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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Systems and Implementation: Integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems into Physical Protection Systems at Fixed Sites and During Transportation

Physical protection systems, and response forces in particular, are designed to prevent an adversary from successfully completing a malevolent act against a facility or transport operations. Timely detection and assessment of any potential adversary action against a target is an essential element of materials security. The timely detection and assessment must then be followed-up by a capable and timely response that might be enhanced with the additional situational awareness provided by unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The United States Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration Office of International Nuclear Security has been exploring capabilities provided by UAS to support response force operations within the physical protection system. UAS have the potential to provide response force commanders and operators with situational awareness in assessing adversary locations and actions as well as the locations of responders. UAS may be utilized for area searches ahead of responder pathways to identify potential threats and to provide situational awareness of areas not normally covered by cameras (such as areas outside the fence line outside at fixed facilities). In addition, UAS can provide real-time information to transportation convoy teams that pass through constantly changing public access environments. This paper will provide operational recommendations to be addressed when integrating UAS into existing physical protection systems at fixed sites and during transport. Recommendations will include aspects of the following: needs analysis; tactics and techniques to support detection and assessment as well as response force deployment; remote pilot selection, qualifications, training, and currency; UAS selection criteria; UAS laws and regulations; possible cost sharing with other facility operations; and on-scene emergency management.

Stockwell, Brandon↗
DOE OSTI2023

Autonomous Intelligence Measurements and Sensor Systems (AIMS): Gaussian Processes in Remote Sensing: Literature Review

Power grid resilience and reliability is crucial to supporting critical infrastructure. Service interruptions can have devastating consequences to communication, emergency, and transportation services, just to name a few. In addition to infrastructure, power services are crucial to everyday life. Nearly every element of modern-day living relies on a stable and functioning power grid - heating and cooling systems to lighting, refrigeration, telecommunications, and internet access. Interruptions in the power supply can range from minor inconveniences, such as the temporary loss of internet or television services, to more significant problems, like the inability to access medical equipment or emergency services during critical situations. As climate conditions worsen, the reliability of the power grid becomes even more significant. Extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, wildfires, or severe storms, can cause serious damage to power infrastructure, leading to prolonged power outages. Rising temperatures and changing weather patterns can strain the grid, resulting in increased demand for electricity, stressing transmission and distribution systems.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2016

Decommissioning Experience at Rokkasho; Standing Type Manipulator: A1000S for Dismantling Tasks - 16434

Decommissioning is a technical process which includes various steps and processes from the clean-up of radioactive materials to the progressive demolition of the plant. One of these steps is the cutting of subassemblies, like tanks, pipes or walls in small pieces suitable for the sorting and disposal. Different solutions are offered for this cutting work and can be grouped as following: - Chip forming - sawing, drilling, milling, turning etc. - Shearing - punching, stamping, scissoring. - Abrading - Grinding, lapping, polishing; water-jet. - Heat - flame cutting, plasma cutting, laser cutting. - Electro-Chemical - Etching, Electrical discharge machining (EDM). Each method has its limitations in accuracy, cost, and effect on the material. In 2013, Waelischmiller Engineering won a contract for two remote handling systems dedicated to the dismantling cell at Rokkasho Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Facility in Japan. For this project, Inconel and other metals needed to be cut. One of the main cutting methods was decided to use of an angle grinder handled by a robotic arm. Because the use of the overhead systems (bridges and cranes) was difficult for this installation, it was determined, that the best alternative was a power manipulator A1000 installed on the floor with a pre-positioning system. The project proceeded to go forward with the adaptation of the standard A1000 with integration of a control system in a Cartesian coordinate frame; resulting in a heavy duty arm; A1000S with 6 degrees of freedom. The heavy duty power arm A1000S was developed and designed for mechanical cutting with an angle grinder, especially for thick and hard material for example stainless steel and Inconel. Cutting a thick material with an angle grinder requires repeatable precise linear motion, in order not to damage the disc. The angle grinder should be handled with a manipulator which can cut in all directions in a linear motion, since the objects which should be cut are usually very large and fixed in any direction For these requirements, the Cartesian control function was added to our standard power manipulator type A1000. In some cases, the decommissioning work includes repeated access routes or fixed access points that the manipulator arm has to pass repeatedly. For example a fixed point where the waste materials are collected, or repeated transport route that the arm has to go along for each step. For this requirement, the A1000S has been equipped with the 'Go To-Mode'. It is a 'teach and playback mode' which has been developed especially for remote operating manipulators. Quick direct teach, quick play function and an intuitive touch-panel layout are some of the features. With the Go To-Mode high working efficiency was achieved. After rigorous testing at Waelischmiller premises; the manipulator was delivered to JNFL in Rokkasho. It was found that the obtained functionality and precision can be applicable not only for the cutting with a disc grinder, but also the laser cutting method, which requires precise trajectory control. This paper will provide: - A project description, - Presentation of solution process, - Technical description of the A1000S, - Future Applications of the robotic Arm A1000S. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2021

