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Planetary geodesy

The results of investigations of the geodesy of the planets and their satellites conducted during the period 1975 - 1978 are surveyed. Analysis of the photographic data of Mercury taken by Mariner 10 have revealed the mass, oblateness, radius rotation period and density of the panet, and allowed the high-resolution mapping of the surface. Earth-based radar imagery has permitted the identification of large-scale topographic features on Venus. Knowledge of the gravitational field of Mars has been improved by Mariner 9 and Viking tracking data, and the global topography and geometric figure of Mars have been derived. Doppler and ranging tracking data from the Viking landers have provided data for the precise determination of Martian rotational dynamics and the topographic features and figures of Phobos and Deimos have been observed. Pioneer 10 and 11 data have yielded information on the mass, gravitational field and dynamic parameters of Jupiter. Discoveries of a satellite of Pluto and a set of rings around Uranus have been made, the rotation of Uranus and Neptune have been measured, and the geodetic properties of the rings and satellites of Saturn have been investigated. Future developments in planetary geodesy are expected from continued Viking data and the Pioneer Venus probe and Voyager probes to Jupiter and Saturn.

Michael, W. H., Jr.↗

The case for extraterrestrial causes of extinction

The dramatic increase in our knowledge of large-body impacts that have occurred in Earth's history has led to strong arguments for the plausibility of meteorite impact as a cause of extinction. Proof of causation is often hampered, however, by our inability to demonstrate the synchronism of specific impacts and extinctions. A central problem is range truncation: the last reported occurrences of fossil taxa generally underestimate the true times of extinction. Range truncation, because of gaps in sedimentation, lack of preservation, or lack of discovery, can make sudden extinctions appear gradual and gradual extinctions appear sudden. Also, stepwise extinction may appear as an artefact of range truncation. These effects are demonstrated by experiments performed on data from field collections of Cretaceous ammonities from Zumaya (Spain). The challenge for future research is to develop a new calculus for treating biostratigraphic data so that fossils can provide more accurate assessments of the timing of extinctions.

Non-NASA Center↗

Vesper - Venus Chemistry and Dynamics Orbiter - A NASA Discovery Mission Proposal: Submillimeter Investigation of Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics

Vesper conducts a focused investigation of the chemistry and dynamics of the middle atmosphere of our sister planet- from the base of the global cloud cover to the lower thermosphere. The middle atmosphere controls the stability of the Venus climate system. Vesper determines what processes maintain the atmospheric chemical stability, cause observed variability of chemical composition, control the escape of water, and drive the extreme super-rotation. The Vesper science investigation provides a unique perspective on the Earth environment due to the similarities in the middle atmosphere processes of both Venus and the Earth. Understanding key distinctions and similarities between Venus and Earth will increase our knowledge of how terrestrial planets evolve along different paths from nearly identical initial conditions.

Chin, Gordon↗

PAH101: A GW+BSE Dataset of 101 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Molecular Crystals

Abstract The excited-state properties of molecular crystals are important for applications in organic electronic devices. TheGWapproximation and Bethe-Salpeter equation (GW+BSE) is the state-of-the-art method for calculating the excited-state properties of crystalline solids with periodic boundary conditions. We present the PAH101 dataset ofGW+BSE calculations for 101 molecular crystals of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with up to ~500 atoms in the unit cell. To the best of our knowledge, this is the firstGW+BSE dataset for molecular crystals. The data records include theGWquasiparticle band structure, the fundamental band gap, the static dielectric constant, the first singlet exciton energy (optical gap), the first triplet exciton energy, the dielectric function, and optical absorption spectra for light polarized along the three lattice vectors. The dataset can be used to (i) discover materials with desired electronic/optical properties, (ii) identify correlations between DFT andGW+BSE quantities, and (iii) train machine learned models to help in materials discovery efforts.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗

