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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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At least 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1975

The upstream escape of energized solar wind protons from the bow shock

The paper analyzes the geometry of escape from the bow shock for solar wind protons in order to determine under what conditions a proton reflected from the bow shock can escape upstream or not. Some numerical examples show that protons with rather high energies and pitch angles can escape the shock at only marginally quasi-parallel field orientations, even if they have quite moderate speeds parallel to B. This does not provide evidence that such high energy protons are produced at the bow shock, but does show that such protons can escape upstream with the characteristics observed by Lin et al. (1974). It is also possible that some particles will encounter the shock two or more times, their total energy compounding until it reaches a high level.-

Greenstadt, E. W.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Wind enhanced planetary escape: Collisional modifications

The problem of thermal escape is considered in which both the effects of thermospheric winds at the exobase and collisions below the exobase are included in a Monte Carlo calculation. The collisions are included by means of a collisional relaxation layer of a background gas which models the transition region between the exosphere and the thermosphere. The wind effects are considered in the limiting cases of vertical and horizontal flows. Two species are considered: terrestrial hydrogen and terrestrial helium. In the cases of terrestrial hydrogen the escape fluxes were found to be strongly filtered or throttled by collisions at high exospheric temperatures. The model is applied to molecular hydrogen diffusing through a methane relaxation layer under conditions possible on Titan. The results are similar to the case of terrestrial hydrogen with wind enhanced escape being strongly suppressed by collisions. It is concluded that wind enhanced escape is not an important process on Titan.

Curtis, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Lunar escape systems feasibility study

Results are presented for a study conducted to determine the feasibility of simple lunar escape system concepts, to develop a spectrum of operational data, and to identify techniques and configurations suitable for the emergency escape mission. The study demonstrated the feasibility of the lunar emergency escape-to-orbit system (LESS) designed to provide a means for the two-man crew of a lunar module (LM) or extended-stay LM (ELM) to escape from the lunar surface in the event that the LM/ELM ascent stage becomes unsafe or is otherwise unable to take off. The LESS is to carry the two astronauts to a safe lunar orbit, where the Apollo command and service modules (CSM) are to be used for rendezvous and rescue, all within the lifetime of the backpack life support system (about 4 hr). It is concluded that simple manual control modes are sufficient, that simple boost profiles are acceptable, and that one man can deploy and set up the LESS. Initial guidance data can be calculated for the LESS by Mission Control and transmitted via the LM/ELM uplink.

Matzenauer, J. O.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Wind enhanced planetary escape - Collisional modifications

Effects of collisions and finite winds characteristic of a highly perturbed atmosphere on the thermal escape of terrestrial hydrogen and helium are investigated using a Monte Carlo approach. The limiting cases of vertical and horizontal winds are considered, and the relaxation layer between the collisionless exosphere and the collision-dominated thermosphere is modeled as a plane-parallel slab of given column density, depth, and atmospheric density. For both gases, the upwardly injected flux at the base of the relaxation layer is compared with the returning downward flux distribution at the same location; the technique is also applied to the atmosphere of Titan. The results show that inclusion of collisions in the escape model for terrestrial hydrogen with winds effectively throttles the escape process, that collisional throttling is negligible for helium when the exobase temperature is at least 5000 K, and that the escape of a planetary-atmosphere constituent depends on the ratio of its gravitational and kinetic energies as well as on the ratio of its mass to that of the background gas.

Curtis, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Modulation of terrestrial ion escape flux composition /by low-altitude acceleration and charge exchange chemistry/

Motivated by recent observations of highly variable hot plasma composition in the magnetosphere, control of the ionospheric escape flux composition by low-altitude particle dynamics and ion chemistry has been investigated for an e(-), H(+), O(+) ionosphere. It is found that the fraction of the steady state escape flux which is O(+) can be controlled very sensitively by the occurrence of parallel or transverse ion acceleration at altitudes below the altitude where the neutral oxygen density falls rapidly below the neutral hydrogen density and the ionospheric source of O(+) tends to be rapidly converted by charge exchange to H(+). The acceleration is required both to overcome the gravitational confinement of O(+) and to violate charge exchange equilibrium so that the neutral hydrogen atmosphere appears 'optically' thin to escaping O(+). Constraints are placed on the acceleration processes, and it is shown that O(+) escape is facilitated by observed ionospheric responses to magnetic activity.

