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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 307 records · Page 17

The surface composition of Charon - Tentative identification of water ice

The Mar. 3, 1987, Charon occultation by Pluto was observed in the infrared at 1.5, 1.7, 2.0, and 2.35 micrometers. Subtraction of fluxes measured between second and third contacts from measurements made before and after the event has yielded individual spectral signatures for each body at these wavelengths. Charon's surface appears depleted in methane relative to Pluto. Constancy of flux at 2.0 micrometers throughout the event shows that Charon is effectively black at this wavelength, which is centered on a very strong water absorption band. Thus, the measurements suggest the existence of water ice on Pluto's moon.

Marcialis, Robert L.↗

Identification of two classes of gamma-ray bursts

We have studied the duration distribution of the gamma-ray bursts of the first BATSE catalog. We find a bimodality in the distribution, which separates GRBs into two classes: short events (less than 2 s) and longer ones (more than 2 s). Both sets are distributed isotropically and inhomogeneously in the sky. We find that their durations are anticorrelated with their spectral hardness ratios: short GRBs are predominantly harder, and longer ones tend to be softer. Our results provide a first GRB classification scheme based on a combination of the GRB temporal and spectral properties.

Kouveliotou, Chryssa↗

Hailstorm Analyses and Detection Derived from Current and Historical Satellite Data and Convective Environmental Parameters

We seek to demonstrate the extent to which hailstorms can be detected using a combination of geostationary (GEO) visible and infrared metrics of storm intensity and convective environmental parameters from reanalysis. Hailstorm identifications from low-Earth-orbiting (LEO) passive microwave sensors and maximum expected size of hail (MESH) from ground-based radar serve as a proxy for hail events. Data are analyzed for two warm seasons over the contiguous United States (CONUS). A neural network (NN) is trained to predict hailstorm detection dependent on optimal multi-variate weighting of observed and modeled input. The NN results are then applied to a 15-year Meteosat Second Generation climatology over South Africa to depict where hailstorms are most likely to occur. We also explore the impact of GEO imager resolution on our ability to discriminate hailstorms by matching GOES-13 (4 km) and GOES-16 (2 km) storm intensity metrics against hail characteristics using LEO, MESH, and spotter reports over CONUS during 2017, when both satellites were simultaneously imaging. Such analysis allows us to assess the feasibility of assembling a severe storm climate data record back to GOES-8, in the mid-1990’s. Finer spatial resolution of GOES-16 better resolves the updraft characteristics and intensities that are inherently linked to hail formation; however, GOES-13 can be normalized to achieve comparable detection capability. When intelligently combined with model-derived convective environmental parameters, GEO-derived storm intensity metrics enable high-spatial resolution hail risk assessment at hourly intervals throughout the diurnal cycle anywhere around the world and an improved understanding of hailstorms in the climate system.

Kyle F Itterly↗

Small-Body Proximity Operations & TAG: Navigation Experiences & Lessons Learned from the OSIRIS-REx Mission

On October 20th, 2020, the nearly two-year proximity operations campaign for the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx)mission at the near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu culminated in a successful Touch-and-Go (TAG) sample collection event. Navigation performance was a significant driver for flight activities at Bennu, which consisted of multiple phases geared towards characterizing the asteroid, selecting a sample site, and safely guiding the spacecraft to and from the surface in order to collect at least 60 g of pristine regolith. The entire operations team gained a tremendous amount of experience operating in the challenging small body environment and overcame many challenges. In this paper, we summarize navigation-focused experiences and lessons learned from OSIRIS-REx proximity operations at Bennu that are applicable to future missions to small asteroids, comets, and planetary moons. Areas of focus include staffing and organization, ground system infrastructure, mission phase planning, navigation operations, and spacecraft and payload considerations.

