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At least 1,513 records · Page 84

Gravitropic responses of plants in the absence of a complicating G-force (6-IML-1)

On the Earth it is patently impossible to measure any tropistic, physiologic, or morphogenic reactions to environmental stimuli without taking into account our planet's gravitational influence on the time course of the test subject's response. It follows that all published reports of quantitative measurements of such responses must have been contaminated by an additional gravity dependent component which probably was not trivial. Our research effort has as its principal scientific objective, the acquisition of experimental data from tests in a microgravity environment that will address a number of basic questions about plants' gravitropic responses to the perception of transversely applied g forces in the hypogravity range, from essentially zero to unit g. Comparable tests on Earth but in the same flight hardware, referred to as the Gravitational Plant Physiology Facility (GPPF), will provide 1 g data for various useful comparisons. Four specific scientific questions are addressed.

Brown, Allan H.↗

Queuing Models of Tertiary Storage

Large scale scientific projects generate and use large amounts of data. For example, the NASA Earth Observation System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) project is expected to archive one petabyte per year of raw satellite data. This data is made automatically available for processing into higher level data products and for dissemination to the scientific community. Such large volumes of data can only be stored in robotic storage libraries (RSL's) for near-line access. A characteristic of RSL's is the use of a robot arm that transfers media between a storage rack and the read/write drives, thus multiplying the capacity of the system. The performance of the RSL's can be a critical limiting factor for the performance of the archive system. However, the many interacting components of an RSL make a performance analysis difficult. In addition, different RSL components can have widely varying performance characteristics. This paper describes our work to develop performance models of an RSL in isolation. Next we show how the RSL model can be incorporated into a queuing network model. We use the models to make some example performance studies of archive systems. The models described in this paper, developed for the NASA EODIS project, are implemented in C with a well defined interface. The source code, accompanying documentation, and also sample JAVA applets are available at: http://www.cis.ufl.edu/~ted/

Johnson, Theodore↗

Safe Upper-Bounds Inference of Energy Consumption for Java Bytecode Applications

Many space applications such as sensor networks, on-board satellite-based platforms, on-board vehicle monitoring systems, etc. handle large amounts of data and analysis of such data is often critical for the scientific mission. Transmitting such large amounts of data to the remote control station for analysis is usually too expensive for time-critical applications. Instead, modern space applications are increasingly relying on autonomous on-board data analysis. All these applications face many resource constraints. A key requirement is to minimize energy consumption. Several approaches have been developed for estimating the energy consumption of such applications (e.g. [3, 1]) based on measuring actual consumption at run-time for large sets of random inputs. However, this approach has the limitation that it is in general not possible to cover all possible inputs. Using formal techniques offers the potential for inferring safe energy consumption bounds, thus being specially interesting for space exploration and safety-critical systems. We have proposed and implemented a general frame- work for resource usage analysis of Java bytecode [2]. The user defines a set of resource(s) of interest to be tracked and some annotations that describe the cost of some elementary elements of the program for those resources. These values can be constants or, more generally, functions of the input data sizes. The analysis then statically derives an upper bound on the amount of those resources that the program as a whole will consume or provide, also as functions of the input data sizes. This article develops a novel application of the analysis of [2] to inferring safe upper bounds on the energy consumption of Java bytecode applications. We first use a resource model that describes the cost of each bytecode instruction in terms of the joules it consumes. With this resource model, we then generate energy consumption cost relations, which are then used to infer safe upper bounds. How energy consumption for each bytecode instruction is measured is beyond the scope of this paper. Instead, this paper is about how to infer safe energy consumption estimations assuming that those energy consumption costs are provided. For concreteness, we use a simplified version of an existing resource model [1] in which an energy consumption cost for individual Java opcodes is defined.

