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NASA NTRS2020

Ballooning for Biologists: Mission Essentials for Flying Life Science Experiments to Near Space

Despite centuries of scientific balloon flights, only a handful of experiments have produced biologically-relevant results. Yet unlike orbital spaceflight, it is much faster and cheaper to conduct biology research with balloons, sending specimens to the near space environment of Earth’s stratosphere. Samples can be loaded the morning of a launch and sometimes returned to the laboratory within one day. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) flies large, unmanned scientific balloons from all over globe, with missions ranging from hours to weeks in duration. A payload in the middle portion of the stratosphere (~35 km above sea level) will be exposed to an environment similar to the surface of Mars: temperatures as cold as -100 °C, atmospheric pressure at a thin 0.9 kPa, relative humidity levels < 1%, and a harsh illumination of ultraviolet (UV) and cosmic radiation levels (about 100 W/m 2 and 0.07 mGy/d, respectively) that can be obtained nowhere else on the surface of the Earth, including environmental chambers and particle accelerator facilities attempting to simulate space radiation effects. Considering operational advantages of ballooning and the fidelity of space-like stressors in the stratosphere, researchers in aerobiology, astrobiology, and space biology can benefit from balloon flight experiments as an intermediary step on the extraterrestrial continuum (ground, low Earth orbit, and deep space studies). Our review targets biologists with no background or experience in scientific ballooning. We will provide an overview of balloon operations, topics that can be uniquely addressed in the stratosphere, and a roadmap for developing payloads to fly with NASA.

NASA Balloon Program↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Operational Workflow in a Sample Receiving Facility: Input from the MSR Operation Definition Team

The return of scientifically selected samples from Mars would provide a rare opportunity for investigation with the full range of the latest technology available. To take full advantage of this opportunity, it is important to plan ahead to ensure the pristine nature of the samples upon arrival within the Earth environment until scientific investigations can begin. The NASA/ESA science community-driven MSR Science Planning Group – Phase 2 (MSPG2) delivered recommendations and guidance regarding curation (1) and science (2,3) activities to be performed on the samples under containment. High-level requirements for the infrastructure were also developed by MSPG2 (4). In order to prepare infrastructure-targeted input for the ESA and NASA facility studies planned in the 2022-2023 timeframe, the MSR agency-led Operational Scenarios Definition Team (MOSDT) was assembled to conceptualize the sample operations that will inform future architecture teams. Emphasis was placed on the responsibility of MOSDT to use community-defined requirements and to represent the view of the international scientific community. The main deliverable of MOSDT was an operational workflow for a Sample Receiving Facility (SRF). Two other deliverables were produced: a report to narrate the workflow, and a list of instruments (see Hutzler et al., this conference). Activities described in the main sequence of the workflow range from engineering operations to curation to science, with the latter term being used here as the science to be done within a SRF. Side sequences (e.g. engineering inspection of hardware, head gas extraction) were also identified, and detailed when they would have a significant impact on the infrastructure of a SRF. It was necessary for the MOSDT to rely on assumptions for some steps and activities, and though these were kept to a minimum (and are described in both the report supporting the workflow and in the full presentation), in general, the assumptions and overall work were very conservative, as the impact of underestimating the scope of the SRF infrastructure was considered more detrimental than overestimating it. It is expected that future work will be able to confirm or inform these assumptions. The community was consulted during the course of the MOSDT work. This abstract’s aim is two-fold: on one hand, inform the scientific community and overall MSR stakeholders, to make the infrastructure studies and trade-off more understandable; on the other hand, to solicit feedback from a larger community audience for the next iterations planning for SRF design and activities.

Mars Sample Return↗
NASA NTRS1992

Future scientific exploration of Taurus-Littrow

The Apollo 17 site was surveyed with great skill and the collected samples have been studied thoroughly (but not completely) in the 20 years since. Ironically, the success of the field and sample studies makes the site an excellent candidate for a return mission. Rather than solving all the problems, the Apollo 17 mission provided a set of sophisticated questions that can be answered only by returning to the site and exploring further. This paper addresses the major unsolved problems in lunar science and points out the units at the Apollo 17 site that are most suitable for addressing each problem. It then discusses how crucial data can be obtained by robotic rovers and human field work. I conclude that, in general, the most important information can be obtained only by human exploration. The paper ends with some guesses about what we could have learned at the Apollo 17 site from a fairly sophisticated rover capable of in situ analyses, instead of sending people.

