is a new collective intelligence-based framework for analyzing and controlling distributed systems. Its usefulness in distributed stochastic optimization is illustrated here through an airline fleet assignment problem. This problem involves the allocation of aircraft to a set of flights legs in order to meet passenger demand, while satisfying a variety of linear and non-linear constraints. Over the course of the day, the routing of each aircraft is determined in order to minimize the number of required flights for a given fleet. The associated flow continuity and aircraft count constraints have led researchers to focus on obtaining quasi-optimal solutions, especially at larger scales. In this paper, the authors propose the application of this new stochastic optimization algorithm to a non-linear objective cold start fleet assignment problem. Results show that the optimizer can successfully solve such highly-constrained problems (130 variables, 184 constraints).

Antoine, Nicolas E.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Estimation of Snow Mass Information via Assimilation of C-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar Backscatter Observations Into an Advanced and Surface Model

This study assimilated Sentinel-1 C-band backscatter observations over snow-covered terrain into the Noah-Multiparameterization land surface model using support vector machine (SVM) regression and an ensemble Kalman filter to improve the modeled terrestrial snow mass estimates. The data assimilation (DA) experiment was conducted across Western Colorado from September 2016 to August 2017. As part of the DA experiments, the impact of a rule-based update was evaluated by comparing snow water equivalent (SWE) estimates via DA (with [ DAv1 ] and without [ DAv2 ] the rule-based update) against SNOTEL SWE measurements. Results confirmed that rule-based update helped minimize SVM controllability issues, and in turn, improved the accuracy of SWE estimates relative to both open loop (OL) and DAv2 . Comparison of SWE estimates from Sentinel-1 DAv1 against SNOTEL SWE revealed that 75% of stations showed improvements in bias and correlation coefficient relative to the OL. Assimilated SWE estimates also showed statistical improvements during both the snow accumulation and snow ablation periods. However, unbiased root mean square error showed a slight increase during the snow ablation period due to the large variability in the electromagnetic response of C-band backscatter over deep and/or wet snow. Improvement of the SWE estimates also resulted in improving river discharge estimates compared to in situ measurements. River discharge using Sentinel-1 DAv1 improved the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency at all available stations. These results suggest that physically constrained SVM can serve as an efficient observation operator for snow mass DA through explicit consideration of the first-order C-band scattering mechanisms over different terrestrial snow conditions.

Jongmin Park↗
NASA NTRS2006

Emerging Definition of Next-Generation of Aeronautical Communications

Aviation continues to experience rapid growth. In regions such as the United States and Europe air traffic congestion is constraining operations, leading to major new efforts to develop methodologies and infrastructures to enable continued aviation growth through transformational air traffic management systems. Such a transformation requires better communications linking airborne and ground-based elements. Technologies for next-generation communications, the required capacities, frequency spectrum of operation, network interconnectivity, and global interoperability are now receiving increased attention. A number of major planning and development efforts have taken place or are in process now to define the transformed airspace of the future. These activities include government and industry led efforts in the United States and Europe, and by international organizations. This paper will review the features, approaches, and activities of several representative planning and development efforts, and identify the emerging global consensus on requirements of next generation aeronautical communications systems for air traffic control.

Kerczewski, Robert J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Neonatal rat heart cells cultured in simulated microgravity

In vitro characteristics of cardiac cells cultured in simulated microgravity are reported. Tissue culture methods performed at unit gravity constrain cells to propagate, differentiate, and interact in a two dimensional (2D) plane. Neonatal rat cardiac cells in 2D culture organize predominantly as bundles of cardiomyocytes with the intervening areas filled by non-myocyte cell types. Such cardiac cell cultures respond predictably to the addition of exogenous compounds, and in many ways they represent an excellent in vitro model system. The gravity-induced 2D organization of the cells, however, does not accurately reflect the distribution of cells in the intact tissue. We have begun characterizations of a three-dimensional (3D) culturing system designed to mimic microgravity. The NASA designed High-Aspect-Ratio-Vessel (HARV) bioreactors provide a low shear environment which allows cells to be cultured in static suspension. HARV-3D cultures were prepared on microcarrier beads and compared to control-2D cultures using a combination of microscopic and biochemical techniques. Both systems were uniformly inoculated and medium exchanged at standard intervals. Cells in control cultures adhered to the polystyrene surface of the tissue culture dishes and exhibited typical 2D organization. Cells in cultured in HARV's adhered to microcarrier beads, the beads aggregated into defined clusters containing 8 to 15 beads per cluster, and the clusters exhibited distinct 3D layers: myocytes and fibroblasts appeared attached to the surfaces of beads and were overlaid by an outer cell type. In addition, cultures prepared in HARV's using alternative support matrices also displayed morphological formations not seen in control cultures. Generally, the cells prepared in HARV and control cultures were similar, however, the dramatic alterations in 3D organization recommend the HARV as an ideal vessel for the generation of tissue-like organizations of cardiac cells in simulated microgravity.

