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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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NASA NTRS1994

The sensitivity to parametric variation in direct minimization techniques

Solutions of some objective analysis techniques are known to depend upon the subjective values of internal parameters. The change in the solution per change in the parameter is the sensitivity. Parameters with low sensitivity can be varied with large increments during preliminary searches for near-optimal parameter values. Only terms with high sensitivity must be thoroughly investigated once the parameters are determined to be close to optimal. Both absolute and relative sensitivities are discussed and a sensitivity-based definition of the solution uncertainty is proposed. The sensitivity of direct minimization analysis to parametric variation is evaluated using a set of 'response functions' that characterize different aspects of the solution. It is shown that solutions of direct minimization techniques have low absolute sensitivity. Two examples are used to illustrate the usefulness of the technique. Both involved measurements of air-sea quantities (e.g., wind stress and latent heat flux) from a variety of data sources using a direct minimization technique. The examples demonstrate that sensitivity analysis is capable of quantifying regional sensitivities as well as indicating the magnitude and relationship between the various parameters.

Meyers, S. D.↗
DOE OSTI2015

Modeling and sensitivity analysis of mass transfer in active multilayer polymeric film for food applications

The barrier performance of multilayer polymeric films for food applications has been significantly improved by incorporating oxygen scavenging materials. The scavenging activity depends on parameters such as diffusion coefficient, solubility, concentration of scavenger loaded and the number of available reactive sites. These parameters influence the barrier performance of the film in different ways. Virtualization of the process is useful to characterize, design and optimize the barrier performance based on physical configuration of the films. Also, the knowledge of values of parameters is important to predict the performances. Inverse modeling and sensitivity analysis are sole way to find reasonable values of poorly defined, unmeasured parameters and to analyze the most influencing parameters. Thus, the objective of this work was to develop a model to predict barrier properties of multilayer film incorporated with reactive layers and to analyze and characterize their performances. Polymeric film based on three layers of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), with a core reactive layer, at different thickness configurations was considered in the model. A one dimensional diffusion equation with reaction was solved numerically to predict the concentration of oxygen diffused into the polymer taking into account the reactive ability of the core layer. The model was solved using commercial software for different film layer configurations and sensitivity analysis based on inverse modeling was carried out to understand the effect of physical parameters. The results have shown that the use of sensitivity analysis can provide physical understanding of the parameters which highly affect the gas permeation into the film. Solubility and the number of available reactive sites were the factors mainly influencing the barrier performance of three layered polymeric film. Multilayer films slightly modified the steady transport properties in comparison to net PET, giving a small reduction in the permeability and oxygen transfer rate values. Scavenging capacity of the multilayer film increased linearly with the increase of the reactive layer thickness and the oxygen absorption reaction at short times decreased proportionally with the thickness of the external PET layer.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

WE-H-BRC-02: Failure Mode and Effect Analysis of Liver Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy

Purpose: To identify areas of improvement in our liver stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) program, using failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA). Methods: A multidisciplinary group consisting of one physician, three physicists, one dosimetrist and two therapists was formed. A process map covering 10 major stages of the liver SBRT program from the initial diagnosis to post treatment follow-up was generated. A total of 102 failure modes, together with their causes and effects, were identified. The occurrence (O), severity (S) and lack of detectability (D) were independently scored. The ranking was done using the risk probability number (RPN) defined as the product of average O, S and D numbers for each mode. The scores were normalized to remove inter-observer variability, while preserving individual ranking order. Further, a correlation analysis on the overall agreement on rank order of all failure modes resulted in positive values for successive pairs of evaluators. The failure modes with the highest RPN value were considered for further investigation. Results: The average normalized RPN values for all modes were 39 with a range of 9 to 103. The FMEA analysis resulted in the identification of the top 10 critical failures modes as: Incorrect CT-MR registration, MR scan not performed in treatment position, patient movement between CBCT acquisition and treatment, daily IGRT QA not verified, incorrect or incomplete ITV delineation, OAR contours not verified, inaccurate normal liver effective dose (Veff) calculation, failure of bolus tracking for 4D CT scan, setup instructions not followed for treatment and plan evaluation metrics missed. Conclusion: The application of FMEA to our liver SBRT program led to the identification and possible improvement of areas affecting patient safety.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1971