Navas, Jorge↗

Selecting Tasks for Evaluating Human Performance as a Function of Gravity

A challenge in understanding human performance as a function of gravity is determining which tasks to research. Initial studies began with treadmill walking, which was easy to quantify and control. However, with the development of pressurized rovers, it is less important to optimize human performance for ambulation as pressurized rovers will likely perform gross translation for them. Future crews are likely to spend much of their extravehicular activity (EVA) performing geology, construction,a nd maintenance type tasks. With these types of tasks, people have different performance strategies, and it is often difficult to quantify the task and measure steady-state metabolic rates or perform biomechanical analysis. For many of these types of tasks, subjective feedback may be the only data that can be collected. However, subjective data may not fully support a rigorous scientific comparison of human performance across different gravity levels and suit factors. NASA would benefit from having a wide variety of quantifiable tasks that allow human performance comparison across different conditions. In order to determine which tasks will effectively support scientific studies, many different tasks and data analysis techniques will need to be employed. Many of these tasks and techniques will not be effective, but some will produce quantifiable results that are sensitive enough to show performance differences. One of the primary concerns related to EVA performance is metabolic rate. The higher the metabolic rate, the faster the astronaut will exhaust consumables. The focus of this poster will be on how different tasks affect metabolic rate across different gravity levels.

Norcross, Jason R.↗

The Mission Accessible Near-Earth Objects Survey (MANOS)

Near‐Earth objects (NEOs) are essential to understanding the origin of the Solar System. Their relatively small sizes and complex dynamical histories make them excellent laboratories for studying ongoing Solar System processes. The proximity of NEOs to Earth makes them favorable targets for space missions. In addition, knowledge of their physical properties is crucial for impact hazard assessment. However, in spite of their importance to science, exploration, and planetary defense, a representative sample of physical characteristics for sub‐km NEOs does not exist. Here we present the Mission Accessible Near‐Earth Objects Survey (MANOS), a multi‐year survey of subkm NEOs that will provide a large, uniform catalog of physical properties (light curves + colors + spectra + astrometry), representing a 100‐fold increase over the current level of NEO knowledge within this size range. This survey will ultimately characterize more than 300 mission‐accessible NEOs across the visible and near‐infrared ranges using telescopes in both the northern and southern hemispheres. MANOS has been awarded 24 nights per semester for the next three years on NOAO facilities including Gemini North and South, the Kitt Peak Mayall 4m, and the SOAR 4m. Additional telescopic assets available to our team include facilities at Lowell Observatory, the University of Hawaii 2.2m, NASA's IRTF, and the Magellan 6.5m telescopes. Our focus on sub‐km sizes and mission accessibility (dv < 7 km/s) is a novel approach to physical characterization studies and is possible through a regular cadence of observations designed to access newly discovered NEOs within days or weeks of first detection before they fade beyond observational limits. The resulting comprehensive catalog will inform global properties of the NEO population, advance scientific understanding of NEOs, produce essential data for robotic and spacecraft exploration, and develop a critical knowledge base to address the risk of NEO impacts. We intend to conduct this survey with complete transparency, publicly sharing our target lists and survey progress. We invite collaborative uses for these data as a way to broaden the scientific impact of this survey.

Abell, Paul↗

The Radiation Biology Ontology: A New Tool Supporting FAIR Principles Across Radiation Biology Facilitating Data Discovery and Integration

Development of the Radiation Biology Ontology (RBO) was motivated by the need for a comprehensive, well-structured ontology for encoding radiation biology metadata. The primary use-cases were archiving data in the STORE database (https://www.storedb.org/), the repository for the RadoNorm Project, and in GeneLab (https://genelab.nasa.gov), NASA’s ‘omics database. The scope of radiobiology research ranges from physics to radiation oncology to socio-legal studies; no existing ontology has the necessary breadth or depth. In addition, a formal ontology has the advantage of being usable for machine learning and, importantly, for tasks like data integration, knowledge extraction from the scientific literature and for query extension and data classification. Standardisation of metadata is one of the primary objectives of the FAIR principles for open data; RBO is an important landmark for FAIR radiation biology data.

ontology↗

Energy Materials Chemistry Integrating Theory, Experiment and Data Science (Final Report)

The Energy Materials Chemistry Integrating Theory, Experiment and Data Science (EM-CITED) project is a multidisciplinary research effort focused on accelerating discovery of scientific knowledge via incorporation of data science and artificial intelligence in materials chemistry research. The project aims to advance materials chemistry-aware data science to unify theory and experiment knowledge streams. The work resulted in foundational AI frameworks for materials chemistry – Deep Reasoning Networks (DRNets), Hierarchical Correlation Learning for Multi-property Prediction (H-CLMP), and Material-to-Spectrum (Mat2Spec) prediction – as well as a host of strategies for accelerated scientific discoveries through principled incorporation of data science in computational and experimental research.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Operational Issues: What Science in Available?