Moore, T. E.↗
NASA NTRS1981

The dynamics of a rapidly escaping atmosphere - Applications to the evolution of earth and Venus

A simple model for the rapid escape of a hydrogen thermosphere is presented in order to establish the energy-limited flux of escaping particles. The model assumes that the atmosphere is tightly bound by gravity at the lower boundary, that all the EUV is absorbed in a narrow region where the optical depth is unity, and that the main source of heating is solar EUV. The flux is limited by the amount of EUV energy absorbed, which is in turn controlled by the radial extent of the thermosphere. It is found that, regardless of the amount of hydrogen in the thermosphere, the low temperatures which accompany rapid escape limit its extent and thus constrain the flux. The results are applied to the earth and Venus, showing that the escape of hydrogen from these planets would have been energy-limiting if their primordial atmospheres contained total hydrogen mixing ratios exceeding only a few percent. This conclusion places a constraint on the theory of the origin and evolution of the planets.

Watson, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Hypervelocity Technology (HVT) crew escape

Conceptual designs are being investigated for escape systems applicable to hypervelocity technology class aerospace vehicles. The concepts selected for further development will provide survivable escape and recovery throughout all phases of flight. Sixteen conceptual escape systems were identified, of which two were viable. The study vehicles included a horizontally launched vehicle (HLV) and a vertically launched vehicle (VLV). Computer-aided design models of the candidate escape systems were developed. State-of-the-art or near-term enabling technologies were identified in such areas as propulsion, life support, thermal protection, and deceleration.

Jines, Lanny A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Helium escape from the Earth's atmosphere - The charge exchange mechanism revisited

We have studied the escape of neutral helium from the terrestrial atmosphere through exothermic charge exchange reactions between He(+) ions and the major atmospheric constituents N2, O2 and O. Elastic collisions with the neutral background particles were treated quantitatively using a recently developed kinetic theory approach. An interhemispheric plasma transport model was employed to provide a global distribution of He(+) ions as a function of altitude, latitude and local solar time and for different levels of solar ionization. Combining these ion densities with neutral densities from an MSIS model and best estimates for the reaction rate coefficients of the charge exchange reactions, we computed the global distribution of the neutral He escape flux. The escape rates show large diurnal and latitudinal variations, while the global average does not vary by more than a factor of three over a solar cycle. We find that this escape mechanism is potentially important for the overall balance of helium in the Earth's atmosphere. However, more accurate values for the reaction rate coefficients of the charge exchange reactions are required to make a definitive assessment of its importance.

Lie-Svendsen, O.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Mars atmospheric loss and isotopic fractionation by solar-wind-induced sputtering and photochemical escape

We examine the effects of the loss of Mars atmospheric constituents by solar-wind-induced sputtering and by photochemical escape during the past 3.8 billion years. Sputtering is capable of efficiently removing species from the upper atmosphere, including the light noble gases; nitrogen and oxygen are removed by photochemical processes as well. Due to diffusive separation (by mass) above the homopause, removal from the top of the atmosphere will fractionate the isotopes of each species, with the lighter mass being preferentially lost. For carbon and oxygen, this allows us to determine the size of nonatmospheric reservoirs which mix with the atmosphere; these reservoirs can be CO2 adsorbed in the regolith and H2O in the polar ice caps. We have constructed both simple analytical models and time-dependent models of the loss of volatiles from and supply to the martian atmosphere. Both argon and neon require continued replenishment from outgassing over geologic time. For argon, sputtering loss explains the fractionation of (Ar-36)/(Ar-38) without requiring a distinct epoch of hydrodynamic escape (although fractionation of Xe isotopes still requires very early hydrodynamic loss). For neon, the current (Ne-22)/(Ne-20) ratio represents a balance between loss to space and continued resupply from the interior; the similarity of the ratio to the terrestrial value is coincidental. For nitrogen, the loss by both sputtering and photochemical escape would produce a fractionation of (N-15)/(N-14) larger than observed; an early, thicker carbon dioxide atmosphere could mitigate the nitrogen loss and produce the observed fractionation, as could continued outgassing of juvenile nitorgen. Based on the isotopic constraints, the total amount of carbon dioxide lost over geologic time is probably on the order of tens of millibars rather than a substantial fraction of a bar. The total loss from solar-wind-induced sputtering and photochemical escape, therefore, does not seem able to explain the loss of a putative thick, early atmosphere withput requiring formation of extensive surface carbonate deposits or other nonatmospheric reservoirs for CO2.