Detection of visible-wavelength aurora on Mars

Mars hosts various auroral processes despite the planet’s tenuous atmosphere and lack of a global magnetic field. To date, all aurora observations have been at ultraviolet wavelengths from orbit. We describe the discovery of green visible-wavelength aurora, originating from the atomic oxygen line at 557.7 nanometers, detected with the SuperCam and Mastcam-Z instruments on the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover. Near–real-time simulations of a Mars-directed coronal mass ejection (CME) provided sufficient lead-time to schedule an observation with the rover. The emission was observed 3 days after the CME eruption, suggesting that the aurora was induced by particles accelerated by the moving shock front. To our knowledge, detection of aurora from a planetary surface other than Earth has never been reported, nor has visible aurora been observed at Mars. This detection demonstrates that auroral forecasting at Mars is possible, and that during events with higher particle precipitation, or under less dusty atmospheric conditions, aurorae will be visible to future astronauts.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗

Low Altitude Mapping Orbit Design and Maintenance for the Dawn Discovery Mission at Vesta

NASA's Dawn discovery mission will orbit the giant asteroid Vesta beginning in the summer of 2011. Four different near polar science orbits are planned. The lowest planned orbit at Vesta is called the Low Altitude Mapping Orbit or LAMO and is by far the most challenging to design and maintain due to the strong, nonspherical gravity expected there. This paper describes the orbit selection process. The true gravity field of Vesta remains highly uncertain. The proposed orbit selection process will be applied once sufficient gravity knowledge is obtained at higher orbits. The orbit selection process is applied here to a fictitious gravity field based on a Hubble space telescope shape model for Vesta assuming uniform density. The outcome of the process described here is a variety of stable orbits. However, Initially stable orbits at the LAMO altitude are not expected to remain stable operationally due to the unpredictable impulses resulting from the Dawn spacecraft thruster firings to de-saturate its momentum wheels. As a result, orbital maintenance maneuvers will be probably be necessary. This paper also briefly describes the statistical maneuver design process that resulted in the orbit maintenance plan.

orbit stability↗

Modeling the Skills and Practices of Scientists through an “All-Inclusive” Comparative Planetology Student Research Investigation

To effectively prepare the nation's future Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce, students in today's classrooms need opportunities to engage in authentic experiences that model skills and practices used by STEM professionals. Relevant, real-world authentic research experiences allow students to behave as scientists as they model the process of science. This enables students to get a true sense of STEM-related professions and also allows them to develop the requisite knowledge, skills, curiosity, and creativity necessary for success in STEM careers. Providing professional development and opportunities to help teachers infuse research in the classroom is one of the primary goals of the Expedition Earth and Beyond (EEAB) program. EEAB, facilitated by the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Directorate at the NASA Johnson Space Center, is an Earth and planetary science education program designed to inspire, engage, and educate teachers and students in grades 5-12 by getting them actively involved with exploration, discovery, and the process of science. The program combines the expertise of scientists and educators to ensure the professional development provided to classroom teachers is scientifically valid and also recognizes classroom constraints. For many teachers, facilitating research in the classroom can be challenging. In addition to addressing required academic standards and dealing with time constraints, challenges include structuring a research investigation the entire class can successfully complete. To build educator confidence, foster positive classroom research experiences, and enable teachers to help students model the skills and practices of scientists, EEAB has created an "allinclusive" comparative planetology research investigation activity. This activity addresses academic standards while recognizing students (and teachers) potentially lack experience with scientific practices involved in conducting research. Designed as an entry level research engagement investigation, the activity introduces, illustrates, and teaches the skills involved in each step of the research process. Students use astronaut photos, provided through the ARES Crew Earth Observations (CEO) payload on the International Space Station (ISS) as well as remote sensing imagery of other planetary worlds. By including all the necessary tools to complete the investigation, students can focus on gaining experience in the process of science. Additionally, students are able to extend their experience of modeling the skills and practices of scientists through the opportunity to request new data of Earth from the ISS. Professional development offered through in-person and webinar trainings, along with the resources provided, enable educators to gain first-hand experience implementing a structured research investigation in the classroom. Through data and feedback collected from teachers, this type of "all-inclusive" investigation activity aims to become a model that can be utilized for other research topics and STEM disciplines.