The formation of excited atoms during charge exchange between hydrogen ions and alkali atoms

The charge exchange cross sections for protons and various alkali atoms are calculated using the classical approximation of Gryzinski. It is assumed that the hydrogen atoms resulting from charge exchange exist in all possible excited states. Charge transfer collisions between protons and potassium as well as protons and sodium atoms are studied. The energy range investigated is between 4 and 30 keV. The theoretical calculations of the capture cross section and the cross section for the creation of metastable 2S hydrogen are compared to experimental values. Good quantitative agreement is found for the capture cross section but only qualitative agreement for the metastable cross section. Analysis of the Lyman alpha window in molecular oxygen suggests that measured values of the metastable cross section may be in error. Thick alkali target data are also presented. This allows the determination of the total electron loss cross section. Finally, some work was done with H2(+).

Nieman, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Investigation of the application of HCMM thermal data to snow hydrology

The author has identified the following significant results. Comparison of the thermal IR band temperatures over the rapidly melting snowcover in a number of locations in the Salt-Verde Arizona watershed by the U-2 high altitude multispectral scanner, with temperatures for these same locations measured by the corresponding HCMM pass, indicate that the U-2 temperatures are typically 5 C higher than the values analyzed from the HCMM infrared digital printout. Results tend to substantiate findings of other investigators that with the offset that has been applied to all HCMM data, the HCMM temperature values may, in fact, actually be 5 C too low. Analysis of differences between the HCMM day and night temperatures for selected snowcovered areas in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, derived from the daytime and nighttime printouts, show greater delta tau values for the sparsely vegetated higher elevations than for the lower elevation, more densely forested terrain. The differences for the 12 hour sequence are also greater in most instances than the 36 hour difference.

Barnes, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS2002

On the Choice of Variable for Atmospheric Moisture Analysis

The implications of using different control variables for the analysis of moisture observations in a global atmospheric data assimilation system are investigated. A moisture analysis based on either mixing ratio or specific humidity is prone to large extrapolation errors, due to the high variability in space and time of these parameters and to the difficulties in modeling their error covariances. Using the logarithm of specific humidity does not alleviate these problems, and has the further disadvantage that very dry background estimates cannot be effectively corrected by observations. Relative humidity is a better choice from a statistical point of view, because this field is spatially and temporally more coherent and error statistics are therefore easier to obtain. If, however, the analysis is designed to preserve relative humidity in the absence of moisture observations, then the analyzed specific humidity field depends entirely on analyzed temperature changes. If the model has a cool bias in the stratosphere this will lead to an unstable accumulation of excess moisture there. A pseudo-relative humidity can be defined by scaling the mixing ratio by the background saturation mixing ratio. A univariate pseudo-relative humidity analysis will preserve the specific humidity field in the absence of moisture observations. A pseudorelative humidity analysis is shown to be equivalent to a mixing ratio analysis with flow-dependent covariances. In the presence of multivariate (temperature-moisture) observations it produces analyzed relative humidity values that are nearly identical to those produced by a relative humidity analysis. Based on a time series analysis of radiosonde observed-minus-background differences it appears to be more justifiable to neglect specific humidity-temperature correlations (in a univariate pseudo-relative humidity analysis) than to neglect relative humidity-temperature correlations (in a univariate relative humidity analysis). A pseudo-relative humidity analysis is easily implemented in an existing moisture analysis system, by simply scaling observed-minus background moisture residuals prior to solving the analysis equation, and rescaling the analyzed increments afterward.

