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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 NTRS2015

LADEE Science Results and Implications for Exploration

NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, LADEE, concluded a fully successful investigation of the Moon's tenuous gas and dust atmosphere on April 18, 2014. LADEE hosted three science instruments to address atmospheric and dust objectives, and a technology demonstration of deep-space optical communication. The three science instruments were an ultraviolet-visible spectrometer (UVS), a neutral mass spectrometer (NMS), and a lunar dust experiment (LDEX). All data acquired by these instruments have been submitted to the Planetary Data System. A mission overview and science instrument descriptions are readily available. LADEE inserted into a low-altitude, retrograde lunar orbit optimized for observations at the sunrise terminator, where surface temperatures rise abruptly. LADEE also carried out observations over a wide range of local times and altitudes. Here we describe some of the initial results.

LADEE↗
NASA NTRS1992

Global views of Venus from Magellan

Magellan data for Venus reveal a planet with a great diversity of volcanic and tectonic landforms, with good evidence of continuing volcanism and tectonism. Weathering, mass wasting and wind erosion and deposition have modified the surface only to the extent of a few meters, thereby preserving an excellent record of tectonic and volcanic processes on a terrestrial-size planet. All cycle 1 mosaics, radiometry, and altimeter data will be made available through the Planetary Data System and the National Space Science Data Center.

Arvidson, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Science Alert Demonstration with a Rover Traverse Science Data Analysis System

The Onboard Autonomous Science Investigation System (OASIS) evaluates geologic data gathered by a planetary rover. This analysis is used to prioritize the data for transmission, so that the data with the highest science value is transmitted to Earth. In addition, the onboard analysis results are used to identify science opportunities. A planning and scheduling component of the system enables the rover to take advantage of the identified science opportunity. OASIS is a NASA-funded research project that is currently being tested on the FIDO rover at JPL for the use on future missions.

Castano, R.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Mariner Mars 1971 project. Volume 3: Mission operations system implementation and standard mission flight operations

The Mariner Mars 1971 mission which was another step in the continuing program of planetary exploration in search of evidence of exobiological activity, information on the origin and evolution of the solar system, and basic science data related to the study of planetary physics, geology, planetology, and cosmology is reported. The mission plan was designed for two spacecraft, each performing a separate but complementary mission. However, a single mission plan was actually used for Mariner 9 because of failure of the launch vehicle for the first spacecraft. The implementation is described, of the Mission Operations System, including organization, training, and data processing development and operations, and Mariner 9 spacecraft cruise and orbital operations through completion of the standard mission from launch to solar occultation in April 1972 are discussed.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2004

Onboard planning for geological investigations using a rover team

This paper describes an integrated system for coordinating multiple rover behavior with the overall goal of collecting planetary surface data. The Multi-Rover Integrated Science Understanding System (MISUS) combines techniques from planning and scheduling with machine learning to perform autonomous scientific exploration with cooperating rovers.

scheduling↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Extravehicular Activity Mission System Software (EMSS) - Enabling Human Planetary Exploration Data Within The Broader Planetary Data Ecosystem

The planetary science community is once again on the verge of generating, capturing and analyzing human planetary exploration data, this time via the Artemis program. Artemis missions will involve robotic missions in addition to human extravehicular activity (EVA) where crew will be generating scientific data [1]. Present-day robotic mission data expectations for data archiving involves ingesting data into the Planetary Data System (PDS), but how might PDS be leveraged/adapted/ready (or not) for human spaceflight mission data, particularly EVA data that includes non-scientific data that provides important context to the scientific data gathered on the lunar surface? This question has broader implications than what this abstract can answer, but we wanted to pose the question to 1) get conversations started and 2) highlight how operations software data handling could play a role in overall data curation.

M J Miller↗
NASA NTRS1994

Ancillary Data Services of NASA's Planetary Data System

JPL's Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility (NAIF) has primary responsibility for design and implementation of the SPICE ancillary information system, supporting a wide range of space science mission design, observation planning and data analysis functions/activities. NAIF also serves as the geometry and ancillary data node of the Planetary Data System (PDS). As part of the PDS, NAIF archives SPICE and other ancillary data produced by flight projects. NAIF then distributes these data, and associated data access software and high-level tools, to researchers funded by NASA's Office of Space Science. Support for a broader user community is also offered to the extent resources permit. This paper describes the SPICE system and customer support offered by NAIF.

Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility NAIF↗
NASA NTRS1993

Magellan Final Science Reports

This volume is a brief summary of the scientific results of the Magellan Venus mapping mission as reported by the Magellan science investigators. Magellan has exceeded all of its mission objectives by obtaining high resolution radar images, surface elevation, and radiometry for more than 98% of the planet. The amount of stereo data gathered on Venus is more than that available for any other planet. Magellan's fourth cycle collected gravity data from an elliptical orbit to provide information on the relationships between surface features and the interior of the planet. With the successful completion of the aerobraking experiment, the spacecraft, in its lower orbit around Venus, has captured high resolution gravity near the poles from the nearly circular orbit. Every attempt has been made to provide useful documentation for the complete Magellan data set. Magellan data have been released to the public through the Planetary Data System (PDS) and the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) in photographs, lithos, brochures, digital form, and compact discs. With the release of Magellan data on the compact disc read-only-memory (CD-ROM) a revolutionary new way of doing science has resulted. This technology provides a way to store, distribute and access large volumes of data. The Magellan science investigators have utilized this wealth of data to provide answers to questions we have been asking for a long time. I would like to personally thank everyone on the Magellan team for the success of this important mission, a mission that has revealed information that will help us to better understand our own Planet Earth.

Thompson, Thomas W.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Two Years Onboard the MER Opportunity Rover

The Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science (AEGIS) system provides automated data collection for planetary rovers. AEGIS is currently being used onboard the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission's Opportunity to provide autonomous targeting of the MER Panoramic camera. Prior to AEGIS, targeted data was collected in a manual fashion where targets were manually identified in images transmitted to Earth and the rover had to remain in the same location for one to several communication cycles. AEGIS enables targeted data to be rapidly acquired with no delays for ground communication. Targets are selected by AEGIS through the use of onboard data analysis techniques that are guided by scientist-specified objectives. This paper provides an overview of the how AEGIS has been used on the Opportunity rover, focusing on usage that occurred during a 21 kilometer historic trek to the Mars Endeavour crater.

Mars Exploration Rover (MER)↗
NASA NTRS2002

NASA planetary data: applying planetary satellite remote sensing data in the classroom

NASA supports several data archiving and distribution mechanisms that provide a means whereby scientists can participate in education and outreach through the use of technology for data and information dissemination. The Planetary Data System (PDS) is sponsored by NASA's Office of Space Science. Its purpose is to ensure the long-term usability of NASA data and to stimulate advanced research. In addition, the NASA Regional Planetary Image Facility (RPIF), an international system of planetary image libraries, maintains photographic and digital data as well as mission documentation and cartographic data.

Regional Plaentary Image Facility RPIF Planetary D↗
NASA NTRS1991

Applied Information Systems Research Program Workshop

Viewgraphs on Applied Information Systems Research Program Workshop are presented. Topics covered include: the Earth Observing System Data and Information System; the planetary data system; Astrophysics Data System project review; OAET Computer Science and Data Systems Programs; the Center of Excellence in Space Data and Information Sciences; and CASIS background.

Bredekamp, Joe↗
NASA NTRS2012

Update on Apollo Data Restoration by the NSSDC and the PDS Lunar Data Node

The Lunar Data Node (LDN) , under the auspices of the Geosciences Node of the Planetary Data System (PDS) and the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC), is continuing its efforts to recover and restore Apollo science data. The data being restored are in large part archived with NSSDC on older media, but unarchived data are also being recovered from other sources. They are typically on 7- or 9-track magnetic tapes, often in obsolete formats, or held on microfilm, microfiche, or paper documents. The goal of the LDN is to restore these data from their current form, which is difficult for most researchers to access, into common digital formats with all necessary supporting data (metadata) and archive the data sets with PDS. Restoration involves reading the data from the original media, deciphering the data formats to produce readable digital data and converting the data into usable tabular formats. Each set of values in the table must then be understood in terms of the quantity measured and the units used. Information on instrument properties, operational history, and calibrations is gathered and added to the data set, along with pertinent references, contacts, and other ancillary documentation. The data set then undergoes a peer review and the final validated product is archived with PDS. Although much of this effort has concentrated on data archived at NSSDC in the 1970's, we have also recovered data and information that were never sent to NSSDC. These data, retrieved from various outside sources, include raw and reduced Gamma-Ray Spectrometer data from Apollos 15 and 16, information on the Apollo 17 Lunar Ejecta And Meteorites experiment, Dust Detector data from Apollos 11, 12, 14, and I5, raw telemetry tapes from the Apollo ALSEPs, and Weekly Status Reports for all the Apollo missions. These data are currently being read or organized, and supporting data is being gathered. We are still looking for the calibrated heat flow data from Apollos 15 and 17 for the period 1975-1977, any assistance or information on these data would be welcome. NSSDC has recently been tasked to release its hard-copy archive, comprising photography, microfilm, and microfiche. The details are still being discussed, but we are concentrating on recovering the valuable lunar data from these materials while they are still readily accessible. We have identified the most critical of these data and written a LASER proposal to fund their restoration. Included in this effort are data from the Apollo 15 and 16 Mass Spectrometers and the Apollo 17 Par-UV Spectrometer and ancillary information on the Apollo 17 Surface Electrical Properties Experiment.

