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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 127 records · Page 7

Materials-Compliant Containers in Preparation for OSIRIS-REx Sample Return

The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) is a spacecraft that collected samples from near-Earth asteroid Bennu in 2020. NASA is expecting OSIRIS-REx to return about 250 grams of Bennu dust particles and rocky material (regolith) in the Sample Return Capsule landing on September 24, 2023.This carbonaceous material is predicted to be rich in water and organic compounds that will provide key information on the solar system's genesis. The NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) curation team is preparing to process the returned regolith and flight hardware to support critical scientific investigations worldwide.

Curation↗

The effects of pulse rate, power, width and coding on signal detectability

The effects on the signal detectability of varying the pulse repetition rate (PRF), peak pulse power (p(pk)) and pulse width (tau(p)) (tp) are examined. Both coded and uncoded pulses are considered. The following quantities are assumed to be constant; (1) antenna area, (z)echo reflectivity, (3) Doppler shift, (4) spectral width, (5) spectral resolution, (6) effective sampling rate, and (7) total incoherent spectral averagaing time. The detectability is computed for two types of targets.

Carter, D. A.↗

Infrared circumstellar shells - Origins, and clues to the evolution of massive stars

The infrared fluxes, spatial and spectral characteristics for a sample of 111 supergiant stars of spectral types F0 through M5 are tabulated, and correlations examined with respect to the nature of their circumstellar envelopes. One-fourth of these objects were spatialy resolved by IRAS at 60 microns and possess extended circumstellar shell material, with implied expansion ages of about 10 to the 5th yr. Inferences about the production of dust, mass loss, and the relation of these characteristics of the evolution of massive stars, are discussed.

Stencel, Robert E.↗

Coordinated Analyses of Antarctic Sediments as Mars Analog Materials Using Reflectance Spectroscopy and Current Flight-Like Instruments for CheMin, SAM and MOMA

Coordinated analyses of mineralogy and chemistry of sediments from the Antarctic Dry Valleys illustrate how data obtained using flight-ready technology of current NASA and ESA missions can be combined for greater understanding of the samples. Mineralogy was measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and visible/ near-infrared (VNIR) reflectance spectroscopy. Chemical analyses utilized a quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS) to perform pyrolysis-evolved gas analysis (EGA) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) both with and without derivatization, as well as laser desorption-mass spectrometry (LD/MS) techniques. These analyses are designed to demonstrate some of the capabilities of near-term landed Mars missions, to provide ground truthing of VNIR reflectance data acquired from orbit by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) on MRO and to provide detection limits for surface- operated instruments: the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) and Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suites onboard Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) and the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) onboard ExoMars-2018. The new data from this study are compared with previous analyses of the sediments performed with other techniques. Tremolite was found in the oxic region samples for the first time using the CheMin-like XRD instrument. The NIR spectral features of tremolite are consistent with those observed in these samples. Although the tremolite bands are weak in spectra of these samples, spectral features near 2.32 and 2.39 micrometers could be detected by CRISM if tremolite is present on the martian surface. Allophane was found to be a good match to weak NIR features at 1.37-1.41, 1.92, and 2.19 micrometers in spectra of the oxic region sediments and is a common component of immature volcanic soils. Biogenic methane was found to be associated with calcite in the oxic region samples by the SAM/EGA instrument and a phosphoric acid derivative was found in the anoxic region sample using the SAM/MTBSTFA technique.

Mars↗

Effects of long term space environment exposure on optical substrates and coatings

At the time of our Second LDEF Post-Retrieval Symposium report, we had completed cleaning and measuring the post flight spectral performance of all of the samples except for the fused silica substrate with an antireflection (SiO2/TiO2) coating. As was documented in that report, after cleaning, all of the samples returned to their original pre-flight performance, with the exception of the fused silica anti-reflectance coated sample, which had significant degraded performance. All normal methods of removing the contaminant from the surface of this sample failed except for oxygen plasma etch. At the time of the previous report, we had only exposed the sample to three hours of plasma etch. We have since continued the plasma etch for a total of 32 hours, after which time, the transmission of the sample almost reached its pre-flight values. The peak areas of the transmission curves remained shifted approximately 150 nm. Of interest is the fact that the control samples, which hadn't flown, did not exhibit any spectral shifting. In summary, after the 6 yr exposure to the space environment, all of the coatings and substrates returned to their pre-flight performance after cleaning, with the exception of the antireflection coated fused silica sample. On this sample, the spectral transmission curves shifted approximately 150 nm.

