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107 records · Page 6

Cassini - A mission to the Saturnian system

This international (NASA/ESA) mission, planned for a Titan IV/Centaur G-prime launch in the 1995-1997 era, consists of a Saturn Orbiter (a U.S. Mariner Mark II spacecraft) and a Titan Atmospheric Entry Probe (an ESA product). The mission profile is highly sophisticated in its astrodynamic aspects - a deep space Delta-V maneuver, followed by earth and Jupiter gravity assist flybys, with asteroid encounter(s) along the way. Saturn arrival is characterized by further multiple maneuvers resulting in the Titan probe delivery and a close orbiter flyby, to be followed by a 4-year Saturn system tour. Details of the trajectory design process are discussed.

Sergeyevsky, Andrey B.↗

Low power DIPS design for NASA missions

Conceptual designs of low power dynamic isotope power systems (DIPS) for NASA's future deep space missions are being developed to characterize the power system's unique features in the 0.5-1.0 kilowatt-electric (kWe) range. The August 1990 Mariner Mark II spacecraft design was used for the spacecraft integration study. One basic design with slight mission specific variations was developed for the Cassini, Comet Nucleus Sample Return, and Outer Planet Orbiter Probe missions. A low power DIPS flight unit offers comparable specific power values to the MOD-RTG unit with a factor-of-three improvement in radioisotope fuel requirements. This was accomplished by fully exploiting the dynamic power conversion technology available in the DIPS program.

Johnson, Richard A.↗

The Mariner Mark II progream

The concept used in the design of the Mariner Mark II (MMII) spacecraft is consistent with the solar system exploration strategies which were developed by the Space Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences. The missions to comets, main belt asteroids, and outer planets are sufficiently similar to make possible a use of almost all of the design, hardware, and software in most engineering subsystems, without significant modification, for subsequent missions. Mariner Mark II missions are discussed, taking into account a comet rendezvous with asteroid flyby, the Saturn Flyby/Titan Probe, the Cassini or Saturn Orbiter/Titan Probe, the Main Belt Asteroid Rendezvous mission, the Uranus Flyby/Uranus Probe mission, and the Neptune Flyby/Neptune Probe mission.

Draper, R. F.↗

Mariner Mark II - An approach to solar system exploration in the 1990's

Significant progress has been made in the twenty-plus years since the start of direct solar system exploration. NASA through its Solar System Exploration Committee (SSEC), has been developing guidelines and plans for continuing this exploration. The Mariner Mark II (MMII) development project has been initiated as one element of this planning to focus primarily on imaging class, deep space missions at minimum cost. A description is presented of concepts for a new spacecraft and ground system capability, uniquely focused on the selected mission scenarios and lower cost approaches of MMII. A summary of Mariner Mark II candidate missions is provided, taking into account a comet rendezvous, a comet elemental sample return, main-belt asteroid flybys and rendezvous, a Saturn orbiter, Titan or Saturn flyby and probe, Uranus flyby and probe, Neptune flyby and probe, and a Mars Orbiter.

Heacock, R. L.↗

Optical communications for future deep-space missions

The development of key technologies for an optical communications system for deep-space probes is discussed. Aspects of the technology include the pulse-position modulation technique for data transmission, a solid-state laser with a Nd:YAG crystal end, nondiffraction-limited receivers, and the application of avalanche photodiodes to improve photon detection. Mission benefits and flight opportunities and applications are discussed. Experiments to test optical communication systems are being planned for the Space Shuttle and the Mars Rover Sample Return misson. Future missions which will probably use the system include Cassini and the Mariner Mark II.

Rayman, Marc D.↗

The Planetary Observer Program

An overview is presented of NASA's plans for the Planetary Observer Program, whose key element is to control the cost of each mission while establishing a long-term, stable base for the planetary sciences. The SSEC (Solar System Exploration Committee) has endorsed the view that many high science priority inner solar system missions are possible through the use of spacecraft derived from existing earth-orbital spacecraft. It has also recommended the application of space hardware such as that used on the Voyager and Galileo missions, development of both a new modular spacecraft for outer planet, comet, and main-belt asteroid missions (Mariner Mark II Program), and a multi-mission operations system to support future missions after the Venus Radar Mapper (VRM), and Galileo. A set of missions for the SSEC's Core Program has been recommended; they include: the VRM, the Mars Geoscience/Climatology Observer, the Comet Rendezvous/Asteroid Flyby, the Lunar Geoscience Orbiter, the Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous, the Venus Atmosphere Probe, the Mars Aeronomy Orbiter, the Mars Surface Probe, and the Comet Intercept Sample Return.

Blume, W. H.↗

Mariner Mark II and the exploration of the solar system

NASA's Solar System Exploration Committee has proposed the Mariner Mark II concept for the next generation of deep-space planetary observation missions, which will yield Voyager- and Galileo-quality focused data sets at a fraction of the costs associated with those spacecraft. Cost-limiting strategies under consideration include the use of reconfigurable designs, a multimission ground support system, and the incorporation of such selected new technologies as an all-X band telemetry system, fiber-optic rate sensors for use as an inertial reference system, image compression, and electronic and optical disk data distribution. It is believed possible to meet cost goals of 150-300 million/mission. The missions under consideration are comet rendezvous and sample return, main belt asteroid flybys, and orbits, flybys and probes of Saturn, Titan, Neptune and Uranus.