Akins, Robert E.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Neonatal rat heart cells cultured in simulated microgravity

In vitro characteristics of cardiac cells cultured in simulated microgravity are reported. Tissue culture methods performed at unit gravity constrain cells to propagate, differentiate, and interact in a two-dimensional (2D) plane. Neonatal rat cardiac cells in 2D culture organize predominantly as bundles of cardiomyocytes with the intervening areas filled by nonmyocyte cell types. Such cardiac cell cultures respond predictably to the addition of exogenous compounds, and in many ways they represent an excellent in vitro model system. The gravity-induced 2D organization of the cells, however, does not accurately reflect the distribution of cells in the intact tissue. We have begun characterizations of a three-dimensional (3D) culturing system designed to mimic microgravity. The NASA-designed High-Aspect Ratio Vessel (HARV) bioreactors provide a low shear environment that allows cells to be cultured in static suspension. HARV-3D cultures were prepared on microcarrier beads and compared to control-2D cultures using a combination of microscopic and biochemical techniques. Both systems were uniformly inoculated and medium exchanged at standard intervals. Cells in control cultures adhered to the polystyrene surface of the tissue culture dishes and exhibited typical 2D organization. Cells cultured in HARVs adhered to microcarrier beads, the beads aggregated into defined clusters containing 8 to 15 beads per cluster, and the clusters exhibited distinct 3D layers: myocytes and fibroblasts appeared attached to the surfaces of beads and were overlaid by an outer cell type. In addition, cultures prepared in HARVs using alternative support matrices also displayed morphological formations not seen in control cultures. Generally, the cells prepared in HARV and control cultures were similar; however, the dramatic alterations in 3D organization recommend the HARV as an ideal vessel for the generation of tissuelike organization of cardiac cells in vitro.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1995

The coupling of fluids, dynamics, and controls on advanced architecture computers

This grant provided for the demonstration of coupled controls, body dynamics, and fluids computations in a workstation cluster environment; and an investigation of the impact of peer-peer communication on flow solver performance and robustness. The findings of these investigations were documented in the conference articles.The attached publication, 'Towards Distributed Fluids/Controls Simulations', documents the solution and scaling of the coupled Navier-Stokes, Euler rigid-body dynamics, and state feedback control equations for a two-dimensional canard-wing. The poor scaling shown was due to serialized grid connectivity computation and Ethernet bandwidth limits. The scaling of a peer-to-peer communication flow code on an IBM SP-2 was also shown. The scaling of the code on the switched fabric-linked nodes was good, with a 2.4 percent loss due to communication of intergrid boundary point information. The code performance on 30 worker nodes was 1.7 (mu)s/point/iteration, or a factor of three over a Cray C-90 head. The attached paper, 'Nonlinear Fluid Computations in a Distributed Environment', documents the effect of several computational rate enhancing methods on convergence. For the cases shown, the highest throughput was achieved using boundary updates at each step, with the manager process performing communication tasks only. Constrained domain decomposition of the implicit fluid equations did not degrade the convergence rate or final solution. The scaling of a coupled body/fluid dynamics problem on an Ethernet-linked cluster was also shown.

