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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 379 records · Page 21
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1984

Theory, measurements, and models of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere of Saturn

The structure and composition of the thermosphere, exosphere, and ionosphere of saturn have been determined from observations at optical and radio wavelengths mainly by instruments aboard Voyager spacecraft. Techniques for determining the vertical profiles of temperature and density and the atmospheric vertical mixing in the upper Saturn atmosphere are discussed. Radio occultation measurements and theoretical models of Saturn's ionosphere are reviewed, and attempts to interpret the measurements using the models are discussed. Finally, mechanisms of thermospheric heating are examined.

Atreya, S. K.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Photodissociation of carbon dioxide in the Mars upper atmosphere

Calculation of the intensity of two of the emissions produced during the dissociative excitation of carbon dioxide in the upper atmosphere of Mars by solar ultraviolet radiation. The calculation tangential column emission rates of the atomic oxygen 2972-A line and the carbon monoxide Cameron bands produced by the photodissociative mechanism are found to be factors of 3 and 10, respectively, smaller than the emission rates observed by Mariner ultraviolet spectrometers.

Barth, C. A.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Atomic nitrogen measurements in the upper atmosphere

The open-source neutral mass spectrometer (OSS) on the Atmosphere Explorer-C satellite (AE-C) measures the neutral constituents of the upper atmosphere. It has been found that atomic nitrogen densities can be determined at altitudes above 380 km. Most of the nitrogen atoms combine with oxygen adsorbed on the walls of the ion source to form NO. The measured net peaks at 14 amu and 30 amu show the scale height expected for atomic nitrogen; both peaks have a pronounced diurnal variation. Absolute number densities at 400 km are computed for a time period between February and April 1974 when measurements were taken in the northern hemisphere. Minimum and maximum densities of atomic nitrogen occur between 4 and 6 hr LST in the morning and around 16 hr LST in the afternoon, respectively. At 400 km, the minimum particle density is 100,000/cu cm and the maximum density 1.5 million/cu cm. In contrast to the response of N2 to geomagnetic activity, atomic N shows no appreciable effect.

Mauersberger, K.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Theoretical and experimental investigations of upper atmosphere dynamics

A brief overview of the significant contributions made to the understanding of the dynamics of the Earth's upper atmosphere is presented, including the addition of winds and diffusion to the semi-empirical Global Reference Atmospheric Model developed for the design phase of the Space Shuttle, reviews of turbulence in the lower thermosphere, the dynamics of the equatorial mesopause, stratospheric warming effects on mesopause level dynamics, and the relevance of these studies to the proposed Middle Atmosphere Program (1982-85). A chronological bibliography, with abstracts of all papers published, is also included.

Roper, R. G.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Present state of knowledge of the upper atmosphere: An assessment report; processes that control ozone and other climatically important trace gases

The state of knowledge of the upper atmosphere was assessed as of January 1986. The physical, chemical, and radiative processes which control the spatial and temporal distribution of ozone in the atmosphere; the predicted magnitude of ozone perturbations and climate changes for a variety of trace gas scenarios; and the ozone and temperature data used to detect the presence or absence of a long term trend were discussed. This assessment report was written by a small group of NASA scientists, was peer reviewed, and is based primarily on the comprehensive international assessment document entitled Atmospheric Ozone 1985: Assessment of Our Understanding of the Processes Controlling Its Present Distribution and Change, to be published as the World Meteorological Organization Global Ozone Research and Monitoring Project Report No. 16.

Watson, R. T.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite Jitter Study

The study objectives are to analyze in-flight jitter; evaluate different models of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS); and determine jitter prediction accuracy such that adequate (but not excessive) design margins will assume future mission success. The topics are presented in viewgraph form and include the following: UARS chronology; UARS disturbance experiment; microwave limb sounder antenna and mirror time profiles; solar array drive disturbance; roll and yaw jitter correlation with solar array position; solar array rotation; UARS disturbance summary; concept for reduction of jitter effect; jitter reduction using window scheduling; and highlights/lessons learned.

