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At least 19 records

High Output Maximum Efficiency Resonator (HOMER) Laser for NASA's Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) Lidar Mission

The Global Ecosystems Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) is a planned mission sending a LIDAR instrument to the International Space Station that will employ three NASA laser transmitters. This instrument will produce parallel tracks on the Earth's surface that will provide global 3D vegetation canopy measurements. To meet the mission goals a total of 5 High Output Maximum Efficiency Resonator lasers will to be built (1 ETU + 3 Flight + 1 spare) in-house at NASA-GSFC. This presentation will summarize the HOMER design, the testing the design has completed in the past, and the plans to successfully build the units needed for the GEDI mission.

soil↗

Observations of Distant Clusters

The is the proceedings and papers supported by the LTSA grant: Homer, D. J.\& Donahue, M. 2003, in "The Emergence of Cosmic Structure": 13'h Astrophysics Conference Proceedings, Vol. 666,3 1 1-3 14, (AIP). Baumgartner, W. H., Loewenstein, M., Horner, D. J., Mushotzky, R. F. 2003, HEAD- AAS, 35.3503. Homer, D. J. , Donahue, M., Voit G. M. 2003, HEAD-AAS, 35.1309. Nowak, M. A., Smith, B., Donahue, M., Stocke, J. 2003, HEAD-AAS, 35.1316. Scott, D., Borys, C., Chapman, S. C., Donahue, M., Fahlman, G. G., Halpem, M. Newbury, P. 2002, AAS, 128.01. Jones, L. R. et al. 2002, A new era in cosmology, ASP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 283, p. 223 Donahue, M., Daly, R. A., Homer, D. J. 2003, ApJ, 584, 643, Constraints on the Cluster Environments and Hotspot magnetic field strengths for radio sources 3~280 and 3~254. Donahue, M., et al. 2003, ApJ, 598, 190. The mass, baryonic fraction, and x-ray temperature of the luminous, high-redshift cluster of galaxies MS045 1.6-0305 Perlman, E. S. et al. 2002, ApJS, 140, 256. Smith, B. J., Nowak, M., Donahue, M., Stocke, J. 2003, AJ, 126, 1763. Chandra Observations of the Interacting NGC44 10 Group of Galaxies. Postman, M., Lauer, T. R., Oegerle, W., Donahue, M. 2002, ApJ, 579, 93. The KPNO/deep-range cluster survey I. The catalog and space density of intermediate-redshift clusters. Molnar, S. M., Hughes, J. P., Donahue, M., Joy, M. 2002, ApJ, 573, L91, Chandra Observations of Unresolved X-Ray Sources around Two Clusters of Galaxies. Donahue, M., Mack, J., 2002 NewAR, 46, 155, HST NIcmos and WFPC2 observations of molecular hydrogen and dust around cooling flows. Koekemoer, A. M. et al. 2002 NewAR, 46, 149, Interactions between the A2597 central radio source and dense gas host galaxy. Donahue, M. et al. 2002 ApJ, 569,689, Distant cluster hunting II.

Donahue, Megan↗

Determination of rock type on Mercury and the moon through remote sensing in the thermal infrared

Thermal infrared emission spectra of the moon and Mercury have been obtained using the Si:As photoconductor and circular variable filter at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Lunar spectra from 7.2 to 12.2 microns for two different locations in the south polar highlands have Christiansen frequency peaks at 8.1 microns and 7.9 microns, respectively. This indicates different compositions at the two locations; mafic in the first case, more felsic in the second. Emission spectra from Mercury are not as spatially localized,; however, the longitude of maximum contribution to the spectrum can be calculated from thermal models of the earth-facing disk. Results for areas centered at two longitudes have been obtained. Two locations in the intercrater plains were observed. At 40-deg longitude (very near the crater Homer), a peak at 7.9 microns indicates mafic igneous rock type. Spectra emanating from 46-deg longitude have peaks at 7.8 microns, indicating a region borderline between mafic and intermediate composition.

