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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 73 records · Page 4
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NASA NTRS2000

Remotely-Sensed Geology from Lander-Based to Orbital Perspectives: Results for FIDO Rover Field Tests

Tests of the FIDO (Field Integration Design and Operations) rover and Athena-like operational scenarios were conducted May 7-16, 2000. A group located at the Jet Propulsion Lab, Pasadena, CA, formed the Core Operations Team (COT) that designed experiments and command sequences while another team tracked, maintained, and secured the rover in the field. The COT had no knowledge of the specific field location, thus the tests were done "blind." In addition to FIDO rover instrumentation, the COT had access to LANDSAT 7, TIMS, and AVIRIS regional coverage and color descent images. Using data from the FIDO instruments, primarily a color microscopic imager (CMI), infrared point spectrometer (IPS; 1.5-2.4 microns), and a three-color stereo panoramic camera (Pancam), the COT correlated lithologic features (mineralogy, rock types) from the simulated landing site to a regional scale. The May test results provide an example of how to relate site geology from landed rover investigations to the regional geology using remote sensing. The capability to relate mineralogic signatures using the point IR spectrometer to remotely sensed, multispectral or hyperspectral data proved to be key to integration of the in-situ and remote data. This exercise demonstrated the potential synergy between lander-based and orbital data, and highlighted the need to investigate a landing site in detail and at multiple scales.

Jolliff, B.↗
NASA NTRS2005

The Mobile Agents 2005 Field Test at MDRS: Planning for Exploration

The Mars Society s Desert Research Station (MDRS) Rotation 38, April 3-17, 2005, was dedicated to field tests of NASA's Mobile Agents EVA communications system. MDRS provided an excellent, cost-effective venue for bringing together eighteen scientists and engineers from NASA Ames and Johnson Space Center, in an intensive two weeks of system integration and experiments. The Mobile Agents architecture and collaborative engineering methodology provides a flexible toolkit for configuring extravehicular activity (EVA) components, visualizing and formalizing EVA plans, and automating key supervisory functions.

Clancey, William J.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The SETI Interpreter Program (SIP). a Software Package for the SETI Field Tests

The SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Interpreter Program (SIP) is an interactive software package designed to allow flexible off line processing of the SETI field test data on a PDP 11/44 computer. The user can write and immediately execute complex analysis programs using the compact SIP command language. The software utilized by the SETI Interpreter Program consists of FORTRAN - coded modules that are sequentially installed and executed.

Olsen, E. T.↗
NASA NTRS2017

9- by 15-Foot Low-Speed Wind Tunnel Acoustic Free Field Evaluation; Part 1: Qualification Report Summary and Part 2: Anechoic Environment Characterization Field Test Report

This report describes test results from an assessment of the acoustically treated 9x15 Foot Low Speed Wind Tunnel at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio in July of 2016. The tests were conducted in accordance with the recently adopted international standard ISO 26101-2012 on Qualification of Free Field Test Environments. This method involves moving a microphone relative to a source and comparing the sound pressure level versus distance measurements with theoretical inverse square law spreading.

propulsion↗
NASA NTRS1974

Operation of agricultural test fields for study of stressed crops by remote sensing

A test site for the study of winter wheat development and collection of ERTS data was established in September of 1973. The test site is a 10 mile square area located 12.5 miles west of Amarillo, Texas on Interstate Hwy. 40, in Randall and Potter counties. The center of the area is the Southwestern Great Plains Research Center at Bushland, Texas. Within the test area all wheat fields were identified by ground truth and designated irrigated or dryland. The fields in the test area other than wheat were identified as to pasture or the crop that was grown. A ground truth area of hard red winter wheat was established west of Hale Center, Texas. Maps showing the location of winter wheat fields in excess of 40 acres in size within a 10 mile radius were supplied NASA. Satellite data was collected for this test site (ERTS-1).

Toler, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Diffusion coefficients estimated from turbulence data measured by the Metrac positioning system in Minneapolis field test

An analysis is presented of the tropospheric turbulence data obtained by the Metrac positioning system, a radio location system which employs the Doppler principle to track inexpensive expendable balloon-borne transmitters. A Minneapolis field test of the Metrac system provided one-second samples of transmitter frequency from balloons tracked by four ground stations for more than an hour. The derivation of diffusion coefficients from the turbulence data was conducted by two methods, yielding highly consistent results.

