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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 NTRS1978

The biology instrument for the Viking Mars mission

Two Viking spacecraft have successfully soft landed on the surface of Mars. Each carries one biology laboratory with three different experiments designed to search for evidence of living microorganisms in material sampled from the Martian surface. This 15.5-kg biology instrument which occupies a volume of almost 28.3 dm is the first to carry out an in situ search for extraterrestrial life on a planet. The three experiments are called the pyrolytic release, labeled release, and gas exchange. The pyrolytic release experiment has the capability to measure the fixation of carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide into organic matter. The labeled release experiment detects metabolic processes by monitoring the production of volatile carbon compounds from a radioactively labeled nutrient mixture. The gas exchange experiment monitors the gas changes in the head space above a soil sample which is either incubated in a humid environment or supplied with a rich organic nutrient solution.

Brown, F. S.↗
NASA NTRS1976

OAST Space Theme Workshop. Volume 1: Summary report. 1: Introduction. 2: General observations and some key findings. 3: Follow-on activity. Quick-look comments and working papers

The Outlook for Space Study, consideration of National needs and OAST technology goals were factors in the selection of the following themes for candidate technical initiative and supporting program plans: space power station; search for extraterrestrial life; industrialization of space; global service station; exploration of the solar system; and advanced space transportation system. An overview is presented of the Space Theme Workshop activities in developing technology needs, program requirements, and proposed plans in support of each theme. The unedited working papers used by team members are included.

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NASA NTRS1981

A meeting with the universe: Science discoveries from the space program

A general history of space exploration is presented. The solar system is discussed. The Sun-Earth relationship is considered, including magnetic fields, solar wind, the magnetosphere, and the Sun-weather relationship. The universe beyond the solar system is discussed. Topics include stellar and galactic evolution, quasars and intergalactic space. The effects of weightlessness and ionizing radiation on human beings are considered. The possibility of extraterrestrial life is discussed. Lunar and planetary exploration, solar-terrestrial physics, astrophysics, biomedical research and exobiology are reviewed. Numerons color illustrations are included.

French, B. M.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The promise of astrophysical observation conducted from space

The roles of instrumentation and the Space Station in addressing the most important questions in astrophysics are considered. The growth in the power of astronomical instruments over the past several decades is reviewed. Progress that can be made in the coming decades in understanding the origin of the universe, in learning more about quasars, black holes, and the fundamental laws of physics, and in possibly detecting other planetary systems and extraterrestrial life is considered.

Harwit, Martin↗
NASA NTRS1990

Design of a scientific probe for obtaining Mars surface material

With the recent renewed interest in interplanetary and deep space exploratory missions, the Red Planet, Mars, which has captured people's imagination for centuries, has again become a center of attention. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a series of Mariner missions performed fly-by investigations of the Mars surface and atmosphere. Later, in the mid 1970s, the data gathered by these earlier Mariner missions provided the basis of the much-publicized Viking missions, whose main objective was to determine the possibility of extraterrestrial life on Mars. More recently, with the dramatic changes in international politics, ambitious joint manned missions between the United States and the Soviet Union have been proposed to be launched in the early 21st century. In light of these exciting developments, the Spacecraft Design course, which was newly established at UCLA under NASA/USRA sponsorship, has developed its curriculum around a design project: the synthesis of an unmanned Martian landing probe. The students are required to conceive a preliminary design of a small spacecraft that is capable of landing at a designated site, collecting soil samples, and then returning the samples to orbit. The goal of the project is to demonstrate the feasibility of such a mission. This preliminary study of an interplanetary exploration mission has shown the feasibility of such a mission. The students have learned valuable lessons about the complexity of spacecraft design, even though the mission is relatively simple.

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NASA NTRS1992

Mars: A reassessment of its interest to biology

Of all the planets in the solar system, Mars is certainly the one that has inspired the most speculation concerning extraterrestrial life. Observers had long ago noticed that Mars exhibits changes in its polar caps and alterations in its surface coloration that parallel seasonal changes on Earth. The fascination with Mars and the possibility of life on Mars continued into the spacecraft era and was directly expressed in the Viking Missions. These highly successful missions had the search for life on Mars as one of their principal goals. A review of Viking Missions experiments is presented. Results of these investigations are summarized. While the Viking Missions returned a negative answer to the question of life on Mars, they also showed that many years ago Mars was a very different place and enjoyed conditions that may have been conducive to the origin of life - life that may have long since become extinct. Evidence for the existence of water on Mars in the past is presented. Techniques used to study early life on Earth, which may also be used for similar studies on Mars, are described.

