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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
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NASA NTRS1993

Meaningful experiences in science education: Engaging the space researcher in a cultural transformation to greater science literacy

The visceral appeal of space science and exploration is a very powerful emotional connection to a very large and diverse collection of people, most of whom have little or no perspective about what it means to do science and engineering. Therein lies the potential of space for a substantially enhanced positive impact on culture through education. This essay suggests that through engaging more of the space research and development community in enabling unique and 'meaningful educational experiences' for educators and students at the pre-collegiate levels, space science and exploration can amplify its positive feedback on society and act as an important medium for cultural transformation to greater science literacy. I discuss the impact of space achievements on people and define what is meant by a 'meaningful educational experience,' all of which points to the need for educators and students to be closer to the practice of real science. I offer descriptions of two nascent science education programs associated with NASA which have the needed characteristics for providing meaningful experiences that can cultivate greater science literacy. Expansion of these efforts and others like it will be needed to have the desired impact on culture, but I suggest that the potential for the needed resources is there in the scientific research communities. A society in which more people appreciate and understand science and science methods would be especially conducive to human progress in space and on Earth.

Morrow, Cherilynn A.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Actions, Observations, and Decision-Making: Biologically Inspired Strategies for Autonomous Aerial Vehicles

This paper details the development and demonstration of an autonomous aerial vehicle embodying search and find mission planning and execution srrategies inspired by foraging behaviors found in biology. It begins by describing key characteristics required by an aeria! explorer to support science and planetary exploration goals, and illustrates these through a hypothetical mission profile. It next outlines a conceptual bio- inspired search and find autonomy architecture that implements observations, decisions, and actions through an "ecology" of producer, consumer, and decomposer agents. Moving from concepts to development activities, it then presents the results of mission representative UAV aerial surveys at a Mars analog site. It next describes hardware and software enhancements made to a commercial small fixed-wing UAV system, which inc!nde a ncw dpvelopnent architecture that also provides hardware in the loop simulation capability. After presenting the results of simulated and actual flights of bioinspired flight algorithms, it concludes with a discussion of future development to include an expansion of system capabilities and field science support.

Pisanich, Greg↗
NASA NTRS2005

Mars Exploration Rover Operations with the Science Activity Planner

The Science Activity Planner (SAP) is the primary science operations tool for the Mars Exploration Rover mission and NASA's Software of the Year for 2004. SAP utilizes a variety of visualization and planning capabilities to enable the mission operations team to direct the activities of the Spirit and Opportunity rovers. This paper outlines some of the challenging requirements that drove the design of SAP and discusses lessons learned from the development and use of SAP in mission operations.

ground systems↗
NASA NTRS2007

Application of Solar-Electric Propulsion to Robotic Missions in Near-Earth Space

Interest in applications of solar electric propulsion (SEP) is increasing. Application of SEP technology is favored when: (1) the mission is compatible with low-thrust propulsion, (2) the mission needs high total delta V such that chemical propulsion is disadvantaged; and (3) performance enhancement is needed. If all such opportunities for future missions are considered, many uses of SEP are likely. Representative missions are surveyed and several SEP applications selected for analysis, including orbit raising, lunar science and robotic exploration, and planetary science. These missions span SEP power range from 10 kWe to about 100 kWe. A SEP design compatible with small inexpensive launch vehicles, and capable of lunar science missions, is presented. Modes of use and benefits are described, and potential SEP evolution is discussed.

Woodcock, Gordon R.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Multiphase flow and phase change in microgravity: Fundamental research and strategic research for exploration of space

NASA is preparing to undertake science-driven exploration missions. The NASA Exploration Team's vision is a cascade of stepping stones. The stepping-stone will build the technical capabilities needed for each step with multi-use technologies and capabilities. An Agency-wide technology investment and development program is necessary to implement the vision. The NASA Exploration Team has identified a number of areas where significant advances are needed to overcome all engineering and medical barriers to the expansion of human space exploration beyond low-Earth orbit. Closed-loop life support systems and advanced propulsion and power technologies are among the areas requiring significant advances from the current state-of-the-art. Studies conducted by the National Academy of Science's National Research Council and Workshops organized by NASA have shown that multiphase flow and phase change play a crucial role in many of these advanced technology concepts. Lack of understanding of multiphase flow, phase change, and interfacial phenomena in the microgravity environment has been a major hurdle. An understanding of multiphase flow and phase change in microgravity is, therefore, critical to advancing many technologies needed. Recognizing this, the Office of Biological and Physical Research (OBPR) has initiated a strategic research thrust to augment the ongoing fundamental research in fluid physics and transport phenomena discipline with research especially aimed at understanding key multiphase flow related issues in propulsion, power, thermal control, and closed-loop advanced life support systems. A plan for integrated theoretical and experimental research that has the highest probability of providing data, predictive tools, and models needed by the systems developers to incorporate highly promising multiphase-based technologies is currently in preparation. This plan is being developed with inputs from scientific community, NASA mission planners and industry personnel. The fundamental research in multiphase flow and phase change in microgravity is aimed at developing better mechanistic understanding of pool boiling and ascertaining the effects of gravity on heat transfer and the critical heat flux. Space flight experiments conducted in space have shown that nucleate pool boiling can be sustained under certain conditions in the microgravity environment. New space flight experiments are being developed to provide more quantitative information on pool boiling in microgravity. Ground-based investigations are also being conducted to develop mechanistic models for flow and pool boiling. An overview of the research plan and roadmap for the strategic research in multiphase flow and phase change as well as research findings from the ongoing program will be presented.

