Find research datasets worth reusing

Use of the Operational Air Quality Monitor (AQM) for In-Flight Water Testing Project

Currently, the Air Quality Monitor (AQM) on-board ISS provides specific information for a number of target compounds in the air. However, there is a significant subset of common target compounds between air and water.&nbsp; Naturally, the following question arises, &ldquo;Can the AQM be used for both air and water quality monitoring?&rdquo;&nbsp; Previous directorate-level IR&amp;D funding led to the development of a water sample introduction method for mass spectrometry using electro-thermal vaporization (ETV).&nbsp; This vaporization source allows analytes in water samples to enter the gas phase, where they can be analyzed using a variety of techniques.&nbsp; This project will focus on the integration of the ETV with a ground-based AQM.&nbsp; The capabilities of this integrated platform will be evaluated using a subset of toxicologically important compounds.The ETV unit was constructed using two glass tubes and a nichrome ribbon powered by a programmable DC power supply (G W Instec, PSM-3004).&nbsp; The nichrome ribbon was threaded through two 3-mm wide, 1-cm-long slot cuts on the inner tube placed 1.5 cm past the inlet.&nbsp; The ribbon was held securely by compressing it between the inner tube and two halves of an outer glass tube.&nbsp; These halves were held together using a flexible metal clamp.&nbsp; Inside the inner tube the ribbon was slightly curved, and an indent (1 mm diameter) was made on its surface for depositing a measured liquid sample drop.&nbsp; The ribbon was positioned in the upper half of the inner tube in such a way that the edge of the ribbon faced the front (inlet) side of the ETV unit.&nbsp; Holes (1 mm diameter) were made on the outer and inner glass tubes for sample introduction and were aligned with the ribbon indent.The viability of the ETV approach for the analysis of water analytes was demonstrated using a ground-based, laboratory scale analyzer (reference:&nbsp; Dwivedi, P. et al.&nbsp; &ldquo;Electro-Thermal Vaporization Direct Analysis in Real Time-Mass Spectrometry for Water Contaminant Analysis During Space Missions,&rdquo; Analytical Chemistry, 85, 9898-9906 (2013)).&nbsp; The work in this proposal will extend that effort and interface the ETV to a ground version of the current in-flight AQM.&nbsp; Liquid sample will be introduce via a pipet through the sample injection port and placed onto the nichrome ribbon heated to a set temperature by an external, programmable power supply.&nbsp; Upon vaporization of the water sample, the target analytes will be swept into the AQM Sample-In port using nitrogen carrier gas.&nbsp; A vapor-phase analysis can then be performed by the AQM to identify and quantify the target analytes in the water samples.&nbsp; Parameters to be optimized include water sample size, carrier gas sweep rate, and ribbon temperature.&nbsp; The operating parameters of the vapor-phase analysis performed by the AQM will also need to be modified for this type of sampling methodology.&nbsp; A simple two-position valve attached to the ETV and a diverter tube will allow for manual selection of either a water sample through the ETV or an air sample through the diverter tube.&nbsp; The primary objective of this effort is to evaluate the viability of the ETV with ground-based, flight hardware.&nbsp; A proof-of-concept unit capable of water and air analysis utilizing the ETV will be developed.&nbsp; The target water analytes to be used in this work will come from a list provided by the water SMEs in the Toxicology and Environmental Chemistry Laboratories at JSC.&nbsp; These analytes are commonly observed in the ground analysis of water samples from ISS.&nbsp; A preliminary engineering evaluation of this set-up could potentially be performed with the goal of formulating a viable plan of integrating the ETV to the control soft

Early Detection of Overheating Polytetrafluoroethylene Insulated Wires Project

The objective of the proposed work is to develop a rapid time response diagnostic using a suite of instruments for the detection of heated&nbsp;polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) insulated wires based on chemicals and particles generated at relatively low temperatures. &nbsp;The anticipated result of the proposed effort is the development of a conceptual design for an early warning system that can specifically detect the overheating of&nbsp;polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) insulated wires. This design can be utilized as a subsystem integrated into a fully capable fire detection system.