Mckay, Christopher P.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Space biology research development

The purpose of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute is to conduct and promote research related activities regarding the search for extraterrestrial life, particularly intelligent life. Such research encompasses the broad discipline of 'Life in the Universe', including all scientific and technological aspects of astronomy and the planetary sciences, chemical evolution, the origin of life, biological evolution, and cultural evolution. The primary purpose was to provide funding for the Principal Investigator to collaborate with the personnel of the SETI Institute and the NASA-Ames Research center in order to plan and develop space biology research on and in connection with Space Station Freedom; to promote cooperation with the international partners in the space station; to conduct a study on the use of biosensors in space biology research and life support system operation; and to promote space biology research through the initiation of an annual publication 'Advances in Space Biology and Medicine'.

Bonting, Sjoerd L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

The NASA HRMS educational outreach program - Searching for extraterrestrial intelligence while developing extraintelligent terrestrials

Students, young and old, find extraterrestrial life one of the most intriguing of all science topics. A curriculum development project co-funded by the National Science Foundation and NASA, and administered by the SETI Institute, is underway to develop and test third through ninth grade science lessons that draw upon this fascination to focus student interest on science and mathematics. Individual lessons are designed by teachers and curriculum developers, tested in classrooms, revised and re-tested prior to distribution. A series of guides, each containing 10 to 15 lessons, will be finished by late summer 1994.

Coulter, Gary R.↗
NASA NTRS1996

From the Primitive Soup to Cyanobacteria: It May have Taken Less Than 10 Million Years

Most scientific discussions on the likelihood of extraterrestrial life have been constrained by the characteristics of life on our planet and the environmental conditions under which it may have emerged. Although it has been generally assumed that this process must have been extremely slow, involving hundreds of millions or even billions of years, a number of recent discoveries have led to a considerable compression of the time believed necessary for life to appear. It is now recognized that during its early history the Earth and other bodies of the inner Solar System went through a stage of intense collisions. Some of these impacts by large asteroids or comets may have raised the terrestrial surface to sterilizing temperatures and may have evaporated the oceans and killed off life as late as 3.8 x 10(exp 9) years ago. However, there is also ample paleontological evidence derived from the 3.5 x 10(exp 9) year old Warrawoona sediments showing that only 300 million years after the period of intense impacts ended, our planet was populated by phototactic, stromatolite-forming microorganisms. Although these discoveries are now generally interpreted to imply that the origin and early evolution of life were rapid, no attempts have been made to estimate the actual time required for these processes to occur.

Miller, Stanley L.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Microgravity Effects on Microbiology In Space Laboratories

Here we present a review of the effects of residual acceleration on microorganisms in space Laboratories. Residual acceleration in the microgravity environment is frequently ignored by microbiologists, although their experiments may be as sensitive to this acceleration as those designed by materials scientists and fluid physicists. Furthermore, analysis to date has been largely empirical and/or based on very simple theoretical models. As a result, the responses of single cells to the space environment are widely assumed to be taking place in "pure" microgravity. These responses vary widely and are not well understood. Some of this variation may be due to the range of microgravity conditions experience by organisms. In the future, as we move from visiting orbital environments to living and working there, we will undoubtedly bring microorganisms with us. It is also quite likely that the first extraterrestrial life we encounter will be single-celled organisms. Therefore, we would like to present a summary of the current knowledge base, and to challenge the space community to develop new approaches in understanding this important field.