Mapathons versus automated feature extraction: a comparative analysis for strengthening immunization microplanning

Background: Social instability and logistical factors like the displacement of vulnerable populations, the difficulty of accessing these populations, and the lack of geographic information for hard-to-reach areas continue to serve as barriers to global essential immunizations (EI). Microplanning, a population-based, healthcare intervention planning method has begun to leverage geographic information system (GIS) technology and geospatial methods to improve the remote identification and mapping of vulnerable populations to ensure inclusion in outreach and immunization services, when feasible. We compare two methods of accomplishing a remote inventory of building locations to assess their accuracy and similarity to currently employed microplan line-lists in the study area. Methods: The outputs of a crowd-sourced digitization effort, or mapathon, were compared to those of a machine-learning algorithm for digitization, referred to as automatic feature extraction (AFE). The following accuracy assessments were employed to determine the performance of each feature generation method: (1) an agreement analysis of the two methods assessed the occurrence of matches across the two outputs, where agreements were labeled as “befriended” and disagreements as “lonely”; (2) true and false positive percentages of each method were calculated in comparison to satellite imagery; (3) counts of features generated from both the mapathon and AFE were statistically compared to the number of features listed in the microplan line-list for the study area; and (4) population estimates for both feature generation method were determined for every structure identified assuming a total of three households per compound, with each household averaging two adults and 5 children. Results: The mapathon and AFE outputs detected 92,713 and 53,150 features, respectively. A higher proportion (30%) of AFE features were befriended compared with befriended mapathon points (28%). The AFE had a higher true positive rate (90.5%) of identifying structures than the mapathon (84.5%). The difference in the average number of features identified per area between the microplan and mapathon points was larger (t = 3.56) than the microplan and AFE (t = -2.09) (alpha = 0.05). Conclusions: Our findings indicate AFE outputs had higher agreement (i.e., befriended), slightly higher likelihood of correctly identifying a structure, and were more similar to the local microplan line-lists than the mapathon outputs. These findings suggest AFE may be more accurate for identifying structures in high-resolution satellite imagery than mapathons. However, they both had their advantages and the ideal method would utilize both methods in tandem.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

LSE-319: LSST Science Platform Vision Document

This document defines and describes the "LSST Science Platform," a set of integrated web applications and services deployed at the LSST Data Access Centers (DACs) through which the scientific community will access, visualize, subset, and perform next-to-the-data analysis of the data collected by the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). These services can be broken down to three different "Aspects": a web Portal, designed to provide essential data access and visualization services through a simple-to-use website, a Notebook environment, that will provide a Jupyter Notebook-like interface, based on JupyterLab, enabling next-to-the-data analysis, and an extensive set of Web APIs that the users will be able to use to remotely examine the LSST data set using tools they're already familiar with. This document lays out the high-level vision for the aforementioned Aspects and some associated backend services. It is intentionally brief, and meant to generally guide the flow-down of requirements and development of product specifications, prioritization, and plans for the Agile development of the relevant elements of the DM system.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2016

Status of the Signals of Opportunity Airborne Demonstrator (SoOp-AD)

Root zone soil moisture (RZSM) is not directly measured by any current satellite instrument, despite its importance as a key link between surface hydrology and deeper processes. Presently, model assimilation of surface measurements or indirect estimates using other methods must be used to estimate this value. Signals of Opportunity (SoOp) methods, exploiting reflected P- and S-band communication satellite signals, have many of the benefits of both active and passive microwave remote sensing. Reutilization of active transmitters, with forward-scattering geometry, presents a strong reflected signal even at orbital altitudes. Microwave radiometry is advantageous as it measures emissivity, which is directly related to dielectric constant and sensitive to water content of soil. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is used in P-band (400 MHz) for soil moisture and biomass, but faces issues in obtaining permission to transmit due to spectrum regulations, particularly over North America and Europe. A primary advantage of SAR is excellent spatial resolution. Signals-of-opportunity (SoOp) reflectometry provides a good compromise between radiometry and SAR by providing decent sensitivity and special resolution for RZSM measurements without issues of spectrum access. Further, a SoOp instrument would not be limited to operating in only a few protected frequencies and is also expected to have less susceptibility to radio-frequency interference (RFI). Although advantageous if available, SoOp techniques do not require the ability to demodulate or decode the communication signals. The SoOp instrument is receive only and therefore requires much less electrical power than a SAR and is more similar to a radiometer in receiver architecture. These unique features of SoOp circumvent past obstacles to a spaceborne P-band remote sensing mission and have the potential to enable new RZSM measurements that are not possible with present technology. We will present the latest development status of a SoOp reflectometer airborne demonstrator (SoOp-AD) operating at 250 MHz to take advantage of existing communication satellite. The instrument is currently in laboratory integration and test.