Atwood, Christopher↗
NASA NTRS2000

GCSS Cirrus Parcel Model Comparison Project

The Cirrus Parcel Model Comparison Project, a project of GCSS Working Group on Cirrus Cloud Systems (WG2), involves the systematic comparison of current models of ice crystal nucleation and growth for specified, typical, cirrus cloud environments. The goal of this project is to document and understand the factors resulting in significant inter-model differences. The intent is to foment research leading to model improvement and validation. In Phase 1 of the project reported here, simulated cirrus cloud microphysical properties are compared for situations of "warm" (-40 C) and "cold" (-60 C) cirrus subject to updrafts of 4, 20 and 100 cm/s, respectively. Five models participated. These models employ explicit microphysical schemes wherein the size distribution of each class of particles (aerosols and ice crystals) is resolved into bins. Simulations are made including both homogeneous and heterogeneous ice nucleation mechanisms. A single initial aerosol population of sulfuric acid particles is prescribed for all simulations. To isolate the treatment of the homogeneous freezing (of haze drops) nucleation process, the heterogeneous nucleation mechanism is disabled for a second parallel set of simulations. Qualitative agreement is found for the homogeneous-nucleation-only simulations, e.g., the number density of nucleated ice crystals increases with the strength of the prescribed updraft. However, non-negligible quantitative differences are found. Detailed analysis reveals that the homogeneous nucleation formulation, aerosol size, ice crystal growth rate (particularly the deposition coefficient), and water vapor uptake rate are critical components that lead to differences in predicted microphysics. Systematic bias exists between results based on a modified classical theory approach and models using an effective freezing temperature approach to the treatment of nucleation. Each approach is constrained by critical freezing data from laboratory studies, but each includes assumptions that can only be justified by further laboratory data. Consequently, it is not yet clear if the two approaches can be made consistent. Large haze particles may deviate considerably from equilibrium size in moderate to strong updrafts (20-100 cm/s) at -60 C when the commonly invoked equilibrium assumption is lifted. The resulting difference in particle-size-dependent solution concentration of haze particles may significantly affect the ice nucleation rate during the initial nucleation interval. The uptake rate for water vapor excess by ice crystals is another key component regulating the total number of nucleated ice crystals. This rate, the product of ice number concentration and ice crystal diffusional growth rate, which is sensitive to the deposition coefficient when ice particles are small, partially controls the peak nucleation rate achieved in an air parcel and the duration of the active nucleation time period. The effects of heterogeneous nucleation are most pronounced in weak updraft situations. Vapor competition by the nucleated (heterogeneous) ice crystals limits the achieved ice supersaturation and thus suppresses the contribution of homogeneous nucleation. Correspondingly, ice crystal number density is markedly reduced. Definitive laboratory and atmospheric benchmark data are needed for the heterogeneous nucleation process. Inter-model differences are correspondingly greater than in the case of the homogeneous nucleation process acting alone.

Lin, Ruei-Fong↗
NASA NTRS2014

Maximizing Science Return from Future Rodent Experiments on the International Space Station (ISS): Tissue Preservation

To better understand how mammals adapt to long duration habitation in space, a system for performing rodent experiments on the ISS is under development; Rodent Research-1 is the first flight and will include validation of both on-orbit animal support and tissue preservation. To evaluate plans for on-orbit sample dissection and preservation, we simulated conditions for euthanasia, tissue dissection, and prolonged sample storage on the ISS, and we also developed methods for post-flight dissection and recovery of high quality RNA from multiple tissues following prolonged storage in situ for future science. Mouse livers and spleens were harvested under conditions that simulated nominal, on-orbit euthanasia and dissection operations including storage at -80 C for 4 months. The RNA recovered was of high quality (RNA Integrity Number, RIN(is) greater than 8) and quantity, and the liver enzyme contents and activities (catalase, glutathione reductase, GAPDH) were similar to positive controls, which were collected under standard laboratory conditions. We also assessed the impact of possible delayed on-orbit dissection scenarios (off-nominal) by dissecting and preserving the spleen (RNAlater) and liver (fast-freezing) at various time points post-euthanasia (from 5 min up to 105 min). The RNA recovered was of high quality (spleen, RIN (is) greater than 8; liver, RIN (is) greater than 6) and liver enzyme activities were similar to positive controls at all time points, although an apparent decline in select enzyme activities was evident at the latest time (105 min). Additionally, various tissues were harvested from either intact or partially dissected, frozen carcasses after storage for approximately 2 months; most of the tissues (brain, heart, kidney, eye, adrenal glands and muscle) were of acceptable RNA quality for science return, whereas some tissues (small intestine, bone marrow and bones) were not. These data demonstrate: 1) The protocols developed for future flight experiments will support science return despite delayed preservation post-euthanasia or prolonged storage, and 2) Many additional tissues for gene expression analysis can be obtained by dissection following prolonged storage of the tissue in situ at -80 C. These findings have relevance both to high value, ground-based experiments when sample collection capability is severely constrained, and to all future spaceflight experiments that entail on-orbit sample recovery by the ISS crew.