Graff, Paige↗

Advancing International Integration and Strengthening Responsible Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Applications Through Specialized Curriculums

Nuclear technology has been pivotal in addressing some of the most pressing global challenges, ranging from energy production to combatting infectious diseases to agricultural security. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), as a leader in nuclear research and development including in the field of radioisotopes, is well situated to share lessons learned and enhance global collaboration from years of discoveries in the field. Accordingly, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) sponsors specialized educational programs at ORNL, with support from the IAEA, focused on advancing peaceful nuclear applications and associated industries while upholding strong nuclear safety, security, and safeguards standards. The Joint U.S./IAEA International School on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Applications, launched in 2024, is a cornerstone of this collaboration. The school provides an opportunity for early-career professionals from around the globe to gain practical knowledge and skills in utilizing nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes. This initiative demonstrates the United States’ commitment to its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), specifically Article IV, which calls on nuclear-weapon states to facilitate access to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy while guarding against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. In this paper, we explore the curriculum, objectives, and global impact of the program. Participants of the ICARST-2025 conference are invited to learn more about this program, contribute to its development, and explore opportunities for collaboration. This school exemplifies how strategic partnerships, and educational initiatives can drive the peaceful and beneficial use of nuclear technology worldwide

Raffo Caiado, Ana [ORNL] (ORCID:0009000239304805)↗

Future prospects for gamma-ray astronomy

As gamma-ray astronomy moves from the discovery to the exploratory phase, the promise of gamma-ray astrophysics noted by theorists in the late 1940s and 1950s is beginning to be realized. In the future, satellites should carry instruments that will have over an order of magnitude greater sensitivity than those flown thus far, and, for at least some portions of the gamma-ray energy range, these detectors will also have substantially improved energy and angular resolution. The information to be obtained from these experiments should greatly enhance our knowledge of several astrophysical phenomena including the very energetic and nuclear processes associated with compact objects, astrophysical nucleosynthesis, solar particle acceleration, the chemical composition of the planets and other bodies of the solar system, the structure of our galaxy, the origin and dynamic pressure effects of the cosmic rays, high energy particles and energetic processes in other galaxies especially active ones, and the degree of matter-antimatter symmetry of the universe. The gamma-ray results of the forthcoming programs such as Gamma-I, the Gamma Ray Observatory, the gamma-ray burst network, Solar Polar, and very high energy gamma-ray telescopes on the ground will almost certainly provide justification for more sophisticated telescopes. These advanced instruments might be placed on the Space Platform currently under study by N.A.S.A.

Fichtel, C.↗

Marshall Space Flight Center Research and Technology Report 2017

This report features over 60 technology development and scientific research efforts that collectively aim to enable new capabilities in spaceflight, expand the reach of human exploration, and reveal new knowledge about the universe in which we live. These efforts include a wide array of strategic developments: launch propulsion technologies that facilitate more reliable, routine, and cost effective access to space; in-space propulsion developments that provide new solutions to space transportation requirements; autonomous systems designed to increase our utilization of robotics to accomplish critical missions; life support technologies that target our ability to implement closed-loop environmental resource utilization; science instruments that enable terrestrial, solar, planetary and deep space observations and discovery; and manufacturing technologies that will change the way we fabricate everything from rocket engines to in situ generated fuel and consumables.

