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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1980

Influence of Microstructure on the Fatigue Crack Growth of A516 in Hydrogen

Some day hydrogen may be used as a viable energy storage and transport medium within the United States. Hydrogen gas may be used to dilute and extend our present methane supply as a blend or may even be used in its pure elemental form as a primary fuel. Independent of the methods of production, storage, and distribution, the interaction of hydrogen with its containment material will play an integral role in the success of a hydrogen energy program. Presently, the selection of hydrogen containment materials can be made such that the material will remain reasonably free from environmental degradation; however, costly alloying additions are required. Unfortunately, high alloy steels are economically prohibitive when large-scale hydrogen energy storage, transmission, and conversion systems are desired. Therefore, in order to implement such hydrogen energy systems in the future, existing low-cost materials must be improved via mechanical, thermal, or thermo-mechanical processing methods or new low-cost materials which are compatible with hydrogen must be developed. Originally, low strength, low alloy steels at room temperature were thought to be immune to hydrogen gas embrittlement, since no sustained load crack growth is observed. However, results of Clark in HY8O and Nelson in SAE 1020 have shown that the fatigue crack growth rate can be greatly accelerated in the presence of hydrogen gas. In recent results reported by Louthan and Mucci, the smooth bar fatigue life of an A1068 pipeline steel was reduced up to a factor of ten when the tests were performed in a 13.8 MPa hydrogen environment. These results suggest that the selection of material for structures designed to operate in hydrogen under cyclic loads must include consideration of hydrogen/metal fatigue interaction. Although the hydrogen/metal fatigue interaction can be severe in low strength low alloy steels, the degree of degradation may be altered by the underlying ferrous microstructure. At present, no correlation between microstructure and degree of hydrogen susceptibility exists for low strength steels. However, in high strength steels, susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement has been shown to be strongly sensitive to the metallurgical microstructure. In addition, compositional effects and grain size can 703 Some day hydrogen may be used as a viable energy storage and transport medium within the United States. Hydrogen gas may be used to dilute and extend our present methane supply as a blend or may even be used in its pure elemental form as a primary fuel. Independent of the methods of production, storage, and distribution, the interaction of hydrogen with its containment material will play an integral role in the success of a hydrogen energy program. Presently, the selection of hydrogen containment materials can be made such that the material will remain reasonably free from environmental degradation; however, costly alloying additions are required. Unfortunately, high alloy steels are economically prohibitive when large-scale hydrogen energy storage, transmission, and conversion systems are desired. Therefore, in order to implement such hydrogen energy systems in the future, existing low-cost materials must be improved via mechanical, thermal, or thermo-mechanical processing methods or new low-cost materials which are compatible with hydrogen must be developed.

Wachob, Harry F.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Preserving Perishables (Dormavac)

A new commercial product that can preserve perishable commodities for weeks without freezing, so that they can be shipped fresh without the cost of air freight, has been developed by Grumman Corporation, Bethpage, Long Island, New York. The development benefited from the company's experience in developing the environmental control system for the Lunar Module, which delivered Apollo astronauts to the surface of the moon. Called Dormavac, the system provides a commodity-preserving environment within an aluminum container that can be transported by truck, rail or ship. Dormavac creates a cold-but above freezing-environment with high relative humidity and very low air pressure. The saturated air minimizes commodity weight loss and the air is automatically changed several times an hour to flush away odors and harmful gases released by the commodities. According to company literature, Dormavac significantly extends the transportation life of perishables. For example, pork has a normal cold storage life of about seven days, beef two weeks and tomatoes three weeks; with Dormavac, pork remains fresh for three weeks, beef more than six weeks and tomatoes seven weeks or more. Dormavac is manufactured and marketed by Grumman Allied Industries, Woodbury, New York. In developing the system, Grumman Allied drew upon the technological resources of another company subsidiary, Grumman Aerospace. Engineers who had earlier worked on Lunar Module environmental control brought their know-how and experience to the Dormavac development.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1988

