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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2003

Alignment of the Grating Wheel Mechanism for a Ground-Based, Cryogenic, Near-Infrared Astronomy Instrument

We describe the population, optomechanical alignment, and alignment verification of near-infrared gratings on the grating wheel mechanism (GWM) for the Infrared Multi-Object Spectrometer (IRMOS). IRMOS is a cryogenic (80 K), principle investigator-class instrument for the 2.1 m and Mayall 3.8 m telescopes at Kitt Peak National Observatory, and a MEMS spectrometer concept demonstrator for the James Webb Space Telescope. The GWM consists of 13 planar diffraction gratings and one flat imaging mirror (58 x 57 mm), each mounted at a unique compound angle on a 32 cm diameter gear. The mechanism is predominantly made of Al 6061. The grating substrates are stress relieved for enhanced cryogenic performance. The optical surfaces are replicated from off-the-shelf masters. The imaging mirror is diamond turned. The GWM spans a projected diameter of approx. 48 cm when fully assembled, utilizes several flexure designs to accommodate potential thermal gradients, and is controlled using custom software with an off-the-shelf controller. Under ambient conditions, each grating is aligned in six degrees of freedom relative to a coordinate system that is referenced to an optical alignment cube mounted at the center of the gear. The local tip/tilt (Rx/Ry) orientation of a given grating is measured using the zero-order return from an autocollimating theodolite. The other degrees of freedom are measured using a two-axis cathetometer and rotary table. Each grating's mount includes a one-piece shim located between the optic and the gear. The shim is machined to fine align each grating. We verify ambient alignment by comparing grating difractive properties to model predictions.

Gutkowski, Sharon M.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Videogrammetric Model Deformation Measurement Technique

The theory, methods, and applications of the videogrammetric model deformation (VMD) measurement technique used at NASA for wind tunnel testing are presented. The VMD technique, based on non-topographic photogrammetry, can determine static and dynamic aeroelastic deformation and attitude of a wind-tunnel model. Hardware of the system includes a video-rate CCD camera, a computer with an image acquisition frame grabber board, illumination lights, and retroreflective or painted targets on a wind tunnel model. Custom software includes routines for image acquisition, target-tracking/identification, target centroid calculation, camera calibration, and deformation calculations. Applications of the VMD technique at five large NASA wind tunnels are discussed.

Burner, A. W.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Analysis of growth patterns during gravitropic curvature in roots of Zea mays by use of a computer-based video digitizer

A computer-based video digitizer system is described which allows automated tracking of markers placed on a plant surface. The system uses customized software to calculate relative growth rates at selected positions along the plant surface and to determine rates of gravitropic curvature based on the changing pattern of distribution of the surface markers. The system was used to study the time course of gravitropic curvature and changes in relative growth rate along the upper and lower surface of horizontally-oriented roots of maize (Zea mays L.). The growing region of the root was found to extend from about 1 mm behind the tip to approximately 6 mm behind the tip. In vertically-oriented roots the relative growth rate was maximal at about 2.5 mm behind the tip and declined smoothly on either side of the maximum. Curvature was initiated approximately 30 min after horizontal orientation with maximal (50 degrees) curvature being attained in 3 h. Analysis of surface extension patterns during the response indicated that curvature results from a reduction in growth rate along both the upper and lower surfaces with stronger reduction along the lower surface.

NASA Discipline Plant Biology↗
NASA NTRS1990

Gravitropic curvature of maize roots is not preceded by rootcap asymmetry

We tested whether the first response to gravistimulation is an asymmetry in the root tip that results from differential growth of the rootcap itself. The displacement of markers on the rootcap surface of maize (Zea mays L. cv. Merit) roots was quantified from videotaped images using customized software. The method was sensitive enough to detect marker displacements down to 15 microns and root curvature as early as 8 min after gravistimulation. No differential growth of the upper and lower sides of the cap occurred before or during root curvature. Fewer than a third of all gravistimulated roots developed an asymmetrical outline of the root tip after curvature had started, and this asymmetry did not occur in the rootcap itself. Our data support the view that the regions of gravitropic sensing and curvature are spatially separate during all phases of gravitropism in maize roots.

