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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 NTRS2005

Searching for Life with Rovers: Exploration Methods & Science Results from the 2004 Field Campaign of the "Life in the Atacama" Project and Applications to Future Mars Missions

The Life In The Atacama (LITA) project develops and field tests a long-range, solarpowered, automated rover platform (Zo ) and a science payload assembled to search for microbial life in the Atacama desert. Life is barely detectable over most of the driest desert on Earth. Its unique geological, climatic, and biological evolution have created a unique training site for designing and testing exploration strategies and life detection methods for the robotic search for life on Mars.

Cabrol, N. A.a↗
NASA NTRS2022

Large Interferometer for Exoplanets (Life) I. Improved Exoplanet Detection Yield Estimates for A Large Mid-Infrared Space-Interferometer Mission

Context. One of the long-term goals of exoplanet science is the atmospheric characterization of dozens of small exoplanets in order to understand their diversity and search for habitable worlds and potential biosignatures. Achieving this goal requires a space mission of sufficient scale that can spatially separate the signals from exoplanets and their host stars and thus directly scrutinize the exoplanets and their atmospheres. Aims. We seek to quantify the exoplanet detection performance of a space-based mid-infrared (MIR) nulling interferometer that measures the thermal emission of exoplanets. We study the impact of various parameters and compare the performance with that of large single-aperture mission concepts detecting exoplanets in reflected light. Methods. We have developed an instrument simulator that considers all major astrophysical noise sources and coupled it with Monte Carlo of a synthetic exoplanet population around main-sequence stars within 20 pc. This allows us to quantify the number (and types) of exoplanets that our mission concept could detect over a certain time period. Two different scenarios to distribute the observing time among the stellar targets are discussed and different apertures sizes and wavelength ranges are considered. Results. An interferometer consisting of four 2 m apertures working in the 4–18.5 μ.m wavelength range with a total instrument throughput of 5% could detect up to ≈550 exoplanets with radii between 0.5 and 6 R ⊕ with an integrated S/N ≥ 7. At least ≈160 of the detected exoplanets have radii ≤1.5 R ⊕ . Depending on the observing scenario, ≈25–45 rocky exoplanets (objects with radii between 0.5 and 1.5 R ⊕ ) orbiting within the empirical habitable zone (eHZ) of their host stars are among the detections. With four 3.5 m apertures, the total number of detections can increase to up to ≈770, including ≈60–80 rocky eHZ planets. With four times 1 m apertures, the maximum detection yield is ≈315 exoplanets, including ≤20 rocky eHZ planets. The vast majority of small, temperate exoplanets are detected around M dwarfs. The impact of changing the wavelength range to 3–20 μm or 6–17 μm on the detection yield is negligible. Conclusions. A large space-based MIR nulling interferometer will be able to directly detect hundreds of small, nearby exoplanets, tens of which would be habitable world candidates. In terms of predicted detection yield, such a mission can compete with large single-aperture reflected light missions. Given that we assumed only 2.5 years for the search phase, a significant sub-set of the detected exoplanets can be followed-up in a second mission phase to obtain high SNR thermal emission spectra, leveraging the superior diagnostic power of the MIR wavelength regime compared to shorter wavelengths.

planets and satellites: terrestrial planets↗
NASA NTRS1970

A search for life on earth at 100 meter resolution

A study of several thousand photos indicated approximately 1% of Gemini and Apollo photographs of the earth at 100 m resolution revealed signs of life; rectangular arrays due to human agricultural and urban territoriality, roads, canals, jet contrails, and industrial pollution. Potential false positives such as dunes, sand bars, and jet stream clouds abound. A curve was derived for the detectivity of contemporary life on earth, in a plot of ground resolution versus global coverage. A comparable biology on Mars would not have been detected by all observations of Mars through Mariner 7. Forthcoming Mars orbiter and lander imaging experiments hold significant promise of detecting life on Mars of contemporary terrestrial extent and advancement, should such life exist.

Sagan, C.↗
NASA NTRS2014

The Signs of Life Detector (SOLID): An Instrument to Detect Molecular Biosignatures on Mars

The case for life on Mars grows stronger. Investigations at Gale Crater by Curiosity have revealed fine-grained sedimentary rocks inferred to represent an ancient lake environment suited to support life. In addition, Curiosity tentatively found a heterogeneous distribution of organic carbon within these sediments, consistent with the detection of native organic C in Mars meteorites. Furthermore, modern potentially habitable environments have been recognized on Mars including the N. Polar region visited by Phoenix, gully features suggesting modern water flows, and RSLs that occur seasonally suggest liquid processes. The time is ripe for missions to Mars incorporating a search for biochemical evidence of life.