Neugebauer, M.↗

Robots Explore the Farthest Reaches of Earth and Space

"We were the first that ever burst/Into that silent sea," the title character recounts in Samuel Taylor Coleridge s opus Rime of the Ancient Mariner. This famous couplet is equally applicable to undersea exploration today as surface voyages then, and has recently been applied to space travel in the title of a chronicle of the early years of human space flight ("Into That Silent Sea: Trailblazers of the Space Era, 1961-1965"), companion to the +n the Shadow of the Moon book and movie. The parallel is certainly fitting, considering both fields explore unknown, harsh, and tantalizingly inhospitable environments. For starters, exploring the Briny Deep and the Final Frontier requires special vehicles, and the most economical and safest means for each employ remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). ROVs have proven the tool of choice for exploring remote locations, allowing scientists to explore the deepest part of the sea and the furthest reaches of the solar system with the least weight penalty, the most flexibility and specialization of design, and without the need to provide for sustaining human life, or the risk of jeopardizing that life. Most NASA probes, including the historic Voyager I and II spacecraft and especially the Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, feature remote operation, but new missions and new planetary environments will demand new capabilities from the robotic explorers of the future. NASA has an acute interest in the development of specialized ROVs, as new lessons learned on Earth can be applied to new environments and increasingly complex missions in the future of space exploration.

Source record↗

Reproducible Crystal Growth Experiments in Microgravity Science Glovebox at the International Space Station (SUBSA Investigation)

Solidification Using a Baffle in Sealed Ampoules (SUBSA) is the first investigation conducted in the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) Facility at the International Space Station (ISS) Alpha. 8 single crystals of InSb, doped with Te and Zn, were directionally solidified in microgravity. The experiments were conducted in a furnace with a transparent gradient section, and a video camera, sending images to the earth. The real time images (i) helped seeding, (ii) allowed a direct measurement of the solidification rate. The post-flight characterization of the crystals includes: computed x-ray tomography, Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS), Hall measurements, Atomic Absorption (AA), and 4 point probe analysis. For the first time in microgravity, several crystals having nearly identical initial transients were grown. Reproducible initial transients were obtained with Te-doped InSb. Furthermore, the diffusion controlled end-transient was demonstrated experimentally (SUBSA 02). From the initial transients, the diffusivity of Te and Zn in InSb was determined.

Ostrogorsky, A.↗

Lidar Remote Sensing for Industry and Environment Monitoring

Contents include the following: 1. Keynote paper: Overview of lidar technology for industrial and environmental monitoring in Japan. 2. lidar technology I: NASA's future active remote sensing mission for earth science. Geometrical detector consideration s in laser sensing application (invited paper). 3. Lidar technology II: High-power femtosecond light strings as novel atmospheric probes (invited paper). Design of a compact high-sensitivity aerosol profiling lidar. 4. Lasers for lidars: High-energy 2 microns laser for multiple lidar applications. New submount requirement of conductively cooled laser diodes for lidar applications. 5. Tropospheric aerosols and clouds I: Lidar monitoring of clouds and aerosols at the facility for atmospheric remote sensing (invited paper). Measurement of asian dust by using multiwavelength lidar. Global monitoring of clouds and aerosols using a network of micropulse lidar systems. 6. Troposphere aerosols and clouds II: Scanning lidar measurements of marine aerosol fields at a coastal site in Hawaii. 7. Tropospheric aerosols and clouds III: Formation of ice cloud from asian dust particles in the upper troposphere. Atmospheric boundary layer observation by ground-based lidar at KMITL, Thailand (13 deg N, 100 deg. E). 8. Boundary layer, urban pollution: Studies of the spatial correlation between urban aerosols and local traffic congestion using a slant angle scanning on the research vessel Mirai. 9. Middle atmosphere: Lidar-observed arctic PSC's over Svalbard (invited paper). Sodium temperature lidar measurements of the mesopause region over Syowa Station. 10. Differential absorption lidar (dIAL) and DOAS: Airborne UV DIAL measurements of ozone and aerosols (invited paper). Measurement of water vapor, surface ozone, and ethylene using differential absorption lidar. 12. Space lidar I: Lightweight lidar telescopes for space applications (invited paper). Coherent lidar development for Doppler wind measurement from the International Space Station. 13. Space lidar II: Using coherent Doppler lidar to estimate river discharge. 14. Poster session: Lidar technology, optics for lidar. Laser for lidar. Middle atmosphere observations. Tropospheric observations (aerosols, clouds). Boundary layer, urban pollution. Differential absorption lidar. Doppler lidar. and Space lidar.

Singh, Upendra N.↗