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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 451 records · Page 25
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NASA NTRS2002

Long-Term Dynamics of Small Bodies in the Solar System

As part of the NASA Planetary Geology and Geophysics program, Prof. Norm Murray (CITA (Canadian Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics)) and I have been conducting investigations of the long-term dynamics of small bodies in the outer solar system. This grant, and its successor NAG5-10365, supports travel for collaboration by the Investigators and also supports Murray during an annual one month visit to the CfA (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) for further collaboration. In the course of this grant we made a number of advances in solar system dynamics. For example, we developed an analytic model for the origin and consequence of chaos associated with three-body resonances in the asteroid belt. This has been shown to be important for the delivery of near Earth objects (NEO). We later extended this model to three-body resonances among planets. We were able to show that the numerically identified chaos among the outer planets results from a three-body resonance involving Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. The resulting paper was awarded the 1999 Newcomb Cleveland award from the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science). This award singles out one paper published in Science each year for distinction. A list of grant-related publications is presented, with abstracts included.

Holman, Matthew J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Origin of the solar system

The current status of the classical model of solar-system formation is surveyed, reviewing the results of recent observational and theoretical investigations. Topics addressed include interstellar clouds, the collapse of interstellar gas, the primitive solar nebula, the formation of the sun, planetesimal accumulation, planetary accumulation, major planetary collisions, the development of planetary atmospheres, and comets. The relative merits of conflicting theories on many key problems are indicated, with reference to more detailed reviews in the literature.

Cameron, A. G. W.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Reflectance spectrophotometry (about 0.5-1.0 micron) of oute-belt asteroids - Implications for primitive, organic solar system material

The surface compositions of outer-belt asteroids were used to obtain information about the origin of these asteroids. High-resolution CCD reflectance spectra of 21 asteroids, primarily P class, were examined for compositional information. Distinct slope changes are observed that suggest that these asteroids are the remnants of a compositional gradation of planetesimals in the outer solar system, which were retained selectively in location when other material was ejected from the solar system. Other data suggest that this gradation could extend through the orbits of Uranus and Neptune.

Vilas, F.↗
NASA NTRS2001

The Origin of Organic Matter in the Solar System: Evidence from Interplanetary Dust Particles

The origin of the organic matter in interplanetary materials has not been established. A variety of mechanisms have been proposed, with two extreme cases being a Fisher-Tropsch type process operating in the gas phase of the solar nebula or a Miller-Urey type process, which requires interaction with an aqueous fluid, presumably occurring on an asteroid. In the Fisher-Tropsch case, we might expect similar organic matter in hydrated and anhydrous interplanetary materials. However, aqueous alteration is required in the case of the Miller-Urey process, and we would expect to see organic matter preferentially in interplanetary materials that exhibit evidence of aqueous activity, such as the presence of hydrated silicates. The types and abundance of organic matter in meteorites have been used as an indicator of the origin of organic matter in the Solar System. Indigenous complex organic matter, including amino acids, has been found in hydrated carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, such as Murchison. Much lower amounts of complex organic matter, possibly only terrestrial contamination, have been found in anhydrous carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, such as Allende, that contain most of their carbon in elemental form. These results seem to favor production of the bulk of the organic matter in the Solar System by aqueous processing on parent bodies such as asteroids, a Miller-Urey process. However, the hydrated carbonaceous chondrite meteorites have approximately solar abundances of the moderately volatile elements, while all anhydrous carbonaceous chondrite meteorites have significantly lower contents of these moderately volatile elements. Two mechanisms, incomplete condensation or evaporation, both of which involve processing at approx. 1200 C, have been suggested to explain the lower content of the moderately volatile elements in all anhydrous meteorites. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Flynn, G. J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Energetic particle environment in the early solar system - Extremely long pre-compaction meteoritic ages or an enhanced early particle flux

Individual mineral grains from meteorites have been exposed to energetic particles prior to inclusion in the host meteorite matrix, an event which occurred quite early in solar system history. Spallation-produced noble gases in such grains are observed to be orders of magnitude greater in abundance than could be produced after meteorite formation and thus provide a record of precompaction irradiation by energetic particles. If attributed to the contemporary particle environment (current galactic and solar cosmic rays) a minimum exposure time for these grains in the CM parent-body regolith of 150 Myr is obtained, with more realistic models suggesting an active parent body regolith for 300 Myr. Constraints on when meteorite compaction occurred and current models for meteorite evolution suggest that this is unreasonably long, that the time available for exposure to energetic particles on the surface of the parent-body regolith is much less than this. Pre-compaction exposure, compressed into a shorter span of time by constraints on the compaction times of carbonaceous meteorites, would require energetic particle fluxes in excess of those in the contemporary solar system and point toward an active early (T Tauri) sun as its source.

