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NASA NTRS2006

XBoard: A Framework for Integrating and Enhancing Collaborative Work Practices

Teams typically collaborate in different modes including face-to-face meetings, meetings that are synchronous (i. e. require parties to participate at the same time) but distributed geographically, and meetings involving asynchronously working on common tasks at different times. The XBoard platform was designed to create an integrated environment for creating applications that enhance collaborative work practices. Specifically, it takes large, touch-screen enabled displays as the starting point for enhancing face-to-face meetings by providing common facilities such as whiteboarding/electronic flipcharts, laptop projection, web access, screen capture and content distribution. These capabilities are built upon by making these functions inherently distributed by allowing these sessions to be easily connected between two or more systems at different locations. Finally, an information repository is integrated into the functionality to provide facilities for work practices that involve work being done at different times, such as reports that span different shifts. The Board is designed to be extendible allowing customization of both the general functionality and by adding new functionality to the core facilities by means of a plugin architecture. This, in essence, makes it a collaborative framework for extending or integrating work practices for different mission scenarios. XBoard relies heavily on standards such as Web Services and SVG, and is built using predominately Java and well-known open-source products such as Apache and Postgres. Increasingly, organizations are geographically dispersed, and rely on "virtual teams" that are assembled from a pool of various partner organizations. These organizations often have different infrastructures of applications and workflows. The XBoard has been designed to be a good partner in these situations, providing the flexibility to integrate with typical legacy applications while providing a standards-based infrastructure that is readily accepted by most organizations. The XBoard has been used on the Mars Exploration Rovers mission at JPL, and is currently being used or considered for use in pilot projects at Johnson Space Center (JSC) Mission Control, the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetav Laboratory (Phoenix Mars Lander), and MBART (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute).

Shab, Ted↗

NASA NTRS2025

Details of Adhering and Testing Artificial Ice Shapes to the High Lift Common Research Model in the National Transonic Facility

There is currently interest in conducting flight Reynolds number aerodynamic performance testing for iced airplane configurations. There has only been limited testing in the past, none of which has resulted in publicly available data. Consequently, there is virtually no documented knowledge for conducting icing related testing at flight Reynolds number where testing in cryogenic conditions is required. The National Transonic Facility (NTF) is a cryogenic wind tunnel at NASA Langley Research Center that is capable of achieving flight Reynolds numbers on subscale models. A large number of aerodynamic tests have been performed in this facility for uniced subscale model configurations. Through the collaborations associated with the High Lift Common Research Model, a test campaign was conducted to fill the existing research gaps with publicly available data. This resulted in a requirement that NASA develop a suitable level of competency for performing icing related tests in cryogenic environments. This document provides information about the challenges faced during the test campaign, how the issues were mitigated, and preserves the institutional knowledge gained by providing recommendations that will be used to reduce risk for future testing.

Iced Aerodynamics↗

NASA NTRS2005

Global Impacts of Gas-Phase Chemistry-Aerosol Interactions on Direct Radiative Forcing by Anthropogenic Aerosols and Ozone