tissues↗
NASA NTRS2016

Improving Power Density of Free-Piston Stirling Engines

Analyses and experiments demonstrate the potential benefits of optimizing piston and displacer motion in a free piston Stirling Engine. Isothermal analysis shows the theoretical limits of power density improvement due to ideal motion in ideal Stirling engines. More realistic models based on nodal analysis show that ideal piston and displacer waveforms are not optimal, often producing less power than engines that use sinusoidal piston and displacer motion. Constrained optimization using nodal analysis predicts that Stirling engine power density can be increased by as much as 58 using optimized higher harmonic piston and displacer motion. An experiment is conducted in which an engine designed for sinusoidal motion is forced to operate with both second and third harmonics, resulting in a maximum piston power increase of 14. Analytical predictions are compared to experimental data showing close agreement with indirect thermodynamic power calculations, but poor agreement with direct electrical power measurements.

space technology↗
NASA NTRS2021

Frustration in Fuzzy Protein Complexes Leads to Interaction Versatility

Disordered proteins frequently serve as interaction hubs involving a constrained variety of partners. Complexes with different partners frequently exhibit distinct binding modes, involving regions that remain disordered in the bound state. While the conformational properties of disordered proteins are well-characterized in their free states, less is known about the molecular mechanisms by which specificity can be achieved not with one but with multiple partners. Using the energy landscape theory concept of protein frustration, we demonstrate that complexes of disordered proteins exhibit a high degree of local frustration, especially at the binding interface. These suboptimal interactions lead to the possibility of multiple bound substates, each displaying distinct frustration patterns, which are differently populated in complexes with different partners. These results explain how specificity of disordered proteins can be achieved without a single common bound conformation and how the conflict between different interactions can be used to control the binding to multiple partners.

Chemical specificity↗
NASA NTRS2014

Maximizing Science Return from Future Rodent Experiments on the International Space Station (ISS): Tissue Preservation

To better understand how mammals adapt to long duration habitation in space, a system for performing rodent experiments on the ISS is under development. Rodent Research-1 is the first flight and will include validation of both on-orbit animal support and tissue preservation. To evaluate plans for on-orbit sample dissection and preservation, we simulated conditions for euthanasia, tissue dissection, and prolonged sample storage on the ISS, and we also developed methods for post-flight dissection and recovery of high quality RNA from multiple tissues following prolonged storage in situ for future science return. Livers and spleens from mice were harvested under conditions that simulated nominal, on-orbit euthanasia and dissection procedures including storage at minus 80 degrees Centigrade for 4 months. The RNA recovered was of high quality (RNA Integrity Number, RNA Integrity Number (RIN) greater than 8) and quantity, and the liver enzyme contents and activities (catalase, glutathione reductase, GAPDH) were similar to positive controls, which were collected under standard laboratory conditions. We also assessed the impact of possible delayed on-orbit dissection scenarios (off-nominal) by dissecting and preserving the spleen (RNA, later) and liver (fast-freezing) at various time points post-euthanasia (from 5 minutes up to 105 minutes). The RNA recovered was of high quality (spleen, RIN greater than 8; liver, RIN greater than 6) and liver enzyme activities were similar to positive controls at all time points, although an apparent decline in select enzyme activities was evident at 105 minutes. Additionally, various tissues were harvested from either intact or partially dissected, frozen carcasses after storage for approximately 2 months; most of the tissues (brain, heart, kidney, eye, adrenal glands and muscle) were of acceptable RNA quality for science return, whereas some tissues (small intestine, bone marrow and bones) were not. These data demonstrate: 1) The protocols developed for future flight experiments will support science return despite delayed preservation post-euthanasia or prolonged storage, and 2) High-quality RNA samples from many different tissues can be recovered by dissection following prolonged storage of the tissue in situ at minus 80 degrees Centigrade. These findings have relevance both to high-value, ground-based experiments when sample collection capability is severely constrained, and to future spaceflight experiments that entail on-orbit sample recovery by the ISS crew.

