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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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At least 289 records · Page 16

NEON AOP Imaging Spectroscopy Survey of Upper East River Colorado Watersheds: Raw-Space Radiance and Observational Variable Dataset

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) contracted the National Ecological Observatory Network Airborne Observation Platform (NEON AOP) to observe watersheds of interest near Crested Butte, CO with remotely sensed data including imaging spectroscopy. The flight box design encompassed the watersheds, and flight design targeted a minimum of 30% overlap between adjacent flight lines. The total area surveyed was 334 km2 across 72 lines. Flight lines were oriented north-south for consistency in solar illumination geometry. Seven days were required to cover the flight area. Some areas were flown additional times to improve data quality or temporal coincidence between airborne acquisitions and field sampling. In total, 102 lines were collected and can be downloaded here: https://portal.nersc.gov/wfsfa/doi-10-15485-1617204/. The instrument used for the acquisition was an Airborne Visible-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer - Next Generation (AVIRIS-NG), which records radiance within 426 contiguous spectral bands in the wavelength range from 380 to 2510 nm. The instrument was flown at a target aboveground altitude of 1000 m for a processed data spatial resolution of 1 m. These data are non-orthorectified, radiance data that require further processing prior to use as a surface reflectance data set.

2018 NEON and 2025 CHESS Campaigns↗

LACIE performance predictor FOC users manual

The LACIE Performance Predictor (LPP) is a computer simulation of the LACIE process for predicting worldwide wheat production. The simulation provides for the introduction of various errors into the system and provides estimates based on these errors, thus allowing the user to determine the impact of selected error sources. The FOC LPP simulates the acquisition of the sample segment data by the LANDSAT Satellite (DAPTS), the classification of the agricultural area within the sample segment (CAMS), the estimation of the wheat yield (YES), and the production estimation and aggregation (CAS). These elements include data acquisition characteristics, environmental conditions, classification algorithms, the LACIE aggregation and data adjustment procedures. The operational structure for simulating these elements consists of the following key programs: (1) LACIE Utility Maintenance Process, (2) System Error Executive, (3) Ephemeris Generator, (4) Access Generator, (5) Acquisition Selector, (6) LACIE Error Model (LEM), and (7) Post Processor.

Source record↗

Sub-Sampled Imaging for STEM: Maximising Image Speed, Resolution and Precision Through Reconstruction Parameter Refinement

Sub-sampling during image acquisition in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) has been shown to provide a means to increase the overall speed of acquisition while at the same time providing an efficient means to control the dose, dose rate and dose overlap delivered to the sample. In this paper, we discuss specifically the parameters used to reconstruct sub-sampled images and highlight their effect on inpainting using the beta-process factor analysis (BPFA) methodology. The selection of the main control parameters can have a significant effect on the resolution, precision and sensitivity of the final inpainted images, and here we demonstrate a method by which these parameters can be optimised for any image in STEM. As part of this paper, we also provide a link to open source code and a tutorial on its use, whereby these parameters can be tested for any datasets. When coupled with the hardware necessary to rapidly sub-sample images in STEM, this approach can have significant implications for imaging beam sensitive materials and dynamic processes.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

X-Ray Fingerprinting Techniques for Recognizing A Hydrological Role in the Formation of Minerals on the Surface of Mars

Previous work has demonstrated the ability of a miniaturized XRD-XRF instrument to perform in-situ analyses without sample preparation or acquisition. Deployment of this instrument on a Martian rover will allow a large number of rapid qualitative analyses, which will maximize the diversity of samples studied and selected for possible return. As a first step in designing a decision tree for recognizing minerals in complex mixtures, d spacings were plotted against intensity for several mineral groups comprising rock and soil types inferred for the surface of Mars (weathered basalt, playa and hydrothermal deposits, clay-rich soils). In all groups, d spacings cluster in a range from about 1-4 angstroms, which can under certain circumstances obscure patterns for individual phases. However, within the silicate family, minerals containing either bound OH- or molecules of H20 (clays, micas, amphiboles, zeolites) are characterized by a shift of peaks to higher d spacings. Large d spacings (greater than about 7 angstroms) thus act as a first-order filter for distinguishing hydrous from anhydrous silicates. The ability to quickly verify the presence of silicates that have interacted with water has important implications for using mineral chemistry and structure to help decipher the hydrologic and atmospheric history of Mars. This represents a beginning for developing more sophisticated methods of pattern recognition. These will combine XRD and XRF analyses with optical data to rapidly7 discern environmentally diagnostic assemblages without the necessity of identifying every peak individual mineral phase.

