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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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14 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1973

A proposed national wind power R and D program

An offshore wind power system is described that consists of wind driven electrical dc generators mounted on floating towers in offshore waters. The output from the generators supplies underwater electrolyzer stations in which water is converted into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen is piped to shore for conversion to electricity in fuel cell stations. It is estimated that this system can produce 159 x 10 to the ninth power kilowatt-hours per year. It is concluded that solar energy - and that includes wind energy - is the only way out of the US energy dilemma in the not too distant future.

Heronemus, W.↗
NASA NTRS2007

A Global Perspective: NASA's Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) Project

The Prediction of the Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) Project, initiated under the NASA Science Mission Directorate Applied Science Energy Management Program, synthesizes and analyzes data on a global scale that are invaluable to the renewable energy industries, especially to the solar and wind energy sectors. The POWER project derives its data primarily from NASA's World Climate Research Programme (WCRP)/Global Energy and Water cycle Experiment (GEWEX) Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) project (Version 2.9) and the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) assimilation model (Version 4). The latest development of the NASA POWER Project and its plans for the future are presented in this paper.

Zhang, Taiping↗
NASA NTRS2014

Spinoff 2013

Topics covered include: Innovative Software Tools Measure Behavioral Alertness; Miniaturized, Portable Sensors Monitor Metabolic Health; Patient Simulators Train Emergency Caregivers; Solar Refrigerators Store Life-Saving Vaccines; Monitors Enable Medication Management in Patients' Homes; Handheld Diagnostic Device Delivers Quick Medical Readings; Experiments Result in Safer, Spin-Resistant Aircraft; Interfaces Visualize Data for Airline Safety, Efficiency; Data Mining Tools Make Flights Safer, More Efficient; NASA Standards Inform Comfortable Car Seats; Heat Shield Paves the Way for Commercial Space; Air Systems Provide Life Support to Miners; Coatings Preserve Metal, Stone, Tile, and Concrete; Robots Spur Software That Lends a Hand; Cloud-Based Data Sharing Connects Emergency Managers; Catalytic Converters Maintain Air Quality in Mines; NASA-Enhanced Water Bottles Filter Water on the Go; Brainwave Monitoring Software Improves Distracted Minds; Thermal Materials Protect Priceless, Personal Keepsakes; Home Air Purifiers Eradicate Harmful Pathogens; Thermal Materials Drive Professional Apparel Line; Radiant Barriers Save Energy in Buildings; Open Source Initiative Powers Real-Time Data Streams; Shuttle Engine Designs Revolutionize Solar Power; Procedure-Authoring Tool Improves Safety on Oil Rigs; Satellite Data Aid Monitoring of Nation's Forests; Mars Technologies Spawn Durable Wind Turbines; Programs Visualize Earth and Space for Interactive Education; Processor Units Reduce Satellite Construction Costs; Software Accelerates Computing Time for Complex Math; Simulation Tools Prevent Signal Interference on Spacecraft; Software Simplifies the Sharing of Numerical Models; Virtual Machine Language Controls Remote Devices; Micro-Accelerometers Monitor Equipment Health; Reactors Save Energy, Costs for Hydrogen Production; Cameras Monitor Spacecraft Integrity to Prevent Failures; Testing Devices Garner Data on Insulation Performance; Smart Sensors Gather Information for Machine Diagnostics; Oxygen Sensors Monitor Bioreactors and Ensure Health and Safety; Vision Algorithms Catch Defects in Screen Displays; and Deformable Mirrors Capture Exoplanet Data, Reflect Lasers.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1990

Icing tests of a model main rotor

A NASA-sponsored consortium conducted an experimental program to investigate the characteristics of a model rotor under icing conditions. This project resulted in the first U.S. test of a heavily instrumented model rotor conducted in the controlled environment of a refrigerated wind tunnel, the NASA Lewis Icing Research Tunnel. The tunnel entry used a powered force model with a 1.83-m-diameter main rotor, with 0.124-m-chord main rotor blades fabricated specially for this experiment. Test conditions included a range of liquid water content and median volume droplet diameters that fell within the FAA and DOD icing envelopes. The test data show the effects of icing on rotor lift, rotor torque, blade loads, and vibration. Ice shapes and ice dimensions were taken, and molds were made of three ice shapes. High-speed movies were taken to document ice shedding. The results have been compared with analytical accretion predictions.

