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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 NTRSDate not supplied

Open-Source Science-led Development of the Atmosphere Observing System (AOS) Mission Science Data System (SDS)

The Earth System Observatory (ESO) Atmosphere Observing System (AOS) mission will provide space-based and suborbital observations of collocated cloud, dynamic, precipitation and aerosol processing leading to improved weather, air quality, and climate predictions. The AOS Science Data System (SDS) will be a system of systems developed within the Cloud to manage the research and operational processing of AOS mission orbital and suborbital sensors and curate these data for reprocessing (e.g., in near real-time or by collection) and transfer them to a NASA Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) for long-term storage. Further, AOS SDS will follow guidelines provided by NASA Earth Science Data Systems (ESDS) program including standard conventions for data file formats, naming, and metadata to improve data interoperability, interpretability, usability, discovery, provenance, and spatiotemporal representativeness. The AOS mission follows NASA’s lead in making a commitment to Open-Source Science (OSS) including the sharing of data, software, and knowledge in an open and timely manner. Each of the AOS SDS system components will be developed with open-source concepts including components of SDS itself as well as AOS mission algorithms. Further, the AOS SDS assumes the role to lead and facilitate OSS activities for the AOS mission. This presentation describes the framework of the AOS SDS and its integral part in facilitating OSS within the AOS mission.

David Giles↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Open-Source Science-led Development of the AOS Mission Science Data System (SDS)

The Earth System Observatory (ESO) Atmosphere Observing System (AOS) mission will provide space-based and suborbital observations of collocated cloud, dynamic, precipitation and aerosol processing leading to improved weather, air quality, and climate predictions. The AOS Science Data System (SDS) will be a system of systems developed within the Cloud to manage the research and operational processing of AOS mission orbital and suborbital sensors and curate these data for reprocessing (e.g., in near real-time or by collection) and transfer them to a NASA Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) for long-term storage. Further, AOS SDS will follow guidelines provided by NASA Earth Science Data Systems (ESDS) program including standard conventions for data file formats, naming, and metadata to improve data interoperability, interpretability, usability, discovery, provenance, and spatiotemporal representativeness. The AOS mission follows NASA’s lead in making a commitment to Open-Source Science (OSS) including the sharing of data, software, and knowledge in an open and timely manner. Each of the AOS SDS system components will be developed with open-source concepts including components of SDS itself as well as AOS mission algorithms. Further, the AOS SDS assumes the role to lead and facilitate OSS activities for the AOS mission. This presentation describes the framework of the AOS SDS and its integral part in facilitating OSS within the AOS mission.

David M. Giles↗
NASA NTRS2024

The NASA Facility for Astromaterials Research at the Johnson Space Center – A National Laboratory for Planetary Research

The Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division at the NASA Johnson Space Center houses a unique combination of laboratories, instruments, infrastructure, technical expertise, and other assets for conducting broad-based world-class planetary research. These facilities have been accessed for decades by hundreds of external scientists, including faculty, post-docs, students, and interns, most at no-cost and on a collaborative basis. With funding through NASA’s Planetary Science Enabling Facilities (PSEF) program, we have established the NASA Facility for Astromaterials Research (NFAR) to expand access to and enhance these laboratories for a diverse and inclusive external user base, focusing on training of the next generation of scientists and, thus, maximizing the science return from research funded by R&A programs in NASA’s Planetary Science Division (PSD). NFAR enables new planetary sample analyses, making new scientific discoveries possible, including training the next generation of planetary scientists. NFAR laboratories are co-located with JSC Curation that houses the NASA-controlled astromaterials collections, thus enabling direct access to both research and curation expertise, to facilitate specialized sample handling and analysis of allocated samples to sample PIs, particularly those affiliated with institutions that historically have limited access to or lack in-house analytical or experimental facilities.

