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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA’s Earth System Observatory Formulation Progress

The 2017 Earth Science Decadal Survey by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine identified five foundational observations, or Designated Observables (DO), to be implemented as missions by NASA. To address these five DO areas – Surface Biology and Geology; Mass Change; Aerosols; Cloud, Convection, and Precipitation; and Surface Deformation and Change – NASA is developing the Earth System Observatory (ESO) as an array of Earth-focused, interconnected satellite missions. The ESO will build on the strong history of international partnerships in NASA Earth science, with initial participation and collaboration on these missions across space agency partners including the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), and Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI). Targeting launch dates in the late 2020s and early 2030s, the ESO will work as a single observatory, with each satellite in the ESO delivering its own valuable information, but taken together, the data and imagery will provide the global community with a multidimensional, holistic view of the Earth. In addition to furthering the world’s scientific knowledge, data gathered by ESO missions will provide actionable science to inform decisions related to climate change, disaster mitigation, and wildfires, improve real-time agricultural processes, and many other applications. This paper will provide an overview of the ESO development activities, as well as an update on the individual ESO missions currently in formulation – Atmosphere Observing System, Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment-Continuity, and Surface Biology and Geology – including current mission architectures and concepts, international partner collaboration, science community engagement, and applications efforts, as well as how ESO data will be freely open and accessible to users all over the world.

NASA Earth Science↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA’s Earth System Observatory Formulation Overview

NASA’s Earth System Observatory (ESO) is an array of Earth-focused, interconnected satellite missions focused on five core study areas: Surface Biology and Geology, Mass Change, Aerosols, Surface Deformation and Change, and Clouds, Convection, and Precipitation. Observatory development follows recommendations from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s 2017 Earth Science Decadal Survey. Data gathered by ESO missions will provide actionable science to inform decisions related to climate change, disaster mitigation, and wildfires, improve real-time agricultural processes, and many other applications. Targeting launch dates in the late 2020s and early 2030s, each ESO satellite will deliver valuable information, but by working together as a single observatory system, their combined data and imagery will provide the global community with a 4D, holistic view of Earth, from bedrock to atmosphere. The ESO is also building on the legacy of international collaboration in Earth science, with initial participation and collaboration on these missions across space agency partners, including the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), and Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI). This paper provides an overview of ESO, as well as an update on ESO missions currently in formulation – the Atmosphere Observing System, Mass Change, and Surface Biology and Geology elements – including current mission architectures, international partner collaboration, science community engagement, and applications efforts, as well as how NASA and its partners will make ESO data accessible to users all over the world.

NASA Earth Science↗
NASA NTRS1997

Determination of Aerosol Optical Depth and Land Surface Directional Reflectances Using Multiangle Imagery

Spectral aerosol optical depths, surface hemispherical-directional reflectance factors, and bihemispherical reflectances (albedos) are retrieved for an area of Glacier National Park using spectral, multiangle imagery obtained with the airborne advanced solid state array spectroradiometer (ASAS). The retrieval algorithms are described and are identical in principle to those being devised for use by the multiangle imaging spectroradiometer (MISR) which will fly on the EOS-AMI spacecraft in 1998. As part of its science mission, MISR will produce global coverage of both aerosol amounts an an surface reflection properties. The results in this paper represent the initial effort in applying the MISR algorithms to real data. These algorithms will undergo additional testing and validation as more multiangle data become available.

Martonchik, John V.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Carbon-Based Wear Coatings: Properties and Applications

