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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 541 records · Page 30
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2004

Teleoperated Modular Robots for Lunar Operations

Solar system exploration is currently carried out by special purpose robots exquisitely designed for the anticipated tasks. However, all contingencies for in situ resource utilization (ISRU), human habitat preparation, and exploration will be difficult to anticipate. Furthermore, developing the necessary special purpose mechanisms for deployment and other capabilities is difficult and error prone. For example, the Galileo high gain antenna never opened, severely restricting the quantity of data returned by the spacecraft. Also, deployment hardware is used only once. To address these problems, we are developing teleoperated modular robots for lunar missions, including operations in transit from Earth. Teleoperation of lunar systems from Earth involves a three second speed-of-light delay, but experiment suggests that interactive operations are feasible.' Modular robots typically consist of many identical modules that pass power and data between them and can be reconfigured for different tasks providing great flexibility, inherent redundancy and graceful degradation as modules fail. Our design features a number of different hub, link, and joint modules to simplify the individual modules, lower structure cost, and provide specialized capabilities. Modular robots are well suited for space applications because of their extreme flexibility, inherent redundancy, high-density packing, and opportunities for mass production. Simple structural modules can be manufactured from lunar regolith in situ using molds or directed solar sintering. Software to direct and control modular robots is difficult to develop. We have used genetic algorithms to evolve both the morphology and control system for walking modular robots3 We are currently using evolvable system technology to evolve controllers for modular robots in the ISS glove box. Development of lunar modular robots will require software and physical simulators, including regolith simulation, to enable design and test of robot software and hardware, particularly automation software. Ready access to these simulators could provide opportunities for contest-driven development ala RoboCup (http://www.robocup.org/). Licensing of module designs could provide opportunities in the toy market and for spin-off applications.

Globus, Al↗
NASA NTRS1983

A robot in space as a large space structures control experiment

The control systems design issues for large space structures can be addressed by a robotics experiment which defines a teleoperator or a robot or uses the RMS. The robotics control demonstration brings the large space structures control technology to an effective state of readiness and provides a useful robot when the experiment is finished. Three major options in such an experiment are the RMS, a flexible arm that is going to be put on the Shuttle for other reasons, or a dexetrous manipulator or teleoperator.

Gran, R.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

ISRU Pilot Excavator: Bucket Drum Scaling Experimental Results

NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) is funding the development of a robotic excavator called the “ISRU Pilot Excavator” which will be a technology demonstration of excavating and transporting 10 metric tons of lunar regolith on the surface of the moon with a 30k-class robotic excavator. ISRU Pilot Excavator will be the next generation of robotic excavator to use bucket drums as excavation tools. This is an evolution of the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) developed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Bucket drums are hollow cylinders with regularly spaced scoops around the perimeter. The drums rotate in one direction to collect regolith with the scoops. The regolith slides down an internal baffling system inside the drum which prevents the regolith from falling back out of the scoops. The captured regolith can then be transported while held in the drum and then deposited by rotating the drum in the opposite direction allowing the regolith to slide back down the baffling and out of the excavation scoops. Bucket drums were developed by Lockheed Martin in 2008 and used on multiple robotic excavator prototypes ever since. However the forces on a bucket drum and considerations for scaling have not been measured in detail. Bucket drums are challenging to model using classical blade\bucket equations because of their unique geometry. Therefore this experiment was performed to measure the forces on three bucket drums of the same geometry at different scales. Small: 9.4” (239mm) dia. x 8.1” (206mm) width, Medium: 11.6” (294mm) dia. x 10” (254mm) width, and Large: 17” (432mm) dia. x 14.1”(358mm) width. The test stand consisted of an actuated gantry with controlled motion in the vertical (Z) and horizontal (X) axes and a single rotation axis (R). The bucket drums were individually mounted to the rotary axis of the test stand and translated across a prepared bed of BP-1 lunar regolith simulant at a specified linear speed and cutting depth. The test stand was outfitted with a torque sensor in line with the rotation of the drum (R) and a 3 axis (X, Y, and Z) load cell. In addition to the three sizes of bucket drums the linear excavation speed and cutting depth were test variables. The results of these experiments show the relationship between the three scales of bucket drums for factors such as: excavation force, torque due to regolith rotation inside the drum, excavation energy, time to fill, etc. and will be discussed in detail in this paper. This fundamental data will be used in the design of the ISRU Pilot Excavator and can inform the design of future bucket drum excavators.

