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Nanosecond Laser Drying in Wafer Foundries for Significant Energy Efficiency Improvement

Surface drying is a critical process in microelectronics wafer fabrication. In order to reduce and eliminate watermarks, many surface drying processes have been studied and used. Most of the wafer foundries currently use drying processes based on Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA), which causes serious safety (fire), health, environmental, and energy efficiency issues. The long-term goal of this project is to develop a fast, effective, chemical-free, and extremely energy efficient wafer drying technology that employs nanosecond laser-induced sub-surface evaporation and explosion. The objectives of this project are to 1) experimentally develop and verify the laser surface drying method, explore and identify how and to what extent various physical parameters influence the drying efficiency and effectiveness; and 2) understand and optimize the underlying thermodynamics in the proposed laser surface drying, including micro/nanoscale sub-surface superheating, evaporation, explosion, and photo/thermochemical bond breaking via atomistic modeling and experimental characterization. Toward these objectives, five tasks have been accomplished successfully, including 1) develop in-lab laser surface drying setup and study the effect of varied laser parameters, 2) use multiscale hybrid-modeling to study and understand the physics of water behavior during drying toward process optimization, 3) investigate the effect of drying conditions on the drying effectiveness, 4) develop a large-scale laser drying scanning system with automatic scanning, and 5) conduct large-scale simulation to study the effect of dopant level and develop strategies for system development toward industry deployment.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Short-Term Transcriptomic Points of Departure Are Consistent with Chronic Points of Departure for Three Organophosphate Pesticides across Mouse and Fathead Minnow

New approach methods (NAMs) can reduce the need for chronic animal studies. Here, we apply benchmark dose (concentration) (BMD(C))–response modeling to transcriptomic changes in the liver of mice and in fathead minnow larvae after short-term exposures (7 days and 1 day, respectively) to several dose/concentrations of three organophosphate pesticides (OPPs): fenthion, methidathion, and parathion. The mouse liver transcriptional points of departure (TPODs) for fenthion, methidathion, and parathion were 0.009, 0.093, and 0.046 mg/Kg-bw/day, while the fathead minnow larva TPODs were 0.007, 0.115, and 0.046 mg/L, respectively. The TPODs were consistent across both species and reflected the relative potencies from traditional chronic toxicity studies with fenthion identified as the most potent. Moreover, the mouse liver TPODs were more sensitive than or within a 10-fold difference from the chronic apical points of departure (APODs) for mammals, while the fathead minnow larva TPODs were within an 18-fold difference from the chronic APODs for fish species. Short-term exposure to OPPs significantly impacted acetylcholinesterase mRNA abundance (FDR p-value <0.05, |fold change| ≥2) and canonical pathways (IPA, p-value <0.05) associated with organism death and neurological/immune dysfunctions, indicating the conservation of key events related to OPP toxicity. Together, these results build confidence in using short-term, molecular-based assays for the characterization of chemical toxicity and risk, thereby reducing reliance on chronic animal studies.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

The /A 1 Sigma +/ - /X 1 Sigma +/ system of the isotopic lithium hydrides - The molecular constants, potential energy curves, and their adiabatic corrections

The molecular constants and their adiabatic corrections have been determined for the (A 1 Sigma +) - (X 1 Sigma +) system of the isotopic lithium hydrides: (Li-6)H, (Li-7)H, (Li-6)D, and (Li-7)D. Using a fully quantum mechanical variational method, the potential energy curves (IPA potentials) are determined. Extending the variational method, we have obtained for the first time adiabatic corrections of potential energy curves from isotopic spectroscopic data. A significant difference between the potential energy curves of the lithium hydrides and the lithium deuterides has been observed. When Li-6 was replaced by Li-7, a significant difference was only observed for the (A 1 Sigma +) state, but not for the (X 1 Sigma +) state.

