Dielectric properties of lunar surface

Science.gov (United States)

Yushkova, O. V.; Kibardina, I. N.

2017-03-01

Measurements of the dielectric characteristics of lunar soil samples are analyzed in the context of dielectric theory. It has been shown that the real component of the dielectric permittivity and the loss tangent of rocks greatly depend on the frequency of the interacting electromagnetic field and the soil temperature. It follows from the analysis that one should take into account diurnal variations in the lunar surface temperature when interpreting the radar-sounding results, especially for the gigahertz radio range.

Lunar dusty plasma: A result of interaction of the solar wind flux and ultraviolet radiation with the lunar surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lisin, E A; Tarakanov, V P; Petrov, O F; Popel, S I

2015-01-01

One of the main problems of future missions to the Moon is associated with lunar dust. Solar wind flux and ultraviolet radiation interact with the lunar surface. As a result, there is a substantial surface change and a near-surface plasma sheath. Dust particles from the lunar regolith, which turned in this plasma because of any mechanical processes, can levitate above the surface, forming dust clouds. In preparing of the space experiments “Luna-Glob” and “Luna-Resource” particle-in-cell calculations of the near-surface plasma sheath parameters are carried out. Here we present some new results of particle-in-cell simulation of the plasma sheath formed near the surface of the moon as a result of interaction of the solar wind and ultraviolet radiation with the lunar surface. The conditions of charging and stable levitation of dust particles in plasma above the lunar surface are also considered. (paper)

Benefits of Using a Mars Forward Strategy for Lunar Surface Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Mulqueen, Jack; Griffin, Brand; Smitherman, David; Maples, Dauphne

2009-01-01

This paper identifies potential risk reduction, cost savings and programmatic procurement benefits of a Mars Forward Lunar Surface System architecture that provides commonality or evolutionary development paths for lunar surface system elements applicable to Mars surface systems. The objective of this paper is to identify the potential benefits for incorporating a Mars Forward development strategy into the planned Project Constellation Lunar Surface System Architecture. The benefits include cost savings, technology readiness, and design validation of systems that would be applicable to lunar and Mars surface systems. The paper presents a survey of previous lunar and Mars surface systems design concepts and provides an assessment of previous conclusions concerning those systems in light of the current Project Constellation Exploration Architectures. The operational requirements for current Project Constellation lunar and Mars surface system elements are compared and evaluated to identify the potential risk reduction strategies that build on lunar surface systems to reduce the technical and programmatic risks for Mars exploration. Risk reduction for rapidly evolving technologies is achieved through systematic evolution of technologies and components based on Moore's Law superimposed on the typical NASA systems engineering project development "V-cycle" described in NASA NPR 7120.5. Risk reduction for established or slowly evolving technologies is achieved through a process called the Mars-Ready Platform strategy in which incremental improvements lead from the initial lunar surface system components to Mars-Ready technologies. The potential programmatic benefits of the Mars Forward strategy are provided in terms of the transition from the lunar exploration campaign to the Mars exploration campaign. By utilizing a sequential combined procurement strategy for lunar and Mars exploration surface systems, the overall budget wedges for exploration systems are reduced and the

Life Sciences Implications of Lunar Surface Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Chappell, Steven P.; Norcross, Jason R.; Abercromby, Andrew F.; Gernhardt, Michael L.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this report is to document preliminary, predicted, life sciences implications of expected operational concepts for lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA). Algorithms developed through simulation and testing in lunar analog environments were used to predict crew metabolic rates and ground reaction forces experienced during lunar EVA. Subsequently, the total metabolic energy consumption, the daily bone load stimulus, total oxygen needed, and other variables were calculated and provided to Human Research Program and Exploration Systems Mission Directorate stakeholders. To provide context to the modeling, the report includes an overview of some scenarios that have been considered. Concise descriptions of the analog testing and development of the algorithms are also provided. This document may be updated to remain current with evolving lunar or other planetary surface operations, assumptions and concepts, and to provide additional data and analyses collected during the ongoing analog research program.

Evaluation of Surface Modification as a Lunar Dust Mitigation Strategy for Thermal Control Surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Gaier, James R.; Waters, Deborah L.; Misconin, Robert M.; Banks, Bruce A.; Crowder, Mark

2011-01-01

Three surface treatments were evaluated for their ability to lower the adhesion between lunar simulant dust and AZ93, AlFEP, and AgFEP thermal control surfaces under simulated lunar conditions. Samples were dusted in situ and exposed to a standardized puff of nitrogen gas. Thermal performance before dusting, after dusting, and after part of the dust was removed by the puff of gas, were compared to perform the assessment. None of the surface treatments was found to significantly affect the adhesion of lunar simulants to AZ93 thermal control paint. Oxygen ion beam texturing also did not lower the adhesion of lunar simulant dust to AlFEP or AgFEP. But a workfunction matching coating and a proprietary Ball Aerospace surface treatment were both found to significantly lower the adhesion of lunar simulants to AlFEP and AgFEP. Based on these results, it is recommended that all these two techniques be further explored as dust mitigation coatings for AlFEP and AgFEP thermal control surfaces.

Comparison of a triaxial fluxgate magnetometer and Toftness sensometer for body surface EMF measurement.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, John; Toftness, Dave; Snyder, Brian; Nosco, Dennis; Balcavage, Walter; Nindl, Gabi

2004-12-01

The use of magnetic fields to treat disease has intrigued mankind since the time of the ancient Greeks. More recently it has been shown that electromagnetic field (EMF) treatment aids bone healing, and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) appears to be beneficial in treating schizophrenia and depression. Since external EMFs influence internal body processes, we hypothesized that measurement of body surface EMFs might be used to detect disease states and direct the course of subsequent therapy. However, measurement of minute body surface EMFs requires use of a sensitive and well documented magnetometer. In this study we evaluated the sensitivity and frequency response of a fluxgate magnetometer with a triaxial probe for use in detecting body surface EMF and we compared the magnetometer readings with a signal from a Toftness Sensometer, operated by an experienced clinician, in the laboratory and in a clinical setting. A Peavy Audio Amplifier and variable power output Telulex signal generator were used to develop 50 microT EMFs in a three coil Merritt coil system. A calibrated magnetometer was used to set a 60 Hz 50 microT field in the coil and an ammeter was used to measure the current required to develop the 50 microT field. At frequencies other than 60 Hz, the field strength was maintained at 50 microT by adjusting the Telulex signal output to keep the current constant. The field generated was monitored using a 10 turn coil connected to an oscilloscope. The oscilloscope reading indicated that the field strength was the same at all frequencies tested. To determine if there was a correspondence between the signals detected by a fluxgate magnetometer (FGM1) and the Toftness Sensometer both devices were placed in the Merritt coil and readings were recorded from the FGM1 and compared with the ability of a highly experienced Toftness operator to detect the 50 microT field. Subsequently, in a clinical setting, FGM1 readings made by an FGM1 technician and

Magnetism and the interior of the moon. [measured at Apollo landing sites

Science.gov (United States)

Dyal, P.; Parkin, C. W.; Daily, W. D.

1974-01-01

During the time period 1961-1972 eleven magnetometers were sent to the moon. The results of lunar magnetometer data analysis are reviewed, with emphasis on the lunar interior. Magnetic fields have been measured on the lunar surface at the Apollo 12, 14, 15, and 16 landing sites. The remanent field values at these sites are given. Satellite and surface measurements show strong evidence that the lunar crust is magnetized over much of the lunar globe. The origin of the lunar remanent field is not yet satisfactorily understood; several source models are presented. Simultaneous data from the Apollo 12 lunar surface magnetometer and the Explorer 35 Ames magnetometer are used to construct a wholemoon hysteresis curve, from which the global lunar permeability is determined. Total iron abundance is calculated for two assumed compositional models of the lunar interior. Other lunar models with a small iron core and with a shallow iron-rich layer are also discussed in light of the measured global permeability.

Development of a Modified Vacuum Cleaner for Lunar Surface Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Toon, Katherine P.; Lee, Steve A.; Edgerly, Rachel D.

2010-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) mission to expand space exploration will return humans to the Moon with the goal of maintaining a long-term presence. One challenge that NASA will face returning to the Moon is managing the lunar regolith found on the Moon's surface, which will collect on extravehicular activity (EVA) suits and other equipment. Based on the Apollo experience, the issues astronauts encountered with lunar regolith included eye/lung irritation, and various hardware failures (seals, screw threads, electrical connectors and fabric contamination), which were all related to inadequate lunar regolith mitigation. A vacuum cleaner capable of detaching, transferring, and efficiently capturing lunar regolith has been proposed as a method to mitigate the lunar regolith problem in the habitable environment on lunar surface. In order to develop this vacuum, a modified "off-the-shelf' vacuum cleaner will be used to determine detachment efficiency, vacuum requirements, and optimal cleaning techniques to ensure efficient dust removal in habitable lunar surfaces, EVA spacesuits, and air exchange volume. During the initial development of the Lunar Surface System vacuum cleaner, systematic testing was performed with varying flow rates on multiple surfaces (fabrics and metallics), atmospheric (14.7 psia) and reduced pressures (10.2 and 8.3 psia), different vacuum tool attachments, and several vacuum cleaning techniques in order to determine the performance requirements for the vacuum cleaner. The data recorded during testing was evaluated by calculating particulate removal, relative to the retained simulant on the tested surface. In addition, optical microscopy was used to determine particle size distribution retained on the surface. The scope of this paper is to explain the initial phase of vacuum cleaner development, including historical Apollo mission data, current state-of-the-art vacuum cleaner technology, and vacuum cleaner testing that has

Visibility of lunar surface features - Apollo 14 orbital observations and lunar landing.

Science.gov (United States)

Ziedman, K.

1972-01-01

Description of an in-flight visibility test conducted during the Apollo 14 mission for the purpose of validating and extending the mathematical visibility models used previously in the course of the Apollo program to examine the constraints on descent operations imposed by lunar visibility limitations. Following a background review of the effects on mission planning of the visibility limitations due to downsun lunar surface detail 'washout' and a discussion of the visibility prediction techniques previously used for studying lunar visibility problems, the visibility test rationale and procedures are defined and the test results presented. The results appear to confirm the validity of the visibility prediction techniques employed in lunar visibility problem studies. These results provide also a basis for improving the accuracy of the prediction techniques by appropriate modifications.

Gardening process of lunar surface layer inferred from the galactic cosmic-ray exposure ages of lunar samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iriyama, Jun; Honda, Masatake.

1979-01-01

From the cosmic-ray exposure age data, (time scale 10 7 - 10 8 years), of the lunar surface materials, we discuss the gardening process of the lunar surface layer caused by the meteoroid impact cratering. At steady state, it is calculated that, in the region within 10 - 50 m of the surface, a mixing rate of 10 -4 to 10 -5 mm/yr is necessary to match the exposure ages. Observed exposure ages of the lunar samples could be explained by the gardening effect calculated using a crater formation rate which is slightly modified from the current crater population data. (author)

Astronaut Neil Armstrong participates in lunar surface simulation training

Science.gov (United States)

1969-01-01

Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, wearing an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), participates in lunar surface simulation training on April 18, 1969 in bldg 9, Manned Spacecraft Center. Armstrong is the prime crew commander of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. Here, he is standing on Lunar Module mockup foot pad preparing to ascend steps.

Lunar surface fission power supplies: Radiation issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Houts, M.G.; Lee, S.K.

1994-01-01

A lunar space fission power supply shield that uses a combination of lunar regolith and materials brought from earth may be optimal for early lunar outposts and bases. This type of shield can be designed such that the fission power supply does not have to be moved from its landing configuration, minimizing handling and required equipment on the lunar surface. Mechanisms for removing heat from the lunar regolith are built into the shield, and can be tested on earth. Regolith activation is greatly reduced compared with a shield that uses only regolith, and it is possible to keep the thermal conditions of the fission power supply close to these seen in free space. For a well designed shield, the additional mass required to be brought fro earth should be less than 1000 kg. Detailed radiation transport calculations confirm the feasibility of such a shield

Lunar surface fission power supplies: Radiation issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Houts, M.G.; Lee, S.K.

1994-01-01

A lunar space fission power supply shield that uses a combination of lunar regolith and materials brought from earth may be optimal for early lunar outposts and bases. This type of shield can be designed such that the fission power supply does not have to be moved from its landing configuration, minimizing handling and required equipment on the lunar surface. Mechanisms for removing heat from the lunar regolith are built into the shield, and can be tested on earth. Regolith activation is greatly reduced compared with a shield that uses only regolith, and it is possible to keep the thermal conditions of the fission power supply close to those seen in free space. For a well designed shield, the additional mass required to be brought from earth should be less than 1,000 kg. Detailed radiation transport calculations confirm the feasibility of such a shield

Lunar rock surfaces as detectors of solar processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartung, J.B.; Hunter College, New York, NY)

1980-01-01

Lunar rock surfaces exposed at or just below the lunar surface are considered as detectors of the solar wind, solar flares and solar-derived magnetic fields through their interactions with galactic cosmic rays. The degradation of the solar detector capabilities of lunar surface rocks by meteoroid impact erosion, accreta deposition, loose dust, and sputtering, amorphous layer formation and accelerated diffusion due to solar particles and illumination is discussed, and it is noted that the complex interactions of factors affecting the outer micron of exposed surface material has so far prevented the development of a satisfactory model for a particle detector on the submicron scale. Methods for the determination of surface exposure ages based on the accumulation of light solar wind noble gases, Fe and Mg, impact craters, solar flare tracks, and cosmogenic Kr isotopes are examined, and the systematic variations in the ages determined by the various clocks are discussed. It is concluded that a means of obtaining satisfactory quantitative rate or flux data has not yet been established

Alteration of Lunar Rock Surfaces through Interaction with the Space Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Frushour, A. M.; Noble, S. K; Christoffersen, R.; Keller, L P.

2014-01-01

Space weathering occurs on all ex-posed surfaces of lunar rocks, as well as on the surfaces of smaller grains in the lunar regolith. Space weather-ing alters these exposed surfaces primarily through the action of solar wind ions and micrometeorite impact processes. On lunar rocks specifically, the alteration products produced by space weathering form surface coatings known as patina. Patinas can have spectral reflectance properties different than the underlying rock. An understanding of patina composition and thickness is therefore important for interpreting re-motely sensed data from airless solar system bodies. The purpose of this study is to try to understand the physical and chemical properties of patina by expanding the number of patinas known and characterized in the lunar rock sample collection.

Lunar atmosphere. How surface composition and meteoroid impacts mediate sodium and potassium in the lunar exosphere.

Science.gov (United States)

Colaprete, A; Sarantos, M; Wooden, D H; Stubbs, T J; Cook, A M; Shirley, M

2016-01-15

Despite being trace constituents of the lunar exosphere, sodium and potassium are the most readily observed species due to their bright line emission. Measurements of these species by the Ultraviolet and Visible Spectrometer (UVS) on the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) have revealed unambiguous temporal and spatial variations indicative of a strong role for meteoroid bombardment and surface composition in determining the composition and local time dependence of the Moon's exosphere. Observations show distinct lunar day (monthly) cycles for both species as well as an annual cycle for sodium. The first continuous measurements for potassium show a more repeatable variation across lunations and an enhancement over KREEP (Potassium Rare Earth Elements and Phosphorus) surface regions, revealing a strong dependence on surface composition. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Landing Site Selection and Surface Traverse Planning using the Lunar Mapping & Modeling Portal

Science.gov (United States)

Law, E.; Chang, G.; Bui, B.; Sadaqathullah, S.; Kim, R.; Dodge, K.; Malhotra, S.

2013-12-01

Introduction: The Lunar Mapping and Modeling Portal (LMMP), is a web-based Portal and a suite of interactive visualization and analysis tools for users to access mapped lunar data products (including image mosaics, digital elevation models, etc.) from past and current lunar missions (e.g., Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Apollo, etc.), and to perform in-depth analyses to support lunar surface mission planning and system design for future lunar exploration and science missions. It has been widely used by many scientists mission planners, as well as educators and public outreach (e.g., Google Lunar XPRICE teams, RESOLVE project, museums etc.) This year, LMMP was used by the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI)'s Lunar Exploration internship program to perform lighting analysis and local hazard assessments, such as, slope, surface roughness and crater/boulder distribution to research landing sites and surface pathfinding and traversal. Our talk will include an overview of LMMP, a demonstration of the tools as well as a summary of the LPI Lunar Exploration summer interns' experience in using those tools.

Spectroscopic observations of the Moon at the lunar surface

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yunzhao; Hapke, Bruce

2018-02-01

The Moon's reflectance spectrum records many of its important properties. However, prior to Chang'E-3 (CE-3), no spectra had previously been measured on the lunar surface. Here we show the in situ reflectance spectra of the Moon acquired on the lunar surface by the Visible-Near Infrared Spectrometer (VNIS) onboard the CE-3 rover. The VNIS detected thermal radiation from the lunar regolith, though with much shorter wavelength range than typical thermal radiometer. The measured temperatures are higher than expected from theoretical model, indicating low thermal inertia of the lunar soil and the effects of grain facet on soil temperature in submillimeter scale. The in situ spectra also reveal that 1) brightness changes visible from orbit are related to the reduction in maturity due to the removal of the fine and weathered particles by the lander's rocket exhaust, not the smoothing of the surface and 2) the spectra of the uppermost soil detected by remote sensing exhibit substantial differences with that immediately beneath, which has important implications for the remote compositional analysis. The reflectance spectra measured by VNIS not only reveal the thermal, compositional, and space-weathering properties of the Moon but also provide a means for the calibration of optical instruments that view the surface remotely.

Lightweight Bulldozer Attachment for Construction and Excavation on the Lunar Surface

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Robert; Wilkinson, R. Allen; Gallo, Christopher A.; Nick, Andrew J.; Schuler, Jason M.; King, Robert H.

2009-01-01

A lightweight bulldozer blade prototype has been designed and built to be used as an excavation implement in conjunction with the NASA Chariot lunar mobility platform prototype. The combined system was then used in a variety of field tests in order to characterize structural loads, excavation performance and learn about the operational behavior of lunar excavation in geotechnical lunar simulants. The purpose of this effort was to evaluate the feasibility of lunar excavation for site preparation at a planned NASA lunar outpost. Once the feasibility has been determined then the technology will become available as a candidate element in the NASA Lunar Surface Systems Architecture. In addition to NASA experimental testing of the LANCE blade, NASA engineers completed analytical work on the expected draft forces using classical soil mechanics methods. The Colorado School of Mines (CSM) team utilized finite element analysis (FEA) to study the interaction between the cutting edge of the LANCE blade and the surface of soil. FEA was also used to examine various load cases and their effect on the lightweight structure of the LANCE blade. Overall it has been determined that a lunar bulldozer blade is a viable technology for lunar outpost site preparation, but further work is required to characterize the behavior in 1/6th G and actual lunar regolith in a vacuum lunar environment.

Distribution of iron and titanium on the lunar surface from lunar prospector gamma ray spectra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prettyman, T.H.; Feldman, W.C.; Lawrence, David J.; Elphic, R.C.; Gasnault, O.M.; Maurice, S.; Moore, K.R.; Binder, A.B.

2001-01-01

Gamma ray pulse height spectra acquired by the Lunar Prospector (LP) Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (GRS) contain information on the abundance of major elements in the lunar surface, including O, Si, Ti, Al, Fe, Mg, Ca, K, and Th. With the exception of Th and K, prompt gamma rays produced by cosmic ray interactions with surface materials are used to determine elemental abundance. Most of these gamma rays are produced by inelastic scattering of fast neutrons and by neutron capture. The production of neutron-induced gamma rays reaches a maximum deep below the surface (e.g. ∼140 g/cm 2 for inelastic scattering and ∼50 g/cm 2 for capture). Consequently, gamma rays sense the bulk composition of lunar materials, in contrast to optical methods (e.g. Clementine Spectral Reflectance (CSR)), which only sample the top few microns. Because most of the gamma rays are produced deep beneath the surface, few escape unscattered and the continuum of scattered gamma rays dominates the spectrum. In addition, due to the resolution of the spectrometer, there are few well-isolated peaks and peak fitting algorithms must be used to deconvolve the spectrum in order to determine the contribution of individual elements.

SiGe Based Low Temperature Electronics for Lunar Surface Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Mojarradi, Mohammad M.; Kolawa, Elizabeth; Blalock, Benjamin; Cressler, John

2012-01-01

The temperature at the permanently shadowed regions of the moon's surface is approximately -240 C. Other areas of the lunar surface experience temperatures that vary between 120 C and -180 C during the day and night respectively. To protect against the large temperature variations of the moon surface, traditional electronics used in lunar robotics systems are placed inside a thermally controlled housing which is bulky, consumes power and adds complexity to the integration and test. SiGe Based electronics have the capability to operate over wide temperature range like that of the lunar surface. Deploying low temperature SiGe electronics in a lander platform can minimize the need for the central thermal protection system and enable the development of a new generation of landers and mobility platforms with highly efficient distributed architecture. For the past five years a team consisting of NASA, university and industry researchers has been examining the low temperature and wide temperature characteristic of SiGe based transistors for developing electronics for wide temperature needs of NASA environments such as the Moon, Titan, Mars and Europa. This presentation reports on the status of the development of wide temperature SiGe based electronics for the landers and lunar surface mobility systems.

Lunar Surface Electric Potential Changes Associated with Traversals through the Earth's Foreshock

Science.gov (United States)

Collier, Michael R.; Hills, H. Kent; Stubbs, Timothy J.; Halekas, Jasper S.; Delory, Gregory T.; Espley, Jared; Farrell, William M.; Freeman, John W.; Vondrak, Richard

2011-01-01

We report an analysis of one year of Suprathermal Ion Detector Experiment (SIDE) Total Ion Detector (TID) resonance events observed between January 1972 and January 1973. The study includes only those events during which upstream solar wind conditions were readily available. The analysis shows that these events are associated with lunar traversals through the dawn flank of the terrestrial magnetospheric bow shock. We propose that the events result from an increase in lunar surface electric potential effected by secondary electron emission due to primary electrons in the Earth's foreshock region (although primary ions may play a role as well). This work establishes (1) the lunar surface potential changes as the Moon moves through the terrestrial bow shock, (2) the lunar surface achieves potentials in the upstream foreshock region that differ from those in the downstream magnetosheath region, (3) these differences can be explained by the presence of energetic electron beams in the upstream foreshock region and (4) if this explanation is correct, the location of the Moon with respect to the terrestrial bow shock influences lunar surface potential.

Plume Impingement to the Lunar Surface: A Challenging Problem for DSMC

Science.gov (United States)

Lumpkin, Forrest; Marichalar, Jermiah; Piplica, Anthony

2007-01-01

The President's Vision for Space Exploration calls for the return of human exploration of the Moon. The plans are ambitious and call for the creation of a lunar outpost. Lunar Landers will therefore be required to land near predeployed hardware, and the dust storm created by the Lunar Lander's plume impingement to the lunar surface presents a hazard. Knowledge of the number density, size distribution, and velocity of the grains in the dust cloud entrained into the flow is needing to develop mitigation strategies. An initial step to acquire such knowledge is simulating the associated plume impingement flow field. The following paper presents results from a loosely coupled continuum flow solver/Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) technique for simulating the plume impingement of the Apollo Lunar module on the lunar surface. These cases were chosen for initial study to allow for comparison with available Apollo video. The relatively high engine thrust and the desire to simulate interesting cases near touchdown result in flow that is nearly entirely continuum. The DSMC region of the flow field was simulated using NASA's DSMC Analysis Code (DAC) and must begin upstream of the impingement shock for the loosely coupled technique to succeed. It was therefore impossible to achieve mean free path resolution with a reasonable number of molecules (say 100 million) as is shown. In order to mitigate accuracy and performance issues when using such large cells, advanced techniques such as collision limiting and nearest neighbor collisions were employed. The final paper will assess the benefits and shortcomings of such techniques. In addition, the effects of plume orientation, plume altitude, and lunar topography, such as craters, on the flow field, the surface pressure distribution, and the surface shear stress distribution are presented.

Magnetometer calibration and test procedure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Squier, D.M.

1997-01-01

Nuclear waste has been sluiced and pumped from storage tank 241-AX-104, leaving a contaminated heel volume. These operations did not include measurements of the removed waste volume leaving an unknown heel volume in the tank. A magnetometer transducer will be lowered through tank riser ports to rest on the heel's surface. The heel thickness will control the distance between the transducer and the tank's bottom The instrument's output varies with the distance from a magnetic mass, such as the tank's steel bottom, thereby enabling a measurement of the heel depth. Measurements at several tank locations will permit an estimate of the tank's heel volume. The magnetometer's output is influenced by adjacent magnetic materials, such as the tank walls, air lift circulators or other equipment installed in the tank. An adjacent vertical steel surface produces a voltage offset in the instrument's output. Measurements near a tank wall or other tank components may be corrected by noting the offset before the instrument's output is influenced by the tank bottom. An unlevel or uneven heel surface could orient the magnetometer transducer so that it is not vertically level. The magnetometer readings are influenced by these skewed transducer orientations. The magnitude of these errors and offsets must be characterized to bound the heel volume estimate range. The data collected by this activity will be statistically analyzed by SESC to state the confidence level of the heel volume estimates. A test report will document the results of the measurements

Magnetic Signature of the Lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin: Character, Origin, and Age

Science.gov (United States)

Purucker, Michael E.; Head, James W., III; Wilson, Lionel

2012-01-01

A new magnetic map of the Moon, based on Lunar Prospector (LP) magnetometer observations, sheds light on the origin of the South Pole-Aitken Basin (SPA), the largest and oldest of the recognized lunar basins. A set of WNW-trending linear to arcuate magnetic features, evident in both the radial and scalar observations, covers much of a 1000 km wide region centered on the NW portion of SPA. The source bodies are not at the surface because the magnetic features show no first-order correspondence to any surface topographic or structural feature. Patchy mare basalts of possible late Imbrianage are emplaced within SPA and are inferred to have been emplaced through dikes, directly from mantle sources. We infer that the magnetic features represent dike swarms that served as feeders for these mare basalts, as evident from the location of the Thomson/ Mare Ingenii, Van de Graaff, and Leeuwenhoek mare basalts on the two largest magnetic features in the region. Modeling suggests that the dike zone is between 25 and 50 km wide at the surface, and dike magnetization contrasts are in the range of 0.2 A/m. We theorize that the basaltic dikes were emplaced in the lunar crust when a long-lived dynamo was active. Based on pressure, temperature, and stress conditions prevalent in the lunar crust, dikes are expected to be a dominantly subsurface phenomenon, consistent with the observations reported here.

Ground Simulations of Near-Surface Plasma Field and Charging at the Lunar Terminator

Science.gov (United States)

Polansky, J.; Ding, N.; Wang, J.; Craven, P.; Schneider, T.; Vaughn, J.

2012-12-01

Charging in the lunar terminator region is the most complex and is still not well understood. In this region, the surface potential is sensitively influenced by both solar illumination and plasma flow. The combined effects from localized shadow generated by low sun elevation angles and localized wake generated by plasma flow over the rugged terrain can generate strongly differentially charged surfaces. Few models currently exist that can accurately resolve the combined effects of plasma flow and solar illumination over realistic lunar terminator topographies. This paper presents an experimental investigation of lunar surface charging at the terminator region in simulated plasma environments in a vacuum chamber. The solar wind plasma flow is simulated using an electron bombardment gridded Argon ion source. An electrostatic Langmuir probe, nude Faraday probes, a floating emissive probe, and retarding potential analyzer are used to quantify the plasma flow field. Surface potentials of both conducting and dielectric materials immersed in the plasma flow are measured with a Trek surface potential probe. The conducting material surface potential will simultaneously be measured with a high impedance voltmeter to calibrate the Trek probe. Measurement results will be presented for flat surfaces and objects-on-surface for various angles of attack of the plasma flow. The implications on the generation of localized plasma wake and surface charging at the lunar terminator will be discussed. (This research is supported by the NASA Lunar Advanced Science and Exploration Research program.)

Reference reactor module for NASA's lunar surface fission power system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poston, David I.; Kapernick, Richard J.; Dixon, David D.; Werner, James; Qualls, Louis; Radel, Ross

2009-01-01

Surface fission power systems on the Moon and Mars may provide the first US application of fission reactor technology in space since 1965. The Affordable Fission Surface Power System (AFSPS) study was completed by NASA/DOE to determine the cost of a modest performance, low-technical risk surface power system. The AFSPS concept is now being further developed within the Fission Surface Power (FSP) Project, which is a near-term technology program to demonstrate system-level TRL-6 by 2013. This paper describes the reference FSP reactor module concept, which is designed to provide a net power of 40 kWe for 8 years on the lunar surface; note, the system has been designed with technologies that are fully compatible with a Martian surface application. The reactor concept uses stainless-steel based. UO 2 -fueled, pumped-NaK fission reactor coupled to free-piston Stirling converters. The reactor shielding approach utilizes both in-situ and launched shielding to keep the dose to astronauts much lower than the natural background radiation on the lunar surface. The ultimate goal of this work is to provide a 'workhorse' power system that NASA can utilize in near-term and future Lunar and Martian mission architectures, with the eventual capability to evolve to very high power, low mass systems, for either surface, deep space, and/or orbital missions.

LUNAR SURFACE AND DUST GRAIN POTENTIALS DURING THE EARTH’S MAGNETOSPHERE CROSSING

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vaverka, J.; Richterová, I.; Pavlu, J.; Šafránková, J.; Němeček, Z., E-mail: jana.safrankova@mff.cuni.cz [Department of Surface and Plasma Science, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague, V Holešovičkách 2, 180 00 Prague (Czech Republic)

2016-07-10

Interaction between the lunar surface and the solar UV radiation and surrounding plasma environment leads to its charging by different processes like photoemission, collection of charged particles, or secondary electron emission (SEE). Whereas the photoemission depends only on the angle between the surface and direction to the Sun and varies only slowly, plasma parameters can change rapidly as the Moon orbits around the Earth. This paper presents numerical simulations of one Moon pass through the magnetospheric tail including the real plasma parameters measured by THEMIS as an input. The calculations are concentrated on different charges of the lunar surface itself and a dust grain lifted above this surface. Our estimations show that (1) the SEE leads to a positive charging of parts of the lunar surface even in the magnetosphere, where a high negative potential is expected; (2) the SEE is generally more important for isolated dust grains than for the lunar surface covered by these grains; and (3) the time constant of charging of dust grains depends on their diameter being of the order of hours for sub-micrometer grains. In view of these results, we discuss the conditions under which and the areas where a levitation of the lifted dust grains could be observed.

PDS Lunar Data Node Restoration of Apollo In-Situ Surface Data

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, David R.; Hills, H. Kent; Guinness, Edward A.; Lowman, Paul D.; Taylor, Patrick T.

2010-01-01

The Apollo missions between 1969 and 1972 deployed scientific instruments on the Moon's surface which made in-situ measurements of the lunar environment. Apollo II had the short-term Early Apollo Surface Experiments Package (EASEP) and Apollos 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 each set up an Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP). Each ALSEP package contained a different suite of instruments which took measurements and radioed the results back to Earth over periods from 5 to 7 years until they were turned off on 30 September 1977. To this day the ALSEP data remain the only long-term in-situ information on the Moon's surface environment. The Lunar Data Node (LDN) has been formed under the auspices of the Planetary Data System (PDS) Geosciences Node to put relevant, scientifically important Apollo data into accessible digital form for use by researchers and mission planners. We will report on progress made since last year and plans for future data restorations.

Automated Hybrid Microwave Heating for Lunar Surface Solidification, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This SBIR project addresses the need for a system that will provide automated lunar surface stabilization via hybrid microwave heating. Surface stabilization is...

Data Analysis Techniques for a Lunar Surface Navigation System Testbed

Science.gov (United States)

Chelmins, David; Sands, O. Scott; Swank, Aaron

2011-01-01

NASA is interested in finding new methods of surface navigation to allow astronauts to navigate on the lunar surface. In support of the Vision for Space Exploration, the NASA Glenn Research Center developed the Lunar Extra-Vehicular Activity Crewmember Location Determination System and performed testing at the Desert Research and Technology Studies event in 2009. A significant amount of sensor data was recorded during nine tests performed with six test subjects. This paper provides the procedure, formulas, and techniques for data analysis, as well as commentary on applications.

Magnetism and the interior of the moon

Science.gov (United States)

Dyal, P.; Parkin, C. W.; Daily, W. D.

1974-01-01

During the time period 1961-1972, 11 magnetometers were sent to the moon. The primary purpose of this paper is to review the results of lunar magnetometer data analysis, with emphasis on the lunar interior. Magnetic fields have been measured on the lunar surface at the Apollo 12, 14, 15, and 16 landing sites. The remanent field values at these sites are 38, 103 (maximum), 3, and 327 gammas (maximum), respectively. Simultaneous magnetic field and solar plasma pressure measurements show that the Apollo 12 and 16 remanent fields are compressed during times of high plasma dynamic pressure. Apollo 15 and 16 subsatellite magnetometers have mapped in detail the field above portions of the lunar surface and have placed an upper limit on the global permanent dipole moment. Satellite and surface measurements show strong evidence that the lunar crust is magnetized over much of the lunar globe. Magnetic fields are stronger in highland regions than in mare regions and stronger on the lunar far side than on the near side. The largest magnetic anomaly measured to date is between the craters Van de Graaff and Aitken on the lunar far side.

Lunar surface remanent magnetic fields detected by the electron reflection method

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, R. P.; Anderson, K. A.; Bush, R.; Mcguire, R. E.; Mccoy, J. E.

1976-01-01

We present maps of the lunar surface remanent magnetic fields detected by the electron reflection method. These maps provide substantial coverage of the latitude band from 30 N southward to 30 S with a resolution of about 40 km and a sensitivity of about 0.2 gamma at the lunar surface. Regions of remanent magnetization are observed ranging in size from the resolution limit of 1.25 deg to above approximately 60 deg. The largest contiguous region fills the Big Backside Basin where it is intersected by the spacecraft orbital tracks. Preliminary analyses of the maps show that the source regions of lunar limb compressions correspond to regions of strong surface magnetism, and that there does not appear to be sharply discontinuous magnetization at the edges of maria. We also analyze the electron reflection observations to obtain information on the direction and distribution of magnetization in the Van de Graaff anomaly region.

Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networks (DTN): Testing and Demonstration for Lunar Surface Applications

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the testing of the Delay/Disruption Tolerant Network (DTN) designed for use with Lunar Surface applications. This is being done through the DTN experimental Network (DEN), that permit access and testing by other NASA centers, DTN team members and protocol developers. The objective of this work is to demonstrate DTN for high return applications in lunar scenarios, provide DEN connectivity with analogs of Constellation elements, emulators, and other resources from DTN Team Members, serve as a wireless communications staging ground for remote analog excursions and enable testing of detailed communication scenarios and evaluation of network performance. Three scenarios for DTN on the Lunar surface are reviewed: Motion imagery, Voice and sensor telemetry, and Navigation telemetry.

Low-frequency Radio Observatory on the Lunar Surface (LROLS)

Science.gov (United States)

MacDowall, Robert; Network for Exploration and Space Science (NESS)

2018-06-01

A radio observatory on the lunar surface will provide the capability to image solar radio bursts and other sources. Radio burst imaging will improve understanding of radio burst mechanisms, particle acceleration, and space weather. Low-frequency observations (less than ~20 MHz) must be made from space, because lower frequencies are blocked by Earth’s ionosphere. Solar radio observations do not mandate an observatory on the farside of the Moon, although such a location would permit study of less intense solar bursts because the Moon occults the terrestrial radio frequency interference. The components of the lunar radio observatory array are: the antenna system consisting of 10 – 100 antennas distributed over a square kilometer or more; the system to transfer the radio signals from the antennas to the central processing unit; electronics to digitize the signals and possibly to calculate correlations; storage for the data until it is down-linked to Earth. Such transmission requires amplification and a high-gain antenna system or possibly laser comm. For observatories on the lunar farside a satellite or other intermediate transfer system is required to direct the signal to Earth. On the ground, the aperture synthesis analysis is completed to display the radio image as a function of time. Other requirements for lunar surface systems include the power supply, utilizing solar arrays with batteries to maintain the system at adequate thermal levels during the lunar night. An alternative would be a radioisotope thermoelectric generator requiring less mass. The individual antennas might be designed with their own solar arrays and electronics to transmit data to the central processing unit, but surviving lunar night would be a challenge. Harnesses for power and data transfer from the central processing unit to the antennas are an alternative, but a harness-based system complicates deployment. The concept of placing the antennas and harnesses on rolls of polyimide and

Scalable Lunar Surface Networks and Adaptive Orbit Access

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xudong

2015-01-01

Teranovi Technologies, Inc., has developed innovative network architecture, protocols, and algorithms for both lunar surface and orbit access networks. A key component of the overall architecture is a medium access control (MAC) protocol that includes a novel mechanism of overlaying time division multiple access (TDMA) and carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA), ensuring scalable throughput and quality of service. The new MAC protocol is compatible with legacy Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 networks. Advanced features include efficiency power management, adaptive channel width adjustment, and error control capability. A hybrid routing protocol combines the advantages of ad hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV) routing and disruption/delay-tolerant network (DTN) routing. Performance is significantly better than AODV or DTN and will be particularly effective for wireless networks with intermittent links, such as lunar and planetary surface networks and orbit access networks.

Lunar and planetary surface conditions advances in space science and technology

CERN Document Server

Weil, Nicholas A

1965-01-01

Lunar and Planetary Surface Conditions considers the inferential knowledge concerning the surfaces of the Moon and the planetary companions in the Solar System. The information presented in this four-chapter book is based on remote observations and measurements from the vantage point of Earth and on the results obtained from accelerated space program of the United States and U.S.S.R. Chapter 1 presents the prevalent hypotheses on the origin and age of the Solar System, followed by a brief description of the methods and feasibility of information acquisition concerning lunar and planetary data,

Engineering design constraints of the lunar surface environment

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, D. A.

1992-01-01

Living and working on the lunar surface will be difficult. Design of habitats, machines, tools, and operational scenarios in order to allow maximum flexibility in human activity will require paying attention to certain constraints imposed by conditions at the surface and the characteristics of lunar material. Primary design drivers for habitat, crew health and safety, and crew equipment are: ionizing radiation, the meteoroid flux, and the thermal environment. Secondary constraints for engineering derive from: the physical and chemical properties of lunar surface materials, rock distributions and regolith thicknesses, topography, electromagnetic properties, and seismicity. Protection from ionizing radiation is essential for crew health and safety. The total dose acquired by a crew member will be the sum of the dose acquired during EVA time (when shielding will be least) plus the dose acquired during time spent in the habitat (when shielding will be maximum). Minimizing the dose acquired in the habitat extends the time allowable for EVA's before a dose limit is reached. Habitat shielding is enabling, and higher precision in predicting secondary fluxes produced in shielding material would be desirable. Means for minimizing dose during a solar flare event while on extended EVA will be essential. Early warning of the onset of flare activity (at least a half-hour is feasible) will dictate the time available to take mitigating steps. Warning capability affects design of rovers (or rover tools) and site layout. Uncertainty in solar flare timing is a design constraint that points to the need for quickly accessible or constructible safe havens.

Modeling Solar-Wind Heavy-Ions' Potential Sputtering of Lunar KREEP Surface

Science.gov (United States)

Barghouty, A. F.; Meyer, F. W.; Harris, R. P.; Adams, J. H., Jr.

2012-01-01

Recent laboratory data suggest that potential sputtering may be an important weathering mechanism that can affect the composition of both the lunar surface and its tenuous exosphere; its role and implications, however, remain unclear. Using a relatively simple kinetic model, we will demonstrate that solar-wind heavy ions induced sputtering of KREEP surfaces is critical in establishing the timescale of the overall solar-wind sputtering process of the lunar surface. We will also also show that potential sputtering leads to a more pronounced and significant differentiation between depleted and enriched surface elements. We briefly discuss the impacts of enhanced sputtering on the composition of the regolith and the exosphere, as well as of solar-wind sputtering as a source of hydrogen and water on the moon.

Effect of Space Radiation Processing on Lunar Soil Surface Chemistry: X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Dukes, C.; Loeffler, M.J.; Baragiola, R.; Christoffersen, R.; Keller, J.

2009-01-01

Current understanding of the chemistry and microstructure of the surfaces of lunar soil grains is dominated by a reference frame derived mainly from electron microscopy observations [e.g. 1,2]. These studies have shown that the outermost 10-100 nm of grain surfaces in mature lunar soil finest fractions have been modified by the combined effects of solar wind exposure, surface deposition of vapors and accretion of impact melt products [1,2]. These processes produce surface-correlated nanophase Feo, host grain amorphization, formation of surface patinas and other complex changes [1,2]. What is less well understood is how these changes are reflected directly at the surface, defined as the outermost 1-5 atomic monolayers, a region not easily chemically characterized by TEM. We are currently employing X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) to study the surface chemistry of lunar soil samples that have been previously studied by TEM. This work includes modification of the grain surfaces by in situ irradiation with ions at solar wind energies to better understand how irradiated surfaces in lunar grains change their chemistry once exposed to ambient conditions on earth.

Specific heats of lunar surface materials from 90 to 350 degrees Kelvin

Science.gov (United States)

Robie, R.A.; Hemingway, B.S.; Wilson, W.H.

1970-01-01

The specific heats of lunar samples 10057 and 10084 returned by the Apollo 11 mission have been measured between 90 and 350 degrees Kelvin by use of an adiabatic calorimeter. The samples are representative of type A vesicular basalt-like rocks and of finely divided lunar soil. The specific heat of these materials changes smoothly from about 0.06 calorie per gram per degree at 90 degrees Kelvin to about 0.2 calorie per gram per degree at 350 degrees Kelvin. The thermal parameter ??=(k??C)-1/2 for the lunar surface will accordingly vary by a factor of about 2 between lunar noon and midnight.

Silent Localization of Underwater Sensors Using Magnetometers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonas Callmer

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Sensor localization is a central problem for sensor networks. If the sensor positions are uncertain, the target tracking ability of the sensor network is reduced. Sensor localization in underwater environments is traditionally addressed using acoustic range measurements involving known anchor or surface nodes. We explore the usage of triaxial magnetometers and a friendly vessel with known magnetic dipole to silently localize the sensors. The ferromagnetic field created by the dipole is measured by the magnetometers and is used to localize the sensors. The trajectory of the vessel and the sensor positions are estimated simultaneously using an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF. Simulations show that the sensors can be accurately positioned using magnetometers.

Scalable Lunar Surface Networks and Adaptive Orbit Access, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Innovative network architecture, protocols, and algorithms are proposed for both lunar surface networks and orbit access networks. Firstly, an overlaying...

Contributions of solar-wind induced potential sputtering to the lunar surface erosion rate and it's exosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Alnussirat, S. T.; Barghouty, A. F.; Edmunson, J. E.; Sabra, M. S.; Rickman, D. L.

2018-04-01

Sputtering of lunar regolith by solar-wind protons and heavy ions with kinetic energies of about 1 keV/amu is an important erosive process that affects the lunar surface and exosphere. It plays an important role in changing the chemical composition and thickness of the surface layer, and in introducing material into the exosphere. Kinetic sputtering is well modeled and understood, but understanding of mechanisms of potential sputtering has lagged behind. In this study we differentiate the contributions of potential sputtering from the standard (kinetic) sputtering in changing the chemical composition and erosion rate of the lunar surface. Also we study the contribution of potential sputtering in developing the lunar exosphere. Our results show that potential sputtering enhances the total characteristic sputtering erosion rate by about 44%, and reduces sputtering time scales by the same amount. Potential sputtering also introduces more material into the lunar exosphere.

Reference reactor module for NASA's lunar surface fission power system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poston, David I [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Kapernick, Richard J [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Dixon, David D [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Werner, James [INL; Qualls, Louis [ORNL; Radel, Ross [SNL

2009-01-01

Surface fission power systems on the Moon and Mars may provide the first US application of fission reactor technology in space since 1965. The Affordable Fission Surface Power System (AFSPS) study was completed by NASA/DOE to determine the cost of a modest performance, low-technical risk surface power system. The AFSPS concept is now being further developed within the Fission Surface Power (FSP) Project, which is a near-term technology program to demonstrate system-level TRL-6 by 2013. This paper describes the reference FSP reactor module concept, which is designed to provide a net power of 40 kWe for 8 years on the lunar surface; note, the system has been designed with technologies that are fully compatible with a Martian surface application. The reactor concept uses stainless-steel based. UO{sub 2}-fueled, pumped-NaK fission reactor coupled to free-piston Stirling converters. The reactor shielding approach utilizes both in-situ and launched shielding to keep the dose to astronauts much lower than the natural background radiation on the lunar surface. The ultimate goal of this work is to provide a 'workhorse' power system that NASA can utilize in near-term and future Lunar and Martian mission architectures, with the eventual capability to evolve to very high power, low mass systems, for either surface, deep space, and/or orbital missions.

Electron content near the lunar surface using dual-frequency VLBI tracking data in a single lunar orbiter mission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Zhen; Wang, Na; Ping, Jin-Song

2015-01-01

In VLBI observations of Vstar, a subsatellite of the Japanese lunar mission SELENE, there were opportunities for lunar grazing occultation when Vstar was very close to the limb of the Moon. This kind of chance made it possible to probe the thin plasma layer above the Moon's surface as a meaningful by-product of VLBI, by using the radio occultation method with coherent radio waves from the S/X bands. The dual-frequency measurements were carried out at Earth-based VLBI stations. In the line-of-sight direction between the satellite and the ground-based tracking station where VLBI measurements were made, the effects of the terrestrial ionosphere, interplanetary plasma and the thin lunar ionosphere mixed together in the combined observables of dual-frequency Doppler shift and phase shift. To separate the variation of the ionospheric total electron content (TEC) near the surface of the Moon from the mixed signal, the influences of the terrestrial ionosphere and interplanetary plasma have been removed by using an extrapolation method based on a short-term trend. The lunar TEC is estimated from the dual-frequency observation for Vstar from UT 22:18 to UT 22:20 on 2008 June 28 at several tracking stations. The TEC results obtained from VLBI sites are identical, however, they are not as remarkable as the result obtained at the Usuda deep space tracking station. (paper)

A thermal control system for long-term survival of scientific instruments on lunar surface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ogawa, K., E-mail: ogawa@astrobio.k.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Department of Complexity Science and Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba (Japan); Iijima, Y.; Tanaka, S. [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo, Sagamihara, Kanagawa (Japan); Sakatani, N. [The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Shonan Village, Hayama, Kanagawa (Japan); Otake, H. [JAXA Space Exploration Center, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo, Sagamihara, Kanagawa (Japan)

2014-03-15

A thermal control system is being developed for scientific instruments placed on the lunar surface. This thermal control system, Lunar Mission Survival Module (MSM), was designed for scientific instruments that are planned to be operated for over a year in the future Japanese lunar landing mission SELENE-2. For the long-term operations, the lunar surface is a severe environment because the soil (regolith) temperature varies widely from nighttime −200 degC to daytime 100 degC approximately in which space electronics can hardly survive. The MSM has a tent of multi-layered insulators and performs a “regolith mound”. Temperature of internal devices is less variable just like in the lunar underground layers. The insulators retain heat in the regolith soil in the daylight, and it can keep the device warm in the night. We conducted the concept design of the lunar survival module, and estimated its potential by a thermal mathematical model on the assumption of using a lunar seismometer designed for SELENE-2. Thermal vacuum tests were also conducted by using a thermal evaluation model in order to estimate the validity of some thermal parameters assumed in the computed thermal model. The numerical and experimental results indicated a sufficient survivability potential of the concept of our thermal control system.

A thermal control system for long-term survival of scientific instruments on lunar surface.

Science.gov (United States)

Ogawa, K; Iijima, Y; Sakatani, N; Otake, H; Tanaka, S

2014-03-01

A thermal control system is being developed for scientific instruments placed on the lunar surface. This thermal control system, Lunar Mission Survival Module (MSM), was designed for scientific instruments that are planned to be operated for over a year in the future Japanese lunar landing mission SELENE-2. For the long-term operations, the lunar surface is a severe environment because the soil (regolith) temperature varies widely from nighttime -200 degC to daytime 100 degC approximately in which space electronics can hardly survive. The MSM has a tent of multi-layered insulators and performs a "regolith mound". Temperature of internal devices is less variable just like in the lunar underground layers. The insulators retain heat in the regolith soil in the daylight, and it can keep the device warm in the night. We conducted the concept design of the lunar survival module, and estimated its potential by a thermal mathematical model on the assumption of using a lunar seismometer designed for SELENE-2. Thermal vacuum tests were also conducted by using a thermal evaluation model in order to estimate the validity of some thermal parameters assumed in the computed thermal model. The numerical and experimental results indicated a sufficient survivability potential of the concept of our thermal control system.

A thermal control system for long-term survival of scientific instruments on lunar surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogawa, K.; Iijima, Y.; Tanaka, S.; Sakatani, N.; Otake, H.

2014-01-01

A thermal control system is being developed for scientific instruments placed on the lunar surface. This thermal control system, Lunar Mission Survival Module (MSM), was designed for scientific instruments that are planned to be operated for over a year in the future Japanese lunar landing mission SELENE-2. For the long-term operations, the lunar surface is a severe environment because the soil (regolith) temperature varies widely from nighttime −200 degC to daytime 100 degC approximately in which space electronics can hardly survive. The MSM has a tent of multi-layered insulators and performs a “regolith mound”. Temperature of internal devices is less variable just like in the lunar underground layers. The insulators retain heat in the regolith soil in the daylight, and it can keep the device warm in the night. We conducted the concept design of the lunar survival module, and estimated its potential by a thermal mathematical model on the assumption of using a lunar seismometer designed for SELENE-2. Thermal vacuum tests were also conducted by using a thermal evaluation model in order to estimate the validity of some thermal parameters assumed in the computed thermal model. The numerical and experimental results indicated a sufficient survivability potential of the concept of our thermal control system

Battery and Fuel Cell Development Goals for the Lunar Surface and Lander

Science.gov (United States)

Mercer, Carolyn R.

2008-01-01

NASA is planning a return to the moon and requires advances in energy storage technology for its planned lunar lander and lunar outpost. This presentation describes NASA s overall mission goals and technical goals for batteries and fuel cells to support the mission. Goals are given for secondary batteries for the lander s ascent stage and suits for extravehicular activity on the lunar surface, and for fuel cells for the lander s descent stage and regenerative fuel cells for outpost power. An overall approach to meeting these goals is also presented.

