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NASA NTRS1998

Teaching Soil Science in Primary and Secondary Schools

Earth's thin layer of soil is a fragile resource, made up of minerals, organic materials, air, water, and billions of living organisms. Soils plays a variety of critical roles that sustain life on Earth. If we think about soil, we tend to see it first as the source of most of the food we eat and the fibers we use, such as wood and cotton. Few students realize that soils also provide the key ingredients to many of the medicines (including antibiotics), cosmetics, and dyes that we use. Fewer still understand the importance of soils in integrating, controlling, and regulating the movement of air, water, materials, and energy between the hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. Because soil sustains life, it offers both a context and a natural laboratory for investigating these interactions. The enclosed poster, which integrates soil profiles with typical landscapes in which soils form, can also help students explore the interrelationships of Earth systems and gain an understanding of our soil resources. The poster, produced jointly by the American Geological Institute and the Soil Science Society of America, aims to increase awareness of the importance of soil, as does the GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations To Benefit the Environment) Program. Vice President Al Gore instituted the GLOBE Program on Earth Day of 1993 to increase environmental awareness of individuals throughout the world, contribute to a better scientific understanding of the Earth, and help all students reach higher levels of achievement in science and mathematics. GLOBE functions as a partnership between scientists, students, and teachers in which scientists design protocols for specific measurements they need for their research that can be performed by K-12 students. Teachers are trained in the GLOBE protocols and teach them to their students. Students make the measurements, enter data via the Internet to a central data archive, and the data becomes available to scientists and the general community. Students benefit by having a "hands-on"experience in science, math, and technology, using their local environment as a learning laboratory, as well as contact with scientists and other students around the world. Soil investigations have become an essential component of GLOBE. The protocols that have been developed so far within the GLOBE program include GPS Location, Atmosphere/Climate, Soil Characterization, Soil Moisture and Temperature, Land Cover/Biometry, Hydrology, and Satellite Image Classification. For the GLOBE Soil Characterization Protocol, students explore the physical. chemical, and morphological properties of the soil at their study site. They are asked to dig a pit or use an auger to about 1 meter at at least 2 sites.

Levine, Elissa R.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Transformative Technology for FLASH Radiation Therapy

The general concept of radiation therapy used in conventional cancer treatment is to increase the therapeutic index by creating a physical dose differential between tumors and normal tissues through precision dose targeting, image guidance, and radiation beams that deliver a radiation dose with high conformality, e.g., protons and ions. However, the treatment and cure are still limited by normal tissue radiation toxicity, with the corresponding side effects. A fundamentally different paradigm for increasing the therapeutic index of radiation therapy has emerged recently, supported by preclinical research, and based on the FLASH radiation effect. FLASH radiation therapy (FLASH-RT) is an ultra-high-dose-rate delivery of a therapeutic radiation dose within a fraction of a second. Experimental studies have shown that normal tissues seem to be universally spared at these high dose rates, whereas tumors are not. While dose delivery conditions to achieve a FLASH effect are not yet fully characterized, it is currently estimated that doses delivered in less than 200 ms produce normal-tissue-sparing effects, yet effectively kill tumor cells. Despite a great opportunity, there are many technical challenges for the accelerator community to create the required dose rates with novel compact accelerators to ensure the safe delivery of FLASH radiation beams.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
NASA NTRS2001

