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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 1,567 records · Page 87
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1992

Future scientific exploration of Taurus-Littrow

The Apollo 17 site was surveyed with great skill and the collected samples have been studied thoroughly (but not completely) in the 20 years since. Ironically, the success of the field and sample studies makes the site an excellent candidate for a return mission. Rather than solving all the problems, the Apollo 17 mission provided a set of sophisticated questions that can be answered only by returning to the site and exploring further. This paper addresses the major unsolved problems in lunar science and points out the units at the Apollo 17 site that are most suitable for addressing each problem. It then discusses how crucial data can be obtained by robotic rovers and human field work. I conclude that, in general, the most important information can be obtained only by human exploration. The paper ends with some guesses about what we could have learned at the Apollo 17 site from a fairly sophisticated rover capable of in situ analyses, instead of sending people.

Taylor, G. Jeffrey↗
NASA NTRS1998

Precise Image-Based Motion Estimation for Autonomous Small Body Exploration

Space science and solar system exploration are driving NASA to develop an array of small body missions ranging in scope from near body flybys to complete sample return. This paper presents an algorithm for onboard motion estimation that will enable the precision guidance necessary for autonomous small body landing. Our techniques are based on automatic feature tracking between a pair of descent camera images followed by two frame motion estimation and scale recovery using laser altimetry data. The output of our algorithm is an estimate of rigid motion (attitude and position) and motion covariance between frames. This motion estimate can be passed directly to the spacecraft guidance and control system to enable rapid execution of safe and precise trajectories.

Johnson, Andrew E.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Pulsed-Laser Irradiation Space Weathering Of A Carbonaceous Chondrite

Grains on the surfaces of airless bodies experience irradiation from solar energetic particles and melting, vaporization and recondensation processes associated with micrometeorite impacts. Collectively, these processes are known as space weathering and they affect the spectral properties, composition, and microstructure of material on the surfaces of airless bodies, e.g. Recent efforts have focused on space weathering of carbonaceous materials which will be critical for interpreting results from the OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2 missions targeting primitive, organic-rich asteroids. In addition to returned sample analyses, space weathering processes are quantified through laboratory experiments. For example, the short-duration thermal pulse from hypervelocity micrometeorite impacts have been simulated using pulsed-laser irradiation of target material e.g. Recent work however, has shown that pulsed-laser irradiation has variable effects on the spectral properties and microstructure of carbonaceous chondrite samples. Here we investigate the spectral characteristics of pulsed-laser irradiated CM2 carbonaceous chondrite, Murchison, including the vaporized component. We also report the chemical and structural characteristics of specific mineral phases within the meteorite as a result of pulsed-laser irradiation.

Thompson, M. S.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Advances in Small Particle Handling of Astromaterials in Preparation for OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2: Initial Developments

The Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation office at NASA Johnson Space Center has established an Advanced Curation program that is tasked with developing procedures, technologies, and data sets necessary for the curation of future astromaterials collections as envisioned by NASA exploration goals. One particular objective of the Advanced Curation program is the development of new methods for the collection, storage, handling and characterization of small (less than 100 micrometer) particles. Astromaterials Curation currently maintains four small particle collections: Cosmic Dust that has been collected in Earth's stratosphere by ER2 and WB-57 aircraft, Comet 81P/Wild 2 dust returned by NASA's Stardust spacecraft, interstellar dust that was returned by Stardust, and asteroid Itokawa particles that were returned by the JAXA's Hayabusa spacecraft. NASA Curation is currently preparing for the anticipated return of two new astromaterials collections - asteroid Ryugu regolith to be collected by Hayabusa2 spacecraft in 2021 (samples will be provided by JAXA as part of an international agreement), and asteroid Bennu regolith to be collected by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft and returned in 2023. A substantial portion of these returned samples are expected to consist of small particle components, and mission requirements necessitate the development of new processing tools and methods in order to maximize the scientific yield from these valuable acquisitions. Here we describe initial progress towards the development of applicable sample handling methods for the successful curation of future small particle collections.

Snead, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Application of Risk Informed Decision Making to Highly Reliable Three Dimensionally Woven Thermal Protection System for Mars Sample Return

The NASA Risk Informed Decision Making process is used to assess a trade space of three dimensionally woven thermal protection systems for application to the Mars Sample Return Earth Entry Vehicle. Candidate architectures are assessed based on mission assurance, technical development, cost, and schedule risk. Assessment methodology differed between the architectures, utilizing a four-point quantitative scale for mission assurance and technical development and highly tailored PERT techniques for cost and schedule. Risk results are presented, in addition to a review of RIDM effectiveness for this application.