tissues↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Following the αCen Ab Candidate Using the Roman Coronagraph Instrument

The Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph offers a unique opportunity to observe our nearest solar twin, Alpha Centauri A, and characterize the habitable-zone gas giant candidate, Alpha Cen Ab. The candidate uniquely stands out among all imaged exoplanets to date as the one most similar in temperature, age and location to the planets in our own Solar System. Roman CGI offers the tantalizing opportunity to observe the candidate—determining its radius, temperature, and albedo—and to constrain its orbit. Observing Alpha Cen Ab with Roman would make it the first exoplanet to be imaged in both thermal emission and reflected light and would motivate an exciting search for habitable exomoons with the upcoming ELTs and HWO. In addition, this candidate will inform the planet formation history and current dynamics of the Alpha Centauri AB system, including potentially habitable planets around both stars. In this talk, we describe our plan to observe this target using the Roman CGI, including the timing strategy to minimize contrast and avoid background objects. We also describe the key technical insights about coronagraph performance that we aim to gain, such as measuring companion leakage intensity, evaluating the impact of the large stellar diameter, and assessing CGI performance on very bright targets. In subsequent observations, we aim to demonstrate Multi-Star Wavefront Control (MSWC) on-sky, observing Alpha Cen A using the Wide FoV Shaped Pupil MSWC contributed mode in the Roman CGI. The insights from these technology demonstrations are crucial preparation for the planned HWO mission.

Coronagraph↗
NASA NTRS2013

Compatibility of a Diffractive Pupil and Coronagraphic Imaging

Detection and characterization of exo-earths require direct-imaging techniques that can deliver contrast ratios of 10(exp 10) at 100 milliarc-seconds or smaller angular separation. At the same time, astrometric data is required to measure planet masses and can help detect planets and constrain their orbital parameters. To minimize costs, a single space mission can be designed using a high efficiency coronograph to perform direct imaging and a diffractive pupil to calibrate wide-field distortions to enable high precision astrometric measurements. This paper reports the testing of a diffractive pupil on the high-contrast test bed at the NASA Ames Research Center to assess the compatibility of using a diffractive pupil with coronographic imaging systems. No diffractive contamination was found within our detectability limit of 2x10(exp -7) contrast outside a region of 12lambda/D and 2.5x10(exp -6) within a region spanning from 2 to 12lambda/D. Morphology of the image features suggests that no contamination exists even beyond the detectability limit specified or at smaller working angles. In the case that diffractive contamination is found beyond these stated levels, active wavefront control would be able to mitigate its intensity to 10(exp -7) or better contrast.

Bendek, Eduardo↗
NASA NTRS2012

Far Sidelobes Measurement of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) is a 6m telescope designed to map the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) simultaneously at 145GHz, 220 GHz and 280 GHz. Its off-axis Gregorian design is intended to minimize and control the off-axis sidelobe response, which is critical for scientific purposes. The expected sidelobe level for this kind of design is less than -50 dB and can be challenging to measure. Here we present a measurement of the 145 GHz far sidelobes of ACT done on the near-field of the telescope. We used a 1 mW microwave source placed 13 meters away from the telescope and a chopper wheel to produce a varying signal that could be detected by the camera for different orientations of the telescope. The source feed was designed to produce a wide beam profile. Given that the coupling is expected to be dominated by diffraction over the telescope shielding structure, when combined with a measurements of the main beam far field response, these measurement can be used to validate elements of optical design and constrain the level of spurious coupling at large angles. Our results show that the diffractive coupling beyond the ground screen is consistently below -75 dB, satisfying the design expectations.

