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At least 163 records · Page 9

NASA Interactive Forms Type Interface - NIFTI

A flexible database query, update, modify, and delete tool was developed that provides an easy interface to Oracle forms. This tool - the NASA interactive forms type interface, or NIFTI - features on-the- fly forms creation, forms sharing among users, the capability to query the database from user-entered criteria on forms, traversal of query results, an ability to generate tab-delimited reports, viewing and downloading of reports to the user s workstation, and a hypertext-based help system. NIFTI is a very powerful ad hoc query tool that was developed using C++, X-Windows by a Motif application framework. A unique tool, NIFTI s capabilities appear in no other known commercial-off-the- shelf (COTS) tool, because NIFTI, which can be launched from the user s desktop, is a simple yet very powerful tool with a highly intuitive, easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) that will expedite the creation of database query/update forms. NIFTI, therefore, can be used in NASA s International Space Station (ISS) as well as within government and industry - indeed by all users of the widely disseminated Oracle base. And it will provide significant cost savings in the areas of user training and scalability while advancing the art over current COTS browsers. No COTS browser performs all the functions NIFTI does, and NIFTI is easier to use. NIFTI s cost savings are very significant considering the very large database with which it is used and the large user community with varying data requirements it will support. Its ease of use means that personnel unfamiliar with databases (e.g., managers, supervisors, clerks, and others) can develop their own personal reports. For NASA, a tool such as NIFTI was needed to query, update, modify, and make deletions within the ISS vehicle master database (VMDB), a repository of engineering data that includes an indentured parts list and associated resource data (power, thermal, volume, weight, and the like). Since the VMDB is used both as a collection point for data and as a common repository for engineering, integration, and operations teams, a tool such as NIFTI had to be designed that could expedite the creation of database query/update forms which could then be shared among users.

Jain, Bobby↗

Automated X-ray and Optical Analysis of the Virtual Observatory and Grid Computing

We are developing a system to combine the Web Enabled Source Identification with X-Matching (WESIX) web service, which emphasizes source detection on optical images,with the XAssist program that automates the analysis of X-ray data. XAssist is continuously processing archival X-ray data in several pipelines. We have established a workflow in which FITS images and/or (in the case of X ray data) an X-ray field can be input to WESIX. Intelligent services return available data (if requested fields have been processed) or submit job requests to a queue to be performed asynchronously. These services will be available via web services (for non-interactive use by Virtual Observatory portals and applications) and through web applications (written in the Django web application framework). We are adding web services for specific XAssist functionality such as determining .the exposure and limiting flux for a given position on the sky and extracting spectra and images for a given region. We are improving the queuing system in XAssist to allow for "watch lists" to be specified by users, and when X-ray fields in a user's watch list become publicly available they will be automatically added to the queue. XAssist is being expanded to be used as a survey planning 1001 when coupled with simulation software, including functionality for NuStar, eRosita, IXO, and the Wide Field Xray Telescope (WFXT), as part of an end to end simulation/analysis system. We are also investigating the possibility of a dedicated iPhone/iPad app for querying pipeline data, requesting processing, and administrative job control.

Ptak, A.↗

Hyperspectral Microwave Atmospheric Sounder (HyMAS) Architecture and Design Accommodations

