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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Increasing Diversity in Energy Efficiency Professions: JUMP into STEM

A long-term approach to achieving equity in the energy efficiency industry is to increase the overall diversity of the professionals who work in the field. Building science professionals have a direct impact on energy efficiency policy and programs, as many become leaders within the industry. Buildings are used every day by almost all members of U.S. society, so diversity in building science professionals is critical to better understanding the behaviors and needs of the full spectrum of building occupants. Many groups of people, including minorities and women, are underrepresented in the industry. The industry needs to attract a wide range of current college and university students to careers in building science, so that many perspectives are included in the clean energy transition. The JUMP into STEM student competition addresses this need by inspiring students from diverse backgrounds to use creative ideation to solve real-world building science problems. Student teams - comprising an interdisciplinary mix of majors and underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) - respond to one of three buildings-related challenges. Diversity is encouraged through challenge design, competition guidelines, and evaluation criteria for the submission. Winners of the competition are awarded paid building science internships, a gateway to a career in this field. The competition has an advisory panel of diversity experts and a professor team that includes representation from minority-serving institutions. This paper presents the JUMP into STEM approach to fostering diversity and creative ideation on technical challenges and discusses outcomes from the 2019 and 2020 competitions.

buildings↗
DOE OSTI2024

Effects of residual oxygen on superconducting niobium films

The integration of niobium (Nb) into emerging superconducting circuits can enhance their performance and function. However, growth of high purity Nb can be challenging due to its high reactivity with oxygen. Here, in this study, we examine the role of residual oxygen inside the growth chamber in transforming the structural, chemical, and superconducting properties of Nb films. We demonstrate that an increase in unintentional oxygen impurities lowers the superconducting critical temperature of Nb. This evolution coincides with the reduction of Nb crystal domains, which are separated by highly disordered oxygen-rich regions. Moreover, chemical analysis reveals the formation of niobium monoxide within the film during growth. These findings provide a comprehensive picture of how residual oxygen in the growth chamber can affect the properties of the Nb films. This study contributes to the materials science and engineering knowledge of superconducting Nb growth.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

The Global Spectra-Trait Initiative: A database of paired leaf spectroscopy and functional traits associated with leaf photosynthetic capacity (v1.0.0)

The Global Spectra-Trait Initiative (GSTI) aims to generate generalizable spectra trait models using reflectance data to predict leaf traits associated with the photosynthesis capacity of leaves. It comprises a synthesized dataset of leaf trait data, input datasets and code. Leaf traits include the maximum carboxylation rate of rubisco (Vcmax), the maximum electron transport rate (Jmax), the dark respiration, as well as the prediction of leaf nitrogen, leaf mass per area (LMA), and leaf water content (LWC). The dataset comprises >7500 paired observations from around 400 species from a broad range of biomes. This dataset comprises a zip file of the GSTI GitHub repository (https://github.com/plantphys/gsti), the synthesized database (.csv) and database metadata files. This dataset was updated on 2025-12-12 with minor edits to mirror the accepted manuscript version and GitHub release (Version 1.0.0 (ESSD accepted version)). Edits included minor changes to the project documentation on GitHub and removal of 12 duplicate entries from the database.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2008

Spatial Coverage Planning and Optimization for Planetary Exploration

We are developing onboard planning and scheduling technology to enable in situ robotic explorers, such as rovers and aerobots, to more effectively assist scientists in planetary exploration. In our current work, we are focusing on situations in which the robot is exploring large geographical features such as craters, channels or regional boundaries. In to develop valid and high quality plans, the robot must take into account a range of scientific and engineering constraints and preferences. We have developed a system that incorporates multiobjective optimization and planning allowing the robot to generate high quality mission operations plans that respect resource limitations and mission constraints while attempting to maximize science and engineering objectives. An important scientific objective for the exploration of geological features is selecting observations that spatially cover an area of interest. We have developed a metric to enable an in situ explorer to reason about and track the spatial coverage quality of a plan. We describe this technique and show how it is combined in the overall multiobjective optimization and planning algorithm.