Needels, J.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Application of Risk Informed Decision Making to a Highly Reliable Three-Dimensionally Woven Thermal Protection System for Mars Sample Return

The NASA Risk Informed Decision Making process is used to assess a trade space of three dimensionally woven thermal protection systems for application to the Mars Sample Return Earth Entry Vehicle. Candidate architectures are assessed based on mission assurance, technical development, cost, and schedule risk. Assessment methodology differed between the architectures, utilizing a four-point quantitative scale for mission assurance and technical development and highly tailored PERT techniques for cost and schedule. Risk results are presented, in addition to a review of RIDM effectiveness for this application.

Needels, J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

The MUSES CN Rover and Asteroid Exploration Mission

NASA and Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) have agreed to cooperate on the first mission to collect samples from the surface of an asteroid and return them to Earth for in-dept study.

asteroid↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Relative Detectability of Iron-Bearing Phases for the Mars 2020 Sherloc Deep UV Raman Instrument: 1. Focusing on Carbonates

A deep ultraviolet (DUV) Raman and fluorescence instrument is a surface standoff instrument mounted on the robotic arm of the Mars 2020 (M2020) rover Perseverance, and it is a key element of the Scanning Habitable Environments with Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) investigation [1]. Measurement and science objectives include mineralogical and organic images (~100 μm/pixel) that map sub-millimeter spatial distributions and characterization of primary and secondary minerals, potential organics, and their interaction/alteration products. The results of data analysis pertain to understanding igneous and alteration processes on Mars through time, assessing habitability, evidencing in situ biosignatures, and, along with results from other Perseverance instruments, selecting samples to cache for Mars sample return. Acceptance of the SHERLOC investigation for the NASA M2020 mission [2] created a need for Mars-relevant DUV Raman spectra, particularly for inorganic materials [e.g., 3, 4]. As reported previously [e.g., 4, 5], phases with Fe cations as essential elements (e.g., siderite (FeCO3) and ankerite (FeCa(CO3)2) for carbonates) significantly hinder detection by DUV Raman because of intense absorption of incident and scattered DUV laser radiation by Fe cations. We report here the relative detectability of carbonates (Mg,Ca,Fe,Mn)CO3 by DUV Raman using a SHERLOC analog laboratory instrument.

R V Morris↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Crater Retention Observations of the Crater Floor–Fractured Rough Unit in Jezero Crater

A main goal of the Mars2020 Perseverance Rover mission is to provide a compelling suite of samples for eventual return to Earth [1]. A high priority goal for Mars Sample Return is calibrating Mars’ crater retention isochrons that are used to date geologic surfaces and events across the planet [2]. Several factors are necessary to consider what type of rock would be most useful for this purpose: ability to retain craters across a large exposure, access to drillable outcrop, identifiable stratigraphic context, and understanding why this specific rock type preferentially retains crater morphology. Now that we’ve seen the surface and sampled some of the main constituent outcrops on the Crater Floor – Fractured Rough unit [3, Simon et al, this conference] (Figure 1), we can begin assessing which rocks can help us achieve this important goal to not only understand the age relationships between stratigraphic units in Jezero crater, but also improve age estimates across Mars.

Mars 2020↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Presolar C- and O-rich Grains in the Matrix and a Clast in Asteroid Ryugu

Presolar grains formed in the outflows of dying stars and some have been preserved in primitive meteorites, interplanetary dust particles, and comet Wild 2 samples. Presolar silicates are one of the most abundant presolar phases, but are prone to destruction by parent body hydrothermal alteration. Refractory presolar phases, such as oxides and carbides, are more resistant to such alteration. Samples from asteroid Ryugu returned by JAXA’s Haya-busa2 mission show evidence for extensive aqueous alteration. To constrain the abundance of presolar grains in Ryugu, we conducted NanoSIMS isotopic mapping of fragments of a C0002 grain from Chamber C, perhaps from the asteroid sub-surface.

A N Nguyen↗
NASA NTRS2024

Organic Matter and Nanoglobules in Bennu Samples Revealed By Coordinated UV Fluorescence, SEM-EDX, and Two-Step Laser Mass Spectrometry

Carbonaceous meteorites are derived from asteroids, although specific parent bodies are generally unknown. However, on September 24, 2023, NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission delivered regolith from the carbonaceous B-type asteroid (101955) Bennu, enabling coordinated laboratory analysis of pristine samples, with a well characterized geological context, from an asteroid of known provenance. One of primary mission goals [1] was the identification and characterization of primordial organic matter present in the returned samples. We report results from the coordinated analyses of Bennu samples using UV fluorescence, two-step laser mass spectrometry (μ-L2MS) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX).

