Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “feature exploration”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,117 records · Page 62
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1992

A space transportation system for early lunar exploration

This paper presents a Lunar Transportation System (LTS) based on existing technology and liberal use of existing or planned national and international space infrastructure. The objective of the studies described herein was to define a LTS capable of delivering and servicing a manned lunar outpost shortly after the turn of the century. Alternative approaches examined used derivatives of elements from the planned National Launch System or existing international assets to reduce development and launch costs. This study incorporates many design features determined by contracted NASA efforts to reduce nonrecurring and recurring costs for a LTS.

Andrews, Dana G.↗
NASA NTRS1994

An HP Adaptive Discontinuous Galerkin Method for Hyperbolic Conservation Laws

This dissertation addresses various issues for model classes of hyperbolic conservation laws. The basic approach developed in this work employs a new family of adaptive, hp-version, finite element methods based on a special discontinuous Galerkin formulation for hyperbolic problems. The discontinuous Galerkin formulation admits high-order local approximations on domains of quite general geometry, while providing a natural framework for finite element approximations and for theoretical developments. The use of hp-versions of the finite element method makes possible exponentially convergent schemes with very high accuracies in certain cases; the use of adaptive hp-schemes allows h-refinement in regions of low regularity and p-enrichment to deliver high accuracy, while keeping problem sizes manageable and dramatically smaller than many conventional approaches. The use of discontinuous Galerkin methods is uncommon in applications, but the methods rest on a reasonable mathematical basis for low-order cases and has local approximation features that can be exploited to produce very efficient schemes, especially in a parallel, multiprocessor environment. The place of this work is to first and primarily focus on a model class of linear hyperbolic conservation laws for which concrete mathematical results, methodologies, error estimates, convergence criteria, and parallel adaptive strategies can be developed, and to then briefly explore some extensions to more general cases. Next, we provide preliminaries to the study and a review of some aspects of the theory of hyperbolic conservation laws. We also provide a review of relevant literature on this subject and on the numerical analysis of these types of problems.

Bey, Kim S.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Giovanni: The Bridge between Data and Science

NASA Giovanni (Goddard Interactive Online Visualization ANd aNalysis Infrastructure) is a web-based remote sensing and model data visualization and analysis system developed by the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC). This web-based tool facilitates data discovery, exploration and analysis of large amount of global and regional data sets, covering atmospheric dynamics, atmospheric chemistry, hydrology, oceanographic, and land surface. Data analysis functions include Lat-Lon map, time series, scatter plot, correlation map, difference, cross-section, vertical profile, and animation etc. Visualization options enable comparisons of multiple variables and easier refinement. Recently, new features have been developed, such as interactive scatter plots and maps. The performance is also being improved, in some cases by an order of magnitude for certain analysis functions with optimized software. We are working toward merging current Giovanni portals into a single omnibus portal with all variables in one (virtual) location to help users find a variable easily and enhance the intercomparison capability

Shen, Suhung↗
NASA NTRS2013

Arcjet Testing of Woven Carbon Cloth for Use on Adaptive Deployable Entry Placement Technology

This paper describes arcjet testing and analysis that has successfully demonstrated the viability of three dimensional woven carbon cloth for dual use in the Adaptive Deployable Entry Placement Technology (ADEPT). ADEPT is an umbrella-like entry system that is folded for stowage in the launch vehicle s shroud and deployed in space prior to reaching the atmospheric interface. A key feature of the ADEPT concept is its lower ballistic coefficient for delivery of a given payload than those for conventional, rigid body entry systems. The benefits that accrue from the lower ballistic coefficient include factor of ten reductions of deceleration forces and entry heating. The former enables consideration of new classes of scientific instruments for solar system exploration while the latter enables the design of a more efficient thermal protection system. The carbon cloth now base lined for ADEPT has a dual use in that it serves as ADEPT s thermal protection system and as the "skin" that transfers aerodynamic deceleration loads to its umbrella-like substructure. The arcjet testing described in this paper was conducted for some of the higher heating conditions for a future Venus mission using the ADEPT concept, thereby showing that the carbon cloth can perform in a relevant entry environment. The ADEPT project considered the carbon cloth to be mission enabling and was carrying it as a major risk during Fiscal Year 2012. The testing and analysis reported here played a major role in retiring that risk and is highly significant to the success and possible adoption of ADEPT for future NASA missions. Finally, this paper also describes a preliminary engineering level code, based on the arcjet data, that can be used to estimate cloth thickness for future missions using ADEPT and to predict carbon cloth performance in future arcjet tests.

