Walking the Walk/Talking the Talk: Mission Planning with Speech-Interactive Agents

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Benjamin; Short, Philip; Webb, Stewart

2010-01-01

The application of simulation technology to mission planning and rehearsal has enabled realistic overhead 2-D and immersive 3-D "fly-through" capabilities that can help better prepare tactical teams for conducting missions in unfamiliar locales. For aircrews, detailed terrain data can offer a preview of the relevant landmarks and hazards, and threat models can provide a comprehensive glimpse of potential hot zones and safety corridors. A further extension of the utility of such planning and rehearsal techniques would allow users to perform the radio communications planned for a mission; that is, the air-ground coordination that is critical to the success of missions such as close air support (CAS). Such practice opportunities, while valuable, are limited by the inescapable scarcity of complete mission teams to gather in space and time during planning and rehearsal cycles. Moreoever, using simulated comms with synthetic entities, despite the substantial training and cost benefits, remains an elusive objective. In this paper we report on a solution to this gap that incorporates "synthetic teammates" - intelligent software agents that can role-play entities in a mission scenario and that can communicate in spoken language with users. We employ a fielded mission planning and rehearsal tool so that our focus remains on the experimental objectives of the research rather than on developing a testbed from scratch. Use of this planning tool also helps to validate the approach in an operational system. The result is a demonstration of a mission rehearsal tool that allows aircrew users to not only fly the mission but also practice the verbal communications with air control agencies and tactical controllers on the ground. This work will be presented in a CAS mission planning example but has broad applicability across weapons systems, missions and tactical force compositions.

Linking Knowledge and Skills to Mission Essential Competency-Based Syllabus Development for Distributed Mission Operations

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Symons, Steve; France, Michael; Bell, Jeffrey; Bennett, Jr, Winston

2006-01-01

... of Mission Essential Competencies (MECs). MECs are defined as the higher order individual, team, and inter-team competencies that a fully prepared pilot, crew, or flight requires for successful mission completion under adverse conditions...

INIR mission Outline, Experiences, Lessons Learned

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Omoto, Akira

2010-01-01

There are 19 major issues to consider in infrastructure building and Conditions to achieve the milestone. For each issues that assist in a continuous self-assessment against milestone and there is need to identify the distance to the milestone (gap).The IAEA ‘s involvement could add values to a) objective view b) clarifying areas of further assistance and c) help confidence building, if disclosed. Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) mission is not an audit against established requirements and its Results cannot be considered as a “release stamp” that certifies the quality and completeness of the work done and validates the host MS actions. INIR mission is conducted in the context of TC programme that Provide feedback on the effective implementation of TC assistance and are considered when preparing and updating the TC Country Programme Framework. It must not be interpreted that the country cannot move to the next phase of the nuclear power programme until all turns to “No actions needed” status, since there is no single uniform avenue for development of infrastructure and launching nuclear power programme

Designing Mission Operations for the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Havens, Glen G.; Beerer, Joseph G.

2012-01-01

NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, to understand the internal structure and thermal evolution of the Moon, offered unique challenges to mission operations. From launch through end of mission, the twin GRAIL orbiters had to be operated in parallel. The journey to the Moon and into the low science orbit involved numerous maneuvers, planned on tight timelines, to ultimately place the orbiters into the required formation-flying configuration necessary. The baseline GRAIL mission is short, only 9 months in duration, but progressed quickly through seven very unique mission phases. Compressed into this short mission timeline, operations activities and maneuvers for both orbiters had to be planned and coordinated carefully. To prepare for these challenges, development of the GRAIL Mission Operations System began in 2008. Based on high heritage multi-mission operations developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Lockheed Martin, the GRAIL mission operations system was adapted to meet the unique challenges posed by the GRAIL mission design. This paper describes GRAIL's system engineering development process for defining GRAIL's operations scenarios and generating requirements, tracing the evolution from operations concept through final design, implementation, and validation.

A brief history of Sandia's National security missions.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Drewien, Celeste A. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); O' Canna, Myra Lynn [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Stikar, John Anthony. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2014-09-01

To help members of the workforce understand what factors contribute to Sandia National Laboratories national security mission, the authors describe the evolution of Sandias core mission and its other mission components. The mission of Sandia first as a division of Los Alamos and later as Sandia Corporation underlies our core nuclear weapon mission of today. Sandias mission changed in 1963 and twice more in the 1970s. This report should help staff and management appreciate the need for mission evolution. A clear definition and communication of a consistent corporate mission statement is still needed.

NASA's Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Kellogg, Kent; Njoku, Eni; Thurman, Sam; Edelstein, Wendy; Jai, Ben; Spencer, Mike; Chen, Gun-Shing; Entekhabi, Dara; O'Neill, Peggy; Piepmeier, Jeffrey;

Orion Ammonia Boiler System Preflight Test Preparations

Science.gov (United States)

Levitt, Julia L.

2017-01-01

The Environmental Controls and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) branch at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is currently undergoing preparations for ground testing of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) to prepare its subsystems for EM-1 (Exploration Mission-1). EM-1, Orions second unmanned flight, is a three-week long lunar mission during which the vehicle will complete a 6-day retrograde lunar orbit before returning to Earth. This paper focuses on the work done during the authors 16-week internship with the Mechanical Engineering Branch of KSCs Engineering Directorate. The authors project involved assisting with the preparations for testing the Orion MPCVs ammonia boiler system. The purpose of the ammonia boiler system is to keep the spacecraft sufficiently cool during the reentry portion of its mission, from service module (SM) separation to post-landing. This system is critical for keeping both the spacecraft (avionics and electronics) and crew alive during reentry, thus a successful test of the system is essential to the success of EM-1. XXXX The author was able to draft a detailed outline of the procedure for the ammonia system functional test. More work will need to be done on the vehicle power-up and power-down portions of the procedure, but the ammonia system testing portion of the procedure is thorough and includes vehicle test configurations, vehicle commands, and GSE. The author was able to compile a substantial list of questions regarding the ammonia system functional test with the help of her mentors. A significant number of these questions were answered in the teleconferences with Lockheed Martin.

Artificially synthesized helper/killer-hybrid epitope long peptide (H/K-HELP): preparation and immunological analysis of vaccine efficacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Masuko, Kazutaka; Wakita, Daiko; Togashi, Yuji; Kita, Toshiyuki; Kitamura, Hidemitsu; Nishimura, Takashi

2015-01-01

To elucidate the immunologic mechanisms of artificially synthesized helper/killer-hybrid epitope long peptide (H/K-HELP), which indicated a great vaccine efficacy in human cancers, we prepared ovalbumin (OVA)-H/K-HELP by conjugating killer and helper epitopes of OVA-model tumor antigen via a glycine-linker. Vaccination of C57BL/6 mice with OVA-H/K-HELP (30 amino acids) but not with short peptides mixture of class I-binding peptide (8 amino-acids) and class II-binding peptide (17 amino-acids) combined with adjuvant CpG-ODN (cytosine-phosphorothioate-guanine oligodeoxynucleotides), induced higher numbers of OVA-tetramer-positive CTL with concomitant activation of IFN-γ-producing CD4(+) Th1 cells. However, replacement of glycine-linker of OVA-H/K-HELP with other peptide-linker caused a significant decrease of vaccine efficacy of OVA-H/K-HELP. In combination with adjuvant CpG-ODN, OVA-H/KHELP exhibited greater vaccine efficacy compared with short peptides vaccine, in both preventive and therapeutic vaccine models against OVA-expressing EG-7 tumor. The elevated vaccine efficacy of OVAH/K-HELP might be derived from the following mechanisms: (i) selective presentation by only professional dendritic cells (DC) in vaccinated draining lymph node (dLN); (ii) a long-term sustained antigen presentation exerted by DC to stimulate both CTL and Th1 cells; (iii) formation of three cells interaction among DC, Th and CTL. In comparative study, H/K-HELP indicated stronger therapeutic vaccine efficacy compared with that of extended class I synthetic long peptide, indicating that both the length of peptide and the presence of Th epitope peptide were crucial aspects for preparing artificially synthesized H/K-HELP vaccine. Copyright © 2014 European Federation of Immunological Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In Situ Biological Contamination Studies of the Moon: Implications for Future Planetary Protection and Life Detection Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Glavin, Daniel P.; Dworkin, Jason P.; Lupisella, Mark; Kminek, Gerhard; Rummel, John D.

2010-01-01

NASA and ESA have outlined visions for solar system exploration that will include a series of lunar robotic precursor missions to prepare for, and support a human return to the Moon, and future human exploration of Mars and other destinations. One of the guiding principles for exploration is to pursue compelling scientific questions about the origin and evolution of life. The search for life on objects such as Mars will require that all spacecraft and instrumentation be sufficiently cleaned and sterilized prior to launch to ensure that the scientific integrity of extraterrestrial samples is not jeopardized by terrestrial organic contamination. Under the Committee on Space Research's (COSPAR's) current planetary protection policy for the Moon, no sterilization procedures are required for outbound lunar spacecraft, nor is there yet a planetary protection category for human missions. Future in situ investigations of a variety of locations on the Moon by highly sensitive instruments designed to search for biologically derived organic compounds would help assess the contamination of the Moon by lunar spacecraft. These studies could also provide valuable "ground truth" data for Mars sample return missions and help define planetary protection requirements for future Mars bound spacecraft carrying life detection experiments. In addition, studies of the impact of terrestrial contamination of the lunar surface by the Apollo astronauts could provide valuable data to help refine future Mars surface exploration plans for a human mission to Mars.

Parker Solar Probe: A NASA Mission to Touch the Sun: Mission Status Update

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, N. J.

2017-12-01

The newly renamed, Parker Solar Probe (PSP) mission will be the first mission to fly into the low solar corona, revealing how the corona is heated and the solar wind and energetic particles are accelerated, solving fundamental mysteries that have been top priority science goals since such a mission was first proposed in 1958. The scale and concept of such a mission has been revised at intervals since that time, yet the core has always been a close encounter with the Sun. The primary science goal of the Parker Solar Probe mission is to determine the structure and dynamics of the Sun's coronal magnetic field, understand how the solar corona and wind are heated and accelerated, and determine what mechanisms accelerate and transport energetic particles. PSP uses an innovative mission design, significant technology development and a risk-reducing engineering development to meet the science objectives. In this presentation, we provide an update on the progress of the Parker Solar Probe mission as we prepare for the July 2018 launch.

Evolution of Orion Mission Design for Exploration Mission 1 and 2

Science.gov (United States)

Gutkowski, Jeffrey P.; Dawn, Timothy F.; Jedrey, Richard M.

2016-01-01

The evolving mission design and concepts of NASA’s next steps have shaped Orion into the spacecraft that it is today. Since the initial inception of Orion, through the Constellation Program, and now in the Exploration Mission frame-work with the Space Launch System (SLS), each mission design concept and pro-gram goal have left Orion with a set of capabilities that can be utilized in many different mission types. Exploration Missions 1 and 2 (EM-1 and EM-2) have now been at the forefront of the mission design focus for the last several years. During that time, different Design Reference Missions (DRMs) were built, analyzed, and modified to solve or mitigate enterprise level design trades to ensure a viable mission from launch to landing. The resulting DRMs for EM-1 and EM-2 were then expanded into multi-year trajectory scans to characterize vehicle performance as affected by variations in Earth-Moon geometry. This provides Orion’s subsystems with stressing reference trajectories to help design their system. Now that Orion has progressed through the Preliminary and Critical Design Reviews (PDR and CDR), there is a general shift in the focus of mission design from aiding the vehicle design to providing mission specific products needed for pre-flight and real time operations. Some of the mission specific products needed include, large quantities of nominal trajectories for multiple monthly launch periods and abort options at any point in the mission for each valid trajectory in the launch window.

ESA's spaceborne lidar mission ADM-Aeolus; project status and preparations for launch

Science.gov (United States)

Straume, Anne Grete; Elfving, Anders; Wernham, Denny; de Bruin, Frank; Kanitz, Thomas; Schuettemeyer, Dirk; Bismarck, Jonas von; Buscaglione, Fabio; Lecrenier, O.; McGoldrick, Phil

2018-04-01

ESA's Doppler Wind lidar mission, the Atmospheric Dynamics Mission (ADM-Aeolus, hereafter abbreviated to Aeolus), was chosen as an Earth Explorer Core mission within the Living Planet Programme in 1999. It shall demonstrate the potential of space-based Doppler Wind lidars for operational measurements of wind profiles and their use in Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) and climate research. Spin-off products are profiles of cloud and aerosol optical properties. Aeolus carries the novel Doppler Wind lidar instrument ALADIN. The mission prime is Airbus Defence & Space UK (ADS-UK), and the instrument prime is Airbus Defence & Space France (ADS-F).

Analysis of Orbital Lifetime Prediction Parameters in Preparation for Post-Mission Disposal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ha–Yeon Choi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Atmospheric drag force is an important source of perturbation of Low Earth Orbit (LEO orbit satellites, and solar activity is a major factor for changes in atmospheric density. In particular, the orbital lifetime of a satellite varies with changes in solar activity, so care must be taken in predicting the remaining orbital lifetime during preparation for post-mission disposal. In this paper, the System Tool Kit (STK® Long-term Orbit Propagator is used to analyze the changes in orbital lifetime predictions with respect to solar activity. In addition, the STK® Lifetime tool is used to analyze the change in orbital lifetime with respect to solar flux data generation, which is needed for the orbital lifetime calculation, and its control on the drag coefficient control. Analysis showed that the application of the most recent solar flux file within the Lifetime tool gives a predicted trend that is closest to the actual orbit. We also examine the effect of the drag coefficient, by performing a comparative analysis between varying and constant coefficients in terms of solar activity intensities.

Solar Probe Plus: A NASA Mission to Touch the SunMission Status Update

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, N. J.