We present here a first global modeling study on the influence of gas-phase chemistry/aerosol interactions on estimates of anthropogenic forcing by tropospheric O3 and aerosols. Concentrations of gas-phase species and sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, black carbon, primary organic carbon, secondary organic carbon, sea salt, and mineral dust aerosols in the preindustrial, present-day, and year 2100 (IPCC SRES A2) atmospheres are simulated online in the Goddard Institute for Space Studies general circulation model II' (GISS GCM II'). With fully coupled chemistry and aerosols, the preindustrial, presentday, and year 2100 global burdens of tropospheric ozone are predicted to be 190, 319, and 519 Tg, respectively. The burdens of sulfate, nitrate, black carbon, and organic carbon are predicted respectively to be 0.32. 0.18, 0.01, 0.33 Tg in preindustrial time, 1.40, 0.48, 0.23, 1.60 Tg in presentday, and 1.37, 1.97, 0.54, 3.31 Tg in year 2100. Anthropogenic O3 is predicted to have a globally and annually averaged present-day forcing of +0.22 W m(sup -2) and year 2100 forcing of +0.57 W m(sup -2) at the top of the atmosphere (TOA). Net anthropogenic TOA forcing by internally mixed sulfate, nitrate, organic carbon, and black carbon aerosols is estimated to be virtually zero in the present-day and +0.34 W m(sup -2) in year 2100, whereas it is predicted to be -0.39 W m(sup -2) in present-day and -0.61 W m(sup -2) in year 2100 if the aerosols are externally mixed. Heterogeneous reactions are shown to be important in affecting anthropogenic forcing. When reactions of N2O5, NO3, NO2, and HO2 on aerosols are accounted for, TOA anthropogenic O3 forcing is less by 20-45% in present-day and by 20-32% in year 2100 at mid to high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, as compared with values predicted in the absence of heterogeneous gas aerosol reactions. Mineral dust uptake of HNO3 and O3 is shown to have practically no influence on anthropogenic O3 forcing. Heterogeneous reactions of N2Os, NO3, NO2, and HO2 are predicted to have noticeable impacts on anthropogenic aerosol forcing over industrialized areas, leading to 0-2 W m(sup -2) more anthropogenic aerosol cooling in present-day and 2-8 W m(sup -2) more cooling in year 2100 in these areas as compared with forcings calculated in the absence of heterogeneous reactions. Sea salt uptake of SO2 reduces the magnitude of TOA aerosol cooling by 0.5-1 W m(sup -2) over the oceans around 60 N in the present-day and year 2100 scenarios. Near dust sources, mineral dust uptake of SO2 and HNO3 leads to less anthropogenic aerosol cooling by 0.5-1 W m(sup -2) in the present day and 1-2 W m(sup -2) in year 2100.

Liao, Hong↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

2024 Nasa Lunabotics University Competition: Site Preparation With Bulk Regolith

Introduction: Lunabotics provides accredited institutions of higher learning students (vocational-technical, college, university) an opportunity to apply the NASA systems engineering process to design and build a prototype robot. This robot would be capable of performing the proposed operations on the Lunar surface in support of future Artemis mission goals. Lunabotics features a systems engineering design challenge to engage students in the next phase of hu-man space exploration supporting the Artemis missions. This two-semester event encourages students to design and build an autonomous or telerobotic robot designed to traverse the simulated Lunar surface and complete the assigned construction tasks. The number of teams accepted into this challenge is not predetermined but is based on the scores and overall quality of the Project Management Plans received and other factors. The culmination of the Lunabotics virtual challenge will be the design, build and operation of a functional prototype Lunar robot. Teams are required to submit the following: (1) Project Management Plan, (2) Systems Engineering Paper, a (3) STEM Engage-ment Report, and a (4) Proof of Life Video. This is an optional item, but to qualify for the grand prize a team must also submit a: (5) Presentation and Demonstration. Background: The NASA Lunabotics University Competition was first held in 2010 as a follow on to the NASA Regolith Excavation Challenge [1]. The high level of interest and participation from over 50 universities each year has led to a sustained annual competi-ion cadence: it has been held every May for the past 14 years [2,3]. Over 6,000 students have participated and been inspired to pursue Science, Technology, En-gineering and Mathematics careers (STEM). 2024 Competition: The necessary lunar surface tasks are evolving to meet the NASA Artemis Mission requirements. In the past Lunabotics challenges we gathered data to support Lunar mining for consuma-bles in the Lunar regolith. Now, in 2024, the task is to gather data on Lunar site preparation and construction by designing and building a robot that will traverse the chaotic Lunar terrain and construct a regolith-based berm. The goal is to build a berm structure which would be useful to the Artemis Mission for blast and ejecta protection during lunar landings and launches, shading cryogenic propellant tank farms, providing radiation protection around a nuclear power plant and other mission critical uses. Lunabotics will consist of three separate events this year. The first event is NASA’s Lunabotics Project Development Challenge, where teams submit various deliverables to be scored by judges. The second event will be the University of Central Florida (UCF) Lunabotics Qualification challenge, in the Exolith laboratory, where teams will put their de-signs to the test. The top ten scoring teams from the Qualification challenge are then invited to the third and final event, NASA’s Lunabotics On-Site Challenge at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This presentation will summarize the results and lessons learned from the NASA Lunabotics University Competition held in May 2024.