Arnold, James O.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Electromagnetic Simulations of Ground-Penetrating Radar Propagation near Lunar Pits and Lava Tubes

Placing an Orion capsule at the Earth-Moon L2 point (EML2) would potentially enable telerobotic operation of a rover on the lunar surface. The Human Exploration Virtual Institute (HEVI) is proposing that rover operations be carried out near one of the recently discovered lunar pits, which may provide radiation shielding for long duration human stays as well as a cross-disciplinary, science-rich target for nearer-term telerobotic exploration. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) instrumentation included onboard a rover has the potential to reveal many details of underground geologic structures near a pit, as well as characteristics of the pit itself. In the present work we employ the full-wave electromagnetic code MEEP to simulate such GPR reflections from a lunar pit and other subsurface features including lava tubes. These simulations will feed forward to mission concepts requiring knowledge of where to hide from harmful radiation and other environmental hazards such as plama charging and extreme diurnal temperatures.

Lava Tubes↗
NASA NTRS2014

Seeing Earth Through the Eyes of an Astronaut

The Human Exploration Science Office within the ARES Directorate has undertaken a new class of handheld camera photographic observations of the Earth as seen from the International Space Station (ISS). For years, astronauts have attempted to describe their experience in space and how they see the Earth roll by below their spacecraft. Thousands of crew photographs have documented natural features as diverse as the dramatic clay colors of the African coastline, the deep blues of the Earth's oceans, or the swirling Aurora Borealis of Australia in the upper atmosphere. Dramatic recent improvements in handheld digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera capabilities are now allowing a new field of crew photography: night time-lapse imagery.

Dawson, Melissa↗
NASA NTRS2016

An Introduction to Transient Engine Applications Using the Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS) and MATLAB

This document outlines methodologies designed to improve the interface between the Numerical Propulsion System Simulation framework and various control and dynamic analyses developed in the Matlab and Simulink environment. Although NPSS is most commonly used for steady-state modeling, this paper is intended to supplement the relatively sparse documentation on it's transient analysis functionality. Matlab has become an extremely popular engineering environment, and better methodologies are necessary to develop tools that leverage the benefits of these disparate frameworks. Transient analysis is not a new feature of the Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS), but transient considerations are becoming more pertinent as multidisciplinary trade-offs begin to play a larger role in advanced engine designs. This paper serves to supplement the relatively sparse documentation on transient modeling and cover the budding convergence between NPSS and Matlab based modeling toolsets. The following sections explore various design patterns to rapidly develop transient models. Each approach starts with a base model built with NPSS, and assumes the reader already has a basic understanding of how to construct a steady-state model. The second half of the paper focuses on further enhancements required to subsequently interface NPSS with Matlab codes. The first method being the simplest and most straightforward but performance constrained, and the last being the most abstract. These methods aren't mutually exclusive and the specific implementation details could vary greatly based on the designer's discretion. Basic recommendations are provided to organize model logic in a format most easily amenable to integration with existing Matlab control toolsets.

Matlab↗
NASA NTRS2017

NASA Mars 2020 Landed Mission Development

In January of 2014, NASA received fifty-eight proposals from U.S. and international teams for science and exploration technology investigations, for consideration for inclusion as part of NASA's next mobile landed mission to Mars. The results of the competitive procurement were released in late July of 2014: Seven payloads were selected for the investigations that would contribute to meeting the overall objectives of the mission. The extraordinary scientific and technology development interest in the Mars 2020 mission is a direct result of NASA's sustained and coordinated plan for the exploration of Mars, and ultimately, its search for life elsewhere in the universe. The Mars 2020 Mission will preserve the heritage and directly build upon NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Mission and Curiosity Rover to implement its mission. In this paper, early development history leading to its development announcement, as well as key development status and design features for its implementation, is summarized.

MSR↗
NASA NTRS2018

Future of Big Earth Data Analytics

The state of the art of Big Earth Data Analytics can be expected to evolve rapidly in the coming years. The forces driving evolution come from both growth in the data and advancement in the field of data analytics. In the data area, advances in sensor instrumentation and platform miniaturization are increasing both data resolution and coverage, resulting in enormous growth in data Volume. Increases in temporal resolution in particular also generate demands for higher data Velocity. At the same time, the proliferation of instruments and the platforms on which they reside is increasing the Variety of datasets. The Variety increase in turn leads to questions about the Veracity of the data. In the algorithm area, powerful machine learning methods are coming to the fore, particularly Deep Neural Networks. These are powerful at detecting interesting features in the data, integrating many different measurements (i.e., data fusion), and classification problems. However, they are still challenging when seeking explanations of how natural or socio-economic phenomena work using Earth Observations. Thus, classical analysis techniques will remain relevant when the emphasis is on forming or testing explanations, as well as to support interactive data exploration.