Metzger, Ellen P.↗

The Proposed Mars Astrobiology Explorer - Cacher [MAX-C] Rover: First Step in a Potential Sample Return Campaign

Sample return from Mars has been advocated by numerous scientific advisory panels for over 30 years, most prominently beginning with the National Research Council s [1] strategy for the exploration of the inner solar system, and most recently by the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG s) Next Decade Science Analysis Group [2]. Analysis of samples here on Earth would have enormous advantages over in situ analyses in producing the data quality needed to address many of the complex scientific questions the community has posed about Mars. Instead of a small, predetermined set of analytical techniques, state of the art preparative and instrumental resources of the entire scientific community could be applied to the samples. The analytical emphasis could shift as the meaning of each result becomes better appreciated. These arguments apply both to igneous rocks and to layered sedimentary materials, either of which could contain water and other volatile constituents. In 2009 MEPAG formed the Mid-Range Rover Science Analysis Group (MRR-SAG) to formulate a mission concept that would address two general objectives: (1) conduct high-priority in situ science and (2) make concrete steps towards the potential return of samples to Earth. This analysis resulted in a mission concept named the Mars Astrobiology Explorer-Cacher (MAX-C), which was envisioned for launch in the 2018 opportunity. After extensive discussion, this group concluded that by far the most definitive contribution to sample return by this mission would be to collect and cache, in an accessible location, a suite of compelling samples that could potentially be recovered and returned by a subsequent mission. This would have the effect of separating two of the essential functions of MSR, the acquisition of the sample collection and its delivery to martian orbit, into two missions.

Allen, Carlton C.↗

Magnetic 'zig-zag' behavior in lunar rocks

A lunar olivine basalt sample is analyzed which exhibits unorthodox alternating field (AF) demagnetization behavior characterized by nonreproducible remanent magnetization values upon demagnetization at a given peak AF. It is shown that the direction of the remanence following AF demagnetization is roughly confined to a particular plane and that this behavior is an intrinsic property of certain magnetic carriers present in the sample. The viscous acquisition coefficient is found to be about 1-1/2 times greater than the absolute value of the decay coefficient. It is suggested that the behavior of this sample is due to the presence of a few planar, multidomain grains which represent a local mineral fabric, do not demagnetize, and may interfere with the determination of a meaningful time variation of lunar magnetic paleointensity.

Hoffman, K. A.↗

Guided search for desired functional responses via Bayesian optimization of generative model: Hysteresis loop shape engineering in ferroelectrics

Advances in theoretical modeling across multiple disciplines have yielded generative models capable of high veracity in predicting macroscopic functional responses of materials emerging as a result of complex non-local interactions. Correspondingly, of interest is the inverse problem of finding the model parameter that will yield desired macroscopic responses, such as stress–strain curves, ferroelectric hysteresis loops, etc. Here, we suggest and implement Gaussian process based methods that allow to effectively sample the degenerate parameter space of a complex non-local model to output regions of parameter space which yield desired functionalities. In this work, we discuss the specific adaptation of the acquisition function and sampling function to make the process efficient and balance the efficient exploration of parameter space for multiple possible minima and exploitation to densely sample the regions of interest where target behaviors are optimized. Additionally, this approach is illustrated via the hysteresis loop engineering in ferroelectric materials but can be adapted to other functionalities and generative models.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

The Meteorological Measurement System on the NASA ER-2 aircraft

A Meteorological Measurement System (MMS) was designed and installed on one of the NASA high-altitude ER-2 aircraft (NASA 706). The MMS provides in situ measurements of free-stream pressure (+ or - 0.3 mb), temperature (+ or - 0.3 C), and wind vector (+ or - 1 m/s). It incorporates a high-resolution inertial navigation system specially configured for scientific applications, a radome differential pressure system for measurements of the airflow angles, and a compact, computer-controlled data acquisition system to sample, process and store 45 variables on tape and on disk. The MMS hardware and software development is described, and resolution and accuracy of the instrumentation discussed. Custom software facilitates preflight system checkout, inflight data acquisition, and fast postflight data download. It accommodates various modes of MMS data: analog and digital, serial and parallel, and synchronous and asynchronous. Flight results are presented to demonstrate the capability of the system.

