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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1993

Trajectory-based heating analysis for the ESA/Rosetta earth return vehicle

A coupled, trajectory based flowfield and material thermal response analysis is presented for the European Space Agency (ESA) proposed Rosetta comet nucleus sample return vehicle. The probe returns to Earth along a hyperbolic trajectory with an entry velocity of 16.5 km/sec and requires an ablative heat shield on the forebody. Combined radiative and convective, ablating flowfield analyses were performed for the significant heating portion of the shallow ballistic entry trajectory. Both quasi-steady ablation and fully transient analyses were performed for a heat shield composed of carbon-phenolic ablative material. Quasi-steady analysis was performed using the two-dimensional, axisymmetric codes RASLE and BLIMPK. Transient computational results were obtained from the one-dimensional ablation/conduction code, CMA. Results are presented for heating, temperature and ablation rate distributions over the probe forebody for various trajectory points. Comparison of transient and quasi-steady results indicates that, for the heating pulse encountered by this probe, the quasi-static approach is conservative from the standpoint of predicted surface recession.

Henline, William D.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Computation of nonequilibrium shock layers for the comet sample return vehicles

This paper contains computational results for the flow around the body of the 'Rosetta' spacecraft. The flow is computed for the predicted trajectory point of maximum heating, using a Navier-Stokes solver coupled to the chemical kinetics. The calculations are performed for catalytic and non-catalytic boundary conditions at the wall, and with a systematic grid sensitivity study. The calculations verify some of the assumptions made in an early study, and predict the location of peak convective heating.

Cambier, Jean-Luc↗
NASA NTRS1993

The Martian valley networks: Origin by niveo-fluvial processes

The valley networks may hold the key to unlocking the paleoclimatic history of Mars. These enigmatic landforms may be regarded as the Martian equivalent of the Rosetta Stone. Therefore, a more thorough understanding of their origin and evolution is required. However, there is still no consensus among investigators regarding the formation (runoff vs. sapping) of these features. Recent climatic modeling precludes warm (0 degrees C) globally averaged surface temperatures prior to 2 b.y. when solar luminosity was 25-30 percent less than present levels. This paper advocates snowmelt as the dominant process responsible for the formation of the dendritic valley networks. Evidence for Martian snowfall and subsequent melt has been discussed in previous studies.

Rice, J. W., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Parachute Swivel Mechanism for planetary entry

A parachute swivel mechanism (PSM) for planetary entry missions such as a Mars probe (MARSNET) or return of cometary material samples (ROSETTA mission) has been developed. The purpose of the PSM is to decouple the spin of the probe from the parachute, with low friction torque, during both the deployment and descent phases. Critical requirements are high shock loads, low friction, low temperatures, and several years of storage in the deep space environment (during the cruise phase of the probe, prior to operation). The design uses a main thrust ball bearing to cope with the load requirement and a smaller thrust ball bearing for guiding of the shaft. Except for use on the Viking and Galileo swivels, it appears that this type of bearing has very rarely been employed in space mechanisms, so that little is known of its friction behavior with dry lubrication. A slip ring assembly allows the transfer of electrical power for post-reefing of the parachute. A test program has been conducted covering the environmental conditions of Mars entry and Earth reentry. This paper describes requirement constraints, model missions of planetary entries, a bearing trade-off, analyses performed, design details, the lubrication system, and test results (friction torque versus load/spin rate). In addition, the design of the test rig is addressed.

Birner, R.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Low encounter speed comet COMA sample return missions

Comets, being considered the most primitive bodies in the solar system, command the highest priority among solar-system objects for studying solar nebula evolution and the evolution of life through biogenic elements and compounds. The study of comets, and more especially, of material from them, provides an understanding of the physical, chemical, and mineralogical processes operative in the formation and earliest development of the solar systems. These return samples will provide valuable information on comets and serve as a rosetta stone for the analytical studies conducted on interplanetary dust particles over the past two decades, and will provide much needed extraterrestrial samples for the planetary materials community since the Apollo program. Lander sample return missions require rather complex spacecraft, intricate operations, and costly propulsion systems. By contrast, it is possible to take a highly simplified approach for sample capture and return in the case of a comet. In the past, we have considered Earth free-return trajectory to the comet, in which passive collectors intercept dust and volatiles from the cometary coma. However, standard short period cometary free-return trajectories results in the comet to the spacecraft encounter speeds in the range of 10 km/s. At these speeds the kinetic energy of the capture process can render significant modification of dust structure, change of solid phase as well as the lost of volatiles components. This paper presents a class of new missions with trajectories with significant reduction of encounter speeds by incorporating gravity assists and deep space maneuvering. Low encounter speed cometary flyby sample return will enable a marked increase in the value of the return science. Acquiring thousands of samples from a known comet and thousands of images of a comet nucleus would be space firsts. Applying new approach in flight mechanics to generate a new class of low encounter speed cometary sample return trajectories opens new possibilities in science. A systematic search of trajectories for the first decade of the twenty-first century will be made. The target encounter speed is for less than 7 km/s to short period comets.