Taylor, G. Jeffrey↗
NASA NTRS2012

A Lunar L2-Farside Exploration and Science Mission Concept with the ORion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and a Teleoperated Lander/Rover

A novel concept is presented in this paper for a human mission to the lunar L2 (Lagrange) point that would be a proving ground for future exploration missions to deep space while also overseeing scientifically important investigations. In an L2 halo orbit above the lunar farside, the astronauts would travel 15% farther from Earth than did the Apollo astronauts and spend almost three times longer in deep space. Such missions would validate the Orion MPCV's life support systems, would demonstrate the high-speed re-entry capability needed for return from deep space, and would measure astronauts' radiation dose from cosmic rays and solar flares to verify that Orion would provide sufficient protection, as it is designed to do. On this proposed mission, the astronauts would teleoperate landers and rovers on the unexplored lunar farside, which would obtain samples from the geologically interesting farside and deploy a low radio frequency telescope. Sampling the South Pole-Aitkin basin (one of the oldest impact basins in the solar system) is a key science objective of the 2011 Planetary Science Decadal Survey. Observations of the Universe's first stars/galaxies at low radio frequencies are a priority of the 2010 Astronomy & Astrophysics Decadal Survey. Such telerobotic oversight would also demonstrate capability for human and robotic cooperation on future, more complex deep space missions.

Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV)↗
NASA NTRS1988

Valles Marineris, Mars: An optimum science-sample site

The Valles Marineris troughs offer an opportunity to sample rocks that reflect various ages and compositions, giving insight into important processes on Mars. Most of the samples would be located within reasonable proximity and could be easily reached by rovers or balloons. Although landing a spacecraft on the floor of the Valles Marineris may be too dangerous for the first sample-return mission to Mars, the scientific rewards would be so great that such a landing should be considered for later flights.

Lucchitta, B. K.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Genesis Discovery Mission: Science Canister Processing at JSC

Genesis addresses questions about materials and processes involved in the origins of the solar system by providing precise knowledge of solar isotopic and elemental compositions. Solar wind ions are collected and returned to Earth for analyses. The spacecraft has two primary instruments to collect solar wind: a set of collector arrays each of which can deploy to sample different solar wind regimes, and a concentrator that is an electrostatic mirror to concentrate and focus low mass ions onto a 6 cm target. One of the key challenges to obtaining a good sample of solar wind, uncontaminated by terrestrial atoms, is to have clean collection surfaces in a clean sample canister and clean facilities to handle the samples for allocation and future reference. The Johnson Space Center (JSC) is responsible for contamination control for the mission, for ensuring the cleanliness of collection surfaces, and for providing a clean environment for handling of the samples. The level of cleanliness required is high; at the time of analysis (after sample return), the surface contamination by C, N, O must each be <10(exp 15) atoms/sq cm and for other elements the number of atoms/sq cm of each surface contaminant shall not exceed the estimated solar wind fluence of the species (varies by element between U at approx. 10(exp 4) atoms/sq cm to Fe, Si, Mg, and Ne at approx. 10(exp 12) atoms/sq cm).