Singh, Bhim S.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Exploring the Art and Science of Systems Engineering

There has been much discussion of late in the NASA systems engineering community about the fact that systems engineering cannot be just about process and technical disciplines. The belief is that there is both an art and science to systems engineering, and that both aspects are necessary for designing and implementing a successful system or mission. How does one go about differentiating between and characterizing these two aspects? Some say that the art of systems engineering is about designing systems that not only function well, but that are also elegant, beautiful and engaging. What does that mean? How can you tell when a system has been designed with that holistic "art" component? This paper attempts to answer these questions by exploring various ways of looking at the Art and Science of Systems Engineering.

Jansma, P. A.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Use of Sonification for Analysis and Detection of Plasma Bubbles at 21 MHz

This research explores sonification as a useful tool for space science data exploration. Our interest lies in basic scientific analysis of plasmas of the ionosphere, of interplanetary space and of the interstellar medium. These plasmas all contain irregularities. Propagation of electromagnetic waves, like optical or radio waves, through a medium with random fluctuations in refractive index results in amplitude and phase fluctuations (Scheuer 1968). These variations may be displayed via sonification, using changes in sounds to represent the data variations. This is particularly useful extending science to the visually-impaired. The xSonify Java-based tool was developed to explore sonification techniques and its value for general science analysis and also assistive technology.

Wanda, Diaz↗
NASA NTRS2019

An Overview of the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) Mission

A critical goal to both science and exploration is to understand the form and location of lunar polar volatiles. The lateral and vertical distributions of these volatiles inform us of the processes that control the emplacement and retention of these volatiles, as well as helping to formulate in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) architectures. While significant progress has been made from orbital observations, measurements at a range of scales from centimeters to kilometers across the lunar surface are needed to generate adequate "volatile mineral models" for use in evaluating the resource potential of volatiles at the Moon. VIPER is a solar and battery powered rover mission designed to operate over multiple lunar days, traversing several kilometers as it continuously monitors for subsurface hydrogen and other surface volatiles. In specific thermal terrain types, including permanently shadowed terrain and locales that permit near-surface ice stability, subsurface samples will be examined for volatile content using a one-meter drill. This talk will provide an overview of the VIPER mission which is scheduled for flight to the Lunar South Pole in December 2022.

Colaprete, Anthony↗
NASA NTRS2005

Distributed Operations for the Mars Exploration Rover Mission with the Science Activity Planner

Due to the length of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission, most scientists were unable to stay at the central operations facility at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This created a need for distributed operations software, in the form of the Distributed Science Activity Planner. The distributed architecture saved a considerable amount of money and increased the number of individuals who could be actively involved in the mission, contributing to its success.

collaboration↗
NASA NTRS2004

Precision of radio science instrumentation for planetary exploration

The Deep Space Network is the largest and most sensitive scientific telecommunications facility Primary function: providing two-way communication between the Earth and spacecraft exploring the solar system Instrumented with large parabolic reflectors, high-power transmitters, low-noise amplifiers & receivers.

Radio Science Recever↗
NASA NTRS2017

Near Earth Asteroid Scout: NASA's Solar Sail Mission to a NEA

NASA is developing a solar sail propulsion system for use on the Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) Scout reconnaissance mission and laying the groundwork for their use in future deep space science and exploration missions. Solar sails use sunlight to propel vehicles through space by reflecting solar photons from a large, mirror-like sail made of a lightweight, highly reflective material. This continuous photon pressure provides propellant-less thrust, allowing for very high delta V maneuvers on long-duration, deep space exploration. Since reflected light produces thrust, solar sails require no onboard propellant. The Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) Scout mission, funded by NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems Program and managed by NASA MSFC, will use the sail as primary propulsion allowing it to survey and image Asteroid 1991VG and, potentially, other NEA’s of interest for possible future human exploration. The NEA Scout spacecraft is housed in a 6U CubeSat-form factor and utilizes an 86 square meter solar sail for a total mass less than 14 kilograms. The mission is in partnership with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory with support from Langley Research Center and science participants from various institutions. NEA Scout will be launched on the maiden flight of the Space Launch System in 2019. The solar sail for NEA Scout will be based on the technology developed and flown by the NASA NanoSail-D and flown on The Planetary Society’s Lightsail-A. Four approximately-7-meter stainless steel booms wrapped on two spools (two overlapping booms per spool) will be motor driven and pull the sail from its stowed volume. The sail material is an aluminized polyimide approximately 2.5 microns thick. As the technology matures, solar sails will increasingly be used to enable science and exploration missions that are currently impossible or prohibitively expensive using traditional chemical and electric propulsion systems. This paper will summarize the status of the NEA Scout mission and solar sail technology in general.