Tyler, Ann L.↗

Taming Liquid Hydrogen: The Centaur Upper Stage Rocket, 1958-2002

During its maiden voyage in May 1962, a Centaur upper stage rocket, mated to an Atlas booster, exploded 54 seconds after launch, engulfing the rocket in a huge fireball. Investigation revealed that Centaur's light, stainless-steel tank had split open, spilling its liquid-hydrogen fuel down its sides, where the flame of the rocket exhaust immediately ignited it. Coming less than a year after President Kennedy had made landing human beings on the Moon a national priority, the loss of Centaur was regarded as a serious setback for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). During the failure investigation, Homer Newell, Director of Space Sciences, ruefully declared: "Taming liquid hydrogen to the point where expensive operational space missions can be committed to it has turned out to be more difficult than anyone supposed at the outset." After this failure, Centaur critics, led by Wernher von Braun, mounted a campaign to cancel the program. In addition to the unknowns associated with liquid hydrogen, he objected to the unusual design of Centaur. Like the Atlas rocket, Centaur depended on pressure to keep its paper-thin, stainless-steel shell from collapsing. It was literally inflated with its propellants like a football or balloon and needed no internal structure to give it added strength and stability. The so-called "pressure-stabilized structure" of Centaur, coupled with the light weight of its high- energy cryogenic propellants, made Centaur lighter and more powerful than upper stages that used conventional fuel. But, the critics argued, it would never become the reliable rocket that the United States needed.

Dawson, Virginia P.↗

Surface meteorology and Solar Energy

The Release 5.1 Surface meteorology and Solar Energy (SSE) data contains parameters formulated for assessing and designing renewable energy systems. Parameters fall under 11 categories including: Solar cooking, solar thermal applications, solar geometry, tilted solar panels, energy storage systems, surplus product storage systems, cloud information, temperature, wind, other meteorological factors, and supporting information. This latest release contains new parameters based on recommendations by the renewable energy industry and it is more accurate than previous releases. On-line plotting capabilities allow quick evaluation of potential renewable energy projects for any region of the world. The SSE data set is formulated from NASA satellite- and reanalysis-derived insolation and meteorological data for the 10-year period July 1983 through June 1993. Results are provided for 1 degree latitude by 1 degree longitude grid cells over the globe. Average daily and monthly measurements for 1195 World Radiation Data Centre ground sites are also available. [Mission Objectives] The SSE project contains insolation and meteorology data intended to aid in the development of renewable energy systems. Collaboration between SSE and technology industries such as the Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables ( HOMER ) may aid in designing electric power systems that employ some combination of wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, or diesel generators to produce electricity. [Temporal_Coverage: Start_Date=1983-07-01; Stop_Date=1993-06-30] [Spatial_Coverage: Southernmost_Latitude=-90; Northernmost_Latitude=90; Westernmost_Longitude=-180; Easternmost_Longitude=180].

Stackhouse, Paul W.↗

Using the Space Glove to Teach Spatial Thinking

The challenge of extending students' skills in spatial thinking to astronomical scales was the central focus of our K-8 curriculum development. When the project's lead teacher requested a curriculum that cumulatively built on each prior year's learning in a spiral fashion, I knew exactly what the school was asking for. Second and third graders began by noticing the cyclical patters that the sun, moon, and stars make in the sky. Fourth graders explored the phases of the moon by taking turns modeling and sketching them in their classroom and then comparing them to the real sky. Sixth !graders used real telescopes to observe a moving model of our solar system and walked a scale model of the planets' orbits. The curriculum is designed to expand students' capacity to visualize space in a hierarchical fashion that asks them to imagine themselves from a broader number of spatial perspectives through hands-on activities. The "situational awareness" Peter's story describes is a hallmark of high-performance engineering and innovation. Keeping in mind the potential outcomes of multiple paths of pursuit from multiple perspectives while keeping track of their relative merits and performance requirements is a demanding spatial task. What made it possible for Peter to transform the failure of his first glove into triumph was the mental space in which that failure provided exactly the information needed for a new breakthrough. In at least two cases, Peter could immediately "see" the full implications of what his hands were telling him. He tells the story of how putting his hands in a Phase VI astronaut glove instantly transformed his understanding of the glove challenge. Six months into his development, the failure of circumferentially wrapped cords to produce a sufficiently flexible glove again forced him to abandon his assumptions. His situational awareness was so clear and compelling it became a gut-level response. Peter's finely developed spatial skills enabled him to almost instinctively focus his full energy on a carefully constructed set of experiments. The finger's ability to sense pressure, force, and work gave him the immediate feedback required to solve this one central problem. Once properly understood, his failure quickly led to the magical "Aha!" moment of discovery; the rest is history. Just as children need opportunities to develop hands-on understanding, engineers need to explore new possibilities through incremental hands-on failure. High-performance innovation is all about learning to make maximum use of thinking spatially to direct this process. Peter Homer's glove also reminds us that efficient engineering decisions need to be made as close to the hardware as possible. Whether we're doing hands-on education or hands-on engineering, it is when we trust in our ability to "feel our way" through failure that we reach our highest potential.