The Hyperspectral Microwave Atmospheric Sounder (HyMAS) is being developed at Lincoln Laboratories and accommodated by the Goddard Space Flight Center for a flight opportunity on a NASA research aircraft. The term "hyperspectral microwave" is used to indicate an all-weather sounding that performs equivalent to hyperspectral infrared sounders in clear air with vertical resolution of approximately 1 km. Deploying the HyMAS equipped scanhead with the existing Conical Scanning Microwave Imaging Radiometer (CoSMIR) shortens the path to a flight demonstration. Hyperspectral microwave is achieved through the use of independent RF antennas that sample the volume of the Earth s atmosphere through various levels of frequencies, thereby producing a set of dense, spaced vertical weighting functions. The simulations proposed for HyMAS 118/183-GHz system should yield surface precipitation rate and water path retrievals for small hail, soft hail, or snow pellets, snow, rainwater, etc. with accuracies comparable to those of the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder. Further improvements in retrieval methodology (for example, polarization exploitation) are expected. The CoSMIR instrument is a packaging concept re-used on HyMAS to ease the integration features of the scanhead. The HyMAS scanhead will include an ultra-compact Intermediate Frequency Processor (IFP) module that is mounted inside the door to improve thermal management. The IFP is fabricated with materials made of Low-Temperature Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC) technology integrated with detectors, amplifiers, A/D conversion and data aggregation. The IFP will put out 52 channels of 16 bit data comprised of 4-9 channel data streams for temperature profiles and 2-8 channel streams for water vapor. With the limited volume of the existing CoSMIR scanhead and new HyMAS front end components, the HyMAS team at Goddard began preliminary layout work inside the new drum. Importing and re-using models of the shell, the scan head computer, and the slip rings developed for CoSMIR was the starting point. The next step was to modify the antenna faceplate to accommodate the dimensions of the three dual polarization Gaussian Optics Antenna (GOA) assemblies. Two mechanical concepts for the core technology, the hyperspectral IFP, were captured in a design tradeoff. Connector models considered minimum bend radii for the IFP analog connectors. Hyperspectral imaging is accomplished by strategically using a short wavelength intermediate frequency of 18-29 GHz, and thus reducing the size of components in the connection of the front end to the IFP. The SMK (2.92mm) Series connector will lay near the hinge line to minimize its flexing. The digital output of the IFP will use a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) that must be accommodated by the scan head computer. To make that computer more reliable, maintainable, and forward compatible with the 52 HyMAS channels, a testbed of the scan head, calibration, and archive computers and the PIC24 microprocessor that resides on the IFP is in development. The computers will be programmed using a new framework application called Interoperable Remote Component (IRC). This software allows flexibility to program computers that communicate with each other and can adapt easily to the emerging HyMAS requirements for data format, algorithms, and graphical user interface (GUI). It is expected that the CoSMIR instrument will cut over to the IRC after it is adapted on an updated CoSMIR testbed.

Hilliard, Lawrence↗

Co-leveraging Scientific Advances in Space Biology and Astrobiology Towards Achieving NASA’s Life Science Objectives

Executive Summary: Distinct lines of scientific inquiry drives the separation of NASA’s fundamental life science research into Space Biology and Astrobiology. This division developed as a way to place life scientists alongside experts in the physical constraints that define the acclimation, adaptation and evolution of biology systems relevant to their respective subjects. For astrobiology, integration with disciplines such as geology, geochemistry, astronomy, planetary science, etc., enables a comprehensive assessment of the physical environment and its co-evolution with biological processes. Space Biology’s co-location with Physical Sciences places life science researchers adjacent to experts in the physical phenomena associated with microgravity and spaceflight, enabling an understanding of how the spaceflight environment affects biological systems. Despite this separation, aspects of both disciplines have converged on a similar, fundamental objective: to describe and understand the dynamics of complex living communities in the contexts of their physical environments. While the environmental systems and timescales are dramatically different, continuing to motivate the separation into distinct fields, similarities in the underlying objective present opportunities to find efficiencies, reduce overlap, and minimize duplication of effort. Space Biology and Astrobiology share a common need to understand microbial physiology in extreme environments – whether the ‘built’ spaceflight environment or the natural environments in which many astrobiology studies are conducted. In particular, open questions in each discipline require the development of quantitative frameworks, applicable at the ecosystem level, that support predictive capabilities for environments where observations are sparse. Additionally, both disciplines have a need to prepare, detect, and analyze the (potential) biological signal in complex samples-often in a completely autonomous fashion. The next decade will see NASA Space Biology moving to understand and describe the effects of the beyond low-earth orbit (BLEO) spaceflight environment on living systems. This new direction will dramatically reduce the opportunities for ground-based analysis of space-flown samples, driving space biology investigations towards fully autonomous experiments and missions. At the same time, astrobiology life detection missions aimed at detecting biosignatures on Mars and icy moons in the outer solar system could benefit from fully automated sample processing and analysis. There are opportunities to leverage instrument and method development between both disciplines within the context of these BLEO missions.

Astrobiology↗

LANDO: Developing Autonomous Surface Operations for Planetary Surfaces

The Lightweight Surface Manipulation System (LSMS) AutoNomy capabilities Development for surface Operations and construction (LANDO) project is an Early Career Initiative (ECI) selected for funding by the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) beginning in fiscal year 2022. Over the two-year project duration, the LANDO project will deliver a general-purpose autonomy framework applicable to serial and tension-actuated manipulation agents, that has been validated using an existing prototype of the LSMS-L35 (35-kg wrist lift capacity on the lunar surface, sized for a Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) mission). Specific to the LANDO project, the autonomous LSMS-L35 will be used to demonstrate autonomous payload handling capabilities for Lunar and other planetary surfaces, directly addressing STMD capability gaps in autonomous surface construction (ASC) operations, advanced robotics and spacecraft autonomy technologies, and technologies supporting emerging space industries including the On-orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing (OSAM) National Initiative. In this paper, an overview of the LANDO ECI project is presented.