Dee, Dick P.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Lightforce Photon-Pressure Collision Avoidance: Efficiency Analysis in the Current Debris Environment and Long-Term Simulation Perspective

This work provides an efficiency analysis of the LightForce space debris collision avoidance scheme in the current debris environment and describes a simulation approach to assess its impact on the long-term evolution of the space debris environment. LightForce aims to provide just-in-time collision avoidance by utilizing photon pressure from ground-based industrial lasers. These ground stations impart minimal accelerations to increase the miss distance for a predicted conjunction between two objects. In the first part of this paper we will present research that investigates the short-term effect of a few systems consisting of 20-kilowatt-class lasers directed by 1.5-meter-diameter telescopes using adaptive optics. The results found such a network of ground stations to mitigate more than 85 percent of conjunctions and could lower the expected number of collisions in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) by an order of magnitude. While these are impressive numbers that indicate LightForce's utility in the short-term, the remaining 15 percent of possible collisions contain (among others) conjunctions between two massive objects that would add large amount of debris if they collide. Still, conjunctions between massive objects and smaller objects can be mitigated. Hence, we choose to expand the capabilities of the simulation software to investigate the overall effect of a network of LightForce stations on the long-term debris evolution. In the second part of this paper, we will present the planned simulation approach for that effort. For the efficiency analysis of collision avoidance in the current debris environment, we utilize a simulation approach that uses the entire Two Line Element (TLE) catalog in LEO for a given day as initial input. These objects are propagated for one year and an all-on-all conjunction analysis is performed. For conjunctions that fall below a range threshold, we calculate the probability of collision and record those values. To assess efficiency, we compare a baseline (without collision avoidance) conjunction analysis with an analysis where LightForce is active. Using that approach, we take into account that collision avoidance maneuvers could have effects on third objects. Performing all-on-all conjunction analyses for extended period of time requires significant computer resources; hence we implemented this simulation utilizing a highly parallel approach on the NASA Pleiades supercomputer.

space debris mitigation↗
DOE OSTI2017

Measuring, Cutting and Sorting Irradiated Control Rods to Limit the Volume of Intermediate Level Long-lived Waste - 17001

During operation, the PWR control rods are either completely extracted (scram or safety rods) or partially inserted in the operating zone of the core (fine control or operating rods). At the nominal rating conditions or close to them, the operating zone is limited to some steps of insertion in the order of a few tens of cm. In fact, only the lower part of the control rods are subjected to a significant neutron flux with an impact on the neutron activation and so on the waste classification (Low Level Short-lived Waste versus Intermediate Level Long-lived Waste). Our calculative as well as experimental experience confirms the significant presence of radionuclides in the control rods, but only in the lower parts. Measuring, cutting and finally sorting control rod scraps can reduce the volume of Intermediate Level Long-lived Waste planned for our storage deposit facility. This paper presents the EDF/DP2D methodologies followed to determine the sort criteria between the Low Level Short-lived Waste versus the Intermediate Level Long-lived Waste zones for the Silver-Indium-Cadmium control rods. The irradiated control rods are stored in cases without their head. Each case can contain several control rods, and the cases are stored under water in the fuel assembly pool. To calculate the radioactive inventories, we have developed a calculation scheme which is composed of a 3-dimensional mapping of the neutron flux, a calculation of the evolution of the isotopic compositions under neutron flux and finally a comparison between calculated and measured values. The main hypotheses of the control rods calculation take into account: - 3-dimensional geometry and 3-dimensional neutron sources distribution, - the isotopic compositions including impurities, - the history of irradiation resulting mainly from the daily power production, the positions of the control rods in the loading patterns and the positions in the axial operating zone. In order to validate the calculations, measurements were made 20 meters under water in the fuel assembly pool. The experimental results show the presence of many gamma emitter radionuclides. Only Ag-108m was retained for validating the calculations. This is due to the fact that silver is considered as the 'standard' chemical element for our control rods and silver produces Ag-108m which is a long-lived gamma emitter radionuclide. The analysis of the calculated results and the measured values allow us to build a simplified physics model for the simulation of the control rods activation. Finally three sort criteria can be proposed: - Without measurement devices, the sorting is based on an empirical sort criterion. Cuttings must then be made on the 2 back-ends of the control rod pins. This option is due to the difficulty in knowing the orientation of the pins in the storage cases. The cutting lines are placed at approximately 1 m from the 2 back-ends of the pins. This approach does not allow a great optimization of the sorting, less than 50% of the length of the control rods can be saved from Intermediate Level Long-lived Waste storage. - With a simple dose rate measurement device, the knowledge of the orientation of the pins in the storage cases allows us to limit cuttings to the lower part of the control rods. Depending on the 'top to tail' cases, between approximately 50% and 75% of the length of the control rods can be saved from Intermediate Level Long-lived Waste storage. - With an accurate measurement device, the sorting can be based on a specific activity of Ag-108m. Over 4400 Bq/g of Ag-108m (corresponding to the Intermediate Level Long-lived Waste limit), the control rod pieces can be considered as a long-lived waste. The measurements must be made over the 2 back-ends of control rod pins to examine the cases of 'top to tail' storage. This approach allows a great optimization of the sorting. Depending on the history of irradiation, more than 75% of the length of the control rods can be saved from Intermediate Level Long-lived Waste storage. (author)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2022