Alkaline static feed electrolyzer based oxygen generation system

In preparation for the future deployment of the Space Station, an R and D program was established to demonstrate integrated operation of an alkaline Water Electrolysis System and a fuel cell as an energy storage device. The program's scope was revised when the Space Station Control Board changed the energy storage baseline for the Space Station. The new scope was aimed at the development of an alkaline Static Feed Electrolyzer for use in an Environmental Control/Life Support System as an oxygen generation system. As a result, the program was divided into two phases. The phase 1 effort was directed at the development of the Static Feed Electrolyzer for application in a Regenerative Fuel Cell System. During this phase, the program emphasized incorporation of the Regenerative Fuel Cell System design requirements into the Static Feed Electrolyzer electrochemical module design and the mechanical components design. The mechanical components included a Pressure Control Assembly, a Water Supply Assembly and a Thermal Control Assembly. These designs were completed through manufacturing drawing during Phase 1. The Phase 2 effort was directed at advancing the Alkaline Static Feed Electrolyzer database for an oxygen generation system. This development was aimed at extending the Static Feed Electrolyzer database in areas which may be encountered from initial fabrication through transportation, storage, launch and eventual Space Station startup. During this Phase, the Program emphasized three major areas: materials evaluation, electrochemical module scaling and performance repeatability and Static Feed Electrolyzer operational definition and characterization.

Noble, L. D.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Multi-source Estimates of Land / Ocean Moisture Transport Variability over the Satellite Era

It is widely appreciated that atmospheric transport of water from the world’s oceans is a process key to planetary energy balance as well as Earth's habitability. What is not yet clear is the extent of variability in moisture transports, the relative importance of interdecadal variability versus climate change signals, and importantly, our ability to quantify these changes. This work assesses variations in moisture transport variability during the satellite era (~1980 to present) by comparing several different estimates. (i) The most direct estimate is the vertically integrated flux convergence of moisture from reanalyses which use observed wind and moisture information. (ii) One alternative estimate comes from P-ET over land taken from global hydrologic models constrained with precipitation and near-surface meteorology. Here we use an ensemble of six models. An adjunct to this method is to employ satellite derive ET (e.g., GLEAM or DOLCE). (iii) Complementary to this is E-P over the global oceans derived from satellite estimates of P such as TRMM, GPM and GPCP and SeaFlux V3 or J-OFURO3 estimates of E, all relying heavily upon microwave measurements. Transport between land and oceans must essentially balance at monthly scales, i.e., vanish globally. (iv) a fourth perspective comes from estimate of terrestrial RO + storage rate, delta S. G-RUN Ensemble which uses observed streamflow and P measurements to calibrate a statistical model provides the former while GRACE, GRACE-FO provide total water storage anomalies used to calculate storage rate changes. GRACE REC uses GRACE data to train a precipitation-driven statistical model to extend storage estimates before the GRACE era. (All of these alternatives to reanalysis estimates also consider the small atmospheric column water vapor contribution.) We examine the transport changes from these three different methodologies, their relative accuracies and discuss the origin of their differences. Regional trends in moisture flux divergence and their role in multi-decadal trends are considered. Interannual variability arising in connection with ENSO variability is a dominant signal, driven largely by P changes. Trends since 1980 include reductions in moisture delivery to the western U.S., eastern Brazil, and central Africa with recovery of moisture convergence to the Sahel and parts of eastern North America.

Franklin Robertson↗
NASA NTRS1983

Space station: Cost and benefits

Costs for developing, producing, operating, and supporting the initial space station, a 4 to 8 man space station, and a 4 to 24 man space station are estimated and compared. These costs include contractor hardware; space station assembly and logistics flight costs; and payload support elements. Transportation system options examined include orbiter modules; standard and extended duration STS fights; reusable spacebased perigee kick motor OTV; and upper stages. Space station service charges assessed include crew hours; energy requirements; payload support module storage; pressurized port usage; and OTV service facility. Graphs show costs for science missions, space processing research, small communication satellites; large GEO transportation; OVT launch costs; DOD payload costs, and user costs.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2015