Nelson, Emily S.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Integrating Public Perspectives in Sample Return Planning

Planning for extraterrestrial sample returns, whether from Mars or other solar system bodies, must be done in a way that integrates planetary protection concerns with the usual mission technical and scientific considerations. Understanding and addressing legitimate societal concerns about the possible risks of sample return will be a critical part of the public decision making process ahead. This paper presents the results of two studies, one with lay audiences, the other with expert microbiologists, designed to gather information, on attitudes and concerns about sample return risks and planetary protection. Focus group interviews with lay subjects, using generic information about Mars sample return and a preliminary environmental impact assessment, were designed to obtain an indication of how the factual content is perceived and understood by the public. A research survey of microbiologists gathered information on experts' views and attitudes about sample return, risk management approaches and space exploration risks. These findings, combined with earlier research results on risk perception, will be useful in identifying levels of concern and potential conflicts in understanding between experts and the public about sample return risks. The information will be helpful in guiding development of the environmental impact statement and also has applicability to proposals for sample return from other solar system bodies where scientific uncertainty about extraterrestrial life may persist at the time of mission planning.

Race, Margaret S.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Rootless Cones on Mars: A Consequence of Lava-Ground Ice Interaction

Fields of small cratered cones on Mars are interpreted to have formed by rootless eruptions due to explosive interaction of lava with ground ice contained within the regolith beneath the flow. Melting and vaporization of the ice, and subsequent explosive expansion of the vapour, act to excavate the lava and construct a rootless cone around the explosion site. Similar features are found in Iceland, where flowing lava encountered water-saturated substrates. The martian cones have basal diameters of c. 30-1000 m and are located predominantly in the northern volcanic plains. High-resolution Mars Orbiter Camera images offer significant improvements over Viking data for interpretation of cone origins. A new model of the dynamics of cone formation indicates that very modest amounts of water ice are required to initiate and sustain the explosive interactions that produced the observed features. This is consistent with the likely low availability of water ice in the martian regolith. The scarcity of impact craters on many of the host lava flows indicates very young ages, suggesting that ground ice was present as recently as less than 10 - l00 Ma, and may persist today. Rootless cones therefore act as a spatial and temporal probe of the distribution of ground ice on Mars, which is of key significance in understanding the evolution of the martian climate. The location of water in liquid or solid form is of great importance to future robotic and human exploration strategies, and to the search for extraterrestrial life.

Fagents, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Starting Conditions for Hydrothermal Systems Underneath Martian Craters: Hydrocode Modeling

Mars is the most Earth-like of the Solar System s planets, and the first place to look for any sign of present or past extraterrestrial life. Its surface shows many features indicative of the presence of surface and sub-surface water, while impact cratering and volcanism have provided temporary and local surface heat sources throughout Mars geologic history. Impact craters are widely used ubiquitous indicators for the presence of sub-surface water or ice on Mars. In particular, the presence of significant amounts of ground ice or water would cause impact-induced hydrothermal alteration at Martian impact sites. The realization that hydrothermal systems are possible sites for the origin and early evolution of life on Earth has given rise to the hypothesis that hydrothermal systems may have had the same role on Mars. Rough estimates of the heat generated in impact events have been based on scaling relations, or thermal data based on terrestrial impacts on crystalline basements. Preliminary studies also suggest that melt sheets and target uplift are equally important heat sources for the development of a hydrothermal system, while its lifetime depends on the volume and cooling rate of the heat source, as well as the permeability of the host rocks. We present initial results of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) simulations of impacts on Mars aimed at constraining the initial conditions for modeling the onset and evolution of a hydrothermal system on the red planet. Simulations of the early stages of impact cratering provide an estimate of the amount of shock melting and the pressure-temperature distribution in the target caused by various impacts on the Martian surface. Modeling of the late stage of crater collapse is necessary to characterize the final thermal state of the target, including crater uplift, and distribution of the heated target material (including the melt pool) and hot ejecta around the crater.

Pierazzo, E.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The Explorer's Guide to the Universe: A Reading List for Planetary and Space Science

