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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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NASA NTRS2005

Two Successive Martian Years on the Orbit: Similarities and Differences of CO2 Seasonal Cycle from HEND/ODYSSEY Data

The three years of Mars Odyssey successful work on the martian orbit provide a lot of new information about peculiarities of long term variations of CO2 seasonal cycle. To start such analysis we have used observations of neutron albedo of Mars obtained by High Energy Neutron detector (HEND) mounted onboard Mars Odyssey spacecraft. The high latitude northern and southern regions of Mars are affected by global redistribution of atmospheric CO2 which resulted in 25% of atmospheric mass condensed on martian surface of these regions during winter period of time. The seasonal deposit is formed starting from 60N/60S latitudes and achieve its maximal thickness about 1 m at latitudes close to martian poles. Changes of CO2 deposit thickness is the reason for significant variations of neutron flux above martian poles from summer to winter seasons because CO2 frost effectively hides upper water rich surface layers from the orbit observations in neutrons and gamma-rays. This effect was used to estimate column density of CO2 deposit at different latitudes on North and South of Mars and reconstruct multidimensional model of CO2 deposit showing how snow depth varies as function of latitude, longitude and time. In this presentation we tried to make a next step in our study of martian seasonal CO2 cycle and look for similarities and differences between two successive martian years.

Litvak, M. L.↗
NASA NTRS2004

MGS and Odyssey - Relay Satellites for the MER Mission

Both Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) and Mars Odyssey are currently in low altitude, nearly circular and highly inclined orbits about Mars. Thus, they are available and compatible to serve as relay satellites for the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission. Consequently, the MER project developed requirements for MGS to be overhead, at a specific time with a 30 second tolerance, during the atmospheric entry, descent and landing (EDL) phase of both MER vehicles. The result, after execution of a single orbit synchronization maneuver (OSM) on 10/03/03, 92.4 days or 1130 orbits before Spirit's EDL, was that MGS was over Spirit 8 seconds past the required time. This maneuver, with a delta-velocity of 0.534 m/s, caused the orbital period to change by 3.34 s and resulted in a time-phasing change of 62 min 19 s in order to achieve the EDL overflight. Based on the navigation and execution of an OSM on 01/04/04, MGS was overhead for the Opportunity EDL on 01/25/04,3.5 seconds after the required epoch. Requirements also existed for the Odyssey over-flight of the MER rovers after landing and various equipment deployments had been completed. Thus, these requirements were that Odyssey should rise no earlier than specified times with respect to each of the landing sites. The Odyssey over-flights of both Spirit and Opportunity on sol 1 were equally successful. This paper will present the navigation plan, trajectory propagation accuracy and maneuver execution for the successful MGS and Odyssey over-flights of both the MER rovers.

Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)↗
NASA NTRS2003

4-D Model of CO2 Deposition at North and South of Mars from HEND/Odyssey and MOLA/MGS

The first 1.5 year of neutron mapping measurements onboard Mars Odyssey spacecraft are presented based on High Energy Neutron Detector (HEND) observations. HEND instrument is a part of GRS suite responsible for registration of epithermal and fast neutrons originating in Mars subsurface layer. The scattering of fast neutrons in Mars surface caused by primary cosmic rays is strongly sensitive to presence of hydrogen atoms. Even several percents of subsurface water significantly depress epithermal and fast neutron flux. It turns orbit neutron spectroscopy into one of most efficient methods for finding distribution of subsurface water. The Mars Odyssey observations revealed huge water- ice regions above 60N and 60S latitudes. It was founded that distribution of subsurface water has layered structure at these regions. It is thought that more than 50% wt water ice covered by relatively dry layer with different thickness.

M L Litvak↗
NASA NTRS2003

Geologic Mapping Applications Using THEMIS Data for the Medusae Fossae Formation, Mars

The Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF) is a regionally extensive deposit located along the equator of Mars between roughly 130 and 240 E longitude, the origin of which has stimulated a host of published hypotheses. A volcanic or aeolian origin appear most consistent with Viking and MGS data, but other hypotheses remain viable and new data, as from the Mars Odyssey spacecraft, is likely to stimulate additional hypotheses of origin. NASA is supporting geologic mapping of portions of the MFF deposits, but it is now quite clear that this on-going mapping will need considerable revision as data from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on Mars Odyssey become available. The daytime IR THEMIS images hold particularly strong potential for providing a new base on which geologic mapping can be carried out, as illustrated by the examples discussed.