Vidal, C. R.↗

An IRAS-Based Search for New Dusty Late-Type WC Wolf-Rayet Stars

I have examined all Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) data relevant to the 173 Galactic Wolf-Rayet (W-R) stars in an updated catalog, including the 13 stars newly discovered by Shara and coworkers. Using the W-R coordinates in these lists, I have examined the IRAS Point Source Catalog (PSC), the Faint Source Catalog, and the Faint Source Reject Catalog, and have generated one-dimensional spatial profiles, 'ADDSCANs', and two-dimensional full-resolution images, 'FRESCOS'. The goal was to assemble the best set of observed IRAS color indices for different W-R types, in particular for known dusty late-type WC Wolf-Rayet (WCL) objects. I have also unsuccessfully sought differences in IRAS colors and absolute magnitudes between single and binary W-R stars. The color indices for the entire ensemble of W-R stars define zones in the IRAS color-color ([12] - [25], [25] - [60])-plane. By searching the PSC for otherwise unassociated sources that satisfy these colors, I have identified potential new W-R candidates, perhaps too faint to have been recognized in previous optical searches. I have extracted these candidates' IRAS low-resolution spectrometer (LRS) data and compared the spectra with the highly characteristic LRS shape for known dusty WCL stars. The 13 surviving candidates must now be ex amined by optical spectroscopy. This work represents a much more rigorous and exhaustive version of the LRS study that identified IRAS 17380 - 3031 (WR98a) as the first new W-R (WC9) star discovered by IPAS. This search should have detected dusty WCL stars to a distance of 7.0 kpc from the Sun, for l is greater than 30 degrees, and to 2.9 kpc even in the innermost galaxy. For free-free-dominated W-R stars the corresponding distances are 2.5 and 1.0 kpc, respectively.

Cohen, Martin↗

Cloud Spatial Structure and 3D Radiative Transfer

Cloud radiative properties are sensitive to drop size and other parameters of cloud micro-structure, but also to cloud shape,spacing, and other parameters of cloud macro-structure, including internal fractal structure. New information on cloud structure is being derived from a variety of cloud radars, and ongoing field programs such as DoE/ARM. These programs are improving the measurement and modelling of physical and radiative properties of clouds. A parallel effort is underway to improve cloud remote sensing, especially from the new suite of EOS-AM1 instruments which will provide higher spectral, spatial resolution, and/or angular resolution. Key parameters for improving pixel-scale retrievals are cloud thickness and photon mean-free-path, which together determine the scale of "radiative smoothing" of cloud fluxes and radiances. This scale has been observed as a change in the spatial spectrum of Landsat cloud radiances, and was also recently found with the Goddard micropulse lidar, by searching for returns from directions nonparallel to the incident beam. "Offbeam" Lidar returns are now being used to estimate the cloud "radiative Green's function", G,which depends on cloud thickness and may be used to retrieve that important quantity. G is also being applied to improving simple IPA estimates of cloud radiative properties. This and other measurements of 3D transfer in clouds, coupled with Monte Carlo and other 3D transfer methods, are beginning to provide a better understanding of the dependence of radiation on cloud inhomogeneity, and to suggest new retrieval and parameterization algorithms which take account of cloud inhomogeneity.

Cahalan, Robert F.↗

Cloud Spatial Structure and 3D Radiative Transfer

Cloud radiative properties are sensitive to drop size and other parameters of cloud micro-structure, but also to cloud shape,spacing, and other parameters of cloud macro-structure, including internal fractal structure. New information on cloud structure is being derived from a variety of cloud radars. Ongoing field programs such as Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (DoE/ARM) are improving the measurement and modelling of physical and radiative properties of clouds. A parallel effort is underway to improve cloud remote sensing, especially from the new suite of EOS-AM1 instruments which will provide higher spectral, spatial resolution, and/or angular resolution. Key parameters for improving pixel-scale retrievals are cloud thickness and photon mean-free-path, which together determine the scale of "radiative smoothing" of cloud fluxes and radiances. This scale has been observed as a change in the spatial spectrum of Landsat cloud radiances, and was also recently found with the Goddard micropulse lidar, by searching for returns from directions nonparallel to the incident beam. "Offbeam" Lidar returns are now being used to estimate the cloud "radiative Green's function", G,which depends on cloud thickness and may be used to retrieve that important quantity. G is also being applied to improving simple IPA estimates of cloud radiative properties. This and other measurements of 3D transfer in clouds, coupled with Monte Carlo and other 3D transfer methods, are beginning to provide a better understanding of the dependence of adiation on cloud inhomogeneity, and to suggest new retrieval and parameterization algorithms which take account of cloud inhomogeneity. An international "Intercomparison of 3D Radiation Codes" or I3RC, program is beginning to coordinate and evaluate the variety of 3D radiative transfer methods now available, and to make them more widely available. Information is on the Web at: http://climate.qsfc.nasa.crov/I3RC. Input consists of selected cloud fields derived from data sources such as radar, microwave and satellite, and from models involved in the GEWEX Cloud Systems Studies. Output is selected radiative quantities that characterize the large- scale properties of the fields of radiative fluxes and heating. Several example cloud fields will be used to illustrate.

