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NASA NTRS2017

NASA's EOSDIS, Trust and Certification

NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) has been in operation since August 1994, managing most of NASA's Earth science data from satellites, airborne sensors, filed campaigns and other activities. Having been designated by the Federal Government as a project responsible for production, archiving and distribution of these data through its Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs), the Earth Science Data and Information System Project (ESDIS) is responsible for EOSDIS, and is legally bound by the Office of Management and Budgets circular A-130, the Federal Records Act. It must follow the regulations of the National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST) and National Archive and Records Administration (NARA). It must also follow the NASA Procedural Requirement 7120.5 (NASA Space Flight Program and Project Management). All these ensure that the data centers managed by ESDIS are trustworthy from the point of view of efficient and effective operations as well as preservation of valuable data from NASA's missions. Additional factors contributing to this trust are an extensive set of internal and external reviews throughout the history of EOSDIS starting in the early 1990s. Many of these reviews have involved external groups of scientific and technological experts. Also, independent annual surveys of user satisfaction that measure and publish the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), where EOSDIS has scored consistently high marks since 2004, provide an additional measure of trustworthiness. In addition, through an effort initiated in 2012 at the request of NASA HQ, the ESDIS Project and 10 of 12 DAACs have been certified by the International Council for Science (ICSU) World Data System (WDS) and are members of the ICSUWDS. This presentation addresses questions such as pros and cons of the certification process, key outcomes and next steps regarding certification. Recently, the ICSUWDS and Data Seal of Approval (DSA) organizations merged their Core Trustworthy Data Repositories Requirements and require that members be recertified every three years. Given the rigor with which NASA manages the ESDIS Project and the DAACs, the recertification through WDSDSA, while involving some additional work, is a relatively simple process.

Certification↗
NASA NTRS1993

System performance and on-orbit operations of the Crystal Growth Furnace (CGF) on the first United States microgravity laboratory mission

The paper discusses the design, the performance, and on-orbit operations of the Crystal Growth Furnace (CGF) system flown for the first time aboard the Orbiter Columbia on STS-50. Four experiments were carried out: (1) crystal growth of (Hg,Zn)Te by chemical vapor transport, (2) seeded Bridgman growth of Zn-doped CdTe, (3) Bridgman growth of Se-doped GaAs, and (4) crystal growth of (Hg,Zn)Te by directional solidification. The results of a system performance data analysis demonstrate that all the elements of the CGF system functioned flawlessly. Seven out of eight samples carried on board yielded the best possible science return to date, surpassing previous microgravity material processing experiments in space.

Srinivas, R.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Simulation of a data archival and distribution system at GSFC

A version-0 of a Data Archive and Distribution System (DADS) is being developed at GSFC to support existing and pre-EOS Earth science datasets and test Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) concepts. The performance of DADS is predicted using a discrete event simulation model. The goals of the simulation were to estimate the amount of disk space needed and the time required to fulfill the DADS requirements for ingestion (14 GB/day) and distribution (48 GB/day). The model has demonstrated that 4 mm and 8 mm stackers can play a critical role in improving the performance of the DADS, since it takes, on average, 3 minutes to manually mount/dismount tapes compared to less than a minute with stackers. With two 4 mm stackers and two 8 mm stackers, and a single operator per shift, the DADS requirements can be met within 16 hours using a total of 9 GB of disk space. When the DADS has no stacker, and the DADS depends entirely on operators to handle the distribution tapes, the simulation has shown that the DADS requirements can still be met within 16 hours, but a minimum of 4 operators per shift were required. The compression/decompression of data sets is very CPU intensive, and relatively slow when performed in software, thereby contributing to an increase in the amount of disk space needed.