Lunabotics↗

NASA NTRS2019

NASA Centennial Challenge: 3D Printed Habitat, Phase 3 Final Results

NASA's Centennial Challenges program uses prize competitions with the goal of accelerating innovation in the aerospace industry. Competitions in the Centennial Challenges portfolio have previously focused on advancements in space robotics, regolith excavation, bio-printing, astronaut suit design, small satellites, and solar-powered vehicles. NASA's Three Dimensional (3D) Printed Habitat Centennial Challenge represents a partnership between NASA and the non-profit partner: Bradley University, with co-sponsors Caterpillar, Bechtel, Brick and Mortar Ventures, the American Concrete Institute, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) to spur development in automated additive construction technologies. The challenge asks teams to design and construct a scaled and simulated Martian habitat using indigenous materials and large scale 3D automated printing systems. Phase 1 of the competition, held in 2015, was an architectural design competition for habitat concepts that could be 3D printed. Phase 2, completed in 2017, asked teams to develop feedstocks from indigenous materials and hydrocarbon polymer recyclables, and demonstrate automated printing systems to manufacture these feedstocks into test specimens to assess mechanical strength. This paper will discuss the Phase 3 competition, focusing on technology outcomes that can potentially be infused into both terrestrial and planetary construction applications. The Phase 3 competition was divided into two sub-competitions: 1) virtual construction, where teams created a high fidelity building information model (BIM) of their 3D-printed habitat design and 2) the construction competition, which required teams to 3D print a structural foundation and subject materials samples to freeze/thaw testing and impact testing (level 1), produce a habitat element and complete a hydrostatic test (level 2), and additively manufacture a 1:3 scale habitat onsite in a head to head competition at Caterpillar, inc.'s Edwards Demonstration & Learning Center near Peoria, Illinois over the course of three days (level 3). While the Phase 2 competition focused primarily on the development of novel feedstocks and robotic printing systems, Phase 3 emphasized the scale-up of these systems and autonomous operation (demonstrating the capability to operate systems on precursor missions prior to the arrival of crew, or terrestrially in field operation settings where human tending of a manufacturing system may be limited). The Phase 3 virtual construction levels yielded a number of novel habitat designs, including both modular habitats and vertically-oriented habitat concepts. The Phase 3 construction competition also challenged teams to autonomously place penetrations and interfacing elements in additively manufactured structures. The paper will emphasize potential applications for the new materials and technologies developed under the umbrella of the competition within NASA's portfolio and in Earth-based applications such as disaster response and infrastructure improvement.

Construction↗

NASA NTRS2019

Nasa Centennial Challenge: Three Dimensional (3d) Printed Habitat, Phase 3

Centennial challenge↗

NASA NTRS2001

Code Sharing and Collaboration: Experiences from the Scientist's Expert Assistant Project and their Relevance to the Virtual Observatory

In the Virtual Observatory (VO), software tools will perform the functions that have traditionally been performed by physical observatories and their instruments. These tools will not be adjuncts to VO functionality but will make up the very core of the VO. Consequently, the tradition of observatory and system independent tools serving a small user base is not valid for the VO. For the VO to succeed, we must improve software collaboration and code sharing between projects and groups. A significant goal of the Scientist's Expert Assistant (SEA) project has been promoting effective collaboration and code sharing between groups. During the past three years, the SEA project has been developing prototypes for new observation planning software tools and strategies. Initially funded by the Next Generation Space Telescope, parts of the SEA code have since been adopted by the Space Telescope Science Institute. SEA has also supplied code for SOFIA, the SIRTF planning tools, and the JSky Open Source Java library. The potential benefits of sharing code are clear. The recipient gains functionality for considerably less cost. The provider gains additional developers working with their code. If enough users groups adopt a set of common code and tools, defacto standards can emerge (as demonstrated by the success of the FITS standard). Code sharing also raises a number of challenges related to the management of the code. In this talk, we will review our experiences with SEA - both successes and failures - and offer some lessons learned that may promote further successes in collaboration and re-use.

