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NASA NTRS2000

Putting ROSE to Work: A Proposed Application of a Request-Oriented Scheduling Engine for Space Station Operations

Scheduling engines are found at the core of software systems that plan and schedule activities and resources. A Request-Oriented Scheduling Engine (ROSE) is one that processes a single request (adding a task to a timeline) and then waits for another request. For the International Space Station, a robust ROSE-based system would support multiple, simultaneous users, each formulating requests (defining scheduling requirements), submitting these requests via the internet to a single scheduling engine operating on a single timeline, and immediately viewing the resulting timeline. ROSE is significantly different from the engine currently used to schedule Space Station operations. The current engine supports essentially one person at a time, with a pre-defined set of requirements from many payloads, working in either a "batch" scheduling mode or an interactive/manual scheduling mode. A planning and scheduling process that takes advantage of the features of ROSE could produce greater customer satisfaction at reduced cost and reduced flow time. This paper describes a possible ROSE-based scheduling process and identifies the additional software component required to support it. Resulting changes to the management and control of the process are also discussed.

Jaap, John↗
NASA NTRS2000

Basic Electronic Design for Proposed NMSU Hitchhiker Payload

This document presents the bas'c hardware design developed by the EE 499 class during the spring semester of the 1999-2000 academic year. This design covers the electrical components to supply power to the experiments, the computer software and interfaces to control the experiments, and the ground data processing to provide an operator interface. This document is a follow-on to the Payload Mission description document and the System Requirements document developed during the EE 498 class during the fall semester. The design activities are broken down by functional area within the structure. For each area, we give the requirements that need to be met and the design to meet the requirements. For each of these areas, a prototype selection of hardware and/or software was done by the class and the components assembled as part of the class to verify that they worked as intended.

Horan, Stephen↗
NASA NTRS2000

Participation in the GISS EOS Proposal

To model the mass balance of the Greenland and Antarctic ice-sheets, Research Assistant Veronique Bugnion developed a snowpack model which embodies a physically based approach to modeling the temperature and density distribution of a snow, firn, and ice mixture. The snowpack model performed satisfactorily in capturing the surface energy balance and melt amounts measured at stations in Greenland and Antarctica. Also a comparison between the predicted extent of the wet snow zone obtained with the model and the same quantity derived from satellite microwave measurements showed excellent agreement. In addition the model's simulated total runoff was close to the best estimates from observations for the Greenland and Antarctic ice caps. Ms. Bugnion and research scientist Andrei Sokolov coupled the snowpack model to the climate submodel of MIT's Integrated Global System Model (IGSM) and integrated forward over the 21st century for a range of climate change scenarios, using forcings from simulations with the IGSM. The changes in mass balance of the ice caps were then translated into changes in sea level. For the scenarios with small to moderate warming, the runoff from Greenland and Antarctica is minimal. For the scenarios with a larger warming, there is a net increase in sea-level of 2-3 cm from Greenland, and a decrease of between 2 and 5 cm from Antarctica. These results show that the net change in sea level which can be expected to follow climatic changes in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, a decrease of 2 to 4 cm or less by the end of the 21st century, is smaller than most previously published estimates.

Stone, Peter H.↗
NASA NTRS2000

A CGRO Target of Opportunity Proposal for Flaring Blazars

Gamma-ray observations of the quasar 3C 279 during the reporting period were carried out and analyzed by Dr. Robert Hartman, the overall project principal investigator, in response to a target of opportunity. The PI and co-I of this grant, Drs. Alan Marscher and Svetlana Marchenko (now Svetlana Jorstad), observed with the VLBA at 43 GHz after the flare. The results and interpretation of the multiwaveband observations are reported in a paper by Hartman et al. that was recently submitted to the Astrophysical Journal, on which the PI is a co-author.