Fluxgate vector magnetometers: Compensated multi-sensor devices for ground, UAV and airborne magnetic survey for various application in near surface geophysics

Science.gov (United States)

Gavazzi, Bruno; Le Maire, Pauline; Munschy, Marc; Dechamp, Aline

2017-04-01

Fluxgate 3-components magnetometer is the kind of magnetometer which offers the lightest weight and lowest power consumption for the measurement of the intensity of the magnetic field. Moreover, vector measurements make it the only kind of magnetometer allowing compensation of magnetic perturbations due to the equipment carried with it. Unfortunately, Fluxgate magnetometers are quite uncommon in near surface geophysics due to the difficulty to calibrate them precisely. The recent advances in calibration of the sensors and magnetic compensation of the devices from a simple process on the field led Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg to develop instruments for georeferenced magnetic measurements at different scales - from submetric measurements on the ground to aircraft-conducted acquisition through the wide range offered by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) - with a precision in the order of 1 nT. Such equipment is used for different kind of application: structural geology, pipes and UXO detection, archaeology.

An Evidence-based Approach to Developing a Management Strategy for Medical Contingencies on the Lunar Surface: The NASA/Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) 2006 Lunar Medical Contingency Simulation at Devon Island

Science.gov (United States)

Scheuring, R. A.; Jones, J. A.; Lee, P.; Comtois, J. M.; Chappell, S.; Rafiq, A.; Braham, S.; Hodgson, E.; Sullivan, P.; Wilkinson, N.;

The Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission

Science.gov (United States)

Riris, H.; Cavanaugh, J.; Sun, X.; Liiva, P.; Rodriguez, M.; Neuman, G.

2017-11-01

The Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) instrument [1-3] on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission, launched on June 18th, 2009, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, will provide a precise global lunar topographic map using laser altimetry. LOLA will assist in the selection of landing sites on the Moon for future robotic and human exploration missions and will attempt to detect the presence of water ice on or near the surface, which is one of the objectives of NASA's Exploration Program. Our present knowledge of the topography of the Moon is inadequate for determining safe landing areas for NASA's future lunar exploration missions. Only those locations, surveyed by the Apollo missions, are known with enough detail. Knowledge of the position and characteristics of the topographic features on the scale of a lunar lander are crucial for selecting safe landing sites. Our present knowledge of the rest of the lunar surface is at approximately 1 km kilometer level and in many areas, such as the lunar far side, is on the order of many kilometers. LOLA aims to rectify that and provide a precise map of the lunar surface on both the far and near side of the moon. LOLA uses short (6 ns) pulses from a single laser through a Diffractive Optical Element (DOE) to produce a five-beam pattern that illuminates the lunar surface. For each beam, LOLA measures the time of flight (range), pulse spreading (surface roughness), and transmit/return energy (surface reflectance). LOLA will produce a high-resolution global topographic model and global geodetic framework that enables precise targeting, safe landing, and surface mobility to carry out exploratory activities. In addition, it will characterize the polar illumination environment, and image permanently shadowed regions of the lunar surface to identify possible locations of surface ice crystals in shadowed polar craters.

Application of automation and robotics to lunar surface human exploration operations

Science.gov (United States)

Woodcock, Gordon R.; Sherwood, Brent; Buddington, Patricia A.; Bares, Leona C.; Folsom, Rolfe; Mah, Robert; Lousma, Jack

1990-01-01

Major results of a study applying automation and robotics to lunar surface base buildup and operations concepts are reported. The study developed a reference base scenario with specific goals, equipment concepts, robot concepts, activity schedules and buildup manifests. It examined crew roles, contingency cases and system reliability, and proposed a set of technologies appropriate and necessary for effective lunar operations. This paper refers readers to four companion papers for quantitative details where appropriate.

Mossbauer analysis of Luna 16 lunar surface material

Science.gov (United States)

Nady, D. L.; Cher, L.; Kulcsar, K.

1974-01-01

Samples of Apollo 11 lunar surface material were studied by the Mossbauer effect. Owing to the small number of other resonant isotopes, all measurements were made with Fe-57 nuclei. The principal constituents of the material were as follows: Iron containing silicates (olivine, pyroxene, and so on), ilmenite (FeTiO3), and metallic iron.

Deep Space Gateway Support of Lunar Surface Ops and Tele-Operational Transfer of Surface Assets to the Next Landing Site

Science.gov (United States)

Kring, D. A.

2018-02-01

The Deep Space Gateway can support astronauts on the lunar surface, providing them a departure and returning rendezvous point, a communication relay from the lunar farside to Earth, and a transfer point to Orion for return to Earth.

Scalable Lunar Surface Networks and Adaptive Orbit Access, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Based on our proposed innovations and accomplished work in Phase I, we will focus on developing the new MAC protocol and hybrid routing protocol for lunar surface...

Long-term vacuum tests of single-mode vertical cavity surface emitting laser diodes used for a scalar magnetometer

Science.gov (United States)

Hagen, C.; Ellmeier, M.; Piris, J.; Lammegger, R.; Jernej, I.; Magnes, W.; Murphy, E.; Pollinger, A.; Erd, C.; Baumjohann, W.

2017-11-01

Scalar magnetometers measure the magnitude of the magnetic field, while vector magnetometers (mostly fluxgate magnetometers) produce three-component outputs proportional to the magnitude and the direction of the magnetic field. While scalar magnetometers have a high accuracy, vector magnetometers suffer from parameter drifts and need to be calibrated during flight. In some cases, full science return can only be achieved by a combination of vector and scalar magnetometers.

A radiation analysis of lunar surface habitats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Angelis, G.; Wilson, J.W.; Tripathi, R.K.; Clowdsley, M.S.; Nealy, J.E.

2003-01-01

An analysis is performed on the radiation environment found on the surface of the Moon, and applied to different possible lunar base mission scenarios. An optimization technique has been used to minimize the astronaut radiation exposure and at the same time control the effect of shielding, in terms of mass addition and material choice, as a mission cost driver. The optimization process performs minimization of mass along all phases of a mission scenario, considered in terms of time frame, equipment, location, crew characteristics and performance required, radiation exposure annual and career limit constraints (those proposed in NCRP 132), and implementation of the ALARA principle. In the lunar environment manned habitats are to host future crews involved in the construction and/or in the utilization of moon based infrastructure. Three different kinds of lunar missions are considered in the analysis, Moon Base Construction Phase, during which astronauts are on the surface just to build an outpost for future resident crews, Moon Base Outpost Phase, during which astronaut crews are resident but continuing exploration and installation activities, and Moon Base Routine Phase, with shifting resident crews. In each scenario various kinds of habitats, from very simple shelters to more complex bases, are considered in detail (e.g. shape, thickness, materials, etc) with considerations of various shielding strategies. The results for all scenarios clearly showed that the direct exposure to the space environment like in transfers and EVAs phases gives the most of the dose, with the proposed shielded habitats and shelters giving quite a good protection from radiation. Operational constraints on hardware and scenarios have all been considered by the optimization techniques. Within the limits of this preliminary analysis, the three Moon Base related mission scenarios are perfectly feasible from the astronaut radiation safety point of view with the currently adopted and proposed

Lunar Flashlight and Other Lunar Cubesats

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Barbara

2017-01-01

Water is a human-exploitable resource. Lunar Flashlight is a Cubesat mission to detect and map lunar surface ice in permanently-shadowed regions of the lunar south pole. EM-1 will carry 13 Cubesat-class missions to further smallsat science and exploration capabilities; much room to infuse LEO cubesat methodology, models, and technology. Exploring the value of concurrent measurements to measure dynamical processes of water sources and sinks.

A Lunar Surface System Supportability Technology Development Roadmap

Science.gov (United States)

Oeftering, Richard C.; Struk, Peter M.; Taleghani, barmac K.

2011-01-01

This paper discusses the establishment of a Supportability Technology Development Roadmap as a guide for developing capabilities intended to allow NASA s Constellation program to enable a supportable, sustainable and affordable exploration of the Moon and Mars. Presented is a discussion of supportability, in terms of space facility maintenance, repair and related logistics and a comparison of how lunar outpost supportability differs from the International Space Station. Supportability lessons learned from NASA and Department of Defense experience and their impact on a future lunar outpost is discussed. A supportability concept for future missions to the Moon and Mars that involves a transition from a highly logistics dependent to a logistically independent operation is discussed. Lunar outpost supportability capability needs are summarized and a supportability technology development strategy is established. The resulting Lunar Surface Systems Supportability Strategy defines general criteria that will be used to select technologies that will enable future flight crews to act effectively to respond to problems and exploit opportunities in an environment of extreme resource scarcity and isolation. This strategy also introduces the concept of exploiting flight hardware as a supportability resource. The technology roadmap involves development of three mutually supporting technology categories, Diagnostics Test and Verification, Maintenance and Repair, and Scavenging and Recycling. The technology roadmap establishes two distinct technology types, "Embedded" and "Process" technologies, with different implementation and thus different criteria and development approaches. The supportability technology roadmap addresses the technology readiness level, and estimated development schedule for technology groups that includes down-selection decision gates that correlate with the lunar program milestones. The resulting supportability technology roadmap is intended to develop a set

Remote compositional mapping of lunar titanium and surface maturity

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, J. R.; Larson, S. M.; Singer, Robert B.

1991-01-01

Lunar ilmenite (FeTiO3) is a potential resource capable of providing oxygen for life support and spacecraft propellant for future lunar bases. Estimates of TiO2 content in mature mare soils can be made using an empirical relation between the 400/500 nm reflectance ratio and TiO2 wt percent. A TiO2 abundance map was constructed for the entire near-side lunar maria accurate to + or - 2 wt percent TiO2 using CCD images obtained at the Tumamoc Hill 0.5 m telescope in Tucson, employing bandpass filters centered at 400 and 560 nm. Highest TiO2 regions in the maria are located in western Mare Tranquillitatis. Greater contrast differences between regions on the lunar surface can be obtained using 400/730 nm ratio images. The relation might well be refined to accommodate this possibly more sensitive indicator of TiO2 content. Another potential lunar resource is solar wind-implanted He-3 which may be used as a fuel for fusion reactors. Relative soil maturity, as determined by agglutinate content, can be estimated from 950/560 nm ration images. Immature soils appear darker in this ratio since such soils contain abundant pyroxene grains which cause strong absorption centered near 950 nm due Fe(2+) crystal field transitions. A positive correlation exists between the amount of He-3 and TiO2 content in lunar soils, suggesting that regions high in TiO2 should also be high in He-3. Reflectance spectrophotometry in the region 320 to 870 nm was also obtained for several regions. Below about 340 nm, these spectra show variations in relative reflectance that are caused by as yet unassigned near-UV absorptions due to compositional differences.

Kaguya observations of the lunar wake in the terrestrial foreshock: Surface potential change by bow-shock reflected ions

Science.gov (United States)

Nishino, Masaki N.; Harada, Yuki; Saito, Yoshifumi; Tsunakawa, Hideo; Takahashi, Futoshi; Yokota, Shoichiro; Matsushima, Masaki; Shibuya, Hidetoshi; Shimizu, Hisayoshi

2017-09-01

There forms a tenuous region called the wake behind the Moon in the solar wind, and plasma entry/refilling into the wake is a fundamental problem of the lunar plasma science. High-energy ions and electrons in the foreshock of the Earth's magnetosphere were detected at the lunar surface in the Apollo era, but their effects on the lunar night-side environment have never been studied. Here we show the first observation of bow-shock reflected protons by Kaguya (SELENE) spacecraft in orbit around the Moon, confirming that solar wind plasma reflected at the terrestrial bow shock can easily access the deepest lunar wake when the Moon stays in the foreshock (We name this mechanism 'type-3 entry'). In a continuous type-3 event, low-energy electron beams from the lunar night-side surface are not obvious even though the spacecraft location is magnetically connected to the lunar surface. On the other hand, in an intermittent type-3 entry event, the kinetic energy of upward-going field-aligned electron beams decreases from ∼ 80 eV to ∼ 20 eV or electron beams disappear as the bow-shock reflected ions come accompanied by enhanced downward electrons. According to theoretical treatment based on electric current balance at the lunar surface including secondary electron emission by incident electron and ion impact, we deduce that incident ions would be accompanied by a few to several times higher flux of an incident electron flux, which well fits observed downward fluxes. We conclude that impact by the bow-shock reflected ions and electrons raises the electrostatic potential of the lunar night-side surface.

A Basic LEGO Reactor Design for the Provision of Lunar Surface Power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

John Darrell Bess

2008-01-01

A final design has been established for a basic Lunar Evolutionary Growth-Optimized (LEGO) Reactor using current and near-term technologies. The LEGO Reactor is a modular, fast-fission, heatpipe-cooled, clustered-reactor system for lunar-surface power generation. The reactor is divided into subcritical units that can be safely launched with lunar shipments from Earth, and then emplaced directly into holes drilled into the lunar regolith to form a critical reactor assembly. The regolith would not just provide radiation shielding, but serve as neutron-reflector material as well. The reactor subunits are to be manufactured using proven and tested materials for use in radiation environments, such as uranium-dioxide fuel, stainless-steel cladding and structural support, and liquid-sodium heatpipes. The LEGO Reactor system promotes reliability, safety, and ease of manufacture and testing at the cost of an increase in launch mass per overall rated power level and a reduction in neutron economy when compared to a single-reactor system. A single unshielded LEGO Reactor subunit has an estimated mass of approximately 448 kg and provides approximately 5 kWe. The overall envelope for a single subunit with fully extended radiator panels has a height of 8.77 m and a diameter of 0.50 m. Six subunits could provide sufficient power generation throughout the initial stages of establishing a lunar outpost. Portions of the reactor may be neutronically decoupled to allow for reduced power production during unmanned periods of base operations. During later stages of lunar-base development, additional subunits may be emplaced and coupled into the existing LEGO Reactor network, subject to lunar base power demand. Improvements in reactor control methods, fuel form and matrix, shielding, as well as power conversion and heat rejection techniques can help generate an even more competitive LEGO Reactor design. Further modifications in the design could provide power generative opportunities for

Relationship between lunar tidal enhancements in the equatorial electrojet and tropospheric eddy heat flux during stratospheric sudden warmings

Science.gov (United States)

Siddiqui, T. A.; Yamazaki, Y.; Stolle, C.; Lühr, H.; Matzka, J.

2017-12-01

A number of studies in recent years have reported about the lunar tidal enhancements in the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) from ground- and space-based magnetometer measurements during stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) events. In this study, we make use of the ground magnetometer recordings at Huancayo observatory in Peru for the years 1978 - 2013 to derive a relationship between the lunar tidal enhancements in the EEJ and tropospheric eddy heat fluxes at 100 hPa during the SSW events. Tropospheric eddy heat fluxes are used to quantify the amount of wave activity entering the stratosphere. Anomalously large upward wave activity is known to precede the polar vortex breakdown during SSWs. We make use of the superposed epoch analysis method to determine the temporal relations between lunar tidal enhancements and eddy heat flux anomalies during SSWs, in order to demonstrate the causal relationship between these two phenomena. We also compare the lunar tidal enhancements and eddy heat flux anomalies for vortex split and for vortex displaced SSWs. It is found that larger lunar tidal enhancements are recorded for vortex split events, as compared to vortex displaced events. This confirms earlier observation; larger heat flux anomalies are recorded during vortex split SSW events than the heat flux anomalies during vortex displaced SSW events. Further, the temporal relations of lunar tidal enhancements in the EEJ have been compared separately for both the QBO phases and with the phases of the moon with respect to the central epoch of SSWs by means of the superposed epoch analysis approach. The EEJ lunar tidal enhancements in the east phase of QBO are found to be larger than the lunar tidal enhancements in the west phase of QBO. The phase of moon relative to the central SSW epoch also affects the lunar tidal enhancement in the EEJ. It is found that the lunar tidal enhancements are significantly larger when the day of new or full moon lies near the central SSW epoch, as compared

Longitudinal, seasonal and solar cycle variation in lunar tide influence on the equatorial electrojet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yizengaw, Endawoke; Carter, Brett A.

2017-01-01

It has been well documented that the lunar tidal waves can modulate the ionospheric electrodynamics and create a visible influence on the equatorial electrojet (EEJ). The lunar tide influence gets intensified around noon, primarily during new and full Moon periods. However, the longitudinal, seasonal and solar cycle variability in the lunar tide influence on ionospheric current systems is not well understood yet. In order to investigate this, 17 years (1998-2014) of extensive magnetometer observations at four longitudinal sectors (western American, western and eastern African, and Asian) have been analyzed. All observations performed during magnetically active periods (K p >3) have been excluded for this study to eliminate storm contributions to the geomagnetic field variation at the geomagnetic equator. This study's quantitative analysis revealed significant longitudinal, seasonal and solar cycle dependence of the lunar tide influence on the equatorial electrojet.

Longitudinal, seasonal and solar cycle variation in lunar tide influence on the equatorial electrojet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yizengaw, Endawoke [Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (United States). Inst. for Scientific Research; Carter, Brett A. [RMIT Univ., Melbourne, VIC (Australia). SPACE Research Centre

2017-07-01

It has been well documented that the lunar tidal waves can modulate the ionospheric electrodynamics and create a visible influence on the equatorial electrojet (EEJ). The lunar tide influence gets intensified around noon, primarily during new and full Moon periods. However, the longitudinal, seasonal and solar cycle variability in the lunar tide influence on ionospheric current systems is not well understood yet. In order to investigate this, 17 years (1998-2014) of extensive magnetometer observations at four longitudinal sectors (western American, western and eastern African, and Asian) have been analyzed. All observations performed during magnetically active periods (K{sub p}>3) have been excluded for this study to eliminate storm contributions to the geomagnetic field variation at the geomagnetic equator. This study's quantitative analysis revealed significant longitudinal, seasonal and solar cycle dependence of the lunar tide influence on the equatorial electrojet.

Lunar Riometry

Science.gov (United States)

Lazio, J.; Jones, D. L.; MacDowall, R. J.; Burns, J. O.; Kasper, J. C.

2011-12-01

The lunar exosphere is the exemplar of a plasma near the surface of an airless body. Exposed to both the solar and interstellar radiation fields, the lunar exosphere is mostly ionized, and enduring questions regarding its properties include its density and vertical extent and its behavior over time, including modification by landers. Relative ionospheric measurements (riometry) are based on the simple physical principle that electromagnetic waves cannot propagate through a partially or fully ionized medium below the plasma frequency, and riometers have been deployed on the Earth in numerous remote and hostile environments. A multi-frequency riometer on the lunar surface would be able to monitor, in situ, the peak plasma density of the lunar exosphere over time. We describe a concept for a riometer implemented as a secondary science payload on future lunar landers, such as those recommended in the recent Planetary Sciences Decadal Survey report. While the prime mission of such a riometer would be probing the lunar exosphere, our concept would also be capable to measuring the properties of nanometer- to micron-scale dust. The LUNAR consortium is funded by the NASA Lunar Science Institute to investigate concepts for astrophysical observatories on the Moon. Part of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with NASA.

Lunar transportation system

Science.gov (United States)

1993-07-01

The University Space Research Association (USRA) requested the University of Minnesota Spacecraft Design Team to design a lunar transportation infrastructure. This task was a year long design effort culminating in a complete conceptual design and presentation at Johnson Space Center. The mission objective of the design group was to design a system of vehicles to bring a habitation module, cargo, and crew to the lunar surface from LEO and return either or both crew and cargo safely to LEO while emphasizing component commonality, reusability, and cost effectiveness. During the course of the design, the lunar transportation system (LTS) has taken on many forms. The final design of the system is composed of two vehicles, a lunar transfer vehicle (LTV) and a lunar excursion vehicle (LEV). The LTV serves as an efficient orbital transfer vehicle between the earth and the moon while the LEV carries crew and cargo to the lunar surface. Presented in the report are the mission analysis, systems layout, orbital mechanics, propulsion systems, structural and thermal analysis, and crew systems, avionics, and power systems for this lunar transportation concept.

Evaluation of Sulfur 'Concrete' for Use as a Construction Material on the Lunar Surface

Science.gov (United States)

Grugel, R. N.

2008-01-01

Combining molten sulfur with any number of aggregate materials forms, when solid, a mixture having attributes similar, if not better, to conventional water-based concrete. As a result the use of sulfur "concrete" on Earth is well established, particularly in corrosive environments. Consequently, discovery of troilite (FeS) on the lunar surface prompted numerous scenarios about its reduction to elemental sulfur for use, in combination with lunar regolith, as a potential construction material; not requiring water, a precious resource, for its manufacture is an obvious advantage. However, little is known about the viability of sulfur concrete in an environment typified by extreme temperatures and essentially no atmosphere. The experimental work presented here evaluates the response of pure sulfur and sulfur concrete subjected to laboratory conditions that approach those expected on the lunar surface, the results suggesting a narrow window of application.

Development of a Lunar Surface Architecture Using the Deep Space Gateway

Science.gov (United States)

Corrigan, A. M.; Kitmanyen, V. A.; Prakash, A.

2018-02-01

Prior to sending crews to Mars, the ability to perform activities intended for martian missions must first be thoroughly tested and successfully demonstrated in a similar environment. This paper outlines a lunar surface architecture to meet this goal.

The Lunar Dust Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Szalay, Jamey Robert

Planetary bodies throughout the solar system are continually bombarded by dust particles, largely originating from cometary activities and asteroidal collisions. Surfaces of bodies with thick atmospheres, such as Venus, Earth, Mars and Titan are mostly protected from incoming dust impacts as these particles ablate in their atmospheres as 'shooting stars'. However, the majority of bodies in the solar system have no appreciable atmosphere and their surfaces are directly exposed to the flux of high speed dust grains. Impacts onto solid surfaces in space generate charged and neutral gas clouds, as well as solid secondary ejecta dust particles. Gravitationally bound ejecta clouds forming dust exospheres were recognized by in situ dust instruments around the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and had not yet been observed near bodies with refractory regolith surfaces before NASA's Lunar Dust and Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission. In this thesis, we first present the measurements taken by the Lunar Dust Explorer (LDEX), aboard LADEE, which discovered a permanently present, asymmetric dust cloud surrounding the Moon. The global characteristics of the lunar dust cloud are discussed as a function of a variety of variables such as altitude, solar longitude, local time, and lunar phase. These results are compared with models for lunar dust cloud generation. Second, we present an analysis of the groupings of impacts measured by LDEX, which represent detections of dense ejecta plumes above the lunar surface. These measurements are put in the context of understanding the response of the lunar surface to meteoroid bombardment and how to use other airless bodies in the solar system as detectors for their local meteoroid environment. Third, we present the first in-situ dust measurements taken over the lunar sunrise terminator. Having found no excess of small grains in this region, we discuss its implications for the putative population of electrostatically lofted dust.

Advanced construction management for lunar base construction - Surface operations planner

Science.gov (United States)

Kehoe, Robert P.

1992-01-01

The study proposes a conceptual solution and lays the framework for developing a new, sophisticated and intelligent tool for a lunar base construction crew to use. This concept integrates expert systems for critical decision making, virtual reality for training, logistics and laydown optimization, automated productivity measurements, and an advanced scheduling tool to form a unique new planning tool. The concept features extensive use of computers and expert systems software to support the actual work, while allowing the crew to control the project from the lunar surface. Consideration is given to a logistics data base, laydown area management, flexible critical progress scheduler, video simulation of assembly tasks, and assembly information and tracking documentation.

Observation of the lunar surface by GRS in KAGUYA (SELENE). To solve mystery of moon and manned landing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasebe, Nobuyuki; Kobayashi, Shingo

2009-01-01

The researches, resources and environment of the moon are reported. The main results such as the magma ocean hypothesis by the Apollo program, the lunar map by Clementine probe and the concentration of Th in the moon by Lunar Prospector probe are explained. B.L. Jolliff et al. proposed the moon consisted of three areas such as the Procellarum KREEP Terrane (PKT), South-Pole Aitken Terrane (SPAT) and Feldspathic Highland Terrane (FHT). The radiations on the lunar surface contain the galactic cosmic ray, solar particle event, second particles produced by interaction between the high energy particles and the materials on the lunar surface, and natural radioactivity from U, Th and K. The gamma ray spectrum on the lunar surface observed by Kaguya gamma ray spectrometer (KGRS) showed the very sharp spectrum of O, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, K, Ti, Fe, Th and U. The distribution of Th in PKT, SPAT and FHT was shown. The outline of KGRS, the energy resolutions of many kinds of gamma ray spectrometers, and the gamma ray energies of main elements are illustrated. (S.Y.)

Longitudinal, seasonal and solar cycle variation in lunar tide influence on the equatorial electrojet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Yizengaw

2017-04-01

Full Text Available It has been well documented that the lunar tidal waves can modulate the ionospheric electrodynamics and create a visible influence on the equatorial electrojet (EEJ. The lunar tide influence gets intensified around noon, primarily during new and full Moon periods. However, the longitudinal, seasonal and solar cycle variability in the lunar tide influence on ionospheric current systems is not well understood yet. In order to investigate this, 17 years (1998–2014 of extensive magnetometer observations at four longitudinal sectors (western American, western and eastern African, and Asian have been analyzed. All observations performed during magnetically active periods (Kp>3 have been excluded for this study to eliminate storm contributions to the geomagnetic field variation at the geomagnetic equator. This study's quantitative analysis revealed significant longitudinal, seasonal and solar cycle dependence of the lunar tide influence on the equatorial electrojet.

Yet Another Lunar Surface Geologic Exploration Architecture Concept (What, Again?): A Senior Field Geologist's Integrated View

Science.gov (United States)

Eppler, D. B.

2015-01-01

Lunar surface geological exploration should be founded on a number of key elements that are seemingly disparate, but which can form an integrated operational concept when properly conceived and deployed. If lunar surface geological exploration is to be useful, this integration of key elements needs to be undertaken throughout the development of both mission hardware, training and operational concepts. These elements include the concept of mission class, crew makeup and training, surface mobility assets that are matched with mission class, and field tools and IT assets that make data collection, sharing and archiving transparent to the surface crew.

AN INTEGRATED PHOTOGRAMMETRIC AND PHOTOCLINOMETRIC APPROACH FOR PIXEL-RESOLUTION 3D MODELLING OF LUNAR SURFACE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. C. Liu

2018-04-01

Full Text Available High-resolution 3D modelling of lunar surface is important for lunar scientific research and exploration missions. Photogrammetry is known for 3D mapping and modelling from a pair of stereo images based on dense image matching. However dense matching may fail in poorly textured areas and in situations when the image pair has large illumination differences. As a result, the actual achievable spatial resolution of the 3D model from photogrammetry is limited by the performance of dense image matching. On the other hand, photoclinometry (i.e., shape from shading is characterised by its ability to recover pixel-wise surface shapes based on image intensity and imaging conditions such as illumination and viewing directions. More robust shape reconstruction through photoclinometry can be achieved by incorporating images acquired under different illumination conditions (i.e., photometric stereo. Introducing photoclinometry into photogrammetric processing can therefore effectively increase the achievable resolution of the mapping result while maintaining its overall accuracy. This research presents an integrated photogrammetric and photoclinometric approach for pixel-resolution 3D modelling of the lunar surface. First, photoclinometry is interacted with stereo image matching to create robust and spatially well distributed dense conjugate points. Then, based on the 3D point cloud derived from photogrammetric processing of the dense conjugate points, photoclinometry is further introduced to derive the 3D positions of the unmatched points and to refine the final point cloud. The approach is able to produce one 3D point for each image pixel within the overlapping area of the stereo pair so that to obtain pixel-resolution 3D models. Experiments using the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera - Narrow Angle Camera (LROC NAC images show the superior performances of the approach compared with traditional photogrammetric technique. The results and findings from this

Interplanetary and lunar surface SP-100 nuclear power applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Josloff, A.T.; Shepard, N.F.; Smith, M.; Stephen, J.D.

1992-01-01

This paper describes how the SP-100 Space Reactor Power System (SRPS) can be tailored to meet the specific requirements for a lunar surface power system to meet the needs of the consolidation and utilization phases outlined in the 90-day NASA SEI study report. This same basic power system can also be configured to obtain the low specific masses needed to enable robotic interplanetary science missions employing Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP). In both cases it is shown that the SP-100 SRPS can meet the specific requirements. For interplanetary NEP missions, performance upgrades currently being developed in the area of light weight radiators and improved thermoelectric material are assumed to be technology ready in the year 2000 time frame. For lunar applications, some system rearrangement and enclosure of critical components are necessary modifications to the present baseline design

Widespread distribution of OH/H2O on the lunar surface inferred from spectral data.

Science.gov (United States)

Bandfield, Joshua L; Poston, Michael J; Klima, Rachel L; Edwards, Christopher S

2018-01-01

Remote sensing data from lunar orbiters have revealed spectral features consistent with the presence of OH or H 2 O on the lunar surface. Analyses of data from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper spectrometer onboard the Chandryaan-1 spacecraft have suggested that OH/H 2 O is recycled on diurnal timescales and persists only at high latitudes. However, the spatial distribution and temporal variability of the OH/H 2 O, as well as its source, remain uncertain. Here we incorporate a physics-based thermal correction into analysis of reflectance spectra from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper and find that prominent absorption features consistent with OH/H 2 O can be present at all latitudes, local times, and surface types examined. This suggests the widespread presence of OH/H 2 O on the lunar surface without significant diurnal migration. We suggest that the spectra are consistent with the production of OH in space weathered materials by the solar wind implantation of H + and formation of OH at crystal defect sites, as opposed to H 2 O sourced from the lunar interior. Regardless of the specific composition or formation mechanism, we conclude that OH/H 2 O can be present on the Moon under thermal conditions more wide-ranging than previously recognized.

Lunar electrostatic effects and protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Yongwei; Yuan, Qingyun; Xiong, Jiuliang

2013-01-01

The space environment and features on the moon surface are factors in strong electrostatic electrification. Static electricity will be produced in upon friction between lunar soil and detectors or astronauts on the lunar surface. Lunar electrostatic environment effects from lunar exploration equipment are very harmful. Lunar dust with electrostatic charge may enter the equipment or even cover the instruments. It can affect the normal performance of moon detectors. Owing to the huge environmental differences between the moon and the earth, the electrostatic protection technology on the earth can not be applied. In this paper, we review the electrostatic characteristics of lunar dust, its effects on aerospace equipment and moon static elimination technologies. It was concluded that the effect of charged lunar dust on detectors and astronauts should be completely researched as soon as possible.

Lunar Circular Structure Classification from Chang 'e 2 High Resolution Lunar Images with Convolutional Neural Network

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, X. G.; Liu, J. J.; Zuo, W.; Chen, W. L.; Liu, Y. X.

2018-04-01

Circular structures are widely distributed around the lunar surface. The most typical of them could be lunar impact crater, lunar dome, et.al. In this approach, we are trying to use the Convolutional Neural Network to classify the lunar circular structures from the lunar images.

Building an Economical and Sustainable Lunar Infrastructure to Enable Lunar Industrialization

Science.gov (United States)

Zuniga, Allison F.; Turner, Mark; Rasky, Daniel; Loucks, Mike; Carrico, John; Policastri, Daniel

2017-01-01

A new concept study was initiated to examine the architecture needed to gradually develop an economical, evolvable and sustainable lunar infrastructure using a public/private partnerships approach. This approach would establish partnership agreements between NASA and industry teams to develop a lunar infrastructure system that would be mutually beneficial. This approach would also require NASA and its industry partners to share costs in the development phase and then transfer operation of these infrastructure services back to its industry owners in the execution phase. These infrastructure services may include but are not limited to the following: lunar cargo transportation, power stations, communication towers and satellites, autonomous rover operations, landing pads and resource extraction operations. The public/private partnerships approach used in this study leveraged best practices from NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program which introduced an innovative and economical approach for partnering with industry to develop commercial cargo services to the International Space Station. This program was planned together with the ISS Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contracts which was responsible for initiating commercial cargo delivery services to the ISS for the first time. The public/private partnerships approach undertaken in the COTS program proved to be very successful in dramatically reducing development costs for these ISS cargo delivery services as well as substantially reducing operational costs. To continue on this successful path towards installing economical infrastructure services for LEO and beyond, this new study, named Lunar COTS (Commercial Operations and Transport Services), was conducted to examine extending the NASA COTS model to cis-lunar space and the lunar surface. The goals of the Lunar COTS concept are to: 1) develop and demonstrate affordable and commercial cis-lunar and surface capabilities, such as lunar cargo

Walking Wheel Design for Lunar Rove-Rand and Its Application Simulation Based on Virtual Lunar Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhao Yibing

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The lunar rover design is the key problem of planet exploration. It is extraordinarily important for researchers to fully understand the lunar terrain and propose the reasonable lunar rover. In this paper, one new type of walking wheel modeled on impeller is presented based on vehicle terramechanics. The passive earth pressure of soil mechanics put forward by C. A. Coulomb is employed to obtain the wheel traction force. Some kinematics simulations are conducted for lunar rover model. Besides, this paper presents how to model lunar landing terrain containing typical statistic characteristic including craters and boulders; then, the second step is to construct basal lunar surface by using Brown Fractal Motion and the next is to add craters and boulders by means of known diameter algorithm and Random-create Diameter Algorithm. By means of importing 2D plain of lunar surface into UG, 3D parasolid is modeled and finally imported to ADAMS, which is available for lunar rover kinematics and dynamics simulation. Lastly, based on power spectrum curve of lunar terrain, the spectral characteristic of three different lunar terrain roughness is educed by using reverse engineering algorithm. Simulation results demonstrated the frequency of vibration mechanics properties of different roughness surfaces.

View of the Lunar Module 'Orion' and Lunar Roving Vehicle during first EVA

Science.gov (United States)

1972-01-01

A view of the Lunar Module (LM) 'Orion' and Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), as photographed by Astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot, during the first Apollo 16 extravehicular activity (EVA-1) at the Descates landing site. Astronaut John W. Young, commander, can be seen directly behind the LRV. The lunar surface feature in the left background is Stone Mountain.

Lunar feldspathic meteorites: Constraints on the geology of the lunar highlands, and the origin of the lunar crust

Science.gov (United States)

Gross, Juliane; Treiman, Allan H.; Mercer, Celestine N.

2014-02-01

The composition of the lunar crust provides clues about the processes that formed it and hence contains information on the origin and evolution of the Moon. Current understanding of lunar evolution is built on the Lunar Magma Ocean hypothesis that early in its history, the Moon was wholly or mostly molten. This hypothesis is based on analyses of Apollo samples of ferroan anorthosites (>90% plagioclase; molar Mg/(Mg+Fe)=Mg#Moon's surface, and remote sensing data, show that ferroan anorthosites are not globally distributed and that the Apollo highland samples, used as a basis for the model, are influenced by ejecta from the Imbrium basin. In this study we evaluate anorthosites from all currently available adequately described lunar highland meteorites, representing a more widespread sampling of the lunar highlands than Apollo samples alone, and find that ∼80% of them are significantly more magnesian than Apollo ferroan anorthosites. Interestingly, Luna mission anorthosites, collected outside the continuous Imbrium ejecta, are also highly magnesian. If the lunar highland crust consists dominantly of magnesian anorthosites, as suggested by their abundance in samples sourced outside Imbrium ejecta, a reevaluation of the Lunar Magma Ocean model is a sensible step forward in the endeavor to understand lunar evolution. Our results demonstrate that lunar anorthosites are more similar in their chemical trends and mineral abundance to terrestrial massif anorthosites than to anorthosites predicted in a Lunar Magma Ocean. This analysis does not invalidate the idea of a Lunar Magma Ocean, which seems a necessity under the giant impact hypothesis for the origin of the moon. However, it does indicate that most rocks now seen at the Moon's surface are not primary products of a magma ocean alone, but are products of more complex crustal processes.

Lunar neutron source function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kornblum, J.J.

1974-01-01

The search for a quantitative neutron source function for the lunar surface region is justified because it contributes to our understanding of the history of the lunar surface and of nuclear process occurring on the moon since its formation. A knowledge of the neutron source function and neutron flux distribution is important for the interpretation of many experimental measurements. This dissertation uses the available pertinent experimental measurements together with theoretical calculations to obtain an estimate of the lunar neutron source function below 15 MeV. Based upon reasonable assumptions a lunar neutron source function having adjustable parameters is assumed for neutrons below 15 MeV. The lunar neutron source function is composed of several components resulting from the action of cosmic rays with lunar material. A comparison with previous neutron calculations is made and significant differences are discussed. Application of the results to the problem of lunar soil histories is examined using the statistical model for soil development proposed by Fireman. The conclusion is drawn that the moon is losing mass

Initial Results from Lunar Electromagnetic Sounding with ARTEMIS

Science.gov (United States)

Fuqua, H.; Fatemi, S.; Poppe, A. R.; Delory, G. T.; Grimm, R. E.; De Pater, I.

2016-12-01

Electromagnetic Sounding constrains conducting layers of the lunar interior by observing variations in the Interplanetary Magnetic Field. Here, we focus our analysis on the time domain transfer function method locating transient events observed by two magnetometers near the Moon. We analyze ARTEMIS and Apollo magnetometer data. This analysis assumes the induced field responds undisturbed in a vacuum. In actuality, the dynamic plasma environment interacts with the induced field. Our models indicate distortion but not confinement occurs in the nightside wake cavity. Moreover, within the deep wake, near-vacuum region, distortion of the induced dipole fields due to the interaction with the wake is minimal depending on the magnitude of the induced field, the geometry of the upstream fields, and the upstream plasma parameters such as particle densities, solar wind velocity, and temperatures. Our results indicate the assumption of a vacuum dipolar response is reasonable within this minimally disturbed zone. We then interpret the ATEMIS magnetic field signal through a geophysical forward model capturing the induced response based on prescribed electrical conductivity models. We demonstrate our forward model passes benchmarking analyses and solves the magnetic induction response for any input signal as well as any 2 or 3 dimensional conductivity profile. We locate data windows according to the following criteria: (1) probe locations such that the wake probe is within 500km altitude within the wake cavity and minimally disturbed zone, and the second probe is in the free streaming solar wind; (2) a transient event consisting of an abrupt change in the magnetic field occurs enabling the observation of induction; (3) cross correlation analysis reveals the magnetic field signals are well correlated between the two probes and distances observed. Here we present initial ARTEMIS results providing further insight into the lunar interior structure. This method and modeling results

Lunar Dust and Lunar Simulant Activation, Monitoring, Solution and Cellular Toxicity Properties

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, William; Jeevarajan, A. S.

2009-01-01

During the Apollo missions, many undesirable situations were encountered that must be mitigated prior to returning humans to the moon. Lunar dust (that part of the lunar regolith less than 20 microns in diameter) was found to produce several problems with mechanical equipment and could have conceivably produced harmful physiological effects for the astronauts. For instance, the abrasive nature of the dust was found to cause malfunctions of various joints and seals of the spacecraft and suits. Additionally, though efforts were made to exclude lunar dust from the cabin of the lunar module, a significant amount of material nonetheless found its way inside. With the loss of gravity correlated with ascent from the lunar surface, much of the finer fraction of this dust began to float and was inhaled by the astronauts. The short visits tothe Moon during Apollo lessened exposure to the dust, but the plan for future lunar stays of up to six months demands that methods be developed to minimize the risk of dust inhalation. The guidelines for what constitutes "safe" exposure will guide the development of engineering controls aimed at preventing the presence of dust in the lunar habitat. This work has shown the effects of grinding on the activation level of lunar dust, the changes in dissolution properties of lunar simulant, and the production of cytokines by cellular systems. Grinding of lunar dust leads to the production of radicals in solution and increased dissolution of lunar simulant in buffers of different pH. Additionally, ground lunar simulant has been shown to promote the production of IL-6 and IL-8, pro-inflammatory cytokines, by alveolar epithelial cells. These results provide evidence of the need for further studies on these materials prior to returning to the lunar surface.

Lunar Surface Systems Supportability Technology Development Roadmap

Science.gov (United States)

Oeftering, Richard C.; Struk, Peter M.; Green, Jennifer L.; Chau, Savio N.; Curell, Philip C.; Dempsey, Cathy A.; Patterson, Linda P.; Robbins, William; Steele, Michael A.; DAnnunzio, Anthony;

Petrology of lunar rocks and implication to lunar evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Ridley, W. I.

1976-01-01

Recent advances in lunar petrology, based on studies of lunar rock samples available through the Apollo program, are reviewed. Samples of bedrock from both maria and terra have been collected where micrometeorite impact penetrated the regolith and brought bedrock to the surface, but no in situ cores have been taken. Lunar petrogenesis and lunar thermal history supported by studies of the rock sample are discussed and a tentative evolutionary scenario is constructed. Mare basalts, terra assemblages of breccias, soils, rocks, and regolith are subjected to elemental analysis, mineralogical analysis, trace content analysis, with studies of texture, ages and isotopic composition. Probable sources of mare basalts are indicated.

Impact of Water Recovery from Wastes on the Lunar Surface Mission Water Balance

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, John W.; Hogan, John Andrew; Wignarajah, Kanapathipi; Pace, Gregory S.

2010-01-01

Future extended lunar surface missions will require extensive recovery of resources to reduce mission costs and enable self-sufficiency. Water is of particular importance due to its potential use for human consumption and hygiene, general cleaning, clothes washing, radiation shielding, cooling for extravehicular activity suits, and oxygen and hydrogen production. Various water sources are inherently present or are generated in lunar surface missions, and subject to recovery. They include: initial water stores, water contained in food, human and other solid wastes, wastewaters and associated brines, ISRU water, and scavenging from residual propellant in landers. This paper presents the results of an analysis of the contribution of water recovery from life support wastes on the overall water balance for lunar surface missions. Water in human wastes, metabolic activity and survival needs are well characterized and dependable figures are available. A detailed life support waste model was developed that summarizes the composition of life support wastes and their water content. Waste processing technologies were reviewed for their potential to recover that water. The recoverable water in waste is a significant contribution to the overall water balance. The value of this contribution is discussed in the context of the other major sources and loses of water. Combined with other analyses these results provide guidance for research and technology development and down-selection.

Prospective Ukrainian lunar orbiter mission

Science.gov (United States)

Shkuratov, Y.; Litvinenko, L.; Shulga, V.; Yatskiv, Y.; Kislyuk, V.

Ukraine has launch vehicles that are able to deliver about 300 kg to the lunar orbit. Future Ukrainian lunar program may propose a polar orbiter. This orbiter should fill principal information gaps in our knowledge about the Moon after Clementine and Lunar Prospector missions and the future missions, like Smart-1, Lunar-A, and Selene. We consider that this can be provided by radar studies of the Moon with supporting optical polarimetric observations from lunar polar orbit. These experiments allow one to better understand global structure of the lunar surface in a wide range of scales, from microns to kilometers. We propose three instruments for the prospective lunar orbiter. They are: a synthetic aperture imaging radar (SAR), ground-penetrating radar (GPR), and imaging polarimeter (IP). The main purpose of SAR is to study with high resolution (50 m) the permanently shadowed sites in the lunar polar regions. These sites are cold traps for volatiles, and have a potential of resource utilization. Possible presence of water ice in the regolith in the sites makes them interesting for permanent manned bases on the Moon. Radar imaging and mapping of other interesting regions could be also planned. Multi-frequencies multi-polarization soun d ing of the lunar surface with GPR can provide information about internal structure of the lunar surface from meters to several hundred meters deep. GPR can be used for measuring the megaregolith layer properties, detection of cryptomaria, and studies of internal structure of the largest craters. IP will be a CCD camera with an additional suite of polarizers. Modest spatial resolution (100 m) should provide a total coverage or a large portion of the lunar surface in oblique viewing basically at large phase angles. Polarization degree at large (>90°) phase angles bears information about characteristic size of the regolith particles. Additional radiophysical experiments are considered with the use of the SAR system, e.g., bistatic radar

Design and characterization of a low cost CubeSat multi-band optical receiver to map water ice on the lunar surface for the Lunar Flashlight mission

Science.gov (United States)

Vinckier, Quentin; Crabtree, Karlton; Paine, Christopher G.; Hayne, Paul O.; Sellar, Glenn R.

2017-08-01

Lunar Flashlight is an innovative NASA CubeSat mission dedicated to mapping water ice in the permanently shadowed regions of the Moon, which may act as cold traps for volatiles. To this end, a multi-band reflectometer will be sent to orbit the Moon. This instrument consists of an optical receiver aligned with four lasers, each of which emits sequentially at a different wavelength in the near-infrared between 1 μm and 2 μm. The receiver measures the laser light reflected from the lunar surface; continuum/absorption band ratios are then analyzed to quantify water ice in the illuminated spot. Here, we present the current state of the optical receiver design. To optimize the optical signal-to-noise ratio, we have designed the receiver so as to maximize the laser signal collected, while minimizing the stray light reaching the detector from solarilluminated areas of the lunar surface outside the field-of-view, taking into account the complex lunar topography. Characterization plans are also discussed. This highly mass- and volume-constrained mission will demonstrate several firsts, including being one of the first CubeSats performing science measurements beyond low Earth orbit.

Lunar magnetism

Science.gov (United States)

Hood, L. L.; Sonett, C. P.; Srnka, L. J.

1984-01-01

Aspects of lunar paleomagnetic and electromagnetic sounding results which appear inconsistent with the hypothesis that an ancient core dynamo was the dominant source of the observed crustal magnetism are discussed. Evidence is summarized involving a correlation between observed magnetic anomalies and ejecta blankets from impact events which indicates the possible importance of local mechanisms involving meteoroid impact processes in generating strong magnetic fields at the lunar surface. A reply is given to the latter argument which also presents recent evidence of a lunar iron core.

Summary of the results from the lunar orbiter laser altimeter after seven years in lunar orbit

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, David E.; Zuber, Maria T.; Neumann, Gregory A.; Mazarico, Erwan; Lemoine, Frank G.; Head, James W., III; Lucey, Paul G.; Aharonson, Oded; Robinson, Mark S.; Sun, Xiaoli; Torrence, Mark H.; Barker, Michael K.; Oberst, Juergen; Duxbury, Thomas C.; Mao, Dandan; Barnouin, Olivier S.; Jha, Kopal; Rowlands, David D.; Goossens, Sander; Baker, David; Bauer, Sven; Gläser, Philipp; Lemelin, Myriam; Rosenburg, Margaret; Sori, Michael M.; Whitten, Jennifer; Mcclanahan, Timothy

2017-02-01

In June 2009 the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft was launched to the Moon. The payload consists of 7 science instruments selected to characterize sites for future robotic and human missions. Among them, the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) was designed to obtain altimetry, surface roughness, and reflectance measurements. The primary phase of lunar exploration lasted one year, following a 3-month commissioning phase. On completion of its exploration objectives, the LRO mission transitioned to a science mission. After 7 years in lunar orbit, the LOLA instrument continues to map the lunar surface. The LOLA dataset is one of the foundational datasets acquired by the various LRO instruments. LOLA provided a high-accuracy global geodetic reference frame to which past, present and future lunar observations can be referenced. It also obtained high-resolution and accurate global topography that were used to determine regions in permanent shadow at the lunar poles. LOLA further contributed to the study of polar volatiles through its unique measurement of surface brightness at zero phase, which revealed anomalies in several polar craters that may indicate the presence of water ice. In this paper, we describe the many LOLA accomplishments to date and its contribution to lunar and planetary science.

Summary of the Results from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter after Seven Years in Lunar Orbit

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, David E.; Zuber, Maria T.; Neumann, Gregory A.; Mazarico, Erwan; Lemoine, Frank G.; Head, James W., III; Lucey, Paul G.; Aharonson, Oded; Robinson, Mark S.; Sun, Xiaoli;

Precision Lunar Laser Ranging For Lunar and Gravitational Science

Science.gov (United States)

Merkowitz, S. M.; Arnold, D.; Dabney, P. W.; Livas, J. C.; McGarry, J. F.; Neumann, G. A.; Zagwodzki, T. W.

2008-01-01

Laser ranging to retroreflector arrays placed on the lunar surface by the Apollo astronauts and the Soviet Lunar missions over the past 39 years have dramatically increased our understanding of gravitational physics along with Earth and Moon geophysics, geodesy, and dynamics. Significant advances in these areas will require placing modern retroreflectors and/or active laser ranging systems at new locations on the lunar surface. Ranging to new locations will enable better measurements of the lunar librations, aiding in our understanding of the interior structure of the moon. More precise range measurements will allow us to study effects that are too small to be observed by the current capabilities as well as enabling more stringent tests of Einstein's theory of General Relativity. Setting up retroreflectors was a key part of the Apollo missions so it is natural to ask if future lunar missions should include them as well. The Apollo retroreflectors are still being used today, and nearly 40 years of ranging data has been invaluable for scientific as well as other studies such as orbital dynamics. However, the available retroreflectors all lie within 26 degrees latitude of the equator, and the most useful ones within 24 degrees longitude of the sub-earth meridian. This clustering weakens their geometrical strength.

Mineralogical and chemical properties of the lunar regolith

Science.gov (United States)

Mckay, David S.; Ming, Douglas W.

1989-01-01

The composition of lunar regolith and its attendant properties are discussed. Tables are provided listing lunar minerals, the abundance of plagioclase feldspar, pyroxene, olivine, and ilmenite in lunar materials, typical compositions of common lunar minerals, and cumulative grain-size distribution for a large number of lunar soils. Also provided are charts on the chemistry of breccias, the chemistry of lunar glass, and the comparative chemistry of surface soils for the Apollo sites. Lunar agglutinates, constructional particles made of lithic, mineral, and glass fragments welded together by a glassy matrix containing extremely fine-grained metallic iron and formed by micrometeoric impacts at the lunar surface, are discussed. Crystalline, igneous rock fragments, breccias, and lunar glass are examined. Volatiles implanted in lunar materials and regolith maturity are also addressed.

GOES Space Environment Monitor, Magnetometer

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Three orthogonal flux-gate magnetometer elements, (spinning twin fluxgate magnetometer prior to GOES-8) provide magnetic field measurements in three mutually...

Erosive Wear Characterization of Materials for Lunar Construction

Science.gov (United States)

Mpagazehe, Jeremiah N.; Street, Kenneth W., Jr.; Delgado, Irebert R.; Higgs, C. Fred, III

2012-01-01

NASA s Apollo missions revealed that exhaust from the retrorockets of landing spacecraft may act to significantly accelerate lunar dust on the surface of the Moon. A recent study by Immer et al. (C. Immer, P.T. Metzger, P.E. Hintze, A. Nick, and R. Horan, Apollo 12 Lunar Module exhaust plume impingement on Lunar Surveyor III, Icarus, Vol. 211, pp. 1089-1102, 2011) investigated coupons returned to Earth from the Surveyor III lunar probe which were subjected to lunar dust impingement by the Apollo 12 Lunar Module landing. Their study revealed that even with indirect impingement, the spacecraft sustained erosive damage from the fast-moving lunar dust particles. In this work, results are presented from a series of erosive wear experiments performed on 6061 Aluminum using the JSC-1AF lunar dust simulant. Optical profilometry was used to investigate the surface after the erosion process. It was found that even short durations of lunar dust simulant impacting at low velocities produced substantial changes in the surface.

A Brief Survey of Media Access Control, Data Link Layer, and Protocol Technologies for Lunar Surface Communications

Science.gov (United States)

Wallett, Thomas M.