Jones, Jeremy↗

NASA NTRS2001

Code Sharing and Collaboration: Experiences From the Scientist's Expert Assistant Project and Their Relevance to the Virtual Observatory

In the Virtual Observatory (VO), software tools will perform the functions that have traditionally been performed by physical observatories and their instruments. These tools will not be adjuncts to VO functionality but will make up the very core of the VO. Consequently, the tradition of observatory and system independent tools serving a small user base is not valid for the VO. For the VO to succeed, we must improve software collaboration and code sharing between projects and groups. A significant goal of the Scientist's Expert Assistant (SEA) project has been promoting effective collaboration and code sharing among groups. During the past three years, the SEA project has been developing prototypes for new observation planning software tools and strategies. Initially funded by the Next Generation Space Telescope, parts of the SEA code have since been adopted by the Space Telescope Science Institute. SEA has also supplied code for the SIRTF (Space Infrared Telescope Facility) planning tools, and the JSky Open Source Java library. The potential benefits of sharing code are clear. The recipient gains functionality for considerably less cost. The provider gains additional developers working with their code. If enough users groups adopt a set of common code and tools, de facto standards can emerge (as demonstrated by the success of the FITS standard). Code sharing also raises a number of challenges related to the management of the code. In this talk, we will review our experiences with SEA--both successes and failures, and offer some lessons learned that might promote further successes in collaboration and re-use.

Korathkar, Anuradha↗

NASA NTRS2006

A-Train Data Depot: Integrating and Visualizing Atmospheric Measurements Along the A-Train Tracks

The succession of US and international satellites that follow each other, seconds to minutes apart, across the local afternoon equator crossing is called the ATrain. The A-Train consists of the following satellites, in order of equator crossing: OCO, EOS Aqua, CloudSat, CALIPSO, PARASOL, and EOS Aura. Flying in such formation increases the number of observations, validates observations, and enables coordination between science observations, resulting in a more complete virtual science platform (Kelly, 2000) The goal of this project is to create the first ever A-Train virtual data portal/center, the A-Train Data Depot, to process, archive, access, visualize, analyze and correlate distributed atmosphere measurements from various A-Train instruments along A-Train tracks. The A-Train Data Depot (ATDD) will enable the free movement of remotely located A-Train data so that they are combined to create a consolidated vertical view of the Earth s Atmosphere along the A-Train tracks. Once the infrastructure of the ATDD is in place, it will be easily evolved to serve data from all A-Train data measurements: one stop shopping. The innovative approach of analyzing and visualizing atmospheric profiles along the platforms track (i.e., time) will be accommodated by reusing the GSFC Atmospheric Composition Data and Information Services Center (ACDISC) visualization and analysis tool, GIOVANNI, existing data reduction tools, on-line archwing for fast data access, and Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CRA) data co-registration tools. Initial measurements utilized include CALIPSO lidar backscatter, CloudSat radar reflectivity, clear air relative humidity, water vapor and temperature from AIRS, and cloud properties and aerosols from both MODIS. This will be followed by associated measurements from MLS, OMI, HIRDLS, and TES. Given the independent nature of instrument/platform development, the ATDD project has been met with many interesting challenges that, once resolved, will provide a much greater understanding of the relative flight dynamics and data co-registration of the suite of A-Train instruments, thus greatly increasing the accuracy of A-Train data analysis. Some of these challenges will be discussed. The project s resulting visualizations and analysis illustrate the importance of managing data so that measurements from various missions can be combined to enhance the understanding of the atmosphere. A-Train data management coordination, as performed here, is extremely significant in facilitating the A-Train science of clouds, precipitation, aerosol and chemistry.

