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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 361 records · Page 20
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1973

Microbiological sampling of spacecraft cabling, antennas, solar panels and thermal blankets

Sampling procedures and techniques described resulted from various flight project microbiological monitoring programs of unmanned planetary spacecraft. Concurrent with development of these procedures, compatibility evaluations were effected with the cognizant spacecraft subsystem engineers to assure that degradation factors would not be induced during the monitoring program. Of significance were those areas of the spacecraft configuration for which special handling precautions and/or nonstandard sample gathering techniques were evolved. These spacecraft component areas were: cabling, high gain antenna, solar panels, and thermal blankets. The compilation of these techniques provides a historical reference for both the qualification and quantification of sampling parameters as applied to the Mariner Spacecraft of the late 1960's and early 1970's.

Koukol, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Conceptual Design and Dynamics Testing and Modeling of a Mars Tumbleweed Rover

The NASA Langley Research Center has been developing a novel concept for a Mars planetary rover called the Mars Tumbleweed. This concept utilizes the wind to propel the rover along the Mars surface, bringing it the potential to cover vast distances not possible with current Mars rover technology. This vehicle, in its deployed configuration, must be large and lightweight to provide the ratio of drag force to rolling resistance necessary to initiate motion from rest on the Mars surface. One Tumbleweed design concept that satisfies these considerations is called the Eggbeater-Dandelion. This paper describes the basic design considerations and a proposed dynamics model of the concept for use in simulation studies. It includes a summary of rolling/bouncing dynamics tests that used videogrammetry to better understand, characterize, and validate the dynamics model assumptions, especially the effective rolling resistance in bouncing/rolling dynamic conditions. The dynamics test used cameras to capture the motion of 32 targets affixed to a test article s outer structure. Proper placement of the cameras and alignment of their respective fields of view provided adequate image resolution of multiple targets along the trajectory as the test article proceeded down the ramp. Image processing of the frames from multiple cameras was used to determine the target positions. Position data from a set of these test runs was compared with results of a three dimensional, flexible dynamics model. Model input parameters were adjusted to match the test data for runs conducted. This process presented herein provided the means to characterize the dynamics and validate the simulation of the Eggbeater-Dandelion concept. The simulation model was used to demonstrate full scale Tumbleweed motion from a stationary condition on a flat-sloped terrain using representative Mars environment parameters.

Calhoun Philip C.↗
NASA NTRS2018

The TechEdSat-N Series: A Collaborative Technology Development Platform in the Nano-Satellite Form Factor

The TechEdSat-1 (TES-1) was the first U.S. CubeSat to be deployed from the ISS (International Space Station). This permitted the initiation of a flight series that has recently de-orbited the 6th nano-satellite with subsequent numbers 7-10 under development. The nano-satellites range from 1U (1 unit) to 6U (TechEdSat-8) but have the critical ISS Safety design features standardized in order to focus on the particular experiment objectives. Incremental experimental development has included unique communication subsystems such as command/control of the nanosatellite through email commands -as well as a recent record for Wifi transmission. Also, the thermophysics of controlled drag devices (Exo-Brake) has been developed which will prelude sample return and planetary exploration applications. The successful "rapid incremental experiment" approach has also been incorporated into collaborations with academia, permitting professors/student interns to be exposed to the rigors of space mission hardware design and execution. The TechEdSat-8, a linear 6U configuration, allows for 5 different groups to contribute an "experiment, sensor, or sub-system" through a well-defined common interface. Lastly, the flying laboratory concept is helpful in developing future interplanetary nano-satellite subsystems which will advance exploration goals by allowing rapid demonstration/validation first in LEO (Low Earth Orbit).

