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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 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1996

Dynamic control of photosynthetic photon flux for lettuce production in CELSS

A new dynamic control of photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) was tested using lettuce canopies growing in the Minitron II plant-growth/canopy gas-exchange system. Canopy photosynthetic rates (Pn) were measured in real time and fedback for further environment control. Pn can be manipulated by changing PPF, which is a good environmental parameter for dynamic control of crop production in a Controlled Ecological Life-Support Systems CELSS. Decision making that combines empirical mathematical models with rule sets developed from recent experimental data was tested. With comparable yield indices and potential for energy savings, dynamic control strategies will contribute greatly to the sustainability of space-deployed CELSS.

NASA Discipline Life Support Systems↗
NASA NTRS2018

Land-Use Emissions Play a Critical Role in Land Based Mitigation for Paris Climate Targets

Scenarios that limit global warming to below 2 degrees Centigrade by 2100 assume significant land-use change to support large-scale carbon dioxide (CO2) removal from the atmosphere by afforestation/reforestation, avoided deforestation, and Biomass Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS). The more ambitious mitigation scenarios require even greater land area for mitigation and/or earlier adoption of CO2 removal strategies. Here we show that additional land-use change to meet a 1.5 degrees Centigrade climate change target could result in net losses of carbon from the land. The effectiveness of BECCS strongly depends on several assumptions related to the choice of biomass, the fate of initial above ground biomass, and the fossil-fuel emissions offset in the energy system. Depending on these factors, carbon removed from the atmosphere through BECCS could easily be offset by losses due to land-use change. If BECCS involves replacing high-carbon content ecosystems with crops, then forest-based mitigation could be more efficient for atmospheric CO2 removal than BECCS.

Harper, Anna B.↗
NASA NTRS2020

How Satellite Soil Moisture Data Can Help to Monitor the Impacts of Climate Change: SMAP Case Studies

Socially and economically costly extreme weather events have become more prevalent in the last decade. Monitoring and early warning systems could help mitigate the impact of such events by allowing people to better prepare themselves to manage their responses to these events. One significant element of an effective warning system is soil moisture because it is a key determinant of the exchange of water and heat energy between the land and atmosphere, the partitioning of precipitation between infiltration and runoff, and therefore has an influence on weather patterns and streamflow. In addition, soil moisture governs plant water availability – the key to crop yield forecasting. For these reasons, a wide range of organizations use soil moisture information to better predict and monitor climate and weather phenomena such as floods and droughts. By improving soil moisture estimates, it may be possible to improve the monitoring and early warning systems upon which these organizations rely, and hence better mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events. Through case studies, this article discusses several uses of soil moisture data products from NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission to help improve soil moisture-related monitoring and early warning systems.

Drought monitoring↗
NASA NTRS2020

How Satellite Soil Moisture Data Can Help to Monitor the Impacts of Climate Change: SMAP Case Studies

Socially and economically costly extreme weather events have become more prevalent in the last decade. Monitoring and early warning systems could help mitigate the impact of such events by allowing people to better prepare themselves to manage their responses to these events. One significant element of an effective warning system is soil moisture because it is a key determinant of the exchange of water and heat energy between the land and atmosphere, the partitioning of precipitation between infiltration and runoff, and therefore has an influence on weather patterns and streamflow. In addition, soil moisture governs plant water availability - the key to crop yield forecasting. For these reasons, a wide range of organizations use soil moisture information to better predict and monitor climate and weather phenomena such as floods and droughts. By improving soil moisture estimates, it may be possible to improve the monitoring and early warning systems upon which these organizations rely, and hence better mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events. Through case studies, this article discusses several uses of soil moisture data products from NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission to help improve soil moisture-related monitoring and early warning systems.

