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Results for “site selection”

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 NTRS2017

Human Mars Mission Overview and Dust Storm Impacts on Site Selection

NASA has begun a process to identify and discuss candidate locations where humans could land, live and work on the martian surface. This process is being carried out as a cooperative effort by NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD), responsible for future human mission preparations, and the Science Mission Directorate (SMD), responsible for the on-going Mars Exploration Program of robotic vehicles in orbit and on the surface of Mars. Both of these Directorates have a significant interest in this process, as these candidate locations will be used by NASA as part of a multi-year effort to determine where and how humans could explore Mars. In the near term this process includes: (a) identifying locations that would maximize the potential science return from future human exploration missions, (b) identifying locations with the potential for resources required to support humans, (c) developing concepts and engineering systems needed by future human crews to conduct operations within a candidate location, and (d) identifying key characteristics of the proposed candidate locations that cannot be evaluated using existing data sets, thus helping to define precursor measurements needed in advance of human missions.

Hoffman, S. J.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Hybrid power plant design for low-carbon hydrogen in the United States

In this study, we provide a nationwide techno-economic analysis of clean hydrogen production powered by a hybrid renewable energy plant for over 50,000 locations in the United States. We leverage the open-source Hybrid Optimization Performance Platform (HOPP) tool to simulate the hourly performance of an off-grid wind-solar plant integrated with a 1-GW polymer exchange membrane electrolyzer system. The levelized cost of hydrogen is calculated for varying technology costs, and tax credits to explore cost sensitivities independent of plant design, performance, and site selection. Our findings suggest that strategies for cost reduction include selecting sites with abundant wind resources, complementary wind and solar resources, and optimizing the sizing of wind and solar assets to maximize the hybrid plant capacity factor. These strategies are linked to increased hydrogen production and reduced electrolyzer stack replacements, thereby lowering the overall cost of hydrogen.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2023

Coupled wave-current modeling for hydrodynamic load analysis of macroalgae cultivation farms

Large-scale cultivation of macroalgae is one of the most promising biofuel sources that could reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and would be particularly economically competitive when grown for the co-production of additional goods such as food and textiles. Current production of biofuel from algal biomass is limited by labor costs and lack of data on potential impacts of cultivation and harvesting on marine and coastal environments as well as a comprehensive characterization of the impact of environmental conditions on macroalgal feedstock and their bioproduct and biofuel yield and quality. Awarded by the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) Macroalgae Research Inspiring Novel Energy Resources (MARINER) program, which seeks to enable the U.S. as a global leader in the production of marine biomass, the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) has been developing a test system for tropical seaweed cultivation in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. An integral step in designing macroalgae cultivation farms is to adequately characterize the hydrodynamic climate at potential growth sites. In regions like the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, which are highly exposed to tropical cyclones, it is critical to not only consider the day-to-day hydrodynamic conditions but to also assess the risk of extreme sea states to ensure the survivability of future macroalgae farms. Under these considerations, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is providing modeling support for MBL to inform the design and siting of the farm systems that have been proposed for their ARPA-E MARINER project. This report describes the development of a high-resolution coupled storm surge and wave model to simulate the hydrodynamics and wave climate at proposed macroalgae cultivation sites selected by MBL in Florida and Puerto Rico. Model results, including model validation, water level, current distributions, and sea states, are discussed for both selected sites in Florida and Puerto Rico coast. These simulations provide an accurate insight into the hydrodynamic conditions that a macroalgae farm is likely to experience during its operational lifetime, including current information to support fine-scale hydrodynamic load modeling, risk analysis and system design.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
NASA NTRS2000

Next-Generation Entry/Descent/Landing System for Mars Landers

Many important scientific objectives for Mars exploration require the ability to land safely at select sites. The 'first-generation' entry, descent, and landing (EDL) systems used in previous missions imposed limitations on target site selection due to the delivery accuracy achievable and those systems' inability to recognize and avoid hazardous terrain. This abstract outlines key capabilities of a proposed second-generation EDL system, currently under development by a consortium of NASA centers, Industry, and academic institutions.

Thurman, Sam W.↗
NASA NTRS2022

SNPP and N20 VIIRS Thermal Emissive Bands Calibration Comparison Using the GEO-LEO Double Difference Method

The VIIRS instruments onboard the SNPP and NOAA-20 satellites have identical spatial resolutions and the same spectral bands. Similar prelaunch tests and identical on-orbit calibration algorithms established the foundation for their consistent Earth measurements. Calibration assessment and consistency comparisons are useful to maintain their performance and measurement accuracy. Simultaneous nadir overpasses (SNO) between two satellites are commonly used for a direct calibration comparison between sensors. However, there are no SNO between SNPP and NOAA20. Hence, a reference sensor or Earth measurements are normally used to bridge the comparison. As a reference, we focus on the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) onboard the GOES-R series spacecraft and its application to the SNPP and NOAA-20 VIIRS comparison. GOES16 and GOES17are the first two satellites of the GOES-R series and were launched on November 19, 2016, and March 12, 2018, respectively. Their operational positions are on the equator with longitudes of 75.2° West over land and 137.2° West over ocean, respectively. The ABI is the primary imaging instrument of these spacecrafts for the Earth’s weather, oceans, and environment, with observations (every 10 minutes) that provide vast data for GEO-Low Earth orbit (LEO)and LEO-LEO comparisons utilizing it as an intermediate reference sensor. VIIRS and ABI have spectrally matched bands and can have simultaneous measurements over any selected site every day. The simultaneous measurements over the same site also have various scan angles. These features provide advantages for a VIIRS-to-ABI comparison. The spectral response function difference between instruments, sites selected, and view angles will have effects on the instrument measurements. Their impacts on the calibration comparison, including the use of double differences, will be discussed. By collecting VIIRS measurements over a large range of view angles, the view angle effect will also be investigated. The collection of an ample amount of data provides an advantage for statistical analyses and potential big data applications to sensor calibration assessments. This method can also be applied to other sensor calibration comparison and performance assessments, such as GOES16 and GOES17 ABI, and Terra and Aqua MODIS.

Tiejun Chang↗
NASA NTRS1994

Strategy for selecting Mars Pathfinder landing sites

A strategy for Pathfinder site selection must be developed that is fundamentally different from most previous considerations. At least two approaches can be identified. In one approach, the objective is to select a site representing a key geologic unit on Mars, i.e., a unit that is widespread, easily recognized, and used frequently as a datum in various investigations. The second approach is to select a site that potentially affords access to a wide variety of rock types. Because rover range is limited, rocks from a variety of sources must be assembled in a small area for sampling. Regardless of the approach taken in site selection, the Pathfinder site should include eolian deposits and provisions should be made to obtain measurements on soils. A recommended approach for selecting the Mars Pathfinder landing site is to identify a deltaic deposit, composed of sediments derived from sources of various ages and geologic units that shows evidence of eolian activity. The site should be located as close as possible to the part of the outwash where rapid deposition occurred because the likelihood of 'sorting' by size and composition increases with distance, decreasing the probability of heterogeneity. In addition, it is recommended that field operation tests be conducted to gain experience and insight into conducting science with Pathfinder.

Greeley, Ronald↗