Kempler, Steven↗

NASA NTRS2012

Polarimetric Retrievals of Surface and Cirrus Clouds Properties in the Region Affected by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

In 2010, the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) performed several aerial surveys over the region affected by the oil spill caused by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon offshore platform. The instrument was deployed on the NASA Langley B200 aircraft together with the High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL), which provides information on the distribution of the aerosol layers beneath the aircraft, including an accurate estimate of aerosol optical depth. This work illustrates the merits of polarization measurements in detecting variations of ocean surface properties linked to the presence of an oil slick. In particular, we make use of the degree of linear polarization in the glint region, which is severely affected by variations in the refractive index but insensitive to the waviness of the water surface. Alterations in the surface optical properties are therefore expected to directly affect the polarization response of the RSP channel at 2264 nm, where both molecular and aerosol scattering are negligible and virtually all of the observed signal is generated via Fresnel reflection at the surface. The glint profile at this wavelength is fitted with a model which can optimally estimate refractive index, wind speed and direction, together with aircraft attitude variations affecting the viewing geometry. The retrieved refractive index markedly increases over oil-contaminated waters, while the apparent wind speed is significantly lower than in adjacent uncontaminated areas, suggesting that the slick dampens high-frequency components of the ocean wave spectrum. The constraint on surface reflectance provided by the short-wave infrared channels is a cornerstone of established procedures to retrieve atmospheric aerosol microphysical parameters based on the inversion of the RSP multispectral measurements. This retrieval, which benefits from the ancillary information provided by the HSRL, was in this specific case hampered by prohibitive variability in atmospheric conditions (very inhomogeneous aerosol distribution and cloud cover). Although the results presented for the surface are essentially unaffected, we discuss the results obtained by typing algorithms in sorting the complex mix of aerosol types, and show evidence of oriented ice in cirrus clouds present in the area. In this context, polarization measurements at 1880 nm were used to infer ice habit and cirrus optical depth, which was found in the subvisual/threshold-visible regime, confirming the utility of the aforementioned RSP channel for the remote sensing of even thin cold clouds.

Polarization↗

NASA NTRS2015

Nanowire Photovoltaic Devices

Firefly Technologies, in collaboration with the Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, developed synthesis methods for highly strained nanowires. Two synthesis routes resulted in successful nanowire epitaxy: direct nucleation and growth on the substrate and a novel selective-epitaxy route based on nanolithography using diblock copolymers. The indium-arsenide (InAs) nanowires are implemented in situ within the epitaxy environment-a significant innovation relative to conventional semiconductor nanowire generation using ex situ gold nanoparticles. The introduction of these nanoscale features may enable an intermediate band solar cell while simultaneously increasing the effective absorption volume that can otherwise limit short-circuit current generated by thin quantized layers. The use of nanowires for photovoltaics decouples the absorption process from the current extraction process by virtue of the high aspect ratio. While no functional solar cells resulted from this effort, considerable fundamental understanding of the nanowire epitaxy kinetics and nanopatterning process was developed. This approach could, in principle, be an enabling technology for heterointegration of dissimilar materials. The technology also is applicable to virtual substrates. Incorporating nanowires onto a recrystallized germanium/metal foil substrate would potentially solve the problem of grain boundary shunting of generated carriers by restricting the cross-sectional area of the nanowire (tens of nanometers in diameter) to sizes smaller than the recrystallized grains (0.5 to 1 micron(exp 2).