2016-12-01

Solar Probe Plus (SPP), currently in Phase D, will be the first mission to fly into the low solar corona, revealing how the corona is heated and the solar wind and energetic particles are accelerated, solving fundamental mysteries that have been top priority science goals since such a mission was first proposed in 1958. The scale and concept of such a mission has been revised at intervals since that time, yet the core has always been a close encounter with the Sun. The primary science goal of the Solar Probe Plus mission is to determine the structure and dynamics of the Sun's coronal magnetic field, understand how the solar corona and wind are heated and accelerated, and determine what mechanisms accelerate and transport energetic particles. SPP uses an innovative mission design, significant technology development and a risk-reducing engineering development to meet the SPP science objectives. In this presentation, we provide an update on the progress of the Solar Probe Plus mission as we prepare for the July 2018 launch.

Orbit determination for ISRO satellite missions

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, Ch. Sreehari; Sinha, S. K.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been successful in using the in-house developed orbit determination and prediction software for satellite missions of Bhaskara, Rohini and APPLE. Considering the requirements of satellite missions, software packages are developed, tested and their accuracies are assessed. Orbit determination packages developed are SOIP, for low earth orbits of Bhaskara and Rohini missions, ORIGIN and ODPM, for orbits related to all phases of geo-stationary missions and SEGNIP, for drift and geo-stationary orbits. Software is tested and qualified using tracking data of SIGNE-3, D5-B, OTS, SYMPHONIE satellites with the help of software available with CNES, ESA and DFVLR. The results match well with those available from these agencies. These packages have supported orbit determination successfully throughout the mission life for all ISRO satellite missions. Member-Secretary

Astronaut Prepares for Mission With Virtual Reality Hardware

Science.gov (United States)

2001-01-01

Astronaut John M. Grunsfeld, STS-109 payload commander, uses virtual reality hardware at Johnson Space Center to rehearse some of his duties prior to the STS-109 mission. The most familiar form of virtual reality technology is some form of headpiece, which fits over your eyes and displays a three dimensional computerized image of another place. Turn your head left and right, and you see what would be to your sides; turn around, and you see what might be sneaking up on you. An important part of the technology is some type of data glove that you use to propel yourself through the virtual world. This technology allows NASA astronauts to practice International Space Station work missions in advance. Currently, the medical community is using the new technologies in four major ways: To see parts of the body more accurately, for study, to make better diagnosis of disease and to plan surgery in more detail; to obtain a more accurate picture of a procedure during surgery; to perform more types of surgery with the most noninvasive, accurate methods possible; and to model interactions among molecules at a molecular level.

The Mars 2020 Rover Mission: EISD Participation in Mission Science and Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Fries, M.; Bhartia, R.; Beegle, L.; Burton, A. S.; Ross, A.

2014-01-01

The Mars 2020 Rover mission will search for potential biosignatures on the martian surface, use new techniques to search for and identify tracelevel organics, and prepare a cache of samples for potential return to Earth. Identifying trace organic compounds is an important tenet of searching for potential biosignatures. Previous landed missions have experienced difficulty identifying unambiguously martian, unaltered organic compounds, possibly because any organic species have been destroyed on heating in the presence of martian perchlorates and/or other oxidants. The SHERLOC instrument on Mars 2020 will use ultraviolet (UV) fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy to identify trace organic compounds without heating the samples.

ETF Mission Statement document. ETF Design Center team

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-04-01

The Mission Statement document describes the results, activities, and processes used in preparing the Mission Statement, facility characteristics, and operating goals for the Engineering Test Facility (ETF). Approximately 100 engineers and scientists from throughout the US fusion program spent three days at the Knoxville Mission Workshop defining the requirements that should be met by the ETF during its operating life. Seven groups were selected to consider one major category each of design and operation concerns. Each group prepared the findings of the assigned area as described in the major sections of this document. The results of the operations discussed must provide the data, knowledge, experience, and confidence to continue to the next steps beyond the ETF in making fusion power a viable energy option. The results from the ETF mission (operations are assumed to start early in the 1990's) are to bridge the gap between the base of magnetic fusion knowledge at the start of operations and that required to design the EPR/DEMO devices

ETF Mission Statement document. ETF Design Center team

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1980-04-01

The Mission Statement document describes the results, activities, and processes used in preparing the Mission Statement, facility characteristics, and operating goals for the Engineering Test Facility (ETF). Approximately 100 engineers and scientists from throughout the US fusion program spent three days at the Knoxville Mission Workshop defining the requirements that should be met by the ETF during its operating life. Seven groups were selected to consider one major category each of design and operation concerns. Each group prepared the findings of the assigned area as described in the major sections of this document. The results of the operations discussed must provide the data, knowledge, experience, and confidence to continue to the next steps beyond the ETF in making fusion power a viable energy option. The results from the ETF mission (operations are assumed to start early in the 1990's) are to bridge the gap between the base of magnetic fusion knowledge at the start of operations and that required to design the EPR/DEMO devices.

ESA’s spaceborne lidar mission ADM-Aeolus; project status and preparations for launch

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Straume Anne Grete

2018-01-01

Full Text Available ESA’s Doppler Wind lidar mission, the Atmospheric Dynamics Mission (ADM-Aeolus, hereafter abbreviated to Aeolus, was chosen as an Earth Explorer Core mission within the Living Planet Programme in 1999. It shall demonstrate the potential of space-based Doppler Wind lidars for operational measurements of wind profiles and their use in Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP and climate research. Spin-off products are profiles of cloud and aerosol optical properties. Aeolus carries the novel Doppler Wind lidar instrument ALADIN. The mission prime is Airbus Defence & Space UK (ADS-UK, and the instrument prime is Airbus Defence & Space France (ADS-F.

PUREX Plant deactivation mission analysis report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lund, D.P.

1995-01-01

The purpose of the PUREX Deactivation Project mission analysis is to define the problem to be addressed by the PUREX mission, and to lay the ground work for further system definition. The mission analysis is an important first step in the System Engineering (SE) process. This report presents the results of the PUREX Deactivation Project mission analysis. The purpose of the PUREX Deactivation Project is to prepare PUREX for Decontamination and Decommissioning within a five year time frame. This will be accomplished by establishing a passively safe and environmentally secure configuration of the PUREX Plant, that can be preserved for a 10-year horizon. During deactivation, appropriate portions of the safety envelop will be maintained to ensure deactivation takes place in a safe and regulatory compliant manner

CORR Guidelines. Preparing and Conducting Review Missions of Construction Project Readiness for Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

The construction readiness review (CORR) mission for nuclear power plant projects has been established with the aim of conducting peer reviews of construction projects related to nuclear power plants. Such a mission provides a detailed assessment of readiness for construction, construction progress, readiness for turnover, as well as recommendations for improvement. Organizations in Member States, such as nuclear utilities, owners, regulators and technical support organizations, can benefit from such reviews. A team of international experts with complementing specialities will conduct the CORR mission. The review is based on appropriate IAEA publications, such as IAEA Safety Standards Series Guides and IAEA Nuclear Energy Series publications, as well as on internationally recognized project and construction management guides. Mission findings are summarized in a mission report, which includes a list of recommendations, suggestions and identified good practices. The review is not intended to be a regulatory inspection or an audit against international codes and standards. Rather, it is a peer review aimed at improving implementation processes and procedures through an exchange of technical experiences and practices at the working level. The mission is applicable at any stage of a nuclear power plant construction project, although two specific phases are targeted: (1) start of construction mission (Phase 1 mission) and (2) an in-progress mission (Phase 2 mission). Missions are initiated when official requests are submitted by Member States through the appropriate IAEA channels

The Integrated Medical Model - Optimizing In-flight Space Medical Systems to Reduce Crew Health Risk and Mission Impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Kerstman, Eric; Walton, Marlei; Minard, Charles; Saile, Lynn; Myers, Jerry; Butler, Doug; Lyengar, Sriram; Fitts, Mary; Johnson-Throop, Kathy

2009-01-01

The Integrated Medical Model (IMM) is a decision support tool used by medical system planners and designers as they prepare for exploration planning activities of the Constellation program (CxP). IMM provides an evidence-based approach to help optimize the allocation of in-flight medical resources for a specified level of risk within spacecraft operational constraints. Eighty medical conditions and associated resources are represented in IMM. Nine conditions are due to Space Adaptation Syndrome. The IMM helps answer fundamental medical mission planning questions such as What medical conditions can be expected? What type and quantity of medical resources are most likely to be used?", and "What is the probability of crew death or evacuation due to medical events?" For a specified mission and crew profile, the IMM effectively characterizes the sequence of events that could potentially occur should a medical condition happen. The mathematical relationships among mission and crew attributes, medical conditions and incidence data, in-flight medical resources, potential clinical and crew health end states are established to generate end state probabilities. A Monte Carlo computational method is used to determine the probable outcomes and requires up to 25,000 mission trials to reach convergence. For each mission trial, the pharmaceuticals and supplies required to diagnose and treat prevalent medical conditions are tracked and decremented. The uncertainty of patient response to treatment is bounded via a best-case, worst-case, untreated case algorithm. A Crew Health Index (CHI) metric, developed to account for functional impairment due to a medical condition, provides a quantified measure of risk and enables risk comparisons across mission scenarios. The use of historical in-flight medical data, terrestrial surrogate data as appropriate, and space medicine subject matter expertise has enabled the development of a probabilistic, stochastic decision support tool capable of

OSART Works to Help Member States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaiser, Peter

2013-01-01

Full text: Nuclear safety is a never ending pursuit for improvement, and one of the more prominent IAEA efforts that help Member States achieve higher levels of safety is the Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) programme. In OSART missions, the IAEA coordinates internationally-based teams of experts who conduct reviews of operational safety performance at nuclear power plants. The IAEA on 14 June 2013 marked the 30th anniversary of OSART. In 1983, the Agency conducted its first OSART mission to the Kori Nuclear Power Plant in the Republic of Korea, and it conducted a total of 174 OSART missions over the following 30 years. The reviews have been done in 34 nations at 103 nuclear sites. (author)

NASA Mission Operations Directorate Preparations for the COTS Visiting Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Shull, Sarah A.; Peek, Kenneth E.

2011-01-01

With the retirement of the Space Shuttle looming, a series of new spacecraft is under development to assist in providing for the growing logistical needs of the International Space Station (ISS). Two of these vehicles are being built under a NASA initiative known as the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. These visiting vehicles ; Space X s Dragon and Orbital Science Corporation s Cygnus , are to be domestically produced in the United States and designed to add to the capabilities of the Russian Progress and Soyuz workhorses, the European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) and the Japanese H-2 Transfer Vehicle (HTV). Most of what is known about the COTS program has focused on the work of Orbital and SpaceX in designing, building, and testing their respective launch and cargo vehicles. However, there is also a team within the Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) at NASA s Johnson Space Center working with their operational counterparts in these companies to provide operational safety oversight and mission assurance via the development of operational scenarios and products needed for these missions. Ensuring that the operational aspect is addressed for the initial demonstration flights of these vehicles is the topic of this paper. Integrating Dragon and Cygnus into the ISS operational environment has posed a unique challenge to NASA and their partner companies. This is due in part to the short time span of the COTS program, as measured from initial contract award until first launch, as well as other factors that will be explored in the text. Operational scenarios and products developed for each COTS vehicle will be discussed based on the following categories: timelines, on-orbit checkout, ground documentation, crew procedures, software updates and training materials. Also addressed is an outline of the commonalities associated with the operations for each vehicle. It is the intent of the authors to provide their audience with a better

An Optical Lightning Simulator in an Electrified Cloud-Resolving Model to Prepare the Future Space Lightning Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Bovalo, Christophe; Defer, Eric; Pinty, Jean-Pierre

2016-04-01

The future decade will see the launch of several space missions designed to monitor the total lightning activity. Among these missions, the American (Geostationary Lightning Mapper - GLM) and European (Lightning Imager - LI) optical detectors will be onboard geostationary satellites (GOES-R and MTG, respectively). For the first time, the total lightning activity will be monitored over the full Earth disk and at a very high temporal resolution (2 and 1 ms, respectively). Missions like the French Tool for the Analysis of Radiation from lightNIng and Sprites (TARANIS) and ISS-LIS will bring complementary information in order to better understand the lightning physics and to improve the weather prediction (nowcasting and forecasting). Such missions will generate a huge volume of new and original observations for the scientific community and weather prediction centers that have to be prepared. Moreover, before the launch of these missions, fundamental questions regarding the interpretation of the optical signal property and its relation to cloud optical thickness and lightning discharge processes need to be further investigated. An innovative approach proposed here is to use the synergy existing in the French MesoNH Cloud-Resolving Model (CRM). Indeed, MesoNH is one of the only CRM able to simulate the lifecycle of electrical charges generated within clouds through non-inductive charging process (dependent of the 1-moment microphysical scheme). The lightning flash geometry is based on a fractal law while the electrical field is diagnosed thanks to the Gauss' law. The lightning optical simulator is linked to the electrical scheme as the lightning radiance at 777.4 nm is a function of the lightning current, approximated by the charges neutralized along the lightning path. Another important part is the scattering of this signal by the hydrometeors (mainly ice particles) that is taken into account. Simulations at 1-km resolution are done over the Langmuir Laboratory (New

Costs and Benefits of Mission Participation in PDS4 Migrations

Science.gov (United States)

Mafi, J. N.; King, T. A.; Cecconi, B.; Faden, J.; Piker, C.; Kazden, D. P.; Gordon, M. K.; Joy, S. P.