Woolum, Dorothy S.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Measurements of solar system dust at R < 1 AU and R > 3 AU

In Situ experiments on space craft yield information about dust parameters such as velocity, flux and size, and mass of particles. In Situ experiments as well as brightness measurements in the inner solar system have been made with Helios from .3 to 1 AU in the ecliptic plane which reveal two different dust populations with different bulk densities and relative velocities to the spacecraft. Zodiacal light measurements from Helios 1 and 2 reveal a radial brightness gradient proportional to R(exp -2.3). Measurements of dust particles in the outer solar system have been made onboard the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft and for the high latitude region with Ulysses. Pioneer 10 and 11 also carried a spin-scan photopolarimeter that was used to map the zodiacal light and background starlight during the cruise to Jupiter in two broad bandpasses centered at .44 and .64 micron. Details of these measurements are briefly discussed.

Mann, Ingrid↗
NASA NTRS1989

The presence of Sm-146 in the early solar system and implications for its nucleosynthesis

A correlation of Nd-142/Nd-144 with Sm-144/Nd-144 in two meteorites which have a large range in Sm-144/Nd-144 in their constituent mineral phases is presented as evidence for the presence of the p-process nucleus Sm-146 in the early solar system and its alpha-decay into Nd-142. The ratio Sm-146/Sm-144 is estimated to be about 0.015 at the time of solar system formation, 4.56 AE ago. It is suggested that the abundance of Sm-146 is compatible with p-proc ess production rate estimates, but not with the production rate for Sm-146 based on a photodisintegration model for the production of p-process nuclides.

Prinzhoffer, A.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A research proposal on spectroscopy of gases and solids observed in the solar system

It is well recognized and accepted that the interpretation and analysis of any type of remote planetary spectroscopic observation requires that basic molecular parameters be available. Furthermore, the newly developed capabilities of air, ground, and space borne spectrometers trained on bodies in the solar system are producing results which are extremely difficult to understand on the basis of available data. This is particularly true in the case of spectral features arising from gases and volatiles condensed as ices. With the objective to continue to extend the understanding of spectroscopic observations of solar system objects (including comets) , laboratory studies of both gas phase molecules and ices and dusts are proposed.

Valero, F. P. J.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Interstellar and Solar System Organic Matter Preserved in Interplanetary Dust

Interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) collected in the Earth's stratosphere derive from collisions among asteroids and by the disruption and outgassing of short‐period comets. Chondritic porous (CP) IDPs are among the most primitive Solar System materials. CP‐IDPs have been linked to cometary parent bodies by their mineralogy, textures, C‐content, and dynamical histories. CP‐IDPs are fragile, fine‐grained (less than um) assemblages of anhydrous amorphous and crystalline silicates, oxides and sulfides bound together by abundant carbonaceous material. Ancient silicate, oxide, and SiC stardust grains exhibiting highly anomalous isotopic compositions are abundant in CP‐IDPs, constituting 0.01 - 1 % of the mass of the particles. The organic matter in CP‐IDPs is isotopically anomalous, with enrichments in D/H reaching 50x the terrestrial SMOW value and 15N/14N ratios up to 3x terrestrial standard compositions. These anomalies are indicative of low T (10‐100 K) mass fractionation in cold molecular cloud or the outermost reaches of the protosolar disk. The organic matter shows distinct morphologies, including sub‐um globules, bubbly textures, featureless, and with mineral inclusions. Infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry studies of organic matter in IDPs reveals diverse species including aliphatic and aromatic compounds. The organic matter with the highest isotopic anomalies appears to be richer in aliphatic compounds. These materials also bear similarities and differences with primitive, isotopically anomalous organic matter in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. The diversity of the organic chemistry, morphology, and isotopic properties in IDPs and meteorites reflects variable preservation of interstellar/primordial components and Solar System processing. One unifying feature is the presence of sub‐um isotopically anomalous organic globules among all primitive materials, including IDPs, meteorites, and comet Wild‐2 samples returned by the Stardust mission.

