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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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Summary of the virtual Space Radiation “2022 Biospecimen and Tissue Sharing Summit.”

The Space Radiation Element (SRE) of the Human Research Program (HRP) aims to establish a robust biospecimen and tissue sharing collection (BTSC) to improve sample collection, tracking, access, distribution, and usability to maximize scientific return with intention. Leveraging biospecimens and tissues from prior experiments helps HRP achieve its scientific goals to characterize and mitigate the human health impacts of spaceflight by maximizing resources. The project intends to expand on the National Aeronautics and Space Agency’s (NASA) current resources and institutional knowledge to provide ongoing modernization to improve the usability and access to the current biospecimen archive. SRE organized and held a three-day virtual workshop September 13-15, 2022, to engage with the research community with the following goals: - Share information about: - Space Radiation’s current Biospecimen and Tissue Sharing Project; - Software implementation to track biospecimens; - NASA’s current tissue sharing capabilities and projects; and - Collect community feedback on how to develop, streamline, and optimize accessible and usable processes. The first two days featured speakers internal and external to NASA who presented on current resources, best practices, lessons learned, and researcher perspectives. On the third day, a set of key questions were presented, and participants were invited to discuss and provide input.

Shelita Hall Augustus↗
NASA NTRS2024

Optimizing Sample Collection and Accessibility through the Biospecimen and Tissue Sharing Collection (BTSC) Program

The Space Radiation Element (SRE) of the Human Research Program (HRP) is dedicated to establishing a robust biospecimen and tissue sharing collection (BTSC) program that enhances sample collection, tracking, access, distribution, and usability, with the goal of maximizing scientific return. By leveraging biospecimens and tissues from previous experiments, HRP effectively achieves its scientific objectives in characterizing and mitigating the human health impacts of spaceflight while optimizing resource utilization. To further improve the usability and accessibility of the current biospecimen archive, the project aims to expand upon NASA's existing resources and institutional knowledge, ensuring ongoing modernization. To facilitate seamless navigation of the program's workflow, an educational series on the BTSC program is provided to Principal Investigators (PIs). This comprehensive series equips PIs with crucial information on submitting their inventory via the BTSC Metadata Intake Form, ultimately leading to the public availability of their data on NASA's Life Science Portal (NLSP). Covering various aspects such as metadata submission instructions and backend processes for transferring metadata to the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), the series incorporates guidance from NASA's Biological Institutional Scientific Collection (NBISC) and Ames Life Sciences Data Archive (ALSDA). The BTSC program represents a significant stride towards enhancing the usability and accessibility of biospecimens for space research. By enabling NASA to deepen its understanding of the health implications of long-term spaceflight, this initiative plays a pivotal role in ensuring the safety and well-being of astronauts.

Shelita Renee Augustus↗
DOE OSTI2024

Materials for the Photoluminescence-Based Detection of Economically Critical Metals

Critical metals, such as rare earth elements (REEs), cobalt, lithium, aluminum, nickel, and others, are essential to advanced technologies and renewable energy in particular. Widespread global adoption of renewable energy technologies has spurred dramatic demand increases for these metals; however, the global supply of these metals is highly monopolistic and conventional mining poses economic and environmental challenges. As a result, there is increasing interest in domestic production from alternative resources such as coal and its utilization byproducts. Slow and expensive characterization costs remain a significant barrier for domestic production. Here, luminescent sensing materials and platforms are presented that provide an alternative to the current state-of-the-art characterization methods; highly sensitive and selective sensing materials for cobalt, aluminum, and rare earth elements are presented, as well as compact, inexpensive platforms capable of analyzing signal from these materials for rapid characterization of critical metal content.