Visualization of Microbial Biomarkers by Scanning Electron Microscopy

We are developing tools to link the biochemical structure of selected biomarkers with putative biogenic structures observed in mineralized samples. The detection of evidence of life on Mars and other planets will rely on methods that can discriminate compounds formed exclusively by living organisms. While biogenic compounds, such as amino acids and nucleotides have been discovered in extraterrestrial sources, such as meteorites and comets, their formation can be explained by abiotic means. The formation of cellular structures, or more elaborate organic molecules, such as complex lipids, proteins or nucleic acids, however, is strongly correlated to the presence of even the most primitive life processes. Recent evidence lends support to the hypothesis that life may have once existed on Mars. Carbonate globules and ppm concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been described in ALH84001, a meteorite originating from Mars ejecta captured by Earth over 13,000 years ago. The localized high concentration of PAHs that follow an increasing gradient from the intact fusion crust towards the interior corresponds to microgram quantities of hydrocarbon. Even though ALH84001 and other similar meteorites have withstood the forces capable of ejecting rock through Mars' escape velocity, upon entering Earth's atmosphere, their core temperatures are likely not to have been raised significantly, as evidenced by the survival of remanent magnetic signatures. Ideal biomarkers of ancient or modern biological life would include molecules that are (or were) pervasive and highly resistant to degradation. Also, requisite methods of detection should be simple, extremely sensitive and broadly inclusive (NASA SP-530). Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), peptidoglycan or pseudopeptidoglycan and beta-glucan are microbial cell wall components which together cover the entire microbial spectrum of eubacteria, archea and fungi. They are all remarkably resistant to thermal degradation. Fortunately, many antimicrobial defense systems of higher organisms require sensitive detection to combat microbial pathogens. We employ here the primitive immune system of the evolutionarily ancient horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus. This species relies on multi-enzyme signal amplification detection of cell wall molecules and they can be applied to the development of useful detectors of life. An extension of this work includes the visualization of microbial signatures by labeling LAL components with chromogenic or electron dense markers. The protein Limulus Anti-LPS Factor (LALF) has an extremely high affinity for LPS. By coupling LALF binding with colloidal gold labels we demonstrate a correlation of the structures visible by electron microscopy with biochemical evidence of microbial cell wall materials. Pure silica particles were mixed with cultures of E. coli (10(exp 6) cfu/mL). Samples were washed sequentially with buffered saline, LALF, antibody to LALF and finally colloidal gold-labeled Protein A. Negative controls were not exposed to E. coli but received identical treatment otherwise. Samples were coated with carbon and imaged on a JEOL JSM-840 scanning electron microscope with LaB6 source in the back scatter mode with the JEOL annular back scatter detector. 20 nm-scale black spots in this contrast-reversed image originate from electrons back-scattered by gold atoms. Negative controls did not give any signal. Future work will expand application of this technique to soil simulants and mineralized rock samples.

Wainwright, Norman R.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Effect of Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Mechanical Property of 316L Stainless Steel Produced by Laser Powder Bed Fusion

The advanced non-light water reactor designs (Gen IV reactors), including molten salt/ very high temperature/ sodium-cooled and lead-cooled fast reactors, typically operate at higher temperatures and more extreme radiation conditions than light water reactors. An intrinsic part of the deployment and progress of Gen IV reactor designs is selecting the most suitable structural material for a specific application. Additive manufacturing (AM), a fairly new process of making physical, three-dimensional objects from a computer design file, is going to completely change the way of design, build and certify nuclear systems. It offers a range of opportunities to produce complex geometries from existing materials, offers new routes for processing of previously difficult to process materials, allows for design of new high-performance materials, and finally facilitates hybridization of dissimilar materials. This emerging technology has successfully produced cars, wind turbine blade molds and even live cells. It could also open up big opportunities for the nuclear industry to quickly deploy technologies at a fraction of the cost. So far, AM techniques have been preliminarily applied in the field of nuclear reactors, including the classical parts such as the pressure vessel of a small reactor with 508-III steel, the bottom nozzle of a fuel assembly with 304L steel, the fuel cladding with zirconium alloy and the integrated impeller of a pump and the multi-channel valve body with 316L steel [6,7]. The AM applications for operating nuclear reactors started in auxiliary plant components and have slowly migrated to metallic reactors and core components, but many of these are not safety critical components. Although many parts used for nuclear reactors have been fabricated by AM techniques, practical applications in engineering are still a long way off due to the uncertainty factors focused on the processing, material properties, analysis methods and application standards, which feeds the safety and life-cycle of the nuclear reactor. Due to rapid, repeated heating and cooling during production, a high dislocation density was present in the AM material. This microstructure feature is unstable at elevated temperature while high temperature is one of the typical operation environments for nuclear reactors. Thus, it is important to understand the thermal effect on the microstructure of AM material. The objectives of this study are to investigate the effect of heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 316L stainless steel produced by laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing, and to determine an appropriate heat treatment practice that will be applied to the lightweight AM lattice-structured material with the same chemistry. The heat treatment study consisted of annealing the samples at a temperature range of 800 to 1200 oC with a 50 oC increment for different times (1-24 hours), followed by vacuum or air cooling. Microstructural characterization was carried out by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Grain size and crystallographic orientation were investigated by Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD). Vickers hardness tests with a 0.5 kg load were employed to determine the hardness of samples after different heat treatments. After heat treatment, the random crystallographic orientation was preserved, and the volume fraction of high-angle grain boundaries (grain boundary misorientation =15 oC) remained the same. The dislocation density decreased with annealing temperature due to recovery. The fine subgrain structures in the as-printed specimen were quite stable up to 1200 oC. Minimal recrystallization was observed up to 1200 oC. Recrystallization initiated only after 8.5 hours at 1200 oC. The SEM images did not show obvious dependence of microstructure on cooling rate. The hardness of the specimens decreased with increasing annealing temperature as a result of the decrease in dislocation density. It is interesting to note that the AM material showed very similar hardness to the wrought material when annealing at similar temperature, although the microstructures are very different. Annealing at 1050 oC for 1 hour followed by air cooling was selected as the heat treatment procedure for the lattice designed lightweight AM 316L material.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Proof-of-concept studies of novel protocols for producing highly pure 48 V from a 48 Cr/ 48 V generator

