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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1988

Planetary spectroscopy

The main goal of the research is charge coupled device (CCD) spectroscopic and imaging studies of the solar system in support of spacecraft investigations. Studies include the physical behavior of comets, the atmosphere of the gaseous planets, and the solid surfaces of satellites and asteroids. The major observing program consisted of approximately 50 nights of photometry of Comet Halley in order to resolve the controversy over this comet's rotation period. This data is presently being analyzed. Additional observing projects included the spectroscopic occultation of Charon by Pluto, reflection spectroscopy of Mercury, and a spectrum of the satellite Oberon. Mercury data does not corroborate the Fe(++) absorption feature reported by McCord and Clark at 8800 A but instead potentially shows a weaker feature at longer wavelengths. This position is in much closer accord with expectations for Mercury since a band center near 8800 A implies too little Fe(++) on Mercury, especially if band shifts with temperature are considered. The Pluto project proved that the deep methane absorptions visible in their combined specta are due soley to Pluto with Charon showing a flat and featureless spectrum. It appears that if Charon ever contained a substantial methane component, the satellite's low surface gravity could not hold it and the methane evaporated and escaped.

Fink, Uwe↗
NASA NTRS1988

Evaluation of Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer Data of the Mountain Pass, California carbonatite complex

Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data of the Mountain Pass, California carbonatite complex were examined to evaluate the AVIRIS instrument performance and to explore alternative methods of data calibration. Although signal-to-noise estimates derived from the data indicated that the A, B, and C spectrometers generally met the original instrument design objectives, the S/N performance of the D spectrometer was below expectations. Signal-to-noise values of 20 to 1 or lower were typical of the D spectrometer and several detectors in the D spectrometer array were shown to have poor electronic stability. The AVIRIS data also exhibited periodic noise, and were occasionally subject to abrupt dark current offsets. Despite these limitations, a number of mineral absorption bands, including CO3, Al-OH, and unusual rare earth element bands, were observed for mine areas near the main carbonatite body. To discern these bands, two different calibration procedures were applied to remove atmospheric and solar components from the remote sensing data. The two procedures, referred to as the single spectrum and the flat field calibration methods gave distinctly different results. In principle, the single spectrum method should be more accurate; however, additional fieldwork is needed to rigorously determine the degree of calibration success.

Crowley, James↗
NASA NTRS1993

SAW based systems for mobile communications satellites

Modern mobile communications satellites, such as INMARSAT 3, EMS, and ARTEMIS, use advanced onboard processing to make efficient use of the available L-band spectrum. In all of these cases, high performance surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices are used. SAW filters can provide high selectivity (100-200 kHz transition widths), combined with flat amplitude and linear phase characteristics; their simple construction and radiation hardness also makes them especially suitable for space applications. An overview of the architectures used in the above systems, describing the technologies employed, and the use of bandwidth switchable SAW filtering (BSSF) is given. The tradeoffs to be considered when specifying a SAW based system are analyzed, using both theoretical and experimental data. Empirical rules for estimating SAW filter performance are given. Achievable performance is illustrated using data from the INMARSAT 3 engineering model (EM) processors.

Peach, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Super-Low-Mass Spaceborne SAR Array Concepts

For Earth remote sensing applications, a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) typically employs an antenna with a fairly long along-track aperture in order to achieve the desired performance. At orbital velocities, the antenna along-track dimension is driven by a careful trade off between resolution, swath width, and available data rate and is independent of wavelength. 10 to 20 m long antennas have been flown or proposed in previous spaceborne SAR designs. To maintain an acceptable electrical flatness across this long aperture, very massive antenna support structures, weighing several hundred kilograms or more, have been used to date. For example, the fixed-beam L-band SeaSat antenna, which used a microstrip array with honeycomb substrate, had a mass of 250 Kg (including deployment mechanism). The beam-scanning L/C/X-band shuttle-based SIR-C antenna has a mass of l,800 Kg. These massive antenna systems generally require a launch vehicle with large stowage volume and heavy-payload-lift capability. To achieve good launch volume efficiency and to reduce payload weight, three super-low-mass array concepts are proposed and described here. With these new concepts, the mass of the future Earth remote sensing SAR antennas is expected to be less than 100 Kg.

