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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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NASA NTRS2003

Properties of the Hermean Regolith: New Optical Reflectance Spectra, Comparison with Lunar Anorthosites and Mineralogical Modelling - 5

We present new optical (0.4-0.65 micron) spectra of Mercury and lunar pure anorthosite locations, obtained quasi-simultaneously with the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) in 2002. A comparative study is performed with the model of Lucey et al. between iron-poor, mature, pure anorthosite (less than 90% plagioclase feldspar) Clementine spectra from the lunar farside and a combined 0.4-1.0 micron mercurian spectrum, obtained with the NOT, calculated for standard photometric geometry. Mercury is located at more extreme locations in the Lucey ratio-reflectance diagrams than any known lunar soil, specifically with respect to the extremely iron-poor mature anorthosites. Though quantitative prediction of FeO and TiO2 abundances cannot be made without a more generally applicable model, we find qualitatively that the abundances of both these oxides must be near zero for Mercury. We utilize the theory of Hapke, with realistic photometric parameters, to model laboratory spectra of matured mineral powders and lunar soils, and remotely sensed spectra of lunar anorthosites and Mercury. An important difference between fabricated and natural powders is the high value for the internal scattering parameter necessary to interpret the spectra for the former, and the requirement of rough and non-isotropically scattering surfaces in the modelling of the latter. The mature lunar anorthosite spectra were well modelled with binary mixtures of calcic feldspars and olivines, grain sizes of 25-30 micron and a concentration of submicroscopic metallic iron (SMFe) of 0.12-0.15% in grain coatings. The mercurian spectrum is not possible to interpret from terrestrial mineral powder spectra without introducing an average particle scattering function for the bulk soil that increases in backscattering efficiency with wavelength. The observed spectrum is somewhat better predicted with binary mixture models of feldspars and pyroxenes, that single-component regoliths consisting of either albite or diopside. Correct spectral reflectance values were predicted with a concentration of 0.1 wt% SMFe in coatings of 15-30 micron sized grains. Since reasonable cosmogonical formation scenarios for Mercury, or meteoritic infall, predict iron concentrations at least this high, we draw the conclusion that the average grain size of Mercury is about a factor of two smaller than for average returned lunar soil samples. The 0.6-2.5 micron spectrum of McCord and Clark is used to further limit the possible range of mineralogical composition of Mercury. It is found that an intimately mixed and matured 3 : 1 labradorite-to-enstatite regolith composition best matches both the optical and near-infrared spectra, yielding an abundance of approx. 1.2 wt% FeO and -approx. 0 wt% TiO2.

Warell, J.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Reionization and its imprint of the cosmic microwave background

Early reionization changes the pattern of anisotropies expected in the cosmic microwave backgrond. To explore these changes, we derive from first principles the equations governing anisotropies, focusing on the interactions of photons with electrons. Vishniac (1987) claimed that second-order terms can be large in a reionized universe, so we derive equations correct to second order in the perturbations. There are many more second-order terms than were considered by Vishniac. To understand the basic physics involved, we present a simple analytic approximation to the first-order equation. Then, turning to the second order equation, we show that the Vishniac term is indeed the only important one. We also present numerical results for a variety of ionization histories (in a standard cold dark matter universe) and show quantitatively how the signal in several experiments depends on the ionization history. The most pronounced indication of a reionized universe would be seen in very small scale experiments; the expected signal in the Owens Valley experiment is smaller by a factor of order 10 if the last scattering surface is at a redshift z approximately = 100 as it would be if the universe were reionized very early. On slightly larger scales, the expected signal in a reionized universe is smaller than it would be with standard recombination, but only a factor of 2 or so. The signal is even smaller in these experiments in the intermediate case where some photons last scattered at the standard recombination epoch.

Dodelson, Scott↗
NASA NTRS1991

Development of a Rayleigh scattering system for temperature measurements in combustor flows

A dual line laser induced Rayleigh scattering system has been developed to be used in high temperature gas flows such as in combustors, and preliminary tests have been performed in a hot air jet. The qualification measurements included the collection and analysis of Rayleigh signal for time-resolved gas temperature over the two lines of a copper-vapor laser. The dual line signal collection technique is a feature to be used in detecting and discriminating the surface scattered laser light in the Rayleigh signal. Optical fibers are used to transmit the laser beam to the optical probe bench and to carry the collected signal from the bench to the housing of the signal sensors. Incident laser intensity at the probe volume is measured for both lines at each pulse of the laser. This information is used to normalize the signal. Good agreement has been obtained between the two line Rayleigh scattering and thermocouple results in the particle free co-flowing air jet.

