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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1992

Mechanisms of nascent fiber formation during avian skeletal muscle hypertrophy

This study examined two putative mechanisms of new fiber formation in postnatal skeletal muscle, namely longitudinal fragmentation of existing fibers and de novo formation. The relative contributions of these two mechanisms to fiber formation in hypertrophying anterior latissimus dorsi (ALD) muscle were assessed by quantitative analysis of their nuclear populations. Muscle hypertrophy was induced by wing-weighting for 1 week. All nuclei formed during the weighting period were labeled by continuous infusion of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU), a thymidine analog, and embryonic-like fibers were identified using an antibody to ventricular-like embryonic (V-EMB) myosin. The number of BrdU-labeled and unlabeled nuclei in V-EMB-positive fibers were counted. Wing-weighting resulted in significant muscle enlargement and the appearance of many V-EMB+ fibers. The majority of V-EMB+ fibers were completely independent of mature fibers and had a nuclear density characteristics of developing fibers. Furthermore, nearly 100% of the nuclei in independent V-EMB+ fibers were labeled. These findings strongly suggest that most V-EMB+ fibers were nascent fibers formed de novo during the weighting period by satellite cell activation and fusion. Nascent fibers were found primarily in the space between fascicles where they formed a complex anastomosing network of fibers running at angles to one another. Although wing-weighting induced an increase in the number of branched fibers, there was no evidence that V-EMB+ fibers were formed by longitudinal fragmentation. The location of newly formed fibers in wing-weighted and regenerating ALD muscle was compared to determine whether satellite cells in the ALD muscle were unusual in that, if stimulated to divide, they would form fibers in the inter- and intrafascicular space. In contrast to wing-weighted muscle, nascent fibers were always found closely associated with necrotic fibers. These results suggest that wing-weighting is not simply another model of regeneration, but rather produces a unique environment which induces satellite cell migration and subsequent fiber formation in the interfascicular space. De novo fiber formation is apparently the principal mechanism for the hyperplasia reported to occur in the ALD muscle undergoing hypertrophy induced by wing-weighting.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS2007

Evaluation of a Low-Noise Formate Spiral-Bevel Gear Set

Studies to evaluate low-noise Formate spiral-bevel gears were performed. Experimental tests were performed on the OH-58D helicopter main-rotor transmission in the NASA Glenn 500-hp Helicopter Transmission Test Stand. Low-noise Formate spiral-bevel gears were compared to the baseline OH-58D spiral-bevel gear design, a high-strength design, and previously tested low-noise designs (including an original low-noise design and an improved-bearing-contact low-noise design). Noise, vibration, and tooth strain tests were performed. The Formate design showed a decrease in noise and vibration compared to the baseline OH-58D design, and was similar to that of the previously tested improved-bearing contact low-noise design. The pinion tooth stresses for the Formate design significantly decreased in comparison to the baseline OH-58D design. Also similar to that of the improved bearing-contact low-noise design, the maximum stresses of the Formate design shifted toward the heel, compared to the center of the face width for the baseline, high-strength, and previously tested low-noise designs.

Lewicki, David g.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Implementation of Satellite Formation Flight Algorithms Using SPHERES Aboard the International Space Station

The MIT's Space Systems Laboratory developed the Synchronized Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) as a risk-tolerant spaceborne facility to develop and mature control, estimation, and autonomy algorithms for distributed satellite systems for applications such as satellite formation flight. Tests performed study interferometric mission-type formation flight maneuvers in deep space. These tests consist of having the satellites trace a coordinated trajectory under tight control that would allow simulated apertures to constructively interfere observed light and measure the resulting increase in angular resolution. This paper focuses on formation initialization (establishment of a formation using limited field of view relative sensors), formation coordination (synchronization of the different satellite s motion) and fuel-balancing among the different satellites.