Bedet, Jean-Jacques↗
NASA NTRS2002

Dynamical Approach Study of Spurious Numerics in Nonlinear Computations

The last two decades have been an era when computation is ahead of analysis and when very large scale practical computations are increasingly used in poorly understood multiscale complex nonlinear physical problems and non-traditional fields. Ensuring a higher level of confidence in the predictability and reliability (PAR) of these numerical simulations could play a major role in furthering the design, understanding, affordability and safety of our next generation air and space transportation systems, and systems for planetary and atmospheric sciences, and in understanding the evolution and origin of life. The need to guarantee PAR becomes acute when computations offer the ONLY way of solving these types of data limited problems. Employing theory from nonlinear dynamical systems, some building blocks to ensure a higher level of confidence in PAR of numerical simulations have been revealed by the author and world expert collaborators in relevant fields. Five building blocks with supporting numerical examples were discussed. The next step is to utilize knowledge gained by including nonlinear dynamics, bifurcation and chaos theories as an integral part of the numerical process. The third step is to design integrated criteria for reliable and accurate algorithms that cater to the different multiscale nonlinear physics. This includes but is not limited to the construction of appropriate adaptive spatial and temporal discretizations that are suitable for the underlying governing equations. In addition, a multiresolution wavelets approach for adaptive numerical dissipation/filter controls for high speed turbulence, acoustics and combustion simulations will be sought. These steps are corner stones for guarding against spurious numerical solutions that are solutions of the discretized counterparts but are not solutions of the underlying governing equations.

Yee, H. C.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Data Model Management for Space Information Systems

The Reference Architecture for Space Information Management (RASIM) suggests the separation of the data model from software components to promote the development of flexible information management systems. RASIM allows the data model to evolve independently from the software components and results in a robust implementation that remains viable as the domain changes. However, the development and management of data models within RASIM are difficult and time consuming tasks involving the choice of a notation, the capture of the model, its validation for consistency, and the export of the model for implementation. Current limitations to this approach include the lack of ability to capture comprehensive domain knowledge, the loss of significant modeling information during implementation, the lack of model visualization and documentation capabilities, and exports being limited to one or two schema types. The advent of the Semantic Web and its demand for sophisticated data models has addressed this situation by providing a new level of data model management in the form of ontology tools. In this paper we describe the use of a representative ontology tool to capture and manage a data model for a space information system. The resulting ontology is implementation independent. Novel on-line visualization and documentation capabilities are available automatically, and the ability to export to various schemas can be added through tool plug-ins. In addition, the ingestion of data instances into the ontology allows validation of the ontology and results in a domain knowledge base. Semantic browsers are easily configured for the knowledge base. For example the export of the knowledge base to RDF/XML and RDFS/XML and the use of open source metadata browsers provide ready-made user interfaces that support both text- and facet-based search. This paper will present the Planetary Data System (PDS) data model as a use case and describe the import of the data model into an ontology tool. We will also describe the current effort to provide interoperability with the European Space Agency (ESA)/Planetary Science Archive (PSA) which is critically dependent on a common data model.

RDF↗
NASA NTRS2009

An Operational Assessment of the MODIS False Color Composite with the Great Falls, Montana National Weather Service

The close and productive collaborations between the NWS Warning and Forecast Office (WFO) in Great Falls, MT and the Short Term Prediction and Research Transition (SPORT) Center at NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center have provided a unique opportunity for science sharing and technology transfer. In particular, SPoRT has provided a false color composite product derived from MODIS data, which is part of NASA's Earth Observing System. This product is designed to delineate snow and ice covered ground, bare ground and clouds. The Great Falls WFO has been a test bed of the MODIS false color composite as a tool in operations to monitor the development and dissipation of snow cover In particular, preliminary applications have shown that the product can be used to monitor snow cover in remote locations as well as ice in rivers. This information can lead to improved assessments of flooding potential during post event conditions where rapid melting and runoff are anticipated. The potential of this product on future geostationary satellites may substantially contribute to the NWS mission by providing enhanced situational awareness. The operational use of this product has been transitioned at WFO Great Falls through a process of product implementation, discussions with the service hydrologist and forecasters, and post event analysis. A concentrated assessment period from January to March, 2008 was initiated to investigate the impact of the MODIS false color product on WFO Great Falls' operations. This presentation will emphasize the impact the MODIS false color product had in the WFO's situational awareness and how best this information can be used to influence operational decisions.