Stansbery, E. K.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Lunar Surface Operations: Surface Duration - Part 2

The objectives of this slide presentation are to review the activities on the lunar surface during the stay. The objectives include (1) Summarize Lunar Module Basics emphasizing module layout and storage. (2) Identify the primary activities occurring during each of the lunar s urface timelines, (3) List the EVA Prep tasks, (4) Identify the EVA Objectives, (5) Identify the activities associated with Post EVA (6) Describe the lessons learned during both EVA and Non EVA activities. Included are overview drawings of the Lunar Roving Vehicle, pictures of the tools, and sample return containers. There are also time lines for the Apollo 11, and Apollo 12 through 14, Apollo 15, Apollo 16 and Apollo 17. Diagrams of the EVA suits are shown, including the Liquid Cooling Garment, and the Pressure Garment Assembly. The activity prior to the EVA are reviewed. The science mission assignments of each mission are viewed. The activities after the EVA are reviewed

Interbartolo, Michael↗
NASA NTRS2019

Cold Survivable Distributed Motor Controller (CSDMC)

This paper presents the results of NASA’s COLDTECH development entitled “Cold Survivable Distributed Motor Controller (CSDMC)”. This work addresses the need to lower the mass, power and volume of the motor control electronics and its associated cabling. Landed payload mass of ocean world missions typically requires a spacecraft launch mass of 7-10x the landed mass due to the required propellant to get the payload to the surface. Reduction of landed mass leads to cheaper, more frequent missions and/or increased science return. This work addresses this need by developing a distributed electronics architecture, which places control and power electronics near or at actuators and instruments. The outcome of this effort will result in a 10X reduction in harness mass, enabling a significant increase in science payload which then enables more capable sample acquisition, delivery and analysis systems on these missions. Placing the control and power conversion electronics at or near the actuators or instruments is the cornerstone of our distributed architecture. To do this, we developed the technology necessary to distribute the electronics and place them on a shared interface and power bus. This enables a significant reduction in cable mass along with its associated complexity. This allows spacecraft designers to take advantage of volume at the extremities that would normally not be utilized. In this paper we discuss the technologies and system design to achieve these goals in support of ocean world missions. These technologies include the development of our motor control modules, a point of load regulator and isolated converter modules along with the packaging technology necessary to allow our electronics to survive the extreme temperatures.

Stell, Chris↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Thinking Inside the Box: A Hands-On Student Activity for Building a Contamination Containment Glovebox to Encourage Problem Solving in a Collaborative Environment

Contamination containment gloveboxes are sealed containers where operators outside the glovebox can safely manipulate hazardous or contamination-sensitive materials inside the glovebox through glove ports on the container. Containment gloveboxes are used in the space industry to study sample materials returned from space such as lunar, asteroid, and comet materials, to manufacture sensitive instruments and space ight hardware, and to perform contamination-sensitive experiments. A hands-on activity has been developed by contamination control engineer and STEM education experts as part of the Virginia Earth System Science Scholars (VESSS) summer academy program to teach high school students about gloveboxes and about problem solving in a collaborative environment. In this activity, student teams are given a list of common household materials (e.g. plastic bags, plastic straws, aluminum foil, tape, disposable gloves, etc.) for building their own glovebox. Students work together to sketch and design their glovebox before being provided a kit of materials, which they must purchase along with any extra materials with a mock team budget. They are given 30 minutes to build their glovebox, however, they do not know what will be placed inside the glovebox or what operations they will need to perform within the glovebox. At the end of the build time, teams are given a small, sealed paper envelope which they place in the glovebox. Each team selects a team member to be designated as the operator, and the operator places their hands in the gloves of the glovebox. The operator uses their gloves to open the envelope in the glovebox, and they discover they have 20 minutes to assemble a jigsaw puzzle. However, the puzzle is \contaminated" with talcum powder. After the 20 minute time period, teams are judged on how well they completed and cleaned the contaminated puzzle. In a post-activity debrief, teams discuss lessons learned such as how the actual built box di ered from the sketched design, the challenge of managing a budget for materials, how the team dealt with surprises, and if their glovebox allowed enough room for the operator to perform the task. This activity has been part of the VESSS summer academy since 2016, and teaches students teamwork, creativity, hands-on experimentation, communication, and reasoning skills. In a demonstration at IAC, a volunteer from the audience will be chosen to assemble a glovebox during the presentation using the same kit of materials and will demonstrate handling puzzle pieces in the completed glovebox.