autonomy↗
NASA NTRS2013

Identification of Noise Sources During Rocket Engine Test Firings and a Rocket Launch Using a Microphone Phased-Array

A 70 microphone, 10-foot by 10-foot, microphone phased array was built for use in the harsh environment of rocket launches. The array was setup at NASA Wallops launch pad 0A during a static test firing of Orbital Sciences' Antares engines, and again during the first launch of the Antares vehicle. It was placed 400 feet away from the pad, and was hoisted on a scissor lift 40 feet above ground. The data sets provided unprecedented insight into rocket noise sources. The duct exit was found to be the primary source during the static test firing; the large amount of water injected beneath the nozzle exit and inside the plume duct quenched all other sources. The maps of the noise sources during launch were found to be time-dependent. As the engines came to full power and became louder, the primary source switched from the duct inlet to the duct exit. Further elevation of the vehicle caused spilling of the hot plume, resulting in a distributed noise map covering most of the pad. As the entire plume emerged from the duct, and the ondeck water system came to full power, the plume itself became the loudest noise source. These maps of the noise sources provide vital insight for optimization of sound suppression systems for future Antares launches.

acoustics↗
NASA NTRS2002

The Genesis Mission: Contamination Control and Curation

The Genesis mission, launched in August 2001, is collecting samples of the solar wind and will return to Earth in 2004. Genesis can be viewed as the most fundamental of NASA's sample return missions because it is expected to provide insight into the initial elemental and isotopic composition of the solar nebula from which all other planetary objects formed. The data from this mission will have a large impact on understanding the origins and diversity of planetary materials. The collectors consist of clean, pure materials into which the solar wind will imbed. Science and engineering issues such as bulk purity, cleanliness, retention of solar wind, and ability to withstand launch and entry drove material choices. Most of the collector materials are installed on array frames that are deployed from a clean science canister. Two of the arrays are continuously exposed for collecting the bulk solar wind; the other three are only exposed during specific solar wind regimes as measured by ion and electron monitors. Other materials are housed as targets at the focal point of an electrostatic mirror, or "concentrator", designed to enhance the flux of specific solar wind species. Johnson Space Center (JSC) has two principal responsibilities for the Genesis mission: contamination control and curation. Precise and accurate measurements of the composition of the solar atoms require that the collector materials be extremely clean and well characterized before launch and during the mission. Early involvement of JSC curation personnel in concept development resulted in a mission designed to minimize contaminants from the spacecraft and operations. A major goal of the Genesis mission is to provide a reservoir of materials for the 21 51 century. When the collector materials are returned to Earth, they must be handled in a clean manner and their condition well documented. Information gained in preliminary examination of the arrays and detailed surveys of each collector will be used to guide sample allocations to the scientific community. Samples allocated for analysis are likely to be small sections of individual collectors, therefore subdividing the materials must take place in a clean, well characterized way. A major focus of current research at JSC includes identifying and characterizing the contamination, waste, and alteration of the sample when using different subdividing, transport, and storage techniques and developing protocols for reducing their impact on the scientific integrity of the mission.

Stansbery, E. K.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Mars Science Laboratory Rover Actuator Thermal Design

NASA will launch a 900 kg rover, part of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, to Mars in October of 2011. The MSL rover is scheduled to land on Mars in August of 2012. The rover employs 31, electric-motor driven actuators to perform a variety of engineering and science functions including: mobility, camera pointing, telecommunications antenna steering, soil and rock sample acquisition and sample processing. This paper describes the MSL rover actuator thermal design. The actuators have stainless steel housings and planetary gearboxes that are lubricated with a "wet" lubricant. The lubricant viscosity increases with decreasing temperature. Warm-up heaters are required to bring the actuators up to temperature (above -55 C) prior to use in the cold wintertime environment of Mars (when ambient atmosphere temperatures are as cold as -113 C). Analytical thermal models of all 31 MSL actuators have been developed. The actuators have been analyzed and warm-up heaters have been designed to improve actuator performance in cold environments. Thermal hardware for the actuators has been specified, procured and installed. This paper presents actuator thermal analysis predicts, and describes the actuator thermal hardware and its operation. In addition, warm-up heater testing and thermal model correlation efforts for the Remote Sensing Mast (RSM) elevation actuator are discussed.