Mandy, Christophe P.↗
NASA NTRS2010

VLBI Data Interchange Format (VDIF)

One important outcome of the 7th International e-VLBI Workshop in Shanghai in June 2008 was the creation of a task force to study and recommend a universal VLBI data format that is suitable for both on-the-wire e-VLBI data transfer, as well as direct disk storage. This task force, called the VLBI Data Interchange Format (VDIF) Task Force, is the first part of a two-part effort, the second of which will address standardization of e-VLBI data-transmission-protocols. The formation of the VDIF Task Force was prompted particularly by increased e-VLBI activity and the difficulties encountered when data arrive at a correlator in different formats from various instruments in various parts of the world. The task force created a streaming packetized data format that may be used for real-time and non-realtime e-VLBI, as well as direct disk storage. The data may contain multiple channels of time-sampled data with an arbitrary number of channels, arbitrary #bits/sample up to 32, and real or complex data; data rates in excess of 100 Gbps are supported. Each data packet is completely self-identifying via a short header, and data may be decoded without reference to any external information. The VDIF task force has completed its work, and the VDIF standard was ratified at the 2009 e-VLBI workshop in Madrid.

Whitney, Alan↗
NASA NTRS2010

Application of OMI Observations to a Space-Based Indicator of NOx and VOC Controls on Surface Ozone Formation

We investigated variations in the relative sensitivity of surface ozone formation in summer to precursor species concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) as inferred from the ratio of the tropospheric columns of formaldehyde to nitrogen dioxide (the "Ratio") from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). Our modeling study suggests that ozone formation decreases with reductions in VOCs at Ratios less than 1 and NOx at Ratios greater than 2; both NOx and VOC reductions may decrease ozone formation for Ratios between 1 and 2. Using this criteria. the OMI data indicate that ozone formation became: 1. more sensitive to NOx over most of the United States from 2005 to 2007 because of the substantial decrease in NOx emissions, primarily from stationary sources, and the concomitant decrease in the tropospheric column of NO2. and 2. more sensitive to NOx with increasing temperature, in part because emissions of highly reactive, biogenic isoprene increase with temperature, thus increasing the total VOC reactivity. In cities with relatively low isoprene emissions (e.g .. Chicago). the data clearly indicate that ozone formation became more sensitive to NOx from 2005 to 2007. In cities with relatively high isoprene emissions (e.g ., Atlanta), we found that the increase in the Ratio due to decreasing NOx emissions was not obvious as this signal was convolved with variations in the Ratio associated with the temperature dependence of isoprene emissions and, consequently, the formaldehyde concentration.