Research and Technology Report↗

Tangerine Dream: Observations of Titan from the Earth

From its discovery in 1655 by the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, Titan perplexed and confounded Earth-based astronomers for three centuries with its stubborn refusal to yield virtually any clues about its nature. Until the Voyager 1 1980, even fundamentals such as its true diameter, surface pressure, and major atmospheric gas were uncertain [1]. Most of the information we now know about Titan has been wrestled at great expense of time and effort by three spacecraft visitors: Voyager 1, Cassini and Huygens. So why then continue to bother with Earth-based telescopic observations? In this review talk I will describe how significant clues about Titan’s atmospheric composition began to emerge from ground-based observations in the 1940s through 1970s, in the run-up to the revolutionary Voyager 1 flyby. These included the discovery of methane [2], and other significant hydrocarbons including ethane and acetylene in Titan’s stratosphere [3, 4]. Further ground and space-based telescopic work in the 1980s and 1990s revealed the presence of the fourth most abundance gas, carbon monoxide [5], spotted for the first time the bright continent on Titan’s leading hemisphere now known as Xanadu [6], and the comings and goings of bright tropospheric clouds [7]. The Cassini-Huygens mission of 2004-2017 [8, 9] greatly expanded our knowledge of Titan, including the first in situ measurements of the atmosphere and detailed imaging of the surface. However in the two-decades long gap before the next mission, Dragonfly, reaches Titan we are finding new ways to further our knowledge of Titan using the current generation of telescopes and instruments. With high-resolution spectroscopy at infrared and sub-millimeter wavelengths we are finding new chemical constituents in the atmosphere, and even measuring wind fields at middle altitudes. I will conclude by discussing how the next generation of Earth and space-based telescopes and instruments promises yet more breakthroughs via astronomy, including with large aperture 30 and 40 meter class telescopes that will become available in the late 2020s, and spectroscopy with airborne

Titan↗

NASA's Bioreactor: Growing Cells in a Simulated Microgravity Environment

National Science Education Standards (NSES), Science for All Americans, the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) as well as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are all making an effort to promote scientific literacy in America. Unfortunately, major evaluation programs such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) have provided information that suggested our students are not able to compete with peers from comparable countries. Although results indicated that American students are recalling memorized, factual knowledge well enough, the real problem is the ability to apply what they know. Concerned with these reports, the National Science Teacher's Association (NSTA) has developed a mission to support innovation and high quality in science teaching and learning for every student. NSTA recommends less emphasis on factual knowledge (memorization) and information and more understanding of the concepts. Science process skills are considered imperative to prepare America's students for the 21st century. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) supports this mission and adds that NASA strives to help prepare and encourage the next generation of researchers and explorers. One method that NASA supports educators and its mission is to publish educational briefs. NASA describes a brief as a publication that ranges from one-to-thirty pages. The focus is on mission discoveries and results. The brief provides curriculum to educators that supports their objectives and NASA's interest. Educational Briefs are specific to the grade level and course so that educators may have choices that fit their methods and students level. Sometimes, the brief includes lessons and activities teachers may use. For example, NASA's Microgravity Division has designed a student bioreactor. Consequently, an Educational Brief is being written that focuses on how to build a student bioreactor and experiments that can be conducted in it. These experiments mimic the experiments done by NASA and other researchers in the real world of work.

Richardson, Denise↗

The Search for Extant Life on Mars: A Human Exploration Objective

A search for evidence of extant life on Mars should be conducted prior to and as part of human exploration missions. Potentially habitable environments for modern life occur on Mars. Despite a vigorous campaign of exploration of the surface over the last 3 decades, no mission has attempted to search for signatures of extant life since the Viking landers in 1976. Finding an example of extant life beyond Earth would be one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time. This is especially important because (once discovered) the biochemistry and metabolism of the life form can be studied. Earth and Mars exchange materials over geologic time because impacts eject rock and crustal materials into space that are eventually deposited on other planets and moons [1]. Therefore, Earth and Mars could share life with a common origin and similar biochemistry; if this is the case, life on Mars likely experienced billions of years of evolution in isolation from Earth. Alternatively, Mars may host a distinct genesis of life which could be evident from its different biochemistry. Either discovery would change our understanding of life in the solar system and beyond. The Mars 2020/Perseverance sample collection mission is not optimized for finding extant life because the site for sample collection, Jezero Crater, was chosen for its ancient habitability and likelihood to host fossil evidence of life. Furthermore, the samples collected will not be returned for at least a decade. Within that period, technology development for human exploration will likely be underway and it is possible that humans will land on Mars without an updated knowledge of extant life on Mars, which may pose a risk both to those mission crews and to Earth when they return. Thus, it is important to perform a search for extant life on Mars prior to humans landing at a site where life may persist. Salts and shallow ground ice are particularly important environments to evaluate for extant life prior to human missions because they may be encountered and interacted with by human crews.

