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<p> N/A</p>

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<p> It is proposed that a very low cost wind tunnel could be developed at JSC to provide engineers with the ability to directly run small tests focused on improving existing capabilities without the cost and overhead of the traditional facilities. This capability, coupled with advanced data reduction technique development projects underway in EG3, could bring down the cost of future wind tunnel testing through improved testing, instrumentation, and data reduction techniques. Potential improvements to testing techniques aim to reduce the high-temperature constraints on testing facilities due to current data reduction techniques, increasing the number of facilities available for consideration and reducing cost and turnaround time for low-budget, rapid development projects across the agency. Furthermore, having engineers working directly with test hardware will improve product quality by bringing down barriers in understanding and communication often observed between computational engineers at JSC and experimentalists at our contracted test facilities and other NASA centers. A small Ludwieg tube wind tunnel will be designed. This type of tunnel is simple to operate and has low requirements for machinery and high-pressure equipment, making it safe and cheap. A review of 'traditional' facilities will be conducted to define the tunnel operating conditions necessary to make it a relevant testbed for technique development. Once conditions are defined, the requirements of a necessary data acquisition system will be determined with the help of a bench test radiant lamp constructed to target heating levels expected from the Ludwieg tube. The extent to which the proposed tunnel will aid the development of test technique improvements will be studied. The intended product of this activity is a report detailing the specifications and cost of the proposed wind tunnel with discussion of the direct impact on several proposed test technique improvements.</p>

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<p> N/A</p>

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We propose to continue our program of emission line astronomy featuring three areas of emphasis: 1) The distribution and nature of high redshift emission line galaxies, using the Lyman alpha and other rest-frame UV lines; and the study of planetary systems in formation in the first 10 Myrs, with the interplay of circumstellar disks and jets; and spectral differencing of transiting planets. 2) We are extending the capability of our Goddard Fabry-Perot Imager by incorporating a Coronagraphic Integral Field Spectrograph (CIFS), and will continue our observations with the improved instrument. We request support for completing the commissioning of the instrument, and for its maintenance and operation. The CIFS, which has been delivered to the Apache Point Observatory's 3.5-m telescope, consists of a custom microlens array and magnifier section, a grating wheel assembly, and a photon-counting electron-multiplying CCD (EMCCD), within the optical train of the Fabry-Perot. The instrument is switchable between Fabry-Perot and IFS modes. It provides observational support to interpret data from the HST, Spitzer, Chandra, Herschel and soon JWST space observatories with capabilities not available on them, and will be used to develop technology for future NASA flight programs such as WFIRST, and NWO, THEIA, ATLAST and other planet-finding missions. In this period we propose to extend the wavelength coverage of the CIFS, by extending the format of the EMCCD.

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<p> N/A</p>

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<p>For this project, several different augmentation techniques for locating ground articles from distance through an augmented live view were investigated.  Article photo-recognition, printed AR target on articles recognition, and geotagging augmented reality techniques were tested for accurate AR tracking, location, and ease of development. Also, an innovative use of combined virtual reality (VR) panorama elements along with properly placed AR elements in the virtual scene was tested for accuracy and ergonomic field viewing via the smart device. Test cases were run at SSC with: (1) common above and underground facilities; and (2) at a long barren sandy test site, with various application/techniques to determine feasibility of potential use for extra-planetary AR location/identification. Tests were first run at close range and then, if those runs were successful, they were additionally run at a distance. </p>

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"We propose to continue our detector development program in X-ray astronomy. Under our current grant we are developing a new type of active pixel detector. The current funding allows us to carry this design through CDR, but will not cover fabrication of the detectors. Here we propose to build and test these innovative detectors, which could potentially be employed in future missions such as IXO, Xenia, Gen-X, and SMEX/MIDEX-class missions. This proposal supports NASA's goals of technical advancement of technologies suitable for future missions and training of graduate students."

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<p>There are several key parameters that will be studied through simulation, including 1) controlling spatial and spectral crosstalk on the detector, determining the proper spectral resolution and bandpass to meet both science and speckle removal constraints, 3) characterizing the instrument throughput and the required source brightness at the ExEP HCIT, 4) designing a compact system that will fit above the ExEP HCIT bench, and 5) investigating calibration techniques for the data cube properties. We will 1) design a specialized lenslet array for high contrast imaging that reduces scattered light and 2) design a compact IFS that will fit within the HCIT vacuum chamber</p>

