Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “ferrets”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

18 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1985

Activity in the ferret: oestradiol effects and circadian rhythms

The present study was conducted to determine whether oestradiol increases activity in the European ferret (Mustela furo), whether this effect is sexually dimorphic, and whether a 24-h rhythm is present in the ferret's daily activity. The activity of male and female adult, postpubertally gonadectomized ferrets was monitored while they were maintained singly on a 13:11 light-dark cycle, before and after implantation with oestradiol-17 beta. Gonadectomized male and female ferrets exhibited equal levels of activity, and neither sex exhibited a significant change in activity following oestradiol implantation. None of the ferrets exhibited a strong circadian rhythm, although weak 24-h rhythms and shorter harmonic rhythms were present. Golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus), monitored in an identical manner, exhibited strong circadian rhythms. It was concluded that oestradiol administration may not cause an increase in activity in the ferret, and that this species lacks a strong circadian activity rhythm.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1974

Studies on disease transmission in spacecraft environments

The effects of the Skylab gas mixtures on general health and immunocompetence of mice and ferrets subjected to the Skylab space cabin environment (SCE) were initially studied in a stainless steel low pressure facility which was maintained at gas ratios of 30% nitrogen and 70% oxygen under 5 psia, and which consisted of two subchambers, that permitted mutual isolation of experimental groups and/or selective removal of animals without return of the entire cabin to ambient pressure was developed. The studies demonstrated that ferrets immunized with Brucella Strain 19 prior to being housed in SCE had decreased synthesis of IgG compared to their respective controls. The possibility of latent infections being responsible for stress-induced upper respiratory diseases of astronauts required that the role of neutralizing antibody as a function of antibody affinity/avidity be investigated. The model consisted of Aleutian disease virus (ADV) which infects ferrets and mink resulting in nonneutralized immune complexes. These studies demonstrated that early antibody to ADV had lower affinity/avidity than late antibody with respect to chronicity. These studies culminated in a description of antibody affinity, first isolation of ADV and its cultivation in vitro.

Kenyon, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Studies of effects of closed microbial ecology. Report of 180-day test period

Experiments were performed to determine the influence closed microbial ecologies have on modification or simplification of natural intestinal flora of ferrets in a closed environmental system. On the basis of previous tests in which certain species (Salmonella and Bacteroides) were decreased at 90 days of enclosure, a second trial was constructed for 180-day tests. In this trial there was little difference in the 8 major classes of intestinal flora between animals in the Open and Closed environmental groups except for the level of Lactobacillus. It is of extreme importance to note that when both Open and Closed groups contracted hemorrhagic gastritis, the interrelationship of this agent with other intestinal flora produced a more profound effect on animals from the Closed Group, particularly with reference to Lactobacillus levels.

Kenyon, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1981

An observer for a deployable antenna

An observer is derived for use on an Orbiter-Deployable Antenna configuration. The unique feature of this observer design for this flight experiment is that all the plant inputs are not required to be directly accessible for the observer to ferret out the system states. The observer uses state and rate of the state information to reconstruct the plant states. Results are presented which show how effectively this observer design works for this large space structure flight experiment.

Waites, H. B.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Laser Welding in Space

Solidification type welding process experiments in conditions of microgravity were performed. The role of convection in such phenomena was examined and convective effects in the small volumes obtained in the laser weld zone were observed. Heat transfer within the weld was affected by acceleration level as indicated by the resulting microstructure changes in low gravity. All experiments were performed such that both high and low gravity welds occurred along the same weld beam, allowing the effects of gravity alone to be examined. Results indicate that laser welding in a space environment is feasible and can be safely performed IVA or EVA. Development of the hardware to perform the experiment in a Hitchhiker-g platform is recomended as the next step. This experiment provides NASA with a capable technology for welding needs in space. The resources required to perform this experiment aboard a Shuttle Hitchhiker-pallet are assessed. Over the four year period 1991 to 1994, it is recommended that the task will require 13.6 manyears and $914,900. In addition to demonstrating the technology and ferreting out the problems encountered, it is suggested that NASA will also have a useful laser materials processing facility for working with both the scientific and the engineering aspects of materials processing in space. Several concepts are also included for long-term optimization of available solar power through solar pumping solid state lasers directly for welding power.