Reflectometers↗
DOE OSTI2025

Reversible parts-per-trillion-level detection of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid in tap water using field-effect transistor sensors

Widespread, persistent and toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pose a major threat to water systems and human health. Current detection methods are relatively expensive, slow and complex, underscoring the need for more accessible alternatives to meet increasingly stringent PFAS regulations. Here, in this study, we present an ultrasensitive sensing platform for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid detection in tap water with a reporting limit ( ~ 250 parts per quadrillion) lower than the US Environmental Protection Agency’s regulatory standard (4 parts per trillion), using a remote gate field-effect transistor featuring β-cyclodextrin (β-CD)-modified reduced graphene oxide as the sensing membrane. The sensor exhibits excellent selectivity against common inorganic ions, natural organic matter and select organic pollutants in tap water. The reversible and rapid response ( < 2 min) indicates the potential of remote gate field-effect transistor for continuous in-line monitoring. Mechanistic studies using quartz crystal microbalance and molecular dynamics simulations reveal key roles of analyte adsorption and charge properties in sensing performance and offer insights for designing more selective PFAS capture probes.

Wang, Yuqin [University of Chicago, IL (United Sta↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Pneumatic Sampler (P-Sampler) for the Martian Moons Exploration (MMX)

The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission, led by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), will focus on the exploration of the two Martian moons – Phobos and Deimos (Figure 1). The spacecraft will perform close-up remote sensing and observations of both moons and collect a sample from Phobos for Earth sample return. MMX has set the two mission goals: (1) determining the origin of the Martian moons and (2) observing processes in the circumplanetary environment of Mars, based on remote sensing, in-situ observations, and laboratory analyses of returned samples of Phobos regolith [1-2]. To fulfill the mission goals, MMX employs a double sampling approach: Coring and Pneumatic Samplers (Figure 2).The Coring Sampler (C-Sampler), a core soil tube deployed by a robotic arm, providing access to the building blocks of Phobos beneath the surface (>2 cm), and also collect a mixture of near surface material. The P-Sampler, on the other hand, would selectively sample the surface veneer and provides reference of surface component with the C-Sampler. The double sampling system not only enhances the scientific merits of MMX but also reduces risks associated with the sampling of Phobos. Without enough knowledge of the physical and chemical properties, and the geotechnical conditions of the surface of Phobos (e.g., compositions, temperature gradient/variation, porosity, grain size distribution), having two sampling systems that utilize entirely different sampling approaches is prudent.

Dylan Van Dyne↗
DOE OSTI2019

Predicting octane number from microscale flame dynamics

The standard method for measuring the octane number of fuels requires large sample volumes (~1L) and access to a Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine. This method reliably quantifies the knock resistance of fuels in spark ignition engines, however the large sample volume requirement prevents testing of new experimental fuels (often produced in quantities of just ~1 mL), and the large equipment size impedes mobile, decentralized testing of remote fuel supplies. When direct measurements of octane number are impractical, other methods are needed. Micro flow reactors have shown promise in measuring ignition characteristics that are sensitive to octane number, and they are compact and operate on small volumes (~1 mL). This study uses simulations to demonstrate that measurements of the unsteady flame dynamics in a micro flow reactor can provide valuable data for accurate octane number predictions. Simulations of the flow reactor are used to obtain ignition characteristics for over 200 ethanol-toluene primary reference fuels (ETPRF) and 21 biofuel blends. A feed forward neural network is trained using the micro flow reactor ignition characteristics, fuel properties, and known research octane number (RON) and motor octane number (MON) for the ETPRF fuels. Here, the neural network is able to predict the RON and MON of the biofuel blends to within 2 octane number on average. Prediction results are compared to other methods available in the literature. Additional neural network models are trained that show improved prediction accuracy as additional fuel training data becomes available.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2015