Lynnes, Christopher↗
NASA NTRS2018

The TechEdSat-N Series: A Collaborative Technology Development Platform in the Nano-Satellite Form Factor

The TechEdSat-1 (TES-1) was the first U.S. CubeSat to be deployed from the ISS (International Space Station). This permitted the initiation of a flight series that has recently de-orbited the 6th nano-satellite with subsequent numbers 7-10 under development. The nano-satellites range from 1U (1 unit) to 6U (TechEdSat-8) but have the critical ISS Safety design features standardized in order to focus on the particular experiment objectives. Incremental experimental development has included unique communication subsystems such as command/control of the nanosatellite through email commands -as well as a recent record for Wifi transmission. Also, the thermophysics of controlled drag devices (Exo-Brake) has been developed which will prelude sample return and planetary exploration applications. The successful "rapid incremental experiment" approach has also been incorporated into collaborations with academia, permitting professors/student interns to be exposed to the rigors of space mission hardware design and execution. The TechEdSat-8, a linear 6U configuration, allows for 5 different groups to contribute an "experiment, sensor, or sub-system" through a well-defined common interface. Lastly, the flying laboratory concept is helpful in developing future interplanetary nano-satellite subsystems which will advance exploration goals by allowing rapid demonstration/validation first in LEO (Low Earth Orbit).

Small Payload Quick Return↗
NASA NTRS2019

Deep Mapping of Small Solar System Bodies with Galactic Cosmic Ray Secondary Particle Showers

We will investigate the use of galactic cosmic ray (GCR) secondary particles to probe the deep interiors of small solar system bodies (SSBs), including comets, asteroids, and geologic structures on the surfaces of airless bodies. Applications include solar system science, planetary defense, and resource utilization. Our Phase I study demonstrated that muons, the long-range charged component of GCR showers, can penetrate SSBs up to a km in diameter, providing information on their interior structure. Muons produced in Earth’s atmosphere have been applied to image the interior of large objects for science and engineering. In Phase I, we found that the production of muons in the solid surfaces of airless bodies is much smaller than in Earth’s atmosphere. Nevertheless, the flux of transmitted muons is sufficient to detect inclusions within an asteroid or comet in a reasonable amount of time, ranging from hours to weeks, depending on the size of the SSB and the density contrast, position and size of the inclusion. For asteroids and comets, large density variations (e.g., porous soil or ice versus solid rock) are relatively easy to detect. The intrinsic spatial resolution of muon radiography (“muography”) is on the scale of a few meters. The spatial resolution that can be achieved in practice depends on signal intensity and integration time (counting statistics), the angular resolution of the muon tracker (hodoscope) and details of data reduction and analysis methodology. Our Phase II project will assess remaining unknowns for the application of muography to determining the interior structure of SSBs, assess risks for implementation, and provide a roadmap for development of SSB muography beyond the NIAC program. To achieve our objectives, we will focus on four interrelated tasks: Task1) Signal and background characterization: Characterize the production and transmission of muons and secondary particle backgrounds made by cosmic ray showers in SSBs; and near-surface features from radiographic and tomographic data; Task2) Imaging studies: Develop methods to determine the density structure of SSB interiors and near-surface features from radiographic and tomographic data; Task3) Instrument design: Using simulations and bench-top laboratory experiments, investigate specific concepts for the design of compact hodoscopes and components; Task4) Synthesis: Combine the results of the first three tasks to determine the range of applicability of the method, identify the steps needed for maturation of the concept, and explore concepts for a pilot muography mission.

Prettyman, Thomas H.↗
NASA NTRS2017

NASA Mars 2020 landed mission development

In January of 2014, NASA received fifty-eight proposals from U.S. and international teams for science and exploration technology investigations, for consideration for inclusion as part of NASA’s next mobile landed mission to Mars. The results of the competitive procurement were released in late July of 2014: Seven payloads were selected for the investigations that would contribute to meeting the overall objectives of the mission. The extraordinary scientific and technology development interest in the Mars 2020 mission is a direct result of NASA’s sustained and coordinated plan for the exploration of Mars, and ultimately, its search for life elsewhere in the universe. The Mars 2020 Mission will preserve the heritage and directly build upon NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory Mission and Curiosity Rover to implement its mission. In this paper, early development history leading to its development announcement, as well as key development status and design features for its implementation, is summarized.