The technical function of numerous engineering systems - such as vehicles, machines, and instruments - depends on the processes of motion and on the surface systems. Many processes in nature and technology depend on the motion and dynamic behavior of solids, liquids, and gases. Smart surface systems are essential because of the recent technological push toward higher speeds, loads, and operating temperatures; longer life; lighter weight and smaller size (including nanotechnology); and harsh environments in mechanical, mechatronic, and biomechanical systems. If proper attention is not given to surface systems, then vehicles, machines, instruments, and other technical systems could have short lives, consume excessive energy, experience breakdowns, result in liabilities, and fail to accomplish their missions. Surface systems strongly affect our national economy and our lifestyles. At the NASA Glenn Research Center, we believe that proper attention to surface systems, especially in education, research, and application, could lead to economic savings of between 1.3 and 1.6 percent of the gross domestic product. Wear coatings and surface systems continue to experience rapid growth as new coating and surface engineering technologies are discovered, more cost-effective coating and surface engineering solutions are developed, and marketers aggressively pursue, uncover, and exploit new applications for engineered surface systems in cutting tools and wear components. Wear coatings and smart surface systems have been used widely in industrial, consumer, automotive, aerospace, and biomedical applications. This presentation expresses the author's views of and insights into smart surface systems in wear coatings. A revolution is taking place in carbon science and technology. Diamond, an allotrope of carbon, joins graphite, fullerenes, and nanotubes as its major pure carbon structures. It has a unique combination of extreme properties: hardness and abrasion resistance; adhesion and friction; thermal conductivity; chemical and thermal inertness; corrosion and wear resistance; radiation resistance and biocompatibility; electronic, acoustic, and electrochemical characteristics; and environmental compatibility. These properties make diamond attractive for a wide range of diverse applications. In particular, chemical-vapor-deposited (CVD) diamond coatings offer a broad potential, since size and cost are not as limiting. The production of large, superhard diamond films or sheets at low cost make designer materials possible. This presentation is divided into two sections: properties and applications of hard coatings. The first section is concerned with the fundamental properties of the surfaces of CVD diamonds and related materials. The surface properties of hard coatings with favorable coefficients of friction (less than or equal to 0.1) and dimensional wear coefficients (less than or equal to 10(exp -6) cubic millimeters/N.m) in specific environments are discussed. The second section is devoted to applications. Examples of actual, successful applications and of potential challenging applications of the coatings.such as CVD diamond, diamondlike carbon, and cubic boron nitride-are described. Cutting tools coated with CVD diamond are of immediate commercial interest. Other applications, such as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), valves, and bearings of CVD diamond, are being developed, but at a slow pace. There is a continually growing interest in commercializing diamondlike carbon for wear parts applications, such as biomedical parts and implants, forming dies, transport guides, magnetic tapes and disks, valves, and gears. Cubic boron nitride films are receiving attention because they can be used on tools to machine ferrous materials or on wear parts in sliding contact with ferrous materials.

Miyoshi, Kazuhisa↗
NASA NTRS1991

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) design evolution and associated development and verification of data product efforts

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) is a key observing facility to be flown on the Earth Observing System (EOS). The facility is composed of two instruments called MODIS-N (nadir) and MODIS-T (tilt). The MODIS-N is being built under contract to NASA by the Santa Barbara Research Center. The MODIS-T is being fabricated by the Engineering Directorate at the Goddard Space Flight Center. The MODIS Science Team has defined nearly 40 biogeophysical data products for studies of the ocean and land surface and properties of the atmosphere including clouds that can be expected to be produced from the MODIS instruments shortly after the launch of EOS. The ocean, land, atmosphere, and calibration groups of the MODIS Science Team are now proceeding to plan and implement the operations and facilities involving the analysis of data from existing spaceborne, airborne, and in-situ sensors required to develop and validate the algorithms that will produce the geophysical data products. These algorithm development and validation efforts will be accomplished wherever possible within the context of existing or planned national and international experiments or programs such as those in the World Climate Research Program.

Salomonson, Vincent V.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Volatile Detections in Gale Crater Sediment and Sedimentary Rock: Results from the Mars Science Laboratory's Sample Analysis at Mars Instrument

This chapter discusses the detection of evolved gases from Gale crater sedimentary rock and eolian sediment by the Mars Science Laboratory rover's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument. An overview is presented of the SAM instrument along with summary of key results from previous evolved gas analyses conducted at the Viking and Phoenix landing sites. The SAM measurements of evolved water, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, oxygen, and nitrous oxide from Gale crater samples are presented. The phases responsible for the evolved gas detections and the implications for their presence are then evaluated. The water deuterium to hydrogen (D/H) ratio is discussed in context of understanding the degree of water loss from Mars. In the introduction of this book, we briefly explored the history of the exploration of Mars, where we discussed a major shift in the scientific thinking and public perception of the nature of the surface of Mars as new missions explored the Red Planet. The first observations of the surface sparked speculations of Mars being inhabited by intelligent beings, inspiring fantasy, science fiction, and, of course, further exploration. The turn came when Mariner 4 returned images of a lunar-like landscape, a monotonous basaltic world with many impact craters but no water, and therefore no prospects for life to find a habitable niche. The authors of the chapters of this book show how different our understanding of Mars is today from the historical Mariner 4 perspective!