Kenneth M. Getzandanner↗

Identifying Neutrino Final States and Energies in MicroBooNE with New Deep-Learning Based LArTPC Reconstruction Frameworks

MicroBooNE, a Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) located in the $\nu_{\mu}$-dominated Booster Neutrino Beam at Fermilab, has been studying $\nu_{e}$ charged-current (CC) interaction rates to shed light on the MiniBooNE low energy excess. The LArTPC technology employed by MicroBooNE provides the capability to image neutrino interactions with mm-scale precision. Computer vision and other machine learning techniques are promising tools for image processing that could boost efficiencies for selecting $\nu_{e}$-CC and other rare signals, reduce cosmic and beam-induced backgrounds, and improve the reconstruction of neutrino energies. The MicroBooNE experiment has been at the forefront of developing and testing such techniques for use in physics analyses. In this poster we overview deep-learning based reconstruction methods. We will showcase the use of a recurrent neural network to estimate neutrino energies and present a new reconstruction framework that uses convolutional neural networks to locate neutrino interaction vertices, tag pixels with track and shower labels, and perform particle identification on reconstructed clusters. We will present studies characterizing the performance of these new tools and demonstrate their effectiveness through their use in an inclusive $\nu_{e}$-CC event selection.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Calibration of the DUNE Far Detector Using Cosmic-ray Muon Events

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) aims to set new limits on parameters associated with neutrino oscillations, neutrino astrophysics, and beyond the Standard Model (SM) searches such as nucleon decay. DUNE will quantify the magnitude of CP violation in the lepton sector, and determine the neutrino mass ordering. These benefit highly from the large target mass and excellent imaging, tracking, and particle identification capabilities of Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers (LArTPCs). Detector calibration is essential to make precise physics measurements. For instance, accurate energy reconstruction is necessary for measuring many of the aforementioned quantities with the precision required for discovering new physics and fully exploiting the capabilities of the detector. Cosmic muons are a freely available natural source of calorimetric data and can be used for calibrating various detector parameters. This thesis provides an analysis of simulated cosmic-ray muon events generated with the Muon Simulation Underground (MUSUN) generator in the DUNE horizontal drift (HD) far detector (FD). The study focuses on analysing the energy and angular distribution of various classes of muon events, as well as characterising the different particles produced by cosmic muon interactions. The analysis of π0 → 2γ events within the cosmic-ray muon sample is presented in this thesis with a detailed study of reconstructing electromagnetic showers. The π0 mass is reconstructed within the DUNE FD, yielding a value of (136 ± 7) MeV/c2. Additionally, the thesis introduces methods for dE/dx calibration using simulated and reconstructed muon tracks. A calibration constant Ccal = (5.469 ± 0.003) × 10−3 ADC × tick/e is obtained through a model-dependent calibration process, where 1 tick corresponds to 500 ns of sampling time of an ADC. Furthermore, a calibration technique is presented, demonstrating precise translation from dQ/dx to dE/dx. This calibration method is applied to stopping muons, charged pions, and protons in the DUNE FD, addressing the measurement of energy loss in the detector volume. These are important calibrations of the DUNE FD and will contribute to achieving the exciting physics goals of the experiment.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Hybrid Modeling for Scenario-Based Evaluation of Failure Effects in Advanced Hardware-Software Designs

This paper describes an incremental scenario-based simulation approach to evaluation of intelligent software for control and management of hardware systems. A hybrid continuous/discrete event simulation of the hardware dynamically interacts with the intelligent software in operations scenarios. Embedded anomalous conditions and failures in simulated hardware can lead to emergent software behavior and identification of missing or faulty software or hardware requirements. An approach is described for extending simulation-based automated incremental failure modes and effects analysis, to support concurrent evaluation of intelligent software and the hardware controlled by the software

Malin, Jane T.↗

Climate Extremes and Risks: Links Between Climate Science and Decision-Making

The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) envisions a future where actionable climate information is universally accessible, supporting decision makers in preparing for and responding to climate change. In this perspective, we advocate for enhancing links between climate science and decision-making through a better and more decision-relevant understanding of climate impacts. The proposed framework comprises three pillars: climate science, impact science, and decision-making, focusing on generating seamless climate information from sub-seasonal, seasonal, decadal to century timescales informed by observed climate events and their impacts. The link between climate science and decision-making has strengthened in recent years, partly owing to undeniable impacts arising from disastrous weather extremes. Enhancing decision-relevant understanding involves utilizing lessons from past extreme events and implementing impact-based early warning systems to improve resilience. Integrated risk assessment and management require a comprehensive approach that encompasses good knowledge about possible impacts, hazard identification, monitoring, and communication of risks while acknowledging uncertainties inherent in climate predictions and projections, but not letting the uncertainty lead to decision paralysis. The importance of data accessibility, especially in the Global South, underscores the need for better coordination and resource allocation. Strategic frameworks should aim to enhance impact-related and open-access climate services around the world. Continuous improvements in predictive modeling and observational data are critical, as is ensuring that climate science remains relevant to decision makers locally and globally. Ultimately, fostering stronger collaborations and dedicated investments to process and tailor climate data will enhance societal preparedness, enabling communities to navigate the complexities of a changing climate effectively.