Scott, Stan G.↗

Applications of the ER-2 meteorological measurement system

The NASA ER-2 aircraft is used as a platform for high altitude atmospheric missions. The Meteorological Measurement System (MMS) was developed specifically for atmospheric research to provide accurate high resolution measurements of pressure, temperature, and the 3-D wind vector with a sampling rate of 5/s. The MMS consist of three subsystems: (1) an air motion sensing system to measure the velocity of the air with respect to the aircraft; (2) a high resolution inertial navigation system (INS) to measure the velocity of the aircraft with respect to the earth; and (3) a data acquisition system to sample, process, and record the measurement quantities. MMS data have been used extensively by ER-2 investigators in elucidating the polar ozone chemistry. Herein, applications on atmospheric dynamics are emphasized. Large scale (polar vortex, potential vorticity, model atmosphere), mesoscale (gravity waves, mountain waves) and microscale (heat fluxes) atmospheric phenomena are investigated and discussed.

Chan, K. Roland↗

Refactoring the Curiosity Rover's sample handling architecture on Mars

The Curiosity Mars rover sample handling hardware and software were architected assuming that end-to-end sampling operations would occur in a single rover position, from acquisition of a powdered sample with a scoop or drill, through to the cleaning out of all sample residue in the sample chain. However, after analysis of the first drilled samples in Yellowknife Bay, the science team wanted to iterate with additional experiments on Mars and in laboratories on Earth to better understand their results and increase the value of science returned. With the architecture as conceived, the time needed to do so was in direct competition with the exploration of other targets and satisfaction of success criteria during the prime mission.

Kuhn, Stephen↗

Study of sampling systems for comets and Mars

Several aspects of the techniques that can be applied to acquisition and preservation of samples from Mars and a cometary nucleus were examined. Scientific approaches to sampling, grounded in proven engineering methods are the key to achieving the maximum science value from the sample return mission. If development of these approaches for collecting and preserving does not preceed mission definition, it is likely that only suboptimal techniques will be available because of the constraints of formal schedule timelines and the normal pressure to select only the most conservative and least sophisticated approaches when development has lagged the mission milestones. With a reasonable investment now, before the final mission definition, the sampling approach can become highly developed, ready for implementation, and mature enough to help set the requirements for the mission hardware and its performance.

Amundsen, R. J.↗

Mars Rover and Sample Return Mission design

The current reference Mars Rover and Sample Return mission is described. Technical issues are outlined, including high-resolution image acquisition and reconstruction, approach navigation, ground and flight systems operational complexity, rover autonomy, autonomous rendezvous and docking in Mars orbit, aerocapture and aeromaneuver, estimating the probability of mission success, and end-to-end information system design. Focus is placed on lander hazard identification and avoidance, pinpoint landing guidance and control, Mars ascent vehicle guidance and control, planetary protection and quarantine, sample acquisition and preservation, project management and control, systems requirements and interface control, and costing. In addition, program issues such as international participation, fiscal constraints, and launch-vehicle availability are considered.

Kwok, Johnny H.↗

Rapid quantification of alcohol production in microorganisms based on nanostructure-initiator mass spectrometry (NIMS)

We described a mass spectrometry-based assay to rapidly quantify the production of primary alcohols directly from cell cultures. This novel assay used the combination of TEMPO-based oxidation chemistry and oxime ligation, followed by product analysis based on Nanostructure-Initiator Mass Spectrometry. This assay enables quantitative monitor both C5 to C18 alcohols as well as glucose and gluconate in the growth medium to support strain characterization and optimization. We find that this assay yields similar results to gas chromatography for isoprenol production but required much less acquisition time per sample. We applied this assay to gain new insights into P. Putida's utilization of alcohols and find that this strain largely could not grow on heptanol and octanol.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Uniformity and volume-representativity of consecutive submillimetre wafers of shale for SANS and USANS investigations