Tsou, P.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Development of advanced Si and GaAs solar cells for interplanetary missions

The deep space and planetary exploration project have been acquiring more and more importance and some of them are now well established both in ESA and NASA programs. This paper presents the possibility to utilize both silicon and gallium arsenide solar cells as spacecraft primary power source for missions far from the Sun, in order to overcome the drawbacks related to the utilisation of radioisotope thermoelectric generators - such as cost, safety and social acceptance. The development of solar cells for low illumination intensity and low temperature (LILT) applications is carried out in Europe by ASE (Germany) and CISE (Italy) in the frame of an ESA programme, aimed to provide the photovoltaic generators for ROSETTA: the cometary material investigation mission scheduled for launch in 2003. The LILT cells development and testing objectives are therefore focused on the following requirements: insolation intensity as low as 0.03 Solar Constant, low temperature down to -150 C and solar flare proton environment. At this stage of development, after the completion of the technology verification tests, it has been demonstrated that suitable technologies are available for the qualification of both silicon and gallium arsenide cells and both candidates have shown conversion efficiencies over 25% at an illumination of 0.03 SC and a temperature of -150 C. In particular, when measured at those LILT conditions, the newly developed 'Hl-ETA/NR-LILT' silicon solar cells have reached a conversion efficiency of 26.3%, that is the highest value ever measured on a single junction solar cell. A large quantity of both 'Hl-ETA/NR-LILT' silicon and 'GaAs/Ge-LILT' solar cells are presently under fabrication and they will be submitted to a qualification test plan, including radiation exposure, in order to verify their applicability with respect to the mission requirements. The availability of two valid options will minimize the risk for the very ambitious scientific project. The paper describes how the technical achievements have been possible with Si and GaAs LILT solar cells (including a comparison between measured and modelled l-V characteristics) and it presents the technology verification tests results.

Strobl, G.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Comments on the Rotational State and Non-Gravitational Forces of Comet 46/WIRTANEN

We apply our experience of modeling the rotational state and non-gravitational forces of comet 1 P/Halley and other comets to comet 46P/Wirtanen. While the paucity of physical data on 46P/Wirtanen makes this process somewhat speculative, this comet's place as target for the important Rosetta mission gives significance to such a study. Our arguments are based on the summary of observational data provided by Jorda and Rickman (1995) and a comparative study of the behavior of other periodic comets. We find 46P/Wirtanen to have a level of surface activity relative to its mass that is dynamically more akin to that found in comet 1 P/Halley than in a typical periodic comet. We show through an illustrative numerical example that this apparent fact should likely lead to an excited spin state for this comet and that significant changes in the spin period could occur in a single pass through perihelion. We argue that the available observations are not sufficient to substantiate the claim of Jorda and Rickman (1995) that the nucleus is undergoing retrograde rotation and it is possible that the rotation is either prograde as well as retrograde. The substantial requirements that must be placed on any future observing program necessary to determine the precise rotational state are outlined. We advocate an extended (approx. two month) southern hemisphere observing campaign to determine the nuclear rotational state in 1996 if possible before activity turns on.

Samarasinha, Nalin H.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Cometary Matter Analyser (COMA/CRAF)

This project was part of an international program under which the chemical composition of cometary dust particles was to be measured 'in situ' during a rendezvous and flyby mission of a Mariner Mark 2 space probe and a comet (depending on the time of launch). Two necessary tasks, preliminary hardware development and interface definition, have been completed within the projects submitted for approval. As a result a model close to the flight configuration has been created, which was to be made available to the flight hardware contractor and his purposes. The Comet Rendezvous and Asteroid Flyby (CRAF) mission was abandoned after joint resolution adopted by NASA and the Federal Ministry for Research and Technology in 1992. Since an instrument like CoMA is an important contribution both to future cometary rendezvous missions, such as ROSETTA, as well as for accompanying laboratory activities, this project was terminated in a 'qualified conclusion'. In the process, components suitable for the laboratory developed from the preliminary units were produced and put into operation.