Cahalan, Robert F.↗

Cloud Spatial Structure and 3D Radiative Transfer

Cloud radiative properties are sensitive to drop size and other parameters of cloud micro-structure, but also to cloud shape, spacing, and other parameters of cloud macro-structure, including internal fractal structure. New information on cloud structure is being derived from a variety of cloud radars and lidars. Ongoing field programs such as DoE/ARM are improving the measurement and modelling of physical and radiative properties of clouds. A parallel effort is underway to improve cloud remote sensing, especially from the new suite of EOS (Earth Observing System) instruments which are beginning to provide higher spectral, spatial resolution, and/or angular resolution. Key parameters for improving pixel-scale retrievals are cloud thickness and photon mean-free-path, which together determine the scale of "radiative smoothing" of cloud fluxes and radiances. This scale has been observed as a change in the spatial spectrum of Landsat cloud radiances, and was also recently found with the Goddard micropulse lidar, by searching for returns from directions nonparallel to the incident beam. "Offbeam" Lidar returns are now being used to estimate the cloud "radiative Green's function", (G). G depends on cloud thickness and may be used to retrieve that important quantity. G is also being applied to improving simple estimates of cloud radiative properties that are based on the "Independent Pixel Approximation" or IPA. This and other measurements of 3D transfer in clouds, coupled with Monte Carlo and other 3D transfer methods, are beginning to provide a better understanding of the dependence of radiation on cloud inhomogeneity, and to suggest new retrieval and parameterization algorithms which take account of cloud inhomogeneity. An international "Intercomparison of 3D Radiation Codes" or I3RC, program is underway to coordinate and evaluate the variety of 3D radiative transfer methods now available, and to make them more widely available. Information is on the Web at: http://climate.gsfc.nasa.gov/I3RC. Input consists of selected cloud fields derived from data sources such as radar, microwave and satellite, and from models involved in the GEWEX Cloud Systems Studies. Output is selected radiative quantities that characterize the large-scale properties of the fields of radiative fluxes and heating. Several example cloud fields will be used to illustrate the effects of cloud inhomogeneity and 3D radiation.

Cahalan, Robert F.↗

Cloud Spatial Structure and 3D Radiative Transfer

Cloud radiative properties are sensitive to drop size and other parameters of cloud micro-structure, but also to cloud shape, spacing, and other parameters of cloud macro-structure, including internal fractal structure. New information on cloud structure is being derived from a variety of cloud radars and lidars. Ongoing field programs such as DoE/ARM (atmospheric radiation measurement) are improving the measurement and modelling of physical and radiative properties of clouds. A parallel effort is underway to improve cloud remote sensing, especially from the new suite of EOS (Earth observing system) instruments which are beginning to provide higher spectral, spatial resolution, and/or angular resolution. Key parameters for improving pixel-scale retrievals are cloud thickness and photon mean-free-path, which together determine the scale of 'radiative smoothing' of cloud fluxes and radiances. This scale has been observed as a change in the spatial spectrum of Landsat cloud radiances, and was also recently found with the Goddard micropulse lidar, by searching for returns from directions nonparallel to the incident beam. 'Offbeam' Lidar returns are now being used to estimate the cloud 'radiative Green's function' (G). G depends on cloud thickness and may be used to retrieve that important quantity. G is also being applied to improving simple estimates of cloud radiative properties that are based on the 'Independent Pixel Approximation' or IPA. This and other measurements of 3D (three dimensional) transfer in clouds, coupled with Monte Carlo and other 3D transfer methods, are beginning to provide a better understanding of the dependence of radiation on cloud inhomogeneity, and to suggest new retrieval and parameterization algorithms which take account of cloud inhomogeneity. An international 'Intercomparison of 3D Radiation Codes' (I3RC) program is underway to coordinate and evaluate the variety of 3D radiative transfer methods now available, and to make them more widely available. Information is on the Web at: http://climate.gsfc.nasa.gov/I3RC. Input consists of selected cloud fields derived from data sources such as radar, microwave and satellite, and from models involved in the GEWEX Cloud Systems Studies. Output is selected radiative quantities that characterize the large-scale properties of the fields of radiative fluxes and heating. Several example cloud fields will be used to illustrate the effects of cloud inhomogeneity and 3D radiation.

