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NASA NTRS2014

New Worlds / New Horizons Science with an X-ray Astrophysics Probe

In 2013 NASA commenced a design study for an X-ray Astrophysics Probe to address the X-ray science goals and program prioritizations of the Decadal Survey New World New Horizons (NWNH) with a cost cap of approximately $1B. Both the NWNH report and 2011 NASA X-ray mission concept study found that high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy performed with an X-ray microcalorimeter would enable the most highly rated NWNH X-ray science. Here we highlight some potential science topics, namely: 1) a direct, strong-field test of General Relativity via the study of accretion onto black holes through relativistic broadened Fe lines and their reverberation in response to changing hard X-ray continuum, 2) understanding the evolution of galaxies and clusters by mapping temperatures, abundances and dynamics in hot gas, 3) revealing the physics of accretion onto stellar-mass black holes from companion stars and the equation of state of neutron stars through timing studies and time-resolved spectroscopy of X-ray binaries and 4) feedback from AGN and star formation shown in galaxy-scale winds and jets. In addition to these high-priority goals, an X-ray astrophysics probe would be a general-purpose observatory that will result in invaluable data for other NWNH topics such as stellar astrophysics, protostars and their impact on protoplanetary systems, X-ray spectroscopy of transient phenomena such as high-z gamma-ray bursts and tidal capture of stars by massive black holes, and searches for dark matter decay.

Smith, Randall K.↗
NASA NTRS2014

A Survey of Jet Aircraft PM by TEM in APEX III

Based upon field testing during the NASA led APEX III campaign conducted in November 2005 at the NASA Glenn Research Center in coordination with Continental Airlines and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. This paper reports observations of particulate emissions collected from a suite of jet engine aircraft to assess differences and similarities in soot macro- micro- and nanostructure using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Aggregates are compact, primary particle sizes varied and nanostructure mixed. Comparisons are made to more familiar laboratory flame-generated soot as a well-studied point of reference. Results are interpreted in terms of turbulence interacting with the different stages of particle formation and growth.

soot↗
NASA NTRS2014

Characterization and Performance of a Kilo-TES Sub-Array for ACTPol

ACTPol is a polarization-sensitive receiver upgrade to the Atacama CosmologyTelescope (ACT) which will make millimeterwavelength measurements of the small-scale polarization anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background to investigate the properties of inflation, dark energy, dark matter, and neutrinos in the early Universe. ACTPol will employ three arrays of transition edge sensor (TES) bolometer detectors. The detectors, with a target transition temperature of 150 mK, will be operated at a bath temperature of 100 mK provided by a dilution refrigerator. One array operating at a central frequency of 150 GHz and consisting of 1024 TESes achieved first light at the ACT site in July 2013. We anticipate fielding the remainder of the focal plane, consisting of a second 150 GHz array and a multi-chroic array sensitive to 90 and 150 GHz, at the end of the 2013 observing season. In these proceedings, we present characterization of key detector parameters from measurements performed on the first array both in the lab and during initial field testing. We comment on the design goals, measurements, and uniformity of the detector transition temperatures, saturation powers, and thermal conductivities while detailing measurement methods and results for the detector optical efficiencies and time constants.

neutrinos↗
NASA NTRS2014

A Terminal Area Icing Remote Sensing System

NASA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) have developed an icing remote sensing technology that has demonstrated skill at detecting and classifying icing hazards in a vertical column above an instrumented ground station. This technology is now being extended to provide volumetric coverage surrounding an airport. With volumetric airport terminal area coverage, the resulting icing hazard information will be usable by aircrews, traffic control, and airline dispatch to make strategic and tactical decisions regarding routing when conditions are conducive to airframe icing. Building on the existing vertical pointing system, the new method for providing volumetric coverage will utilize cloud radar, microwave radiometry, and NEXRAD radar. This terminal area icing remote sensing system will use the data streams from these instruments to provide icing hazard classification along the defined approach paths into an airport. Strategies for comparison to in-situ instruments on aircraft and weather balloons for a planned NASA field test are discussed, as are possible future applications into the NextGen airspace system.