A spectroscopic, structural, and computational study of Ag–oxo interactions in Ag + /UO 2 2+ complexes

For this work, twelve novel Ag + /UO 2 2+ heterometallic complexes have been prepared and characterized via structural, spectroscopic, and computational methods to probe the effects of Ag–oxo interactions on bonding and photophysical properties of the uranyl cation. Structural characterization reveals Ag–oxo interaction distances ranging from 2.475(3) Å to 4.287(4) Å. These interactions were probed using luminescence and Raman spectroscopy which displayed little effect on the luminescence intensity and the energy of the Raman active U═O symmetric stretch peak as compared to previously reported Pb–oxo interactions. Computational efforts via density functional theory-based natural bond orbital analysis revealed that the highest stabilization energy associated with the Ag–oxo interaction had a value of only 11.03 kcal mol –1 and that all other energy values fell at 7.05 kcal mol –1 or below indicating weaker interactions relative to those previously reported for Pb 2+ /UO 2 2+ heterometallic compounds. In contrast, quantum theory of atoms in molecules analysis of bond critical point electron density values indicated higher electron density in Ag–oxo interactions as compared to Pb–oxo interactions which suggests more covalent character with the Ag + . Overall, this data indicates that Ag + has a less significant effect on UO 2 2+ bonding and photophysical properties as compared to other Pb 2+ , likely due to the high polarizability of the cation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-R-40: Robustness Test of Computed Tomography Textures of Lung Tissues to Varying Scanning Protocols Using a Realistic Phantom Environment

Purpose: The reliability of computed tomography (CT) textures is an important element of radiomics analysis. This study investigates the dependency of lung CT textures on different breathing phases and changes in CT image acquisition protocols in a realistic phantom setting. Methods: We investigated 11 CT texture features for radiation-induced lung disease from 3 categories (first-order, grey level co-ocurrence matrix (GLCM), and Law’s filter). A biomechanical swine lung phantom was scanned at two breathing phases (inhale/exhale) and two scanning protocols set for PET/CT and diagnostic CT scanning. Lung volumes acquired from the CT images were divided into 2-dimensional sub-regions with a grid spacing of 31 mm. The distribution of the evaluated texture features from these sub-regions were compared between the two scanning protocols and two breathing phases. The significance of each factor on feature values were tested at 95% significance level using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) model with interaction terms included. Robustness of a feature to a scanning factor was defined as non-significant dependence on the factor. Results: Three GLCM textures (variance, sum entropy, difference entropy) were robust to breathing changes. Two GLCM (variance, sum entropy) and 3 Law’s filter textures (S5L5, E5L5, W5L5) were robust to scanner changes. Moreover, the two GLCM textures (variance, sum entropy) were consistent across all 4 scanning conditions. First-order features, especially Hounsfield unit intensity features, presented the most drastic variation up to 39%. Conclusion: Amongst the studied features, GLCM and Law’s filter texture features were more robust than first-order features. However, the majority of the features were modified by either breathing phase or scanner changes, suggesting a need for calibration when retrospectively comparing scans obtained at different conditions. Further investigation is necessary to identify the sensitivity of individual image acquisition parameters.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Developing an Automated Uncertainty Quantification Tool to Improve Watershed-Scale Predictions of Water and Nutrient Cycling

