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Planning for Planetary Science Mission Including Resource Prospecting Project
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-20T05:33:43.000ZAdvances in computer-aided mission planning can enhance mission operations and science return for surface missions to Mars, the Moon, and beyond. While the innovations envisioned by this program are broadly applicable, they serve an immediate and urgent need for missions to prospect for volatiles at the lunar poles (i.e., the NASA Lunar Resource Prospector Mission, currently in Phase A). These missions must be rapid and precise, covering multiple kilometers in approximately 10-12 Earth days to complete mission objectives in one lunar light cycle. This calls for the ability to drive intentionally and efficiently to precise drilling destinations. Polar operations encounter low angle lighting; this creates shadows which confront robot operations with challenges in power production, thermal control, and operator situational awareness. This demands robust path planning for efficient mission planning and execution. The proposed work develops a computer-aided mission planning tool that balances the competing demands of efficient routes, scientific information gain, and rover constraints (e.g., kinematics, communication, power, thermal, and terrainability) to generate and analyze optimized routes between sequences of locations. Planner-computed statistics about the set of viable paths enable mission planners, scientists, and operators to efficiently select routes considering a range of priorities including risk, duration, and science return. This planner will serve an invaluable role in preplanning missions and as a tool for rapidly understanding the impact of changes in mission profile during the mission execution.
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Including the effects of a harsh radiation environment in the simulation and design of nanoelectronic devices and circuits Project
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-20T05:31:59.000ZNanoelectronic devices, and circuits based on such devices, are expected to be more susceptible to the effects of radiation than the previous generation of devices and circuits. Circuits that can operate in harsh radiation environments are essential components of commercial satellite communications systems, space exploration vehicles, and national defense systems. Hence there is a critical need to understand and quantify the effects of radiation on the present and next generation of nanoelectronic circuits, and to develop methods to render such circuits insensitive to radiation. In this project we intend to identify and characterize (as a function of device dimension if possible) the deleterious effects of radiation on nanoscale devices. More importantly, we intend to build on the standard models, which describe the effects of radiation, and develop software that would enable the modeling and simulation of radiation effects. First we will consider conventional nanoelectronic devices --- that is those where charge transport is based on the usual principles of drift and diffusion. Then a tool for the effects of radiation on single electron transistors and amplifiers (including those based on carbon nanotubes) would also be developed. Using the software, methods to mitigate the effects of radiation by rad-hard designs will be examined.
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Wide Temperature Range DC-DC Boost Converters for Command/Control/Drive Electronics Project
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-20T05:23:03.000ZWe shall develop wide temperature range DC-DC boost converters that can be fabricated using commercial CMOS foundries. The boost converters will increase the low voltage supply (~ 0.7 to 3V) of an advanced CMOS integrated circuit to the higher values (3-10V) required for integrated command/control/drive electronics for sensors, actuators and instrumentation. The high voltage capability is a result of our patented, CMOS compatible transistor technology that is radiation tolerant (TID>1 MRad), SEL immune and capable of wide temperature range operation (-196C to +150C). This new transistor technology has been demonstrated at multiple foundries and advanced device models are available for circuit design and simulation. The DC-DC boost converters will be integrated directly with the CMOS components to provide a single chip solution, greatly reducing the number of active and passive components that would otherwise be required. By allowing enhanced voltage operation in future CMOS technology nodes we will be avoiding many of the obsolescence problems facing NASA missions that are dependent upon commercial electronics. The circuits will be designed to operate in low temperature environments that experience wide temperature swings such as those found on the moon, Mars, Titan, Europa and comets.
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Extreme Temperature, Rad-Hard Power Management ASIC Project
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-20T05:14:50.000ZRidgetop Group will design a rad-hard Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) for spacecraft power management that is functional over a temperature range of -230 to +130 <SUP>o</SUP>C. This ASIC is intended to work in conjunction with a Fuel Cell power system and battery back-up to provide uninterrupted power to critical modules in Space. Ridgetop will combine Radiation Hardening (RH) techniques with Large Scale Integration (LSI) methodologies to build a power management system for spacecraft applications onto a single monolithic circuit. The significance of this innovation is a single reliable component (ASIC) that will meet platform requirements for high voltage, wide operating temperature range, and radiation tolerance (minimum 100 krads Total Ionizing Doze (TID), 100 MeVcm2/mg Single Event Latchup (SEL). During phase 1, we will select two functional blocks from within a representative NASA power management system as test cases. Designs for these blocks will be developed and validated through SPICE circuit and radiation simulations, using technology files provided by a commercial foundry. In phase 2, Ridgetop will deliver working prototype integrated circuits (ICs) that meet and exceed the above requirements.