Gage, K. S.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Preliminary Results from the Joint Russian and US Field Test: Measurement of Sensorimotor and Cardiovascular Responses Immediately Following Landing of the Soyuz Spacecraft

Ongoing collaborative research efforts between NASA's Neuroscience and Cardiovascular Laboratories, and the Institute of Biomedical Problems' (IBMP) Sensory-Motor and Countermeasures Laboratories have been measuring functional sensorimotor, cardiovascular and strength responses following bed rest, dry immersion, short duration (Space Shuttle) and long duration (Mir and International Space Station) space flights. While the unloading paradigms associated with dry immersion and bed rest have do serve as acceptable flight analogs, testing of crew responses following the long duration flights does not begin until a minimum of 24 hours after landing. As a result it is not possible to estimate the nonlinear trend of the early (<24 hr) recovery process nor is it possible to accurately assess the full impact of the decrements associated with long duration flight. To overcome these limitations both the Russian and U.S. sides have implemented testing at the time of landing and before the flight crews have left the landing site. By joint agreement this research effort has been identified as the functional Field Test (FT). For practical reasons the FT has been divided into two phases: the full FT and a preliminary pilot version (PFT) of the FT that is reduced in both length and scope. The primary goal of this research is to determine functional abilities in long duration space flight crews beginning as soon after landing as possible (< 2 hr) with one to three immediate follow-up measurements on the day of landing. This goal has both sensorimotor and cardiovascular elements including an evaluation of NASA's new anti-orthostatic compression garment as compared with the Russian Kentavr garment. Functional sensorimotor measurements will include, but are not limited to, assessment of hand/eye coordination, ability to egress from a seated position, walk normally without falling, measurement of dynamic visual acuity, ability to discriminate different forces generated with both the hands and legs, recovery from a fall, a coordinated walk involving tandem heel-to-toe placement and determination of postural ataxia while standing. The cardiovascular portion of the investigation includes blood pressure and heart rate measurements during a timed stand test in conjunction with postural ataxia testing. In addition to the immediate post-landing collection of data for the full FT, postflight data will be acquired at a minimum of one to three more other times within the 24 hr following landing and continue until functional sensorimotor and cardiovascular responses have returned to preflight normative values. The PFT represents a single trial run comprised of jointly agreed tests from the full FT and relies heavily on IBMP's Sensory-Motor and Countermeasures Laboratories for content, and implementation. The PFT is currently scheduled for the September 2013 landing of the Soyuz spacecraft (34S). Testing will include: (1) a sit-to-stand test, (2) recovery from a fall where the crewmember begins in the prone position on the ground and then stands for 3 min while cardiovascular stability is determined and postural ataxia data are acquired, and (3) a tandem heel-to-toe walk to determine changes in the central locomotor program. Video, cardiovascular parameters (heart rate and blood pressure), data from body-worn inertial sensors and severity of postflight motion sickness will be available for analysis. It is our intent to present, at this celebratory symposium, a summary of these data obtained from two crewmembers. In summary, the level of functional deficit is expected to be most profound during the acquisition of gravity loads immediately after landing when the demands for crew intervention in response to emergency operations will be greatest. Clearly measureable performance parameters such as ability to perform a seat egress, recover from a fall or the ability to see clearly when walking, and related physiological data (orthostatic responses) are required to provide an evidence base for characterizing programmatic risks and the degree of variability among crewmembers. Overall, these early functional and related physiological measurements will allow estimation of nonlinear sensorimotor and cardiovascular recovery trends to an accuracy that has not been previously captured in over 50 years of space flight.

Reschke, M. F.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Pilot Field Test: The Ability to Ambulate Following Landing as Assessed with Seat Egress, Walk and Obstacle Testing

To date, changes in functional performance have been systematically studied after short-duration space flight. As important as the postflight functional changes have been, full functional recovery has never been investigated or established for long-duration flights. The Pilot Field Test (PFT) experiment, conducted with participation of ISS crewmembers traveling on Soyuz expeditions 34S - 41S, is comprised of several tasks designed to study the recovery of sensorimotor abilities of astronauts during the first 24 hours after landing and beyond. The objective of the Seat Egress - Walk and Obstacle Test, developed by NASA's Russian collaborators at the Institute for Biomedical Problems, is to address this gap in knowledge. This will allow us to characterize the ability of crewmembers to perform critical mission requirements that they will be expected to perform after an unassisted landing following 6 to 12 months in microgravity.