Managing the flow of water, nutrients, and contaminants in watersheds is vital to addressing pressing issues related to water scarcity, access to clean drinking water, energy production, resilience to natural and anthropogenic perturbations, and ecological restoration. Decisions about the management of watersheds critically depend on the accuracy with which the flow of water and chemicals through the watershed can be predicted by computer models. Prediction uncertainty can be reduced by matching the model to data, which are collected in the field at great expense. The contribution of watershed characterization data to reducing uncertainty of relevant model predictions can be evaluated in a so-called data-worth analysis, which provides transparent, quantitative metrics about a data set’s value for the support of relevant watershed management objectives. To achieve this goal, we developed a software package that implements the data-worth analysis approach for use with state-of-the-art watershed models. The purpose of the proposed data-worth analysis is to help decision-makers allocate resources for watershed characterization such that the uncertainty in model predictions can be significantly reduced, which leads to better, more effective management decisions. At the same time, watershed characterization costs can be reduced. The specific technical objectives of this SBIR/STTR Phase II project were to develop a framework and associated software toolsets that implement the uncertainty quantification and data-worth analysis approach for use with state-of-the-art watershed models. This goal was achieved by (A) developing a user-friendly, robust software package that is accessible to a wide audience, including watershed managers, policy-makers, and public stakeholders; (B) by demonstrating application of the prototype on several use cases that are representative of complex watershed management challenges spanning a range of scales and that consider different open-source, DOE-based codes and other modeling platforms; and (C) by gathering information about the needs and requirements from potential users to help guide future developments, ensuring that the final product will be commercially viable. The developed software consists of a graphical user interface that guides the user through a sequence of analysis steps, supported by toolsets that leverage state-of-the-art computational simulation-optimization capabilities. A prototype of the software runs on multiple platforms (PC, Mac, multi-processor Linux environment), is linked to diverse watershed simulators (e.g., ECOSYS, TOUGH2, TOUGHREACT, Amanzi-ATS), performs multiple analysis tasks (predictive simulations, sensitivity analysis, uncertainty analysis, automatic parameter estimation, and data-worth analysis, multicomponent geothermometry), and is readily extensible to include external simulators and analysis tools. The software is being commercialized and will be continually updated to address user needs.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1978

Cost benefit assessment of NASA remote sensing technology transferred to the State of Georgia

The benefits involved in the transfer of NASA remote sensing technology to eight Georgia state agencies are identified in quantifiable and qualitative terms, and a value for these benefits is computed by means of an effectiveness analysis. The benefits of the transfer are evaluated by contrasting a baseline scenario without Landsat and an alternative scenario with Landsat. The net present value of the Landsat technology being transferred is estimated at 9.5 million dollars. The estimated value of the transfer is most sensitive to discount rate, the cost of photo acquisition, and the cost of data digitalization. It is estimated that, if the budget is constrained, Landsat could provide data products roughly seven times more frequently than would otherwise be possible.