Dormancy and Recovery Testing for Biological Wastewater Processors

Bioreactors, such as aerated membrane type bioreactors have been proposed and studied for a number of years as an alternate approach for treating wastewater streams for space exploration. Several challenges remain before these types of bioreactors can be used in space settings, including transporting the bioreactors with their microbial communities to space, whether that be the International Space Station or beyond, or procedures for safing the systems and placing them into dormant state for later start-up. Little information is available on such operations as it is not common practice for terrestrial systems. This study explored several dormancy processes for established bioreactors to determine optimal storage and recovery conditions. Procedures focused on complete isolation of the microbial communities from an operational standpoint and observing the effects of: 1) storage temperature, and 2) storage with or without the reactor bulk fluid. The first consideration was tested from a microbial integrity and power consumption standpoint; both room temperature (25 C) and cold (4 C) storage conditions were studied. The second consideration was explored; again, for microbial integrity as well as plausible real-world scenarios of how terrestrially established bioreactors would be transported to microgravity and stored for periods of time between operations. Biofilms were stored without the reactor bulk fluid to simulate transport of established biofilms into microgravity, while biofilms stored with the reactor bulk fluid simulated the most simplistic storage condition to implement operations for extended periods of nonuse. Dormancy condition did not have an influence on recovery in initial studies with immature biofilms (48 days old), however, a lengthy recovery time was required (20+ days). Bioreactors with fully established biofilms (13 months) were able to recover from a 7-month dormancy period to steady state operation within 4 days (approximately 1 residence cycle). Results indicate a need for future testing on biofilm age and health and further exploration of dormancy length.

Dormancy↗
NASA NTRS2015

Dormancy and Recovery Testing for Biological Wastewater Processors

Bioreactors, such as the aerated hollow fiber membrane type, have been proposed and studied for a number of years as an alternate approach for treating wastewater streams for space exploration. Several challenges remain to be resolved before these types of bioreactors can be used in space settings, including transporting the bioreactors with intact and active biofilms, whether that be to the International Space Station or beyond, or procedures for safing the systems and placing them into a dormant state for later start-up. Little information is available on such operations as it is not common practice for terrestrial systems. This study explored several dormancy processes for established bioreactors to determine optimal storage and recovery conditions. Procedures focused on complete isolation of the microbial communities from an operational standpoint and observing the effects of: 1) storage temperature, and 2) storage with or without the reactor bulk fluid. The first consideration was tested from a microbial integrity and power consumption standpoint; both ambient temperature (25 C) and cold (4 C) storage conditions were studied. The second consideration was explored; again, for microbial integrity as well as plausible real-world scenarios of how terrestrially established bioreactors would be transported to microgravity and stored for periods of time between operations. Biofilms were stored without the reactor bulk fluid to simulate transport of established biofilms into microgravity, while biofilms stored with the reactor bulk fluid simulated the most simplistic storage condition to implement operations for extended periods of nonuse. Dormancy condition did not have an influence on recovery in initial studies with immature biofilms (48 days old), however a lengthy recovery time was required (20+ days). Bioreactors with fully established biofilms (13 months) were able to recover from a 7-month dormancy period to steady state operation within 4 days (approx. 1 residence cycle). Results indicate a need for future testing on biofilm age and health and further exploration of dormancy length.

Recovery Testing↗
NASA NTRS2004

Use of GOES, SSM/I, TRMM Satellite Measurements Estimating Water Budget Variations in Gulf of Mexico - Caribbean Sea Basins