Elaine Seasly↗
NASA NTRS2020

Using X-Ray Computed Tomography to Image Apollo Drive Tube 73002

The Apollo missions collected 382 kg of rock, regolith, and core samples from six locations on the nearside of the Moon. Today, just over 84% by mass of the Apollo collection remains in pristine condition within the curation facility at Johnson Space Center. Most Apollo samples have been well characterized, however there are several types of samples that have remained wholly or largely unstudied since their return, and/or that have been curated under special conditions. These sample types are: (1) unopened samples sealed under vacuum on the Moon; (2) unopened (but unsealed) drive tubes; (3) Apollo 17 samples frozen shortly after their return; and (4) Apollo 15 samples opened and stored in a helium atmosphere since their return. Last summer, NASA solicited proposals for the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Program (ANGSA), and 9 teams were selected to study: (1) unsealed, unopened drive tube 73002; (2) sealed, unopened drive tube 73001 (paired with 73002); and (3) a subset of the frozen and He-purged samples [1]. The first sample opened as part of the ANGSA program was drive tube 73002. This is a 30 cm long, 4 cm diameter drive tube collected on a landslide deposit near Lara Crater at the Apollo 17 landing site. It was part of a 60 cm long double drive tube collected, and the bottom half of the tube (73001) was sealed under vacuum on the Moon [2]. Prior to opening sample 73002, the sample was imaged with a high resolution Xray Computed Tomography (XCT) scan of the entire tube. Additional XCT scans have been made of “large” clasts removed from the core as part of the dissection process [3]. Here we present a first look at the XCT data from 73002, and talk about the utility of the scans as part of the curation process, including the potential for future science returns from the high resolutions scans.

Zeigler, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS2015

FINESSE: Field Investigations to Enable Solar System Science and Exploration

The FINESSE (Field Investigations to Enable Solar System Science and Exploration) team is focused on a science and exploration field-based research program aimed at generating strategic knowledge in preparation for the human and robotic exploration of the Moon, near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) and Phobos and Deimos. We follow the philosophy that "science enables exploration and exploration enables science." 1) FINESSE Science: Understand the effects of volcanism and impacts as dominant planetary processes on the Moon, NEAs, and Phobos & Deimos. 2) FINESSE Exploration: Understand which exploration concepts of operations (ConOps) and capabilities enable and enhance scientific return. To accomplish these objectives, we are conducting an integrated research program focused on scientifically-driven field exploration at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in Idaho and at the West Clearwater Lake Impact Structure in northern Canada. Field deployments aimed at reconnaissance geology and data acquisition were conducted in 2014 at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. Targets for data acquisition included selected sites at Kings Bowl eruptive fissure, lava field and blowout crater, Inferno Chasm vent and outflow channel, North Crater lava flow and Highway lava flow. Field investigation included (1) differential GPS (dGPS) measurements of lava flows, channels (and ejecta block at Kings Bowl); (2) LiDAR imaging of lava flow margins, surfaces and other selected features; (3) digital photographic documentation; (4) sampling for geochemical and petrographic analysis; (5) UAV aerial imagery of Kings Bowl and Inferno Chasm features; and (6) geologic assessment of targets and potential new targets. Over the course of the 5-week field FINESSE campaign to the West Clearwater Impact Structure (WCIS) in 2014, the team focused on several WCIS research topics, including impactites, central uplift formation, the impact-generated hydrothermal system, multichronometer dating of impact products, and using WCIS as an analog test site for crew studies of sampling protocols. The FINESSE team visited and mapped all of the major islands within West Clearwater Lake. Excellent cliff exposures around the coasts of many of the islands allowed a general stratigraphy of impactites to be defined. Notable differences to previous work includes the discovery of a monomict lithic breccia and a medium to coarse grained impact melt rock. In addition, ample rock samples were returned from West Clearwater for geochronology study. Geochronology work centers around laboratory analyses of these samples (and samples collected in the future or obtained from archives housed at the Canadian Geological Survey). Samples returned from the FINESSE field season have been evaluated for suitability for geochronologic analysis, and selected samples have been crushed for mineral separation and/or sawed for the preparation of polished petrologic thin sections. Heavy minerals (e.g., zircon, titanite, and apatite) will be separated from the crushed material for (U-Th)/He geochronology. The sections will be used for laser ablation 40Ar/39Ar research after neutron irradiation. This presentation will highlight the exciting science and exploration work conducted by FINESSE, as well as future plans for continued research.