Fisher, E. A.↗
NASA NTRS2020

The Mars 2020 lander vision system field test

The Mars 2020 Lander Vision System estimates position relative to a map and provides this information to the spacecraft so that large hazards can be avoided during landing. The LVS is a new mission critical sensor and as such requires extensive validation. A field test conducted in May 2019 was the primary means to prove that the LVS will operate as designed. During this test over 600 independent real-time runs on engineering model LVS hardware and software were executed and clearly showed that it could meet a 40m position estimation requirement over a wide operational envelope. This paper will describe the test approach, operations and results. Specific examples as well as aggregate performance will be discussed along with off-nominal testing and fault recovery.

Montgomery, J.↗
NASA NTRS2020

The Mars 2020 Lander Vision System Field Test

The Mars 2020 Lander Vision System estimates position relative to a map and provides this information to the spacecraft so that large hazards can be avoided during landing. The LVS is a new mission critical sensor and as such requires extensive validation. A field test conducted in May 2019 was the primary means to prove that the LVS will operate as designed. During this test over 600 independent real-time runs on engineering model LVS hardware and software were executed and clearly showed that it could meet a 40m position estimation requirement over a wide operational envelope. This paper will describe the test approach, operations and results. Specific examples as well as aggregate per-formance will be discussed along with off-nominal testing and fault recovery.

Johnson, A.↗
NASA NTRS1995

The Center-TRACON Automation System: Simulation and field testing

A new concept for air traffic management in the terminal area, implemented as the Center-TRACON Automation System, has been under development at NASA Ames in a cooperative program with the FAA since 1991. The development has been strongly influenced by concurrent simulation and field site evaluations. The role of simulation and field activities in the development process will be discussed. Results of recent simulation and field tests will be presented.

Denery, Dallas G.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Digital Audio Radio Field Tests

Radio history continues to be made at the NASA Lewis Research Center with the beginning of phase two of Digital Audio Radio testing conducted by the Consumer Electronic Manufacturers Association (a sector of the Electronic Industries Association and the National Radio Systems Committee) and cosponsored by the Electronic Industries Association and the National Association of Broadcasters. The bulk of the field testing of the four systems should be complete by the end of October 1996, with results available soon thereafter. Lewis hosted phase one of the testing process, which included laboratory testing of seven proposed digital audio radio systems and modes (see the following table). Two of the proposed systems operate in two modes, thus making a total of nine systems for testing. These nine systems are divided into the following types of transmission: in-band on channel (IBOC), in-band adjacent channel (IBAC), and new bands - the L-band (1452 to 1492 MHz) and the S-band (2310 to 2360 MHz).

Hollansworth, James E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Lidar Tracking of Multiple Fluorescent Tracers: Method and Field Test

Past research and applications have demonstrated the advantages and usefulness of lidar detection of a single fluorescent tracer to track air motions. Earlier researchers performed an analytical study that showed good potential for lidar discrimination and tracking of two or three different fluorescent tracers at the same time. The present paper summarizes the multiple fluorescent tracer method, discusses its expected advantages and problems, and describes our field test of this new technique.

Eberhard, Wynn L.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Field test results with the targeted search MCSA

In April 1985, a 74,000 channel prototype of the multichannel spectrum analyzer (MCSA) that NASA plans to use in a systematic search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) was installed at DSS13, a 26 meter R&D antenna facility at the Goldstone Deep Space Network (DSN) site. Since that time the instrumentation has been used to validate the performance of signal detection algorithms using locally injected signals and the weak carriers from distant spacecraft. This paper describes results from the Goldstone Field Tests and plans to move the prototype equipment to other sites where SETI may be conducted in the future.