Huang, J.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Magneto-optical Evidence of the Tilting Effect in Coupled Weyl Bands

Theories have revealed the universality of the band tilting effect in topological Weyl semimetals (WSMs) and its implications for the material physical properties. However, the experimental identification of tilted Weyl bands remains less explored. Here, we report the magneto-optical evidence of the tilting effect in WSM niobium phosphide. Specifically, we observe Landau level transitions with rich features that are well reproduced within a model of coupled tilted Weyl points. Our analysis indicates that the tilting effect relaxes the selection rules and leads to transitions that would otherwise be forbidden in the non-tilt case. Additionally, we observe unconventional interband transitions with flat and negative magnetic field dispersions, highlighting the importance of coupling between Weyl points. Our results not only emphasize the significance of the tilting effect in the optical responses of WSMs but also demonstrate magneto-optics as an effective tool for probing the tilting effect in electronic band structures.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1996

First Results of the TOPSAR C-Band / L-Band Interferometer: Calibration and Differential Penetration

The NASA/JPL TOPSAR instrument recently was extended from a single wavelength C-band dual aperture synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometer to include a second wavelength at the L-band. Adding the second wavelength invites comparison of wavelength-diverse effects in topographic mapping of surfaces, with the principal goal of understanding the penetration of the radar signals in vegetation canopies, and determining the inferred topographic height. A first analysis of these data was conducted at two sites. Elkhorn Slough near Monterey, California presented flat, vegetation free terrain required for calibrating the radar interferometer parameters. A second site stretching from San Jose to Santa Cruz, California, which is heavily vegetated, provided the first test case for wavelength diverse penetration studies. Preliminary results show that: (a) the interferometer calibration determined at Elkhorn Slough is extenable to Laurel Quad and gives confidence in the C- and L-band height measurements; (b) Clear differences were observed between the C- and L-band heights associated with vegetation, with the C-band derived topographic heights generally higher than those from L-band. The noise level in the L-band interferometer is presently the limiting factor in penetration studies.

Rosen, Paul A.↗
NASA NTRS1996

First Results of the TOPSAR C-Band/L-Band Interferometer: Calibration and Differential Penetration

The NASA/JPL TOPSAR instrument recently was extended from a single- wavelength C-band (5.6 cm-lambda) dual aperture synthetic aperture radar interferometer to include a second wavelength at L-band (24 cm). Adding the second wavelength invites comparison of wavelength-diverse effects in topographic mapping of surfaces, with the principal goal of understanding the penetration of the radar signals in vegetation canopies, and determining the inferred topographic height. A first analysis of these data was conducted at two sites. Elkhorn Slough near Monterey, California presented flat, vegetation free terrain required for calibrating the radar interferometric parameters. A second site stretching from San Jose to Santa Cruz, CA, which is heavily vegetated, provided the first test case for wavelength diverse penetration studies. Preliminary results show that: (a) the interferometer calibration determined at Elkhorn Slough is extendable to Laurel Quad and gives confidence in the C- and L-band height measurements; and (b) Clear differences are observed between the C- and L-band heights associated with vegetation, with C-band-derived topographic heights generally higher than those from L-band. The noise level in the L-band interferometer is presently the limiting factor in penetration studies.

Rosen, Paul A.↗
NASA NTRS1969

Checking flat conductor cable spacing by means of a moire pattern

Moire tester detects small variations in flat conductor cable spacing by a quick, visual inspection. This device compares the cable to be tested with the negative of a very precise standard cable. The moire, consisting of bands of light and dark zones and its irregularities, can be interpreted as errors in spacing.