NASA Program Space Biology↗
NASA NTRS1998

Analysis of changes in relative elemental growth rate patterns in the elongation zone of Arabidopsis roots upon gravistimulation

Although Arabidopsis is an important system for studying root physiology, the localized growth patterns of its roots have not been well defined, particularly during tropic responses. In order to characterize growth rate profiles along the apex of primary roots of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh (ecotype Columbia) we applied small charcoal particles to the root surface and analyzed their displacement during growth using an automated video digitizer system with custom software for tracking the markers. When growing vertically, the maximum elongation rate occurred 481 +/- 50 microns back from the extreme tip of the root (tip of root cap), and the elongation zone extended back to 912 +/- 137 microns. The distal elongation zone (DEZ) has previously been described as the apical region of the elongation zone in which the relative elemental growth rate (REGR) is < or = 30% of the peak rate in the central elongation zone. By this definition, our data indicate that the basal limit of the DEZ was located 248 +/- 30 microns from the root tip. However, after gravistimulation, the growth patterns of the root changed. Within the first hour of graviresponse, the basal limit of the DEZ and the position of peak REGR shifted apically on the upper flank of the root. This was due to a combination of increased growth in the DEZ and growth inhibition in the central elongation zone. On the lower flank, the basal limit of the DEZ shifted basipetally as the REGR decreased. These factors set up the gradient of growth rate across the root, which drives curvature.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS2005

A Proven Ground System Architecture for Promoting Collaboration and Common Solutions at NASA

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's "GMSEC" ground system architecture was presented at GSAW2003 as a concept being studied. GMSEC would utilize a publish/subscribe middleware framework and standardized interfaces to allow custom and COTS ground system components to plug-and-play. This capability, in turn, would reduce integration costs, allow for technology infusion over time, and encourage the development and sharing of common components across missions and organizations. At GSAW2004, GMSEC was presented at a breakout session as a system working well in the NASA lab and being applied as an integral piece of reengineering efforts for several GSFC missions. Today, GMSEC is supporting five satellites at GSFC and has been selected by several future missions. Over 30 plug-and-play components are now available to missions using the GMSEC approach. Other organizations, including Marshall Space Flight Center, Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physic Lab, and the Institute for Scientific Research are each developing GMSEC-compatible components. Based on the success of GMSEC and efforts at other NASA Centers, the message bus approach is now being evaluated as a NASA Agency-wide approach for many future missions involving multiple NASA Centers as we move towards the goals of NASA s new Exploration Initiative. The presentation will explain the basic technical concepts of using a publish/subscribe framework for mission operations support (and its applicability to flight systems as well). Lessons learned on NASA's GMSEC program will allow the audience to better understand the significant benefits of this architecture approach over the traditional "one-off" solution approach. The point of the presentation is to show the long-term benefits of using a ground system architecture which incorporates many of the successful GMSEC concepts - message bus, mix of COTS and custom software, standard interfaces, plug-and-play, etc. The implications for the development process will also be discussed.