Phobos & Deimos↗
NASA NTRS1991

Planetary protection issues and human exploration of Mars

A key feature of the Space Exploration Initiative involves human missions to Mars. The report describing the initiative cites the search for life on Mars, extant or extinct, as one of the five science themes for such an endeavor. Because of this, concerns for planetary protection (PP) have arisen of two fronts: (1) forward contamination of Mars by spacecraft-borne terrestrial microbes which could interfere with exobiological analyses; and (2) back contamination of Earth by species that may be present in returned Mars samples. The United States is also signatory to an international treaty designed to protect Earth and planets from harmful cross-contamination during exploration. Therefore, it is timely to assess the necessity for, and impact of, PP procedures on the mission set comprising the human exploration of Mars. The ground-rules adopted at a recent workshop which addressed PP questions of this type are presented. In addition, the workshop produced several recommendations for dealing with forward and back contamination concerns for non-scientific perspectives, including public relations, legal, regulatory, international, and environmental.

Devincenzi, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS2006

NASA's 2004 In-Space Propulsion Refocus Studies for New Frontiers Class Missions

The New Frontiers (NF) program is designed to provide opportunities to fulfill the science objectives for top priority, medium class missions identified in the Decadal Solar System Exploration Survey. This paper assesses the applicability of the In-Space Propulsion s (ISP) Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) technologies for representative NF class missions that include a Jupiter Polar Orbiter with Probes (JPOP), Comet Surface Sample Return (CSSR), and two different Titan missions. The SEP technologies evaluated include the 7-kW, 4,100-second NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT), the 3-kW, 2,700-second Hall thruster, and two different NASA Solar Electric Propulsion Technology Readiness (NSTAR) thrusters that are variants of the Deep Space 1 (DS1) thruster. One type of NSTAR, a 2.6-kW, 3,100-second thruster, will be the primary propulsion system for the DAWN mission that is scheduled to launch in 2006; the other is an "enhanced", higher power variant (3.8-kW, 4,100-second) and is so-called because it uses NEXT system components such as the NEXT power processing unit (PPU). The results show that SEP is applicable for the CSSR mission and a Titan Lander mission. In addition, NEXT has improved its applicability for these types of missions by modifying its thruster performance relative to its performance at the beginning of this study.

Witzberger, Kevin E.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Cleaning Genesis Mission Payload for Flight with Ultra-Pure Water and Assembly in ISO Class 4 Environment

Genesis mission to capture and return to Earth solar wind samples had very stringent contamination control requirements in order to distinguish the solar atoms from terrestrial ones. Genesis mission goals were to measure solar composition for most of the periodic table, so great care was taken to avoid particulate contamination. Since the number 1 and 2 science goals were to determine the oxygen and nitrogen isotopic composition, organic contamination was minimized by tightly controlling offgassing. The total amount of solar material captured in two years is about 400 micrograms spread across one sq m. The contamination limit requirement for each of C, N, and O was <1015 atoms/sq cm. For carbon, this is equivalent to 10 ng/cm2. Extreme vigilance was used in pre-paring Genesis collectors and cleaning hardware for flight. Surface contamination on polished silicon wafers, measured in Genesis laboratory is approximately 10 ng/sq cm.

Allton, Judith H.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Near-Earth Object Exploration and Marco Polo-R

A major goal for NASA's human spaceflight program is to send astronauts to near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) in the coming decades. Missions to NEAs would undoubtedly provide a great deal of technical and engineering data on spacecraft operations for future human space exploration while conducting in-depth scientific examinations of these primitive objects. However, prior to sending human explorers to NEAs, robotic investigations of these bodies would be required in order to maximize operational efficiency and reduce mission risk. These precursor missions to NEAs would fill crucial strategic knowledge gaps concerning their physical characteristics that are relevant for human exploration of these relatively unknown destinations. Therefore robotic investigations of NEAs, such as ESA's Marco Polo-R sample return mission to 2008 EV5, would allow NASA and its international partners to gain critical operational experience in performing complex tasks (e.g., close proximity operations, surface sample collection, etc.) under microgravity conditions at or near the surface of a potential human destination. This would provide an important synergy between the worldwide Science and Exploration communities, which will be crucial for development of future international deep space exploration architectures and has potential benefits for future exploration of other destinations beyond low-Earth orbit.