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<p>Ensemble Detection is both a measurement technique and analysis tool. Like a prism that separates light into spectral bands, an ensemble detector mixes a signal with noise references that span a range of noise powers that produce multiple realizations that comprise an ensemble data set. The resulting ensemble data set represents a comprehensive stochastic description of the signal that is admissible to statistical analysis not otherwise possible with a single realization. Ensemble data sets provide time-varying probability distribution functions from which time varying statistics can be derived. The linear relationship between the reference mean and standard deviation provides a way to discriminate changes in the process mean from changes in the spread of the process’ probability distribution. Why is this important? Distinguishing between a mean state change and natural variability is a problem that spans multiple scientific disciplines. One important application is discriminating between climate change and natural variability of extreme weather events.</p>

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<p> System validation addresses the question “Will the system do the right thing?” When system capability includes autonomy, or more specifically, onboard mission planning and possibly closed-loop control, the question becomes more pointed. As NASA deploys space systems deeper into remote environments where the operating conditions are at least partly unknown (planetary surfaces, vicinity of primitive bodies), the ability to predict the fine details of the operating context becomes more challenging, and by extension, also the ability to predict how the system will behave under those operating conditions. On the other hand, grappling with operational uncertainty is in fact a motivation for pursuing onboard autonomy. The workshop will explore system validation in the context of future NASA mission scenarios that are enabled by autonomy concepts. The workshop will address the following and related questions: • Are extant validation techniques and methodologies adequate or extensible to future mission scenarios and system autonomy concepts? • Is the concept of a system behavior envelope (an enforceable boundary on system behavior, independent of operating context) viable, both from an engineering safety and a mission success viewpoint? • Is it useful and perhaps necessary to view system validation as an activity that continues into operations (Phase E)? The workshop will generate the following products: • An evaluation of whether future autonomous systems validation can be addressed by extensions to existing validation approaches or requires new validation concepts • A set of prioritized research questions relating to autonomous systems validation, and addressable with a small investment • A set of potential technology investments coupled to the research questions</p>

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<p>ROCSTAR is an in situ instrument suite that can accomplish rapid mineral and molecular identification without sample preparation for in situ planetary exploration; inform the investigation with regard to trace element geochemical deviation from end member stioichiometry; operation as a spectroscopic imager for chemical mapping. It includes dual wavelength Raman spectroscopy, 380 - 2500 nm reflectance spectroscopy, visual imagery and thermal measurements.</p>

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<p>While In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) studies for Mars return have emphasized methane fuel, only modest work has been done to develop the methane-powered rocket engine. Developing a process that generates liquid hydrocarbons that are compatible with current engine designs is more economical than developing a methane production process, along with developing and certifying new engines that use methane. Fisher-Tropsch (FT) is a commercial-scale technology that currently produces liquid fuels from syngas (CO & H2). FT could easily produce kerosene-type products, like RP-1, therefore eliminating the need for new engines. Front-end systems that produce syngas can be interfaced with the FT reactor thus integrating ISRU with closed-loop Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS). Development Approach: Demonstrate the feasibility of deploying the FT technology to produce RP-1 (kerosene) for a Mars return scenario and for a deep-space/lunar habitat mission. The first scenario will demonstrate integrating FT with gas-phase collection of CO2 and conversion to syngas. The second case will integrate FT with gasification to convert solid waste to syngas. Process development and equipment sizing will follow established methods used for sizing ECLSS technologies. Anticipated Outcomes: A detailed feasibility analysis along with process economics for both scenarios. The process model will specify sizing parameters for the system and the results will discuss FT with respect to other proposed ISRU technologies in order to provide a detailed perspective on process economics.</p>

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<p>A major challenge for the CPAS (The parachute system for the Orion/MPCV vehicle) program is to estimate the jerk load during parachute deployment. Accurate determination of this jerk load would enable proper selection and sizing of not just the parachute cords but the entire parachute attach structure on the vehicle. At present, this is estimated using analytical methods based on fluid mechanics principles. Current sensors that may be attached to the parachute cords tend to be very heavy, occupy too much volume and potentially interfere with the parachute deployment process. Instrumenting 60+ parachute cords with these large sensors would thus not be viable. The proposed sensor will alleviate these issues. The CPAS project manager did express the desire for such a device.</p>

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<p>Measurements of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) are a new tool to improve our understanding of energy release and particle acceleration in solar eruptive events.  Due to limitations of past observations, even the most basic questions remain unanswered about the acceleration of solar energetic particles (SEPs) by shocks driven by coronal mass ejections (CMEs).  ENAs provide the only way to observe SEPs where they are accelerated.  The one observation of solar ENAs to date had low sensitivity, a high energy threshold, and no imaging information.</p><p>The Solar Energetic Neutral-atom Imaging Coronagraph (SENIC) instrument concept is designed to observe ENAs from <~20 keV to a few hundred keV with a spectral resolution as good as 1 keV and image them from 2 R_sun to 40 R_sun with a spatial resolution of 0.1 R_sun.  Since ENAs cannot be imaged with focusing optics, this concept uses an indirect imaging technique similar to the one successfully used on RHESSI.  Thus, the SENIC instrument concept combines large detector area, a low energy threshold, and high angular resolution.</p>