climate extremes↗

Development of the Suited Injury Modes and Effects Analysis for Identification of Top Injury Risks in Lunar Missions and Training

A new Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) suit is being designed to replace the current Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Artemis program to return astronauts to the lunar surface. This new suit will allow for increased range of motion compared to the current EMU and Apollo era suits and additional features will enhance the health and safety of exploration. With the design of lunar missions and the xEVAS suit progressing, it is important to consider possible injuries and injury mechanisms that could occur in the suit. To address these concerns, the suited Injury Modes and Effects Analysis (IMEA) was developed to outline suited injury scenarios and rank them based on risk score. The IMEA documents possible scenarios and underlying mechanisms of injury. History has shown that more suit injuries occur during training than in flight; therefore, currently planned training events to prepare for lunar missions and tasks during lunar surface EVAs were considered. Each scenario is ranked with likelihood and consequence scorings based on our current understanding of suit and application of Artemis design reference missions. The scoring allowed identification of the high-risk cases that will drive further work in suited injury. Mechanisms of injury, injury outcomes, and mitigation strategies are evaluated within each scenario. The Suited Injury Summit was held on January 5, 2022, to vet the IMEA with external experts. This was an all-day virtual meeting with the suited injury team; ergonomists; suit engineers; safety engineers; the flight operations directorate; flight doctors; astronauts; astronaut strength, conditioning, and rehabilitation specialists (ASCRS); and external subject matter experts (SMEs). External SMEs consisted of surgeons with varying specialties. The intent of this meeting was to walk through the top injury risks identified in the analysis, identify any gaps that were not captured, and discuss mitigations. With participation from all groups, countless lessons-learned came from the Summit meeting. Using these, the top 10 risks have been identified: neutral buoyancy laboratory training, hand/glove injuries, poor suit fit, field training, specific EVA tasks/design of task, boots/ankle injuries, falls from heights, background radiation, repetitive contact, and ambulation/longdistance ambulation. Mitigation steps have also been determined for each of the top risks. The IMEA and documentation of top risks is a living document. Yearly meetings are planned to update the analysis and reevaluate top risks and mitigations. The IMEA is being used to drive work in suited injury, and this work will continue to evolve with IMEA and lunar mission updates.

Teresa Reiber↗

Kohoutek - A great comet coming.

Passing inside the earth's orbit in late November, the comet Kohoutek will travel through the inner solar system during a unique period in the history of the space program, when Skylab and Mariner Venus-Mercury are in operation and the new C-141 Airborne Infrared Observatory is ready for flight. It is planned to investigate comprehensively the nature and evolution of the coma and tails of the comet. The detailed goals of the investigation include the identification of the parent molecules of the gases observed in comets, the determination of the processes that break down the parent molecules, the study of the physical nature of transient events in the comet, and the measurement of the solar-wind velocity in the inner solar system.

Maran, S. P.↗

Cellular Oxygen and Nutrient Sensing in Microgravity Using Time-Resolved Fluorescence Microscopy

Oxygen and nutrient sensing is fundamental to the understanding of cell growth and metabolism. This requires identification of optical probes and suitable detection technology without complex calibration procedures. Under this project Microcosm developed an experimental technique that allows for simultaneous imaging of intra- and inter-cellular events. The technique consists of frequency-domain Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM), a set of identified oxygen and pH probes, and methods for fabrication of microsensors. Specifications for electronic and optical components of FLIM instrumentation are provided. Hardware and software were developed for data acquisition and analysis. Principles, procedures, and representative images are demonstrated. Suitable lifetime sensitive oxygen, pH, and glucose probes for intra- and extra-cellular measurements of analyte concentrations have been identified and tested. Lifetime sensing and imaging have been performed using PBS buffer, culture media, and yeast cells as a model systems. Spectral specifications, calibration curves, and probes availability are also provided in the report.