Duncan, Bryan N.↗
NASA NTRS2011

The Formation of Fe/Mg Smectite Under Mildly Acidic Conditions on Early Mars

The detection of Fe/Mg smectites and carbonate in Noachian and early Hesperian terrain of Mars has been used to suggest that neutral to mildly alkaline conditions prevailed during the early history of Mars. However, if early Mars was neutral to moderately alkaline with a denser CO2 atmosphere than today, then large carbonates deposits should be more widely detected in Noachian terrain. The critical question is: Why have so few carbonate deposits been detected compared to Fe/Mg smectites? We suggest that Fe/Mg smectites on early Mars formed under mildly acidic conditions, which would inhibit the extensive formation of carbonate deposits. The goal of this work is to evaluate the formation of Fe/Mg smectites under mildly acidic conditions. The stability of smectites under mildly acidic conditions is attributed to elevated Fe/Mg activities that inhibit smectite dissolution. Beidelite and saponite have been shown to form from hydrothermal alteration of basaltic glass at pH 3.5-4.0 in seawater solutions. Nontronite is also known to be stable in mildly acidic systems associated with mafic and ultramafic rock. Nontronite was shown to form in acid sulfate soils in the Bangkok Plain, Thailand due to oxidation of Fe-sulfides that transformed saponite to nontronite. Smectite is known to transform to kaolinite in naturally acid soils due to selective leaching of Mg. However, if Mg removal is limited, then based on equilibrium relationships, the dissolution of smectite should be minimized. If Fe and Mg solution activities are sufficiently high, such as might be found in a low water/rock ratio system that is poorly drained, smectite could form and remain stable under mildly acidic conditions on Mars. The sources of mild acidity on early Mars includes elevated atmospheric CO2 levels, Fe-hydrolysis reactions, and the presence of volcanic SO2 aerosols. Equilibrium calculations dictate that water equilibrated with an early Mars CO2 atmosphere at 1 to 4 bar yields a pH of 3.6 to 3.9. Fe hydrolysis reactions on Mars is another source of protons that would have contributed to acidity. The presence of SO2 from volcanic processes could also have contributed to geochemical acidification. These sources of acidity competed with base-forming cations that resulted in mildly acidic solutions that were not favorable for carbonate formation but may have allowed for Fe/Mg smectite formation. Noachian to early Hesperian Mars could have been mildly acidic, allowing Fe/Mg smectite formation but preventing widespread carbonate deposition. This paradigm shift from an early Mars that was neutral-alkaline to mildly acidic may possibly explain why there is a disparity between the occurrence of carbonate and Fe/Mg smectites. Potential microbiological activity would not be eliminated under a mildly acidic Mars; however, there could be tighter constraints as to the type and species of microbiology that could exist.

Sutter, Brad↗
NASA NTRS2012

The Epoch of Disk Formation: z is Approximately l to Today

We present data on galaxy kinematics, morphologies, and star-formation rates over 0.1 less than z less than 1.2 for approximately 500 blue galaxies. These data show how systems like our own Milky-Way have come into being. At redshifts around 1, about half the age of the Universe ago, Milky-Way mass galaxies were different beasts than today. They had a significant amount of disturbed motions, disturbed morphologies, shallower potential wells, higher specific star-formation rates, and likely higher gas fractions. Since redshift approximately 1, galaxies have decreased in disturbed motions, increased in rotation velocity and potential well depth, become more well-ordered morphologically, and decreased in specific star-formation rate. We find interrelationships between these measurements. Galaxy kinematics are correlated with morphology and specific star-formation rate such that galaxies with the fastest rotation velocities and the least amounts of disturbed motions have the most well-ordered morphologies and the lowest specific star-formation rates. The converse is true. Moreover, we find that the rate at which galaxies become more well-ordered kinematically (i.e., increased rotation velocity, decreased disturbed motions) and morphologically is directly proportional to their stellar mass.

Kassin, Susan↗
NASA NTRS2013

A CANDELS-3d-HST Synergy: Resolved Star Formation Patterns at 0.7 less than z less than 1.5

We analyze the resolved stellar populations of 473 massive star-forming galaxies at 0.7 < z < 1.5, with multiwavelength broadband imaging from CANDELS andHalpha surface brightness profiles at the same kiloparsec resolution from 3D-HST. Together, this unique data set sheds light on how the assembled stellar mass is distributed within galaxies, and where new stars are being formed. We find the Halpha morphologies to resemble more closely those observed in the ACS I band than in the WFC3 H band, especially for the larger systems. We next derive a novel prescription for Halpha dust corrections, which accounts for extra extinction toward H II regions. The prescription leads to consistent star formation rate (SFR) estimates and reproduces the observed relation between the Halpha/UV luminosity ratio and visual extinction, on both a pixel-by-pixel and a galaxy-integrated level. We find the surface density of star formation to correlate with the surface density of assembled stellar mass for spatially resolved regions within galaxies, akin to the so-called "main sequence of star formation" established on a galaxy-integrated level. Deviations from this relation toward lower equivalent widths are found in the inner regions of galaxies. Clumps and spiral features, on the other hand, are associated with enhanced H alpha equivalent widths, bluer colors, and higher specific SFRs compared to the underlying disk. Their Halpha/UV luminosity ratio is lower than that of the underlying disk, suggesting that the ACS clump selection preferentially picks up those regions of elevated star formation activity that are the least obscured by dust. Our analysis emphasizes that monochromatic studies of galaxy structure can be severely limited by mass-to-light ratio variations due to dust and spatially inhomogeneous star formation histories.