Sutter, Brad↗
NASA NTRS1985

Radar and the Detection of Liquid Water on Mars

Detection of the seasonally variable radar reflectivity in the Goldstone Mars data (the Solis Lacus radar anomaly and the proposed interpretation in terms of the near-surface presence of liquid water created a controversy in the planetary science community. Over the past year, skepticism was voiced about the reality of the phenomenon of a seasonally variable radar reflectivity anywhere on Mars. The necessary background information and the pertinent data are reviewed in a format perhaps more convincing than that employed in the original presentation of the discovery. A summary of the results and recommendations for future work are included.

Roth, L. E.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Evaluation of geophysical parameters measured by the Nimbus-7 microwave radiometer for the TOGA Heat Exchange Project

The data distributed by the National Space Science Data Center on the Geophysical parameters of precipitable water, sea surface temperature, and surface-level wind speed, measured by the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) on Nimbus-7, are evaluated with in situ measurements between Jan. 1980 and Oct. 1983 over the tropical oceans. In tracking annual cycles and the 1982-83 E1 Nino/Southern Oscillation episode, the radiometer measurements are coherent with sea surface temperatures and surface-level wind speeds measured at equatorial buoys and with precipitable water derived from radiosonde soundings at tropical island stations. However, there are differences between SMMR and in situ measurements. Corrections based on radiosonde and ship data were derived supplementing correction formulae suggested in the databook. This study is the initial evaluation of the data for quantitative description of the 1982-83 E1 Nino/Southern Oscillation episode. It paves the way for determination of the ocean-atmosphere moisture and latent heat exchanges, a priority of the Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere (TOGA) Heat Exchange Program.

Liu, W. Timothy↗
NASA NTRS1986

Preliminary system concepts for MODIS - A moderate resolution imaging spectrometer for EOS

Plans are underway at NASA Goddard to develop a moderate-resolution (0.5-1.0-km) imaging spectrometer with 104 spectral bands in the range from 0.4 to 14.2 microns for use as a NASA facility aboard the Space Station Earth Observation System. Science requirements call for the system to image the earth's surface every 2 d for a period of 10 yr, using two electrooptic sensors. MODIS-T (tilt) has 64 10-nm-wide channels in the 400-1000-nm range. The system has 5-cm-diameter optics, scans + or - 45 deg, and can be pointed + or - 60 deg along track. Calculated S/N is in excess of 800:1 near 400 nm. MODIS-N (nadir) scans + or - 45 deg about nadir with 12 500-m- and 28 1000-m-resolution channels, including two polarization channels and 14 thermal-IR channels. With 20-cm-diameter optics the calculated S/N of the majority of the reflected solar bands is over 1000:1. NETD values for the thermal bands are on the order of 0.1-0.2 K at 300 K. Combined MODIS-T and MODIS-N data rates are 8.3 Mb/s in daylight and 1.5 Mb/s at night, resulting in a total of 360 Gb/d.

Barnes, W. L.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Aeroassisted Flight Experiment aerodynamic characteristics at flight conditions

The success of NASA's Aeroassisted Flight Experiment project depends on the suitable placement of instrumentation on the vehicle surface and the ability of the vehicle to fly the maximum science payload. The initial aerodynamic data base was established using wind tunnel data and CFD analyses, where the influence of real-gas effects precluded the use of ground-facility data. More recently, a viscous thermochemical nonequilibrium flow analysis about the complete vehicle, including the wake, has updated the vehicle aerodynamic data base.

Weilmuenster, K. James↗
NASA NTRS1991

Environmental interactions in Space Exploration: Announcement of the formation of an Environmental Interactions Working Group

With the advent of the Space Exploration Initiative, the possibility of designing and using systems on scales not heretofore attempted presents exciting new challenges in systems design and space science. The environments addressed by the Space Exploration Initiative include the surfaces of the Moon and Mars, as well as the varied plasma and field environments which will be encountered by humans and cargo enroute to these destinations. Systems designers will need to understand environmental interactions and be able to model these mechanisms from the earliest conceptual design stages through design completion. To the end of understanding environmental interactions and establishing robotic precursor mission requirements, an Environmental Interactions Working Group has been established as part of the Robotic Missions Working Group. The current paper describes the working group and gives an update of its current activities. Working group charter and operation are reviewed, background information on the environmental interactions and their characteristics is offered, and the current status of the group's activities is presented along with anticipations for the future.