Novak, Keith S.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Ground Autonomy for an Aging Spacecraft

As it approaches the sixteenth of a 5 year prime mission, NASA's Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) mission continues to meet and exceed all science requirements while operating with severely degraded batteries. By 2013, the batteries had degraded such that the On Board Computer (OBC) could not be powered through eclipse. This prevents science data collection in eclipse and erases over 99% of all stored science and engineering telemetry. To mitigate these problems, the Flight Operations Team (FOT) at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) adopted a new operations scheme. "Daylight Only Operations" (DO-OP) transitions the spacecraft from safemode to science mode every orbit. This involved heavily automating the transition process using ground autonomy to improve spacecraft recovery time to 6 minutes - down from 3 orbits of manual commanding. While highly successful, this method of operations poses daily challenges that must be overcome using increasingly complex ground software.

Autonomous Operations↗
DOE OSTI2025

Antielectrophoretic Response-Driven Bending–Tilting Deformation of Cationic Polyelectrolyte Brushes Drives Nonlinear Electroosmotic Transport in Brush-Grafted Nanochannels

In this paper, we use all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to describe a non-linearly enhanced electroosmotic (EOS) flow, where, in a nanochannel grafted with cationic PMETAC ([Poly(2-(Methacryloyloxy)Ethyl) Trimethylammonium Chloride]) brushes, a two-fold increase in the electric field strength leads to a several-fold (more than two-fold) increase in the EOS flow strength and volume flow rate. The electric field enforces the PMETAC brushes to undergo a bending-tilting driven deformation with a significant portion of the brush layer becoming parallel to the grafting surface. In response, a substantial fraction of the counterions leave the brush layer (hence become more mobile), but instead of going into the bulk, accumulate at the brush-bulk interface, i.e., stay in proximity of the brush segments aligned parallel to the grafting surface. This creates an interesting situation, where the counterions are not completely within the brush layer, yet they fully screen the brush charges. Such “freer” conditions enable the counterions to achieve very high velocity, thereby ensuring that the water solvating the counterions themselves move very fast triggering the significantly augmented EOS transport. Probing deeper we can identify that the bending-tilting driven brush deformation, enforcing the brushes to align parallel to the substrate, results from the anti-electrophoretic behavior of the brushes, where despite being positively charged, the brushes move against the electric field direction. Such an anti-electrophoretic behavior of the PE brushes, which has not been reported before, can be associated with the very fast velocities of the negatively charged counterions and the electrostatic and hydrodynamic coupling of the counterions with the positive functional groups of the brushes. Here, we anticipate that the findings of this paper will shed light on strategies for nanochannel flow, the anti-electrophoretic response of charged polymer chains, and the significance of capturing the detailed chemical architecture of polyelectrolytes in nanoscale science and engineering.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1991

Performance evaluation of Platform Data ManagementSystem under various degrees of protocol implementation

The Platform Data Management System (DMS) collects Housekeeping (H/K), Payload (P/L) Engineering, and Payload Science data from various subsystems and payloads on the platform for transmission to the ground through the downlink via TDRSS. The DMS also distributes command data received from the ground to various subsystems and payloads. In addition, DMS distributes timing and safemode data. The function of collection and distribution of various types of data is performed by the Command and Data Handling (C&DH) subsystem of DMS. The C&DH subsystem uses for this purpose a number of data buses namely, Housekeeping, Payload Engineering, Payload Science, and Time and Safemode buses. Out of these buses, the H/K, P/L Engineering, and P/L Science buses are planned to be implemented by using MIL-STD 1553 bus. Most of the period covered was spent in developing a queue theoretic model of the 1553 Bus as used in the DMS. The aim is to use this model to test the performance and suitability of the 1553 Bus to the DMS under a number of alternative design scenarios.

