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NASA NTRS1990

A description of the Global Resources Information Database

This paper describes the Global Resources Information Database (GRID), which is part of the Global Environmental Monitoring (GEM) Program. The following four objectives were established for GRID: (1) to collect and disseminate geographical information; (2) to construct within developing countries a geographical information system (GIS); (3) to demonstrate the ability of GIS to fuse global and national data sets for resource and environment management and planning at the national level; and (4) to train individuals from developing countries in remote sensing technology. The activities of GRID are coordinated at the GEM center at Nairobi (Kenya).

Vermillion, Charles H.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Space Network Control Conference on Resource Allocation Concepts and Approaches

The results are presented of the Space Network Control (SNC) Conference. In the late 1990s, when the Advanced Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System is operational, Space Network communication services will be supported and controlled by the SNC. The goals of the conference were to survey existing resource allocation concepts and approaches, to identify solutions applicable to the Space Network, and to identify avenues of study in support of the SNC development. The conference was divided into three sessions: (1) Concepts for Space Network Allocation; (2) SNC and User Payload Operations Control Center (POCC) Human-Computer Interface Concepts; and (3) Resource Allocation Tools, Technology, and Algorithms. Key recommendations addressed approaches to achieving higher levels of automation in the scheduling process.

Moe, Karen L.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Resource representation in COMPASS

A set of viewgraphs on resource representation in COMPASS is given. COMPASS is an incremental, interactive, non-chronological scheduler written in Ada with an X-windows user interface. Beginning with an empty schedule, activities are added to the schedule one at a time, taking into consideration the placement of the activities already on the timeline and the resources that have been reserved for them. The order that the activities are added to the timeline and their location on the timeline are controlled by selection and placement commands invoked by the user. The order that activities are added to the timeline and their location are independent. The COMPASS code library is a cost effective platform for the development of new scheduling applications. It can be effectively used off the shelf for compatible scheduling applications or it can be used as a parts library for the development of custom scheduling systems.

Fox, Barry R.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Accessing Space: A Catalogue of Process, Equipment and Resources for Commercial Users, 1990

A catalogue is presented which is intended for commercial developers who are considering, or who have in progress, a project involving the microgravity environment of space or remote sensing of the Earth. An orientation is given to commercial space activities along with a current inventory of equipment, apparatus, carriers, vehicles, resources, and services available from NASA, other government agencies and U.S. industry. The information describes the array of resources that commercial users should consider when planning ground or space based developments. Many items listed have flown in space or been tested in labs and aboard aircraft and can be reused, revitalized, or adapted to suit specific requirements. New commercial ventures are encouraged to exploit existing inventory and expertise to the greatest extent possible.

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NASA NTRS1991

Using space resources

The topics covered include the following: reducing the cost of space exploration; the high cost of shipping; lunar raw materials; some useful space products; energy from the moon; ceramic, glass, and concrete construction materials; mars atmosphere resources; relationship to the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI); an evolutionary approach to using space resources; technology development; and oxygen and metal coproduction.

Sullivan, Thomas A.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Analyses of exobiological and potential resource materials in the Martian soil

Potential Martian soil components relevant to exobiology include water, organic matter, evaporites, clays, and oxides. These materials are also resources for human expeditions to Mars. When found in particular combinations, some of these materials constitute diagnostic paleobiomarker suites, allowing insight to be gained into the probability of life originating on Mars. Critically important to exobiology is the method of data analysis and data interpretation. To that end, methods of analysis of potential biomarker and paleobiomarker compounds and resource materials in soils and rocks pertinent to Martian geology are investigated. Differential thermal analysis coupled with gas chromotography is shown to be a highly useful analytical technique for detecting this wide and complex variety of materials.

Mancinelli, Rocco L.↗

NASA NTRS1992

A strategy for investment in space resource utilization

Considerations governing a strategy for investment in the utilization of space resources are discussed. It is suggested on the basis of an examination of current trends in terms of historical processes which operate on new frontiers that the limited markets and unfamiliar technologies associated with space commercialization today may change dramatically in 20 years when lunar resources are accessible. It is argued that the uncertainty of such projections discourages investment at a useful scale unless a strategy for technology development can be implemented which provides tangible and marketable benefits in the intermediate term. At present, technologies can be identified which will be required (and therefore valuable) at the time of lunar settlement, and whose development can be planned to yield marketable intermediate products on earth. It is concluded that the formation of precompetitive collaborative research consortia in the industrial sector could reduce technical and economic risk in the early stages and could promote a favorable political environment for the future growth of space activities.