Angele, W.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Visible-Near Infrared Imaging Spectrometer Data of Explosion Craters

In a continuing study to capture a realistic terrain applicable to studies of cratering processes and landing hazards on Mars, we have obtained new high resolution visible-near infrared images of several explosion craters at the Nevada Test Site. We used the Airborne Visible-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) to obtain images in 224 spectral bands from 0.4-2.5 microns [1]. The main craters that were imaged were Sedan, Scooter, Schooner, Buggy, and Danny Boy [2]. The 390 m diameter Sedan crater, located on Yucca Flat, is the largest and freshest explosion crater on Earth that was formed under conditions similar to hypervelocity impact cratering. As such, it is effectively pristine, having been formed in 1962 as a result of the detonation of a 104 kiloton thermonuclear device, buried at the appropriate equivalent depth of burst required to make a "simple" crater [2]. Sedan was formed in alluvium of mixed lithology [3] and subsequently studied using a variety of field-based methods. Nearby secondary craters were also formed at the time and were also imaged by AVIRIS. Adjacent to Sedan and also in alluvium is Scooter, about 90 m in diameter and formed by a high-explosive event. Schooner (240 m) and Danny Boy (80 m, Fig. 1) craters were also important targets for AVIRIS as they were excavated in hard welded tuff and basaltic andesite, respectively [3, 4]. This variation in targets will allow the study of ejecta patterns, compositional modifications due to the explosions, and the role of craters as subsurface probes.

Farr, T. G.↗
NASA NTRS1999

X-Raying Molecular Clouds

Dense interstellar clouds are known to consist almost entirely of molecular hydrogen gas which is, however, normally not observable directly. We have developed a new method for measuring gas column density through its X-ray absorption. The latest data analysis software has been implemented to correct for both exposure and flat- fielding and to subtract various non-cosmic background from individual images. The ROSAT PSPC observations on the R CrA cloud have been merged into maps in three broad energy bands, with corrections for residual differential background between the observations. Individual sources have been detected and removed from these maps. We have then applied the shadowing technique to derive the first column density map based on X-ray data alone. We have conducted various tests to access systematic errors, including possible background intensity variations. We have also proposed a NRAO 12m telescope mapping of the CO distribution in the R CrA cloud. This mapping will supplement our X-ray measurement to allow for a direct calibration of the Co-to-H2 conversion ratio. We use a multi-energy band X-ray shadowing technique to measure the total column density distribution of molecular clouds.

Wang, Q. Daniel↗
NASA NTRS1992

Four space application material coatings on the long-duration exposure flight (LDEF)

Four material coatings of different thickness were flown on the LDEF to determine their ability to perform in the harsh space environment. The coatings, located in the ram direction of the spacecraft, were exposed for 10 months to the low-Earth orbit (LEO) environment experienced by the LDEF at an orbit of 260 nautical miles. They consisted of indium oxide (In2O3), silicon oxide (SiO(x)), clear RTV silicone, and silicone with silicate-treated zinc oxide (ZnO). These coatings were flown to assess their behavior when exposed to atomic oxygen and to confirm their good radiative properties, stability, electrical conductivity, and resistance to UV exposure. The flown samples were checked and compared with the reference unflown samples using high-magnification optical inspection, ESCA analysis, weight changes and dimensional changes. These comparisons indicated the following: The 1000 A SiO(x) coating eroded uniformly, with minor changes in its radiative properties. The 100 A of In2O3 coating eroded completely down to the Kapton backing, with resultant losses of reflectance. The RTV-615 showed erosion, with carbon (C) content losses, while the Si remained constant, with a doubling of the oxygen (O) concentration. The RTV-615 silicone with K2SiO3-treated ZnO changed from flat to glossy white in appearance. It lost C, was etched, and increased its O content. The upper layers showed no remaining Zn or K. Losses of reflectance occurred within certain wavelength bands. It was not possible to evaluate the experimental oxygen reaction rate using the calculated atomic oxygen fluence of 2.6 x 10(exp 20) atoms/cm(exp 2) for the exposure of these coatings during the flight. The bakeout of the coatings was not carried out prior to the flight. Hence, the coating weight and dimensional losses included losses by outgassing products.

Scialdone, John J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

How old is the z = 3.4 radio galaxy B2 0902+34?