Flight/duty/rest considerations involve two highly complex factors: the diverse demands of aviation operations and human physiology (especially sleep and circadian rhythms). Several core operational issues related to fatigue have been identified, such as minimum rest requirements, duty length, flight time considerations, crossing multiple time zones, and night flying. Operations also can involve on-call reserve status and callout, delays due to unforeseen circumstances (e.g., weather, mechanical), and on-demand flights. Over 40 years of scientific research is now available to apply to these complex issues of flight/duty/rest requirements. This research involves controlled 'laboratory studies, simulations, and data collected during regular flight operations. When flight/duty/rest requirements are determined they are typically based on a variety of considerations, such as operational demand, safety, economic, etc. Rarely has the available, state-of-the-art science been a consideration along with these other factors when determining flight/duty/rest requirements. While the complexity of the operational demand and human physiology precludes an absolute solution, there is an opportunity to take full advantage of the current scientific data. Incorporating these data in a rational operational manner into flight/duty/rest requirements can improve flight crew performance, alertness, and ultimately, aviation safety.

Rosekind, Mark R.↗

NASA’s Advance Information Systems Technology (AIST) Program

NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) develops early-stage technologies to enhance scientific understanding. ESTO’s technologies can be reliably and confidently applied to a broad range of science measurements and missions, as well as facilitate practical applications to benefit society at large. As the lead technology office within the Earth Science Division of the NASA Science Mission Directorate, ESTO is focused on the technological challenges inherent to space-based investigations of our planet's dynamic, interrelated systems. Through flexible, science-driven technology strategies and a competitive selection process, ESTO-funded technologies have supported numerous Earth science missions as well as commercial applications. From next generation sensors and instruments to communication and information systems, ESTO technologies enable many NASA missions and data services. The Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST) Program is one focal area of ESTO. AIST innovates information system technologies that enable the development of new observing systems as well as agile science investigations through data analytics and artificial intelligence tools and algorithms. AIST utilizes an end-to-end development approach with the goal of infusing mature technologies into future missions, measurements, and analysis. One thrust of AIST is data exploitation and analysis using an analytic center framework to make observational data and model output more accessible and usable to scientists conducting specific investigations as well as to extract higher-level science content and information from the data. The framework accelerates scientific discovery by harmonizing the data, tools, and computational resources. NASA’s upcoming Surface, Biology and Geology (SBG) mission is one such mission whose data architecture will leverage many of the technologies developed through the AIST program. This talk will highlight current and future program development goals.

Laura Rogers↗

COMPASS-FME Synoptic Sites Level 1 Sensor Data v1-2

This is the version 1-2 Level 1 (L1) data release for COMPASS-FME environmental sensors located at our synoptic field sites. COMPASS-FME is studying sites in two distinct regions, the Chesapeake Bay and the Western Lake Erie Basin. We established the network at seven "synoptic" (observational) sites along the Chesapeake Bay and Lake Erie coastlines, collectively generating over three million observations per month, to track and comprehend environmental changes where land and water intersect. Additionally, the two regions provide an interesting contrast of saltwater and freshwater coasts that allow us to differentiate the impacts of inundation and coastal water chemistries in two nationally important coastal systems.L1 data are close to raw, but are units-transformed and have out-of-instrument-bounds and out-of-service flags added. Duplicates and missing data are removed but otherwise these data are not filtered, and have not been subject to any additional algorithmic or human QA/QC. Any scientific analyses of L1 data should be performed with care. **This dataset will be updated quarterly with new data for the duration of the project**This dataset includes:- An overall dataset README file that describes the current version, gives citation and contact information, etc.- Site- and year-specific folders, each holding up to 12 CSV (comma separated value) data files for each site and plot in that year.- Metadata files within each site-year folder provide full information on data units, expected ranges, contact information, as well as a general description of the site.- Environmental sensor types that appear in the data files include weather (ClimaVUE50, CS, RM Young, and LI instruments in the graphs below); soil conditions (TEROS12); soil redox state (Redox); groundwater variables (AquaTROLL200 and AquaTROLL600); open water sondes (Exo); tree sap velocity (Sapflow); and system voltage and state (Datalogger). Data are normally logged every 15 minutes. Please see v1-2 Synoptic L1 Sensor Package Quick Start.pdf for detailed information on data package structure, temporal coverage, and versioning.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