Zimbelman, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Evolutionary Optimization of a Quadrifilar Helical Antenna

Automated antenna synthesis via evolutionary design has recently garnered much attention in the research literature. Evolutionary algorithms show promise because, among search algorithms, they are able to effectively search large, unknown design spaces. NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft is due to reach final Martian orbit insertion in January, 2002. Onboard the spacecraft is a quadrifilar helical antenna that provides telecommunications in the UHF band with landed assets, such as robotic rovers. Each helix is driven by the same signal which is phase-delayed in 90 deg increments. A small ground plane is provided at the base. It is designed to operate in the frequency band of 400-438 MHz. Based on encouraging previous results in automated antenna design using evolutionary search, we wanted to see whether such techniques could improve upon Mars Odyssey antenna design. Specifically, a co-evolutionary genetic algorithm is applied to optimize the gain and size of the quadrifilar helical antenna. The optimization was performed in-situ in the presence of a neighboring spacecraft structure. On the spacecraft, a large aluminum fuel tank is adjacent to the antenna. Since this fuel tank can dramatically affect the antenna's performance, we leave it to the evolutionary process to see if it can exploit the fuel tank's properties advantageously. Optimizing in the presence of surrounding structures would be quite difficult for human antenna designers, and thus the actual antenna was designed for free space (with a small ground plane). In fact, when flying on the spacecraft, surrounding structures that are moveable (e.g., solar panels) may be moved during the mission in order to improve the antenna's performance.

Lohn, Jason D.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Geographic Information Systems and Martian Data: Compatibility and Analysis

Planning future landed Mars missions depends on accurate, informed data. This research has created and used spatially referenced instrument data from NASA missions such as the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on the Mars Odyssey Orbiter and the Mars Orbital Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Orbiter. Creating spatially referenced data enables its use in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) such as ArcGIS. It has then been possible to integrate this spatially referenced data with global base maps and build and populate location based databases that are easy to access.

Jones, Jennifer L.↗
NASA NTRS2003

MARIE Measurements and Model Predictions of Solar Modulation of Galactic Cosmic Rays at Mars

Recent data from the MARIE (Martian Radiation Environment Experiment) instrument on board the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft currently in Mars orbit are presented. It is shown that the short-term modulations of galactic cosmic rays (GCR) are well described by correlating the so lar modulation parameter, <1>, with Earth-based neutron monitor counts using a 85-day time lag and the NASA Models - HZETRN (High Z and Energy Transport) and QMSFRG (Quantum Multiple Scattering theory of nuclear Fragmentation). The dose rates observed by the MARIE instrument are within 10% of the model calculations.

Saganti, P. B.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Autonomous Aerobraking Development Software: Phase One Performance Analysis at Mars, Venus, and Titan

When entering orbit about a planet or moon with an appreciable atmosphere, instead of using only the propulsion system to insert the spacecraft into its desired orbit, aerodynamic drag can be used after the initial orbit insertion to further decelerate the spacecraft. Several past NASA missions have used this aerobraking technique to reduce the fuel required to deliver a spacecraft into a desired orbit. Aerobraking was first demonstrated at Venus with Magellan in 1993 and then was used to achieve the science orbit of three Mars orbiters: Mars Global Surveyor in 1997, Mars Odyssey in 2001, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2006. Although aerobraking itself reduces the propellant required to reach a final low period orbit, it does so at the expense of additional mission time to accommodate the aerobraking operations phase (typically 3-6 months), a large mission operations staff, and significant Deep Space Network (DSN) coverage. By automating ground based tasks and analyses associated with aerobraking and moving these onboard the spacecraft, a flight project could save millions of dollars in operations staffing and DSN costs (Ref. 1).

Maddock, Robert W.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Relay Support for the Mars Science Laboratory Mission

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission landed the Curiosity Rover on the surface of Mars on August 6, 2012, beginning a one-Martian-year primary science mission. An international network of Mars relay orbiters, including NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter (ODY) and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), and ESA's Mars Express Orbiter (MEX), were positioned to provide critical event coverage of MSL's Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL). The EDL communication plan took advantage of unique and complementary capabilities of each orbiter to provide robust information capture during this critical event while also providing low-latency information during the landing. Once on the surface, ODY and MRO have provided effectively all of Curiosity's data return from the Martian surface. The link from Curiosity to MRO incorporates a number of new features enabled by the Electra and Electra-Lite software-defined radios on MRO and Curiosity, respectively. Specifically, the Curiosity-MRO link has for the first time on Mars relay links utilized frequency-agile operations, data rates up to 2.048 Mb/s, suppressed carrier modulation, and a new Adaptive Data Rate algorithm in which the return link data rate is optimally varied throughout the relay pass based on the actual observed link channel characteristics. In addition to the baseline surface relay support by ODY and MRO, the MEX relay service has been verified in several successful surface relay passes, and MEX now stands ready to provide backup relay support should NASA's orbiters become unavailable for some period of time.