This study presents results from a multi-satellite/multi-sensor retrieval system designed to obtain the atmospheric water budget over the open ocean. A combination of 3ourly-sampled monthly datasets derived from the GOES-8 5-channel Imager, the TRMM TMI radiometer, and the DMSP 7-channel passive microwave radiometers (SSM/I) have been acquired for the combined Gulf of Mexico-Caribbean Sea basin. Whereas the methodology has been tested over this basin, the retrieval system is designed for portability to any open-ocean region. Algorithm modules using the different datasets to retrieve individual geophysical parameters needed in the water budget equation are designed in a manner that takes advantage of the high temporal resolution of the GOES-8 measurements, as well as the physical relationships inherent to the TRMM and SSM/I passive microwave measurements in conjunction with water vapor, cloud liquid water, and rainfall. The methodology consists of retrieving the precipitation, surface evaporation, and vapor-cloud water storage terms in the atmospheric water balance equation from satellite techniques, with the water vapor advection term being obtained as the residue needed for balance. Thus, the intent is to develop a purely satellite-based method for obtaining the full set of terms in the atmospheric water budget equation without requiring in situ sounding information on the wind profile. The algorithm is validated by cross-checking all the algorithm components through multiple- algorithm retrieval intercomparisons. A further check on the validation is obtained by directly comparing water vapor transports into the targeted basin diagnosed from the satellite algorithms to those obtained observationally from a network of land-based upper air stations that nearly uniformly surround the basin, although it is fair to say that these checks are more effective m identifying problems in estimating vapor transports from a leaky operational radiosonde network than in verifying the transport estimates determined from the satellite algorithm system Total columnar atmospheric water budget results are presented for an extended annual cycle consisting of the months of October-97, January-98, April-98, July-98,October-98, and January 1999. These results are used to emphasize the changing relationship in E-P, as well as in the varying roles of storage and advection in balancing E-P both on daily and monthly time scales and on localized and basin space scales. Results from the algorithm-to-algorithm intercomparisons are also presented in the context of sensitivity testing to help understand the intrinsic uncertainties in evaluating the water budget terms by an all-satellite algorithm approach.

Smith, Eric A.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Monthly-Diurnal Water Budget Variability Over Gulf of Mexico-Caribbean Sea Basin from Satellite Observations

This study presents results from a multi-satellite/multi-sensor retrieval system design d to obtain the atmospheric water budget over the open ocean. A combination of hourly-sampled monthly datasets derived from the GOES-8 5-channel Imager, the TRMM TMI radiometer, and the DMSP 7-channel passive microwave radiometers (SSM/I) have been acquired for the combined Gulf of Mexico-Caribbean Sea basin. Whereas the methodology has been tested over this basin, the retrieval system is designed for portability to any open-ocean region. Algorithm modules using the different datasets to retrieve individual geophysical parameters needed in the water budget equation are designed in a manner that takes advantage of the high temporal resolution of the GOES-8 measurements, as well as the physical relationships inherent to the TRMM and SSM/I passive microwave measurements in conjunction with water vapor, cloud liquid water, and rainfall. The methodology consists of retrieving the precipitation, surface evaporation, and vapor-cloud water storage terms in the atmospheric water balance equation from satellite techniques, with the water vapor advection term being obtained as the residue needed for balance. Thus, the intent is to develop a purely satellite-based method for obtaining the full set of terms in the atmospheric water budget equation without requiring in situ sounding information on the wind profile. The algorithm is validated by cross-checking all the algorithm components through multiple-algorithm retrieval intercomparisons. A further check on the validation is obtained by directly comparing water vapor transports into the targeted basin diagnosed from the satellite algorithms to those obtained observationally from a network of land-based upper air stations that nearly uniformly surround the basin, although it is fair to say that these checks are more effective in identifying problems in estimating vapor transports from a "leaky" operational radiosonde network than in verifying the transport estimates determined from the satellite algorithm system. Total columnar atmospheric water budget results are presented for an extended annual cycle consisting of the months of October-97, January-98, April-98, July-98,October-98, and January- 1999. These results are used to emphasize the changing relationship in E-P, as well as in the varying roles of storage and advection in balancing E-P both on daily and monthly time scales and on localized and basin space scales. Results from the algorithm-to-algorithm intercomparisons are also presented in the context of sensitivity testing to help understand the intrinsic uncertainties in evaluating the water budget terms by an all-satellite algorithm approach.

