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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2011

A Conjugate Study of Mean Winds and Planetary Waves Employing Enhanced Meteor Radars at Rio Grande, Argentina (53.8degS) and Juliusruh, Germany (54.6degN)

Two meteor radars with enhanced power and sensitivity and located at closely conjugate latitudes (54.6degN and 53.8degS) are employed for inter-hemispheric comparisons of mean winds and planetary wave structures. Our study uses data from June 2008 through May 2010 during which both radars provided nearly continuous wind measurements from approx.80 to 100 km. Monthly mean winds at 53.8degS exhibit a somewhat stronger westward mean zonal jet in spring and early summer at lower altitudes and no westward monthly mean winds at higher altitudes. In contrast, westward mean winds of approx.5-10 m/s at 54.6degN extend to above 96 km during late winter and early spring each year. Equatorward monthly mean winds extend approximately from spring to fall equinox at both latitudes, with amplitudes of approx.5-10 m/s and more rapid decreases in amplitude at 54.6degN at higher altitudes. Meridional mean winds are more variable at both latitudes during fall and winter, with both poleward and equatorward monthly means indicating longer-period variability. Planetary waves seen in the 2-day mean data are episodic and variable at both sites, exhibit dominant periodicities of approx.8-10 and 16-20 days and are more confined to late fall and winter at 54.6degN. At both latitudes, planetary waves in the two period bands coincide closely in time and exhibit similar horizontal velocity covariances that are positive (negative) at 54.6degN (53.8degS) during peak planetary wave responses.

Fritts, D. C.↗
NASA NTRS1974

A design for a Venus orbital imaging radar mission

A planetary exploration mission to map the surface of Venus is discussed. A review of the Venus exploration program provides a basis for determining the probable scientific requirements for resolution, planetary coverage, etc., for such a mission. From these requirements, the range of possible mission, radar, and spacecraft functional requirements is determined and a single 'point' design is investigated in some detail. This point design, which provides full planet mapping at resolutions better than 200 meters, is based on Mariner-class spacecraft technology, including a conventional bipropellant propulsion system, currently under development, capable of delivering the required payload into a 500-km circular Venus orbit.

Rose, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1975

The evolution of the SEASAT imaging radar

The paper describes the design parameters and development of a synthetic aperture radar for use on the SEASAT spacecraft. This imaging radar is designed to operate at altitudes of 800 km with an orbital inclination of 108 deg, a nominal resolution of 25 m, and a swath width of 100 km. The design evolved from planetary imaging radar studies conducted over many years where an L-band imaging radar was developed and tested on aircraft flights as a prototype system to map the surface of Venus. A solid-state transmitter is used where the pulse repetition frequency is a function of altitude and will be about 2kHz for a 12-m long antenna. The receiver consists of the receiver protector, input filters, the gain control, and the RF amplifier. The ground station uses the standard NASA receiver with a 10-m antenna. The correlator, either optical or digital, must be able to compensate for the pitch and yaw variations of the spacecraft as well as the inherent effective yaw caused by the rotation of the earth, and extract the range curvature and range walk effects.

Brown, W. E., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Four Station Interferometric Radar Observations of Mars

Planetary targets have been observed with radar since the late 1950s when it was first used for ranging experiments with the Moon. As telescope size and power increased, it became possible to observe more distant targets (Venus, Mars, and the outer satellites). Inherent to radar observations is the uncertainty as to the source of the reflection, there being two points where range and Doppler rings intersect on a sphere. The use of interferometric methods, first used on the moon with two stations and later on Venus and Mars, solved this problem. We extend the method through the addition of a fourth receiving telescope (thus doubling the number of projected baselines) and integration of the newly available Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) topographic datasets.

Larsen, K. W.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Miniaturized P-Band Beamforming Synthetic Aperture Radar Transceiver

The next generation synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instruments for the study of Earth and planets will employ multiple-input multiple output architectures and advanced beamforming techniques to significantly enhance the capabilities of remote sensing radars. One key component in realizing these instruments is a compact, lightweight and power efficient radar transceiver. To this end a P-band radar transceiver was developed to advance the technical readiness level (TRL) level toward spaceborne SAR instruments at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).

Polarimetry↗
NASA NTRS1983

Simultaneous dual baseline differential VLBI

Attention is drawn to the benefits of simultaneous dual baseline radio interferometric measurements for low altitude planetary orbiter navigation. The radio interferometric data types constitute a valuable addition to conventional tracking data in the establishment of orbit-plane orientation, thanks to their measurement of inertial reference cross-track velocity. The present results show that only a few Delta-VLBI measurements, taken at either end of a conventional tracking arc, suffice for the realization of a positional accuracy of better than 1 km for the case of a Venus Orbiting Imaging Radar-type planetary orbiter. This is comparable to Deep Space Net accuracies, despite the use of a shorter baseline.