2017-12-01

The Planetary Data System, Version 4 (PDS4) Standard, was a major reworking of the previous, PDS3 standard. According to PDS policy, "NASA missions confirmed for flight after [1 November 2011 were] required to archive their data according to PDS4 standards." Accordingly, NASA missions starting with LADEE (launched September 2013), and MAVEN (launched November 2013) have used the PDS4 standard. However, a large legacy of previously archived NASA planetary mission data already reside in the PDS archive in PDS3 and older formats. Plans to migrate the existing PDS archives to PDS4 have been discussed within PDS for some time, and have been reemphasized in the PDS Roadmap Study for 2017 - 2026 (https://pds.nasa.gov/roadmap/PlanetaryDataSystemRMS17-26_20jun17.pdf). Updating older PDS metadata to PDS4 would enable those data to take advantage of new capabilities offered by PDS4, and insure the full compatibility of past archives with current and future PDS4 tools and services. Responsibility for performing the migration to PDS4 falls primarily upon the PDS discipline nodes, though some support by the active (or recently active) instrument teams would be required in order to help augment the existing metadata to include information that is unique to PDS4. However, there may be some value in mission data providers becoming more actively involved in the migration process. The upfront costs of this approach may be offset by the long term benefits of data provider's understanding of PDS4, their ability to take more full advantage of PDS4 tools and services, and in their preparation for producing PDS4 archives for future missions. This presentation will explore the costs and benefits associated with this approach.

Morocco’s Self-Evaluation: Preparing for an INIR Mission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El Mediouri, Khalid

2015-01-01

Future actions: • Evaluation of the impact of the NPP at the economic, social, environmental and industrial levels; • Establishment of a dedicated organization for the implementation and the coordination of the NPP; • Development of the regulatory framework; • Formulation of strategies : HRD, RWM, Industrial involvement, …; • External review: INIR mission from 19 to 26 October 2015; • Establishment of a comprehensive action plan

Work measurement for estimating food preparation time of a bioregenerative diet

Science.gov (United States)

Olabi, Ammar; Hunter, Jean; Jackson, Peter; Segal, Michele; Spies, Rupert; Wang, Carolyn; Lau, Christina; Ong, Christopher; Alexander, Conor; Raskob, Evan;

Protein crystal growth results from the United States Microgravity Laboratory-1 mission

Science.gov (United States)

Delucas, Lawrence J.; Moore, K. M.; Vanderwoerd, M.; Bray, T. L.; Smith, C.; Carson, M.; Narayana, S. V. L.; Rosenblum, W. M.; Carter, D.; Clark, A. D, Jr.

1994-01-01

Protein crystal growth experiments have been performed by this laboratory on 18 Space Shuttle missions since April, 1985. In addition, a number of microgravity experiments also have been performed and reported by other investigators. These Space Shuttle missions have been used to grow crystals of a variety of proteins using vapor diffusion, liquid diffusion, and temperature-induced crystallization techniques. The United States Microgravity Laboratory - 1 mission (USML-1, June 25 - July 9, 1992) was a Spacelab mission dedicated to experiments involved in materials processing. New protein crystal growth hardware was developed to allow in orbit examination of initial crystal growth results, the knowledge from which was used on subsequent days to prepare new crystal growth experiments. In addition, new seeding hardware and techniques were tested as well as techniques that would prepare crystals for analysis by x-ray diffraction, a capability projected for the planned Space Station. Hardware that was specifically developed for the USML-1 mission will be discussed along with the experimental results from this mission.

SMART-1 technology, scientific results and heritage for future space missions

Science.gov (United States)

Foing, B. H.; Racca, G.; Marini, A.; Koschny, D.; Frew, D.; Grieger, B.; Camino-Ramos, O.; Josset, J. L.; Grande, M.; Smart-1 Science; Technology Working Team

2018-02-01

ESA's SMART-1 mission to the Moon achieved record firsts such as: 1) first Small Mission for Advanced Research and Technology; with spacecraft built and integrated in 2.5 years and launched 3.5 years after mission approval; 2) first mission leaving the Earth orbit using solar power alone; 3) most fuel effective mission (60 L of Xenon) and longest travel (13 months) to the Moon!; 4) first ESA mission reaching the Moon and first European views of lunar poles; 5) first European demonstration of a wide range of new technologies: Li-Ion modular battery, deep-space communications in X- and Ka-bands, and autonomous positioning for navigation; 6) first lunar demonstration of an infrared spectrometer and of a Swept Charge Detector Lunar X-ray fluorescence spectrometer; 7) first ESA mission with opportunity for lunar science, elemental geochemistry, surface mineralogy mapping, surface geology and precursor studies for exploration; 8) first controlled impact landing on the Moon with real time observations campaign; 9) first mission supporting goals of the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) in technical and scientific exchange, international collaboration, public and youth engagement; 10) first mission preparing the ground for ESA collaboration in Chandrayaan-1, Chang' E1 and future international lunar exploration. We review SMART-1 highlights and new results that are relevant to the preparation for future lunar exploration. The technology and methods had impact on space research and applications. Recent SMART-1 results are relevant to topics on: 1) the study of properties of the lunar dust, 2) impact craters and ejecta, 3) the study of illumination, 4) radio observations and science from the Moon, 5) support to future missions, 6) identifying and characterising sites for exploration and exploitation. On these respective topics, we discuss recent SMART-1 results and challenges. We also discuss the use of SMART-1 publications library. The SMART-1 archive

Preparing to Live the Institutional Mission: An Evaluation of a Pilot Program with Engaged Students

Science.gov (United States)

Temperato, John R.; Ferrari, Joseph R.

2010-01-01

The current study investigated how a select group of mission-engaged, upper division students (n = 7) compared to a random sample of junior- (n = 20) and senior- (n = 20) year students in their perception of an urban, Catholic, and religious-order-sponsored university's identity. Across two years, we assessed mission identity and mission-driven…

Single-shell tank retrieval program mission analysis report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stokes, W.J.

1998-08-11

This Mission Analysis Report was prepared to provide the foundation for the Single-Shell Tank (SST) Retrieval Program, a new program responsible for waste removal for the SSTS. The SST Retrieval Program is integrated with other Tank Waste Remediation System activities that provide the management, technical, and operations elements associated with planning and execution of SST and SST Farm retrieval and closure. This Mission Analysis Report provides the basis and strategy for developing a program plan for SST retrieval. This Mission Analysis Report responds to a US Department of Energy request for an alternative single-shell tank retrieval approach (Taylor 1997).

Single-shell tank retrieval program mission analysis report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stokes, W.J.

1998-01-01

This Mission Analysis Report was prepared to provide the foundation for the Single-Shell Tank (SST) Retrieval Program, a new program responsible for waste removal for the SSTS. The SST Retrieval Program is integrated with other Tank Waste Remediation System activities that provide the management, technical, and operations elements associated with planning and execution of SST and SST Farm retrieval and closure. This Mission Analysis Report provides the basis and strategy for developing a program plan for SST retrieval. This Mission Analysis Report responds to a US Department of Energy request for an alternative single-shell tank retrieval approach (Taylor 1997)

Preparing and Conducting Review Missions of Instrumentation and Control Systems in Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-06-01

The mission for Independent Engineering Review of Instrumentation and Control (I and C) Systems (IERICS) in Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) has been established with the aim of conducting peer reviews of I and C design documents, implementation processes, prototype I and C systems, and actual systems already deployed in operating NPPs. Organizations in IAEA Member States, such as nuclear utilities, regulators, and technical support organizations can benefit from I and C technical reviews through requesting IERICS missions that provide a detailed technical assessment on I and C systems, as well as recommendations for improvement. The IERICS mission is conducted by a team of international subject matter experts from various complementing technical areas. The review is based on appropriate IAEA documents, such as Safety Guides and Nuclear Energy Series, and the mission's findings are summarized in a mission report, including a list of recommendations, suggestions, and identified good practices. The review is not intended to be a regulatory inspection or an audit against international codes and standards. Rather, it is a peer review aimed at improving design and implementation procedures through an exchange of technical experiences and practices at the working level. The IERICS mission is applicable at any stages of the life cycle of I and C systems in NPPs and it is initiated based on a formal request through official IAEA channels from an organization of a Member State. The formation of the IERICS mission is based on the recommendation of the IAEA Technical Working Group on Nuclear Power Plant Instrumentation and Control (TWG-NPPIC). The recommendation came from the recognition that the IAEA can play an important role in the independent assessment and review of NPP I and C systems in terms of their compliance with IAEA safety guides and technical documents.

Hierarchthis: An Interactive Interface for Identifying Mission-Relevant Components of the Advanced Multi-Mission Operations System

Science.gov (United States)

Litomisky, Krystof

2012-01-01

Even though NASA's space missions are many and varied, there are some tasks that are common to all of them. For example, all spacecraft need to communicate with other entities, and all spacecraft need to know where they are. These tasks use tools and services that can be inherited and reused between missions, reducing systems engineering effort and therefore reducing cost.The Advanced Multi-Mission Operations System, or AMMOS, is a collection of multimission tools and services, whose development and maintenance are funded by NASA. I created HierarchThis, a plugin designed to provide an interactive interface to help customers identify mission-relevant tools and services. HierarchThis automatically creates diagrams of the AMMOS database, and then allows users to show/hide specific details through a graphical interface. Once customers identify tools and services they want for a specific mission, HierarchThis can automatically generate a contract between the Multimission Ground Systems and Services Office, which manages AMMOS, and the customer. The document contains the selected AMMOS components, along with their capabilities and satisfied requirements. HierarchThis reduces the time needed for the process from service selections to having a mission-specific contract from the order of days to the order of minutes.

48 CFR 970.5227-3 - Technology transfer mission.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... consistent with the missions of the Laboratory; except that such term does not include a procurement contract... substantial interest in the preparation, negotiation, or approval of the CRADA; (2) receives a gift or...

78 FR 34344 - Travel and Tourism Trade Mission to Taiwan, Japan and Korea

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-07

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration Travel and Tourism Trade Mission to... 10 -14, 2014. The purpose of the mission is to help U.S. firms in the travel and tourism industry... targeted sector for participation in this mission is travel and tourism, including U.S.-based travel and...

Management of information for mission operations using automated keyword referencing

Science.gov (United States)

Davidson, Roger A.; Curran, Patrick S.

1993-01-01

Although millions of dollars have helped to improve the operability and technology of ground data systems for mission operations, almost all mission documentation remains bound in printed volumes. This form of documentation is difficult and timeconsuming to use, may be out-of-date, and is usually not cross-referenced with other related volumes of mission documentation. A more effective, automated method of mission information access is needed. A new method of information management for mission operations using automated keyword referencing is proposed. We expound on the justification for and the objectives of this concept. The results of a prototype tool for mission information access that uses a hypertextlike user interface and existing mission documentation are shared. Finally, the future directions and benefits of our proposed work are described.

Data preparation for asteroseismology with TESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lund Mikkel N.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS is a NASA Astrophysics Explorer mission. Following its scheduled launch in 2017, TESS will focus on detecting exoplanets around the nearest and brightest stars in the sky, for which detailed follow-up observations are possible. TESS will, as the NASA Kepler mission, include a asteroseismic program that will be organized within the TESS Asteroseismic Science Consortium (TASC, building on the success of the Kepler Asteroseismic Science Consortium (KASC. Within TASC data for asteroseismic analysis will be prepared by the TASC Working Group 0 (WG-0, who will facilitate data to the community via the TESS Asteroseismic Science Operations Center (TASOC, again building on the success of the corresponding KASOC platform for Kepler. Here, we give an overview of the steps being taken within WG-0 to prepare for the upcoming TESS mission.

Data preparation for asteroseismology with TESS

Science.gov (United States)

Lund, Mikkel N.; Handberg, Rasmus; Kjeldsen, Hans; Chaplin, William J.; Christensen-Dalsgaard, Jørgen

2017-10-01

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is a NASA Astrophysics Explorer mission. Following its scheduled launch in 2017, TESS will focus on detecting exoplanets around the nearest and brightest stars in the sky, for which detailed follow-up observations are possible. TESS will, as the NASA Kepler mission, include a asteroseismic program that will be organized within the TESS Asteroseismic Science Consortium (TASC), building on the success of the Kepler Asteroseismic Science Consortium (KASC). Within TASC data for asteroseismic analysis will be prepared by the TASC Working Group 0 (WG-0), who will facilitate data to the community via the TESS Asteroseismic Science Operations Center (TASOC), again building on the success of the corresponding KASOC platform for Kepler. Here, we give an overview of the steps being taken within WG-0 to prepare for the upcoming TESS mission.

STS-26 MS Hilmers on fixed based (FB) shuttle mission simulator (SMS) middeck

Science.gov (United States)

1988-01-01

STS-26 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, Mission Specialist (MS) David C. Hilmers prepares to ascend a ladder representing the interdeck access hatch from the shuttle middeck to the flight deck. The STS-26 crew is training in the fixed base (FB) shuttle mission simulator (SMS) located in JSC Mission Simulation and Training Facility Bldg 5.

Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski arrives at KSC

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

STS-95 Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski notes the time on his watch upon his late arrival aboard a T-38 jet at the Shuttle Landing Facility. Parazynski's first plane experienced problems at the stop at Tyndall AFB and he had to wait for another jet and pilot to finish the flight to KSC. He joined other crewmembers Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, with the European Space Agency (ESA), and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), for final pre-launch preparations. STS-95 is expected to launch at 2 p.m. EST on Oct. 29, last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, and land at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7.

Historic Rust College: Fulfilling a Mission.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, Carl

1989-01-01

Describes Rust College, a Mississippi college dedicated to educating Blacks from economically and educationally impoverished backgrounds. Discusses the college's financial management, recent fund-raising efforts, building program, and academic programs. Examines the role of the predominantly Black college and Rust's mission to help students…

Planetary protection issues linked to human missions to Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Debus, A.