Abilleira, Fernando↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Kaona: Deep Searching and Curating Data from Aviation Safety Reporting Systems

Context: Several works in the literature have examined how safety narrative databases can be leveraged to share lessons learned. However, less attention has been given to augmenting existing processes for mining these safety reporting system databases. Aim: In this work, we introduce Kaona: An interface that weaves machine learning in existing aviation safety database mining activities. Method: We provide a use case of search, curation and newsletter writing to showcase how Kaona features build on existing processes and on its own to enhance information retrieval, curation and synthesis of narratives. Results: We created two instances of Kaona internally for evaluation, one using publicly available NASA’s ASRS narratives and another using publicly available C3RS narratives. Data ranged from 1998 to 2024. Conclusion: Our tool provides a new way to explore safety narratives, serving to re-imagine how text databases can benefit of novel information retrieval mechanisms in the era of large language models.

ASRS↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Kaona: Deep Searching and Curating Aviation Safety Reporting Systems

Context: Several works in the literature have examined how safety narrative databases can be leveraged to share lessons learned. However, less attention has been given in augmenting existing processes of safety reporting systems. Aim: In this work, we introduce Kaona: An interface that weaves machine learning in existing aviation safety reporting systems activities. Method: We provide a use case of search, curation and newsletter writing to showcase how Kaona features build on existing processes and on its own to enhance information retrieval, curation and synthesis of narratives. Results: We created two instances of Kaona internally for evaluation, one using all public NASA's ASRS narratives and another using all public C3RS narratives. Data ranged from 1998 to 2024. Conclusion: Our tool provides a new way to explore safety narratives, serving to re-imagine how text databases can benefit of novel information retrieval mechanisms in the era of large language models.

asrs↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Kaona: Deep Searching and Curating Safety Reporting Systems

Context: Several works in the literature have examined how safety narrative databases can be leveraged to share lessons learned. However, less attention has been given in augmenting existing processes of safety reporting systems. Aim: In this work, we introduce Kaona: An interface that weaves machine learning in existing aviation safety reporting systems activities. Method: We provide a use case of search, curation and newsletter writing to showcase how Kaona features build on existing processes and on its own to enhance information retrieval, curation and synthesis of narratives. Results: We created two instances of Kaona internally for evaluation, one using all public NASA's ASRS narratives and another using all public C3RS narratives. Data ranged from 1998 to 2024. Conclusion: Our tool provides a new way to explore safety narratives, serving to re-imagine how text databases can benefit of novel information retrieval mechanisms in the era of large language models.

asrs↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lunar Science Investigations and Exploration in Celestial Mapping System

Introduction: As NASA expands the mission portfolio on the lunar surface, there is a need for applications with a broad range of analytical and functional capabilities that can be simultaneously deployed onto multiple mobile and desktop platforms to perform in-situ operations and hence enabling extensive Lunar exploration. Celestial Mapping System (CMS) [1,2] is developed to address the need for tools for science investigations, mission planning, operations and support for planetary sciences. Built on top of NASA WorldWind libraries, CMS can be simultaneously deployed onto multiple platforms, has the flexibility to update to the latest imagery and terrain datasets as they are being acquired (in real time) before and/or during the exploration mission and has the potential to enable traverse path planning suited for rovers, EVA and surface mobility units. It can provide critical functionalities such as equipment planning and optimized placement on Lunar surface, line of sight analysis to inform the coverage area for various equipment, powerful measurement tools based on 3D terrain, 3D COLLADA models to represent rovers, humans and equipment, visualization of derived mapping products (e.g. resource maps), and a data engine for hosting new observations that are not available in other contemporary lunar data tools [1]. Visualization of PSRs: The current presentation focuses on the work performed by the authors, to consume a unique dataset of super-enhanced images of the permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) at the lunar poles which were produced by the Hyper-effective nOise Removal U-net Software (HORUS) tool [3]. This tool was developed in direct support of NASA's VIPER and Artemis programs to enhance the extremely low-light images of the interior of PSRs and provide the first-time ability to see within these regions at and discern surface features (i.e. boulders and craters) down to 3 meters in size. We focused on the region near Nobili crater near Lunar south pole, selected site for VIPER mission and stitched several images to create a high-resolution map within one of the PSR of Nobile crater. Line of Sight Analysis and Traverse Planning in PSRs: We have developed an in-built line of sight analysis (LOS) tool in CMS that analyzes the terrain profile and obstructions and provides the visibility of a given terrain for a remote observer. This tool was utilized to perform viewshed analysis to investigate the area inside the PSR, a remote observer such as a rover could see without actually crossing the region. Figure 1 shows the viewshed analysis on the PSR in Nobile region. The yellow pin shows the observer location outside the PSR. The yellow area shows the visible part of PSR. The obstructed area with no visibility for the observer is shown in red. Figure 1: (left) PSR image on top of a high-resolution mosaic of sunlit images of a crater, in Nobile region (right) Viewshed Analysis of the same PSR with observer location shown by yellow pin. This analysis was extended further to set different heights for various observers and then perform the viewshed analysis. Combining the different visibility profiles can help designing improved traverses within the crater. Future plans: Eventually, HORUS datasets will be integrated into CMS as a layer in selected lunar polar regions. Hazard Maps will then be created based on terrain analysis in those regions. This integration will enable multiple scientific and exploration applications, such as designing traverses within PSRs, analyzing potential landing and science mission targets, investigating the meter-scale geomorphology of PSRs, including craters, boulder, surface roughness, mass wasting features and other indications of the presence of water-ice and other volatiles. Acknowledgments: CMS developers team including Kaitlyn J. Dickinson, Tyler A. Lucarz, Tyler W. Choi from USRA, NASA WorldWind Advisory team including Mark Peterson and Guillermo Miguel Del Castillo, HORUS team member V.T. Bickel, Robinson, M., LRO MOON LROC 2 EDR V1.0, LRO-L-LROC-2-EDR-V1.0, NASA Planetary Data System (PDS), 2009. https://doi.org/10.17189/1520643 References: [1] https://celestial.arc.nasa.gov [2] Agrawal et. al. “Celestial Mapping System for Lunar Surface Mapping and Analytics”, Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium, 2021 [3] Bickel V. et al. (2021) Nat Commun 12, 5607