Kelly, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Fractionation of carbon isotopes by phytoplankton and estimates of ancient CO2 levels

Reports of the 13C content of marine particulate organic carbon are compiled and on the basis of GEOSECS data and temperatures, concentrations, and isotopic compositions of dissolved CO2 in the waters in which the related phytoplankton grew are estimated. In this way, the fractionation of carbon isotopes during photosynthetic fixation of CO2 is found to be significantly correlated with concentrations of dissolved CO2. Because ancient carbon isotopic fractionations have been determined from analyses of sedimentary porphyrins [Popp et al., 1989], the relationship between isotopic fractionation and concentrations of dissolved CO2 developed here can be employed to estimate concentrations of CO2 dissolved in ancient oceans and, in turn, partial pressures of CO2 in ancient atmospheres. The calculations take into account the temperature dependence of chemical and isotopic equilibria in the dissolved-inorganic-carbon system and of air-sea equilibria. Paleoenvironmental temperatures for each sample are estimated from reconstructions of paleogeography, latitudinal temperature gradients, and secular changes in low-latitude sea surface temperature. It is estimated that atmospheric partial pressures of CO2 were over 1000 micro atm 160 - 100 Ma ago, then declined to values near 300 micro atm during the next 100 Ma. Analysis of a high-resolution record of carbon isotopic fractionation at the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary suggests that the partial pressure of CO2 in the atmosphere was drawn down from values near 840 micro atm to values near 700 micro atm during the anoxic event.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Biological Data for Deep Space Mission Support

Increased biomedical risks and challenges associated with deep space missions (cis-Lunar, Mars transit, Mars surface) require new knowledge discovery and development of novel ecosystem and biomedical support capabilities. This paradigm shift supporting distant and long-duration missions requires biological data to be findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable (FAIR), and maximally open-access (i.e., there is a data governance continuum from closed to mediated to embargoed to open). The NASA “Open Science Data Repositories” (OSDR) aims to meet scientific, technical, and operational spaceflight needs, and offers the ability to upload, download, search, share, analyze, and visualize data across physiological, behavioral, ‘omics, and environmental monitoring telemetry datasets. OSDR includes NASA GeneLab, NASA Ames Life Sciences Data Archive (ALSDA), and NASA Biological Institutional Scientific Collection (NBISC). In the past year, ALSDA has undergone a transformation in its data collection, curation, and architecture methods. Standardizing non-genomic (phenotypic) datasets was, and will continue to be, a challenge because of their diverse nature (e.g., molecular, cellular, tissue, whole organism behavior; micro-computed tomography, intraocular pressure, fluorescence microscopy, western blot, ultrasonography; tabular, images, video). This year ALSDA, alongside GeneLab, introduced the Biological Data Management Environment (BDME) with the purpose to accept submission of data from space relevant experiments including spaceflight, radiation, simulated gravity, gravitropism, isolation and confinement, hostile closed environments and/or distance from Earth. In addition to bringing together omics, phenotypic, physiological, bioimaging, and behavioral data into one repository. By integrating with GeneLab a multi-project submission portal aims to reduce the burden on PIs submitting data and enabling the discovery of both omics and phenotypic data. The purpose of ALSDA is to collect, curate, and make all non-human space-relevant biological data maximally findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR). These scope of ALSDA data collected and submitted by PIs include study design metadata, subject metadata, assay metadata (parameters), raw and processed assay data, assay imagery/video, and subject-experienced mission data telemetry (radiation, temperature, humidity, acoustics, vibrations, etc.). In 2021, a community of researchers rallied to form the ALSDA Analysis Working Group (AWG) and provided scientific consensus on dataset sample and assay metadata. The community and excitement around the ALSDA/OSDR system has already led to several data reuse studies, demonstrating value using machine learning (ML), knowledge graphs, and meta-analysis approaches.

space biology↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Biological Data for Deep Space Mission Support