2009-01-01

This paper surveys and describes some of the existing media access control and data link layer technologies for possible application in lunar surface communications and the advanced wideband Direct Sequence Code Division Multiple Access (DSCDMA) conceptual systems utilizing phased-array technology that will evolve in the next decade. Time Domain Multiple Access (TDMA) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) are standard Media Access Control (MAC) techniques that can be incorporated into lunar surface communications architectures. Another novel hybrid technique that is recently being developed for use with smart antenna technology combines the advantages of CDMA with those of TDMA. The relatively new and sundry wireless LAN data link layer protocols that are continually under development offer distinct advantages for lunar surface applications over the legacy protocols which are not wireless. Also several communication transport and routing protocols can be chosen with characteristics commensurate with smart antenna systems to provide spacecraft communications for links exhibiting high capacity on the surface of the Moon. The proper choices depend on the specific communication requirements.

Digitalization of highly precise fluxgate magnetometers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cerman, Ales; Kuna, A.; Ripka, P.

2005-01-01

This paper describes the theory behind all three known ways of digitalizing the fluxgate magnetometers: analogue magnetometers with digitalized output using high resolution ADC, application of the delta-sigma modulation to the sensor feedback loop and fully digital signal detection. At present time...... the Delta-Sigma ADCs are mostly used for the digitalization of the highly precise fluxgate magnetorneters. The relevant part of the paper demonstrates some pitfalls of their application studied during the design of the magnetometer for the new Czech scientific satellite MIMOSA. The part discussing...... the application of the A-E modulation to the sensor feedback loop theoretically derives the main advantage of this method-increasing of the modulation order and shows its real potential compared to the analog magnetometer with consequential digitalization. The comparison is realized on the modular magnetometer...

Tuned cavity magnetometer sensitivity.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Okandan, Murat; Schwindt, Peter

2009-09-01

We have developed a high sensitivity (magnetometer that utilizes a novel optical (interferometric) detection technique. Further miniaturization and low-power operation are key advantages of this magnetometer, when compared to systems using SQUIDs which require liquid Helium temperatures and associated overhead to achieve similar sensitivity levels.

Low Cost, Low Power, High Sensitivity Magnetometer

Science.gov (United States)

2008-12-01

which are used to measure the small magnetic signals from brain. Other types of vector magnetometers are fluxgate , coil based, and magnetoresistance...concentrator with the magnetometer currently used in Army multimodal sensor systems, the Brown fluxgate . One sees the MEMS fluxgate magnetometer is...Guedes, A.; et al., 2008: Hybrid - LOW COST, LOW POWER, HIGH SENSITIVITY MAGNETOMETER A.S. Edelstein*, James E. Burnette, Greg A. Fischer, M.G

Lunar resource base

Science.gov (United States)

Pulley, John; Wise, Todd K.; Roy, Claude; Richter, Phil

A lunar base that exploits local resources to enhance the productivity of a total SEI scenario is discussed. The goals were to emphasize lunar science and to land men on Mars in 2016 using significant amounts of lunar resources. It was assumed that propulsion was chemical and the surface power was non-nuclear. Three phases of the base build-up are outlined, the robotic emplacement of the first elements is detailed and a discussion of future options is included.

Lunar heat-flow experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Langseth, M. G.

1977-01-01

The principal components of the experiment were probes, each with twelve thermometers of exceptional accuracy and stability, that recorded temperature variations at the surface and in the regolith down to 2.5 m. The Apollo 15 experiment and the Apollo 17 probes recorded lunar surface and subsurface temperatures. These data provided a unique and valuable history of the interaction of solar energy with lunar surface and the effects of heat flowing from the deep interior out through the surface of the moon. The interpretation of these data resulted in a clearer definition of the thermal and mechanical properties of the upper two meters of lunar regolith, direct measurements of the gradient in mean temperature due to heat flow from the interior and a determination of the heat flow at the Apollo 15 and Apollo 17 sites.

Dependence of Lunar Surface Charging on Solar Wind Plasma Conditions and Solar Irradiation

Science.gov (United States)

Stubbs, T. J.; Farrell, W. M.; Halekas, J. S.; Burchill, J. K.; Collier, M. R.; Zimmerman, M. I.; Vondrak, R. R.; Delory, G. T.; Pfaff, R. F.

2014-01-01

The surface of the Moon is electrically charged by exposure to solar radiation on its dayside, as well as by the continuous flux of charged particles from the various plasma environments that surround it. An electric potential develops between the lunar surface and ambient plasma, which manifests itself in a near-surface plasma sheath with a scale height of order the Debye length. This study investigates surface charging on the lunar dayside and near-terminator regions in the solar wind, for which the dominant current sources are usually from the pohotoemission of electrons, J(sub p), and the collection of plasma electrons J(sub e) and ions J(sub i). These currents are dependent on the following six parameters: plasma concentration n(sub 0), electron temperature T(sub e), ion temperature T(sub i), bulk flow velocity V, photoemission current at normal incidence J(sub P0), and photo electron temperature T(sub p). Using a numerical model, derived from a set of eleven basic assumptions, the influence of these six parameters on surface charging - characterized by the equilibrium surface potential, Debye length, and surface electric field - is investigated as a function of solar zenith angle. Overall, T(sub e) is the most important parameter, especially near the terminator, while J(sub P0) and T(sub p) dominate over most of the dayside.

Scalar magnetometers for space applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Primdahl, Fritz

A survey of existing instrumentation and developments is presented emphasizing instrumentation for in-flight calibration of vector magnetometers on magnetic mapping missions. Proton free or forced precession magnetometers are at the focus as calibration references, because the proton gyromagnetic...

Improved methods for nightside time domain Lunar Electromagnetic Sounding

Science.gov (United States)

Fuqua-Haviland, H.; Poppe, A. R.; Fatemi, S.; Delory, G. T.; De Pater, I.

2017-12-01

Time Domain Electromagnetic (TDEM) Sounding isolates induced magnetic fields to remotely deduce material properties at depth. The first step of performing TDEM Sounding at the Moon is to fully characterize the dynamic plasma environment, and isolate geophysically induced currents from concurrently present plasma currents. The transfer function method requires a two-point measurement: an upstream reference measuring the pristine solar wind, and one downstream near the Moon. This method was last performed during Apollo assuming the induced fields on the nightside of the Moon expand as in an undisturbed vacuum within the wake cavity [1]. Here we present an approach to isolating induction and performing TDEM with any two point magnetometer measurement at or near the surface of the Moon. Our models include a plasma induction model capturing the kinetic plasma environment within the wake cavity around a conducting Moon, and a geophysical forward model capturing induction in a vacuum. The combination of these two models enable the analysis of magnetometer data within the wake cavity. Plasma hybrid models use the upstream plasma conditions and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) to capture the wake current systems formed around the Moon. The plasma kinetic equations are solved for ion particles with electrons as a charge-neutralizing fluid. These models accurately capture the large scale lunar wake dynamics for a variety of solar wind conditions: ion density, temperature, solar wind velocity, and IMF orientation [2]. Given the 3D orientation variability coupled with the large range of conditions seen within the lunar plasma environment, we characterize the environment one case at a time. The global electromagnetic induction response of the Moon in a vacuum has been solved numerically for a variety of electrical conductivity models using the finite-element method implemented within the COMSOL software. This model solves for the geophysically induced response in vacuum to

Lunar nitrogen: Secular variation or mixing?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norris, S.J.; Wright, I.P.; Pillinger, C.T.

1986-01-01

The two current models to explain the nearly 40% variation of the lunar nitrogen isotopic composition are: (1) secular variation of solar wind nitrogen; and (2) a two component mixing model having a constant, heavy solar wind admixed with varying amounts of indigenous light lunar N (LLN). Both models are needed to explain the step pyrolysis extraction profile. The secular variation model proposes that the low temperature release is modern day solar wind implanted into grain surfaces, the 900 C to 1100 C release is from grain surfaces which were once exposed to the ancient solar wind but which are now trapped inside agglutinates, and the >1100 C release as spallogenic N produced by cosmic rays. The mixing model ascribes the components to solar wind, indigenous lunar N and spallogenic N respectively. An extension of either interpretation is that the light N seen in lunar breccias or deep drill cores represent conditions when more N-14 was available to the lunar surface

The Magnetospheric Multiscale Magnetometers

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, C. T.; Anderson, B. J.; Baumjohann, W.; Bromund, K. R.; Dearborn, D.; Fischer, D.; Le, G.; Leinweber, H. K.; Leneman, D.; Magnes, W.;

Coherent population trapping magnetometer by differential detecting magneto–optic rotation effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Fan; Tian Yuan; Zhang Yi; Gu Si-Hong

2016-01-01

A pocket coherent population trapping (CPT) atomic magnetometer scheme that uses a vertical cavity surface emitting laser as a light source is proposed and experimentally investigated. Using the differential detecting magneto–optic rotation effect, a CPT spectrum with the background canceled and a high signal-to-noise ratio is obtained. The experimental results reveal that the sensitivity of the proposed scheme can be improved by half an order, and the ability to detect weak magnetic fields is extended one-fold. Therefore, the proposed scheme is suited to realize a pocket-size CPT magnetometer. (paper)

Reactions of atmospheric vapors with lunar soil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuller, E.L. Jr.; Agron, P.A.

1976-03-01

Detailed experimental data have been acquired for the hydration of the surfaces of lunar fines. Inert vapor adsorption has been employed to measure the surface properties (surface energy, surface area, porosity, etc.) and changes wrought in the hydration-dehydration processes. Plausible mechanisms have been considered and the predominant process involves hydration of the metamict metallosilicate surfaces to form a hydrated laminar structure akin to terrestrial clays. Additional credence for this interpretation is obtained by comparison to existing geochemical literature concerning terrestrial weathering of primary metallosilicates. The surface properties of the hydrated lunar fines are compared favorably to those of terrestrial clay minerals. In addition, experimental results are given to show that fresh disordered surfaces of volcanic sand react with water vapor in a manner virtually identical to the majority of the lunar fines. The results show that ion track etching and/or grain boundary attack are minor contributions in the weathering of lunar fines in the realm of our microgravimetric experimental conditions. 14 references

Scalar Calibration of Vector Magnetometers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Merayo, José M.G.; Brauer, Peter; Primdahl, Fritz

2000-01-01

The calibration parameters of a vector magnetometer are estimated only by the use of a scalar reference magnetometer. The method presented in this paper differs from those previously reported in its linearized parametrization. This allows the determination of three offsets or signals in the absence...

Performances and place of magnetometers based on amorphous wires compared to conventional magnetometers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robbes, D.; Dolabdjian, C.; Monfort, Y.

2002-01-01

We discuss and compare performances of various room temperature magnetometers. The work is directed towards the search of those magnetometers having a high sensitivity (>1000 V/T), a very low noise level (>1 pT/√Hz at white noise) attainable in a volume typically smaller than 1 cm 3 . The choice of this set of parameters is related to the useful comparison of room temperature magnetometers versus cryogenic ones, such as Superconducting Quantum Interferometer Devices (SQUIDs). The latter have highly degraded performances when their working operations needs an open unshielded environment as required for example in industrial application (non-destructive evaluation). SQUIDs have also a rather poor spatial resolution, and could be replaced by room temperature sensors in some magnetic imaging systems, which require a high spatial resolution. The paper is 'highlighted' in the field of magnetic sensors based on amorphous magnetic wires that were used to carry out wide bandwidth (>100 kHz), very low noise flux gate (∼pT/√Hz at white noise) and highly sensitive, low noise magnetometers (∼pT/√Hz at white noise) Colpitts oscillator configuration use by K. Bushida's

Radiation transport of cosmic ray nuclei in lunar material and radiation doses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silberberg, R.; Tsao, C.H.; Adams, J.H. Jr.; Letaw, J.R.

1985-01-01

The radiation environment on the lunar surface is inhospitable. The permanent settlers may work ten hours per 24-hour interval for the two-week-long lunar day on the lunar surface, or 20 percent of the total time. At moderate depths below the lunar surface (less than 200 g/sq cm) the flux of secondary neutrons exceeds considerably that in the upper atmosphere of the earth, due to cosmic-ray interactions with lunar material. The annual dose equivalent due to neutrons is about 20 or 25 rem within the upper meter of the lunar surface. The dose equivalent due to gamma rays generated by nuclear interactions near the lunar surface is only on the order of 1 percent of that due to neutrons. However, gamma-ray line emission from excited nuclei and nuclear spallation products generated by cosmic rays near the lunar surface is of considerable interest: these lines permit the partial determination of lunar composition by gamma spectroscopy. 12 references

Stair-Step Particle Flux Spectra on the Lunar Surface: Evidence for Nonmonotonic Potentials?

Science.gov (United States)

Collier, Michael R.; Newheart, Anastasia; Poppe, Andrew R.; Hills, H. Kent; Farrell, William M.

2016-01-01

We present examples of unusual "stair-step" differential flux spectra observed by the Apollo 14 Suprathermal Ion Detector Experiment on the lunar dayside surface in Earth's magnetotail. These spectra exhibit a relatively constant differential flux below some cutoff energy and then drop off precipitously, by about an order of magnitude or more, at higher energies. We propose that these spectra result from photoions accelerated on the lunar dayside by nonmonotonic potentials (i.e.,potentials that do not decay to zero monotonically) and present a model for the expected differential flux. The energy of the cutoff and the magnitude of the differential flux are related to the properties of the local space environment and are consistent with the observed flux spectra. If this interpretation is correct, these surface-based ion observations provide a unique perspective that both complements and enhances the conclusions obtained by remote-sensing orbiter observations on the Moon's exospheric and electrostatic properties.

Searching for Lunar Horizon Glow With the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA)

Science.gov (United States)

Barker, M. K.; Mazarico, E. M.; McClanahan, T. P.; Sun, X.; Smith, D. E.; Neumann, G. A.; Zuber, M. T.; Head, J. W., III

2017-12-01

The dust environment of the Moon is sensitive to the interplanetary meteoroid population and dust transport processes near the lunar surface, and this affects many aspects of lunar surface science and planetary exploration. The interplanetary meteoroid population poses a significant risk to spacecraft, yet it remains one of the more uncertain constituents of the space environment. Observed and hypothesized lunar dust transport mechanisms have included impact-generated dust plumes, electrostatic levitation, and dynamic lofting. Many details of the impactor flux and impact ejection process are poorly understood, a fact highlighted by recent discrepant estimates of the regolith mixing rate. Apollo-era observations of lunar horizon glow (LHG) were interpreted as sunlight forward-scattered by exospheric dust grains levitating in the top meter above the surface or lofted to tens of kilometers in altitude. However, recent studies have placed limits on the dust density orders of magnitude less than what was originally inferred, raising new questions on the time variability of the dust environment. Motivated by the need to better understand dust transport processes and the meteoroid population, the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is conducting a campaign to search for LHG with the LOLA Laser Ranging (LR) system. Advantages of this LOLA LHG search include: (1) the LOLA-LR telescope can observe arbitrarily close to the Sun at any time during the year without damaging itself or the other instruments, (2) a long temporal baseline with observations both during and outside of meteor streams, which will improve the chances of detecting LHG, and (3) a focus on altitudes methodology, and preliminary results.

Autonomous Utility Connector for Lunar Surface Systems, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Lunar dust has been identified as a significant and present challenge in future exploration missions. The interlocking, angular nature of Lunar dust and its broad...

Laser-powered lunar base

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costen, R.; Humes, D.H.; Walker, G.H.; Williams, M.D.; Deyoung, R.J.

1989-01-01

The objective was to compare a nuclear reactor-driven Sterling engine lunar base power source to a laser-to-electric converter with orbiting laser power station, each providing 1 MW of electricity to the lunar base. The comparison was made on the basis of total mass required in low-Earth-orbit for each system. This total mass includes transportation mass required to place systems in low-lunar orbit or on the lunar surface. The nuclear reactor with Sterling engines is considered the reference mission for lunar base power and is described first. The details of the laser-to-electric converter and mass are discussed. The next two solar-driven high-power laser concepts, the diode array laser or the iodine laser system, are discussed with associated masses in low-lunar-orbit. Finally, the payoff for laser-power beaming is summarized

Man-Portable Simultaneous Magnetometer and EM System (MSEMS)

Science.gov (United States)

2008-12-01

limited to cesium vapor magnetometers outputting a Larmor signal. It cannot, as presently configured, be used with less expensive fluxgate magnetometers ...pulses to convert the frequency-based Larmor signal into nT. A fluxgate magnetometer does not employ the resonance mechanism of an alkali vapor...Simultaneous Magnetometer and EM System (MSEMS) December 2008 Report Documentation Page Form ApprovedOMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for the

Building an Economical and Sustainable Lunar Infrastructure to Enable Lunar Science and Space Commerce

Science.gov (United States)

Zuniga, Allison; Turner, Mark; Rasky, Dan

2017-01-01

A new concept study was initiated to examine the framework needed to gradually develop an economical and sustainable lunar infrastructure using a public private partnerships approach. This approach would establish partnership agreements between NASA and industry teams to develop cis-lunar and surface capabilities for mutual benefit while sharing cost and risk in the development phase and then allowing for transfer of operation of these infrastructure services back to its industry owners in the execution phase. These infrastructure services may include but are not limited to the following: lunar cargo transportation, power stations, energy storage devices, communication relay satellites, local communication towers, and surface mobility operations.

Lunar magma transport phenomena

Science.gov (United States)

Spera, Frank J.

1992-01-01

An outline of magma transport theory relevant to the evolution of a possible Lunar Magma Ocean and the origin and transport history of the later phase of mare basaltic volcanism is presented. A simple model is proposed to evaluate the extent of fractionation as magma traverses the cold lunar lithosphere. If Apollo green glasses are primitive and have not undergone significant fractionation en route to the surface, then mean ascent rates of 10 m/s and cracks of widths greater than 40 m are indicated. Lunar tephra and vesiculated basalts suggest that a volatile component plays a role in eruption dynamics. The predominant vapor species appear to be CO CO2, and COS. Near the lunar surface, the vapor fraction expands enormously and vapor internal energy is converted to mixture kinetic energy with the concomitant high-speed ejection of vapor and pyroclasts to form lunary fire fountain deposits such as the Apollo 17 orange and black glasses and Apollo 15 green glass.

Respiratory Toxicity of Lunar Highland Dust

Science.gov (United States)

James, John T.; Lam, Chiu-wing; Wallace, William T.

2009-01-01

Lunar dust exposures occurred during the Apollo missions while the crew was on the lunar surface and especially when microgravity conditions were attained during rendezvous in lunar orbit. Crews reported that the dust was irritating to the eyes and in some cases respiratory symptoms were elicited. NASA s vision for lunar exploration includes stays of 6 months on the lunar surface hence the health effects of periodic exposure to lunar dust need to be assessed. NASA has performed this assessment with a series of in vitro and in vivo tests on authentic lunar dust. Our approach is to "calibrate" the intrinsic toxicity of lunar dust by comparison to a nontoxic dust (TiO2) and a highly toxic dust (quartz) using intratrachael instillation of the dusts in mice. A battery of indices of toxicity is assessed at various time points after the instillations. Cultures of selected cells are exposed to test dusts to assess the adverse effects on the cells. Finally, chemical systems are used to assess the nature of the reactivity of various dusts and to determine the persistence of reactivity under various environmental conditions that are relevant to a space habitat. Similar systems are used to assess the dissolution of the dust. From these studies we will be able to set a defensible inhalation exposure standard for aged dust and predict whether we need a separate standard for reactive dust. Presently-available data suggest that aged lunar highland dust is slightly toxic, that it can adversely affect cultured cells, and that the surface reactivity induced by grinding the dust persists for a few hours after activation.

The Lunar Potential Determination Using Apollo-Era Data and Modern Measurements and Models

Science.gov (United States)

Collier, Michael R.; Farrell, William M.; Espley, Jared; Webb, Phillip; Stubbs, Timothy J.; Webb, Phillip; Hills, H. Kent; Delory, Greg

2008-01-01

Since the Apollo era the electric potential of the Moon has been a subject of interest and debate. Deployed by three Apollo missions, Apollo 12, Apollo 14 and Apollo 15, the Suprathermal Ion Detector Experiment (SIDE) determined the sunlit lunar surface potential to be about +10 Volts using the energy spectra of lunar ionospheric thermal ions accelerated toward the Moon. More recently, the Lunar Prospector (LP) Electron Reflectometer used electron distributions to infer negative lunar surface potentials, primarily in shadow. We will present initial results from a study to combine lunar surface potential measurements from both SIDE and the LP/Electron Reflectometer to calibrate an advanced model of lunar surface charging which includes effects from the plasma environment, photoemission, secondaries ejected by ion impact onto the lunar surface, and the lunar wake created downstream by the solar wind-lunar interaction.

Magnetogama: an open schematic magnetometer

Science.gov (United States)

Wahyudi; Khakhim, Nurul; Kuntoro, Tri; Mardiatno, Djati; Rakhman, Afif; Setyo Handaru, Anas; Akhmad Mufaqih, Adien; Marwan Irnaka, Theodosius

2017-09-01

Magnetogama is an open schematic hand-assembled fluxgate magnetometer. Compared to another magnetometer, Magnetogama has more benefit concerning its price and its ease of use. Practically Magnetogama can be utilized either in land or attached to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Magnetogama was designed to give open access to a cheap and accurate alternative to magnetometer sensor. Therefore it can be used as a standard design which is directly applicable to the low-budget company or education purposes. Schematic, code and several verification tests were presented in this article ensuring its reproducibility. Magnetogama has been tested with two kind of tests: a comparison with two nearest observatories at Learmonth (LRM) and Kakadu (KDU) and the response of magnetic substance.

Optimized Radiator Geometries for Hot Lunar Thermal Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Ochoa, Dustin

2013-01-01

The optimum radiator configuration in hot lunar thermal environments is one in which the radiator is parallel to the ground and has no view to the hot lunar surface. However, typical spacecraft configurations have limited real estate available for top-mounted radiators, resulting in a desire to use the spacecraft's vertically oriented sides. Vertically oriented, flat panel radiators will have a large view factor to the lunar surface, and thus will be subjected to significant incident lunar infrared heat. Consequently, radiator fluid temperatures will need to exceed approximately 325 K (assuming standard spacecraft radiator optical properties) in order to provide positive heat rejection at lunar noon. Such temperatures are too high for crewed spacecraft applications in which a heat pump is to be avoided. A recent study of vertically oriented radiator configurations subjected to lunar noon thermal environments led to the discovery of a novel radiator concept that yielded positive heat rejection at lower fluid temperatures. This radiator configuration, called the Intense Thermal Infrared Reflector (ITIR), has exhibited superior performance to all previously analyzed concepts in terms of heat rejection in the lunar noon thermal environment. A key benefit of ITIR is the absence of louvers or other moving parts and its simple geometry (no parabolic shapes). ITIR consists of a specularly reflective shielding surface and a diffuse radiating surface joined to form a horizontally oriented V-shape (shielding surface on top). The point of intersection of these surfaces is defined by two angles, those which define the tilt of each surface with respect to the local horizontal. The optimum set of these angles is determined on a case-by-case basis. The idea assumes minimal conductive heat transfer between shielding and radiating surfaces, and a practical design would likely stack sets of these surfaces on top of one another to reduce radiator thickness.

Cross-calibration of Medium Resolution Earth Observing Satellites by Using EO-1 Hyperion-derived Spectral Surface Reflectance from "Lunar Cal Sites"

Science.gov (United States)

Ungar, S.

2017-12-01

Over the past 3 years, the Earth Observing-one (EO-1) Hyperion imaging spectrometer was used to slowly scan the lunar surface at a rate which results in up to 32X oversampling to effectively increase the SNR. Several strategies, including comparison against the USGS RObotic Lunar Observatory (ROLO) mode,l are being employed to estimate the absolute and relative accuracy of the measurement set. There is an existing need to resolve discrepancies as high as 10% between ROLO and solar based calibration of current NASA EOS assets. Although the EO-1 mission was decommissioned at the end of March 2017, the development of a well-characterized exoatmospheric spectral radiometric database, for a range of lunar phase angles surrounding the fully illuminated moon, continues. Initial studies include a comprehensive analysis of the existing 17-year collection of more than 200 monthly lunar acquisitions. Specific lunar surface areas, such as a lunar mare, are being characterized as potential "lunar calibration sites" in terms of their radiometric stability in the presence of lunar nutation and libration. Site specific Hyperion-derived lunar spectral reflectance are being compared against spectrographic measurements made during the Apollo program. Techniques developed through this activity can be employed by future high-quality orbiting imaging spectrometers (such as HyspIRI and EnMap) to further refine calibration accuracies. These techniques will enable the consistent cross calibration of existing and future earth observing systems (spectral and multi-spectral) including those that do not have lunar viewing capability. When direct lunar viewing is not an option for an earth observing asset, orbiting imaging spectrometers can serve as transfer radiometers relating that asset's sensor response to lunar values through near contemporaneous observations of well characterized stable CEOS test sites. Analysis of this dataset will lead to the development of strategies to ensure more

Lunar Topography: Results from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter

Science.gov (United States)

Neumann, Gregory; Smith, David E.; Zuber, Maria T.; Mazarico, Erwan

2012-01-01

The Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has been operating nearly continuously since July 2009, accumulating over 6 billion measurements from more than 2 billion in-orbit laser shots. LRO's near-polar orbit results in very high data density in the immediate vicinity of the lunar poles, with full coverage at the equator from more than 12000 orbital tracks averaging less than 1 km in spacing at the equator. LRO has obtained a global geodetic model of the lunar topography with 50-meter horizontal and 1-m radial accuracy in a lunar center-of-mass coordinate system, with profiles of topography at 20-m horizontal resolution, and 0.1-m vertical precision. LOLA also provides measurements of reflectivity and surface roughness down to its 5-m laser spot size. With these data LOLA has measured the shape of all lunar craters 20 km and larger. In the proposed extended mission commencing late in 2012, LOLA will concentrate observations in the Southern Hemisphere, improving the density of the polar coverage to nearly 10-m pixel resolution and accuracy to better than 20 m total position error. Uses for these data include mission planning and targeting, illumination studies, geodetic control of images, as well as lunar geology and geophysics. Further improvements in geodetic accuracy are anticipated from the use of re ned gravity fields after the successful completion of the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission in 2012.

The Pioneer XI high field fluxgate magnetometer

Science.gov (United States)

Acuna, M. A.; Ness, N. F.

1975-01-01

The high field fluxgate magnetometer experiment flown aboard the Pioneer XI spacecraft is described. This extremely simple instrument was used to extend the spacecraft's upper-limit measurement capability by approximately an order of magnitude (from 0.14 mT to 1.00 mT) with minimum power and volume requirements. This magnetometer was designed to complement the low-field measurements provided by a helium vector magnetometer and utilizes magnetic ring core sensors with biaxial orthogonal sense coils. The instrument is a single-range, triaxial-fluxgate magnetometer capable of measuring fields of up to 1 mT along each orthogonal axis, with a maximum resolution of 1 microT.

Development of a nuclear precession magnetometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Virgens Alves, J.G. das.

1983-12-01

The objective of this thesis was to develop a proton precession magnetometer for geophysical prospecting and base stations. The proton procession magnetometer measures the total magnetic fields intensity. It operates on the basis of nuclear magnetic resonance by determining the processing frequency of protons of a non viscous liquid in the terrestrial magnetic fields. The instrument was tested in field to evaluate signal/noise ratio, supportable gradient and battery consumption. Application test was carried out to take diurnal variation data and, reconnaissance and detail surveys data on an archaeological site in the Marajo Island-Pa. The test results were confronted with two commercial magnetometers-GP-70, McPhar e G-816, Geometric - and, with data from Observatorio Magnetico Ilha de Tatuoca as well. For all cases, the data comparison showed a good performance of the magnetometer tested. (author)

High transition-temperature SQUID magnetometers and practical applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dantsker, E.; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., CA

1997-05-01

The design, fabrication and performance of SQUID magnetometers based on thin films of the high-transition temperature superconductor YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-x (YBCO) are described. Essential to the achieving high magnetic field resolution at low frequencies is the elimination of 1/f flux noise due to thermally activated hopping of flux vortices between pinning sites in the superconducting films. Through improvements in processing, 1/f noise in single layer YBCO thin films and YBCO-SrTiO 3 -YBCO trilayers was systematically reduced to allow fabrication of sensitive SQUID magnetometers. Both single-layer directly coupled SQUID magnetometers and multilayer magnetometers were fabricated, based on the dc SQUID with bicrystal grain boundary Josephson junctions. Multilayer magnetometers had a lower magnetic field noise for a given physical size due to greater effective sensing areas. A magnetometer consisting of a SQUID inductively coupled to the multiturn input coil of a flux transformer in a flip-chip arrangement had a field noise of 27 fT Hz -1/2 at 1 Hz and 8.5 fT Hz -1/2 at 1 kHz. A multiloop multilayer SQUID magnetometer had a field noise of 37 fT Hz -1/2 at 1 Hz and 18 fT Hz -1/2 at 1 kHz. A three-axis SQUID magnetometer for geophysical applications was constructed and operated in the field in the presence of 60 Hz and radiofrequency noise. Clinical quality magnetocardiograms were measured using multilayer SQUID magnetometers in a magnetically shielded room

Global silicate mineralogy of the Moon from the Diviner lunar radiometer.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenhagen, Benjamin T; Lucey, Paul G; Wyatt, Michael B; Glotch, Timothy D; Allen, Carlton C; Arnold, Jessica A; Bandfield, Joshua L; Bowles, Neil E; Donaldson Hanna, Kerri L; Hayne, Paul O; Song, Eugenie; Thomas, Ian R; Paige, David A

2010-09-17

We obtained direct global measurements of the lunar surface using multispectral thermal emission mapping with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment. Most lunar terrains have spectral signatures that are consistent with known lunar anorthosite and basalt compositions. However, the data have also revealed the presence of highly evolved, silica-rich lunar soils in kilometer-scale and larger exposures, expanded the compositional range of the anorthosites that dominate the lunar crust, and shown that pristine lunar mantle is not exposed at the lunar surface at the kilometer scale. Together, these observations provide compelling evidence that the Moon is a complex body that has experienced a diverse set of igneous processes.

On the Search for the Amino Acids on the Lunar Surface as it Relates to Other Extraterrestrial Bodies

Science.gov (United States)

Hoover, Richard B.; Kolb, Vera M.

2009-01-01

The early search for the amino acids on the lunar surface fines indicated such a low amount of the amino acids that it was deemed insignifi cant. While the later studies seemed to depart in some ways from the earlier results, they were not pursued. In this paper we critically ev aluate the results from the Apollo missions from the new perspective with considerations of the sensitivity of the instrumentation availabl e at the time. We discuss the possible relevance of the lunar results to the findings of the amino acids on the surfaces of other extraterrestrial bodies, such as Mars.

A Dual Launch Robotic and Human Lunar Mission Architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, David L.; Mulqueen, Jack; Percy, Tom; Griffin, Brand; Smitherman, David

2010-01-01

This paper describes a comprehensive lunar exploration architecture developed by Marshall Space Flight Center's Advanced Concepts Office that features a science-based surface exploration strategy and a transportation architecture that uses two launches of a heavy lift launch vehicle to deliver human and robotic mission systems to the moon. The principal advantage of the dual launch lunar mission strategy is the reduced cost and risk resulting from the development of just one launch vehicle system. The dual launch lunar mission architecture may also enhance opportunities for commercial and international partnerships by using expendable launch vehicle services for robotic missions or development of surface exploration elements. Furthermore, this architecture is particularly suited to the integration of robotic and human exploration to maximize science return. For surface operations, an innovative dual-mode rover is presented that is capable of performing robotic science exploration as well as transporting human crew conducting surface exploration. The dual-mode rover can be deployed to the lunar surface to perform precursor science activities, collect samples, scout potential crew landing sites, and meet the crew at a designated landing site. With this approach, the crew is able to evaluate the robotically collected samples to select the best samples for return to Earth to maximize the scientific value. The rovers can continue robotic exploration after the crew leaves the lunar surface. The transportation system for the dual launch mission architecture uses a lunar-orbit-rendezvous strategy. Two heavy lift launch vehicles depart from Earth within a six hour period to transport the lunar lander and crew elements separately to lunar orbit. In lunar orbit, the crew transfer vehicle docks with the lander and the crew boards the lander for descent to the surface. After the surface mission, the crew returns to the orbiting transfer vehicle for the return to the Earth. This

Man-Made Debris In and From Lunar Orbit

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Nicholas L.; McKay, Gordon A. (Technical Monitor)

1999-01-01

During 1966-1976, as part of the first phase of lunar exploration, 29 manned and robotic missions placed more than 40 objects into lunar orbit. Whereas several vehicles later successfully landed on the Moon and/or returned to Earth, others were either abandoned in orbit or intentionally sent to their destruction on the lunar surface. The former now constitute a small population of lunar orbital debris; the latter, including four Lunar Orbiters and four Lunar Module ascent stages, have contributed to nearly 50 lunar sites of man's refuse. Other lunar satellites are known or suspected of having fallen from orbit. Unlike Earth satellite orbital decays and deorbits, lunar satellites impact the lunar surface unscathed by atmospheric burning or melting. Fragmentations of lunar satellites, which would produce clouds of numerous orbital debris, have not yet been detected. The return to lunar orbit in the 1990's by the Hagoromo, Hiten, Clementine, and Lunar Prospector spacecraft and plans for increased lunar exploration early in the 21st century, raise questions of how best to minimize and to dispose of lunar orbital debris. Some of the lessons learned from more than 40 years of Earth orbit exploitation can be applied to the lunar orbital environment. For the near-term, perhaps the most important of these is postmission passivation. Unique solutions, e.g., lunar equatorial dumps, may also prove attractive. However, as with Earth satellites, debris mitigation measures are most effectively adopted early in the concept and design phase, and prevention is less costly than remediation.

Magnetometer and Gyroscope Calibration Method with Level Rotation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zongkai Wu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Micro electro mechanical system (MEMS gyroscopes and magnetometers are usually integrated into a sensor module or chip and widely used in a variety of applications. In existing integrated gyroscope and magnetometer calibration methods, rotation in all possible orientations is a necessary condition for a good calibration result. However, rotation around two or more axes is difficult to attain, as it is limited by the range of movement of vehicles such as cars, ships, or planes. To solve this problem, this paper proposes an integrated magnetometer and gyroscope calibration method with level rotation. The proposed method presents a redefined magnetometer output model using level attitude. New gyroscope and magnetometer calibration models are then deduced. In addition, a simplified cubature Kalman filter (CKF is established to estimate calibration parameters. This method possesses important value for application in actual systems, as it only needs level rotation for real-time calibration of gyroscopes and magnetometers. Theoretical analysis and test results verify the validity and feasibility of this method.

Magnetogama: an open schematic magnetometer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wahyudi

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Magnetogama is an open schematic hand-assembled fluxgate magnetometer. Compared to another magnetometer, Magnetogama has more benefit concerning its price and its ease of use. Practically Magnetogama can be utilized either in land or attached to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV. Magnetogama was designed to give open access to a cheap and accurate alternative to magnetometer sensor. Therefore it can be used as a standard design which is directly applicable to the low-budget company or education purposes. Schematic, code and several verification tests were presented in this article ensuring its reproducibility. Magnetogama has been tested with two kind of tests: a comparison with two nearest observatories at Learmonth (LRM and Kakadu (KDU and the response of magnetic substance.

Vector Fluxgate Magnetometer (VMAG) Development for DSX

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-03

AFRL-RV-HA-TR-2010-1056 Vector Fluxgate Magnetometer (VMAG) Development for DSX Mark B. Moldwin UCLA Institute of Geophysics... Fluxgate Magnetometer (VMAG) Development for DSX 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 62601F 6. AUTHOR(S) Mark B. Moldwin 5d. PROJECT...axis fluxgate magnetometer for the AFRL-mission. The instrument is designed to measure the medium-Earth orbit geomagnetic field with precision of 0.1

Lunar Atmosphere Probe Station: A Proof-of-Concept Instrument Package for Monitoring the Lunar Atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Lazio, J.; Jones, D. L.; MacDowall, R. J.; Stewart, K. P.; Burns, J. O.; Farrell, W. M.; Giersch, L.; O'Dwyer, I. J.; Hicks, B. C.; Polisensky, E. J.; Hartman, J. M.; Nesnas, I.; Weiler, K.; Kasper, J. C.

2013-12-01

The lunar exosphere is the exemplar of a plasma near the surface of an airless body. Exposed to both the solar and interstellar radiation fields, the lunar exosphere is mostly ionized, and enduring questions regarding its properties include its density and vertical extent, the extent of contributions from volatile outgassing from the Moon, and its behavior over time, including response to the solar wind and modification by landers. Relative ionospheric measurements (riometry) are based on the simple physical principle that electromagnetic waves cannot propagate through a partially or fully ionized medium below the plasma frequency, and riometers have been deployed on the Earth in numerous remote and hostile environments. A multi-frequency riometer on the lunar surface would be able to monitor, *in situ*, the vertical extent of the lunar exosphere over time. We provide an update on a concept for a riometer implemented as a secondary science payload on future lunar landers, such as those recommended in the recent Planetary Sciences Decadal Survey report or commercial ventures. The instrument concept is simple, consisting of an antenna implemented as a metal deposited on polyimide film and receiver. We illustrate various deployment mechanisms and performance of a prototype in increasing lunar analog conditions. While the prime mission of such a riometer would be probing the lunar exosphere, our concept would also be capable to measuring the properties of dust impactors. The Lunar University Network for Astrophysical Research consortium is funded by the NASA Lunar Science Institute to investigate concepts for astrophysical observatories on the Moon. Part of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with NASA. Artist's impression of the Lunar Atmosphere Probe Station.

Electrostatic Power Generation from Negatively Charged, Simulated Lunar Regolith

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Sang H.; King, Glen C.; Kim, Hyun-Jung; Park, Yeonjoon

2010-01-01

Research was conducted to develop an electrostatic power generator for future lunar missions that facilitate the utilization of lunar resources. The lunar surface is known to be negatively charged from the constant bombardment of electrons and protons from the solar wind. The resulting negative electrostatic charge on the dust particles, in the lunar vacuum, causes them to repel each other minimizing the potential. The result is a layer of suspended dust about one meter above the lunar surface. This phenomenon was observed by both Clementine and Surveyor spacecrafts. During the Apollo 17 lunar landing, the charged dust was a major hindrance, as it was attracted to the astronauts' spacesuits, equipment, and the lunar buggies. The dust accumulated on the spacesuits caused reduced visibility for the astronauts, and was unavoidably transported inside the spacecraft where it caused breathing irritation [1]. In the lunar vacuum, the maximum charge on the particles can be extremely high. An article in the journal "Nature", titled "Moon too static for astronauts?" (Feb 2, 2007) estimates that the lunar surface is charged with up to several thousand volts [2]. The electrostatic power generator was devised to alleviate the hazardous effects of negatively charged lunar soil by neutralizing the charged particles through capacitive coupling and thereby simultaneously harnessing power through electric charging [3]. The amount of power generated or collected is dependent on the areal coverage of the device and hovering speed over the lunar soil surface. A thin-film array of capacitors can be continuously charged and sequentially discharged using a time-differentiated trigger discharge process to produce a pulse train of discharge for DC mode output. By controlling the pulse interval, the DC mode power can be modulated for powering devices and equipment. In conjunction with a power storage system, the electrostatic power generator can be a power source for a lunar rover or other

High transition-temperature SQUID magnetometers and practical applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dantsker, Eugene [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Physics

1997-05-01

The design, fabrication and performance of SQUID magnetometers based on thin films of the high-transition temperature superconductor YBa₂Cu₃O_7-x (YBCO) are described. Essential to the achieving high magnetic field resolution at low frequencies is the elimination of 1/f flux noise due to thermally activated hopping of flux vortices between pinning sites in the superconducting films. Through improvements in processing, 1/f noise in single layer YBCO thin films and YBCO-SrTiO₃-YBCO trilayers was systematically reduced to allow fabrication of sensitive SQUID magnetometers. Both single-layer directly coupled SQUID magnetometers and multilayer magnetometers were fabricated, based on the dc SQUID with bicrystal grain boundary Josephson junctions. Multilayer magnetometers had a lower magnetic field noise for a given physical size due to greater effective sensing areas. A magnetometer consisting of a SQUID inductively coupled to the multiturn input coil of a flux transformer in a flip-chip arrangement had a field noise of 27 fT Hz^-1/2 at 1 Hz and 8.5 fT Hz^-1/2 at 1 kHz. A multiloop multilayer SQUID magnetometer had a field noise of 37 fT Hz^-1/2 at 1 Hz and 18 fT Hz^-1/2 at 1 kHz. A three-axis SQUID magnetometer for geophysical applications was constructed and operated in the field in the presence of 60 Hz and radiofrequency noise. Clinical quality magnetocardiograms were measured using multilayer SQUID magnetometers in a magnetically shielded room.

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF LUNAR ROUGHNESS FROM MULTI - SOURCE DATA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Lou

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The lunar terrain can show its collision and volcanic history. The lunar surface roughness can give a deep indication of the effects of lunar surface magma, sedimentation and uplift. This paper aims to get different information from the roughness through different data sources. Besides introducing the classical Root-mean-square height method and Morphological Surface Roughness (MSR algorithm, this paper takes the area of the Jurassic mountain uplift in the Sinus Iridum and the Plato Crater area as experimental areas. And then make the comparison and contrast of the lunar roughness derived from LRO's DEM and CE-2 DOM. The experimental results show that the roughness obtained by the traditional roughness calculation method reflect the ups and downs of the topography, while the results obtained by morphological surface roughness algorithm show the smoothness of the lunar surface. So, we can first use the surface fluctuation situation derived from RMSH to select the landing area range which ensures the lands are gentle. Then the morphological results determine whether the landing area is suitable for the detector walking and observing. The results obtained at two different scales provide a more complete evaluation system for selecting the landing site of the lunar probe.

Basic radio interferometry for future lunar missions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aminaei, Amin; Klein Wolt, Marc; Chen, Linjie; Bronzwaer, Thomas; Pourshaghaghi, Hamid Reza; Bentum, Marinus Jan; Falcke, Heino

2014-01-01

In light of presently considered lunar missions, we investigate the feasibility of the basic radio interferometry (RIF) for lunar missions. We discuss the deployment of two-element radio interferometer on the Moon surface. With the first antenna element is envisaged to be placed on the lunar lander,

Directly coupled YBCO dc SQUID magnetometers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petersen, P.R.E.; Shen, Y.Q.; Holst, T.; Larsen, B.H.; Sager, M.P.; Bindslev Hansen, J.

1999-01-01

YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7- x magnetometers have been made on 10mmx10mm MgO substrates by directly coupling the magnetometer pick-up loop to a dc SQUID with narrow strip lines. The dc SQUIDs were made with YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-x step-edge Josephson junctions. The layout of the magnetometer pick-up loop was chosen as a compromise between maximizing the loop effective area and minimizing the loop inductance. The SQUID was designed to have L S ∼100 pH in order to obtain β L =2I 0 L S /Φ 0 approx.= 1 with the single-junction critical current I 0 ∼10 μA. We have made magnetometers with white noise levels down to 55 fT Hz -1/2 and a 1/f knee at 1 Hz (ac biased). Noise measurements were made on a field-cooled magnetometer. The noise measured at 1 Hz when cooled in 'zero field' was 175 fT Hz -1/2 . When cooled in magnetic fields of B = 50 μT and B = 100 μT we measured the noise at 1 Hz to be 430 fT Hz -1 2 and 1.3 pT Hz -1/2 , respectively. (author)

Lunar Dust Separation for Toxicology Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Bonnie L.; McKay, D. S.; Riofrio, L. M.; Taylor, L. A.; Gonzalex, C. P.

2010-01-01

During the Apollo missions, crewmembers were briefly exposed to dust in the lunar module, brought in after extravehicular activity. When the lunar ascent module returned to micro-gravity, the dust that had settled on the floor now floated into the air, causing eye discomfort and occasional respiratory symptoms. Because our goal is to set an exposure standard for 6 months of episodic exposure to lunar dust for crew on the lunar surface, these brief exposures of a few days are not conclusive. Based on experience with industrial minerals such as sandblasting quartz, an exposure of several months may cause serious damage, while a short exposure may cause none. The detailed characteristics of sub-micrometer lunar dust are only poorly known, and this is the size range of particles that are of greatest concern. We have developed a method for extracting respirable dust (<2.5 micron) from Apollo lunar soils. This method meets stringent requirements that the soil must be kept dry, exposed only to pure nitrogen, and must conserve and recover the maximum amount of both respirable dust and coarser soil. In addition, we have developed a method for grinding coarser lunar soil to produce sufficient respirable soil for animal toxicity testing while preserving the freshly exposed grain surfaces in a pristine state.

A Survey of Ballistic Transfers to the Lunar Surface

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Rodney L.; Parker, Jeffrey S.

2011-01-01

In this study techniques are developed which allow an analysis of a range of different types of transfer trajectories from the Earth to the lunar surface. Trajectories ranging from those obtained using the invariant manifolds of unstable orbits to those derived from collision orbits are analyzed. These techniques allow the computation of trajectories encompassing low-energy trajectories as well as more direct transfers. The range of possible trajectory options is summarized, and a broad range of trajectories that exist as a result of the Sun's influence are computed and analyzed. The results are then classified by type, and trades between different measures of cost are discussed.

Lunar ash flows - Isothermal approximation.

Science.gov (United States)

Pai, S. I.; Hsieh, T.; O'Keefe, J. A.

1972-01-01

Suggestion of the ash flow mechanism as one of the major processes required to account for some features of lunar soil. First the observational background and the gardening hypothesis are reviewed, and the shortcomings of the gardening hypothesis are shown. Then a general description of the lunar ash flow is given, and a simple mathematical model of the isothermal lunar ash flow is worked out with numerical examples to show the differences between the lunar and the terrestrial ash flow. The important parameters of the ash flow process are isolated and analyzed. It appears that the lunar surface layer in the maria is not a residual mantle rock (regolith) but a series of ash flows due, at least in part, to great meteorite impacts. The possibility of a volcanic contribution is not excluded. Some further analytic research on lunar ash flows is recommended.

Multi-Beam Surface Lidar for Lunar and Planetary Mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Bufton, Jack L.; Garvin, James B.

1998-01-01

Surface lidar techniques are now being demonstrated in low Earth orbit with a single beam of pulsed laser radiation at 1064 nm that profiles the vertical structure of Earth surface landforms along the nadir track of a spacecraft. In addition, a profiling laser altimeter, called MOLA, is operating in elliptical Martian orbit and returning surface topography data. These instruments form the basis for suggesting an improved lidar instrument that employs multiple beams for extension of sensor capabilities toward the goal of true, 3-dimensional mapping of the Moon or other similar planetary surfaces. In general the lidar waveform acquired with digitization of a laser echo can be used for laser distance measurement (i.e. range-to-the-surface) by time-of-flight measurement and for surface slope and shape measurements by examining the detailed lidar waveform. This is particularly effective when the intended target is the lunar surface or another planetary body free of any atmosphere. The width of the distorted return pulse is a first order measure of the surface incidence angle, a combination of surface slope and laser beam pointing. Assuming an independent and absolute (with respect to inertial space) measurement of laser beam pointing on the spacecraft, it is possible to derive a surface slope with-respect-to the mean planetary surface or its equipotential gravity surface. Higher-order laser pulse distortions can be interpreted in terms of the vertical relief of the surface or reflectivity variations within the area of the laser beam footprint on the surface.

Dust particles investigation for future Russian lunar missions.

Science.gov (United States)

Dolnikov, Gennady; Horanyi, Mihaly; Esposito, Francesca; Zakharov, Alexander; Popel, Sergey; Afonin, Valeri; Borisov, Nikolay; Seran, Elena; Godefroy, Michel; Shashkova, Inna; Kuznetsov, Ilya; Lyash, Andrey; Vorobyova, Elena; Petrov, Oleg; Lisin, Evgeny

One of the complicating factors of the future robotic and human lunar landing missions is the influence of the dust. Meteorites bombardment has accompanied by shock-explosive phenomena, disintegration and mix of the lunar soil in depth and on area simultaneously. As a consequence, the lunar soil has undergone melting, physical and chemical transformations. Recently we have the some reemergence for interest of Moon investigation. The prospects in current century declare USA, China, India, and European Union. In Russia also prepare two missions: Luna-Glob and Luna-Resource. Not last part of investigation of Moon surface is reviewing the dust condition near the ground of landers. Studying the properties of lunar dust is important both for scientific purposes to investigation the lunar exosphere component and for the technical safety of lunar robotic and manned missions. The absence of an atmosphere on the Moon's surface is leading to greater compaction and sintering. Properties of regolith and dust particles (density, temperature, composition, etc.) as well as near-surface lunar exosphere depend on solar activity, lunar local time and position of the Moon relative to the Earth's magneto tail. Upper layers of regolith are an insulator, which is charging as a result of solar UV radiation and the constant bombardment of charged particles, creates a charge distribution on the surface of the moon: positive on the illuminated side and negative on the night side. Charge distribution depends on the local lunar time, latitude and the electrical properties of the regolith (the presence of water in the regolith can influence the local distribution of charge). On light side of Moon near surface layer there exists possibility formation dusty plasma system. Altitude of levitation is depending from size of dust particle and Moon latitude. The distribution dust particle by size and altitude has estimated with taking into account photoelectrons, electrons and ions of solar wind, solar

Lunar Regolith Particle Shape Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Kiekhaefer, Rebecca; Hardy, Sandra; Rickman, Douglas; Edmunson, Jennifer

2013-01-01

Future engineering of structures and equipment on the lunar surface requires significant understanding of particle characteristics of the lunar regolith. Nearly all sediment characteristics are influenced by particle shape; therefore a method of quantifying particle shape is useful both in lunar and terrestrial applications. We have created a method to quantify particle shape, specifically for lunar regolith, using image processing. Photomicrographs of thin sections of lunar core material were obtained under reflected light. Three photomicrographs were analyzed using ImageJ and MATLAB. From the image analysis measurements for area, perimeter, Feret diameter, orthogonal Feret diameter, Heywood factor, aspect ratio, sieve diameter, and sieve number were recorded. Probability distribution functions were created from the measurements of Heywood factor and aspect ratio.

Review of lunar telescope studies at MSFC

Science.gov (United States)

Hilchey, John D.; Nein, Max E.

1993-09-01

In the near future astronomers can take advantage of the lunar surface as the new 'high ground' from which to study the universe. Optical telescopes placed and operated on the lunar surface would be successors to NASA's Great Observatories. Four telescopes, ranging in aperture from a 16-m, IR/Vis/UV observatory down to a 1-m, UV 'transit' instrument, have been studied by the Lunar Telescope Working Group and the LUTE (lunar telescope ultraviolet experiment) Task Team of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). This paper presents conceptual designs of the telescopes, provides descriptions of the telescope subsystem options selected for each concept, and outlines the potential evolution of their science capabilities.

