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NASA NTRS1995

Machine learning for a Toolkit for Image Mining

A prototype user environment is described that enables a user with very limited computer skills to collaborate with a computer algorithm to develop search tools (agents) that can be used for image analysis, creating metadata for tagging images, searching for images in an image database on the basis of image content, or as a component of computer vision algorithms. Agents are learned in an ongoing, two-way dialogue between the user and the algorithm. The user points to mistakes made in classification. The algorithm, in response, attempts to discover which image attributes are discriminating between objects of interest and clutter. It then builds a candidate agent and applies it to an input image, producing an 'interest' image highlighting features that are consistent with the set of objects and clutter indicated by the user. The dialogue repeats until the user is satisfied. The prototype environment, called the Toolkit for Image Mining (TIM) is currently capable of learning spectral and textural patterns. Learning exhibits rapid convergence to reasonable levels of performance and, when thoroughly trained, Fo appears to be competitive in discrimination accuracy with other classification techniques.

Delanoy, Richard L.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Issues in NASA program and project management. Special report: 1995 conference

This volume is the tenth in an ongoing series on aerospace project management at NASA. Articles in this volume cover the 1996 Conference as follows: international partnerships; industry/interagency collaboration; technology transfer; and project management development process. A section on resources for NASA managers rounds out the publication.

Hoffman, Edward J.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Global Observations of Aerosols and Clouds from Combined Lidar and Passive Instruments to Improve Radiation Budget and Climate Studies

Current uncertainties in the effects of clouds and aerosols on the Earth radiation budget limit our understanding of the climate system and the potential for global climate change. Pathfinder Instruments for Cloud and Aerosol Spaceborne Observations - Climatologie Etendue des Nuages et des Aerosols (PICASSO-CENA) is a recently approved satellite mission within NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) program which will address these uncertainties with a unique suite of active and passive instruments. The Lidar In-space Technology Experiment (LITE) demonstrated the potential benefits of space lidar for studies of clouds and aerosols. PICASSO-CENA builds on this experience with a payload consisting of a two-wavelength polarization-sensitive lidar, an oxygen A-band spectrometer (ABS), an imaging infrared radiometer (IIR), and a wide field camera (WFC). Data from these instruments will be used to measure the vertical distributions of aerosols and clouds in the atmosphere, as well as optical and physical properties of aerosols and clouds which influence the Earth radiation budget. PICASSO-CENA will be flown in formation with the PM satellite of the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) to provide a comprehensive suite of coincident measurements of atmospheric state, aerosol and cloud optical properties, and radiative fluxes. The mission will address critical uncertainties iin the direct radiative forcing of aerosols and clouds as well as aerosol influences on cloud radiative properties and cloud-climate radiation feedbacks. PICASSO-CENA is planned for a three year mission, with a launch in early 2003. PICASSO-CENA is being developed within the framework of a collaboration between NASA and CNES.

Winker, David M.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Seismic Study of the Dynamics of the Solar Subsurface from SoHO Observations

In collaboration with Dr. Baudin, we have developed and refined the new observational methodology for local helioseismology known as time-distance analysis. Global helioseismology study the solar oscillations as a superposition of resonant modes, whose properties (mode frequencies) reflect the global structure of the sun (sound speed stratification, rotation rate, etc). In contrast, local helioseismology look at the solar oscillations as wave packets whose propagation will be affected by perturbations of the media sampled. These local perturbations (sound speed or velocity flows) will modify the propagation time, that in turn can be used as a diagnostic tool for a given region. From a data reduction perspective, the processing of solar dopplergrams that result in time-distance maps, i.e. propagation times as a function of distance between bounces at the surface, is radically different from the methodology used for global mode analysis. We have, in a first step, further develop the programs needed to carry out such analysis. We have then applied them to NMI data set, and explore the trade-off between various averaging and filtering approaches - steps required to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of correlation maps - and the resulting stability and precision of the fitted propagation times. While excessive averaging (whether over space, propagation distance, or time) will reduce the diagnostic potential of the method, insufficient averaging lead to unstable fits, or uncertainties so large as to hide the information we seek. In a second phase, we have developed the analysis methodology required to infer local properties from perturbation in time propagation. Namely, we have developed time-distance inversion techniques, with an emphasis on inferences of velocity flows from time anomalies. Note also that during the period covered by this grant, all the investigators on this proposal (i.e., Drs. Baudin, Eff-Darwich, Korzennik, and Noyes) took part in the organization of the SOHO 6 /GONG 99 Workshop: Structure and Dynamics of the Interior of the Sun and Sunlike Stars, held on June 1-4 1999 at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. it was very well attended by more than 160 participants from 26 countries from all over the world. The proceedings were published in two volumes as ESA SP-418, with Sessions I-III in Volume 1, and Sessions IV-VI in Volume 2 (1,000 pages in total). The complete contents are also included in digital form on a CD-ROM included with Volume 1. This CD-ROM also contains additional multi-media material that complements some of the contributions.