Vallimont, John↗

A sampling procedure to guide the collection of narrow-band, high-resolution spatially and spectrally representative reflectance data

A multistage sampling procedure using image processing, geographical information systems, and analytical photogrammetry is presented which can be used to guide the collection of representative, high-resolution spectra and discrete reflectance targets for future satellite sensors. The procedure is general and can be adapted to characterize areas as small as minor watersheds and as large as multistate regions. Beginning with a user-determined study area, successive reductions in size and spectral variation are performed using image analysis techniques on data from the Multispectral Scanner, orbital and simulated Thematic Mapper, low altitude photography synchronized with the simulator, and associated digital data. An integrated image-based geographical information system supports processing requirements.

Brand, R. R.↗

Changes in spectral properties of detached leaves

If leaf senescence can be delayed for several days without significant changes in spectral properties, then samples of leaves at remote test sites could be prepared and shipped to laboratories to measure spectral properties. The changes in spectral properties of detached leaves were determined. Leaves from red birch and red pine were immersed in water or 0.001 M benzylaminopurine (BAP) and stored in plastic bags in the dark at either 5 or 25 C. Total directional-hemispherical reflectance and transmittance of the adaxial surface of birch leaves were measured over the 400 to 1100 nm wavelength region with a spectroradiometer and integrating sphere. Pine needles were taped together and reflectance of the mat of needles was measured. Spectral properties changed less than 5% of initial values during the first week when leaves were stored at 5 C. Storage at 25 C promoted rapid senescence and large changes in spectral properties. BAP delayed, but did not stop, senescence at 25 C.

Daughtry, C. S. T.↗

The complex X ray spectra of AGN

X-ray spectral surveys of large samples of Seyfert galaxies are discussed. The spectral shape in the 0.1 to 20 keV energy range is considered. Two new spectral survey are undertaken, one involving 105 Imaging Proportional Counter (IPC) observations of 75 Seyfert galaxies, the other using IPC and Monitor Proportional Counter (MPC) data from 28 observations of 23 Seyfert galaxies. The X-ray spectra of active galactic nuclei (AGN) are complex, with in most cases considerable steepening at the lowest energies. At higher energies (2 to 20 keV), the existence of a universal, canonical power law is confirmed, independent of X-ray luminosity over four orders of magnitude.

Urry, C. M.↗

Coordinated Analysis of Isotopically Anomalous Nanoglobules and Insoluble Organic Matter in Quick-Look Samples From Asteroid Bennu

Spectral characterization of B-type asteroid Bennu by the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft indicated abundant organic matter with similarities to insoluble organic matter (IOM) in meteorites. IOM in chondritic samples occurs in multiple forms, including a fluffy morphology and submicron-sized rounded nanoglobules. Isotopic anomalies in H, C, and N have been observed in both morphologies and are postulated to result from low-temperature chemical reactions in the molecular cloud or outer protoplanetary disk [e.g., 2,3]. We tested the hypothesis that Bennu also contains such isotopically anomalous organic matter by conducting coordinated in situ analysis of “quick-look” samples collected from the avionics deck of the OSIRIS-REx sample canister. This study expands our understanding of the fundamental nature of Bennu and its pre-accretionary environment by investigating the morphologies and isotopic distribution of presolar organic matter in Bennu.