aircraft icing↗
NASA NTRS2014

Additive Construction using Basalt Regolith Fines

Planetary surfaces are often covered in regolith (crushed rock), whose geologic origin is largely basalt. The lunar surface is made of small-particulate regolith and areas of boulders located in the vicinity of craters. Regolith composition also varies with location, reflecting the local bedrock geology and the nature and efficiency of the micrometeorite-impact processes. In the lowland mare areas (suitable for habitation), the regolith is composed of small granules (20 - 100 microns average size) of mare basalt and volcanic glass. Impacting micrometeorites may cause local melting, and the formation of larger glassy particles, and this regolith may contain 10-80% glass. Studies of lunar regolith are traditionally conducted with lunar regolith simulant (reconstructed soil with compositions patterned after the lunar samples returned by Apollo). The NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Granular Mechanics & Regolith Operations (GMRO) lab has identified a low fidelity but economical geo-technical simulant designated as Black Point-1 (BP-1). It was found at the site of the Arizona Desert Research and Technology Studies (RATS) analog field test site at the Black Point lava flow in adjacent basalt quarry spoil mounds. This paper summarizes activities at KSC regarding the utilization of BP-1 basalt regolith and comparative work with lunar basalt simulant JSC-1A as a building material for robotic additive construction of large structures. In an effort to reduce the import or in-situ fabrication of binder additives, we focused this work on in-situ processing of regolith for construction in a single-step process after its excavation. High-temperature melting of regolith involves techniques used in glassmaking and casting (with melts of lower density and higher viscosity than those of metals), producing basaltic glass with high durability and low abrasive wear. Most Lunar simulants melt at temperatures above 1100 C, although melt processing of terrestrial regolith at 1500 C is not uncommon. These temperatures are achievable by laser heating or by using solar concentrators. Similar to volcanic magma, the cooling rate determines the crystallite size - slower cooling develops larger crystals, and rapid quenching can result in fully amorphous glass.

Additive↗
NASA NTRS2014

Weather Forecasting Systems and Methods

A weather forecasting system has weather forecasting logic that receives raw image data from a satellite. The raw image data has values indicative of light and radiance data from the Earth as measured by the satellite, and the weather forecasting logic processes such data to identify cumulus clouds within the satellite images. For each identified cumulus cloud, the weather forecasting logic applies interest field tests to determine a score indicating the likelihood of the cumulus cloud forming precipitation and/or lightning in the future within a certain time period. Based on such scores, the weather forecasting logic predicts in which geographic regions the identified cumulus clouds will produce precipitation and/or lighting within during the time period. Such predictions may then be used to provide a weather map thereby providing users with a graphical illustration of the areas predicted to be affected by precipitation within the time period.

Mecikalski, John↗
NASA NTRS2012

Deployable Extravehiclar Activity Platform (DEVAP) for Planetary Surfaces

The Deployable Extra-Vehicular Activity Platform (DEVAP) is a staging platform for egress and ingress attached to a lunar, Mars, or planetary surface habitat airlock, suitlock, or port. The DEVAP folds up into a compact package for transport, and deploys manually from its attached location to provide a ramp and staging platform for extra-vehicular activities. This paper discusses the latest development of the DEVAP, from its beginnings as a portable platform attached to the Lunar Outpost Pressurized Excursion Module (PEM) in the Constellation Lunar Surface Systems scenarios, to the working prototype deployed at the2011 NASA Desert Research and Technology Studies (D-RATS) analog field tests in Arizona. The paper concludes with possible future applications and directions for the DEVAP.