According to United Nations Treaties and handled presently by the Committee of Space Research COSPAR the exploration of the Solar System has to comply with planetary protection requirements The goal of planetary protection is to protect celestial bodies from terrestrial contamination and also to protect the Earth environment from an eventual biocontamination carried by return samples or by space systems returning to the Earth Mars is presently one of the main target at exobiology point of view and a lot of missions are operating on travel or scheduled for its exploration Some of them include payload dedicated to the search of life or traces of life and one of the goals of these missions is also to prepare sample return missions with the ultimate objective to walk on Mars Robotic missions to Mars have to comply with planetary protection specifications well known presently and planetary protection programs are implemented with a very good reliability taking into account an experience of 40 years now For sample return missions a set of stringent requirements have been approved by the COSPAR and technical challenges have now to be won in order to preserve Earth biosphere from an eventual contamination risk Sending astronauts on Mars will gather all these constraints added with the human dimension of the mission The fact that the astronauts are huge contamination sources for Mars and that they are also potential carrier of a contamination risk back to Earth add also ethical considerations to be considered For the preparation of a such

Nuclear risk analysis of the Ulysses mission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartram, B.W.; Vaughan, F.R.; Englehart, D.R.W.

1991-01-01

The use of a radioisotope thermoelectric generator fueled with plutonium-238 dioxide on the Space Shuttle-launched Ulysses mission implies some level of risk due to potential accidents. This paper describes the method used to quantify risks in the Ulysses mission Final Safety Analysis Report prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy. The starting point for the analysis described herein is following input of source term probability distributions from the General Electric Company. A Monte Carlo technique is used to develop probability distributions of radiological consequences for a range of accident scenarios thoughout the mission. Factors affecting radiological consequences are identified, the probability distribution of the effect of each factor determined, and the functional relationship among all the factors established. The probability distributions of all the factor effects are then combined using a Monte Carlo technique. The results of the analysis are presented in terms of complementary cumulative distribution functions (CCDF) by mission sub-phase, phase, and the overall mission. The CCDFs show the total probability that consequences (calculated health effects) would be equal to or greater than a given value

FY15 Gravitational-Wave Mission Activities Project

Science.gov (United States)

Stebbins, Robin T.

2014-01-01

The Gravitational-Wave (GW) team at Goddard provides leadership to both the US and international research communities through science and conceptual design competencies. To sustain the US effort to either participate in the GW mission that ESA selected for the L3 opportunity or to initiate a NASA-led mission, the Goddard team will engage in the advancement of the science and the conceptual design of a future GW mission. We propose two tasks: (1) deliver new theoretical tools to help the external research community understand how GW observations can contribute to their science and (2) explore new implementations for laser metrology systems based on techniques from time-domain reflectometry and laser communications.

Technology under Moon and Mars Analog Missions Activities (MMAMA)

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — NASA Analog Missions research addresses the need for integrated interdisciplinary field experiments as an integral part of preparation for planned human and robotic...

Long-range planning cost model for support of future space missions by the deep space network

Science.gov (United States)

Sherif, J. S.; Remer, D. S.; Buchanan, H. R.

1990-01-01

A simple model is suggested to do long-range planning cost estimates for Deep Space Network (DSP) support of future space missions. The model estimates total DSN preparation costs and the annual distribution of these costs for long-range budgetary planning. The cost model is based on actual DSN preparation costs from four space missions: Galileo, Voyager (Uranus), Voyager (Neptune), and Magellan. The model was tested against the four projects and gave cost estimates that range from 18 percent above the actual total preparation costs of the projects to 25 percent below. The model was also compared to two other independent projects: Viking and Mariner Jupiter/Saturn (MJS later became Voyager). The model gave cost estimates that range from 2 percent (for Viking) to 10 percent (for MJS) below the actual total preparation costs of these missions.

Dawn Mission Education and Public Outreach: Science as Human Endeavor

Science.gov (United States)

Cobb, W. H.; Wise, J.; Schmidt, B. E.; Ristvey, J.

2012-12-01

Dawn Education and Public Outreach strives to reach diverse learners using multi-disciplinary approaches. In-depth professional development workshops in collaboration with NASA's Discovery Program, MESSENGER and Stardust-NExT missions focusing on STEM initiatives that integrate the arts have met the needs of diverse audiences and received excellent evaluations. Another collaboration on NASA ROSES grant, Small Bodies, Big Concepts, has helped bridge the learning sequence between the upper elementary and middle school, and the middle and high school Dawn curriculum modules. Leveraging the Small Bodies, Big Concepts model, educators experience diverse and developmentally appropriate NASA activities that tell the Dawn story, with teachers' pedagogical skills enriched by strategies drawn from NSTA's Designing Effective Science Instruction. Dawn mission members enrich workshops by offering science presentations to highlight events and emerging data. Teachers' awareness of the process of learning new content is heightened, and they use that experience to deepen their science teaching practice. Activities are sequenced to enhance conceptual understanding of big ideas in space science and Vesta and Ceres and the Dawn Mission 's place within that body of knowledge Other media add depth to Dawn's resources for reaching students. Instrument and ion engine interactives developed with the respective science team leads help audiences engage with the mission payload and the data each instrument collects. The Dawn Dictionary, an offering in both audio as well as written formats, makes key vocabulary accessible to a broader range of students and the interested public. Further, as Dawn E/PO has invited the public to learn about mission objectives as the mission explored asteroid Vesta, new inroads into public presentations such as the Dawn MissionCast tell the story of this extraordinary mission. Asteroid Mapper is the latest, exciting citizen science endeavor designed to invite the

Water Cycle Missions for the Next Decade

Science.gov (United States)

Houser, P. R.

2013-12-01

The global water cycle describes the circulation of water as a vital and dynamic substance in its liquid, solid, and vapor phases as it moves through the atmosphere, oceans and land. Life in its many forms exists because of water, and modern civilization depends on learning how to live within the constraints imposed by the availability of water. The scientific challenge posed by the need to observe the global water cycle is to integrate in situ and space-borne observations to quantify the key water-cycle state variables and fluxes. The vision to address that challenge is a series of Earth observation missions that will measure the states, stocks, flows, and residence times of water on regional to global scales followed by a series of coordinated missions that will address the processes, on a global scale, that underlie variability and changes in water in all its three phases. The accompanying societal challenge is to foster the improved use of water data and information as a basis for enlightened management of water resources, to protect life and property from effects of extremes in the water cycle. A major change in thinking about water science that goes beyond its physics to include its role in ecosystems and society is also required. Better water-cycle observations, especially on the continental and global scales, will be essential. Water-cycle predictions need to be readily available globally to reduce loss of life and property caused by water-related natural hazards. Building on the 2007 Earth Science Decadal Survey, NASA's Plan for a Climate-Centric Architecture for Earth Observations and Applications from Space , and the 2012 Chapman Conference on Remote Sensing of the Terrestrial Water Cycle, a workshop was held in April 2013 to gather wisdom and determine how to prepare for the next generation of water cycle missions in support of the second Earth Science Decadal Survey. This talk will present the outcomes of the workshop including the intersection between

13 CFR 300.1 - Introduction and mission.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 13 Business Credit and Assistance 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Introduction and mission. 300.1 Section 300.1 Business Credit and Assistance ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE... innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy...

Helping Families Succeed in Two Worlds.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Vivian

Kamehameha Schools' Prekindergarten Educational Program (PREP) was started in 1978 to prepare at-risk Hawaiian families and their children for success in school. PREP's direct services include: (1) parent-infant educational services, including home visits to help parents prepare for a new baby and later learn appropriate child development…

Cyber Network Mission Dependencies

Science.gov (United States)

2015-09-18

leak paths”) and determine if firewalls and router access control lists are violating network policy. Visualization tools are provided to help analysts...with which a supply agent may not be familiar. In this environment, errors in requisition are easy to make, and they are costly : an incomplete cyber...establishing an email network and recommend a firewall and additional laptops. YMAL would also match mission details like the deployment location with

Welcome Aboard Starship MIR: Mission Is Russian

Science.gov (United States)

Gullickson, Janice

2009-01-01

Six years ago Project Starship MIR, the Russian language "shuttle," launched at Turnagain Elementary, one of the Anchorage School District's 65 elementary schools. The MIR "peace" mission originated with encouragement from the local business community to prepare students for Alaska's future economic, social and political ties…

Habitability during long-duration space missions - Key issues associated with a mission to Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Stuster, Jack

1989-01-01

Isolation and confinement conditions similar to those of a long-duration mission to Mars are examined, focusing on 14 behavioral issues with design implications. Consideration is given to sleep, clothing, exercise, medical support, personal hygiene, food preparation, group interaction, habitat aesthetics, outside communications, recreational opportunities, privacy, waste disposal, onboard training, and the microgravity environment. The results are used to develop operational requirements and habitability design guidelines for interplanetary spacecraft.

Pentecostal mission spirituality: a study of the classical Pentecostal Churches in Ghana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

White, Peter

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Mission is not just about proclaiming the gospel - it encompasses spiritual preparation of those involved in both mission activity and in converted souls. This approach is what is termed as mission spirituality in this article. Mission spirituality is the means by which churches and individual believers participate in the mission of God, through the way they live in and by the Holy Spirit, in order to know the will of God regarding what He is doing in their context and to follow His example. In view of the importance of mission spirituality in missionary activities of the church, this article explores the mission spirituality of the classical Pentecostal churches in Ghana (The church of Pentecost, Christ Apostolic Church International, The Apostolic Church Ghana and the Assemblies of God.

Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski arrives late at KSC

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

The T-38 jet aircraft arrives at the Shuttle Landing Facility carrying STS-95 Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski (second seat). The pilot is astronaut Kent Rominger. Parazynski's first plane experienced problems at the stop at Tyndall AFB and he had to wait for another jet and pilot to finish the flight to KSC. He joined other crewmembers Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, with the European Space Agency (ESA), and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), for final pre-launch preparations. STS-95 is expected to launch at 2 p.m. EST on Oct. 29, last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, and land at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7.

Enhancing Team Performance for Long-Duration Space Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Orasanu, Judith M.

2009-01-01

Success of exploration missions will depend on skilled performance by a distributed team that includes both the astronauts in space and Mission Control personnel. Coordinated and collaborative teamwork will be required to cope with challenging complex problems in a hostile environment. While thorough preflight training and procedures will equip creW'S to address technical problems that can be anticipated, preparing them to solve novel problems is much more challenging. This presentation will review components of effective team performance, challenges to effective teamwork, and strategies for ensuring effective team performance. Teamwork skills essential for successful team performance include the behaviors involved in developing shared mental models, team situation awareness, collaborative decision making, adaptive coordination behaviors, effective team communication, and team cohesion. Challenges to teamwork include both chronic and acute stressors. Chronic stressors are associated with the isolated and confined environment and include monotony, noise, temperatures, weightlessness, poor sleep and circadian disruptions. Acute stressors include high workload, time pressure, imminent danger, and specific task-related stressors. Of particular concern are social and organizational stressors that can disrupt individual resilience and effective mission performance. Effective team performance can be developed by training teamwork skills, techniques for coping with team conflict, intracrew and intercrew communication, and working in a multicultural team; leadership and teamwork skills can be fostered through outdoor survival training exercises. The presentation will conclude with an evaluation of the special requirements associated with preparing crews to function autonomously in long-duration missions.

GLAS Long-Term Archive: Preservation and Stewardship for a Vital Earth Observing Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Fowler, D. K.; Moses, J. F.; Zwally, J.; Schutz, B. E.; Hancock, D.; McAllister, M.; Webster, D.; Bond, C.

2012-12-01

Data Stewardship, preservation, and reproducibility are fast becoming principal parts of a data manager's work. In an era of distributed data and information systems, it is of vital importance that organizations make a commitment to both current and long-term goals of data management and the preservation of scientific data. Satellite missions and instruments go through a lifecycle that involves pre-launch calibration, on-orbit data acquisition and product generation, and final reprocessing. Data products and descriptions flow to the archives for distribution on a regular basis during the active part of the mission. However there is additional information from the product generation and science teams needed to ensure the observations will be useful for long term climate studies. Examples include ancillary input datasets, product generation software, and production history as developed by the team during the course of product generation. These data and information will need to be archived after product data processing is completed. NASA has developed a set of Earth science data and information content requirements for long term preservation that is being used for all the EOS missions as they come to completion. Since the ICESat/GLAS mission was one of the first to end, NASA and NSIDC, in collaboration with the science team, are collecting data, software, and documentation, preparing for long-term support of the ICESat mission. For a long-term archive, it is imperative to preserve sufficient information about how products were prepared in order to ensure future researchers that the scientific results are accurate, understandable, and useable. Our experience suggests data centers know what to preserve in most cases. That is, the processing algorithms along with the Level 0 or Level 1a input and ancillary products used to create the higher-level products will be archived and made available to users. In other cases, such as pre-launch, calibration/validation, and test

Cluster and THEMIS observations of the magnetosphere dayside boundaries in preparation for the SMILE mission

Science.gov (United States)

Escoubet, C. P.; Dimmock, A. P.; Walsh, B.; Sibeck, D. G.; Berchem, J.; Nykyri, K.; Turc, L.; Read, A.; Branduardi-Raymont, G.; Wang, C.; Sembay, S.; Kuntz, K. D.; Dai, L.; Li, L.; Donovan, E.; Spanswick, E.; Laakso, H. E.; Zheng, J.; Rebuffat, D.