SYNERGY↗
NASA NTRS2013

Investigations of the Formation of Carbon Grains in Circumstellar Outflows

The study of formation and destruction processes of cosmic dust is essential to understand and to quantify the budget of extraterrestrial organic molecules. Although dust with all its components plays an important role in the evolution of interstellar chemistry and in the formation of organic molecules, little is known on the formation and destruction processes of carbonaceous dust. PAHs are important chemical building blocks of interstellar dust. They are detected in interplanetary dust particles and in meteoritic samples. Additionally, observational, laboratory, and theoretical studies have shown that PAHs, in their neutral and ionized forms, are an important, ubiquitous component of the interstellar medium. Also, the formation of PAHs from smaller molecules has not been extensively studied. Therefore, it is imperative that laboratory experiments be conducted to study the dynamic processes of carbon grain formation from PAH precursors. Studies of interstellar dust analogs formed from a variety of PAH and hydrocarbon precursors as well as species that include the atoms O, N, and S, have recently been performed in our laboratory under conditions that simulate interstellar and circumstellar environments. The species formed in the pulsed discharge nozzle (PDN) plasma source are detected and characterized with a high-sensitivity cavity ringdown spectrometer (CRDS) coupled to a Reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ReTOF-MS), thus providing both spectroscopic and ion mass information in-situ. We report the first set of measurements obtained in these experiments and identify the species present in the experiments and the ions that are formed in the plasma process. From these unique measurements, we derive information on the size and the structure of interstellar dust grain particles, the growth and the destruction processes of interstellar dust and the resulting budget of extraterrestrial organic molecules.

Grains↗
NASA NTRS2020

Microstructural and Isotopic Constraints on WL Rim Formation

Coordinated microanalyses of Wark-Lovering (WL) rims are needed to best understand their origin and to decipher their subsequent evolution both in the nebular and parent body settings. Here we present the mineralogy, petrology, microstructures, O isotopic compositions, and Al-Mg systematics of a WL rim on a Type B CAI, ‘‘Big Guy”, from the reduced CV3 chondrite Vigarano [1]. Our SEM and TEM study reveals seven distinct mineral layers in the WL rim that include: (1) gehlenite with rare grossite, (2) hibonite, (3) spinel with minor hibonite and perovskite, (4) zoned melilite (Åk(sub ~0-10)), (5) anorthite, (6) zoned diopside grading outwards from Al,Ti-rich to Al,Tipoor, and (7) forsterite intergrown with diopside. We infer a two-stage history in which WL rim formation was initiated by flash melting and extensive evaporation of the original inclusion edge, followed by subsequent condensation under highly dynamic conditions. The outermost edge of the CAI mantle is mineralogically and texturally distinct compared to the underlying mantle that is composed of coarse, zoned melilite (Åk(sub ~10-60)) grains. The mantle edge contains finegrained gehlenite with hibonite and rare grossite that likely formed by rapid crystallization from a Ca,Al-rich melt produced during a flash vaporization event [2]. These gehlenite and hibonite layers are surrounded by successive layers of spinel, melilite, diopside, and forsterite, indicating their sequential gas-solid reactions onto hibonite. Anorthite occurs as a discontinuous layer that corrodes adjacent melilite and Al-diopside, and appears to have replaced them [3,4], probably even later than the forsterite layer formation. All the WL rim minerals analyzed using the JSC NanoSIMS 50L are 16O-rich (Δ17O ≈ −23‰), indicating their formation in an 16O-rich gas reservoir. Our data are in contrast with many CV CAIs that show heterogeneous Δ 17O values across their WL rims [5]. Our Al-Mg data obtained using the UCLA ims-1290 ion microprobe of the CAI interior and the WL rim define a well-correlated isochron with (26Al/27Al)(sub 0) = 4.94 × 10(exp −5), indicating their synchronous formation ≤5 × 10(exp 4) years after the canonical CAI value. In contrast, no 26Mg excesses are observed in the WL rim anorthite, which suggests its later formation or later isotopic resetting in an 16O-rich gas reservoir, after 26Al had decayed.

