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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 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1989

Properties of the moon, Mars, Martian satellites, and near-earth asteroids

Environments and surface properties of the moon, Mars, Martian satellites, and near-earth asteroids are discussed. Topics include gravity, atmospheres, surface properties, surface compositions, seismicity, radiation environment, degradation, use of robotics, and environmental impacts. Gravity fields vary from large fractions of the earth's field such as 1/3 on Mars and 1/6 on the moon to smaller fractions of 0.0004 g on an asteroid 1 km in diameter. Spectral data and the analogy with meteor compositions suggest that near-earth asteroids may contain many resources such as water-rich carbonaceous materials and iron-rich metallic bodies. It is concluded that future mining and materials processing operations from extraterrestrial bodies require an investment now in both (1) missions to the moon, Mars, Phobos, Deimos, and near-earth asteroids and (2) earth-based laboratory research in materials and processing.

Taylor, Jeffrey G.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Method and apparatus for predicting the direction of movement in machine vision

A computer-simulated cortical network is presented. The network is capable of computing the visibility of shifts in the direction of movement. Additionally, the network can compute the following: (1) the magnitude of the position difference between the test and background patterns; (2) localized contrast differences at different spatial scales analyzed by computing temporal gradients of the difference and sum of the outputs of paired even- and odd-symmetric bandpass filters convolved with the input pattern; and (3) the direction of a test pattern moved relative to a textured background. The direction of movement of an object in the field of view of a robotic vision system is detected in accordance with nonlinear Gabor function algorithms. The movement of objects relative to their background is used to infer the 3-dimensional structure and motion of object surfaces.

Lawton, Teri B.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Geologist's Field Assistant: Developing Image and Spectral Analyses Algorithms for Remote Science Exploration

We are developing science analyses algorithms to interface with a Geologist's Field Assistant device to allow robotic or human remote explorers to better sense their surroundings during limited surface excursions. Our algorithms will interpret spectral and imaging data obtained by various sensors. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Gulick, V. C.↗
NASA NTRS2008

FootFall: A Ground Based Operations Toolset Enabling Walking for the ATHLETE Rover

The ATHLETE (All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer) vehicle consists of six identical, six degree of freedom limbs. FootFall is a ground tool for ATHLETE intended to provide an operator with integrated situational awareness, terrain reconstruction, stability and safety analysis, motion planning, and decision support capabilities to enable the efficient generation of flight software command sequences for walking. FootFall has been under development at NASA Ames for the last year, and having accomplished the initial integration, it is being used to generate command sequences for single footfalls. In this paper, the architecture of FootFall in its current state will be presented, results from the recent Human Robotic Systems Project?s Integrated Field Test (Moses Lake, Washington, June, 2008) will be discussed, and future plans for extending the capabilities of FootFall to enable ATHLETE to walk across a boulder field in real time will be described.

SunSpiral, Vytas↗
NASA NTRS2013

Education and Public Outreach and Engagement at NASA's Analog Missions in 2012

Analog missions are integrated, multi-disciplinary activities that test key features of future human space exploration missions in an integrated fashion to gain a deeper understanding of system-level interactions and operations early in conceptual development. These tests often are conducted in remote and extreme environments that are representative in one or more ways to that of future spaceflight destinations. They may also be conducted at NASA facilities, using advanced modeling and human-in-the-loop scenarios. As NASA develops a capability driven framework to transport crew to a variety of space environments, it will use analog missions to gather requirements and develop the technologies necessary to ensure successful exploration beyond low Earth orbit. NASA s Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Division conducts these high-fidelity integrated tests, including the coordination and execution of a robust education and public outreach (EPO) and engagement program for each mission. Conducting these mission scenarios in unique environments not only provides an opportunity to test the EPO concepts for the particular future-mission scenario, such as the best methods for conducting events with a communication time delay, but it also provides an avenue to deliver NASA s human space exploration key messages. These analogs are extremely exciting to students and the public, and they are performed in such a way that the public can feel like part of the mission. They also provide an opportunity for crew members to obtain training in education and public outreach activities similar to what they would perform in space. The analog EPO team is responsible for the coordination and execution of the events, the overall social media component for each mission, and public affairs events such as media visits and interviews. They also create new and exciting ways to engage the public, manage and create website content, coordinate video footage for missions, and coordinate and integrate each activity into the mission timeline. In 2012, the AES Analog Missions Project performed three distinct missions - NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO), which simulated a mission to an asteroid using an undersea laboratory; In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Field Test, which simulated a robotic mission to the moon searching and drilling for water; and Research and Technology Studies (RATS) integrated tests, which also simulated a mission to an asteroid. This paper will discuss the education and public engagement that occurred during these missions.