2016-12-01

Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) is a novel self-standing mission, in collaboration between ESA and Chinese Academy of Science. Its objective is to observe the solar wind-magnetosphere coupling via simultaneous in situ solar wind/magnetosheath plasma and magnetic field measurements, soft X-Ray images of the magnetosheath and polar cusps, and UV images of global auroral distributions. The observations of the cusps and magnetosheath with the X-ray imager are possible through the relatively recent discovery of solar wind charge exchange (SWCX) X-ray emission, first observed at comets, and subsequently found to occur in the vicinity of the Earth's magnetosphere. In preparation for the mission, we need to determine the cusp's morphology, motion and in situ properties (density, velocity, temperature) that are expected to be observed by the spacecraft. To do so, we have selected a series of cusp crossings by the Cluster spacecraft that can be used to simulate X-ray emissions across the width of the cusp for different IMF orientations. In view of the well-known cusp ion dispersions, we expect that X ray emissions peak near the equatorial boundary of the cusp for southward IMF Bz, but near the poleward boundary of the cusp for northward IMF Bz. We also employ Cluster cusp observations during storms to predict X-ray emissions to be expected for periods of high solar wind fluxes. In addition, we use THEMIS observations from January 2008 to July 2015 for moderate (nsw*vsw 4.9x10^8 /cm^2s) solar wind fluxes to investigate X-rays emitted by the magnetosheath and to determine their variation as a function of distance from the subsolar point along the Sun-Earth line and along the flanks of the magnetosphere. We will show that high solar wind fluxes greatly enhance soft X-ray emissions, not only because solar wind fluxes increases but also because the emission region moves deeper within the Earth's exosphere.

Indexing, screening, coding and cataloging of earth resources aircraft mission data

Science.gov (United States)

1977-01-01

Tasks completed are as follows: (1) preparation of large Area Crop Inventory experiment for data base entry;(2) preparation of Earth Observations Aircraft Flight summary reports for publication; (3) updating of the aircraft mission index coverage map and Ames aircraft flight map; (4) Prepared of Earth Observation Helicopter Flight reports for publication; and (5) indexing of LANDSAT imagery. (6) formulation of phase 3 biowindows 1, 2, 3, and 4 listings by country, footprint, and acqusition dates; (7) preparation of flight summary reports; and (8) preparation of an Alaska state index coverage map.

Cooperative Robot Teams Applied to the Site Preparation Task

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parker, LE

2001-01-01

Prior to human missions to Mars, infrastructures on Mars that support human survival must be prepared. robotic teams can assist in these advance preparations in a number of ways. This paper addresses one of these advance robotic team tasks--the site preparation task--by proposing a control structure that allows robot teams to cooperatively solve this aspect of infrastructure preparation. A key question in this context is determining how robots should make decisions on which aspect of the site preparation t6ask to address throughout the mission, especially while operating in rough terrains. This paper describes a control approach to solving this problem that is based upon the ALLIANCE architecture, combined with performance-based rough terrain navigation that addresses path planning and control of mobile robots in rough terrain environments. They present the site preparation task and the proposed cooperative control approach, followed by some of the results of the initial testing of various aspects of the system

FFTF Plant transition mission analysis report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lund, D.P.

1995-01-01

FFTF (Fast Flux Test Facility) is a 400-MW(t) sodium-cooled, fast flux test reactor at Hanford, designed to test fuels and materials for advanced nuclear power plants; it has no capability for generating electric power. Since a long-term mission could not be found for FFTF, it was placed in standby, and a recommendation was made that it be shut down. Purpose of the FFTF Transition Project is to prepare it for Decontamination and Decommissioning; this will be accomplished by establishing a passively safe and environmentally secure configuration, that can be preserved for several decades. This report presents the results of the mission analysis, which is required by Hanford systems engineering procedures

Earth scientists list top priorities for space missions

Science.gov (United States)

Voosen, Paul

2018-01-01

Earth scientists hope a new priority setting effort will help them make the most of NASA's limited budget for satellite missions that watch over the planet. The so-called decadal survey, issued in January by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, laid out the community's consensus wish list, ranging from cloud monitoring to multiwavelength imaging—and recommends a strong dose of competition to keep costs down. The report prioritizes five observations for launch, including hyperspectral imaging, clouds, atmospheric particles, and missions to chart gravity variations and tiny crustal movements. It also advocates creating a new line of $350 million missions targeting seven observations, with competitions to choose three for flight in the next 10 years.

STS-95 Mission Specialist Duque suits up during TCDT

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

STS-95 Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, representing the European Space Agency, suits up in the Operations and Checkout Building prior to his trip to Launch Pad 39-B. Duque and the rest of the STS-95 crew are at KSC to participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) which includes mission familiarization activities, emergency egress training, and a simulated main engine cutoff. The other crew members are Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai (M.D., Ph.D.), representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, and Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown. The STS-95 mission, targeted for liftoff on Oct. 29, includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process. Following the TCDT, the crew will be returning to Houston for final flight preparations.

Endeavour blasts-off on ambitious mission

Science.gov (United States)

1993-12-01

"I am delighted to see the servicing mission off to such a beautiful start", said Roger Bonnet, ESA's Director of Science, who watched the launch from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. "We are anxious to see the Hubble Space Telescope restored to its full capability so astronomers world- wide can take advantage of this unique observatory". During the eight and a half minute climb to orbit ESA astronaut Claude Nicollier helped the shuttle commander and pilot monitor the cockpit displays. Nicollier is the first international astronaut to serve as a shuttle's flight engineer. He will perform the same task at the end of the mission for reentry and landing. The European Space Agency has a major role in the telescope servicing mission. In addition to the presence of its astronaut, the agency is supplying new, improved power generating solar arrays and helped NASA test the Costar system of corrective optics. Nicollier will be responsible for operation of the shuttle's robot arm during the 11-day mission. He will use the arm to pluck the telescope from orbit and move astronauts and equipment around the payload bay during the mission's five spacewalks. The astronauts are spending their first hours in space setting up equipment in the orbiter's crew cabin. They will fire the shuttle's manoeuvring jets before going to bed to begin the two-day pursuit of the orbiting telescope. There will be three orbital manoeuvres tomorrow to further close the gap. The shuttle is due to reach the telescope Saturday and repair work will begin Sunday. Checkouts of the four space suits and the robot arm will occupy the crew tomorrow. Nicollier will use the arm to inspect the equipment in the cargo bay and later practise the manoeuvre he will use on Saturday to capture the telescope. Hubble Space Telescope science operations will be suspended at midnight tonight EST (06h00 a.m. CET tomorrow) and the HST aperture door closed at 07h30 a.m. EST (01h30 p.m. CET).

Planning for Crew Exercise for Deep Space Mission Scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, E. Cherice; Ryder, Jeff

2015-01-01

Exercise which is necessary for maintaining crew health on-orbit and preparing the crew for return to 1G can be challenging to incorporate into spaceflight vehicles. Deep space missions will require further understanding of the physiological response to microgravity, understanding appropriate mitigations, and designing the exercise systems to effectively provide mitigations, and integrating effectively into vehicle design with a focus to support planned mission scenarios. Recognizing and addressing the constraints and challenges can facilitate improved vehicle design and exercise system incorporation.

Advanced Curation Activities at NASA: Preparation for Upcoming Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Fries, M. D.; Evans, C. A.; McCubbin, F. M.; Harrington, A. D.; Regberg, A. B.; Snead, C. J.; Zeigler, R. A.

2017-07-01

NASA Curation cares for NASA's astromaterials and performs advanced curation so as to improve current practices and prepare for future collections. Cold curation, microbial monitoring, contamination control/knowledge and other aspects are reviewed.

The complete integration of MissionLab and CARMEN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

FJ Serrano Rodriguez

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, a major challenge in the development of advanced robotic systems is the creation of complex missions for groups of robots, with two main restrictions: complex programming activities not needed and the mission configuration time should be short (e.g. Urban Search And Rescue. With these ideas in mind, we analysed several robotic development environments, such as Robot Operating System (ROS, Open Robot Control Software (OROCOS, MissionLab, Carnegie Mellon Robot Navigation Toolkit (CARMEN and Player/Stage, which are helpful when creating autonomous robots. MissionLab provides high-level features (automatic mission creation, code generation and a graphical mission editor that are unavailable in other significant robotic development environments. It has however some weaknesses regarding its map-based capabilities. Creating, managing and taking advantage of maps for localization and navigation tasks are among CARMEN’s most significant features. This fact makes the integration of MissionLab with CARMEN both possible and interesting. This article describes the resulting robotic development environment, which makes it possible to work with several robots, and makes use of their map-based navigation capabilities. It will be shown that the proposed platform solves the proposed goal, that is, it simplifies the programmer’s job when developing control software for robot teams, and it further facilitates multi-robot deployment task in mission-critical situations.

Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski checks his flight suit

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

STS-95 Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski gets help with his flight suit in the Operations and Checkout Building from a suit technician George Brittingham. The final fitting takes place prior to the crew walkout and transport to Launch Pad 39B. Targeted for launch at 2 p.m. EST on Oct. 29, the mission is expected to last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, and return to KSC at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7. The STS-95 mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process.

Pre-OSART mission highlights. 1988-1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-09-01

The IAEA Pre-Operational Safety Review Teams (Pre-OSART) programme is part of the Operational Safety Review teams (OSART) programme and provides advice and assistance to Member States for enhancing the operational safety of nuclear power plants. OSART and Pre-OSART reviews are available to all countries with nuclear power plants in operation or approaching operation. Most of these countries have participated in the programme, by hosting one or more OSART or Pre-OSART missions or by making experts available to participate in missions. This document, which summarizes the finding of Pre-OSART reviews, covers the period from January 1988 to December 1990, and it is intended that further such documents will be prepared to cover subsequent Pre-OSART reviews

Preparing Teachers for a Mission: Six Lessons Shared with the Military

Science.gov (United States)

Vespia, Kathleen L.; McGann, Barbara E.; Gibbons, Thomas J.

2016-01-01

Vast research and personal testimonies provide strong evidence that a highly effective teacher plays a critical role in the successes of their students, particularly those at risk of underachievement. That same evidence is now being demanded of teacher preparation programs. By comparison, military preparation programs have long been outcome-based…

STS-93 Mission Specialist Hawley suits up for launch

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

For the third time, during final launch preparations in the Operations and Checkout Building, STS-93 Mission Specialist Steven A. Hawley (Ph.D.) waves after donning his launch and entry suit. After Space Shuttle Columbia's July 20 and 22 launch attempts were scrubbed, the launch was again rescheduled for Friday, July 23, at 12:24 a.m. EDT. STS-93 is a five-day mission primarily to release the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which will allow scientists from around the world to study some of the most distant, powerful and dynamic objects in the universe. The STS-93 crew numbers five: Commander Eileen M. Collins, Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby, and Mission Specialists Hawley, Catherine G. Coleman (Ph.D.) and Michel Tognini of France, with the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). Collins is the first woman to serve as commander of a shuttle mission.

STS-95 Mission Specialist Pedro Duque in white room

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

In the environmental chamber known as the white room, STS-95 Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, with the European Space Agency, is prepared by white room crew members Danny Wyatt (left) and Travis Thompson (right) for entry into the Space Shuttle Discovery for his first flight into space. The STS-95 mission, targeted for launch at 2 p.m. EST on Oct. 29, is expected to last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, and return to KSC at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7.

High School Peer Helping: A Program Evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kilgariff, Lisa; Solomon, Mindy; Zanotti, Mary; Chambliss, Catherine

Peer helpers can act as liaisons to high school guidance departments by identifying problems, making appropriate referrals, and encouraging others to obtain professional help if necessary. An active program can help ensure that in the future students are better prepared to handle conflicts that arise within marriage, career, and family. This study…

Mission control of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles: a workload analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Dixon, Stephen R; Wickens, Christopher D; Chang, Dervon

2005-01-01

With unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), 36 licensed pilots flew both single-UAV and dual-UAV simulated military missions. Pilots were required to navigate each UAV through a series of mission legs in one of the following three conditions: a baseline condition, an auditory autoalert condition, and an autopilot condition. Pilots were responsible for (a) mission completion, (b) target search, and (c) systems monitoring. Results revealed that both the autoalert and the autopilot automation improved overall performance by reducing task interference and alleviating workload. The autoalert system benefited performance both in the automated task and mission completion task, whereas the autopilot system benefited performance in the automated task, the mission completion task, and the target search task. Practical implications for the study include the suggestion that reliable automation can help alleviate task interference and reduce workload, thereby allowing pilots to better handle concurrent tasks during single- and multiple-UAV flight control.

Building the Bridge to Help Engage your Audience to your Science and Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Yuen, K.

2014-12-01

When we talk about NASA and how NASA is contributing to societal benefits, such as education, what do we really mean? How do we know that we are doing something right? And how do we know that we are making a difference? With just over a dozen NASA Earth remote sensing missions flying, NASA is providing remote sensing data on a daily basis, where the data and information can contribute to the relevancy of science in our daily lives and bring perspective to common knowledge. To date, we are seeing a widening gap in the general awareness and understanding of the basic science and concepts among the formal and informal audiences. At a time when we are discovering and understanding more about our home planet, using cutting edge technologies that should inspire people, we have also discovered that we have estranged a generation of potentital users. The reality is that NASA data is being used by a relatively small group of people and they are nearly all scientists. Even when we "collaborate" with other federal agencies or universities, the actual work and impact remains on a scale that is only statistically significant. This is a far cry from being socially significant. There are key factors that are essential for success in communicating and working with both the technical and less technical audiences; they are the foundation to bridging the audience gaps and ultimately, truly engaging them. We need to show that the content is important and meaningful in our everyday lives by appealing to the audiences' sensibilities, packaging the content in a format that will be used by the audience, and we need to encourage and support people to create and innovate with this data and information. When you come right down to it, NASA is still the only agency that is continually putting up the new technologies, enabling and maintaining that crucial data flow, and supporting the umbilical cord of global data sets to the science community world-wide. But times have changed. It is not

ESA strategy for human exploration and the Lunar Lander Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Gardini, B.