Lunar Surface Systems (LSS)↗
NASA NTRS2012

The Mojave Subsurface Bio-Geochemistry Explorer (MOSBE)

The MOSBE Team has developed a terrestrial field campaign to explore two subsurface biological habitats under the Mojave Desert. This field campaign will not only help us understand terrestrial desert biology, but also will develop methodologies and strategies for potential future Mars missions that would seek to explore the Martian subsurface. We have proposed to the ASTEP program to integrate a suite of field demonstrated instruments with a 20 m subsurface drill as a coherent unit, the Mojave Subsurface Bio-geochemistry Explorer. The ATK Space Modular Planetary Drill System (MPDS) requires no drilling fluid, which allows aseptic sampling, can penetrate lithic ground up to 20 meters of depth, and utilizes less than 100 Watts throughout the entire depth. The drill has been developed and demonstrated in field testing to a depth of 10 meters in Arizona, December 2002. In addition to caching a continuous core throughout the drilling depth, it also generates and caches cuttings and fines that are strata-graphically correlated with the core. As a core segment is brought to the surface, it will be analyzed for texture and structure by a color microscopic imager and for relevant chemistry and mineralogy with a UV fluorescence/Raman spectrometer. Organic and soluble ionic species will be identified through two instruments -- a microcapillary electrophoresis, and an ion trap mass spectrometer that have been developed under PIDDP, ASTID and MIDP funding.

robotic subsurface drilling↗
NASA NTRS2011

Towards a State Based Control Architecture for Large Telescopes: Laying a Foundation at the VLT

Large telescopes are characterized by a high level of distribution of control-related tasks and will feature diverse data flow patterns and large ranges of sampling frequencies; there will often be no single, fixed server-client relationship between the control tasks. the architecture is also challenged by the task of integrating heterogeneous subsystems which will be delivered by multiple different contractors. Due to the high number of distributed components, the control system needs to effectively detect errors and faults, impede their propagation, and accurately mitigate them in the shortest time possible, enabling the service to be restored. The presented Data-Driven Architecture is based on a decentralized approach with an end-to-end integration of disparate, independently developed software components. These components employ a high-performance standards-based communication middle-ware infrastructure, based on the Data Distribution Service. A set of rules and principles, based on JPL's State Analysis method and architecture, are use to constrain component-to component interactions, where the Control System and System Under Control are clearly separated. State Analysis provide a model-based process for capturing system and software requirements and design, greatly reducing the gap between the requirements on software specified by systems engineers and the implementation by software engineers. The method and architecture has been field tested at the Very Large Telescope, where it has been integrated into an operational system.

European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT)↗
NASA NTRS2013

Auto-Gopher: A Wireline Deep Sampler Driven by Piezoelectric Percussive Actuator and EM Rotary Motor

The ability to penetrate subsurfaces and perform sample acquisition at depth of meters may be critical for future NASA in-situ exploration missions to bodies in the solar system, including Mars and Europa. A corer/sampler was developed with the goal of enabling acquisition of samples from depths of several meters where if used on Mars would be beyond the oxidized and sterilized zone. For this purpose, we developed a rotary-hammering coring drill, called Auto-Gopher, which employs a piezoelectric actuated percussive mechanism for breaking formations and an electric motor that rotates the bit to remove the powdered cuttings. This sampler is a wireline mechanism that can be fed into and retrieved from the drilled hole using a winch and a cable. It includes an inchworm anchoring mechanism allowing the drill advancement and weight on bit control without twisting the reeling and power cables. The penetration rate is being optimized by simultaneously activating the percussive and rotary motions of the Auto-Gopher. The percussive mechanism is based on the Ultrasonic/Sonic Drill/Corer (USDC) mechanism that is driven by piezoelectric stack and that was demonstrated to require low axial preload. The design and fabrication of this device were presented in previous publications. This paper presents the results of laboratory and field tests and lessons learned from this development.