agriculture↗
NASA NTRS2016

Passive Water Assurance Delivery System

This report provides an analysis and evaluation of proposed design improvements to the internal water delivery system of NASA’s passive vegetable growing system. The VEGGIE system is designed to provide fresh vegetables and psychological benefits for astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Preliminary testing conducted by NASA for the VEGGIE system revealed flaws in the water delivery system. In these tests, the interface between the plants and the water reservoir failed to provide passive water delivery through the system both in microgravity experiments and experiments conducted on Earth. Our team’s goal was to fix this interface such that water can be passively delivered from the water reservoir to the plant rooting pillows to grow vegetative crops from seed to harvest. The system requirements outlined by NASA include: minimal total mass, on-demand passive water delivery, same dimensions as existing fixtures, minimal pressure on system to prevent leaking, zero mold growth, minimal swelling or clogging for non-flammable capillary materials, pressure stabilization between the water reservoir and plant pillow bags, even dispersal of water during initial priming, minimal bubble obstruction of capillary interface, maximum gas availability to plant roots, growth in a mixed artificial media (50:50 Arcillite:Fafard #2), and to avoid overwatering and drought conditions for plants. The major proposed design improvements are to use a single-interface capillary cord design to directly connect the water reservoir to the plant-rooting pillows, and to alter the water reservoir to model a propellant management device (PMD) in order to ensure consistent and long term watering for the VEGGIE system. The plant rooting pillow required minimal changes outside of replacing the capillary mat on the bottom of the pillow with O-ring insertion points the single-interface capillary system. - Research was conducted to determine which materials are able to uptake water through capillary action to grow Outredgeous Lettuce plants from seed to harvest. The primary requirements to be met by the team's design and evaluation of the capillary interface were: continuous passive watering for 90 days using non-flammable capillary materials and a peak water delivery rate of 30 mL/hr./0.15 m 2 . The results of the team's experimentation showed that the capillary material Nomex displayed the highest capillary water delivery potential with a maximum flow rate of 3.6 mL/hr. The Nomex capillary systems were the only capillary material to consistently grow Outredgeous Lettuce plants from seed to harvest, and displayed the highest average flow rate for multiple experiment sets. The Nomex material was previously incorporated into the VEGGIE system using a matted version of the capillary material, though the team recommends using a cord configuration in the single-interface capillary system for greater system stability. Nomex has proven to be a promising material, as it has passed both health and fire standards for use aboard the International Space Station. PMDs are made of materials that utilize surface tension and adhesive forces to overcome adverse accelerations to improve stability and ensure fluid delivery. PMDs are typically used in fuel tanks to ensure fuel delivery. The team recommends using a sponge PMD in order to mitigate bubble obstruction, decrease system weight, and ensure reliable water delivery to the capillary interface. The PMD water reservoir requires a rigid water reservoir and a vent tube for pressure stabilization. Since PMD’s cannot be tested in 1-G (Earth conditions), further theoretical modeling and testing is required for the proposed water reservoir design. The intent of this proposed system is to passively water plants in microgravity, though the technology is not limited to microgravity applications. The testing at The Ohio State University has proven that the design is highly effective on Earth, demonstrating that it could serve as a simple water delivery system in home and office applications. This would make vegetative crops more accessible in all indoor applications, thereby improving indoor air quality and occupant comfort. Additionally, this technology has great potential to be utilized in greenhouse plant production, cutting back on more sophisticated watering system energy and time requirements.

Alexandria Jensen↗
NASA NTRS1998

Integration of Biological, Physical/Chemical and Energy Efficient Systems in the CELSS Antarctic Analog: Performance of Prototype Systems and Issues for Life Support

The Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Antarctic Analog Project (CAAP) is a joint endeavor between the National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs (NSF-OPP), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The fundamental objective is to develop, deploy, and operate a testbed of advanced life support technologies at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station that enable the objectives of both the NSF and NASA. The functions of food production, water purification, and waste treatment, recycle, and reduction provided by CAAP will improve the quality of life for the South Pole inhabitants, reduce logistics dependence, enhance safety, and minimize environmental impacts associated with human presence on the polar plateau. Because of the analogous technical, scientific, and mission features with Planetary missions, such as a mission to Mars, CAAP provides NASA with a method for validating technologies and overall approaches to supporting humans. Prototype systems for waste treatment, water recycle, resource recovery and crop production are being evaluated in a testbed at Ames Research Center. The combined performance of these biological and physical/chemical systems as an integrated function in support of the human habitat will be discussed. Overall system performance will be emphasized. The effectiveness and efficiency of component technologies will be discussed in the context of energy and mass flow within the system and contribution to achieving a mass and energy conservative system. Critical to the discussion are interfaces with habitat functions outside of the closed-loop life support: the ability of the system to satisfy the life support requirements of the habitat and the ability to define input requirements. The significance of analog functions in relation to future Mars habitats will be discussed.