Silalirijiit Project: Kangiqtugaapik (Clyde River), Nunavut, Canada, Weather Station Network, Version 1

The Kangiqtugaapik (Clyde River), Nunavut, Canada, Weather Station Network is a collection of weather station data from the locations of Akuliaqattak, Silasiutitalik, and Ailaktalik in the Clyde River area. Data collection for the Silalirijiit project began in June 2010 and is ongoing. An online interface shows the current conditions at these locations. Weather data from the Kangiqtugaapik Airport Station, collected by Environment Canada, are also provided. The data will be archived at NSIDC in the future; at this time, the site displays current conditions. This data set is part of the Silalirijiit Project and is funded by a National Science Foundation grant (ARC-0753854) entitled IPY: Collaborative Research: Linking Inuit Knowledge and Local-Scale Environmental Modeling to Evaluate the Impacts of Changing Weather on Human Activities at Clyde River, Nunavut.

AirMSPI verison 6 terrain-projected georegistered radiance product acquired during the NASA ORACLES flight campaign Jul-Oct 2016

AirMSPI_ORACLES_Terrain-projected_Georegistered_Radiance_Data are AirMSPI Terrain-projected georegistered radiance product acquired during the NASA ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS (ORACLES) flight campaign.AirMSPI Level 1B2 products contain radiometric and polarimetric images of clouds, aerosols, and the surface of the Earth. In particular, products contain map-projected data at 8 wavelengths: 355, 380, 445, 470, 555, 660, 865, and 935 nm. The data products include radiance, time, solar zenith, solar azimuth, view zenith, and view azimuth for all spectral bands. Wavelengths for which polarization information is available (470, 660, and 865 nm) also include the Stokes parameters Q and U, as well as degree of linear polarization (DOLP) and angle of linear polarization (AOLP). Q, U, and AOLP are reported relative to both the scattering and view meridional planes. Files are distributed in HDF-EOS-5 format.This release of AirMPSI data contains all targets acquired during the ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS (ORACLES) flight campaign, including the check-out and transit flights. ORACLES was based out of Walvis Bay, Namibia and focused on the South Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Namibia and Angola. AirMSPI was acquired from July 28 to October 6, 2016. More details about the ORACLES campaign and AirMSPI participation can be found at https://espo.nasa.gov/oracles (link is external).

Last of the Wild Project, Version 2, 2005 (LWP-2): Global Human Footprint Dataset (IGHP)

The Global Human Footprint Dataset of the Last of the Wild Project, Version 2, 2005 (LWP-2) is the Human Influence Index (HII) normalized by biome. The HII is a global dataset of 1-kilometer grid cells, created from nine global data layers covering human population pressure (population density), human land use and infrastructure (built-up areas, nighttime lights, land use/land cover), and human access (coastlines, roads, railroads, navigable rivers). The dataset in Interrupted Goode Homolosine Projection (IGHP) is produced by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN).

Development of Immersion Gratings to Enable a Compact Architecture for High Spectral and Spatial Resolution Imaging Project

Fabricate Si immersed gratings for IR (1150 &ndash; 6500 nm) spectroscopy to support ground-based, airborne, and space-based infrared spectrometers. These devices offer substantial advantages in compactness, formatting, and efficiency over other dispersive devices and have 3.44 times the resolving power of a conventional front-surface device for a grating of a given size. &nbsp;

Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project, Version 1 (GRUMPv1): Population Density Grid

The Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project, Version 1 (GRUMPv1): Population Density Grid estimates population per square km for the years 1990, 1995, and 2000 by 30 arc-second (1km) grid cells and associated data sets dated circa 2000. A proportional allocation gridding algorithm, utilizing more than 1,000,000 national and sub-national geographic Units, is used to assign population values to grid cells. The population count grids are divided by the land area grid to produce population density grids. This data set is produced by the Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) in collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), The World Bank, and Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT).

Advanced Radiation Protection (ARP): Advanced Radiation Protection Project

The project is building the first prototype integrated system to mitigate solar event risk through probabilistic modeling, forecasting, and dose projection. This new capability will provide mission operators with tools to assist in mission planning and design, assessment of &lsquo;worst-case&rsquo; radiation dose, prediction of event occurrence, and projection of cumulative radiation dose once an event has begun.&nbsp; Tools are being built utilizing historical satellite data spanning four decades, satellite imagery of the Sun, and large-scale first-principles simulations of the inner heliospheric environment.&nbsp;

Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project

Created in 2009 as part of NASA&#39;s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate&#39;s Integrated Systems Research Program, the Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) Project explores and documents the feasibility, benefits and technical risk of vehicle concepts and enabling technologies to reduce aviation&rsquo;s impact on the environment. Current-generation aircraft already benefit from the NASA investments in aeronautical research that have improved fuel efficiencies, lowered noise levels and reduced harmful emissions. Although substantial progress has been made, much more needs to be done. Forecasts call for the nation&#39;s air transportation system to expand significantly within the next two decades. Such an expansion could bring adverse environmental impacts. To neutralize or reduce these impacts is the goal of the ERA Project and its focused research. The project is organized to:<ul><li>Mature promising technology and advanced aircraft configurations that meet mid-term goals &mdash; in the next five to 10 years &mdash; for community noise, fuel burn and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions as described in the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/aero-rdplan-2010.pdf">National Aeronautics Research and Development Plan</a> and;</li><li>Determine the potential impact of these advanced aircraft designs and technologies if successfully implemented into the air transportation system.</li></ul>&nbsp;Research Challenges To enable advanced aircraft configurations that might enter service by 2025, the ERA Project is working on technologies that will simultaneously:&nbsp;<ul><li>Reduce aircraft drag by 8%</li><li>Reduce aircraft weight by 10%</li><li>Reduce engine specific fuel consumption by 15%</li><li>Reduce oxides of nitrogen emissions of the engine by 75%</li><li>Reduce aircraft noise by 1/8 compared with current standards.</li></ul> Organization The ERA Project is comprised of three subprojects: Airframe Technology, Propulsion Technology and Vehicle Systems Integration. Work within the project is coordinated with system-level research performed by other programs within NASA&#39;s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate as well as other federal government agencies. NASA has also put mechanisms in place to engage academia and industry, including working groups and technical interchange meetings; Space Act Agreements for cooperative partnerships; and the NASA Research Announcement process that provides for full and open competition for the best and most promising research ideas. The ERA Project disseminates all of its research results to the widest practical extent.

Carbon Nanotube Multifunctional Tendons for Tensegrity Robots Project

Tensegrity robots have attracted considerable attention for use in planetary exploration missions because they can be stowed into relatively small volumes before launch and are readily deployable upon landing. Because of their design and structure they can absorb significant impact shocks, such as those experienced during landing, and are well suited for use on extremely rough planetary terrains.

Hybrid FOSS Project

Armstrong researchers are continuing their efforts to further develop FOSS technologies. A hybrid FOSS technique (HyFOSS) employs conventional continuous grating fibers and then overlays sections every 3-4 feet with &ldquo;strong&rdquo; gratings that can be sampled at higher rates. The new and stronger gratings can be sampled at rates up to 5,000 Hertz (Hz) while the continuous grating sections continue to be sampled at the lower 100 Hz rate. This technique enables higher spatial resolution at specific targets without sacrificing resolution in other areas. The ultimate goal is to achieve sampling rates up to 20 kHz.Work to date: The team began investigating the technique in early 2013 after a request from NASA Kennedy Space Center. Many aerospace and space vehicles &ndash; fighter aircraft, UAVs, launch vehicles, and spacecraft &ndash; could benefit from FOSS integration. Some of the applications require higher sample rates to maintain high spatial resolution. NASA Kennedy&rsquo;s Launch Services Group requested that the NASA Armstrong Advanced Structures and Measurements Group investigate the development effort that would be required to increase the sample rate from 100 hertz (Hz) to over 20 kHz. This increased sampling capability would allow structural features related to high frequency shock and/or vibration to be captured. To date, the OFDR technology does not have the capability to achieve these higher sample rates, though the possibility of fusing Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) is feasible yet with limited spatial resolution. To achieve this with existing instrumentation would require the installation of two technologies, one utilizing OFDR and the other using WDM, and would increase the weight and installation requirement of fiber optic instrumentation.Combining the best of OFDR and WDM technologies into new hardware that utilizes the same optical fiber would allow for high spatial resolution with lower sample rates in addition to the ability to obtain high sample rates at strategically spaced points along the fiber. With this goal, the hybrid FOSS (hyFOSS) system was developed.A series of weak and strong FBGs are written onto the optical fiber. Weak FBGs allow for spatial resolution of 0.25 inches. The maximum number of stronger, unique-wavelength FBGs and the minimum separation interval between the sensors are determined by the length of the fiber and the wavelength spectrum of the light source. However, there is latitude to allow for the number and placement of the sensors to be tailored to the testing application.Looking ahead: Researchers have asked the company that currently provides the fibers to supply a 40-ft strand embedded with the new technology. Next steps involving investigating the specimen in the laboratory environment. The Armstrong team is also investigating the possibilities of pushing the overall sample rate to 20kHz.Benefits<ul><li>More measurements: Offers higher sampling rates (up to 5,000 Hz) for specific portions of the fiber</li><li>Fast processing: Data can be collected at different resolutions enabling high resolution without sacrificing speed</li></ul>Applications<ul><li>Aeronautics and launch vehicles</li></ul>