C.R. Stoker↗

Physics-Guided Continual Learning for Predicting Emerging Aqueous Organic Redox Flow Battery Material Performance

Aqueous organic redox flow batteries (AORFBs) have gained popularity in renewable energy storage due to their low cost, environmental friendliness and scalability. The rapid discovery of aqueous soluble organic (ASO) redox-active materials necessitates efficient machine learning surrogates for predicting battery performance. The physics-guided continual learning (PGCL) method proposed in this study can incrementally learn data from new ASO electrolytes while addressing catastrophic forgetting issues in conventional machine learning. Using a AORFB database with a thousand potential materials generated by a 780 $\text{cm}^2$ interdigitated cell model, PGCL incorporates AORFB physics to optimize the continual learning task formation and training strategies to retain previously learned battery material knowledge. Finally, the trained PGCL demonstrates its capability in assessing emerging ASO materials within the established parameter space when evaluated with the dihydroxyphenazine isomers.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

The power of lanthanides: same composition, but different lanthanides leading to different interesting materials properties, from magnetocalorics to molecular magnets and phosphors

Commonly accepted design concepts for ionic liquids (ILs) state that the constituting ions must be large and carry low, well-dispersed charges. A series of ILs based of pentadeca charged ILs with pentanuclear linear {Ln 5 } units ([Ln 5 (C 2 H 5 -C 3 H 3 N 2 -CH 2 COO) 16 (H 2 O) 8 ](Tf 2 N) 15 (C 3 H 3 N 2 = imidazolium moiety, Tf 2 N = bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide) with Ln = Er, Ho, Tm) demonstrates that these criteria are not absolute. Highly charged ions can also support IL formation, provided they are sufficiently large. Expanding the series of these unconventional, record pentadeca charged with new lanthanide representatives, led to the discovery of additional unprecedented properties for ILs: The Gd compound exhibits a strong magnetocaloric effect (MCE) in the liquid state with a maximum magnetic entropy change of −ΔS M = −11 J⋅kg −1 ⋅K −1 at 2 K for Δμ 0 H = 7 T. Albeit the Dy representative shows slow magnetic relaxation, the relaxation times are not favorable for practical application as a molecular magnet. Lastly, for both the Gd and the Y compound, phosphorescence in the seconds time scale is observed, which is, to the best of our knowledge, the longest ever reported for an IL.

Ionic Liquids↗

Data Sharing in Radiobiology; Towards FAIR

The value of scientific data depends on their findability, accessibility, integrability and reusability according to the FAIR principles. Together with the sustainability of data preservation and access, these principles underpin the long term benefits of scientific research. Within the domain of radiobiology we have a huge array of data types, themes and complexities which make standardisation of metadata, data structure and data integration very challenging. Moreover, it is clear that, for example, in the area of disaster preparedness, the ready discovery and availability of multiple types of data, for example on biological effects of exposure, climatology, ecology, human behavioural and attitudinal studies, is important for an integrated scientific approach. Because these data are spread over many databases, journal supplementary information resources and even the computers of the investigators, their discovery and reuse can be challenging. Despite exhortations from funding agencies and scientific institutions over the past two decades there is still a serious deficit in the willingness and in some cases the ability of investigators to share data, and although much may not be formally „Public domain“, information about the existence of the data, their metadata, and how to obtain them should always be available. We report the progress of work on three databases, the STORE and the NASA GeneLab and LSDA repositories to leverage the Radiation Biology Ontology (RBO), a structured terminology for metadata that can be used by all radiation biology-relevant databases to unite federated and automated data searches across multiple databases, for example using web services, and through semantic web technologies supporting data discovery. The initial primary use-cases for RBO were archiving data in the STORE database (https://www.storedb.org/), the repository used for the RadoNorm and Pianoforte Projects among others, and in the NASA Open Science Data Repository (https://osdr.nasa.gov/bio). The scope of radiobiology research ranges from basic physics to radiation oncology to sociolegal studies; no existing ontology had the necessary breadth or depth to fulfill this need. In addition, a formal ontology has the advantage of being usable for machine learning and, importantly, for tasks like data integration, knowledge extraction from the scientific literature and for query extension and data classification. Standardisation of metadata is one of the primary objectives of the FAIR principles for open data; RBO is an important landmark for FAIR-compliant radiation biology data sharing. The RBO is developed using the open-source tools of GitHub and the OBO Foundry-led Ontology Development Kit, and published through GitHub and the NIH/NCBI BioPortal website. This initial phase of concept modeling has yielded an ontology that has more than 300 declared concepts, with more than 3500 additional concepts imported from other OBO Foundry ontologies with relevance to radiation biology (for example, concepts from the ISO standard Basic Formal Ontology, the Environment Ontology and the Gene Ontology). We welcome input into the development of RBO and encourage its adoption.