Szmacinski, Henryk↗

Fitting Flux Ropes to a Global MHD Solution: A Comparison of Techniques

Flux rope fitting (FRF) techniques are an invaluable tool for extracting information about the properties of a sub-class of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in the solar wind. However, it has proven difficult to assess their accuracy since the underlying global structure of the CME cannot be independently determined from the data. In contrast, large-scale MHD simulations of CME evolution can provide both a global view as well as localized time series at specific points in space. In this study we apply five different fitting techniques to two hypothetical time series derived from MHD simulation results. Independent teams performed the analysis of the events in "blind tests", for which no information, other than time series, was provided. From the results, we infer the following: 1) Accuracy decreases markedly with increasingly glancing encounters; 2) Correct identification of the boundaries of the flux rope can be a significant limiter; 3) Results from techniques that infer global morphology must be viewed with caution. In spite of these limitations, FRF techniques remain a useful tool for describing in situ observations of flux rope CMEs.

Riley, Pete↗

A Catalog of Galaxy Clusters Observed by XMM-Newton

Images and the radial profiles of the temperature, abundance, and brightness for 70 clusters of galaxies observed by XMM-Newton are presented along with a detailed discussion of the data reduction and analysis methods, including background modeling, which were used in the processing. Proper consideration of the various background components is vital to extend the reliable determination of cluster parameters to the largest possible cluster radii. The various components of the background including the quiescent particle background, cosmic diffuse emission, soft proton contamination, and solar wind charge exchange emission are discussed along with suggested means of their identification, filtering, and/or their modeling and subtraction. Every component is spectrally variable, sometimes significantly so, and all components except the cosmic background are temporally variable as well. The distributions of the events over the FOV vary between the components, and some distributions vary with energy. The scientific results from observations of low surface brightness objects and the diffuse background itself can be strongly affected by these background components and therefore great care should be taken in their consideration.

Snowden, S. L.↗

An Accident Precursor Analysis Process Tailored for NASA Space Systems

Accident Precursor Analysis (APA) serves as the bridge between existing risk modeling activities, which are often based on historical or generic failure statistics, and system anomalies, which provide crucial information about the failure mechanisms that are actually operative in the system and which may differ in frequency or type from those in the various models. These discrepancies between the models (perceived risk) and the system (actual risk) provide the leading indication of an underappreciated risk. This paper presents an APA process developed specifically for NASA Earth-to-Orbit space systems. The purpose of the process is to identify and characterize potential sources of system risk as evidenced by anomalous events which, although not necessarily presenting an immediate safety impact, may indicate that an unknown or insufficiently understood risk-significant condition exists in the system. Such anomalous events are considered accident precursors because they signal the potential for severe consequences that may occur in the future, due to causes that are discernible from their occurrence today. Their early identification allows them to be integrated into the overall system risk model used to intbrm decisions relating to safety.

Groen, Frank↗

Gamma ray pulsar analysis from photon pobability maps

We present a new method of analyzing skymap-type gamma ray data. Each photon event is replaced by a probability distribution on the sky corresponding to the observing instrument's point spread function. The skymap produced by this process may be used for source detection or identification. Most important, the use of these photon weights for pulsar analysis promises significant improvement over traditional techniques.

Brown, Lawrence E.↗

Gamma ray pulsar analysis from photon probability maps

A new method is presented of analyzing skymap-type gamma ray data. Each photon event is replaced by a probability distribution on the sky corresponding to the observing instrument's point spread function. The skymap produced by this process may be used for source detection or identification. Most important, the use of these photon weights for pulsar analysis promises significant improvement over traditional techniques.