Williams, David R.↗
NASA NTRS1995

A Systems Engineering Approach to the Analysis of a Planetary Mission Ground System in Terms of Science Objectives

The most fundamental objective of all planetary missions is to return data. To accomplish this, a spacecraft is fabricated and built, software is planned and coded, and a ground system is designed and implemented. However, a systems engineering approach to determine how the collection of data drives ground system capabilities has received little attention.This paper defines a technique by which science objectives can be quantitatively evaluated. For illustrative purposes, it will be applied to NASA's Cassini Mission. This mission, to be launched in 1997, is an international endeavor designed to orbit Saturn for four years.The results of this systems engineering approach will show which science objectives drive specific ground system capabilities. In addition, this technique can assist system engineers in the selection of the science payload during pre-project mission planning; ground system designers during ground system development and implementation; and operations personnel during the mission.

systems engineering, ground systems↗
NASA NTRS1996

Grant Proposal for the Continuation of the Voyager Interstellar Mission: LECP Investigation

This proposal documents the plans of the Low Energy Charged Particle (LECP) investigation team for participation in NASA's Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM) as the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft explore the outer reaches of the heliosphere and search for the termination shock and the heliopause. The proposal covers the four year period from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2000. The LECP instruments on Voyager 1 and 2 measure in situ intensities of charged particles with energies from about 30 keV to 100 MeV for ions, and about 20 keV to greater than 10 MeV for electrons. The instruments provide detailed spectral, angular, and compositional information about the particles. Composition is available for greater than 200 keV/nuc using multi-parameter measurements. Angular information is obtained by a mechanically scanned platform that rotates at various commanded rates. Measurements of low energy ion and electron intensities versus time and spatial location within the heliosphere contain an abundance of information regarding various transport and acceleration processes on both local (approx. 1 hr, approx. 0.01 AU) and global (approx. 11 yrs, approx. 100 AU) scales. The LECP instruments provide unique observations of such dynamical processes, and we anticipate that it will return critical information regarding the boundaries of the heliosphere. Several recent and exciting discoveries based on LECP measurements emphasize the important role that low energy charged particle distributions play in physical processes in the interplanetary medium. Yet, at the same time, these discoveries also underscore the fact that our understanding of processes in the outer heliosphere is, in most cases, incomplete, and in others, only rudimentary at best. Among the discoveries referred to above are the following: (1) Shocks: Examination of greater than 30 keV ion intensities have revealed: (a) a total absence of acceleration beyond only -100-200 keV at a strong transient shock in May 1991 at 35 AU, despite an enhanced level of seed particles; (b) a large transient shock in September 1991 of global scale, with intensities of shock-accelerated ions greater than or equal to 30 keV to approx. 30 MeV showing complex, highly energy-dependent spatial evolution, and small-scale (approx. few gyroradii), often anisotropic, micro-structures; (c) recurrent intensity increases in greater than or equal to 30 keV to -few MeV ions, with structures that, in some cases, show no correlation with the associated corotating shock. (2) Superthermal ion pressure: A global merged interaction region with a leading shock, downstream of which the superthermal ion (greater than or equal to 30 keV to approx. 4 MeV) pressure is comparable to that of the thermal plasma, and the total particle pressure yields a plasma beta of order unity. (3) Pickup ions: Measurements of the C/O ratio within transient structures at 35-45 AU showing the first clear evidence that transient shocks can pre-accelerate interstellar pickup ions from approx. 1 keV/nuc to at least 1 MeV/nuc. (4) Seed particles: Injection of ions for acceleration to high energies at the termination shock is unlikely to be a problem, since interplanetary transient and recurrent shocks are continually accelerating ions, of solar wind or interstellar origin, to highly superthermal energies. (5) Precursor electrons: Ambient solar electrons (greater than or equal to few tens of keV) that exist in the outer heliosphere ca form a broad precursor, several days wide, that is upstream of the termination shock and potentially observable a few months prior to the shock crossing. (6) Solar wind velocity at Voyager 1: We can use LECP ion data to obtain the solar wind velocity at Voyager 1, enabling us to provide critical measurement of the plasma flow as we approach and encounter the termination shock and other regions (necessary due to the partial failure of the Voyager 1 PLS experiment). The work of the LECP investigator team during the VIM will include: (1) Continuing operations with regard to the receipt, processing, verification, cataloging, display, and distribution of the data from the LECP instruments on Voyager 1 and 2, (2) Monitoring the health and performance of the LECP instruments, and evaluating and characterizing the response of the LECP instruments to various energetic particle and plasma environments, (3) Participating in, and supporting Voyager Project planning exercises and other coordinated activities relevant to exploration of the outer heliosphere, (4) Developing analysis techniques and operational procedures suitable for searching for and characterizing the boundaries and unique regions of the outher heliosphere, (5) Continuing the preparation of data sets appropriate for submission to the National Space Sciences Data Center (NSSDC) and, where appropriate, the Planetary Data System (PDS), (6) Maintaining direct Web access to online LECP data through the JHU/APL Voyager LECP home page, (7) Performing scientific evaluations of the Voyager 1 and 2 LECP data sets in conjunction with other data sets and other investigators, with particular focus on the outer regions of the heliosphere, and (8) Publishing the results of these evaluations in the scientific literature and presenting the results in scientific conferences.