COASTAL Project

Measurements made along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, North Atlantic Bight, and Gulf Stream between 2000 and 2010.

Advanced Rapid Imaging & Analysis for Monitoring Hazards (ARIA-MH) Project

Develop a service-oriented hazard/disaster monitoring data system enabling both science and decision-support communities to monitor ground motion in areas of interest with InSAR and GPS. Enable high-volume and low-latency automatic generation of NASA Solid Earth science data products (InSAR and GPS) to support hazards monitoring. Enable improved understanding through visualization, mining, and cross-agency sharing of results. Enable interoperable discovery, access, and sharing of derived actionable products for hazards monitoring. &nbsp;

Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project, Version 1 (GRUMPv1): Settlement Points

The Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project, Version 1 (GRUMPv1): Settlement Points contains geospatial location for selected settlements. This data set is produced by the Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) in collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), The World Bank, and Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT).

Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project, Version 1 (GRUMPv1): Population Count Grid

The Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project, Version 1 (GRUMPv1): Population Count Grid estimates human population for the years 1990, 1995, and 2000 by 30 arc-second (1 km) grid cells and associated data sets dated circa 2000. A proportional allocation gridding algorithm, utilizing more than 1,000,000 national and sub-national geographic Units, is used to assign population values (counts, in persons) to grid cells. This data set is produced by the Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) in collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), The World Bank, and Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT).

Country-Level Population and Downscaled Projections Based on the SRES A1, B1, and A2 Scenarios, 1990-2100

The Country-Level Population and Downscaled Projections Based on Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A1, B1, and A2 Scenarios, 1990-2100, were adopted in 2000 from population projections realized at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in 1996. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) SRES A1 and B1 scenarios both used the same IIASA "rapid" fertility transition projection, which assumes low fertility and low mortality rates. The SRES A2 scenario used a corresponding IIASA "slow" fertility transition projection (high fertility and high mortality rates). Both IIASA low and high projections are performed for 13 world regions including North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, China and Centrally Planned Asia, Pacific Asia, Pacific OECD, Central Asia, Middle East, South Asia, Eastern Europe, European part of the former Soviet Union, Western Europe, Latin America, and North America. This data set is produced and distributed by the Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN).

Exploring the Frontier of Coronal Energetics with EUNIS Project

Methodology used to answer science question: The investigators propose to upgrade the successfully flown EUNIS EUV spectrograph, increasing its signal-to-noise ratio and replacing its 30-37 nm channel with a 52.4-63.0 nm channel to cover transition region lines.&nbsp; They plan to fly the upgraded suborbital experiment, and analyze the results from this and the two previous EUNIS flights.

Development and Testing of a New Positron Identification by Coincident Annihilation Photons (PICAP) System Project