Workman, Gary L.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Improving Scientific Capabilities in Space in the 21st Century: The NASA New Millennium Program

NASA's New Millennium Program (NMP) has been chartered to identify and validate in space emerging, revolutionary technologies that will enable less costly, more capable future science missions. The program utilizes a unique blend of science guidance and industry partnering to ferret out technology solutions to enable science capabilities in space which are presently technically infeasible, or unaffordable. Those technologies which present an unacceptably high risk to future science missions (whether small PI-led or operational) are bundled into technology validation missions. These missions seek to validate the technologies in a manner consistent with their future uses, thus reducing the associated risk to the first user, and obtaining meaningful science data as well. The Space Readiness Coherent Lidar Experiment (SPARCLE) was approved as the second NMP Earth Observing mission (EO2) in October 1997, and assigned to Marshall Space Flight Center for implementation. Leading up to mission confirmation, NMP sponsored a community workshop in March 1996 to draft Level-1 requirements for a doppler wind lidar mission, as well as other space-based lidar missions (such as DIAL). Subsequently, a study group was formed and met twice to make recommendations on how to perform a comparison of coherent and direct detection wind lidars in space. These recommendations have guided the science validation plan for the SPARCLE mission, and will ensure that future users will be able to confidently assess the risk profile of future doppler wind missions utilizing EO2 technologies. The primary risks to be retired are: (1) Maintenance of optical alignments through launch and operations on orbit, and (2) Successful velocity estimation compensation for the Doppler shift due to the platform motion, and due to the earth's rotation. This includes the need to account for all sources of error associated with pointing control and knowledge. The validation objectives are: (1) Demonstrate measurement of tropospheric winds from space using a scanning coherent Doppler lidar technique that scales to meet future research (e.g. ESSP) and operational (e.g. NPOESS) mission requirements. Specifically, produce and validate LOS wind data with single shot accuracy of 1-2 m/s in regions of high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and low atmospheric wind turbulence and wind shear, (2) Collect the atmospheric and instrument performance data in various scanning modes necessary to validate and improve instrument performance models that will enable the definition of future missions with greater confidence. Such data include aerosol backscatter data over much of the globe, and high SNR data such as that from surface returns, and (3) Produce a set of raw instrument data with which advanced signal processing techniques can be developed. This objective will permit future missions to better understand how to extract wind information from low backscatter regions of the atmosphere.

Raymond, Carol A.↗
NASA NTRS1998

NASA Lewis Helps Company With New Single-Engine Business Turbojet

Century Aerospace Corporation, a small company in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is developing a six-seat aircraft powered by a single turbofan engine for general aviation. The company had completed a preliminary design of the jet but needed analyses and testing to proceed with detailed design and subsequent fabrication of a prototype aircraft. NASA Lewis Research Center used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses to ferret out areas of excessive curvature in the inlet where separation might occur. A preliminary look at the results indicated very good inlet performance; and additional calculations, performed with vortex generators installed in the inlet, led to even better results. When it was initially determined that the airflow distortion pattern at the compressor face fell outside of the limits set by the engine manufacturer, the Lewis team studied possible solutions, selected the best, and provided recommendations. CFD results for the inlet system were so good that wind tunnel tests were unnecessary.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2010

Data Access Services that Make Remote Sensing Data Easier to Use

This slide presentation reviews some of the processes that NASA uses to make the remote sensing data easy to use over the World Wide Web. This work involves much research into data formats, geolocation structures and quality indicators, often to be followed by coding a preprocessing program. Only then are the data usable within the analysis tool of choice. The Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center is deploying a variety of data access services that are designed to dramatically shorten the time consumed in the data preparation step. On-the-fly conversion to the standard network Common Data Form (netCDF) format with Climate-Forecast (CF) conventions imposes a standard coordinate system framework that makes data instantly readable through several tools, such as the Integrated Data Viewer, Gridded Analysis and Display System, Panoply and Ferret. A similar benefit is achieved by serving data through the Open Source Project for a Network Data Access Protocol (OPeNDAP), which also provides subsetting. The Data Quality Screening Service goes a step further in filtering out data points based on quality control flags, based on science team recommendations or user-specified criteria. Further still is the Giovanni online analysis system which goes beyond handling formatting and quality to provide visualization and basic statistics of the data. This general approach of automating the preparation steps has the important added benefit of enabling use of the data by non-human users (i.e., computer programs), which often make sub-optimal use of the available data due to the need to hard-code data preparation on the client side.