Increased biomedical risks and challenges associated with deep space missions (cis-Lunar, Mars transit, Mars surface) require new knowledge discovery and development of novel ecosystem and biomedical support capabilities. This paradigm shift supporting distant and long-duration missions requires biological data to be findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable (FAIR), and maximally open-access (i.e., there is a data governance continuum from closed to mediated to embargoed to open). The NASA “Open Science Data Repositories” (OSDR) aims to meet scientific, technical, and operational spaceflight needs, and offers the ability to upload, download, search, share, analyze, and visualize data across physiological, behavioral, ‘omics, and environmental monitoring telemetry datasets. OSDR includes NASA GeneLab, NASA Ames Life Sciences Data Archive (ALSDA), and NASA Biological Institutional Scientific Collection (NBISC). In the past year, ALSDA has undergone a transformation in its data collection, curation, and architecture methods. Standardizing non-genomic (phenotypic) datasets was, and will continue to be, a challenge because of their diverse nature (e.g., molecular, cellular, tissue, whole organism, behavior; micro-computed tomography, intraocular pressure, fluorescence microscopy, western blot, ultrasonography; tabular, images, video). This year ALSDA, alongside GeneLab, introduced the Biological Data Management Environment (BDME) with the purpose to accept submission of data from space relevant experiments including spaceflight, radiation, simulated gravity, gravitropism, isolation and confinement, hostile closed environments and/or distance from Earth. In addition to bringing together omics, phenotypic, physiological, bioimaging, and behavioral data into one repository. By integrating with GeneLab a multi-project submission portal aims to reduce the burden on PIs submitting data and enabling the discovery of both omics and phenotypic data. The purpose of ALSDA is to collect, curate, and make all non-human space-relevant biological data maximally findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR). These scope of ALSDA data collected and submitted by PIs include study design metadata, subject metadata, assay metadata (parameters), raw and processed assay data, assay imagery/video, and subject-experienced mission data telemetry (radiation, temperature, humidity, acoustics, vibrations, etc.). In 2021, a community of researchers rallied to form the ALSDA Analysis Working Group (AWG) and provided scientific consensus on dataset sample and assay metadata. The community and excitement around the ALSDA/OSDR system has already led to several data reuse studies, demonstrating value using machine learning (ML), knowledge graphs, and meta-analysis approaches.

space biology↗
NASA NTRS1982

A study of dirigibles for use in the Peruvian Selva Central region

The potential for dirigibles as transports in the Selva Central region of Peru was evaluated by means of a mission and economic analysis. A total requirement to transport over 19 million tons (t) of agricultural produce, lumber and meat was projected by the year 2004. A primary route involving zones for loading and delivering this carbo was identified. Although dirigibles are capable of short field operation, all existing airfields must be enlarged in width to allow for all conditions of wind and weather and to provide space for overnight mooring. A maintenance base and operations headquarters, complete with hangar and other service facilities would be required. The quantities of cargo capacities of 5 to 100 tons were identified. Fleet sizes up to 106 dirigibles (in 20 t capacities) would be required. Dirigibles were assumed to be of the nonrigid type except in the 100 t category for which rigid characteristics were assumed. A method of determining dirigible costs was developed. The values derived were then applied to an economic analysis to determine initial investment and operating costs. It was found that larger dirigibles of approximately 20 t capacities or higher could offer significant cost benefits over airplanes, provided cruise speeds were higher than 100km/hr.

