Engineering topics

Brinckerhoff, W.

Publications and source records attributed to Brinckerhoff, W..

6 records

NASA NTRS2016

Saturn PRobe Interior and aTmosphere Explorer (SPRITE)

The Vision and Voyages Planetary Decadal Survey identified a Saturn Probe mission as one of the high priority New Frontiers mission targets[1]. Many aspects of the Saturn system will not have been fully investigated at the end of the Cassini mission, because of limitations in its implementation and science instrumentation. Fundamental measurements of the interior structure and noble gas abundances of Saturn are needed to better constrain models of Solar System formation, as well as to provide an improved context for exoplanet systems. The SPRITE mission will fulfill the scientific goals of the Decadal Survey Saturn probe mission. It will also provide ground truth for quantities constrained by Cassini and conduct new investigations that improve our understanding of Saturn's interior structure and composition, and by proxy, those of extrasolar giant planets.

PRobe↗

NASA NTRS2015

The Icebreaker Mission to Search for Life on Mars

The search for evidence of life on Mars is the ultimate motivation for its scientific exploration. The results from the Phoenix mission indicate that the high N. latitude ice-rich regolith at low elevations is likely to be a recently habitable place on Mars [Stoker et al., 2010]. The near-surface ice likely provided adequate water activity during periods of high obliquity, 3 to 10 Myr ago. Carbon dioxide and nitrogen are present in the atmosphere, and nitrates may be present in the soil. Together with iron in basaltic rocks and perchlorate in the soil they provide carbon and energy sources, and oxidative power to drive metabolism. Furthermore, the presence of organics is possible, as thermally reactive perchlorate would have prevented their detection by Viking and Phoenix. The Mars Icebreaker Life mission [McKay et al., 2013] focuses on the following science goals: (1) Search for biomolecular evidence of life; (2) Search for organic matter from either exogeneous or endogeneous sources using methods that are not effected by the presence of perchlorate; (3) Characterize oxidative species that produced reactivity of soils seen by Viking; and 4) Assess the habitability of the ice bearing soils. The Icebreaker Life payload (Figure 1) includes a 1-m rotary percussive drill that brings cuttings samples to the surface where they are delivered to three instruments (Fig. 1), the Signs of Life Detector (SOLID) [Parro et al., 2011] for biomolecular analysis, Laser Desorption Mass Spectrometer (LDMS) [??? 2015]) for broad spectrum organic analysis, and Wet Chemistry Laboratory (WCL) [Hecht et al., 2009] for detecting soluble species of nutrients and reactive oxidants. The Icebreaker payload fits on the Phoenix spacecraft and can land at the well-characterized Phoe-nix landing site in 2020 in a Discovery-class mission.

Carbon dioxide and nitrogen↗

NASA NTRS2014

Development of a Linear Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (LITMS) Investigation for Future Planetary Surface Missions

Future surface missions to Mars and other planetary bodies will benefit from continued advances in miniature sensor and sample handling technologies that enable high-performance chemical analyses of natural samples. Fine-scale (approx.1 mm and below) analyses of rock surfaces and interiors, such as exposed on a drill core, will permit (1) the detection of habitability markers including complex organics in association with their original depositional environment, and (2) the characterization of successive layers and gradients that can reveal the time-evolution of those environments. In particular, if broad-based and highly-sensitive mass spectrometry techniques could be brought to such scales, the resulting planetary science capability would be truly powerful. The Linear Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (LITMS) investigation is designed to conduct fine-scale organic and inorganic analyses of short (approx.5-10 cm) rock cores such as could be acquired by a planetary lander or rover arm-based drill. LITMS combines both pyrolysis/gas chromatograph mass spectrometry (GCMS) of sub-sampled core fines, and laser desorption mass spectrometry (LDMS) of the intact core surface, using a common mass analyzer, enhanced from the design used in the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) instrument on the 2018 ExoMars rover. LITMS additionally features developments based on the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) investigation on MSL and recent NASA-funded prototype efforts in laser mass spectrometry, pyrolysis, and precision subsampling. LITMS brings these combined capabilities to achieve its four measurement objectives: (1) Organics: Broad Survey Detect organic molecules over a wide range of molecular weight, volatility, electronegativity, concentration, and host mineralogy. (2) Organic: Molecular Structure Characterize internal molecular structure to identify individual compounds, and reveal functionalization and processing. (3) Inorganic Host Environment Assess the local chemical/mineralogical makeup of organic host phases to help determine deposition and preservation factors. (4) Chemical Stratigraphy Analyze the fine spatial distribution and variation of key species with depth.

