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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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66 records · Page 4

Status of MSFC X-ray Shell Optics Fabrication Capability

We present details of an MSFC development program of electroformed-nickel replicated grazing incidence optics for x-ray imaging. To date a wide variety of mirrors has been produced with diameters ranging from 2.5 cm, for small animal imaging, up to 112 meter, for x-ray astronomy. Around 100 intermediate size shells are currently aboard the HERO x-ray astronomy balloon payload awaiting launch in Fort Sumner, New mexico. Details of the program are presented together with developments currently underway to improve mirror-shell quality from the current approx. 15 arcsec resolution to below 10 arcsec for future x-ray astronomy missions.

Sthal, H. Philip↗

Space Telescopes

The science of astronomy depends on modern-day temples called telescopes. Astronomers make pilgrimages to remote mountaintops where these large, intricate, precise machines gather light that rains down from the Universe. Bit, since Earth is a bright, turbulent planet, our finest telescopes are those that have been launched into the dark stillness of space. These space telescopes, named after heroes of astronomy (Hubble, Chandra, Spitzer, Herschel), are some of the best ideas our species has ever had. They show us, over 13 billion years of cosmic history, how galaxies and quasars evolve. They study planets orbiting other stars. They've helped us determine that 95% of the Universe is of unknown composition. In short, they tell us about our place in the Universe. The next step in this journey is the James Webb Space Telescope, being built by NASA, Europe, and Canada for a 2018 launch; Webb will reveal the first galaxies that ever formed.

Rigby, Jane R.↗

Flight Programs and X-ray Optics Development at MSFC

The X-ray astronomy group at the Marshall Space Flight Center is developing electroformed nickel/cobalt x-ray optics for suborbital and orbital experiments. Suborbital instruments include the Focusing X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI) and Micro-X sounding rocket experiments and the HERO balloon payload. Our current orbital program is the fabrication of a series of mirror modules for the Astronomical Roentgen Telescope (ART) to be launched on board the Russian-German Spectrum Roentgen Gamma Mission (SRG.) The details and status of these various programs are presented. A second component of our work is the development of fabrication techniques and optical metrology to improve the angular resolution of thin shell optics to the arcsecond-level. The status of these x-ray optics technology developments is also presented.

Gubarev, M.↗

Optical Design of the Origins Space Telescope

This paper discusses the optical design of the Origins Space Telescope. Origins is one of four large missions under study in preparation for the 2020 Decadal Survey in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Sensitive to the mid- and far-infrared spectrum (between 2.8 and 588 μm), Origins sets out to answer a number of important scientific questions by addressing NASA’s three key science goals in astrophysics. The Origins telescope has a 5.9 m diameter primary mirror and operates at f/14. The large on-axis primary consists of 18 ‘keystone’ segments of two different prescriptions arranged in two annuli (six inner and twelve outer segments) that together form a circular aperture in the goal of achieving a symmetric point spread function. To accommodate the 46 x 15 arcminute full field of view of the telescope at the design wavelength of λ = 30 μm, a three-mirror anastigmat configuration is used. The design is diffraction-limited across its instruments’ fields of view. A brief discussion of each of the three baselined instruments within the Instrument Accommodation Module (IAM) is presented: 1) Origins Survey Spectrometer (OSS), 2) Mid-infrared Spectrometer, Camera (MISC) transit spectrometer channel, and 3) Far-Infrared Polarimeter/Imager (FIP). In addition, the up scope options for the observatory are laid out as well including a fourth instrument: the Heterodyne Receiver for Origins (HERO).