Kolecki, Joseph C.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Environmental interactions in space exploration: Environmental interactions working group

With the advent of the Space Exploration Initiative, the possibility of designing and using systems on scales heretofore unattempted presents exciting new challenges in systems design and space science. The environments addressed by the Space Exploration Initiative include the surfaces of the Moon and Mars, as well as the varied plasma and field environments which will be encountered by humans and cargo enroute to these destinations. Systems designers will need to understand environmental interactions and be able to model these mechanisms from the earliest conceptual design stages through design completion. To the end of understanding environmental interactions and establishing robotic precursor mission requirements, an Environmental Interactions Working Group was established as part of the Robotic Missions Working Group. The working group is described, and its current activities are updated.

Kolecki, Joseph C.↗
NASA NTRS1992

An ejection model for SNC meteorites: An indication for recent volcanism on Mars

When compared to other achondrites, Shergotty-Nakhla-Chassigny (SNC) meteorites are viewed as anomalous objects. This conclusion is based mainly on their extremely young crystallization ages and their short cosmic ray exposure times. Further, SNC's noble gas and nitrogen components indicate a martian origin for these objects. If these meteorites are from Mars, then the most confounding question facing the planetary science community is how were they ejected from the planet's surface. The following is an investigation of that question.

Manker, J. P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Large scale crystallization of protein pharmaceuticals in microgravity via temperature change

The major objective of this research effort is the temperature driven growth of protein crystals in large batches in the microgravity environment of space. Pharmaceutical houses are developing protein products for patient care, for example, human insulin, human growth hormone, interferons, and tissue plasminogen activator or TPA, the clot buster for heart attack victims. Except for insulin, these are very high value products; they are extremely potent in small quantities and have a great value per gram of material. It is feasible that microgravity crystallization can be a cost recoverable, economically sound final processing step in their manufacture. Large scale protein crystal growth in microgravity has significant advantages from the basic science and the applied science standpoints. Crystal growth can proceed unhindered due to lack of surface effects. Dynamic control is possible and relatively easy. The method has the potential to yield large quantities of pure crystalline product. Crystallization is a time honored procedure for purifying organic materials and microgravity crystallization could be the final step to remove trace impurities from high value protein pharmaceuticals. In addition, microgravity grown crystals could be the final formulation for those medicines that need to be administered in a timed release fashion. Long lasting insulin, insulin lente, is such a product. Also crystalline protein pharmaceuticals are more stable for long-term storage. Temperature, as the initiation step, has certain advantages. Again, dynamic control of the crystallization process is possible and easy. A temperature step is non-invasive and is the most subtle way to control protein solubility and therefore crystallization. Seeding is not necessary. Changes in protein and precipitant concentrations and pH are not necessary. Finally, this method represents a new way to crystallize proteins in space that takes advantage of the unique microgravity environment. The results from two flights showed that the hardware performed perfectly, many crystals were produced, and they were much larger than their ground grown controls. Morphometric analysis was done on over 4,000 crystals to establish crystal size, size distribution, and relative size. Space grown crystals were remarkably larger than their earth grown counterparts and crystal size was a function of PCF volume. That size distribution for the space grown crystals was a function of PCF volume may indicate that ultimate size was a function of temperature gradient. Since the insulin protein concentration was very low, 0.4 mg/ml, the size distribution could also be following the total amount of protein in each of the PCF's. X-ray analysis showed that the bigger space grown insulin crystals diffracted to higher resolution than their ground grown controls. When the data were normalized for size, they still indicated that the space crystals were better than the ground crystals.

Long, Marianna M.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Preliminary design for Arctic atmospheric radiative transfer experiments

If current plans are realized, within the next few years, an extraordinary set of coordinated research efforts focusing on energy flows in the Arctic will be implemented. All are motivated by the prospect of global climate change. SHEBA (Surface Energy Budget of the Arctic Ocean), led by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Office of Naval Research (ONR), involves instrumenting an ice camp in the perennial Arctic ice pack, and taking data for 12-18 months. The ARM (Atmospheric Radiation Measurement) North Slope of Alaska and Adjacent Arctic Ocean (NSA/AAO) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) focuses on atmospheric radiative transport, especially in the presence of clouds. The NSA/AAO CART involves instrumenting a sizeable area on the North Slope of Alaska and adjacent waters in the vicinity of Barrow, and acquiring data over a period of about 10 years. FIRE (First ISCCP (International Satellite Cloud Climatology Program) Regional Experiment) Phase 3 is a program led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) which focuses on Arctic clouds, and which is coordinated with SHEBA and ARM. FIRE has historically emphasized data from airborne and satellite platforms. All three program anticipate initiating Arctic data acquisition during spring, 1997. In light of his historic opportunity, the authors discuss a strawman atmospheric radiative transfer experimental plan that identifies which features of the radiative transport models they think should be tested, what experimental data are required for each type of test, the platforms and instrumentation necessary to acquire those data, and in general terms, how the experiments could be conducted. Aspects of the plan are applicable to all three programs.