Cahalan, Robert F.↗

Theoretical Basis for the Surface Spectral Reflectance Relationships Used in the MODIS Aerosol Algorithm

The analysis of data from the MODIS instrument on the Terra platform to derive global distribution of aerosols assumes a set of relationships between the blue, rho (sub blue), the red, rho (sub red), and 2.1 micrometers, rho (sub 2.1), spectral channels. These relations have been established from a series of measurements indicating that rho (sub blue) approximately 0.5 rho (sub red) approximately 0.25 rho (sub 2.1). Here we use a model to describe the transfer of radiation through a vegetation canopy composed of randomly oriented leaves to assess the theoretical foundations for these relationships. The influence of varying fractional vegetation coverage is simulated simply as a linear combination of pure soil and pure vegetation conditions, also known as Independent Pixel Approximation (IPA). Calculations for a wide range of leaf area indices and vegetation fractions show that rho (sub blue) is consistently about 1/4 of rho (sub 2.1) as used by MODIS for the whole range of analyzed cases, except for very dark soils, such as those found in burn scars. For its part, the ratio rho (sub red)/rho (sub 2.1) varies from less than the empirically derived value of 1/2 for dense and dark vegetation (rho (sub 2.1) less than 0.1), to more than 1/2 for bright mixture of soil and vegetation. This is in agreement with measurements over uniform dense vegetation, but not with measurements over mixed dark scenes. In the later case, the discrepancy is probably mitigated by shadows due to uneven canopy and terrain on a large scale. It is concluded that the value of this ratio should ideally be made dependent on the land cover type in the operational processing of MODIS data, especially over dense forests.

Kaufman, Yoram J.↗

Thrust Stand Measurements of a Conical Pulsed Inductive Plasma Thruster

Pulsed inductive plasma thrusters [1-3] are spacecraft propulsion devices in which electrical energy is capacitively stored and then discharged through an inductive coil. The thruster is electrodeless, with a time-varying current in the coil interacting with a plasma covering the face of the coil to induce a plasma current. Propellant is accelerated and expelled at a high exhaust velocity (O(10-100 km/s)) by the Lorentz body force arising from the interaction of the magnetic field and the induced plasma current. While this class of thruster mitigates the life-limiting issues associated with electrode erosion, pulsed inductive plasma thrusters can su er from both high pulse energy requirements imposed by the voltage demands of inductive propellant ionization, and low propellant utilization efficiencies. The Microwave Assisted Discharge Inductive Plasma Accelerator (MAD-IPA)[4], shown in Fig. 1 is a pulsed inductive plasma thruster that is able to operate at lower pulse energies by partially ionizing propellant with an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) discharge inside a conical inductive coil whose geometry serves to potentially increase propellant and plasma plume containment relative to at coil geometries. The ECR plasma is created with the use of permanent mag- nets arranged to produce a thin resonance region along the inner surface of the coil, restricting plasma formation and, in turn, current sheet formation to areas of high magnetic coupling to the driving coil.