Mendell, Wendell W.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Resource constrained design of artificial neural networks using comparator neural network

We present a systematic design method executed under resource constraints for automating the design of artificial neural networks using the back error propagation algorithm. Our system aims at finding the best possible configuration for solving the given application with proper tradeoff between the training time and the network complexity. The design of such a system is hampered by three related problems. First, there are infinitely many possible network configurations, each may take an exceedingly long time to train; hence, it is impossible to enumerate and train all of them to completion within fixed time, space, and resource constraints. Second, expert knowledge on predicting good network configurations is heuristic in nature and is application dependent, rendering it difficult to characterize fully in the design process. A learning procedure that refines this knowledge based on examples on training neural networks for various applications is, therefore, essential. Third, the objective of the network to be designed is ill-defined, as it is based on a subjective tradeoff between the training time and the network cost. A design process that proposes alternate configurations under different cost-performance tradeoff is important. We have developed a Design System which schedules the available time, divided into quanta, for testing alternative network configurations. Its goal is to select/generate and test alternative network configurations in each quantum, and find the best network when time is expended. Since time is limited, a dynamic schedule that determines the network configuration to be tested in each quantum is developed. The schedule is based on relative comparison of predicted training times of alternative network configurations using comparator network paradigm. The comparator network has been trained to compare training times for a large variety of traces of TSSE-versus-time collected during back-propagation learning of various applications.

Wah, Benjamin W.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Alternative scenarios utilizing nonterrestrial resources

A collection of alternative scenarios that are enabled or substantially enhanced by the utilization of nonterrestrial resources is provided. We take a generalized approach to scenario building so that our report will have value in the context of whatever goals are eventually chosen. Some of the topics covered include the following: lunar materials processing; asteroid mining; lunar resources; construction of a large solar power station; solar dynamic power for the space station; reduced gravity; mission characteristics and options; and tourism.

Eldred, Charles H.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Space resources. Volume 3: Materials

Space Resources addresses the issues of using space resources to support life on the Moon and for exploration of Mars. This volume - Materials - covers a number of technical and policy issues regarding the materials in space (mainly lunar and asteroidal) which can be used to support space operations. In part 1, nature and location of these materials, exploration strategy, evaluation criteria, and the technical means to collect or mine these materials is discussed. A baseline lunar mine and the basics of asteroid mining are presented and critiqued. In part 2, the beneficiation of ores and the extraction of such materials as oxygen, metals, and the makings of concrete are discussed. In part 3, the manufacturing and fabrication of nonterrestrial products are discussed. The economic tradeoffs between bringing needed products from Earth and making these products on location in space is considered.

Mckay, Mary Fae↗

NASA NTRS1992

Lunar exploration for resource utilization

The strategy for developing resources on the Moon depends on the stage of space industrialization. A case is made for first developing the resources needed to provide simple materials required in large quantities for space operations. Propellants, shielding, and structural materials fall into this category. As the enterprise grows, it will be feasible to develop additional sources - those more difficult to obtain or required in smaller quantities. Thus, the first materials processing on the Moon will probably take the abundant lunar regolith, extract from it major mineral or glass species, and do relatively simple chemical processing. We need to conduct a lunar remote sensing mission to determine the global distribution of features, geophysical properties, and composition of the Moon, information which will serve as the basis for detailed models of and engineering decisions about a lunar mine.

Duke, Michael B.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Lunar material resources: An overview

The analysis of returned lunar samples and a comparison of the physical and chemical processes operating on the Moon and on the Earth provide a basis for predicting both the possible types of material resources (especially minerals and rocks) and the physical characteristics of ore deposits potentially available on the Moon. The lack of free water on the Moon eliminates the classes of ore deposits that are most exploitable on Earth; namely, (1) hydrothermal, (2) secondary mobilization and enrichment, (3) precipitation from a body of water, and (4) placer. The types of lunar materials available for exploitation are whole rocks and their contained minerals, regolith, fumarolic and vapor deposits, and nonlunar materials, including solar wind implantations. Early exploitation of lunar material resources will be primarily the use of regolith materials for bulk shielding; the extraction from regolith fines of igneous minerals such as plagioclase feldspars and ilmenite for the production of oxygen, structural metals, and water; and possibly the separation from regolith fines of solar-wind-implanted volatiles. The only element, compound, or mineral, that by itself has been identified as having the economic potential for mining, processing, and return to Earth is helium-3.

Carter, James L.↗

NASA NTRS1992

An Alpha-p-x Analytical Instrument for Lunar Resource Investigations

An instrument using alpha backscattering, alpha-proton nuclear reactions, and x-ray production by alpha particles and other auxiliary sources can be used on lunar landers to provide detailed analytical information concerning the lunar surface material. This information is important scientifically and can be the basis for utilizing efficiently lunar resources to build lunar colonies in the future. This alpha particle instrument uses radioactive isotopes, silicon detectors for the alpha and proton modes, and mercuric iodide detectors operating at room temperature for the x-ray mode. The alpha and proton modes of the instrument can provide an analysis for all elements (except hydrogen) present in amounts greater than about 1 percent by atom. These modes have excellent sensitivity and accuracy for the lighter elements, in particular, directly determining the amount of oxygen in the lunar soil. This is an element of paramount significance for the lunar resource mission. The x-ray mode makes possible a determination of Ti, Fe, and other important metals with even greater accuracy. In general, the x-ray mode provides increased sensitivity for heavier elements, in many cases achieving a sensitivity of several hundred ppm.