Bond, Thomas H.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Entry, Descent, and Landing Analysis of Low Mass Martian Probe for Surface Climate Network

Aeolus is a mission to provide the first direct measurements of Martian atmospheric wind speeds and correlate them with thermal and compositional data to bring together a complete systematic description for the global energy balance and climate cycles of Mars. Objective A of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) Goal II cites a Science Investigation Area to develop a network of surface landers to provide global, diurnal and synoptic coverage of the near-surface environment to characterize present Mars climate [1]. Aeolus will characterize the present Martian global climate system via an orbiter element and a novel surface network element. A series of low mass, low power probes will be distributed across the Martian surface and measure pressure, sky opacity, temperature, wind speed, water vapor and other trace gases. Low mass and power electrical systems designed to operate in extreme cold and daily thermal cycling for one Martian year could facilitate lower cost, Class-D science probes. Aeolus is targeting a total per-probe mass of <5 kg. Recent advances in nanofabrication of chip-scale sensors that are highly robust to temperature and shock, combined with a novel packaging concept (the deployable sensor probe [2]) originally developed by the Aerospace Corp., for the first time enables a Mars surface climate sensor network. These probes are folded flat during transit to Mars and automatically deploy into the final reentry configuration once released from the orbiter. The capability to fold for stowage significantly increases the probe quantity carried by the orbiter.

EDL↗
NASA NTRS1980

Thermal Pollution Mathematical Model. Volume 3: User's Manual for One-Dimensional Numerical Model for the Seasonal Thermocline

A user's manual for a one dimensional thermal model to predict the temperature profiles of a deep body of water for any number of annual cycles is presented. The model is essentially a set of partial differential equations which are solved by finite difference methods using a high speed digital computer. The model features the effects of area change with depth, nonlinear interaction of wind generated turbulence and buoyancy, adsorption of radiative heat flux below the surface, thermal discharges, and the effects of vertical convection caused by discharge. The main assumption in the formulation is horizontal homogeneity. The environmental impact of thermal discharges from power plants is emphasized. Although the model is applicable to most lakes, a specific site (Lake Keowee, S.C.) application is described in detail. The programs are written in FORTRAN 5.

Lee, S. S.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Ares Launch Vehicles Overview: Space Access Society

America is returning to the Moon in preparation for the first human footprint on Mars, guided by the U.S. Vision for Space Exploration. This presentation will discuss NASA's mission, the reasons for returning to the Moon and going to Mars, and how NASA will accomplish that mission in ways that promote leadership in space and economic expansion on the new frontier. The primary goals of the Vision for Space Exploration are to finish the International Space Station, retire the Space Shuttle, and build the new spacecraft needed to return people to the Moon and go to Mars. The Vision commits NASA and the nation to an agenda of exploration that also includes robotic exploration and technology development, while building on lessons learned over 50 years of hard-won experience. NASA is building on common hardware, shared knowledge, and unique experience derived from the Apollo Saturn, Space Shuttle, and contemporary commercial launch vehicle programs. The journeys to the Moon and Mars will require a variety of vehicles, including the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle, which transports the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, and the Ares V Cargo Launch Vehicle, which transports the Lunar Surface Access Module. The architecture for the lunar missions will use one launch to ferry the crew into orbit, where it will rendezvous with the Lunar Module in the Earth Departure Stage, which will then propel the combination into lunar orbit. The imperative to explore space with the combination of astronauts and robots will be the impetus for inventions such as solar power and water and waste recycling. This next chapter in NASA's history promises to write the next chapter in American history, as well. It will require this nation to provide the talent to develop tools, machines, materials, processes, technologies, and capabilities that can benefit nearly all aspects of life on Earth. Roles and responsibilities are shared between a nationwide Government and industry team. The Exploration Launch Projects Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center manages the design, development, testing, and evaluation of both vehicles and serves as lead systems integrator. A little over a year after it was chartered, the Exploration Launch Projects team is testing engine components, refining vehicle designs, performing wind tunnel tests, and building hardware for the first flight test of Ares I-X, scheduled for spring 2009. The Exploration Launch Projects team conducted the Ares I System Requirements Review (SRR) at the end of 2006. In Ares' first year, extensive trade studies and evaluations were conducted to refine the design initially recommended by the Exploration Systems Architecture Study, conceptual designs were analyzed for fitness, and the contractual framework was assembled to enable a development effort unparalleled in American space flight since the Space Shuttle. Now, the project turns its focus to the Preliminary Design Review (PDR), scheduled for 2008. Taking into consideration the findings of the SRR, the design of the Ares I is being tightened and refined to meet the safety, operability, reliability, and affordability goals outlined by the Constellation Program. The Ares V is in the early design stage, focusing its activities on requirements validation and ways to develop this heavy-lift system so that synergistic hardware commonality between it and the Ares I can reduce the operational footprint and foster sustained exploration across the decades ahead.