Korzennik, Sylvain G.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Climatology of the Finite-Volume CCM and Sensitivity Studies

A new model has been developed in the Data Assimilation Office at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. It is intended for data assimilation and general circulation modeling, including representations of radiatively active trace gases such as stratospheric ozone. The model is based on the flux-form semi-Lagrangian' dynamical core, developed by Lin and Rood. In collaboration with the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the physical parametrization package from the Community Climate model, Version 3, has been included. This paper will discuss the climatology of a multi-year integration of the model, with observed boundary conditions (sea-surface temperature, sea ice, and incoming solar radiation). The standard model version has a resolution of 2.5 degrees longitude, 2 degrees latitude and has 55 levels between the surface and 80km. The mean climate and interannual variability of this model will be discussed, with emphasis on the middle atmosphere. The sensitivity to horizontal resolution will be examined, as will the impact of increasing and decreasing the vertical resolution. Changes which differ significantly from the interannual variations of the control run will be highlighted. Impacts of using long-term mean boundary conditions or values which vary from year to year will be discussed. Changes in the tropospheric circulation induced by lowering the upper boundary of the model will be discussed. The emphasis of the paper is on the climatology of the middle atmosphere and its impacts on the troposphere, with particular attention given to the climatologically important region near the tropopause.

Pawson, Steven↗

NASA NTRS2001

Optical Design of the MOSES Sounding Rocket Experiment

The Multi-Order Solar EUV Spectrograph (MOSES) is a sounding rocket payload now being developed by Montana State University in collaboration with the Goddard Space Flight Center, Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, and Mullard Space Science Laboratory. The instrument utilizes a unique optical design to provide solar EUV measurements with true 2-pixel resolutions of 1.0 arcsec and 60 mA over a full two-dimensional field of view of 1056 x 528 arcsec, all at a time cadence of 10 s. This unprecedented capability is achieved by means of an objective spherical grating 100 mm in diameter, ruled at 833 gr/mm. The concave grating focuses spectrally dispersed solar radiation onto three separate detectors, simultaneously recording the zero-order as well as the plus and minus first-spectral-order images. Data analysis procedures, similar to those used in X-ray tomography reconstructions, can then disentangle the mixed spatial and spectral information recorded by the multiple detectors. A flat folding mirror permits an imaging focal length of 4.74 m to be packaged within the payload's physical length of 2.82 m. Both the objective grating and folding flat have specialized, closely matched, multilayer coatings that strongly enhance their EUV reflectance while also suppressing off-band radiation that would otherwise complicate data inversion. Although the spectral bandpass is rather narrow, several candidate wavelength intervals are available to carry out truly unique scientific studies of the outer solar atmosphere. Initial flights of MOSES, scheduled to begin in 2004, will observe a 10 Angstrom band that covers very strong emission lines characteristic of both the sun's corona (Si XI 303 Angstroms) and transition-region (He II 304 Angstroms). The MOSES program is supported by a grant from NASA's Office of Space Science.