Abell, Paul↗
NASA NTRS2019

Simplifying Satellite and Ground Data Validation with Level-2 Subsetting

We demonstrate that scientists can simplify their satellite data validation workflow with the use of NASA Godddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) subsetting services. We perform a sample validation of Aura ozone products collocated with ground-based ozone measurements using subsetting services to trim satellite data to only the relevant user-defined variables and spatio-temporal region. Because the subsetting service automatically returns only relevant data granules that adhere to a set of user-defined coincidence criteria, user workload is greatly reduced. Moreover, the resultant data files are substantially smaller than full data granules due to the subsetting service further culling the data to the relevant geospatio-temporal coincidence criteria, user-defined variables, and user-defined dimensions of variables. This decreases data download throughput and file storage requirements. The validation presented here quantifies the time and file size savings that can be achieved by utilizing subsetting services within the satellite data validation workflow.

Johnson, James↗
NASA NTRS2014

NASA GeneLab Concept of Operations

NASA's GeneLab aims to greatly increase the number of scientists that are using data from space biology investigations on board ISS, emphasizing a systems biology approach to the science. When completed, GeneLab will provide the integrated software and hardware infrastructure, analytical tools and reference datasets for an assortment of model organisms. GeneLab will also provide an environment for scientists to collaborate thereby increasing the possibility for data to be reused for future experimentation. To maximize the value of data from life science experiments performed in space and to make the most advantageous use of the remaining ISS research window, GeneLab will apply an open access approach to conducting spaceflight experiments by generating, and sharing the datasets derived from these biological studies in space.Onboard the ISS, a wide variety of model organisms will be studied and returned to Earth for analysis. Laboratories on the ground will analyze these samples and provide genomic, transcriptomic, metabolomic and proteomic data. Upon receipt, NASA will conduct data quality control tasks and format raw data returned from the omics centers into standardized, annotated information sets that can be readily searched and linked to spaceflight metadata. Once prepared, the biological datasets, as well as any analysis completed, will be made public through the GeneLab Space Bioinformatics System webb as edportal. These efforts will support a collaborative research environment for spaceflight studies that will closely resemble environments created by the Department of Energy (DOE), National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), and other institutions in additional areas of study, such as cancer and environmental biology. The results will allow for comparative analyses that will help scientists around the world take a major leap forward in understanding the effect of microgravity, radiation, and other aspects of the space environment on model organisms. These efforts will speed the process of scientific sharing, iteration, and discovery.

Space Life Science↗
DOE OSTI2018

Elemental Composition of Analogs to Mars Return Samples Studied with X-Ray Fluorescence Imaging at NSLS-II

In 2020, NASA will launch out into the first step of what may be an ambitious, multi-mission campaign with the goal to bring back for analysis in laboratories here to Earth a collection of rock, regolith, and atmosphere samples from Mars. It is the main objective of this endeavor to determine whether or not Mars was ever host to ancient microbial life. Finding evidence for extinct (or extant) life on Mars has the potential to fundamentally alter our view of the origin and evolution of life. It would provide proof for Earth being just one amongst others regarding the question of biological activity in the Solar System. Furthermore, returned Martian samples would provide a rich repository of information on the history of planetary accretion and differentiation, geochronology, atmospheric evolution, and the paleo-environmental history of Mars, adding tremendous additional value to such a mission beyond the issue of extraterrestrial life. Here the potential knowledge to be obtained by such a collection of samples will equal or exceed that of the Apollo lunar sample archive, which even today yields new insights on the history of the Solar System, over 40 years after they were returned to Earth.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