Search NASA⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Kirby, T. B.

Publications and source records attributed to Kirby, T. B..

6 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1974

Wind flow over simulated structures for Martian and terrestrial atmospheres

A two-dimensional nonlinear hydrodynamic calculation is presented of a 50-m/sec wind flowing past a simulated Martian crater, and an attempt is made to reproduce a wind flow observed in a California valley. The computer program and boundary conditions used in the calculation are described, and streamlines of the flow over the simulated crater are plotted. The attempt to calculate the wind flow over Owens Valley, California, is made to test the validity of the results for the Martian wind. It is shown that the Martian calculation yields a quasi-steady flow similar to that produced in a wind tunnel simulation of a similar problem. The California wind could not be reproduced with a coarsely resolved calculation, leaving the validity of the Martian calculation and the wind tunnel simulation in doubt.

Jones, E. M.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Mariner 9 television reconnaissance of Mars and its satellites - Preliminary results.

At orbit insertion, the Martian surface was largely obscured by a dust haze with an extinction optical depth that ranged from near unity in the south polar region to probably greater than two over most of the planet. The only features clearly visible were the south polar cap, one dark spot in Nix Olympica, and three dark spots in the Tharsis region. During the third week, the atmosphere began to clear and surface visibility improved, but contrasts remained a fraction of their normal value. Each of the dark spots that apparently protrude through most of the dust-filled atmosphere has a crater or crater complex in its center. The craters apparently were formed by subsidence and resemble terrestrial calderas.

Masursky, H.↗