The SOLID Instrument↗
NASA NTRS1975

Search for and investigation of extraterrestrial forms of life

Correct combinations of remote, analytic, and functional methods and measuring devices for detecting extraterrestrial life are elaborated. Considered are techniques and instruments available both on earth and aboard spacecraft and artificial planetary satellites. Emphasis is placed on the abiogenetic synthesis of organic compounds formed in photosynthesis on Mars.

Rubin, A. B.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Isolation and Monitoring of Cleanroom-Associated Microbial Contaminates From Geological Collections

Microbial contamination is of particular interest to geological curation as many microorganisms can change mineral composition and produce compounds used as biosignatures used for the detection of life. Microbial cells can change the mineral composition of rocks through organic acid production and direct enzymatic oxidation/reduction of transition metals. Enzymatic oxidation of iron and manganese can occur at a rate several orders of magnitude faster than under abiotic conditions and produce highly reactive nanoparticle- sized oxides that can react and sorb other metals and organic compounds. Many fungi can also produce organic acids that dissolve and chelate mineral matrices chemically reducing and dissolving rock surfaces. Finally, several common soil-associated bacteria and fungi produce secondary metabolites that contain unusual amino acid analogs and non-ribosomal peptides containing both L- and D- chirality used in characterizing carbonaceous chondrites and the detection of extraterrestrial life.

Davis, Richard E.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Acousto-ultrasonics to Assess Material and Structural Properties

This report was created to serve as a manual for applying the Acousto-Ultrasonic NDE method, as practiced at NASA Glenn, to the study of materials and structures for a wide range of applications. Three state of the art acousto-ultrasonic (A-U) analysis parameters, ultrasonic decay (UD) rate, mean time (or skewing factor, "s"), and the centroid of the power spectrum, "f(sub c)," have been studied and applied at GRC for NDE interrogation of various materials and structures of aerospace interest. In addition to this, a unique application of Lamb wave analysis is shown. An appendix gives a brief overview of Lamb Wave analysis. This paper presents the analysis employed to calculate these parameters and the development and reasoning behind their use. It also discusses the planning of A-U measurements for materials and structures to be studied. Types of transducer coupling are discussed including contact and non-contact via laser and air. Experimental planning includes matching transducer frequency range to material and geometry of the specimen to be studied. The effect on results of initially zeroing the DC component of the ultrasonic waveform is compared with not doing so. A wide range of interrogation problems are addressed via the application of these analysis parameters to real specimens is shown for five cases: Case 1: Differences in density in [0] SiC/RBSN ceramic matrix composite. Case 2: Effect of tensile fatigue cycling in [+/-45] SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composite. Case 3: Detecting creep life, and failure, in Udimet 520 Nickel-Based Super Alloy. Case 4: Detecting Surface Layer Formation in T-650-35/PMR-15 Polymer Matrix Composites Panels due to Thermal Aging. Case 5: Detecting Spin Test Degradation in PMC Flywheels. Among these cases a wide range of materials and geometries are studied.

Kautz, Harold E.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Radiation Stability Evaluation of Protein-Based Nanopores for Mars and Europa Missions

Exploration of our Solar System has revealed a number of locations that are now habitable or could have supported life in the past. One approach to finding life involves detection of informational polymers like deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) that are definitive biosignatures for life as we know it. Alternatively, structural variants of DNA and RNA, collectively termed xenonucleic acids (XNAs) have been shown in the laboratory to behave similarly. Nanopore-based sequencers differ from traditional sequencing technologies in that they do not explicitly require synthesis of DNA before or during analysis. Because of this, nanopore sequencers have been used for the direct sequencing of RNA, and could be used for the detection and analysis of other charged polymers. Here we describe results of exposing the MinION hardware, flow cells, and key reagents to ionizing radiation at doses relevant to Mars and Europa missions (10 to 3000 silicon-equivalent gray).

Burton, Aaron S.↗
DOE OSTI2021

A miniaturized long-life acoustic transmitter for animal tracking in marine environments

Marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) energy devices are early-stage technologies and their impacts to ocean life and environment are largely unknown, which consequently limits the progress of deploying these devices at commercial scale. Optical and acoustic imaging have been the primary technologies for monitoring marine animals’ behavior at existing or potential MHK sites. However, these technologies lack the ability to identify individual animals, which makes them less useful in identifying protected species as well as studying the animals’ long-term behavior. Implantable acoustic transmitters with unique identification codes could be used as a complementary technology. To minimize the tag burden on the tagged animal (and hence the resulting bias) and to satisfy the long-term monitoring needs, it is desired that the implanted transmitter be as small and light as possible and can last for as long as possible. To date, the smallest acoustic transmitters suitable for marine animal tracking have relatively short service life and detection range (up to 200 m). In this report, we introduce a new miniaturized acoustic transmitter which operates at 208.3 kHz. It offers a smaller dry weight (0.45 g), a significantly longer service life (140 days at a 5-second ping rate) as well as a greater detection range than the existing commercial counterparts, which will help obtain more comprehensive movement and behavioral information of animals around MHK energy devices.