J. I. Simon↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Open-Source Science-Driven Development of the Science Data System (SDS) for Earth System Observatory (ESO) Atmospheric Missions

The NASA Earth System Observatory (ESO) atmospheric missions will provide space-based and suborbital observations of collocated cloud, dynamic, precipitation and aerosol processing leading to improved weather, air quality, and climate predictions. The Science Data System (SDS) will deploy the adaptive processing system (APS) developed within the Cloud to manage the research and operational processing of ESO atmospheric mission orbital and suborbital sensors and curate these data for near real-time and collection reprocessing and transfer them to a NASA Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) for long-term storage and distribution. Further, the SDS will follow guidelines provided by NASA Earth Science Data Systems (ESDS) program including standard conventions for data file formats, naming, and metadata to improve data interoperability, interpretability, usability, discovery, provenance, and spatiotemporal representativeness. The SDS follows NASA’s commitment to Open-Source Science (OSS) including the sharing of data, software, and knowledge in an open and timely manner. Each of the SDS system components will be developed with open-source concepts including components of APS itself as well as ESO atmospheric mission algorithms. This presentation describes the framework of the SDS and its integral part in facilitating OSS within the ESO atmospheric missions.

David M. Giles↗
NASA NTRS1993

NASA Today - Mars Observer Segment (Part 4 of 6)

This videotape consists of eight segments from the NASA Today News program. The first segment is an announcement that there was no date set for the launch of STS-51, which had been postponed due to mechanical problems. The second segment describes the MidDeck Dynamic Experiment Facility. The third segment is about the scheduled arrival of the Mars Observer at Mars, it shows an image of Mars as seen from the approaching Observer spacecraft, and features an animation of the approach to Mars, including the maneuvers that are planned to put the spacecraft in the desired orbit. The fourth segment describes a discovery from an infrared spectrometer that there is nitrogen ice on Pluto. The fifth segment discusses the Aerospace for Kids (ASK) program at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The sixth segment is about the high school and college summer internship programs at GSFC. The seventh segment announces a science symposium being held at Johnson Space Center. The last segment describes the National Air and Space Museum and NASA's cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1995

The FOSTER Project: Teacher Enrichment Through Participation in NASA's Airborne Astronomy Program

NASA's airborne astronomy program offers a unique opportunity for K-12 science teacher enrichment and for NASA to reach out and serve the educational community. Learning from a combination of summer workshops, curriculum supplement materials, training in Internet skills and ultimately flying on NASA's C-141 airborne observatory, the teachers are able to share the excitement of scientific discovery with their students and convey that excitement from first hand experience rather than just from reading about science in a textbook. This year the program has expanded to include teachers from the eleven western states served by NASA Ames Research Center's Educational Programs Office as well as teachers from communities from around the country where the scientist who fly on the observatory reside. Through teacher workshops and inservice presentations, the FOSTER (Flight Opportunities for Science Teacher EnRichment) teachers are sharing the resources and experiences with many hundreds of other teachers. Ultimately, the students are learning first hand about the excitement of science, the scientific method in practice, the team work involved, the relevance of science to their daily lives and the importance of a firm foundation in math and science in today's technologically oriented world.

Koch, David↗
NASA NTRS2002

Commercial Research and Development: Power to Explore, Opportunities from Discovery