Crawford, Scott↗
DOE OSTI2024

Materials for the Photoluminescence-Based Detection of Economically Critical Metals

Critical metals, such as rare earth elements (REEs), cobalt, lithium, aluminum, nickel, and others, are essential to advanced technologies and renewable energy in particular. Widespread global adoption of renewable energy technologies has spurred dramatic demand increases for these metals; however, the global supply of these metals is highly monopolistic and conventional mining poses economic and environmental challenges. As a result, there is increasing interest in domestic production from alternative resources such as coal and its utilization byproducts. Slow and expensive characterization costs remain a significant barrier for domestic production. Here, luminescent sensing materials and platforms are presented that provide an alternative to the current state-of-the-art characterization methods; highly sensitive and selective sensing materials for cobalt, aluminum, and rare earth elements are presented, as well as compact, inexpensive platforms capable of analyzing signal from these materials for rapid characterization of critical metal content.

Crawford, Scott↗
DOE OSTI2024

Characterization of Most Promising Sequestration Formations in the Rocky Mountain Region

The project Characterization of Most Promising Sequestration Formations in the Rocky Mountain Region is one of 9 site characterization projects that were implemented as part of ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act). Data from this project was used to improve resolution of data in NATCARB in the area of study. Data related to this study has already been incorporated in NATCARB Atlas. The Rocky Mountain Carbon Capture and Storage (RMCCS) project investigated multiple geologic formations and characterized a local site on the Colorado Plateau for future CCS opportunities. The RMCCS project focused on the Cretaceous Dakota, Jurassic Entrada, and Pennsylvanian Weber Sandstones, the three largest regional formations. All formations in this project are potential CO2 storage resources for future power plants, natural gas processing plants, cement plants, and oil shale development projects. The area adjacent to Craig, Colorado, (Sand Wash Basin) was the area selected for detailed geologic characterization on the RMCCS project. The basin was selected in part because the geology can be extrapolated to other sites on the Colorado Plateau. Field mapping and seismic surveys were conducted to identify and evaluate the basin's structural configuration. A 9,745-foot deep characterization well was drilled to collect 131 feet of core and a suite of geophysical well log data. Petrophysical tests on samples of core were used to calibrate geophysical log data, which can be used to obtain storage resource estimates and evaluate associated uncertainty as well as simulate the hydrologic behavior of injected CO2. A detailed analysis of the primary formations (Dakota, Entrada and Weber sandstones) yielded a more accurate CO2 storage resource assessment for these formations within the Colorado Plateau; RMCCS estimates indicate a total CO2 storage resource of more than 38,000 million metric tons. The characterization of the Sand Wash Basin (2-D seismic surveys, multiple well logs and lithological, petrophysical and geochemical analyses) allowed for a detailed 3-D model to be constructed. The model served as the framework for analyses ranging from CO2 storage resource, injectivity, and subsurface flow to uncertainty estimates to evaluation of risk.

2-D seismic↗
DOE OSTI2026

High-energy synchrotron X-ray multimodal computed tomography: enabling multiscale materials characterization at NSLS-II

We report the commissioning of a multimodal computed tomography experimental setup at the 28-ID-2 (XPD) beamline of the National Synchrotron Light Source II. This high-energy (>60 keV) resource features a tunable X-ray beam size ranging from several millimetres to a few micrometres and enables comprehensive characterization of high-Z materials—an essential capability for nuclear and advanced materials research. It provides four complementary computed tomography modalities: X-ray absorption, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, and pair distribution function tomography. A case study using a custom-made heterogeneous sample demonstrates these abilities to simultaneously capture atomic, elemental, and morphological information. This unique combination of imaging, structural, and chemical sensitive methods provides a holistic approach to study complex materials with amorphous and crystalline systems across multiple length scales.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2017

Estimating Water Ice Abundance from Short-Wave Infrared Spectra of Drill Cuttings at Cryogenic Temperatures