Smith, Danford↗
NASA NTRS2005

Infrared Extinction and the Initial Conditions for Star and Planet Formation

This grant funded a research program to use infrared extinction measurements to probe the detailed structure of dark molecular clouds and investigate the physical conditions which give rise to star and planet formation. The goals of the this program were to: 1) acquire deep infrared and molecular-line observations of a carefully selected sample of nearby dark clouds, 2) reduce and analyze the data obtained in order to produce detailed extinction maps of the clouds, 3) use the results to measure and quantitatively describe the physical conditions of the dense gas and dust that produce stars and their accompanying planetary systems in molecular clouds. The goals of this project were met and exceeded as described below. 1) The infrared data for the project were obtained in a number of observing runs using the 3.5-meter NTT and 8-meter VLT telescopes of the European Southern Observatory in Chile and the 1.2-meter telescope of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Arizona, the 1 0-meter Keck telescope in Hawaii, the 6.5-meter MMT of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Arizona, and the NASA Hubble Space Telescope. The molecular-line data was obtained in three runs using the IRAM 30-meter telescope in Spain and one run with the ESO-15 meter millimeter-wave telescope in Chile. Millimeter-wave continuum measurements were obtained with the 15-meter JCMT in Hawaii. 2) Considerable effort was expended to reduce the infrared imaging observations including the development of custom software to produce high quality photometry and source astrometry. All the millimeter-line data was reduced using standard reduction routines. The highlights of the infrared analysis were the production of detailed extinction maps and the construction of profiles of the density structure of the B68, Coalsack, B335 and Lupus clouds. 3) The principal scientific accomplishments of this research program include the following: We were able to use our infrared observations to determine the density structure of the B68 cloud to an unprecedented level of precision. This lead to a major breakthrough in the study of molecular cloud structure. For the first time we have been able to characterize the structure of a dark cloud in a detail only exceeded by that known for a star. We determined that the cloud's structure is exquisitely well described by the equations of a Bonner-Ebert sphere (a pressure confined isothermal sphere). We were able to show that the cloud is very nearly in equilibrium with the internal thermal pressure of the cloud balancing gravity and the external pressure of the surrounding interstellar medium. We were able to determine for the first time the gas-to-dust ratio in a dense cloud core. We also demonstrated a new method to determine extremely precise distances to such clouds by combining knowledge of the properties of Bonner-Ebert Spheres with our infrared and millimeter-wave observations.

Lada, Charles J.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Foot Forces during Treadmill Exercise on the International Space Station

Exercise has been the primary countermeasure to combat musculoskeletal changes during the approximately 6 month missions to the International Space Station (ISS). However, these countermeasures have not been successful in preventing loss of bone mineral density in the spine and hip of astronauts. We examined lower extremity loading during typical bouts of on-orbit exercise performed by 4 ISS crew members on the ISS treadmill (TVIS) and during locomotor activities on earth (1g). In-shoe forces were monitored at 128Hz using force-measuring insoles placed inside the shoes of the exercising crewmember, stored temporarily on Flash cards, and down-linked via satellite for analysis. Custom software extracted peak forces from up to 30 minutes of locomotor activity. All on-orbit loading conditions for walking and running resulted in peak forces and impact loading rates that were significantly less than those measured in 1g. Typical single leg loads on-orbit in walking and running were 0.860 plus or minus 0.04 body weights (BW) and 1.339 plus or minus 0.07 BW compared to 1.2 plus or minus 0.036 BW and 2.36 plus or minus 0.07 BW in 1g BW respectively. These results indicate that typical exercise on the ISS treadmill does not generate 1g-like loading conditions. This may be partly responsible for the loss of bone mineral density that has been observed in these and other crew members. Since on-orbit treadmill exercise requires a restraining load to return the crew member to the treadmill surface, more studies are required to enable comfortable full body weight loading to be applied.

Cavanagh, Peter R.↗
NASA NTRS2006

From Prime to Extended Mission: Evolution of the MER Tactical Uplink Process

To support a 90-day surface mission for two robotic rovers, the Mars Exploration Rover mission designed and implemented an intensive tactical operations process, enabling daily commanding of each rover. Using a combination of new processes, custom software tools, a Mars-time staffing schedule, and seven-day-a-week operations, the MER team was able to compress the traditional weeks-long command-turnaround for a deep space robotic mission to about 18 hours. However, the pace of this process was never intended to be continued indefinitely. Even before the end of the three-month prime mission, MER operations began evolving towards greater sustainability. A combination of continued software tool development, increasing team experience, and availability of reusable sequences first reduced the mean process duration to approximately 11 hours. The number of workshifts required to perform the process dropped, and the team returned to a modified 'Earth-time' schedule. Additional process and tool adaptation eventually provided the option of planning multiple Martian days of activity within a single workshift, making 5-day-a-week operations possible. The vast majority of the science team returned to their home institutions, continuing to participate fully in the tactical operations process remotely. MER has continued to operate for over two Earth-years as many of its key personnel have moved on to other projects, the operations team and budget have shrunk, and the rovers have begun to exhibit symptoms of aging.

mission operations↗
NASA NTRS2006

Experiences using Visualization Techniques to Present Requirements, Risks to Them, and Options for Risk Mitigation