Thomas, Roger J.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Aura Science and Validation

The EOS-Aura Mission is designed to answer three basic questions concerning the Earth's atmosphere: 1) Is ozone recovering as predicted, 2) is air quality getting worse, and 3) how is climate changing? Aura's four instruments work synergistically and are dedicated to answering these questions. These questions relate to NASA Earth Science Enterprise's overall strategic questions, which seek to understand the consequences of climate change for human civilization and determine if these changes can be predicted. NASA supports an ongoing research and analysis program, which is conducted independently and in support of satellite missions. The research program conducts several on-going field campaigns employing aircraft, balloons, and ground based systems. These campaigns have focused on exploring processes in the tropics, high latitudes, and continental outflow to explain the chemistry and transport in the troposphere and stratosphere and how these regions interact. NASA is now studying how the Aura mission and requirements of the research and analysis program might be merged to achieve its strategic goals related to global atmospheric chemistry changes. In addition, NASA field campaign resources will be folded into Aura's validation requirements. Aura validation requires correlative measurements throughout the troposphere and stratosphere under a range of observing and geophysical conditions. Because of the recent launches of Envisat and other smaller international chemistry satellites, the NASA program plans to collaborate with European space agencies in developing a series of campaigns that will provide continuity between those satellites missions and Aura.

Hilsenrath, E.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Mars Data Visualization and E/PO with Marsoweb

Marsoweb is a collaborative web environment that has been developed for the Mars research community to better visualize and analyze Mars orbiter data. Its goal is to enable online data discovery by providing an intuitive, interactive interface to data from the Mars Global Surveyor and other orbiters. Recently Marsoweb has served a prominent role as a resource center for the site selection process for the Mars Explorer Rover 2003 missions. In addition to hosting a repository of landing site memoranda and workshop talks, it includes a Java-based interface to a variety of datamaps and images. This interface enables the display and numerical querying of data, and allows data profiles to be rendered from user-drawn cross-sections. High-resolution Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images (currently, over 100,000) can be graphically perused; browser-based image processing tools can be used on MOC images of potential landing sites. An automated VRML atlas allows users to construct 'flyovers' of their own regions-of-interest in 3D. These capabilities enable Marsoweb to be used for general global data studies, in addition to those specific to landing site selection. As of September 2002, over 70,000 distinct users from NASA, USGS, academia, and the general public have accessed Marsoweb.

Gulick, V. C.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Hover Testing of the NASA/Army/MIT Active Twist Rotor Prototype Blade

Helicopter rotor individual blade control promises to provide a mechanism for increased rotor performance and reduced rotorcraft vibrations and noise. Active material methods, such as piezoelectrically actuated trailing-edge flaps and strain-induced rotor blade twisting, provide a means of accomplishing individual blade control without the need for hydraulic power in the rotating system. Recent studies have indicated that controlled strain induced blade twisting can be attained using piezoelectric active fiber composite technology. In order to validate these findings experimentally, a cooperative effort between NASA Langley Research Center, the Army Research Laboratory, and the MIT Active Materials and Structures Laboratory has been developed. As a result of this collaboration an aeroelastically-scaled active-twist model rotor blade has been designed and fabricated for testing in the heavy gas environment of the Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel (TDT). The results of hover tests of the active-twist prototype blade are presented in this paper. Comparisons with applicable analytical predictions of active-twist frequency response in hovering flight are also presented.

Matthew L Wilbur↗

NASA NTRS2005

The Collaborative Information Portal and NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission

The Collaborative Information Portal was enterprise software developed jointly by the NASA Ames Research Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission. Mission managers, engineers, scientists, and researchers used this Internet application to view current staffing and event schedules, download data and image files generated by the rovers, receive broadcast messages, and get accurate times in various Mars and Earth time zones. This article describes the features, architecture, and implementation of this software, and concludes with lessons we learned from its deployment and a look towards future missions.

Mak, Ronald↗

NASA NTRS2005

Penetration of UV Radiation in the Earth's Oceans

This project was a collaboration between SIO/UCSD and NASA/GSFC to develop a global estimation of the penetration of UV light into open ocean waters, and into coastal waters. We determined the ocean UV reflectance spectra seen by satellites above the atmosphere by combining existing sophisticated radiative transfer models with in situ UV Visible data sets to improve coupled radiance estimates both underwater and within the atmosphere. Results included improved estimates of surface spectral irradiance, 0.3-1.0 micron, and estimates of photosynthetic inhibition, DNA mutation, and CO production. Data sets developed under this proposal have been made publicly available via submission to the SeaWiFS Bio-Optical Archive and Storage System. Numerous peer-reviewed publications and conference proceedings and abstracts resulted from the work supported by this research award.