autonomy↗

LANDO: Developing autonomous surface operations for planetary surfaces

The Lightweight Surface Manipulation System (LSMS) AutoNomy capabilities Development for surface Operations and construction (LANDO) project is an Early Career Initiative (ECI) selected for funding by the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) beginning in fiscal year 2022. Over the two-year project duration, the LANDO project will deliver a general-purpose autonomy framework applicable to serial and tension-actuated manipulation agents, that has been validated using an existing prototype of the LSMS-L35 (35-kg wrist lift capacity on the lunar surface, sized for a Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) mission). Specific to the LANDO project, the autonomous LSMS-L35 will be used to demonstrate autonomous payload handling capabilities for Lunar and other planetary surfaces, directly addressing STMD capability gaps in autonomous surface construction (ASC) operations, advanced robotics and spacecraft autonomy technologies, and technologies supporting emerging space industries including the On-orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing (OSAM) National Initiative. In this paper, an overview of the LANDO ECI project is presented.

autonomy↗

LANDO: Developing Autonomous Payload Offloading Capabilities for Lunar Surface Operations

Introduction: The Lightweight Surface Manipulation System (LSMS) AutoNomy capabilities Development for surface Operations and construction (LANDO) project is an Early Career Initiative selected for funding by NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate. LANDO is developing a general-purpose autonomy framework applicable to serial and tension-actuated manipulation agents, that will be validated using an existing prototype of the LSMS-L35 (35-kg wrist lift capacity on the lunar surface [Fig. 1], sized for a Commercial Lunar Pay-load Services (CLPS) mission). The autonomous LSMS-L35 will be used to demonstrate autonomous payload handling capabilities for Lunar and other planetary surfaces, directly addressing STMD capability gaps in autonomous excavation and construction operations, advanced robotics and spacecraft autonomy technologies, and technologies supporting emerging space industries including the In-Space Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing national strategy. LSMS: The LSMS is a tension actuated robotic agent that is scalable (reach and lifting capacity in different gravity environments), versatile (types of surface operations), and reusable. Compared to serial arms, the LSMS provides significantly higher structural efficiency and mechanical advantage, enabling a greater payload lift capacity at a lower system mass. The LSMS is envisioned to be a crucial part of the excavation and construction portfolio, capable of supporting a variety of activities on the lunar surface. Autonomous payload handling is one of the first activities the LSMS can support that develops capabilities that are extensible to other surface operations. Payload handling is required to: remove payloads from a lander; place payloads on mobile agents for transport from a lander to construction site/assembly point; emplace payloads in their operational configuration, and aggregate components to create an asset. As an example of this critical gap, manifested CLPS missions do not currently have a ubiquitous payload offloading capability; payloads (excluding rovers) are designed to remain on the lander. Why Autonomy? Autonomous robotic systems capable of carrying out excavation and construction operations are a fundamental and critical capability required for realizing the NASA Artemis program vision to “emplace and build the infrastructure, systems, and robotic missions that can enable a sustained lunar surface presence.” While teleoperation is still feasible for lunar surface operations, increased latency at Mars will require validated supervised autonomous technologies capable of operating with minimal human involvement (human-on-the-loop) unless an unexpected event occurs requiring human intervention. Autonomy reduces operator burden, allows operations to continue during uncrewed periods, in-creases the safety of operations by automatically detecting and handling faults, and allows operating in high latency environments. Development Activities: LANDO is extending critical autonomous operations to the manipulation domain and creating an integrated system, based on reusable software modules, that is capable of planning and executing payload handling and autonomous surface operations without requiring hu-man intervention beyond a supervisory role. The priority features under development are 1) autonomously offload payloads from a tilted lander deck without buckling the LSMS; 2) sensing whether a payload is safe to lift and handle; and 3) integrate with Astrobotic’s CLPS lander. The poster presentation will highlight current development activities over the past year on LSMS-L35 prototype hard-ware design, and autonomy software.

in-space assembly↗

Responsive Image Inline Filter

RIIF is a contributed module for the Drupal php web application framework (drupal.org). It is written as a helper or sub-module of other code which is part of version 8 "core Drupal" and is intended to extend its functionality. It allows Drupal to resize images uploaded through the user-facing text editor within the Drupal GUI (a.k.a. "inline images") for various browser widths. This resizing is already done foe other images through the parent "Responsive Image" core module. This code extends that functionality to inline images.