Han, J.↗
NASA NTRS2020

The Role of Diagenesis at Vera Rubin Ridge in Gale Crater, Mars, and the Chemostratigraphy of the Murray Formation as Observed by the Chemcam Instrument

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover explored Vera Rubin ridge (VRR) in Gale crater, Mars, for almost 500 sols (Mars days) between arriving at the ridge on sol 1809 of the mission in September 2017 and leaving it on sol 2302 upon entering the Glen Torridon area south of the ridge. VRR is a topographic ridge on the central mound, Aeolis Mons (Mt. Sharp), in Gale crater that displays a strong hematite spectral signature from orbit. In-situ observations on the ridge led to the recognition that the ridge-forming rocks belong to the Murray formation, the lowermost exposed stratigraphic unit of the Mt. Sharp group, that was first encountered at the Pahrump Hills location. Including VRR rocks, the Murray formation, interpreted to be primarily deposited in an ancient lacustrine environment in Gale crater, is more than 300 m thick. VRR itself is composed of two stratigraphic members within the Murray formation, the Pettegrove Point member overlain by the Jura member. The Pettegrove Point member overlies the Blunts Point member of the Murray formation. Areas of gray coloration are observed in the Jura member predominantly, but also in the Pettegrove Point member. Generally, gray areas are found in local topographic depressions, but contacts between red and gray rocks crosscut stratigraphy. Additionally, cm-scale dark concretions with very high iron-content are commonly observed in gray rocks, typically surrounded by a lighttoned zone that is conversely depleted in iron. A key goal for the VRR campaign was to characterize geochemical variations in the ridge-forming rocks to investigate the role of primary and diagenetic controls on the geochemistry and morphology of VRR. Here, we present observations by the ChemCam instrument on VRR and compare these to the full Murray formation chemostratigraphy. This work was recently submitted to a special issue of JGRPlanets that detail the full VRR campaign.

Frydenvang, J.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Mineralogy of the Greenheugh Pediment and Underlying Murray Formation from the Mars Science Laboratory CheMin Instrument

The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover has been investigating a sequence of ancient fluvio-lacustrine and eolian units in Gale crater. For much of the mission, Curiosity has studied the fluvio-lacustrine deposits of the Murray formation. Curiosity has also studied the ancient eolian Stimson formation in a few locations, which unconformably overlies the Murray fm. The Stimson formation was previously studied at the Naukluft and Emerson Plateaus and recently studied at the Greenheugh pediment capping unit. The Curiosity science team also investigated the Murray formation directly underlying the pediment. Curiosity drilled the “Edinburgh” target within the pediment capping unit and the “Hutton” target in the Murray formation near the contact with the pediment and delivered these materials to the CheMin X-ray diffractometer to characterize bulk mineralogy. Edinburgh contains abundant plagioclase, pyroxene, magnetite, olivine, and X-ray amorphous materials, with 10 wt.% smectite and minor sanidine. The mineralogy of the Stimson at Greenheugh is distinct from the mineralogy of the Stimson at Naukluft and Emerson because previous Stimson targets did not contain olivine or clay minerals. This suggests sediments in the pediment may have a different source and/or different aqueous alteration history than those from Naukluft and Emerson. Hutton contains abundant plagioclase, pyroxene, magnetite, and X-ray amorphous materials, 6 wt.% smectite, and minor cristobalite, opal-CT, sanidine, hematite, fluorapatite, and anhydrite. Other Murray targets in the surrounding Glen Torridon region that are farther from the pediment contact contain ~30 wt.% smectite and lack cristobalite and opal-CT. Cristobalite and/or opal-CT are present in a few other targets elsewhere along the traverse, including the top of the nearby Vera Rubin ridge and the top of the Pahrump Hills outcrop. Stimson overlies the Pahrump Hills, and, based on projections of the pediment slope, the Stimson may have overlain Vera Rubin ridge. The proximity of the low-smectite and cristobalite- and/or opal-CT-bearing outcrops to the contact between the Murray and Stimson suggests the contact provided a conduit for diagenetic fluids that altered clay minerals and formed crystalline and paracrystalline silica.