Historic American Landscapes Survey: Arco Naval Proving Ground (Idaho National Laboratory)

Based on historical evaluations in 1993 and 1997, historians determined that the then-remaining Arco NPG structures were significant to the nation’s history through their association with World War II . Through ensuing discussions with the SHPO, it was further determined that the infrastructure and associated landscape were also significant. According to provisions of INL’s Cultural Resource Management Plan (CRMP) as legitimized through a 2004 Programmatic Agreement between DOE-ID, the Idaho State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) historians identified the World War II structures as DOE “Signature Properties”. As defined by DOE-HQ, Signature Properties “denote its [DOE’s] most historically important properties across the complex…and/or those properties that are viewed as having tourism potential.” The INL is a secure site and the INL land and structures are not accessible to the public and, therefore have no “tourism potential”. Although DOE-ID actively sought other uses for the vacant, unused buildings, none were identified and the buildings present safety and health concerns. A condition assessment found lead based paint, asbestos, rodent infestation/droppings, small animal carcasses, mold, and, in CF-633, areas of radiological contamination. In early 2013, DOE-ID notified the Idaho SHPO, ACHP, and, as required by the INL CRMP and PA, DOE-Headquarters Federal Preservation Officer, of their intent to demolish the vacant buildings (CF-606, CF-607, CF-613, CF-632, and CF-633). The proposed “end-state” of the buildings will be either grass and/or gravel pads. Through the NHPA Section 106 consultation process, measures to mitigate the adverse impacts of demolition were determined and agreed to through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between DOE-ID, SHPO, and ACHP. The measures include the development and installation of interpretive signs to be placed at a publicly accessible location, retention of original components of CF-633, and completion of this HALS standard format report. Buildings, infrastructure, and features that are not scheduled for removal are documented here as well as properties that are scheduled for removal and the overall Arco NPG landscape. The Arco NPG, located in the remote high-desert of eastern Idaho aided in the defense and eventual ally victory in the Pacific Theater of World War II, in addition to revising national standards for the safe storage and transport of conventional ordnance.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Industrial Energy Management During a Pandemic: Lessons Learned from DOE Better Plants Program Partners

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing many challenges for manufacturers, especially those that depend on workers whose jobs cannot be performed remotely. This has detrimentally impacted the energy management workforce, energy support system performance, as well as operations and supply chains.This article discusses four primary challenges for industrial energy management caused by the pandemic, strained budget for energy projects, increased energy intensity caused by low production rates and other safety practices, limited access to energy systems, and the lost knowledge and experience of senior staff. This article also proposes some potential solutions for these challenges that include implementing no- and low-cost energy conservation measures, adopting alternative financing options, improving shutdown procedures, reducing baseloads, creating an effective online energy-monitoring system, performing virtual energy assessments, building a robust EnMS, and attending online and in-person training events.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
NASA NTRS2001

A Rover Deployed Ground Penetrating Radar on Mars

Radar is a fundamental tool capable of addressing a variety of geological problems on Mars via collection of data suitable for interpreting variations in surface morphology and reflectivity. Surface-deployed ground penetrating radar (GPR) can help further constrain the geology and structure of the near surface of Mars by directly measuring the range and character of in situ radar properties. In recognition of this potential, a miniaturized, easily modified GPR is being developed for possible deployment on a future Mars rover and will enable definition of radar stratigraphy at high spatial resolution to depths of 10-20 meters. Ongoing development of a Mars impulse GPR with industry partners at Geophysical Survey Systems, Inc., focuses on design and testing of a prototype transducer array (with both high frequency bistatic and low frequency monostatic components) in parallel with fabrication of a low power, mass, and volume control unit. The operational depth of 10-20 meters is geared towards definition of stratigraphy, subsurface blocks, and structure at the decimeter to meter scale that is critical for establishing the geologic setting of the rover. GPR data can also be used to infer the degree of any post-depositional pedogenic alteration or weathering that has subsequently taken place, thereby enabling assessment of pristine versus secondary morphology at the landing site. As is the case for most remote sensing instruments, a GPR may not detect water unambiguously. Nevertheless, any local, near-surface occurrence of liquid water will lead to large, easily detected dielectric contrasts. Moreover, definition of stratigraphy and setting will help in evaluating the history of aqueous activity and where any water might occur and be accessible. Most importantly perhaps, GPR can provide critical context for other rover and orbital instruments/data sets. Hence, GPR deployment along well positioned transects in the vicinity of a lander should enable 3-D mapping of stratigraphy and could serve to guide direct subsurface sampling. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Grant, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Promise and Capability of NASA's Earth Observing System to Monitor Human-Induced Climate Variations