Lynnes, Christopher↗
NASA NTRS2006

"One-Stop Shopping" for Ocean Remote-Sensing and Model Data

OurOcean Portal 2.0 (http:// ourocean.jpl.nasa.gov) is a software system designed to enable users to easily gain access to ocean observation data, both remote-sensing and in-situ, configure and run an Ocean Model with observation data assimilated on a remote computer, and visualize both the observation data and the model outputs. At present, the observation data and models focus on the California coastal regions and Prince William Sound in Alaska. This system can be used to perform both real-time and retrospective analyses of remote-sensing data and model outputs. OurOcean Portal 2.0 incorporates state-of-the-art information technologies (IT) such as MySQL database, Java Web Server (Apache/Tomcat), Live Access Server (LAS), interactive graphics with Java Applet at the Client site and MatLab/GMT at the server site, and distributed computing. OurOcean currently serves over 20 real-time or historical ocean data products. The data are served in pre-generated plots or their native data format. For some of the datasets, users can choose different plotting parameters and produce customized graphics. OurOcean also serves 3D Ocean Model outputs generated by ROMS (Regional Ocean Model System) using LAS. The Live Access Server (LAS) software, developed by the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is a configurable Web-server program designed to provide flexible access to geo-referenced scientific data. The model output can be views as plots in horizontal slices, depth profiles or time sequences, or can be downloaded as raw data in different data formats, such as NetCDF, ASCII, Binary, etc. The interactive visualization is provided by graphic software, Ferret, also developed by PMEL. In addition, OurOcean allows users with minimal computing resources to configure and run an Ocean Model with data assimilation on a remote computer. Users may select the forcing input, the data to be assimilated, the simulation period, and the output variables and submit the model to run on a backend parallel computer. When the run is complete, the output will be added to the LAS server for

Li, P. Peggy↗
NASA NTRS2012

TRMM Precipitation Application Examples Using Data Services at NASA GES DISC

Data services to support precipitation applications are important for maximizing the NASA TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) and the future GPM (Global Precipitation Mission) mission's societal benefits. TRMM Application examples using data services at the NASA GES DISC, including samples from users around the world will be presented in this poster. Precipitation applications often require near-real-time support. The GES DISC provides such support through: 1) Providing near-real-time precipitation products through TOVAS; 2) Maps of current conditions for monitoring precipitation and its anomaly around the world; 3) A user friendly tool (TOVAS) to analyze and visualize near-real-time and historical precipitation products; and 4) The GES DISC Hurricane Portal that provides near-real-time monitoring services for the Atlantic basin. Since the launch of TRMM, the GES DISC has developed data services to support precipitation applications around the world. In addition to the near-real-time services, other services include: 1) User friendly TRMM Online Visualization and Analysis System (TOVAS; URL: http://disc2.nascom.nasa.gov/Giovanni/tovas/); 2) Mirador (http://mirador.gsfc.nasa.gov/), a simplified interface for searching, browsing, and ordering Earth science data at GES DISC. Mirador is designed to be fast and easy to learn; 3) Data via OPeNDAP (http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/services/opendap/). The OPeNDAP provides remote access to individual variables within datasets in a form usable by many tools, such as IDV, McIDAS-V, Panoply, Ferret and GrADS; and 4) The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Map Service (WMS) (http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/services/wxs_ogc.shtml). The WMS is an interface that allows the use of data and enables clients to build customized maps with data coming from a different network.

Liu, Zhong↗
NASA NTRS2012

Newly Released TRMM Version 7 Products, Other Precipitation Datasets and Data Services at NASA GES DISC