Cook, Steve↗
NASA NTRS2015

Core Analysis Combining MT (TIPPER) and Dielectric Sensors (Sans EC) in Earth and Space

On terrestrial planets and moons of our solar system cores reveal details about a geological structure's formation, content, and history. The strategy for the search for life is focused first on finding water which serves as a universal solvent, and identifying the rocks which such solvent act upon to release the constituent salts, minerals, ferrites, and organic compounds and chemicals necessary for life. Dielectric spectroscopy measures the dielectric properties of a medium as a function of frequency. Reflection measurements in the frequency range from 300 kHz to 300 MHz were carried out using RF and microwave network analyzers interrogating SansEC Sensors placed on clean geological core samples. These were conducted to prove the concept feasibility of a new geology instrument useful in the field and laboratory. The results show that unique complex frequency spectra can be acquired for a variety of rock core samples. Using a combination of dielectric spectroscopy and computer simulation techniques the magnitude and phase information of the frequency spectra can be converted to dielectric spectra. These low-frequency dielectric properties of natural rock are unique, easily determined, and useful in characterizing geology. TIPPER is an Electro-Magnetic Passive-Source Geophysical Method for Detecting and Mapping Geothermal Reservoirs and Mineral Resources. This geophysical method uses distant lightning and solar wind activity as its energy source. The most interesting deflections are caused by the funneling of electrons into more electrically conductive areas like mineralized faults, water or geothermal reservoirs. We propose TIPPER to be used with SansEC for determining terrain/ocean chemistry, ocean depth, geomorphology of fracture structures, and other subsurface topography characteristics below the ice crust of Jovian moons. NASA envisions lander concepts for exploration of these extraterrestrial icy surfaces and the oceans beneath. One such concept would use a nuclear powered heated tip for melting through the ice sheath of Europa and inserting a down hole SansEC with TIPPER interface. NASA's Juno space probe already on the way to Jupiter as part of the Exploration New Frontiers Program and the planned Europa mission will conduct detailed reconnaissance of Jupiter's moon Europa and investigate whether the icy moon could harbor conditions suitable for life. It has already been observed that Jovian moons have auroras that may serve as naturally occurring active energy sources for a TIPPER instrument.

Mound, Michael C.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Winds, Water Budgets and Stable Isotopes in Tropical Cyclones using TRMM and QUICKSCAT