Tarter, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Field Test: Results of Tandem Walk Performance Following Long-Duration Spaceflight

BACKGROUND: Coordinated locomotion has proven to be challenging for many astronauts following long duration spaceflight. As NASA's vision for spaceflight points toward interplanetary travel, we must prepare for unassisted landings, where crewmembers may need to perform mission critical tasks within minutes of landing. Thus, it is vital to develop a knowledge base from which operational guidelines can be written that define when astronauts can be expected to safely perform certain tasks. Data obtained during the Field Test experiment (FT) will add important insight to this knowledge base. Specifically, we aim to develop a recovery timeline of functional sensorimotor performance during the first 24 hours and several days after landing. METHODS: FT is an ongoing study of 30 long-duration ISS crewmembers. Thus far, 9 have completed the full FT (5 U.S. Orbital Segment [USOS] astronauts and 4 Russian cosmonauts) and 4 more consented and launching within the next year. This is in addition to the eighteen crewmembers that participated in the pilot FT (11 USOS and 7 Russian crewmembers). The FT is conducted three times preflight and three times during the first 24 hours after landing. All crewmembers were tested in Kazakhstan in either the medical tent at the Soyuz landing site (~one hour post-landing), or at the airport (~four hours post-landing). The USOS crewmembers were also tested at the refueling stop (~12 hours post-landing) and at the NASA Johnson Space Center (~24 hours post-landing) and a final session 7 days post-landing. Crewmembers are instrumented with 9 inertial measurement unit sensors that measure acceleration and angular displacement (APDM's Emerald Sensors) and foot pressure-sensing insoles that measure force, acceleration, and center of pressure (Moticon GmbH, Munich, Germany) along with heart rate and blood pressure recording instrumentation. The FT consists of 12 tasks, but here we will focus on the most challenging task, the Tandem Walk, which was also performed as part of pilot FT. To perform the Tandem Walk, subjects begin with their feet together, their arms crossed at their chest and eyes closed. When ready, they brought one foot forward and touched the heel of their foot to their toe, repeating with the other foot, and continuing for about 10 steps. Three trials were collected with the eyes closed and a fourth trial was collected with eyes open. There are four metrics which are used to determine the performance level of the Tandem Walk. The first is percent correct steps. For a step to be counted as correct, the foot could not touch the ground while bringing it forward (no side stepping), eyes must stay closed during the eyes closed trials, the heel and toe should be touching, or almost touching (no large gaps) and there shouldn't be more than a three second pause between steps. Three judges score each step and the median of the three scores is kept. The second metric is the average step speed, or the number of steps/time to complete them. Thirdly, the root mean squared (RMS) error in the resultant trunk acceleration is used to determine the amount of upper body instability observed during the task. Finally, the RMS error of the mediolateral center of pressure as measured by the Moticon insoles is used to determine the mediolateral instability at the foot level. These four parameters are combined into a new overall Tandem Walk Parameter. RESULTS: Preliminary results show that crewmembers perform the Tandem Walk significantly worse the first 24 hours after landing as compared to their baseline performance. We find that each of the four performance metrics is significantly worse immediately after landing. We will present the results of tandem walk performance during the FT thus far. We will also combine these with the 18 crewmembers that participated in the pilot FT, concentrating on the level of performance and recovery rate. CONCLUSION: The Tandem Walk data collected as part of the FT experiment will provide invaluable information on the performance capabilities of astronauts during the first 24 hours after returning from long-duration spaceflight that can be used in planning future Mars, or other deep-space missions with unassisted landings. FT will determine the average sensorimotor recovery timeline and inform return-to-duty guidelines for unassisted landings.

Rosenberg, M. J. F.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Science Operations for the 2008 NASA Lunar Analog Field Test at Black Point Lava Flow, Arizona

Surface science operations on the Moon will require merging lessons from Apollo with new operation concepts that exploit the Constellation Lunar Architecture. Prototypes of lunar vehicles and robots are already under development and will change the way we conduct science operations compared to Apollo. To prepare for future surface operations on the Moon, NASA, along with several supporting agencies and institutions, conducted a high-fidelity lunar mission simulation with prototypes of the small pressurized rover (SPR) and unpressurized rover (UPR) (Fig. 1) at Black Point lava flow (Fig. 2), 40 km north of Flagstaff, Arizona from Oct. 19-31, 2008. This field test was primarily intended to evaluate and compare the surface mobility afforded by unpressurized and pressurized rovers, the latter critically depending on the innovative suit-port concept for efficient egress and ingress. The UPR vehicle transports two astronauts who remain in their EVA suits at all times, whereas the SPR concept enables astronauts to remain in a pressurized shirt-sleeve environment during long translations and while making contextual observations and enables rapid (less than or equal to 10 minutes) transfer to and from the surface via suit-ports. A team of field geologists provided realistic science scenarios for the simulations and served as crew members, field observers, and operators of a science backroom. Here, we present a description of the science team s operations and lessons learned.

Garry W. D.↗