Mitchell, B. Greg↗

NASA NTRS2005

Business Intelligence Modeling in Launch Operations

This technology project is to advance an integrated Planning and Management Simulation Model for evaluation of risks, costs, and reliability of launch systems from Earth to Orbit for Space Exploration. The approach builds on research done in the NASA ARC/KSC developed Virtual Test Bed (VTB) to integrate architectural, operations process, and mission simulations for the purpose of evaluating enterprise level strategies to reduce cost, improve systems operability, and reduce mission risks. The objectives are to understand the interdependency of architecture and process on recurring launch cost of operations, provide management a tool for assessing systems safety and dependability versus cost, and leverage lessons learned and empirical models from Shuttle and International Space Station to validate models applied to Exploration. The systems-of-systems concept is built to balance the conflicting objectives of safety, reliability, and process strategy in order to achieve long term sustainability. A planning and analysis test bed is needed for evaluation of enterprise level options and strategies for transit and launch systems as well as surface and orbital systems. This environment can also support agency simulation .based acquisition process objectives. The technology development approach is based on the collaborative effort set forth in the VTB's integrating operations. process models, systems and environment models, and cost models as a comprehensive disciplined enterprise analysis environment. Significant emphasis is being placed on adapting root cause from existing Shuttle operations to exploration. Technical challenges include cost model validation, integration of parametric models with discrete event process and systems simulations. and large-scale simulation integration. The enterprise architecture is required for coherent integration of systems models. It will also require a plan for evolution over the life of the program. The proposed technology will produce long-term benefits in support of the NASA objectives for simulation based acquisition, will improve the ability to assess architectural options verses safety/risk for future exploration systems, and will facilitate incorporation of operability as a systems design consideration, reducing overall life cycle cost for future systems. The future of business intelligence of space exploration will focus on the intelligent system-of-systems real-time enterprise. In present business intelligence, a number of technologies that are most relevant to space exploration are experiencing the greatest change. Emerging patterns of set of processes rather than organizational units leading to end-to-end automation is becoming a major objective of enterprise information technology. The cost element is a leading factor of future exploration systems.

Bardina, Jorge E.↗

NASA NTRS2005

An operational approach to long-duration mission behavioral health and performance factors

NASA's participation in nearly 10 yr of long-duration mission (LDM) training and flight confirms that these missions remain a difficult challenge for astronauts and their medical care providers. The role of the astronaut's crew surgeon is to maximize the astronaut's health throughout all phases of the LDM: preflight, in flight, and postflight. In support of the crew surgeon, the NASA-Johnson Space Center Behavioral Health and Performance Group (JSC-BHPG) has focused on four key factors that can reduce the astronaut's behavioral health and performance. These factors are defined as: sleep and circadian factors; behavioral health factors; psychological adaptation factors; and human-to-system interface (the interface between the astronaut and the mission workplace) factors. Both the crew surgeon and the JSC-BHPG must earn the crewmember's trust preflight to encourage problem identification and problem solving in these four areas. Once on orbit, the crew medical officer becomes a valuable extension of the crew surgeon and BHPG on the ground due to the crew medical officer's constant interaction with crewmembers and preflight training in these four factors. However, the crew surgeon, BHPG, and the crew medical officer need tools that will help predict, prevent, monitor, and respond to developing problems. Objective data become essential when difficult mission termination decisions must be made. The need for behavioral health and performance tool development creates an environment rich for collaboration between operational healthcare providers and researchers. These tools are also a necessary step to safely complete future, more autonomous exploration-class space missions.

Review↗

NASA NTRS2006

Initial Results from CALIPSO

CALIPSO will carry the first polarization lidar in orbit, along with infrared and visible passive imagers, and will fly in formation as part of the Afternoon Constellation (A-train). The acquisition of observations which are simultaneous and coincident with observations from other instruments of the A-train will allow numerous synergies to be realized from combining CALIPSO observations with observations from other platforms. In particular, cloud observations from the CALIPSO lidar and the CloudSat radar will complement each other, together encompassing the variety of clouds found in the atmosphere, from thin cirrus to deep convective clouds. CALIPSO has been developed within the framework of a collaboration between NASA and CNES and is currently scheduled to launch, along with the CloudSat satellite, in spring 2006. This paper will present an overview of the CALIPSO mission, including initial results.