E. B. Rampe↗
NASA NTRS2018

Incremental States for Precise On-Orbit Relative Knowledge in Formation Flight

High precision and close proximity formation flight is an enabling technology for future space missions and requires an on-board relative navigation capability that is accurate to the mm-level and robust to formation parameters. Common estimation techniques linearize the entire formation about one spacecraft’s position, resulting in degraded accuracy due to linearization errors when separation distances become large. Additionally, methods which decouple absolute and relative state estimates usually require ad-hoc methods to incorporate the estimates together. This work discusses an alternative ”incremental” formulation of the relative navigation problem which is in variant to formation size, robust to coupling between absolute and relative dynamics, and can undergo similarity transformations to smoothly incorporate either absolute or relative information without numerical issues. A specific example of this architecture is presented in the context of formation navigation using Carrier-Differential Global Positioning System measurements, and is compared to a traditional leader-linearized filter. In the presence of accurate measurements, the incremental architecture is shown to reduce linearization errors and mean estimate errors by up to three orders of magnitude without the incorporation of new sensor information.

Seubert, Carl↗
NASA NTRS2017

Constraints on Mechanisms of Chondrule Formation from Chondrule Precursors and Chronology of Transient Heating Events in the Protoplanetary Disk

The mineralogy, petrography, and oxygen-isotope compositions of porphyritic chondrules—dominant chondrule type in most chondrite groups—suggest formation by incomplete melting of isotopically diverse precursors during localized transient heating events in dust-rich regions of the protoplanetary disk characterized by 16O-poor compositions (D17Odust+gas~ –7‰ to +4‰) relative to the inferred Sun’s value (D17O ~ –28 ± 2‰). The chondrule precursors included Ca,Al-rich inclusions (CAIs), amoeboid olivine aggregates (AOAs), chondrules of earlier generations, fine-grained matrix-like material, and possibly fragments of pre-existing planetesimals. Like porphyritic chondrules, igneous CAIs formed by melting of isotopically diverse precursors during transient heating events, but in an isotopically distinct, solar-like reservoir of the protoplanetary disk (D17O dust + gas ~ –24‰), probably near the proto Sun. Based on a narrow range of the initial 26Al/27Alratios inferred from the internal Al-Mg isochrons in igneous CAIs, their melting started at the very beginning of Solar System formation (t0), defined by the CV CAIs with U-corrected Pb-Pb age of 4567.3 ± 0.16 Ma and the canonical 26Al/27Al ratio of (5.25 ± 0.02) ¥ 10–5, and lasted at least 0.3 Ma. The U-corrected Pb-Pb absolute and 26Al-26Mg relative ages of porphyritic chondrules from type 3 ordinary, CO, CV, and CR carbonaceous chondrites (assuming uniform distribution of 26Al in the disk at the canonical level) suggest chondrule formation started at t0 and lasted for about 4 Ma. These observations may preclude formation of the majority of porphyritic chondrules by splashing of differentiated planetesimals and by collisions between planetesimals; instead, they are consistent with melting of dust balls by bow shocks or magnetized turbulence in the disk. Some porphyritic chondrules in equilibrated (petrologic type 4–6) ordinary chondrites contain relict fragments of coarse-grained chromite, ilmenite, phosphates, and albitic plagioclase. The similar mineral assemblage is commonly observed in type 4–6 ordinary chondrites, but is absent in type 3 chondrites, suggesting these chondrules formed by incomplete melting of thermally metamorphosed ordinary chondrite material, possibly by impacts. The CB metal-rich carbonaceous chondrites contain exclusively magnesian non-porphyritic chondrules crystallized from complete melts. These chondrules formed in a gas-melt plume generated by a hypervelocity (≥20 km/s) collision between planetesimals ~4.8 Ma after t0 in a transition or a debris disk. One of the colliding bodies was probably differentiated. The CH metal-rich carbonaceous chondrites contain chondrules formed by different mechanisms. The magnesian non-porphyritic chondrules formed in the CB impact plume ~4.8 Ma after t0. The chemically diverse (magnesian, ferroan, and Al-rich) porphyritic chondrules formed by incomplete melting of isotopically diverse precursors in the protoplanetary disk, most likely prior the CB impact plume event. We conclude that there are multiple mechanisms of chondrule formation that operated over the entire life-time of the disk.