Corsetti, James A.↗

Optical Design of the Origins Space Telescope

The optical design is presented for the Origins Space Telescope, one of four large missions under study in preparation for the 2020 Decadal Survey in Astronomy and Astrophysics is presented. Sensitive to the mid- and far-infrared spectrum (between 2.8 and 588 µm) and set to launch in approximately 2035, Origins sets out to answer a number of important scientific questions by addressing NASA's three key science goals in astrophysics: How does the universe work?, How did we get here, and Are we alone? To do so, Origins seeks to answer three main questions: 1) How do galaxies form stars, build up metals, and grow their central supermassive black holes from reionization to today? 2) How do the conditions for habitability develop during the process of planet formation? 3) Do planets orbiting M-dwarf stars support life?The Origins telescope has a 5.9 m diameter primary mirror and operates at f/14. The large on-axis primary consists of 18 'keystone' segments of two different prescriptions arranged in two annuli (six inner and twelve outer segments) that together form a circular aperture in the goal of achieving a symmetric point spread function. To simplify the design, the telescope will be launched with both the primary mirror segments and the secondary mirror already deployed. To accommodate the 46 x 15 arcminute full field of view of the telescope at the design wavelength of = 30 µm, a three-mirror anastigmat configuration is used. The design is diffraction-limited across its instruments' fields of view. A brief discussion of each of the three baselined instruments within the Instrument Accommodation Module (IAM) is presented: 1) Origins Survey Spectrometer (OSS), 2) Mid-infrared Spectrometer, Camera (MISC) transit spectrometer channel, and 3) Far-Infrared Polarimeter/Imager (FIP). In addition, the upscope options for the observatory are laid out as well, including a fourth instrument: the Heterodyne Receiver for Origins (HERO).

Howard, Joseph↗

Webinar Presentation for Lunar Delivery Challenge

This presentation is a public webinar presentation to promote and to answer questions for the NASA STMD sponsored challenge for solutions towards offloading cargo on the lunar surface. The challenge is managed by contractor partner Hero-X.

Artemis↗

Towards Resilient Autonomous Navigation of Drones

Robots and particularly drones are especially useful in exploring extreme environments that pose hazards to humans. To ensure safe operations in these situations, usually perceptually degraded and without good GNSS, it is critical to have a reliable and robust state estimation solution. The main body of literature in robot state estimation focuses on developing complex algorithms favoring accuracy. Typically, these approaches rely on a strong underlying assumption: the main estimation engine will not fail during operation. In contrast, we propose an architecture that pursues robustness in state estimation by considering redundancy and heterogeneity in both sensing and estimation algorithms. The architecture is designed to expect and detect failures and adapt the behavior of the system to ensure safety. To this end, we present HeRO (Heterogeneous Redundant Odometry): a stack of estimation algorithms running in parallel supervised by a resiliency logic. This logic carries out three main functions: a) perform confidence tests both in data quality and algorithm health; b) re-initialize those algorithms that might be malfunctioning; c) generate a smooth state estimate by multiplexing the inputs based on their quality. The state and quality estimates are used by the guidance and control modules to adapt the mobility behaviors of the system. The validation and utility of the approach are shown with real experiments on a ying robot for the use case of autonomous exploration of subterranean environments, with particular results from the STIX event of the DARPA Subterranean Challenge.

Agha-mohammadi, Ali-akbar↗

Optical Design of the Origins Space Telescope

This paper discusses the optical design of the Origins Space Telescope. Origins is one of four large missions under study in preparation for the 2020 Decadal Survey in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Sensitive to the mid- and far-infrared spectrum (between 2.8 and 588 μm), Origins sets out to answer a number of important scientific questions by addressing NASA’s three key science goals in astrophysics. The Origins telescope has a 5.9 m diameter primary mirror and operates at f/14. The large on-axis primary consists of 18 ‘keystone’ segments of two different prescriptions arranged in two annuli (six inner and twelve outer segments) that together form a circular aperture in the goal of achieving a symmetric point spread function. To accommodate the 46 x 15 arcminute full field of view of the telescope at the design wavelength of λ = 30 μm, a three-mirror anastigmat configuration is used. The design is diffraction-limited across its instruments’ fields of view. A brief discussion of each of the three baselined instruments within the Instrument Accommodation Module (IAM) is presented: 1) Origins Survey Spectrometer (OSS), 2) Mid-infrared Spectrometer, Camera (MISC) transit spectrometer channel, and 3) Far-Infrared Polarimeter/Imager (FIP). In addition, the upscope options for the observatory are laid out as well including a fourth instrument: the Heterodyne Receiver for Origins (HERO).