Freeman, Ian↗

Point Kinetics and Reactivity Feedback Modeling in SAM

Over the past few years, the rapidly rising interest in advanced nuclear reactor technology has led to an increased need for the developments and applications of advanced computational tools for modeling and simulation. System Analysis Module (SAM) is being developed at Argonne National Laboratory as a modern system-level modeling and simulation tool for advanced non-light water reactor safety analyses [1]. It utilizes the object-oriented application framework MOOSE [2] to leverage the modern software environment and advanced numerical methods [3]. To meet this need, the capabilities of SAM are being extended to enable the transient modeling, analysis, and design of advanced nuclear reactor systems. The objective of this summary is to present the development of Point-Kinetics modeling and reactivity feedback mechanisms in SAM. This summary also presents the new capability for modeling the thermal expansion reactivity feedback by coupling SAM and an external thermomechanics module (Tensor Mechanics) from MOOSE.

Hu, Guojun↗

Blockchain cybersecurity solutions

Technology related to blockchain cybersecurity solutions and a blockchain applicability framework is disclosed. In one example of the disclosed technology, a system is configured to store, in a database, a plurality of cryptographically-signed records of data transmitted between an asset and a utility historian, and store, in a distributed ledger, a respective hash value corresponding to each record of the database. The system can be further configured to verify a selected record by recomputing a hash value corresponding to the selected record and comparing the recomputed hash value to the respective hash value stored in the distributed ledger in correspondence with the selected record.

Gourisetti, Sri Nikhil Gupta↗

An Evidence-Based Critique of U.S. Nuclear Waste Policy Using Data from Reactor and Cyclotron Sites - 18568

Concrete at nuclear facilities becomes radioactive when it is exposed to a neutron flux, and when such facilities are vacated, decommissioning activities are enacted to make the site safe for reuse. These activities generate wastes that the public expects to be managed in their best interest. This paper provides side-by-side comparisons of concrete bio-shielding encountered at typical reactor and cyclotron decommissioning projects. Three sites are considered, and results from characterization samples are used to demonstrate that the wastes generated by such sites are similar in terms of content and risk. First, the dose potential represented by each waste is determined from mass-based radioactivity concentration with the RESRAD-BUILD computer code. The resulting doses are translated into population-risk estimates by applying dose-response predictions from the National Academy of Sciences' 2006 BEIR VII report. In terms of possible adverse health outcomes, the risk of solid cancer or leukemia associated with the wastes this paper examines is 8 to 50 extra cases per 100,000 persons. The regulatory framework applicable to each site is also reviewed, and the waste management strategies used at each site are contrasted. This paper demonstrates that the wastes it examines are virtually indistinguishable. Contrary to this finding, the wastes are regulated, managed, and disposed in very different manners according to current U.S. nuclear waste policy. The value of this paper is that the side-by-side comparisons it presents provides an opportunity to examine the risk-benefit of existing policies in terms of the benefits or disparities they represent. (author)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Spin-on deposition of amorphous zeolitic imidazolate framework films for lithography applications

Amorphous zeolitic imidazolate framework (aZIF) films have been recently introduced as resists for electron beam and extreme ultraviolet lithography. aZIFs are also being considered for separation applications, including thin film membranes. However, the reported methods for aZIF deposition are currently based on highly empirical trial-and-error approaches that hinder control of film composition, thickness and uniformity as well as scale-up and transferability to different coating geometries. This work presents a method for depositing aZIF films with controllable thickness using dilute precursors mixed immediately before encountering the substrate. Importantly, the method is amenable to quantitative analysis by computational fluid dynamics to extract intrinsic deposition rates and limiting reactant transport diffusivities, enabling predictive physics-based modeling of the deposition process. This allows the deposition method to be adapted for spin coating on silicon wafers to prepare high-quality aZIF films with consistently controlled thickness. Using this approach, high-resolution resist performance and wafer-scale use for beyond extreme-ultraviolet lithography of aZIF films is demonstrated.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Mechanistic Probes of Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework for Photocatalytic Application