Messenger, Scott↗
NASA NTRS1997

Organic Chemistry: From the Interstellar Medium to the Solar System

This talk will review the various types of organic materials observed in different environments in the interstellar medium, discuss the processes by which these materials may have formed and been modified, and present the evidence supporting the contention that at least a fraction of this material survived incorporation, substantially unaltered, into our Solar System during its formation. The nature of this organic material is of direct interest to issues associated with the origin of life, both because this material represents a large fraction of the Solar System inventory of the biogenically-important elements, and because many of the compounds in this inventory have biogenic implications. Several specific examples of such molecules will be briefly discussed.

Sandford, Scott↗
NASA NTRS2014

Deep Mapping of Small Solar System Bodies with Galactic Cosmic Ray Secondary Particle Showers

Galactic cosmic rays rain steadily from all directions onto asteroids and comets. The interaction of these high-energy ions produces a cascade of secondary particles, including muons, which can penetrate the solid interiors of small solar system bodies. Muons, which are produced in abundance in Earth's atmosphere, have been used to image large structures on Earth, including the Great Pyramids and the interior of volcanoes. In this study, we demonstrate that the transmitted flux of muons is sensitive to the interior density structure of asteroids and comets, less than a few hundred meters in diameter. Muonography has the potential to fill a critical gap in our knowledge of the deep interiors of small bodies, providing information needed for planetary defense, in situ resource utilization, and planetary science. We use Monte Carlo codes (MCNPX and FLUKA), which accurately model galactic cosmic ray showers, to explore systematic variations in the production of muons in solid surfaces. Results of these calculations confirm the scaling of muon production in Earth's atmosphere to solid regolith materials, as predicted by a simple, semi-empirical model. Muons are primarily produced in the top meter of the regoliths of asteroids and comets. Their rate of production is over three orders of magnitude lower than in Earth's atmosphere and depends strongly on regolith density. In practice, the use of muonography to characterize the interiors of small solar system bodies must overcome their low rate of production and their dependence on regolith density, which can vary over the surface of asteroids and comets. We show that interior contrast can be resolved using a muon telescope (hodoscope) with about 1 sq m aperture with integration times ranging from hours to weeks. Design concepts for a practical hodoscope that could be deployed in situ or on an orbiting spacecraft, are described. Regolith density within the top meter of an asteroid can be determined from radar observations. A concept for a pilot mission that combines remote radar measurements with in situ muonography of a near-Earth asteroid is presented. Perceived challenges and next steps for the development of the concept are described.

Prettyman, T. H.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Subsystem design package for Mod 2 site data acquisition system: Solar heating and cooling

The Mod II Site Data Acquisition Subsystem (SDAS) is designed to collect data from sensors located on residential or commercial buildings using a solar heating and/or cooling system. The SDAS takes the data obtained from sensors located on the solar heating and/or cooling system, processes the data into a suitable format, stores the data for a period of time, and provides the capability for both telephone retrieval by the Central Data Processing System (CDPS) and manual retrieval of the data for transfer to the central site. The unit is designed so it will not degrade the operation of the solar heating/cooling system which it is monitoring.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1975

Track studies bearing on solar-system regoliths

The paper reports a comparative study of solar-flare tracks and other microscopic features in unmetamorphosed lunar breccias, carbonaceous chondrites, and noncarbonaceous gas-rich meteoritic breccias. The data suggest that these objects originated from material once on and just below the surface of solar-system regoliths. Characteristics of these regoliths are discussed with reference to the track-rich olivines in Orgueil and the impregnated Apollo 16 deep drill core. The use of a variant of the fission-track method to determine the time of compaction of soil grains into a breccia is explained.

Price, P. B.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Solar system positioning system

Power-rich spacecraft envisioned in Prometheus initiative open up possibilities for long-range high-rate communication. A constellation of spacecraft on orbits several A.U. from the Sun, equipped with laser transponders and precise clocks can be configured to measure their mutual distances to within few cm. High on-board power can create substantial non-inertial contribution to the spacecraft trajectory. We propose to alleviate this contribution by employing secondary ranging to a passive daughter spacecraft. Such constellation can form the basis of it navigation system capable of providing position information anywhere in the soIar system with similar accuracy. Apart from obvious Solar System exploration implications, this system can provide robust reference for GPS and its successors.

laser ranging↗