(Ultra) Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS/USANS) is a non-destructive technique suitable for characterization of porous structures from nano- to micro-pore size (1 nm to 20 μm), which has been widely used to characterize accessible and inaccessible porosity in tight unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs (e.g., shales). Here, in this study, SANS and USANS are used to examine the degree of nano- to micropore uniformity of the rock body on sub-millimetre to centimetre scale. This study presents a test of the hypothesis of volume representativity of pore structure information measured by SANS and USANS for shale wafers (0.22–1 mm) cut from six North American unconventional shale cores of different maturities (New Albany Shale and Marcellus Shale). Experimental reproducibility of USANS is further investigated for two wafers measured using various acquisition times. All samples show that fluctuations of the relative intensity generally decrease from the USANS Q-range (pore size from around 200 nm to 20 μm) to most of the SANS Q-range (pore size from around 5 nm to 700 nm), and peaks in the SANS large-Q region (for pores smaller than about 5 nm). There is a positive correlation between the spatial fluctuation of the relative SANS intensity and the scattering power of shales. In addition, the scattering intensity and its fluctuations is larger for the less mature shale cores. Shale is known to be highly heterogenous and the hypothesis of uniformity does not apply at sub-millimetre scale even for samples that appear homogeneous at visual inspection. This study presents an approach to minimise the variation through sample selection, data interpretation methodology and instrumental reproducibility tests. The best values of the microstructural spatial uniformity for the apparently homogeneous sections of a core (i.e., the SANS and USANS intensity variation) is less than ±10%.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Evaluating Limits of Machine Learning-Assisted Raman Spectroscopy in Classification of Biological Samples

Machine learning (ML)-assisted Raman spectroscopy has become a powerful analytical tool for the classification and identification of analytes; however, technical challenges impacting its detection accuracy have not been thoroughly investigated. This study explores experimental factors affecting classification performance. Among the evaluated ML models, ML algorithms show minimal impact on classification accuracy. Instead, experimental factors, including spectral similarity between tested samples and data quality, dominate detection performance. Increases in spectral noise and spectral similarity significantly reduce classification accuracy. In well-controlled samples with low experimental noise, ML-assisted Raman spectroscopy can discriminate lipid mixtures with a composition difference of 1.85 mol %. To assess the effect of biological heterogeneity, we analyzed single-cell Raman spectra from Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains carrying single, double, or triple gene mutations. Intrinsic cell-to-cell variability introduced substantial spectral differences, severely reducing the accuracy of multiclass classification of these genetically similar strains at the single-cell level. Averaging Raman spectra across multiple cells improved classification accuracy by reducing this spectral variability. We also assess the effectiveness of transfer learning across different Raman spectrometers, specifically by applying an ML model trained on one instrument to another Raman spectrometer. Transfer learning can be improved with proper instrument calibration, highlighting the importance of instrument standardization. Overall, our results demonstrate that data quality and spectral similarity are the primary bottlenecks in ML-assisted Raman spectroscopy. Careful attention to sample preparation, data acquisition, measurement conditions, and instrument calibration is critical to achieving robust and reliable classification performance.

Fungi↗

Enhancing hyperspectral EELS analysis of complex plasmonic nanostructures with pan-sharpening

Nanoscale hyperspectral techniques—such as electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS)—are critical to understand the optical response in plasmonic nanostructures, but as systems become increasingly complex, the required sampling density and acquisition times become prohibitive for instrumental and specimen stability. As a result, there has been a recent push for new experimental methodologies that can provide comprehensive information about a complex system, while significantly reducing the duration of the experiment. In this work, we present a pan-sharpening approach to hyperspectral EELS analysis, where we acquire two datasets from the same region (one with high spatial resolution and one with high spectral fidelity) and combine them to achieve a single dataset with the beneficial properties of both. This work outlines a straightforward, reproducible pathway to reduced experiment times and higher signal-to-noise ratios, while retaining the relevant physical parameters of the plasmonic response, and is generally applicable to a wide range of spectroscopy modalities.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