Chondrules↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

ICARTT File Format Enhancements: Supporting FAIRness and Data Discovery of Suborbital Campaign Data

Suborbital campaigns aim to accomplish a wide variety of goals and can include a variety of platforms, instruments, and parameters measured. In 2004, the ICARTT (International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation) standards were developed to fulfill data management needs for the ICARTT campaign. The ICARTT file format is text-based and composed of a header with important data description information and the data section. Built on the NASA Ames and GTE data formats, the ICARTT format was created to facilitate data exchange and promote collaborations among the science teams for achieving the ICARTT campaign goals. Due to its success and adaptation for use in many other field campaigns, the ICARTT file format became a NASA standard in 2010 and was amended in January 2017. These changes provided many enhancements, including the requirement for variable standard names. Primarily designed for airborne field studies, ICARTT has been further utilized for ground-based studies. NASA has made a commitment to build an inclusive open science community over the next decade. Open-source science strives to make publicly funded scientific research transparent, inclusive, accessible, and reproducible. The ICARTT format can host metadata that is critical for proper use of the data, particularly for in-situ measurements, and can enhance data discovery and accessibility. However, the required fields are often free text, meaning that the information is human readable, but not machine interpretable. Furthermore, the amount and type of information provided can vary significantly between principal investigators and campaigns. To support FAIR principles and interoperability, enhancements to the ICARTT standards are recommended. Possible recommendations include potential use of controlled and consistent vocabulary for variable standard name and certain common metadata elements; standardizing timestamps for easier data comparisons and analysis; and providing guidance on variable measurement units and how they are reported. Enhancing ICARTT metadata can further streamline the process to make suborbital data more readily available to the data user and improve variable-level metadata. Providing more variable-level metadata can enhance data searching and discovery, supporting NASA’s Open-Source Science Initiative (OSSI).

Megan Buzanowicz↗
NASA NTRS2024

Experimental Studies on the Effect of Impact Processes on the Formation and Evolution of Amino Acids