Small Payload Quick Return↗
NASA NTRS2021

Regolith Adaptive Modification Systems (Rams) - Final Report

Establishing human habitation on the Moon or Mars requires a palette of reaction chemistries for deconstructing extraterrestrial soils to extract structural metals, fuels, and propellants, as well as consolidating the soils into load-bearing forms. This report outlines progress related to the fundamental chemistry of in-situ resource utilization that is the focus of our Regolith Adaptive Modification System (RAMS) NIAC project. The RAMS concept is a breakthrough approach for preparing surfaces for early landing sites–and subsequent settlement operations–on the Lunar and Martian surface, among others. The RAMS concept is aligned with aspirations and capabilities of planned NASA Artemis mission. The approach is predicated on the sequential delivery of microcapsules onto lunar and Martian surfaces, which upon rupture, release payloads that react with regolith to yield geopolymerized subsurface slabs and surface high-strength steel skin and anchors . Through successively more exothermic reactions, we are seeking to build subsurface geopolymer slabs and use thermite reactions to constitute micro-alloyed advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) and Ti—Al—V pads on surfaces of planetary bodies, thereby circumventing the need for energy-intensive sintering technologies. As a precursor delivery system used to constitute landingpads, RAMS can be scaled for robotic, human-class, and more prominent (i.e., Starship) landers and will be configured within pressurized delivery systems that use radio beacons to outline coordinates for precision landings. Microcapsule delivery systems are designed to impel precursors (nanothermite mixtures and organosilanes), which activate in response to stress, heat, or impact to constitute deep geopolymerized slabs and AHSS skins. Dust mitigation is accomplished by reaction/solidification chemistry that yields a subsurface slab and advanced high-strength steel skin and anchors.

2021 NIAC Phase I↗
NASA NTRS2018

Plans and Concepts for a New Generation of RTGs for Planetary Science Missions

Of the six types of radioisotope thermoelectric generators NASA has flown in space, only the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) is currently available for spaceflight, and it relies on technology first used for RTGs in the 1970s. The MMRTG is a rugged power system capable of delivering 110W at launch. NASA is considering future missions with higher power demands however, and sponsored a study to identify concepts and plans to address those needs. The Director of NASA’s Planetary Sciences Division was briefed on a potential enhancement to the MMRTG in late-2012, just a couple of days after the landing of the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, on Mars. NASA subsequently funded system-level engineering and technology maturation tasks for a proposed enhanced MMRTG, or eMMRTG, in fiscal year 2013. There was no plan to build a complete generator, rather the engineering of one, and the transfer of technology from laboratories at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to industry were begun. NASA has now formed a Project to take the eMMRTG from technology to a qualification unit. This would form the first of a new generation of RTGs in 50 years. NASA has also formed a Project for a Next-Generation RTG concept based upon a study led by this author and a large team. NASA’s Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) Program set the objective for the study to explore what possible options NASA has for Next-Generation-RTGs. The scope and breadth of the study included many possible destinations within the solar system, and traded a variety of RTG conceptual designs, and risk rated a variety of thermoelectric materials and couple configurations. Requirements were defined for the RTG concepts, a variety of thermoelectric materials were evaluated to find the most mature candidates, and performance was estimated for each RTG concept that could use the most mature of these new thermoelectric materials. The study relied upon mission concepts outlined in the latest Planetary Science Decadal Survey (2011), other more recent mission studies completed throughout the agency, and recent analyses of potential missions to ocean worlds to identify requirements that were not applied to previous RTGs but might prove valuable to these NG-RTGs. RTG concepts with maximal potential utility were identified as being modular and ranging in power output from 50 to 500W. A variety of RTG design concepts with several distinguishing characteristics were formulated. The plans and concepts for a new generation of RTGs (the eMMRTG and NG-RTG) will be discussed.

Woerner, David F.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Aquaplanets as a Framework for Examination of Aerosol Effects

Although fundamental to the planetary radiative balance, aerosol impacts are highly uncertain in climate simulations because of the uneven distribution of aerosol sources and the complex interactions with radiation and clouds that are difficult to represent in climate models. This study proposes that aquaplanet configurations represent an idealized framework to investigate aerosol effects. As a simple demonstration, a series of aquaplanet simulations with the Community Atmosphere Model version 6 shows that the spatial distribution of aerosol emissions changes the aerosol effective radiative forcing even with unchanged total emissions. Some statistical properties of the simulations are presented to show that relatively short model integrations yield robust results. Much of the aerosol effect is shown to arise from aerosol–cloud interactions, especially through rapid adjustments associated with the aerosol lifetime effect that alter the cloud optical thickness.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1996