Jakosky, Bruce M.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Ionospheric Flow and Escape of Ions from Titan and Venus

Titan and Venus are unmagnetized bodies that interact directly with the high speed plasmas flowing around them. The similarities of these interactions are used to reinforce the interpretations of measurements made at each body from different measurement sites. In particular, observations of plasma properties at Titan and Venus from Voyager I and Pioneer Venus, respectively, when considered together, tend to reinforce the concept that ions of ionospheric origin escape down the ionotails of each body. The plasma measurements at Titan were made in its ionotail, well above its ionosphere. They revealed plasma flowing from Titan and escaping down its ionotail. On the other hand, the measurements at Venus were made in its ionosphere, where ionospheric ions were inferred to be flowing upward toward Venus' ionotail. When these processes are applied to Titan's ionosphere, upward flow toward the ionotail is found to be possible, consistent with the plasma observed escaping further down the ionotail. Applying similar reasoning to Venus, the upward ionospheric flow is expected to accelerate and escape down its ionotail. The latter result is reinforced by the recent detection, from SOHO, of cold ions in the distant wake (at 1 AU), which were interpreted to originate in the ionosphere of Venus.

Hartle, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Mechanisms of Ionospheric Mass Escape

The dependence of ionospheric O+ escape flux on electromagnetic energy flux and electron precipitation into the ionosphere is derived for a hypothetical ambipolar pick-up process, powered the relative motion of plasmas and neutral upper atmosphere, and by electron precipitation, at heights where the ions are magnetized but influenced by photo-ionization, collisions with gas atoms, ambipolar and centrifugal acceleration. Ion pick-up by the convection electric field produces "ring-beam" or toroidal velocity distributions, as inferred from direct plasma measurements, from observations of the associated waves, and from the spectra of incoherent radar echoes. Ring-beams are unstable to plasma wave growth, resulting in rapid relaxation via transverse velocity diffusion, into transversely accelerated ion populations. Ion escape is substantially facilitated by the ambipolar potential, but is only weakly affected by centrifugal acceleration. If, as cited simulations suggest, ion ring beams relax into non-thermal velocity distributions with characteristic speed equal to the local ion-neutral flow speed, a generalized "Jeans escape" calculation shows that the escape flux of ionospheric O+ increases with Poynting flux and with precipitating electron density in rough agreement with observations.

Moore, T. E.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Escape of Flare-Accelerated Particles in Solar Eruptive Events

Impulsive solar energetic particle events are widely believed to be due to the prompt escape into the interplanetary medium of flare-accelerated particles produced by solar eruptive events. According to the standard model for such events, however, particles accelerated by the flare reconnection should remain trapped in the flux rope comprising the coronal mass ejection. The particles should reach the Earth only much later, along with the bulk ejecta. To resolve this paradox, we have extended our previous axisymmetric model for the escape of flare-accelerated particles to fully three-dimentional (3D) geometries. We report the results of magnetohydrodynamic simluations of a coronal system that consists of a bipolar active region embedded in a background global dipole field structured by solar wind. our simulations show that multiple magnetic reconnection episodes occur prior to and during the coronal mass ejection 9CME) eruption and its interplanetary propagation. In addition to the episodes that build up the flux rope, reconnection between the open field and the CME couples the closed coronal to the open interplanetary field. Flare-accelerated particles initially trapped in the CME thereby gain access to the open interplanetary field along a trail blazed by magnetic reconnection. A key difference between these 3D results and our previous calculations is that the interchange reconnection allows accelerated particles to escape from deep within the CME flux rope. We estimate the spatial extent of the particle-escape channels. The relative timings between flare acceleration and release of the energetic particles through CME/open-field coupling are also determined. All our results compare favorably with observations.