Jason Michael Schuler↗
DOE OSTI2026

Switching speed limits in electrically driven VO 2 structural Mott–Peierls transition

Mott materials are archetypal quantum systems actively explored as next-generation electronic and photonic platforms, with potential applications spanning non-Von Neumann computing, robotics, energy storage, and microwave technologies. Among these, vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ) has emerged as one of the most intensively studied compounds, owing to its sharp, near-room-temperature insulator-to-metal phase transition. VO 2 also serves as a benchmark system for testing cutting-edge theories and experimental techniques. Here, we directly visualize the electrically driven transition dynamics in VO 2 using a microwave-driven, frequency-tunable pulsed transmission electron microscope that combines nanometer spatial and picosecond temporal resolution. Under high-frequency (MHz–GHz) excitation, we capture the ultrafast nucleation, propagation, and dissolution of metallic domains within an operating device over millions of reversible cycles. We observe the ultrafast formation of consistent metallic nuclei beneath the electrodes, followed by the propagation of a structural phase front at 4.54 nm/ns. Our experiments show that phonon-mediated structural recovery ultimately limits reversible switching of VO 2 at GHz frequencies, and that a tunable regime for reversible operation spans from kHz to GHz through device engineering. Beyond VO 2 , our approach provides a powerful framework for probing non-equilibrium structural transformations in correlated and functional materials under realistic electrical stimuli.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1972

Teleoperators - A growth industry.

Teleoperators (remote operators), equipped with TV systems, manipulators, and highly mobile vehicles, can extend man's manipulative and sensory capabilities into distant or hazadous environments. It is shown how teleoperator technology will lead to autonomous robots, and from them and special purpose teleoperators, to a completely new industrial system. Various applications are described, and it is pointed out that teleoperators do not replace workers.

Johnsen, E. G.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Civil space technology initiative

Viewgraphs are presented on earth to orbit propulsion, booster technology, an aeroassist flight experiment, robotics, remote sensing of Earth, and autonomous systems.

Ambrus, Judith H.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Rationale and requirements for lunar exploration

The moon has had a complex and geologically fascinating history. It is a natural laboratory in which to study planetary processes and is readily accessible, only 2.5 days away. The moon is the only planetary object from which there are samples of known geologic context, and its history is understood well enough to permit the posing and answering of sophisticated scientific questions. The moon also preserves information about the earth's early history and cratering record, and about the sun's history. To retrieve all this information, it is necessary to return to the moon and study it from orbit, establish surface geophysical networks, obtain reconnaissance samples, and perform field work. These ventures will require development of interesting technological systems, such as a robotic field geologist, automated roving vehicles (both pressurized for humans and unpressurized for robotic devices), a host of sampling tools, automated sample-return spacecraft, and all of the associated navigation, communication, and power systems.

Spudis, Paul D.↗
NASA NTRS1990

An Odyssey for the turn of the millennia

The paper discusses one of the goals of the U.S. national space policy, i.e., to expand human presence and activity beyond earth orbit into the solar system. Journeys to the Moon and Mars, involving Space Station Freedom and robotic spacecraft, require advances in technology and opportunities for international cooperation are substantual. Two or more significantly different reference mission architectures are planned to be developed and United States astronauts are expected to land on Mars before 2019. Ideas and technologies which may benefit the Space Exploration Initiative are channeled to a program, called 'Outreach Program', to be later assessed by the Synthesis Group, an organization of senior U.S. specialists.

O'Handley, Douglas A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Automation of vehicle processing at Space Station Freedom

A methodology for applying the Kennedy Space Center vehicle processing experience to similar operations at Space Station Freedom is described. First, the required on-orbit processing tasks are identified. These tasks are then evaluated for automation suitability, and robotic manipulator and artificial intelligence technologies are investigated to automate selected physical and cognitive tasks. Effects on processing times, extra-vehicular activity savings, and required resources for incorporating these automation enhancements are identified. Results of the following case studies are included: Phobos Gateway Vehicle On-Orbit Assembly and Launch, Lunar Evolution Vehicle On-Orbit Refurbishment, and Mars Mission Vehicle On-Orbit Assembly and Launch.