The technical and economic goals of commercial use of space are laudable, and are addressed as a high priority by almost every national space program and most major aerospace companies the world over. Yet, the focus of most organizational agendas and discussions tends to focus on one or two very narrow enabling aspects of this potentially large technological and economic opportunity. While government sponsored commercial launch activities and private space platforms are an integral part of efforts to leverage the commercial use of space, these activities are possibly one of the smallest parts of creating, a viable and sustainable market for the commercial use of space. Most of the current programs usually do not appropriately address some of the critical issues of the current, already interested, potential space user communities. Current programs place the focus of the majority of the user requirements on the vehicle payload weight and mass performance considerations as the primary payload economical factor in providing a commercial market with a stimulating price for gaining access to the space environment. The larger user challenges of transformation from Earth-based research and development approaches to space environment approaches are not addressed early enough in programs to impact the new business considerations of potential users. Currently, space-based research and development user activities require a large user investment in time, in development of new areas of support expertise, in development of new systems, in risk of schedule to completion, and in long term capital positioning. The larger opportunities for stimulating a strong market driven interest in commercial use of space that could result from the development of vehicle payload "leap ahead technologies" for users are being missed, and there is a real risk of limiting the potentially broader market base to support a more technologically advanced and economically lucrative outcome. A major driving force for strengthening the commercial space activities is not only the technological advances in launch vehicle, or newer satellites, but the myriad of enabling payloads technologies that could, as a goal, result in an almost transparent facilitation to regular CD a, -n access to space and microgravity environments by the future users from the existing Earth-based research and development organizations market segments. Rather than focusing only on developing high lift performance launch vehicles and then developing payloads to fit them, the real focus from a business model perspective should to be on the customer payloads requirements, and on designing launch vehicles and platforms systems for a space transportation and facility infrastructure to support all aspects of the business model for the user market. To harness the full potential of space commercialization, new efforts need to be made to comprehensively examine all the critical business model areas for commercial research, development, and manufacturing in space so as to identify specific products and efforts; to determine how such operations must be both similar to and different from current Earth-based activities; to evaluate the enabling technological devices, processes and efforts so that like efforts can be addressed in a synergistic fashion for maximum user cost effectiveness; to delineate the services that are both needed and can be provided by such activities; and to use this information to drive design and development of space commercialization efforts and policy.

Casas, Joseph C.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Scouts: Using Numbers to Explore Mars In Situ

Mars is a planet with a complex geologic history involving fluvial, volcanic, aeolian, atmospheric, and impact processes. Many critical questions about Mars are still heatedly debated within the scientific community and we still have much to discover. The current Mars exploration philosophy involves remote observation of the planet from orbit and intensive in situ study of a few sites on the surface. Orbital data provides a global picture while in situ investigations provide detailed knowledge at a single location. Mars Scouts are proposed to provide access to multiple locations on Mars. They address the emerging program needs of exploring the diversity of the planet globally in ways that cannot be achieved from orbit. The goal of the Scout is to find a way to investigate many locations on the surface of Mars in an affordable and efficient manner. We have only visited three locations on the surface of Mars, which have very similar characteristics. Increased numbers allows more types of locations to be investigated. The hallmarks of Scouts are numbers and access. Thus the capability of a single Scout will be limited. The science return from a single Scout will be significantly less than from a large science lander or an orbiting spacecraft. Scouts rely on their numbers to collectively provide a substantial increase in our knowledge of Mars. Scouts potentially serve two purposes in the Mars exploration architecture. First, Scouts are a science exploration tool. They provide access to places on Mars we currently can't explore because program focus, surface roughness, elevation, or latitude that we know are scientifically interesting. Scouts can react to new discoveries and evolving ideas about Mars. They can be used to test theories which until proven would not warrant the investment of a large lander. Second, Scouts enable better large scale missions by providing ground truth of remote sensing data and allowing us to "know" sites in advance before sending large landers and sample return missions. This increases the probability of success for these expensive missions both from safety and science return stand-points.

Blaney, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS2008

The Stellar Imager (SI) Vision Mission and the Benefits of an Ares V Launch

The Stellar Imager (SI) is a UV/Optical, Space-Based Interferometer designed to enable 0.1 milli-arcsecond (mas) spectral imaging of stellar surfaces and, via asteroseismology, stellar interiors and of the Universe in general. The ultra-sharp images of the Stellar Imager will revolutionize our view of many dynamic astrophysical processes by transforming point sources into extended sources, and snapshots into evolving views. SI's science focuses on the role of magnetism in the Universe, particularly on magnetic activity on the surfaces of stars like the Sun. SI's prime goal is to enable long-term forecasting of solar activity and the space weather that it drives. SI will also revolutionize our understanding of the formation of planetary systems, of the habitability and climatology of distant planets, and of many magneto-hydrodynamically controlled processes in the Universe. SI is a "Flagship and Landmark Discovery Mission" in the 2005 Heliophysics Roadmap and a potential implementation of the UVOI in the 2006 Science Program for NASA's Astronomy and Physics Division. In this paper we briefly discuss the science goals, technology needs, and baseline design of the SI Mission, and then describe the benefits to the mission that a launch on an Ares V, with its larger payload shroud, would produce. Additional information on SI can be found at: http://hires.gsfc.nasa.gov/si/.