The Earth Observing System (EOS) is a space-based observing system comprised of a series of satellite sensors by which scientists can monitor the Earth, a Data and Information System (EOSDIS) enabling researchers worldwide to access the satellite data, and an interdisciplinary science research program to interpret the satellite data. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), developed as part of the Earth Observing System (EOS) and launched on Terra in December 1999 and Aqua in May 2002, is designed to meet the scientific needs for satellite remote sensing of clouds, aerosols, water vapor, and land and ocean surface properties. This sensor and multi-platform observing system is especially well suited to observing detailed interdisciplinary components of the Earth s surface and atmosphere in and around urban environments, including aerosol optical properties, cloud optical and microphysical properties of both liquid water and ice clouds, land surface reflectance, fire occurrence, and many other properties that influence the urban environment and are influenced by them. In this presentation I will summarize the current capabilities of MODIS and other EOS sensors currently in orbit to study human-induced climate variations.

King, M. D.↗
DOE OSTI2018

Fully Robotic Hot Cell Crane for Target Hall Operations at Isotope Research Facility - 18329

There are many types of equipment used in high radiation environments, but the super-sized and high precision lifting requirements for an isotope research facility in the USA called for one of the largest fully robotic cranes in the US. The 20 Ton Remote Handling Bridge Crane provided by PaR Systems met many challenging requirements for accuracy, repeatability and unique lifting motions in the radiation-shielded target hall of this facility. This robotic system was designed to address four main issues. The first is that the crane needed to be operated remotely due to high radioactivity during the time when it is needed most. Second is that high precision is needed due to the complex fit of multiple heavy shielding blocks. Third problem is that automated routines and exclusion areas were needed due to the remote operation of the system around high capital cost equipment. Lastly is the survivability of the equipment due to the high radiation environment. The facility robotic crane is an overhead top running multiple girder hot cell bridge crane (hereafter referred to as the system). The system is intended to be used in either manually operated or automated operation under computer control. Under automated control, the system provides highly accurate motion control in three linear axes as well as hook rotation. Using motion control programming, this highly accurate system ensures safe, remote movement of in-cell components. The system was designed to be remotely operated by a technician from the remote handling control room in the facility. This is facilitated by computer control using the System Graphical User Interface with feedback from a facility supplied video system. It can also be operated using a wireless hand held controller. The system will be used to place sensitive components with high precision in locations that will be difficult to observe directly. In order to accomplish this, it is critical that the system be capable of moving its payload with minimal swing, and with high accuracy, repeatability and reliability. The system will be operating in an environment where it will be exposed to both high energy neutrons and gamma radiation. Under beam-off conditions, the target hall will be hands-on accessible to accommodate crane maintenance. The system was installed and tested in early 2017 in advance of the live operations of the facility. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2025

Certified randomness using a trapped-ion quantum processor

Although quantum computers can perform a wide range of practically important tasks beyond the abilities of classical computers, realizing this potential remains a challenge. An example is to use an untrusted remote device to generate random bits that can be certified to contain a certain amount of entropy. Certified randomness has many applications but is impossible to achieve solely by classical computation. Here we demonstrate the generation of certifiably random bits using the 56-qubit Quantinuum H2-1 trapped-ion quantum computer accessed over the Internet. Our protocol leverages the classical hardness of recent random circuit sampling demonstrations: a client generates quantum ‘challenge’ circuits using a small randomness seed, sends them to an untrusted quantum server to execute and verifies the results of the server. We analyse the security of our protocol against a restricted class of realistic near-term adversaries. Using classical verification with measured combined sustained performance of 1.1 × 10 18 floating-point operations per second across multiple supercomputers, we certify 71,313 bits of entropy under this restricted adversary and additional assumptions. Our results demonstrate a step towards the practical applicability of present-day quantum computers.

computer science↗
NASA NTRS1989

Report from upper atmospheric science

Most of the understanding of the thermosphere resulted from the analysis of data accrued through the Atmosphere Explorer satellites, the Dynamics Explorer 2 satellite, and observations from rockets, balloons, and ground based instruments. However, new questions were posed by the data that have not yet been answered. The mesosphere and lower thermosphere have been less thoroughly studied because of the difficulty of accessibility on a global scale, and many rather fundamental characteristics of these regions are not well understood. A wide variety of measurement platforms can be used to implement various parts of a measurement strategy, but the major thrusts of the International Solar Terrestrial Physics Program would require Explorer-class missions. A remote sensing mission to explore the mesosphere and lower thermosphere and one and two Explorer-type spacecraft to enable a mission into the thermosphere itself would provide the essential components of a productive program of exploration of this important region of the upper atomsphere. Theoretical mission options are explored.