Smith, E. A.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Satellite Retrieval of Atmospheric Water Budget over Gulf of Mexico- Caribbean Basin: Seasonal Variability

This study presents results from a multi-satellite/multi-sensor retrieval system designed to obtain the atmospheric water budget over the open ocean. A combination of hourly-sampled monthly datasets derived from the GOES-8 5 Imager and the DMSP 7-channel passive microwave radiometer (SSM/I) have been acquired for the Gulf of Mexico-Caribbean Sea basin. Whereas the methodology is being tested over this basin, the retrieval system is designed for portability to any open-ocean region. Algorithm modules using the different datasets to retrieve individual geophysical parameters needed in the water budget equation are designed in a manner that takes advantage of the high temporal resolution of the GOES-8 measurements, as well as the physical relationships inherent to the SSM/I passive microwave signals in conjunction with water vapor, cloud liquid water, and rainfall. The methodology consists of retrieving the precipitation, surface evaporation, and vapor-cloud water storage terms in the atmospheric water balance equation from satellite techniques, with the water vapor advection term being obtained as the residue needed for balance. Thus, we have sought to develop a purely satellite-based method for obtaining the full set of terms in the atmospheric water budget equation without requiring in situ sounding information on the wind profile. The algorithm is partly validated by first cross-checking all the algorithm components through multiple-algorithm retrieval intercomparisons. More fundamental validation is obtained by directly comparing water vapor transports into the targeted basin diagnosed from the satellite algorithm to those obtained observationally from a network of land-based upper air stations that nearly uniformly surround the basin. Total columnar atmospheric water budget results will be presented for an extended annual cycle consisting of the months of October-97, January-98, April-98, July-98, October-98, and January-1999. These results are used to emphasize the changing relationship in E-P, as well as in the varying roles of storage and advection in balancing E-P both on daily and monthly time scales and on localized and basin space scales. Results from the algorithm-to-algorithm intercomparisons will also be presented in the context of sensitivity testing to help understand the intrinsic uncertainties in the water budget terms.

Smith, Eric A.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Adaptation of solar sounding rocket payloads for Shuttle

The advent of the Shuttle will permit small solar sounding rocket class payloads to be used for orbital applications as a sub satellite. Solutions to such problems as thermal protection, deployment and retrieval and Shuttle bay storage will be presented. Adapting sounding rocket hardware such as solar telescopes, solar attitude control systems and data acquisition modules along with extending power and control gas requirements is discussed. This resulting hardware may be used either in a sounding rocket or Shuttle payload. This paper will combine the solar sounding rocket quick reaction, low cost techniques with the Shuttle Transportation System.

Windsor, R. M.↗
NASA NTRS1997

In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU II) Technical Interchange Meeting

This volume contains extended abstracts that have been accepted for presentation at the In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU II) Technical Interchange Meeting, November 18-19, 1997, at the Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, Texas. Included are topics which include: Extraterrestrial resources, in situ propellant production, sampling of planetary surfaces, oxygen production, water vapor extraction from the Martian atmosphere, gas generation, cryogenic refrigeration, and propellant transport and storage.

David Kaplan↗
NASA NTRS2016

Hollow Fiber Membrane Bioreactor Systems for Wastewater Processing: Effects of Environmental Stresses Including Dormancy Cycling and Antibiotic Dosing

Membrane-aerated biofilm reactors (MABRs) have been studied for a number of years as an alternate approach for treating wastewater streams during space exploration. While the technology provides a promising pre-treatment for lowering organic carbon and nitrogen content without the need for harsh stabilization chemicals, several challenges must be addressed before adoption of the technology in future missions. One challenge is the transportation of bioreactors containing intact, active biofilms as a means for rapid start-up on the International Space Station or beyond. Similarly, there could be a need for placing these biological systems into a dormant state for extended periods when the system is not in use, along with the ability for rapid restart. Previous studies indicated that there was little influence of storage condition (4 or 25 C, with or without bulk fluid) on recovery of bioreactors with immature biofilms (48 days old), but that an extensive recovery time was required (20+ days). Bioreactors with fully established biofilms (13 months) were able to recover from a 7-month dormancy within 4 days (approximately 1 residence). Further dormancy and recovery testing is presented here that examines the role of biofilm age on recovery requirements, repeated dormancy cycle capabilities, and effects of long-duration dormancy cycles (8-9 months) on HFMB systems. Another challenge that must be addressed is the possibility of antibiotics entering the wastewater stream. Currently, for most laboratory tests of biological water processors, donors providing urine may not contribute to the study when taking antibiotics because the effects on the system are yet uncharacterized. A simulated urinary tract infection event, where an opportunistic, pathogenic organism, E. coli, was introduced to the HFMBs followed by dosing with an antibiotic, ciprofloxacin, was completed to study the effect of the antibiotic on reactor performance and to also examine the development of antibiotic-resistant communities within the system.