Johnson Space Center's Regenerative Life Support Systems Test Bed

The Regenerative Life Support Systems (RLSS) Test Bed at NASA's Johnson Space Center is an atmospherically closed, controlled environment facility for human testing of regenerative life support systems using higher plants in conjunction with physicochemical life support systems. The facility supports NASA's Advanced Life Support (ALS) Program. The facility is comprised of two large scale plant growth chambers, each with approximately 11 m2 growing area. The root zone in each chamber is configurable for hydroponic or solid media plant culture systems. One of the two chambers, the Variable Pressure Growth Chamber (VPGC), is capable of operating at lower atmospheric pressures to evaluate a range of environments that may be used in a planetary surface habitat; the other chamber, the Ambient Pressure Growth Chamber (APGC) operates at ambient atmospheric pressure. The air lock of the VPGC is currently being outfitted for short duration (1 to 15 day) human habitation at ambient pressures. Testing with and without human subjects will focus on 1) integration of biological and physicochemical air and water revitalization systems; 2) effect of atmospheric pressure on system performance; 3) planetary resource utilization for ALS systems, in which solid substrates (simulated planetary soils or manufactured soils) are used in selected crop growth studies; 4) environmental microbiology and toxicology; 5) monitoring and control strategies; and 6) plant growth systems design. Included are descriptions of the overall design of the test facility, including discussions of the atmospheric conditioning, thermal control, lighting, and nutrient delivery systems.

NASA Discipline Number 61-10↗
NASA NTRS2008

Transit Imaging and Spectroscopy with the James Webb Space Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large aperture (6.5 meter), cryogenic space telescope with a suite of near and mid-infrared instruments covering the wavelength range of 0.6 microns to 28 microns. JWST's primary science goal is to detect and characterize the first galaxies. It will also study the assembly of galaxies, star formation, and the formation of evolution of planetary systems. Recent progress in hardware development for the observatory will be presented, including a discussion of the status of JWST's optical system and Beryllium mirror fabrication, progress with sunshield prototypes, and recent changes in the integration and test configuration. We also review the expected scientific performance of the observatory for observations of exosolar planets by means of transit imaging and spectroscopy. We will review the capabilities of each science instrument, and discuss the performance of each mode, with reference to current transiting systems.

Clampin, Mark↗
NASA NTRS2008

The James Webb Space Telescope and its Potential for Exoplanet Science

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large aperture (6.5 meter), cryogenic space telescope with a suite of near and mid-infrared instruments covering the wavelength range of 0.6 microns to 28 microns. JWST s primary science goal is to detect and characterize the first galaxies. It will also study the assembly of galaxies, star formation, and the formation of evolution of planetary systems. Recent progress in hardware development for the observatory will be presented, including a discussion of the status of JWST s optical system and Beryllium mirror fabrication, progress with sunshield prototypes, and recent changes in the integration and test configuration. We also review the expected scientific performance of the observatory for observations of exosolar planets by means of transit imaging and spectroscopy and direct imaging. We also review the recent discovery of Fomalhaut B and implications for debris disk imaging nd exoplanet detection with JWST.

Clampin, Mark↗
NASA NTRS2012

Long-Life, Lightweight, Multi-Roller Traction Drives for Planetary Vehicle Surface Exploration

NASA s initiative for Lunar and Martian exploration will require long lived, robust drive systems for manned vehicles that must operate in hostile environments. The operation of these mechanical drives will pose a problem because of the existing extreme operating conditions. Some of these extreme conditions include operating at a very high or very cold temperature, operating over a wide range of temperatures, operating in very dusty environments, operating in a very high radiation environment, and operating in possibly corrosive environments. Current drive systems use gears with various configurations of teeth. These gears must be lubricated with oil (or grease) and must have some sort of a lubricant resupply system. For drive systems, oil poses problems such as evaporation, becoming too viscous and eventually freezing at cold temperatures, being too thin to lubricate at high temperatures, being degraded by the radiation environment, being contaminated by the regolith (soil), and if vaporized (and not sealed), it will contaminate the regolith. Thus, it may not be advisable or even possible to use oil because of these limitations. An oil-less, compact traction vehicle drive is a drive designed for use in hostile environments like those that will be encountered on planetary surfaces. Initially, traction roller tests in vacuum were conducted to obtain traction and endurance data needed for designing the drives. From that data, a traction drive was designed that would fit into a prototype lunar rover vehicle, and this design data was used to construct several traction drives. These drives were then tested in air to determine their performance characteristics, and if any final corrections to the designs were necessary. A limitation with current speed reducer systems such as planetary gears and harmonic drives is the high-contact stresses that occur at tooth engagement and in the harmonic drive wave generator interface. These high stresses induce high wear of solid lubricant coatings, thus necessitating the use of liquid lubricants for long life.

