SEARCH · Search NASA
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.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
The project is a joint endeavor between Dr. Henry Dethloff and myself and is producing a number of products related to KSC history. This report is a summary of those projects. First, there is an overview monograph covering KSC history. Second, there is a chapter outline for an eventual book-length history. Third, there is monograph on safety at KSC. Finally, there is a web page and database dedicated to the KSC oral history project.
The absolute impace history of the moon and inner solar system can in principle be derived from the statistics of radiometric ages of shock-heated planetary samples (lunar or meteoritic), from the formation ages of specific impact craters on the moon or Earth; and from agedating samples representing geologic surface units on the moon (or Mars) for which crater densities have been determined. This impact history, however, is still poorly defined. The heavily cratered surface of the moon is a testimony to the importance of impact events in the evolution of terrestrial planets and satellites. Lunar impacts range in scale from an early intense flux of large objects that defined the surface geology of the moon, down to recent, smaller impacts that continually generate and rework the lunar regolith. Densities of larger craters on lunar surface units of dated age define a projectile flux over time that serves as the basis for estimating surface ages on other solid bodies, particularly Mars. The lunar cratering history may address aspects of Earth s evolution, such as the possible role of early intense impacts on the atmosphere and early life and possible periodicity in large impact events in the more recent past. But, much about the lunar impact history remains unknown.. On Earth approximately 172 impact craters up to ~300 km in diameter and up to ~2 Gyr in age are recognized. Although these data suggest greater relative numbers of younger craters, possibly suggesting a recent increase in projectile flux, both the diameters and especially the ages of most terrestrial crates are so poorly known that the differential terrestrial impact flux over time is uncertain. For the moon, densities of craters on some mare surfaces and crater ejecta deposits, for which we have measured or estimated formation ages, suggest an approximately constant lunar impact rate of larger projectiles over the past ~3.5 Gyr. However, the data are cumulative in nature and limited. Questions exist as to how accurately dated samples correlate with surfaces having measured crater densities. Studies of ages of many tiny impact-melt beads from Apollos 12 and 14 soils show a decrease in the number of beads with age from ~4 Gyr ago to ~0.4 Gyr ago, followed by a significant increase in beads with age <0.4 Gyr (2). These authors concluded that the projectile flux had decreased over time, followed by a significant flux increase more recently.
After an initial stone episode persons are at increased risk for future stone formation. A systematic approach is required to monitor the efficacy of treatment and preventive measures, and to assess the risk of developing new stones. This is important for persons working in critical jobs or austere environments, such as astronauts. A literature review of the current standards of care for renal stone monitoring and imaging was done. Military and civil aviation standards were also reviewed, as well as the medical precedents from the space program. Additionally, a new, more effective, renal stone ultrasound protocol has been developed. Using this work, a monitoring algorithm was proposed that takes into consideration the unique mission and operational environment of spaceflight. The approach to imaging persons with history of renal stones varies widely in the literature. Imaging is often done yearly or biannually, which may be too long for mission critical personnel. In the proposed algorithm astronauts with a history of renal stone, who may be under consideration for assignment, are imaged by a detailed, physiciandriven, ultrasound protocol. Unassigned personnel are monitored by yearly ultrasound and urine studies. Any positive ultrasound study is then followed by low-dose renal computed tomography scan. Other criteria are also established. The proposed algorithm provides a balanced approach between efficacy and reduced radiation exposure for the monitoring of astronauts with a renal stone history. This may eventually allow a transition from a risk-averse, to a risk-modifying approach that can enable continued service of individuals with history of renal stone that have adequately controlled risk factors.
High-latitude landscape evolution processes have the potential to preserve old, relict surfaces through burial by cold-based, nonerosive glacial ice. To investigate landscape history and age in the high Arctic, we analyzed in situ cosmogenic Be(sup 10) and Al (sup 26) in 33 rocks from Upernavik, northwest Greenland. We sampled adjacent bedrock-boulder pairs along a 100 km transect at elevations up to 1000 m above sea level. Bedrock samples gave significantly older apparent exposure ages than corresponding boulder samples, and minimum limiting ages increased with elevation. Two-isotope calculations Al(sup26)/B(sup 10) on 20 of the 33 samples yielded minimum limiting exposure durations up to 112 k.y., minimum limiting burial durations up to 900 k.y., and minimum limiting total histories up to 990 k.y. The prevalence of BE(sup 10) and Al(sup 26) inherited from previous periods of exposure, especially in bedrock samples at high elevation, indicates that these areas record long and complex surface exposure histories, including significant periods of burial with little subglacial erosion. The long total histories suggest that these high elevation surfaces were largely preserved beneath cold-based, nonerosive ice or snowfields for at least the latter half of the Quaternary. Because of high concentrations of inherited nuclides, only the six youngest boulder samples appear to record the timing of ice retreat. These six samples suggest deglaciation of the Upernavik coast at 11.3 +/- 0.5 ka (average +/- 1 standard deviation). There is no difference in deglaciation age along the 100 km sample transect, indicating that the ice-marginal position retreated rapidly at rates of approx.120 m yr(sup−1).