Here, the quest to improve the quality of nuclear data, such as half-lives, transition yields, and reaction cross-sections, is a shared endeavor among various areas of nuclear science. 48 V is a vanadium isotope for which experimental data on neutron reaction cross-sections is needed. However, traditional isotope production techniques cannot produce 48 V with high enough isotopic purity for some of these measurements. “Isotope harvesting” at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) is a new isotope production technique that could potentially yield 48 V with the necessary purity for such studies. In this case, 48Cr would be collected and allowed to generate 48 V that can be separated from undecayed 48 Cr to yield highly pure 48 V. Thus, any protocol for producing pure 48 V via isotope harvesting would involve utilizing a separation technique that can effectively separate 48 Cr and 48 V. In this study, the radiotracers 51 Cr and 48 V were used to develop possible radiochemical separation methodologies, which can be translated to obtain high purity 48 V via this novel isotope production method. The developed protocols utilize either ion exchange or extraction chromatographic resins. Separations of 51 Cr and 48 V with AG 1-X8 anion exchange resin respectively resulted in recoveries of 95.6(26)% and 96.2(12)% with radionuclidic purities of 92(2)% and 99(1)%. An even more effective Cr and V separation was obtained with an extraction chromatographic resin (TRU resin) and 10 M HNO 3 loading solution. Here, 51 Cr and 48 V respectively had recoveries of 94.1(28)% and 96.2(13)% with high radionuclidic purities (100(2)% and 100(1)%) in small volumes (8.81(8) mL and 5.39(16) mL). This study suggests that, to maximize the yield and isotopic purity of 48 V, the best production protocol would involve utilizing two separations with TRU resin and 10 M HNO 3 to isolate 48 Cr and purify the generated 48 V.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2025

First Direct-Detection Results on Sub-GeV Dark Matter Using the SENSEI Detector at SNOLAB

Here, we present the first results from a dark matter search using six Skipper-CCDs in the SENSEI detector operating at SNOLAB. We employ a bias-mitigation technique of hiding approximately 46% of our total data and aggressively mask images to remove backgrounds. Given a total exposure after masking of 100.72 gram-days from well-performing sensors, we observe 55 two-electron events, 4 three-electron events, and no events containing 4–10 electrons. The two-electron events are consistent with pileup from one-electron events. Among the 4 three-electron events, 2 appear in pixels that are likely impacted by detector defects, although not strongly enough to trigger our “hot-pixel” mask. We use these data to set world-leading constraints on sub-GeV dark matter interacting with electrons and nuclei.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
NASA NTRS2007