Krimigis, Stamatios M.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Leveraging VIPER Geotechnical and Mobility Insights for Endurance Rover and Traverse Development

A new generation of lunar surface rover exploration is rapidly approaching. This is evidenced by the rise of commercially developed rovers from private companies (e.g., Lunar Outpost’s MAPP) and government agencies, like NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER), the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), and the Endurance/Intrepid rover concepts, and the INSPIRE mission concept. The drive distance requirements for off-world vehicles are also rapidly increasing. For example, LTV driving requirements dictate a 20 km range on a single battery charge, with an overall lifetime requirement of 13,000 km over a minimum 10-year service life. Similarly, NASA's Endurance-A mission concept requires a 2000 km vehicle traverse distance, which is nearly 50 times further than the USSR's Lunokhod 2, the longest lunar rover mission to date. Previous planetary surface missions on the Moon and Mars have revealed harsh mobility conditions: aggressive rocky terrains on Mars severely damaged the Curiosity rover’s wheels, soft lunar regolith caused the Lunokhod 2 rover to sink and NASA’s Apollo 15 LRV (Lunar Roving Vehicle) spun out due to poor traction, which required manual correction. This demonstrates that mobility challenges like wheel degradation and soft soil driving performance must be accounted for in a mission’s design phase to meet increasingly aggressive mission durations and mobility goals. The success of these long duration missions requires highly reliable and durable mobility platforms in conjunction with a more developed understanding of the geotechnical properties of the lunar surface. The VIPER mission is uniquely posed to inform future missions about mobility performance, wheel durability, and lunar surface soil mechanics of sunlit and shadowed regions through use of data streams that already exist for other mission purposes. VIPER’s mission to the lunar south pole will provide a new perspective into off-world mobility challenges including traversal into permanently shadowed regions. Mobility data from VIPER’s mission will represent a first glimpse into the surface mobility challenges of the lunar South Pole. Utilization of VIPER’s existing capabilities including cameras, inertial measurement unit (IMU) data, motor currents/torque, drill data, and the rover’s suspension state and kinematics provide the opportunity to determine potentially useful information for future rover and traverse designs, as well as on-Earth testing practices. Data products collected during VIPER’s mission could inform design considerations for the Endurance rover much earlier than NASA’s standard “lessons learned” approach as VIPER has a highly tactical mission operations structure. This work outlines the specific links between possible data products from the VIPER mission and their potential impact on the Endurance/Intrepid mission concepts in their early design phases. From VIPER, we will also gain insights for future development of onboard mobility software as VIPER is a way-point driven rover which requires more constant human operation on Earth than some other rover missions (non-lunar surface). Primary VIPER data products and insights of interest include wheel sinkage, wheel slip, wheel degradation, surface soil shear strength, and terrain slope estimation. VIPER data products will be made available via the Planetary Data System’s Geosciences and Cartography and Imaging Sciences nodes, conforming to the PDS4 standard.