COMETARY MATTER↗
NASA NTRS1996

From Stardust to Planetesimals: Contributed Papers

On June 24 through 26, 1996, a scientific conference entitled From Stardust to Planetesimals was held at the Westin Hotel, Santa Clara, California, as part of the 108th annual meeting of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Over the last decade, our understanding of the formation and early evolution of the solar system has advanced considerably due to progress that has been made simultaneously on many fronts. Stardust has been isolated in meteorites and interplanetary dust particles (IDP's), providing us with sample materials which predate the solar system and which offer clues to the processing that has occurred. At the same time, infrared studies have led to a better characterization of the composition of interstellar dust, which is now readily accepted as an important component of the interstellar medium infrared observations have also provided a much better view of the star-formation process and the role of dust therein. Recently, the presence of Kuiper Belt planetesimals has been confirmed and spectroscopy of these rather pristine objects may soon become available. Analysis of spacecraft data from the Comet Halley flybys has yielded a wealth of information on the composition of this comet. These observational advances have changed our understanding of planetesimal processing. The launch of the Infrared Space Observatory, the opening of 10-meter class telescopes, and, in the longer term, the Rosetta mission, promise to continue to broaden and deepen our understanding of the evolution from stardust to planetesimals. For these reasons we considered it timely to organize a meeting focused on the processes that connect stardust and planetesimals. The goal of this meeting was, therefore, to bring together astronomers interested in star- and planet-formation, planetary scientists studying early solar system relics, laboratory scientists studying the processing of analogs, and scientists analyzing meteorites and interplanetary dust particles, grain by grain. As a result of this endeavor, over 200 participants, including 153 scientists from 14 different countries, gathered to discuss the origin and evolution of stardust. We hope that this encounter in Santa Clara will foster an ongoing interchange of information and ideas within this diverse group of scientists. A major aim of this meeting was to produce conference proceedings which reflect the current situation regarding the evolution from stardust to planetesimals.

Kress, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Morphology and Compositional Differentiation of the Surface of Comets

Giotto images reveal many features on the nucleus of Comet Halley, including gas- and dust-producing sources surrounded by an inactive region. In the inactive region, crater-like structures can be seen that may be extinct sources. These structures may develop by surface erosion of an active area and deposition of some excavated material on the periphery, creating crater-like rims. These rims are formed from "clumps" of comet regolith that can be lifted by the escaping gas. The lack of lift caused by the divergence of the gas flow near the boundary of an active region lets them fall back on the nucleus and create a rim. This may be a continuous process during perihelion passage. Supplementing the original concept of investigating the active and inactive regions, we conclude that three compositionally distinct areas should be sampled during the Rosetta mission: (1) The active regions rich in frozen gases and unprocessed dust; (2) The inactive region covered by a thin layer of fine dust enriched in organics that may be sintered. (3) The crater-like rims containing "clumps" of processed organics, silicates, and trapped frozen gases.

Huebner, W. F.↗
NASA NTRS1999

MOD Tool (Microwave Optics Design Tool)

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is currently designing and building a number of instruments that operate in the microwave and millimeter-wave bands. These include MIRO (Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter), MLS (Microwave Limb Sounder), and IMAS (Integrated Multispectral Atmospheric Sounder). These instruments must be designed and built to meet key design criteria (e.g., beamwidth, gain, pointing) obtained from the scientific goals for the instrument. These criteria are frequently functions of the operating environment (both thermal and mechanical). To design and build instruments which meet these criteria, it is essential to be able to model the instrument in its environments. Currently, a number of modeling tools exist. Commonly used tools at JPL include: FEMAP (meshing), NASTRAN (structural modeling), TRASYS and SINDA (thermal modeling), MACOS/IMOS (optical modeling), and POPO (physical optics modeling). Each of these tools is used by an analyst, who models the instrument in one discipline. The analyst then provides the results of this modeling to another analyst, who continues the overall modeling in another discipline. There is a large reengineering task in place at JPL to automate and speed-up the structural and thermal modeling disciplines, which does not include MOD Tool. The focus of MOD Tool (and of this paper) is in the fields unique to microwave and millimeter-wave instrument design. These include initial design and analysis of the instrument without thermal or structural loads, the automation of the transfer of this design to a high-end CAD tool, and the analysis of the structurally deformed instrument (due to structural and/or thermal loads). MOD Tool is a distributed tool, with a database of design information residing on a server, physical optics analysis being performed on a variety of supercomputer platforms, and a graphical user interface (GUI) residing on the user's desktop computer. The MOD Tool client is being developed using Tcl/Tk, which allows the user to work on a choice of platforms (PC, Mac, or Unix) after downloading the Tcl/Tk binary, which is readily available on the web. The MOD Tool server is written using Expect, and it resides on a Sun workstation. Client/server communications are performed over a socket, where upon a connection from a client to the server, the server spawns a child which is be dedicated to communicating with that client. The server communicates with other machines, such as supercomputers using Expect with the username and password being provided by the user on the client.