Marscher, Alan P.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Integrity Constraint Monitoring in Software Development: Proposed Architectures

In the development of complex software systems, designers are required to obtain from many sources and manage vast amounts of knowledge of the system being built and communicate this information to personnel with a variety of backgrounds. Knowledge concerning the properties of the system, including the structure of, relationships between and limitations of the data objects in the system, becomes increasingly more vital as the complexity of the system and the number of knowledge sources increases. Ensuring that violations of these properties do not occur becomes steadily more challenging. One approach toward managing the enforcement or system properties, called context monitoring, uses a centralized repository of integrity constraints and a constraint satisfiability mechanism for dynamic verification of property enforcement during program execution. The focus of this paper is to describe possible software architectures that define a mechanism for dynamically checking the satisfiability of a set of constraints on a program. The next section describes the context monitoring approach in general. Section 3 gives an overview of the work currently being done toward the addition of an integrity constraint satisfiability mechanism to a high-level program language, SequenceL, and demonstrates how this model is being examined to develop a general software architecture. Section 4 describes possible architectures for a general constraint satisfiability mechanism, as well as an alternative approach that, uses embedded database queries in lieu of an external monitor. The paper concludes with a brief summary outlining the, current state of the research and future work.

Fernandez, Francisco G.↗
NASA NTRS1999

A Proposed Landing Site for the 2001 Lander in a Hematite-Rich Region in Sinus Meridiani

The Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) instrument on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) mission has identified an accumulation of crystalline hematite (alpha-Fe2O3) that covers an area with very sharp boundaries approximately 350 by 350-750 km in size centered near 2 S latitude between 0 and 5 W longitude (Sinus Meridiani). The depth and shape of the hematite fundamental bands in the TES spectra show that the hematite is relatively coarse grained (> 5-10 microns). The spectrally-derived areal abundance of hematite varies with particle size from approx. 10% for particles > 30 microns in diameter to 40-60% for unpacked 10 micron powders. The hematite in Sinus Meridiani is thus distinct from the fine-grained (diameter < 5-10 microns), red, crystalline hematite considered, on the basis of visible and near-IR data, to be a minor spectral component in Martian bright regions. A map of the hematite index has been constructed using TES data from 11 orbits, including the six in which hematite was detected and five orbits that passed nearby that showed no evidence of hematite. The boundaries of the hematite-rich region are sharp at spatial scales of about 10 km. Within this region there are spatial variations in spectral band depth of a factor of two to three. At the present time the hematite-rich region has not been completely mapped. However, by using the bounding orbits to the east and west in which hematite was not detected, we can establish that this region covers an area that is between 350 and 750 km in length and over -350 km in width (1.2 x 10(exp 5) to 2.6 x 10(exp 5 sq km). The hematite-rich surface discovered by TES closely corresponds with smooth-surfaced unit ('sm') that appears to be the surface of a layered sequence. The presence of small mesas superposed on 'sm' and the degraded nature of the small impact craters suggests that material has been removed from this unit. These layered materials do not appear to be primary volcanic products (i.e., lava flows) because there are no associated lava flow lobes, fronts or pressure ridges; there are no fissures or calderae, nor any other features that can be interpreted as volcanic within 'sm'. Bowl-shaped depressions in 'sm' and the remnant mesas on top of a portion of this unit suggest that deflation has removed material that was once above the present surface of 'sm'. The most likely cause of the deflation is wind, which suggests that the layered materials are relatively friable. In summary, Sinus Meridiani hematite is closely associated with a smooth, layered, friable surface that is interpreted to be sedimentary in origin.

Christensen, Philip R.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Proposed Ground Testing Standard Methods and Techniques

The methodologies used for prediction for on-orbit microgravity environment needs to be ground validated. The data and models for such validation will be coming from diverse sources. No standardized methodologies have been validated which cover the entire 0 - 300 Hz range. Current ground test data feeds into this process and therefore should be standardized to support both narrow and third octave band analysis.