For several years we have been employing a risk-based decision process to guide development and application of advanced technologies, and for research and technology portfolio planning. The process is supported by custom software, in which visualization plays an important role. During requirements gathering, visualization is used to help scrutinize the status (completeness, extent) of the information. During decision making based on the gathered information, visualization is used to help decisionmakers understand the space of options and their consequences. In this paper we summarize the visualization capabilities that we have employed, indicating when and how they have proven useful.

requirements↗
NASA NTRS2006

From Prime to Extended Mission: Evolution of the MER Tactical Uplink Process

To support a 90-day surface mission for two robotic rovers, the Mars Exploration Rover mission designed and implemented an intensive tactical operations process, enabling daily commanding of each rover. Using a combination of new processes, custom software tools, a Mars-time staffing schedule, and seven-day-a-week operations, the MER team was able to compress the traditional weeks-long command-turnaround for a deep space robotic mission to about 18 hours. However, there was never an intention of maintaining the pace of this process indefinitely. Even before the end of the three-month prime mission, MER operations began evolving towards greater sustainability. A combination of continued software tool development, increasing team experience, and availability of reusable sequences first reduced the mean process duration to approximately 11 hours. The number of workshifts required to perform the process dropped, and the team returned to a modified 'Earth-time' schedule. Additional process and tool adaptation eventually provided the option of planning multiple Martian days of activity within a single workshift, making 5- day-a-week operations possible. The vast majority of the science team returned to their home institutions, continuing to participate fully in the tactical operations process remotely. MER has continued to operate for over two Earth-years as many of its key personnel have moved on to other projects, the operations team and budget have shrunk, and the rovers have begun to exhibit symptoms of aging.

Mars exploration↗
NASA NTRS2007

NASA's Lunar Impact Monitoring Program

NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office nas implemented a program to monitor the Moon for meteoroid impacts from the Marshall Space Flight Center. Using off-the-shelf telescopes and video equipment, the moon is monitored for as many as 10 nights per month, depending on weather. Custom software automatically detects flashes which are confirmed by a second telescope, photometrically calibrated using background stars, and published on a website for correlation with other observations, Hypervelocity impact tests at the Ames Vertical Gun Facility have been performed to determine the luminous efficiency ana ejecta characteristics. The purpose of this research is to define the impact ejecta environment for use by lunar spacecraft designers of the Constellation (manned lunar) Program. The observational techniques and preliminary results will be discussed.

Suggs, Robert M.↗
NASA NTRS2006

The Challenges of Searching, Finding, Reading, Understanding and Using Mars Mission Datasets for Science Analysis

This viewgraph presentation reviews the problems that non-mission researchers have in accessing data to use in their analysis of Mars. The increasing complexity of Mars datasets results in custom software development by instrument teams that is often the only means to visualize and analyze the data. The solutions to the problem are to continue efforts toward synergizing data from multiple missions and making the data, s/w, derived products available in standardized, easily-accessible formats, encourage release of "lite" versions of mission-related software prior to end-of-mission, and planetary image data should be systematically processed in a coordinated way and made available in an easily accessed form. The recommendations of Mars Environmental GIS Workshop are reviewed.