Economou, T. E.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Lunar Magnetic Fields: Implications for Resource Utilization

It is well known that solar-wind-implanted hydrogen and helium-3 in lunar soils are potentially usable resources for future manned activities. For economical mining of these implanted gases, it is desirable that relative concentrations exceed that of typical soils. It has previously been noted that the monthly variation of solar wind flux on the surface due to lunar immersion in the geomagnetic tail may have measurable consequences for resource utilization. It is pointed out that, for a constant external flux, locally strong lunar crustal magnetic fields will exert the dominant influence on solar wind volatile implantation rates. In particular, the strongest lunar crustal magnetic fields will both deflect and focus incident ions in local regions leading to local enhancements of the incident ion flux. Thus, the most economical sites for extraction of solar-wind-implanted volatiles may be within or adjacent to strong crustal magnetic fields. In addition, solar wind ion deflection by crustal magnetic fields must be considered in evaluating the issue of whether remnant cometary ice or water-bearing minerals have survived in permanently shadowed regions near the lunar poles. This is because sputter erosion of water ice by solar wind ions has been suggested to be an important ice loss mechanism within permanently shadowed regions. Thus, permanently shadowed regions that are also shielded from the solar wind by locally strong crustal fields could be the most promising locations for the survival of cometary ice. Additional numerical simulations are employed to show that solar wind ion deflection by strong lunar magnetic anomalies can produce local increases in the implantation rate of solar wind gases such as hydrogen.

Hood, L. L.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Program/project management resource lists

The Program/Project Management Collection at NASA Headquarters Library is part of a larger initiative by the Training and Development Division, Code FT, NASA Headquarters. The collection is being developed to support the Program/Project Management Initiative which includes the training of NASA managers. These PPM Resource Lists have proven to be a useful method of informing NASA employees nationwide about the subject coverage of the library collection. All resources included on the lists are available at or through NASA Headquarters Library. NASA employees at other Centers may request listed books through interlibrary loan, and listed articles by contacting me by phone, mail, or e-mail.

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NASA NTRS1993

Programs and resources for control of job stress in the Federal workplace

A couple of weeks ago, the American Psychological Association and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health held a conference in Washingtion, D.C. entitled 'Stress in the 90's'. At this conference the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) conducted a session on 'Programs and Resources for the Control of Job Stress in the Federal Workplace'. I am going to present an overview of that three-hour session and some related information from the conference. My discussion covers stress terminology and models, selected programs and resources, evaluation research, some concerns about our progress, and plans to expand our efforts at OPM.

Joice, Wendell↗

NASA NTRS1993

Evaluation of lunar rocks and soils for resource utilization: Detailed image analysis of raw materials and beneficiated products

The rocks and soils of the Moon will be the raw materials for fuels and construction needs at a lunar base. This includes sources of materials for the generation of hydrogen, oxygen, metals, and other potential construction materials. For most of the bulk material needs, the regolith, and its less than 1 cm fraction, the soil, will suffice. But for specific mineral resources, it may be necessary to concentrate minerals from rocks or soils, and it is not always obvious which is the more appropriate feedstock. Besides an appreciation of site geology, the mineralogy and petrography of local rocks and soils is important for consideration of the resources which can provide feedstocks of ilmenite, glass, agglutinates, anorthite, etc. In such studies, it is very time-consuming and practically impossible to correlate particle counts (the traditional method of characterizing lunar soil petrography) with accurate modal analyses and with mineral associations in multi-mineralic grains. But x ray digital imaging, using x rays characteristic of each element, makes all this possible and much more (e.g., size and shape analysis). An application of beneficiation image analysis, in use in our lab (Oxford Instr. EDS and Cameca SX-50 EMP), was demonstrated to study mineral liberation from lunar rocks and soils. Results of x ray image analysis are presented.

Taylor, Lawrence A.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Resource allocation planning with international components

Dumas, Briggs, Reid and Smith (1989) describe the need for identifying mutually acceptable methodologies for developing standard agreements for the exchange of tracking time or facility use among international components. One possible starting point is the current process used at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in planning the use of tracking resources. While there is a significant promise of better resource utilization by international cooperative agreements, there is a serious challenge to provide convenient user participation given the separate project and network locations. Coordination among users and facility providers will require a more decentralized communication process and a wider variety of automated planning tools to help users find potential exchanges. This paper provides a framework in which international cooperation in the utilization of ground based space communication systems can be facilitated.

Burke, Gene↗