Lord, Peter↗

SPACE SCIENCE-EARTH, SUN, AND STARS

Space science is science carried out in space. There is much that is exciting, but nothing mysterious about it. Space science calls upon physics, chemistry, astronomy, biosciences, and other scientific disciplines to attack some of the most important and challenging scientific problems of today. Among these problems are the investigation of the Earth and Sun, Moon and planets, stars and galaxies, and life in space from the vantage point provided by the orbiting satellite or the dep space probe.

Solar radiation↗

Protection Against Radiation Hazards in Space, Book I Proceedings of the Symposium at Gatlinburg, Tenn., Nov. 5-7, 1962

BOOK 1: Radiation Environment in Space Effects of Space Radiation on Radiosensitive Objects Biological Effects of Space Radiation BOOK 2 : Shielding Against Space Radiations The realization in recent years that outer space is traversed by high-energy radiations has caused man to reevaluate the feasibility of manned or even instrumented exploration outside our atmosphere. Fortunately, it is possible to determine the nature and intensities of these radiations and to produce similar radiations on earth by means of accelerators. Thus we can learn how to attenuate them and to design capsules which afford protection against them. Of course this protection carries a weight penalty so that there is a premium on optimizing the shield design. Many groups in the United States are engaged in research to this end, and it was the purpose of this symposium to bring these groups together so that they could exchange information. To make the meeting more comprehensive, sessions on the nature of the radiations and their effects on people and things were included. However, the major part of the meeting was devoted to discussions on shielding research, comprising theoretical calculations and experiments carried out mainly with high-energy accelerators. The symposium committee feels that the aims of the symposium were met and that progress in space research program was greatly accelerated thereby.

RADIATION SHIELDING↗

Astronomy in Space

NASA space science astronomy program - orbiting satellite experiments for solar, stellar, and galactic observations

SPACE SCIENCE↗

Surveyor III A preliminary report

Near the eastern shore of Oceanus Procellarum, 390 miles from Surveyor I, stands Surveyor III, now motionless and silent after a full lunar day's work during which the spacecraft transmitted to Earth 6315 photographs of its surroundings. A surface sampler, operated by command from the Earth and in view of Surveyor's television camera, conducted many tests of the character and structure of the lunar surface material, as well as digging four trenches. While Surveyor I put man's eyes on the Moon, Surveyor III added an arm and a hand with which to work. In this mission, Surveyor displayed remarkable adaptability and stability. Because the engines did not cut off before touchdown, the spacecraft in effect made three separate landings, giving information on surface bearing strength in several places. The spacecraft came to rest at an angle of about 14° from the vertical, well below the rim of a crater, making possible a detailed study of the floor and walls of a small lunar crater. The tilted position of the spacecraft also made it possible to obtain, for the first time from the surface of the Moon, photographs of a solar eclipse, and of the Earth in color. This report presents the preliminary findings from Surveyor III of the team of scientists and engineers of the Surveyor Program.

Surface property↗