Water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Changes in its concentration and distribution are controlled by the hydrologic cycle. Because of its capacity to absorb and emit long wave radiation, release latent heat during condensation in storms and reflect short wave radiation when clouds form it has a major impact on Global climate change. The stable isotope ratios of water are H20 H2l6O and H0 H2l6O. These ratios change whenever water undergoes a phase change. They also change in both rain and water vapor whenever an air parcel is exposed to rain. In addition the relative changes in the two ratios differ as a &nction of the relative humidity. In short, the stable isotope ratios in water vapor in the atmosphere contain an integrated history of the processes affecting the concentration and distribution of water vapor in the atmosphere. Therefore the measurement and interpretation of changes in these stable isotope ratios are a powerful tool matched by no other method in tracing the transport history of water in the atmosphere. Our initial studies under this grant focused on the changes of the stable isotope ratios of precipitation and water vapor in tropical cyclones. The changes in time and space were found to be very large and to trace the transport of water in the storms reflecting changes in basic structural features. Because the stable isotope ratios of rains from tropical cyclones are so low flooding associated with land falling tropical cyclones introduces a negative isotopic spike into the coastal surface waters. In addition the stable isotope ratios of water vapor in the vicinity of tropical cyclones is anomalously low. This suggests that carbonate shelled organisms such as ostracoda living in coastal waters have the potential to record the isotopic spike and thereby provide a long term record of tropical storm activity in sediment cores containing fossil shells. Likewise, tree rings in coastal environments offer a similar potential. We have analyzed the oxygen isotopic composition of ostrcoda shells formed in the floodwaters of Tropical Storm Allison (2001) and discovered the negative isotopic 1 16 spike. Because we had learned that storm activity has a major impact on the stable isotope ratios of water vapor in the tropics and sub-tropics we decided to analyze the isotopic compositions of water vapor in different locations in the tropics. We did this in Puerto Escondido, Mexico in July 1998, near Kwajalein Island in the Pacific in 1999 as part of a TRMM summer field program and in 2001 in Key West, Florida as part of the CAMEX 4 summer field program. Our isotopic studies along with our earlier tropical cyclone studies showed that the low isotopic ratios in water vapor induced by exposure to rains the storms persisted for 48 hours often far away from the original storm site. We also noted that positive isotopic spikes were introduced into atmospheric water vapor if winds were high and extensive sea spray was present. These findings have a significant impact on the interpretation of the stable isotope studies of tropical ice cores found in the high mountain regions of the tropics. The assumption made in interpreting the ice core record is that the source water vapor evaporated from the sea surface is in near isotopic equilibrium with the seawater and undergoes a decrease during its transport that reflects the change in temperature from the sea surface to the site of the ice core. Because an additional isotopic depletion occurs at the sea surface source area that depends on the intensity, duration and size of the tropical rain system the isotopic variations found in the ice cores must take into account changes in past storm activity in the tropics. These systems must be an important source of water vapor to the ice cores because they charge the troposphere with water vapor to a far greater vertical height than evaporation in quiescent regions. Finally, an interest in increased heat transfer in thnterior of tropical cyclones resulting from greater amounts of sea spray is a topic of considerable interest to the research community. Increases in sea spray may be related to rapid changes in the intensity of hurricanes, a feature of hurricanes that currently is very poorly forecast. Project CBLAST of the Hurricane Research Division of NOAA is an active program that uses P3 research aircraft to evaluate this problem. An instrument has been designed and built at the University of Houston that will be placed on the P3 research aircraft during the 2004 hurricane season. It continuously measures the salt content of rain in hurricanes. Changes in the salt content of the rains should reflect the abundance of sea spray at the sea surface. In this way maps of sea spray intensity in hurricanes may be forthcoming. This should help computer modelers who simulate hurricanes to better understand the potential of changes in sea spray to change the intensity of hurricanes. The cost of designing, building and installing this instrument was borne largely by funding from this NASA grant. A list of presentations at national meetings and publications that were as the result of funding from this NASA grant are found in the report.

Lawrence, James R.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Human Space Exploration: The Moon, Mars, and Beyond