Bubenheim, David L.↗
NASA NTRS2018

GPM, TRMM, and Other Global Precipitation Products and Services at NASA GES DISC

Precipitation is a key environmental variable. For example, in agriculture, precipitation, temperature, water (soil moisture), solar radiation, NDVI, etc., are key variables.Rainfed agriculture – major farming practices that rely on rainfall for water.Rainfed agriculture: >95% of farmed land (sub-Saharan Africa); 90% (Latin America); 75% (Near East and North Africa); 65% (East Asia); 60% (South Asia).Droughts and floods can cause severe crop loss. The Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC), one of 12 NASA data centers, is located in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. The NASA GES DISC is a major data archive center for global precipitation, water & energy cycles, atmospheric composition, and climate variability.

Liu, Z.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Exploring the limits of crop productivity. I. Photosynthetic efficiency of wheat in high irradiance environments

The long-term vegetative and reproductive growth rates of a wheat crop (Triticum aestivum L.) were determined in three separate studies (24, 45, and 79 days) in response to a wide range of photosynthetic photon fluxes (PPF, 400-2080 micromoles per square meter per second; 22-150 moles per square meter per day; 16-20 hour photoperiod) in a near-optimum, controlled-environment. The CO2 concentration was elevated to 1200 micromoles per mole, and water and nutrients were supplied by liquid hydroponic culture. An unusually high plant density (2000 plants per square meter) was used to obtain high yields. Crop growth rate and grain yield reached 138 and 60 grams per square meter per day, respectively; both continued to increase up to the highest integrated daily PPF level, which was three times greater than a typical daily flux in the field. The conversion efficiency of photosynthesis (energy in biomass/energy in photosynthetic photons) was over 10% at low PPF but decreased to 7% as PPF increased. Harvest index increased from 41 to 44% as PPF increased. Yield components for primary, secondary, and tertiary culms were analyzed separately. Tillering produced up to 7000 heads per square meter at the highest PPF level. Primary and secondary culms were 10% more efficient (higher harvest index) than tertiary culms; hence cultural, environmental, or genetic changes that increase the percentage of primary and secondary culms might increase harvest index and thus grain yield. Wheat is physiologically and genetically capable of much higher productivity and photosynthetic efficiency than has been recorded in a field environment.

NASA Discipline Number 61-10↗
NASA NTRS1988

Plant productivity in controlled environments

To assess the cost and area/volume requirements of a farm in a space station or Lunar or Martian base, a few laboratories in the United States, the Soviet Union, France, and Japan are studying optimum controlled environments for the production of selected crops. Temperature, light, photoperiod, CO2, humidity, the root-zone environment, and cultivars are the primary factors being manipulated to increase yields and harvest index. Our best wheat yields on a time basis (24 g m-2 day-1 of edible biomass) are five times good field yields and twice the world record. Similar yields have been obtained in other laboratories with potatoes and lettuce; soybeans are also promising. These figures suggest that approximately 30 m2 under continuous production could support an astronaut with sufficient protein and about 2800 kcal day-1. Scientists under Iosif Gitelzon in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, have lived in a closed system for up to 5 months, producing 80% of their own food. Thirty square meters for crops were allotted to each of the two men taking part in the experiment. A functional controlled-environment life-support system (CELSS) will require the refined application of several disciplines: controlled-environment agriculture, food preparation, waste disposal, and control-systems technology, to list only the broadest categories. It has seemed intuitively evident that ways could be found to prepare food, regenerate plant nutrients from wastes, and even control and integrate several subsystems of a CELSS. But could sufficient food be produced in the limited areas and with the limited energy that might be available? Clearly, detailed studies of food production were necessary.

NASA Discipline Life Support Systems↗
NASA NTRS1975

New horizons

The contribution of space exploration and space related research to the future of man and the accomplishments of the space program are assessed. Topics discussed include: the role of applications satellites in crop surveillance, land use surveys, weather forecasting, education, communications, and pollution monitoring; planetary studies which examine the origin and evolution of the solar system, including dynamic processes that bear directly on earth's environment; and fuel conservation and development of new energy sources.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1980

HCMM satellite follow-on investigation no. 25. Soil moisture and heat budget evalution in selected European zones of agricultural and environmental interest (TELLUS project)