Hallock, Ashley K.↗

Wearable Technology

Wearable technology projects, to be useful, in the future, must be seamlessly integrated with the Flight Deck of the Future (F.F). The lab contains mockups of space vehicle cockpits, habitat living quarters, and workstations equipped with novel user interfaces. The Flight Deck of the Future is one element of the Integrated Power, Avionics, and Software (IPAS) facility, which, to a large extent, manages the F.F network and data systems. To date, integration with the Flight Deck of the Future has been limited by a lack of tools and understanding of the Flight Deck of the Future data handling systems. To remedy this problem it will be necessary to learn how data is managed in the Flight Deck of the Future and to develop tools or interfaces that enable easy integration of WEAR Lab and EV3 products into the Flight Deck of the Future mockups. This capability is critical to future prototype integration, evaluation, and demonstration. This will provide the ability for WEAR Lab products, EV3 human interface prototypes, and technologies from other JSC organizations to be evaluated and tested while in the Flight Deck of the Future. All WEAR Lab products must be integrated with the interface that will connect them to the Flight Deck of the Future. The WEAR Lab products will primarily be programmed in Arduino. Arduino will be used for the development of wearable controls and a tactile communication garment. Arduino will also be used in creating wearable methane detection and warning system.

Watson, Amanda↗

Signaling Pathways Involved in Lunar Dust Induced Cytotoxicity

The Moon's surface is covered by a layer of fine, reactive dust. Lunar dust contain about 1-2% of very fine dust (< 3 micron), that is respirable. The habitable area of any lunar landing vehicle and outpost would inevitably be contaminated with lunar dust that could pose a health risk. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the toxicity of Apollo moon dust in rodents to assess the health risk of dust exposures to humans. One of the particular interests in the study is to evaluate dust-induced changes of the expression of fibrosis-related genes, and to identify specific signaling pathways involved in lunar dust-induced toxicity. F344 rats were exposed for 4 weeks (6h/d; 5d/wk) in nose-only inhalation chambers to concentrations of 0 (control air), 2.1, 6.1, 21, and 61 mg/m(exp 3) of lunar dust. Five rats per group were euthanized 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after the last inhalation exposure. The total RNAs were isolated from the blood or lung tissue after being lavaged, using the Qigen RNeasy kit. The Rat Fibrosis RT2 Profile PCR Array was used to profile the expression of 84 genes relevant to fibrosis. The genes with significant expression changes are identified and the gene expression data were further analyzed using IPA pathway analysis tool to determine the signaling pathways with significant changes.

Zhang, Ye↗

Autonomous Deep-Space Optical Navigation Project

This project will advance the Autonomous Deep-space navigation capability applied to Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking (AR&D) Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) system by testing it on hardware, particularly in a flight processor, with a goal of limited testing in the Integrated Power, Avionics and Software (IPAS) with the ARCM (Asteroid Retrieval Crewed Mission) DRO (Distant Retrograde Orbit) Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking (AR&D) scenario. The technology, which will be harnessed, is called 'optical flow', also known as 'visual odometry'. It is being matured in the automotive and SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) applications but has yet to be applied to spacecraft navigation. In light of the tremendous potential of this technique, we believe that NASA needs to design a optical navigation architecture that will use this technique. It is flexible enough to be applicable to navigating around planetary bodies, such as asteroids.

D'Souza, Christopher↗

A Ground Testbed to Advance US Capability in Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking Project

This project will advance the Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking (AR&D) GNC system by testing it on hardware, particularly in a flight processor, with a goal of testing it in IPAS with the Waypoint L2 AR&D scenario. The entire Agency supports development of a Commodity for Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking (CARD) as outlined in the Agency-wide Community of Practice whitepaper entitled: "A Strategy for the U.S. to Develop and Maintain a Mainstream Capability for Automated/Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking in Low Earth Orbit and Beyond". The whitepaper establishes that 1) the US is in a continual state of AR&D point-designs and therefore there is no US "off-the-shelf" AR&D capability in existence today, 2) the US has fallen behind our foreign counterparts particularly in the autonomy of AR&D systems, 3) development of an AR&D commodity is a national need that would benefit NASA, our commercial partners, and DoD, and 4) an initial estimate indicates that the development of a standardized AR&D capability could save the US approximately $60M for each AR&D project and cut each project's AR&D flight system implementation time in half.