Mars↗

NASA NTRS2014

In Situ Probe Science at Saturn

A fundamental goal of solar system exploration is to understand the origin of the solar sys-tem, the initial stages, conditions, and processes by which the solar system formed, how the formation pro-cess was initiated, and the nature of the interstellar seed material from which the solar system was born. Key to understanding solar system formation and subsequent dynamical and chemical evolution is the origin and evolution of the giant planets and their atmospheres. Several theories have been put forward to explain the process of solar system formation, and the origin and evolution of the giant planets and their atmospheres. Each theory offers quantifiable predictions of the abundances of noble gases He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe, and abundances of key isotopic ratios 4He3He, DH, 15N14N, 18O16O, and 13C12C. Detection of certain dis-equilibrium species, diagnostic of deeper internal pro-cesses and dynamics of the atmosphere, would also help discriminate between competing theories. Measurements of the critical abundance profiles of these key constituents into the deeper well-mixed at-mosphere must be complemented by measurements of the profiles of atmospheric structure and dynamics at high vertical resolution and also require in situ explora-tion. The atmospheres of the giant planets can also serve as laboratories to better understand the atmospheric chem-istries, dynamics, processes, and climates on all planets including Earth, and offer a context and provide a ground truth for exoplanets and exoplanetary systems. Additionally, Giant planets have long been thought to play a critical role in the development of potentially habitable planetary systems. In the context of giant planet science provided by the Galileo, Juno, and Cassini missions to Jupiter and Sat-urn, a small, relatively shallow Saturn probe capable of measuring abundances and isotopic ratios of key at-mospheric constituents, and atmospheric structure in-cluding pressures, temperatures, dynamics, and cloud locations and properties not accessible by remote sens-ing can serve to test competing theories of solar system and giant planet origin, chemical, and dynamical evolution.

Interstellar↗

NASA NTRS2014

In situ Probe Science at Saturn

A fundamental goal of solar system exploration is to understand the origin of the solar system, the initial stages, conditions, and processes by which the solar system formed, how the formation process was initiated, and the nature of the interstellar seed material from which the solar system was born. Key to understanding solar system formation and subsequent dynamical and chemical evolution is the origin and evolution of the giant planets and their atmospheres.

saturn↗

NASA NTRS2008

Volatile Analysis by Pyrolysis of Regolith (Vapor) on the Moon using Mass Spectrometry

The identification of lunar resources such as water is a fundamental component of the the NASA Vision for Space Exploration. The Lunar Prospector mission detected high concentrations of hydrogen at the lunar poles that may indicate the presence of water or other volatiles in the lunar regolith [1]. One explanation for the presence of enhanced hydrogen in permanently shadowed crater regions is long term trapping of water-ice delivered by comets, asteroids, and other meteoritic material that have bombarded the Moon over the last 4 billion years [2]. It is also possible that the hydrogen signal at the lunar poles is due to hydrogen implanted by the solar wind which is delayed from diffusing out of the regolith by the cold temperatures [3]. Previous measurements of the lunar atmosphere by the LACE experiment on Apollo 17, suggested the presence of cold trapped vola'tiles that were expelled by solar heating [4]. In situ composition and isotopic analyses of the lunar regolith will be required to establish the abundance, origin, and distribution of water-ice and other volatiles at the lunar poles. Volatile Analysis by Pyrolysis of Regolith (VAPoR) on the Moon using mass spectrometry is one technique that should be considered. The VAPoR pyrolysis-mass spectrometer (pyr-MS) instrument concept study was selected for funding in 2007 by the NASA Lunar Sortie Science Opportunities (LSSO) Program. VAPoR is a miniature version of the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite currently being developed at NASA Goddard for the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory mission (Fig. 1).

Glavin, D. P.↗