NASA's Resource Prospector (RP) mission intends to visit a lunar polar region to characterize the volatile distribution. Part of the RP payload, the Near-infrared Volatile Spectrometer System (NIRVSS) is a spectrometer operating from 1600-3400 nm that provides sensitivity to water ice, and other volatiles. For multiple years, the NIRVSS system has been incorporated into on-going RP payload testing in a cryogenic vacuum facility at Glenn Research Center. Soil tubes of lunar simulants, prepared with known amounts of water, are placed in the vacuum chamber and cooled to cryogenic temperatures (soil temperatures of 110-170 K) and placed under low vacuum (a few x 10(exp -6) Torr). During these tests NIRVSS continuously measures spectra of soil cuttings emplaced onto the surface by a drill. Real time processing of NIRVSS spectra produces two spectral parameters associated with water ice absorption features near 2000 and 3000 nm that can be used to inform decision making activities such as delivery of the soil to a sealable container. Post-test collection and analyses of the soils permit characterization the water content as a function of depth. These water content profiles exhibit the characteristics of a vacuum desiccation zone to depths of about 40 cm. Subsequent to completion of the tests, NIRVSS spectra are processed to produce two spectral parameters associated with water ice absorption features near 2000 and 3000 nm. These features can be evaluated as a function of time, and correlated with drill depth, and other measurements, throughout the drilling activities. Until now no effort was attempted to quantitatively relate these parameters to water abundance. This is the focus of our efforts to be presented.

NASA's Resource Prospector (RP)↗
DOE OSTI2023

Implementational Aspects for the Characterization of Low-Inertia in Power Systems

The replacement of conventional generating units with non-conventional renewable energy resources impacts the stability of the power system. While the general goal of supplying demand could be achieved from both generation resources, inverter-based energy resources are different from traditional synchronous machines in the sense that they do not inherently provide inertia to the system. The latter obviously worsen the system ability to maintain the balance between supply and demand after certain contingencies such as generator outages. With high integration of renewable-based generation resources, there is a reduction in total system inertia, which could lead to systems with less time to react for frequency restoration in case of such unexpected unit failures. While conceptually it is true, there is a missing gap in the field of power system stability community in terms of test-bed power systems for characterizing low-inertia conditions. In this paper, a framework for low-inertia power systems is presented. The purpose of the test-bed is to establish an environment for testing and conducting research on power systems experiencing low-inertia issues. The frequency nadir, the rate of change of frequency, and the under-frequency load shedding scheme are used as a measure of the healthiness of power grids.

Baquedano-Aguilar, Mario D.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Omics-guided metabolic pathway discovery in plants: Resources, approaches, and opportunities

Plants produce a vast array of metabolites, the biosynthetic routes of which remain largely undetermined. Genome-scale enzyme and pathway annotations and omics technologies have revolutionized research to decrypt plant metabolism and produced a growing list of functionally characterized metabolic genes and pathways. However, what is known is still a tiny fraction of the metabolic capacity harbored by plants. Here, in this work, we review plant enzyme and pathway annotation resources and cutting-edge omics approaches to guide discovery and characterization of plant metabolic pathways. We also discuss strategies for improving enzyme function prediction by integrating protein 3D structure information and single cell omics. This review aims to serve as a primer for plant biologists to leverage omics datasets to facilitate understanding and engineering plant metabolism.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Met-Ocean Characterization for the Atlantic Marine Energy Center’s (AMEC’s) Gulf of Maine Wave Test Sites

Comprehensive and consistent analysis, characterization, and classification of the wave climate at open-ocean wave energy converter (WEC) test sites guided by international standards enables commensurable evaluation and comparison of met-ocean characteristics, including wave energy resources and wave load conditions. Herein, we present results from a comprehensive feasibility-level met-ocean characterization for two Atlantic Marine Energy Center (AMEC) WEC test sites in the Gulf of Maine.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2025