In this work, we report a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-67) with remarkable activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) of 40,500 μmol H 2 /g MOF, which is, to the best of our knowledge, the highest activity achieved by any MOF system. This result necessitated assessment of its atomic-scale mechanistic function for HER using advanced spectroscopy techniques including time-resolved optical (OTA) and in situ X-ray absorption (XAS) spectroscopy. Through the correlation of OTA results with catalytic performance, we demonstrated that the electron transfer (ET) rather than energy transfer (ENT) pathway between photosensitizer and ZIF-67 is the key factor that controls the efficiency of HER activity, as HER activity that undergoes ET pathway is 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of ENT process. Here, using in situ XAS, we unraveled the spectral features for key intermediate species which are likely responsible for the rate determining process under turn over conditions. Finally, this work represents an original approach to study porous ZIF materials at the molecular level using advanced spectroscopic techniques, providing unprecedented insights into the photoactive nature of ZIF frameworks.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Evaluating transition metal oxides within DFT-SCAN and SCAN + U frameworks for solar thermochemical applications

Using the strongly constrained and appropriately normed (SCAN) and SCAN+U approximations for describing electron exchange-correlation (XC) within density functional theory, we investigate the oxidation energetics, lattice constants, and electronic structure of binary Ce-, Mn-, and Fe-oxides, which are crucial ingredients for generating renewable fuels using two-step, oxide-based, solar thermochemical reactors. Unlike other common XC functionals, we find that SCAN does not over-bind the O 2 molecule, based on direct calculations of its bond energy and robust agreement between calculated formation enthalpies of main group oxides versus experiments. However, in the case of transition-metal oxides (TMOs), SCAN systematically overestimates (i.e., yields too negative) oxidation enthalpies due to remaining self-interaction errors in the description of their ground-state electronic structure. Adding a Hubbard U term to the transition-metal centers, where the magnitude of U is determined from experimental oxidation enthalpies, significantly improves the qualitative agreement and marginally improves the quantitative agreement of SCAN+U-calculated electronic structure and lattice parameters, respectively, with experiments. Importantly, SCAN predicts the wrong ground-state structure for a few oxides, namely, Ce 2 O 3 , Mn 2 O 3 , and Fe 3 O 4 , while SCAN+U predicts the right polymorph for all systems considered in this work. Furthermore, the SCAN+U framework, with an appropriately determined U, will be required to accurately describe ground-state properties and yield qualitatively consistent electronic properties for most transition-metal and rare earth oxides.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Applicability of a Framework for Estimating Performance and Associated Uncertainty for Modified Aircraft Configurations

As improvements are made to the accuracy and reliability of modeling and simulation techniques, certification by analysis becomes a more attractive alternative compared to traditional aircraft flight testing. Certification by analysis is especially cost-effective when one considers modifications to a previously certified aircraft. However, it is important that the models and methods used are applicable and accurate throughout the intended use domain. A framework for estimating the performance and associated uncertainty was introduced in an earlier paper. The factors and limitations of this framework for estimating the performance and associated model form uncertainty are explored to determine the range of applicability of the framework, particularly with respect to model form, process and sensor noise, and quality of available flight test data. This paper focuses on the general limitations and applicability of the framework and not the applicability of the individual methods to a range of modified configurations, which requires a large number of modified configurations and is an area for future work. The effects of these factors on the performance and uncertainty results are demonstrated using NASA’s Generic Transport Model aircraft.

uncertainty quantification↗

Theoretical Investigation of Charge Transfer in Metal Organic Frameworks for Electrochemical Device Applications

For electrochemical device applications metal organic frameworks (MOFs) must exhibit suitable conduction properties. To this end, we have performed computational studies of intermolecular charge transfer in MOFs consisting of hexa-Zr IV nodes and tetratopic carboxylate linkers. This includes an examination of the electronic structure of linkers that are derived from tetraphenyl benzene $1$, tetraphenyl pyrene $2$, and tetraphenyl porphyrin $3$ molecules. These results are used to determine charge transfer propensities in MOFs, within the framework of Marcus theory, including an analysis of the key parameters (charge transfer integral $t$, reorganization energy $λ$, and free energy change $ΔG^o$) and evaluation of figures of merit for charge transfer based on the chemical structures of the linkers. This qualitative analysis indicates that delocalization of the HOMO/LUMO on terminal substituents increases $t$ and decreases $λ$, while weaker binding to counterions decreases $ΔG^o$, leading to better charge transfer propensity. Subsequently, we study hole transfer in the linker $2$ containing MOFs, NU-901 and NU-1000, in detail and describe mechanisms (hopping and superexchange) that may be operative under different electrochemical conditions. Comparisons with experiment are provided where available. On the basis of the redox and catalytic activity of nodes and linkers, we propose three possible schemes for constructing electrochemical devices for catalysis. We believe that the results of this study will lay the foundation for future experimental work on this topic.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