Otugen, M. V.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Gas temperature measurements using the dual-line detection Rayleigh scattering technique

A new laser-induced Rayleigh scattering method is presented for the improved temperature diagnostics of gas flows. In the present technique, the two lines of a copper vapor laser are used to obtain the time and space resolved temperature. A single set of optics is used to form the optical probe and to collect the signal simultaneously from both the 510 nm and the 578 nm lines. The dual-line detection allows for the determination and removal of surface-scattered laser light from a Rayleigh signal thereby improving the applicability of Rayleigh scattering to near wall flows with a high degree of glare. An optical system using the dual-line detection technique is built, calibrated and tested in a hot air jet under various levels of background contamination. The results indicate that highly accurate temperature measurements are possible even when the laser-line background intensity, captured by the collecting optics, is five times that of the Rayleigh signal.

Otugen, M. Volkan↗
NASA NTRS1993

Gas temperature measurements using the dual-line detection Rayleigh scattering technique

A new laser-induced Rayleigh scattering method is presented for the improved temperature diagnostics of gas flows. In the present technique, the two lines of a copper vapor laser are used to obtain the time and space resolved temperature. A single set of optics is used to form the optical probe and to collect the signal simultaneously from both the 510 nm and the 578 nm lines. The dual-line detection allows for the determination and removal of surface-scattered laser light from a Rayleigh signal thereby improving the applicability of Rayleigh scattering to near wall flows with a high degree of glare. An optical system using the dual-line detection technique is built, calibrated and tested in a hot air jet under various levels of background contamination. The results indicate that highly accurate temperature measurements are possible even when the laser-line background intensity, captured by the collecting optics, is five times that of the Rayleigh signal.

Otugen, M. V.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Sinusoidal reaction formulation for radiation and scattering from conducting surfaces

A piecewise-sinusoidal reaction technique is proposed for the study of scattering and radiation from perfectly conducting bodies of arbitrary shape. The reaction technique described is a moment method based on the integral equation of an electric field. A theory of sinusoidal reaction formulation for radiation and scattering problems is outlined, in which the scattered field is obtained by integrating the surface currents. Numerical results are presented for the scattering patterns of rectangular plates and corner reflectors and the radiation patterns of corner-reflector antennas.

Wang, N. N.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Effects of a rough boundary surface on polarization of the scattered field from an inhomogeneous medium

A combination of the standard Kirchhoff method for rough surface scattering with the Rayleigh phase function radiative transfer method for volume scattering is employed in the present study of the effect of surface roughness on the polarization of the scattered field. It is found that for pure surface scattering, the polarization ratio between zero and 20 deg incidence angles is sensitive to surface roughness change. When both surface and volume scattering are present, however, copolarization nulls by colatitude or degree of polarization at zero to 15 deg incidence angle, and copolarization or crosspolarization nulls by longitude at large incidence angles, are better indicators of surface roughness changes. It is noted that degree of polarization and copolarization nulls by colatitude vary monotonously with incidence angle, while in combined surface and volume scattering these have, respectively, a minimum and a maximum. This characteristic allows the separation of combined surface and volume scattering from pure surface or volume scattering.

Fung, A. K.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Optical Technologies for UV Remote Sensing Instruments

Over the last decade significant advances in technology have made possible development of instruments with substantially improved efficiency in the UV spectral region. In the area of optical coatings and materials, the importance of recent developments in chemical vapor deposited (CVD) silicon carbide (SiC) mirrors, SiC films, and multilayer coatings in the context of ultraviolet instrumentation design are discussed. For example, the development of chemically vapor deposited (CVD) silicon carbide (SiC) mirrors, with high ultraviolet (UV) reflectance and low scatter surfaces, provides the opportunity to extend higher spectral/spatial resolution capability into the 50-nm region. Optical coatings for normal incidence diffraction gratings are particularly important for the evolution of efficient extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectrographs. SiC films are important for optimizing the spectrograph performance in the 90 nm spectral region. The performance evaluation of the flight optical components for the Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radiation (SUMER) instrument, a spectroscopic instrument to fly aboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) mission, designed to study dynamic processes, temperatures, and densities in the plasma of the upper atmosphere of the Sun in the wavelength range from 50 nm to 160 nm, is discussed. The optical components were evaluated for imaging and scatter in the UV. The performance evaluation of SOHO/CDS (Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer) flight gratings tested for spectral resolution and scatter in the DGEF is reviewed and preliminary results on resolution and scatter testing of Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) technology development diffraction gratings are presented.