Study on Alternative Cargo Launch Options from the Lunar Surface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheryl A. Blomberg; Zamir A. Zulkefli; Spencer W. Rich; Steven D. Howe

2013-07-01

In the future, there will be a need for constant cargo launches from Earth to Mars in order to build, and then sustain, a Martian base. Currently, chemical rockets are used for space launches. These are expensive and heavy due to the amount of necessary propellant. Nuclear thermal rockets (NTRs) are the next step in rocket design. Another alternative is to create a launcher on the lunar surface that uses magnetic levitation to launch cargo to Mars in order to minimize the amount of necessary propellant per mission. This paper investigates using nuclear power for six different cargo launching alternatives, as well as the orbital mechanics involved in launching cargo to a Martian base from the moon. Each alternative is compared to the other alternative launchers, as well as compared to using an NTR instead. This comparison is done on the basis of mass that must be shipped from Earth, the amount of necessary propellant, and the number of equivalent NTR launches. Of the options, a lunar coil launcher had a ship mass that is 12.7% less than the next best option and 17 NTR equivalent launches, making it the best of the presented six options.

Assessment of Scheduling and Plan Execution of Apollo 14 Lunar Surface Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Marquez, Jessica J.

2010-01-01

Although over forty years have passed since first landing on the Moon, there is not yet a comprehensive, quantitative assessment of Apollo extravehicular activities (EVAs). Quantitatively evaluating lunar EVAs will provide a better understanding of the challenges involved with surface operations. This first evaluation of a surface EVA centers on comparing the planned and the as-ran timeline, specifically collecting data on discrepancies between durations that were estimated versus executed. Differences were summarized by task categories in order to gain insight as to the type of surface operation activities that were most challenging. One Apollo 14 EVA was assessed utilizing the described methodology. Selected metrics and task categorizations were effective, and limitations to this process were identified.

Dual-purpose self-deliverable lunar surface PV electrical power system

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Jack H.; Harris, David W.; Cross, Eldon R.; Flood, Dennis J.

1991-01-01

A safe haven and work supported PV power systems on the lunar surface will likely be required by NASA in support of the manned outpost scheduled for the post-2000 lunar/Mars exploration and colonization initiative. Initial system modeling and computer analysis shows that the concept is workable and contains no major high risk technology issues which cannot be resolved in the circa 2000 to 2025 timeframe. A specific selection of the best suited type of electric thruster has not been done; the initial modeling was done using an ion thruster, but Rocketdyne must also evaluate arc and resisto-jets before a final design can be formulated. As a general observation, it appears that such a system can deliver itself to the Moon using many system elements that must be transported as dead payload mass in more conventional delivery modes. It further appears that a larger power system providing a much higher safe haven power level is feasible if this delivery system is implemented, perhaps even sufficient to permit resource prospecting and/or lab experimentation. The concept permits growth and can be expanded to include cargo transport such as habitat and working modules. In short, the combined payload could be manned soon after landing and checkout. NASA has expended substantial resources in the development of electric propulsion concepts and hardware that can be applied to a lunar transport system such as described herein. In short, the paper may represent a viable mission on which previous investments play an invaluable role. A more comprehensive technical paper which embodies second generation analysis and system size will be prepared for near-term presentation.

Design and Construction of Manned Lunar Base

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhijie

2016-07-01

Building manned lunar base is one of the core aims of human lunar exploration project, which is also an important way to carry out the exploitation and utilization of lunar in situ resources. The most important part of manned lunar base is the design and construction of living habitation and many factors should be considered including science objective and site selection. Through investigating and research, the scientific goals of manned lunar base should be status and characteristics ascertainment of lunar available in situ resources, then developing necessary scientific experiments and utilization of lunar in situ resources by using special environment conditions of lunar surface. The site selection strategy of manned lunar base should rely on scientific goals according to special lunar surface environment and engineering capacity constraints, meanwhile, consulting the landing sites of foreign unmanned and manned lunar exploration, and choosing different typical regions of lunar surface and analyzing the landform and physiognomy, reachability, thermal environment, sunlight condition, micro meteoroids protection and utilization of in situ resources, after these steps, a logical lunar living habitation site should be confirmed. This paper brings out and compares three kinds of configurations with fabricating processes of manned lunar base, including rigid module, flexible and construction module manned lunar base. 1.The rigid habitation module is usually made by metal materials. The design and fabrication may consult the experience of space station, hence with mature technique. Because this configuration cannot be folded or deployed, which not only afford limit working and living room for astronauts, but also needs repetitious cargo transit between earth and moon for lunar base extending. 2. The flexible module habitation can be folded in fairing while launching. When deploying on moon, the configuration can be inflatable or mechanically-deployed, which means under

Choice of Magnetometers and Gradiometers after Signal Space Separation.

Science.gov (United States)

Garcés, Pilar; López-Sanz, David; Maestú, Fernando; Pereda, Ernesto

2017-12-16

Modern Elekta Neuromag MEG devices include 102 sensor triplets containing one magnetometer and two planar gradiometers. The first processing step is often a signal space separation (SSS), which provides a powerful noise reduction. A question commonly raised by researchers and reviewers relates to which data should be employed in analyses: (1) magnetometers only, (2) gradiometers only, (3) magnetometers and gradiometers together. The MEG community is currently divided with regard to the proper answer. First, we provide theoretical evidence that both gradiometers and magnetometers result from the backprojection of the same SSS components. Then, we compare resting state and task-related sensor and source estimations from magnetometers and gradiometers in real MEG recordings before and after SSS. SSS introduced a strong increase in the similarity between source time series derived from magnetometers and gradiometers (r² = 0.3-0.8 before SSS and r² > 0.80 after SSS). After SSS, resting state power spectrum and functional connectivity, as well as visual evoked responses, derived from both magnetometers and gradiometers were highly similar (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient > 0.8, r² > 0.8). After SSS, magnetometer and gradiometer data are estimated from a single set of SSS components (usually ≤ 80). Equivalent results can be obtained with both sensor types in typical MEG experiments.

PHOTOMETRIC STEREO SHAPE-AND-ALBEDO-FROM-SHADING FOR PIXEL-LEVEL RESOLUTION LUNAR SURFACE RECONSTRUCTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. C. Liu

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Shape and Albedo from Shading (SAfS techniques recover pixel-wise surface details based on the relationship between terrain slopes, illumination and imaging geometry, and the energy response (i.e., image intensity captured by the sensing system. Multiple images with different illumination geometries (i.e., photometric stereo can provide better SAfS surface reconstruction due to the increase in observations. Photometric stereo SAfS is suitable for detailed surface reconstruction of the Moon and other extra-terrestrial bodies due to the availability of photometric stereo and the less complex surface reflecting properties (i.e., albedo of the target bodies as compared to the Earth. Considering only one photometric stereo pair (i.e., two images, pixel-variant albedo is still a major obstacle to satisfactory reconstruction and it needs to be regulated by the SAfS algorithm. The illumination directional difference between the two images also becomes an important factor affecting the reconstruction quality. This paper presents a photometric stereo SAfS algorithm for pixel-level resolution lunar surface reconstruction. The algorithm includes a hierarchical optimization architecture for handling pixel-variant albedo and improving performance. With the use of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera - Narrow Angle Camera (LROC NAC photometric stereo images, the reconstructed topography (i.e., the DEM is compared with the DEM produced independently by photogrammetric methods. This paper also addresses the effect of illumination directional difference in between one photometric stereo pair on the reconstruction quality of the proposed algorithm by both mathematical and experimental analysis. In this case, LROC NAC images under multiple illumination directions are utilized by the proposed algorithm for experimental comparison. The mathematical derivation suggests an illumination azimuthal difference of 90 degrees between two images is recommended to achieve

Observatory Magnetometer In-Situ Calibration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A Marusenkov

2011-07-01

Full Text Available An experimental validation of the in-situ calibration procedure, which allows estimating parameters of observatory magnetometers (scale factors, sensor misalignment without its operation interruption, is presented. In order to control the validity of the procedure, the records provided by two magnetometers calibrated independently in a coil system have been processed. The in-situ estimations of the parameters are in very good agreement with the values provided by the coil system calibration.

Lunar Prospector Orbit Determination Uncertainties Using the High Resolution Lunar Gravity Models

Science.gov (United States)

Carranza, Eric; Konopliv, Alex; Ryne, Mark

1999-01-01

The Lunar Prospector (LP) mission began on January 6, 1998, when the LP spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The objectives of the mission were to determine whether water ice exists at the lunar poles, generate a global compositional map of the lunar surface, detect lunar outgassing, and improve knowledge of the lunar magnetic and gravity fields. Orbit determination of LP performed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is conducted as part of the principal science investigation of the lunar gravity field. This paper will describe the JPL effort in support of the LP Gravity Investigation. This support includes high precision orbit determination, gravity model validation, and data editing. A description of the mission and its trajectory will be provided first, followed by a discussion of the orbit determination estimation procedure and models. Accuracies will be examined in terms of orbit-to-orbit solution differences, as a function of oblateness model truncation, and inclination in the plane-of-sky. Long term predictions for several gravity fields will be compared to the reconstructed orbits to demonstrate the accuracy of the orbit determination and oblateness fields developed by the Principal Gravity Investigator.

Tuned optical cavity magnetometer

Science.gov (United States)

Okandan, Murat; Schwindt, Peter

2010-11-02

An atomic magnetometer is disclosed which utilizes an optical cavity formed from a grating and a mirror, with a vapor cell containing an alkali metal vapor located inside the optical cavity. Lasers are used to magnetically polarize the alkali metal vapor and to probe the vapor and generate a diffracted laser beam which can be used to sense a magnetic field. Electrostatic actuators can be used in the magnetometer for positioning of the mirror, or for modulation thereof. Another optical cavity can also be formed from the mirror and a second grating for sensing, adjusting, or stabilizing the position of the mirror.

Development of a Micro-Fabricated Total-Field Magnetometer

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-01

are made with fluxgate technologies. Fluxgates have lower sensitivity than Cs magnetometers , yet they continue to be used in small wands simply...extraction process by providing the sensitivity of a Cs magnetometer with the convenience and low cost of a fluxgate wand. Extremely small and low cost...FINAL REPORT Development of a Micro-Fabricated Total-Field Magnetometer SERDP Project MR-1512 MARCH 2011 Mark Prouty Geometrics, Inc

Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Moon and Mercury

Science.gov (United States)

2004-01-01

The session" Moon and Mercury" included the following reports:Helium Production of Prompt Neutrinos on the Moon; Vapor Deposition and Solar Wind Implantation on Lunar Soil-Grain Surfaces as Comparable Processes; A New Lunar Geologic Mapping Program; Physical Backgrounds to Measure Instantaneous Spin Components of Terrestrial Planets from Earth with Arcsecond Accuracy; Preliminary Findings of a Study of the Lunar Global Megaregolith; Maps Characterizing the Lunar Regolith Maturity; Probable Model of Anomalies in the Polar Regions of Mercury; Parameters of the Maximum of Positive Polarization of the Moon; Database Structure Development for Space Surveying Results by Moon -Zond Program; CM2-type Micrometeoritic Lunar Winds During the Late Heavy Bombardment; A Comparison of Textural and Chemical Features of Spinel Within Lunar Mare Basalts; The Reiner Gamma Formation as Characterized by Earth-based Photometry at Large Phase Angles; The Significance of the Geometries of Linear Graben for the Widths of Shallow Dike Intrusions on the Moon; Lunar Prospector Data, Surface Roughness and IR Thermal Emission of the Moon; The Influence of a Magma Ocean on the Lunar Global Stress Field Due to Tidal Interaction Between the Earth and Moon; Variations of the Mercurian Photometric Relief; A Model of Positive Polarization of Regolith; Ground Truth and Lunar Global Thorium Map Calibration: Are We There Yet?;and Space Weathering of Apollo 16 Sample 62255: Lunar Rocks as Witness Plates for Deciphering Regolith Formation Processes.

Optical Magnetometer Incorporating Photonic Crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Kulikov, Igor; Florescu, Lucia

2007-01-01

According to a proposal, photonic crystals would be used to greatly increase the sensitivities of optical magnetometers that are already regarded as ultrasensitive. The proposal applies, more specifically, to a state-of-the-art type of quantum coherent magnetometer that exploits the electromagnetically-induced-transparency (EIT) method for determining a small change in a magnetic field indirectly via measurement of the shift, induced by that change, in the hyperfine levels of resonant atoms exposed to the field.

Apollo 11 Astronaut Neil Armstrong During Lunar Rock Collection Training

Science.gov (United States)

1969-01-01

In this photograph, Apollo 11 astronaut Neil A. Armstrong uses a geologist's hammer in selecting rock specimens during a geological field trip to the Quitman Mountains area near the Fort Quitman ruins in far west Texas. Armstrong, alongside astronaut Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin, practiced gathering rock specimens using special lunar geological tools in preparation for the first Lunar landing. Mission was accomplished in July of the same year. Aboard the Marshall Space Fight center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle, the Apollo 11 mission launched from The Kennedy Space Center, Florida on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. The 3-man crew aboard the flight consisted of Armstrong, commander; Aldrin, Lunar Module pilot; and a third astronaut Michael Collins, Command Module pilot. Armstrong was the first human to ever stand on the lunar surface, followed by Aldrin, while Collins remained in lunar orbit. The crew collected 47 pounds of lunar surface material which was returned to Earth for analysis. The lunar surface exploration was concluded in 2½ hours.

Use of a Lunar Outpost for Developing Space Settlement Technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Purves, Lloyd R.

2008-01-01

The type of polar lunar outpost being considered in the NASA Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) can effectively support the development of technologies that will not only significantly enhance lunar exploration, but also enable long term crewed space missions, including space settlement. The critical technologies are: artificial gravity, radiation protection, Closed Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS) and In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). These enhance lunar exploration by extending the time an astronaut can remain on the moon and reducing the need for supplies from Earth, and they seem required for space settlement. A polar lunar outpost provides a location to perform the research and testing required to develop these technologies, as well as to determine if there are viable countermeasures that can reduce the need for Earth-surface-equivalent gravity and radiation protection on long human space missions. The types of spinning space vehicles or stations envisioned to provide artificial gravity can be implemented and tested on the lunar surface, where they can create any level of effective gravity above the 1/6 Earth gravity that naturally exists on the lunar surface. Likewise, varying degrees of radiation protection can provide a natural radiation environment on the lunar surface less than or equal to 1/2 that of open space at 1 AU. Lunar ISRU has the potential of providing most of the material needed for radiation protection, the centrifuge that provides artificial gravity; and the atmosphere, water and soil for a CELSS. Lunar ISRU both saves the cost of transporting these materials from Earth and helps define the requirements for ISRU on other planetary bodies. Biosphere II provides a reference point for estimating what is required for an initial habitat with a CELSS. Previous studies provide initial estimates of what would be required to provide such a lunar habitat with the gravity and radiation environment of the Earth s surface. While much preparatory

Feasibility Analysis of Liquefying Oxygen Generated from Water Electrolysis Units on Lunar Surface

Science.gov (United States)

Jeng, Frank F.

2009-01-01

Concepts for liquefying oxygen (O2) generated from water electrolysis subsystems on the Lunar surface were explored. Concepts for O2 liquefaction units capable of generating 1.38 lb/hr (0.63 kg/hr) liquid oxygen (LOX) were developed. Heat and mass balance calculations for the liquefaction concepts were conducted. Stream properties, duties of radiators, heat exchangers and compressors for the selected concepts were calculated and compared.

A comparison of contour maps derived from independent methods of measuring lunar magnetic fields

Science.gov (United States)

Lichtenstein, B. R.; Coleman, P. J., Jr.; Russell, C. T.

1978-01-01

Computer-generated contour maps of strong lunar remanent magnetic fields are presented and discussed. The maps, obtained by previously described (Eliason and Soderblom, 1977) techniques, are derived from a variety of direct and indirect measurements from Apollo 15 and 16 and Explorer 35 magnetometer and electron reflection data. A common display format is used to facilitate comparison of the maps over regions of overlapping coverage. Most large scale features of either weak or strong magnetic field regions are found to correlate fairly well on all the maps considered.

New Age for Lunar Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, G. J.; Martel, L. M. V.

2018-04-01

Lunar-focused research and plans to return to the lunar surface for science and exploration have reemerged since the Space Policy Directive-1 of December 11, 2017 amended the National Space Policy to include the following, "Lead an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities. Beginning with missions beyond low-Earth orbit, the United States will lead the return of humans to the Moon for long-term exploration and utilization, followed by human missions to Mars and other destinations." In response to this revision, NASA proposes a Lunar Exploration and Discovery Program in the U.S. fiscal year 2019 Budget Request. It supports NASA's interests in commercial and international partnerships in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO), long-term exploration in Cislunar space beyond LEO, and research and exploration conducted on the Moon to inform future crewed missions, even to destinations beyond the Moon. (Cislunar refers to the volume of space between LEO and the Moon's orbital distance.) The lunar campaign strengthens the integration of human and robotic activities on the lunar surface with NASA's science, technology, and exploration goals.

NASA Lunar Base Wireless System Propagation Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Hwu, Shian U.; Upanavage, Matthew; Sham, Catherine C.

2007-01-01

There have been many radio wave propagation studies using both experimental and theoretical techniques over the recent years. However, most of studies have been in support of commercial cellular phone wireless applications. The signal frequencies are mostly at the commercial cellular and Personal Communications Service bands. The antenna configurations are mostly one on a high tower and one near the ground to simulate communications between a cellular base station and a mobile unit. There are great interests in wireless communication and sensor systems for NASA lunar missions because of the emerging importance of establishing permanent lunar human exploration bases. Because of the specific lunar terrain geometries and RF frequencies of interest to the NASA missions, much of the published literature for the commercial cellular and PCS bands of 900 and 1800 MHz may not be directly applicable to the lunar base wireless system and environment. There are various communication and sensor configurations required to support all elements of a lunar base. For example, the communications between astronauts, between astronauts and the lunar vehicles, between lunar vehicles and satellites on the lunar orbits. There are also various wireless sensor systems among scientific, experimental sensors and data collection ground stations. This presentation illustrates the propagation analysis of the lunar wireless communication and sensor systems taking into account the three dimensional terrain multipath effects. It is observed that the propagation characteristics are significantly affected by the presence of the lunar terrain. The obtained results indicate the lunar surface material, terrain geometry and antenna location are the important factors affecting the propagation characteristics of the lunar wireless systems. The path loss can be much more severe than the free space propagation and is greatly affected by the antenna height, surface material and operating frequency. The

Path Loss Prediction Over the Lunar Surface Utilizing a Modified Longley-Rice Irregular Terrain Model

Science.gov (United States)

Foore, Larry; Ida, Nathan

2007-01-01

This study introduces the use of a modified Longley-Rice irregular terrain model and digital elevation data representative of an analogue lunar site for the prediction of RF path loss over the lunar surface. The results are validated by theoretical models and past Apollo studies. The model is used to approximate the path loss deviation from theoretical attenuation over a reflecting sphere. Analysis of the simulation results provides statistics on the fade depths for frequencies of interest, and correspondingly a method for determining the maximum range of communications for various coverage confidence intervals. Communication system engineers and mission planners are provided a link margin and path loss policy for communication frequencies of interest.

Inhalation Toxicity of Ground Lunar Dust Prepared from Apollo-14 Soil

Science.gov (United States)

James, John T.; Lam, Chiu-wing; Scully, Robert R.; Cooper, Bonnie L.

2011-01-01

Within the decade one or more space-faring nations intend to return humans to the moon for more in depth exploration of the lunar surface and subsurface than was conducted during the Apollo days. The lunar surface is blanketed with fine dust, much of it in the respirable size range (<10 micron). Eventually, there is likely to be a habitable base and rovers available to reach distant targets for sample acquisition. Despite designs that could minimize the entry of dust into habitats and rovers, it is reasonable to expect lunar dust to pollute both as operations progress. Apollo astronauts were exposed briefly to dust at nuisance levels, but stays of up to 6 months on the lunar surface are envisioned. Will repeated episodic exposures to lunar dust present a health hazard to those engaged in lunar exploration? Using rats exposed to lunar dust by nose-only inhalation, we set out to investigate that question.

THOR Fluxgate Magnetometer (MAG)

Science.gov (United States)

Nakamura, Rumi; Eastwood, Jonathan; Magnes, Werner; Carr, Christopher, M.; O'Brien, Helen, L.; Narita, Yasuhito; K, Chen, Christopher H.; Berghofer, Gerhard; Valavanoglou, Aris; Delva, Magda; Plaschke, Ferdinand; Cupido, Emanuele; Soucek, Jan

2017-04-01

Turbulence Heating ObserveR (THOR) is the first mission ever flown in space dedicated to plasma turbulence. The fluxgate Magnetometer (MAG) measures the background to low frequency magnetic field. The high sensitivity measurements of MAG enable to characterize the nature of turbulent fluctuations as well as the large-scale context. MAG will provide the reference system for determining anisotropy of field fluctuations, pitch-angle and gyro-phase of particles. The design of the magnetometer consists of two tri-axial sensors and the related magnetometer electronics; the electronics are hosted on printed circuit boards in the common electronics box of the fields and wave processor (FWP). A fully redundant two- sensor system mounted on a common boom and the new miniaturized low noise design based on MMS and Solar Orbiter instruments enable accurate measurement throughout the region of interest for THOR science. The usage of the common electronics hosted by FWP guarantees to fulfill the required timing accuracy with other fields measurements. These improvements are important to obtain precise measurements of magnetic field, which is essential to estimate basic plasma parameters and correctly identify the spatial and temporal scales of the turbulence. Furthermore, THOR MAG provides high quality data with sufficient overlap with the Search Coil Magnetometer (SCM) in frequency space to obtain full coverage of the wave forms over all the frequencies necessary to obtain the full solar wind turbulence spectrum from MHD to kinetic range with sufficient accuracy. We discuss the role of MAG in THOR key science questions and present the new developments during Phase A such as the finalised instrument design, MAG relevant requirement, and new calibraion schemes.

Lunar Global Heat Flow: Predictions and Constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Siegler, M.; Williams, J. P.; Paige, D. A.; Feng, J.

2017-12-01

The global thermal state of the Moon provides fundamental information on its bulk composition and interior evolution. The Moon is known to have a highly asymmetric surface composition [e.g. Lawrence et al., 2003] and crustal thickness [Wieczorek et al.,2012], which is suspected to result from interior asymmetries [Wieczorek and Phillips, 2000; Laneuville et al., 2013]. This is likely to cause a highly asymmetric surface heat flux, both past and present. Our understanding the thermal evolution and composition of the bulk moon therefore requires a global picture of the present lunar thermal state, well beyond our two-point Apollo era measurement. As on the on the Earth, heat flow measurements need to be taken in carefully selected locations to truly characterize the state of the planet's interior. Future surface heat flux and seismic observations will be affected by the presence of interior temperature and crustal radiogenic anomalies, so placement of such instruments is critically important for understanding the lunar interior. The unfortunate coincidence that Apollo geophysical measurements lie areas within or directly abutting the highly radiogenic, anomalously thin-crusted Procellarum region highlights the importance of location for in situ geophysical study [e.g. Siegler and Smrekar, 2014]. Here we present the results of new models of global lunar geothermal heat flux. We synthesize data from several recent missions to constrain lunar crustal composition, thickness and density to provide global predictions of the surface heat flux of the Moon. We also discuss implications from new surface heat flux constraints from the LRO Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment and Chang'E 2 Microwave Radiometer. We will identify areas with the highest uncertainty to provide insight on the placement of future landed geophysical missions, such as the proposed Lunar Geophysical Network, to better aim our future exploration of the Moon.

Lunar Industry & Research Base Concept

Science.gov (United States)

Lysenko, J.; Kaliapin, M.; Osinovyy, G.

2017-09-01

Currently, all main space industry players, such as Europe, USA, Russia, China, etc., are looking back again at the idea of Moon exploration building there a manned lunar base. Alongside with other world spacefaring nations, Yuzhnoye State Design Office with its long-time development experience, technological and intellectual potential, organized its own conceptual work on development of the Lunar Industry & Research Base. In the frames of conceptual project "Lunar Industrial & Research Base" were formed its appearance, preliminary configuration and infrastructure at different stages of operation, trajectory and flight scheme to the Moon, as well as terms of the project's realization, and main technical characteristics of the systems under development, such as space transportation system for crew and cargo delivery to lunar surface and return to Earth, standardized designs of lunar modules, lunar surface vehicles, etc. The "Lunar Industrial & Research Base" project's preliminary risk assessment has shown a high value of its overall risk due to the lack of reliable information about the Moon, technical risks, long-term development of its elements, very high financial costs and dependence on state support. This points to the fact that it is reasonable to create such a global project in cooperation with other countries. International cooperation will expand the capabilities of any nation, reduce risks and increase the success probability of automated or manned space missions. It is necessary to create and bring into operation practical mechanisms for long-term space exploration on a global scale. One of the ways to do this is to create a multinational agency which would include both state enterprises and private companies.

Atomic magnetometer for human magnetoencephalograpy.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schwindt, Peter; Johnson, Cort N.

2010-12-01

We have developed a high sensitivity (<5 fTesla/{radical}Hz), fiber-optically coupled magnetometer to detect magnetic fields produced by the human brain. This is the first demonstration of a noncryogenic sensor that could replace cryogenic superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometers in magnetoencephalography (MEG) and is an important advance in realizing cost-effective MEG. Within the sensor, a rubidium vapor is optically pumped with 795 laser light while field-induced optical rotations are measured with 780 nm laser light. Both beams share a single optical axis to maximize simplicity and compactness. In collaboration with neuroscientists at The Mind Research Network in Albuquerque, NM, the evoked responses resulting from median nerve and auditory stimulation were recorded with the atomic magnetometer and a commercial SQUID-based MEG system with signals comparing favorably. Multi-sensor operation has been demonstrated with two AMs placed on opposite sides of the head. Straightforward miniaturization would enable high-density sensor arrays for whole-head magnetoencephalography.

Surface erosion and sedimentation caused by ejecta from the lunar crater Tycho

Science.gov (United States)

Shkuratov, Y.; Basilevsky, A.; Kaydash, V.; Ivanov, B.; Korokhin, V.; Videen, G.

2018-02-01

We use Kaguya MI images acquired at wavelengths 415, 750, and 950 nm to map TiO2 and FeO content and the parameter of optical maturity OMAT in lunar regions Lubiniezky E and Taurus-Littrow with a spatial resolution of 20 m using the Lucey method [Lucey et al., JGR 2000, 105. 20,297]. We show that some ejecta from large craters, such as Tycho and Copernicus may cause lunar surface erosion, transportation of the eroded material and its sedimentation. The traces of the erosion resemble wind tails observed on Earth, Mars, and Venus, although the Moon has no atmosphere. The highland material of the local topographic prominences could be mobilized by Tycho's granolometrically fine ejecta and caused by its transportation along the ejecta way to adjacent mare areas and subsequent deposition. The tails of mobilized material reveal lower abundances of Ti and Fe than the surrounding mare surface. We have concluded that high-Ti streaks also seen in the Lubiniezky E site, which show unusual combinations of the TiO2 and FeO content on the correlation diagram, could be the result of erosion by Tycho's ejecta too. In these locations, Tycho's material did not form a consolidated deposit, but resulted in erosion of the mare surface material that became intermixed, consequently, diluting the ejecta. The Taurus-Littrow did provide evidence of the mechanical effect of Tycho's ejecta on the local landforms (landslide, secondary craters) and do not show the compositional signature of Tycho's ejecta probably due to intermixing with local materials and dilution.

Lunar Map Catalog

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Lunar Map Catalog includes various maps of the moon's surface, including Apollo landing sites; earthside, farside, and polar charts; photography index maps; zone...

Heterogeneity in lunar anorthosite meteorites: implications for the lunar magma ocean model.

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Sara S; Joy, Katherine H; Jeffries, Teresa E; Consolmagno, Guy J; Kearsley, Anton

2014-09-13

The lunar magma ocean model is a well-established theory of the early evolution of the Moon. By this model, the Moon was initially largely molten and the anorthositic crust that now covers much of the lunar surface directly crystallized from this enormous magma source. We are undertaking a study of the geochemical characteristics of anorthosites from lunar meteorites to test this model. Rare earth and other element abundances have been measured in situ in relict anorthosite clasts from two feldspathic lunar meteorites: Dhofar 908 and Dhofar 081. The rare earth elements were present in abundances of approximately 0.1 to approximately 10× chondritic (CI) abundance. Every plagioclase exhibited a positive Eu-anomaly, with Eu abundances of up to approximately 20×CI. Calculations of the melt in equilibrium with anorthite show that it apparently crystallized from a magma that was unfractionated with respect to rare earth elements and ranged in abundance from 8 to 80×CI. Comparisons of our data with other lunar meteorites and Apollo samples suggest that there is notable heterogeneity in the trace element abundances of lunar anorthosites, suggesting these samples did not all crystallize from a common magma source. Compositional and isotopic data from other authors also suggest that lunar anorthosites are chemically heterogeneous and have a wide range of ages. These observations may support other models of crust formation on the Moon or suggest that there are complexities in the lunar magma ocean scenario to allow for multiple generations of anorthosite formation. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Evaluating Detection and Estimation Capabilities of Magnetometer-Based Vehicle Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-01

fluxgate magnetometers whose operating characteristics are well documented [1, 2]. Such magnetometers measure two perpendicular magnetic components of...of surveillance scenarios. As part of that work, this analysis focuses on UGS utilizing of two-axis fluxgate magnetometers . Two MOPs are 12 -60 -40 -20...Proceedings of the IEEE, 78(6):973–989, June 1990. [2] E. M. Billingsley and S. W. Billingsley. Fluxgate magnetometers . Proceedings of the IEEE, 5090(194

Simulations of Water Migration in the Lunar Exosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Hurley, D.; Benna, M.; Mahaffy, P. R.; Elphic, R. C.; Goldstein, D. B.

2014-12-01

We perform modeling and analysis of water in the lunar exosphere. There were two controlled experiments of water interactions with the surface of the Moon observed by the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) Neutral Mass Spectrometer (NMS). The Chang'e 3 landing on the Moon on 14 Dec 2013 putatively sprayed ~120 kg of water on the surface on the Moon at a mid-morning local time. Observations by LADEE near the noon meridian on six of the orbits in the 24 hours following the landing constrain the propagation of water vapor. Further, on 4 Apr 2014, LADEE's Orbital Maintenance Manuever (OMM) #21 sprayed the surface of the Moon with an estimated 0.73 kg of water in the pre-dawn sector. Observations of this maneuver and later in the day constrain the adsorption and release at dawn of adsorbed materials. Using the Chang'e 3 exhaust plume and LADEE's OMM-21 as control experiments, we set limits to the adsorption and thermalization of water with lunar regolith. This enables us to predict the efficiency of the migration of water as a delivery mechanism to the lunar poles. Then we simulate the migration of water through the lunar exosphere using the rate of sporadic inputs from meteoritic sources (Benna et al., this session). Simulations predict the amount of water adsorbed to the surface of the Moon and the effective delivery rate to the lunar polar cold traps.

Vector Magnetometer Application with Moving Carriers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrii Prystai

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In magnetic prospecting the aeromagnetic survey is a widespread method used for research in large territories or in the areas with difficult access (forests, swamps, shallow waters. At present, a new type of mobile carriers – remotely piloted vehicles or drones – is becoming very common. The drones supplied by magnetometer can be also used for underground utility location (for example, steel and concrete constructions, buried power cables, to name a few. For aeromagnetic survey, obtaining of 3-component magnetic field data gives higher processing precision, so the fluxgate magnetometers (FGM seem to be the most preferable by reason of low weight, noise, power consumption and costs. During movement of FGM fixed to a drone practically permanent attitude changes in the Earth’s magnetic field arises with corresponding changes of its projection at FGM axes. Also the electromagnetic interference from the drone motor and uncontrolled oscillations of drone and suspension are the factors which limit the magnetometer sensitivity level. Aroused because of this, signals significantly exceed the expected signals from a studied object and so should be removed by proper interference filtration and use of stabilized towed construction, as well as at data processing. To find the necessary resolution threshold of a drone-portable FGM, the modeling was made to estimate magnetic field value from a small sphere about 1 cm radius at the minimal altitude of drone flight and it was shown that such a small object can be reliably detected if the FGM noise level is less than 0.15 nT. Next requirement is the necessity to decrease as much as possible the FGM power consumption with retention of low noise level. Finally, because of drone movement, the broadening of a frequency range should be done. The LEMI-026 magnetometer was developed satisfying all requirements to the drone-mounted device. The field tests were successfully performed using two of LEMI-026

Lunar Navigation Architecture Design Considerations

Science.gov (United States)

D'Souza, Christopher; Getchius, Joel; Holt, Greg; Moreau, Michael

2009-01-01

The NASA Constellation Program is aiming to establish a long-term presence on the lunar surface. The Constellation elements (Orion, Altair, Earth Departure Stage, and Ares launch vehicles) will require a lunar navigation architecture for navigation state updates during lunar-class missions. Orion in particular has baselined earth-based ground direct tracking as the primary source for much of its absolute navigation needs. However, due to the uncertainty in the lunar navigation architecture, the Orion program has had to make certain assumptions on the capabilities of such architectures in order to adequately scale the vehicle design trade space. The following paper outlines lunar navigation requirements, the Orion program assumptions, and the impacts of these assumptions to the lunar navigation architecture design. The selection of potential sites was based upon geometric baselines, logistical feasibility, redundancy, and abort support capability. Simulated navigation covariances mapped to entry interface flightpath- angle uncertainties were used to evaluate knowledge errors. A minimum ground station architecture was identified consisting of Goldstone, Madrid, Canberra, Santiago, Hartebeeshoek, Dongora, Hawaii, Guam, and Ascension Island (or the geometric equivalent).

Lunar Dust Mitigation Screens

Science.gov (United States)

Knutson, Shawn; Holloway, Nancy

With plans for the United States to return to the moon, and establish a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface many issues must be successfully overcome. Lunar dust is one of a number of issues with the potential to create a myriad of problems if not adequately addressed. Samples of dust brought back from Apollo missions show it to be soft, yet sharp and abrasive. The dust consists of a variety of morphologies including spherical, angular blocks, shards, and a number of irregular shapes. One of the main issues with lunar dust is its attraction to stick to anything it comes in contact with (i.e. astronauts, equipment, habitats, etc.). Ionized radiation from the sun strikes the moon's surface and creates an electrostatic charge on the dust. Further, the dust harbors van der Waals forces making it especially difficult to separate once it sticks to a surface. During the Apollo missions, it was discovered that trying to brush the lunar dust from spacesuits was not effective, and rubbing it caused degradation of the suit material. Further, when entering the lunar module after moonwalks, the astronauts noted that the dust was so prolific inside the cabin that they inhaled and ingested it, causing at least one of them, Harrison "Jack" Schmidt, to report irritation of the throat and lungs. It is speculated that the dust could also harm an astronaut's nervous and cardiovascular systems, especially during an extended stay. In addition to health issues, the dust can also cause problems by scouring reflective coatings off of thermal blankets, and roughening surfaces of windows and optics. Further, panels on solar cells and photovoltaics can also be compromised due to dust sticking on the surfaces. Lunar dust has the capacity to penetrate seals, interfere with connectors, as well as mechanisms on digging machines, all of which can lead to problems and failure. To address lunar dust issues, development of electrostatic screens to mitigate dust on sur-faces is currently

The MAGSAT vector magnetometer: A precision fluxgate magnetometer for the measurement of the geomagnetic field

Science.gov (United States)

Acuna, M. H.; Scearce, C. S.; Seek, J.; Scheifele, J.

1978-01-01

A description of the precision triaxial fluxgate magnetometer to be flown aboard the MAGSAT spacecraft is presented. The instrument covers the range of + or - 64,000 nT with a resolution of + or - 0.5 nT, an intrinsic accuracy of + or - 0.001% of full scale and an angular alignment stability of the order of 2 seconds of arc. It was developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and represents the state-of-the-art in precision vector magnetometers developed for spaceflight use.

A simple fluxgate magnetometer using amorphous alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghatak, S.K.; Mitra, A.

1992-01-01

A simple fluxgate magnetometer is developed using low magnetostrictive ferromagnetic amorphous alloy acting as a sensing element. It uses the fact that the magnetization of sensing element symmetrically magnetized by a sinusoidal field contains even harmonic components in presence of dc signal field H and the amplitude of the second harmonic component of magnetization is proportional to H. The sensitivity and linearity of the magnetometer with signal field are studied for parallel configuration and the field ranging from 10 nT to 10 μT can be measured. The functioning of the magnetometer is demonstrated by studying the shielding and flux-trapping phenomena in high-Tc superconductor. (orig.)

Detection of the lunar body tide by the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazarico, Erwan; Barker, Michael K; Neumann, Gregory A; Zuber, Maria T; Smith, David E

2014-04-16

The Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft collected more than 5 billion measurements in the nominal 50 km orbit over ∼10,000 orbits. The data precision, geodetic accuracy, and spatial distribution enable two-dimensional crossovers to be used to infer relative radial position corrections between tracks to better than ∼1 m. We use nearly 500,000 altimetric crossovers to separate remaining high-frequency spacecraft trajectory errors from the periodic radial surface tidal deformation. The unusual sampling of the lunar body tide from polar lunar orbit limits the size of the typical differential signal expected at ground track intersections to ∼10 cm. Nevertheless, we reliably detect the topographic tidal signal and estimate the associated Love number h 2 to be 0.0371 ± 0.0033, which is consistent with but lower than recent results from lunar laser ranging. Altimetric data are used to create radial constraints on the tidal deformationThe body tide amplitude is estimated from the crossover dataThe estimated Love number is consistent with previous estimates but more precise.

Design of guidance laws for lunar pinpoint soft landing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Guo, J.; Han, C.

2009-01-01

Future lunar missions ask for the capability to perform precise Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) to the selected landing sites on the lunar surface. This paper studies the guidance issues for the lunar pinpoint soft landing problem. The primary contribution of this paper is the design of

Radar studies of the planets. [radar measurements of lunar surface, Mars, Mercury, and Venus

Science.gov (United States)

Ingalls, R. P.; Pettengill, G. H.; Rogers, A. E. E.; Sebring, P. B. (Editor); Shapiro, I. I.

1974-01-01

The radar measurements phase of the lunar studies involving reflectivity and topographic mapping of the visible lunar surface was ended in December 1972, but studies of the data and production of maps have continued. This work was supported by Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston. Topographic mapping of the equatorial regions of Mars has been carried out during the period of each opposition since that of 1967. The method comprised extended precise traveling time measurements to a small area centered on the subradar point. As measurements continued, planetary motions caused this point to sweep out extensive areas in both latitude and longitude permitting the development of a fairly extensive topographical map in the equatorial region. Radar observations of Mercury and Venus have also been made over the past few years. Refinements of planetary motions, reflectivity maps and determinations of rotation rates have resulted.

Lunar dust transport and potential interactions with power system components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katzan, C.M.; Edwards, J.L.

1991-11-01

The lunar surface is covered by a thick blanket of fine dust. This dust may be readily suspended from the surface and transported by a variety of mechanisms. As a consequence, lunar dust can accumulate on sensitive power components, such as photovoltaic arrays and radiator surfaces, reducing their performance. In addition to natural mechanisms, human activities on the Moon will disturb significant amounts of lunar dust. Of all the mechanisms identified, the most serious is rocket launch and landing. The return of components from the Surveyor III provided a rare opportunity to observe the effects of the nearby landing of the Apollo 12 lunar module. The evidence proved that significant dust accumulation occurred on the Surveyor at a distance of 155 m. From available information on particle suspension and transport mechanisms, a series of models was developed to predict dust accumulation as a function of distance from the lunar module. The accumulation distribution was extrapolated to a future lunar lander scenario. These models indicate that accumulation is expected to be substantial even as far as 2 km from the landing site. Estimates of the performance penalties associated with lunar dust coverage on radiators and photovoltaic arrays are presented. Because of the lunar dust adhesive and cohesive properties, the most practical dust defensive strategy appears to be the protection of sensitive components from the arrival of lunar dust by location, orientation, or barriers

Lunar dust transport and potential interactions with power system components

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Katzan, C.M.; Edwards, J.L.

1991-11-01

The lunar surface is covered by a thick blanket of fine dust. This dust may be readily suspended from the surface and transported by a variety of mechanisms. As a consequence, lunar dust can accumulate on sensitive power components, such as photovoltaic arrays and radiator surfaces, reducing their performance. In addition to natural mechanisms, human activities on the Moon will disturb significant amounts of lunar dust. Of all the mechanisms identified, the most serious is rocket launch and landing. The return of components from the Surveyor III provided a rare opportunity to observe the effects of the nearby landing of the Apollo 12 lunar module. The evidence proved that significant dust accumulation occurred on the Surveyor at a distance of 155 m. From available information on particle suspension and transport mechanisms, a series of models was developed to predict dust accumulation as a function of distance from the lunar module. The accumulation distribution was extrapolated to a future lunar lander scenario. These models indicate that accumulation is expected to be substantial even as far as 2 km from the landing site. Estimates of the performance penalties associated with lunar dust coverage on radiators and photovoltaic arrays are presented. Because of the lunar dust adhesive and cohesive properties, the most practical dust defensive strategy appears to be the protection of sensitive components from the arrival of lunar dust by location, orientation, or barriers.

Lunar Riometry: Proof-of-Concept Instrument Package

Science.gov (United States)

Lazio, J.; Jones, D. L.; MacDowall, R. J.; Stewart, K.; Giersch, L.; Burns, J. O.; Farrell, W. M.; Kasper, J. C.; O'Dwyer, I.; Hartman, J.

2012-12-01

The lunar exosphere is the exemplar of a plasma near the surface of an airless body. Exposed to both the solar and interstellar radiation fields, the lunar exosphere is mostly ionized, and enduring questions regarding its properties include its density and vertical extent, the extent of contributions from volatile outgassing from the Moon, and its behavior over time, including response to the solar wind and modification by landers. Relative ionospheric measurements (riometry) is based on the simple physical principle that electromagnetic waves cannot propagate through a partially or fully ionized medium below the plasma frequency, and riometers have been deployed on the Earth in numerous remote and hostile environments. A multi-frequency riometer on the lunar surface would be able to monitor, in situ, the vertical extent of the lunar exosphere over time. We describe a concept for a riometer implemented as a secondary science payload on future lunar landers, such as those recommended in the recent Planetary Sciences Decadal Survey report. The instrument concept is simple, consisting of an antenna implemented as a metal deposited on polyimide film and receiver. We illustrate various deployment mechanisms and performance of a prototype in increasing lunar analog conditions. While the prime mission of such a riometer would be probing the lunar exosphere, our concept would also be capable to measuring the properties of dust impactors. The Lunar University Network for Astrophysical Research consortium is funded by the NASA Lunar Science Institute to investigate concepts for astrophysical observatories on the Moon. Part of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with NASA.

The Kaguya Lunar Atlas The Moon in High Resolution

CERN Document Server

Shirao, Motomaro

2011-01-01

In late 2007 the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency placed the Kaguya/Selene spacecraft in orbit around the Moon. Like previous lunar orbiters, Kaguya carried scientific instruments to probe the Moon’s surface and interior. But it also had the first high-definition television camera (HDTV) sent to the Moon. Sponsored by the Japanese NHK TV network, the HDTV has amazed both scientists and the public with its magnificent views of the lunar surface. What makes the images much more engaging than standard vertical-view lunar photographs is that they were taken looking obliquely along the flight path. Thus, they show the Moon as it would be seen by an astronaut looking through a porthole window while orbiting only 100 km above the lunar surface. This is the view we all would wish to have, but are never likely to, except vicariously through the awe-inspiring Kaguya HDTV images. The remarkable Kaguya/Selene HDTV images are used here to create a new type of lunar atlas. Because of the unique perspective of the imag...

Lunar Polar Cold Traps: Spatial Distribution and Temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Paige, David A.; Siegler, M.; Lawrence, D. J.

2006-09-01

We have developed a ray-tracing and radiosity model that can accurately calculate lunar surface and subsurface temperatures for arbitrary topography. Using available digital elevation models for the lunar north and south polar regions derived from Clementine laser altimeter and image data, as well as ground-based radar data, we have calculated lunar surface and subsurface temperatures at 2 km resolution that include full effects of indirect solar and infrared radiation due to topography. We compare our thermal model results with maps of epithermal neutron flux measured by Lunar Prospector. When we use the ray tracing and thermal model to account for the effects of temperature and topography on the neutron measurements, our results show that the majority of the moon's polar cold traps are not filled with water ice.

Battlefield Applications for the Polatomic 2000 Magnetometer/Gradiometer

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Kuhlman, G

2002-01-01

... He(4) scalar magnetometer/gradiometer. A major innovation in the P-2000 helium magnetometer is the introduction of a laser pump source to replace the conventional RF discharge helium lamp used in the Navy AN/ASQ-81/208 MAD Set...

Digital fluxgate magnetometer: design notes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belyayev, Serhiy; Ivchenko, Nickolay

2015-01-01

We presented an approach to understanding the performance of a fully digital fluxgate magnetometer. All elements of the design are important for the performance of the instrument, and the presence of the digital feed-back loop introduces certain peculiarities affecting the noise and dynamic performance of the instrument. Ultimately, the quantisation noise of the digital to analogue converter is found to dominate the noise of the current design, although noise shaping alleviates its effect to some extent. An example of magnetometer measurements on board a sounding rocket is presented, and ways to further improve the performance of the instrument are discussed. (paper)

Digital fluxgate magnetometer: design notes

Science.gov (United States)

Belyayev, Serhiy; Ivchenko, Nickolay

2015-12-01

We presented an approach to understanding the performance of a fully digital fluxgate magnetometer. All elements of the design are important for the performance of the instrument, and the presence of the digital feed-back loop introduces certain peculiarities affecting the noise and dynamic performance of the instrument. Ultimately, the quantisation noise of the digital to analogue converter is found to dominate the noise of the current design, although noise shaping alleviates its effect to some extent. An example of magnetometer measurements on board a sounding rocket is presented, and ways to further improve the performance of the instrument are discussed.

Understanding the Lunar System Architecture Design Space

Science.gov (United States)

Arney, Dale C.; Wilhite, Alan W.; Reeves, David M.

2013-01-01

Based on the flexible path strategy and the desire of the international community, the lunar surface remains a destination for future human exploration. This paper explores options within the lunar system architecture design space, identifying performance requirements placed on the propulsive system that performs Earth departure within that architecture based on existing and/or near-term capabilities. The lander crew module and ascent stage propellant mass fraction are primary drivers for feasibility in multiple lander configurations. As the aggregation location moves further out of the lunar gravity well, the lunar lander is required to perform larger burns, increasing the sensitivity to these two factors. Adding an orbit transfer stage to a two-stage lunar lander and using a large storable stage for braking with a one-stage lunar lander enable higher aggregation locations than Low Lunar Orbit. Finally, while using larger vehicles enables a larger feasible design space, there are still feasible scenarios that use three launches of smaller vehicles.

CE-4 Mission and Future Journey to Lunar

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Yongliao; Wang, Qin; Liu, Xiaoqun

2016-07-01

Chang'E-4 mission, being undertaken by phase two of China Lunar Exploration Program, represents China's first attempt to explore farside of lunar surface. Its probe includes a lander, a rover and a telecommunication relay which is scheduled to launch in around 2018. The scientific objectives of CE-4 mission will be implemented to investigate the lunar regional geological characteristics of landing and roving area, and also will make the first radio-astronomy measurements from the most radio-quiet region of near-earth space. The rover will opreate for at least 3 months, the lander for half a year, and the relay for no less than 3 years. Its scinetific instruments includes Cameras, infrared imaging spectrometer, Penetrating Radar onboard the rover in which is the same as the paylads on board the CE-3 rover, and a Dust-analyzer, a Temperature-instrument and a Wide Band Low Frequency Digital Radio Astronomical Station will be installed on board the lander. Our scientific goals of the future lunar exploration will aim at the lunar geology, resources and surface environments. A series of exploraion missions such as robotic exploration and non-manned lunar scientific station is proposed in this paper.

Sound velocity and compressibility for lunar rocks 17 and 46 and for glass spheres from the lunar soil.

Science.gov (United States)

Schreiber, E; Anderson, O L; Sogat, N; Warren, N; Scholz, C

1970-01-30

Four experiments on lunar materials are reported: (i) resonance on glass spheres from the soil; (ii) compressibility of rock 10017; (iii) sound velocities of rocks 10046 and 10017; (iv) sound velocity of the lunar fines. The data overlap and are mutually consistent. The glass beads and rock 10017 have mechanical properties which correspond to terrestrial materials. Results of (iv) are consistent with low seismic travel times in the lunar maria. Results of analysis of the microbreccia (10046) agreed with the soil during the first pressure cycle, but after overpressure the rock changed, and it then resembled rock 10017. Three models of the lunar surface were constructed giving density and velocity profiles.

The ESA Lunar Lander and the search for Lunar Volatiles

Science.gov (United States)

Morse, A. D.; Barber, S. J.; Pillinger, J. M.; Sheridan, S.; Wright, I. P.; Gibson, E. K.; Merrifield, J. A.; Waltham, N. R.; Waugh, L. J.; Pillinger, C. T.

2011-10-01

Following the Apollo era the moon was considered a volatile poor body. Samples collected from the Apollo missions contained only ppm levels of water formed by the interaction of the solar wind with the lunar regolith [1]. However more recent orbiter observations have indicated that water may exist as water ice in cold polar regions buried within craters at concentrations of a few wt. % [2]. Infrared images from M3 on Chandrayaan-1 have been interpreted as showing the presence of hydrated surface minerals with the ongoing hydroxyl/water process feeding cold polar traps. This has been supported by observation of ephemeral features termed "space dew" [3]. Meanwhile laboratory studies indicate that water could be present in appreciable quantities in lunar rocks [4] and could also have a cometary source [5]. The presence of sufficient quantities of volatiles could provide a resource which would simplify logistics for long term lunar missions. The European Space Agency (ESA's Directorate of Human Spaceflight and Operations) have provisionally scheduled a robotic mission to demonstrate key technologies to enable later human exploration. Planned for launch in 2018, the primary aim is for precise automated landing, with hazard avoidance, in zones which are almost constantly illuminated (e.g. at the edge of the Shackleton crater at the lunar south pole). These regions would enable the solar powered Lander to survive for long periods > 6 months, but require accurate navigation to within 200m. Although landing in an illuminated area, these regions are close to permanently shadowed volatile rich regions and the analysis of volatiles is a major science objective of the mission. The straw man payload includes provision for a Lunar Volatile and Resources Analysis Package (LVRAP). The authors have been commissioned by ESA to conduct an evaluation of possible technologies to be included in L-VRAP which can be included within the Lander payload. Scientific aims are to demonstrate the

Digital fluxgate magnetometer for the "Astrid-2" satellite

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Erik Bøje; Primdahl, Fritz; Petersen, Jan Raagaard

1999-01-01

The design and performance of the Astrid-2 magnetometer are described. The magnetometer uses mathematical routines implemented by software for commercially available digital dignal processors to determine the magnetic field from the fluxgate sensor. The sensor is from the latest generation of amo...