During the last decade, both scientists and the public have been engulfed by a flood of discoveries and information from outer space. Distant worlds have become familiar landscapes. Instruments in space have shown us a different Sun by the "light" of ultraviolet radiation and X-rays. Beyond the solar system, we have detected a strange universe of unsuspected violence, unexplained objects, and unimaginable energies. We are completely remarking our picture of the universe around us, and scientists and the general public alike are curious and excited about what we see. The public has participated in this period of exploration and discovery to an extent never possible before. In real time, TV screens show moonwalks, the sands of Mars, the volcanoes of Io, and the rings of Saturn. But after the initial excitement, it is hard for the curious non-scientist to learn more details or even to stay in touch with what is going on. Each space mission or new discovery is quickly skimmed over by newspapers and TV and then preserved in technical journals that are neither accessible nor easily read by the average reader. This reading list is an attempt to bridge the gap between the people who make discoveries in space and the people who would like to read about them. The aim has been to provide to many different people--teachers, students, scientists, other professionals, and curious citizens of all kinds--a list of readings where they can find out what the universe is like and what we have learned about it. We have included sections on the objects that seem to be of general interest--the Moon, the planets, the Sun, comets, and the universe beyond. We have also included material on related subjects that people are interested in--the history of space exploration, space habitats, extraterrestrial life, and U F O ' s . The list is intended to be self-contained; it includes both general references to supply background and more specific sources for new discoveries. Although the list can be used by a wide range of people, it has been compiled with the non-scientist specifically in mind. A s a general rule, we have not included technical symposia or the special issues of

French, Bevan M.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Delta(O-17) of Martian Sulfate: Assessment as a Tool to Recognize the Impact of Biological Sulfur Cycling on Mars

The Mars Rover-missions demonstrate that there are accessible Martian sulfate deposits (evaporites) [1]. These sedimentary rocks could indicate influence of past or present biotic processes even in the absence of traces of extraterrestrial life. We evaluate the potential of the analysis of mass independent isotope fractionation of oxygen in sulfate as a biosignature.

Brunner, B.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Astrobiological and Geological Implications of Convective Transport in Icy Outer Planet Satellites

The oceans of large icy outer planet satellites are prime targets in the search for extraterrestrial life in our solar system. The goal of our project has been to develop models of ice convection in order to understand convection as an astrobiologically relevant transport mechanism within icy satellites, especially Europa. These models provide valuable constraints on modes of surface deformation and thus the implications of satellite surface geology for astrobiology, and for planetary protection. Over the term of this project, significant progress has been made in three areas: (1) the initiation of convection in large icy satellites, which we find probably requires tidal heating; (2) the relationship of surface features on Europa to internal ice convection, including the likely role of low-melting-temperature impurities; and (3) the effectiveness of convection as an agent of icy satellite surface-ocean material exchange, which seems most plausible if tidal heating, compositional buoyancy, and solid-state convection work in combination. Descriptions of associated publications include: 3 published papers (including contributions to 1 review chapter), 1 manuscript in revision, 1 manuscript in preparation (currently being completed under separate funding), and 1 published popular article. A myriad of conference abstracts have also been published, and only those from the past year are listed.

Pappalardo, Robert T.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Human Missions to Europa and Titan - Why Not?

This report describes a long-term development plan to enable human exploration of the outer solar system, with a focus on Europa and Titan. These are two of the most interesting moons of Jupiter and Saturn, respectively, because they are the places in the solar system with the greatest potential for harboring extraterrestrial life. Since human expeditions to these worlds are considered impossible with current capabilities, the proposal of a well-organized sequence of steps towards making this a reality was formulated. The proposed Development Plan, entitled Theseus, is the outcome of a recent multinational study by a group of students in the framework of the Master of Space Studies (MSS) 2004 course at the International Space University (ISU). The Theseus Program includes the necessary development strategies in key scientific and technological areas that are essential for identifying the requirements for the exploration of the outer planetary moons. Some of the topics that are analysed throughout the plan include: scientific observations at Europa and Titan, advanced propulsion and nuclear power systems, in-situ resource utilization, radiation mitigation techniques, closed life support systems, habitation for long-term spaceflight, and artificial gravity. In addition to the scientific and technological aspects of the Theseus Program, it was recognized that before any research and development work may begin, some level of program management must be established. Within this chapter, legal issues, national and international policy, motivation, organization and management, economic considerations, outreach, education, ethics, and social implications are all considered with respect to four possible future scenarios which enable human missions to the outer solar system. The final chapter of the report builds upon the foundations set by Theseus through a case study. This study illustrates how such accomplishments could influence a mission to Europa to search for evidence of life in its subsurface oceans. The future remains unpredictable, as does the realization of any of these possibilities. However, projects such as this remind us that the final frontier for humans is truly outer space, and only our imagination will determine where the frontier stops. We can dream of visiting other planetary systems and perhaps even galaxies, but we must begin closer, and considering the scope of our known universe, Europa and Titan are very close indeed.

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