Loss, GIna↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

CLAIRE: Enabling Heterogeneous Communication Network Optimization for Robust and Resilient Operations

In this paper, we present the capabilities of the CLAIRE System which provides resilient communications for NASA in presence of interference and congestion for a heterogeneous multi-vendor network. CLAIRE increases mission science data return to improve resource efficiencies and ensures resilience in the unpredictable space environment for NASA missions and communication networks. CLAIRE provides technology / waveform agnostic cognitive control plane that is instantiated at the Application Layer (APP) so that it can ride on NASA’s HDTN bundle protocol or any other protocol stack that is used by the network. The cognitive control plane is instantiated using Heartbeats (HTBTs). CLAIRE is assisted by Wideband UHF-Ka Band RF Sensing that leverages advances in the Direct Digital Transceiver (DDTRX) technology. The Wideband RF Sensing is driven by statistical signal processing and machine learning algorithms. Interference is mitigated using Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA). Finally, CLAIRE addresses congestion using spectrum aware packet forwarding algorithm. CLAIRE provides an extensible protocol that allows passing of RF spectrum situational awareness, cross-layer sensing, delay tolerant networking and dynamic spectrum access information that can help with network optimization. Cross-Layer Sensing (CLS) and CLAIRE Decision Engine (CDE) enable spectrum and delay aware packet forwarding and Dynamic Spectrum Access during cases of severe interference.

cognitive communications↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

June 2023 Canadian Wildfire Effects on Hampton Roads VA using ASDC Data

In June of 2023 thousands of acres of wildfires spread across northwestern Canada. This event emitted huge amounts of smoke, and pollutants that travelled east across the North America, the Atlantic ocean and eventually all the way to Continental Europe. This smoke created a dangerous air quality event throughout the Atlantic Coast. As climate change increases the prevalence of wildfires more cities and states will be affected by the dangerous smoke and pollutants produced by these events. In this poster we documented and investigated the June 06th Air Quality Event over Hampton Roads, VA. To perform a comparative analysis, we utilized two data sources: NASA’s Atmospheric Science Data Center we used the Cloud Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO), the Deep Space Climate ObserVatoRy (DSCOVR) Enhanced Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), data product, and the EPA’s ground-based Air Quality System (AQS).

Air Quality↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Applying Satellite Data to Support Disaster Response and Emergency Management Decision Making

Using the vantage point of space, satellite observations provide information about the Earth that can serve a critical role in building situational awareness and filling in data gaps during disaster response. NASA’s Earth Science Division ( studies the Earth as a system and develops technologies to improve the quality of life here on our home planet. Within NASA ESD, the Disasters Program and its Disasters Response Coordination System (DRCS) aims to advance Earth science data and information to support management decisions that prevent or mitigate the impacts of disasters. Using a whole-of-NASA approach to coordinate and mobilize the Agency’s assets and expertise to provide geospatial information during disasters, this work brings the utility of Earth observation information to emergency management and disaster response and reduces the impacts of disasters on lives and livelihoods .This poster will introduce the utility of satellite and geospatial information to disaster response through examples of recent DRCS incident response activations and highlight the DRCS model that employs a user-centered activation framework beginning with direct requests from responders and ending with after-action assessments that feed lessons learned and process improvements.