Introduction: A critical step in the emergence of life on Earth was the synthesis of larger organic molecules from simple building blocks such as NH3, CO2, H2O, and CH3OH. The presence of amino acids and other complex organics in comets and meteorites demonstrates that widespread organic synthesis likely occurred across the early solar system. Building on previous work [e.g., 1-3], we systematically explore impact-driven chemical evolution of exogenous organics and their precursors. Collisional processes may also have provided a source of energy for the formation of more complex organics from endogenous building blocks. The high flux of impactors to Earth immediately prior to and during the origins of life suggests that impacts could have played a critical role. Key Questions: 1. How are the formation and evolution of amino acids affected by the presence of a mineral matrix during cometary and asteroidal impacts onto the early Earth? 2. Do some minerals (e.g., phyllosilicates) provide a more robust protective framework or reactive surface site for amino-acid formation and/or polymerization? 3. Does the abundance of ices and/or amino acids relative to that of the mineral matrix affect the formation and evolution of amino acids? 4. Are there impact velocities/shock pressures at which formation or polymerization of amino acids is favored or precluded? Experimental Approach: This study systematically examines the conditions under which amino acids and other organic molecules can form, be polymerized, and/or be destroyed during impact events into particulate regolith simulants. Variable parameters include the modal composition of this regolith (silicate matrices, ratios of ices, silicates, and amino acids) and impact velocities/shock pressures. Impacts experiments were performed using the two-stage light-gas gun (LGG), vertical gun (VG), and flat-plate accelerator (FPA) in the Experimental Impact Lab at JSC. FPA experiments were performed over a range of shock pressures (11.3-31.5 GPa) using CM chondrite simulant mixed with amino acids at ratios of 0:10, 1:10, 1:103, and 1:106 (amino acid:host). Techniques for mixing cometary ices have been optimized and test runs have been performed using the LGG (see figure below). Analysis: Post-impact, samples are heated in water to extract amino acids and peptides. Extracts are characterized via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and the mineralogies of solid residues are characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Additional LC-MS and mineralogical analyses are underway.

Eve L Berger↗
NASA NTRS2024

PACE Technical Report Series, Volume 12: The PACE Level 1C data format

NASA's Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission will make global ocean color and atmospheric measurements to provide extended data records of ocean ecology and global biogeochemistry, along with polarimetric measurements for advanced observations of aerosols, clouds and the ocean. PACE will contain three instruments: the primary Ocean Color Instrument (OCI), and two multi-angle polarimeters (MAPs). The latter instruments are contributed under a ‘Do-No-Harm’ (to the rest of the PACE mission) principle, and the PACE Science Data Processing System (SDPS) is only required to produce Level-1b (geolocated radiances with calibration applied) data without performance requirements. However, there is a strong desire to produce data in a format that merges the disparate spatial resolutions, viewing geometry and sampling nature of the three instruments. Our terminology for this format is Level 1c (L1C). This format will be an input to Level 2 algorithms produced from standalone MAP instrument observations, or from algorithms employing multi-sensor fusion. Creating the L1C format has several components. This includes choice of projection method, the means by which multi-angle views are properly incorporated into that projection (‘aggregation’) the means to represent wavelength and light polarization state, the selection of data to be included within the L1C file, and the handling of ancillary data either required for L1C file generation or needed in that format for L2 processing.

PACE↗
NASA NTRS2021

Aerosol–Ice Formation Closure: A Southern Great Plains Field Campaign

Prediction of ice formation in clouds presents one of the grand challenges in the atmospheric sciences. Immersion freezing initiated by ice-nucleating particles (INPs) is the dominant pathway of primary ice crystal formation in mixed-phase clouds, where supercooled water droplets and ice crystals coexist, with important implications for the hydrological cycle and climate. However, derivation of INP number concentrations from an ambient aerosol population in cloud-resolving and climate models remains highly uncertain. We conducted an aerosol-ice formation closure pilot study using a field-observational approach to evaluate the predictive capability of immersion freezing INPs. The closure study relies on co-located measurements of the ambient size-resolved and single-particle composition and INP number concentrations. The acquired particle data serve as input in several immersion freezing parameterizations, that are employed in cloud-resolving and climate models, for prediction of INP number concentrations. We discuss in detail one closure case study in which a front passed through the measurement site, resulting in a change of ambient particle and INP populations. We achieved closure in some circumstances within uncertainties, but we emphasize the need for freezing parameterization of potentially missing INP types and evaluation of the choice of parameterization to be employed. Overall, this closure pilot study aims to assess the level of parameter details and measurement strategies needed to achieve aerosol-ice formation closure. The closure approach is designed to accurately guide immersion freezing schemes in models, and ultimately identify the leading causes for climate model bias in INP predictions.

ice formation↗