Carignan, G. R.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Infrared Imaging, Spectroscopic, and Photometric Studies of Comets

We have continued our program of infrared (IR) photometric, imaging, spectroscopic, and polarimetric temporal observations of comets to study the properties of comet dust and comet nuclei. During the first two years we digitized our IR data base on P/Halley and other recent comets to facilitate further analysis and comparison with other data bases, and found compelling evidence for the emission of a burst of small grains from P/Halley's nucleus at perihelion. We reported imaging and photometric observations of Comets Austin 1990 V and Swift-Tuttle 1992. The Swift-Tuttle 1992t observations included IR photometry, several 7-14 micron long-slit spectra of the coma and a time-sequence of more than 150 10 micron broadband images of the coma. An analysis of near-IR images of the inner coma of P/Halley obtained on three consecutive nights in 1986 March showed sunwardjets. We completed our analysis of IR imaging spectrosco-photometric data on comets. We also obtained observations of Comets Hyakutake 1996 B2 and Hale/Bopp 1995 01. We obtained infrared imaging, photometric, spectroscopic and polarimetric temporal observations of bright comets using a network of five telescopes, with emphasis on simultaneous observations of comets at many wavelengths with different instruments. Our program offers several unique advantages: 1) rapid observational response to new comets with dedicated infrared telescopes; 2) observations within a few degrees of the sun when comets are near perihelion and 3) access to advanced infrared array imagers and spectrometers. In particular, reduction, analysis, publication and archiving of our Jupiter/sl-9 and Comet Hyakutake infrared data received special emphasis. Instrumentation development included installation of the latest version of the innovative FORTH telescope control and a data acquisition system that enables us to control three telescopes remotely by telephone from anywhere in the world for comet observations in broad daylight. We have acquired more than 3000 256x256 images totaling nearly two gigabytes of data detailing the near-IR development of the impact sites of the S-L9 fragments on Jupiter. These data were obtained using the University of Rochester Imaging IR Camera at the cassegrain focus of the 92" at WIRO. The WIRO data set covers 8 days and is, to our knowledge, one of the most extensive observational records of the S-L/Jupiter encounter obtained by any ground-based telescope. This program benefitted from the compilation during these last few months of an upgrade to the data acquisition program at WIRO with support of this NASA contract.

Gehrz, Robert D.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Remote Sensing of the Haughton Impact Structure (HIS): A Terrestrial Proof of Concept for Using the Remote Sensing of Martian Craters as a Probe of Subsurface Composition

Impact cratering is the most widespread geological process in the Solar System. Impact craters can provide 'windows' into the subsurfaces of planetary bodies through excavation and uplift. By utilizing remote methods in the visible and near infrared (VNIR; 0.4-1.4 micron), short-wavelength infrared (SWIR; 1.4-2.5 micron) and thermal infrared (TIR 7-14 micron), subsurface mineral compositions may be identified and mapped via impact craters. Complex craters in particular, expose minerals from both the shallow and deep-seated subsurface, which may be identified spectroscopically. Complex craters have morphological features such as central peaks or peak rings, which are composed of relatively coherent lithologies tapped from deep-seated crustal components. While near-surface crustal components can be observed as coherent rocks uplifted and exposed in the rim and the crater walls, and from the ejecta deposits. Only two previously published studies using this approach have been successful on large planetary bodies. Tompkins and Pieters utilized ultraviolet and VNIR from Clementine to characterize near- and deep-subsurface materials in and around lunar craters. The work of Ramsey and Wright was the first remote spectroscopic study to successfully identify near-subsurface materials in the ejecta and crater wall of a terrestrial impact structure, namely Meteor Crater. Here we present early results of a third such study, a remote spectroscopy evaluation of the Haughton impact structure (HIS). The purpose of this study is to serve as terrestrial proof of concept that remote visible/infrared spectroscopic methods in this case, analysis of LANDSAT 7 ETM+ and ASTER data of the well-preserved HIS can be utilized in deciphering the subsurface composition of planetary crusts. This technique is particularly promising for Mars were limited tectonic uplift and ubiquitous dust-mantling offer few opportunities to access subsurface information.

Tornabene, L. L.↗