Co-injection of conservative tracers with carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is a viable tool for monitoring subsurface processes during geological CO 2 storage (GCS). This research investigates the simulation and history-matching of a gas tracer (sulfur hexafluoride, SF 6 ) during CO 2 flooding, employing a core flooding result in Berea sandstone. Four extensively used saturation functions are assessed for their efficacy in history matching of CO 2 /SF 6 injection at the core scale. The history-matching process incorporates particle swarm optimization (PSO) to fine-tune constitutive relationships parameters. Next, employing transport models at the aquifer scale, we interrogate the impact on tracer transport and mixing of saturation function uncertainties, arising from the non-uniqueness of constitutive relationships parameters and saturation function types. To assess the effects of geological heterogeneity on behavior of tracer breakthrough curves (BTCs), we employ two normalized parameters assessing the degree of mixing and SF 6 breakthrough time. The aquifer-scale investigation encompasses both homogeneous and heterogeneous systems with and without capillary heterogeneity effects. Our findings underscore the critical importance of addressing saturation function uncertainties, emphasizing the significance of auxiliary experiments and innovative methodologies to enhance predictive accuracy. The findings highlight significant disparities in arrival times, BTC peaks, tails, and mixing levels, even under optimal conditions. Heterogeneity, with or without capillary heterogeneity, plays a crucial role in shaping BTC variations, resulting in accelerated SF 6 breakthrough times and reduced BTC peaks. Evaluation of monitoring points distant from the injector reveals a dampening effect on the SF6 BTC peak, particularly in heterogeneous systems with capillary heterogeneity, where the peak is halved. These insights underscore the challenges associated with tracer monitoring and the necessity for enhanced methodologies to improve predictive accuracy in subsurface processes during GCS.
Soil drying challenges microbial viability and survival, with bacteria employing various mechanisms to respond to shifts in osmolarity, including dormancy or metabolic upregulation of osmoprotectants. However, the extent to which these responses are shaped by an organism's phylogeny, or the climate history of a given environment is poorly understood. This study examines the responses of phylogenetically similar bacteria from semi-arid and humid tropical forest soils to osmotic and matric stress using synchrotron radiation-based Fourier Transform Infrared spectromicroscopy. This non-destructive approach depicts the biochemical phenotype for whole cells under control and stress conditions. We observed that, under osmotic stress, bacteria upregulated cell-signaling pathways, rapidly turned over lipid-storage compounds, and increased osmolyte production. In contrast, matric stress induced a more muted response, typically elevating the production of carbohydrate stress compounds, such as glycine betaine and trehalose. Whereas phylogenetically similar bacteria showed comparable biochemistry under control conditions, climate history played an important role in regulating responses to stress, whereby a stronger metabolic response was observed from semi-arid relative to tropical forest isolates. We conclude that bacterial stress response to drought can be more diverse than previously observed and regulated by both phylogeny and climate history.
ABSTRACT We obtain a quantitative star formation history (SFH) of a shell-like structure (‘shell’) located in the northeastern part of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We use the Survey of the MAgellanic Stellar History to derive colour–magnitude diagrams (CMDs), reaching below the oldest main-sequence turnoff, from which we compute the SFHs with CMD-fitting techniques. We present, for the first time, a novel technique that uses red clump (RC) stars from the CMDs to assess and account for the SMC’s line-of-sight depth effect present during the SFH derivation. We find that accounting for this effect recovers a more accurate SFH. We quantify an $\sim$7 kpc line-of-sight depth present in the CMDs, in good agreement with depth estimates from RC stars in the northeastern SMC. By isolating the stellar content of the northeastern shell and incorporating the line-of-sight depth into our calculations, we obtain an unprecedentedly detailed SFH. We find that the northeastern shell is primarily composed of stars younger than $\sim$500 Myr, with significant star formation enhancements around $\sim$250 and $\sim$450 Myr. These young stars are the main contributors to the shell’s structure. We show synchronicity between the northeastern shell’s SFH with the Large Magellanic Cloud’s (LMC) northern arm, which we attribute to the interaction history of the SMC with the LMC and the Milky Way (MW) over the past $\sim$500 Myr. Our results highlight the complex interplay of ram pressure stripping and the influence of the MW’s circumgalactic medium in shaping the SMC’s northeastern shell.