Mohan, S. N.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Missions and Instruments: Hopes and Hope Fulfilled

The titles in this section include: 1) Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera in the Extended Mission: The MOC Toolkit; 2) Mars Odyssey THEMIS-VIS Calibration; 3) Early Science Operations and Results from the ESA Mars Express Mission: Focus on Imaging and Spectral Mapping; 4) The Mars Express/NASA Project at JPL; 5) Beagle 2: Mission to Mars - Current Status; 6) The Beagle 2 Microscope; 7) Mars Environmental Chamber for Dynamic Dust Deposition and Statics Analysis; 8) Locating Targets for CRISM Based on Surface Morphology and Interpretation of THEMIS Data; 9) The Phoenix Mission to Mars; 10) First Studies of Possible Landing Sites for the Phoenix Mars Scout Mission Using the BMST; 11) The 2009 Mars Telecommunications Orbiter; 12) The Aurora Exploration Program - The ExoMars Mission; 13) Electron-induced Luminescence and X-Ray Spectrometer (ELXS) System Development; 14) Remote-Raman and Micro-Raman Studies of Solid CO2, CH4, Gas Hydrates and Ice; 15) The Compact Microimaging Spectrometer (CMIS): A New Tool for In-Situ Planetary Science; 16) Preliminary Results of a New Type of Surface Property Measurement Ideal for a Future Mars Rover Mission; 17) Electrodynamic Dust Shield for Solar Panels on Mars; 18) Sensor Web for Spatio-Temporal Monitoring of a Hydrological Environment; 19) Field Testing of an In-Situ Neutron Spectrometer for Planetary Exploration: First Results; 20) A Miniature Solid-State Spectrometer for Space Applications - Field Tests; 21) Application of Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to Mars Polar Exploration: LIBS Analysis of Water Ice and Water Ice/Soil Mixtures; 22) LIBS Analysis of Geological Samples at Low Pressures: Application to Mars, the Moon, and Asteroids; 23) In-Situ 1-D and 2-D Mapping of Soil Core and Rock Samples Using the LIBS Long Spark; 24) Rocks Analysis at Stand Off Distance by LIBS in Martian Conditions; 25) Evaluation of a Compact Spectrograph/Detection System for a LIBS Instrument for In-Situ and Stand-Off Detection; 26) Analysis of Organic Compounds in Mars Analog Samples; 27) Report of the Organic Contamination Science Steering Group; 28) The Water-Wheel IR (WIR) - A Contact Survey Experiment for Water and Carbonates on Mars; 29) Mid-IR Fiber Optic Probe for In Situ Water Detection and Characterization; 30) Effects of Subsurface Sampling & Processing on Martian Simulant Containing Varying Quantities of Water; 31) The Subsurface Ice Probe (SIPR): A Low-Power Thermal Probe for the Martian Polar Layered Deposits; 32) Deploying Ground Penetrating Radar in Planetary Analog Sites to Evaluate Potential Instrument Capabilities on Future Mars Missions; 33) Evaluation of Rock Powdering Methods to Obtain Fine-grained Samples for CHEMIN, a Combined XRD/XRF Instrument; 34) Novel Sample-handling Approach for XRD Analysis with Minimal Sample Preparation; 35) A New Celestial Navigation Method for Mars Landers; 36) Mars Mineral Spectroscopy Web Site: A Resource for Remote Planetary Spectroscopy.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1976

Requirements and capabilities for planetary missions. Venus orbiter imaging radar 1983, volume 3

Two spacecraft will be launched in mid-1983 and inserted into a circular polar orbit around Venus about 6 months later. Elliptical orbits are also under consideration. The objective of the mission is imagery of the planet, at about the 200-m resolution level, with continuous altimetry and topographical studies. Science investigations will determine surface characteristics of the planet, study the surface/atmosphere interactions, and determine Venus' mass distribution. A plausible vehicle is based on a Mariner Jupiter/Saturn derivative; others being considered include a Lunar Polar Orbiter derivative and a Pioneer Venus Orbiter derivative.

Kindt, D. H.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Deep Space Network Antennas

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

antenna deep space network dsn telemetry planetary↗
NASA NTRS2011

Uplink Array Technology Development

Objective: Develop and demonstrate Uplink Array CALIBRATION and BLIND TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES at X-band, under realistic operational conditions relevant to future DSN uplink arrays

planetary radar↗