Arozullah, Mohammed↗
DOE OSTI2024

Experimental High Energy Physics at the University of Illinois

This research effort funded by the Office of High Energy Physics in the U.S. Department of Energy is aimed at exploring our universe at its most basic level. The goal of our effort is to learn more about how and why nature behaves the way it does. Within this effort, we are studying the smallest particles and the largest distances we can possibly observe. Our work in particular focuses on the search for new interactions that will help us understand how the universe came into being. Through this work, we collaborate with other scientists and engineers to develop new technologies that can be utilized throughout society. Benefits from our research include advances in medical technology, electronics, transportation, sustainability, information and computing as well as the advanced training of undergraduate and graduate students in science and engineering.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Automated Mini-Tubular Ceramic Production (Final Design Review)

Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory need a way to increase the rate of manufacturing of mini-tubular ceramics to be used in testing particulate air filters. This document outlines our process from researching and writing an initial scope of work all the way to fabricating and testing a final prototype. This journey takes us through the background research, ideation process and selection of a final design. We also detail the desired engineering specifications and our concept selection process. We dedicate a significant portion of this report to discussion of our final design. We delve into how it was manufactured as well as the tests we performed and its successes and failures. We also propose potential areas for further development and next steps for sponsors. Overall, this document provides the reader with a comprehensive understanding of our design process and results.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Remote Science Work Support, Context, and Approach on NASA's VIPER Mission

Returning humans to the Moon, sending humans for the first time to Mars will necessarily include an accompaniment of robotic vehicles. A mission work system will be needed that supports remote teams of humans and robots in cooperation (synchronous and asynchronous) with earthbound systems, engineering and science teams. All of these elements have individual development contexts and manners of operation; at the same time, all are in varying degrees conjoined during mission development stages and operations. As such, the assembly of elements (people, activities, disciplinary knowledge, and machines) that constitute a mission work system can be developed independently and cooperatively. Current missions and those in development, in keeping with NASA’s history of employing prior mission knowledge, will shape how and by which organizational schemas, or elements of, future missions will draw from, or wholly rely. NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover mission, VIPER, presents an opportunity for a unique operational schema within the history of space exploration and remotely conducted science research.

science operations↗
DOE OSTI2024

Collaborative Research: Louis Stokes Regional Center of Excellence: Louis Stokes Midwest Regional Center of Excellence (LSMRCE) for Broadening Participation in STEM

The Louis Stokes Midwest Regional Center of Excellence (LSMRCE) for Broadening Participation in STEM, a partnership of Chicago State University (CSU), aimed to increase the number of underrepresented minority (URM) students graduating with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degrees and matriculating into graduate STEM programs. As a member institution of the LSMRCE, Fermi Research Alliance, LLC, (Fermilab) looked to support its continued mission of increasing URM student participation in its Summer Internship in Science and Technology (SIST) internship program. The program provided URMs with access to research skills development, mentoring and professionalization activities via paid, summer research internships at Fermilab. Students received instruction and mentoring while gaining exposure to a global laboratory workforce and community with diverse academic and professional expertise. In addition, students established professional relationships and networked with senior researchers, early career scientists, technical professionals, post-docs and other undergraduate interns to help forge collaboration, innovation and mentoring opportunities at Fermilab and LSMRCE partner institutions

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
NASA NTRS2006

A Multi-mission Event-Driven Component-Based System for Support of Flight Software Development, ATLO, and Operations first used by the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Project

This paper details an architectural description of the Mission Data Processing and Control System (MPCS), an event-driven, multi-mission ground data processing components providing uplink, downlink, and data management capabilities which will support the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) project as its first target mission. MPCS is developed based on a set of small reusable components, implemented in Java, each designed with a specific function and well-defined interfaces. An industry standard messaging bus is used to transfer information among system components. Components generate standard messages which are used to capture system information, as well as triggers to support the event-driven architecture of the system. Event-driven systems are highly desirable for processing high-rate telemetry (science and engineering) data, and for supporting automation for many mission operations processes.