Engineered enzymatic cascade converts diols to amino alcohols

Aliphatic amino alcohols such as 6-amino-1-hexanol are potential platform chemicals for a variety of advanced materials, but applications are currently limited by reagent costs. Aliphatic amino alcohols can currently be synthesized from biomass-derived diols at elevated temperatures and pressures using Ru-based catalysts that produce a mixture of amino-alcohol, diamine, and cyclic amine products. Replacing chemical amination with an enzymatic cascade would reduce resource needs and enable reactions under milder conditions. In this work, we characterized a two-enzyme cascade that selectively converts C4–C7 diols to the corresponding amino alcohols under aqueous conditions at room temperature and pressure. By engineering the rate-limiting enzyme and optimizing reaction conditions, we increased amino alcohol production nearly 30-fold, achieving a selectivity of 99%. The same enzyme cascade could also be used to convert amino alcohols into cyclic amines through reduction of the corresponding cyclic imine. This engineered cascade provides a green opportunity to sustainably synthesize asymmetric bifunctional platform chemicals.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

NMPFamsDB: a database of novel protein families from microbial metagenomes and metatranscriptomes

Abstract The Novel Metagenome Protein Families Database (NMPFamsDB) is a database of metagenome- and metatranscriptome-derived protein families, whose members have no hits to proteins of reference genomes or Pfam domains. Each protein family is accompanied by multiple sequence alignments, Hidden Markov Models, taxonomic information, ecosystem and geolocation metadata, sequence and structure predictions, as well as 3D structure models predicted with AlphaFold2. In its current version, NMPFamsDB hosts over 100 000 protein families, each with at least 100 members. The reported protein families significantly expand (more than double) the number of known protein sequence clusters from reference genomes and reveal new insights into their habitat distribution, origins, functions and taxonomy. We expect NMPFamsDB to be a valuable resource for microbial proteome-wide analyses and for further discovery and characterization of novel functions. NMPFamsDB is publicly available in http://www.nmpfamsdb.org/ or https://bib.fleming.gr/NMPFamsDB.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Recognition of glycoside hydrolase 12 proteins by the immune receptor RXEG1 confers Fusarium head blight resistance in wheat

Summary Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by Fusarium graminearum , is a devastating disease in wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) that results in substantial yield losses and mycotoxin contamination. Reliable genetic resources for FHB resistance in wheat are lacking. In this study, we characterized glycoside hydrolase 12 (GH12) family proteins secreted by F. graminearum . We established that two GH12 proteins, Fg05851 and Fg11037, have functionally redundant roles in F. graminearum colonization of wheat. Furthermore, we determined that the GH12 proteins Fg05851 and Fg11037 are recognized by the leucine‐rich‐repeat receptor‐like protein RXEG1 in the dicot Nicotiana benthamiana . Heterologous expression of RXEG1 conferred wheat responsiveness to Fg05851 and Fg11037, enhanced wheat resistance to F. graminearum and reduced levels of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol in wheat grains in an Fg05851/Fg11037‐dependent manner. In the RXEG1 transgenic lines, genes related to pattern‐triggered plant immunity, salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, and anti‐oxidative homeostasis signalling pathways were upregulated during F. graminearum infection. However, the expression of these genes was not significantly changed during infection by the deletion mutant ΔFg05851/Fg11037 , suggesting that the recognition of Fg05851/Fg11037 by RXEG1 triggered plant resistance against FHB. Moreover, introducing RXEG1 into three other different wheat cultivars via crossing also conferred resistance to F. graminearum . Expression of RXEG1 did not have obvious deleterious effects on plant growth and development in wheat. Our study reveals that N. benthamiana RXEG1 remains effective when transferred into wheat, a monocot, which in turn suggests that engineering wheat with interfamily plant immune receptor transgenes is a viable strategy for increasing resistance to FHB.