Watkins, Wendy L.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Envisioning an Analog Work Domain Across Deep-Ocean Exploration and Human-Robot Spaceflight Exploration

What if one existing work domain could be leveraged to inform an instantiation of a second type of work domain? This is the question that informed a three year NASA-funded study, SUBSEA (Systematic Underwater Biogeochemical Science and Exploration Analog), on the use of ocean science and exploration via telepresence as an analog for future human-robot spaceflight. SUBSEA included two field programs performed in 2018 and 2019. Each was comprised of a multidisciplinary team of natural scientists studying deep-sea venting sites in tandem with a team of social scientists conducting work ethnography to understand the existing ocean exploration domain. This paper presents results from the 2018 field program which includes analyses that were required to generate specific “flight-like” conditions for the 2019 field program.

Miller, Matthew J.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Navigation Results from Desert Field Tests of the Rocky 7 Mars Rover Prototype

Upcoming missions to the surface of Mars will use mobile robots to traverse long distances from the landing site. To prepare enabling technologies for these missions, the protype rover, Rocky 7, has been tested in desert field trials conducted with a team of planetary scientists.

Mars mobile robots desert field trails sun-sensor ↗
NASA NTRS2005

Autonomy Software Architecture for LORAX (Life On ice Robotic Antarctic eXplorer)

LORAX is a robotic astrobiological study of the ice field surrounding the Carapace Nunatak near the Allan Hills in Antarctica. The study culminates in a l00km traverse, sampling the ice at various depths (from surface to 10cm) at over 100 sites to survey microbial ecology and to record environmental parameters. The autonomy requirements from LORAX are shared by many robotic exploration tasks. Consequently, the LORAX autonomy architecture is a general architecture for on-board planning and execution in environments where science return is to be maximized against resource limitations and other constraints.

Jonsson, Ari↗
NASA NTRS2017

Field Exploration and Life Detection Sampling Through Planetary Analogue Sampling (FELDSPAR).

Exploration missions to Mars rely on rovers to perform analyses over small sampling areas; however, landing sites for these missions are selected based on large-scale, low-resolution remote data. The use of Earth analogue environments to estimate the multi-scale spatial distributions of key signatures of habitability can help ensure mission science goals are met. A main goal of FELDSPAR is to conduct field operations analogous to Mars sample return in its science, operations, and technology from landing site selection, to in-field sampling location selection, remote or stand-off analysis, in situ analysis, and home laboratory analysis. Lava fields and volcanic regions are relevant analogues to Martian landscapes due to desiccation, low nutrient availability, and temperature extremes. Operationally, many Icelandic lava fields are remote enough to require that field expeditions address several sampling constraints that are experienced in robotic exploration, including in situ and sample return missions. The Fimmvruhls lava field was formed by a basaltic effusive eruption associated with the 2010 Eyjafjallajkull eruption. Mlifellssandur is a recently deglaciated plain to the north of the Myrdalsjkull glacier. Holuhraun was formed by a 2014 fissure eruptions just north of the large Vatnajkull glacier. Dyngjusandur is an alluvial plain apparently kept barren by repeated mechanical weathering. Informed by our 2013 expedition, we collected samples in nested triangular grids every decade from the 10 cm scale to the 1 km scale (as permitted by the size of the site). Satellite imagery is available for older sites, and for Mlifellssandur, Holuhraun, and Dyngjusandur we obtained overhead imagery at 1 m to 200 m elevation. PanCam-style photographs were taken in the field by sampling personnel. In-field reflectance spectroscopy was also obtained with an ASD spectrometer in Dyngjusandur. All sites chosen were 'homogeneous' in apparent color, morphology, moisture, grain size, and reflectance spectra at all scales greater than 10 cm. Field lab assays were conducted to monitor microbial habitation, including ATP quantification, qPCR for fungal, bacterial, and archaeal DNA, and direct cell imaging using fluorescence microscopy. Home laboratory analyses include Raman spectroscopy and community sequencing. ATP appeared to be significantly more sensitive to small changes in sampling location than qPCR or fluorescence microscopy. Bacterial and archaeal DNA content were more consistent at the smaller scales, but similarly variable across more distant sites. Conversely, cell counts and fungal DNA content have significant local variation but appear relatively homogeneous over scales of 1 km. ATP, bacterial DNA, and archaeal DNA content were relatively well correlated at many spatial scales. While we have observed spatial variation at various scales and are beginning to observe how that variation fluctuates over time as biodiversity recovers after an eruption, we do not yet fully understand what parameters lead to the observed spatial variation. Home laboratory analyses will help us further understand the elemental and structural composition of the basaltic matrices, but further field analyses are vital for the understanding how temperature, moisture, incident radiation, and so forth influence the habitability of a microclimate.