A N Nguyen↗

A Mossbauer investigation of iron-rich terrestrial hydrothermal vent systems: lessons for Mars exploration

Hydrothermal spring systems may well have been present on early Mars and could have served as a habitat for primitive life. The integrated instrument suite of the Athena Rover has, as a component on the robotic arm, a Mossbauer spectrometer. In the context of future Mars exploration we present results of Mossbauer analysis of a suite of samples from an iron-rich thermal spring in the Chocolate Pots area of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) and from Obsidian Pool (YNP) and Manitou Springs, Colorado. We have found that Mossbauer spectroscopy can discriminate among the iron-bearing minerals in our samples. Those near the vent and on the surface are identified as ferrihydrite, an amorphous ferric mineraloid. Subsurface samples, collected from cores, which are likely to have undergone inorganic and/or biologically mediated alteration (diagenesis), exhibit spectral signatures that include nontronite (a smectite clay), hematite (alpha-Fe2O3), small-particle/nanophase goethite (alpha-FeOOH), and siderite (FeCO3). We find for iron minerals that Mossbauer spectroscopy is at least as efficient in identification as X-ray diffraction. This observation is important from an exploration standpoint. As a planetary surface instrument, Mossbauer spectroscopy can yield high-quality spectral data without sample preparation (backscatter mode). We have also used field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), in conjunction with energy-dispersive X ray (EDX) fluorescence spectroscopy, to characterize the microbiological component of surface sinters and the relation between the microbiological and the mineralogical framework. Evidence is presented that the minerals found in these deposits can have multi-billion-year residence times and thus may have survived their possible production in a putative early Martian hot spring up to the present day. Examples include the nanophase property and the Mossbauer signature for siderite, which has been identified in a 2.09-billion-year old hematite-rich chert stromatolite. Our research demonstrates that in situ Mossbauer spectroscopy can help determine whether hydrothermal mineral deposits exist on Mars, which is significant for exobiology because of the issue of whether that world ever had conditions conductive to the origin of life. As a useful tool for selection of samples suitable for transport to Earth, Mossbauer spectroscopy will not only serve geological interests but will also have potential for exopaleontology.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗

An assessment of the impact of system spectral response parameters on spectral shape and algal bloom detection for the GeoXO ocean color instrument (OCX)

NOAA’s Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) program is planning to include a hyperspectral ocean color instrument (OCX) in geostationary orbit slated for operations by the early 2030s. Shared international focus has led to a diverse legacy of space-based remote sensing ocean color missions that have and will continue to provide ocean color products into the future at a variety of spatial, temporal, and spectral resolutions. This work reports on an investigation of the impacts of system spectral response parameters on spectral shape and algal bloom detection for the planned OCX instrument. A large dataset in-situ spectra, from a variety of locations and water cases collected with an above water spectrometer, was used to simulate OCX observations of varying system spectral response parameters. The OCX Performance Operational Requirements Document (PORD) level spectral resolution and sampling are varied concurrently and the location of band centers is varied independently. The impacts to the spectral shape using hyperspectral signature analysis, as well as the impacts to two heritage multispectral algal bloom detection algorithms – red band difference (RBD) and Karenia brevis bloom index (KBBI) – are assessed considering both changes in resolution/sampling and band center location. This work provides a quantitative assessment of the impacts of system spectral response requirements on both the spectral shape of observations as well as the algal bloom detection to provide insight on how various instrument performance parameters influence science and operational utility of OCX.

Monica Cook↗

Irradiation-energy Dependence on the Spectral Changes of Hydrous C-Type Asteroids Based on 4kev and 20kev He Exposure Experiments of Murchison Cm Chondrite