piezoactuation↗
NASA NTRS2013

Autonomous Vision-Based Tethered-Assisted Rover Docking

Many intriguing science discoveries on planetary surfaces, such as the seasonal flows on crater walls and skylight entrances to lava tubes, are at sites that are currently inaccessible to state-of-the-art rovers. The in situ exploration of such sites is likely to require a tethered platform both for mechanical support and for providing power and communication. Mother/daughter architectures have been investigated where a mother deploys a tethered daughter into extreme terrains. Deploying and retracting a tethered daughter requires undocking and re-docking of the daughter to the mother, with the latter being the challenging part. In this paper, we describe a vision-based tether-assisted algorithm for the autonomous re-docking of a daughter to its mother following an extreme terrain excursion. The algorithm uses fiducials mounted on the mother to improve the reliability and accuracy of estimating the pose of the mother relative to the daughter. The tether that is anchored by the mother helps the docking process and increases the system's tolerance to pose uncertainties by mechanically aligning the mating parts in the final docking phase. A preliminary version of the algorithm was developed and field-tested on the Axel rover in the JPL Mars Yard. The algorithm achieved an 80% success rate in 40 experiments in both firm and loose soils and starting from up to 6 m away at up to 40 deg radial angle and 20 deg relative heading. The algorithm does not rely on an initial estimate of the relative pose. The preliminary results are promising and help retire the risk associated with the autonomous docking process enabling consideration in future martian and lunar missions.

Axel docking↗
NASA NTRS2013

Energetic Particles Dynamics in Mercury's Magnetosphere

We investigate the drift paths of energetic particles in Mercury's magnetosphere by tracing their motion through a model magnetic field. Test particle simulations solving the full Lorentz force show a quasi-trapped energetic particle population that gradient and curvature drift around the planet via "Shabansky" orbits, passing though high latitudes in the compressed dayside by equatorial latitudes on the nightside. Due to their large gyroradii, energetic H+ and Na+ ions will typically collide with the planet or the magnetopause and will not be able to complete a full drift orbit. These simulations provide direct comparison for recent spacecraft measurements from MESSENGER. Mercury's offset dipole results in an asymmetric loss cone and therefore an asymmetry in particle precipitation with more particles precipitating in the southern hemisphere. Since the planet lacks an atmosphere, precipitating particles will collide directly with the surface of the planet. The incident charged particles can kick up neutrals from the surface and have implications for the formation of the exosphere and weathering of the surface

Energetic particles↗
NASA NTRS2011

ATHLETE: A Cargo-Handling Vehicle for Solar System Exploration

As part of the NASA Exploration Technology Development Program, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is developing a vehicle called ATHLETE: the All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer. Each vehicle is based on six wheels at the ends of six multi-degree-of-freedom limbs. Because each limb has enough degrees of freedom for use as a general-purpose leg, the wheels can be locked and used as feet to walk out of excessively soft or other extreme terrain. Since the vehicle has this alternative mode of traversing through or at least out of extreme terrain, the wheels and wheel actuators can be sized for nominal terrain. There are substantial mass savings in the wheel and wheel actuators associated with designing for nominal instead of extreme terrain. These mass savings are comparable-to or larger-than the extra mass associated with the articulated limbs. As a result, the entire mobility system, including wheels and limbs, can be about 25% lighter than a conventional mobility chassis. A side benefit of this approach is that each limb has sufficient degrees-of-freedom to use as a general-purpose manipulator (hence the name "limb" instead of "leg"). Our prototype ATHLETE vehicles have quick-disconnect tool adapters on the limbs that allow tools to be drawn out of a "tool belt" and maneuvered by the limb. A power-take-off from the wheel actuates the tools, so that they can take advantage of the 1+ horsepower motor in each wheel to enable drilling, gripping or other power-tool functions. Architectural studies have indicated that one useful role for ATHLETE in planetary (moon or Mars) exploration is to "walk" cargo off the payload deck of a lander and transport it across the surface. Recent architectural approaches are focused on the concept that the lander descent stage will use liquid hydrogen as a propellant. This is the highest performance chemical fuel, but it requires very large tanks. A natural geometry for the lander is to have a single throttleable rocket engine on the centerline at the bottom, and to have the propellant tanks arranged as compactly as possible around and above that engine, with nearly-straight structural load paths that carry the heavy LO2 tanks as well as the ascent stage or cargo on a top deck. (The requirement for exactly one descent engine stems from the need to avoid symmetry planes in the exhaust plume that can entrain surface particles and loft them up into the system at hypervelocity.) This geometry is especially attractive since abort considerations drive the ascent stage to have as much open space around it as possible, in case the ascent stage needs to fire away from an out-of-control descent stage. These considerations lead to a configuration where the cargo deck of the lander is relatively high off the ground (over 6 meters in current concepts, using a 10-meter diameter launch shroud). These considerations have led some observers to presume that there is a "lander offloading problem". ATHLETE has been demonstrated as a solution to this problem, walking cargo off the high deck. This paper describes the applicability of the ATHLETE concept to exploration of the moon, Mars and even to Near- Earth Objects. Recent field test results for long-range traverse are described, along with plans for testing in the simulated microgravity environment of a NEO.