Forbes, David↗

NASA NTRS2014

Public-Private Collaborations with Earth-Space Benefits

The NASA Human Health and Performance Center (NHHPC) was established in October 2010 to promote collaborative problem solving and project development to advance human health and performance innovations benefiting life in space and on Earth. The NHHPC, which now boasts over 150 corporate, government, academic and non-profit members, has convened four successful workshops and engaged in multiple collaborative projects. The virtual center facilitates member engagement through a variety of vehicles, including annual in-person workshops, webcasts, quarterly electronic newsletters, web postings, and the new system for partner engagement. NHHPC workshops serve to bring member organizations together to share best practices, discuss common goals, and facilitate development of the collaborative projects. The most recent NHHPC workshop was conducted in November 2013 on the topic of "Accelerating Innovation: New Organizational Business Models," and focused on various collaborative approaches successfully used by organizations to achieve their goals. Past workshops have addressed smart media and health applications, connecting through collaboration, microbiology innovations, and strategies and best practices in open innovation. A fifth workshop in Houston, Texas, planned for September 18, 2014, will feature "Innovation Through Co-Development: Engaging Partners". One area of great interest to NASA is mobile health applications, including mobile laboratory analytics, health monitoring, and close loop sensing, all of which also offer ground-based health applications for remote and underserved areas. Another project being coordinated by NASA and the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute is the pursuit of one to several novel strategies to increase medication stability that would enable health care in remote terrestrial settings as well as during space flight. NASA has also funded work with corporate NHHPC partner GE, seeking to develop ultrasound methodologies that will enable NASA to further understand the eye changes related to long-duration space flight. The adaptation of ultrasound to this type of eye examination could also expand the use of ultrasound in health care on the Earth in settings where MRIs are not available. To further engage NHHPC members and facilitate partnership development for NASA, the NHHPC created and deployed an engagement system in 2014 that facilitates identification and evaluation of technical needs and opportunities among all NHHPC members.

Davis, Jeffrey R.↗

NASA NTRS2020

PACE Technical Report Series, Volume 9: PACE Applications Plan

This volume presents PACE mission’s plan for development and execution of a PACE Applications Program. NASA maintains an Applied Sciences Program (https://appliedsciences.nasa.gov) to help institutions and individuals make better decisions about our environment, food, water, health and safety through the use of NASA data. In 2016, NASA Headquarters began requiring all flight projects to implement a Project Applications Program with the purpose of: (a) scoping and developing applied research and applications as part of the overall mission concept; (b) demonstrating the project’s benefit to society and contributions to the achievement of societal outcomes; (c) identifying specific product applications and Communities of Potential to better understand the impacts and benefit from using project products and models; (d) increasing the utility of data products; and (e) fostering a Community of Practice who can work with the project throughout the emission life cycle. In response to and in support of this NASA Headquarters directive, the PACE mission developed this PACE Applications Program Plan. While consideration of applications and applied sciences has always been embedded into PACE, the Applications Program truly kicked into high gear in December 2019 (see https://pace.gsfc.nasa.gov). At the time of this writing, the number of PACE Early Adopters has already reached 20. And, the first PACE Applications Workshop will be held (virtually) in late September 2020, with 500 attendees registered. My congratulations and thanks to the PACE Applications Program team for a tremendous first year.

Maria Tzortziou↗

NASA NTRS1993

MACH 3: Past and future approaches to intelligent tutoring

In 1986, the U.S. Army Research Institute created an intelligent tutoring system as a proof-of-concept for artificial intelligence applications in Army training. The Maintenance Aid Computer HAWK Intelligent Institutional Instructor (MACH 3) taught student mechanics to maintain and troubleshoot the AN/MPQ-57 High Power Illuminator Radar (HPIR) of the HAWK Air Defense Missile System. In 1989, TRADOC Analysis Command compared the effectiveness of MACH 3 to traditional paper-based troubleshooting drills. For the study, all students received lecture and hands-on training as usual. However, during troubleshooting drills, students traced faults using either MACH 3 or the traditional paper-based method. Class records showed that the MACH 3 group completed significantly more troubleshooting tasks and progressed through tasks of greater difficulty than the paper-based group. Upon completion of training, students took written, practical, and oral essay tests. Mean test scores showed that students performed similarly regardless of the drill method used. However, significantly different standard deviations showed that the MACH 3 group performed more consistently than the paper-based group. Furthermore, significantly different time measures showed that the MACH 3 group reached faster troubleshooting solutions on the actual radar transmitter than the paper-based group. We will present the study results and discuss how updating the design of the MACH 3 can include desktop computing in a virtual environment.