The redshift 3.395 radio galaxy B2 0902+34 has been observed at K and in a 0.09 micron wide 2.21 micron filter which includes the redshifted forbidden O III 4959 and 5007 A emission lines. A value of m(K) = 19.9 +/- 0.3 is found in a 4 arcsec aperture, a magnitude fainter than Lilly's (1988) value, while the narrow-band image reveals that most of this flux is actually due to line emission. After correcting for forbidden O III 4959 and 5007A, a color is found which is consistent with the flat F(v) spectrum considered characteristic of a protogalaxy. Ages for the galaxy derived from stellar population models based on the limit R - K less than 3.8 are much younger than those for the I - K = 4.5 value reported by Lilly.

Eisenhardt, Peter↗
NASA NTRS1995

Four space application material coatings on the Long-Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF)

Four material coatings of different thicknesses were flown on the LDEF to determine their ability to perform in the harsh space environment. The coatings, located in the ram direction of the spacecraft, were exposed for 10 months to the low-Earth orbit (LEO) environments experienced by the LDEF at an orbit of 260 nautical miles. They consisted of indium oxide (In2O3), silicon oxide (SiO(x)), clear RTV silicone, and silicone with silicate-treated zinc oxide (ZnO). These coatings were flown to assess their behavior when exposed to atomic oxygen and to confirm their good radiative properties, stability, electrical conductivity, and resistance to UV exposure. The flown samples were checked and compared with the reference unflown samples using high-magnification optical inspection, ESCA analysis, weight changes, and dimensional changes. These comparisons indicated the following. The 1000 A SiO(x) coating eroded uniformly, with minor changes in its radiative properties. The 100 A In2O3 coating eroded completely down to the Kapton backing, with resultant losses of reflectance. The RTV-615 showed erosion, with carbon (C) content losses, while the Si remained constant, with a doubling of the oxygen (O) concentration. The RTV-615 silicone with K2SiO3-treated ZnO changed from flat to glossy white in appearance. It lost C, was etched, and increased its O content. The upper layers showed no remaining Zn or K. Losses of reflectance occurred within certain wavelength bands. It was not possible to evaluate the experimental oxygen reaction rate using the calculated atomic oxygen fluence of 2.6 x 10(exp 20) atoms/cm(exp 2) for the exposure of these coatings during the flight. The bakeout of the coatings was not carried out prior to the flight. Hence, the coating weight and dimensional losses included losses by outgassing products.

Scialdone, John J.↗
NASA NTRS2012

The Aquarius Salinity Retrieval Algorithm

The first part of this presentation gives an overview over the Aquarius salinity retrieval algorithm. The instrument calibration [2] converts Aquarius radiometer counts into antenna temperatures (TA). The salinity retrieval algorithm converts those TA into brightness temperatures (TB) at a flat ocean surface. As a first step, contributions arising from the intrusion of solar, lunar and galactic radiation are subtracted. The antenna pattern correction (APC) removes the effects of cross-polarization contamination and spillover. The Aquarius radiometer measures the 3rd Stokes parameter in addition to vertical (v) and horizontal (h) polarizations, which allows for an easy removal of ionospheric Faraday rotation. The atmospheric absorption at L-band is almost entirely due to molecular oxygen, which can be calculated based on auxiliary input fields from numerical weather prediction models and then successively removed from the TB. The final step in the TA to TB conversion is the correction for the roughness of the sea surface due to wind, which is addressed in more detail in section 3. The TB of the flat ocean surface can now be matched to a salinity value using a surface emission model that is based on a model for the dielectric constant of sea water [3], [4] and an auxiliary field for the sea surface temperature. In the current processing only v-pol TB are used for this last step.

Meissner, Thomas↗
NASA NTRS1985

Microwave inversion of leaf area and inclination angle distributions from backscattered data

The backscattering coefficient from a slab of thin randomly oriented dielectric disks over a flat lossy ground is used to reconstruct the inclination angle and area distributions of the disks. The disks are employed to model a leafy agricultural crop, such as soybeans, in the L-band microwave region of the spectrum. The distorted Born approximation, along with a thin disk approximation, is used to obtain a relationship between the horizontal-like polarized backscattering coefficient and the joint probability density of disk inclination angle and disk radius. Assuming large skin depth reduces the relationship to a linear Fredholm integral equation of the first kind. Due to the ill-posed nature of this equation, a Phillips-Twomey regularization method with a second difference smoothing condition is used to find the inversion. Results are obtained in the presence of 1 and 10 percent noise for both leaf inclination angle and leaf radius densities.