A simple procedure to evaluate actual evaporation was derived by linearizing the surface energy balance equation, using Taylor's expansion. The original multidimensional hypersurface could be reduced to a linear relationship between evaporation and surface temperature or to a surface relationship involving evaporation, surface temperature and albedo. This procedure permits a rapid sensitivity analysis of the surface energy balance equation as well as a speedy mapping of evaporation from remotely sensed surface temperatures and albedo. Comparison with experimental data yielded promising results. The validity of evapotranspiration and soil moisture models in semiarid conditions was tested. Wheat was the crop chosen for a continuous measurement campaign made in the south of Italy. Radiometric, micrometeorologic, agronomic and soil data were collected for processing and interpretation.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1981

Remote sensing of thermal radiation from an aircraft - An analysis and evaluation of crop-freeze protection methods

Thermal images from an aircraft-mounted scanner are used to evaluate the effectiveness of crop-freeze protection devices. Data from flights made while using fuel oil heaters, a wind machine and an undercanopy irrigation system are compared. Results show that the overall protection provided by irrigation (at approximately 2 C) is comparable to the less energy-efficient heater-wind machine combination. Protection provided by the wind machine alone (at approximately 1 C) was found to decrease linearly with distance from the machine by approximately 1 C/100 m. The flights were made over a 1.5 hectare citrus grove at an altitude of 450 m with an 8-14 micron detector. General meteorological conditions during the experiments, conducted during the nighttime, were cold (at approximately -6 C) and calm with clear skies.

Sutherland, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Halophytes Energy Feedstocks: Back to Our Roots

Of the Earth s landmass, approx.43% is arid or semi-arid, and 97% of the Earth s water is seawater. Halophytes are salt-tolerant plants (micro and macro) that can prosper in seawater or brackish waters and are common feedstocks for fuel and food (fuel-food feedstocks) in depressed countries. Two types, broadly classed as coastal and desert, can be found in marshes, coastal planes, inland lakes, and deserts. Major arid or semi-arid halophyte agriculture problems include pumping and draining the required high volumes of irrigation water from sea or ocean sources. Also, not all arid or semi-arid lands are suitable for crops. Benefits of halophyte agriculture include freeing up arable land and freshwater resources, cleansing the environment, decontaminating soils, desalinating brackish waters, and carbon sequestration. Sea and ocean halophyte agriculture problems include storms, transport, and diffuse harvesting. Benefits include available nutrients, ample water, and Sun. Careful attention to details and use of saline agriculture fuel feedstocks are required to prevent anthropogenic disasters. It is shown that the potential for fuel-food feedstock halophyte production is high; based on test plot data, it could supply 421.4 Quad, or 94% of the 2004 world energy consumption and sequester carbon, with major impact on the Triangle of Conflicts.

Hendricks, Robert C.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Dynamics Explorer guest investigator

The research has focused on using the SAI auroral images as a high resolution auroral precipitation input to the USU global scale ionospheric model. From the global scale modeling viewpoint, these images offer unique spatial and temporal resolution since all prior studies have used empirical auroral models. These latter models are devoid of storm, substorm, or discrete oval features. The research focused on the problems in converting images to energy flux; using LAPU data to calibrate these energy fluxes; using the USU Time Dependent Ionospheric Model (TDIM) to look at the ionospheric consequences of this structure; and then using DE-2 in-situ observations to compare with the TDIM ionospheric parameters. In carrying out these studies, several additional investigations cropped up which were pursued to help meet the overall goals. The foremost difficulty in carrying out the TDIM modeling in conjunction with the high resolution DE auroral model was that of defining an appropriate ionospheric convection pattern. Under northward conditions this pattern is very complex. In order to study Theta aurora or in general northward IMF conditions, a new model was required. Hence, a study was completed to supply this new model to drive the TDIM as a function of the IMF. With the DE auroral model having adequate resolution to show structure on the 100's of km and all model electric fields being devoid of such structure, an investigation was pursued to find out the effects of structures in the electric field on the F-region.

Sojka, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

OCAM - A CELSS modeling tool: Description and results

Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) technology is critical to the Space Exploration Initiative. NASA's Kennedy Space Center has been performing CELSS research for several years, developing data related to CELSS design. We have developed OCAM (Object-oriented CELSS Analysis and Modeling), a CELSS modeling tool, and have used this tool to evaluate CELSS concepts, using this data. In using OCAM, a CELSS is broken down into components, and each component is modeled as a combination of containers, converters, and gates which store, process, and exchange carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen on a daily basis. Multiple crops and plant types can be simulated. Resource recovery options modeled include combustion, leaching, enzyme treatment, aerobic or anaerobic digestion, and mushroom and fish growth. Results include printouts and time-history graphs of total system mass, biomass, carbon dioxide, and oxygen quantities; energy consumption; and manpower requirements. The contributions of mass, energy, and manpower to system cost have been analyzed to compare configurations and determine appropriate research directions.