Goodnight, Thomas↗
NASA NTRS2001

The TES Hematite-Rich Region in Sinus Meridiani: A Proposed Landing Site for the 2003 Rover

The Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) instrument on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) mission has identified an accumulation of crystalline hematite (alpha-Fe2O3) that covers an area with very sharp boundaries approximately 350 by 750 km in size centered near 2 S latitude between 0 and 8 W longitude (Sinus Meridiani). The depth and shape of the hematite fundamental bands in the TES spectra show that the hematite is relatively coarse grained (greater than 5-10 micrometers). The spectrally-derived areal abundance of hematite varies with particle size from approximately 10% for particles greater than 30 micrometers in diameter to 40-60% for unpacked 10 micrometer powders. The hematite in Sinus Meridiani is thus distinct from the fine-grained (diameter less than 5-10 micrometers), red, crystalline hematite considered, on the basis of visible and near-IR data, to be a minor spectral component in Martian bright regions. A global map of the hematite abundance has been constructed using TES data from the MGS mapping mission.

Christensen, Philip R.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Proposed Science Requirements and Acquisition Priorities for the First Mars Sample Return

A sample return mission is an important next step in the exploration of Mars. The first sample return should come early in the program time-line because the science derived from earth-based analyses of samples provides crucial "ground truth" needed for further exploration planning, enhancement of remote measurements, and achieving science goals and objectives that include: (1) the search for environments that may support life and any indicators of the past or present existence of life, (2) understanding the history of water and climate on Mars, (3) understanding the evolution of Mars as a planet. Returned samples from Mars will have unique value because they can be studied by scientists worldwide using the most powerful analytical instruments available. Furthermore, returned Mars samples can be preserved for studies by future generations of scientists using new techniques and addressing new issues in Mars science. To ensure a high likelihood of success, the first sample return strategy should be simple and focused. We outline a fundamental set of sample requirements and acquisition priorities for Mars sample return.

Agee, C. B.↗
NASA NTRS2001

A Co-Investigator Proposal for the Cornell University CAPER Rocket: Cleft Accelerated Plasma Experiment Rocket

The objectives are: 1) To support the Cornell wave instruments in a study of dayside ion outflow. 2) In conjunction with the U. of Alaska ground optical data, a prime objective was to measure the topside Cusp ion spectra responsible for dayside proton aurora. If such a correlative measurement could be made, then monitoring of this cusp precipitation from the ground could be routinely achieved. The nature of Cusp ions has and will continue to provide information about dayside magnetic reconnection. 3) A third objective was to study the dayside microburst electron precipitation from the BPS/CPS population. The Scifer rocket flight showed a bursty electron population at 1000 km altitude correlated closely with pulsation ground aurora on closed field lines. The frequency of this pulsating aurora is about 1 Hz. Ground pulsation measurements have recorded dayside bursts of Pc1 waves which could very well be the source of the electrons responsible for the pulsating aurora. In support of the Caper flight, UNH provided ground induction antennas to measure the equatorial Pc1 waves that might be dumping trapped electrons from the Central Plasma Sheet population. The Caper flight was launched on the last day of the window and all the Cornell and UNH instrumentation worked perfectly. Unfortunately the rocket trajectory flew very far to the west of the ground site at Longyearbyen missing conjugacy by several hundred kilometers. This meant the intended aurora was not crossed and all the ground experiments were far from being near the foot print of the rocket ruling out correlative science. The "miss" was primarily due to a decision during the countdown by the Andoya Rocket Range to move the azimuth of the rocket to the west to avoid Norwegian fishing boats at the splash point of the first two stages, and to make matters worse, the dispersion of the fourth stage of the rocket added entirely in this direction. Although no publications have resulted from the UNH data up to this point, a joint publication with the U. of Alaska group using both the Scifer and Caper data is in preparation. The data will continue to be worked on. There is interest in the Caper data as evidence by two recent papers presented at the "Low Latitude Boundary Layer Chapman Conference" held in New Orleans, Louisiana in April 2001.