Bioreactor Systems↗
NASA NTRS1994

Flight investigation of the use of a nose gear jump strut to reduce takeoff ground roll distance of STOL aircraft

A series of flight tests was conducted to evaluate the reduction of takeoff ground roll distance obtainable from a rapid extension of the nose gear strut. The NASA Quiet Short-haul Research Aircraft (QSRA) used for this investigation is a transport-size short takeoff and landing (STOL) research vehicle with a slightly swept wing that employs the upper surface blowing (USB) concept to attain the high lift levels required for its low speed, short-field performance. Minor modifications to the conventional nose gear assembly and the addition of a high pressure pneumatic system and a control system provided the extendible nose gear, or 'jump strut,' capability. The limited flight test program explored the effects of thrust-to-weight ratio, storage tank initial pressure, and control valve open time duration on the ground roll distance. The data show that the predicted reduction of takeoff ground roll on the order of 10 percent was achieved with the use of the jump strut. Takeoff performance with the jump strut was also found to be essentially independent of the pneumatic supply pressure and was only slightly affected by control valve open time within the range of the parameters examined.

Eppel, Joseph C.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Mariner 9 data storage subsystem flight performance summary

The performance is summarized of the Mariner 9 Data Storage Subsystem (DSS) throughout the primary and extended missions. Information presented is limited to reporting of anomalies which occurred during the playback sequences. Tables and figures describe the anomalies (dropouts, missing and added bits, in the imaging data) as a function of time (accumulated tape passes). The data results indicate that the performance of the DSS was satisfactory and within specification throughout the mission. The data presented is taken from the Spacecraft Team Incident/Surprise Anomaly Log recorded during the mission. Pertinent statistics concerning the tape transport performance are given. Also presented is a brief description of DSS operation, particularly that related to the recorded anomalies. This covers the video data encoding and how it is interpreted/decoded by ground data processing and the functional operation of the DSS in abnormal conditions such as loss of lock to the playback signal.

Thomas, N. E.↗
NASA NTRS1994

The reduction of takeoff ground roll by the application of a nose gear jump strut

A series of flight tests were conducted to evaluate the reduction of takeoff ground roll distance obtainable from a rapid extension of the nose gear strut. The NASA Quiet Short-haul Research Aircraft (QSRA) used for this investigation is a transport-size short take off and landing (STOL) research vehicle with a slightly swept wing that employs the upper surface blowing (USB) concept to attain the high lift levels required for its low-speed, short-field performance. Minor modifications to the conventional nose gear assembly and the addition of a high-pressure pneumatic system and a control system provided the extendable nose gear, or jump strut, capability. The limited flight test program explored the effects of thrust-to-weight ratio, wing loading, storage tank initial pressure, and control valve open time duration on the ground roll distance. The data show that a reduction of takeoff ground roll on the order of 10 percent was achieved with the use of the jump strut, as predicted. Takeoff performance with the jump strut was also found to be essentially independent of the pneumatic supply pressure and was only slightly affected by control valve open time within the range of the parameters examined.

Eppel, Joseph C.↗
NASA NTRS2008

The Bess Investigation of the Origin of Cosmic-ray Antiprotons and Search for Cosmological Antimatter