data sets↗
NASA NTRS2007

Photometric Calibration of Consumer Video Cameras

Equipment and techniques have been developed to implement a method of photometric calibration of consumer video cameras for imaging of objects that are sufficiently narrow or sufficiently distant to be optically equivalent to point or line sources. Heretofore, it has been difficult to calibrate consumer video cameras, especially in cases of image saturation, because they exhibit nonlinear responses with dynamic ranges much smaller than those of scientific-grade video cameras. The present method not only takes this difficulty in stride but also makes it possible to extend effective dynamic ranges to several powers of ten beyond saturation levels. The method will likely be primarily useful in astronomical photometry. There are also potential commercial applications in medical and industrial imaging of point or line sources in the presence of saturation.This development was prompted by the need to measure brightnesses of debris in amateur video images of the breakup of the Space Shuttle Columbia. The purpose of these measurements is to use the brightness values to estimate relative masses of debris objects. In most of the images, the brightness of the main body of Columbia was found to exceed the dynamic ranges of the cameras. A similar problem arose a few years ago in the analysis of video images of Leonid meteors. The present method is a refined version of the calibration method developed to solve the Leonid calibration problem. In this method, one performs an endto- end calibration of the entire imaging system, including not only the imaging optics and imaging photodetector array but also analog tape recording and playback equipment (if used) and any frame grabber or other analog-to-digital converter (if used). To automatically incorporate the effects of nonlinearity and any other distortions into the calibration, the calibration images are processed in precisely the same manner as are the images of meteors, space-shuttle debris, or other objects that one seeks to analyze. The light source used to generate the calibration images is an artificial variable star comprising a Newtonian collimator illuminated by a light source modulated by a rotating variable neutral- density filter. This source acts as a point source, the brightness of which varies at a known rate. A video camera to be calibrated is aimed at this source. Fixed neutral-density filters are inserted in or removed from the light path as needed to make the video image of the source appear to fluctuate between dark and saturated bright. The resulting video-image data are analyzed by use of custom software that determines the integrated signal in each video frame and determines the system response curve (measured output signal versus input brightness). These determinations constitute the calibration, which is thereafter used in automatic, frame-by-frame processing of the data from the video images to be analyzed.

Suggs, Robert↗
NASA NTRS2006

High-Performance Scanning Acousto-Ultrasonic System

A high-performance scanning acousto-ultrasonic system, now undergoing development, is designed to afford enhanced capabilities for imaging microstructural features, including flaws, inside plate specimens of materials. The system is expected to be especially helpful in analyzing defects that contribute to failures in polymer- and ceramic-matrix composite materials, which are difficult to characterize by conventional scanning ultrasonic techniques and other conventional nondestructive testing techniques. Selected aspects of the acousto-ultrasonic method have been described in several NASA Tech Briefs articles in recent years. Summarizing briefly: The acousto-ultrasonic method involves the use of an apparatus like the one depicted in the figure (or an apparatus of similar functionality). Pulses are excited at one location on a surface of a plate specimen by use of a broadband transmitting ultrasonic transducer. The stress waves associated with these pulses propagate along the specimen to a receiving transducer at a different location on the same surface. Along the way, the stress waves interact with the microstructure and flaws present between the transducers. The received signal is analyzed to evaluate the microstructure and flaws. The specific variant of the acousto-ultrasonic method implemented in the present developmental system goes beyond the basic principle described above to include the following major additional features: Computer-controlled motorized translation stages are used to automatically position the transducers at specified locations. Scanning is performed in the sense that the measurement, data-acquisition, and data-analysis processes are repeated at different specified transducer locations in an array that spans the specimen surface (or a specified portion of the surface). A pneumatic actuator with a load cell is used to apply a controlled contact force. In analyzing the measurement data for each pair of transducer locations in the scan, the total (multimode) acousto-ultrasonic response of the specimen is utilized. The analysis is performed by custom software that extracts parameters of signals in the time and frequency domains. The computer hardware and software provide both real-time and postscan processing and display options. For example, oscilloscope displays of waveforms and power spectral densities are available in real time. Images can be computed while scanning continues. Signals can be digitally preprocessed and/or post-processed by filtering, windowing, time-segmenting, and running-waveform-averaging algorithms. In addition, the software affords options for off-line simulation of the waveform-data-acquisition and scanning processes. In tests, the system has been shown to be capable of characterizing microstructural changes and defects in SiC/SiC and C/SiC ceramic-matrix composites. Delaminations, variations in density, microstructural changes attributable to infiltration by silicon, and crack-space indications (defined in the next sentence) have been revealed in images formed from several time- and frequency-domain parameters of scanning acousto-ultrasonic signals. The crack-space indications were image features that were not revealed by other nondestructive testing methods and are so named because they turned out to mark locations where cracking eventually occurred.