The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) is home of global precipitation product archives, in particular, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) products. TRMM is a joint U.S.-Japan satellite mission to monitor tropical and subtropical (40 S - 40 N) precipitation and to estimate its associated latent heating. The TRMM satellite provides the first detailed and comprehensive dataset on the four dimensional distribution of rainfall and latent heating over vastly undersampled tropical and subtropical oceans and continents. The TRMM satellite was launched on November 27, 1997. TRMM data products are archived at and distributed by GES DISC. The newly released TRMM Version 7 consists of several changes including new parameters, new products, meta data, data structures, etc. For example, hydrometeor profiles in 2A12 now have 28 layers (14 in V6). New parameters have been added to several popular Level-3 products, such as, 3B42, 3B43. Version 2.2 of the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) dataset has been added to the TRMM Online Visualization and Analysis System (TOVAS; URL: http://disc2.nascom.nasa.gov/Giovanni/tovas/), allowing online analysis and visualization without downloading data and software. The GPCP dataset extends back to 1979. Version 3 of the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC) monitoring product has been updated in TOVAS as well. The product provides global gauge-based monthly rainfall along with number of gauges per grid. The dataset begins in January 1986. To facilitate data and information access and support precipitation research and applications, we have developed a Precipitation Data and Information Services Center (PDISC; URL: http://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/precipitation). In addition to TRMM, PDISC provides current and past observational precipitation data. Users can access precipitation data archives consisting of both remote sensing and in-situ observations. Users can use these data products to conduct a wide variety of activities, including case studies, model evaluation, uncertainty investigation, etc. To support Earth science applications, PDISC provides users near-real-time precipitation products over the Internet. At PDISC, users can access tools and software. Documentation, FAQ and assistance are also available. Other capabilities include: 1) Mirador (http://mirador.gsfc.nasa.gov/), a simplified interface for searching, browsing, and ordering Earth science data at NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC). Mirador is designed to be fast and easy to learn; 2)TOVAS; 3) NetCDF data download for the GIS community; 4) Data via OPeNDAP (http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/services/opendap/). The OPeNDAP provides remote access to individual variables within datasets in a form usable by many tools, such as IDV, McIDAS-V, Panoply, Ferret and GrADS; 5) The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Map Service (WMS) (http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/services/wxs_ogc.shtml). The WMS is an interface that allows the use of data and enables clients to build customized maps with data coming from a different network.

Liu, Zhong↗
NASA NTRS2012

Paramyxovirus Infection Mimics In Vivo Cellular Dynamics in Three-Demensional Human Bronchio-Epithelial Tissue-Like Assemblies

Respiratory syncytial virus and parainfluenza virus cause severe respiratory disease, especially in infants, children and the elderly. An in vitro model that accurately mimics infection of the human respiratory epithelium (HRE) would facilitate vaccine development greatly. Monolayer cultures traditionally used to study these viruses do not accurately and precisely differentiate the replication efficiencies of wild type and attenuated viruses. Therefore, we engineered novel three-dimensional (3D) tissue-like assemblies (TLAs) of human broncho-epithelial (HBE) cells to produce a more physiologically relevant in vitro model of the HRE. TLAs resemble HRE structurally and by expression of differentiated epithelial cell markers. Most significantly, wild type viruses exhibited a clear growth advantage over attenuated strains in TLAs unlike monolayer cultures. In addition, the TLAs responded to virus infection by secreting pro-inflammatory mediators similar to the respiratory epithelia of infected children. These characteristics make the TLA model a valuable platform technology to develop and evaluate live, attenuated respiratory virus vaccine candidates for human use. Respiratory virus diseases, the most frequent and least preventable of all infectious diseases, range in severity from the common cold to severe bronchiolitis and pneumonia . Two paramyxoviruses, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and parainfluenza virus type 3 (PIV3), are responsible for a majority of the most severe respiratory diseases of infants and young children. RSV causes 70% of all bronchiolitis cases and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, especially in infants. PIV3 causes 10-15% of bronchiolitis and pneumonia during infancy, second only to RSV, and 40% of croup in infants To date, licensed vaccines are not available to prevent these respiratory diseases. At present, traditional monkey kidney (Vero and LLC-MK2) and human (HEp-2) tissue culture cells and small animal models (mouse, cotton rat, guinea pig, ferret, and hamster) fail to accurately imitate viral replication and human disease states (8). Lacking an authentic model has impeded the development and evaluation of live, attenuated vaccine candidates. Development of a physiologically relevant in vitro tissue culture model that reproduces characteristics of the HRE, the primary target of RSV and PIV3, would aid in predicting clinical attenuation and safety of vaccine candidates. Successful tissue engineering of a 3D human intestinal model using novel NASA technology inspired the development of a tri-culture 3D model for the HRE. Sequential layering of primary mesenchymal cells (comprised of normal human fibroblasts and endothelial cells) followed by BEAS-2B epithelial cells derived from human bronchi and tracheae were recapitulated on Cultisphere and/or cytodex3 microcarriers in cylindrical vessels that rotate horizontally creating an organized epithelial structure. Horizontal rotation randomizes the gravity vector modeling aspects of microgravity. Mesenchymal and epithelial cells grown under these conditions reproduce the structural organization, multi-cellular complexity, and differentiation state of the HRE. The opportunity to study respiratory viruses in a nasal epithelium model is invaluable because the most promising respiratory virus vaccine candidates are live attenuated viruses for intranasal administration. Here we characterize the interactions of respiratory viruses and epithelial cells grown under modeled microgravity in comparison to gravity-ladened monolayers. 3D HBE TLAs and traditional monolayers (2D) are infected at 35 C, the upper temperature of the upper HRE, to simulate in vivo infection conditions. Growth kinetics of wild type (wt) RSV and PIV3 viruses were compared in 2D and 3D cells to that of strains attenuated in humans or rhesus macaques. This novel 3D HBE model also offers an opportunity to study whether the epithelial cell function, especially in host defenses recapitulated by mimicking the structural organization of the HRE. In vivo, airway epithelial cells play a significant and dynamic role in host defense by blocking paracellular permeability and modulating airway function through cellular interactions or tight junctions. As regulators of the innate immune response, epithelial cells constitutively express cytokines, chemokines, and colony stimulating factors including RANTES, IL-8, IL-6, GM-CSF, and G-CSF for proactive host defense. In response to viral infection, epithelial cells induce potent immuno-modulatory and pro-inflammatory cytokines that recruit phagocytic and inflammatory cells to clear the virus and enhance protection. Although disease pathogenesis is classically attributed to the cytopathic effects of the pathogen, severe disease states associated with RSV and PIV3 are attributed to the inflammatory response, especially in infants. RSV is a potent inducer of cytokines and pro-inflammatory mediators in epithelial cells in vivo. A differentiated human epithelial model independent of the complete functional immune system will help elucidate the role of epithelial cells in respiratory disease. We reported here, virus and host cell interactions in 3D HBE TLAs are similar to that in vivo. Because the epithelial cell organization of the TLAs impacts not only the expression of airway epithelial characteristics, but also cellular communication, the TLAs represent a more physiologically relevant model of the HRE than BEAS-2B or other non-tumour monolayer models of respiratory disease. As a result, wild type respiratory viruses have a clear growth advantage over attenuated viruses in TLAs unlike traditional monolayers. In addition, the TLAs respond to wild type virus infection by secreting pro-inflammatory mediators characteristic of infected HRE. TLAs expressing microbial defense mechanisms provide an excellent model to study the interactions of respiratory pathogens with their host and to identify the innate immunity mediators. Therefore, 3D HBE TLAs offer advantages for the study of respiratory viruses and the development of viral vaccine candidates.