As part of ESAs Aurora Exploration programme, the Agency has defined, since 2001, a road map for exploration in which, alongside robotic exploration missions, the International Space Station (ISS) and the Moon play an essential role on the way to other destinations in the Solar System, ultimately to a human mission to Mars in a more distant future. In the frame of the Human Spaceflight programme the first European Lunar Lander Mission, with a launch date on 2018, has been defined, targeting the lunar South Pole region to capitalize on unique illumination conditions and provide the opportunity to carry out scientific investigations in a region of the Moon not explored so far. The Phase B1 industrial study, recently initiated, will consolidate the mission design and prepare the ground for the approval of the full mission development phase at the 2012 ESA Council at Ministerial. This paper describes the mission options which have been investigated in the past Phase A studies and presents the main activities foreseen in the Phase B1 to consolidate the mission design, including a robust bread-boards and technology development programme. In addition, the approach to overcoming the mission's major technical and environmental challenges and the activities to advance the definition of the payload elements will be described.

STS-93 Mission Specialist Cady Coleman suits up for launch

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

For the third time, during final launch preparations in the Operations and Checkout Building, STS-93 Mission Specialist Catherine G. Coleman (Ph.D.) dons her launch and entry suit. After Space Shuttle Columbia's July 20 and 22 launch attempts were scrubbed, the launch was again rescheduled for Friday, July 23, at 12:24 a.m. EDT. STS-93 is a five-day mission primarily to release the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which will allow scientists from around the world to study some of the most distant, powerful and dynamic objects in the universe. The STS-93 crew numbers five: Commander Eileen M. Collins, Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby, and Mission Specialists Stephen A. Hawley (Ph.D.), Coleman, and Michel Tognini of France, with the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). Collins is the first woman to serve as commander of a shuttle mission.

Using NASA's Space Launch System to Enable Game Changing Science Mission Designs

Science.gov (United States)

Creech, Stephen D.

2013-01-01

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is directing efforts to build the Space Launch System (SLS), a heavy-lift rocket that will help restore U.S. leadership in space by carrying the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and other important payloads far beyond Earth orbit. Its evolvable architecture will allow NASA to begin with Moon fly-bys and then go on to transport humans or robots to distant places such as asteroids, Mars, and the outer solar system. Designed to simplify spacecraft complexity, the SLS rocket will provide improved mass margins and radiation mitigation, and reduced mission durations. These capabilities offer attractive advantages for ambitious missions such as a Mars sample return, by reducing infrastructure requirements, cost, and schedule. For example, if an evolved expendable launch vehicle (EELV) were used for a proposed mission to investigate the Saturn system, a complicated trajectory would be required with several gravity-assist planetary fly-bys to achieve the necessary outbound velocity. The SLS rocket, using significantly higher C3 energies, can more quickly and effectively take the mission directly to its destination, reducing trip times and cost. As this paper will report, the SLS rocket will launch payloads of unprecedented mass and volume, such as monolithic telescopes and in-space infrastructure. Thanks to its ability to co-manifest large payloads, it also can accomplish complex missions in fewer launches. Future analyses will include reviews of alternate mission concepts and detailed evaluations of SLS figures of merit, helping the new rocket revolutionize science mission planning and design for years to come.

The LUVOIR Decadal Mission Concept

Science.gov (United States)

Arney, G. N.; Crooke, J.; Domagal-Goldman, S. D.; Fischer, D.; Peterson, B.; Schmidt, B. E.; Stdt, T. L. T.

2017-12-01

The Large UV-Optical-Infrared (LUVOIR) Surveyor is one of four mission concepts being studied by NASA in preparation for the 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Survey. LUVOIR is a general-purpose space-based observatory with a large aperture in the 8-16 m range and a total bandpass spanning from the far-UV to the near-infrared. This observatory will enable revolutionary new studies in many areas of astronomy, including planetary science within and beyond our Solar System. Because LUVOIR is being considered for the next decadal survey, it must be capable of advancing our understanding of astronomical targets, including exoplanets, far beyond what will be achieved by the next two decades of observations from other space- or ground-based facilities. This means that the mission must move past planet detection, which is happening now with Kepler and ground-based measurements and will continue with TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) and WFIRST (Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope). It must also move beyond the chemical characterization of gas giants, which has begun with observations from Spitzer, Hubble, and ground-based telescopes and will greatly advances with the upcoming JWST (James Webb Space Telescope) and WFIRST coronagraph. Therefore, one of LUVOIR's main science objectives will be to directly image rocky Earth-sized planets in the habitable zones of other stars, measure their spectra, analyze the chemistry of their atmospheres, and obtain information about their surfaces. Such observations will allow us to evaluate these worlds' habitability and potential for life. We will review the specific observational strategies needed for astrobiological assessments of exoplanetary environments, including the wavelength range and spectral resolution required for these habitability analyses and biosignature searches. Further, we will discuss how the observational requirements to make measurements of "Earthlike" worlds will allow high-quality observations of a wide

Monte Carlo Analysis as a Trajectory Design Driver for the TESS Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Nickel, Craig; Lebois, Ryan; Lutz, Stephen; Dichmann, Donald; Parker, Joel

2016-01-01

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will be injected into a highly eccentric Earth orbit and fly 3.5 phasing loops followed by a lunar flyby to enter a mission orbit with lunar 2:1 resonance. Through the phasing loops and mission orbit, the trajectory is significantly affected by lunar and solar gravity. We have developed a trajectory design to achieve the mission orbit and meet mission constraints, including eclipse avoidance and a 30-year geostationary orbit avoidance requirement. A parallelized Monte Carlo simulation was performed to validate the trajectory after injecting common perturbations, including launch dispersions, orbit determination errors, and maneuver execution errors. The Monte Carlo analysis helped identify mission risks and is used in the trajectory selection process.

Transportation Packages to Support Savannah River Site Missions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Opperman, E.

2001-01-01

The Savannah River Site's missions have expanded from primarily a defense mission to one that includes environmental cleanup and the stabilization, storage, and preparation for final disposition of nuclear materials. The development of packaging and the transportation of radioactive materials are playing an ever-increasing role in the successful completion of the site's missions. This paper describes the Savannah River Site and the three strategic mission areas of (1) nuclear materials stewardship, (2) environmental stewardship, and (3) nuclear weapons stockpile stewardship. The materials and components that need to be shipped, and associated packaging, will be described for each of the mission areas. The diverse range of materials requiring shipment include spent fuel, irradiated target assemblies, excess plutonium and uranium materials, high level waste canisters, transuranic wastes, mixed and low level wastes, and nuclear weapons stockpile materials and components. Since many of these materials have been in prolonged storage or resulted from disassembly of components, the composition, size and shape of the materials present packaging and certification challenges that need to be met. Over 30 different package designs are required to support the site's missions. Approximately 15 inbound shipping-legs transport materials into the Savannah River Site and the same number (15) of outgoing shipment-legs are carrying materials from the site for further processing or permanent disposal

SMART: A Propositional Logic-Based Trade Analysis and Risk Assessment Tool for a Complex Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Ono, Masahiro; Nicholas, Austin; Alibay, Farah; Parrish, Joseph

2015-01-01

This paper introduces a new trade analysis software called the Space Mission Architecture and Risk Analysis Tool (SMART). This tool supports a high-level system trade study on a complex mission, such as a potential Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, in an intuitive and quantitative manner. In a complex mission, a common approach to increase the probability of success is to have redundancy and prepare backups. Quantitatively evaluating the utility of adding redundancy to a system is important but not straightforward, particularly when the failure of parallel subsystems are correlated.

A Tale of 2 Missions (And Hopefully 2 Different Landings)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiens, Roger C.

2012-01-01

This talk, to be given at the LANL IGPP Annual Review dinner in Santa Fe, NM on July 17, 2012, highlights two important NASA missions LANL played a key role in: The Genesis mission was the first to return to Earth from beyond the Moon, bearing solar particles to help understand the composition of the Sun; and Curiosity, a 1-ton Mars rover launched to the red planet in 2011 with a suite of instruments from LANL called ChemCam.

IAEA Completes Nuclear Security Advisory Mission in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2018-01-01

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts today completed a nuclear security advisory mission in France. The mission was carried out at the request of the French Government. The scope of the two-week International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) follow-up mission included France’s responses to the recommendations of the initial mission in 2011, the regulatory framework for the security of nuclear material and facilities as well as computer security. The IPPAS team also reviewed the country’s implementation of the 2005 Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM). As part of the review, the team visited the Georges Besse II uranium enrichment plant at the Tricastin nuclear site in Pierrelatte, south-eastern France. The team observed that the nuclear security regime in France is robust and well-established, and incorporates the fundamental principles of the amended CPPNM. The team provided recommendations and suggestions to support France in enhancing and sustaining nuclear security. Good practices were identified that can serve as examples to other IAEA Member States to help strengthen their nuclear security activities.

Mission Specialist Pedro Duque smiles at camera while at Launch Pad 39B

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

STS-95 Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, with the European Space Agency (ESA), smiles for the camera from Launch Pad 39B. The STS-95 crew were making final preparations for launch, targeted for liftoff at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29. Other crew members not shown are Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski, Stephen K. Robinsion, and and Payload Specialists John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, and Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). The STS-95 mission is expected to last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, returning to KSC at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7.

The Integrated Medical Model: Statistical Forecasting of Risks to Crew Health and Mission Success

Science.gov (United States)

Fitts, M. A.; Kerstman, E.; Butler, D. J.; Walton, M. E.; Minard, C. G.; Saile, L. G.; Toy, S.; Myers, J.

2008-01-01

The Integrated Medical Model (IMM) helps capture and use organizational knowledge across the space medicine, training, operations, engineering, and research domains. The IMM uses this domain knowledge in the context of a mission and crew profile to forecast crew health and mission success risks. The IMM is most helpful in comparing the risk of two or more mission profiles, not as a tool for predicting absolute risk. The process of building the IMM adheres to Probability Risk Assessment (PRA) techniques described in NASA Procedural Requirement (NPR) 8705.5, and uses current evidence-based information to establish a defensible position for making decisions that help ensure crew health and mission success. The IMM quantitatively describes the following input parameters: 1) medical conditions and likelihood, 2) mission duration, 3) vehicle environment, 4) crew attributes (e.g. age, sex), 5) crew activities (e.g. EVA's, Lunar excursions), 6) diagnosis and treatment protocols (e.g. medical equipment, consumables pharmaceuticals), and 7) Crew Medical Officer (CMO) training effectiveness. It is worth reiterating that the IMM uses the data sets above as inputs. Many other risk management efforts stop at determining only likelihood. The IMM is unique in that it models not only likelihood, but risk mitigations, as well as subsequent clinical outcomes based on those mitigations. Once the mathematical relationships among the above parameters are established, the IMM uses a Monte Carlo simulation technique (a random sampling of the inputs as described by their statistical distribution) to determine the probable outcomes. Because the IMM is a stochastic model (i.e. the input parameters are represented by various statistical distributions depending on the data type), when the mission is simulated 10-50,000 times with a given set of medical capabilities (risk mitigations), a prediction of the most probable outcomes can be generated. For each mission, the IMM tracks which conditions

Get Involved in Education and Public Outreach! The Science Mission Directorate Science E/PO Forums Are Here to Help

Science.gov (United States)

Shipp, S. S.; Buxner, S.; Schwerin, T. G.; Hsu, B. C.; Peticolas, L. M.; Smith, D.; Meinke, B. K.

2013-12-01

NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) Forums help to engage, extend, support, and coordinate the efforts of the community of E/PO professionals and scientists involved in Earth and space science education activities. This work is undertaken to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the overall national NASA science education and outreach effort made up of individual efforts run by these education professionals. This includes facilitating scientist engagement in education and outreach. The Forums have been developing toolkits and pathways to support planetary, Earth, astrophysics, and heliophysics scientists who are - or who are interested in becoming - involved in E/PO. These tools include: 1) Pathways to learn about SMD and E/PO community announcements and opportunities, share news about E/PO programs, let the E/PO community know you are interested in becoming involved, and discover education programs needing scientist input and/or support. These pathways include weekly e-news, the SMD E/PO online community workspace, monthly community calls, conferences and meetings of opportunity. 2) Portals to help you find out what education resources already exist, obtain resources to share with students of all levels - from K-12 to graduate students, - and disseminate your materials. These include E/PO samplers and toolkits (sampling of resources selected for scientists who work with students, teachers, and the public), the one-stop shop of reviewed resources from the NASA Earth and space science education portfolio NASAWavelength.org, and the online clearinghouse of Earth and space science higher education materials EarthSpace (http://www.lpi.usra.edu/earthspace). 3) Connections to education specialists who can help you design and implement meaningful E/PO programs - small to large. Education specialists can help you understand what research says about how people learn and effective practices for achieving your goals, place your

Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) Guidelines for the Preparation and Conduct of IRRS Missions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

: International Basic Safety Standards (IAEA Safety Standards Series No. GSR Part 3 - Interim Edition), may be used in conjunction with GSR Part 1 in order to conduct a thorough review of a national legal and governmental infrastructure. The IRRS recognizes that organizational structure and regulatory processes vary from country to country depending on national legal and administrative systems, the size and structure of the nuclear and radiation protection programme, financial resources available to the regulatory body, social customs and cultural traditions. The IRRS process allows for such variations within a single integrated review service. The IRRS process includes performance and prescriptive approaches to varying degrees. It is performance oriented in that it accepts various approaches to the organization and practices of a regulatory framework and body that contribute to a strong national nuclear and radiation safety regime. At the same time the review process is prescriptive in its objective comparison against IAEA standards and guidance. These IRRS guidelines have been published to encourage consistency and comprehensiveness in the preparation for, conduct and follow-up of an IRRS mission. During an IRRS mission, recommendations and suggestions may be offered to the host country. Recommendations made are related to items of direct relevance to safety as referenced in IAEA Safety Requirements, while suggestions made are related to items which are not be essential to compatibility with IAEA standards but may enhance the effectiveness of the national nuclear and radiation safety regime and/or improve the organization or performance of the regulatory body. Good practices identified may be documented for consideration by other States.