Near Earth Asteroid↗
NASA NTRS1989

Science opportunities in the human exploration of moon

Human exploration of the moon will open up science opportunities not only in lunar science, but also in astronomy and astrophysics, life science, solar and space physics, earth science, and even evolutionary biology. These opportunities may be categorized as those involving study of the moon itself, those in which the moon is used as a platform for investigations, and those conducted in transit between earth and the moon. This paper describes some of these opportunities, and calls on the science community to continue and expand its efforts to define the opportunities, and to work toward their inclusion in plans to return humans permanently to the moon.

Pilcher, Carl B.↗
NASA NTRS2001

An Overview of NASA's Intelligent Systems Program

NASA and the Computer Science Research community are poised to enter a critical era. An era in which - it seems - that each needs the other. Market forces, driven by the immediate economic viability of computer science research results, place Computer Science in a relatively novel position. These forces impact how research is done, and could, in worst case, drive the field away from significant innovation opting instead for incremental advances that result in greater stability in the market place. NASA, however, requires significant advances in computer science research in order to accomplish the exploration and science agenda it has set out for itself. NASA may indeed be poised to advance computer science research in this century much the way it advanced aero-based research in the last.

Cooke, Daniel E.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Information Systems for NASA's Aeronautics and Space Enterprises

The aerospace industry is being challenged to reduce costs and development time as well as utilize new technologies to improve product performance. Information technology (IT) is the key to providing revolutionary solutions to the challenges posed by the increasing complexity of NASA's aeronautics and space missions and the sophisticated nature of the systems that enable them. The NASA Ames vision is to develop technologies enabling the information age, expanding the frontiers of knowledge for aeronautics and space, improving America's competitive position, and inspiring future generations. Ames' missions to accomplish that vision include: 1) performing research to support the American aviation community through the unique integration of computation, experimentation, simulation and flight testing, 2) studying the health of our planet, understanding living systems in space and the origins of the universe, developing technologies for space flight, and 3) to research, develop and deliver information technologies and applications. Information technology may be defined as the use of advance computing systems to generate data, analyze data, transform data into knowledge and to use as an aid in the decision-making process. The knowledge from transformed data can be displayed in visual, virtual and multimedia environments. The decision-making process can be fully autonomous or aided by a cognitive processes, i.e., computational aids designed to leverage human capacities. IT Systems can learn as they go, developing the capability to make decisions or aid the decision making process on the basis of experiences gained using limited data inputs. In the future, information systems will be used to aid space mission synthesis, virtual aerospace system design, aid damaged aircraft during landing, perform robotic surgery, and monitor the health and status of spacecraft and planetary probes. NASA Ames through the Center of Excellence for Information Technology Office is leading the effort in pursuit of revolutionary, IT-based approaches to satisfying NASA's aeronautics and space requirements. The objective of the effort is to incorporate information technologies within each of the Agency's four Enterprises, i.e., Aeronautics and Space Transportation Technology, Earth, Science, Human Exploration and Development of Space and Space Sciences. The end results of these efforts for Enterprise programs and projects should be reduced cost, enhanced mission capability and expedited mission completion.

Kutler, Paul↗
NASA NTRS1999

Research and Technology 1998

This report highlights the challenging work accomplished during fiscal year 1998 by Ames research scientists, engineers, and technologists. It discusses research and technologies that enable the Information Age, that expand the frontiers of knowledge for aeronautics and space, and that help to maintain U.S. leadership in aeronautics and space research and technology development. The accomplishments are grouped into four categories based on NASA's four Strategic Enterprises: Aero-Space Technology, Space Science, Human Exploration and Development of Space, and Earth Science. The primary purpose of this report is to communicate knowledge-to inform our stakeholders, customers, and partners, and the people of the United States about the scope and diversity of Ames mission, the nature of Ames research and technology activities, and the stimulating challenges ahead. The accomplishments cited illustrate the contributions that Ames is making to improve the quality of life for our citizens and the economic position of the United States in the world marketplace.

Source record↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Role of Low Cost Missions in Preparing for Human Mars Exploration

Developing an enterprise-level architecture encompassing future human-robotic science and exploration at the Moon and Mars requires a visionary approach to ensure NASA is responsive to national priorities and global science and technology advancement objectives. While the initial capabilities needed to return humans to the Moon may be well understood, NASA is still formulating a long-term infrastructure at the Moon and working to narrow the trade space for the first human missions to Mars. This talk will focus on the formulation and current status of engineering and design applications for a long-term and robust exploration architecture.

Mars↗