Keski-Kuha, R. A. M.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Analysis of Pulsed Lidar Measurements of Atmospheric CO2 Column Absorption During the ASCENDS 2009-2011 Airborne Campaigns

We have developed a pulsed lidar technique for measuring the tropospheric CO2 concentrations as a candidate for NASA's ASCENDS mission and have demonstrated the CO2 and O2 measurements from aircraft. Our technique uses two pulsed lasers allowing simultaneous measurement of a single CO2 absorption line near 1572 nm, O2 extinction in the Oxygen A-band, surface height and backscatter profile. The lasers are stepped in wavelength across the CO2 line and an O2 line doublet during the measurement. The column densities for the CO2 and O2 are estimated from the differential optical depths (DOD) of the scanned absorption lines via the IPDA technique. For the 2009 ASCENDS campaign we flew the CO2 lidar on a Lear-25 aircraft, and measured the absorption line shapes of the CO2 line using 20 wavelength samples per scan. Measurements were made at stepped altitudes from 3 to 12.6 km over the Lamont OK, central Illinois, North Carolina, and over the Virginia Eastern Shore. Although the received signal energies were weaker than expected for ASCENDS, clear CO2 line shapes were observed at all altitudes. Most flights had 5-6 altitude steps with 200-300 seconds of recorded measurements per step. We averaged every 10 seconds of measurements and used a cross-correlation approach to estimate the range to the scattering surface and the echo pulse energy at each wavelength. We then solved for the best-fit CO2 absorption line shape, and calculated the DOD of the fitted CO2 line, and computed its statistics at the various altitude steps. We compared them to CO2 optical depths calculated from spectroscopy based on HITRAN 2008 and the column number densities calculated from the airborne in-situ readings. The 2009 measurements have been analyzed and they were similar on all flights. The results show clear CO2 line shape and absorption signals, which follow the expected changes with aircraft altitude from 3 to 13 km. They showed the expected nearly the linear dependence of DOD vs altitude. The measurements showed ~ 1 ppm random errors for 8-10 km altitudes and ~30 sec averaging times. For the 2010 ASCENDS campaigns we flew the CO2lidar on the NASA DC-8 and added an 02lidar channel. During July 2010 we made measurements of CO2 and O2 column absorption during longer flights over Railroad Valley NV, the Pacific Ocean and over Lamont OK. CO2 measurements were made with 30 steps/scan, 300 scans/sec and improved line resolution and receiver sensitivity. Analysis of the 2010 CO2 measurements shows the expected ~linear change of DOD with altitude. For measurements at altitudes> 6 km the random errors were 0.3 ppm for 80 sec averaging times. For the summer 2011 ASCENDS campaigns we made further improvements to the lidar's CO2 line scan and receiver sensitivity. We demonstrated measurements over the California Central Valley, to stratus cloud tops over the Pacific Ocean, over mountain regions with snow, and over several areas with broken clouds. Details of the lidar measurements and their analysis will be described in the presentation.

Abshire, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Pulsed Lidar Measurements of Atmospheric CO2 Column Absorption and Range During the ASCENDS 2009-2011 Airborne Campaigns

We have developed a pulsed lidar technique for measuring the tropospheric CO2 concentrations as a candidate for NASA's ASCENDS mission and have demonstrated the CO2 and O2 measurements from aircraft. Our technique uses two pulsed lasers allowing simultaneous measurement of a single CO2 absorption line near 1572 nm, O2 extinction in the Oxygen A-band, surface height and backscatter profile. The lasers are stepped in wavelength across the CO2 line and an O2 line doublet during the measurement. The column densities for the CO2 and O2 are estimated from the differential optical depths (DOD) of the scanned absorption lines via the IPDA technique. For the 2009 ASCENDS campaign we flew the CO2 lidar only on a Lear-25 aircraft, and measured the absorption line shapes of the CO2 line using 20 wavelength samples per scan. Measurements were made at stepped altitudes from 3 to 12.6 km over the Lamont OK, central Illinois, North Carolina, and over the Virginia Eastern Shore. Although the received signal energies were weaker than expected for ASCENDS, clear C02 line shapes were observed at all altitudes. Most flights had 5-6 altitude steps with 200-300 seconds of recorded measurements per step. We averaged every 10 seconds of measurements and used a cross-correlation approach to estimate the range to the scattering surface and the echo pulse energy at each wavelength. We then solved for the best-fit CO2 absorption line shape, and calculated the DOD of the fitted CO2 line, and computed its statistics at the various altitude steps. We compared them to CO2 optical depths calculated from spectroscopy based on HITRAN 2008 and the column number densities calculated from the airborne in-situ readings. The 2009 measurements have been analyzed in detail and they were similar on all flights. The results show clear CO2 line shape and absorption signals, which follow the expected changes with aircraft altitude from 3 to 13 km. They showed the expected nearly the linear dependence of DOD vs altitude. The measurements showed -1 ppm random errors for 8-10 km altitudes and -30 sec averaging times. For the 2010 ASCENDS campaigns we flew the CO2 lidar on the NASA DC-8 and added an O2 lidar channel. During July 2010 we made measurements of CO2 and O2 column absorption during longer flights over Railroad Valley NV, the Pacific Ocean and over Lamont OK. CO2 measurements were made with 30 steps/scan, 300 scans/sec and improved line resolution and receiver sensitivity. Analysis of the 2010 CO2 measurements shows the expected -linear change of DOD with altitude. For measurements at altitudes> 6 km the random errors were 0.3 ppm for 80 sec averaging times. For the summer 2011 ASCENDS campaigns we made further improvements to the lidar's CO2 line scan and receiver sensitivity. The seven flights in the 2011 Ascends campaign were flown over a wide variety of surface and cloud conditions in the US, which produced a wide variety of lidar signal conditions. Details of the lidar measurements and their analysis will be described in the presentation.