America is returning to the Moon in preparation for the first human footprint on Mars, guided by the U.S. Vision for Space Exploration. This presentation will discuss NASA's mission, the reasons for returning to the Moon and going to Mars, and how NASA will accomplish that mission in ways that promote leadership in space and economic expansion on the new frontier. The primary goals of the Vision for Space Exploration are to finish the International Space Station, retire the Space Shuttle, and build the new spacecraft needed, to return people to the Moon and go to Mars. The Vision commits NASA and the nation to an agenda of exploration that also includes robotic exploration and technology development, while building on lessons learned over 50 years of hard-won experience. Why the Moon? Many questions about the Moon's potential resources and how its history is linked to that of Earth were spurred by the brief Apollo explorations of the 1960s and 1970s. This new venture will carry more explorers to more diverse landing sites with more capable tools and equipment for extended expeditions. The Moon also will serve as a training ground before embarking on the longer, more difficult trip to Mars. NASA plans to build a lunar outpost at one of the lunar poles, learn to live off the land, and reduce dePendence on Earth for longer missions. America needs to extend its ability to survive in hostile environments close to our home planet before astronauts will reach Mars, a planet very much like Earth. NASA has worked with scientists to define lunar exploration goals and is addressing the opportunities for a range of scientific study on Mars. In order to reach the Moon and Mars within a lifetime and within budget, NASA is building on common hardware, shared knowledge, and unique experience derived from the Apollo Saturn, Space Shuttle and contemporary commercial launch vehicle programs. The journeys to the Moon and Mars will require a variety of vehicles, including the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle, which transports the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, and the Ares V Cargo Launch Vehicle, which transports the Lunar Surface Access Module. The architecture for the lunar missions will use one launch to ferry the crew into orbit, where it will rendezvous with the Lunar Module in the Earth Departure Stage, which will then propel the combination into lunar orbit. The imperative to explore space with the combination of astronauts and robots will be the impetus for inventions such as solar power and water and waste recycling. This next chapter in NASA's history promises to write the next chapter in American history, as well. It will require this nation to provide the talent to develop tools, machines, materials, processes, technologies, and capabilities that can benefit nearly all aspects of life on Earth. Roles and responsibilities are shared between a nationwide Government and industry team. The Exploration Launch Projects Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center manages the design, development, testing, and evaluation of both vehicles and serves as lead systems integrator. A little over a year after it was chartered, the Exploration Launch Projects team is testing engine components, refining vehicle designs, performing wind tunnel tests, and building hardware for the first flight test of Ares I-l, scheduled for spring 2009. The U.S. Vision for Space Exploration lays out a roadmap for a long-term venture of discovery. This endeavor will inspire and attract the best and brightest students to power this nation successfully to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. If one equates the value proposition for space with simple dollars and cents, the potential of the new space economy is tremendous, from orbital space delivery services for the International Space Station to mining and solar energy collection on the Moon and asteroids. The Vision for Space Exploration is fundamentally about bringing the resources of the solar system within the economic sphere of humaind. Given the immense size of our solar system, the amount of available material and energy within it present an enormous economic opportunity.

Sexton, Jeffrey D.↗
NASA NTRS2013

NASA Tech Briefs, January 2013

Topics include: Single-Photon-Sensitive HgCdTe Avalanche Photodiode Detector; Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Using Silica Whispering-Gallery Mode Resonators; 3D Hail Size Distribution Interpolation/Extrapolation Algorithm; Color-Changing Sensors for Detecting the Presence of Hypergolic Fuels; Artificial Intelligence Software for Assessing Postural Stability; Transformers: Shape-Changing Space Systems Built with Robotic Textiles; Fibrillar Adhesive for Climbing Robots; Using Pre-Melted Phase Change Material to Keep Payloads in Space Warm for Hours without Power; Development of a Centrifugal Technique for the Microbial Bioburden Analysis of Freon (CFC-11); Microwave Sinterator Freeform Additive Construction System (MS-FACS); DSP/FPGA Design for a High-Speed Programmable S-Band Space Transceiver; On-Chip Power-Combining for High-Power Schottky Diode-Based Frequency Multipliers; FPGA Vision Data Architecture; Memory Circuit Fault Simulator; Ultra-Compact Transputer-Based Controller for High-Level, Multi-Axis Coordination; Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot Excavator; Magnetically Actuated Seal; Hybrid Electrostatic/Flextensional Mirror for Lightweight, Large-Aperture, and Cryogenic Space Telescopes; System for Contributing and Discovering Derived Mission and Science Data; Remote Viewer for Maritime Robotics Software; Stackfile Database; Reachability Maps for In Situ Operations; JPL Space Telecommunications Radio System Operating Environment; RFI-SIM: RFI Simulation Package; ION Configuration Editor; Dtest Testing Software; IMPaCT - Integration of Missions, Programs, and Core Technologies; Integrated Systems Health Management (ISHM) Toolkit; Wind-Driven Wireless Networked System of Mobile Sensors for Mars Exploration; In Situ Solid Particle Generator; Analysis of the Effects of Streamwise Lift Distribution on Sonic Boom Signature; Rad-Tolerant, Thermally Stable, High-Speed Fiber-Optic Network for Harsh Environments; Towed Subsurface Optical Communications Buoy; High-Collection-Efficiency Fluorescence Detection Cell; Ultra-Compact, Superconducting Spectrometer-on-a-Chip at Submillimeter Wavelengths; UV Resonant Raman Spectrometer with Multi-Line Laser Excitation; Medicine Delivery Device with Integrated Sterilization and Detection; Ionospheric Simulation System for Satellite Observations and Global Assimilative Model Experiments - ISOGAME; Airborne Tomographic Swath Ice Sounding Processing System; flexplan: Mission Planning System for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter; Estimating Torque Imparted on Spacecraft Using Telemetry; PowderSim: Lagrangian Discrete and Mesh-Free Continuum Simulation Code for Cohesive Soils; Multiple-Frame Detection of Subpixel Targets in Thermal Image Sequences; Metric Learning to Enhance Hyperspectral Image Segmentation; Basic Operational Robotics Instructional System; Sheet Membrane Spacesuit Water Membrane Evaporator; Advanced Materials and Manufacturing for Low-Cost, High-Performance Liquid Rocket Combustion Chambers; Motor Qualification for Long-Duration Mars Missions.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2005

Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Annual Report 2004

Once or twice in an age, a year comes along that the historians proclaim as an Annus Mirabilis - a year of wonders. For the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 2004 was just that sort of time. From beginning to end, it was a nonstop experience of wondrous events in space. Imagine that two robot rovers embark on cross-country rambles across Mars, scrutinizing rocks for signs of past water on the now-arid world. A flagship spacecraft brakes into orbit at Saturn to begin longterm surveillance of the ringed world, preparing to drop a sophisticated probe to the surface of its haze-shrouded largest moon. Another craft makes the closest-ever pass by the nucleus of a comet, collecting sample particles as it goes. Two new space telescopes peer into the depths of the universe far beyond our solar system, viewing stars, nebulas and galaxies in invisible light beyond the spectrum our eyes can see. A pair of instruments is lofted on a NASA Earth-orbiting satellite to monitor air quality and the protective layer of ozone blanketing our home planet. A small probe brings samples of the solar wind to Earth for in-depth study. While JPL was absorbed with all of these ventures on other worlds, NASA and the White House unveiled an ambitious new plan of space exploration. The Vision for Space Exploration announced in January foresees a program of robotic and astronaut missions leading to a human return to the Moon by 2020, and eventual crewed expeditions to Mars. The vision also calls for more robotic missions to the moons of the outer planets; spaceborne observatories that will search for Earth-like planets around other stars and explore the formation and evolution of the universe; and continued study of our home planet. In order to accomplish all of this, NASA must perfect many as-yet-uninvented technologies and space transportation capabilities. JPL has a great deal to bring to this vision. Robotic exploration of Mars will lead the way for missions that will carry women and men to the red planet. Our engineers and scientists are formulating spacecraft that could use nuclear power to enable exploration missions of the future. And even now we are designing formations of space telescopes that will capture family portraits of the planets around neighboring stars. Those are only some of the ways that the Laboratory is contributing to NASA's broader goals. During 2004, JPL made a distinctive contribution to agencywide initiatives in areas such as safety, NASA transformation, the agency's Internet portal and NASA's Explorer Schools programs. Years like 2004 pose a special challenge for us. It would be easy to say that this was a once-in-a-decade high point of mission activities, but I believe that this would miss an opportunity. We are fortunate to have many space projects in the works that have the promise of being just as exhilarating as the great mission successes that we celebrated this year. The challenge and opportunity for us now is to make every year like this one.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NAS↗
NASA NTRS2000