Masson, S.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Exploration of Low-Thrust Lunar Swingby Escape Trajectories

Spiral escape trajectories enable a spacecraft to escape Earth’s gravity and travel into inter-planetary space under its own power. This analysis demonstrates how to design spiral escape trajectories that leverage single and double Lunar gravity assists and compares the effectiveness of each trajectory type. The trajectories are constructed by combining backwards propagated Q-Law and a perturbed Sims-Flanagan transcription to design the spiral and interplanetary phases, respectively. We demonstrate that these mission types result in significant propellant savings when compared to a conventional, no Lunar swingby spiral escape, and are highly beneficial for the interplanetary rideshare mission concept.

Jackson L Shannon↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Atmospheric Escape Processes and Planetary Atmospheric Evolution: From Misconceptions to Challenges

The recent discoveries of telluric exoplanets in the habitable zone of different stars have led to questioning the nature of their atmosphere, which is required to determine their habitability. Atmospheric escape is one of the challenging problems to be solved: simply adapting what is currently observed in the solar system is doomed to fail due to the large variations in the conditions encountered around other stars. A better strategy is to evaluate the different processes that shaped planetary atmosphere and to evaluate their importance depending upon the stellar conditions. We reviewed the different escape mechanisms and their magnitude in function of different conditions [Gronoff et al. 2020]. This led us to discuss the importance of a magnetic field in protecting an atmosphere. The importance of the thermal escape, of polar wind, and of the transport of plasma within the magnetosphere are typically forgotten when claiming that magnetic fields are protecting planetary atmospheres and leading to their habitability. Overall, the habitability of a planet should not be claimed only on by its location in the habitable zone but also after careful analysis of the interaction between its atmosphere and its parent star . Gronoff, G., Arras, P., Baraka, S., Bell, J. M., Cessateur, G., Cohen, O., et al. ( 2020). Atmospheric Escape Processes and Planetary Atmospheric Evolution. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 125, e2019JA027639. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JA027639

G Gronoff↗
DOE OSTI2017

Escape of anions from geminate recombination in THF due to charge delocalization

Geminate recombination of 24 radical anions (M˙ – ) with solvated protons (RH 2 + ) was studied in tetrahydrofuran (THF) with pulse radiolysis. The recombination has two steps: (1) diffusion of M˙ – and RH 2 + together to form intimate (contact and solvent separated) ion pairs, driven by Coulomb attraction; (2) annihilation of anions due to proton transfer (PT) from RH 2 + to M˙ – . The non-exponential time-dependence of the geminate diffusion was determined. For all molecules protonated on O or N atoms the subsequent PT step is too fast (<0.2 ns) to measure, except for the anion of TCNE which did not undergo proton transfer. PT to C atoms was as slow as 70 ns and was always slow enough to be observable. A possible effect of charge delocalization on the PT rates could not be clearly separated from other factors. For 21 of the 24 molecules studied here, a free ion yield (71.6 ± 6.2 nmol J –1 ) comprising ~29% of the total, was formed. This yield of “Type I” free ions is independent of the PT rate because it arises entirely by escape from the initial distribution of ion pair distances without forming intimate ion pairs. Furthermore, three anions of oligo(9,9-dihexyl)fluorenes, F n ˙ – (n = 2–4) were able to escape from intimate ion-pairs to form additional yields of “Type II” free ions with escape rate constants near 3 × 10 6 s –1 . These experiments find no evidence for an inverted region for proton transfer.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Importance of Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibodies Targeting Multiple Antigenic Sites on the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Spike Glycoprotein To Avoid Neutralization Escape