The Balloon-borne Experiment with a Superconducting Spectrometer (BESS) collaboration has made precise measurements of the spectra of cosmic ray antiprotons and light nuclei and conducted a sensitive search for antinuclei. Ten BESS high-latitude flights, eight from Canada and two from Antarctica, span more than a Solar cycle between 1993 and 2007/2008. BESS measurements of low-energy antiprotons constrain candidate models for dark matter including the possible signature of primordial black hole evaporation. The stringent BESS measurements of antiprotons and the elemental and isotopic spectra of H and He provide strong constraints on models of cosmic-ray transport in the Galaxy and Solar System. BESS has also reported the first antideuterium upper limit. BESS employs a superconducting magnetic-rigity spectrometer with time-of-flight and aerogel Cherenkov detectors to identify incident particles by charge, charge sign, mass, and energy. The BESS-Polar long-duration instrument has reduced lower energy limit of 100 MeV (top of the atmosphere) to increase its sensitivity to possible primary antiproton sources. BESS-Polar II was rebuilt with extended magnet lifetime, improved detector and electronic performance, and greater data storage capacity. It was flown fro Antarctica December 2007-January 2008, recording about 4.6 bission events during 24.5 days at float altitude with the magnet on. During the flight the influence of a high-speed stream in the Solar wind was observed. Details of the BESS-Polar II instrument and flight performance are reported elsewhere at this conference. The successful BESS-Polar II flight at Solar minimum is especially important. Most cosmic-ray antiprotons are secondary products of nuclear interactions of primary cosmic-ray nuclei with the interstellar gas, giving a spectrum that peaks at about 2 GeV and falls rapidly to higher and lower energies. However, BESS data taken in the previous Solar minimum show a small excess over secondary expectations at low energies, possibly suggesting the presence of an additional component that may be masked at higher levels of Solar modulation. The high-statistics Solar minimum data obtained by BESS-Polar II will provide a difinitive test of this component. We will review the BESS program and report the latest results including the antiproton and proton spectra measured in the BESS-Polar I flight, the search for cosmic antinuclei, and the status of the BESS-Polar II analysis.

Mitchell, John↗
NASA NTRS1988

Scientific investigations at a lunar base

Scientific investigations to be carried out at a lunar base can have significant impact on the location, extent, and complexity of lunar surface facilities. Among the potential research activities to be carried out are: (1) Lunar Science: Studies of the origin and history of the Moon and early solar system, based on lunar field investigations, operation of networks of seismic and other instruments, and collection and analysis of materials; (2) Space Plasma Physics: Studies of the time variation of the charged particles of the solar wind, solar flares and cosmic rays that impact the Moon as it moves in and out of the magnetotail of the Earth; (3) Astronomy: Utilizing the lunar environment and stability of the surface to emplace arrays of astronomical instruments across the electromagnetic spectrum to improve spectral and spatial resolution by several orders of magnitude beyond the Hubble Space Telescope and other space observatories; (4) Fundamental physics and chemistry: Research that takes advantage of the lunar environment, such as high vacuum, low magnetic field, and thermal properties to carry out new investigations in chemistry and physics. This includes material sciences and applications; (5) Life Sciences: Experiments, such as those that require extreme isolation, highly sterile conditions, or very low natural background of organic materials may be possible; and (6) Lunar environmental science: Because many of the experiments proposed for the lunar surface depend on the special environment of the Moon, it will be necessary to understand the mechanisms that are active and which determine the major aspects of that environment, particularly the maintenance of high-vacuum conditions. From a large range of experiments, investigations and facilities that have been suggested, three specific classes of investigations are described in greater detail to show how site selection and base complexity may be affected: (1) Extended geological investigation of a complex region up to 250 kilometers from the base requires long range mobility, with transportable life support systems and laboratory facilities for the analysis of rocks and soil. Selection of an optimum base site would depend heavily on an evaluation of the degree to which science objectives could be met. These objectives could include lunar cratering, volcanism, resource surveys or other investigations; (2) An astronomical observatory initially instrumented with a VLF radio telescope, but later expanding to include other instruments, requires site preparation capability, "line shack" life support systems, instrument maintenance and storage facilities, and sortie mode transportation. A site perpetually shielded from Earth is optimum for the advanced stages of a lunar observatory; (3) an experimental physics laboratory conducting studies requiring high vacuum facilities and heavily instrumented experiments, is not highly dependent on lunar location, but will require much more flexibility in experiment operation and EVA capability, and more sophisticated instrument maintenance and fabrication facilities.

Extraterrestrial Environment↗