Telecommunications↗
NASA NTRS2004

MARIE Dose and Flux Measurements in Mars Orbit

We present results from the Martian Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE), aboard the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft in orbit around Mars. MARIE operated successfully from March 2002 through October 2003. At the time of this writing, the instrument is off due to a loss of communications during an extremely intense Solar Particle Event. Efforts to revive MARIE are planned for Spring 2004, when Odyssey's role as a communications relay for the MER rovers is completed. During the period of successful operation, MARIE returned the first detailed energetic charged particle data from Mars. Due to limitations of the instrument, normalizing MARIE data to flux or dose is not straightforward - several large corrections are needed. Thus normalized results (like dose or flux) have large uncertainties and/or significant model-dependence. The problems in normalization are mainly due to inefficiency in detecting high-energy protons (signal-to-noise problems force the trigger threshold to be higher than optimal), to the excessively high gains employed in the signal processing electronics (many ions deposit energy sufficient to saturate the electronics, and dE/dx information is lost), and to artifacts associated with the two trigger detectors (incomplete registration of dE/dx). Despite these problems, MARIE is efficient for detecting helium ions with kinetic energies above about 30 MeV/nucleon, and for detecting high-energy ions (energies above about 400 MeV/nucleon) with charges from 5 to 10. Fluxes of these heavier ions can be compared to fluxes obtained from the ACE/CRIS instrument, providing at least one area of direct comparison between data obtained at Earth and at Mars; this analysis will be presented as a work in progress. We will also present dose-rate data, with a detailed explanation of the many sources of uncertainty in normalization. The results for both flux and dose will be compared to predictions of the HZETRN model of the GCR.

Zeitlin, C.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Variability in Morphology and Thermophysical Properties of Pitted Cones in Acidalia Planitia and Cydonia Mensae

The northern plains of Mars contain a number of unique landforms and are unique in terms of their topography and composition . Much of the speculation about the northern plains centers on whether there was ever a northern ocean, and if there was, was it long-lived or ephemeral? The northern plains also hosts the Vastitas Borealis Formation which has been variously interpreted as the residue from a northern ocean , and pre-existing material reworked by cold-weather processes . In this work we examine a set of unusual features resident on the northern plains, the pitted cones originally recognized in Viking data . Our focus is on the pitted cones in Acidalia and Cydonia regions. The pitted cones of the northern plains have been hypothesized as being equivalent to terrestrial cinder cones , rootless cones , pingos , and mud volcanoes . To examine the Acidalia and Cydonia regions, multispectral data from the Mars Odyssey THEMIS, gridded topography from Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) MOLA, images from MGS MOC, and mineralogic and thermal inertia information from MGS TES have been assembled in a Geographic Information System. Analysis of MOC Narrow Angle camera images

Farrand, W. H.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Science in Exploration: From the Moon to Mars and Back Home to Earth

NASA is embarking on a grand journey of exploration that naturally integrates the past successes of the Apollo missions to the Moon, as well as robotic science missions to Mars, to Planet Earth, and to the broader Universe. The US Vision for Space Exporation (VSE) boldly lays out a plan for human and robotic reconnaissance of the accessible Universe, starting with the surface of the Moon, and later embracing the surface of Mars. Sustained human and robotic access to the Moon and Mars will enable a new era of scientific investigation of our planetary neighbors, tied to driving scientific questions that pertain to the evolution and destiny of our home planet, but which also can be related to the search habitable worlds across the nearby Universe. The Apollo missions provide a vital legacy for what can be learned from the Moon, and NASA is now poised to recapture the lunar frontier starting with the flight of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) in late 2008. LRO will provide a new scientific context from which joint human and robotic exploration will ensue, guided by objectives some of which are focused on the grandest scientific challenges imaginable : Where did we come from? Are we alone? and Where are we going? The Moon will serve as an essential stepping stone for sustained human access and exploration of deep space and as a training ground while robotic missions with ever increasing complexity probe the wonders of Mars. As we speak, an armada of spacecraft are actively investigating the red planet both from orbit (NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey Orbiter, plus ESA's Mars Express) and from the surface (NASA's twin Mars Exploration Rovers, and in 2008 NASA's Phoenix polar lander). The dramatically changing views of Mars as a potentially habitable world, with its own flavor of global climate change and unique climate records, provides a new vantage point from which to observe and question the workings of our own planet Earth. By 2010 NASA will have its first mobile analytical laboratory operating on the surface of Mars (Mars Science Laboratory) in search of potentially subtle expressions of past life or at least of life-hospitable environments. Meanwhile back here on Planet Earth, NASA will be continuing to implement an increasingly comprehensive program of robotic missions that address major issues associated with global climate variability, and the "state variables" that affect the quality of human life on our home planet. Ultimately, the fmits of NASA's emergent program of Exploration (VSE) will provide never-beforepossible opportunities for scientific leadership and advancement, culminating in a new state of awareness from which to better plan for the sustainability of life on Earth and for extending Earth life to the Moon and eventually to Mars. As NASA nears its 50th anniversary, the unimaginable and unexpected wealth of strategic knowledge its missions have generated about Earth, the Universe, and our local Solar System boggles the mind and serves as a legacy of knowledge for Educators to inspire future generations.