Li, Huidong↗
NASA NTRS2022

Going to Extremes: Architecting Holographic Microscopes for Extreme Environments

Bacterial life exists on earth in extreme environments. These are environments described by large temperature excur- sions, large pressure excursions, and large radiation excursions from the nominal conditions near sea level which are largely populated by humans. These extreme locales represent such places as the ocean ice, the briny pools of Death Valley and deep mines, the acidic hot springs of the High Sierra or Yellowstone, or even the clouds of our upper atmosphere. The preponderance of bacterial life in these extreme environments here on earth suggests that bacterial life might likely exist in the extreme environments of our own solar system, such as the icy moons of Europa or Enceladus. Thus, architecting instruments for detect- ing life in these extreme environments on earth builds confidence that we can architect such instruments for flight missions. In this paper, we discuss our experience with designing digital holo- graphic microscope instruments to enable detection of bacteria in several extreme environments. In particular we discuss three different instruments. The first is our field instrument which is a small, portable instrument for examination of remote sites. The second is submersible instrument which enables exploration of deep aquatic environments and is deployed on a ocean-going drone. The third is a balloon-borne instrument to examine the bacterial content of the upper atmosphere. We will provide a review of each instrument and discuss aspects of instrument engineering for each particular application.

Ramirez, Alex↗
NASA NTRS2017

Electrochemical Detection of Biological Catalysts as Signatures of Extant Life

Liquid water is the quintessential ingredient for life. Biochemistry as we know it is not possible without it. There are two places in the Solar System, other than the Earth, where liquid water is known to exist: Europa and Enceladus. Cassini’s recent discovery of Enceladus’ ocean plumes has excited the scientific community about the possibility for liquid sampling and search for life. Characteristics of life are self-sustainability, its ability to evolve, and self-enclosure. To enable these, chemical energy must be utilized, information must be stored, and enclosing membranes must be built. Many of these processes are accomplished with the use of biological catalysts. To search for life in the ocean worlds, detection of biological catalysts serves as a strong marker of biological activity and thus life.

Koehne, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Exoplanet Biosignatures: Understanding Oxygen as a Biosignature in the Context of Its Environment

Here we review how environmental context can be used to interpret whether O 2 is a biosignature in extrasolar planetary observations. This paper builds on the overview of current biosignature research discussed in Schwieterman et al. (2017), and provides an in-depth, interdisciplinary example of biosignature identification and observation that serves as a basis for the development of the general framework for biosignature assessment described in Catling et al., (2017). O 2 is a potentially strong biosignature that was originally thought to be an unambiguous indicator for life at high-abundance. In exploring O 2 as a biosignature, we describe the coevolution of life with the early Earth's environment, and how the interplay of sources and sinks in the planetary environment may have resulted in suppression of O 2 release into the atmosphere for several billion years, a false negative for biologically generated O 2 . False positives may also be possible, with recent research showing potential mechanisms in exoplanet environments that may generate relatively high abundances of atmospheric O 2 without a biosphere being present. These studies suggest that planetary characteristics that may enhance false negatives should be considered when selecting targets for biosignature searches. Similarly our ability to interpret O 2 observed in an exoplanetary atmosphere is also crucially dependent on environmental context to rule out false positive mechanisms. We describe future photometric, spectroscopic and time-dependent observations of O 2 and the planetary environment that could increase our confidence that any observed O 2 is a biosignature, and help discriminate it from potential false positives. The rich, interdisciplinary study of O 2 illustrates how a synthesis of our understanding of life's evolution and the early Earth, scientific computer modeling of star-planet interactions and predictive observations can enhance our understanding of biosignatures and guide and inform the development of next-generation planet detection and characterization missions. By observing and understanding O 2 in its planetary context we can increase our confidence in the remote detection of life, and provide a model for biosignature development for other proposed biosignatures.

Victoria S Meadows↗
NASA NTRS1976

The pyrolytic release experiment - Measurement of carbon assimilation

The pyrolytic release experiment or carbon assimilation experiment is one of the three modules in the biology instrument on the 1976 Viking landers, which aims at detecting microbial life in Martian surface materials. The paper examines this experiment relative to the scientific assumptions in developing the test, the laboratory investigation supporting the experimental concept, and the operation and testing of the flight instrument. The only assumptions made are that the Martian species are adapted to function in their arid environment and that atmospheric CO2 or CO are assimilated by the species. Although the test is primarily designed to measure photoassimilation of CO2 or CO, the assimilation of these gases in heterotrophic or chemolithotrophic metabolism could also be detected. A new possibility for a carbon cycle on Mars is discussed.