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NLDAS Forcing Data L4 Monthly 0.125 x 0.125 degree V001
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-19T08:29:14.000ZThis data set contains the forcing data for Phase 1 of the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS-1). The data are in 1/8th degree grid spacing and range from Aug. 1996 to Dec. 2007. The temporal resolution is monthly. The file format is WMO GRIB-1. The NLDAS-1 monthly forcing data, containing 17 variables, are generated from the NLDAS-1 hourly forcing data. Brief description about the NLDAS-1 hourly forcing data can be found from the GCMD DIF for GES_DISC_NLDAS_FOR0125_H_V001 at http://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov/getdif.htm?GES_DISC_NLDAS_FOR0125_H_V001. The data set applies a user-defined parameter table to indicate the contents and parameter number. The GRIBTAB file (http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/hydrology/grib_tabs/gribtab_NLDAS_FOR_monthly.001.txt) shows a list of parameters for this data set, along with their Product Definition Section (PDS) IDs and units. The variables, DLWRFsfc, DSWRFsfc, PRESsfc, SPFH2m, TMP2m, UGRD10m, and VGRD10m, are the monthly average from 00Z01 of month to 23:59Zlastdayofmonth. The variables, BRTMPsfc and CAPEsfc, are the monthly average from 00Z01 of month to 23:59Zlastdayofmonth, except if any hour has an undefined value of -9999, then do not include the hour in the monthly average. The variables, PARsfc and RGOESsfc, are the monthly average from 00Z01 of month to 23:59Zlastdayofmonth, except if any hour has an undefined value of -9999, then reassign the variable as zero and include the hour in the monthly average. The variables, ACPCPsfc, APCPsfc, PEDASsfc, and PRDARsfc, are the monthly accumulation from 00Z01 of month to 23:59Zlastdayofmonth. However, the ACPCPsfc is actually the sum of the (ACPCPsfc/PEDASsfc)*APCPsfc from each hour, where the ratio of (ACPCPsfc/PEDASsfc) is the fraction of convective precipitation from EDAS, and then multiplied by the APCPsfc to get the convective precipitation. For PRDARsfc accumulation, if hourly PRDARsfc is undefined or negative, fill the hour with a zero value. The last variable, RSWRFsfc, is the monthly average from 00Z01 of month to 23:59Zlastdayofmonth, except represents the monthly average of the hourly "blend" of the DSWRFsfc from EDAS and RGOESsfc from GEOS. The blend algorithm is that, for each hour, the RGOESsfc from GEOS is used for all the grid points where it is available, but for where it is not available, the DSWRFsfc from EDAS is used. Because the spatial extent/availability of GEOS varies from hour to hour, this blend is done for hourly data first, and then the monthly average is applied to the hourly blended data. This last variable thus best represents the shortwave radiation flux downwards at the surface that is used in the NLDAS-1 LSMs. More about this blending/supplementation can be found from http://ldas.gsfc.nasa.gov/nldas/NLDAS1forcing.php. For more information, please see the README Document at ftp://hydro1.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/s4pa/NLDAS/README.NLDAS1.pdf.
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NLDAS Noah Land Surface Model L4 Monthly 0.125 x 0.125 degree V002
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-20T04:56:05.000ZThis data set contains a series of land surface parameters simulated from the Noah land-surface model (LSM) for Phase 2 of the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS-2). The data are in 1/8th degree grid spacing and range from Jan 1979 to the present. The temporal resolution is monthly. The file format is WMO GRIB-1. The NLDAS-2 monthly Noah model data were generated from the NLDAS-2 hourly Noah model data, as monthly accumulation for rainfall, snowfall, subsurface runoff, surface runoff, total evapotranspiration, and snow melt, and monthly average for other variables. Monthly period of each month is from 00Z at start of the month to 23:59Z at end of the month, except the first month (Jan 1979) that starts from 00Z 02 Jan 1979. Also for the first month (Jan 1979), because the variables listed as instantaneous in the README file (http://hydro1.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/s4pa/NLDAS/README.NLDAS2.pdf) do not have valid data exactly on 00Z 02 Jan 1979, and this one hour is not included in the average for this month only. Brief description about the NLDAS-2 monthly Noah model can be found from the GCMD DIF for GES_DISC_NLDAS_NOAH0125_H_V002 at http://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov/getdif.htm?GES_DISC_NLDAS_NOAH0125_H_V002. Details about the NLDAS-2 configuration of the Noah LSM can be found in Xia et al. (2012). The NLDAS-2 Noah monthly data contain fifty-two fields. The data set applies a user-defined parameter table to indicate the contents and parameter number. The GRIBTAB file (http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/hydrology/grib_tabs/gribtab_NLDAS_NOAH.002.txt) shows a list of parameters for this data set, along with their Product Definition Section (PDS) IDs and units. For information about the vertical layers of the Soil Moisture Content (PDS 086), Soil Temperature (PDS 085), and Liquid Soil Moisture Content (PDS 151) please see the README Document at ftp://hydro1.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/s4pa/NLDAS/README.NLDAS2.pdf or the GrADS ctl file at ftp://hydro1.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/gds/NLDAS/NLDAS_NOAH0125_M.002.ctl.