Katz, Daniel S.↗
NASA NTRS1995

A Helium GC/IMS for the Analysis of Extraterrestrial Volatiles in Exobiology Flight Experiments

For exobiology experiments on board spacecraft or space probes, a wide range of chemical species often must be detected and identified. The limited amount of power and space available for flight instruments severely limits the number of instruments that can be flown on any given mission. It is important then, that these experiments utilize instrumentation with universal response, so that all species of interest can be analyzed. Instrumentation to fulfill the analytical requirements of exobiology experiments has been developed utilizing Gas Chromatography - Ion Mobility Spectrometry. The Gas Chromatograph (GC) combines columns developed specifically for the complex mixtures anticipated with highly sensitive Metastable Ionization Detectors (a type of Helium Ionization Detector). To satisfy the limitations placed on resources, the Ion Mobility Spectrometer (IMS) uses the same ultra high purity helium as the GC. This GC-MS provides the analytical capability to fulfill a wide range of exobiology flight experiment applications and has been included on a proposed Discovery Mission and proposals for both Lander and Orbiter of the European Space Agency's Rosetta Comet Mission. A data base of helium IMS spectra is now being built for these future applications.

Kojiro, Daniel R.↗
NASA NTRS2000

The State and Future of Mars Polar Science and Exploration

As the planet's principal cold traps, the martian polar regions have accumulated extensive mantles of ice and dust that cover individual areas of approx. 10(exp 6)sq km and total as much as 3-4 km thick. From the scarcity of superposed craters on their surface, these layered deposits are thought to he comparatively young-preserving a record of the seasonal and climatic cycling of atmospheric CO2, H2O, and dust over the past approx. 10(exp 5)-10(exp 8) years. For this reason, the martian polar deposits may serve as a Rosetta Stone for understanding the geologic and climatic history of the planet-documenting variations in insolation (due to quasiperiodic oscillations in the planet's obliquity and orbital elements), volatile mass balance, atmospheric composition, dust storm activity, volcanic eruptions, large impacts, catastrophic floods, solar luminosity, supernovae, and perhaps even a record of microbial life. Beyond their scientific value, the polar regions may soon prove important for another reason-providing a valuable and accessible reservoir of water to support the long-term human exploration of Mars. In this paper we assess the current state of Mars polar research, identify the key questions that motivate the exploration of the polar regions, discuss the extent to which current missions will address these questions, and speculate about what additional capabilities and investigations may be required to address the issues that remain outstanding.

Clifford, Stephen M.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Microwave Investigation of the Mars Atmosphere and Surface

The Microwave Investigation of the Mars Atmosphere and Surface Experiment (MIMAS) is designed to address two major scientific goals: 1) To understand the three dimensional general circulation of the Martian atmosphere, and 2) To understand the hydrologic cycle of water on Mars, including the time-variable sources, sinks, and atmospheric transport of water vapor. The proposed instrument is a submillimeter wave, heterodyne receiver, with both continuum and very high spectral resolution capability. A small reflector antenna will be used to feed the receiver. Instrument heritage comes from the MIRO receiver, currently under design for the ESA Rosetta Mission, and from SWAS, a NASA astrophysics mission. The instrument will be able to measure atmospheric spectral lines from both water and carbon monoxide and use these lines as tracers of atmospheric winds. Measurement objectives of MIMAS are to measure surface temperature, atmospheric temperature from the surface up to an altitude of 60 km or more, the distribution of CO and H2O in the atmosphere, and certain wind fields (zonal and meridional). The global distribution of CO, as well as temperature distributions, will be used as input data for GCMs (general circulation models). Water vapor profiles will be used to understand the sources and sinks of water on Mars and to understand how it is transported globally by the general circulation. Zonal and meridional wind fields will provide further tests of the GCMs. An important aspect of this experiment is that the temperature and humidity measurements are insensitive to dust and ice condensates thereby making the measurement capability independent of the presence of dust clouds and ice particles. Temperature measurements derived from the data can be used in conjunction with infrared measurements to determine dust profiles.