Carpenter, Kenneth F.↗
NASA NTRS2008

The Stellar Imager (SI) Project: A Deep Space UV/Optical Interferometer (UVOI) to Observe the Universe at 0.1 Milli-Arcsec Angular Resolution

The Stellar Imager (SI) is a space-based, UV/ Optical Interferometer (UVOI) designed to enable 0.1 milliarcsecond (mas) spectral imaging of stellar surfaces and of the Universe in general. It will also probe via asteroseismology flows and structures in stellar interiors. SI's science focuses on the role of magnetism in the Universe and will revolutionize our understanding, of the formation of planetary systems, of the habitability and climatology of distant planets, and of many magneto-hydrodynamically controlled processes, such as accretion, in the Universe. The ultra-sharp images of SI will revolutionize our view of many dynamic astrophysical processes by transforming point sources into extended sources, and snapshots into evolving views. SI is a "Flagship and Landmark Discovery Mission" in the 2005 Heliophysics Roadmap and a potential implementation of the UVOI in the 2006 Science Program for NASA's Astronomy and Physics Division. We present here the science goals of the SI Mission, a mission architecture that could meet those goals, and the technology development needed to enable this missin. Additional information on SI can be found at: http://hires.gsfc.nasa.gov/si/.

Carpenter, Kenneth G.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Planetary Science Technology Infusion Study: Findings and Recommendations Status

The Planetary Science Division (PSD) within the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) at NASA Headquarters sought to understand how to better realize a scientific return on spacecraft system technology investments currently being funded. In order to achieve this objective, a team at NASA Glenn Research Center was tasked with surveying the science and mission communities to collect their insight on technology infusion and additionally sought inputs from industry, universities, and other organizations involved with proposing for future PSD missions. This survey was undertaken by issuing a Request for Information (RFI) activity that requested input from the proposing community on present technology infusion efforts. The Technology Infusion Study was initiated in March 2013 with the release of the RFI request. The evaluation team compiled and assessed this input in order to provide PSD with recommendations on how to effectively infuse new spacecraft systems technologies that it develops into future competed missions enabling increased scientific discoveries, lower mission cost, or both. This team is comprised of personnel from the Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) Program and the In-Space Propulsion Technology (ISPT) Program staff.The RFI survey covered two aspects of technology infusion: 1) General Insight, including: their assessment of barriers to technology infusion as related to infusion approach; technology readiness; information and documentation products; communication; integration considerations; interaction with technology development areas; cost-capped mission areas; risk considerations; system level impacts and implementation; and mission pull. 2) Specific technologies from the most recent PSD Announcements of Opportunities (AOs): The Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG), aerocapture and aeroshell hardware technologies, the NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) ion propulsion system, and the Advanced Materials Bi-propellant Rocket (AMBR) engine.This report will present the teams Findings from the RFI inputs and the recommendations that arose from these findings. Methodologies on the findings and recommendations development are discussed.

technology infusion↗
NASA NTRS2018

Systems Development, Data Mining, and Knowledge Discovery

The primary role of the Technical Integration Office is to provide technical solutions and services to different branches at KSC (Kennedy Space Center) and NASA program customers. The Technical Integration Office helps support KSC's operational needs by providing services such as digital connectivity, data center services, modelling and simulation tools, and communication video services. To learn the necessary technology and processes for my internship, I am working on two projects: learning C# (C Sharp programming language) with SQL and developing requirements for a PX (Communication and Public Engagement) inventory management system. To learn how to efficiently program with C#, my mentor assigned me to complete a sports informatics application that would let users discover facts and rules about various sports. The sports informatics application comes with search capabilities, report generating features, rule lists that users can modify, and diagrams for various sport strategies. To further build upon this project, I also developed a sport simulation game with the application. Once I begin more SQL-based projects, I will have the opportunity to learn how to manage databases and link SQL servers with C# programs. To develop requirements for the inventory management system, I have met with PX representatives and toured their storage facilities to see how they organize and store their items and equipment. I will also be meeting with representatives from the budget office to find out what information must be in a system budget report. The main components the system must have are customer request management, a search feature for items and equipment, report generation capabilities, and automated system warnings when item quantities reach or go below administrator-specified threshold levels. I have drafted questions and shall statements that will ultimately become part of the inventory management system requirements document.