Asteroid Bennu↗
NASA NTRS2017

A PCR Based Microbial Monitoring Alternative Method of Detection and Identification of Microbes Aboard ISS

Previous research has shown that microorganisms and potential human pathogens have been detected on the International Space Station (ISS) with additional introduction of new microflora occurring with every exchange of crew or addition of equipment and supplies. These microbes are readily transferred between crew and subsystems (i.e. ECLSS, environmental control and life support systems). As this can be detrimental to astronaut health and optimal performance of ISS systems, monitoring of systems such as ECLSS to include identification of microbial contaminants could prevent adverse effects on human health and life support systems. Current monitoring on ISS is laborious and utilizes culture based methods followed by sample return to Earth for complete analysis. Future, long-distance spaceflight missions will require real-time monitoring capabilities that enable efficient and rapid assessments of the microbial environment allowing for expedited decisions and more targeted response to cope with anomalies. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a molecular microbial monitoring method was chosen and numerous PCR instruments investigated for their potential to perform in microgravity conditions. Using ISS as a test bed for PCR verification in microgravity will enable NASA to assess whether molecular based microbiological sensors may be components of reliable, closed-loop life support and habitation systems in spacecraft, enhancing infrastructure capabilities through increased efficiency, reliability, and time savings by enabling sample analysis on orbit. NASA selected the Water Monitoring Suite as one of the rapid spaceflight hardware demonstration activities utilizing a streamlined process to minimize the time required to fly experimental flight hardware. The RAZOR EX (BioFire Defense, Salt Lake City, UT) system was part of the water monitoring suite and is a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) real-time PCR instrument designed for field work. The RAZOR EX was originally designed for Department of Defense (DoD) under a small business innovative research (SBIR) grant and is ruggedized, compact and provides a rapid, sample to answer in less than an hour. PCR assays using a fluorescent probe were optimized and spiked with known concentrations of DNA (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) ranging from 0.002 to 20 ng. PCR reagents were lyophilized and configured in customized pouches and tested for flight readiness. Three types of water were used to rehydrate the reagents and demonstrate the fidelity of the PCR reaction in microgravity. Molecular grade deionized water served as a control while filtered and unfiltered ISS potable water served to test for chemical or biological inhibitors. All three types were compared to parallel ground test results. Nine tests were run on ISS (3 of each water type) and the critical threshold cycle (Ct) was compared to parallel ground tests completed at Kennedy Space Center, FL and Johnson Space Center, TX. All concentrations of Pseudomonas aeruginosa DNA were detected. A comparison of the Ct produced in real time PCR indicated similarity between flight and ground samples. There appeared to be no significant difference between flight or ground PCR reactions or between any of the three water types. This testing demonstrated the ability to perform molecular testing during spaceflight operations with similar sensitivity. It will allow for future ground development of molecular protocols and minimize the need for spaceflight testing. Future testing will include development of additional targets including environmental and health related organisms.

Christina Khodadad↗
NASA NTRS1975

Optical contamination evidence from Skylab and Gemini flights

Final results from a part of the T027 experiment performed on the first Skylab mission are presented. The sample array system containing 248 optical surfaces and exposed outside the orbital workshop did not collect any significant contaminants. Unfortunate performance compromises and the relative cleanliness of the assembly on the antisolar side placed the amount of available surface contaminants at or below the limiting sensitivity of the ground measuring instruments. Significant contamination was seen near the extravehicular hatch quadrant on the solar side of the orbiting assembly, and some results from returned samples are presented. Optical windows and mirrors exposed on the Gemini 12 mission showed degradation up to 35% in the UV wavelength region and solar absorptance increases up to 1.8 times the clean values. An expression for the attenuation coefficient vs wavelength is presented. The contaminant, a silicone base material, varied in thickness from 22 nm to 88 nm. The postflight scattered luminance of a contaminated Gemini 12 left-hand spacecraft hatch window was used to obtain threshold stellar visibility curves as a function of scattered and incident sunlight angles.

Muscari, J. A.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Conceptual Architecture for Venus Surface Sample Return

A conceptual architecture for retrieval of a sample of the surface of Venus is proposed. The mission concept incorporates a high-temperature aircraft to retrieve the sample from the surface and raise it into the upper atmosphere, a balloon-borne platform to produce fuel from the carbon dioxide atmosphere of Venus, and a launch vehicle to bring the sample into Venus orbit, where it is retrieved by an Earth-return vehicle.