COMPASS-FME Terrestrial Ecosystem Manipulation to Probe the Effects of Storm Treatments (TEMPEST) Experiment Level 1 Sensor Data v1-2

This is the version 1-2 Level 1 (L1) data release for COMPASS-FME environmental sensors located at our Terrestrial Ecosystem Manipulation to Probe the Effects of Storm Treatments (TEMPEST) experimental site. This manipulative, ecosystem-scale TEMPEST experiment addresses the potential for freshwater and estuarine-water disturbance events to alter tree function, species composition, and ecosystem processes in a deciduous coastal forest in MD, USA. The experiment uses a large-unit (2000 m2), un-replicated experimental design, with three 50 m × 40 m plots serving as control, freshwater, and estuarine-water treatments.L1 data are close to raw, but are units-transformed and have out-of-instrument-bounds and out-of-service flags added. Duplicates and missing data are removed but otherwise these data are not filtered, and have not been subject to any additional algorithmic or human QA/QC. Any scientific analyses of L1 data should be performed with care. **This dataset will be updated quarterly with new data for the duration of the project**This dataset includes:- An overall dataset README file that describes the current version, gives citation and contact information, etc.- Site- and year-specific folders, each holding up to 12 CSV (comma separated value) data files for each site and plot in that year.- Metadata files within each site-year folder provide full information on data units, expected ranges, contact information, detailed flood times, as well as a general description of the site.- Environmental sensor types that appear in the data files include weather (ClimaVUE50, CS, RM Young, and LI instruments in the graphs below); soil conditions (TEROS12); soil redox state (Redox); groundwater variables (AquaTROLL200 and AquaTROLL600); open water sondes (Exo); tree sap velocity (Sapflow); and system voltage and state (Datalogger). Data are normally logged every 15 minutes.Please see v1-2 TEMPEST L1 Sensor Package Quick Start.pdf for detailed information on data package structure, temporal coverage, and versioning.The TEMPEST flood events occurred on the following dates. They lasted for ~10 hours each day and delivered ~80,000 gallons to each plot; many data streams are available at 1 or 5 minute frequency during these periods.* Tests: Aug 25 (fresh plot) and Sep 9 (salt plot), 2021* TEMPEST 1: June 22, 2022* TEMPEST 2: June 6-7, 2023* TEMPEST 3: June 11-13, 2024

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

COMPASS-FME Synoptic Sites Level 1 Sensor Data v2-1

This is the version 2-1 Level 1 (L1) data release for COMPASS-FME environmental sensors located at our synoptic field sites. COMPASS-FME is studying sites in two distinct regions, the Chesapeake Bay and the Western Lake Erie Basin. We established the network at seven "synoptic" (observational) sites along the Chesapeake Bay and Lake Erie coastlines, collectively generating over three million observations per month, to track and comprehend environmental changes where land and water intersect. Additionally, the two regions provide an interesting contrast of saltwater and freshwater coasts that allow us to differentiate the impacts of inundation and coastal water chemistries in two nationally important coastal systems. L1 data are close to raw, but are units-transformed and have out-of-instrument-bounds, out-of-service, and outlier flags added. Duplicates and missing data are removed but otherwise these data are not filtered, and have not been subject to any additional algorithmic or human QA/QC. Any scientific analyses of L1 data should be performed with care. **This dataset will be updated quarterly with new data for the duration of the project** This dataset includes: - An overall dataset README file that describes the current version, gives citation and contact information, etc. - Site- and year-specific folders, each holding up to 12 CSV (comma separated value) data files for each site and plot in that year. - Metadata files within each site-year folder provide full information on data units, expected ranges, contact information, as well as a general description of the site. - Environmental sensor types that appear in the data files include weather (ClimaVUE50, CS, RM Young, and LI instruments in the graphs below); soil conditions (TEROS12); soil redox state (Redox); groundwater variables (AquaTROLL200 and AquaTROLL600); open water sondes (Exo); tree sap velocity (Sapflow); and system voltage and state (Datalogger). Data are normally logged every 15 minutes. Please see v2-0 Synoptic L1 Sensor Package Quick Start.pdf for detailed information on data package structure, temporal coverage, and versioning. This dataset was updated 2026-03-12: (i) data now go through 2025-12-31 (previous end was 2025-06-30) and (ii) dataset and file names updated to “…v2-1” (previously was “v2-0”).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