Field↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies Project: Final Year

The Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies (ARADS) project, a simulated Mars rover biomarker detection mission, was iteratively developed over four years from 2015 -2019, including three NASA centers, the Centro de Astrobiologia, Johns Hopkins University, Honeybee Robotics, Maxar and the University of Antofagasta. The final (4th) ARADS field season, in 2019, tested an integrated mobile life-prospecting platform loosely inspired by the 2000’s Astrobiology Field Laboratory concept, with a 1m rotary-percussive drill and sample transfer robot arm that fed three astrobiology instruments operating in-situ on the KREX2 medium rover prototype. A fourth instrument was field tested earlier in 2019 due to flight mission requirements. In the final ARADS field deployment in September 2019, the project conducted a remote mission operation simulation (Stoker 2022)demonstrating sample drilling, acquisition and transfer into the rover instruments (while minimizing cross-contamination), performing in-situ analysis of the samples, and returning the results to a remote science operations team(which commanded the daily science goals and uploaded operations sequences).

astrobiology↗
NASA NTRS1991

A magneto-sensitive skin for robots in space

The development of a robot arm proximity sensing skin that can sense intruding objects is described. The purpose of the sensor would be to prevent the robot from colliding with objects in space including human beings. Eventually a tri-mode system in envisioned including proximity, tactile, and thermal. To date the primary emphasis was on the proximity sensor which evolved from one based on magneto-inductive principles to the current design which is based on a capacitive-reflector system. The capacitive sensing element, backed by a reflector driven at the same voltage and in phase with the sensor, is used to reflect field lines away from the grounded robot toward the intruding object. This results in an increased sensing range of up to 12 in. with the reflector on compared with only 1 in. with it off. It is believed that this design advances the state-of-the-art in capacitive sensor performance.

Chauhan, D. S.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Hexapod Robot

The project I am working on at NASA-Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX is a hexapod robot. This project was started by various engineers at the Trick Lab. The goal of this project is to have the hexapod track a yellow ball or possibly another object from left to right and up/down. The purpose is to have it track an object like a real creature. The project will consist of using software and hardware. This project started with a hexapod robot which uses a senor bar to track a yellow ball but with a limited field of vision. The sensor bar acts as the robots "head." Two servos will be added to the hexapod to create flexion and extension of the head. The neck and head servos will have to be programmed to be added to the original memory map of the existing servos. I will be using preexisting code. The main programming language that will be used to add to the preexisting code is C++. The trick modeling and simulation software will also be used in the process to improve its tracking and movement. This project will use a trial and error approach, basically seeing what works and what does not. The first step is to initially understand how the hexapod works. To get a general understanding of how the hexapod maneuvers and plan on how to had a neck and head servo which works with the rest of the body. The second step would be configuring the head and neck servos with the leg servos. During this step, limits will be programmed specifically for the each servo. By doing this, the servo is limited to how far it can rotate both clockwise and counterclockwise and this is to prevent hardware damage. The hexapod will have two modes in which it works in. The first mode will be if the sensor bar does not detect an object. If the object it is programmed to look for is not in its view it will automatically scan from left to right 3 times then up and down once. The second mode will be if the sensor bar does detect the object. In this mode the hexapod will track the object from left to right or up and down. The hexapod will eventually be able to track the object moving its head and body in sync with on another and being able to rotate its body at 360 degrees. This is the plans and possible end results for the hexapod robot I will be working on during my summer internship at NASA Johnson Space Center. Since working on the hexapod project I have gained an increase interest in robotics. I enjoy the process of critical thinking. Also will working on this project I was challenged in a way that made more passionate to strive even more to become an engineer. I've learned that asking questions is an important part of the learning process. Also I learn that much more is accomplished when teamwork is applied.

Begody, Ericka↗
NASA NTRS2004

Human-Robot Planetary Exploration Teams

The EVA Robotic Assistant (ERA) project at NASA Johnson Space Center studies human-robot interaction and robotic assistance for future human planetary exploration. Over the past four years, the ERA project has been performing field tests with one or more four-wheeled robotic platforms and one or more space-suited humans. These tests have provided experience in how robots can assist humans, how robots and humans can communicate in remote environments, and what combination of humans and robots works best for different scenarios. The most efficient way to understand what tasks human explorers will actually perform, and how robots can best assist them, is to have human explorers and scientists go and explore in an outdoor, planetary-relevant environment, with robots to demonstrate what they are capable of, and roboticists to observe the results. It can be difficult to have a human expert itemize all the needed tasks required for exploration while sitting in a lab: humans do not always remember all the details, and experts in one arena may not even recognize that the lower level tasks they take for granted may be essential for a roboticist to know about. Field tests thus create conditions that more accurately reveal missing components and invalid assumptions, as well as allow tests and comparisons of new approaches and demonstrations of working systems. We have performed field tests in our local rock yard, in several locations in the Arizona desert, and in the Utah desert. We have tested multiple exploration scenarios, such as geological traverses, cable or solar panel deployments, and science instrument deployments. The configuration of our robot can be changed, based on what equipment is needed for a given scenario, and the sensor mast can even be placed on one of two robot bases, each with different motion capabilities. The software architecture of our robot is also designed to be as modular as possible, to allow for hardware and configuration changes. Two focus areas of our research are safety and crew time efficiency. For safety, our work involves enabling humans to reliably communicate with a robot while moving in the same workspace, and enabling robots to monitor and advise humans of potential problems. Voice, gesture, remote computer control, and enhanced robot intelligence are methods we are studying. For crew time efficiency, we are investigating the effects of assigning different roles to humans and robots in collaborative exploration scenarios.