James A Corsetti↗

Research Operations and Integration Flight Session – Always Sweat the Small Stuff

Human research routinely involves elaborate operations with substantial hardware setup, such as functional MRIs, CT scans, ultrasounds, exercise sessions, and cardiac evaluations. These conspicuous operations garner most of our attention and, understandably, resources, but the unsung heroes of spaceflight human research often get by with little fanfare. The collection of human samples and surveys is often just as much of a challenge in terms of both planning and logistics. The samples and surveys are often collected or completed by the crew autonomously, with little to no oversight from science support staff, which puts them the most at risk for data loss. The Research Operations and Integration team will host an interactive session with audience participation to demonstrate the importance of the written communications and instructions that are provided to the astronauts. During this hands-on session, ROI will walk through the challenges faced to ensure astronaut subjects can successfully collect all the various samples (e.g., saliva, fecal, urine, and blood) that the human research community needs. The format will be part lecture and part game show intended to provide both an enlightening and fun session. As we often instruct the crew: “Don’t forget to arrive fasted and bring a list of all the medications you’ve taken in the past week.”

Cherie Morgan Oubre↗

Pick-and-Eat Space Crop Production Flight Testing on the International Space Station

Growing fresh, nutritious, palatable produce for crew consumption during spaceflight may provide health-promoting, bioavailable nutrients and enhance the astronaut dietary experience as we move toward longer-duration missions. However, requirements to support consistent growth of a variety of high-quality crops under spaceflight environmental conditions remain unclear. This study explores the potential to grow crops for consumption on the International Space Station (ISS) using Veggie, NASA’s vegetable production chamber system. VEG-04A and VEG-04B were two flight tests with ground components conducted with the leafy green crop mizuna mustard. In each location, mizuna was grown in two Veggie units simultaneously, with the chambers set to different red-to-blue-to-green light formulations. Preflight verification testing with various lighting treatments was conducted to down-select two treatments that contributed to the best desirable growth and sensory qualities in mizuna mustard. For the flight tests, one Veggie was programmed as “red-rich” with an average of 270 μmol m-2 s-1 of 630 nm red light, 30 μmol m-2 s-1 of 455 nm blue light, and 30 μmol m-2 s-1 of 530 nm green light. The second Veggie was “blue-rich” with an average of 150 µmol m-2 s-1 of 630 nm red light, 150 µmol m-2 s-1 of 455 nm blue light, and 30 µmol m-2 s-1 of 530 nm green light. Light quality is known to impact plant growth, nutrition, microbiology, and sensory characteristics on Earth, and the Veggie flight tests examined how these impacts might differ in microgravity. VEG-04A, a 35-day growth test with a single harvest, was initiated in June and harvested in July 2019. VEG-04B, a 56-day test with three harvests from the same plants, assessed sustained productivity. Preflight testing for VEG-04B was conducted after the VEG-04A flight test to improve the operations, approaches, and watering requirements, which resulted in better crop establishment in the VEG-04B flight test. VEG-04B was initiated in October 2019 with harvests at four, six, and eight weeks after initiation. At all of the harvests, the astronauts froze half of the edible plant tissue to return to Earth and weighed the remaining half using the Mass Measurement Device (MMD). Weighed samples were then cleaned with produce-sanitizing wipes, and consenting crew members participated in sensory evaluations of the fresh produce. The remaining sanitized produce was available for crew consumption as desired. Frozen flight samples were returned to Earth for chemical and microbial analyses to assess nutritional quality and food safety. Flight-grown mizuna was generally more acceptable to the crew and had higher nutrient levels, although mizuna grown in the ground control performed better in terms of higher yield and lower microbial load. This presentation will focus on results from the nutritional and sensory analyses, including how nutrients identified as key for supplementing the crew diet varied across lighting treatments, harvest approaches, and spaceflight versus ground conditions. It is our hope that these tests on the ISS will help mitigate the risk of an inadequate food supply for long-duration missions by adding fresh vegetables to the crew diet. This study was supported by NASA’s Human Research and Space Biology Programs through the HERO NNJ13ZSA002N-ILSRA grant solicitation.

Jess Bunchek↗

Enabling exploration with small radioisotope power systems

The purpose of this report is to provide an initial reference document to support further definition of science community needs for small-RPS flight systems. It describes the most recent results of the ongoing NASA/DOE studies, and provides information for review by potential users that might take advantage of these types of power systems. This is extremely important since any future decision to proceed with the development of such units will require a strong identified need from the space science community and a well-defined set of power and operational requirements. NASA and DOE intend to use this document as a basis for soliciting information on additional small-RPS-enabled mission concepts, along with their respective power and operational requirements. This report is a first step in fleshing out a roadmap for potential future development and acquisition.

Shirley, James H.↗