The Design of Two Nano-Rovers for Lunar Surface Exploration in the Context of the Google Lunar X Prize

Science.gov (United States)

Gill, E.; Honfi Camilo, L.; Kuystermans, P.; Maas, A. S. B. B.; Buutfeld, B. A. M.; van der Pols, R. H.

2008-09-01

This paper summarizes a study performed by ten students at the Delft University of Technology on a lunar exploration vehicle suited for competing in the Google Lunar X Prize1. The design philosophy aimed at a quick and simple design process, to comply with the mission constraints. This is achieved by using conventional technology and performing the mission with two identical rovers, increasing reliability and simplicity of systems. Both rovers are however capable of operating independently. The required subsystems have been designed for survival and operation on the lunar surface for an estimated mission lifetime of five days. This preliminary study shows that it is possible for two nano-rovers to perform the basic exploration tasks. The mission has been devised such that after launch the rovers endure a 160 hour voyage to the Moon after which they will land on Sinus Medii with a dedicated lunar transfer/lander vehicle. The mission outline itself has the two nano-rovers travelling in the same direction, moving simultaneously. This mission characteristic allows a quick take-over of the required tasks by the second rover in case of one rover breakdown. The main structure of the rovers will consist of Aluminium 2219 T851, due to its good thermal properties and high hardness. Because of the small dimensions of the rovers, the vehicles will use rigid caterpillar tracks as locomotion system. The track systems are sealed from lunar dust using closed track to prevent interference with the mechanisms. This also prevents any damage to the electronics inside the tracks. For the movement speed a velocity of 0.055 m/s has been determined. This is about 90% of the maximum rover velocity, allowing direct control from Earth. The rovers are operated by a direct control loop, involving the mission control center. In order to direct the rovers safely, a continuous video link with the Earth is necessary to assess its immediate surroundings. Two forward pointing navigational cameras

Integrated lunar materials manufacturing process

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, Michael A. (Inventor); Knudsen, Christian W. (Inventor)

1990-01-01

A manufacturing plant and process for production of oxygen on the moon uses lunar minerals as feed and a minimum of earth-imported, process materials. Lunar feed stocks are hydrogen-reducible minerals, ilmenite and lunar agglutinates occurring in numerous, explored locations mixed with other minerals in the pulverized surface layer of lunar soil known as regolith. Ilmenite (FeTiO.sub.3) and agglutinates contain ferrous (Fe.sup.+2) iron reducible by hydrogen to yield H.sub.2 O and metallic Fe at about 700.degree.-1,200.degree. C. The H.sub.2 O is electrolyzed in gas phase to yield H.sub.2 for recycle and O.sub.2 for storage and use. Hydrogen losses to lunar vacuum are minimized, with no net hydrogen (or any other earth-derived reagent) consumption except for small leaks. Feed minerals are surface-mined by front shovels and transported in trucks to the processing area. The machines are manned or robotic. Ilmenite and agglutinates occur mixed with silicate minerals which are not hydrogen-reducible at 700.degree.-1,200.degree. C. and consequently are separated and concentrated before feeding to the oxygen generation process. Solids rejected from the separation step and reduced solids from the oxygen process are returned to the mine area. The plant is powered by nuclear or solar power generators. Vapor-phase water electrolysis, a staged, countercurrent, fluidized bed reduction reactor and a radio-frequency-driven ceramic gas heater are used to improve thermal efficiency.

Surface Support Systems for Co-Operative and Integrated Human/Robotic Lunar Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Robert P.

2006-01-01

Human and robotic partnerships to realize space goals can enhance space missions and provide increases in human productivity while decreasing the hazards that the humans are exposed to. For lunar exploration, the harsh environment of the moon and the repetitive nature of the tasks involved with lunar outpost construction, maintenance and operation as well as production tasks associated with in-situ resource utilization, make it highly desirable to use robotic systems in co-operation with human activity. A human lunar outpost is functionally examined and concepts for selected human/robotic tasks are discussed in the context of a lunar outpost which will enable the presence of humans on the moon for extended periods of time.

Lunar Meteorites: A Global Geochemical Dataset

Science.gov (United States)

Zeigler, R. A.; Joy, K. H.; Arai, T.; Gross, J.; Korotev, R. L.; McCubbin, F. M.

2017-01-01

bulk of the chapter will use examples from the lunar meteorite suite to examine important recent advances in lunar science, including (but not limited to the following: (1) Understanding the global compositional diversity of the lunar surface; (2) Understanding the formation of the ancient lunar primary crust; (3) Understanding the diversity and timing of mantle melting, and secondary crust formation; (4) Comparing KREEPy lunar meteorites to KREEPy Apollo samples as evidence of variability within the PKT; and (5) A better understanding of the South Pole Aitken Basin through lunar meteorites whose provenance are within that Terrane.

Numerical Simulations of the Lunar Penetrating Radar and Investigations of the Geological Structures of the Lunar Regolith Layer at the Chang’E 3 Landing Site

OpenAIRE

Ding, Chunyu; Su, Yan; Xing, Shuguo; Dai, Shun; Xiao, Yuan; Feng, Jianqing; Liu, Danqing; Li, Chunlai

2017-01-01

In the process of lunar exploration, and specifically when studying lunar surface structure and thickness, the established lunar regolith model is usually a uniform and ideal structural model, which is not well-suited to describe the real structure of the lunar regolith layer. The present study aims to explain the geological structural information contained in the channel 2 LPR (lunar penetrating radar) data. In this paper, the random medium theory and Apollo drilling core data are used to co...

Lunar Radio Telescopes: A Staged Approach for Lunar Science, Heliophysics, Astrobiology, Cosmology, and Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Lazio, Joseph; Bowman, Judd D.; Burns, Jack O.; Farrell, W. M.; Jones, D. L.; Kasper, J. C.; MacDowall, R. J.; Stewart, K. P.; Weiler, K.

2012-01-01

Observations with radio telescopes address key problems in cosmology, astrobiology, heliophysics, and planetary science including the first light in the Universe (Cosmic Dawn), magnetic fields of extrasolar planets, particle acceleration mechanisms, and the lunar ionosphere. The Moon is a unique science platform because it allows access to radio frequencies that do not penetrate the Earth's ionosphere and because its far side is shielded from intense terrestrial emissions. The instrument packages and infrastructure needed for radio telescopes can be transported and deployed as part of Exploration activities, and the resulting science measurements may inform Exploration (e.g., measurements of lunar surface charging). An illustrative roadmap for the staged deployment of lunar radio telescopes

Characterizing the Lunar Particulate Atmosphere with the Autonomous Lunar Dust Observer (ALDO)

Science.gov (United States)

Grund, C. J.; Colwell, J. A.

2008-07-01

Photoelectric effects and solar wind charge the lunar surface, levitating particles. ALDO maps suspended dust in 3D using lidar. Phenomenology and instrument modeling, applications, projected performance and concepts of operation are discussed.

APOLLO 10 ASTRONAUT ENTERS LUNAR MODULE SIMULATOR

Science.gov (United States)

1969-01-01

Apollo 10 lunar module pilot Eugene A. Cernan prepares to enter the lunar module simulator at the Flight Crew Training Building at the NASA Spaceport. Cernan, Apollo 10 commander Thomas P. Stafford and John W. Young, command module pilot, are to be launched May 18 on the Apollo 10 mission, a dress rehearsal for a lunar landing later this summer. Cernan and Stafford are to detach the lunar module and drop to within 10 miles of the moon's surface before rejoining Young in the command/service module. Looking on as Cernan puts on his soft helmet is Snoopy, the lovable cartoon mutt whose name will be the lunar module code name during the Apollo 10 flight. The command/service module is to bear the code name Charlie Brown.

Parameters and structure of lunar regolith in Chang'E-3 landing area from lunar penetrating radar (LPR) data

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Zehua; Fang, Guangyou; Ji, Yicai; Gao, Yunze; Wu, Chao; Zhang, Xiaojuan

2017-01-01

Chang'E-3 (CE-3) landed in the northwest Mare Imbrium, a region that has not been explored before. Yutu rover that released by CE-3 lander carried the first lunar surface penetrating radar (LPR) for exploring lunar regolith thickness and subsurface shallow geological structures. In this paper, based on the LPR data and the Panoramic Camera (PC) data, we first calculate the lunar surface regolith parameters in CE-3 landing area including its permittivity, density, conductivity and FeO + TiO2 content. LPR data provides a higher spatial resolution and more accuracy for the lunar regolith parameters comparing to other remote sensing techniques, such as orbit radar sounder and microwave sensing or earth-based powerful radar. We also derived the regolith thickness and its weathered rate with much better accuracy in the landing area. The results indicate that the regolith growth rate is much faster than previous estimation, the regolith parameters are not uniform even in such a small study area and the thickness and growth rate of lunar regolith here are different from other areas in Mare Imbrium. We infer that the main reason should be geological deformation that caused by multiple impacts of meteorites in different sizes.

On the control of magnetic perturbing field onboard landers: the Magnetometer Protection program for the ESA ExoMars/Humboldt MSMO magnetometer experiment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Menvielle, M.; Primdahl, Fritz; Brauer, Peter

to planetary research. The major difficulty in implementing a magnetometer experiment onboard a lander is to achieve at acceptable costs a good Magnetometer Protection, namely to control the perturbing magnetic field generated by the lander during operations at the planetary surfa ce, so as to achieve...... scientific payload in the frame of the ESA ExoMars mission. Experience from previous missions constitutes the background for the MSMO Magnetometer Protection strategy. DC and AC lander generated magnetic perturbations are discussed, with particular attention to those related to solar generators. Emphasis...... and very resource consuming....

Development of autonomous magnetometer rotorcraft for wide area assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roelof Versteeg; Matt Anderson; Les Beard; Eric Corban; Darryl Curley; Jeff Gamey; Ross Johnson; Dwight Junkin; Mark McKay; Jared Salzmann; Mikhail Tchernychev; Suraj Unnikrishnan; Scott Vinson

2010-04-01

Large areas across the United States are potentially contaminated with UXO, with some ranges encompassing tens to hundreds of thousands of acres. Technologies are needed which will allow for cost effective wide area scanning with 1) near 100 % coverage and 2) near 100 % detection of subsurface ordnance or features indicative of subsurface ordnance. The current approach to wide area assessment is a multi-level one, in which medium - altitude fixed wing optical imaging is used for an initial site assessment. This assessment is followed with low altitude manned helicopter based magnetometry. Subsequent to this wide area assessment targeted surface investigations are performed using either towed geophysical sensor arrays or man portable sensors. In order to be an effective tool for small UXO detection, the sensing altitude for magnetic site investigations needs to be on the order of 1 – 3 meters. These altitude requirements mean that manned helicopter surveys will generally only be feasible in large, open and relatively flat terrains. While such surveys are effective in mapping large areas relatively fast there are substantial mobilization/demobilization, staffing and equipment costs associated with these surveys (resulting in costs of approximately $100-$150/acre). In addition, due to the low altitude there are substantial risks to pilots and equipment. Surface towed arrays provide high resolution maps but have other limitations, e.g. in their ability to navigate rough terrain effectively. There is thus a need for other systems which can be used for effective data collection. An UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) magnetometer platform is an obvious alternative. The motivation behind such a system is that it reduces risk to operators, is lower in initial and Operational and Maintenance (O&M) costs (and can thus potentially be applied to smaller sites) and has the potential of being more effective in terms of detection and possibly characterization (through the use of

A comparison of two systems for lunar surface remote and mobile power applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Determan, W.R.; Otting, W.D.; Hunt, M.E.

1993-01-01

The free piston Stirling engine (FPSE) is now being developed by Mechanical Technology Incorporated (MTI) and NASA-LeRC for space power applications. Some conceptualizations of an isotope powered FPSE have been proposed. The performance characteristics of the proposed 2.5-kWe Stirling Isotope Power (STIP) system were developed for lunar surface remote and mobile applications. The Stirling system configuration uses a nonredundant power conversion system coupled to an annular heat source assembly (HSA) using an array of sodium heat pipes which transfer energy from the annular general-purpose heat source (GPHS) stack within the HSA to the Stirling heater head. The Stirling engine uses a dual-opposed piston design with heater head coupling. The engine coolers are connected to a single-pumped coolant loop, which rejects the cycle's waste heat to a radiator. Quantitative information, such as mass, area, and efficiency, are reported for the system. The results of a qualitative evaluation of the proposed STIP system against the desirable attributes of a lunar-based isotope power system are presented. Alternate configurations are also presented

Thermodynamics of lunar ilmenite reduction

Science.gov (United States)

Altenberg, B. H.; Franklin, H. A.; Jones, C. H.

1993-01-01

With the prospect of returning to the moon, the development of a lunar occupation would fulfill one of the goals of the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) of the late 1980's. Processing lunar resources into useful products, such as liquid oxygen for fuel and life support, would be one of many aspects of an active lunar base. ilmenite (FeTiO3) is found on the lunar surface and can be used as a feed stock to produce oxygen. Understanding the various ilmenite-reduction reactions elucidates many processing options. Defining the thermodynamic chemical behavior at equilibrium under various conditions of temperature and pressures can be helpful in specifying optimal operating conditions. Differences between a previous theoretical analysis and experimentally determined results has sparked interest in trying to understand the effect of operating pressure on the hydrogen-reduction-of-ilmenite reaction. Various aspects of this reduction reaction are discussed.

Lunar remote sensing and measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, H.J.; Boyce, J.M.; Schaber, G.G.; Scott, D.H.

1980-01-01

Remote sensing and measurements of the Moon from Apollo orbiting spacecraft and Earth form a basis for extrapolation of Apollo surface data to regions of the Moon where manned and unmanned spacecraft have not been and may be used to discover target regions for future lunar exploration which will produce the highest scientific yields. Orbital remote sensing and measurements discussed include (1) relative ages and inferred absolute ages, (2) gravity, (3) magnetism, (4) chemical composition, and (5) reflection of radar waves (bistatic). Earth-based remote sensing and measurements discussed include (1) reflection of sunlight, (2) reflection and scattering of radar waves, and (3) infrared eclipse temperatures. Photographs from the Apollo missions, Lunar Orbiters, and other sources provide a fundamental source of data on the geology and topography of the Moon and a basis for comparing, correlating, and testing the remote sensing and measurements. Relative ages obtained from crater statistics and then empirically correlated with absolute ages indicate that significant lunar volcanism continued to 2.5 b.y. (billion years) ago-some 600 m.y. (million years) after the youngest volcanic rocks sampled by Apollo-and that intensive bombardment of the Moon occurred in the interval of 3.84 to 3.9 b.y. ago. Estimated fluxes of crater-producing objects during the last 50 m.y. agree fairly well with fluxes measured by the Apollo passive seismic stations. Gravity measurements obtained by observing orbiting spacecraft reveal that mare basins have mass concentrations and that the volume of material ejected from the Orientale basin is near 2 to 5 million km 3 depending on whether there has or has not been isostatic compensation, little or none of which has occurred since 3.84 b.y. ago. Isostatic compensation may have occurred in some of the old large lunar basins, but more data are needed to prove it. Steady fields of remanent magnetism were detected by the Apollo 15 and 16 subsatellites

Stratigraphy, Sequence, and Crater Populations of Lunar Impact Basins from Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) Data: Implications for the Late Heavy Bombardment

Science.gov (United States)

Fassett, C. I.; Head, J. W.; Kadish, S. J.; Mazarico, E.; Neumann, G. A.; Smith, D. E.; Zuber, M. T.

2012-01-01

New measurements of the topography of the Moon from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA)[1] provide an excellent base-map for analyzing the large crater population (D.20 km)of the lunar surface [2, 3]. We have recently used this data to calculate crater size-frequency distributions (CSFD) for 30 lunar impact basins, which have implications for their stratigraphy and sequence. These data provide an avenue for assessing the timing of the transitions between distinct crater populations characteristic of ancient and young lunar terrains, which has been linked to the late heavy bombardment (LHB). We also use LOLA data to re-examine relative stratigraphic relationships between key lunar basins.

The search for Ar in the lunar atmosphere using the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's LAMP instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, J. C.; Stern, S. A.; Feldman, P. D.; Gladstone, R.; Retherford, K. D.; Greathouse, T. K.; Grava, C.

2014-12-01

The Apollo 17 mass spectrometer, LACE, first measured mass 40 particles in the lunar atmosphere, and over a nine-month period, detected variations correlated with the lunar day (Hoffman et al., 1973, LPSC, 4, 2865). LACE detected a high particle density at dusk (0.6-1.0x104 cm-3), decreasing through the lunar night to a few hundred cm-3, then increasing rapidly before dawn to levels 2-4 times greater than at dusk. No daytime measurements were made due to instrument saturation. Given the LACE measurements' periodic nature, and the Ar abundance in lunar regolith samples (Kaiser, 1972, EPSL, 13, 387), it was concluded that mass 40 was likely due to Ar. Benna et al. (2014, LPSC, 45, 1535) recently reported that the Neutral Mass Spectrometer (NMS) aboard LADEE also detected Ar (mass 40) with similar diurnal profiles. We report on UV spectra of the lunar atmosphere as obtained by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Aboard LRO is the UV-spectrograph, LAMP (Lyman Alpha Mapping Project), spanning the spectral range 575 to 1965 Å. LAMP is typically oriented toward the surface and has been mapping the Moon since September 2009. LAMP also observes the tenuous lunar atmosphere when the surface is in darkness, but the atmospheric column below LRO is illuminated. We have previously used nadir oriented twilight observations to examine the sparse lunar atmosphere (Feldman et al., 2012, Icarus, 221, 854; Cook et al., 2013, Icarus, 225, 681; Stern et al., 2013, Icarus, 226, 1210; Cook & Stern 2014, Icarus, 236, 48). In Cook et al., 2013, we reported an upper limit for Ar of 2.3x104 cm-3. Since then, we have collected additional data and refined our search method by focusing on the regions (near equator) and local times (dawn and dusk) where Ar has been reported previously. We have carefully considered effective area calibration and g-factor accuracies and find these to be unlikely explanations for the order of magnitude differences. We will report new results, which provide much

Geochemistry of the lunar highlands as revealed by measurements of thermal neutrons.

Science.gov (United States)

Peplowski, Patrick N; Beck, Andrew W; Lawrence, David J

2016-03-01

Thermal neutron emissions from the lunar surface provide a direct measure of bulk elemental composition that can be used to constrain the chemical properties of near-surface (depth lunar materials. We present a new calibration of the Lunar Prospector thermal neutron map, providing a direct link between measured count rates and bulk elemental composition. The data are used to examine the chemical and mineralogical composition of the lunar surface, with an emphasis on constraining the plagioclase concentration across the highlands. We observe that the regions of lowest neutron absorption, which correspond to estimated plagioclase concentrations of >85%, are generally associated with large impact basins and are colocated with clusters of nearly pure plagioclase identified with spectral reflectance data.

[Possibility of exacerbation of allergy by lunar regolith].

Science.gov (United States)

Horie, Masanori; Kambara, Tatsunori; Kuroda, Etsushi; Miki, Takeo; Honma, Yoshiyuki; Aoki, Shigeru; Morimoto, Yasuo

2012-09-01

Japan, U.S.A. and other foreign space agencies have plans for the construction of a lunar base and long-term stay of astronauts on the moon. The surface of the moon is covered by a thick layer of soil that includes fine particles called "lunar regolith", which is formed by meteorite impact and space weathering. Risk assessment of particulate matter on the moon is important for astronauts working in microgravity on the moon. However, there are few investigations about the biological influences of lunar regolith. Especially, there is no investigation about allergic activity to lunar regolith. The main chemical components of lunar regolith are SiO2, Al2O3, CaO, FeO, etc. Of particular interest, approximately 50% of lunar regolith consists of SiO2. There is a report that the astronauts felt hay fever-like symptoms from the inhalation of the lunar regolith. Yellow sand, whose chemical components are similar to lunar regolith, enhances allergenic reactions, suggesting the possibility that lunar regolith has an adjuvant-like activity. Although intraperitoneal administration of lunar regolith with ovalbumin to mouse did not show enhancement of allergenic reactions, further evaluation of lunar regolith's potential to exacerbate the effects of allergies is essential for development of the moon.

[Evaluation of Cellular Effects Caused by Lunar Regolith Simulant Including Fine Particles].

Science.gov (United States)

Horie, Masanori; Miki, Takeo; Honma, Yoshiyuki; Aoki, Shigeru; Morimoto, Yasuo

2015-06-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has announced a plan to establish a manned colony on the surface of the moon, and our country, Japan, has declared its participation. The surface of the moon is covered with soil called lunar regolith, which includes fine particles. It is possible that humans will inhale lunar regolith if it is brought into the spaceship. Therefore, an evaluation of the pulmonary effects caused by lunar regolith is important for exploration of the moon. In the present study, we examine the cellular effects of lunar regolith simulant, whose components are similar to those of lunar regolith. We focused on the chemical component and particle size in particular. The regolith simulant was fractionated to lunar regolith simulant such as cell membrane damage, induction of oxidative stress and proinflammatory effect.

Hazard Detection Software for Lunar Landing

Science.gov (United States)

Huertas, Andres; Johnson, Andrew E.; Werner, Robert A.; Montgomery, James F.

2011-01-01

The Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) Project is developing a system for safe and precise manned lunar landing that involves novel sensors, but also specific algorithms. ALHAT has selected imaging LIDAR (light detection and ranging) as the sensing modality for onboard hazard detection because imaging LIDARs can rapidly generate direct measurements of the lunar surface elevation from high altitude. Then, starting with the LIDAR-based Hazard Detection and Avoidance (HDA) algorithm developed for Mars Landing, JPL has developed a mature set of HDA software for the manned lunar landing problem. Landing hazards exist everywhere on the Moon, and many of the more desirable landing sites are near the most hazardous terrain, so HDA is needed to autonomously and safely land payloads over much of the lunar surface. The HDA requirements used in the ALHAT project are to detect hazards that are 0.3 m tall or higher and slopes that are 5 or greater. Steep slopes, rocks, cliffs, and gullies are all hazards for landing and, by computing the local slope and roughness in an elevation map, all of these hazards can be detected. The algorithm in this innovation is used to measure slope and roughness hazards. In addition to detecting these hazards, the HDA capability also is able to find a safe landing site free of these hazards for a lunar lander with diameter .15 m over most of the lunar surface. This software includes an implementation of the HDA algorithm, software for generating simulated lunar terrain maps for testing, hazard detection performance analysis tools, and associated documentation. The HDA software has been deployed to Langley Research Center and integrated into the POST II Monte Carlo simulation environment. The high-fidelity Monte Carlo simulations determine the required ground spacing between LIDAR samples (ground sample distances) and the noise on the LIDAR range measurement. This simulation has also been used to determine the effect of

Exploration of the Moon to Enable Lunar and Planetary Science

Science.gov (United States)

Neal, C. R.

2014-12-01

The Moon represents an enabling Solar System exploration asset because of its proximity, resources, and size. Its location has facilitated robotic missions from 5 different space agencies this century. The proximity of the Moon has stimulated commercial space activity, which is critical for sustainable space exploration. Since 2000, a new view of the Moon is coming into focus, which is very different from that of the 20th century. The documented presence of volatiles on the lunar surface, coupled with mature ilmenite-rich regolith locations, represent known resources that could be used for life support on the lunar surface for extended human stays, as well as fuel for robotic and human exploration deeper into the Solar System. The Moon also represents a natural laboratory to explore the terrestrial planets and Solar System processes. For example, it is an end-member in terrestrial planetary body differentiation. Ever since the return of the first lunar samples by Apollo 11, the magma ocean concept was developed and has been applied to both Earth and Mars. Because of the small size of the Moon, planetary differentiation was halted at an early (primary?) stage. However, we still know very little about the lunar interior, despite the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments, and to understand the structure of the Moon will require establishing a global lunar geophysical network, something Apollo did not achieve. Also, constraining the impact chronology of the Moon allows the surfaces of other terrestrial planets to be dated and the cratering history of the inner Solar System to be constrained. The Moon also represents a natural laboratory to study space weathering of airless bodies. It is apparent, then, that human and robotic missions to the Moon will enable both science and exploration. For example, the next step in resource exploration is prospecting on the surface those deposits identified from orbit to understand the yield that can be expected. Such prospecting will also

Self-Compensating Excitation of Fluxgate Sensors for Space Magnetometers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cerman, Alec; Merayo, José M.G.; Brauer, Peter

2008-01-01

The paper presents design and implementation of the new self-compensating excitation circuitry to the new generation of high-precise space vector magnetometers. The application starts with complex study including design of new robust model of the non-linear inductor leading to investigation...... of the most crucial points, continuous by design of the self-compensating excitation unit and concludes with unit complex testing and application to the magnetometer. The application of the self-compensation of the excitation decreases temperature drift of the magnetometer offset caused by the temperature...

Analysing Harmonic Motions with an iPhone's Magnetometer

Science.gov (United States)

Yavuz, Ahmet; Temiz, Burak Kagan

2016-01-01

In this paper, we propose an experiment for analysing harmonic motion using an iPhone's (or iPad's) magnetometer. This experiment consists of the detection of magnetic field variations obtained from an iPhone's magnetometer sensor. A graph of harmonic motion is directly displayed on the iPhone's screen using the "Sensor Kinetics"…

Molecular gas species in the lunar atmosphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoffman, J.H.; Hodges, R.R. Jr.

1975-01-01

There is good evidence for the existence of very small amounts of methane, ammonia and carbon dioxide in the very tenuous lunar atmosphere which consists primarily of the rare gases helium, neon and argon. All of these gases, except 40 Ar, originate from solar wind particles which impinge on the lunar surface and are imbedded in the surface material. Here they may form molecules before being released into the atmosphere, or may be released directly, as is the case for rare gases. Evidence for the existence of the molecular gas species is based on the pre-dawn enhancement of the mass peaks attributable to these compounds in the data from the Apollo 17 Lunar Mass Spectrometer. Methane is the most abundant molecular gas but its concentration is exceedingly low, 1 x 10 3 mol cm -3 , slightly less than 36 Ar, whereas the solar wind flux of carbon is approximately 2000 times that of 36 Ar. Several reasons are advanced for the very low concentration of methane in the lunar atmosphere

Structural Analysis of Lunar Subsurface with Chang'E 3 Lunar Penetrating Radar

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Yi; Lai, Jialong; Tang, Zesheng

2015-04-01

Geological structure of the subsurface of the Moon provides valuable information for our understanding of lunar evolution. Recently, Chang'E 3 has utilized lunar penetrating radar (LPR), which is equipped on the lunar rover named as Yutu, to detect the lunar geological structure in Northern Imbrium (44.1260N, 19.5014W) for the first time. As an in-situ detector, Chang'E 3 LPR has higher horizontal and vertical resolution and less clutter impact compared to spaceborne radars such as Chandrayaan-1 and Kaguya. In this work, we analyze the LPR data at 500 MHz transmission frequency to obtain the shallow subsurface structure of the landing area of Chang'E 3 in Mare Imbrium. First, filter method and amplitude recover algorithms are introduced for data processing to alleviate the adverse effects of environment and system noises and compensate the amplitude losses during signal propagation. Next, based on the processed LPR data, we present the methods to determine the interfaces between layers. A three-layered structure of the shallow surface of the Moon has been observed. The corresponding real part of relative dielectric constant is inverted with deconvolution method. The average dielectric constants of the surface, second and third layer is 2.8, 3.2 and 3.6, respectively. The phenomenon that the average dielectric constant increases with the depth is consistent with prior art. With the obtained dielectric constants, the thickness of each layer can be calculated. One possible geological picture of the observed three-layered structure is presented as follows. The top layer is lunar regolith with its thickness ranging from 0.59 m to 0.9 m. The second layer is the ejecta blanket of the nearby impact crater, and the corresponding thickness is between 3.6m to 3.9m, which is in good agreement with the model of ejecta blanket thickness (height) as a function of distance from the crater center proposed by Melosh in 1989. The third layer is regarded as early lunar regolith with 4

Lunar Penetrating Radar onboard the Chang'e-3 mission

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Guang-You; Zhou, Bin; Ji, Yi-Cai; Zhang, Qun-Ying; Shen, Shao-Xiang; Li, Yu-Xi; Guan, Hong-Fei; Tang, Chuan-Jun; Gao, Yun-Ze; Lu, Wei; Ye, Sheng-Bo; Han, Hai-Dong; Zheng, Jin; Wang, Shu-Zhi

2014-12-01

Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR) is one of the important scientific instruments onboard the Chang'e-3 spacecraft. Its scientific goals are the mapping of lunar regolith and detection of subsurface geologic structures. This paper describes the goals of the mission, as well as the basic principles, design, composition and achievements of the LPR. Finally, experiments on a glacier and the lunar surface are analyzed.

Elemental Mercury Diffusion Processes and Concentration at the Lunar Poles

Science.gov (United States)

Moxley, Frederick; Killen, Rosemary M.; Hurley, Dana M.

2011-01-01

In 2009, the Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) spectrograph onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft made the first detection of element mercury (Hg) vapor in the lunar exosphere after the Lunar Crater Observing and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) Centaur rocket impacted into the Cabeus crater in the southern polar region of the Moon. The lunar regolith core samples from the Apollo missions determined that Hg had a devolatilized pattern with a concentration gradient increasing with depth, in addition to a layered pattern suggesting multiple episodes of burial and volatile loss. Hg migration on the lunar surface resulted in cold trapping at the poles. We have modeled the rate at which indigenous Hg is lost from the regolith through diffusion out of lunar grains. We secondly modeled the migration of Hg vapor in the exosphere and estimated the rate of cold-trapping at the poles using a Monte Carlo technique. The Hg vapor may be lost from the exosphere via ionization, Jeans escape, or re-impact into the surface causing reabsorption.

High-sensitivity dc field magnetometer using nonlinear resonance magnetoelectric effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burdin, D.A.; Chashin, D.V.; Ekonomov, N.A.; Fetisov, Y.K.; Stashkevich, A.A.

2016-01-01

The design and operation principle of dc field magnetometer using nonlinear resonance magnetoelectric effect in a ferromagnetic–piezoelectric structure are described. It is shown that under action of ac pumping magnetic field the structure generates the output voltage containing higher harmonics whose amplitudes depend on the dc magnetic field. Best performance of the device is obtained if the signal of the third harmonics is used for the dc field measurement. The sensitivity can be considerably (by approximately three orders of magnitude) increased if advantage is taken of the acoustic resonance of the structure at this frequency. There exists the optimal pumping field ensuring the highest sensitivity. Further increasing of this field expands the range of measurable dc fields at the expense of deteriorated sensitivity. The magnetometer fabricated on the basis of a planar langatate-Metglas structure had sensitivity up to ~1 V/Oe and allowed detection of the fields as low as ~10"−"5 Oe. - Highlights: • Operational principle and design of new type dc field magnetometer is described. • Magnetometer uses nonlinear magnetoelectric effect in a langatate-Metglas structure. • Magnetometer has sensitivity of ~1 V/Oe and detects fields as low as 10"−"5 Oe. • The proposed magnetometer can compete with well known fluxgate sensors.

High-sensitivity dc field magnetometer using nonlinear resonance magnetoelectric effect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burdin, D.A.; Chashin, D.V.; Ekonomov, N.A. [Moscow State University of Information Technologies, Radio Engineering and Electronics, Moscow (Russian Federation); Fetisov, Y.K., E-mail: fetisov@mirea.ru [Moscow State University of Information Technologies, Radio Engineering and Electronics, Moscow (Russian Federation); Stashkevich, A.A. [LSPM (CNRS-UPR 3407), Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 93430 Villetaneuse (France)

2016-05-01

The design and operation principle of dc field magnetometer using nonlinear resonance magnetoelectric effect in a ferromagnetic–piezoelectric structure are described. It is shown that under action of ac pumping magnetic field the structure generates the output voltage containing higher harmonics whose amplitudes depend on the dc magnetic field. Best performance of the device is obtained if the signal of the third harmonics is used for the dc field measurement. The sensitivity can be considerably (by approximately three orders of magnitude) increased if advantage is taken of the acoustic resonance of the structure at this frequency. There exists the optimal pumping field ensuring the highest sensitivity. Further increasing of this field expands the range of measurable dc fields at the expense of deteriorated sensitivity. The magnetometer fabricated on the basis of a planar langatate-Metglas structure had sensitivity up to ~1 V/Oe and allowed detection of the fields as low as ~10{sup −5} Oe. - Highlights: • Operational principle and design of new type dc field magnetometer is described. • Magnetometer uses nonlinear magnetoelectric effect in a langatate-Metglas structure. • Magnetometer has sensitivity of ~1 V/Oe and detects fields as low as 10{sup −5} Oe. • The proposed magnetometer can compete with well known fluxgate sensors.

High Accuracy Vector Helium Magnetometer

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The proposed HAVHM instrument is a laser-pumped helium magnetometer with both triaxial vector and omnidirectional scalar measurement capabilities in a single...

100 kWe lunar/Mars surface power utilizing the SP-100 reactor with dynamic conversion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harty, R.B.; Mason, L.S.

1992-01-01

This paper reports on an integration study which was performed coupling an SP-100 reactor with either a Brayton of Stirling power conversion subsystem. a power level of 100 kWe was selected for the study. The power system was to be compatible with both the lunar and Mars surface environment and require no site preparation. In addition, the reactor was to have integral shielding and be completely self-contained, including its own auxiliary power for start-up. Initial reliability studies were performed to determine power conversion redundancy and engine module size. For the lunar environment, the reactor and primary coolant loop would be contained in a guard vessel to protect from a loss of primary loop containment. For the Mars environment, all refractory components including the reactor, primary coolant, and power conversion components would be contained in a vacuum vessel for protection against the CO 2 environment

Design of a Low-Cost 2-Axes Fluxgate Magnetometer for Small Satellite Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Su-Jeoung Kim

2005-03-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses the design and analysis results of a 2-axes magnetometer for attitude determination of small satellite. A low-cost and efficient 2-axes fluxgate magnetometer was selected as the most suitable attitude sensor for LEO microsatellites which require a low-to-medium level pointing accuracy. An optimization trade-off study has been performed for the development of 2-axes fluxgate magnetometer. All the relevant parameters such as permeability, demagnetization factor, coil diameter, core thickness, and number of coil turns were considered for the sizing of a small satellite magnetometer. The magnetometer which is designed, manufactured, and tested in-house as described in this paper satisfies linearity requirement for determining attitude position of small satellites. On the basis of magnetometer which is designed in Space System Research Lab. (SSRL, commercial magnetometer will be developed.

Remote Assessment of Lunar Resource Potential

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, G. Jeffrey

1992-01-01

Assessing the resource potential of the lunar surface requires a well-planned program to determine the chemical and mineralogical composition of the Moon's surface at a range of scales. The exploration program must include remote sensing measurements (from both Earth's surface and lunar orbit), robotic in situ analysis of specific places, and eventually, human field work by trained geologists. Remote sensing data is discussed. Resource assessment requires some idea of what resources will be needed. Studies thus far have concentrated on oxygen and hydrogen production for propellant and life support, He-3 for export as fuel for nuclear fusion reactors, and use of bulk regolith for shielding and construction materials. The measurement requirements for assessing these resources are given and discussed briefly.

Measurements of Photoelectric Yield and Physical Properties of Individual Lunar Dust Grains

Science.gov (United States)

Abbas, M. M.; Tankosic, D.; Craven, P. D.; Spann, J. F.; LeClair, A.; West, F. A.; Taylor, L.; Hoover, R.

2005-01-01

Micron size dust grains levitated and transported on the lunar surface constitute a major problem for the robotic and human habitat missions for the Moon. It is well known since the Apollo missions that the lunar surface is covered with a thick layer of micron/sub-micron size dust grains. Transient dust clouds over the lunar horizon were observed by experiments during the Apollo 17 mission. Theoretical models suggest that the dust grains on the lunar surface are charged by the solar UV radiation as well as the solar wind. Even without any physical activity, the dust grains are levitated by electrostatic fields and transported away from the surface in the near vacuum environment of the Moon. The current dust charging and the levitation models, however, do not fully explain the observed phenomena. Since the abundance of dust on the Moon's surface with its observed adhesive characteristics is believed to have a severe impact on the human habitat and the lifetime and operations of a variety of equipment, it is necessary to investigate the phenomena and the charging properties of the lunar dust in order to develop appropriate mitigating strategies. We will present results of some recent laboratory experiments on individual micro/sub-micron size dust grains levitated in electrodynamic balance in simulated space environments. The experiments involve photoelectric emission measurements of individual micron size lunar dust grains illuminated with UV radiation in the 120-160 nm wavelength range. The photoelectric yields are required to determine the charging properties of lunar dust illuminated by solar UV radiation. We will present some recent results of laboratory measurement of the photoelectric yields and the physical properties of individual micron size dust grains from the Apollo and Luna-24 sample returns as well as the JSC-1 lunar simulants.

The negligible chondritic contribution in the lunar soils water.

Science.gov (United States)

Stephant, Alice; Robert, François

2014-10-21

Recent data from Apollo samples demonstrate the presence of water in the lunar interior and at the surface, challenging previous assumption that the Moon was free of water. However, the source(s) of this water remains enigmatic. The external flux of particles and solid materials that reach the surface of the airless Moon constitute a hydrogen (H) surface reservoir that can be converted to water (or OH) during proton implantation in rocks or remobilization during magmatic events. Our original goal was thus to quantify the relative contributions to this H surface reservoir. To this end, we report NanoSIMS measurements of D/H and (7)Li/(6)Li ratios on agglutinates, volcanic glasses, and plagioclase grains from the Apollo sample collection. Clear correlations emerge between cosmogenic D and (6)Li revealing that almost all D is produced by spallation reactions both on the surface and in the interior of the grains. In grain interiors, no evidence of chondritic water has been found. This observation allows us to constrain the H isotopic ratio of hypothetical juvenile lunar water to δD ≤ -550‰. On the grain surface, the hydroxyl concentrations are significant and the D/H ratios indicate that they originate from solar wind implantation. The scattering distribution of the data around the theoretical D vs. (6)Li spallation correlation is compatible with a chondritic contribution lunar surface, and (ii) the postulated chondritic lunar water is not retained in the regolith.

Search Coil vs. Fluxgate Magnetometer Measurements at Interplanetary Shocks

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, L.B., III

2012-01-01

We present magnetic field observations at interplanetary shocks comparing two different sample rates showing significantly different results. Fluxgate magnetometer measurements show relatively laminar supercritical shock transitions at roughly 11 samples/s. Search coil magnetometer measurements at 1875 samples/s, however, show large amplitude (dB/B as large as 2) fluctuations that are not resolved by the fluxgate magnetometer. We show that these fluctuations, identified as whistler mode waves, would produce a significant perturbation to the shock transition region changing the interpretation from laminar to turbulent. Thus, previous observations of supercritical interplanetary shocks classified as laminar may have been under sampled.

Strength and compressibility of returned lunar soil.

Science.gov (United States)

Carrier, W. D., III; Bromwell, L. G.; Martin, R. T.

1972-01-01

Two oedometer and three direct shear tests have been performed in vacuum on a 200 g sample of lunar soil from Apollo 12 (12001, 119). The compressibility data have been used to calculate bulk density and shear wave velocity versus depth on the lunar surface. The shear wave velocity was found to increase approximately with the one-fourth power of the depth, and the results suggest that the Apollo 14 Active Seismic Experiment may not have detected the Fra Mauro formation at a depth of 8.5 m, but only naturally consolidated lunar soil. The shear data indicate that the strength of the lunar soil sample is about 65% that of a ground basalt simulant at the same void ratio.

Measurement of the lunar neutron density profile

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woolum, D.S.; Burnett, D.S.; Furst, M.; Weiss, J.R.

1975-01-01

An in situ measurement of the lunar neutron density from 20 to 400 g cm -2 depth below the lunar surface was made by the Apollo 17 Lunar Neutron Probe Experiment (LNPE) using particle tracks produced by the 10 B (n,α) 7 Li reaction. Both the absolute magnitude and the depth profile of the neutron density are in good agreement with theoretical calculations by Lingenfelter, Canfield, and Hampel. However, relatively small deviations between experiment and theory in the effect of Cd absorption on the neutron density and in the relative 149 Sm to 157 Gd capture rates reported previously (Russ et al., 1972) imply that the true lunar 157 Gd capture rate is about one half of that calculated theoretically. (Auth.)

Induction Magnetometers – Design Peculiarities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valeriy KOREPANOV

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Induction or search-coil magnetometers (IM are widely used in many branches of science and industry. The frequency range and dynamic range of IMs are probably the widest of all existing magnetometers: they are used for the measurement of magnetic field variations in the frequency band from ~10-4 till ~106 Hz with the intensities from fractions of femtotesla till tens of tesla. This explains the permanent interest to IM design and the attempts to construct the IMs with best possible parameters. The present paper deals with the peculiarities of IM design. An attempt to re-establish the correctness of priorities in the field is made and the approaches to the IM optimization and their quality estimation are described.

Sandmeier model based topographic correction to lunar spectral profiler (SP) data from KAGUYA satellite.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Sheng-Bo; Wang, Jing-Ran; Guo, Peng-Ju; Wang, Ming-Chang

2014-09-01

The Moon may be considered as the frontier base for the deep space exploration. The spectral analysis is one of the key techniques to determine the lunar surface rock and mineral compositions. But the lunar topographic relief is more remarkable than that of the Earth. It is necessary to conduct the topographic correction for lunar spectral data before they are used to retrieve the compositions. In the present paper, a lunar Sandmeier model was proposed by considering the radiance effect from the macro and ambient topographic relief. And the reflectance correction model was also reduced based on the Sandmeier model. The Spectral Profile (SP) data from KAGUYA satellite in the Sinus Iridum quadrangle was taken as an example. And the digital elevation data from Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter are used to calculate the slope, aspect, incidence and emergence angles, and terrain-viewing factor for the topographic correction Thus, the lunar surface reflectance from the SP data was corrected by the proposed model after the direct component of irradiance on a horizontal surface was derived. As a result, the high spectral reflectance facing the sun is decreased and low spectral reflectance back to the sun is compensated. The statistical histogram of reflectance-corrected pixel numbers presents Gaussian distribution Therefore, the model is robust to correct lunar topographic effect and estimate lunar surface reflectance.

Manned in Situ Confirmation of Lunar Ice

Science.gov (United States)

Gerené, S. P. B.; Hummeling, R. W. J.; Ockels, W. J.

A study is performed to investigate the feasibility of a manned expedition to the Moon using the European Ariane-5 launcher. The primary objective of this lunar mission is to confirm the presence of water at the South-Pole craters. It is believed that these permanently shadowed craters contain water in the form of ice. Secondary objective is to perform lunar surface science and making a first step towards a lunar outpost. Early results show that a minimum of two Ariane-5 launches is required. In this `two Ariane' scenario the first launch will bring a Lunar Landing Vehicle (LLV) into low lunar orbit. The second will launch two astronauts in a Crew Transfer Vehicle into a rendez- vous trajectory with the LLV. Arrived at the Moon, the astronauts will enter the LLV, undock from the CTV and land at the designated site located near the rim of the South-Pole Shackleton crater. The transfer strategy for both spacecraft will be the so-called direct transfer, taking about four days. At arrival the LLV will start mapping the landing site at a ground resolution of one meter. As a consequence of the polar orbit, the CTV has to arrive fourteen days later and surface operations can take about twelve days, accumulating in a total mission-duration of 36 days. 32 days for the CTV and 22 days for the LLV. In case a `two Ariane' flight does not posses sufficient capabilities also a `three Ariane' scenario is developed, in which the LLV is split-up into two stages and launched separately. These two will dock at the Moon forming a descent stage and an ascent stage. The third launch will be a CTV. During surface operations, astronauts will set up a solar power unit, install the sample retrieval system and carry out surface science. Samples of the crater floor will be retrieved by means of a probe or robot guided along a cable suspended over the crater rim. Also, this paper shows the way in which European astronauts can be brought to the Moon for other future missions, like the

Preliminary Report: DESiGN and Test Result of KSR-3 Rocket Magnetometers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyo-Min Kim

2000-12-01

Full Text Available The solar wind contributes to the formation of unique space environment called the Earth's magnetosphere by various interactions with the Earth's magnetic field. Thus the solar-terrestrial environment affects the Earth's magnetic field, which can be observed with an instrument for the magnetic field measurement, the magnetometer usually mounted on the rocket and the satellite and based on the ground observatory. The magnetometer is a useful instrument for the spacecraft attitude control as well as the Earth's magnetic field measurements for a scientific purpose. In this paper, we present the preliminary design and test results of the two onboard magnetometers of KARI's (Korea Aerospace Research Institute sounding rocket, KSR-3, which will be launched four times during the period of 2001-02. The KSR-3 magnetometers consist of the fluxgate magnetometer, MAG/AIM (Attitude Information Magnetometer for acquiring the rocket flight attitude information, and of the search-coil magnetometer, MAG/SIM (Scientific Investigation Magnetometer for the observation of the Earth's magnetic field fluctuations. With the MAG/AIM, the 3-axis attitude information can be acquired by the comparison of the resulting dc magnetic vector field with the IGRF (International Geomagnetic Reference Field. The Earth's magnetic field fluctuations ranging from 10 to 1,000 Hz can also be observed with the MAG/SIM measurement.

Spacesuit Integrated Carbon Nanotube Dust Mitigation System for Lunar Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Manyapu, Kavya Kamal

Lunar dust proved to be troublesome during the Apollo missions. The lunar dust comprises of fine particles, with electric charges imparted by solar winds and ultraviolet radiation. As such, it adheres readily, and easily penetrates through smallest crevices into mechanisms. During Apollo missions, the powdery dust substantially degraded the performance of spacesuits by abrading suit fabric and clogging seals. Dust also degraded other critical equipment such as rovers, thermal control and optical surfaces, solar arrays, and was thus shown to be a major issue for surface operations. Even inside the lunar module, Apollo astronauts were exposed to this dust when they removed their dust coated spacesuits. This historical evidence from the Apollo missions has compelled NASA to identify dust mitigation as a critical path. This important environmental challenge must be overcome prior to sending humans back to the lunar surface and potentially to other surfaces such as Mars and asteroids with dusty environments. Several concepts were successfully investigated by the international research community for preventing deposition of lunar dust on rigid surfaces (ex: solar cells, thermal radiators). However, applying these technologies for flexible surfaces and specifically to spacesuits has remained an open challenge, due to the complexity of the suit design, geometry, and dynamics. The research presented in this dissertation brings original contribution through the development and demonstration of the SPacesuit Integrated Carbon nanotube Dust Ejection/Removal (SPIcDER) system to protect spacesuits and other flexible surfaces from lunar dust. SPIcDER leverages the Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) concept developed at NASA for use on solar cells. For the SPIcDER research, the EDS concept is customized for application on spacesuits and flexible surfaces utilizing novel materials and specialized design techniques. Furthermore, the performance of the active SPIcDER system is enhanced

Far-Ultraviolet Characteristics of Lunar Swirls

Science.gov (United States)

Hendrix, A. R.; Greathouse, T. K.; Retherford, K. D.; Mandt, K. E.; Gladstone, G. R.; Kaufmann, D. E.; Hurley, D. M.; Feldman, P. D.; Pryor, W. R.; Bullock, M. A.; Stern, S. A.

2015-10-01

Lunar swirls are often described as bright sinuous regions of the Moon that appear to be relatively immature -i.e. less space-weathered than surrounding regions. Swirls are mysterious but seem to be linked to the interaction between the solar wind and the lunar magnetic anomalies (e.g., [1]). Commonly-studied swirls include Mare Ingenii (in a mare- highlands boundary region), Reiner Gamma (in a mare region), and Gerasimovich (in a highlands region). Swirls are known to be surface features: they have no expression at radar depths [2], exhibit no topography, and craters on swirls that penetrate the bright surface terrain reveal underlying dark material [3].

Moonraker and Tetris: Japanese Microrovers for Lunar Cave Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshida, K.; Britton, N.; Walker, J.; Shimizu, T.; Tanaka, T.; Hakamada, T.

2015-10-01

A Japanese team HAKUTO is developing a robotic system for exploration of Lunar lava tubes. Motivated by Google Lunar XPRIZE that requires 500 m travel on any surface of Moon, but the team plans to go down into a skylight in Lacus Mortis.

Passive seismic experiment - A summary of current status. [Apollo-initiated lunar surface station data

Science.gov (United States)

Latham, G. V.; Dorman, H. J.; Horvath, P.; Ibrahim, A. K.; Koyama, J.; Nakamura, Y.

1978-01-01

The data set obtained from the four-station Apollo seismic network including signals from approximately 11,800 events, is surveyed. Some refinement of the lunar model will result, but its gross features remain the same. Attention is given to the question of a small, molten lunar core, the answer to which remains dependent on analysis of signals from a far side impact. Seventy three sources of repeating, deep moonquakes have been identified, thirty nine of which have been accurately located. Concentrated at depths from 800 to 1000 km, the periodicities of these events have led to the hypothesis that they are generated by tidal stresses. Lunar seismic data has also indicated that the meteoroid population is ten times lower than originally determined from earth based observations. Lunar seismic activity is much lower and mountainous masses show no sign of sinking, in contrast to earth, as a result of the lunar crust being four times thicker. While much work remains to be done, significant correlation between terrestrial and lunar observations can be seen.

Production of electronic grade lunar silicon by disproportionation of silicon difluoride

Science.gov (United States)

Agosto, William N.

1993-01-01

Waldron has proposed to extract lunar silicon by sodium reduction of sodium fluorosilicate derived from reacting sodium fluoride with lunar silicon tetrafluoride. Silicon tetrafluoride is obtained by the action of hydrofluoric acid on lunar silicates. While these reactions are well understood, the resulting lunar silicon is not likely to meet electronic specifications of 5 nines purity. Dale and Margrave have shown that silicon difluoride can be obtained by the action of silicon tetrafluoride on elemental silicon at elevated temperatures (1100-1200 C) and low pressures (1-2 torr). The resulting silicon difluoride will then spontaneously disproportionate into hyperpure silicon and silicon tetrafluoride in vacuum at approximately 400 C. On its own merits, silicon difluoride polymerizes into a tough waxy solid in the temperature range from liquid nitrogen to about 100 C. It is the silicon analog of teflon. Silicon difluoride ignites in moist air but is stable under lunar surface conditions and may prove to be a valuable industrial material that is largely lunar derived for lunar surface applications. The most effective driver for lunar industrialization may be the prospects for industrial space solar power systems in orbit or on the moon that are built with lunar materials. Such systems would require large quantities of electronic grade silicon or compound semiconductors for photovoltaics and electronic controls. Since silicon is the most abundant semimetal in the silicate portion of any solar system rock (approximately 20 wt percent), lunar silicon production is bound to be an important process in such a solar power project. The lunar silicon extraction process is discussed.