Brown, Lawrence E.↗

Landslides in West Coast Metropolitan Areas: The Role of Extreme Weather Events

Rainfall-induced landslides represent a pervasive issue in areas where extreme rainfall intersects complex terrain. A farsighted management of landslide risk requires assessing how landslide hazard will change in coming decades and thus requires, inter alia, that we understand what rainfall events are most likely to trigger landslides and how global warming will affect the frequency of such weather events. We take advantage of 9 years of landslide occurrence data compiled by collating Google news reports and of a high-resolution satellite-based daily rainfall data to investigate what weather triggers landslide along the West Coast US. We show that, while this landslide compilation cannot provide consistent and widespread monitoring everywhere, it captures enough of the events in the major urban areas that it can be used to identify the relevant relationships between landslides and rainfall events in Puget Sound, the Bay Area, and greater Los Angeles. In all these regions, days that recorded landslides have rainfall distributions that are skewed away from dry and low-rainfall accumulations and towards heavy intensities. However, large daily accumulation is the main driver of enhanced hazard of landslides only in Puget Sound. There, landslide are often clustered in space and time and major events are primarily driven by synoptic scale variability, namely "atmospheric rivers" of high humidity air hitting anywhere along the West Coast, and the interaction of frontal system with the coastal orography. The relationship between landslide occurrences and daily rainfall is less robust in California, where antecedent precipitation (in the case of the Bay area) and the peak intensity of localized downpours at sub-daily time scales (in the case of Los Angeles) are key factors not captured by the same-day accumulations. Accordingly, we suggest that the assessment of future changes in landslide hazard for the entire the West Coast requires consideration of future changes in the occurrence and intensity of atmospheric rivers, in their duration and clustering, and in the occurrence of short-duration (sub-daily) extreme rainfall as well. Major regional landslide events, in which multiple occurrences are recorded in the catalog for the same day, are too rare to allow a statistical characterization of their triggering events, but a case study analysis indicates that a variety of synoptic-scale events can be involved, including not only atmospheric rivers but also broader cold- and warm-front precipitation. That a news-based catalog of landslides is accurate enough to allow the identification of different landslide/ rainfall relationships in the major urban areas along the US West Coast suggests that this technology can potentially be used for other English-language cities and could become an even more powerful tool if expanded to other languages and non-traditional news sources, such as social media.

landslides↗

Three-Wavelength Approach for Aerosol-Cloud Discrimination in the Sage III/ISS Aerosol Extinction Dataset

The tropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) region is dominated by aerosols and clouds affecting Earth’s radiation budget and climate. Thus, satellites’ continuous monitoring and identification of these layers is crucial for quantifying their radiative impact. However, distinguishing between aerosols and clouds is challenging, especially under the perturbed UTLS conditions during post-volcanic eruptions and wildfire events. Aerosol-cloud discrimination is primarily based on their disparate wavelength-dependent scattering and absorption properties. In this study, we use aerosol extinction observations in the tropical (15°N-15°S) UTLS from June 2017 to February 2021, available from the latest generation of the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) instrument-SAGE III onboard the International Space Station (ISS) to study aerosols and clouds. During this period, the SAGE III/ISS provided better coverage over the tropics at additional wavelength channels (relative to previous SAGE missions) and witnessed several volcanic and wildfire events that perturbed the tropical UTLS. We explore the advantage of having an extinction coefficient at an additional wavelength channel (1550 nm) from the SAGE III/ISS in aerosol-cloud discrimination using a method based on thresholds of two extinction coefficient ratios, R1R1 (520 nm/1020 nm) and R2R2 (1020 nm/1550 nm). This method was proposed earlier by Kent et al. [Appl. Opt. 36, 8639 (1997) [CrossRef] ] for the SAGE III-Meteor-3M but was never tested for the tropical region under volcanically perturbed conditions. We call this method the Extinction Color Ratio (ECR) method. The ECR method is applied to the SAGE III/ISS aerosol extinction data to obtain cloud-filtered aerosol extinction coefficients, cloud-top altitude, and seasonal cloud occurrence frequency during the entire study period. Cloud-filtered aerosol extinction coefficient obtained using the ECR method revealed the presence of enhanced aerosols in the UTLS following volcanic eruptions and wildfire events consistent with the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) and space-borne lidar-Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP). The cloud-top altitude obtained from the SAGE III/ISS is within 1 km of the nearly co-located observations from OMPS and CALIOP. In general, the seasonal mean cloud-top altitude from the SAGE III/ISS events peaks during the December, January, and February months, with sunset events showing higher cloud tops than the sunrise events, indicating the seasonal and diurnal variation of the tropical convection. The seasonal altitude distribution of cloud occurrence frequency obtained from the SAGE III/ISS also agrees well with CALIOP observations within 10%. We show that the ECR method is a simple approach that relies on thresholds independent of the sampling period, providing cloud-filtered aerosol extinction coefficients uniformly for climate studies irrespective of the UTLS conditions. However, since the predecessor of SAGE III did not include a 1550 nm channel, the usefulness of this approach is limited to short-term climate studies after 2017.

Clouds Aerosols↗