Duenner, Rolando↗
NASA NTRS2017

Advanced Deployable Shell-Based Composite Booms for Small Satellite Structural Applications Including Solar Sails

State of the art deployable structures are mainly being designed for medium to large size satellites. The lack of reliable deployable structural systems for low cost, small volume, rideshare-class spacecraft severely constrains the potential for using small satellite platforms for affordable deep space science and exploration precursor missions that could be realized with solar sails. There is thus a need for reliable, lightweight, high packaging efficiency deployable booms that can serve as the supporting structure for a wide range of small satellite systems including solar sails for propulsion. The National Air and Space Administration (NASA) is currently investing in the development of a new class of advanced deployable shell-based composite booms to support future deep space small satellite missions using solar sails. The concepts are being designed to: meet the unique requirements of small satellites, maximize ground testability, permit the use of low-cost manufacturing processes that will benefit scalability, be scalable for use as elements of hierarchical structures (e.g. trusses), allow long duration storage, have high deployment reliability, and have controlled deployment behavior and predictable deployed dynamics. This paper will present the various rollable boom concepts that are being developed for 5-20 m class size deployable structures that include solar sails with the so-called High Strain Composites (HSC) materials. The deployable composite booms to be presented are being developed to expand the portfolio of available rollable booms for small satellites and maximize their length for a given packaged volume. Given that solar sails are a great example of volume and mass optimization, the booms were designed to comply with nominal solar sail system requirements for 6U CubeSats, which are a good compromise between those of smaller form factors (1U, 2U and 3U CubeSats) and larger ones (12 U and 27 U future CubeSats, and ESPA-class microsatellites). Solar sail missions for such composite boom systems are already under consideration and development at NASA, as well as mission studies that will benefit from planned scaled-up versions of the composite boom technologies to be introduced. The paper presents ongoing research and development of thin-shell rollable composite booms designed under the particular stringent and challenging system requirements of relatively large solar sails housed on small satellites. These requirements will be derived and listed. Several new boom concepts are proposed and other existing ones are improved upon using thin-ply composite materials to yield unprecedented compact deployable structures. Some of these booms are shown in Fig. 1. For every boom to be introduced the scalable fabrication process developed to keep the overall boom system cost down will be shown. Finally, the initial results of purposely designed boom structural characterization test methods with gravity off-loading will be presented to compare their structural performance under expected and general load cases.

Fernandez, Juan M.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Polar Motion Constraints on Models of the Fortnightly Tide

Estimates of the near-fortnightly Mf ocean tide from Topex/Poseidon satellite altimetry and from numerical solutions to the shallow water equations agree reasonably well, at least in their basin-scale features. For example, both show that the Pacific Ocean tide lags the Atlantic tide by roughly 30 degrees. There are hints of finer scale agreements in the elevation fields, but noise levels are high. In contrast, estimates of Mf currents are only weakly constrained by the TP data, because high-wavenumber Rossby waves (with intense currents) are associated with relatively small perturbations in surface elevation. As a result, a wide range of Mf current fields are consistent with both the TP data and the hydrodynamic equations within a priori plausible misfit bounds. We find that a useful constraint on the Mf currents is provided by independent estimates of the Earth's polar motion. At the Mf period polar motion shows a weak signal (both prograde and retrograde) which must be almost entirely caused by the ocean tide. We have estimated this signal from the SPACE2000 time series, after applying a broad-band correction for atmospheric angular momentum. Although the polar motion estimates have relatively large uncertainties, they are sufficiently precise to fix optimum data weights in a global ocean inverse model of Mf. These weights control the tradeoff between fitting a prior hydrodynamic model of Mf and fitting the relatively noisy T/P measurements of Mf. The predicted polar motion from the final inverse model agrees remarkably well with the Mf polar motion observations. The preferred model is also consistent with noise levels suggested by island gauges, and it is marginally consistent with differences observed by subsetting the altimetry (to the small extent that this is possible). In turn, this new model of the Mf ocean tide allows the ocean component to be removed from Mf estimates of length of day, thus yielding estimates of complex Love numbers less contaminated by oceanic effects than has hitherto been possible.