Acchione-Noel, Sylvia↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Developing a Motion-Based System for Lunar Vehicle Handling Qualities Testing

— Motion and visual cue influences are critical in any simulator system, as they impact multiple aspects of the human’s neurovestibular and visual systems. Cues of real motion proceeds to the brain before cues of visual change. It is important therefore for simulator motion cues to exist and to match those realistically with those of the real vehicle to provide transferable training of the activity for operations. The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine (1989)[1] stated that motion platforms are the only simulation devices capable of fully stimulating the body motion sensors. They confirmed that motion platforms can impart accelerations to the whole body and therefore exercise the automatic motion feedback-loop that operators are used to. With both visual and motion cues handling the vehicle becomes more realistic. Strachan (2019)[1] confirms motion cueing from a well set-up motion platform has been found to be important especially in conditions such as night or reduced visibility where motion cues may be more relied upon. As of this writing, the only lunar rover motion simulator is housed at the General Motors (GM) Milford Proving Ground, which only simulates the motions of a traditional car. A NASA Test Team proposed to complete a motion-based simulation system for NASA’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) which resides at Johnson Space Center’s Systems Engineering Simulator facility. This activity integrated existing fixed base simulation capabilities with a newly procured six-degree of freedom motion base platform for the design, development, evaluation, and training associated with the LTV project. This would incorporate a South Pole Lunar virtual reality simulation using Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter 5m/pixel high-resolution imagery and Unreal 5.2 Virtual Shadow Maps, combined with a virtual reality (VR) headset, integrated within a rover cockpit on a Mikrolar Motion Platform for evaluating human performance and vehicle handling qualities for concept roving vehicle designs. The motion-based system received its Human Rating Certification on March 2023. To begin testing the new facility, a preliminary handling qualities study was conducted. The objectives were to determine if there is a correlation amongst three handling quality methods of performance for a lunar vehicle and to understand the effects of a simulated 1/6-g loads and visuals with a motion platform on the operator while in a 1-g physical environment. The capability this system provides directly benefits the NASA’s Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program and NASA’s Flight Operations Directorate in evaluating the driving qualities of vehicle concepts, human performance related to the operating of a lunar surface vehicle, and assessment of suit related driving impacts. It would also provide direct operational benefit by providing a first-in class and unique simulation platform for the lunar astronaut training curriculum. The empirical knowledge of rover and human performance on this scale is paramount as there is currently no other lunar surface simulator with these capabilities. The result of this study ensures a broadly applicable method of testing for shirtsleeve, unpressurized and pressurized suited rover handling qualities.

Test Track↗

NASA NTRS2004

Carbon Dioxide Dispersion in the Combustion Integrated Rack Simulated Numerically