mobility↗
NASA NTRS2013

Planetary Data Systems (PDS) Imaging Node Atlas II

The Planetary Image Atlas (PIA) is a Rich Internet Application (RIA) that serves planetary imaging data to the science community and the general public. PIA also utilizes the USGS Unified Planetary Coordinate system (UPC) and the on-Mars map server. The Atlas was designed to provide the ability to search and filter through greater than 8 million planetary image files. This software is a three-tier Web application that contains a search engine backend (MySQL, JAVA), Web service interface (SOAP) between server and client, and a GWT Google Maps API client front end. This application allows for the search, retrieval, and download of planetary images and associated meta-data from the following missions: 2001 Mars Odyssey, Cassini, Galileo, LCROSS, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Exploration Rover, Mars Express, Magellan, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Pathfinder, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MESSENGER, Phoe nix, Viking Lander, Viking Orbiter, and Voyager. The Atlas utilizes the UPC to translate mission-specific coordinate systems into a unified coordinate system, allowing the end user to query across missions of similar targets. If desired, the end user can also use a mission-specific view of the Atlas. The mission-specific views rely on the same code base. This application is a major improvement over the initial version of the Planetary Image Atlas. It is a multi-mission search engine. This tool includes both basic and advanced search capabilities, providing a product search tool to interrogate the collection of planetary images. This tool lets the end user query information about each image, and ignores the data that the user has no interest in. Users can reduce the number of images to look at by defining an area of interest with latitude and longitude ranges.

Stanboli, Alice↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Retrospective Observations of the Solar System Planets with Interstellar Probe

Retrospective Observations of the Solar System Planets with Interstellar Probe The Interstellar Probe (ISP) mission concept could simultaneously explore a number of long-standing solar system and exoplanetary science objectives. ISP’s long mission lifetime, in combination with the large separations from the solar system objects it could observe (Fig. 1), affords a truly unique dataset. This data could be leveraged to validate models of solar system and extrasolar planets and would be directly analogous to observations we can expect to make for exoplanets. Taken together, these opportunities suggest that ISP’s mission is a critical and necessary component for future planetary science endeavors. This abstract aims to address some of the clear synergies between ISP’s mission profile and the gaps in solar system science that are necessarily gaps in our ability to wholly bound our expectations for exoplanet observations (partly discussed in several white papers, including Zemcov et al., 2019; Harman et al., 2020). Notably, no single platform has yet returned near-complete phase curves for the majority of solar system planets. This is partly due to observational constraints (e.g., ground-based observatories can observe a maximum phase angle of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune of 12º, 6º, 3º, and 2º, respectively; Mallama and Hilton, 2018), but also because of the sparse nature of observations captured by spacecraft over the last 40 years (e.g., Pollack et al., 1986). Additionally, these observations come from disparate instruments that have their own biases and limitations, whereas observations by ISP’s instrumentation would provide almost uniform measurements of nearly every solar system object, removing much of the uncertainty when it comes to data intercomparisons. The biggest hurdles for making these measurements from ISP are likely to be the tight mass and energy limitations, as well as the technical challenge of looking as close as possible to the Sun without peering directly at it. This is potentially complicated by the nature of the larger astrophysical mission requirements, including whether the spacecraft is spinning, but integrating observations on board before returning them to Earth serves to both partly mitigate both the possibility of a spinning spacecraft and the downlink volumes for lookback data (although it may make data disaggregation more technically challenging). Ultimately, ISP could return truly innovative observational data of our solar system, in furtherance of a number of planetary and solar system science goals.

Sonny Harman↗
NASA NTRS1989

The interdisciplinary role of space geodesy; Proceedings of the International Workshop, Erice, Italy, July 23-29, 1988

The current status of space geodesy and research plans for the 1990s are discussed in reviews and reports. Sections are devoted to the short-term and long-term dynamics of the solid earth, interactions between space geodesy and other disciplines and programs (geodynamics, earth structure, ocean physics, atmosphere and climate, planetary science, and fundamental physics), instrumentation, data analysis, reference coordinate systems, and education. Also provided are overviews of the French, ESA, and NASA geodetic research programs and descriptions of the Soviet Glonass navigation satellites, the WEGENER/MEDLAS observation program, and the Lageos II laser-ranging satellites. Diagrams, graphs, maps, and tables of numerical data are provided.

Mueller, Ivan I.↗