COMPASS-FME Terrestrial Ecosystem Manipulation to Probe the Effects of Storm Treatments (TEMPEST) Experiment Level 1 Sensor Data v2-1

This is the version 2-1 Level 1 (L1) data release for COMPASS-FME environmental sensors located at our Terrestrial Ecosystem Manipulation to Probe the Effects of Storm Treatments (TEMPEST) experimental site. This manipulative, ecosystem-scale TEMPEST experiment addresses the potential for freshwater and estuarine-water disturbance events to alter tree function, species composition, and ecosystem processes in a deciduous coastal forest in MD, USA. The experiment uses a large-unit (2000 m2), un-replicated experimental design, with three 50 m × 40 m plots serving as control, freshwater, and estuarine-water treatments. L1 data are close to raw, but are units-transformed and have out-of-instrument-bounds, out-of-service, and outlier flags added. Duplicates and missing data are removed but otherwise these data are not filtered, and have not been subject to any additional algorithmic or human QA/QC. Any scientific analyses of L1 data should be performed with care. **This dataset will be updated quarterly with new data for the duration of the project** This dataset includes: - An overall dataset README file that describes the current version, gives citation and contact information, etc. - Site- and year-specific folders, each holding variable-specific CSV (comma separated value) data files for each site and plot in that year. - Metadata files within each site-year folder provide full information on data units, expected ranges, contact information, detailed flood times, as well as a general description of the site. - Environmental sensor types that appear in the data files include weather (ClimaVUE50, CS, RM Young, and LI instruments in the graphs below); soil conditions (TEROS12); soil redox state (Redox); groundwater variables (AquaTROLL200 and AquaTROLL600); open water sondes (Exo); tree sap velocity (Sapflow); and system voltage and state (Datalogger). Data are normally logged every 15 minutes. Please see v2-1 TEMPEST L1 Sensor Package Quick Start.pdf for detailed information on data package structure, temporal coverage, and versioning. The TEMPEST flood events occurred on the following dates. They lasted for ~10 hours each day and delivered ~80,000 gallons to each plot; many data streams are available at 1 or 5 minute frequency during these periods. * Tests: Aug 25 (fresh plot) and Sep 9 (salt plot), 2021 * TEMPEST 1: June 22, 2022 * TEMPEST 2: June 6-7, 2023 * TEMPEST 3: June 11-13, 2024 This dataset was updated 2026-03-12: (i) data now go through 2025-12-31 (previous end was 2025-06-30) and (ii) dataset and file names updated to “…v2-1” (previously was “v2-0”).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Earth Observing System (EOS) advanced altimetry

In the post-TOPEX era, satellite radar altimeters will be developed with the capability of measuring the earth's surface topography over a wide swath of coverage, rather than just at the satellite's nadir. The identification of potential spacecraft flight missions in the future was studied. The best opportunity was found to be the Earth Observing System (EOS). It is felt that an instrument system that has a broad appeal to the earth sciences community stands a much better chance of being selected as an EOS instrument. Consequently, the Topography and Rain Radar Imager (TARRI) will be proposed as a system that has the capability to profile the Earth's topography regardless of the surface type. The horizontal and height resolutions of interest are obviously significantly different over land, ice, and water; but, the use of radar to provide an all-weather observation capability is applicable to the whole earth. The scientific guidance for the design and development of this instrument and the eventual scientific utilization of the data produced by the TARRI will be provided by seven science teams. The teams are formed around scientific disciplines and are titled: Geology/Geophysics, Hydrology/Rain, Oceanography, Ice/Snow, Geodesy/Orbit/Attitude, Cartography, and Surface Properties/Techniques.