C-type asteroid 162173 Ryugu was observed by remote sensing apparatus onboard Hayabusa2 spacecraft and found to be very dark object whose reflectance is (1.60 ± 0.15) % at 0.55μm and showed a small 2.7μm absorption band indicative of phyllosilicates. The optical navigation camera detected color variations of Ryugu’s surface in the wavelength range from 0.4 to 0.95μm: Bluer spectra are ob-served at both poles and on the equatorial ridge, both of which are topographic highs and thus may be fresh material exposed by gradual erosion. On the other hand, many locations at middle-latitude areas exhibit redder and darker colors. Similar color variations are also detected in the near-infrared wavelength range. These observations suggest that a surface-correlated process is responsible for the color variation, most prob-ably from blue to red, but the mechanism for the change is not yet identified. Space weathering is one possible mechanism responsible for the color variation, but the spectral changes of C-type asteroids from space weathering are far from being fully understood. Past experimental studies using hydrous carbonaceous chondrites such as Murchison and Tagish Lake show that He exposure (simulating solar wind irradiation) changes spectra to bluer and brighter. Recently our He exposure experiments indicate that spectral changes depend on physical properties such as porosity of exposed material. In this study, we per-formed further He exposure experiments using Murchison CM chondrite in order to understand energy dependence on the spectral changes. We found that He energy is a critical parameter, as well as physical properties of the samples, that affects spectral changes of space weathering of hydrated C-type asteroids.

Nakamura, T.↗

Detectability of minerals on desert alluvial fans using reflectance spectra

The visible and near-infrared reflectance spectra of soil samples collected from desert alluvial and colluvial surfaces in the Cuprite mining district, Nevada, were analyzed. These surfaces are downslope from hydrothermally altered volcanic rocks that contain spectrally characteristic minerals such as alunite and kaolinite. Coarse fractions of the soils on the alluvial fans are mineralogically variable and express the upslope lithologies; fine fractions are remarkably similar mineralogically and spectrally in all samples because of dilution of local mineral components by regionally derived windblown dust. Theoretical models for spectral mixing and for particle-size effects were used to model the observed spectral variations. Diagnostic mineral absorption bands in the spectra of fan materials were enhanced by computationally removing the spectrum of the homogeneous fine-soil component. Results show that spectral mixing models are useful for analyzing data with high spectral resolution obtained by field and aircraft spectrometers.

Shipman, Hugh↗

Infrared reflectance spectra (4-12 micron) of lunar samples

Presented here are infrared reflectance spectra of a typical set of Apollo samples to illustrate spectral character in the mid-infrared (4 to 12 microns) of lunar materials and how the spectra varies among three main forms: soil, breccia, and igneous rocks. Reflectance data, to a close approximation, are the inverse of emission spectra; thus, for a given material the spectral reflectance (R) at any given wavelength is related to emission (E) by 1 - R equals E. Therefore, one can use reflectance spectra of lunar samples to predict how emission spectra of material on the lunar surface will appear to spectrometers on orbiting spacecraft or earthbound telescopes. Spectra were measured in the lab in dry air using a Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometer. Shown here is only the key portion (4 to 12 microns) of each spectrum relating to the principal spectral emission region for sunlit lunar materials and to where the most diagnostic spectral features occur.

Nash, Douglas B.↗

Entry, Descent, and Landing Analysis for the OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Capsule

The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) sample return capsule (SRC) returned to Earth on September 24, 2023, safely landing in the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). To ensure a safe and successful landing, a pair of high-fidelity EDL simulations, based on the Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories (POST) architecture, were used to regularly assess the latest orbit determination (OD) solution from the navigation team, making predictions on Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) performance and SRC landing location. The results from these analyses fed into the decision processes for the final trajectory correction maneuvers (TCM’s) and SRC release. The models and methods of analysis will be discussed and a comparison of the final pre-entry landing prediction against the observed landing location will be presented along with an assessment of the best estimates of day-of-entry environmental conditions.

Scott R Francis↗

Fiber-Coupled Acousto-Optical-Filter Spectrometer

Fiber-coupled acousto-optical-filter spectrometer steps rapidly through commanded sequence of wavelengths. Sample cell located remotely from monochromator and associated electronic circuitry, connected to them with optical fibers. Optical-fiber coupling makes possible to monitor samples in remote, hazardous, or confined locations. Advantages include compactness, speed, and no moving parts. Potential applications include control of chemical processes, medical diagnoses, spectral imaging, and sampling of atmospheres.

Levin, Kenneth H.↗