Abshire, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS1992

External calibration of polarimetric radar images using distributed targets

A new technique is presented for calibrating polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images using only the responses from natural distributed targets. The model for polarimetric radars is assumed to be X = cRST where X is the measured scattering matrix corresponding to the target scattering matrix S distorted by the system matrices T and R (in general T does not equal R(sup t)). To allow for the polarimetric calibration using only distributed targets and corner reflectors, van Zyl assumed a reciprocal polarimetric radar model with T = R(sup t); when applied for JPL SAR data, a heuristic symmetrization procedure is used by POLCAL to compensate the phase difference between the measured HV and VH responses and then take the average of both. This heuristic approach causes some non-removable cross-polarization responses for corner reflectors, which can be avoided by a rigorous symmetrization method based on reciprocity. After the radar is made reciprocal, a new algorithm based on the responses from distributed targets with reflection symmetry is developed to estimate the cross-talk parameters. The new algorithm never experiences problems in convergence and is also found to converge faster than the existing routines implemented for POLCAL. When the new technique is implemented for the JPL polarimetric data, symmetrization and cross-talk removal are performed on a line-by-line (azimuth) basis. After the cross-talks are removed from the entire image, phase and amplitude calibrations are carried out by selecting distributed targets either with azimuthal symmetry along the looking direction or with some well-known volume and surface scattering mechanisms to estimate the relative phases and amplitude responses of the horizontal and vertical channels.

Yueh, Simon H.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Angular distributions of 5eV atomic oxygen scattered from solid surfaces on the LDEF satellite

The angular distribution of 5eV atomic oxygen scattered off several smooth solid surfaces was measured by experiment A0114 which flew on board the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF). Target surfaces were silver, vitreous carbon, and lithium fluoride crystal. The apparatus was entirely passive. It used the property of silver surfaces to absorb oxygen atoms with high efficiency; the silver is converted to optically transmissive silver oxide. A collimated beam of oxygen atoms is allowed to fall on the target surface at some pre-set angle. Reflected atoms are then intercepted by a silver film placed so that it subtends a considerable solid angle from the primary beam impact on the target surface. The silver films are evaporated onto flexible optically-clear polycarbonate sheets which are scanned later to determine oxygen uptake. While the silver detector cannot measure atom velocity or energy, its physical configuration allows easy coverage of large angular space both in the beam-plane (that which includes the incident beam and the surface normal), and in the azimuthal plane of the target surface.

Gregory, John C.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Engineering studies related to geodetic and oceanographic remote sensing using short pulse techniques

For the Skylab S-193 radar altimeter, data processing flow charts and identification of calibration requirements and problem areas for defined S-193 altimeter experiments are presented. An analysis and simulation of the relationship between one particular S-193 measurement and the parameter of interest for determining the sea surface scattering cross-section are considered. For the GEOS-C radar altimeter, results are presented for system analyses pertaining to signal-to-noise ratio, pulse compression threshold behavior, altimeter measurement variance characteristics, desirability of onboard averaging, tracker bandwidth considerations, and statistical character of the altimeter data in relation to harmonic analysis properties of the geodetic signal.

Miller, L. S.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Analysis of experimental NRL radar altimeter data

An X-band radar capable of continuously variable transmitted pulse durations down to 1 nsec is being flown to investigate the interaction of radar altimeter signals with the sea surface. There is good agreement between the observed radar altimeter leading edge rise time for a 1-nsec transmitted pulse and the rise time predicted from the radar parameters and the sea state determined by a laser profilometer. Using a threshold tracker on 29-pulse averages for a transmitted pulse of 24 nsec, it was found that the range noise varied linearly with the power level of the threshold over a considerable range. The altimeter range quantization was 9.35 cm, and a minimum range noise of 3.9 cm was obtained. A comparison of pulse-to-pulse correlation observed in the radar data with that predicted by a Monte Carlo simulation is used to obtain a measure of sea surface scatterer motion.

Walsh, E. J.↗