Lang, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS2020

The Fourth Catalog of Active Galactic Nuclei Detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope

The fourth catalog of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Large Area Telescope (4LAC) between 2008 August 4 and 2016 August 2 contains $2863$ objects located at high Galactic latitudes (| b| > 10^9). It includes 85% more sources than the previous 3LAC catalog based on 4 yr of data. AGNs represent at least 79% of the high-latitude sources in the fourth Fermi-Large Area Telescope Source Catalog (4FGL), which covers the energy range from 50 MeV to 1 TeV. In addition, 344 gamma-ray AGNs are found at low Galactic latitudes. Most of the 4LAC AGNs are blazars (98%), while the remainder are other types of AGNs. The blazar population consists of 24% Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQs), 38% BL Lac-type objects, and 38% blazar candidates of unknown types (BCUs). On average, FSRQs display softer spectra and stronger variability in the gamma-ray band than BL Lacs do, confirming previous findings. All AGNs detected by ground-based atmospheric Cerenkov telescopes are also found in the 4LAC.

M. Ajello↗
NASA NTRS2020

The Fourth Catalog of Active Galactic Nuclei Detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope

The fourth catalog of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Large Area Telescope (4LAC) between 2008 August 4 and 2016 August 2 contains $2863$ objects located at high Galactic latitudes (|b|>10°). It includes 85% more sources than the previous 3LAC catalog based on 4 yr of data. AGNs represent at least 79% of the high-latitude sources in the fourth Fermi-Large Area Telescope Source Catalog (4FGL), which covers the energy range from 50 MeV to 1 TeV. In addition, 344 gamma-ray AGNs are found at low Galactic latitudes. Most of the 4LAC AGNs are blazars (98%), while the remainder are other types of AGNs. The blazar population consists of 24% Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQs), 38% BL Lac-type objects, and 38% blazar candidates of unknown types (BCUs). On average, FSRQs display softer spectra and stronger variability in the gamma-ray band than BL Lacs do, confirming previous findings. All AGNs detected by ground-based atmospheric Cerenkov telescopes are also found in the 4LAC.

M. Ajello↗
NASA NTRS1995

Degree-scale anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background: SP94 results

We present results from two observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) performed from the South Pole during the 1993-1994 austral summer. Each observation employed a 3 deg peak-to-peak sinusoidal, single-difference chop and consisted of a 20 deg x 1 deg strip on the sky. The first observation used a receiver which operates in three channels between 38 and 45 GHz (Q-band) with a full width half maximum (FWHM) beam which varies from 1 deg to 1.15 deg. The second observation overlapped the first observation and used a receiver which operates in four channels between 26 and 36 GHz (Ka-band) with a FWHM beam which varies from 1.5 deg to 1.7 deg. Significant correlated structure is observed in all channels for each observation. The spectrum of the structure is consistent with a CMB spectrum and is formally inconsistent with diffuse synchrotron and free-free emission at the 5 sigma level. The amplitude of the structure is inconsistent with 20 K interstellar dust; however, the data do not discriminate against flat or inverted spectrum point sources. The root mean square amplitude (+/- 1 sigma) of the combined (Ka + Q) data is Delta T(sub rms) = 41.2(sup +15.5, sub -6.7) micro-K for an average window function which has a peak value of 0.97 at l = 68 and drops to e(exp -0.5) of the peak value at l = 36 and l = 106. A band power estimate of the CMB power spectrum, C(sub l), gives average value of (C(sub l)l(l + 1)/(2 pi))(sub B) = 1.77(sup +1.58, sub -0.54) x 10(exp -10).

Gundersen, J. O.↗