Klein, Richard C.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Atmospheric sounding with the Lidar In-Space Technology Experiment (LITE)

The Lidar In-Space Technology Experiment (LITE) is being developed by NASA Langley Research Center for a series of flights on the Space Shuttle. Using a three-wavelength Nd:YAG laser and a 1-meter-diameter telescope, the system will be used to study clouds, aerosols in the troposphere and stratosphere, density and temperature perturbations of the stratosphere, and characteristics of the planetary boundary layer. Data collected from the system will be used in studies of atmospheric dynamics, meteorology, climate, the radiation budget, biogeochemical processes, and the hydrologic cycle. Additionally, the data will be used to develop retrieval techniques optimized for a spaceborne configuration and to develop requirements for future operational spaceborne lidar systems.

Winker, D. M.↗
NASA NTRS1973

A study of remote guidance and control for planetary surface vehicles.

Description of tests that were originally conducted with the aim of extending the operational lifetime of the lunar roving vehicle beyond the period of the astronauts stay on the moon. The results obtained include the findings that a vehicle with six independently driven wheels appears to be practical, and that with proper drive motor sizing this configuration could provide redundancy as well as the ability to negotiate some crevasses and rocks.

Mastin, W. C.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Novel Tilting Ducted-Fan Aerial Vehicle Configurations

There has been recent renewed interested in ducted-fan, powered-lift vertical takeoff and landing aircraft vehicles for uninhabited aerial vehicle and urban aerial mobility aerial applications. Early work was conducted in the 1950’s to the late 1980’s into ducted-fan vehicles, especially at the time for military missions. The focus of ducted-fan research began to shift to UAV’s and personal air transportation in the 2000’s. Work in the early 2000’s fostered interest into ducted-fan aerial vehicles for vertical lift planetary aerial vehicle missions, especially for missions to Titan, a moon of Saturn. For example, early work at NASA Ames conducted the first known investigation into oval ducts (with internal tandem fans) to be used for these aerial vehicles. The use of twin oval ducts (with internal tandem fans) allowed the use of quadrotor-style rotor rpm control for vehicle trim (in hover, for transition to high-speed forward flight the addition of a tilt-actuator to pitch the twin oval ducts forward to be aligned with the freestream needed to be added to the control approach. This current study explores open-rotor, single isolated ducted-fan, and full vehicle configuration aerodynamic performance for hover, transition, and cruise regimes for novel tilting ducted-fan aerial vehicle configurations. The objective of this study is to better understand the design aerodynamics trade space for noncircular tilting ducted-fans. The primary analysis tool used in this paper is the mid-fidelity computational fluid dynamics RotCFD tool. Several interesting and largely unexplored rotor-on-rotor (or fan-on-fan), duct-on-rotor, rotor- on-duct, and duct-on-airframe are examined in this paper. Many of these aerodynamic interactions are the key to overall aerial vehicle performance. Limited parametric sweeps of rotor-to-rotor spacing (and, therefore, sizing and shape of the enveloping ducts) for the various duct configurations will also be performed. The trade-offs between duct thrust augmentation in hover versus improved transition controllability versus improved cruise L/D will be discussed for various novel duct configurations. These ducted-fan configurations include oval ducts, ‘figure-eight’ ducts, and ‘B-shaped’ ducts, among others.