Winker, David M.↗

NASA NTRS2006

LDCM Grid Prototype (LGP)

The LGP successfully demonstrated that grid technology could be used to create a collaboration among research scientists, their science development machines, and distributed data to create a science production system in a nationally distributed environment. Grid technology provides a low cost and effective method of enabling production of science products by the science community. To demonstrate this, the LGP partnered with NASA GSFC scientists and used their existing science algorithms to generate virtual Landsat-like data products using distributed data resources. LGP created 48 output composite scenes with 4 input scenes each for a total of 192 scienes processed in parallel. The demonstration took 12 hours, which beat the requirement by almost 50 percent, well within the LDCM requirement to process 250 scenes per day. The LGP project also showed the successful use of workflow tools to automate the processing. Investing in this technology has led to funding for a ROSES ACCESS proposal. The proposal intends to enable an expert science user to produce products from a number of similar distributed instrument data sets using the Land Cover Change Community-based Processing and Analysis System (LC-ComPS) Toolbox. The LC-ComPS Toolbox is a collection of science algorithms that enable the generation of data with ground resolution on the order of Landsat-class instruments.

Weinstein, Beth↗

NASA NTRS2006

2006 Status of the Momentum eXchange Electrodynamic Re-Boost (MXER) Tether Development

The MXER Tether technology development is a high-payoff/high-risk investment area within the NASA In-Space Propulsion Technology (ISPT) Program. The ISPT program is managed by the NASA Headquarters Science Mission Directorate and implemented by the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The MXER concept was identified and competitively ranked within NASA's comprehensive Integrated In-Space Transportation Plan (IISTP); an agency-wide technology assessment activity. The objective of the MXER tether project within ISPT is to advance the technological maturation level for the MXER system, and its subsystems, as well as other space and terrestrial tether applications. Recent hardware efforts have focused on the manufacturability of space-survivable high-strength tether material and coatings, high-current electrodynamic tether, lightweight catch mechanism, high-accuracy propagator/predictor code, and efficient electron collection/current generation. Significant technical progress has been achieved with modest ISPT funding to the extent that MXER has evolved to a well-characterized system with greater capability as the design has been matured. Synergistic efforts in high-current electrodynamic tethers and efficient electron collection/current generation have been made possible through SBIR and STTR support. The entire development endeavor was orchestrated as a collaborative team effort across multiple individual contracts and has established a solid technology resource base, which permits a wide variety of future space cable/tether applications to be realized.

Bonometti, Joseph A.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Sensor Networking Testbed with IEEE 1451 Compatibility and Network Performance Monitoring

Design and implementation of a testbed for testing and verifying IEEE 1451-compatible sensor systems with network performance monitoring is of significant importance. The performance parameters measurement as well as decision support systems implementation will enhance the understanding of sensor systems with plug-and-play capabilities. The paper will present the design aspects for such a testbed environment under development at University of Houston in collaboration with NASA Stennis Space Center - SSST (Smart Sensor System Testbed).

Gurkan, Deniz↗

NASA NTRS2006

Working Group Reports and Presentations: Mars Science and Exploration

In Mars, the spirit of exploring an exciting and rewarding new frontier is alive. Mars not only offers a unique destination for exploration, but it is also a critical destination for the advancement of human society and preservation of humanity. The exploration of Mars will provide significant social and technological benefits to enhance life on Earth as well. International cooperation will not only be essential to the success of a human presence on Mars, but development of such interactions will jumpstart collaboration on global issues. The eventual commercialization of space holds tremendous opportunities for economic growth. Finally, there is an undeniable basic human need to explore and define our place in the universe. The overarching theme that ties together all of these reasons for exploration is to inspire and unite the global community to pursue a common cause that is much larger than disagreements over ethnic differences or national borders. Continuous inspiration of the public, the scientific community, and the community of Earth are required in order to explore Mars.

Beaty, David↗