The epoch of hydrogen reionization is complete by z = 5, but its progression at higher redshifts is uncertain. Measurements of Ly α forest opacity show large scatter at z < 6, suggestive of spatial fluctuations in neutral fraction, temperature, or ionizing background, either individually or in combination. However, there are degeneracies in the impact of such fluctuations, necessitating careful modelling. We develop a framework for modelling the reionization history and associated temperature fluctuations, with the intention of incorporating ionizing background fluctuations at a later time. We generate several reionization histories using seminumerical code AMBER, and implement them in the Nyx cosmological hydrodynamics code to examine the impact on the evolution of gas within the simulation and the associated metrics of the Ly α forest opacity. We find that the pressure smoothing scale within the intergalactic medium is strongly correlated with the adiabatic index of the temperature–density relation. We find that while models with 20 000 K photoheating at reionization are better able to reproduce the shape of the observed z = 5 1D flux power spectrum than colder ones, they fail to match the highest wavenumbers. The simulated autocorrelation function and optical depth distributions are systematically low and narrow, respectively, compared to the observed values, but are in better agreement when the reionization history is longer in duration, more symmetric in its distribution of reionization redshifts, or if there are remaining neutral regions at z < 6.
A number of similarities between lunar and meteoritic rocks are reported and suggest that the comparison is essential for a clear understanding of meteorites as probes of the early history of the solar systems: (1) Monomict and polymict breccias occur in lunar rocks, as well as in achondritic and chondritic meteorites, having resulted from complex and repeated impact processes. (2) Chondrules are present in lunar, as well as in a few achondritic and most chondritic meteorites. It is pointed out that because chondrules may form in several different ways and in different environments, a distinction between the different modes of origin and an estimate of their relative abundance is important if their significance as sources of information on the early history of the solar system is to be clearly understood. (3) Lithic fragments are very useful in attempts to understand the pre- and post-impact history of lunar and meteoritic breccias. They vary from little modified (relative to the apparent original texture), to partly or completely melted and recrystallized lithic fragments.
Implications of the Ar-40 content of the Martian atmosphere for Martian volatile history are considered. It is assumed that the potassium content of both Mars and earth is similar to that of normal chondrites, that Mars possesses a water content similar to that of normal chondrites, and that earth's water content is equal to or somewhat less than Mars'. A simple earth-analogous Mars degassing model is outlined in which the Martian surface volatile inventory is presumed to be identical to earth's, but scaled to the smaller mass and surface area of Mars. Physical storage of volatiles in the Martian regolith is examined along with the occurrence of volatile-containing mineral phases in the regolith, exospheric escape as a massive volatile sink, and the effect of the time history of degassing on the surface volatile inventory. Implications of earth's degassing history for Mars are assessed, and models describing the overall intensity of Mars degassing are presented. It is concluded that the maximum amounts of water and other volatiles that could be stored in the Martian regolith are marginally compatible with those required by the earth-analogous model, although a lower atmospheric Ar-40 concentration and regolith volatile inventory would be easier to reconcile with observational constraints.
The chemical composition of the metal phase of iron meteorites is traced through an idealized traditional history from condensation, oxidation, and accretion in the nebula to melting, segregation, and freezing in a parent body, considering the following fifteen elements: Au, Co, Cu, Fe, Ga, Ge, Ir, Mo, Ni, Os, Pd, Pt, Re, Rh, and Ru. Twelve iron meteorite groups resolved by Scott and Wasson (1975) are considered in the framework of cosmochemical historical analysis. The parent bodies of five of these groups seem to have had a traditional history. The others seem to have had more unusual histories. For example, the composition of the metal in group IVB matches that predicted for the metal condensate at 1270 K, implying accretion at high temperatures; and the metal in group IVA has a composition indicative of aggregates undergoing progressive stages of partial melting.
An evaluation of the application of the high extralunar flux in pre-mare times to more general problems of early solar system history is attempted by combining the results of dynamic studies with lunar chronological data. There is a twofold to fourfold contrast in the integral impact flux between the Apollo 14 and 16 sites and the older mare surfaces. This is judged insufficient to account for the contrasting lithology between these two sites: basalts and soil breccias in the maria, annealed breccias and impact melts in the highlands. Therefore, these rocks and their ages (3.9-4.0 b.y.) are thought to predate the surfaces in which they are found. Estimation of the flux needed to produce these lithologies, and difficulties associated with extrapolating this further back in lunar history give support to the "cataclysm" hypothesis of Tera, Papanastassiou, and Wasserburg. Dynamical studies permit separate evaluation of the possible sources for both the "normal" flux during the first 600 million years of lunar history and the "peak" that apparently occurred 4.0 billion years ago. The most likely sources for the normal flux are comets from the vicinity of Uranus and Neptune. The most promising source for the peak is tidal disruption by Earth or Venus of a Ceres-size asteroid initially in a Mars-crossing orbit. Alternative possibilities are suggested.