Preparation for Pick-and-Eat Food Production on the International Space Station: Flight Definition for the VEG-04 and VEG-05 Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Massa, G. D.; Wheeler, R. M.; Romeyn, M. W.; Hummerick, M. E.; Spencer, L. E.; Morrow, R. C.; Mitchell, C. A.; Burgner, S.; Whitmire, A. M.; Young, M. H.;

Human Assisted Robotic Vehicle Studies - A conceptual end-to-end mission architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Lehner, B. A. E.; Mazzotta, D. G.; Teeney, L.; Spina, F.; Filosa, A.; Pou, A. Canals; Schlechten, J.; Campbell, S.; Soriano, P. López

2017-11-01

With current space exploration roadmaps indicating the Moon as a proving ground on the way to human exploration of Mars, it is clear that human-robotic partnerships will play a key role for successful future human space missions. This paper details a conceptual end-to-end architecture for an exploration mission in cis-lunar space with a focus on human-robot interactions, called Human Assisted Robotic Vehicle Studies (HARVeSt). HARVeSt will build on knowledge of plant growth in space gained from experiments on-board the ISS and test the first growth of plants on the Moon. A planned deep space habitat will be utilised as the base of operations for human-robotic elements of the mission. The mission will serve as a technology demonstrator not only for autonomous tele-operations in cis-lunar space but also for key enabling technologies for future human surface missions. The successful approach of the ISS will be built on in this mission with international cooperation. Mission assets such as a modular rover will allow for an extendable mission and to scout and prepare the area for the start of an international Moon Village.

A Shift in Emphasis: Comments on CAE's New Mission Statement

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson-Levitt, Kathryn M.

2007-01-01

In a presidential address prepared for the 2006 Council on Anthropology and Education (CAE) meeting, I argue that the new mission statement for CAE represents not a new direction for the organization, but simply a shift in emphasis, albeit an important and timely shift.

NASA's Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter Missions: Discovering the Secrets of our Star

Science.gov (United States)

Zurbuchen, T.

2017-12-01

This session will explore the importance of the Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter missions to NASA Science, and the preparations for discoveries from these missions. NASA's Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter Missions have complementary missions and will provide unique and unprecedented contributions to heliophysics and astrophysics overall. These inner heliospheric missions will also be part of the Heliophysics System Observatory which includes an increasing amount of innovative new technology and architectures to address science and data in an integrated fashion and advance models through assimilation and system-level tests. During this talk, we will briefly explore how NASA Heliophysics research efforts not only increase our understanding and predictive capability of space weather phenomena, but also provide key insights on fundamental processes important throughout the universe.

The Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx)

Science.gov (United States)

Mennesson, B.

2017-12-01

The Habitable-Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx) is a candidate flagship mission being studied by NASA and the astrophysics community in preparation for the 2020 Decadal Survey. The HabEx mission concept is a large ( 4 to 6.5m) diffraction-limited optical space telescope, providing unprecedented resolution and contrast in the optical, with likely extensions into the near UV and near infrared domains. One of the primary goals of HabEx is to answer fundamental questions in exoplanet science, searching for and characterizing potentially habitable worlds, providing the first complete "family portraits" of planets around our nearest Sun-like neighbors and placing the solar system in the context of a diverse set of exoplanets. We report here on our team's early efforts in defining a scientifically compelling HabEx mission that is technologically executable, and timely for the next decade. In particular, we present preliminary architectures trade study results, quantifying technical requirements and predicting scientific outcome for a small number of design reference missions. We describe here our currently favorite "hybrid" architecture and its expected capabilities in terms of low resolution (R= 70 to 140) reflected light spectroscopic measurements and orbit determination. Results are shown for different types of exoplanets, including potentially habitable exoplanets located within the snow line of nearby main sequence stars. This research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission: Robotic Boulder Capture Option Overview

Science.gov (United States)

Mazanek, Daniel D.; Merrill, Raymond G.; Belbin, Scott P.; Reeves, David M.; Earle, Kevin D.; Naasz, Bo J.; Abell, Paul A.

2014-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is currently studying an option for the Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission (ARRM) that would capture a multi-ton boulder (typically 2-4 meters in size) from the surface of a large (is approximately 100+ meter) Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) and return it to cislunar space for subsequent human and robotic exploration. This alternative mission approach, designated the Robotic Boulder Capture Option (Option B), has been investigated to determine the mission feasibility and identify potential differences from the initial ARRM concept of capturing an entire small NEA (4-10 meters in size), which has been designated the Small Asteroid Capture Option (Option A). Compared to the initial ARRM concept, Option B allows for centimeter-level characterization over an entire large NEA, the certainty of target NEA composition type, the ability to select the boulder that is captured, numerous opportunities for mission enhancements to support science objectives, additional experience operating at a low-gravity planetary body including extended surface contact, and the ability to demonstrate future planetary defense strategies on a hazardous-size NEA. Option B can leverage precursor missions and existing Agency capabilities to help ensure mission success by targeting wellcharacterized asteroids and can accommodate uncertain programmatic schedules by tailoring the return mass.

NASA's Preparations for ESA's L3 Gravitational Wave Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Stebbins, Robin

2016-01-01

Telescope Subsystem - Jeff Livas (GSFC): Demonstrate pathlength stability, straylight and manufacturability. Phase Measurement System - Bill Klipstein (JPL): Key measurement functions demonstrated. Incorporate full flight functionality. Laser Subsystem - Jordan Camp (GSFC): ECL master oscillator, phase noise of fiber power amplifier, demonstrate end-to-end performance in integrated system, lifetime. Micronewton Thrusters - John Ziemer (JPL): Propellant storage and distribution, system robustness, manufacturing yield, lifetime. Arm-locking Demonstration - Kirk McKenzie (JPL): Studying a demonstration of laser frequency stabilization with GRACE Follow-On. Torsion Pendulum - John Conklin (UF): Develop U.S. capability with GRS and torsion pendulum test bed. Multi-Axis Heterodyne Interferometry - Ira Thorpe (GSFC): Investigate test mass/optical bench interface. UV LEDs - John Conklin+ (UF): Flight qualify UV LEDs to replace mercury lamps in discharging system. Optical Bench - Guido Mueller (UF): Investigate alternate designs and fabrication processes to ease manufacturability. LISA researchers at JPL are leading the Laser Ranging Interferometer instrument on the GRACE Follow-On mission.

Evaluation of regional-scale water level simulations using various river routing schemes within a hydrometeorological modelling framework for the preparation of the SWOT mission

Science.gov (United States)

Häfliger, V.; Martin, E.; Boone, A. A.; Habets, F.; David, C. H.; Garambois, P. A.; Roux, H.; Ricci, S. M.; Thévenin, A.; Berthon, L.; Biancamaria, S.

2014-12-01

The ability of a regional hydrometeorological model to simulate water depth is assessed in order to prepare for the SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) mission that will observe free surface water elevations for rivers having a width larger than 50/100 m. The Garonne river (56 000 km2, in south-western France) has been selected owing to the availability of operational gauges, and the fact that different modeling platforms, the hydrometeorological model SAFRAN-ISBA-MODCOU and several fine scale hydraulic models, have been extensively evaluated over two reaches of the river. Several routing schemes, ranging from the simple Muskingum method to time-variable parameter kinematic and diffusive waves schemes with time varying parameters, are tested using predetermined hydraulic parameters. The results show that the variable flow velocity scheme is advantageous for discharge computations when compared to the original Muskingum routing method. Additionally, comparisons between water level computations and in situ observations led to root mean square errors of 50-60 cm for the improved Muskingum method and 40-50 cm for the kinematic-diffusive wave method, in the downstream Garonne river. The error is larger than the anticipated SWOT resolution, showing the potential of the mission to improve knowledge of the continental water cycle. Discharge computations are also shown to be comparable to those obtained with high-resolution hydraulic models over two reaches. However, due to the high variability of river parameters (e.g. slope and river width), a robust averaging method is needed to compare the hydraulic model outputs and the regional model. Sensitivity tests are finally performed in order to have a better understanding of the mechanisms which control the key hydrological processes. The results give valuable information about the linearity, Gaussianity and symetry of the model, in order to prepare the assimilation of river heights in the model.

Mars mission program for primary students: Building student and teacher skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics

Science.gov (United States)

Mathers, Naomi; Pakakis, Michael; Christie, Ian

2011-09-01

The Victorian Space Science Education Centre (VSSEC) scenario-based programs, including the Mission to Mars and Mission to the Orbiting Space Laboratory, utilize methodologies such as hands-on applications, immersive learning, integrated technologies, critical thinking and mentoring. The use of a scenario provides a real-life context and purpose to what students might otherwise consider disjointed information. These programs engage students in the areas of maths and science, and highlight potential career paths in science and engineering. The introduction of a scenario-based program for primary students engages students in maths and science at a younger age, addressing the issues of basic numeracy and science literacy, thus laying the foundation for stronger senior science initiatives. Primary students absorb more information within the context of the scenario, and presenting information they can see, hear, touch and smell creates a memorable learning and sensory experience. The mission also supports development of teacher skills in the delivery of hands-on science and helps build their confidence to teach science. The Primary Mission to the Mars Base gives primary school students access to an environment and equipment not available in schools. Students wear flight suits for the duration of the program to immerse them in the experience of being an astronaut. Astronauts work in the VSSEC Space Laboratory, which is transformed into a Mars base for the primary program, to conduct experiments in areas such as robotics, human physiology, microbiology, nanotechnology and environmental science. Specialist mission control software has been developed by La Trobe University Centre for Games Technology to provide age appropriate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based problem solving and support the concept of a mission. Students in Mission Control observe the astronauts working in the space laboratory and talk to them via the AV system. This interactive

Critical early mission design considerations for lunar data systems architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Hei, Donald J., Jr.; Stephens, Elaine

1992-01-01

This paper outlines recent early mission design activites for a lunar data systems architecture. Each major functional element is shown to be strikingly similar when viewed in a common reference system. While this similarity probably deviates with lower levels of decomposition, the sub-functions can always be arranged into similar and dissimilar categories. Similar functions can be implemented as objects - implemented once and reused several times like today's advanced integrated circuits. This approach to mission data systems, applied to other NASA programs, may result in substantial agency implementation and maintenance savings. In today's zero-sum-game budgetary environment, this approach could help to enable a lunar exploration program in the next decade. Several early mission studies leading to such an object-oriented data systems design are recommended.

MERLIN and MICROCARB : Preparation of 2 space missions for CO2 and CH4

Science.gov (United States)

Deniel, Carole; Millet, Bruno; Buisson, Francois; Pierangelo, Clémence; Jouglet, Denis; Bréon, Francois-Marie; Bousquet, Philippe; Chevallier, Fréderic; Crevoisier, Cyril; Ehret, Gerhard

2017-04-01

In collaboration with the research community and with close European partnerships, the French space agency, CNES is developing or co-developing two missions to be launched by 2021, MERLIN and MICROCARB, that are dedicated respectively to the observation of atmospheric concentrations of CH4 and CO2. Both missions are based on innovative instrumentation, microsatellites, specific algorithm inversion processes and calibration /validation approaches. Both will deliver very accurate weighted atmospheric column measurements over the globe for the two species that play a major role in climate change. The MERLIN (MEthane Remote sensing LIdar missioN) space segment consists of the new Myriade-Evolutions platform type (range of 400 kg) developed under CNES control, and of the first IPDA (Integrated Path Differential Absorption) LIDAR (Light Detecting And Ranging) instrument developed under DLR responsibility (Germany). The MERLIN satellite will be operated at an altitude of around 500 km, on a sun-synchronous orbit, either at 06:00 or 18:00 of the local time of the ascending node. The main science objective is to bring a significant improvement on the knowledge of CH4 emissions and sinks, derived from estimates of the CH4 column-averaged dry-mixing ratio at a 50 km horizontal resolution, with a precision of 1% and a challenging targeted accuracy of 0.2%. The MICROCARB mission is based on a compact grating spectrometer (around 60 kg) onboard a Myriade micro-satellite platform (170kg range). The satellite will fly on a sun-synchronous orbit at altitude around 650 km and at around 10h30 local time for the ascending node. The instrument will measure the reflected solar radiance in four spectral ranges in the infrared. Two bands with CO2 absorptions, at 1.6 µm (weak absorptions) and 2.0 µm (strong absorptions), allows retrieving the quantity of molecules of CO2. Two bands centered around 0.76 and 1.27 µm sample oxygen absorption lines and provide a proxy of the atmospheric

Are There Treatments That Can Help Me?

Science.gov (United States)

... impact on your life. Are there treatments that can help me? Tinnitus does not have a cure ... preparations has been proved effective in clinical trials. Can I do anything to prevent tinnitus or keep ...

Objectives and Model Payload Definition for NEO Human Mission Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Carnelli, I.; Galvez, A.; Carpenter, J.

2011-10-01

ESA has supported studies on NEO threat assessment systems and deflection concepts in the context of the General Studies Programme and in close cooperation with the directorates of Technical and Quality Management and of the Scientific Programme. This work has made it possible to identify a project for Europe to make a significant - yet realistic - contribution to the international efforts in this field: the Don Quijote NEO technology demonstration mission. This paper describes what such a small mission can do to prepare future human exploration and what is the in-situ data that can be obtained through such a project.

Recommendations and Suggestions of the IRRS Mission in Croatia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novosel, N.