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<p><strong>This first part of this effort </strong>investigated the iron-nickel binary system with varying nickel content over a range of CTE from 0.6ppm/°C to 10.0ppm/°C.  Figure 1 shows a comparison of calculated values of room temperature CTE for binary Fe-f(Ni) alloys based on the two gamma state ferromagnetic model for the face-centered cubic Fe-Ni austenite matrix, with one-hundred year old data from the experimental work of Guillaume.  Both the calculation and the early experimental data indicate that the CTE of Fe-Ni binary alloys vary continuously with nickel content in a smooth and predictable manner.</p><p><strong>The second part of this </strong><strong>effort</strong> determined experimentally the functional relationship between Ni content and CTE for the binary Fe-Ni system.  This was achieved by manufacturing a series of test alloys using high-precision melt metallurgical techniques.  The test alloys were heat treated by the Goddard Space Flight Center’s (GSFC) Materials Engineering Branch (MEB) and CTE coupons were machined by GSFC’s Advanced Manufacturing Branch.  Microstrain was measured as a function of temperature from 300K to 23K using the MEB interferometer.  Figure 2 shows an example of a secant CTE calculated from these microstrain measurements over the temperature range 10°C to 30°C.</p>

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<p>The innovation will allow waste heat to be harvested for use on aircraft jet engines, hypersonic vehicles, automobiles and other areas where waste heat is available. It will also provide a portable solution for laboratories that require a small power supply. The compact power supply can also be used on Mars and other planets to use solar energy to power plasma actuators for dust removal or for thrust corrections. 1. Combining Thermoelectric cells with plasma generation for self powered system proof of concept. 2. Optimization of the high-voltage generator towards a higher efficiency and its compacter size. 3. Addition of load current measurement circuitry for characterization and analysis of D.B.D. devices including power measurement. 4. Creation of compact circuit to power a plasma actuator using a thermoelectric generator (that can also be powered using solar cells.)</p>

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<p> Our approach is based on high-Q optical WGM resonators made with a nonlinear crystal. Such resonators have been demonstrated to dramatically enhance nonlinear optical processes involving optical, microwave and THz frequencies. Difference frequency polarization is generated from two optical beams via second order nonlinearity of lithium niobate (LN). Efficient difference frequency generation (DFG) requires three features. The optical beams should be near the surface due to large THz absorption coefficient of lithium niobate. The cross section of the optical beams must be smaller than THz wavelength to minimize far field phase mismatch of the THz beam. In addition, the optical beam intensities must be high for the conversion process to be efficient. The LN WGM resonators provide the highest figures of merit on all three requirements and are expected to outperform the Fabry-Perot resonator-based nonlinear optical THz generation. The required phase matching of the process is achieved with a structure represented either by the periodically poled domains or by a metal structure integrated with a resonator. The capability to produce micrometer-precision arbitrary domains in ferroelectric crystal chips is present at JPL. With collaboration at UCSB/ITST we fabricated metal structures on LN chip. These chips were then used at JPL to produce WGM resonators with an integrated metal phase matching structure. Intrinsic Q of these resonators was preserved at 10 million levels which is an important milestone. We then carried out an experiment aimed at simultaneous excitation of two whispering gallery modes inside the resonator. The outputs of two DFB lasers emitting at 1560 nm and 1548 nm (1.5 THz difference frequency) are combined and are coupled to the resonator with a prism coupler. Coupling efficiency exceeded 40 %. We achieved two-wavelength pumping of the resonator and high optical Q.</p>

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<p>The proposed effort will explore the feasibility and effectiveness of utilizing an electrically driven thermal shield for use as part of rocket plume deflectors. To accomplish this, a small scale prototype deflector cover will be designed and tested. The overall reduction in thermal conduction will then be observed using high speed thermal imagining. The goal is to achieve a ten percent reduction; however, any thermal reduction would be considered a valuable success. The fundamental principles from a small scale system could then be used to economically scaled up for deployment within full-size rocket propulsion system.</p>

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<p>This proposed work is fabricate “button” with cathodes of 2-3 different ceria-based compositions. The cells will be tested in a mixed gas CO2–H2O-H2 atmosphere perform both impedance and polarization measurement to characterize the performance. </p>