Hubbard, J. S.↗
DOE OSTI2024

TEAMER - Field Demonstration of MarineSitu’s Marine Energy Monitoring Tools - CRADA 664 (Abstract)

In order to effectively monitor for marine life around marine energy devices and thus minimize the risk of collision, multiple sensors working in coordination and augmented with around-the-clock automated monitoring algorithms need to be installed in challenging high-energy tidal and wave environments. Such systems are often too expensive for widespread adoption, or lack sufficient sensors or smarts to enable around-the-clock, real-time monitoring without human involvement. MarineSitu has been working to tackle this problem by developing a low-cost, combined sonar and stereo camera sensor array with connected real-time AI-based algorithms for automatically detecting marine life in these marine energy suitable environments. In this TEAMER project with Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL), MarineSitu will be testing this novel sensor system for the first time in the high-energy tidal channel environment at PNNL’s Marine and Coastal Research Lab. Throughout this deployment, MarineSitu will be monitoring their system and running analytics on the sensor’s data in real-time. Meanwhile, PNNL Data Scientists and Ocean Engineers, will be evaluating the system’s effectiveness and ease of use both as a tool for plug-and-play environmental monitoring and novel environmental monitoring research. In doing so, the team will improve MarineSitu’s system and software, produce insightful data products, and develop novel visualizations and AI algorithms for combining and analyzing the data produced by systems like MarineSitu’s.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2025

TEAMER – Field Demonstration of MarineSitu’s Marine Energy Monitoring (Abstract)

In order to effectively monitor for marine life around marine energy devices and thus minimize the risk of collision, multiple sensors working in coordination and augmented with around-the-clock automated monitoring algorithms need to be installed in challenging high-energy tidal and wave environments. Such systems are often too expensive for widespread adoption, or lack sufficient sensors or smarts to enable around-the-clock, real-time monitoring without human involvement. MarineSitu has been working to tackle this problem by developing a low-cost, combined sonar and stereo camera sensor array with connected real-time AI-based algorithms for automatically detecting marine life in these marine energy suitable environments. In this TEAMER project with Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL), MarineSitu will be testing this novel sensor system for the first time in the high-energy tidal channel environment at PNNL’s Marine and Coastal Research Lab. Throughout this deployment, MarineSitu will be monitoring their system and running analytics on the sensor’s data in real-time. Meanwhile, PNNL Data Scientists and Ocean Engineers, will be evaluating the system’s effectiveness and ease of use both as a tool for plug-and-play environmental monitoring and novel environmental monitoring research. In doing so, the team will improve MarineSitu’s system and software, produce insightful data products, and develop novel visualizations and AI algorithms for combining and analyzing the data produced by systems like MarineSitu’s.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
NASA NTRS2003

Sensor Web in Antarctica: Developing an Intelligent, Autonomous Platform for Locating Biological Flourishes in Cryogenic Environments

The most rigorous tests of the ability to detect extant life will occur where biotic activity is limited by severe environmental conditions. Cryogenic environments are among the most severe-the energy and nutrients needed for biological activity are in short supply while the climate itself is actively destructive to biological mechanisms. In such settings biological activity is often limited to brief flourishes, occurring only when and where conditions are at their most favorable. The closer that typical regional conditions approach conditions that are actively hostile , the more widely distributed biological blooms will be in both time and space. On a spatial dimension of a few meters or a time dimension of a few days, biological activity becomes much more difficult to detect. One way to overcome this difficulty is to establish a Sensor Web that can monitor microclimates over appropriate scales of time and distance, allowing a continuous virtual presence for instant recognition of favorable conditions. A more sophisticated Sensor Web, incorporating metabolic sensors, can effectively meet the challenge to be in "the right place in the right time". This is particularly of value in planetary surface missions, where limited mobility and mission timelines require extremely efficient sample and data acquisition. Sensor Webs can be an effective way to fill the gap between broad scale orbital data collection and fine-scale surface lander science. We are in the process of developing an intelligent, distributed and autonomous Sensor Web that will allow us to monitor microclimate under severe cryogenic conditions, approaching those extant on the surface of Mars. Ultimately this Sensor Web will include the ability to detect and/or establish limits on extant microbiological activity through incorporation of novel metabolic gas sensors. Here we report the results of our first deployment of a Sensor Web prototype in a previously unexplored high altitude East Antarctic Plateau "micro-oasis" at the MacAlpine Hills, Law Glacier, Antarctica.

Delin, K. A.↗