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes a highly lethal pulmonary infection with ~35% mortality. The potential for a future pandemic originating from animal reservoirs or health care-associated events is a major public health concern. There are no vaccines or therapeutic agents currently available for MERS-CoV. Using a probe-based single B cell cloning strategy, we have identified and characterized multiple neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specifically binding to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) or S1 (non-RBD) regions from a convalescent MERS-CoV-infected patient and from immunized rhesus macaques. RBD-specific MAbs tended to have greater neutralizing potency than non-RBD S1-specific MAbs. We report six RBD-specific and five S1-specific MAbs could be sorted into four RBD and three non-RBD distinct binding patterns, based on competition assays, mapping neutralization escape variants, and structural analysis. We determined cocrystal structures for two MAbs targeting the RBD from different angles and show they can bind the RBD only in the “out” position. We then showed that selected RBD-specific, non-RBD S1-specific, and S2-specific MAbs given prophylactically prevented MERS-CoV replication in lungs and protected mice from lethal challenge. Importantly, combining RBD- and non-RBD MAbs delayed the emergence of escape mutations in a cell-based virus escape assay. These studies identify MAbs targeting different antigenic sites on S that will be useful for defining mechanisms of MERS-CoV neutralization and for developing more effective interventions to prevent or treat MERS-CoV infections.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Statistical analysis of MMS observations of energetic electron escape observed at/beyond the dayside magnetopause

Here, observations from the Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) instrument suite aboard the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft show that energetic (greater than tens of keV) magnetospheric particle escape into the magnetosheath occurs commonly across the dayside. This includes the surprisingly frequent observation of magnetospheric electrons in the duskside magnetosheath, an unexpected result given assumptions regarding magnetic drift shadowing. The 238 events identified in the 40 keV electron energy channel during the first MMS dayside season that exhibit strongly anisotropic pitch angle distributions indicating monohemispheric field-aligned streaming away from the magnetopause. A review of the extremely rich literature of energetic electron observations beyond the magnetopause is provided to place these new observations into historical context. Despite the extensive history of such research, these new observations provide a more comprehensive data set that includes unprecedented magnetic local time (MLT) coverage of the dayside equatorial magnetopause/magnetosheath. These data clearly highlight the common escape of energetic electrons along magnetic field lines concluded to have been reconnected across the magnetopause. While these streaming escape events agree with prior studies which show strong correlation with geomagnetic activity (suggesting a magnetotail source) and occur most frequently during periods of southward IMF, the high number of duskside events is unexpected and previously unobserved. Although the lowest electron energy channel was the focus of this study, the events reported here exhibit pitch angle anisotropies indicative of streaming up to 200 keV, which could represent the magnetopause loss of >1 MeV electrons from the outer radiation belt.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2011

Escape from R-peptide deletion in a {gamma}-retrovirus

The R peptide in the cytoplasmic tail (C-tail) of {gamma}-retroviral envelope proteins (Env) prevents membrane fusion before budding. To analyse its role in the formation of replication competent, infectious particles, we developed chimeric murine leukaemia viruses (MLV) with unmodified or R-peptide deleted Env proteins of the gibbon ape leukaemia virus (GaLV). While titres of these viruses were unaffected, R-peptide deficiency led to strongly impaired spreading. Most remarkably, we isolated an escape mutant which had restored an open reading frame for a C-terminal extension of the truncated C-tail. A reconstituted virus encoding this escape C-tail replicated in cell culture. In contrast to R-peptide deficient Env, particle incorporation of the escape Env was effective due to an enhanced protein expression and restored intracellular co-localisation with Gag proteins. Our data demonstrate that the R peptide not only regulates membrane fusion but also mediates efficient Env protein particle incorporation in {gamma}-retrovirus infected cells.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