Espinosa, Gabriel↗
NASA NTRS2014

The Status of Spacecraft Bus and Platform Technology Development Under the NASA ISPT Program

The In-Space Propulsion Technology (ISPT) program is developing spacecraft bus and platform technologies that will enable or enhance NASA robotic science missions. The ISPT program is currently developing technology in three areas that include Propulsion System Technologies, Entry Vehicle Technologies, and Systems Mission Analysis. ISPTs propulsion technologies include: 1) NASAs Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) ion propulsion system, a 0.6-7 kW throttle-able gridded ion system; 2) a Hall-effect electric propulsion (HEP) system for sample return and low cost missions; 3) the Advanced Xenon Flow Control System (AXFS); ultra-lightweight propellant tank technologies (ULTT); and propulsion technologies for a Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). The AXFS and ULTT are two component technologies being developed with nearer-term flight infusion in mind, whereas NEXT and the HEP are being developed as EP systems. ISPTs entry vehicle technologies are: 1) Aerocapture technology development with investments in a family of thermal protection system (TPS) materials and structures; guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) models of blunt-body rigid aeroshells; and aerothermal effect models; and 2) Multi-mission technologies for Earth Entry Vehicles (MMEEV) for sample return missions. The Systems Mission Analysis area is focused on developing tools and assessing the application of propulsion, entry vehicle, and spacecraft bus technologies to a wide variety of mission concepts. Several of the ISPT technologies are related to sample return missions and other spacecraft bus technology needs like: MAV propulsion, MMEEV, and electric propulsion. These technologies, as well as Aerocapture, are more vehicle and mission-focused, and present a different set of technology development challenges. These in-space propulsion technologies are applicable, and potentially enabling for future NASA Discovery, New Frontiers, Flagship and sample return missions currently under consideration. This paper provides a brief overview of the ISPT program, describing the development status and technology infusion readiness.

electric propulsion↗
NASA NTRS1996

Planning an Effective Speakers Outreach Program

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and, in particular, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) have played pivotal roles in the advancement of space exploration and space-related science and discovery since the early 1960's. Many of the extraordinary accomplishments and advancements of NASA and MSFC have gone largely unheralded to the general public, though they often border on the miraculous. This lack of suitable and deserved announcement of these "miracles" seems to have occurred because NASA engineers and scientists are inclined to regard extraordinary accomplishment as a normal course of events. The goal in this project has been to determine an effective structure and mechanism for communicating to the general public the extent to which our investment in our US civilian space program, NASA, is, in fact, a very wise investment. The project has involved discerning important messages of truth which beg to be conveyed to the public. It also sought to identify MSFC personnel who are particularly effective as messengers or communicators. A third aspect of the project was to identify particular target audiences who would appreciate knowing the facts about their NASA investment. The intent is to incorporate the results into the formation of an effective, proactive MSFC speakers bureau. A corollary accomplishment for the summer was participation in the formation of an educational outreach program known as Nasa Ambassadors. Nasa Ambassadors are chosen from the participants in the various MSFC summer programs including: Summer Faculty Fellowship Program (SFFP), Science Teacher Enrichment Program (STEP), Community College Enrichment Program (CCEP), Joint Venture (JOVE) program, and the NASA Academy program. NASA Ambassadors agree to make pre-packaged NASA-related presentations to non-academic audiences in their home communities. The packaged presentations were created by a small cadre of participants from the 1996 MSFC summer programs, volunteering their time beyond their normal NASA summer research commitment. A total of eight presentations were created and made available for use by NASA Ambassadors. A major segment of the research effort during the summer has been devoted to verifying and documenting certain "spinoff' contributions of NASA technology and in determining their relevance and impact to our society and our nation's economy. The purpose behind the verification/documentation research has been to shed light on the question of whether or not our NASA investment is a wise investment. It has revealed that NASA is a wise investment.