When discharged into an International Space Station (ISS) payload rack, a carbon dioxide (CO2) portable fire extinguisher (PFE) must extinguish a fire by decreasing the oxygen in the rack by 50 percent within 60 sec. The length of time needed for this oxygen reduction throughout the rack and the length of time that the CO2 concentration remains high enough to prevent the fire from reigniting is important when determining the effectiveness of the response and postfire procedures. Furthermore, in the absence of gravity, the local flow velocity can make the difference between a fire that spreads rapidly and one that self-extinguishes after ignition. A numerical simulation of the discharge of CO2 from PFE into the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) in microgravity was performed to obtain the local velocity and CO2 concentration. The complicated flow field around the PFE nozzle exits was modeled by sources of equivalent mass and momentum flux at a location downstream of the nozzle. The time for the concentration of CO2 to reach a level that would extinguish a fire anywhere in the rack was determined using the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), a computational fluid dynamics code developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology specifically to evaluate the development of a fire and smoke transport. The simulation shows that CO2, as well as any smoke and combustion gases produced by a fire, would be discharged into the ISS cabin through the resource utility panel at the bottom of the rack. These simulations will be validated by comparing the results with velocity and CO2 concentration measurements obtained during the fire suppression system verification tests conducted on the CIR in March 2003. Once these numerical simulations are validated, portions of the ISS labs and living areas will be modeled to determine the local flow conditions before, during, and after a fire event. These simulations can yield specific information about how long it takes for smoke and combustion gases produced by a fire to reach a detector location, how large the fire would be when the detector alarms, and the behavior of the fire until it has been extinguished. This new capability could then be used to optimize the location of fire detectors and fire-suppression ports as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of fire suppressants and response strategies. Numerical data collected from these simulations could also be used to develop a virtual reality fire event for crew training and fire safety awareness. This work is funded by NASA's Bioastronautics Initiative, which has the objective of ensuring and enhancing the health, safety, and performance of humans in space. As part of this initiative, the Microgravity Combustion Science Branch at the NASA Glenn Research Center is conducting spacecraft fire safety research to significantly improve fire safety on inhabited spacecraft.

Wu, Ming-Shin↗

NASA NTRS1992

USRA/RIACS

The Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science (RIACS) was established by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) at the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) on 6 June 1983. RIACS is privately operated by USRA, a consortium of universities with research programs in the aerospace sciences, under a cooperative agreement with NASA. The primary mission of RIACS is to provide research and expertise in computer science and scientific computing to support the scientific missions of NASA ARC. The research carried out at RIACS must change its emphasis from year to year in response to NASA ARC's changing needs and technological opportunities. A flexible scientific staff is provided through a university faculty visitor program, a post doctoral program, and a student visitor program. Not only does this provide appropriate expertise but it also introduces scientists outside of NASA to NASA problems. A small group of core RIACS staff provides continuity and interacts with an ARC technical monitor and scientific advisory group to determine the RIACS mission. RIACS activities are reviewed and monitored by a USRA advisory council and ARC technical monitor. Research at RIACS is currently being done in the following areas: Parallel Computing; Advanced Methods for Scientific Computing; Learning Systems; High Performance Networks and Technology; Graphics, Visualization, and Virtual Environments.

Oliger, Joseph↗

NASA NTRS1992

USRA/RIACS

The Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science (RIACS) was established by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) at the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) on June 6, 1983. RIACS is privately operated by USRA, a consortium of universities with research programs in the aerospace sciences, under a cooperative agreement with NASA. The primary mission of RIACS is to provide research and expertise in computer science and scientific computing to support the scientific missions of NASA ARC. The research carried out at RIACS must change its emphasis from year to year in response to NASA ARC's changing needs and technological opportunities. A flexible scientific staff is provided through a university faculty visitor program, a post doctoral program, and a student visitor program. Not only does this provide appropriate expertise but it also introduces scientists outside of NASA to NASA problems. A small group of core RIACS staff provides continuity and interacts with an ARC technical monitor and scientific advisory group to determine the RIACS mission. RIACS activities are reviewed and monitored by a USRA advisory council and ARC technical monitor. Research at RIACS is currently being done in the following areas: (1) parallel computing; (2) advanced methods for scientific computing; (3) learning systems; (4) high performance networks and technology; and (5) graphics, visualization, and virtual environments. In the past year, parallel compiler techniques and adaptive numerical methods for flows in complicated geometries were identified as important problems to investigate for ARC's involvement in the Computational Grand Challenges of the next decade. We concluded a summer student visitors program during this six months. We had six visiting graduate students that worked on projects over the summer and presented seminars on their work at the conclusion of their visits. RIACS technical reports are usually preprints of manuscripts that have been submitted to research journals or conference proceedings. A list of these reports for the period July 1, 1992 through December 31, 1992 is provided.

Oliger, Joseph↗