Deatly, Anne M.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Taming the Untamable: Making An Enceladus-Like Plume by Hypervelocity Oblique Impacts at the NASA Ames Vertical Gun Range (AVGR) Facility

Enceladus’ plume was extensively investigated by the Cassini-Huygens mission [1-4], giving information about the icy moon interior, and the existence of a plausibly inhabited global ocean. The plume is a mixture of gas, sub-micrometer to micrometer ice, and non-ice particles, expanding into space from vents in the Tiger Stripes region [5]. Collecting plume’s ice particles for signs of Life is a fundamental objective of future fly-by missions to Enceladus, and other icy moons, e.g., Europa, where icy plumes could exist. However, understanding particle collection on high-speed flybys through a plume environment is a challenging task. To address the above, in collaboration with the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), we have been testing the collection of impact-generated ice grains from simulated ice plumes at the NASA Ames Vertical GunRange (AVGR) facility [e.g., 6-7].Of particular interest is the alteration of organic material in the particles during the high-speed collection process. Any such alteration could degrade the ability of instruments to detect biomarkers in the samples collected. An experimental and theoretical understanding of the organic alteration as a function of collection speed could be used to unravel these effects. Methods: Plumes of -170°C ice particles traveling at an initial speed of 2 – 3 km/s were created by shooting 3-mm hollow Aluminum (Al) projectiles (up to 6 km/s) at liquid-nitrogen-cooled ice targets of synthetic seawater (SSW). An Al witness foil is positioned to determine particle size, and ice particle impact speed is determined by high-speed video. The ice particles smash and sublimate on impact leaving salt residue, dents, and pits on the Al witness foil. We characterized Ice grains type, abundance, density, shape, and distribution caliper (Ferret)diameter via image pattern recognition analysis (ImageJ Software) of still camera photographs of the Al target. Results: Our hyper-velocity impact experiments generated an Enceladus plume analog with an ice particle mean diameter within the particle size distribution (i.e., 2 micrometers to 50 micrometers) as determined by Cassini’s multiple instruments [8]. Simulated impact speed ranged0.2 km/s to 1-2 km/s. The continued experimental production of high-velocity, micrometer-sized ice grains is underway at the AVGR. The relevance of ice particle generation is multifold, so are its applications. These include testing for fragmentation of molecular organics to interpret Cassini’s data (e.g., Cassini Data Analysis Program) and studies of forwarding contamination (a planetary protection issue).