Garvin, James B.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Annual Report 2001

For many years before the clock counted down to midnight and the arrival of the year 2000, the world had anticipated 2001 as a special time and a new era. Now we know that 2001 will be a year none of us will ever forget. We began a new year, a new century, and a new millennium. Yet after September 11, the world in many ways seems profoundly changed. On that day we witnessed both the worst and best in human nature. Space exploration is one pursuit that points towards the best instincts in our nature. And certainly the pioneering spirit, so much a part of the American character, is a value deeply embedded into all the work we undertake at JPL. We are privileged that the nation has entrusted us with exploring space on its behalf. And we are fortunate to find ourselves part of two of the world's most accomplished institutions - NASA and the California Institute of Technology. Looking back over the past four decades, JPL has carried out an initial reconnaissance of nearly all of the solar systems planets. Today we have more than a dozen missions flying, and many more in various stages of development. Our challenge now is to create missions that help us understand these places more deeply. And in addition to exploring and understanding our solar system, we want to discover neighboring solar systems and explore them as well. The 21st century is upon us. So is a tremendous era of space exploration. There were many events in 2001 to celebrate, one being the arrival of the Mars Odyssey orbiter, which joins the Mars Global Surveyor orbiter in providing continuous coverage of the red planet. This is a major step in establishing a permanent robotic presence at Mars. Ahead for JPL will be both rewarding and challenging moments; thats the nature of being pioneers and explorers.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NAS↗
NASA NTRS2006

Odyssey Navigation Performing and Local Mean Solar Time Analysis

This slide presentation reviews the performance of the navigation of the Mars Odyssey and the status of the local mean solar time (LMST) analysis. Included is an overview of the navigation, charts showing the accuracy of the navigation long term predictions, charts showing the Global Track Walk (GTW) repeat cycle, and charts showing the local mean solar time trend.

Mars Odyssey↗
NASA NTRS2004

Search for Evaporite Minerals in Flaugergues Basin, Mars

Studies of Martian surface geomorphology and detection of near-surface water ice by the Mars Odyssey gamma ray spectrometer suggest that Mars may have had a water-rich past. While 2 to 5 wt.% of carbonate has been detected in the Martian dust [1,2], no spectral evidence for significant deposits of carbonates or sulfates has been found to date. Most investigations into Mars aqueous mineralogy have been global in scope with only a few regional studies (e.g., [3]). We are searching for localized deposits in putative lacustrine basins utilizing a basin flow model to identify basins with large drainage areas. Such basins are more likely to accumulate high concentrations of aqueous minerals than deep basins which drain only small regions.

Dalton, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Parallel Study of HEND, RAD, and DAN Instrument Response to Martian Radiation and Surface Conditions

Nuclear detection methods are being used to understand the radiation environment at Mars. JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) assets on Mars include: Orbiter -2001 Mars Odyssey [High Energy Neutron Detector (HEND)]; Mars Science Laboratory Rover -Curiosity [(Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD); Dynamic Albedo Neutron (DAN))]. Spacecraft have instruments able to detect ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. Instrument response on orbit and on the surface of Mars to space weather and local conditions [is discussed] - Data available at NASA-PDS (Planetary Data System).

Mars↗
NASA NTRS2004

Overview of the Martian radiation environment experiment

Space radiation presents a hazard to astronauts, particularly those journeying outside the protective influence of the geomagnetosphere. Crews on future missions to Mars will be exposed to the harsh radiation environment of deep space during the transit between Earth and Mars. Once on Mars, they will encounter radiation that is only slightly reduced, compared to free space, by the thin Martian atmosphere. NASA is obliged to minimize, where possible, the radiation exposures received by astronauts. Thus, as a precursor to eventual human exploration, it is necessary to measure the Martian radiation environment in detail. The MARIE experiment, aboard the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft, is returning the first data that bear directly on this problem. Here we provide an overview of the experiment, including introductory material on space radiation and radiation dosimetry, a description of the detector, model predictions of the radiation environment at Mars, and preliminary dose-rate data obtained at Mars. c2003 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

NASA Program Biomedical Research and Countermeasur↗