Space Robotics↗
NASA NTRS2010

ATHLETE: Lunar Cargo Handling for International Lunar Exploration

As part of the Human-Robot Systems Project within the NASA Exploration Technology Development Program, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is developing a vehicle called ATHLETE: the All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer. The basic idea of ATHLETE is to have six relatively small wheels on the ends of legs. The small wheels and associated drive actuators are much less massive than the larger wheels and gears needed for an "all terrain" vehicle that cannot "walk" out of extreme terrain. The mass savings for the wheels and wheel actuators is greater than the mass penalty of the legs, for a net mass savings. Starting in 2009, NASA became engaged in detailed architectural studies for international discussions with the European Space Agency (ESA), the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) under the auspices of the International Architecture Working Group (IAWG). ATHLETE is considered in most of the campaign options considered, providing a way to offload cargo from large Altair-class landers (having a cargo deck 6+ meters above the surface) as well as offloading international landers launched on Ariane-5 or H-2 launch vehicles. These international landers would carry provisions as well as scientific instruments and/or small rovers that would be used by international astronauts as part of an international effort to explore the moon.Work described in this paper includes architectural studies in support of the international missions as well as field testing of a half-scale ATHLETE prototype performing cargo offloading from a lander mockup, along with multi-kilometer traverse, climbing over greater than 1 m rocks, tool use, etc.

International Collaboration in Space↗
NASA NTRS2009

RAPID: Collaboration Results from Three NASA Centers in Commanding/Monitoring Lunar Assets

Three NASA centers are working together to address the challenge of operating robotic assets in support of human exploration of the Moon. This paper describes the combined work to date of the Ames Research Center (ARC), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Johnson Space Center (JSC) on a common support framework to control and monitor lunar robotic assets. We discuss how we have addressed specific challenges including time-delayed operations, and geographically distributed collaborative monitoring and control, to build an effective architecture for integrating a heterogeneous collection of robotic assets into a common work. We describe the design of the Robot Application Programming Interface Delegate (RAPID) architecture that effectively addresses the problem of interfacing a family of robots including the JSC Chariot, ARC K-10 and JPL ATHLETE rovers. We report on lessons learned from the June 2008 field test in which RAPID was used to monitor and control all of these assets. We conclude by discussing some future directions to extend the RAPID architecture to add further support for NASA's lunar exploration program.

Torres, R. Jay↗
NASA NTRS2015

A Miniaturized Laser Heterodyne Radiometer for Greenhouse Gas Measurements in the Atmospheric Column

Laser Heterodyne Radiometry is a technique adapted from radio receiver technology has been used to measure trace gases in the atmosphere since the 1960s.By leveraging advances in the telecommunications industry, it has been possible to miniaturize this technology.The mini-LHR (Miniaturized Laser Heterodyne Radiometer) has been under development at NASA Goddard Space flight Center since 2009. This sun-viewing instrument measures carbon dioxide and methane in the atmospheric column and operates in tandem with an AERONET sun photometer producing a simultaneous measure of aerosols. The mini-LHR has been extensively field tested in a range of locations ranging in the continental US as well as Alaska and Hawaii and now operates autonomously with sensitivities of approximately 0.2 ppmv and approximately10 ppbv, for carbon dioxide and methane respectively, for 10 averaged scans under clear sky conditions.