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Integrated System Management and Reconfigurable Control Project
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-20T05:43:36.000ZThe team proposes to develop an onboard, real-time health management capability that monitors a flight control system (for spacecraft, fixed or rotary wing aircraft) in a highly dynamic environment and responds to anomalies with suggested recovery or mitigation actions. The goal of the proposed capability is to take system/component level health status information and aggregate this information across all channels and subsystems to the flight control system for anomaly mitigation, failure accommodation, and control re-configuration, based on mission objectives. In Phase I, the research will be focused on a preliminary design of the component-to-system health capability correlation and the anomaly mitigation strategy. In Phase II, the team will conduct a prototype demonstration for a relevant space vehicle as the target application.
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Nanotube Electrodes for Dust Mitigation Project
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-20T05:11:57.000ZDust mitigation is critical to the survivability of vehicle and infrastructure components and systems and to the safety of astronauts during EVAs and planetary surface operations. By coupling Eikos Invisicon<SUP>REG</SUP> nanocomposite conductors with existing dust mitigation Dust Shield technology developed at NASA-KSC, the Phase I program demonstrated an enabling approach to producing electrodynamic dust mitigation devices on a wide variety of surfaces not possible with traditional metal based electrode materials. Eikos reproduced proven NASA spiral electrodes using Invisicon<SUP>REG</SUP> patterned onto transparent plastics, Tyvek<SUP>REG</SUP> fabric, and silicone rubber sheets; employing inkjet and spray deposition methods, two CNT ink formulations, and four dielectric binders to create working devices. These Invisicon<SUP>REG</SUP>-based devices are far more flexible then traditional devices and exhibit superior durability to abrasion, elongation, and thermal cycling. A dust mitigation system utilizing this technology has broad value to many NASA mission directorates and terrestrial commercial applications. The Phase II project will build on these successes and integrate the electrode into larger surfaces, and more complex components. Further, extensive dust mitigation, and both environmental and mechanical testing, will be conducted to position this electrode technology for insertion into windows, fabrics, and elastomeric components in space and terrestrial applications.
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CogGauge Project
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-20T05:22:36.000ZCog-Gauge is a portable hand-held game that can be used by astronauts and crew members during space exploration missions to assess their cognitive workload decrements that possibly result from fatigue, stress, or neurocognitive deficits. Cog-Gauge combines behavioral workload assessment using a dual-task approach with predictive workload models to counter the effects of game learning. The game will be built using an iterative usability driven approach where emphasis will be placed on building an engaging relevant game that builds from contextual task analysis and user profiling. The specific technical challenges foreseen are integrating two approaches of cognitive workload modeling, and using learning curves to model game learning, then using algorithms to determine a user's workload as soon as they complete a timed interaction with the game. Specific questions to address pertain to feasibility of proposed solution and hardware/software requirements.
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High Torque, Direct Drive Electric Motor Project
nasa-test-0.demo.socrata.com | Last Updated 2015-07-20T05:10:03.000ZBear Engineering proposes to advance the development of an innovative high torque, low speed, direct drive motor in order to meet NASA's requirements for such devices. Fundamentally, all electric motors basically work on the same electromagnetic principle: a tangential electromagnetic force attracts the rotor to the stator. Just when the rotor field is closest to the stator field and the electromagnetic attraction is greatest, the power is interrupted and another set of magnetic poles repeats the cycle. Furthermore, the two magnetically attracted elements never make contact, which would otherwise offer the highest force of attraction. The proposed novel motor design, successfully demonstrated at TRL 4 in Phase 1, operates and behaves entirely differently from all other known electric motor designs and is capable of producing incredibly high, direct drive torques at low rotational speeds. Its operational performance is similar to that of a stepper motor with a 1000:1 gearhead attached, but the similarity ends there. The motor is configured such that its length to diameter aspect ratio is opposite that of traditional motors as it has a relatively large diameter and short axial length; this offers all new packaging opportunities. The design also allows for a single, large diameter bearing pair to be used for the motor's output shaft which renders it stiff enough to directly mount the driven elements. The need for additional bearing supports and bearing mounting structure is thus eliminated. By the end of Phase 2, the system will be designed, developed and tested at TRL 6 with Mars environmental conditions.