Wang, Zongkuan↗
DOE OSTI2022

Bayesian homodyne and heterodyne tomography

Continuous-variable (CV) photonic states are of increasing interest in quantum information science, bolstered by features such as deterministic resource state generation and error correction via bosonic codes. Data-efficient characterization methods will prove critical in the fine-tuning and maturation of such CV quantum technology. Although Bayesian inference offers appealing properties—including uncertainty quantification and optimality in mean-squared error—Bayesian methods have yet to be demonstrated for the tomography of arbitrary CV states. Here we introduce a complete Bayesian quantum state tomography workflow capable of inferring generic CV states measured by homodyne or heterodyne detection, with no assumption of Gaussianity. As examples, we demonstrate our approach on experimental coherent, thermal, and cat state data, obtaining excellent agreement between our Bayesian estimates and theoretical predictions. Our approach lays the groundwork for Bayesian estimation of highly complex CV quantum states in emerging quantum photonic platforms, such as quantum communications networks and sensors.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

New Matrix Framework to Determine Carbon Storage Technical Viability

Carbon storage is an integral component of reducing CO2 emissions. Research over the past two decades has developed workflows for volume assessments and economic project feasibility, providing necessary and useful tools to progress geologic carbon storage (GCS) projects. These workflows and assessments have focused primarily on determining the in-situ storage resource based on geologic and engineering parameters and do not integrate subsurface characterization with surface conditions, social factors, and environmental factors that may pose a benefit or impediment to the implementation of GCS. Furthermore, the data required to assess the technical viability of GCS are myriad and disparate. There is no current methodology that identifies technical viability criteria and systematically informs how to aggregate these factors for spatial assessments. To address this gap, the National Energy Technology Laboratory has developed a Carbon Storage Technical Viability Approach (CS TVA) Matrix that incorporates a wide variety of factors to inform and accelerate screening for GCS site selection in the United States.

Mulhern, Julia↗
NASA NTRS1992

Telerobotic system performance measurement - Motivation and methods

A systems performance-based strategy for modeling and conducting experiments relevant to the design and performance characterization of telerobotic systems is described. A developmental testbed consisting of a distributed telerobotics network and initial efforts to implement the strategy described is presented. Consideration is given to the general systems performance theory (GSPT) to tackle human performance problems as a basis for: measurement of overall telerobotic system (TRS) performance; task decomposition; development of a generic TRS model; and the characterization of performance of subsystems comprising the generic model. GSPT employs a resource construct to model performance and resource economic principles to govern the interface of systems to tasks. It provides a comprehensive modeling/measurement strategy applicable to complex systems including both human and artificial components. Application is presented within the framework of a distributed telerobotics network as a testbed. Insight into the design of test protocols which elicit application-independent data is described.

Kondraske, George V.↗
NASA NTRS1994

The application of decision analysis to life support research and technology development

Applied research and technology development is often characterized by uncertainty, risk, and significant delays before tangible returns are obtained. Decision making regarding which technologies to advance and what resources to devote to them is a challenging but essential task. In the application of life support technology to future manned space flight, new technology concepts typically are characterized by nonexistent data and rough approximations of technology performance, uncertain future flight program needs, and a complex, time-intensive process to develop technology to a flight-ready status. Decision analysis is a quantitative, logic-based discipline that imposes formalism and structure to complex problems. It also accounts for the limits of knowledge that may be available at the time a decision is needed. The utility of decision analysis to life support technology R & D was evaluated by applying it to two case studies. The methodology was found to provide insight that is not possible from more traditional analysis approaches.

Ballin, Mark G.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Lunar Resource Utilization: Development of a Reactor for Volatile Extraction from Regolith

The extraction and processing of planetary resources into useful products, known as In- Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), will have a profound impact on the future of planetary exploration. One such effort is the RESOLVE (Regolith and Environment Science, Oxygen and Lunar Volatiles Extraction) Project, which aims to extract and quantify these resources. As part of the first Engineering Breadboard Unit, the Regolith Volatiles Characterization (RVC) reactor was designed and built at the NASA Glenn Research Center. By heating and agitating the lunar regolith, loosely bound volatiles, such as hydrogen and water, are released and stored in the reactor for later analysis and collection. Intended for operation on a robotic rover, the reactor features a lightweight, compact design, easy loading and unloading of the regolith, and uniform heating of the regolith by means of vibrofluidization. The reactor performance was demonstrated using regolith simulant, JSC1, with favorable results.

Kleinhenz, Julie E.↗