Arnoldy, Roger L.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Probing AGN with Masers and X-Rays-SAX Proposals

We have made BeppoSAX observations of the Seyfert 2/1.9 galaxy ESO103-G35, which contains a nuclear maser source and is known to be heavily absorbed in the X-rays. Analysis of the X-ray spectra observed by SAX in October 1996 and 1997 yields an energy index = 0.74 +/- 0.07, typical of Seyfert galaxies and consistent with earlier observations of this source. The strong, soft X-ray absorption has a column density, N_H of (1.79 +/- 0.09)E23 cmE-02, again consistent with earlier results. The best fitting spectrum is that of a power law with a high energy cutoff at 29 +/- 10 keV, a cold (E=6.3 +/- 0.1 keV, rest frame), marginally resolved (sigma = 0.35 +/- 0.14 keV, FWHM approximately (31 +/- 12)E03 km/s) FeKalpha line with EW 290 +100 -80 eV (1996) and a mildly ionized Fe K-edge at 7.37 +0.15 -0.21 keV, tau 0.24 +0.06 -0.09. The Fe Kalpha line and cold absorption are consistent with origin in a accretion disk/torus through which our line-of-sight passes at a radial distance of approximately 0.01 pc. The Fe K-edge is mildly ionized suggesting the presence of ionized gas probably in the inner accretion disk, close to the central source or in a separate warm absorber. The data quality is too low to distinguish between these possibilities but the edge-on geometry implied by the water maser emission favors the former. Comparison with earlier observations of ESO103-G35 shows little/no change in spectral parameters while the flux changes by factors of a few on timescales of a few months. The 2-10 keV flux decreased by a factor of approximately 2.7 between Oct 1996 and Oct 1997 with no detectable change in the count rate greater than 20 keV (i.e. the PDS data). Spectral fits to the combined datasets indicate either a significant hardening of the spectrum (energy index approximately 0.5) or an approximate constant or delayed response reflection component. The high energy cutoff (29 +/- 10 keV) is lower than the typical approximately 300 keV values seen in Seyfert galaxies. A significant subset of similar sources would affect current models of the AGN contribution to the cosmic X-ray background (CXRB) which generally assume a high energy cutoff of approximately 300 keV.

Wilkes, Belinda J.↗
NASA NTRS2002

A Proposal to Investigate Outstanding Problems in Astronomy

During the period leading up to the spectacular launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-109) on 1 March 2002 6:22 am EST, the team worked hard on a myriad of tasks to be ready for launch. Our launch support included preparations and rehearsals for the support during the mission, preparation for the SMOV and ERO program, and work to have the science team's data pipeline (APSIS) and data archive (SDA) ready by launch. A core of the team that was at the GSFC during the EVA that installed ACS monitored the turn-on and aliveness tests of ACS. One hour after installation of ACS in the HST George Hartig was showing those of us at Goddard the telemetry which demonstrated that the HRC and WFC CCDs were cooling to their preset temperatures. The TECs had survived launch! After launch, the team had several immediate and demanding tasks. We had to process the ERO observations through our pipeline and understand the limitations of the ground based-based calibrations, and simultaneously prepare the EROs for public release. The ERO images and the SMOV calibrations demonstrated that ACS met or exceeded its specifications for image quality and sensitivity. It is the most sensitive instrument that Hubble has had. The ERO images themselves made the front page of all of the major newspapers in the US. During the months after launch we have worked on the SMOV observations, and are analyzing the data from our science program.