Vargo, Rick↗
NASA NTRS1994

Graphical programming: A systems approach for telerobotic servicing of space assets

Satellite servicing is in many ways analogous to subsea robotic servicing in the late 1970's. A cost effective, reliable, telerobotic capability had to be demonstrated before the oil companies invested money in deep water robot serviceable production facilities. In the same sense, aeronautic engineers will not design satellites for telerobotic servicing until such a quantifiable capability has been demonstrated. New space servicing systems will be markedly different than existing space robot systems. Past space manipulator systems, including the Space Shuttle's robot arm, have used master/slave technologies with poor fidelity, slow operating speeds and most importantly, in-orbit human operators. In contrast, new systems will be capable of precision operations, conducted at higher rates of speed, and be commanded via ground-control communication links. Challenge presented by this environment include achieving a mandated level of robustness and dependability, radiation hardening, minimum weight and power consumption, and a system which accommodates the inherent communication delay between the ground station and the satellite. There is also a need for a user interface which is easy to use, ensures collision free motions, and is capable of adjusting to an unknown workcell (for repair operations the condition of the satellite may not be known in advance). This paper describes the novel technologies required to deliver such a capability.

Pinkerton, James T.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Simulation of the coupled multi-spacecraft control testbed at the Marshall Space Flight Center

The capture and berthing of a controlled spacecraft using a robotic manipulator is an important technology for future space missions and is presently being considered as a backup option for direct docking of the Space Shuttle to the Space Station during assembly missions. The dynamics and control of spacecraft configurations that are manipulator-coupled with each spacecraft having independent attitude control systems is not well understood and NASA is actively involved in both analytic research on this three dimensional control problem for manipulator coupled active spacecraft and experimental research using a two dimensional ground based facility at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). This paper first describes the MSFC testbed and then describes a two link arm simulator that has been developed to facilitate control theory development and test planning. The motion of the arms and the payload is controlled by motors located at the shoulder, elbow, and wrist.

Ghosh, Dave↗
NASA NTRS1998

A Proposal to Develop Interactive Classification Technology

Research for the first year was oriented towards: 1) the design of an interactive classification tool (ICT); and 2) the development of an appropriate theory of inference for use in ICT technology. The general objective was to develop a theory of classification that could accommodate a diverse array of objects, including events and their constituent objects. Throughout this report, the term "object" is to be interpreted in a broad sense to cover any kind of object, including living beings, non-living physical things, events, even ideas and concepts. The idea was to produce a theory that could serve as the uniting fabric of a base technology capable of being implemented in a variety of automated systems. The decision was made to employ two technologies under development by the principal investigator, namely, SMS (Symbolic Manipulation System) and SL (Symbolic Language) [see debessonet, 1991, for detailed descriptions of SMS and SL]. The plan was to enhance and modify these technologies for use in an ICT environment. As a means of giving focus and direction to the proposed research, the investigators decided to design an interactive, classificatory tool for use in building accessible knowledge bases for selected domains. Accordingly, the proposed research was divisible into tasks that included: 1) the design of technology for classifying domain objects and for building knowledge bases from the results automatically; 2) the development of a scheme of inference capable of drawing upon previously processed classificatory schemes and knowledge bases; and 3) the design of a query/ search module for accessing the knowledge bases built by the inclusive system. The interactive tool for classifying domain objects was to be designed initially for textual corpora with a view to having the technology eventually be used in robots to build sentential knowledge bases that would be supported by inference engines specially designed for the natural or man-made environments in which the robots would be called upon to operate.

deBessonet, Cary↗
NASA NTRS1996

On-Board Perception System For Planetary Aerobot Balloon Navigation

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is implementing the Planetary Aerobot Testbed to develop the technology needed to operate a robotic balloon aero-vehicle (Aerobot). This earth-based system would be the precursor for aerobots designed to explore Venus, Mars, Titan and other gaseous planetary bodies. The on-board perception system allows the aerobot to localize itself and navigate on a planet using information derived from a variety of celestial, inertial, ground-imaging, ranging, and radiometric sensors.

Planetary Aerobot Testbed robotic balloon aero-veh↗
NASA NTRS2007

Vision for Space Exploration

Vision tasks include: a) Complete the International Space Station; b) Safely fly the Space Shuttle until 2010; c) Develop and fly the Crew Exploration Vehicle (by 2014); d) Return to the moon (by 2020); e) Sustained and affordable human and robotic program; f) Develop innovative technologies, knowledge, and infrastructures; and g) Promote international and commercial participation.