CO2↗
NASA NTRS2013

Robotic Technology Development at Ames: The Intelligent Robotics Group and Surface Telerobotics

Future human missions to the Moon, Mars, and other destinations offer many new opportunities for exploration. But, astronaut time will always be limited and some work will not be feasible for humans to do manually. Robots, however, can complement human explorers, performing work autonomously or under remote supervision from Earth. Since 2004, the Intelligent Robotics Group has been working to make human-robot interaction efficient and effective for space exploration. A central focus of our research has been to develop and field test robots that benefit human exploration. Our approach is inspired by lessons learned from the Mars Exploration Rovers, as well as human spaceflight programs, including Apollo, the Space Shuttle, and the International Space Station. We conduct applied research in computer vision, geospatial data systems, human-robot interaction, planetary mapping and robot software. In planning for future exploration missions, architecture and study teams have made numerous assumptions about how crew can be telepresent on a planetary surface by remotely operating surface robots from space (i.e. from a flight vehicle or deep space habitat). These assumptions include estimates of technology maturity, existing technology gaps, and likely operational and functional risks. These assumptions, however, are not grounded by actual experimental data. Moreover, no crew-controlled surface telerobotic system has yet been fully tested, or rigorously validated, through flight testing. During Summer 2013, we conducted a series of tests to examine how astronauts in the International Space Station (ISS) can remotely operate a planetary rover across short time delays. The tests simulated portions of a proposed human-robotic Lunar Waypoint mission, in which astronauts in lunar orbit remotely operate a planetary rover on the lunar Farside to deploy a radio telescope array. We used these tests to obtain baseline-engineering data.

robotics↗
NASA NTRS2016

A Year in Space: Early Results and Lessons Learned from the First Year-Long Expedition Aboard the International Space Station

Two ISS crewmembers recently completed the first year-long orbital stay in two decades. International cooperation was central to the success of Mikhail Kornienko from Russia and Scott Kelly from the United States. Their expedition leveraged current mission experience and capitalized on recent advances in health monitoring technology. This unique effort began in 2012 when the program managers of the ISS partner nations adopted two separate goals: greater multilateral cooperation to increase efficiency of inflight research and a year-long expedition to gain familiarity with in-flight durations approaching that required for a Mars mission. These goals were unified when a set of bilateral Russian and American human research investigations was assigned to the year-long mission, augmented by additional investigations from Europe and Japan. For example, Kelly was assigned 18 investigations (twice the complement on standard six-month missions) including two joint U.S.-Russian studies, and two Russian and two Japanese studies. The core set of American investigations was a repetition of six studies Kelly had done on his previous six-month ISS mission, to allow a direct comparison of physiological and behavioral responses of the longer and shorter durations in this single individual. The remainder of his assignments plus those of Kornienko were drawn from currently active national investigations documenting human adaptation to long-duration spaceflight factors or effectiveness of countermeasures against known deleterious adaptations. The two joint U.S.-Russian investigations were the flagship biomedical studies of the year-long expedition. The "Fluid Shifts" study collocated American research equipment alongside a Russian operational stressor device to document the pattern and impacts of the headward fluid shift long known to occur in weightlessness, including its role in ocular changes recently observed in some astronauts. The "Field Test" study investigated the ability of the astronaut and cosmonaut to perform rudimentary tasks requiring sensorimotor coordination immediately after landing to define human capabilities soon after landing on Mars after an extended transit. Both investigations were highly successful in large part to the thorough integration of the implementation processes of the two partners. Kelly's assignment as the one-year crewmember also provided a serendipitous opportunity for the "Twins Study" comparing changes in his body at the genetic level with those occurring on Earth in his identical twin brother Mark Kelly. Data analysis from this expedition will commence in earnest after frozen in-flight samples are delivered to Earth in May aboard a commercial cargo spacecraft. Detailed results are expected in early 2017. Preliminary results and implementation improvements will be reviewed in this presentation.

Charles, J. B.↗