Ford, Holland↗
NASA NTRS2002

WOBBLE: A Proposed Mission to Characterize Past and Present Water on Mars

WOBBLE ("Water Observations from a Balloon Borne Light Explorer") is a mission concept study for a small robotic probe to explore Mars and to accomplish a scientific mission compatible with the goals of the NASA Code S enterprise. The detection of past or present water is a crucial goal for Mars exploration, representing a cross-cutting science theme relevant to past or extant life, climate history, sample return missions and eventual human exploration. The WOBBLE mission concept was developed to study evidence of water using in-situ detection methods. The features on Mars most suited to this investigation are the gullies identified by Malin and Edgett as evidence for recent, near-surface runoff of liquid water. These features are typically located on the inside face of crater rims, where the local slope angle is at or near the angle of repose. This makes the terrain difficult or impossible to access with conventional wheeled rover technology. Combined with the small size of the gullies in relation to a standard landing error ellipse, scientific investigation of these features requires a new approach to surface mobility. WOBBLE uses a low-altitude balloon-borne platform to traverse the surface from the landing site, to the investigation site, and then rise up the slope to investigate the regions of interest at close range. Of the mobility technologies available for near-term Mars exploration, only a balloon platform is capable of a well targeted, detailed sampling of the gully regions over periods of days or more. The science approach embodied in WOBBLE is two-pronged, designed to investigate both the historical evidence of liquid water utilizing high-resolution geomorphology and the characterization of mineral deposits, and present subsurface liquid water using radar sounding techniques. The WOBBLE balloon is a high-pressure hydrogen gas design, 24 meters in diameter and lifting a total payload of 130 kg, including a high-resolution camera/IR imager, Raman spectrometer, and a ground penetrating radar (GPR) sounder. The stowed balloon and payload are designed to fit within the current airbag delivery system being built for the Mars Exploration Rovers. Characterization of local meteorological conditions and wind is made over the initial sols following landing and before balloon inflation. Following balloon inflation and launch, a controlled, targeted approach toward the identified regions of interest is made in a series of several low-altitude "hops," with the balloon tethered to the ground between the hop intervals. A "snake" system is used to control the altitude to a few tens of meters above the local ground level. Enroute to the target gully, GPR soundings and Raman spectroscopy measurements study past or present water, while continued camera bearings and meteorological measurements refine the next "hop" trajectory. Once at the gully/outflow region, GPR and Raman soundings continue while the camera obtains detailed, approx. 0.5 cm images for geomorphology studies. The WOBBLE concept is applicable to Mars Scout, Mars Surveyor, or Discovery class missions.

Udrea, Bogdan↗
NASA NTRS2003

A Proposal to Investigate Outstanding Problems in Astronomy

During the past year the ACS science team has concentrated on analyzing ACS observations, writing papers, and disseminating our results to the astronomy community at conferences and workshops around the world. We also have put considerable effort in getting our results to the public via public lectures and through press releases. Taking a very broad view of our program, we are investigating the evolution of galaxies and clusters of galaxies from their birth, approximately one billion years after the beginning of the Universe, to the present. We have found and characterized a population of galaxies that are no more than 1.4 billion years old. These may well be the Universe s first generation of infant galaxies. Looking at the Universe 500,000 years later, we see what appears to be a cluster of galaxies just beginning to form (a proto-cluster) around a luminous radio galaxy. Moving forward in time and closer to the present, we are studying clusters of galaxies that are less than half the age of the Universe. Our observations and analysis lead us to the important conclusion that the elliptical galaxies in these clusters must have had their last significant star formation some three billion years earlier, which is about the time when the proto-cluster was forming. Coming still closer to home, we are observing nearby massive clusters of galaxies that are approximately 12 billion years old. The gravity from these large aggregates of dark and luminous matter is so strong it warps space-time itself, and makes the cluster act as a cosmic telescope that magnifies the distant galaxies behind the cluster. We used the magnified (or lensed) galaxies to map the distribution of the dominant matter within the clusters, which is the so-called dark matter (the matter is invisible, and its nature is unknown). We also are using these cosmic telescopes to study the distant lensed galaxies that would otherwise be too small and too faint to be seen even by Hubble and the ACS.