Drysdale, Alan↗
NASA NTRS1997

Toroidal Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes in Fullerene Crop Circles

We investigate energetics and structure of circular and polygonal single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) using large scale molecular simulations on NAS SP2, motivated by their unusual electronic and magnetic properties. The circular tori are formed by bending tube (no net whereas the polygonal tori are constructed by turning the joint of two tubes of (n, n), (n+1, n-1) and (n+2, n-2) with topological pentagon-heptagon defect, in which n =5, 8 and 10. The strain energy of circular tori relative to straight tube decreases by I/D(sup 2) where D is torus diameter. As D increases, these tori change from buckling to an energetically stable state. The stable tori are perfect circular in both toroidal and tubular geometry with strain less than 0. 03 eV/atom when D greater than 10, 20 and 40 nm for torus (5,5), (8,8) and (10, 10). Polygonal tori, whose strain is proportional to the number of defects and I/D are energetically stable even for D less than 10 nm. However, their strain is higher than that of perfect circular tori. In addition, the local maximum strain of polygonal tori is much higher than that of perfect circular tori. It is approx. 0.03 eV/atom or less for perfect circular torus (5,5), but 0.13 and 0.21 eV/atom for polygonal tori (6,4)/(5,5) and (7,3)/(5,5). Therefore, we conclude that the circular tori with no topological defects are more energetically stable and kinetically accessible than the polygonal tori containing the pentagon-heptagon defects for the laser-grown SWNTs and Fullerene crop circles.

Han, Jie↗
NASA NTRS1972

Changes of multispectral soil patterns with increasing crop canopy

Multispectral data and automatic data processing were used to map surface soil patterns and to follow the changes in multispectral radiation from a field of maize (Zea mays L.) during a period from seeding to maturity. Panchromatic aerial photography was obtained in early May 1970 and multispectral scanner missions were flown on May 6, June 30, August 11 and September 5, 1970 to obtain energy measurements in 13 wavelength bands. The orange portion of the visible spectrum was used in analyzing the May and June data to cluster relative radiance of the soils into eight different radiance levels. The reflective infrared spectral band was used in analyzing the August and September data to cluster maize into different spectral categories. The computer-produced soil patterns had a striking similarity to the soil pattern of the aerial photograph. These patterns became less distinct as the maize canopy increased.

Kristof, S. J.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Optical Reflectance and Fluorescence for Detecting Nitrogen Needs in Zea mays L.

Nitrogen (N) status in field grown corn (Zea mays L.) was assessed using spectral techniques. Passive reflectance remote sensing and, both passive and active fluorescence sensing methods were investigated. Reflectance and fluorescence methods are reported to detect changes in the primary plant pigments (chlorophylls a and b; carotenoids) in higher plant species. As a general rule, foliar chlorophyll a (Chl a) and chlorophyll b (Chl b) usually exist in approx.3:l ratio. In plants under stress, Chl b content is affected before Chl a reductions occur. For reflectance, a version of the chlorophyll absorption in reflectance index (CARI) method was tested with narrow bands from the Airborne Imaging Spectroradiometer for Applications (ASIA). CARI minimizes the effects of soil background on the signal from green canopies. A modified CARI (MCARI) was used to track total Chl a levels in the red dip of the spectrum from the corn canopy. A second MCARI was used to track the auxiliary plant pigments (Chl b and the carotenoids) in the yellow/orange/red edge part of the reflectance spectrum. The difference between these two MCARI indices detected variations in N levels across the field plot canopies using ASIA data. At the leaf level, ratios of fluorescence emissions in the blue, green, red and far-red wavelengths sensed responses that were associated with the plant pigments, and were indicative of energy transfer in the photosynthetic process. N stressed corn stands could be distinguish from those with optimally applied N with fluorescence emission spectra obtained from individual corn leaves. Both reflectance and fluorescence methods are sensitive in detecting corn N needs and may be especially powerful in monitoring crop conditions if both types of information can be combined.

McMurtrey, J. E.↗