Gulkis, S.↗
NASA NTRS2001

A Miniaturized Seismometer for Surface Measurements in the Outer Solar System

Seismology is a powerful tool for investigating the inner structure and dynamic processes of a planetary body. The interior structure information derived from seismic measurements is complementary to other methods of probing the subsurface (such as gravity and electromagnetics), both in terms of spatial and depth resolution and the relevant types of material properties being sensed. The propagation of seismic waves is sensitive to composition (via density and elastic parameters), temperature (via attenuation) and physical state (solid vs. liquid). In addition, the seismicity (level and distribution in space and time of seismic activity) provides information on the impact flux and tectonic forces currently active within the body. The major satellites of the outer solar system provide obvious targets for seismic investigations. In addition, small bodies, such as asteroids and comets, can also benefit from seismic measurements. We have developed an extremely small, lightweight, low-power seismometer for planetary applications which is ideally suited for use in the outer solar system. This instrument has previously been proposed and selected for use on a comet (on the Rosetta Lander, subsequently deselected for programmatic reasons) and Mars (on the NetLander mission). Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Banerdt, W. B.↗
NASA NTRS2001

A Miniaturized Seismometer for Subsurface Probing on Mars

Seismology is one of the most powerful tools for investigating the subsurface structure of a planet. The mechanical structure information derived from seismic measurements is complementary to other methods of probing the subsurface (such as gravity and electromagnetics), both in terms of spatial and depth resolution and the relevant types of material properties being sensed. In the near-surface, the propagation of seismic waves is especially sensitive to density and degree of compaction. In addition, interfaces between layer with contrasting properties can be relatively easily delineated. The subsurface of Mars provides an obvious target for seismic investigations. Searching for the presence of water is among the highest priority goals of the Mars Exploration Program, but there are many other important science questions that could be addressed by a seismic profile of the upper layers of the crust. We have developed an extremely small, lightweight, low-power seismometer for planetary applications which is ideally suited for use on Mars. This instrument has previously been proposed and selected for use on a comet (on the Rosetta Lander, subsequently deselected for programmatic reasons) and Mars (on the NetLander mission, with an emphasis on global structure determination).

Banerdt, W. B.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Observational Evidence for Mixing and Dust Condensation in Core-Collapse Supernovae

Recent findings of isotopic anomalies of Ca-44 (the decay product of Ti-44) and the enhanced ratio of Si-28/Si-30 in SiC grains X, TiC subgrains, and graphite dust grains within primitive meteorites provides strong evidence that these presolar grains came from core-collapse supernovae. The chemical composition of the presolar grains requires macroscopic mixing of newly nucleo-synthesized elements from explosive silicon burning at the innermost zone of the ejects to higher velocities where C exists and where C/O > 1 in either the outer edge of the oxygen zone or in the He-C zone. To date, the only core-collapse supernova observed to form dust is the brightest supernova of the past four centuries, SN1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Observations of SN1987A confirm large scale macroscopic mixing occurs in the explosions of massive stars. Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities macroscopically mix most of the ejects into regions which are still chemically homogeneous and which cool with different time scales. Only small clumps in the ejects are microscopically mixed. Observations show that dust condensed in the ejects of SN1987A after approx.500 days in the Fe-rich gas. Neither silicates nor SiC grains were seen in the dust emission spectrum of SN1987A. SN1987A, the Rosetta Stone of core-collapse supernovae, shows that while the mixing required to explain presolar grains occurs, the rapid cooling of the Fe zone and the sustained high temperatures of the O-Si, O-C, and He-C zones favor the formation of iron-rich rather than oxygen- or carbon-rich grains.

Wooden, Diane↗
NASA NTRS2002

Neutral Gas and Ion Measurements by the CONTOUR Mission

The Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS) on the Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) Mission will measure the chemical and isotopic composition of neutral and ion species in the coma of comet Encke and the subsequent targets of this mission. Currently the second target of this mission is comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3. This neutral gas and ion data together with complementary data from the dust analyzer and the imaging spectrometer is designed to allow a broad characterization of the molecular and elemental composition of each cometary nucleus. These experiments enable the study of the of the likely variations in chemical conditions present in different regions of the early solar nebula where the comets formed. With these experiments we will also test ideas about cometary contributions of organics, water, and other volatiles to the inner planets. The CONTOUR NGIMS data set from multiple comets is expected to provide an important extension of to the only other detailed in situ data set from a close flyby of a nucleus, that from Halley. CONTOUR will extend this measurement of an Oort cloud comet to the class of short period comets thought to originate in the Kuiper belt. This data will complement the detailed measurements to be carried out at a single nucleus by the Rosetta Mission.

Mahaffy, Paul R.↗