Mission Data Processing and Control System (MPCS)↗
NASA NTRS2012

Space Operations Learning Center Facebook Application

The proposed Space Operations Learning Center (SOLC) Facebook module, initially code-named Spaceville, is intended to be an educational online game utilizing the latest social networking technology to reach a broad audience base and inspire young audiences to be interested in math, science, and engineering. Spaceville will be a Facebook application/ game with the goal of combining learning with a fun game and social environment. The mission of the game is to build a scientific outpost on the Moon or Mars and expand the colony. Game activities include collecting resources, trading resources, completing simple science experiments, and building architectures such as laboratories, habitats, greenhouses, machine shops, etc. The player is awarded with points and achievement levels. The player s ability increases as his/her points and levels increase. A player can interact with other players using multiplayer Facebook functionality. As a result, a player can discover unexpected treasures through scientific missions, engineering, and working with others. The player creates his/her own avatar with his/her selection of its unique appearance, and names the character. The player controls the avatar to perform activities such as collecting oxygen molecules or building a habitat. From observations of other successful social online games such as Farmville and Restaurant City, a common element of these games is having eye-catching and cartoonish characters, and interesting animations for all activities. This will create a fun, educational, and rewarding environment. The player needs to accumulate points in order to be awarded special items needed for advancing to higher levels. Trophies will be awarded to the player when certain goals are reached or tasks are completed. In order to acquire some special items needed for advancement in the game, the player will need to visit his/her neighboring towns to discover the items. This is the social aspect of the game that requires the player to go out of his/her own establishment to explore what is in the neighborhood. Spaceville will take advantage of Facebook s successful architecture to inspire a new audience of scientists and engineers for the future.

Lui, Ben↗
DOE OSTI2023

6 th International Conference on Plant Synthetic Biology, Bioengineering and Biotechnology (Workshop Report)

The objective of the project is to hold a Conference to bring together scientists and engineers from universities, industry and government working in all aspects of plant synthetic biology, plant bioengineering and plant biotechnology. To meet this objective, AIChE will host the 6th International Conference on Plant Synthetic Biology, Bioengineering and Biotechnology on December 9-11, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The conference will feature five technical sessions: (1) Genome and Epigenome Editing, (2) Specialized Metabolism, (3) Engineering Plant Resilience, (4) Engineering more efficient plants, and (5) New tools and Technologies. The conference will allow leading scientists and engineers from universities, industry and government to discuss new tools and technologies being developed as well as their applications, and gaps in the field. The conference will allow students to learn about these new technologies, engage in a discussion with professionals in their field of interest, and showcase their work. The scope, theme, and aims of the Conference on Plant Synthetic Biology, Bioengineering, and Biotechnology fall squarely within the mission of DOE which includes securing US leadership in energy technology and to maintaining a vibrant US effort in science and engineering as a cornerstone for our economic prosperity.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2004

Training Informal Educators Provides Leverage for Space Science Education and Public Outreach

How do we reach the public with the exciting story of Solar System Exploration? How do we encourage girls to think about careers in science, math, engineering and technology? Why should NASA scientists make an effort to reach the public and informal education settings to tell the Solar System Exploration story? These are questions that the Solar System Exploration Forum, a part of the NASA Office of Space Science Education (SSE) and Public Outreach network, has tackled over the past few years. The SSE Forum is a group of education teams and scientists who work to share the excitement of solar system exploration with colleagues, formal educators, and informal educators like museums and youth groups. One major area of the SSE Forum outreach supports the training of Girl Scouts of the USA (GS) leaders and trainers in a suite of activities that reflect NASA missions and science research. Youth groups like Girl Scouts structure their activities as informal education.

Allen, J. S.↗