The Pascal Discovery Mission: A Mars Climate Network Mission

The climate of Mars is a major focus of Mars exploration. With the loss of MCO, however, it remains uncertain how it will be achieved. We argue that a truly dedicated climate mission to Mars should have both orbital and landed components, and that these should operate simultaneously for at least 1 Mars year if not longer. Pascal is a Discovery mission that emphasizes the landed component. Its principal goal is to establish a network of 24 small weather stations on the surface of Mars that will operate for 2 Mars years, with an extended mission option for an additional 8 Mars years bringing the total mission lifetime up to 10 Mars years. The stations will collect hourly measurements of pressure, temperature, and optical depth. After delivering the probes to Mars, Pascal's carrier spacecraft will go into an elliptical orbit which will serve as a relay for the landers, and a platform for synoptic imaging. These simultaneous measurements from the surface and from orbit will allow us to characterize the planet's general circulation and its interaction with the dust, water, and CO2 cycles. During entry, descent, and landing, each of Pascal's 24 probes will also measure the temperature structure of the atmosphere and acquire images of the surface. These data will allow us to determine the global structure of the atmosphere between 15 and 130 km, and characterize the local terrain to help interpret the landed data. The descent images are part of Pascal's outreach program, as the probe camera system will be developed by faculty-supervised student project. The intent is to generate enthusiasm for the Pascal mission by directly involving students. Pascal will be launched on a Delta II-7925 in August of 2005. A type I trajectory will deliver Pascal to Mars in January of 2006. On approach, the three-axis stabilized carrier spacecraft will spring deploy the Pascal probes in 4 separate salvo's of 6 each. Global coverage is achieved with small time-of-arrival adjustments in between each salvo. Pascal's probes utilize an aeroshell, parachute, and crushable material for entry, descent and landing. On the surface, their long life and global coverage is enabled by a Micro Thermal Power Source with demonstrated heritage. After all probes are released, the carrier spacecraft will execute a small burn for insertion into an elliptical orbit. The long lifetime of the Pascal network was chosen in part to maximize the chances that orbital sounding, like that planned with MCO, would occur at some point during the mission. If Pascal is selected for launch in '05, this could occur if MCO-like science is reflown in the '05 opportunity or, if it is reflown in '03, the mission is extended to overlap with Pascal. The combination of temperature sounding from orbit, and surface pressure mapping from the surface will allow a direct determination of the full 3-D wind field for the first time.

Haberle, R. M.↗
NASA NTRS2000

The Pascal Discovery Mission: A Mars Climate Network Mission

The climate of Mars is a major focus of Mars exploration. With the loss of MCO, however, it remains uncertain how it will be achieved. We argue that a truly dedicated climate mission to Mars should have both orbital and landed components, and that these should operate simultaneously for at least I Mars year if not longer. Pascal is Discovery mission that emphasizes the landed component. Its principal goal is to establish a network of 24 small weather stations on the surface of Mars that will operate for 2 Mars years, with an extended mission option for an additional 8 Mars years bringing the total mission lifetime up to 10 Mars years. The stations will collect hourly measurements of pressure, temperature, and optical depth. After delivering the probes to Mars, Pascal's carrier spacecraft will go into an elliptical orbit which will serve as a relay for the landers, and a platform for synoptic imaging. These simultaneous measurements from the surface and from orbit will allow us to characterize the planet's general circulation and its interaction with the dust, water, and CO2 cycles. During entry, descent, and landing, each of Pascal's 24 probes will also measure the temperature structure of the atmosphere and acquire images of the surface. These data will allow us to determine the global structure of the atmosphere between 15 and 130 km, and characterize the local terrain to help interpret the landed data. The descent images are part of Pascal's outreach program, as the probe camera system will be developed by faculty-supervised student project. The intent is to generate enthusiasm for the Pascal mission by directly involving students. Pascal will be launched on a Delta 11-7925 in August of 2005. A type I trajectory will deliver Pascal to Mars in January of 2006. On approach, the three-axis stabilized carrier spacecraft will spring deploy the Pascal probes in 4 separate salvo's of 6 each. Global coverage is achieved with small time-of-arrival adjustments in between each salvo. Pascal's probes utilize an aeroshell, parachute, and crushable material for entry, descent and landing. On the surface, their long life and global coverage is enabled by a Micro Thermal Power Source with demonstrated heritage. After all probes are released, the carrier spacecraft will execute a small bum for insertion into an elliptical orbit. The long lifetime of the Pascal network was chosen in part to maximize the chances that orbital sounding, like that planned with MCO, would occur at some point during the mission. If Pascal is selected for launch in -05, this could occur if MCO-like science is reflown in the '05 opportunity or, if it is reflown in '03, the mission is extended to overlap with Pascal. The combination of temperature sounding from orbit, and surface pressure mapping from the surface will allow a direct determination of the full 3-D wind field for the first time.

Haberle, Robert M.↗