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<p> The ion source investigation consisted of coupling the low-temperature plasma discharge source to a mass spectrometer. The goal of this investigation is to provide insight into the ion yield and degree of fragmentation of the low-temperature plasma source relative to conventional electron-impact ion sources, as well as providing insight into technical requirements relating to gas usage, and vacuum requirements. Answering these questions will also address the larger question: is a plasma discharge ion source feasible for planetary exploration? The ablation study with the low-temperature plasma consisted of prolonged exposures of metal surfaces to the low-temperature plasma discharge and analyzing surface modifications with scanning electron microscopy. The intent of this study is to identify whether a plasma source can be used to ablate material from a surface and provide depth profiling of that surface when used in conjunction with a mass spectrometer. Sterilization of a surface with plasmas can proceed through passivation where contaminants are simply desorbed from the surface or through deactivation where biological contaminants on a surface are altered or destroyed following exposure to the plasma. This sterilization study with the low-temperature plasma probe focused on deactivation and involved exposure of Bacillus subtilis samples to the low-temperature plasma discharge to ascertain its effectiveness in deactivating these spores.</p>

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<p>The objective of the proposal work is to investigate the highly innovative conceptual design of an optical communication selective frequency transmitter terminal that enables the selection of multiple high-frequency microwave bands (L, S, X, Ku, Ka, V, W Bands ranging from 1 GHz to 100 GHz), while still maintaining the high-data-rate transmission of more than several tens of Giga bits per second. The primary technical objective to be achieved will be a demonstration of a functional optical selective frequency transmitter terminal for multiple microwave frequencies, specifically the X and Ka frequency bands, which are presently used for NASA space communications. We will show the feasibility of transmitting multiple high-frequency bands with the wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) technique over a fiber optical network by utilizing a wideband electro-optic modulator and tunable laser semiconductor diode. An important technical merit of this concept, which is based on a WDM technique, is the fact that it does not need complex protocols to handle data and can thereby greatly simplify the structure of the transmitter. This configuration of a WDM system at the transmitter end only requires a few components such as a multiplexing module, electro-optic modulator, control electronics terminal, tunable laser, and telescope. At the receiver end, the terminal has an optical filter (de-multiplexer) to select the transmitted frequency. After the filter, the optical signal is converted to an electrical signal by a photodiode and amplified by a pre-amplifier.</p>

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<p>The project is to build a grazing incidence mirror for hard X-rays (E>20 keV) using a “scotch-tape” design, in which a thin plastic tape with a specific thickness profile and a multilayer reflective coating is tightly wound into a roll. Key challenges are (a) to find a suitably smooth tape substrate (this has been done), (b) to wind a large number of tape shells onto the smooth metal centerpiece without introducing and accumulating shape irregularities, and (c) to give the tape the variable thickness profile in order to achieve the desired optical figure. Our immediate goal is to demonstrate the idea feasibility by building a crude conical X-ray concentrator. If successful, we will aim at building and flying a mirror prototype on a balloon and then proposing for an Explorer mission or MOO. The ultimate goal is a telescope with 1 m^2 effective area at E=30 keV.</p>

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<p>The research team took a fully collaborative approach with  NASA, the University of Central Florida, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, and a  global research commercial partner on the development and application of novel materials. Information gained in this study will be leveraged to propose future funding to advance the technology readiness level (TRL) for extreme conditions applications.</p><p>The three materials research tasks and associated partners that were explored during this project are summarized as follows:</p><ol style="list-style-type:upper-alpha"><li>Two-way Shape Memory Alloys systems with University of Central Florida and  NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC)</li><li>Gradient Cellular solids with Embry Riddle Aeronautical University</li><li>Tunable composites/laminates  with NASA-GRC</li></ol>

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<p> Pulse tube coolers at high temperature have offered increased efficiency and reliability over older cooler technology. At lower temperatures (</p>

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<p>This development is a collaborative effort between California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The fabrication is done using complementary facilities at the Kavli Nanoscience Institute (KNI) of Caltech, and the Microdevices Laboratory (MDL) at JPL. There are two parallel processes being developed. One involves the deformable mirror it self. The other involves process development of ultra-low thermal exopansion bi-metallic reflective layer that provides thermal stability to the mirrors using a mechanical grid. The mirror fabrication process involves forming micron-thick layers of PVDF with the required electrode patterns. Two approaches are being developed. Both approaches begin by depositing stack of piezoelectric films and electrodes over a Silicon wafer substrate. In the first approach, the silicon wafer is removed by plasma-based reactive ion etching (RIE)followed by a non-plasma dry etching with Xenon Difluoride (XeF2). In the second approach, the actuator film stack is immersed in a liquid such as deionized water. The adhesion between the actuator film stack and the substrate is relatively weak. Simply by seeping liquid, the actuator film stack is gently released from the substrate. The bi-metallic mesh structure fabrication is being pursued using deposition of dissimilar metals in lithographed patterns followed by sacrificial release processes. This process is now being transferred to a more robust approach that employs Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) based fabrication processes. A stack that is produced when both of the above-mentioned structures are integrated will be a deformable mirror that is expected to have high tolerance against suface errors from temperature variations while in space.</p>