Parsons, C. L.↗

Multimode Data-Compression System

Data-compression system developed to satisfy need for high-speed, high-performance compression of data from sources as diverse as medical images, high-definition television images, audio signals, readouts from scientific instruments, and binary data files. Maximum data-transmission capability of communication channel or storage capacity of storage device multiplied by approximately compression ratio. Various combinations of lossless and lossy compression chosen to suit various data streams.

Fang, Wai-Chi↗

Natural thermoluminescence of Antarctic meteorites and related studies

The natural thermoluminescence (TL) laboratory's primary purpose is to provide data on newly recovered Antarctic meteorites that can be included in discovery announcements and to investigate the scientific implications of the data. Natural TL levels of meteorites are indicators of recent thermal history and terrestrial history, and the data can be used to study the orbital/radiation history of groups of meteorites (e.g., H chondrites) or to study the processes leading to the concentration of meteorites at certain sites in Antarctica. An important application of these data is the identification of fragments, or "pairs" of meteorites produced during atmospheric passage or during terrestrial weathering. Thermoluminescence data are particularly useful for pairing within the most common meteorite classes, which typically exhibit very limited petrographic and chemical diversity. Although not originally part of the laboratory's objectives, TL data are also useful in the identification and classification of petrographically or mineralogically unusual meteorites, including unequilibrated ordinary chondrites and some basaltic achondrites. In support of its primary mission, the laboratory also engages in TL studies of modern falls, finds from hot deserts, and terrestrial analogs and conducts detailed studies of the TL properties of certain classes of meteorites. These studies include the measurement of TL profiles in meteorites, the determination of TL levels of finds from the Sahara and the Nullarbor region of Australia, and comparison of TL data to other indicators of irradiation or terrestrial history, such as cosmogenic noble gas and radionuclide abundances. Our current work can be divided into five subcategories, (a) TL survey of Antarctic meteorites, (b) pairing and field relations of Antarctic meteorites, (c) characterization of TL systematics of meteorites, (d) comparison of natural TL and other terrestrial age indicators for Antarctic meteorites, and for meteorites from hot deserts, and (e) characterization of the TL properties of fusion crust of meteorites.

Benoit, Paul H.↗

Shaping the Future of Self-Driving Autonomous Laboratories Workshop

The "Shaping the Future of Self-Driving Autonomous Laboratories" workshop, held in Denver on November 7-8, 2024, brought together leading experts from materials science and computing to address the growing need to revolutionize scientific research through AI-driven autonomous laboratories. The workshop identified critical challenges, including the integration of heterogeneous data, development of AI systems that understand fundamental physical principles, and comprehensive safety protocols. Key recommendations emerged around developing universal laboratory equipment interfaces, implementing automated metadata collection systems, and creating hybrid AI approaches that combine data-driven learning with scientific principles. The workshop emphasized maintaining human oversight while leveraging automation, transforming scientific education to prepare the next generation of researchers, and establishing a national consortium leveraging DOE facilities as anchors for broader collaboration with academia and industry. Participants stressed the urgency of addressing the growing disconnect between human decision-making timescales and modern instrumentation capabilities, highlighting the need for strategic automation while preserving essential human insight and oversight in the research process.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Atmosphere Explorer set for launch

The Atmosphere Explorer-D (Explorer-54) is described which will explore in detail an area of the earth's outer atmosphere where important energy transfer, atomic and molecular processes, and chemical reactions occur that are critical to the heat balance of the atmosphere. Data are presented on the mission facts, launch vehicle operations, AE-D/Delta flight events, spacecraft description, scientific instruments, tracking, and data acquisition.

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