The objective of the proposed research is to develop and test a prototype of an innovative and simple detector technique to identify moderate energy (a few MeV) positrons in space. Positron measurements at such energies have never been made in space. Measurement of the Galactic cosmic ray (GCR) positron fraction at low energies will provide new information about the transport and modulation of particles in the Local Interstellar Medium (LISM) and the Heliosphere. Also, positrons are unique among observable stable high energy particles since they are formed only as secondaries from high energy charged particle interactions in the Solar atmosphere during Solar particle events (SPEs). Positron measurements of this type will open a new channel for the study of Solar particle events which could address issues such as the determination of plasma and magnetic field parameters during high energy particle acceleration at the Sun, time evolution of Solar flare processes, and magnetic connectivity between acceleration sites and the interplanetary medium. Our detector scheme, the Positron Identification by Coincident Annihilation Photons (PICAP) technique, is based upon simple, reliable, well-proven and robust detectors. PICAP was inspired by the participation of the P.I. in a measurement of the &beta;+ half-life of 54Mn (for cosmic-ray chronometry) at Argonne National Laboratory using a similar technique [Wuosmaa et al. 1998]. The proposed project will develop and build a prototype PICAP instrument and expose it to negatrons and positrons at Jefferson Laboratory to demonstrate detection efficiencies and&mdash;equally important&mdash;PICAP&#39;s efficiency in discriminating against negatrons as false positrons. The prototype will also be exposed to protons at Indiana University Cyclotron Facility to demonstrate PICAP&#39;s efficiency in rejecting protons as false electrons. The goal is a proven detector system that, in a stand-alone instrument or, more likely, as part of a charged particle instrument/suite, can measure the energetic particle population at moderate energies (1-100&#39;s of MeV/nucleon), and can simultaneously measure the electron flux and positron fraction at previously unexplored energies. An instrument incorporating PICAP would be particularly attractive as to cost, mass, power and telemetry requirements, making it well suited to a variety of space missions in contrast to more complex and massive magnetic spectrometer techniques. The new addition to previous charged particle instrument designs is the additional capability to precisely measure the positron fraction. We propose to build a PICAP prototype, proving the positron detection capability, and optimized for the identification of 5-10 MeV positrons. A PICAP instrument may easily be tailored to measure other energies, depending upon specific science goals. A PICAP capability could be easily incorporated into a standard charged particle instrument designed to measure all moderate energy charged particles in space. &nbsp; N/A

ADVANCES IN PUPIL REMAPPING (PIAA) CORONAGRAPHY: IMPROVING BANDWIDTH, THROUGHPUT AND INNER WORKING ANGLE Project

Phase-Induced Amplitude Apodization (PIAA) is a high performance coronagraphic technique well suited for direct imaging and spectroscopic characterization of potentially habitable Earth-like planets from space. It delivers high contrast images by performing a lossless geometric remapping of the telescope beam with two aspheric mirrors, and simultaneously offers nearly full throughput, full angular resolution of the telescope, small inner working angle, high contrast and low chromatism. While the early PIAA systems (which are currently undergoing testing at several facilities) were designed to deliver high contrast at 2 l/D, newer hybrid designs can theoretically deliver on a point source a 1e-10 contrast down to 0.64 l/D inner working angle with full throughput, approaching limits imposed by fundamental principles. PIAA coronagraph designs offer nearly optimal coronagraphic solutions for a wide range of telescope size and astrophysical goals, from debris disks and giant planet imaging with a small size (

In-Space Propulsion (346620) Technology Project

Technologies include, but are not limited to, electric and advanced chemical propulsion, propellantless propulsion such as aerocapture and solar sails, sample return ascent vehicles, and Earth return systems. ISP will enable access to more challenging and interesting science destinations, including enabling sample return missions. ISP continues to advance several propulsion technologies in support of future Flagship, Discovery, Mars, and New Frontiers missions. The ISP portfolio continues to invest in high-priority technology areas such as the electric propulsion and aerocapture/Earth entry, descent, and landing technologies identified in the Solar System Exploration Roadmap, the 2010 SMD Science Plan, and the 2011 Planetary Decadal Survey. The ISP project is highly responsive to the Decadal Survey. The ISP project will complete the 7kW NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) Power Processing Unit (PPU) repair in 2012, and will complete NEXT PPU characterization and integration testing and long duration validation testing of the NEXT thruster in 2013. ISP is completing the electric propulsion 4kW High Voltage Hall Accelerator (HiVHAC) thruster development task, is assessing commercial Hall systems, and will start long duration testing of the HIVHAC thruster in 2012. The Hall system power processing unit (PPU) and other subsystem technology development starts development in FY 2012. High Voltage Hall Accelerator (HiVHAC) thruster technology is applicable to Earth return vehicles (ERV), transfer stages, and low-cost electric propulsion systems for Discovery-class missions. In FY 2012 ISP will continue development of NDI techniques and a detailed design for a lightweight propellant tank applicable to the Skycrane. ISP will continue completing Earth Entry Vehicle (EEV ) heat shield micro-meteoroid/orbital debris characteristics studies, a preliminary design of a multi-mission Earth entry vehicle (MMEEV) concept and continuing MMEEV technology development.