Ford, Holland↗
NASA NTRS2003

Isothermal Microcalorimetric Evaluation of Compatibility of Proposed Injector Materials with High-Test Hydrogen Peroxide Propellant

High-test hydrogen peroxide (HTP) is receiving renewed interest as a monopropellant and as the oxidizer for bipropellant systems. HTP is hydrogen peroxide in concentrations ranging from 70 to 98%. All surfaces wetted by HTP must be evaluated for compatibility with the fluid. In the case of tanks, lines and valves compatibility is required to preserve the HTP oxygen and energy content and to avoid overpressurization due to decomposition. With injectors and regenerative cooling passages shorter exposure time reduces these concerns. However, phase changes from fluid to gas impact heat transfer and become the dominant compatibility concern. Isothermal microcalorimetry (IMC) provides a convenient and reproducible means to observe the decomposition of HTP when exposed to structural materials and therefore the compatibility of those materials'. The instrument provides heat flow values in terms of watts that may be converted to a reaction rate given the heat of reaction for the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. These values are then converted to percent active oxygen loss per week (%AOL/wk) to preserve an earlier convention for quantifying HTP compatibility. Additionally, qualitative designations of compatibility have been assigned to these values. This scheme consists of four classes with Class 1 being the most compatible. While historical compatibility data is available its current applicability is in question due to subtle changes in the compositions of both HTP and structural materials. Trace levels of molecules can have significant influence on compatibility. Therefore representative samples of materials must be evaluated with current HTP formulations. In this work seven materials were selected for their strength characteristics at high temperature as expected in a HTP injector. The materials were then evaluated by IMC for HTP compatibility.

Gostowski, Rudy↗
NASA NTRS2003

Proposed Space Flight Experiment Hardware

The primary thrust for this plan is to develop design tools and fundamental understanding that are timely and consistent with the goal of the various exploration initiatives. The plan will utilize ISS facilities, such as the Fluids Integrated Rack (FIR) and the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG). A preliminary flow schematic of Two-Phase Flow Facility (T(phi)FFy) which would utilize FIR is shown in Figure 3. MSG can be utilized to use the Boiling eXperiment Facility (BXF) and Contact Line Dynamics Experiment (CLiDE) Facility. The T(phi)FFy system would have multiple test sections whereby different configurations of heat exchangers could be used to study boiling and condensation phenomena. The test sections would be instrumented for pressure drop, void fraction, heat fluxes, temperatures, high-speed imaging and other diagnostics. Besides a high-speed data acquisition system with a large data storage capability, telemetry could be used to update control and test parameters and download limited amounts of data. In addition, there would be multiple accumulators that could be used to investigate system stability and fluid management issues. The system could accommodate adiabatic tests through either the space station nitrogen supply or have an experiment-specific compressor to pressurize a sufficient amount of air or other non-condensable gas for reuse as the supply bottle is depleted.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2004

"Chiron": A Proposed Remote Sensing Prompt Gamma Ray Activation Analysis Instrument for a Nuclear Powered Prometheus Mission

Prompt Gamma Ray Activation Analysis (PGAA) from neutron capture is an important experimental method that yields information on the elemental abundance of target materials. Gamma ray analysis has been used in planetary exploration missions by taking advantage of the production of neutrons as a result of Galactic Cosmic Ray interaction within the planetary surfaces. The .gamma ray signal that can be obtained from the GCR production of neutrons is very low, so we seek a superior neutron source. NASA s Project Prometheus and the Dept. of Energy aim to develop a nuclear power system for planetary exploration. This provides us with a tremendous opportunity to harness the reactor as a source of neutrons that can be used for PGAA. We envision a narrow stream of neutrons from the reactor directed toward the surface of an asteroid or comet producing the prompt gamma ray signal for analysis. Under ideal conditions of neutron flux and spacecraft orbit, both the signal strength and the spatial resolution will improved by several orders of magnitude over previously missions.

Floyd, Samuel R.↗