ontologies↗

Data Sharing in Radiation Biology: Towards FAIR

The value of scientific data depends on their findability, accessibility, integrability and reusability according to the FAIR principles. Together with the sustainability of data preservation and access, these principles underpin the long term benefits of scientific research. Within the domain of radiobiology we have a huge array of data types, themes and complexities which make standardisation of metadata, data structure and data integration very challenging. Moreover, it is clear that, for example, in the area of disaster preparedness, the ready discovery and availability of multiple types of data, for example on biological effects of exposure, climatology, ecology, human behavioural and attitudinal studies, is important for an integrated scientific approach. Because these data are spread over many databases, journal supplementary information resources and even the computers of the investigators, their discovery and reuse can be challenging. Despite exhortations from funding agencies and scientific institutions over the past two decades there is still a serious deficit in the willingness and in some cases the ability of investigators to share data, and although much may not be formally "Public domain“, information about the existence of the data, their metadata, and how to obtain them should always be available. We report the progress of work on three databases, the STORE and the NASA GeneLab and LSDA repositories to leverage the Radiation Biology Ontology (RBO), a structured terminology for metadata that can be used by all radiation biology-relevant databases to unite federated and automated data searches across multiple databases, for example using web services, and through semantic web technologies supporting data discovery. The initial primary use-cases for RBO were archiving data in the STORE database (https://www.storedb.org/), the repository used for the RadoNorm and Pianoforte Projects among others, and in the NASA Open Science Data Repository (https://osdr.nasa.gov/bio). The scope of radiobiology research ranges from basic physics to radiation oncology to sociolegal studies; no existing ontology had the necessary breadth or depth to fulfill this need. In addition, a formal ontology has the advantage of being usable for machine learning and, importantly, for tasks like data integration, knowledge extraction from the scientific literature and for query extension and data classification. Standardisation of metadata is one of the primary objectives of the FAIR principles for open data; RBO is an important landmark for FAIR-compliant radiation biology data sharing. The RBO is developed using the open-source tools of GitHub and the OBO Foundry-led Ontology Development Kit, and published through GitHub and the NIH/NCBI BioPortal website. This initial phase of concept modeling has yielded an ontology that has more than 300 declared concepts, with more than 3500 additional concepts imported from other OBO Foundry ontologies with relevance to radiation biology (for example, concepts from the ISO standard Basic Formal Ontology, the Environment Ontology and the Gene Ontology). We welcome input into the development of RBO and encourage its adoption.

ontologies↗

NASA's GeneLab Phase II: Federated Search and Data Discovery

GeneLab is currently being developed by NASA to accelerate 'open science' biomedical research in support of the human exploration of space and the improvement of life on earth. Phase I of the four-phase GeneLab Data Systems (GLDS) project emphasized capabilities for submission, curation, search, and retrieval of genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics ('omics') data from biomedical research of space environments. The focus of development of the GLDS for Phase II has been federated data search for and retrieval of these kinds of data across other open-access systems, so that users are able to conduct biological meta-investigations using data from a variety of sources. Such meta-investigations are key to corroborating findings from many kinds of assays and translating them into systems biology knowledge and, eventually, therapeutics.

exobiology↗