Temporal Variability of Lunar Exospheric Helium During January 2012 from LRO/LAMP

OpenAIRE

Feldman, Paul D.; Hurley, Dana M.; Retherford, Kurt D.; Gladstone, G. Randall; Stern, S. Alan; Pryor, Wayne; Parker, Joel Wm.; Kaufmann, David E.; Davis, Michael W.; Versteeg, Maarten; team, LAMP

2012-01-01

We report observations of the lunar helium exosphere made between December 29, 2011, and January 26, 2012, with the Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) ultraviolet spectrograph on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission (LRO). The observations were made of resonantly scattered He I 584 from illuminated atmosphere against the dark lunar surface on the dawn side of the terminator. We find no or little variation of the derived surface He density with latitude but day-to-day variations that li...

Electrodynamic Dust Shield for Lunar/ISS Experiment

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory at Kennedy Space Center is developing a dust mitigation experiment and testing it on the lunar surface and on the...

A Study of an Optical Lunar Surface Communications Network with High Bandwidth Direct to Earth Link

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, K.; Biswas, A.; Schoolcraft, J.

2011-01-01

Analyzed optical DTE (direct to earth) and lunar relay satellite link analyses, greater than 200 Mbps downlink to 1-m Earth receiver and greater than 1 Mbps uplink achieved with mobile 5-cm lunar transceiver, greater than 1Gbps downlink and greater than 10 Mpbs uplink achieved with 10-cm stationary lunar transceiver, MITLL (MIT Lincoln Laboratory) 2013 LLCD (Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration) plans to demonstrate 622 Mbps downlink with 20 Mbps uplink between lunar orbiter and ground station; Identified top five technology challenges to deploying lunar optical network, Performed preliminary experiments on two of challenges: (i) lunar dust removal and (ii)DTN over optical carrier, Exploring opportunities to evaluate DTN (delay-tolerant networking) over optical link in a multi-node network e.g. Desert RATS.

Sodium Atoms in the Lunar Exotail: Observed Velocity and Spatial Distributions

Science.gov (United States)

Line, Michael R.; Mierkiewicz, E. J.; Oliversen, R. J.; Wilson, J. K.; Haffner, L. M.; Roesler, F. L.

2011-01-01

The lunar sodium tail extends long distances due to radiation pressure on sodium atoms in the lunar exosphere. Our earlier observations determined the average radial velocity of sodium atoms moving down the lunar tail beyond Earth along the Sun-Moon-Earth line (i.e., the anti-lunar point) to be 12.4 km/s. Here we use the Wisconsin H-alpha Mapper to obtain the first kinematically resolved maps of the intensity and velocity distribution of this emission over a 15 x times 15 deg region on the sky near the anti-lunar point. We present both spatially and spectrally resolved observations obtained over four nights around new moon in October 2007. The spatial distribution of the sodium atoms is elongated along the ecliptic with the location of the peak intensity drifting 3 degrees east along the ecliptic per night. Preliminary modeling results suggest that the spatial and velocity distributions in the sodium exotail are sensitive to the near surface lunar sodium velocity distribution and that observations of this sort along with detailed modeling offer new opportunities to describe the time history of lunar surface sputtering over several days.

Lunar UV-visible-IR mapping interferometric spectrometer

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, W. Hayden; Haskin, L.; Korotev, R.; Arvidson, R.; Mckinnon, W.; Hapke, B.; Larson, S.; Lucey, P.

1992-01-01

Ultraviolet-visible-infrared mapping digital array scanned interferometers for lunar compositional surveys was developed. The research has defined a no-moving-parts, low-weight and low-power, high-throughput, and electronically adaptable digital array scanned interferometer that achieves measurement objectives encompassing and improving upon all the requirements defined by the LEXSWIG for lunar mineralogical investigation. In addition, LUMIS provides a new, important, ultraviolet spectral mapping, high-spatial-resolution line scan camera, and multispectral camera capabilities. An instrument configuration optimized for spectral mapping and imaging of the lunar surface and provide spectral results in support of the instrument design are described.

Calibration of three-axis magnetometers with differential evolution algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pang, Hongfeng; Zhang, Qi; Wang, Wei; Wang, Junya; Li, Ji; Luo, Shitu; Wan, Chengbiao; Chen, Dixiang; Pan, Mengchun; Luo, Feilu

2013-01-01

The accuracy of three-axis magnetometers is influenced by different scale and bias of each axis and nonorthogonality between axes. One limitation of traditional iteration methods is that initial parameters influence the calibration, thus leading to the local optimal or wrong results. In this paper, a new method is proposed to calibrate three-axis magnetometers. To employ this method, a nonmagnetic rotation platform, a proton magnetometer, a DM-050 three-axis magnetometer and the differential evolution (DE) algorithm are used. The performance of this calibration method is analyzed with simulation and experiment. In simulation, the calibration results of DE, unscented Kalman filter (UKF), recursive least squares (RLS) and genetic algorithm (GA) are compared. RMS error using DE is least, which is reduced from 81.233 nT to 1.567 nT. Experimental results show that comparing with UKF, RLS and GA, the DE algorithm has not only the least calibration error but also the best robustness. After calibration, RMS error is reduced from 68.914 nT to 2.919 nT. In addition, the DE algorithm is not sensitive to initial parameters, which is an important advantage compared with traditional iteration algorithms. The proposed algorithm can avoid the troublesome procedure to select suitable initial parameters, thus it can improve the calibration performance of three-axis magnetometers. - Highlights: • The calibration results and robustness of UKF, GA, RLS and DE algorithm are analyzed. • Calibration error of DE is the least in simulation and experiment. • Comparing with traditional calibration algorithms, DE is not sensitive to initial parameters. • It can improve the calibration performance of three-axis magnetometers

Ultra-sensitive Magnetic Microscopy with an Atomic Magnetometer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Young Jin [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2015-08-19

The PowerPoint presentation focused on research goals, specific information about the atomic magnetometer, response and resolution factors of the SERF magnetometer, FC+AM systems, tests of field transfer and resolution on FC, gradient cancellation, testing of AM performance, ideas for a multi-channel AM, including preliminary sensitivity testing, and a description of a 6 channel DAQ system. A few ideas for future work ended the presentation.

Creating Methane from Plastics: Recycling at a Lunar Outpost

Science.gov (United States)

Captain, Janine; Santiago, Eddie; Wheeler, Ray; Strayer, RIchard; Garland, Jay; Parrish, Clyde

2010-01-01

The high cost of re-supply from Earth demands resources to be utilized to the fullest extent for exploration missions. Recycling is a key technology that maximizes the available resources by converting waste products into useful commodities. One example of this is to convert crew member waste such as plastic packaging, food scraps, and human waste, into fuel. The ability to refuel on the lunar surface would reduce the vehicle mass during launch and provide excess payload capability. The goal of this project is to determine the feasibility of recycling waste into methane on the lunar outpost by performing engineering assessments and lab demonstrations of the technology. The first goal of the project was to determine how recycling could influence lunar exploration. Table I shows an estimation of the typical dried waste stream generated each day for a crew of four. Packaging waste accounts for nearly 86% of the dry waste stream and is a significant source of carbon on the lunar surface. This is important because methane (CH4) can be used as fuel and no other source of carbon is available on the lunar surface. With the initial assessment indicating there is sufficient resources in the waste stream to provide refueling capabilities, the project was designed to examine the conversion of plastics into methane.

Analysing harmonic motions with an iPhone’s magnetometer

Science.gov (United States)

Yavuz, Ahmet; Kağan Temiz, Burak

2016-05-01

In this paper, we propose an experiment for analysing harmonic motion using an iPhone’s (or iPad’s) magnetometer. This experiment consists of the detection of magnetic field variations obtained from an iPhone’s magnetometer sensor. A graph of harmonic motion is directly displayed on the iPhone’s screen using the Sensor Kinetics application. Data from this application was analysed with Eureqa software to establish the equation of the harmonic motion. Analyses show that the use of an iPhone’s magnetometer to analyse harmonic motion is a practical and effective method for small oscillations and frequencies less than 15-20 Hz.

TRANSIENT LUNAR PHENOMENA: REGULARITY AND REALITY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crotts, Arlin P. S.

2009-01-01

Transient lunar phenomena (TLPs) have been reported for centuries, but their nature is largely unsettled, and even their existence as a coherent phenomenon is controversial. Nonetheless, TLP data show regularities in the observations; a key question is whether this structure is imposed by processes tied to the lunar surface, or by terrestrial atmospheric or human observer effects. I interrogate an extensive catalog of TLPs to gauge how human factors determine the distribution of TLP reports. The sample is grouped according to variables which should produce differing results if determining factors involve humans, and not reflecting phenomena tied to the lunar surface. Features dependent on human factors can then be excluded. Regardless of how the sample is split, the results are similar: ∼50% of reports originate from near Aristarchus, ∼16% from Plato, ∼6% from recent, major impacts (Copernicus, Kepler, Tycho, and Aristarchus), plus several at Grimaldi. Mare Crisium produces a robust signal in some cases (however, Crisium is too large for a 'feature' as defined). TLP count consistency for these features indicates that ∼80% of these may be real. Some commonly reported sites disappear from the robust averages, including Alphonsus, Ross D, and Gassendi. These reports begin almost exclusively after 1955, when TLPs became widely known and many more (and inexperienced) observers searched for TLPs. In a companion paper, we compare the spatial distribution of robust TLP sites to transient outgassing (seen by Apollo and Lunar Prospector instruments). To a high confidence, robust TLP sites and those of lunar outgassing correlate strongly, further arguing for the reality of TLPs.

The Microstructure of Lunar Micrometeorite Impact Craters

Science.gov (United States)

Noble, S. K.; Keller, L. P.; Christoffersen, R.; Rahman, Z.

2016-01-01

The peak of the mass flux of impactors striking the lunar surface is made up of objects approximately 200 micrometers in diameter that erode rocks, comminute regolith grains, and produce agglutinates. The effects of these micro-scale impacts are still not fully understood. Much effort has focused on evaluating the physical and optical effects of micrometeorite impacts on lunar and meteoritic material using pulsed lasers to simulate the energy deposited into a substrate in a typical hypervelocity impact. Here we characterize the physical and chemical changes that accompany natural micrometeorite impacts into lunar rocks with long surface exposure to the space environment (12075 and 76015). Transmission electron microscope (TEM) observations were obtained from cross-sections of approximately 10-20 micrometers diameter craters that revealed important micro-structural details of micrometeorite impact processes, including the creation of npFe (sup 0) in the melt, and extensive deformation around the impact site.

Lunar Penetrating Radar onboard the Chang'e-3 mission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fang Guang-You; Zhou Bin; Ji Yi-Cai; Zhang Qun-Ying; Shen Shao-Xiang; Li Yu-Xi; Guan Hong-Fei; Tang Chuan-Jun; Gao Yun-Ze; Lu Wei; Ye Sheng-Bo; Han Hai-Dong; Zheng Jin; Wang Shu-Zhi

2014-01-01

Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR) is one of the important scientific instruments onboard the Chang'e-3 spacecraft. Its scientific goals are the mapping of lunar regolith and detection of subsurface geologic structures. This paper describes the goals of the mission, as well as the basic principles, design, composition and achievements of the LPR. Finally, experiments on a glacier and the lunar surface are analyzed

A new moonquake catalog from Apollo 17 seismic data I: Lunar Seismic Profiling Experiment: Thermal moonquakes and implications for surface processes

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, R. C.; Dimech, J. L.; Phillips, D.; Molaro, J.; Schmerr, N. C.

2017-12-01

Apollo 17's Lunar Seismic Profiling Experiment's (LSPE) primary objective was to constrain the near-surface velocity structure at the landing site using active sources detected by a 100 m-wide triangular geophone array. The experiment was later operated in "listening mode," and early studies of these data revealed the presence of thermal moonquakes - short-duration seismic events associated with terminator crossings. However, the full data set has never been systematically analyzed for natural seismic signal content. In this study, we analyze 8 months of continuous LSPE data using an automated event detection technique that has previously successfully been applied to the Apollo 16 Passive Seismic Experiment data. We detected 50,000 thermal moonquakes from three distinct event templates, representing impulsive, intermediate, and emergent onset of seismic energy, which we interpret as reflecting their relative distance from the array. Impulsive events occur largely at sunrise, possibly representing the thermal "pinging" of the nearby lunar lander, while emergent events occur at sunset, possibly representing cracking or slumping in more distant surface rocks and regolith. Preliminary application of an iterative event location algorithm to a subset of the impulsive waveforms supports this interpretation. We also perform 3D modeling of the lunar surface to explore the relative contribution of the lander, known rocks and surrounding topography to the thermal state of the regolith in the vicinity of the Apollo 17 landing site over the course of the lunar diurnal cycle. Further development of both this model and the event location algorithm may permit definitive discrimination between different types of local diurnal events e.g. lander noise, thermally-induced rock breakdown, or fault creep on the nearby Lee-Lincoln scarp. These results could place important constraints on both the contribution of seismicity to regolith production, and the age of young lobate scarps.

Correlation between fluxgate and SQUID magnetometer data sets for geomagnetic storms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matladi Thabang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available There has always been a need to monitor the near Earth's magnetic field, as this monitoring provides understanding and possible predictions of Space Weather events such as geomagnetic storms. Conventional magnetometers such as fluxgates have been used for decades for Space Weather research. The use of highly sensitive magnetometers such as Superconducting QUantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs, promise to give more insight into Space Weather. SQUIDs are relatively recent types of magnetometers that exploit the superconductive effects of flux quantization and Josephson tunneling to measure magnetic flux. SQUIDs have a very broad bandwidth compared to most conventional magnetometers and can measure magnetic flux as low as a few femtotesla. Since SQUIDs have never been used in Space Weather research, unshielded, it is necessary to investigate if they can be reliable Space Weather instruments. The validation is performed by comparing the frequency content of the SQUID and fluxgate magnetometers, as reported by Phiri.

Autonomous Utility Connector for Lunar Surface Systems, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Lunar dust has been identified as a significant and present challenge in future exploration missions. Significant development is called for in the area of devices...

Calibration of a fluxgate magnetometer array and its application in magnetic object localization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pang, Hongfeng; Luo, Shitu; Zhang, Qi; Li, Ji; Chen, Dixiang; Pan, Mengchun; Luo, Feilu

2013-01-01

The magnetometer array is effective for magnetic object detection and localization. Calibration is important to improve the accuracy of the magnetometer array. A magnetic sensor array built with four three-axis DM-050 fluxgate magnetometers is designed, which is connected by a cross aluminum frame. In order to improve the accuracy of the magnetometer array, a calibration process is presented. The calibration process includes magnetometer calibration, coordinate transformation and misalignment calibration. The calibration system consists of a magnetic sensor array, a GSM-19T proton magnetometer, a two-dimensional nonmagnetic rotation platform, a 12 V-dc portable power device and two portable computers. After magnetometer calibration, the RMS error has been decreased from an original value of 125.559 nT to a final value of 1.711 nT (a factor of 74). After alignment, the RMS error of misalignment has been decreased from 1322.3 to 6.0 nT (a factor of 220). Then, the calibrated array deployed on the nonmagnetic rotation platform is used for ferromagnetic object localization. Experimental results show that the estimated errors of X, Y and Z axes are −0.049 m, 0.008 m and 0.025 m, respectively. Thus, the magnetometer array is effective for magnetic object detection and localization in three dimensions. (paper)

Calibration of a fluxgate magnetometer array and its application in magnetic object localization

Science.gov (United States)

Pang, Hongfeng; Luo, Shitu; Zhang, Qi; Li, Ji; Chen, Dixiang; Pan, Mengchun; Luo, Feilu

2013-07-01

The magnetometer array is effective for magnetic object detection and localization. Calibration is important to improve the accuracy of the magnetometer array. A magnetic sensor array built with four three-axis DM-050 fluxgate magnetometers is designed, which is connected by a cross aluminum frame. In order to improve the accuracy of the magnetometer array, a calibration process is presented. The calibration process includes magnetometer calibration, coordinate transformation and misalignment calibration. The calibration system consists of a magnetic sensor array, a GSM-19T proton magnetometer, a two-dimensional nonmagnetic rotation platform, a 12 V-dc portable power device and two portable computers. After magnetometer calibration, the RMS error has been decreased from an original value of 125.559 nT to a final value of 1.711 nT (a factor of 74). After alignment, the RMS error of misalignment has been decreased from 1322.3 to 6.0 nT (a factor of 220). Then, the calibrated array deployed on the nonmagnetic rotation platform is used for ferromagnetic object localization. Experimental results show that the estimated errors of X, Y and Z axes are -0.049 m, 0.008 m and 0.025 m, respectively. Thus, the magnetometer array is effective for magnetic object detection and localization in three dimensions.

The Neutral Mass Spectrometer on the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Mahaffy, Paul R.; Hodges, R. Richard; Benna, Mehdi; King, Todd; Arvey, Robert; Barciniak, Michael; Bendt, Mirl; Carigan, Daniel; Errigo, Therese; Harpold, Daniel N.;

Green Bank Lunar Interferometer for Neutrino Transients: GLINT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Langston, Glen I. [NRAO, P.O. Box 2, Green Bank, WV 24944 (United States)], E-mail: glangsto@nrao.edu; Bradley, Rich [NRAO, 520 Edgemont Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22901 (United States); Hankins, Tim [New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801 (United States); Mutel, Bob [University of Iowa, 706 Van Allen Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242 (United States)

2009-06-01

The Green Bank Lunar Interferometer for Neutrino Transients (GLINT) project is a wide band (0.3-2.6 GHz) interferometric radio array dedicated to observations of transient events. The target is detection of few bright (>2000Jy) short duration (few nano-second) pulses from the lunar regolith. The GLINT project has three goals: (1) Maximize detection of statistically significant pulses originating from the lunar surface. (2) Unambiguously differentiate neutrino pulses from other sources of interference. (3) Localize the direction of the incoming radio pulse resulting from neutrino interactions.

Effects of Crystallinity, Composition, and Texture on Hydrogen Solubility and Adsorption in Lunar Surface Materials and their Relevance to Remote Sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Dyar, M. D.; Hibbitts, C.; Orlando, T. M.; Poston, M.; Grieves, G. A.

2011-12-01

Abundant spacecraft data now demonstrate the presence of features associated with H on the lunar surface. The origin of that lunar H, whether as OH or H2O, is some combination of endogenic (juvenile) sources in the interiors of planetary materials and those resulting from exogenic deposition such as from the solar wind or comets. The ability of mineral (rock) and glass surfaces to internally host and surficially adsorb H is a function of several interrelated variables -- composition, crystallinity, and texture -- all of which will have an effect on observed band depth in remote sensing measurements. Studies of terrestrial materials show that the ability of nominally-anhydrous minerals to host H is related to composition in ways that reflect partition coefficients for H between melt and mineral, variations in bond strengths, and defect densities. This is important because the ability of a mineral to adsorb water on its exterior surface (chemisorption) should be related to some of the same factors that govern 'solubility' of H in the interiors of different mineral groups and compositions. IR signatures of internal OH/H2O can easily be confused with those of adsorbed OH/H2O. No correlation between H solubility and surface adsorptivity is observed in pristine glasses, which generally have passivated bonds on the surface and are hydrophobic. However, on the Moon, glass 'matures' rapidly via micrometeorite bombardment, potentially exposing dangling bonds on the surface that provide sites for H to adsorb. Unlike glasses, crystalline materials provide both defect lattice sites and dangling bonds on freshly-fractured surfaces that may enhance H adsorption. For example, bonding on mineral surfaces ranges from hydrogen bonding at non-lattice oxygen atoms (electronegative sites) to chemisorption at electropositive surface sites, such as structural defects or unsatisfied cations. Moreover, glasses and different mineral species also have different optical absorption coefficients

Restoration of Apollo Data by the Lunar Data Project/PDS Lunar Data Node: An Update

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, David R.; Hills, H. Kent; Taylor, Patrick T.; Grayzeck, Edwin J.; Guinness, Edward A.

2016-01-01

The Apollo 11, 12, and 14 through 17 missions orbited and landed on the Moon, carrying scientific instruments that returned data from all phases of the missions, included long-lived Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Packages (ALSEPs) deployed by the astronauts on the lunar surface. Much of these data were never archived, and some of the archived data were on media and in formats that are outmoded, or were deposited with little or no useful documentation to aid outside users. This is particularly true of the ALSEP data returned autonomously for many years after the Apollo missions ended. The purpose of the Lunar Data Project and the Planetary Data System (PDS) Lunar Data Node is to take data collections already archived at the NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive (NSSDCA) and prepare them for archiving through PDS, and to locate lunar data that were never archived, bring them into NSSDCA, and then archive them through PDS. Preparing these data for archiving involves reading the data from the original media, be it magnetic tape, microfilm, microfiche, or hard-copy document, converting the outmoded, often binary, formats when necessary, putting them into a standard digital form accepted by PDS, collecting the necessary ancillary data and documentation (metadata) to ensure that the data are usable and well-described, summarizing the metadata in documentation to be included in the data set, adding other information such as references, mission and instrument descriptions, contact information, and related documentation, and packaging the results in a PDS-compliant data set. The data set is then validated and reviewed by a group of external scientists as part of the PDS final archive process. We present a status report on some of the data sets that we are processing.

Calibration of the Ørsted vector magnetometer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Nils; Tøffner-Clausen, Lars; Sabaka, T.J.

2003-01-01

The vector fluxgate magnetometer of the Orsted satellite is routinely calibrated by comparing its output with measurements of the absolute magnetic intensity from the Overhauser instrument, which is the second magnetometer of the satellite. We describe the method used for and the result obtained...... coordinate system and the reference system of the star imager. This is done by comparing the magnetic and attitude measurements with a model of Earth's magnetic field. The Euler angles describing this rotation are determined in this way with an accuracy of better than 4 arcsec....

Regolith Formation Rates and Evolution from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer

Science.gov (United States)

Hayne, P. O.; Ghent, R. R.; Bandfield, J. L.; Vasavada, A. R.; Williams, J. P.; Siegler, M. A.; Lucey, P. G.; Greenhagen, B. T.; Elder, C. M.; Paige, D. A.

2015-12-01

Fragmentation and overturn of lunar surface materials produces a layer of regolith, which increases in thickness through time. Experiments on the lunar surface during the Apollo era, combined with remote sensing, found that the upper 10's of cm of regolith exhibit a rapid increase in density and thermal conductivity with depth. This is interpreted to be the signature of impact gardening, which operates most rapidly in the uppermost layers. Gravity data from the GRAIL mission showed that impacts have also extensively fractured the deeper crust. The breakdown and mixing of crustal materials is therefore a central process to lunar evolution and must be understood in order to interpret compositional information from remote sensing and sample analysis. Recently, thermal infrared data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Diviner radiometer were used to provide the first remote observational constraints on the rate of ejecta breakdown around craters L., Campbell, B. A., Allen, C. C., Carter, L. M., & Paige, D. A. (2014). Constraints on the recent rate of lunar ejecta breakdown and implications for crater ages. Geology, 42(12), 1059-1062.

Endogenous Lunar Volatiles

Science.gov (United States)

McCubbin, F. M.; Liu, Y.; Barnes, J. J.; Boyce, J. W.; Day, J. M. D.; Elardo, S. M.; Hui, H.; Magna, T.; Ni, P.; Tartese, R.;

Solar Wind Implantation into Lunar Regolith II: Monte Carlo Simulations of Hydrogen Retention in a Surface with Defects and the Hydrogen (H, H2) Exosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Tucker, O. J.; Farrell, W. M.; Killen, R. M.; Hurley, D. M.

2018-01-01

Recently, the near-infrared observations of the OH veneer on the lunar surface by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) have been refined to constrain the OH content to 500-750 parts per million (ppm). The observations indicate diurnal variations in OH up to 200 ppm possibly linked to warmer surface temperatures at low latitude. We examine the M3 observations using a statistical mechanics approach to model the diffusion of implanted H in the lunar regolith. We present results from Monte Carlo simulations of the diffusion of implanted solar wind H atoms and the subsequently derived H and H2 exospheres.

Concentrations of radioactive elements in lunar materials

Science.gov (United States)

Korotev, Randy L.

1998-01-01

As an aid to interpreting data obtained remotely on the distribution of radioactive elements on the lunar surface, average concentrations of K, U, and Th as well as Al, Fe, and Ti in different types of lunar rocks and soils are tabulated. The U/Th ratio in representative samples of lunar rocks and regolith is constant at 0.27; K/Th ratios are more variable because K and Th are carried by different mineral phases. In nonmare regoliths at the Apollo sites, the main carriers of radioactive elements are mafic (i.e., 6-8 percent Fe) impact-melt breccias created at the time of basin formation and products derived therefrom.

Mercury's Weather-Beaten Surface: Understanding Mercury in the Context of Lunar and Asteroidal Space Weathering Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Domingue, Deborah L.; Chapman, Clark. R.; Killen, Rosemary M.; Zurbuchen, Thomas H.; Gilbert, Jason A.; Sarantos, Menelaos; Benna, Mehdi; Slavin, James A.; Schriver, David; Travnicek, Pavel M.;

Ilmenite-rich pyroclastic deposits - An ideal lunar resource

Science.gov (United States)

Hawke, B. R.; Clark, B.; Coombs, C. R.

1990-01-01

With a view of investigating possible economic benefits that a permanent lunar settlement might provide to the near-earth space infrastructures, consideration was given to the ilmenite-rich pyroclastic deposits as sources of oxygen (for use as a propellant) and He-3 (for nuclear fusion fuel). This paper demonstrates that ilmenite-rich pyroclastic deposits would be excellent sources of a wide variety of valuable elements besides O and He-3, including Fe, Ti, H2, N, C, S, Cu, Zn, Cd, Bi, and Pb. It is shown that several ilmenite-rich pyroclastic deposits of regional extent exist on the lunar surface. The suitability of regional pyroclastic deposits for lunar mining operations, construction activities, and the establishment of permanent lunar settlements is examined.

Our Lunar Destiny: Creating a Lunar Economy

Science.gov (United States)

Rohwer, Christopher J.

2000-01-01

"Our Lunar Destiny: Creating a Lunar Economy" supports a vision of people moving freely and economically between the earth and the Moon in an expansive space and lunar economy. It makes the economic case for the creation of a lunar space economy and projects the business plan that will make the venture an economic success. In addition, this paper argues that this vision can be created and sustained only by private enterprise and the legal right of private property in space and on the Moon. Finally, this paper advocates the use of lunar land grants as the key to unleashing the needed capital and the economic power of private enterprise in the creation of a 21st century lunar space economy. It is clear that the history of our United States economic system proves the value of private property rights in the creation of any new economy. It also teaches us that the successful development of new frontiers-those that provide economic opportunity for freedom-loving people-are frontiers that encourage, respect and protect the possession of private property and the fruits of labor and industry. Any new 21st century space and lunar economy should therefore be founded on this same principle.

Particle-In-Cell Simulations of the Solar Wind Interaction with Lunar Crustal Magnetic Anomalies: Magnetic Cusp Regions

Science.gov (United States)

Poppe, A. R.; Halekas, J. S.; Delory, G. T.; Farrell, W. M.

2012-01-01

As the solar wind is incident upon the lunar surface, it will occasionally encounter lunar crustal remanent magnetic fields. These magnetic fields are small-scale, highly non-dipolar, have strengths up to hundreds of nanotesla, and typically interact with the solar wind in a kinetic fashion. Simulations, theoretical analyses, and spacecraft observations have shown that crustal fields can reflect solar wind protons via a combination of magnetic and electrostatic reflection; however, analyses of surface properties have suggested that protons may still access the lunar surface in the cusp regions of crustal magnetic fields. In this first report from a planned series of studies, we use a 1 1/2-dimensional, electrostatic particle-in-cell code to model the self-consistent interaction between the solar wind, the cusp regions of lunar crustal remanent magnetic fields, and the lunar surface. We describe the self-consistent electrostatic environment within crustal cusp regions and discuss the implications of this work for the role that crustal fields may play regulating space weathering of the lunar surface via proton bombardment.

NetPICOmag: A low-cost networked magnetometer and its applications

Science.gov (United States)

Schofield, I.; Connors, M.; Russell, C. T.

2012-03-01

NetPICOmag (NPM) is the culmination of a design effort to build a compact, low-cost, laboratory-grade, networked magnetometer designed for remote autonomous operation, suited for research and education. NPM allows wide placement of magnetometers sensitive enough to detect auroral activity and the daily variation, and is suitable for education projects and a range of geophysical applications. The use of networked microcontrollers and GPS timing is applicable to other small instruments for field or local deployment, and an onboard data logging capability has also been demonstrated. We illustrate the value of the placement of low-cost magnetometers to increase coverage in an area through the study of a Pc 5 pulsation event which took place on September 4, 2010. By combining results with those from auroral zone magnetometers supporting the THEMIS project, we find that the phase velocity of these morning sector pulsations was northward on the ground. The event took place under very quiet solar wind conditions, and credible mapping associates it with the inner magnetosphere. Another aspect beyond increasing areal coverage is increasing density of coverage, which becomes feasible with instruments of very low cost. We examine aspects of the April 5, 2010 space weather event which are possible to deduce from closely spaced magnetometers.

Lunar Airborne Dust Toxicity Hazard Assessments (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, B. L.; McKay, D. S.; Taylor, L. A.; Wallace, W. T.; James, J.; Riofrio, L.; Gonzalez, C. P.

2009-12-01

The Lunar Airborne Dust Toxicity Assessment Group (LADTAG) is developing data to set the permissible limits for human exposure to lunar dust. This standard will guide the design of airlocks and ports for EVA, as well as the requirements for filtering and monitoring the atmosphere in habitable vehicles, rovers and other modules. LADTAG’s recommendation for permissible exposure limits will be delivered to the Constellation Program in late 2010. The current worst-case exposure limit of 0.05 mg/m3, estimated by LADTAG in 2006, reflects the concern that lunar dust may be as toxic as quartz dust. Freshly-ground quartz is known to be more toxic than un-ground quartz dust. Our research has shown that the surfaces of lunar soil grains can be more readily activated by grinding than quartz. Activation was measured by the amount of free radicals generated—activated simulants generate Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) i.e., production of hydroxyl free radicals. Of the various influences in the lunar environment, micrometeorite bombardment probably creates the most long-lasting reactivity on the surfaces of grains, although solar wind impingement and short-wavelength UV radiation also contribute. The comminution process creates fractured surfaces with unsatisfied bonds. When these grains are inhaled and carried into the lungs, they will react with lung surfactant and cells, potentially causing tissue damage and disease. Tests on lunar simulants have shown that dissolution and leaching of metals can occur when the grains are exposed to water—the primary component of lung fluid. However, simulants may behave differently than actual lunar soils. Rodent toxicity testing will be done using the respirable fraction of actual lunar soils (particles with physical size of less than 2.5 micrometers). We are currently separating the fine material from the coarser material that comprises >95% of the mass of each soil sample. Dry sieving is not practical in this size range, so a new system

Radiation tolerance of a spin-dependent tunnelling magnetometer for space applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Persson, Anders; Thornell, Greger; Nguyen, Hugo

2011-01-01

To meet the increasing demand for miniaturized space instruments, efforts have been made to miniaturize traditional magnetometers, e.g. fluxgate and spin-exchange relaxation-free magnetometers. These have, for different reasons, turned out to be difficult. New technologies are needed, and promising in this respect are tunnelling magnetoresistive (TMR) magnetometers, which are based on thin film technology. However, all new space devices first have to be qualified, particularly in terms of radiation resistance. A study on TMR magnetometers' vulnerability to radiation is crucial, considering the fact that they employ a dielectric barrier, which can be susceptible to charge trapping from ionizing radiation. Here, a TMR-based magnetometer, called the spin-dependent tunnelling magnetometer (SDTM), is presented. A magnetometer chip consisting of three Wheatstone bridges, with an angular pitch of 120°, was fabricated using microstructure technology. Each branch of the Wheatstone bridges consists of eight pairs of magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) connected in series. Two such chips are used to measure the three-dimensional magnetic field vector. To investigate the SDTM's resistance to radiation, one branch of a Wheatstone bridge was irradiated with gamma rays from a Co 60 source with a dose rate of 10.9 rad min −1 to a total dose of 100 krad. The TMR of the branch was monitored in situ, and the easy axis TMR loop and low-frequency noise characteristics of a single MTJ were acquired before and after irradiation with the total dose. It was concluded that radiation did not influence the MTJs in any noticeable way in terms of the TMR ratio, coercivity, magnetostatic coupling or low-frequency noise

Lunar plant biology--a review of the Apollo era.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferl, Robert J; Paul, Anna-Lisa

2010-04-01

Recent plans for human return to the Moon have significantly elevated scientific interest in the lunar environment with emphasis on the science to be done in preparation for the return and while on the lunar surface. Since the return to the Moon is envisioned as a dedicated and potentially longer-term commitment to lunar exploration, questions of the lunar environment and particularly its impact on biology and biological systems have become a significant part of the lunar science discussion. Plants are integral to the discussion of biology on the Moon. Plants are envisioned as important components of advanced habitats and fundamental components of advanced life-support systems. Moreover, plants are sophisticated multicellular eukaryotic life-forms with highly orchestrated developmental processes, well-characterized signal transduction pathways, and exceedingly fine-tuned responses to their environments. Therefore, plants represent key test organisms for understanding the biological impact of the lunar environment on terrestrial life-forms. Indeed, plants were among the initial and primary organisms that were exposed to returned lunar regolith from the Apollo lunar missions. This review discusses the original experiments involving plants in association with the Apollo samples, with the intent of understanding those studies within the context of the first lunar exploration program and drawing from those experiments the data to inform the studies critical within the next lunar exploration science agenda.

Lunar atmospheric composition experiment. Final report, 1 Jun. 1971 - 30 Sep. 1975

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoffman, J.H.

1975-01-01

Apollo 17 carried a miniature mass spectrometer, called the Lunar Atmospheric Composition Experiment (LACE), to the moon as part of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) to study the composition and variations in the lunar atmosphere. The instrument was successfully deployed in the Taurus-Littrow Valley with its entrance aperture oriented upward to intercept and measure the downward flux of gases at the lunar surface. During the ten lunations that the LACE operated, it produced a large base of data on the lunar atmosphere, mainly collected at night time. It was found that thermal escape is the most rapid loss mechanism for hydrogen and helium. For heavier gases, photoionization followed by acceleration through the solar wind electric field accounted for most of the loss. The dominant gases on the moon were argon and helium, and models formed for their distribution are described in detail. It is concluded that most of the helium in the lunar atmosphere is of solar wind origin, and that there also exist very small amounts of methane, ammonia, and carbon dioxide

Determination of hydrogen abundance in selected lunar soils

Science.gov (United States)

Bustin, Roberta

1987-01-01

Hydrogen was implanted in lunar soil through solar wind activity. In order to determine the feasibility of utilizing this solar wind hydrogen, it is necessary to know not only hydrogen abundances in bulk soils from a variety of locations but also the distribution of hydrogen within a given soil. Hydrogen distribution in bulk soils, grain size separates, mineral types, and core samples was investigated. Hydrogen was found in all samples studied. The amount varied considerably, depending on soil maturity, mineral types present, grain size distribution, and depth. Hydrogen implantation is definitely a surface phenomenon. However, as constructional particles are formed, previously exposed surfaces become embedded within particles, causing an enrichment of hydrogen in these species. In view of possibly extracting the hydrogen for use on the lunar surface, it is encouraging to know that hydrogen is present to a considerable depth and not only in the upper few millimeters. Based on these preliminary studies, extraction of solar wind hydrogen from lunar soil appears feasible, particulary if some kind of grain size separation is possible.

Developement of a Fluxgate Magnetometer for the KITSAT-3 Satellite

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. H. Hwang

1997-12-01

Full Text Available The magnetometer is one of the most important payloads of scientific satellites to monitor the near-earth space environment. The electromagnetic variations of the space environment can be observed with the electric and magnetic field measurements. In practice, it is well known that the measurement of magnetic fields needs less technical complexities than that of electric fields in space. Therefore the magnetometer has long been recognized as one of the basic payloads for the scientific satellites. In this paper, we discuss the scientific fluxgate magnetometer which will be on board the KITSAT-3. The main circuit design of the present magnetometer is based on that of KISAT-1 and -2 but its facilities have been re-designed to improve the resolution to about 5nT for scientific purpose. The calibration and noise level test of this circuit have been performed at the laboratory of the Tierra Tecnica company in Japan.

Differential Search Coils Based Magnetometers: Conditioning, Magnetic Sensitivity, Spatial Resolution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Timofeeva Maria

2012-03-01

Full Text Available A theoretical and experimental comparison of optimized search coils based magnetometers, operating either in the Flux mode or in the classical Lenz-Faraday mode, is presented. The improvements provided by the Flux mode in terms of bandwidth and measuring range of the sensor are detailed. Theory, SPICE model and measurements are in good agreement. The spatial resolution of the sensor is studied which is an important parameter for applications in non destructive evaluation. A general expression of the magnetic sensitivity of search coils sensors is derived. Solutions are proposed to design magnetometers with reduced weight and volume without degrading the magnetic sensitivity. An original differential search coil based magnetometer, made of coupled coils, operating in flux mode and connected to a differential transimpedance amplifier is proposed. It is shown that this structure is better in terms of volume occupancy than magnetometers using two separated coils without any degradation in magnetic sensitivity. Experimental results are in good agreement with calculations.

Lunar CATALYST

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown (Lunar CATALYST) is a NASA initiative to encourage the development of U.S. private-sector robotic lunar...

Mafic Materials in Scott Crater? A Test for Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Bonnie L.

2007-01-01

Clementine 750 nm and multispectral ratio data, along with Lunar Orbiter and radar data, were used to study the crater Scott in the lunar south polar region. The multispectral data provide evidence for mafic materials, impact melts, anorthositic materials, and a small pyroclastic deposit. High-resolution radar data and Lunar Orbiter photography for this area show differences in color and surface texture that correspond with the locations of the hypothesized mafic and anorthositic areas on the crater floor. This region provides a test case for the upcoming Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Verification of the existence of a mafic deposit at this location is relevant to future lunar resource utilization planning.

A novel lunar bed rest analogue.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavanagh, Peter R; Rice, Andrea J; Licata, Angelo A; Kuklis, Matthew M; Novotny, Sara C; Genc, Kerim O; Englehaupt, Ricki K; Hanson, Andrea M

2013-11-01

Humans will eventually return to the Moon and thus there is a need for a ground-based analogue to enable the study of physiological adaptations to lunar gravity. An important unanswered question is whether or not living on the lunar surface will provide adequate loading of the musculoskeletal system to prevent or attenuate the bone loss that is seen in microgravity. Previous simulations have involved tilting subjects to an approximately 9.5 degrees angle to achieve a lunar gravity component parallel to the long-axis of the body. However, subjects in these earlier simulations were not weight-bearing, and thus these protocols did not provide an analogue for load on the musculoskeletal system. We present a novel analogue which includes the capability to simulate standing and sitting in a lunar loading environment. A bed oriented at a 9.5 degrees angle was mounted on six linear bearings and was free to travel with one degree of freedom along rails. This allowed approximately 1/6 body weight loading of the feet during standing. "Lunar" sitting was also successfully simulated. A feasibility study demonstrated that the analogue was tolerated by subjects for 6 d of continuous bed rest and that the reaction forces at the feet during periods of standing were a reasonable simulation of lunar standing. During the 6 d, mean change in the volume of the quadriceps muscles was -1.6% +/- 1.7%. The proposed analogue would appear to be an acceptable simulation of lunar gravity and deserves further exploration in studies of longer duration.

KOREAN LUNAR LANDER – CONCEPT STUDY FOR LANDING-SITE SELECTION FOR LUNAR RESOURCE EXPLORATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. J. Kim

2016-06-01

Full Text Available As part of the national space promotion plan and presidential national agendas South Korea’s institutes and agencies under the auspices of the Ministry of Science, Information and Communication Technology and Future Planning (MSIP are currently developing a lunar mission package expected to reach Moon in 2020. While the officially approved Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO is aimed at demonstrating technologies and monitoring the lunar environment from orbit, a lander – currently in pre-phase A – is being designed to explore the local geology with a particular focus on the detection and characterization of mineral resources. In addition to scientific and potential resource potentials, the selection of the landing-site will be partly constrained by engineering constraints imposed by payload and spacecraft layout. Given today’s accumulated volume and quality of available data returned from the Moon’s surface and from orbital observations, an identification of landing sites of potential interest and assessment of potential hazards can be more readily accomplished by generating synoptic snapshots through data integration. In order to achieve such a view on potential landing sites, higher level processing and derivation of data are required, which integrates their spatial context, with detailed topographic and geologic characterizations. We are currently assessing the possibility of using fuzzy c-means clustering algorithms as a way to perform (semi- automated terrain characterizations of interest. This paper provides information and background on the national lunar lander program, reviews existing approaches – including methods and tools – for landing site analysis and hazard assessment, and discusses concepts to detect and investigate elemental abundances from orbit and the surface. This is achieved by making use of manual, semi-automated as well as fully-automated remote-sensing methods to demonstrate the applicability of

Telecast of Astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin by the Lunar Module ladder

Science.gov (United States)

1969-01-01

Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong (on left), commander; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, are seen standing by the Lunar Module ladder in this black and white reproduction taken from a telecast by the Apollo 11 lunar surface television camera during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity. This picture was made from a televised image received at the Deep Space Network tracking station at Goldstone, California.

Evolution of Shock Melt Compositions in Lunar Regoliths

Science.gov (United States)

Vance, A. M.; Christoffersen, R.; Keller, L. P.; Berger, E. L.; Noble, S. K.

2016-01-01

Space weathering processes - driven primarily by solar wind ion and micrometeorite bombardment, are constantly changing the surface regoliths of airless bodies, such as the Moon. It is essential to study lunar soils in order to fully under-stand the processes of space weathering, and how they alter the optical reflectance spectral properties of the lunar surface relative to bedrock. Lunar agglutinates are aggregates of regolith grains fused together in a glassy matrix of shock melt produced during micrometeorite impacts into the lunar regolith. The formation of the shock melt component in agglutinates involves reduction of Fe in the target material to generate nm-scale spherules of metallic Fe (nanophase Fe0 or npFe0). The ratio of elemental Fe, in the form of npFe0, to FeO in a given bulk soil indicates its maturity, which increases with length of surface exposure as well as being typically higher in the finer-size fraction of soils. The melting and mixing process in agglutinate formation remain poorly understood. This includes incomplete knowledge regarding how the homogeneity and overall compositional trends of the agglutinate glass portions (agglutinitic glass) evolve with maturity. The aim of this study is to use sub-micrometer scale X-ray compositional mapping and image analysis to quantify the chemical homogeneity of agglutinitic glass, correlate its homogeneity to its parent soil maturity, and identify the principal chemical components contributing to the shock melt composition variations. An additional focus is to see if agglutinitic glass contains anomalously high Fe sub-micron scale compositional domains similar to those recently reported in glassy patina coatings on lunar rocks.

Design and analysis of miniature tri-axial fluxgate magnetometer

Science.gov (United States)

Zhi, Menghui; Tang, Liang; Qiao, Donghai

2017-02-01

The detection technology of weak magnetic field is widely used in Earth resource survey and geomagnetic navigation. Useful magnetic field information can be obtained by processing and analyzing the measurement data from magnetic sensors. A miniature tri-axial fluxgate magnetometer is proposed in this paper. This miniature tri-axial fluxgate magnetometer with ring-core structure has a dynamic range of the Earth’s field ±65,000 nT, resolution of several nT. It has three independent parts placed in three perpendicular planes for measuring three orthogonal magnetic field components, respectively. A field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is used to generate stimulation signal, analog-to-digital (A/D) convertor control signal, and feedback digital-to-analog (D/A) control signal. Design and analysis details are given to improve the dynamic range, sensitivity, resolution, and linearity. Our prototype was measured and compared with a commercial standard Magson fluxgate magnetometer as a reference. The results show that our miniature fluxgate magnetometer can follow the Magson’s change trend well. When used as a magnetic compass, our prototype only has ± 0.3∘ deviation compared with standard magnetic compass.

Year 3 LUNAR Annual Report to the NASA Lunar Science Institute

OpenAIRE

Burns, Jack; Lazio, Joseph

2012-01-01

The Lunar University Network for Astrophysics Research (LUNAR) is a team of researchers and students at leading universities, NASA centers, and federal research laboratories undertaking investigations aimed at using the Moon as a platform for space science. LUNAR research includes Lunar Interior Physics & Gravitation using Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR), Low Frequency Cosmology and Astrophysics (LFCA), Planetary Science and the Lunar Ionosphere, Radio Heliophysics, and Exploration Science. The LUN...

All optical vector magnetometer, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This Phase I research project will investigate a novel method of operating an atomic magnetometer to simultaneously measure total magnetic fields and vector magnetic...

Mercury's Weather-Beaten Surface: Understanding Mercury in the Context of Lunar and Asteroid Space Weathering Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Dominque, Deborah L.; Chapman, Clark R.; Killen, Rosemary M.; Zurbuchen, Thomas H.; Gilbert, Jason A.; Sarantos, Menelaos; Benna, Mehdi; Slavin, James A.; Orlando, Thomas M.; Schriver, David;

Sensitivity optimization of Bell-Bloom magnetometers by manipulation of atomic spin synchronization

Science.gov (United States)

Ranjbaran, M.; Tehranchi, M. M.; Hamidi, S. M.; Khalkhali, S. M. H.

2018-05-01

Many efforts have been devoted to the developments of atomic magnetometers for achieving the high sensitivity required in biomagnetic applications. To reach the high sensitivity, many types of atomic magnetometers have been introduced for optimization of the creation and relaxation rates of atomic spin polarization. In this paper, regards to sensitivity optimization techniques in the Mx configuration, we have proposed a novelty approach for synchronization of the spin precession in the Bell-Bloom magnetometers. We have utilized the phenomenological Bloch equations to simulate the spin dynamics when modulation of pumping light and radio frequency magnetic field were both used for atomic spin synchronization. Our results showed that the synchronization process, improved the magnetometer sensitivity respect to the classical configurations.

New Magneto-Inductive DC Magnetometer for Space Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Moldwin, M.; Bronner, B.; Regoli, L.; Thoma, J.; Shen, A.; Jenkins, G.; Cutler, J.

2017-12-01

A new magneto-inductive DC magnetometer is being developed at the University of Michigan that provides fluxgate quality measurements in a low mass, volume, power and cost package. The magnetometer enables constellation-class missions not only due to its low-resource requirements, but also its potential for commercial integrated circuit fabrication. The magneto-inductive operating principle is based on a simple resistance-inductor (RL) circuit and involves measurement of the time it takes to charge and discharge the inductor between an upper and lower threshold by means of a Schmitt trigger oscillator. This time is proportional to the inductance that in turn is proportional to the field strength. We have modeled the operating principle in the circuit simulator SPICE and have built a proto-type using modified commercial sensors. The performance specifications include a dynamic range over the full-Earth's field, sampling rates up to 80 Hz, sensor and electronics mass of about 30 g, circuit board and sensor housing volume of magnetometer.

A portable Hall magnetometer probe for characterization of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Araujo, Jefferson F.D.F.; Costa, Mateus C.; Louro, Sonia R.W.; Bruno, Antonio C., E-mail: acbruno@puc-rio.br

2017-03-15

We have built a portable Hall magnetometer probe, for measuring magnetic properties of iron oxide nanoparticles, that can be used for bulk materials and liquid samples as well. The magnetometer probe consists of four voltage-programmable commercial Hall sensors and a thin acrylic plate for positioning the sensors. In order to operate, it needs to be attached to a pole of an electromagnet and connected to an AD converter and a computer. It acquires a complete magnetization curve in a couple of minutes and has a magnetic moment sensitivity of 3.5×10{sup −7} Am{sup 2}. We tested its performance with magnetic nanoparticles containing an iron oxide core and having coating layers with different sizes. The magnetization results obtained were compared with measurements performed on commercial stand-alone magnetometers, and exhibited errors of about ±0.2 Am{sup 2}/kg (i.e 0.4%) at saturation and below 0.5 Am{sup 2}/kg (i.e. 10%) at remanence. - Highlights: • A low-cost portable Hall magnetometer probe has been built. • The Hall magnetometer probe can be attached to any electromagnet. • The Hall probe was calibrated and successfully compared to industry standard magnetometers. • The Hall probe was able to measure iron oxide nanoparticles with different coatings.

A portable Hall magnetometer probe for characterization of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araujo, Jefferson F.D.F.; Costa, Mateus C.; Louro, Sonia R.W.; Bruno, Antonio C.

2017-01-01

We have built a portable Hall magnetometer probe, for measuring magnetic properties of iron oxide nanoparticles, that can be used for bulk materials and liquid samples as well. The magnetometer probe consists of four voltage-programmable commercial Hall sensors and a thin acrylic plate for positioning the sensors. In order to operate, it needs to be attached to a pole of an electromagnet and connected to an AD converter and a computer. It acquires a complete magnetization curve in a couple of minutes and has a magnetic moment sensitivity of 3.5×10 −7 Am 2 . We tested its performance with magnetic nanoparticles containing an iron oxide core and having coating layers with different sizes. The magnetization results obtained were compared with measurements performed on commercial stand-alone magnetometers, and exhibited errors of about ±0.2 Am 2 /kg (i.e 0.4%) at saturation and below 0.5 Am 2 /kg (i.e. 10%) at remanence. - Highlights: • A low-cost portable Hall magnetometer probe has been built. • The Hall magnetometer probe can be attached to any electromagnet. • The Hall probe was calibrated and successfully compared to industry standard magnetometers. • The Hall probe was able to measure iron oxide nanoparticles with different coatings.

An Arduino-Based Magnetometer

Science.gov (United States)

McCaughey, Mike

2017-01-01

An Arduino-based system with a triple axis magnetometer chip may be used to plot both the strength and direction of the magnetic field of a magnet directly on a sheet of paper. Before taking measurements, it is necessary either to correct for or to eliminate soft and hard iron effects. The same sensor may be used to determine the presence of soft…

Ceramics for Molten Materials Containment, Transfer and Handling on the Lunar Surface

Science.gov (United States)

Standish, Evan; Stefanescu, Doru M.; Curreri, Peter A.