Zak, B. D.↗
NASA NTRS1994

To Pluto by way of a postage stamp

In this time of constrained budgets, the primary question facing planetary explorers is not 'Can we do it?' but 'Can we do it cheaply?' Taunted by words on a postage stamp, a group of mission designers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is struggling to find a cheap way to go to Pluto. Three primary goals were set by the science community: (1) imaging of Pluto and Charon, (2) mapping their surface composition, and (3) characterizing Pluto's atmosphere. The spacecraft will be designed around these primary goals. With the help of the Advanced Technology Insertion (ATI) process $5 million was alloted for two years to shop for lightweight components and subsystems using new technology never tried on a planetary mission. The process for this search and development is described.

Staehle, Robert L.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Contamination Control Considerations for the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST)

The NASA Space Science Program, in its ongoing mission to study the universe, has begun planning for a telescope that will carry on the Hubble Space Telescope's exploration. This telescope, the 'Next Generation Space Telescope' (NGST), will be 6-8 meters in diameter, will be radiatively cooled to 30-60 Kelvin in order to enable extremely deep exposures at near infrared wavelengths, and will operate for a lifetime of 5-10 years. The requirement will be to measure wavelengths from 1-5 microns, with a goal to measure wavelengths from 0.6-30 microns. As such, NGST will present a new contamination control challenge. The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) performed one of three preliminary feasibility studies for the NGST, presenting a telescope with an 8 meter, deployable primary mirror and a deployable secondary mirror. The telescope would be radiatively cooled, with the optical telescope assembly (OTA) and the science instrument module (SIM) isolated from the warmer spacecraft support module (SSM). The OTA and the SIM would also be shielded from sunlight with an enormous, inflatable sun-shield. The GSFC telescope was designed for launch on an Atlas HAS, which would require launching the telescope in a stowed configuration, with the SSM, antennae, sun-shield, primary mirror 'petals', and secondary mirror deployed once on-orbit. The launch configuration and deployment scenario of an exposed telescope measuring near infrared and cooled to 30-60 K are the factors presenting contamination hazards to the NGST mission. Preliminary science requirements established are: less than 20% reflectance decrease on optical surfaces over the wavelength range, and less than 0.3% obscuration of optical surfaces. In order to meet these requirements, NGST must be built and launched with careful attention to contamination control. Initial contamination control design options include strict selecting of materials and baking out of hardware down to the component level, minimizing or eliminating exposure of the OTA to sunlight or earth albedo during deployment and early on-orbit operations, cleaning of the primary and secondary mirrors at the launch site, cleaning of the launch vehicle fairing, locating thrusters and vents on the warm side of the sun shield only, and the possibility of including a deployable cover if that is shown to be necessary.

Wooldridge, Eve M.↗
NASA NTRS1997

The Solar System Beyond Neptune

The aim of this research is to study the objects in the Kuiper Belt, in order to understand the nature of its origin and the evolutionary processes which have affected the Kuiper Belt. Particular science objectives include: 1) the determination of the sky-plane surface density of Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs); 2) the determination of the slope of the cumulative luminosity function (CLF); 3) the determination of the KBO size distribution; 4) the isolation of bright KBOs from which physical measurements can be secured using existing 10-meter diameter class telescopes; 5) physical measurements of bright KBOs designed to assess their composition. Major results obtained under the grant include: 1) The determination of the surface density of KBOs (objects per square degree of sky) as a function of apparent red magnitude in the range 21 less than MR less than 24.8. 2) The discovery of a new dynamical class in the Kuiper Belt, exemplified by 1996 TL66. 3) Physical observations of two bright KBOs were secured using the Keck 10-meter telescope and an infrared imager/spectrometer; 4) In support of public interest in the Kuiper Belt, we wrote a popular article for Scientific American magazine and we developed a "Kuiper Belt Home Page" on the world-wide web.

Jewitt, David↗