D'Souza, Chris↗

Persistent Expression Changes of Fibrosis-Related Genes in the Lung Tissues of Rats Exposed to Lunar Dust Particles

The Moon's surface is covered by a layer of fine, potential reactive dust. Lunar dust contain about 1‐2% of very fine respirable dust (less than 3 micrometers). The habitable area of any lunar landing vehicle and outpost would inevitably be contaminated with lunar dust that could pose a health risk. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the toxicity of Apollo moon dust in rodents to assess the health risk of dust exposures to humans. One of the particular interests in the study is to evaluate dust‐induced changes of the expression of fibrosis‐related genes, and to identify specific signaling pathways involved in lunar dustinduced toxicity. F344 rats were exposed for 4 weeks (6h/d; 5d/wk) in nose‐only inhalation chambers to concentrations of 0 (control air), 2.1, 6.8, 21, and 61 milligrams per cubic meters of lunar dust. Five rats per group were euthanized at 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after the last inhalation exposure. The bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was collected by lavaging with phosphate‐buffered saline (PBS). A zymosan‐induced luminolbased chemiluminescence assay was used to assess the activity of BAL cells. The lavaged lung tissue was snap frozen in LN2 and total RNA was isolated using the Qigen RNeasy kit. The expression of 84 fibrosisrelated genes were analyzed using the RT2 Profiler PCR Array technique. The expression of 18 genes of interest were further measured using real‐time PCR technique in all the samples. 10 out of 18 genes of interest showed persistently significant expression changes in the local lung tissue exposed to lunar dust, indicating a prolonged proinflammatory response. The expressions of several of these genes were dose‐ and time‐dependent and were significantly correlated with other pathological parameters. The potential signaling pathways and upstream regulators were further analyzed using IPA pathway analysis tool based on the gene expression data. The data presented in this study, for the first time, explore the molecular mechanisms of lunar dust induced toxicity, contributing not only the risk assessment for future space exploration, but also understandings of the dust‐induced toxicity in humans on earth.

Zhang, Ye↗

Human Exploration Spacecraft Testbed for Integration and Advancement (HESTIA)

The proposed paper will cover ongoing effort named HESTIA (Human Exploration Spacecraft Testbed for Integration and Advancement), led at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center (JSC) to promote a cross-subsystem approach to developing Mars-enabling technologies with the ultimate goal of integrated system optimization. HESTIA also aims to develop the infrastructure required to rapidly test these highly integrated systems at a low cost. The initial focus is on the common fluids architecture required to enable human exploration of mars, specifically between life support and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) subsystems. An overview of the advancements in both integrated technologies, in infrastructure, in simulation, and in modeling capabilities will be presented, as well as the results and findings of integrated testing,. Due to the enormous mass gear-ratio required for human exploration beyond low-earth orbit, (for every 1 kg of payload landed on Mars, 226 kg will be required on Earth), minimization of surface hardware and commodities is paramount. Hardware requirements can be minimized by reduction of equipment performing similar functions though for different subsystems. If hardware could be developed which meets the requirements of both life support and ISRU it could result in the reduction of primary hardware and/or reduction in spares. Minimization of commodities to the surface of mars can be achieved through the creation of higher efficiency systems producing little to no undesired waste, such as a closed-loop life support subsystem. Where complete efficiency is impossible or impractical, makeup commodities could be manufactured via ISRU. Although, utilization of ISRU products (oxygen and water) for crew consumption holds great promise of reducing demands on life support hardware, there exist concerns as to the purity and transportation of commodities. To date, ISRU has been focused on production rates and purities for propulsion needs. The meshing of requirements between all potential users, producers, and cleaners of oxygen and water is crucial to guiding the development of technologies which will be used to perform these functions. Various new capabilities are being developed as part of HESTIA, which will enable the integrated testing of these technologies. This includes the upgrading of a 20' diameter habitat chamber to eventually support long duration (90+ day) human-in-the-loop testing of advanced life support systems. Additionally, a 20' diameter vacuum chamber is being modified to create Mars atmospheric pressures and compositions. This chamber, designated the Mars Environment Chamber (MEC), will eventually be upgraded to include a dusty environment and thermal shroud to simulate conditions on the surface of Mars. In view that individual technologies will be in geographically diverse locations across NASA facilities and elsewhere in the world, schedule and funding constraints will likely limit the frequency of physical integration. When this is the case, absent subsystems can be either digitally or physically simulated. Using the Integrated Power Avionics and Software (iPAS) environment, HESTIA is able to bring together data from various subsystems in simulated surroundings, insert faults, errors, time delays, etc., and feed data into computer models or physical systems capable of reproducing the output of the absent subsystems for the consumption of a local subsystems. Although imperfect, this capability provides opportunities to test subsystem integration and interactions at a fraction of the cost. When a subsystem technology is too immature for integrated testing, models can be produced using the General-Use Nodal Network Solver (GUNNS) capability to simulate the overall system performance. In doing so, even technologies not yet on the drawing board can be integrated and overall system performance estimated. Through the integrated development of technologies, as well as of the infrastructure to rapidly and at a low cost, model, simulate, and test subsystem technologies early in their development, HESTIA is pioneering a new way of developing the future of human space exploration.