McDonald, Malcolm W.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Physical Characterization of the Near-Earth Object Population

Many pieces of the puzzle must be brought together in order to have a clear picture of the near-Earth object (NEO) population. Four of the pieces that can be described include: i) the taxonomic distribution of the population as measured by observational sampling, ii) the determination of albedos that can be associated with the taxonomic distribution, iii) discovery statistics for the NE0 population, and iv) the debiasing of the discovery statistics using the taxonomic and albedo information. Support from this grant enables us to address three of these four pieces. Binzel et al. (2004, submitted) presents the first piece, detailing the observations and observed characteristics of the NE0 and Mars-crossing (MC) population. For the second piece, a complementary program of albedo measurements is pursued at the Keck Observatory (Binzel, P. I.) with first results published in Delbo et al. (2003). For the third piece, the most extensive NE0 discovery statistics are provided by the LINEAR survey. Binzel has supervised the MIT Ph. D. thesis work of Stuart (2003) to bring the fourth piece, submitted for publication by Stuart and Binzel (2004). Our results provide new constraints for the NE0 population and progress for the Spaceguard Survey, illuminate asteroid and comet source regions for the NEOs, and provide new evidence for space weathering processes linking asteroids and meteorites. Further, we are identifying top priority near-Earth spacecraft mission candidates based on their spectral properties and inferred compositions.

Binzel, Richard P.↗
NASA NTRS2004

The Science Goals of NASA's Exploration Initiative

The recently released policy directive, "A Renewed Spirit of Discovery: The President's Vision for U. S. Space Exploration," seeks to advance the U. S. scientific, security and economic interest through a program of space exploration which will robotically explore the solar system and extend human presence to the Moon, Mars and beyond. NASA's implementation of this vision will be guided by compelling questions of scientific and societal importance, including the origin of our Solar System and the search for life beyond Earth. The Exploration Roadmap identifies four key targets: the Moon, Mars, the outer Solar System, and extra-solar planets. First, a lunar investigation will set up exploration test beds, search for resources, and study the geological record of the early Solar System. Human missions to the Moon will serve as precursors for human missions to Mars and other destinations, but will also be driven by their support for furthering science. The second key target is the search for past and present water and life on Mars. Following on from discoveries by Spirit and Opportunity, by the end of the decade there will have been an additional rover, a lander and two orbiters studying Mars. These will set the stage for a sample return mission in 2013, increasingly complex robotic investigations, and an eventual human landing. The third key target is the study of underground oceans, biological chemistry, and their potential for life in the outer Solar System. Beginning with the arrival of Cassini at Saturn in July 2004 and a landing on Titan in 2006, the next decade will see an extended investigation of the Jupiter icy moons by a mission making use of Project Prometheus, a program to develop space nuclear power and nuclear-electric propulsion. Finally, the search for Earth-like planets and life includes a series of telescopic missions designed to find and characterize extra-solar planets and search them for evidence of life. These missions include HST and Spitzer, operating now; Kepler, SIM, JWST, and TPF, currently under development; and the vision missions, Life Finder and Planet Imager, which will possibly be constructed in space by astronauts.

Gardner, Jonathan P.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Composite structural materials

Research in the basic composition, characteristics, and processng science of composite materials and their constituents is balanced against the mechanics, conceptual design, fabrication, and testing of generic structural elements typical of aerospace vehicles so as to encourage the discovery of unusual solutions to problems. Detailed descriptions of the progress achieved in the various component parts of his program are presented.

Ansell, G. S.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The idea of space exploration

Public reactions to the space program, especially to the 1969 Moon landing are discussed. Space exploration is compared to explorations during the Age of Discovery. It is argued that space exploration has failed to capture the public's imagination, that it has had few economic or social consequences of any importance, and that it has had a minimum impact on national prestige.

Mazlish, B.↗