Lunar Mapping↗
NASA NTRS1995

Interpretation of Dynamics Explorer far UV images of the quiet time thermosphere

A selected set of far ultra violet images of Earth have been analyzed quanitatively to establish their validity for studying thermospheric weather. The set of images chosen for the study was restricted to mostly geomagnetically quiet conditions in order to obtain a baseline understanding of the relationship between the observations and thermospheric phenomenology. The images included low to modrerate solar activity levels. A new model was developed to generate global dayglow images using first principles methods. The mass Spectrometer/incoherent scatter (MSIS-86) model was used to predict the thermospheric concentrations. The analyses of thermospheric images observed in the 123 to 160-nm nominal passband show that the spectral composition for observations on the projected earth disk is dominated by O I 130.4-nm radiation (85-90%), with concentrations from O I 135.6-nm and N2 Lyman-Birge-Hopefield (LBH) bands of about 5-8% each. The synthetic images reproduce the global features of the observed images rather well. Differences between the model and the data are attributed to real atmospheric effects, such as atomic oxygen depletions which are not well reproduced by the MSIS model when geomagnetic activity is elevated. The absoute values recorded were 38-54% higher than predicted. We attribute this discrepancy to low values of the solar extreme ultraviolet irradiances used in the model. Images obtained in the 136 to 165-nm nominal passband are a factor of 2.7 greater than the model. The excess signal observed is most likely due to a long wavelength tail in the instrument sensitivity which allowed Rayleigh scattered sunlight between 180and 250nm to be detected. The understanding of the Dynamics Explorer (DE 1) images gained by this study provides the basis for future work on the global response of the theremosphere to geomagnetic forcing.

Meier, R. R.↗
NASA NTRS1972

An investigation to improve the Menhaden fishery prediction and detection model through the application of ERTS-A data

The author has identified the following significant results. Preliminary analyses indicate that several important relationships have been observed utilizing ERTS-1 imagery. Of most significance is that in the Mississippi Sound, as elsewhere, considerable detail exists as to turbidity patterns in the water column. Simple analysis is complicated by the apparent interaction between actual turbidity, turbidity induced by shoal water, and actual imaging of the bottom in extreme shoal water. A statistical approach is being explored which shows promise of at least partially separating these effects so that partitioning of true turbid plumes can be accomplished. This partitioning is of great importance to this program in that supportive data seem to indicate that menhaden occur more frequently in turbid areas. In this connection four individual captures have been associated with a major turbid feature imaged on 6 August. If a significant relationship between imaged turbid features and catch distribution can be established, for example by graphic and/or numeric analysis, it will represent a major advancement for short term prediction of commercially accessible menhaden.

Maughan, P. M.↗