Venus↗
NASA NTRS2023

Investigating the Impact of X-Ray Computed Tomography Imaging on Soluble Organic Matter in the Murchison Meteorite: Implications for Bennu Sample Analyses

X-ray computed tomography (XCT) is a valuable reconnaissance tool for three-dimensional imaging and identification of distinct lithologies in extraterrestrial samples. It will be used as part of the preliminary examination of samples returned from asteroid (101955) Bennu by the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission. However, it must first be established whether x-rays generated during XCT could degrade or alter the organic composition of the returned samples by radiolysis. To test this, we split a crushed sample of the Murchison CM2 meteorite, kept one portion as a control, and irradiated the other portion up to the maximum x-ray dosage (~180 Gy) that a Bennu sample would experience during an XCT imaging experiment. We then extracted organic compounds from both splits and conducted (i) nontargeted soluble organic analyses to compare the chemical distributions of C-, H-, O-, N-, and S-bearing species and (ii) targeted measurements to quantify the abundances of 96 individual soluble organic molecules that included protein amino acids, amines, carboxylic acids, hydroxy acids, carbonyl compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, sugars, and N-heterocycles. We found that XCT imaging of the Murchison meteorite had no measurable impact on the relative abundances or enantiomeric compositions of most of the soluble organic compounds targeted in this study. Elevated total abundances of several soluble organic compound classes were observed in the XCT-scanned Murchison sample relative to the control. This is likely related to particle size heterogeneity and specific surface area differences between the sample aliquots used for the extractions, rather than a result of the x-ray exposure. Assuming the samples returned from asteroid Bennu by OSIRIS-REx have a similar composition to carbonaceous chondrites, these data provide confidence that XCT will not significantly alter their soluble organic compositions.

Daniel P Glavin↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Impact of NASA’s Entry Systems Modeling Project on Planetary Mission Design

Planetary missions continue to grow larger and more complex. Furthermore, the current focus on human exploration of the Moon and Mars, as well as Mars Sample Return(MSR), place increas-ingly stringent requirements on the reliability of the entry, descent, and landing (EDL) system that ensures the safe delivery of payload or crew to their destination. Planetary EDL is an area in which mission designers are critically reliant on modeling and simulation to demonstrate the reliability of the system, as there are no ground facilities that are able to fully test these systems in a flight-relevant environment. NASA’s state-of-the-art modeling and simulation capability must continually evolve to meet the needs of the next generation of planetary EDL. To accomplish this aim, NASA’s Entry Systems Modeling (ESM) Project was formed in 2013and is funded bythe Space Technology Mission Directorate(STMD) and Science Mission Directorate (SMD). ESM is the Agency’s only cross-cutting effort for advancing entry systems modeling and simulation capabilities across a range of technical disciplines and Solar System destinations. ESM is a portfolio project covering a variety of mid-TRL research efforts within four core EDL-related areas of investment: (1) Thermal protection material modeling, (2) Shock layer kinetics and radiation, (3) Aerosciences, and (4) Guidance, navigation, and con-trol. The material modeling group creates detailed material response modelsof thermal protection systems (TPS)from the micro to macro scale, and at the fun-damental and engineering levels. Shock layer kinetics and radiation focuses on radiative heating of space-craft, quantum chemistry and benchmark experiments for validation.Aerosciences is a broad research area that impacts many aspects of entry systems, including parachutes, aerodynamics, and turbulent heating augmentation due to TPS roughness.The guidance, navigation,and control effort under ESM is expanding the capabilities of NASA’s main flight mechanics tool, POST2, for use on high-performance computing architectures and to generalize interoperability with external applications for more detailed end-to-end simula-tion.In addition, several focusedresearch topics have been approvedto augment ESM’s core portfolio. These include efforts for deep post-flight analysis of Mars 2020/MEDLI2 flight data; development ofTPS failure models; improvement of hypersonic wakeflow models; and a recently concluded effort to provide material response models for NuSil-coated PICA heat-shield material. This presentation will discuss each of these investment areas and demonstrate via real mission examples how advances to the state-of-the-art enabled by ESM are directly impacting the missions of today and tomorrow, including InSight, Mars 2020, Mars Sample Return, Orion, and Dragonfly.

Entry Systems Modeling↗
DOE OSTI2018

Elemental Composition of Analogs to Mars Return Samples Studied with X-Ray Fluorescence Imaging at NSLS-II

In 2020, NASA will launch out into the first step of what may be an ambitious, multi-mission campaign with the goal to bring back for analysis in laboratories here to Earth a collection of rock, regolith, and atmosphere samples from Mars. It is the main objective of this endeavor to determine whether or not Mars was ever host to ancient microbial life. Finding evidence for extinct (or extant) life on Mars has the potential to fundamentally alter our view of the origin and evolution of life. It would provide proof for Earth being just one amongst others regarding the question of biological activity in the Solar System. Furthermore, returned Martian samples would provide a rich repository of information on the history of planetary accretion and differentiation, geochronology, atmospheric evolution, and the paleo-environmental history of Mars, adding tremendous additional value to such a mission beyond the issue of extraterrestrial life. Here the potential knowledge to be obtained by such a collection of samples will equal or exceed that of the Apollo lunar sample archive, which even today yields new insights on the history of the Solar System, over 40 years after they were returned to Earth.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