Woodard, Stanley↗
NASA NTRS1993

Use of Fourier transforms for asynoptic mapping: Applications to the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite microwave limb sounder

Fourier analysis has been applied to data obtained from limb viewing instruments on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. A coordinate system rotation facilitates the efficient computation of Fourier transforms in the temporal and longitudinal domains. Fields such as ozone (O3), chlorine monoxide (ClO), temperature, and water vapor have been transformed by this process. The transforms have been inverted to provide maps of these quantities at selected times, providing a method of accurate time interpolation. Maps obtained by this process show evidence of both horizontal and vertical transport of important trace species such as O3 and ClO. An examination of the polar regions indicates that large-scale planetary variations are likely to play a significant role in transporting midstratospheric O3 into the polar regions. There is also evidence that downward transport occurs, providing a means of moving O3 into the polar vortex at lower altitudes. The transforms themselves show the structure and propagation characteristics of wave variations.

Elson, Lee S.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Correlation of Upper-Atmospheric 7-Be with Solar Energetic Particle Events

A surprisingly large concentration of radioactive 7-Be was observed in the upper atmosphere at altitudes above 320 km on the LDEF satellite that was recovered in January 1990. We report on follow-up experiments on Russian spacecraft at altitudes of 167 to 370 km during the period of 1996 to 1999, specifically designed to measure 7-Be concentrations in low earth orbit. Our data show a significant correlation between the 7-Be concentration and the solar energetic proton fluence at Earth, but not with the overall solar activity. During periods of low solar proton fluence, the concentration is correlated with the galactic cosmic ray fluence. This indicates that spallation of atmospheric N by both solar energetic particles and cosmic rays is the primary source of 7-Be in the ionosphere.

Phillips, G. W.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Hot oxygen atoms in the upper atmospheres of Venus and Mars

This paper presents the results of calculations of the hot oxygen atom density values for the upper atmospheres of Venus (computed for solar cycle maximum) and for that of Mars (for solar cycle minimum conditions), using a two stream model to calculate the equilibrium fluxes and energy distribution of the nonthermal component of atomic oxygen. After the energy-dependent hot oxygen fluxes are calculated below the exosphere, the densities above the exobase are obtained using Liouville's equation. The values of hot oxygen atoms calculated for Venus were found to be in good agreement with the values observed by Pioneer Venus Orbiter; the Venus values are about a factor of twenty larger than the calculated values for Mars at the exobase.

Nagy, Andrew↗
NASA NTRS1994

Calibration of the Microwave Limb Sounder on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite

This paper describes pre-launch radiometric and spectral calibrations of the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). Use of in-flight data for validation or refinement of calibration is described. The estimated uncertaint in calibrated radiance from pre-launch radiometric and spectral calibration data is better than 2% in most bands.

Microwave Limb Sounder↗
NASA NTRS1975

The aeronomy of the upper atmosphere of Venus

It is shown that rather tight constraints can be placed on the mixing ratio of atomic oxygen in the upper atmosphere of Venus, as well as that of CO and molecular oxygen, unless extraordinary processes which lead to a very large efflux of hydrogen from the planet are postulated. The analysis conducted is similar to the investigation carried out for the earth by Liu and Donahue (1974). If Jeans escape provides the main escape mode for hydrogen from Venus, the concentration ratio of atomic oxygen to carbon dioxide at 130 km is much less than 1% and some mechanism other than resonance scattering plus photoelectron excitation must account for the oxygen airglow.

Liu, S. C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Dynamic model of the Earth's upper atmosphere

An initial modification to the MSF/J70 Thermospheric Model, in which the variations due to sudden geomagnetic disturbances upon the Earth's upper atmospheric density structure were modeled is presented. This dynamic model of the geomagnetic variation included is an improved version of one which SAO developed from the analysis of the ESRO 4 mass spectrometer data that was incorporated in the Jacchia 1977 model. The variation with geomagnetic local time as well as with geomagnetic latitude are included, and also the effects due to disturbance of the temperature profiles in the region of energy deposition.

Slowey, J. W.↗