Controlled cooling rate studies of vitrophyre 15597 are used to calculate the physical properties of a quartz-normative magma as well as cooling histories of Apollo 15 quartz-normative basalts (QNB). Pyroxene phenocrysts of a QNB magma do not settle appreciably during the cooling of the flow unit; this behavior is consistent with the small degree of chemical differentiation that occurred between members of the suite. Two types of cooling histories for QNB are discerned. The vitrophyres experienced initial slow cooling followed by rapid cooling, and the coarse-grained microgabbros underwent slow nearly linear cooling histories. Textural evidence suggests that lunar vitrophyres crystallized near the top of the flow. It is suggested that the pattern of cooling may have been caused by the chilling of liquids that inherited early crystals in the interior of the flow.
Rare-gas isotopic analyses have been performed on lunar rocks 71135 and 71569. The conventional (Kr-81)-Kr cosmic-ray exposure ages are 103 + or - 3 m.y. for 71135 and 134 + or - 7 m.y. for 71569. An approach is outlined to deducing complex exposure histories from rare-gas data using depth profiles of the production rates of the cosmogenic rare-gas isotopes. Examination of the Xe isotopes by means of a 'concordia' plot suggests that 71569 may have a simple one-stage exposure history whereas 71135 has a more complex history. An attempt is made to construct exposure models for these two rocks which account for the abundances of all the cosmogenic rare gases, the Xe isotopic compositions, and the apparent (Kr-81)-Kr exposure ages. This study demonstrates the depreciation of (Kr-81)-Kr ages for rocks exposed at shallow depths, caused by the relatively rapid variation of the Kr-81 production as the rock is eroded. Possible implications of the tentative results for the formation age of the Central Cluster unit are discussed.
The subsolidus convective cooling histories of terrestrial planets evolving from hot initial states are investigated quantitatively. A simple analytic model simulating average heat flux from a vigorously convecting mantle and incorporating a mantle viscosity proportional to mantle temperature and a lithosphere which thickens as the planet cools is employed. Heat flux from the convecting mantle is calculated on the basis of a power law relation between Nusselt number and Rayleigh number. The temperature distribution in the lithosphere is assumed to be linear throughout the cooling history of the planet. Cooling histories have been determined for the earth, Mars, Mercury and the moon and the mantle temperature decreases, mantle viscosity increases and decreases of heat flux to the surface and to the base of the lithosphere and of Nusselt and Rayleigh numbers are illustrated for each planet. It is found that primordial heat can contribute substantially to the present surface heat flux of a planet.
An approach for factoring the effects of a planetary thermal history into a predicted set of crater statistics for an icy satellite is developed and forms the basis for subsequent data inversion studies. The key parameter is a thermal evolution-dependent critical time for which craters of a particular size forming earlier do not contribute to present-day statistics. An example is given for the satellite Ganymede and the effect of the thermal history is easily seen in the resulting predicted crater statistics. A preliminary comparison with the data, subject to the uncertainties in ice rheology and impact flux history, suggests a surface age of 3.8 x 10 to the 9th years and a radionuclide abundance of 0.3 times the chondritic value.
A series of calculated thermal histories of Mars is presented, and their possible relation to surface tectonic history is discussed. The models include convective heat transport through an empirical approximation, and heating by radioactivity and core segregation. Initial temperature and the timing and duration of core segregation are treated as free parameters. The initial temperature is the main determinant of Martian thermal evolution: as it is varied from 20 to 100% of the present mean temperature, the maximum in surface heat flux moves from very recent to very early in Martian history. For the latter cases, the details of core segregation control the detailed timing of a peak in the thermal flux that exceeded 100 mW/sq m. It is suggested that the early disruption of cratered terrain crust in the northern hemisphere and subsequent volcanic resurfacing may have been related to core segregation. This would be consistent with a scenario in which an early period of core segregation generated a marked peak in the thermal flux that may have led to extensive partial melting and volcanism. This scenario would require Mars to have had an initial mean temperature comparable to the present value.
To determine a planet's thermal history, a wide range of data is necessary. These data include remote sensing results, photogeologic evidence, magnetic field and remanent magnetization data, composition and ages of samples, and physical parameters of the planet and its orbit. Few of these data form unambiguous constraints for thermal models of Mercury. Igneous Chronology as the time history of the differentiation and igneous activity, is defined. Igneous Chronology is used here in the sense of the apparent igneous or relative chronology of geologic events, such as plains formation (through whatever mechanism) relative to the crater production and tectonic history (lineament and scarp formation).