Ray, Richard D.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Premonsoon Aerosol Characterization and Radiative Effects Over the Indo-Gangetic Plains: Implications for Regional Climate Warming

The Himalayas have a profound effect on the South Asian climate and the regional hydrological cycle, as it forms a barrier for the strong monsoon winds and serves as an elevated heat source, thus controlling the onset and distribution of precipitation during the Indian summer monsoon. Recent studies have suggested that radiative heating by absorbing aerosols, such as dust and black carbon over the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) and slopes of the Himalayas, may significantly accelerate the seasonal warming of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas-Tibetan Plateau (HKHT) and influence the subsequent evolution of the summer monsoon. This paper presents a detailed characterization of aerosols over the IGP and their radiative effects during the premonsoon season (April-May-June) when dust transport constitutes the bulk of the regional aerosol loading, using ground radiometric and spaceborne observations. During the dust-laden period, there is a strong response of surface shortwave flux to aerosol absorption indicated by the diurnally averaged forcing efficiency of -70 W/sq m per unit optical depth. The simulated aerosol single-scattering albedo, constrained by surface flux and aerosol measurements, is estimated to be 0.89+/- 0.01 (at approx.550 nm) with diurnal mean surface and top-of-atmosphere forcing values ranging from -11 to -79.8 W/sq m and +1.4 to +12 W/sq m, respectively, for the premonsoon period. The model-simulated solar heating rate profile peaks in the lower troposphere with enhanced heating penetrating into the middle troposphere (5-6 km), caused by vertically extended aerosols over the IGP with peak altitude of approx.5 km as indicated by spaceborne Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization observations. On a long-term climate scale, our analysis, on the basis of microwave satellite measurements of tropospheric temperatures from 1979 to 2007, indicates accelerated annual mean warming rates found over the Himalayan-Hindu Kush region (0.21 C/decade+/-0.08 C/decade) and underscores the potential role of enhanced aerosol solar absorption in the maximum warming localized over the western Himalayas (0.26 C/decade f 0.09 C/decade) that significantly exceed the entire HKHT and global warming rates. We believe the accelerated warming rates reported here are critical to both the South Asian summer monsoon and hydro-glaciological resource variability in the Himalayan-Hindu Kush snowpack and therefore to the densely populated downstream regions.

Gautam, Ritesh↗
NASA NTRS2017

Where Is the Upper Altitude Boundary of Earth's Biosphere? An Upcoming Stratosphere Exploration Mission

Earths atmosphere provides a relatively thin barrier to the severe conditions of space. Terrestrial microorganisms from our planets surface gets swept up into the atmosphere at rates which are influenced by meteorology, season, and variety of other regionally-dependent conditions. Residence time of microbes in the atmosphere, dispersal patterns, and metabolic activity in clouds are topics of special interest in tropospheric aerobiology. But what about even higher altitudes? A century of ocean exploration has allowed the scientific community to characterize marine life at every depth. Such knowledge was enabled by routine access, specifically, submersible vehicles with sample return systems. The outer reaches of Earth's atmosphere probably contain trace signatures of microbial life swept up from the surface, but high-altitude exploration (from 18-50 km above sea level) has been severely constrained by a shortage of reliable affordable sample acquisition systems. Thus, attempts to establish the upper altitude limits of Earths biosphere boundary remain unresolved. Previous conclusions based on observations of microbial growth and DNA signatures from samples collected in the upper atmosphere have resulted in extraordinary claims for the tenacity of life in the stratosphere. This altitude range can be regarded as a natural laboratory for examining the edge of habitability, a topic of central important to the field of astrobiology; in fact, stratosphere conditions (high UV light and low extremes of temperature, pressure, and relative humidity) closely resemble stressors associated with the surface of Mars. Moreover, low biomass detection instruments developed exploring Earths upper atmosphere can contribute to future strategies for life detection with spacecraft exploring other worlds. While pioneering, many past stratospheric microbiology studies have been qualitative in nature and lacking rigorous contamination control measurements to verify system sterility. We have designed, constructed, and recently flown a novel system for collecting upper atmosphere bioaerosols using the NASA C20A aircraft. We will report preliminary mission results from the lower stratosphere (characterizing abundance, diversity and survivability or airborne microorganisms), describe our methods for reducing false positives, and outline the open scientific engineering challenges in an ongoing effort to better establish Earths high-altitude biosphere boundary.

Smith, David J.↗