Roth, Don↗
NASA NTRS2010

NASA-DoD Lead-Free Electronics Project: Vibration Test

Vibration testing was conducted by Boeing Research and Technology (Seattle) for the NASA-DoD Lead-Free Electronics Solder Project. This project is a follow-on to the Joint Council on Aging Aircraft/Joint Group on Pollution Prevention (JCAA/JG-PP) Lead-Free Solder Project which was the first group to test the reliability of lead-free solder joints against the requirements of the aerospace/miLItary community. Twenty seven test vehicles were subjected to the vibration test conditions (in two batches). The random vibration Power Spectral Density (PSD) input was increased during the test every 60 minutes in an effort to fail as many components as possible within the time allotted for the test. The solder joints on the components were electrically monitored using event detectors and any solder joint failures were recorded on a Labview-based data collection system. The number of test minutes required to fail a given component attached with SnPb solder was then compared to the number of test minutes required to fail the same component attached with lead-free solder. A complete modal analysis was conducted on one test vehicle using a laser vibrometer system which measured velocities, accelerations, and displacements at one . hundred points. The laser vibrometer data was used to determine the frequencies of the major modes of the test vehicle and the shapes of the modes. In addition, laser vibrometer data collected during the vibration test was used to calculate the strains generated by the first mode (using custom software). After completion of the testing, all of the test vehicles were visually inspected and cross sections were made. Broken component leads and other unwanted failure modes were documented.

Woodrow, Thomas A.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Designing and Implementing an OVERFLOW Reader for ParaView and Comparing Performance Between Central Processing Units and Graphical Processing Units

In the Applied Aerosciences and CFD branch at Johnson Space Center, computational simulations are run that face many challenges. Two of which are the ability to customize software for specialized needs and the need to run simulations as fast as possible. There are many different tools that are used for running these simulations and each one has its own pros and cons. Once these simulations are run, there needs to be software capable of visualizing the results in an appealing manner. Some of this software is called open source, meaning that anyone can edit the source code to make modifications and distribute it to all other users in a future release. This is very useful, especially in this branch where many different tools are being used. File readers can be written to load any file format into a program, to ease the bridging from one tool to another. Programming such a reader requires knowledge of the file format that is being read as well as the equations necessary to obtain the derived values after loading. When running these CFD simulations, extremely large files are being loaded and having values being calculated. These simulations usually take a few hours to complete, even on the fastest machines. Graphics processing units (GPUs) are usually used to load the graphics for computers; however, in recent years, GPUs are being used for more generic applications because of the speed of these processors. Applications run on GPUs have been known to run up to forty times faster than they would on normal central processing units (CPUs). If these CFD programs are extended to run on GPUs, the amount of time they would require to complete would be much less. This would allow more simulations to be run in the same amount of time and possibly perform more complex computations.

Chawner, David M.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Can Functional Cardiac Age be Predicted from ECG in a Normal Healthy Population

In a normal healthy population, we desired to determine the most age-dependent conventional and advanced ECG parameters. We hypothesized that changes in several ECG parameters might correlate with age and together reliably characterize the functional age of the heart. Methods: An initial study population of 313 apparently healthy subjects was ultimately reduced to 148 subjects (74 men, 84 women, in the range from 10 to 75 years of age) after exclusion criteria. In all subjects, ECG recordings (resting 5-minute 12-lead high frequency ECG) were evaluated via custom software programs to calculate up to 85 different conventional and advanced ECG parameters including beat-to-beat QT and RR variability, waveform complexity, and signal-averaged, high-frequency and spatial/spatiotemporal ECG parameters. The prediction of functional age was evaluated by multiple linear regression analysis using the best 5 univariate predictors. Results: Ignoring what were ultimately small differences between males and females, the functional age was found to be predicted (R2= 0.69, P < 0.001) from a linear combination of 5 independent variables: QRS elevation in the frontal plane (p<0.001), a new repolarization parameter QTcorr (p<0.001), mean high frequency QRS amplitude (p=0.009), the variability parameter % VLF of RRV (p=0.021) and the P-wave width (p=0.10). Here, QTcorr represents the correlation between the calculated QT and the measured QT signal. Conclusions: In apparently healthy subjects with normal conventional ECGs, functional cardiac age can be estimated by multiple linear regression analysis of mostly advanced ECG results. Because some parameters in the regression formula, such as QTcorr, high frequency QRS amplitude and P-wave width also change with disease in the same direction as with increased age, increased functional age of the heart may reflect subtle age-related pathologies in cardiac electrical function that are usually hidden on conventional ECG.

Schlegel, Todd↗