Mayer, N. J.↗
NASA NTRS2025

Human Spaceflight Applications of Novel Miniature X-Ray Technologies

INTRODUCTION: Radiography (XR) has long been a cornerstone of terrestrial medical imaging, though it has not yet been used in the spaceflight environment. Medical systems for human spaceflight missions are constrained by mass, volume, and power, and until recently, XR systems have been considered too large and power-consuming for spaceflight diagnostic and therapeutic applications. However, the rise of commercial spaceflight and NASA’s refocused efforts on returning crews to the Moon for long-duration missions have introduced a higher degree of medical risk to human spaceflight and require a re-evaluation when optimizing medical system design. Over the last decade, XR devices have miniaturized while maintaining good diagnostic and therapeutic sensitivity and specificity, making new in-flight medical and non-medical XR applications a possibility. Initial research identified several medical conditions where miniature XR would be beneficial for the diagnosis and/or management of medical conditions arising in space, though a more in-depth analysis is required to identify whether XR may add value to the management of such conditions. With this presentation, we aim to introduce the potential utility of miniature XR, review prior work highlighting where XR may be beneficial, and evaluate how miniature XR may reduce medical risk in human spaceflight missions. METHODS: IMPACT (Informing Mission Planning via Analysis of Complex Tradespaces) is a risk assessment tool developed by NASA to advance exploration mission medical system design by quantitatively estimating mission medical risk. IMPACT v1.0 includes a novel evidence library baselined to exploration environments, an expanded list of 119 medical conditions, medical capabilities and resources critical for management of these medical conditions, and the ability for rapid and iterative analysis in the setting of modifiable design reference missions (DRMs). Our first analysis identified which of the 119 medical conditions XR had diagnostic or therapeutic utility for. Subject matter experts (SMEs) recorded which XR views would be performed under ideal terrestrial circumstances for diagnosis/management of each condition, as well as which views are pragmatic for spaceflight limitations. A second analysis utilized IMPACT to identify significant conditions that contribute greatest to medical risk during a notional long-duration Lunar orbit and Lunar surface DRM. Medical system risk estimates include loss of crew life (LOCL), need for return to definitive care (RTDC; medical evacuation), and an estimate of crew task time affected (TTA). Using a standardized semi-quantitative scoring methodology, a deeper evaluation of each of the most significant medical conditions was performed. Data from both of these separate analyses were used to hypothesize what ideal and pragmatic XR studies may impact clinical management of the most significant conditions predicted to lead to medical risk. RESULTS: Approximately 1/3 of the IMPACT conditions were identified as being more effectively or comprehensively assessed or treated with the addition of miniature XR technology. The resulting conditions benefitting diagnostically and therapeutically from XR are revealed, as well as the ideal and pragmatic XR views and medical procedures benefitting from XR. The conditions of clinical significance and those most contributing to risk are also displayed. Among the conditions that contribute greatest to LOCL, four conditions for which XR may improve the diagnosis and management of include: decompression sickness, traumatic shock, dental abscess, and respiratory failure. Among conditions that contributed to RTDC, the evaluation and management of wrist fracture is likely improved by XR. For conditions leading to crew TTA, evaluation and management of EVA shoulder injuries, upper and lower extremity strains, back strains, and EVA hand injuries are likely improved by XR. DISCUSSION: Miniature XR in spaceflight has the potential to improve the evaluation and management of a substantial portion of conditions that most contribute to medical risk. This presentation is an introduction to the possibilities miniature XR provides for future human spaceflight missions and subsequent presenters will expand on potential applications in more detail. LEARNING OBJECTIVES: 1) Understand the previous limitations of using radiography in the management of spaceflight medical conditions; 2) Evaluate the findings from the IMPACT tool analysis, which allows quantification of the benefit miniature XR could provide for managing high-risk medical conditions in long-duration lunar orbit and surface missions, focusing on improvements in crew health outcomes; 3) Analyze case studies where miniature XR technology could reduce the medical risks associated with spaceflight missions, specifically in diagnosing and managing conditions such as decompression sickness, traumatic shock, and EVA-related injuries.

A Anderson↗
DOE OSTI2022

Improved Data Interpretation through Identification of Time Series Periodicity Changes

Analysis and interpretation of time series data is easiest when the data values occur at uniform intervals in time, but actual data may have differing data sampling frequencies, such as monthly and daily readings. Applying data analysis techniques, such as smoothing, to such a data set may not give a representative result between time segments. The ability to automatically distinguish time segments of differing data frequency would provide a means for applying data analysis independently to each segment, though a suitable blending at segment boundaries would be required. A method for detecting frequency changes was developed and applied to Gaussian and median smoothing of hydraulic head data from groundwater wells at the U.S. Department of Energy Hanford Site in southeastern Washington state. The process identifies time segments of high-frequency (daily) or low-frequency (greater than daily) data using adjusted-bandwidth Gaussian kernel density estimation and a threshold value, which are further refined to address small blocks of low-frequency data within larger blocks of high-frequency data. User-selectable levels of smoothing are then applied independently to the time segments prior to combining the segment results for a single smoothed data set. This time segment identification approach provides effective low- and high-frequency data separation, which provides a method to apply data analysis independently to each time segment.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