Remote Sensing↗
NASA NTRS2016

Planetary Balloon-Based Science Platform Evaluation and Program Implementation

This report describes a study evaluating the potential for a balloon-based optical telescope as a planetary science asset to achieve decadal class science. The study considered potential science achievable and science traceability relative to the most recent planetary science decadal survey, potential platform features, and demonstration flights in the evaluation process. Science Potential and Benefits: This study confirms the cost the-benefit value for planetary science purposes. Forty-four (44) important questions of the decadal survey are at least partially addressable through balloon based capabilities. Planetary science through balloon observations can provide significant science through observations in the 300 nm to 5 m range and at longer wavelengths as well. Additionally, balloon missions have demonstrated the ability to progress from concept to observation to publication much faster than a space mission increasing the speed of science return. Planetary science from a balloon-borne platform is a relatively low-cost approach to new science measurements. This is particularly relevant within a cost-constrained planetary science budget. Repeated flights further reduce the cost of the per unit science data. Such flights offer observing time at a very competitive cost. Another advantage for planetary scientists is that a dedicated asset could provide significant new viewing opportunities not possible from the ground and allow unprecedented access to observations that cannot be realized with the time allocation pressures faced by current observing assets. In addition, flight systems that have a relatively short life cycle and where hardware is generally recovered, are excellent opportunities to train early career scientists, engineers, and project managers. The fact that balloon-borne payloads, unlike space missions, are generally recovered offers an excellent tool to test and mature instruments and other space craft systems. Desired Gondola Features: Potential gondola characteristics are assessed in this study and a concept is recommended, the Gondola for High-Altitude Planetary Science (GHAPS). This first generation platform is designed around a 1 m or larger aperture, narrow-field telescope with pointing accuracies better than one arc-second. A classical Cassegrain, or variant like Ritchey-Chretien, telescope is recommended for the primary telescope. The gondola should be designed for multiple flights so it must be robust and readily processed at recovery. It must be light-weighted to the extent possible to allow for long-duration flights on super-pressure balloons. Demonstration Flights: Recent demonstration flights achieved several significant accomplishments that can feed forward to a GHAPS gondola project. Science results included the first ever Earth-based measurements for CO2 in a comet, first measurements for CO2 and H2O in an Oort cloud comet, and the first measurement of 1 Ceres at 2.73 m to refine the shape of the infrared water absorption feature. The performance of the Fine Steering Mirror (FSM) was also demonstrated. The BOPPS platform can continue to be leveraged on future flights even as GHAPS is being developed. The study affirms the planetary decadal recommendations, and shows that a number of Top Priority science questions can be achieved. A combination GHAPS and BOPPS would provide the best value for PSD for realizing that science.

Dankanich, John W.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Land and Atmosphere Near-Real-Time Capability for Earth Observing System

The past decade has seen a rapid increase in availability and usage of near-real-time data from satellite sensors. The EOSDIS (Earth Observing System Data and Information System) was not originally designed to provide data with sufficiently low latency to satisfy the requirements for near-real-time users. The EOS (Earth Observing System) instruments aboard the Terra, Aqua and Aura satellites make global measurements daily, which are processed into higher-level 'standard' products within 8-40 hours of observation and then made available to users, primarily earth science researchers. However, applications users, operational agencies, and even researchers desire EOS products in near-real-time to support research and applications, including numerical weather and climate prediction and forecasting, monitoring of natural hazards, ecological/invasive species, agriculture, air quality, disaster relief and homeland security. These users often need data much sooner than routine science processing allows, usually within 3 hours, and are willing to trade science product quality for timely access. While Direct Broadcast provides more timely access to data, it does not provide global coverage. In 2002, a joint initiative between NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), and the DOD (Department of Defense) was undertaken to provide data from EOS instruments in near-real-time. The NRTPE (Near Real Time Processing Effort) provided products within 3 hours of observation on a best-effort basis. As the popularity of these near-real-time products and applications grew, multiple near-real-time systems began to spring up such as the Rapid Response System. In recognizing the dependence of customers on this data and the need for highly reliable and timely data access, NASA's Earth Science Division sponsored the Earth Science Data and Information System Project (ESDIS)-led development of a new near-real-time system called LANCE (Land, Atmosphere Near-Real-Time Capability for EOS) in 2009. LANCE consists of special processing elements, co-located with selected EOSDIS data centers and processing facilities. A primary goal of LANCE is to bring multiple near-real-time systems under one umbrella, offering commonality in data access, quality control, and latency. LANCE now processes and distributes data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer Earth Observing System (AMSR-E), Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) instruments within 3 hours of satellite observation. The Rapid Response System and the Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) capabilities will be incorporated into LANCE in 2011. LANCE maintains a central website to facilitate easy access to data and user services. LANCE products are extensively tested and compared with science products before being made available to users. Each element also plans to implement redundant network, power and server infrastructure to ensure high availability of data and services. Through the user registration system, users are informed of any data outages and when new products or services will be available for access. Building on a significant investment by NASA in developing science algorithms and products, LANCE creates products that have a demonstrated utility for applications requiring near-real-time data. From lower level data products such as calibrated geolocated radiances to higher-level products such as sea ice extent, snow cover, and cloud cover, users have integrated LANCE data into forecast models and decision support systems. The table above shows the current near-real-time product categories by instrument. The ESDIS Project continues to improve the LANCE system and use the experience gained through practice to seek adjustments to improve the quality and performance of the system. For example, anGC-compliant Web Map Service (WMS) will be added shortly that will allow users to download geo-referenced MODIS images for arbitrary bounding boxes. Further, an OGC-compliant Web Coverage Service (WCS) will be added later this year that will expedite user access to arbitrary data subsets or re-formatted products. AIRS images are now served through WMS and available in multiple formats (PNG, GeoTIFF, KMZ). NASA has established a LANCE User Working Group to steer the development of the system and create a forum for sharing ideas and experiences that are expected to further improve the LANCE capabilities. The LANCE system has proved a success by satisfying the growing needs of the applications and operational communities for land and atmosphere data in near-real-time. NASA's Earth Sciences Division was able to leverage existing science research capabilities to provide the near-real-time community with products and imagery that support monitoring of disasters in a timely manner.

