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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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A study of jimsphere wind profiles as related to space vehicle design and operations
Winds aloft and wind shear analysis from jimsphere wind sensor balloon-radar data
V/STOL Inertial Navigation with Radar Update Capability
Radar data for updating inertial navigation system onboard V/STOL aircraft
Engineering models of the Venus atmosphere based on an interpretation of recent space vehicle observations of Venus.
Venusian atmosphere model developed from satellite and earth based radar data for environmental criteria in spacecraft design and mission planning
Mars - Correlation of optical and radar observations.
Mars photographic and radar data correlation indicating smoothness of dark areas and roughness of desert areas
Doppler return from a random rough surface.
Doppler echo from random rough surface, discussing average power return, frequencies, amplitudes, antenna beamwidth and radar data correlation
Radar studies of the moon Quarterly progress report
Lunar subarea mapping from radar data
Verification of the Kalman filter equations used in the LM AGS
Kalman filter equations for processing rendezvous radar data in lunar module abort guidance system
Instrumented aircraft measurements in the vicinity of clear air radar structures
Clear air radar structures temperature, wind components and true gust velocities combined with radar data for observed traveling wave features
Simultaneous multiple wavelength laser radar measurements of the lower atmosphere
Lower atmospheric multiple wavelength laser radar data compared to clear atmosphere model and radiosonde measurements, discussing mixing layer location
Descartes region - Evidence for Copernican-age volcanism.
A model that suggests that the high-albedo central region of the Descartes Formation was formed by Copernican-age volcanism was developed from Orbiter photography, Apollo 12 multispectral photography, earth-based spectrophotometry, and thermal IR and radar data. The bright surface either is abundant in centimeter-sized rocks or is formed from an insulating debris layer overlying a surface with an abundance of rocks in the 1- to 20-cm size range. On the basis of these data, the bright unit is thought to be a young pyroclastic deposit mantling older volcanic units of the Descartes Formation. Since the Apollo 16 target point is only 50 km NW of the central part of this unit, evidence for material associated with this unique highland formation should be searched for in returned soil and rock samples.
Bistatic-radar estimation of surface-slope probability distributions with applications to the moon.
A method for extracting surface-slope frequency distributions from bistatic-radar data has been developed and applied to the lunar surface. Telemetry transmissions from orbiting Apollo spacecraft were received on the earth after reflection from the lunar surface. The echo-frequency spectrum was related analytically to the probability distribution of lunar slopes. Standard regression techniques were used to solve the inverse problem of finding slope distributions from observed echo-frequency spectra. Data taken simultaneously at two wavelengths, 13 and 116 cm, have yielded diverse slope statistics.
Low resolution radar digital interface
This document describes the design and operation of a low resolution radar data recording system for precipitation measurements. This system records a full azimuth scan on seven track magnetic tapes every five minutes. It is designed to operate on a continuous basis with operator intervention required only for changing tape reels and calibration.
Binary selectable detector holdoff circuit: Design, testing, and application
A very high speed switching circuit, part of a laser radar data acquisition system, has been designed and tested. The primary function of this circuit was to provide computer controlled switching of photodiode detector preamplifier power supply voltages, typically less than plus or minus 20 volts, in approximately 10 nanoseconds. Thus, in actual use, detector and/or detector preamplifier damage can be avoided as a result of sudden extremely large values of backscattered radiation being detected, such as might be due to short range, very thin atmospheric dust layers. Switching of the power supply voltages was chosen over direct switching the photodiode detector input to the preamplifier, based on system noise considerations. Also, the circuit provides a synchronized trigger pulse output for triggering devices such as the Biomation Model 8100 100 MHz analog to digital converter.
Lunar dynamics and observational coordinate systems
The state of the art in lunar dynamics studies is summarized by a partial review of papers presented at a recent COSPAR meeting. The following general conclusions are made from the papers: (1) a comprehensive system of fundamental lunar craters is now feasible. Its coordinates can be determined by combining spacecraft, laser, and radar data. The quality of this system is well in par with those of systems based on earth-based observations. (2) Progress toward very high-precision ephemeris measurements has been very impressive, with fitting errors reduced to a few meters. Physical libration modeling techniques, a major obstacle to further improvement, are in the process of refinement. The lunar figure and planetary attraction were found to influence librations. (3) A combination of new techniques and revolutionized old techniques has a potential for achieving a still higher precision in lunar dynamics studies.
High-resolution radar maps of the lunar surface at 3.8-cm wavelength
The entire earth-facing lunar surface has been mapped at a resolution of 2 km using the 3.8-cm radar of Haystack Observatory. The observations yield the distribution of the relative radar backscattering efficiency with an accuracy of about 10% for both the polarized (primarily quasi-specular or coherent) and depolarized (diffuse or incoherent) scattered components. The results show a variety of discrete radar features, many of which are correlated with craters or other features of optical photographs. Particular interest, however, attaches to those features with substantially different ratio and optical contrast. An anomaly near 63 degrees is noted in the mean angular scattering law obtained from a summary of the radar data.
The Apollo Lunar Sounder radar system
The objectives of the Apollo 17 Lunar Sounder Experiment (ALSE) were to detect subsurface geologic structures, to generate a continuous lunar profile, and to image the moon at radar wavelengths. A three-wavelength synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) operating at 60, 20, and 2 m wavelengths was designed to attain these objectives. The design choices reflected a balance of scientific requirements versus Apollo mission and hardware constraints. The radar data from the lunar mission were recorded on photographic film in a conventional SAR format, and were returned to earth for processing. A combination of optical and digital processing and exploitation techniques was applied to the scientific interpretation of the data. Some preliminary results from the lunar mission have been obtained.
A radar brightness and altitude image of a portion of Venus
High-resolution radar data, taken from over the 1500-km circular area that was at the center of the planetary disk on June 20, 1972, show that this part of Venus is nearly flat and cratered. The largest crater is 160 km across, but only about 500 m deep. The smallest craters that can be resolved are about 35 km across.