2009-01-01

As part of a project on Molten Materials Transfer and Handling on the Lunar Surface, molten materials containment samples of various ceramics were tested to determine their performance in contact with a melt of lunar regolith simulant. The test temperature was 1600 C with contact times ranging from 0 to 12 hours. Regolith simulant was pressed into cylinders with the approximate dimensions of 1.25 dia x 1.25cm height and then melted on ceramic substrates. The regolith-ceramic interface was examined after processing to determine the melt/ceramic interaction. It was found that the molten regolith wetted all oxide ceramics tested extremely well which resulted in chemical reaction between the materials in each case. Alumina substrates were identified which withstood contact at the operating temperature of a molten regolith electrolysis cell (1600 C) for eight hours with little interaction or deformation. This represents an improvement over alumina grades currently in use and will provide a lifetime adequate for electrolysis experiments lasting 24 hours or more. Two types of non-oxide ceramics were also tested. It was found that they interacted to a limited degree with the melt resulting in little corrosion. These ceramics, Sic and BN, were not wetted as well as the oxides by the melt, and so remain possible materials for molten regolith handling. Tests wing longer holding periods and larger volumes of regolith are necessary to determine the ultimate performance of the tested ceramics.

Lunar Soil Erosion Physics for Landing Rockets on the Moon

Science.gov (United States)

Clegg, Ryan N.; Metzger, Philip T.; Huff, Stephen; Roberson, Luke B.

2008-01-01

To develop a lunar outpost, we must understand the blowing of soil during launch and landing of the new Altair Lander. For example, the Apollo 12 Lunar Module landed approximately 165 meters from the deactivated Surveyor Ill spacecraft, scouring its surfaces and creating numerous tiny pits. Based on simulations and video analysis from the Apollo missions, blowing lunar soil particles have velocities up to 2000 m/s at low ejection angles relative to the horizon, reach an apogee higher than the orbiting Command and Service Module, and travel nearly the circumference of the Moon [1-3]. The low ejection angle and high velocity are concerns for the lunar outpost.

Electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulations of the solar wind interaction with lunar magnetic anomalies.

Science.gov (United States)

Deca, J; Divin, A; Lapenta, G; Lembège, B; Markidis, S; Horányi, M

2014-04-18

We present the first three-dimensional fully kinetic and electromagnetic simulations of the solar wind interaction with lunar crustal magnetic anomalies (LMAs). Using the implicit particle-in-cell code iPic3D, we confirm that LMAs may indeed be strong enough to stand off the solar wind from directly impacting the lunar surface forming a mini-magnetosphere, as suggested by spacecraft observations and theory. In contrast to earlier magnetohydrodynamics and hybrid simulations, the fully kinetic nature of iPic3D allows us to investigate the space charge effects and in particular the electron dynamics dominating the near-surface lunar plasma environment. We describe for the first time the interaction of a dipole model centered just below the lunar surface under plasma conditions such that only the electron population is magnetized. The fully kinetic treatment identifies electromagnetic modes that alter the magnetic field at scales determined by the electron physics. Driven by strong pressure anisotropies, the mini-magnetosphere is unstable over time, leading to only temporal shielding of the surface underneath. Future human exploration as well as lunar science in general therefore hinges on a better understanding of LMAs.

SECONDARY EMISSION FROM NON-SPHERICAL DUST GRAINS WITH ROUGH SURFACES: APPLICATION TO LUNAR DUST

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richterová, I.; Němeček, Z.; Beránek, M.; Šafránková, J.; Pavlů, J.

2012-01-01

Electrons impinging on a target can release secondary electrons and/or they can be scattered out of the target. It is well established that the number of escaping electrons per primary electron depends on the target composition and dimensions, the energy, and incidence angle of the primary electrons, but there are suggestions that the target's shape and surface roughness also influence the secondary emission. We present a further modification of the model of secondary electron emission from dust grains which is applied to non-spherical grains and grains with defined surface roughness. It is shown that the non-spherical grains give rise to a larger secondary electron yield, whereas the surface roughness leads to a decrease in the yield. Moreover, these effects can be distinguished: the shape effect is prominent for high primary energies, whereas the surface roughness predominantly affects the yield at the low-energy range. The calculations use the Lunar Highlands Type NU-LHT-2M simulant as a grain material and the results are compared with previously published laboratory and in situ measurements.

Composition of lunar noble gases traped 2.5 AE and 3.5 AE ago

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eugster, O.

1986-01-01

The times when the soils 74001 and 73261 were exposed on the lunar surface were determined by the U-235 - Xe-136 dating method. The isotopic composition of the trapped noble gases in these two soils is compared with that of the surface correlated noble gases in the young soils 12001 and in the present day solar wind. The surface correlated trapped gases are a mixture of implanted solar wind particles and retrapped lunar atmospheric gases. The observed changes are interpreted as a result of decreasing outgassing of radiogenic Ar-40 and perhaps He-4 and of fissiogenic Xe from the lunar crust. The old soils probably also contain surface correlated Kr-80 and Kr-82 produced by secondary cosmic ray neutron capture of adsorbed or retrapped bromine. To some extent the isotopic composition of the trapped gases in old lunar soil may also have been altered due to diffusion loss from material of low retentivity

Magmatic intrusions in the lunar crust

Science.gov (United States)

Michaut, C.; Thorey, C.

2015-10-01

The lunar highlands are very old, with ages covering a timespan between 4.5 to 4.2 Gyr, and probably formed by flotation of light plagioclase minerals on top of the lunar magma ocean. The lunar crust provides thus an invaluable evidence of the geological and magmatic processes occurring in the first times of the terrestrial planets history. According to the last estimates from the GRAIL mission, the lunar primary crust is particularly light and relatively thick [1] This low-density crust acted as a barrier for the dense primary mantle melts. This is particularly evident in the fact that subsequent mare basalts erupted primarily within large impact basin: at least part of the crust must have been removed for the magma to reach the surface. However, the trajectory of the magma from the mantle to the surface is unknown. Using a model of magma emplacement below an elastic overlying layer with a flexural wavelength Λ, we characterize the surface deformations induced by the presence of shallow magmatic intrusions. We demonstrate that, depending on its size, the intrusion can show two different shapes: a bell shape when its radius is smaller than 4 times Λ or a flat top with small bended edges if its radius is larger than 4 times Λ[2]. These characteristic shapes for the intrusion result in characteristic deformations at the surface that also depend on the topography of the layer overlying the intrusion [3].Using this model we provide evidence of the presence of intrusions within the crust of the Moon as surface deformations in the form of low-slope lunar domes and floor-fractured craters. All these geological features have morphologies consistent with models of magma spreading at depth and deforming an overlying elastic layer. Further more,at floor-fractured craters, the deformation is contained within the crater interior, suggesting that the overpressure at the origin of magma ascent and intrusion was less than the pressure due to the weight of the crust removed by

Midlatitude magnetometer chains during the IMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mcpherron, R.L.

1982-01-01

The International Magnetospheric Study (IMS) is an international program to study global problems of magnetospheric dynamics. A key element of the U.S. participation in this program was the establishment of a ground magnetometer network. This network included a number of arrays at high and low latitudes. This report describes three chains established at midlatitudes, including the IMS Midlatitude Chain, the AFGL Magnetometer Network, and the Bell Lab Conjugate Array. Descriptions of the type of equipment, station locations, types of data display, and availability of data for each chain are presented in this report. A major problem of the data analysis phase of the IMS will be reducing selected subsets of these data to a common format. Currently, there are no plans to do this in a systematic manner

Human Lunar Destiny: Past, Present, and Future

Science.gov (United States)

Fletcher, David

2002-01-01

This paper offers conceptual strategy and rationale for returning astronauts to the moon. NASA's historic Apollo program enabled humans to make the first expeditionary voyages to the moon and to gather and return samples back to the earth for further study. To continue exploration of the moon within the next ten to fifteen years, one possible mission concept for returning astronauts using existing launch vehicle infrastructure is presented. During these early lunar missions, expeditionary trips are made to geographical destinations and permanent outposts are established at the lunar south pole. As these missions continue, mining operations begin in an effort to learn how to live off the land. Over time, a burgeoning economy based on mining and scientific activity emerges with the formation of more accommodating settlements and surface infrastructure assets. As lunar activity advances, surface infrastructure assets grow and become more complex, lunar settlements and outposts are established across the globe, travel to and from the moon becomes common place, and commerce between earth and the moon develops and flourishes. Colonization and development of the moon is completed with the construction of underground cities and the establishment of a full range of political, religious, educational, and recreational institutions with a diverse population from all nations of the world. Finally, rationale for diversifying concentrations of humanity throughout earth's neighborhood and the greater solar system is presented.

Design Principles of A Sigma-delta Flux-gate Magnetometer

Science.gov (United States)

Magnes, W.; Valavanoglou, A.; Pierce, D.; Frank, A.; Schwingenschuh, K.

A state-of-the-art flux-gate magnetometer is characterised by magnetic field resolution of several pT in a wide frequency range, low power consumption, low weight and high robustness. Therefore, flux-gate magnetometers are frequently used for ground-based Earth's field observation as well as for measurements aboard scientific space missions. But both traditional analogue and recently developed digital flux-gate magnetometers need low power and high-resolution analogue-to-digital converters for signal quan- tization. The disadvantage of such converters is the low radiation hardness. This fact has led to the idea of combining a traditional analogue flux-gate regulation circuit with that of a discretely realized sigma-delta converter in order to get a radiation hard and further miniaturized magnetometer. The name sigma-delta converter is derived from putting an integrator in front of a 1-bit delta modulator which forms the sigma-delta loop. It is followed by a digital decimation filter realized in a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The flux-gate regulation and the sigma-delta loop are quite similar in the way of realizing the integrator and feedback circuit, which makes it easy to com- bine these two systems. The presented talk deals with the design principles and the results of a first bread board model.

Element distribution and noble gas isotopic abundances in lunar meteorite Allan Hills A81005

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kraehenbuehl, U.; Eugster, O.; Niedermann, S.

1986-01-01

Antarctic meteorite ALLAN HILLS A81005, an anorthositic breccia, is recognized to be of lunar origin. The noble gases in this meteorite were analyzed and found to be solar-wind implanted gases, whose absolute and relative concentrations are quite similar to those in lunar regolith samples. A sample of this meteorite was obtained for the analysis of the noble gas isotopes, including Kr(81), and for the determination of the elemental abundances. In order to better determine the volume derived from the surface correlated gases, grain size fractions were prepared. The results of the instrumental measurements of the gamma radiation are listed. From the amounts of cosmic ray produced noble gases and respective production rates, the lunar surface residence times were calculated. It was concluded that the lunar surface time is about half a billion years

Mass loading of the Earth's magnetosphere by micron size lunar ejecta. 1: Ejecta production and orbital dynamics in cislunar space

Science.gov (United States)

Alexander, W. M.; Tanner, W. G.; Anz, P. D.; Chen, A. L.

1986-01-01

Particulate matter possessing lunar escape velocity sufficient to enhance the cislunar meteroid flux was investigated. While the interplanetary flux was extensively studied, lunar ejecta created by the impact of this material on the lunar surface is only now being studied. Two recently reported flux models are employed to calculate the total mass impacting the lunar surface due to sporadic meteor flux. There is ample evidence to support the contention that the sporadic interplanetary meteoroid flux enhances the meteroid flux of cislunar space through the creation of micron and submicron lunar ejecta with lunar escape velocity.

Microfabricated optically pumped magnetometer arrays for biomedical imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, A. R.; Sheng, D.; Krzyzewski, S. P.; Geller, S.; Knappe, S.

2017-02-01

Optically-pumped magnetometers have demonstrated magnetic field measurements as precise as the best superconducting quantum interference device magnetometers. Our group develops miniature alkali atom-based magnetic sensors using microfabrication technology. Our sensors do not require cryogenic cooling, and can be positioned very close to the sample, making these sensors an attractive option for development in the medical community. We will present our latest chip-scale optically-pumped gradiometer developed for array applications to image magnetic fields from the brain noninvasively. These developments should lead to improved spatial resolution, and potentially sensitive measurements in unshielded environments.

Diviner lunar radiometer observations of cold traps in the moon's south polar region

Science.gov (United States)

Paige, D.A.; Siegler, M.A.; Zhang, J.A.; Hayne, P.O.; Foote, E.J.; Bennett, K.A.; Vasavada, A.R.; Greenhagen, B.T.; Schofield, J.T.; McCleese, D.J.; Foote, M.C.; DeJong, E.; Bills, B.G.; Hartford, W.; Murray, B.C.; Allen, C.C.; Snook, K.; Soderblom, L.A.; Calcutt, S.; Taylor, F.W.; Bowles, N.E.; Bandfield, J.L.; Elphic, R.; Ghent, R.; Glotch, T.D.; Wyatt, M.B.; Lucey, P.G.

2010-01-01

Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment surface-temperature maps reveal the existence of widespread surface and near-surface cryogenic regions that extend beyond the boundaries of persistent shadow. The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) struck one of the coldest of these regions, where subsurface temperatures are estimated to be 38 kelvin. Large areas of the lunar polar regions are currently cold enough to cold-trap water ice as well as a range of both more volatile and less volatile species. The diverse mixture of water and high-volatility compounds detected in the LCROSS ejecta plume is strong evidence for the impact delivery and cold-trapping of volatiles derived from primitive outer solar system bodies.

Diamagnetic effect in the foremoon solar wind observed by Kaguya

Science.gov (United States)

Nishino, Masaki N.; Saito, Yoshifumi; Tsunakawa, Hideo; Miyake, Yohei; Harada, Yuki; Yokota, Shoichiro; Takahashi, Futoshi; Matsushima, Masaki; Shibuya, Hidetoshi; Shimizu, Hisayoshi

2017-04-01

Direct interaction between the lunar surface and incident solar wind is one of the crucial phenomena of the planetary plasma sciences. Recent observations by lunar orbiters revealed that strength of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) at spacecraft altitude often increases over crustal magnetic fields on the dayside. In addition, variations of the IMF on the lunar night side have been reported in the viewpoint of diamagnetic effect around the lunar wake. However, few studies have been performed for the IMF over non-magnetized regions on the dayside. Here we show an event where strength of the IMF decreases at 100 km altitude on the lunar dayside (i.e. in the foremoon solar wind) when the IMF is almost parallel to the incident solar wind flow, comparing the upstream solar wind data from ACE with Kaguya magnetometer data. The lunar surface below the Kaguya orbit is not magnetized (or very weakly magnetized), and the sunward-travelling protons show signatures of those back-scattered at the lunar surface. We find that the decrease in the magnetic pressure is compensated by the thermal pressure of the back-scattered protons. In other words, the IMF strength in the foremoon solar wind decreases by diamagnetic effect of sunward-travelling protons back-scattered at the lunar dayside surface. Such an effect would be prominent in the high-beta solar wind, and may be ubiquitous in the environment where planetary surface directly interacts with surrounding space plasma.

Simulation of the «COSMONAUT-ROBOT» System Interaction on the Lunar Surface Based on Methods of Machine Vision and Computer Graphics

Science.gov (United States)

Kryuchkov, B. I.; Usov, V. M.; Chertopolokhov, V. A.; Ronzhin, A. L.; Karpov, A. A.

2017-05-01

Extravehicular activity (EVA) on the lunar surface, necessary for the future exploration of the Moon, involves extensive use of robots. One of the factors of safe EVA is a proper interaction between cosmonauts and robots in extreme environments. This requires a simple and natural man-machine interface, e.g. multimodal contactless interface based on recognition of gestures and cosmonaut's poses. When travelling in the "Follow Me" mode (master/slave), a robot uses onboard tools for tracking cosmonaut's position and movements, and on the basis of these data builds its itinerary. The interaction in the system "cosmonaut-robot" on the lunar surface is significantly different from that on the Earth surface. For example, a man, dressed in a space suit, has limited fine motor skills. In addition, EVA is quite tiring for the cosmonauts, and a tired human being less accurately performs movements and often makes mistakes. All this leads to new requirements for the convenient use of the man-machine interface designed for EVA. To improve the reliability and stability of human-robot communication it is necessary to provide options for duplicating commands at the task stages and gesture recognition. New tools and techniques for space missions must be examined at the first stage of works in laboratory conditions, and then in field tests (proof tests at the site of application). The article analyzes the methods of detection and tracking of movements and gesture recognition of the cosmonaut during EVA, which can be used for the design of human-machine interface. A scenario for testing these methods by constructing a virtual environment simulating EVA on the lunar surface is proposed. Simulation involves environment visualization and modeling of the use of the "vision" of the robot to track a moving cosmonaut dressed in a spacesuit.

Numerical Simulations of the Lunar Penetrating Radar and Investigations of the Geological Structures of the Lunar Regolith Layer at the Chang’E 3 Landing Site

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chunyu Ding

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In the process of lunar exploration, and specifically when studying lunar surface structure and thickness, the established lunar regolith model is usually a uniform and ideal structural model, which is not well-suited to describe the real structure of the lunar regolith layer. The present study aims to explain the geological structural information contained in the channel 2 LPR (lunar penetrating radar data. In this paper, the random medium theory and Apollo drilling core data are used to construct a modeling method based on discrete heterogeneous random media, and the simulation data are processed and collected by the electromagnetic numerical method FDTD (finite-difference time domain. When comparing the LPR data with the simulated data, the heterogeneous random medium model is more consistent with the actual distribution of the media in the lunar regolith layer. It is indicated that the interior structure of the lunar regolith layer at the landing site is not a pure lunar regolith medium but rather a regolith-rock mixture, with rocks of different sizes and shapes. Finally, several reasons are given to explain the formation of the geological structures of the lunar regolith layer at the Chang’E 3 landing site, as well as the possible geological stratification structure.

A dumbbell-shaped hybrid magnetometer operating in DC-10 kHz

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Hongyu; Wang, Yanzhang; Chen, Siyu; Lin, Jun

2017-12-01

This study is motivated by the need to design a hybrid magnetometer operating in a wide-frequency band from DC to 10 kHz. To achieve this objective, a residence times difference fluxgate magnetometer (RTDFM) and an induction magnetometer (IM) have been integrated into a compact form. The hybrid magnetometer has a dumbbell-shaped structure in which the RTDFM transducer is partially inserted into the tube cores of the IM. Thus, the sensitivity of the RTDFM is significantly improved due to the flux amplification. The optimal structure, which has maximum sensitivity enhancement, was obtained through FEM analysis. To validate the theoretical analysis, the optimal hybrid magnetometer was manufactured, and its performance was evaluated. The device has a sensitivity of 45 mV/nT at 1 kHz in IM mode and 0.38 μs/nT in RTDFM mode, which is approximately 3.45 times as large as that of the single RTDFM structure. Furthermore, to obtain a lower noise performance in the entire frequency band, two operation modes switch at the cross frequency (0.16 Hz) of their noise levels. The noise level is 30 pT/√Hz in RTDFM mode and 0.07 pT/√Hz at 1 kHz in IM mode.

A New Moonquake Catalog from Apollo 17 Seismic Data II: Lunar Surface Gravimeter: Implications of Expanding the Passive Seismic Array

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, D.; Dimech, J. L.; Weber, R. C.

2017-12-01

Apollo 17's Lunar Surface Gravimeter (LSG) was deployed on the Moon in 1972, and was originally intended to detect gravitational waves as a confirmation of Einstein's general theory of relativity. Due to a design problem, the instrument did not function as intended. However, remotely-issued reconfiguration commands permitted the instrument to act effectively as a passive seismometer. LSG recorded continuously until Sept. 1977, when all surface data recording was terminated. Because the instrument did not meet its primary science objective, little effort was made to archive the data. Most of it was eventually lost, with the exception of data spanning the period March 1976 until Sept. 1977, and a recent investigation demonstrated that LSG data do contain moonquake signals (Kawamura et al., 2015). The addition of useable seismic data at the Apollo 17 site has important implications for event location schemes, which improve with increasing data coverage. All previous seismic event location attempts were limited to the four stations deployed at the Apollo 12, 14, 15, and 16 sites. Apollo 17 extends the functional aperture of the seismic array significantly to the east, permitting more accurate moonquake locations and improved probing of the lunar interior. Using the standard location technique of linearized arrival time inversion through a known velocity model, Kawamura et al. (2015) used moonquake signals detected in the LSG data to refine location estimates for 49 deep moonquake clusters, and constrained new locations for five previously un-located clusters. Recent efforts of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package Data Recovery Focus Group have recovered some of the previously lost LSG data, spanning the time period April 2, 1975 to June 30, 1975. In this study, we expand Kawamura's analysis to the newly recovered data, which contain over 200 known seismic signals, including deep moonquakes, shallow moonquakes, and meteorite impacts. We have completed initial

Estimates of Sputter Yields of Solar-Wind Heavy Ions of Lunar Regolith Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Barghouty, Abdulmasser F.; Adams, James H., Jr.

2008-01-01

At energies of approximately 1 keV/amu, solar-wind protons and heavy ions interact with the lunar surface materials via a number of microscopic interactions that include sputtering. Solar-wind induced sputtering is a main mechanism by which the composition of the topmost layers of the lunar surface can change, dynamically and preferentially. This work concentrates on sputtering induced by solar-wind heavy ions. Sputtering associated with slow (speeds the electrons speed in its first Bohr orbit) and highly charged ions are known to include both kinetic and potential sputtering. Potential sputtering enjoys some unique characteristics that makes it of special interest to lunar science and exploration. Unlike the yield from kinetic sputtering where simulation and approximation schemes exist, the yield from potential sputtering is not as easy to estimate. This work will present a preliminary numerical scheme designed to estimate potential sputtering yields from reactions relevant to this aspect of solar-wind lunar-surface coupling.

Structural analysis of lunar subsurface with Chang'E-3 lunar penetrating radar

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Jialong; Xu, Yi; Zhang, Xiaoping; Tang, Zesheng

2016-01-01

Geological structure of the subsurface of the Moon provides valuable information on lunar evolution. Recently, Chang'E-3 has utilized lunar penetrating radar (LPR), which is equipped on the lunar rover named as Yutu, to detect the lunar geological structure in Northern Imbrium (44.1260N, 19.5014W) for the first time. As an in situ detector, Chang'E-3 LPR has relative higher horizontal and vertical resolution and less clutter impact compared to spaceborne radars and earth-based radars. In this work, we analyze the LPR data at 500 MHz transmission frequency to obtain the shallow subsurface structure of the landing area of Chang'E-3 in Mare Imbrium. Filter method and amplitude recovery algorithms are utilized to alleviate the adverse effects of environment and system noises and compensate the amplitude losses during signal propagation. Based on the processed radar image, we observe numerous diffraction hyperbolae, which may be caused by discrete reflectors beneath the lunar surface. Hyperbolae fitting method is utilized to reverse the average dielectric constant to certain depth (ε bar). Overall, the estimated ε bar increases with the depth and ε bar could be classified into three categories. Average ε bar of each category is 2.47, 3.40 and 6.16, respectively. Because of the large gap between the values of ε bar of neighboring categories, we speculate a three-layered structure of the shallow surface of LPR exploration region. One possible geological picture of the speculated three-layered structure is presented as follows. The top layer is weathered layer of ejecta blanket with its average thickness and bound on error is 0.95±0.02 m. The second layer is the ejecta blanket of the nearby impact crater, and the corresponding average thickness is about 2.30±0.07 m, which is in good agreement with the two primary models of ejecta blanket thickness as a function of distance from the crater center. The third layer is regarded as a mixture of stones and soil. The

Analysis of Stationary, Photovoltaic-based Surface Power System Designs at the Lunar South Pole

Science.gov (United States)

Freeh, Joshua E.

2009-01-01

Combinations of solar arrays and either batteries or regenerative fuel cells are analyzed for a surface power system module at the lunar south pole. The systems are required to produce 5 kW of net electrical power in sunlight and 2 kW of net electrical power during lunar night periods for a 10-year period between 2020 and 2030. Systems-level models for energy conservation, performance, degradation, and mass are used to compare to various systems. The sensitivities of important and/or uncertain variables including battery specific energy, fuel cell operating voltage, and DC-DC converter efficiency are compared to better understand the system. Switching unit efficiency, battery specific energy, and fuel cell operating voltage appear to be important system-level variables for this system. With reasonably sized solar arrays, the regenerative fuel cell system has significantly lower mass than the battery system based on the requirements and assumptions made herein. The total operational time is estimated at about 10,000 hours in battery discharge/fuel cell mode and about 4,000 and 8,000 hours for the battery charge and electrolyzer modes, respectively. The estimated number of significant depth-of-discharge cycles for either energy storage system is less than 100 for the 10-year period.

DSCOVR Magnetometer Level 2 One Minute Averages

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Interplanetary magnetic field observations collected from magnetometer on DSCOVR satellite - 1-minute average of Level 1 data

DSCOVR Magnetometer Level 2 One Second Averages

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Interplanetary magnetic field observations collected from magnetometer on DSCOVR satellite - 1-second average of Level 1 data

Studies of Polar Current Systems Using the IMS Scandinavian Magnetometer Array

Science.gov (United States)

Untiedt, J.; Baumjohann, W.

1993-09-01

As a contribution to the International Magnetospheric Study (IMS, 1976 1979) a two-dimensional array of 42 temporary magnetometer stations was run in Scandinavia, supplementary to the permanent observatories and concentrated in the northern part of the region. This effort aimed at the time-dependent (periods above about 100 s) determination of the two-dimensional structure of substorm-related magnetic fields at the Earth's surface with highest reasonable spatial resolution (about 100 km, corresponding to the height of the ionosphere) near the footpoints of field-aligned electric currents that couple the disturbed magnetosphere to the ionosphere at auroral latitudes. It has been of particular advantage for cooperative studies that not only simultaneous data were available from all-sky cameras, riometers, balloons, rockets, and satellites, but also from the STARE radar facility yielding colocated two-dimensional ionospheric electric field distributions. In many cases it therefore was possible to infer the three-dimensional regional structure of substorm-related ionospheric current systems. The first part of this review outlines the basic relationships and methods that have been used or have been developed for such studies. The second short part presents typical equivalent current patterns observed by the magnetometer array in the course of substorms. Finally we review main results of studies that have been based on the magnetometer array observations and on additional data, omitting studies on geomagnetic pulsations. These studies contributed to a clarification of the nature of auroral electrojets including the Harang discontinuity and of ionospheric current systems related to auroral features such as the break-up at midnight, the westward traveling surge, eastward drifting omega bands, and spirals.

Through-barrier electromagnetic imaging with an atomic magnetometer.

Science.gov (United States)

Deans, Cameron; Marmugi, Luca; Renzoni, Ferruccio

2017-07-24

We demonstrate the penetration of thick metallic and ferromagnetic barriers for imaging of conductive targets underneath. Our system is based on an 85 Rb radio-frequency atomic magnetometer operating in electromagnetic induction imaging modality in an unshielded environment. Detrimental effects, including unpredictable magnetic signatures from ferromagnetic screens and variations in the magnetic background, are automatically compensated by active compensation coils controlled by servo loops. We exploit the tunability and low-frequency sensitivity of the atomic magnetometer to directly image multiple conductive targets concealed by a 2.5 mm ferromagnetic steel shield and/or a 2.0 mm aluminium shield, in a single scan. The performance of the atomic magnetometer allows imaging without any prior knowledge of the barriers or the targets, and without the need of background subtraction. A dedicated edge detection algorithm allows automatic estimation of the targets' size within 3.3 mm and of their position within 2.4 mm. Our results prove the feasibility of a compact, sensitive and automated sensing platform for imaging of concealed objects in a range of applications, from security screening to search and rescue.

Dusty plasmas over the Moon: theory research in support of the upcoming lunar missions

Science.gov (United States)

Popel, Sergey; Zelenyi, Lev; Zakharov, Alexander; Izvekova, Yulia; Dolnikov, Gennady; Dubinskii, Andrey; Kopnin, Sergey; Golub, Anatoly

The future Russian lunar missions Luna 25 and Luna 27 are planned to be equipped with instruments for direct detection of nano- and microscale dust particles and determination of plasma properties over the surface of the Moon. Lunar dust over the Moon is usually considered as a part of a dusty plasma system. Here, we present the main our theory results concerning the lunar dusty plasmas. We start with the description of the observational data on dust particles on and over the surface of the Moon. We show that the size distribution of dust on the lunar surface is in a good agreement with the Kolmogorov distribution, which is the size distribution of particles in the case of multiple crushing. We discuss the role of adhesion which has been identified as a significant force in the dust particle launching process. We evaluate the adhesive force for lunar dust particles with taking into account the roughness and adsorbed molecular layers. We show that dust particle launching can be explained if the dust particles rise at a height of about dozens of nanometers owing to some processes. This is enough for the particles to acquire charges sufficient for the dominance of the electrostatic force over the gravitational and adhesive forces. The reasons for the separation of the dust particles from the surface of the Moon are, in particular, their heating by solar radiation and cooling. We consider migration of free protons in regolith from the viewpoint of the photoemission properties of the lunar soil. Finally, we develop a model of dusty plasma system over the Moon and show that it includes charged dust, photoelectrons, and electrons and ions of the solar wind. We determine the distributions of the photoelectrons and find the characteristics of the dust which rise over the lunar regolith. We show that there are no significant constraints on the Moon landing sites for future lunar missions that will study dusty plasmas in the surface layer of the Moon. We discuss also waves in

Determination of the Overhauser magnetometer uncertainty

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Ulvr, M.; Zikmund, A.; Kupec, J.; Janošek, M.; Vlk, Michal; Bayer, Tomáš

2015-01-01

Roč. 66, 7/s (2015), s. 26-29 ISSN 1335-3632 Institutional support: RVO:67985530 Keywords : Overhauser magnetometer * Earth `s magnetic field * comparison * uncertainty Subject RIV: DE - Earth Magnetism, Geodesy, Geography Impact factor: 0.407, year: 2015

A theoretical and experimental investigation of the proton magnetometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hancke, G.P.

1987-01-01

This study comprises the investigation of the properties of the proton magnetometer based on the free precession of protons. The basic principle of the free precession of protons in the earth's magnetic field is described and the most important factors affecting this free precession are examined. It is shown that very important parameters to keep in mind are the polarization time and the magnitude of the polarization field. A discussion of the errors of a proton magnetometer built on the periodometer principles is given and it is shown that the error in counting of the number of precession periods during the time of measurement contributes most to the total error. The magnitude of this error depends on the signal-to-noise ratio, the instability of the operating threshold of the discriminator of the period counter, it's operating time and the tuning accuracy of the sensor to the precession frequency. The penetration to a magnetometer input of variable magnetic and electric interferences, their influence on the phase of the useful signal, and the resulting measurement errors are examined and methods of reducing the effects of interferences are discussed. The optimization of sensor design is very important in the development of proton magnetometers. The coil geometry, physical size, the working substance and the polarization design are important parameters. The selection of a method for processing the precession signal of a proton magnetometer is examined, given a sensor and signal amplifier with fixed parameters. A method is proposed and compared with known methods. Measurement errors are computed for various signal-to-noise ratios and times of observation of the precession signal, and it is shown that the proposed method is superior to conventional methods found in commercial instruments

Cryostats for SQUID magnetometers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Testard, O.A.; Locatelli, M.

1982-05-01

A non metallic and non magnetic cryostat, with a very low thermal budget and a container type autonomy was developed, to condition S.Q.U.I.D. magnetometers which maximum sensitivity reaches 10 -14 Tesla Hertzsup(-1/2). This instrumentation puts in hand new concepts of composite materials, thermal shock and vibration resistant, multilayer thermal radiative insulation also to the prouve of vibrations with thermal equivalent emissivity lower than 10 -3

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Lunar Workshops for Educators

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, A. P.; Hsu, B. C.; Hessen, K.; Bleacher, L.

2012-12-01

The Lunar Workshops for Educators (LWEs) are a series of weeklong professional development workshops, accompanied by quarterly follow-up sessions, designed to educate and inspire grade 6-12 science teachers, sponsored by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Participants learn about lunar science and exploration, gain tools to help address common student misconceptions about the Moon, find out about the latest research results from LRO scientists, work with data from LRO and other lunar missions, and learn how to bring these data to their students using hands-on activities aligned with grade 6-12 National Science Education Standards and Benchmarks and through authentic research experiences. LWEs are held around the country, primarily in locations underserved with respect to NASA workshops. Where possible, workshops also include tours of science facilities or field trips intended to help participants better understand mission operations or geologic processes relevant to the Moon. Scientist and engineer involvement is a central tenant of the LWEs. LRO scientists and engineers, as well as scientists working on other lunar missions, present their research or activities to the workshop participants and answer questions about lunar science and exploration. This interaction with the scientists and engineers is consistently ranked by the LWE participants as one of the most interesting and inspiring components of the workshops. Evaluation results from the 2010 and 2011 workshops, as well as preliminary analysis of survey responses from 2012 participants, demonstrated an improved understanding of lunar science concepts among LWE participants in post-workshop assessments (as compared to identical pre-assessments) and a greater understanding of how to access and effectively share LRO data with students. Teachers reported increased confidence in helping students conduct research using lunar data, and learned about programs that would allow their students to make authentic

Lunar cement

Science.gov (United States)

Agosto, William N.

1992-01-01

With the exception of water, the major oxide constituents of terrestrial cements are present at all nine lunar sites from which samples have been returned. However, with the exception of relatively rare cristobalite, the lunar oxides are not present as individual phases but are combined in silicates and in mixed oxides. Lime (CaO) is most abundant on the Moon in the plagioclase (CaAl2Si2O8) of highland anorthosites. It may be possible to enrich the lime content of anorthite to levels like those of Portland cement by pyrolyzing it with lunar-derived phosphate. The phosphate consumed in such a reaction can be regenerated by reacting the phosphorus product with lunar augite pyroxenes at elevated temperatures. Other possible sources of lunar phosphate and other oxides are discussed.

Cis-Lunar Base Camp

Science.gov (United States)

Merrill, Raymond G.; Goodliff, Kandyce E.; Mazanek, Daniel D.; Reeves, John D., Jr.

2012-01-01

Historically, when mounting expeditions into uncharted territories, explorers have established strategically positioned base camps to pre-position required equipment and consumables. These base camps are secure, safe positions from which expeditions can depart when conditions are favorable, at which technology and operations can be tested and validated, and facilitate timely access to more robust facilities in the event of an emergency. For human exploration missions into deep space, cis-lunar space is well suited to serve as such a base camp. The outer regions of cis-lunar space, such as the Earth-Moon Lagrange points, lie near the edge of Earth s gravity well, allowing equipment and consumables to be aggregated with easy access to deep space and to the lunar surface, as well as more distant destinations, such as near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) and Mars and its moons. Several approaches to utilizing a cis-lunar base camp for sustainable human exploration, as well as some possible future applications are identified. The primary objective of the analysis presented in this paper is to identify options, show the macro trends, and provide information that can be used as a basis for more detailed mission development. Compared within are the high-level performance and cost of 15 preliminary cis-lunar exploration campaigns that establish the capability to conduct crewed missions of up to one year in duration, and then aggregate mass in cis-lunar space to facilitate an expedition from Cis-Lunar Base Camp. Launch vehicles, chemical propulsion stages, and electric propulsion stages are discussed and parametric sizing values are used to create architectures of in-space transportation elements that extend the existing in-space supply chain to cis-lunar space. The transportation options to cis-lunar space assessed vary in efficiency by almost 50%; from 0.16 to 0.68 kg of cargo in cis-lunar space for every kilogram of mass in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). For the 15 cases, 5-year campaign

Lunar astrobiology: a review and suggested laboratory equipment.

Science.gov (United States)

Gronstal, Aaron; Cockell, Charles S; Perino, Maria Antonietta; Bittner, Tobias; Clacey, Erik; Clark, Olathe; Ingold, Olivier; Alves de Oliveira, Catarina; Wathiong, Steven

2007-10-01

In October of 2005, the European Space Agency (ESA) and Alcatel Alenia Spazio released a "call to academia for innovative concepts and technologies for lunar exploration." In recent years, interest in lunar exploration has increased in numerous space programs around the globe, and the purpose of our study, in response to the ESA call, was to draw on the expertise of researchers and university students to examine science questions and technologies that could support human astrobiology activity on the Moon. In this mini review, we discuss astrobiology science questions of importance for a human presence on the surface of the Moon and we provide a summary of key instrumentation requirements to support a lunar astrobiology laboratory.

Telecast of Astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin by the Lunar Module

Science.gov (United States)

1969-01-01

Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong (in center) commander; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. (on right), lunar module pilot, are seen standing near their Lunar Module in this black and white reproduction taken from a telecast by the Apollo 11 lunar surface television camera during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity. This picture was made from a televised image received at the Deep Space Network tracking station at Goldstone, California. President Richard M. Nixon had just spoken to the two astronauts by radio and Aldrin, a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, is saluting the president.

High-Resolution Spectroscopy of the Lunar Sodium Exosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Mierkiewicz, E. J.; Oliversen, R. J.; Roesler, F. L.; Lupie, O. L.

2014-01-01

We have applied high-resolution Fabry-Perot spectroscopy to the study of the lunar sodium exosphere for the study of exospheric effective temperature and velocity variations. Observing from the National Solar Observatory McMath-Pierce Telescope, we used a dual-etalon Fabry-Perot spectrometer with a resolving power of 180,000 to measure line widths and Doppler shifts of the sodium D2 (5889.95 Å) emission line. Our field of view was 360 km, and measurements were made in equatorial and polar regions from 500 km to 3500 km off the limb. Data were obtained from full moon to 3 days following full moon (waning phase) in March 2009. Measured Doppler line widths within 1100 km of the sunlit east and south lunar limbs for observations between 5 and 40 deg lunar phase imply effective temperatures ranging between 3260 +/- 190 and 1000 +/- 135 K. Preliminary line center analysis indicates velocity displacements between different locations off the lunar limb ranging between 100 and 600 m/s from the lunar rest velocity with a precision of +/-20 to +/-50 m/s depending on brightness. Based on the success of these exploratory observations, an extensive program has been initiated that is expected to constrain lunar atmospheric and surface-process modeling and help quantify source and escape mechanisms.

Overview of lunar detection of ultra-high energy particles and new plans for the SKA

NARCIS (Netherlands)

James, Clancy W.; Alvarez-Muñiz, Jaime; Bray, Justin D.; Buitink, Stijn; Dagkesamanskii, Rustam D.; Ekers, Ronald D.; Falcke, Heino; Gayley, Ken; Huege, Tim; Mevius, Maaijke; Mutel, Rob; Scholten, Olaf; Spencer, Ralph; ter Veen, Sander; Winchen, Tobias

2017-01-01

The lunar technique is a method for maximising the collection area for ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic ray and neutrino searches. The method uses either ground-based radio telescopes or lunar orbiters to search for Askaryan emission from particles cascading near the lunar surface. While experiments

''Fast track'' lunar NTR systems assessment for NASA's first lunar outpost and its evolvability to Mars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borowski, S.K.; Alexander, S.W.

1993-01-01

Integrated systems and missions studies are presented for an evolutionary lunar-to-Mars space transportion system (STS) based on nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) technology. A ''standardized'' set of engine and stage components are identified and used in a ''building block'' fashion to configure a variety of piloted and cargo, lunar and Mars vehicles. The reference NTR characteristics include a thrust of 50 thousand pounds force (klbf), specific impulse (I sp ) of 900 seconds, and an engine thrust-to-weight ratio of 4.3. For the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) First Lunar Outpost (FLO) mission, an expendable NTR stage powered by two such engines can deliver ∼96 metric tonnes (t) to trans-lunar injection (TLI) conditions for an initial mass in low Earth orbit (IMLEO) of ∼198 t compared to 250 t for a cryogenic chemical system. The stage liquid hydrogen (LH 2 ) tank has a diameter, length, and capacity of 10 m, 14.5 m and 66 t, respectively. By extending the stage length and LH 2 capacity to ∼20 m and 96 t, a single launch Mars cargo vehicle could deliver to an elliptical Mars parking orbit a 63 t Mars excursion vehicle (MEV) with a 45 t surface payload. Three 50 klbf engines and the two standardized LH 2 tanks developed for the lunar and Mars cargo vehicles are used to configure the vehicles supporting piloted Mars missions as early as 2010. The ''modular'' NTR vehicle approach forms the basis for an efficient STS able to handle the needs of a wide spectrum of lunar and Mars missions

Lunar lander stage requirements based on the Civil Needs Data Base

Science.gov (United States)

Mulqueen, John A.

1992-01-01

This paper examines the lunar lander stages that will be necessary for the future exploration and development of the Moon. Lunar lander stage sizing is discussed based on the projected lunar payloads listed in the Civil Needs Data Base. Factors that will influence the lander stage design are identified and discussed. Some of these factors are (1) lunar orbiting and lunar surface lander bases; (2) implications of direct landing trajectories and landing from a parking orbit; (3) implications of landing site and parking orbit; (4) implications of landing site and parking orbit selection; (5) the use of expendable and reusable lander stages; and (6) the descent/ascent trajectories. Data relating the lunar lander stage design requirements to each of the above factors and others are presented in parametric form. These data will provide useful design data that will be applicable to future mission model modifications and design studies.

Lunar orbiter photographic atlas of the near side of the Moon

CERN Document Server

Byrne, Charles

2005-01-01

In 1967, Lunar Orbiter Mission 4 sent back to Earth a superb series of photographs of the surface of the Moon. Using 21st century computer techniques, Charles Byrne - previously System Engineer of the Apollo Program for Lunar Orbiter Photography - has removed the scanning artifacts and transmission imperfections to produce a most comprehensive and beautifully detailed set of images of the lunar surface. To help practical astronomers, all the photographs are systematically related to an Earth-based view. The book has been organized to make it easy for astronomers to use, enabling ground-based images and views to be compared with the Orbiter photographs. Every astronomer - amateur and professional - who is interested in the Moon will want this book in his library!.

Design and implementation of JOM-3 Overhauser magnetometer analog circuit

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiao; Jiang, Xue; Zhao, Jianchang; Zhang, Shuang; Guo, Xin; Zhou, Tingting

2017-09-01

Overhauser magnetometer, a kind of static-magnetic measurement system based on the Overhauser effect, has been widely used in archaeological exploration, mineral resources exploration, oil and gas basin structure detection, prediction of engineering exploration environment, earthquakes and volcanic eruotions, object magnetic measurement and underground buried booty exploration. Overhauser magnetometer plays an important role in the application of magnetic field measurement for its characteristics of small size, low power consumption and high sensitivity. This paper researches the design and the application of the analog circuit of JOM-3 Overhauser magnetometer. First, the Larmor signal output by the probe is very weak. In order to obtain the signal with high signal to noise rstio(SNR), the design of pre-amplifier circuit is the key to improve the quality of the system signal. Second, in this paper, the effectual step which could improve the frequency characters of bandpass filter amplifier circuit were put forward, and theoretical analysis was made for it. Third, the shaping circuit shapes the amplified sine signal into a square wave signal which is suitable for detecting the rising edge. Fourth, this design elaborated the optimized choice of tuning circuit, so the measurement range of the magnetic field can be covered. Last, integrated analog circuit testing system was formed to detect waveform of each module. By calculating the standard deviation, the sensitivity of the improved Overhauser magnetometer is 0.047nT for Earth's magnetic field observation. Experimental results show that the new magnetometer is sensitive to earth field measurement.

Laboratory Measurements of Optical and Physical Properties of Individual Lunar Dust Grains

Science.gov (United States)

Abbas, M. M.; Tankosic, D.; Craven, P. D.; Hoover, R. B.

2006-01-01

The lunar surface is covered with a thick layer of sub-micron/micron size dust grains formed by meteoritic impact over billions of years. The fine dust grains are levitated and transported on the lunar surface, and transient dust clouds over the lunar horizon were observed by experiments during the Apollo 17 mission. Theoretical models suggest that the dust grains on the lunar surface are charged by the solar UV radiation as well as the solar wind. Even without any physical activity, the dust grains are levitated by electrostatic fields and transported away from the surface in the near vacuum environment of the Moon. The current dust charging and levitation models, however, do not fully explain the observed phenomena. Since the abundance of dust on the Moon's surface with its observed adhesive characteristics has the potential of severe impact on human habitat and operations and lifetime of a variety of equipment, it is necessary to investigate the charging properties and the lunar dust phenomena in order to develop appropriate mitigating strategies. Photoelectric emission induced by the solar UV radiation with photon energies higher than the work function of the grain materials is recognized to be the dominant process for charging of the lunar dust, and requires measurements of the photoelectric yields to determine the charging and equilibrium potentials of individual dust grains. In this paper, we present the first laboratory measurements of the photoelectric yields of individual sub-micron/micron size dust grains selected from sample returns of Apollo 17, and Luna 24 missions, as well as similar size dust grains from the JSC-1 simulants. The experimental results were obtained on a laboratory facility based on an electrodynamic balance that permits a variety of experiments to be conducted on individual sub-micron/micron size dust grains in simulated space environments. The photoelectric emission measurements indicate grain size dependence with the yield

Surface chemistry of selected lunar regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bielefeld, M.J.; Reedy, R.C.; Metzger, A.E.; Trombka, J.I.; Arnold, J.R.

1976-01-01

A completely new analysis has been carried out on the data from the Apollo 15 and 16 γ ray spectrometer experiments. The components of the continuum background have been estimated. The elements Th, K, Fe and Mg give useful results; results for Ti are significant only for a few high Ti regions. Errors are given, and the results are checked by other methods. Concentrations are reported for about sixty lunar regions; the ground track has been subdivided in various ways. The borders of the maria seem well-defined chemically, while the distribution of KREEP is broad. This wide distribution requires emplacement of KREEP before the era of mare formation. Its high concentration in western mare soils seems to require major vertical mixing

Radiation Shielding of Lunar Regolith/Polyethylene Composites and Lunar Regolith/Water Mixtures

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Quincy F.; Gersey, Brad; Wilkins, Richard; Zhou, Jianren

2011-01-01

Space radiation is a complex mixed field of ionizing radiation that can pose hazardous risks to sophisticated electronics and humans. Mission planning for lunar exploration and long duration habitat construction will face tremendous challenges of shielding against various types of space radiation in an attempt to minimize the detrimental effects it may have on materials, electronics, and humans. In late 2009, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) discovered that water content in lunar regolith found in certain areas on the moon can be up to 5.6 +/-2.8 weight percent (wt%) [A. Colaprete, et. al., Science, Vol. 330, 463 (2010). ]. In this work, shielding studies were performed utilizing ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and aluminum, both being standard space shielding materials, simulated lunar regolith/ polyethylene composites, and simulated lunar regolith mixed with UHMWPE particles and water. Based on the LCROSS findings, radiation shielding experiments were conducted to test for shielding efficiency of regolith/UHMWPE/water mixtures with various percentages of water to compare relative shielding characteristics of these materials. One set of radiation studies were performed using the proton synchrotron at the Loma Linda Medical University where high energy protons similar to those found on the surface of the moon can be generated. A similar experimental protocol was also used at a high energy spalation neutron source at Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). These experiments studied the shielding efficiency against secondary neutrons, another major component of space radiation field. In both the proton and neutron studies, shielding efficiency was determined by utilizing a tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) behind various thicknesses of shielding composite panels or mixture materials. Preliminary results from these studies indicated that adding 2 wt% water to regolith particles could increase shielding of

Integration of Apollo Lunar Sample Data into Google Moon

Science.gov (United States)

Dawson, Melissa D.; Todd, Nancy S.; Lofgren, Gary

2010-01-01

The Google Moon Apollo Lunar Sample Data Integration project is a continuation of the Apollo 15 Google Moon Add-On project, which provides a scientific and educational tool for the study of the Moon and its geologic features. The main goal of this project is to provide a user-friendly interface for an interactive and educational outreach and learning tool for the Apollo missions. Specifically, this project?s focus is the dissemination of information about the lunar samples collected during the Apollo missions by providing any additional information needed to enhance the Apollo mission data on Google Moon. Apollo missions 15 and 16 were chosen to be completed first due to the availability of digitized lunar sample photographs and the amount of media associated with these missions. The user will be able to learn about the lunar samples collected in these Apollo missions, as well as see videos, pictures, and 360 degree panoramas of the lunar surface depicting the lunar samples in their natural state, following collection and during processing at NASA. Once completed, these interactive data layers will be submitted for inclusion into the Apollo 15 and 16 missions on Google Moon.

Field-Programmable Gate Array-based fluxgate magnetometer with digital integration

Science.gov (United States)

Butta, Mattia; Janosek, Michal; Ripka, Pavel

2010-05-01

In this paper, a digital magnetometer based on printed circuit board fluxgate is presented. The fluxgate is pulse excited and the signal is extracted by gate integration. We investigate the possibility to perform integration on very narrow gates (typically 500 ns) by using digital techniques. The magnetometer is based on field-programmable gate array (FPGA) card: we will show all the advantages and disadvantages, given by digitalization of fluxgate output voltage by means of analog-to-digital converter on FPGA card, as well as digitalization performed by external digitizer. Due to very narrow gate, it is shown that a magnetometer entirely based on a FPGA card is preferable, because it avoids noise due to trigger instability. Both open loop and feedback operative mode are described and achieved results are presented.

Proceedings of the 40th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

The 40th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference included sessions on: Phoenix: Exploration of the Martian Arctic; Origin and Early Evolution of the Moon; Comet Wild 2: Mineralogy and More; Astrobiology: Meteorites, Microbes, Hydrous Habitats, and Irradiated Ices; Phoenix: Soil, Chemistry, and Habitability; Planetary Differentiation; Presolar Grains: Structures and Origins; SPECIAL SESSION: Venus Atmosphere: Venus Express and Future Missions; Mars Polar Caps: Past and Present; SPECIAL SESSION: Lunar Missions: Results from Kaguya, Chang'e-1, and Chandrayaan-1, Part I; 5 Early Nebula Processes and Models; SPECIAL SESSION: Icy Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn: Cosmic Gymnasts; Mars: Ground Ice and Climate Change; SPECIAL SESSION: Lunar Missions: Results from Kaguya, Chang'e-1, and Chandrayaan-1, Part II; Chondrite Parent-Body Processes; SPECIAL SESSION: Icy Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn: Salubrious Surfaces; SNC Meteorites; Ancient Martian Crust: Primary Mineralogy and Aqueous Alteration; SPECIAL SESSION: Messenger at Mercury: A Global Perspective on the Innermost Planet; CAIs and Chondrules: Records of Early Solar System Processes; Small Bodies: Shapes of Things to Come; Sulfur on Mars: Rocks, Soils, and Cycling Processes; Mercury: Evolution and Tectonics; Venus Geology, Volcanism, Tectonics, and Resurfacing; Asteroid-Meteorite Connections; Impacts I: Models and Experiments; Solar Wind and Genesis: Measurements and Interpretation; Mars: Aqueous Processes; Magmatic Volatiles and Eruptive Conditions of Lunar Basalts; Comparative Planetology; Interstellar Matter: Origins and Relationships; Impacts II: Craters and Ejecta Mars: Tectonics and Dynamics; Mars Analogs I: Geological; Exploring the Diversity of Lunar Lithologies with Sample Analyses and Remote Sensing; Chondrite Accretion and Early History; Science Instruments for the Mars Science Lander; . Martian Gullies: Morphology and Origins; Mars: Dunes, Dust, and Wind; Mars: Volcanism; Early Solar System Chronology

Design and Testing of a Prototype Lunar or Planetary Surface Landing Research Vehicle (LPSLRV)

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Gloria A.