Ducted-Fan↗
NASA NTRS1972

The elastic energy and character of quakes in solid stars and planets

The quadrupolar mechanical energy of a rotating axially symmetric solid planet (with or without a liquid interior) is calculated using methods previously developed for neutron stars in which an elastic reference tensor is introduced to describe the build-up of elastic energy in the star. The basic parameters of the theory (the gravitational energy A and elastic energy B) depend upon the internal structure of the planet and may be calculated from specific planetary models. Explicit expressions are obtained for the Love numbers, and for the planetary wobble frequency. The theory provides a simple relationship between changes in shape or axis of figure of the planet and elastic energy release. The theory is extended to describe the Earth by taking into account isostasy, triaxiality and the observed lithospheric configuration.

Pines, D.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Advanced planning activity

Selected mission concepts for interplanetary exploration through 1985 were examined, including: (1) Jupiter orbiter performance characteristics; (2) solar electric propulsion missions to Mercury, Venus, Neptune, and Uranus; (3) space shuttle planetary missions; (4) Pioneer entry probes to Saturn and Uranus; (5) rendezvous with Comet Kohoutek and Comet Encke; (6) space tug capabilities; and (7) a Pioneer mission to Mars in 1979. Mission options, limitations, and performance predictions are assessed, along with probable configurational, boost, and propulsion requirements.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2012

Model for Predicting the Performance of Planetary Suit Hip Bearing Designs

Designing a space suit is very complex and often requires difficult trade-offs between performance, cost, mass, and system complexity. During the development period of the suit numerous design iterations need to occur before the hardware meets human performance requirements. Using computer models early in the design phase of hardware development is advantageous, by allowing virtual prototyping to take place. A virtual design environment allows designers to think creatively, exhaust design possibilities, and study design impacts on suit and human performance. A model of the rigid components of the Mark III Technology Demonstrator Suit (planetary-type space suit) and a human manikin were created and tested in a virtual environment. The performance of the Mark III hip bearing model was first developed and evaluated virtually by comparing the differences in mobility performance between the nominal bearing configurations and modified bearing configurations. Suited human performance was then simulated with the model and compared to actual suited human performance data using the same bearing configurations. The Mark III hip bearing model was able to visually represent complex bearing rotations and the theoretical volumetric ranges of motion in three dimensions. The model was also able to predict suited human hip flexion and abduction maximums to within 10% of the actual suited human subject data, except for one modified bearing condition in hip flexion which was off by 24%. Differences between the model predictions and the human subject performance data were attributed to the lack of joint moment limits in the model, human subject fitting issues, and the limited suit experience of some of the subjects. The results demonstrate that modeling space suit rigid segments is a feasible design tool for evaluating and optimizing suited human performance. Keywords: space suit, design, modeling, performance

Cowley, Matthew S.↗
NASA NTRS2025

The Lucy Spacecraft

The Lucy spacecraft is developed from a combination of heritage components used on other NASA deep space missions, combined with a set of newly developed hardware specific to Lucy’s mission, most critically the solar arrays. These components are configured into a spacecraft capable of launching on the least expensive Atlas launch vehicle, deploying into a power-safe configuration, executing the high-precision Trojan asteroid encounters, and surviving the 12-year mission timeline.

planetary↗
NASA NTRS2013

Sharp Eccentric Rings in Planetless Hydrodynamical Models of Debris Disks

Exoplanets are often associated with disks of dust and debris, analogs of the Kuiper Belt in our solar system. These "debris disks" show a variety of non-trivial structures attributed to planetary perturbations and utilized to constrain the properties of the planets. However, analyses of these systems have largely ignored the fact that, increasingly, debris disks are found to contain small quantities of gas, a component all debris disks should contain at some level. Several debris disks have been measured with a dust-to-gas ratio around unity where the effect of hydrodynamics on the structure of the disk cannot be ignored. Here we report that dust-gas interactions can produce some of the key patterns seen in debris disks that were previously attributed to planets. Through linear and nonlinear modeling of the hydrodynamical problem, we find that a robust clumping instability exists in this configuration, organizing the dust into narrow, eccentric rings, similar to the Fomalhaut debris disk. The hypothesis that these disks might contain planets, though thrilling, is not necessarily required to explain these systems.

debris disks↗