Large Solar-Rejection Filter

NASA utilized Image Intensified Video Cameras for ATV data acquisition from a jet flying at 12.8 km. Afterwards the video was digitized and then analyzed with a modified commercial software package, Image Systems Trackeye. Astrometric results were limited by saturation, plate scale, and imposed linear plate solution based on field reference stars. Time-dependent fragment angular trajectories, velocities, accelerations, and luminosities were derived in each video segment. It was evident that individual fragments behave differently. Photometric accuracy was insufficient to confidently assess correlations between luminosity and fragment spatial behavior (velocity, deceleration). Use of high resolution digital video cameras in future should remedy this shortcoming. A scenically accurate description of matter interpreted as a substance made up of corpuscular constituents was established during the course of the 19th century. In this description, atoms--the building blocks of the matter--form molecules. The properties of the molecules were described by chemistry or thermodynamics depending on what characteristics of the matter were investigated. In both theories, the molecules can dissociate to atoms when the kinetic energies of the atoms exceed the strength of the chemical bonds. The number of atoms is always preserved in a closed system. This is not true, however, when the matter takes up much higher energies at relativistic scales. New particles can be produced at the expense of the kinetic energy. The number of particles is no longer preserved. There are other conserved quantities, however, these quantities, the charge, baryon number, lepton number, are associated with particles that are considered elementary today. The properties and behavior of these elementary particles is the subject of Particle Physics or High Energy Physics. Practice Page: A crewmember touching a positively charged surface was thought to be galvanically isolated from the vehicle ground analogous to a bird on a high voltage power wire. Recent analysis confirms that positive floating potentials, ionospheric currents to the EVA suit, can be hazardous. The analysis is wrong in that the ionospheric plasma itself can close the circuit. Parametric analysis of very low voltage exposures (2 to 15 volts) could cause pain and/or involuntary muscle tetani or spinal cord shock. NASA worked with the Naval Health Research Center Detachment Directed Energy Bioeffects Laboratory to examine the affects electrical hazards could have on extravehicular activity using two models. The results of the two computational models were combined to predict areas of the body in which neurons of different diameters would be excited. They predicted that physiologically active current could be conducted across the crew member causing catastrophic hazards. Future work to analyze additional current paths was proposed. The FUSE spectrum of BB Dor, observed in a high state, is modeled with an accretion disk with a very low inclination (possibly lower than 10 degrees). Assuming an average WD mass of 0.8 solar mass leads to a distance of the order of approximately 650pc, consistent with the extremely low galactic reddening in its direction, and a mass accretion rate of 10 (exp -9) solar mass a year. The spectrum presents some broad and deep silicon and sulfur absorption lines, indicating that these elements are over-abundant: silicon is 3 times solar, and sulfur is 20 times solar. The FUSE spectrum of BB Dor, observed in a high state, is modeled with an accretion disk with a very low inclination (possibly lower than 10 degrees). Assuming an average WD mass of 0.8 solar mass leads to a distance of the order of approximately 650pc, consistent with the extremely low galactic reddening in its direction, and a mass accretion rate of 10 (exp -9) solar mass a year. The spectrum presents some broad and deep silicon and sulfur absorption lines, indicating that these elements are over-abundant: silicon is times solar, and sulfur is 20 times solar. From its previously observed optical emission lines, P831-57 (WD 0334 6400 or Ret 1 in A Catalog and Atlas of Cataclysmic Variables: Living Edition) has been suspected to contain an accretion disk associated with a companion star in orbit around a subdwarf star with a temperature T is greater than 21,000K. P831-57 has therefore been classified as a nova-like. However, our present observations show it to be a DA + dMe binary. The analysis of its Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) spectrum (continuum and lines) reveal an average mass white dwarf (Log(g) approximately equals 7.8 plus or minus 0.1)with a temperature T approximately equals 37,000 plus or minus 500K, an extremely low projected rotational velocity, and a distance of about 115 plus or minus 5pc. The photosphere contains C, N, Si, and S (at about 1% of solar abundances). The dMe star is seen as a flux excess in near-infrared photometry and appears to show occasional flaring of about one magnitude as seen in the Harvard plates. There is no evidence of periodic variability in the spectroscopic or photometric data. We find no evidence of a an accretion disk, instead we find evidence of wind accretion as the stellar carbon abundance (N(C)/N(H) = 2.5 x 10 (exp -6) is about ten times larger than predicted by radiative levitation for such a gravity and temperature. The power needs and solutions for the space exploration and lunar mobility program are discussed. Long term missions in space and on the lunar surface require high energy batteries. Rechargeable batteries for mobility systems and portable utility pallet are needed for successful exploration missions. Nanomaterial usage increases the energy density of the cells apart from increasing the power density. The symptoms and threats from acute mountain sickness (AMS) are discussed. The underlying assumptions concerning spacecraft atmosphere mean there is a potential risk to astronauts. The baseline worst case scenario is about 25% based on direct ascent to 8.0 psia with 32% O2. The practical mitigation approach is a staged depressurization scheme. Due to the uncertainty about potential AMS risk the flight surgeon should prepare, focused research should proceed, and current analytical efforts should continue. This slide presentation reviews the threat astronauts face from acute mountain sickness (AMS). The incidence of AMS is highly variable and the risk to astronauts is unclear. However, the potential risk is higher than current EAAs suggest and precautions should be implemented. Due to the uncertain nature of the risk flight surgeons should prepare, and focused research should proceed. Quasiparticle tunneling can be understood at low temperatures using a non-equilibrium kinetic theory. Low-temperature tunneling can be suppressed using existing techniques: island-lead gap engineering, lead cooling with SIN junctions, and quasiparticle traps. The slide presentation reviews the science goals and mission planning for the proposed Jupiter System Observer (JSO). The spacecraft would accommodate 9 instruments making the instrument payload more capable than any previously flown to Jupiter. The would-be mission includes study programs for Jupiter's satellites, interior, magnetosphere and atmosphere. The power needs and solutions for the space exploration and lunar mobility program are discussed. Long term missions in space and on the lunar surface require high energy batteries. Rechargeable batteries for mobility systems and portable utility pallet are needed for successful exploration missions. Nanomaterial usage increases the energy density of the cells apart from increasing the power density. This slide presentation reviews the power requirements for the space exploration and the lunar surface mobility programs. It includes information about the specifications for high energy batteries and the power requirements for lunar rovers,

Roberts, William↗