Banker, Brian F.↗

A Multi-Center Space Data System Prototype Based on CCSDS Standards

Deep space missions beyond earth orbit will require new methods of data communications in order to compensate for increasing Radio Frequency (RF) propagation delay. The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) standard protocols Spacecraft Monitor & Control (SM&C), Asynchronous Message Service (AMS), and Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) provide such a method. However, the maturity level of this protocol stack is insufficient for mission inclusion at this time. This Space Data System prototype is intended to provide experience which will raise the Technical Readiness Level (TRL) of this protocol set. In order to reduce costs, future missions can take advantage of these standard protocols, which will result in increased interoperability between control centers. This prototype demonstrates these capabilities by implementing a realistic space data system in which telemetry is published to control center applications at the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), and the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Reverse publishing paths for commanding from each control center are also implemented. The target vehicle consists of realistic flight computer hardware running Core Flight Software (CFS) in the integrated Power, Avionics, and Power (iPAS) Pathfinder Lab at JSC. This prototype demonstrates a potential upgrade path for future Deep Space Network (DSN) modification, in which the automatic error recovery and communication gap compensation capabilities of DTN would be exploited. In addition, SM&C provides architectural flexibility by allowing new service providers and consumers to be added efficiently anywhere in the network using the common interface provided by SM&C's Message Abstraction Layer (MAL). In FY 2015, this space data system was enhanced by adding telerobotic operations capability provided by the Robot API Delegate (RAPID) family of protocols developed at NASA. RAPID is one of several candidates for consideration and inclusion in a new international standard being developed by the CCSDS Telerobotic Operations Working Group. Software gateways for the purpose of interfacing RAPID messages with the existing SM&C based infrastructure were developed. Telerobotic monitor, control, and bridge applications were written in the RAPID framework, which were then tailored to the NAO telerobotic test article hardware, a product of Aldebaran Robotics.

Rich, Thomas M.↗

Establishing and Monitoring an Aseptic Workspace for Building the MOMA Mass Spectrometer

Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) is an instrument suite on the ESA ExoMars 2018 Rover, and the Mass Spectrometer (MOMA-MS) is being built at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). As MOMA-MS is a life-detection instrument and it thus falls in the most stringent category of Planetary Protection (PP) biological cleanliness requirements. Less than 0.03 sporem2 is allowed in the instrument sample path. In order to meet these PP requirements, MOMA-MS must be built and maintained in a low bioburden environment. The MOMA-MS project at GSFC maintains three cleanrooms with varying levels of bioburden control. The Aseptic Assembly Cleanroom has the highest level of control, applying three different bioburden reducing methods: 70 IPA, 7.5 Hydrogen Peroxide, and Ultra-Violet C light. The three methods are used in rotation and each kills microbes by a different mechanism, reducing the likelihood of microorganisms developing resistance to all three. The Integration and Mars Chamber Cleanrooms use less biocidal cleaning, with the option to deploy extra techniques as necessary. To support the monitoring of cleanrooms and verification that MOMA-MS hardware meets PP requirements, a new Planetary Protection lab was established that currently has the capabilities of standard growth assays for spore or vegetative bacteria, rapid bioburden analysis that detects Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), plus autoclave and DHMR verification. The cleanrooms are monitored both for vegetative microorganisms and by rapid ATP assay, and a clear difference in bioburden is observed between the aseptic the other cleanroom.

Contamination Control Engineering↗