Murphy, Kevin J.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Overview of Materials International Space Station Experiment 7B

Materials International Space Station Experiment 7B (MISSE 7B) is the most recent in a series of experiments flown on the exterior of International Space Station for the purpose of determining the durability of materials and components in the space environment. A collaborative effort among the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, industry, and academia, MISSE 7B will be flying a number of NASA experiments designed to gain knowledge in the area of space environmental effects to mitigate risk for exploration missions. Consisting of trays called Passive Experiment Containers, the suitcase sized payload opens on hinges and allows active and passive experiments contained within to be exposed to the ram and wake or zenith and nadir directions in low Earth orbit, in essence, providing a test bed for atomic oxygen exposure, ultraviolet radiation exposure, charged particle radiation exposure, and thermal cycling. New for MISSE 7B is the ability to monitor experiments actively, with data sent back to Earth via International Space Station communications. NASA?s active and passive experiments cover a range of interest for the Agency. Materials relevant to the Constellation Program include: solar array materials, seal materials, and thermal protection system materials. Materials relevant to the Exploration Technology Development Program include: fabrics for spacesuits, materials for lunar dust mitigation, and new thermal control coatings. Sensors and components on MISSE 7B include: atomic oxygen fluence monitors, ultraviolet radiation sensors, and electro-optical components. In addition, fundamental space environmental durability science experiments are being flown to gather atomic oxygen erosion data and thin film polymer mechanical and optical property data relevant to lunar lander insulation and the James Web Space Telescope. This paper will present an overview of the NASA experiments to be flown on MISSE 7B, along with a summary of the thermal environment to be expected during the 1 yr mission scheduled for launch in 2009.

Jaworske, Donald A.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Imaging System For Measuring Macromolecule Crystal Growth Rates in Microgravity

In order to determine how macromolecule crystal quality improvement in microgravity is related to crystal growth characteristics, a team of scientists and engineers at NASA's Marshal Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed flight hardware capable of measuring the crystal growth rates of a population of crystals growing under the same conditions. As crystal growth rate is defined as the change or delta in a defined dimension or length (L) of crystal over time, the hardware was named Delta-L. Delta-L consists of three sub assemblies: a fluid unit including a temperature-controlled growth cell, an imaging unit, and a control unit (consisting of a Data Acquisition and Control Unit (DACU), and a thermal control unit). Delta-L will be used in connection with the Glovebox Integrated Microgravity Isolation Technology (g-LIMIT) inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG), onboard the International Space Station. This paper will describe the Delta-L imaging system. The Delta-L imaging system was designed to locate, resolve, and capture images of up to 10 individual crystals ranging in size from 10 to 500 microns with a point-to-point accuracy of +/- 2.0 microns within a quartz growth cell observation area of 20 mm x 10 mm x 1 mm. The optical imaging system is comprised of a video microscope camera mounted on computer controlled translation stages. The 3-axis translation stages and control units provide crewmembers the ability to search throughout the growth cell observation area for crystals forming in size of approximately 10 microns. Once the crewmember has selected ten crystals of interest, the growth of these crystals is tracked until the size reaches approximately 500 microns. In order to resolve these crystals an optical system with a magnification of 10X was designed. A black and white NTSC camera was utilized with a 20X microscope objective and a 0.5X custom designed relay lens with an inline light to meet the magnification requirement. The design allows a 500 pm crystal to be viewed in the vertical dimension on a standard NTSC monitor (4:3 aspect ratio). Images of the 10 crystals are collected periodically and stored in sets by the DACU.