Rosalba Bonaccorsi↗
NASA NTRS2016

COMMIT in 7-SEAS/BASELInE: Operation of and Observations from a Novel, Mobile Laboratory for Measuring In-Situ Properties of Aerosols and Gases

Trace gases and aerosols (particularly biomass-burning aerosols) have important implications for air quality and climate studies in Southeast Asia (SEA). This paper describes the purpose, operation, and datasets collected from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's (NASA/GSFC) Chemical, Optical, and Microphysical Measurements of In-situ Troposphere (COMMIT) laboratory, a mobile platform designed to measure trace gases and optical/microphysical properties of naturally occurring and anthropogenic aerosols. More importantly, the laboratory houses a specialized humidification system to characterize hygroscopic growth/enhancement, a behavior that affects aerosol properties and cloud-aerosol interactions and is generally underrepresented in the current literature. A summary of the trace gas and optical/microphysical measurements is provided, along with additional detail and analysis of data collected from the hygroscopic system during the 2015 Seven South-East Asian Studies (7-SEAS) field campaign. The results suggest that data from the platform are reliable and will complement future studies of aerosols and air quality in SEA and other regions of interest.

aerosols↗
NASA NTRS2016

In-Situ and Remotely-Sensed Observations of Biomass Burning Aerosols at Doi Ang Khang, Thailand During 7-SEAS BASELInE 2015

The spring 2015 deployment of a suite of instrumentation at Doi Ang Khang (DAK) in northwestern Thailand enabled the characterization of air masses containing smoke aerosols from burning predominantly in Myanmar. Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) Sun photometer data were used to validate Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Collection 6 "Deep Blue" aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrievals; MODIS Terra and Aqua provided results of similar quality, with correlation coefficients of 0.93-0.94 and similar agreement within expected uncertainties to global-average performance. Scattering and absorption measurements were used to compare surface and total column aerosol single scatter albedo (SSA); while the two were well-correlated, and showed consistent positive relationships with moisture (increasing SSA through the season as surface relative humidity and total columnar water vapor increased), in situ surface-level SSA was nevertheless significantly lower by 0.12-0.17. This could be related to vertical heterogeneity and/or instrumental issues. DAK is at approximately 1,500 meters above sea level in heterogeneous terrain, and the resulting strong diurnal variability in planetary boundary layer depth above the site leads to high temporal variability in both surface and column measurements, and acts as a controlling factor to the ratio between surface particulate matter (PM) levels and column AOD. In contrast, while some hygroscopic effects were observed relating to aerosol particle size and Angstrom exponent, relative humidity variations appear to be less important for this ratio here. As part of the Seven South-East Asian Studies (7-SEAS) project, the Biomass-burning Aerosols & Stratocumulus Environment: Lifecycles and Interactions Experiment (BASELInE) was intended to probe physicochemical processes, interactions, and feedbacks related to biomass burning aerosols and clouds during the spring burning season (February-April) in southeast Asia (SEA).

biomass burning↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Alternative Treatment of Crew Wastewater Using a Hybrid Membrane Technology

Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) of future long-duration, deep-space human exploration missions should treat all “waste” streams for recovery and ideally by near closed-loop. Onboard the International Space Station (ISS), the Water Recovery System (WRS) does not treat urine and gray water to recover elements beyond water and utilizes physical-chemical technologies that operate with single-use and hazardous consumables. Urine offers a renewable source of nitrogen and other trace elements that can support sustainable crop production. In response to the lack of flight ready technologies capable of treating urine and gray water for water and nutrient recovery, a Suspended Aerobic Membrane Bioreactor (SAMBR) is under development between the University of South Florida and Kennedy Space Center. SAMBR is optimized for an early planetary base/partial gravity habitat and serves as a hybrid alternative to currently utilized urine treatment technologies and support closing the resource recovery loop. With its ECLSS minded form factor and modular design, SAMBR’s operation can be customized to suit the treatment objectives (i.e., nitrogen conversion) at that time. This proceeding presents preliminary research pertaining to: 1) design challenges in maximizing hydraulic throughput while minimizing mass and volume of the assembly; 2) capabilities for treating high nitrogen waste under steady and non-steady state conditions; and 3) measured performance parameters such chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrogen conversion, nutrients, turbidity, and system throughput. Future research and development pertaining to further optimization on system safety, reliability, and expanded treatment capabilities will also be presented.

Membrane Filtration↗