2010-01-01

This handbook describes a two-semester senior design course sponsored by the NASA Office of Education, the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD), and the NASA Space Grant Consortium. The course was developed and implemented by the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department (MAE) at Utah State University. The course final outcome is a packaged senior design course that can be readily incorporated into the instructional curriculum at universities across the country. The course materials adhere to the standards of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), and is constructed to be relevant to key research areas identified by ESMD. The design project challenged students to apply systems engineering concepts to define research and training requirements for a terrestrial-based lunar landing simulator. This project developed a flying prototype for a Lunar or Planetary Surface Landing Research Vehicle (LPSRV). Per NASA specifications the concept accounts for reduced lunar gravity, and allows the terminal stage of lunar descent to be flown either by remote pilot or autonomously. This free-flying platform was designed to be sufficiently-flexible to allow both sensor evaluation and pilot training. This handbook outlines the course materials, describes the systems engineering processes developed to facilitate design fabrication, integration, and testing. This handbook presents sufficient details of the final design configuration to allow an independent group to reproduce the design. The design evolution and details regarding the verification testing used to characterize the system are presented in a separate project final design report. Details of the experimental apparatus used for system characterization may be found in Appendix F, G, and I of that report. A brief summary of the ground testing and systems verification is also included in Appendix A of this report. Details of the flight tests will be documented in a separate flight test

Distribution and Origin of Amino Acids in Lunar Regolith Samples

Science.gov (United States)

Elsila, J. E.; Callahan, M. P.; Glavin, D. P.; Dworkin, J. P.; McLain, H. L.; Noble, S. K.; Gibson, E. K., Jr.

2015-01-01

The existence of organic compounds on the lunar surface has been a question of interest from the Apollo era to the present. Investigations of amino acids immediately after collection of lunar samples yielded inconclusive identifications, in part due to analytical limitations including insensitivity to certain compounds, an inability to separate enantiomers, and lack of compound-specific isotopic measurements. It was not possible to determine if the detected amino acids were indigenous to the lunar samples or the result of terrestrial contamination. Recently, we presented initial data from the analysis of amino acid abundances in 12 lunar regolith samples and discussed those results in the context of four potential amino acid sources [5]. Here, we expand on our previous work, focusing on amino acid abundances and distributions in seven regolith samples and presenting the first compound-specific carbon isotopic ratios measured for amino acids in a lunar sample.

Hybrid Heat Pipes for Lunar and Martian Surface and High Heat Flux Space Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Ababneh, Mohammed T.; Tarau, Calin; Anderson, William G.; Farmer, Jeffery T.; Alvarez-Hernandez, Angel R.

2016-01-01

Novel hybrid wick heat pipes are developed to operate against gravity on planetary surfaces, operate in space carrying power over long distances and act as thermosyphons on the planetary surface for Lunar and Martian landers and rovers. These hybrid heat pipes will be capable of operating at the higher heat flux requirements expected in NASA's future spacecraft and on the next generation of polar rovers and equatorial landers. In addition, the sintered evaporator wicks mitigate the start-up problems in vertical gravity aided heat pipes because of large number of nucleation sites in wicks which will allow easy boiling initiation. ACT, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, and NASA Johnson Space Center, are working together on the Advanced Passive Thermal experiment (APTx) to test and validate the operation of a hybrid wick VCHP with warm reservoir and HiK"TM" plates in microgravity environment on the ISS.

A Web Server for MACCS Magnetometer Data

Science.gov (United States)

Engebretson, Mark J.

1998-01-01

NASA Grant NAG5-3719 was provided to Augsburg College to support the development of a web server for the Magnetometer Array for Cusp and Cleft Studies (MACCS), a two-dimensional array of fluxgate magnetometers located at cusp latitudes in Arctic Canada. MACCS was developed as part of the National Science Foundation's GEM (Geospace Environment Modeling) Program, which was designed in part to complement NASA's Global Geospace Science programs during the decade of the 1990s. This report describes the successful use of these grant funds to support a working web page that provides both daily plots and file access to any user accessing the worldwide web. The MACCS home page can be accessed at http://space.augsburg.edu/space/MaccsHome.html.

Lunar Flashlight: Exploration and Science at the Moon with a 6U Cubesat

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, B. A.; Hayne, P. O.; Greenhagen, B. T.; Paige, D. A.

2015-12-01

Understanding the composition, quantity, distribution, and form of water and other volatiles associated with lunar permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) is identified as a NASA Strategic Knowledge Gap (SKG) for Human Exploration. These polar volatile deposits are also scientifically interesting, having the potential to reveal important information about the delivery of water to the Earth-Moon system. In order to address NASA's SKGs, the Lunar Flashlight mission was selected as a secondary payload on the first test flight (EM1) of the Space Launch System (SLS), currently scheduled for 2018. Recent reflectance data from LRO instruments suggest volatiles may be present on the surface, though the detection is not yet definitive. The goal of Lunar Flashlight is to determine the presence or absence of exposed water ice and map its concentration at the 1-2 kilometer scale within the PSRs. After being ejected in cislunar space by SLS, Lunar Flashlight maneuvers into a low-energy transfer to lunar orbit and then an elliptical polar orbit, spiraling down to a perilune of 10-30 km above the south pole for data collection. Lunar Flashlight will illuminate permanently shadowed regions, measuring surface albedo with point spectrometer at 1.1, 1.5 1.9, and 2.0 mm. Water ice will be distinguished from dry regolith in two ways: 1) spatial variations in absolute reflectance (water ice is much brighter in the continuum channels), and 2) reflectance ratios between absorption and continuum channels. Derived reflectance and water ice band depths will be mapped onto the lunar surface in order to distinguish the composition of the PSRs from that of the sunlit terrain, and to compare with lunar datasets such as LRO and Moon Mineralogy Mapper. Lunar Flashlight enables a low-cost path to science and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) by identifying ice deposits (if there are any), which would be a game-changing result for expanded human exploration.

Geochemistry of Lunar Highland Meteorites Mil, 090034, 090036 AND 090070

Science.gov (United States)

Shirai, N.aoki; Ebihara, M.; Sekimoto, S.; Yamaguchi, A.; Nyquist, L.; Shih, C.-Y.; Park, J.; Nagao, K.

2012-01-01

Apollo and Luna samples were collected from a restricted area on the near side of the Moon, while the source craters of the lunar meteorites are randomly distributed. For example, Takeda et al. [1] and Yamaguchi et al. [2] found a variety of lithic clasts in Dho 489 and Y 86032 which were not represented by Apollo samples, and some of these clasts have lower rare earth elements (REE) and FeO abundances than Apollo anorthosites, respectively. Takeda et al. [1] and Yamaguchi et al. [2] concluded that Dho 489 and Y 86032 originated from the lunar farside. Therefore, lunar meteorites provide an opportunity to study lunar surface rocks from areas not sampled by Apollo and Luna missions. Three lunar anorthitic breccias (MIL 090034, 090036 and 090070) were found on the Miller Range Ice Field in Antarctica during the 2009-2010 ANSMET season [3]. In this study, we determined elemental abudnances for MIL 090034, 090036 and 090070 by using INAA and aimed to characterize these meteorites in chemical compositions in comparison with those for other lunar meteorites and Apollo samples.

The Lunar Environment: Determining the Health Effects of Exposure to Moon Dusts

Science.gov (United States)

Khan-Mayberry, Noreen

2007-01-01

The moon's surface is covered with a thin layer of fine, charged, reactive dust capable of layer of fine, charged, reactive dust capable of capable of entering habitats and vehicle compartments, where it can result in crewmember health problems. NASA formed the Lunar Airborne Dust Toxicity Advisory Group (LADTAG) to study the effects of exposure to Lunar Dust on human health. To date, no scientifically defensible toxicological studies have been performed on lunar dusts, specifically the determination of exposure limits and their affect on human health. The multi-center LADTAG (Lunar Airborne Dust Toxicology center LADTAG (Lunar Airborne Dust Toxicology Advisory Group) was formed in response to the Office of the Chief Health and Medical Office s (OCHMO) request to develop recommendations for defining risk (OCHMO) request to develop recommendations for defining risk defining risk criteria for human lunar dust exposure.

The Outsized Influence of a Primordial Lunar Atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Saxena, Prabal; Elkins-Tanton, Linda T.; Petro, Noah; Mandell, Avi

2016-10-01

Immediately following formation of the moon, its surface was subject to radiative influences from the Lunar Magma Ocean, an early Earth that radiated like a mid type M Dwarf Star, and the early Sun. These contributions have been hypothesized to have produced a vapor pressure atmosphere on the Moon. We model the early atmosphere of the Moon using an atmospheric model originally developed for Io. We also use a magma ocean crystallization model that finds that heating from the early Earth delays crystallization of the Lunar Magma Ocean and contributes to a moderate pressure and collapsing metal-dominated atmosphere on the earthside of the Moon until lid formation. The atmosphere is characterized by maximum pressures ~1 bar and strong horizontal supersonic winds that decreased as the Moon's orbital separation increased. Crustal and other compositional asymmetries may have been influenced by this atmosphere. The atmosphere transported significant amounts of mass horizontally and may have been a source for present day depletions and heterogeneities of moderately volatile elements on the lunar surface.

Lunar base thermoelectric power station study

Science.gov (United States)

Determan, William; Frye, Patrick; Mondt, Jack; Fleurial, Jean-Pierre; Johnson, Ken; Stapfer, G.; Brooks, Michael D.; Heshmatpour, Ben

2006-01-01

Under NASA's Project Prometheus, the Nuclear Systems Program, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, and Teledyne Energy Systems have teamed with a number of universities, under the Segmented Thermoelectric Multicouple Converter (STMC) program, to develop the next generation of advanced thermoelectric converters for space reactor power systems. Work on the STMC converter assembly has progressed to the point where the lower temperature stage of the segmented multicouple converter assembly is ready for laboratory testing and the upper stage materials have been identified and their properties are being characterized. One aspect of the program involves mission application studies to help define the potential benefits from the use of these STMC technologies for designated NASA missions such as the lunar base power station where kilowatts of power are required to maintain a permanent manned presence on the surface of the moon. A modular 50 kWe thermoelectric power station concept was developed to address a specific set of requirements developed for this mission. Previous lunar lander concepts had proposed the use of lunar regolith as in-situ radiation shielding material for a reactor power station with a one kilometer exclusion zone radius to minimize astronaut radiation dose rate levels. In the present concept, we will examine the benefits and requirements for a hermetically-sealed reactor thermoelectric power station module suspended within a man-made lunar surface cavity. The concept appears to maximize the shielding capabilities of the lunar regolith while minimizing its handling requirements. Both thermal and nuclear radiation levels from operation of the station, at its 100-m exclusion zone radius, were evaluated and found to be acceptable. Site preparation activities are reviewed and well as transport issues for this concept. The goal of the study was to review the entire life cycle of the unit to assess its technical problems and technology

Determination of lunar surface ages from crater frequency–size ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

and the images from Apollo missions have been calibrated from the lunar soil samples from Apollo and Luna landing sites (Head 1976; Neukum et al. 1975). ... Table 1 shows the ages as derived for the craters with errors. Mare Humorum is believed to be made up of six ring structures of 210, 340, 425, 570 and 1195km.

Nonlinear temperature compensation of fluxgate magnetometers with a least-squares support vector machine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pang, Hongfeng; Chen, Dixiang; Pan, Mengchun; Luo, Shitu; Zhang, Qi; Luo, Feilu

2012-01-01

Fluxgate magnetometers are widely used for magnetic field measurement. However, their accuracy is influenced by temperature. In this paper, a new method was proposed to compensate the temperature drift of fluxgate magnetometers, in which a least-squares support vector machine (LSSVM) is utilized. The compensation performance was analyzed by simulation, which shows that the LSSVM has better performance and less training time than backpropagation and radical basis function neural networks. The temperature characteristics of a DM fluxgate magnetometer were measured with a temperature experiment box. Forty-five measured data under different magnetic fields and temperatures were obtained and divided into 36 training data and nine test data. The training data were used to obtain the parameters of the LSSVM model, and the compensation performance of the LSSVM model was verified by the test data. Experimental results show that the temperature drift of magnetometer is reduced from 109.3 to 3.3 nT after compensation, which suggests that this compensation method is effective for the accuracy improvement of fluxgate magnetometers. (paper)

Nonlinear temperature compensation of fluxgate magnetometers with a least-squares support vector machine

Science.gov (United States)

Pang, Hongfeng; Chen, Dixiang; Pan, Mengchun; Luo, Shitu; Zhang, Qi; Luo, Feilu

2012-02-01

Fluxgate magnetometers are widely used for magnetic field measurement. However, their accuracy is influenced by temperature. In this paper, a new method was proposed to compensate the temperature drift of fluxgate magnetometers, in which a least-squares support vector machine (LSSVM) is utilized. The compensation performance was analyzed by simulation, which shows that the LSSVM has better performance and less training time than backpropagation and radical basis function neural networks. The temperature characteristics of a DM fluxgate magnetometer were measured with a temperature experiment box. Forty-five measured data under different magnetic fields and temperatures were obtained and divided into 36 training data and nine test data. The training data were used to obtain the parameters of the LSSVM model, and the compensation performance of the LSSVM model was verified by the test data. Experimental results show that the temperature drift of magnetometer is reduced from 109.3 to 3.3 nT after compensation, which suggests that this compensation method is effective for the accuracy improvement of fluxgate magnetometers.

Lunar horticulture.

Science.gov (United States)

Walkinshaw, C. H.

1971-01-01

Discussion of the role that lunar horticulture may fulfill in helping establish the life support system of an earth-independent lunar colony. Such a system is expected to be a hybrid between systems which depend on lunar horticulture and those which depend upon the chemical reclamation of metabolic waste and its resynthesis into nutrients and water. The feasibility of this approach has been established at several laboratories. Plants grow well under reduced pressures and with oxygen concentrations of less than 1% of the total pressure. The carbon dioxide collected from the lunar base personnel should provide sufficient gas pressure (approx. 100 mm Hg) for growing the plants.

Evidence for Surface Water Ice in the Lunar Polar Regions Using Reflectance Measurements from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter and Temperature Measurements from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, Elizabeth A.; Lucey, Paul G.; Lemelin, Myriam; Greenhagen, Benjamin T.; Siegler, Matthew A.; Mazarico, Erwan; Aharonson, Oded; Williams, Jean-Pierre; Hayne, Paul O.; Neumann, Gregory A.;

Evidence for surface water ice in the lunar polar regions using reflectance measurements from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter and temperature measurements from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, Elizabeth A.; Lucey, Paul G.; Lemelin, Myriam; Greenhagen, Benjamin T.; Siegler, Matthew A.; Mazarico, Erwan; Aharonson, Oded; Williams, Jean-Pierre; Hayne, Paul O.; Neumann, Gregory A.; Paige, David A.; Smith, David E.; Zuber, Maria T.

2017-08-01

We find that the reflectance of the lunar surface within 5° of latitude of the South Pole increases rapidly with decreasing temperature, near ∼110 K, behavior consistent with the presence of surface water ice. The North polar region does not show this behavior, nor do South polar surfaces at latitudes more than 5° from the pole. This South pole reflectance anomaly persists when analysis is limited to surfaces with slopes less than 10° to eliminate false detection due to the brightening effect of mass wasting, and also when the very bright south polar crater Shackleton is excluded from the analysis. We also find that south polar regions of permanent shadow that have been reported to be generally brighter at 1064 nm do not show anomalous reflectance when their annual maximum surface temperatures are too high to preserve water ice. This distinction is not observed at the North Pole. The reflectance excursion on surfaces with maximum temperatures below 110 K is superimposed on a general trend of increasing reflectance with decreasing maximum temperature that is present throughout the polar regions in the north and south; we attribute this trend to a temperature or illumination-dependent space weathering effect (e.g. Hemingway et al., 2015). We also find a sudden increase in reflectance with decreasing temperature superimposed on the general trend at 200 K and possibly at 300 K. This may indicate the presence of other volatiles such as sulfur or organics. We identified and mapped surfaces with reflectances so high as to be unlikely to be part of an ice-free population. In this south we find a similar distribution found by Hayne et al. (2015) based on UV properties. In the north a cluster of pixels near that pole may represent a limited frost exposure.

Reactive, Safe Navigation for Lunar and Planetary Robots

Science.gov (United States)

Utz, Hans; Ruland, Thomas

2008-01-01

When humans return to the moon, Astronauts will be accompanied by robotic helpers. Enabling robots to safely operate near astronauts on the lunar surface has the potential to significantly improve the efficiency of crew surface operations. Safely operating robots in close proximity to astronauts on the lunar surface requires reactive obstacle avoidance capabilities not available on existing planetary robots. In this paper we present work on safe, reactive navigation using a stereo based high-speed terrain analysis and obstacle avoidance system. Advances in the design of the algorithms allow it to run terrain analysis and obstacle avoidance algorithms at full frame rate (30Hz) on off the shelf hardware. The results of this analysis are fed into a fast, reactive path selection module, enforcing the safety of the chosen actions. The key components of the system are discussed and test results are presented.

Magnetometer Data recovered from 35mm film

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The L57 CDMP recovery project takes magnetometer data on 35mm film stored at the archive's climate controlled warehouse and digitizes them.

A celestial assisted INS initialization method for lunar explorers.

Science.gov (United States)

Ning, Xiaolin; Wang, Longhua; Wu, Weiren; Fang, Jiancheng

2011-01-01

The second and third phases of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP) are planning to achieve Moon landing, surface exploration and automated sample return. In these missions, the inertial navigation system (INS) and celestial navigation system (CNS) are two indispensable autonomous navigation systems which can compensate for limitations in the ground based navigation system. The accurate initialization of the INS and the precise calibration of the CNS are needed in order to achieve high navigation accuracy. Neither the INS nor the CNS can solve the above problems using the ground controllers or by themselves on the lunar surface. However, since they are complementary to each other, these problems can be solved by combining them together. A new celestial assisted INS initialization method is presented, in which the initial position and attitude of the explorer as well as the inertial sensors' biases are estimated by aiding the INS with celestial measurements. Furthermore, the systematic error of the CNS is also corrected by the help of INS measurements. Simulations show that the maximum error in position is 300 m and in attitude 40″, which demonstrates this method is a promising and attractive scheme for explorers on the lunar surface.

A broadband two axis flux-gate magnetometer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Palangio

1998-06-01

Full Text Available A broadband two axis flux-gate magnetometer was developed to obtain high sensitivity in magnetotelluric measurements. In magnetotelluric sounding, natural low frequency electromagnetic fields are used to estimate the conductivity of the Earth's interior. Because variations in the natural magnetic field have small amplitude(10-100 pT in the frequency range 1 Hz to 100 Hz, highly sensitive magnetic sensors are required. In magnetotelluric measurements two long and heavy solenoids, which must be installed, in the field station, perpendicular to each other (north-south and east-west and levelled in the horizontal plane are used. The coil is a critical component in magnetotelluric measurements because very slight motions create noise voltages, particularly troublesome in wooded areas; generally the installation takes place in a shallow trench. Moreover the coil records the derivative of the variations rather than the magnetic field variations, consequently the transfer function (amplitude and phase of this sensor is not constant throughout the frequency range 0.001-100 Hz. The instrument, developed at L'Aquila Geomagnetic Observatory, has a flat response in both amplitude and phase in the frequency band DC-100 Hz, in addition it has low weight, low power, small volume and it is easier to install in the field than induction magnetometers. The sensivity of this magnetometer is 10 pT rms.

Fluxgate Magnetometer Array for Geomagnetic Abnormal Phenomena Tracking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaomei Wang

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The objective of this project is to develop a flexible observation mode for a geomagnetic abnormal phenomena tracking system. The instrument, based on ring core fluxgate magnetometer technology, improves the field environment performance. Using wireless technology provides on-the-spot mobile networking for the observational data, with efficient access to the earthquake precursor observation network. It provides a powerful detection method for earthquake short-term prediction through installation of a low-noise fluxgate magnetometer array, intensely observing the phenomenon of geomagnetic disturbances and abnormal low-frequency electromagnetic signals in different latitudes, then carrying out observational data processing and exploring the relationship between earthquake activity and geomagnetic field changes.

Lunar Soil Erosion Physics for Landing Rockets on the Moon

Science.gov (United States)

Clegg, Ryan; Metzger, Philip; Roberson, Luke; Stephen, Huff

2010-03-01

To develop a lunar outpost, we must understand the blowing of soil during launch and landing of the new Altair Lander. For example, the Apollo 12 Lunar Module landed approximately 165 meters from the deactivated Surveyor III spacecraft, scouring its surfaces and creating numerous tiny pits. Based on simulations and video analysis from the Apollo missions, blowing lunar soil particles have velocities up to 2000 m/s at low ejection angles relative to the horizon, reach an apogee higher than the orbiting Command and Service Module, and travel nearly the circumference of the Moon. The low ejection angle and high velocity are concerns for the lunar outpost. As a first step in investigating this concern, we have performed a series of low-velocity impact experiments in a modified sandblasting hood using lunar soil simulant impacted upon various materials that are commonly used in spaceflight hardware. It was seen that considerable damage is inevitable and protective barriers need to be designed.

Sneaking of the Solar Wind Ions Into the Lunar Anti-subsolar Region Revealed by SELENE (Kaguya)

Science.gov (United States)

Nishino, M. N.; Fujimoto, M.; Saito, Y.; Shoichiro, Y.; Asamura, K.; Tanaka, T.; Tsunakawa, H.; Shibuya, H.; Matsushima, M.; Shimizu, H.; Takahashi, F.; Maezawa, K.; Terasawa, T.

2008-12-01

The moon spends more than 80 percent of its life staying in the solar wind (SW), where a quasi-vacuum region called the lunar wake is formed on the night side. The SW electrons with higher energy can come to the lunar night-side surface, while it has been thought that the SW ions are unlikely to approach the low altitude region on the night side because their thermal speed is much lower than the SW bulk speed. Here we show detection of SW ions sneaking into the anti-subsolar region at ~100 km altitude, using recent comprehensive measurement by a Japanese lunar orbiter SELENE (Kaguya). The sneaking of SW ions into the deepest lunar wake was accompanied by an enhancement of counter-streaming electrons along the SW magnetic field. A part of the ions detected in the anti-subsolar region came from the lunar surface, which means that the ions of solar wind origin reflected at the night-side surface. One possibility is that electron- rich wake environment strengthened the bipolar electric field at the wake boundary to let solar-wind ions approach the lunar night side, and the other scenario is that enhancement of ions in the wake let ambient electrons to come in. The sneaking mechanism of the solar wind ions in terms of plasma and electromagnetic environment around/inside the lunar wake will be discussed.

Miniature scientific-grade induction magnetometer for cubesats

Science.gov (United States)

Pronenko, Vira

2017-04-01

One of the main areas of space research is the study and forecasting of space weather. The society is more and more depending nowadays on satellite technology and communications, so it is vital to understand the physical process in the solar-terrestrial system which may disturb them. Besides the solar radiation and Space Weather effects, the Earth's ionosphere is also modified by the ever increasing industrial activity. There have been also multiple reports relating VLF and ELF wave activity to atmospheric storms and geological processes, such as earthquakes and volcanic activity. For advancing in these fields, the AC magnetic field permanent monitoring is crucial. Using the cubesat technology would allow increasing the number of measuring points dramatically. It is necessary to mention that the cubesats use for scientific research requires the miniaturization of scientific sensors what is a serious problem because the reduction of their dimensions leads, as a rule, to the parameters degradation, especially of sensitivity threshold. Today, there is no basic model of a sensitive miniature induction magnetometer. Even the smallest one of the known - for the Bepi-Colombo mission to Mercury - is too big for cubesats. The goal of the present report is to introduce the new design of miniature three-component sensor for measurement of alternative vector magnetic fields - induction magnetometer (IM). The study directions were concentrated on the ways and possibilities to create the miniature magnetometer with best combination of parameters. For this a set of scientific and technological problems, mostly aimed at the sensor construction improvement, was solved. The most important parameter characterizing magnetometer quality is its own magnetic noise level (NL). The analysis of the NL influencing factors is made and the ways to decrease it are discussed in the report. Finally, the LEMI-151 IM was developed for the SEAM cubesat mission with optimal performances within the

Sputtering of Lunar Regolith Simulant by Protons and Multicharged Heavy Ions at Solar Wind Energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyer, Fred W.; Harris, Peter R.; Taylor, C.N.; Meyer, Harry M. III; Barghouty, N.; Adams, J. Jr.

2011-01-01

We report preliminary results on sputtering of a lunar regolith simulant at room temperature by singly and multiply charged solar wind ions using quadrupole and time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry approaches. Sputtering of the lunar regolith by solar-wind heavy ions may be an important particle source that contributes to the composition of the lunar exosphere, and is a possible mechanism for lunar surface ageing and compositional modification. The measurements were performed in order to assess the relative sputtering efficiency of protons, which are the dominant constituent of the solar wind, and less abundant heavier multicharged solar wind constituents, which have higher physical sputtering yields than same-velocity protons, and whose sputtering yields may be further enhanced due to potential sputtering. Two different target preparation approaches using JSC-1A AGGL lunar regolith simulant are described and compared using SEM and XPS surface analysis.

The Fluxgate Magnetometer Simulation in Comsol Multiphysics

OpenAIRE

Kolomeytsev Andrey; Baranov Pavel; Zatonov Ivan

2018-01-01

This article describes the fluxgate magnetometer simulation in Comsol Multiphysics software package. The simulation results coincide with the experiment described earlier. Decomposition of the output signal by the Fourier coefficients shows a frequency doubling.

In Situ Lunar Surface Measurements Via Miniature Gas Chromatography, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) has placed a high priority on determining the nature, distribution and transport of volatiles on the moon. The objective...

Lunar e-Library: A Research Tool Focused on the Lunar Environment

Science.gov (United States)

McMahan, Tracy A.; Shea, Charlotte A.; Finckenor, Miria; Ferguson, Dale

2007-01-01

As NASA plans and implements the Vision for Space Exploration, managers, engineers, and scientists need lunar environment information that is readily available and easily accessed. For this effort, lunar environment data was compiled from a variety of missions from Apollo to more recent remote sensing missions, such as Clementine. This valuable information comes not only in the form of measurements and images but also from the observations of astronauts who have visited the Moon and people who have designed spacecraft for lunar missions. To provide a research tool that makes the voluminous lunar data more accessible, the Space Environments and Effects (SEE) Program, managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, AL, organized the data into a DVD knowledgebase: the Lunar e-Library. This searchable collection of 1100 electronic (.PDF) documents and abstracts makes it easy to find critical technical data and lessons learned from past lunar missions and exploration studies. The SEE Program began distributing the Lunar e-Library DVD in 2006. This paper describes the Lunar e-Library development process (including a description of the databases and resources used to acquire the documents) and the contents of the DVD product, demonstrates its usefulness with focused searches, and provides information on how to obtain this free resource.

Understanding the origin and evolution of water in the Moon through lunar sample studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Anand, Mahesh; Tartèse, Romain; Barnes, Jessica J

2014-09-13

A paradigm shift has recently occurred in our knowledge and understanding of water in the lunar interior. This has transpired principally through continued analysis of returned lunar samples using modern analytical instrumentation. While these recent studies have undoubtedly measured indigenous water in lunar samples they have also highlighted our current limitations and some future challenges that need to be overcome in order to fully understand the origin, distribution and evolution of water in the lunar interior. Another exciting recent development in the field of lunar science has been the unambiguous detection of water or water ice on the surface of the Moon through instruments flown on a number of orbiting spacecraft missions. Considered together, sample-based studies and those from orbit strongly suggest that the Moon is not an anhydrous planetary body, as previously believed. New observations and measurements support the possibility of a wet lunar interior and the presence of distinct reservoirs of water on the lunar surface. Furthermore, an approach combining measurements of water abundance in lunar samples and its hydrogen isotopic composition has proved to be of vital importance to fingerprint and elucidate processes and source(s) involved in giving rise to the lunar water inventory. A number of sources are likely to have contributed to the water inventory of the Moon ranging from primordial water to meteorite-derived water ice through to the water formed during the reaction of solar wind hydrogen with the lunar soil. Perhaps two of the most striking findings from these recent studies are the revelation that at least some portions of the lunar interior are as water-rich as some Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalt source regions on Earth and that the water in the Earth and the Moon probably share a common origin. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Using Lunar Module Shadows To Scale the Effects of Rocket Exhaust Plumes

Science.gov (United States)

2008-01-01

Excavating granular materials beneath a vertical jet of gas involves several physical mechanisms. These occur, for example, beneath the exhaust plume of a rocket landing on the soil of the Moon or Mars. We performed a series of experiments and simulations (Figure 1) to provide a detailed view of the complex gas-soil interactions. Measurements taken from the Apollo lunar landing videos (Figure 2) and from photographs of the resulting terrain helped demonstrate how the interactions extrapolate into the lunar environment. It is important to understand these processes at a fundamental level to support the ongoing design of higher fidelity numerical simulations and larger-scale experiments. These are needed to enable future lunar exploration wherein multiple hardware assets will be placed on the Moon within short distances of one another. The high-velocity spray of soil from the landing spacecraft must be accurately predicted and controlled or it could erode the surfaces of nearby hardware. This analysis indicated that the lunar dust is ejected at an angle of less than 3 degrees above the surface, the results of which can be mitigated by a modest berm of lunar soil. These results assume that future lunar landers will use a single engine. The analysis would need to be adjusted for a multiengine lander. Figure 3 is a detailed schematic of the Lunar Module camera calibration math model. In this chart, formulas relating the known quantities, such as sun angle and Lunar Module dimensions, to the unknown quantities are depicted. The camera angle PSI is determined by measurement of the imaged aspect ratio of a crater, where the crater is assumed to be circular. The final solution is the determination of the camera calibration factor, alpha. Figure 4 is a detailed schematic of the dust angle math model, which again relates known to unknown parameters. The known parameters now include the camera calibration factor and Lunar Module dimensions. The final computation is the ejected

Swarm's absolute magnetometer experimental vector mode, an innovative capability for space magnetometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hulot, Gauthier; Vigneron, Pierre; Leger, Jean-Michel

2015-01-01

, combining ASM scalar data with independent uxgate magnetometer vector data. The high level of agreement between these models demonstrates the potential of the ASM's vector mode for data quality control and as a stand alone magnetometer, and illustrates the way the evolution of key eld features can easily...

Dusty plasma in the region of the lunar terminator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Popel, S. I., E-mail: popel@iki.rssi.ru; Zelenyi, L. M. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Space Research Institute (Russian Federation); Atamaniuk, B. [Polish Academy of Sciences, Space Research Center (Poland)

2016-05-15

Dusty plasma in the region of the lunar terminator is considered. It is shown that, in this region, a structure resembling a plasma sheath forms near the lunar surface. This sheath creates a potential barrier, due to which electrons over the illuminated part of the Moon are confined by electrostatic forces. The width of the sheath-like structure is on the order of the ion Debye length. In this structure, significant (about several hundred V/m) electric fields arise, which lift charged micron-size dust grains to heights of several tens of centimeters. The suggested effect may be used to explain the glow observed by the Surveyor spacecraft over the lunar terminator.

Location selection and layout for LB10, a lunar base at the Lunar North Pole with a liquid mirror observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Detsis, Emmanouil; Doule, Ondrej; Ebrahimi, Aliakbar

2013-04-01

We present the site selection process and urban planning of a Lunar Base for a crew of 10 (LB10), with an infrared astronomical telescope, based on the concept of the Lunar LIquid Mirror Telescope. LB10 is a base designated for permanent human presence on the Moon. The base architecture is based on utilization of inflatable, rigid and regolith structures for different purposes. The location for the settlement is identified through a detailed analysis of surface conditions and terrain parameters around the Lunar North and South Poles. A number of selection criteria were defined regarding construction, astronomical observations, landing and illumination conditions. The location suggested for the settlement is in the vicinity of the North Pole, utilizing the geographical morphology of the area. The base habitat is on a highly illuminated and relatively flat plateau. The observatory in the vicinity of the base, approximately 3.5 kilometers from the Lunar North Pole, inside a crater to shield it from Sunlight. An illustration of the final form of the habitat is also depicted, inspired by the baroque architectural form.

2007 Lunar Regolith Simulant Workshop Overview

Science.gov (United States)

McLemore, Carole A.; Fikes, John C.; Howell, Joe T.

2007-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) vision has as a cornerstone, the establishment of an Outpost on the Moon. This Lunar Outpost will eventually provide the necessary planning, technology development, and training for a manned mission to Mars in the future. As part of the overall activity, NASA is conducting Earth-based research and advancing technologies to a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 maturity under the Exploration Technology Development Program that will be incorporated into the Constellation Project as well as other projects. All aspects of the Lunar environment, including the Lunar regolith and its properties, are important in understanding the long-term impacts to hardware, scientific instruments, and humans prior to returning to the Moon and living on the Moon. With the goal of reducing risk to humans and hardware and increasing mission success on the Lunar surface, it is vital that terrestrial investigations including both development and verification testing have access to Lunar-like environments. The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is supporting this endeavor by developing, characterizing, and producing Lunar simulants in addition to analyzing existing simulants for appropriate applications. A Lunar Regolith Simulant Workshop was conducted by MSFC in Huntsville, Alabama, in October 2007. The purpose of the Workshop was to bring together simulant developers, simulant users, and program and project managers from ETDP and Constellation with the goals of understanding users' simulant needs and their applications. A status of current simulant developments such as the JSC-1A (Mare Type Simulant) and the NASA/U.S. Geological Survey Lunar Highlands-Type Pilot Simulant (NU-LHT-1 M) was provided. The method for evaluating simulants, performed via Figures of Merit (FoMs) algorithms, was presented and a demonstration was provided. The four FoM properties currently being assessed are: size, shape, density, and composition. Some of the

Identification and characterization of science-rich landing sites for lunar lander missions using integrated remote sensing observations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Flahaut, J.; Blanchette-Guertin, J.F.; Jilly, C.; Sharma, P.; Souchon, A.; van Westrenen, W.; Kring, D.A.

2012-01-01

Despite more than 52 years of lunar exploration, a wide range of first-order scientific questions remain about the Moon's formation, temporal evolution, and current surface and interior properties. Addressing many of these questions requires obtaining new in situ analyses or return of lunar surface

The low cost Proton Precession Magnetometer developed at the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahavarkar, P.; Singh, S.; Labde, S.; Dongre, V.; Patil, A.

2017-01-01

Proton magnetometers are the oldest scalar magnetometers. The first commercial units were produced in early 1960s as portable instruments. In continuation airborne instruments appeared with optimized speed of readings and sensitivity, large sensors etc. Later development of Overhauser and optically pumped magnetometers has eliminated Proton magnetometers from airborne surveys. However they remain very popular in various ground surveys and observatories. With this primary purpose of generating the ground based magnetic data, the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) for the last 3 decades have been developing low cost Proton Precession Magnetometers (PPM). Beginning with the 1 nT PPM which has undergone several changes in design, the successor PM7 the advanced version has been successfully developed by the institute and is installed at various observatories of the institute. PM7 records the total field 'F' with accuracy of 0.1 nT and a sampling rate of 10 seconds/sample. This article briefly discusses the design and development of this IIG make PM7 and compares the data recorded by this instrument with one of the commercially available Overhauser magnetometer in the world market. The quality of data recorded by PM7 is in excellent agreement with the Overhauser. With the available quality of data generated by this instrument, PM7 is an affordable PPM for scientific institutions, schools and colleges intending to carry out geomagnetic studies. The commercial cost of PM7 is ≈ 20% of the cost of Overhauser available in market.

The low cost Proton Precession Magnetometer developed at the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism

Science.gov (United States)

Mahavarkar, P.; Singh, S.; Labde, S.; Dongre, V.; Patil, A.

2017-05-01

Proton magnetometers are the oldest scalar magnetometers. The first commercial units were produced in early 1960s as portable instruments. In continuation airborne instruments appeared with optimized speed of readings and sensitivity, large sensors etc. Later development of Overhauser and optically pumped magnetometers has eliminated Proton magnetometers from airborne surveys. However they remain very popular in various ground surveys and observatories. With this primary purpose of generating the ground based magnetic data, the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) for the last 3 decades have been developing low cost Proton Precession Magnetometers (PPM). Beginning with the 1 nT PPM which has undergone several changes in design, the successor PM7 the advanced version has been successfully developed by the institute and is installed at various observatories of the institute. PM7 records the total field `F' with accuracy of 0.1 nT and a sampling rate of 10 seconds/sample. This article briefly discusses the design and development of this IIG make PM7 and compares the data recorded by this instrument with one of the commercially available Overhauser magnetometer in the world market. The quality of data recorded by PM7 is in excellent agreement with the Overhauser. With the available quality of data generated by this instrument, PM7 is an affordable PPM for scientific institutions, schools and colleges intending to carry out geomagnetic studies. The commercial cost of PM7 is ≈ 20% of the cost of Overhauser available in market.

Integrated de SQUID magnetometer with high dV/dB

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drung, D.; Cantor, R.; Peters, M.; Ryhanen, T.; Kochi, H.

1991-01-01

This paper presents a directly coupled dc SQUID magnetometer with very simple feedback electronics. The magnetometer has been integrated on a 7.2 x 7.2 mm 2 chip and fabricated using a four-level Nb/Si x N v /Nb process. Eight pick-up loops are connected in parallel to directly form the SQUID inductance of about 0.4 nH which leads to a high sensitivity B/Φ = 0.47 nT/Φ. An Additional Positive Feedback (APF) circuit on the magnetometer chip has been used to increase the gradient of the V-μ characteristic to dV/dΦ ≅ 300 μV/Φ 0 at the SQUID operating point. The resulting gradient of the transfer function of dV/dB ≅ 640 μV/nT makes it possible to directly read out the SQUID without helium temperature impedance matching circuits or flux modulation techniques

Swarm Optimization-Based Magnetometer Calibration for Personal Handheld Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naser El-Sheimy

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Inertial Navigation Systems (INS consist of accelerometers, gyroscopes and a processor that generates position and orientation solutions by integrating the specific forces and rotation rates. In addition to the accelerometers and gyroscopes, magnetometers can be used to derive the user heading based on Earth’s magnetic field. Unfortunately, the measurements of the magnetic field obtained with low cost sensors are usually corrupted by several errors, including manufacturing defects and external electro-magnetic fields. Consequently, proper calibration of the magnetometer is required to achieve high accuracy heading measurements. In this paper, a Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO-based calibration algorithm is presented to estimate the values of the bias and scale factor of low cost magnetometers. The main advantage of this technique is the use of the artificial intelligence which does not need any error modeling or awareness of the nonlinearity. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm can help in the development of Pedestrian Navigation Devices (PNDs when combined with inertial sensors and GPS/Wi-Fi for indoor navigation and Location Based Services (LBS applications.

Constellation Architecture Team-Lunar Scenario 12.0 Habitation Overview

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Kriss J.; Toups, Larry D.; Rudisill, Marianne

2010-01-01

This paper will describe an overview of the Constellation Architecture Team Lunar Scenario 12.0 (LS-12) surface habitation approach and concept performed during the study definition. The Lunar Scenario 12 architecture study focused on two primary habitation approaches: a horizontally-oriented habitation module (LS-12.0) and a vertically-oriented habitation module (LS-12.1). This paper will provide an overview of the 12.0 lunar surface campaign, the associated outpost architecture, habitation functionality, concept description, system integration strategy, mass and power resource estimates. The Scenario 12 architecture resulted from combining three previous scenario attributes from Scenario 4 "Optimized Exploration", Scenario 5 "Fission Surface Power System" and Scenario 8 "Initial Extensive Mobility" into Scenario 12 along with an added emphasis on defining the excursion ConOps while the crew is away from the outpost location. This paper will describe an overview of the CxAT-Lunar Scenario 12.0 habitation concepts and their functionality. The Crew Operations area includes basic crew accommodations such as sleeping, eating, hygiene and stowage. The EVA Operations area includes additional EVA capability beyond the suitlock function such as suit maintenance, spares stowage, and suit stowage. The Logistics Operations area includes the enhanced accommodations for 180 days such as enhanced life support systems hardware, consumable stowage, spares stowage, interconnection to the other habitation elements, a common interface mechanism for future growth, and mating to a pressurized rover or Pressurized Logistics Module (PLM). The Mission & Science Operations area includes enhanced outpost autonomy such as an IVA glove box, life support, medical operations, and exercise equipment.

Effects of illumination differences on photometric stereo shape-and-albedo-from-shading for precision lunar surface reconstruction

Science.gov (United States)

Chung Liu, Wai; Wu, Bo; Wöhler, Christian

2018-02-01

Photoclinometric surface reconstruction techniques such as Shape-from-Shading (SfS) and Shape-and-Albedo-from-Shading (SAfS) retrieve topographic information of a surface on the basis of the reflectance information embedded in the image intensity of each pixel. SfS or SAfS techniques have been utilized to generate pixel-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) of the Moon and other planetary bodies. Photometric stereo SAfS analyzes images under multiple illumination conditions to improve the robustness of reconstruction. In this case, the directional difference in illumination between the images is likely to affect the quality of the reconstruction result. In this study, we quantitatively investigate the effects of illumination differences on photometric stereo SAfS. Firstly, an algorithm for photometric stereo SAfS is developed, and then, an error model is derived to analyze the relationships between the azimuthal and zenith angles of illumination of the images and the reconstruction qualities. The developed algorithm and error model were verified with high-resolution images collected by the Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC). Experimental analyses reveal that (1) the resulting error in photometric stereo SAfS depends on both the azimuthal and the zenith angles of illumination as well as the general intensity of the images and (2) the predictions from the proposed error model are consistent with the actual slope errors obtained by photometric stereo SAfS using the LROC NAC images. The proposed error model enriches the theory of photometric stereo SAfS and is of significance for optimized lunar surface reconstruction based on SAfS techniques.

A novel HTS magnetometer, exploiting the low jc of bulk YBCO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gallop, J.C.; Lilleyman, S.; Langham, C.D.; Radcliffe, W.J.; Stewart, M.

1989-01-01

The authors report here a novel of magnetometer which is based on the low critical magnetic field H/sub cl/ of sintered samples of the high temperature ceramic superconductor YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub y/. By driving a sample of the superconductor around a magnetization hysteresis loop, at a frequency of --100 kHz, and detecting the induced voltage in a coil coupled to the sample, at the second harmonic of the drive frequency, the authors find that this voltage is linearly dependent on the aplied d.c. magnetic field in which the sample is situated. They present a model which explains the operation of this magnetometer. This device, while not as sensitive as a SQUID, has the advantage of a wider dynamic range and direct measurement of flux density, unlike a SQUID which is only capable of sensing flux density changes. When operated at 77K the prototype magnetometer has already demonstrated a sensitivity at least 10 times better than that of a commercial fluxgate magnetometer. The system also appears to provide a simple method for investigation of flux flow in these materials

The IRM fluxgate magnetometer

Science.gov (United States)

Luehr, H.; Kloecker, N.; Oelschlaegel, W.; Haeusler, B.; Acuna, M.

1985-01-01

This report describes the three-axis fluxgate magnetometer instrument on board the AMPTE IRM spacecraft. Important features of the instrument are its wide dynamic range (0.1-60,000 nT), a high resolution (16-bit analog to digital conversion) and the capability to operate automatically or via telecommand in two gain states. In addition, the wave activity is monitored in all three components up to 50 Hz. Inflight checkout proved the nominal functioning of the instrument in all modes.

Detecting Volatiles Deep in the Lunar Regolith

Science.gov (United States)

Crotts, A.; Heggy, E.; Ciarletti, V.; Colaprete, A.; Moghaddam, M.; Siegler, M. A.

2015-12-01

There is increasing theoretical and empirical evidence, from the Apollo era and after, of volatiles deep in the lunar interior, in the crust and deeper, both hydrogen-rich and otherwise. This comes in the form of fire fountain samples from Apollo 15 and Apollo 17, of hydrated minerals excavated by impacts which reach the base of the lunar crust e.g., crater Bullialdus, of hydration of apatite and other minerals, as well as predictions of a water-concentrated layer along with the KREEP material at the base of the lunar crust. We discuss how the presence of these volatiles might be directly explored. In particular water vapor molecules percolating to the surface through lunar regolith might be expected to stick and freeze into the regolith, at depths of several meters depending on the regolith temperature profile, porosity and particle size distribution, quantities that are not well known beyond two meters depth. To explore these depths in the regolith we use and propose several modes of penetrating radar. We will present results using the SELENE/Kaguya's Lunar Sounding RADAR (LSR) to probe the bulk volatile dielectric and loss structure properties of the regolith in various locations, both within permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) and without, and within neutron suppression regions (NSRs) as traced by epithermal neutrons and without. We also propose installation of ground penetrating RADAR (GPR) on a roving lunar platform that should be able to probe between 0.2 and 1.6 GHz, which will provide a probe of the entire depth of the lunar regolith as well as a high-resolution (about 4 cm FWHM) probe of the upper meter or two of the lunar soil, where other probes of volatiles such as epithermal neutron absorption or drilling might be employed. We discuss predictions for what kinds of volatile density profiles might be distinguished in this way, and whether these will be detected from orbit as NSRs, whether these must be restricted to PSRs, and how these might appear in

The Fluxgate Magnetometer Simulation in Comsol Multiphysics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kolomeytsev Andrey

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This article describes the fluxgate magnetometer simulation in Comsol Multiphysics software package. The simulation results coincide with the experiment described earlier. Decomposition of the output signal by the Fourier coefficients shows a frequency doubling.

Improvements to Lunar BRDF-Corrected Nighttime Satellite Imagery: Uses and Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Tony A.; Molthan, Andrew L.; Schultz, Lori A.; Roman, Miguel O.; Wanik, David W.

2016-01-01

Observations made by the VIIRS day/night band (DNB) provide daily, nighttime measurements to monitor Earth surface processes.However, these observations are impacted by variations in reflected solar radiation on the moon's surface. As the moon transitions from new to full phase, increasing radiance is reflected to the Earth's surface and contributes additional reflected moonlight from clouds and land surface, in addition to emissions from other light sources observed by the DNB. The introduction of a bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) algorithm serves to remove these lunar variations and normalize observed radiances. Provided by the Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory at Goddard Space Flight Center, a 1 km gridded lunar BRDF-corrected DNB product and VIIRS cloud mask can be used for a multitude of nighttime applications without influence from the moon. Such applications include the detection of power outages following severe weather events using pre-and post-event DNB imagery, as well as the identification of boat features to curtail illegal fishing practices. This presentation will provide context on the importance of the lunar BRDF correction algorithm and explore the aforementioned uses of this improved DNB product for applied science applications.

Improvements to Lunar BRDF-Corrected Nighttime Satellite Imagery: Uses and Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, T.; Molthan, A.; Schultz, L. A.; Roman, M. O.; Wanik, D. W.

2016-12-01

Observations made by the VIIRS day/night band (DNB) provide daily, nighttime measurements to monitor Earth surface processes. However, these observations are impacted by variations in reflected solar radiation on the moon's surface. As the moon transitions from new to full phase, increasing radiance is reflected to the Earth's surface and contributes additional reflected moonlight from clouds and land surface, in addition to emissions from other light sources observed by the DNB. The introduction of a bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) algorithm serves to remove these lunar variations and normalize observed radiances. Provided by the Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory at Goddard Space Flight Center, a 1 km gridded lunar BRDF-corrected DNB product and VIIRS cloud mask can be used for a multitude of nighttime applications without influence from the moon. Such applications include the detection of power outages following severe weather events using pre- and post-event DNB imagery, as well as the identification of boat features to curtail illegal fishing practices. This presentation will provide context on the importance of the lunar BRDF correction algorithm and explore the aforementioned uses of this improved DNB product for applied science applications.

Closed-cycle gas flow system for cooling a HTc dc-SQUID magnetometer

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosch, van den P.J.; Holland, H.J.; Brake, ter H.J.M.; Rogalla, H.

1994-01-01

A closed-cycle gas flow system for cooling a high-crit. temp. d.c.-superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer by means of a cryocooler has been designed, constructed and tested. The magnetometer is aimed to measure heart signals with a sensitivity of 0.1 pT/Hz1/2. The required

Electromagnetic induction imaging with a radio-frequency atomic magnetometer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deans, Cameron; Marmugi, Luca, E-mail: l.marmugi@ucl.ac.uk; Hussain, Sarah; Renzoni, Ferruccio [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom)

2016-03-07

We report on a compact, tunable, and scalable to large arrays imaging device, based on a radio-frequency optically pumped atomic magnetometer operating in magnetic induction tomography modality. Imaging of conductive objects is performed at room temperature, in an unshielded environment and without background subtraction. Conductivity maps of target objects exhibit not only excellent performance in terms of shape reconstruction but also demonstrate detection of sub-millimetric cracks and penetration of conductive barriers. The results presented here demonstrate the potential of a future generation of imaging instruments, which combine magnetic induction tomography and the unmatched performance of atomic magnetometers.

Analysis of Logistics in Support of a Human Lunar Outpost

Science.gov (United States)

Cirillo, William; Earle, Kevin; Goodliff, Kandyce; Reeves, j. D.; Andrashko, Mark; Merrill, R. Gabe; Stromgren, Chel

2008-01-01

Strategic level analysis of the integrated behavior of lunar transportation system and lunar surface system architecture options is performed to inform NASA Constellation Program senior management on the benefit, viability, affordability, and robustness of system design choices. This paper presents an overview of the approach used to perform the campaign (strategic) analysis, with an emphasis on the logistics modeling and the impacts of logistics resupply on campaign behavior. An overview of deterministic and probabilistic analysis approaches is provided, with a discussion of the importance of each approach to understanding the integrated system behavior. The logistics required to support lunar surface habitation are analyzed from both 'macro-logistics' and 'micro-logistics' perspectives, where macro-logistics focuses on the delivery of goods to a destination and micro-logistics focuses on local handling of re-supply goods at a destination. An example campaign is provided to tie the theories of campaign analysis to results generation capabilities.

Formation of the lunar helium corona and atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Hodges, R. R., Jr.

1977-01-01

Helium is one of the dominant gases of the lunar atmosphere. Its presence is easily identified in data from the mass spectrometer at the Apollo 17 landing site. The major part of these data was obtained in lunar nighttime, where helium concentration reaches the maximum of its diurnal cyclic variation. The large night to day concentration ratio agrees with the basic theory of exospheric lateral transport reported by Hodges and Johnson (1968). A reasonable fraction of atmospheric helium atoms has a velocity in excess of the gravitational escape velocity. The result is a short average lifetime and a tenuous helium atmosphere. A description is presented of an investigation which shows that the atmosphere of the moon has two distinct components including low energy atoms, which are gravitationally bound in trajectories that intersect the lunar surface, and higher energy atoms, which are trapped in satellite orbits. The total helium abundance in the lunar corona is shown to be about 1.3 times 10 to the 30th power atoms.