Smith, Bryan K.↗
NASA NTRS2008

LED Device Illuminates New Path to Healing

Among NASA s research goals is increased understanding of factors affecting plant growth, including the effects of microgravity. Impeding such studies, traditional light sources used to grow plants on Earth are difficult to adapt to space flight, as they require considerable amounts of power and produce relatively large amounts of heat. As such, an optimized experimental system requires much less energy and reduces temperature variance without negatively affecting plant growth results. Ronald W. Ignatius, founder and chairman of the board at Quantum Devices Inc. (QDI), of Barneveld, Wisconsin, proposed using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as the photon source for plant growth experiments in space. This proposition was made at a meeting held by the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics, a NASA-sponsored research center that facilitates the commercialization of robotics, automation, and other advanced technologies. The Wisconsin group teamed with QDI to determine whether an LED system could provide the necessary wavelengths and intensities for photosynthesis, and the resultant system proved successful. The center then produced the Astroculture3, a plant growth chamber that successfully incorporated this LED light source, which has now flown on several space shuttle missions. NASA subsequently identified another need that could be addressed with the use of LEDs: astronaut health. A central concern in astronaut health is maintaining healthy growth of cells, including preventing bone and muscle loss and boosting the body s ability to heal wounds all adversely affected by prolonged weightlessness. Thus, having determined that LEDs can be used to grow plants in space, NASA decided to investigate whether LEDs might be used for photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT).

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2008

Spatial Coverage Planning and Optimization for Planetary Exploration

We are developing onboard planning and scheduling technology to enable in situ robotic explorers, such as rovers and aerobots, to more effectively assist scientists in planetary exploration. In our current work, we are focusing on situations in which the robot is exploring large geographical features such as craters, channels or regional boundaries. In to develop valid and high quality plans, the robot must take into account a range of scientific and engineering constraints and preferences. We have developed a system that incorporates multiobjective optimization and planning allowing the robot to generate high quality mission operations plans that respect resource limitations and mission constraints while attempting to maximize science and engineering objectives. An important scientific objective for the exploration of geological features is selecting observations that spatially cover an area of interest. We have developed a metric to enable an in situ explorer to reason about and track the spatial coverage quality of a plan. We describe this technique and show how it is combined in the overall multiobjective optimization and planning algorithm.

autonomy↗
NASA NTRS2003

Experiments with an EVA Assistant Robot

Human missions to the Moon or Mars will likely be accompanied by many useful robots that will assist in all aspects of the mission, from construction to maintenance to surface exploration. Such robots might scout terrain, carry tools, take pictures, curate samples, or provide status information during a traverse. At NASA/JSC, the EVA Robotic Assistant (ERA) project has developed a robot testbed for exploring the issues of astronaut-robot interaction. Together with JSC's Advanced Spacesuit Lab, the ERA team has been developing robot capabilities and testing them with space-suited test subjects at planetary surface analog sites. In this paper, we describe the current state of the ERA testbed and two weeks of remote field tests in Arizona in September 2002. A number of teams with a broad range of interests participated in these experiments to explore different aspects of what must be done to develop a program for robotic assistance to surface EVA. Technologies explored in the field experiments included a fuel cell, new mobility platform and manipulator, novel software and communications infrastructure for multi-agent modeling and planning, a mobile science lab, an "InfoPak" for monitoring the spacesuit, and delayed satellite communication to a remote operations team. In this paper, we will describe this latest round of field tests in detail.

Burridge, Robert R.↗
NASA NTRS2012

A Vision for the Exploration of Mars: Robotic Precursors Followed by Humans to Mars Orbit in 2033

The reformulation of the Mars program gives NASA a rare opportunity to deliver a credible vision in which humans, robots, and advancements in information technology combine to open the deep space frontier to Mars. There is a broad challenge in the reformulation of the Mars exploration program that truly sets the stage for: 'a strategic collaboration between the Science Mission Directorate (SMD), the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) and the Office of the Chief Technologist, for the next several decades of exploring Mars'.Any strategy that links all three challenge areas listed into a true long term strategic program necessitates discussion. NASA's SMD and HEOMD should accept the President's challenge and vision by developing an integrated program that will enable a human expedition to Mars orbit in 2033 with the goal of returning samples suitable for addressing the question of whether life exists or ever existed on Mars

Sellers, Piers J.↗