Corder, Eric L.↗
DOE OSTI2016

VERSION 1 OF THE HUBBLE SOURCE CATALOG

The Hubble Source Catalog is designed to help optimize science from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) by combining the tens of thousands of visit-based source lists in the Hubble Legacy Archive (HLA) into a single master catalog. Version 1 of the Hubble Source Catalog includes WFPC2, ACS/WFC, WFC3/UVIS, and WFC3/IR photometric data generated using SExtractor software to produce the individual source lists. The catalog includes roughly 80 million detections of 30 million objects involving 112 different detector/filter combinations, and about 160,000 HST exposures. Source lists from Data Release 8 of the HLA are matched using an algorithm developed by Budavári and Lubow. The mean photometric accuracy for the catalog as a whole is better than 0.10 mag, with relative accuracy as good as 0.02 mag in certain circumstances (e.g., bright isolated stars). The relative astrometric residuals are typically within 10 mas, with a value for the mode (i.e., most common value) of 2.3 mas. The absolute astrometric accuracy is better than 0{sup ″} .1 for most sources, but can be much larger for a fraction of fields that could not be matched to the PanSTARRS, SDSS, or 2MASS reference systems. In this paper we describe the database design with emphasis on those aspects that enable the users to fully exploit the catalog while avoiding common misunderstandings and potential pitfalls. We provide usage examples to illustrate some of the science capabilities and data quality characteristics, and briefly discuss plans for future improvements to the Hubble Source Catalog.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2019

Standards and Best Practices - Two NASA Examples

Formal international standards as well as promotion of community or recommended practices have their place in ensuring "FAIRness" of data. Data management in NASA's Earth Observation System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) has benefited from both of these avenues to a significant extent. The purpose of this paper is to present one example of each of these, which promote (re)usability. The first is an ISO standard for specifying preservation content from Earth observation missions. The work on this started in 2011, informally within the Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) in the US, while the European Space Agency (ESA) was leading an effort on Long-Term Data Preservation (LTDP). Resulting from the ESIP discussions was NASA's Preservation Content Specification, which was applied in 2012 as a requirement for NASA's new missions. ESA's Preserved Data Set Content (PDSC) document was codified into a document adopted by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS). It was recognized that it would be useful to combine PCS and PDSC into an ISO standard to ensure consistency in data preservation on a broader international scale. This standard, numbered ISO 19165-2 has been under development since mid-2017. The second is an example of developing recommendations for "best practices" within more limited (still fairly broad) communities. A Data Product Developers' Guide (DPDG) is currently being developed by one of NASA's Earth Science Data System Working Groups (ESDSWGs). It is for use by developers of products to be derived from Earth observation data to improve product (re)usability. One of the challenges in developing the guide is the fact that there are already many applicable standards and guides. The relevant information needs to be selected and expressed in a succinct manner, with appropriate pointers to references. The DPDG aims to compile the most applicable parts of earlier guides into a single document outlining the typical development process for Earth Science data products. Standards and best practices formally endorsed by the Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) Standards Office (ESO), outputs from ESDSWGs (e.g., Dataset Interoperability Working Group, and Data Quality Working Group), and recommendations from Distributed Active Archive Centers and data producers are emphasized.

Ramapriyan, Hampapuram↗
NASA NTRS2013

An Overview of the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) Facility and the Research Performed in the MSG on the International Space Station (ISS)

The Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) is a rack facility aboard the International Space Station (ISS) designed for investigation handling. The MSG was built by the European Space Agency (ESA) which also provides sustaining engineering support for the facility. The MSG has been operating on the ISS since July 2002 and is currently located in the US Laboratory Module. The unique design of the facility allows it to accommodate science and technology investigations in a "workbench" type environment. The facility has an enclosed working volume that is held at a negative pressure with respect to the crew living area. This allows the facility to provide two levels of containment for small parts, particulates, fluids, and gases. This containment approach protects the crew from possible hazardous operations that take place inside the MSG work volume. Research investigations operating inside the MSG are provided a large 255 liter enclosed work space, 1000 watts of dc power via a versatile supply interface (120, 28, +/- 12, and 5 Vdc), 1000 watts of cooling capability, video and data recording and real time downlink, ground commanding capabilities, access to ISS Vacuum Exhaust and Vacuum Resource Systems, and gaseous nitrogen supply. These capabilities make the MSG one of the most utilized facilities on ISS. The MSG has been used for over 14500 hours of scientific payload operations. MSG investigations involve research in cryogenic fluid management, fluid physics, spacecraft fire safety, materials science, combustion, plant growth, and life support technology. The MSG facility is operated by the Payloads Operations Integration Center at Marshall Space flight Center. Payloads may also operate remotely from different telescience centers located in the United States and Europe. The investigative Payload Integration Manager (iPIM) is the focal to assist organizations that have payloads operating in the MSG facility. NASA provides an MSG engineering unit for payload developers to verify that their hardware is operating properly before actual operation on the ISS. This paper will provide an overview of the MSG facility, a synopsis of the research that has already been accomplished in the MSG, and an overview of video and biological upgrades.

Jordan, Lee P.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Overview of the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) Facility and the Research Performed in the MSG

The Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) is a rack facility aboard the International Space Station (ISS) designed for investigation handling. The MSG was built by the European Space Agency (ESA) which also provides sustaining engineering support for the facility. The MSG has been operating on the ISS since July 2002 and is currently located in the US Laboratory Module. The unique design of the facility allows it to accommodate science and technology investigations in a "workbench" type environment. The facility has an enclosed working volume that is held at a negative pressure with respect to the crew living area. This allows the facility to provide two levels of containment for small parts, particulates, fluids, and gases. This containment approach protects the crew from possible hazardous operations that take place inside the MSG work volume. Research investigations operating inside the MSG are provided a large 255 liter enclosed work space, 1000 watts of direct current power via a versatile supply interface (120, 28, plus or minus 12, and 5 volts direct current), 1000 watts of cooling capability, video and data recording and real time downlink, ground commanding capabilities, access to ISS Vacuum Exhaust and Vacuum Resource Systems, and gaseous nitrogen supply. These capabilities make the MSG one of the most utilized facilities on ISS. The MSG has been used for over 27,000 hours of scientific payload operations. MSG investigations involve research in cryogenic fluid management, fluid physics, spacecraft fire safety, materials science, combustion, plant growth, biological studies and life support technology. The MSG facility is operated by the Payloads Operations Integration Center at Marshall Space Flight Center. Payloads may also operate remotely from different telescience centers located in the United States and Europe. The Investigative Payload Integration Manager (IPIM) is the focal to assist organizations that have payloads operating in the MSG facility. NASA provides an MSG engineering unit for payload developers to verify that their hardware is operating properly before actual operation on the ISS. This poster will provide an overview of the MSG facility, a synopsis of the research that has already been accomplished in the MSG, and an overview of video and biological upgrades. The author would like to acknowledge Teledyne Brown Engineering and the entire MSG Team for their inputs into this poster.

Jordan, Lee↗
NASA NTRS2023

Using Satellite-Based Terrestrial Water Storage Data: A Review

Land water storage plays a key role for the Earth’s climate, natural ecosystems, and human activities. Since the launch of the first Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission in 2002, spaceborne observations of changes in terrestrial water storage (TWS) have provided a unique, global perspective on natural and human-induced changes in freshwater resources. Even though they have become much used within the broader Earth system science community, space-based TWS datasets still incorporate important and case-specific limitations which may not always be clear to users not familiar with the underlying processing algorithms. Here, we provide an accessible and illustrated overview of the measurement concept, of the main available data products, and of some frequently encountered technical terms and concepts. We summarize concrete recommendations on how to use TWS data in combination with other hydrological or climatological datasets, and guidance on how to avoid possible pitfalls. Finally, we provide an overview of some of the main applications of GRACE TWS data in the fields of hydrology and climate science. This review is written with the intention of supporting future research and facilitating the use of satellite-based terrestrial water storage datasets in interdisciplinary contexts.

Terrestrial water storage↗