Tyree, Kimberly↗
NASA NTRS2011

NEEMO 15: Evaluation of Human Exploration Systems for Near-Earth Asteroids

The NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) 15 mission was focused on near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) exploration techniques evaluation. It began with a University of Delaware autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) systematically mapping the coral reef for hundreds of meters surrounding the Aquarius habitat. This activity is akin to the type of "far field survey" approach that may be used by a robotic precursor in advance of a human mission to a NEA. Data from the far-field survey were then examined by the NEEMO science team and follow-up exploration traverses were planned, which used Deepworker single-person submersibles. Science traverses at NEEMO 15 were planned according to a prioritized list of scientific objectives developed by the science team based on review and discussion of previous related marine science research including previous marine science saturation missions conducted at the Aquarius habitat. AUV data was used to select several areas of scientific interest. The Deepworker science traverses were then executed at these areas of interest during 4 days of the NEEMO 15 mission and provided higher resolution data such as coral species distribution and mortality. These traverses are analogous to the "near field survey" approach that is expected to be performed by a multi mission space exploration vehicle (MMSEV) during a human mission to a NEA before conducting extravehicular activities (EVA)s. In addition to the science objectives that were pursued, the NEEMO 15 science traverses provided an opportunity to test newly developed software and techniques. Sample collection and instrument deployment on the NEA surface by EVA crew would follow the "near field survey" in a human NEA mission. Sample collection was not necessary for the purposes of the NEEMO science objectives; however, the engineering and operations objectives during NEEMO 15 were to evaluate different combinations of vehicles, crewmembers, tools, and equipment that could be used to perform these tasks on a NEA. Specifically, the productivity and acceptability of simulated NEA exploration activities were systematically quantified and compared when operating with different combinations of crew sizes and exploration systems including MMSEVs, EVA jet packs, and EVA translation devices.

Chappell, Steven P.↗
NASA NTRS1988

In-space research, technology and engineering experiments and Space Station

The NASA Space Station will serve as a technology research laboratory, a payload-servicing facility, and a large structure fabrication and assembly facility. Space structures research will encompass advanced structural concepts and their dynamics, advanced control concepts, sensors, and actuators. Experiments dealing with fluid management will gather data on such fundamentals as multiphase flow phenomena. As requirements for power systems and thermal management grow, experiments quantifying the performance of energy systems and thermal management concepts will be undertaken, together with expanded efforts in the fields of information systems, automation, and robotics.

Tyson, Richard↗
NASA NTRS2001

Human-Vehicle Interface for Semi-Autonomous Operation of Uninhabited Aero Vehicles

The robustness of autonomous robotic systems to unanticipated circumstances is typically insufficient for use in the field. The many skills of human user often fill this gap in robotic capability. To incorporate the human into the system, a useful interaction between man and machine must exist. This interaction should enable useful communication to be exchanged in a natural way between human and robot on a variety of levels. This report describes the current human-robot interaction for the Stanford HUMMINGBIRD autonomous helicopter. In particular, the report discusses the elements of the system that enable multiple levels of communication. An intelligent system agent manages the different inputs given to the helicopter. An advanced user interface gives the user and helicopter a method for exchanging useful information. Using this human-robot interaction, the HUMMINGBIRD has carried out various autonomous search, tracking, and retrieval missions.

Jones, Henry L.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Current results from a Rover Science Data Analysis System

In this paper, we provide a brief overview of the OASIS system, and then describe our recent successes in integrating with and using rover hardware. OASIS currently works in a closed loop fashion with onboard control software (e.g., navigation and vision) and has the ability to autonomously perform the following sequence of steps: analyze gray scale images to find rocks, extract the properties of the rocks, identify rocks of interest, retask the rover to take additional imagery of the identified target and then allow the rover to continue on its original mission. We also describe the early 2004 ground test validation of specific OASIS components on selected Mars Exploration Rover (MER) images. These components include the rockfinding algorithm, RockIT, and the rock size feature extraction code. Our team also developed the RockIT GUI, an interface that allows users to easily visualize and modify the rock-finder results. This interface has allowed us to conduct preliminary testing and validation of the rockfinder's performance.

Coupled Layer Architecture for Robotic Autonomy (C↗