2016-01-01

According to the Act on Radiological and Nuclear Safety, Director General of the State Office for Radiological and Nuclear Safety (SORNS) is obliged to conduct self-assessment of the national legislative framework and of the competent authorities and to provide for international audit of important segments of the national legislative framework and competent authorities with the purpose of continuous improvement of radiological and nuclear safety. SORNS as a state administration body competent for activities pertaining to radiological and nuclear safety, submitted in April 2013 the request to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to conduct an Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission. SORNS conducted a self-assessment in preparation for the mission and prepared a preliminary action plan. The results of SORNS self-assessment and supporting documentation were provided to the IRRS review team as advance reference material for the mission. IRRS mission took place in Zagreb from 7 to 17 Jun 2015. The IRRS team carried out the review in the following areas: responsibilities and functions of the government; the global nuclear safety regime; responsibilities and functions of the regulatory body; the management system of the regulatory body; the activities of the regulatory body including authorization, review and assessment, inspection and enforcement processes; development and content of regulations and guides; emergency preparedness and response; occupational radiation protection, patient protection, public and environmental exposure control, waste management and decommissioning. The IRRS team identified a number of recommendations and suggestions where improvements in the area of radiological and nuclear safety are necessary or desirable. Those recommendations and suggestions were translated and approved by the Government in the form of the Governmental conclusion. This conclusion presents the action plan for the SORNS and other governmental bodies and

Tank Waste Remediation System retrieval and disposal mission technical baseline summary description

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McLaughlin, T.J.

1998-01-01

This document is prepared in order to support the US Department of Energy's evaluation of readiness-to-proceed for the Waste Retrieval and Disposal Mission at the Hanford Site. The Waste Retrieval and Disposal Mission is one of three primary missions under the Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Project. The other two include programs to characterize tank waste and to provide for safe storage of the waste while it awaits treatment and disposal. The Waste Retrieval and Disposal Mission includes the programs necessary to support tank waste retrieval, wastefeed, delivery, storage and disposal of immobilized waste, and closure of tank farms. This mission will enable the tank farms to be closed and turned over for final remediation. The Technical Baseline is defined as the set of science and engineering, equipment, facilities, materials, qualified staff, and enabling documentation needed to start up and complete the mission objectives. The primary purposes of this document are (1) to identify the important technical information and factors that should be used by contributors to the mission and (2) to serve as a basis for configuration management of the technical information and factors

Accessing Information on the Mars Exploration Rovers Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Walton, J. D.; Schreiner, J. A.

2005-12-01

In January 2004, the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) mission successfully deployed two robotic geologists - Spirit and Opportunity - to opposite sides of the red planet. Onboard each rover is an array of cameras and scientific instruments that send data back to Earth, where ground-based systems process and store the information. During the height of the mission, a team of about 250 scientists and engineers worked around the clock to analyze the collected data, determine a strategy and activities for the next day and then carefully compose the command sequences that would instruct the rovers in how to perform their tasks. The scientists and engineers had to work closely together to balance the science objectives with the engineering constraints so that the mission achieved its goals safely and quickly. To accomplish this coordinated effort, they adhered to a tightly orchestrated schedule of meetings and processes. To keep on time, it was critical that all team members were aware of what was happening, knew how much time they had to complete their tasks, and could easily access the information they need to do their jobs. Computer scientists and software engineers at NASA Ames Research Center worked closely with the mission managers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to create applications that support the mission. One such application, the Collaborative Information Portal (CIP), helps mission personnel perform their daily tasks, whether they work inside mission control or the science areas at JPL, or in their homes, schools, or offices. With a three-tiered, service-oriented architecture (SOA) - client, middleware, and data repository - built using Java and commercial software, CIP provides secure access to mission schedules and to data and images transmitted from the Mars rovers. This services-based approach proved highly effective for building distributed, flexible applications, and is forming the basis for the design of future mission software systems. Almost two

Nuclear risk assessment for the Mars 2020 mission environmental impact statement.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clayton, Daniel James; Bignell, John L.; Jones, Christopher Andrew; Rohe, Daniel Peter; Flores, Gregg J.; Bartel, Timothy James; Gelbard, Fred; Le, San; Morrow, Charles.; Potter, Donald L.; Young, Larry W.; Bixler, Nathan E.; Lipinski, Ronald J.

2014-01-01

In the summer of 2020, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to launch a spacecraft as part of the Mars 2020 mission. One option for the rover on the proposed spacecraft uses a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) to provide continuous electrical and thermal power for the mission. An alternative option being considered is a set of solar panels for electrical power with up to 80 Light-Weight Radioisotope Heater Units (LWRHUs) for local component heating. Both the MMRTG and the LWRHUs use radioactive plutonium dioxide. NASA is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The EIS will include information on the risks of mission accidents to the general public and on-site workers at the launch complex. This Nuclear Risk Assessment (NRA) addresses the responses of the MMRTG or LWRHU options to potential accident and abort conditions during the launch opportunity for the Mars 2020 mission and the associated consequences. This information provides the technical basis for the radiological risks of both options for the EIS.

The ESA SMOS Mission: Validation Activities at the Valencia Anchor Station

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopez-Baeza, E.; Antolin, M. C.; Balling, J.; Belda, F.; Bouzinac, C.; Buil, A.; Cano, A.; Carbo, E.; Delwart, S.; Domenech, C.

2009-07-01

Since 2001, the Valencia Anchor Station (VAS) is being used for validation activities in the context of low spatial resolution Earth Observation Missions such as CERES (Clouds and the Earths Radiant Energy System), GERB (Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget), EPS (EUMET Polar System), and is also being prepared for SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity). These missions have in common the low spatial resolution of their respective footprints({approx}50x50 km{sup 2}) and the necessity of a well characterised and instrumented large scale area. (Author) 4 refs.

IAEA Mission Says Chile Committed to Enhancing Safety, Sees Regulatory Challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2018-01-01

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts said Chile is committed to strengthening its regulatory framework for nuclear and radiation safety. To help achieve this aim, the team said the country should address challenges in some areas, including the need to ensure effective independence in regulatory decision-making. The Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) team today concluded a 12-day mission to assess the regulatory safety framework in Chile. The mission was conducted at the request of the Government and hosted by the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission (CCHEN), which is responsible for regulatory supervision together with the Ministry of Health (MINSAL). The review mission covered all civilian nuclear and radiation source facilities and activities regulated in Chile.

Missional church and local constraints: A Dutch perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rein Brouwer

2009-09-01

Full Text Available The missional church concept promises to guide local churches in the direction of a new identity and mission. It is a response to a sense of ecclesiological and congregational urgency that is felt all over the world. In Africa, North America and Europe, churches and local faith communities have been challenged by the changes in the religious state of affairs since the 1960s. Whether we still call it �secularisation� or rephrase it as �differentiated transformation�, the face of religion is changing globally. In many parts of the world, this raises a feeling of crisis that gives way to the redef nition of the mission and purpose of the church. �Missional church�, however, is a precarious concept. Nobody disagrees with the intention but can it be more than an inspiring vision? In order to realise this vision, a multi-layered and multi-dimensional analysis of �culture� is essential. We should move the analysis beyond the philosophical interpretation of relatively abstract and evasive macro-level processes, such as �modernity� and �post-modernity�. The future of the missional church depends on a differentiated and empirical, informed perspective on culture. For this purpose, this article proposes the concept of ecology: A system of diverse populations, including populations of congregations and faith communities, that interacts with these populations and with their specific environments. Preparing a missional congregation for the future should be accompanied with a thorough empirical investigation into the ecology of the congregation. We should be thinking intensively about and looking for vital ecologies.

The Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment Mission and its Potential Contributions to Human Exploration of Asteroids

Science.gov (United States)

Abell, Paul A.; Rivkin, Andy S.

2014-01-01

The joint ESA and NASA Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) mission will directly address aspects of NASA's Asteroid Initiative and will contribute to future human exploration. The NASA Asteroid Initiative is comprised of two major components: the Grand Challenge and the Asteroid Mission. The first component, the Grand Challenge, focuses on protecting Earth's population from asteroid impacts by detecting potentially hazardous objects with enough warning time to either prevent them from impacting the planet, or to implement civil defense procedures. The Asteroid Mission, involves sending astronauts to study and sample a near-Earth asteroid (NEA) prior to conducting exploration missions of the Martian system, which includes Phobos and Deimos. AIDA's primary objective is to demonstrate a kinetic impact deflection and characterize the binary NEA Didymos. The science and technical data obtained from AIDA will aid in the planning of future human exploration missions to NEAs and other small bodies. The dual robotic missions of AIDA, ESA's Asteroid Impact Monitor (AIM) and NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), will provide a great deal of technical and engineering data on spacecraft operations for future human space exploration while conducting in-depth scientific examinations of the binary target Didymos both prior to and after the kinetic impact demonstration. The knowledge gained from this mission will help identify asteroidal physical properties in order to maximize operational efficiency and reduce mission risk for future small body missions. The AIDA data will help fill crucial strategic knowledge gaps concerning asteroid physical characteristics that are relevant for human exploration considerations at similar small body destinations.

Solution preparation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seitz, M.G.

1982-01-01

Reviewed in this statement are methods of preparing solutions to be used in laboratory experiments to examine technical issues related to the safe disposal of nuclear waste from power generation. Each approach currently used to prepare solutions has advantages and any one approach may be preferred over the others in particular situations, depending upon the goals of the experimental program. These advantages are highlighted herein for three approaches to solution preparation that are currently used most in studies of nuclear waste disposal. Discussion of the disadvantages of each approach is presented to help a user select a preparation method for his particular studies. Also presented in this statement are general observations regarding solution preparation. These observations are used as examples of the types of concerns that need to be addressed regarding solution preparation. As shown by these examples, prior to experimentation or chemical analyses, laboratory techniques based on scientific knowledge of solutions can be applied to solutions, often resulting in great improvement in the usefulness of results

STS-95 Mission Specialist Pedro Duque suits up for launch

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

STS-95 Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, with the European Space Agency, is helped with his flight suit by suit tech Tommy McDonald in the Operations and Checkout Building. The final fitting takes place prior to the crew walkout and transport to Launch Pad 39B. Targeted for launch at 2 p.m. EST on Oct. 29, the mission is expected to last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, and return to KSC at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7. The STS-95 mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process.

The Phobos-Grunt microgravity soil preparation system

Science.gov (United States)

Yung, Kai-leung; Lam, Chi Wo; Ko, Sui Man; Foster, James Abbott

2017-12-01

To understand the composition of regolith on distant bodies it is important to make quantitative measurement of its composition. However, many instruments on board space missions can only make qualitative measurements. The SOil Preparation SYStem (SOPSYS) designed for the Phobos-grunt mission in 2011 was a unique spacecraft subsystem that can grind, sieve, transport and measure samples of regolith in the absence of gravity. Its mission was to produce a compact plug of regolith sample composed of particles no larger than 1 mm for a gas analytic package. It delivers a sample with specified volume enabling a quantitative analysis of the volatiles produced at different temperatures through heating. To minimize cross contamination, SOPSYS self-cleans after each sample is delivered. The apparatus was a cooperative development between China and Russia for the Phobos-Grunt mission to the Martian moon Phobos and will be reused on the upcoming reattempt of that mission and other similar missions. The paper presents an overview of the subsystem and the results of qualification model testing. The flight unit of SOPSYS has a low mass of 622 g including control electronics and compact dimensions of 247 mm by 102 mm by 45 mm.

Karl Brown's Hardscrabble Roots Prepared Him for His Medicaid Mission.

Science.gov (United States)

Diamond, Frank

2018-04-01

The CMO of Molina Healthcare of Utah grew up, let's say, not rich. He says that and a varied background-including a stint in the Air Force-helps him deal with changing policies involving a challenging population.

Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) Missions: The First Six Years

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-12-01

IAEA Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) missions are designed to assist Member States in evaluating the status of their national infrastructure for the introduction of a nuclear power programme. INIR missions are conducted upon request from the Member State. Each INIR mission is coordinated and led by the IAEA and conducted by a team of IAEA staff and international experts drawn from Member States which have experience in different aspects of developing and deploying nuclear infrastructure. INIR missions cover the 19 infrastructure issues described in Milestones in the Development of a National Infrastructure for Nuclear Power, IAEA Nuclear Energy Series No. NG-G-3.1, published in 2007 and revised in 2015, and the assessment is based on an analysis of a self-evaluation report prepared by the Member State, a review of the documents it provides and interviews with its key officials. Phase 1 INIR missions evaluate the status of the infrastructure to achieve Milestone 1 (Ready to make a knowledgeable commitment to a nuclear power programme). Phase 2 INIR missions evaluate the status of the infrastructure to achieve Milestone 2 (Ready to invite bids/negotiate a contract for the first nuclear power plant). From 2009 to 2014, 14 IAEA INIR missions and follow-ups were conducted in States embarking on a nuclear power programme and one State expanding its programme. During this time, considerable experience was gained by the IAEA on the conduct of INIR missions, and this feedback has been used to continually improve the overall INIR methodology. The INIR methodology has thus evolved and is far more comprehensive today than in 2009. Despite the limited number of INIR missions conducted, some common findings were identified in Member States embarking on nuclear power programmes. This publication summarizes the results of the missions and highlights the most significant areas in which recommendations were made

Candidate Mission from Planet Earth control and data delivery system architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Shapiro, Phillip; Weinstein, Frank C.; Hei, Donald J., Jr.; Todd, Jacqueline

1992-01-01

Using a structured, experienced-based approach, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has assessed the generic functional requirements for a lunar mission control and data delivery (CDD) system. This analysis was based on lunar mission requirements outlined in GSFC-developed user traffic models. The CDD system will facilitate data transportation among user elements, element operations, and user teams by providing functions such as data management, fault isolation, fault correction, and link acquisition. The CDD system for the lunar missions must not only satisfy lunar requirements but also facilitate and provide early development of data system technologies for Mars. Reuse and evolution of existing data systems can help to maximize system reliability and minimize cost. This paper presents a set of existing and currently planned NASA data systems that provide the basic functionality. Reuse of such systems can have an impact on mission design and significantly reduce CDD and other system development costs.

NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission: The Boulder Capture Option

Science.gov (United States)

Abell, Paul A.; Nuth, J.; Mazanek, D.; Merrill, R.; Reeves, D.; Naasz, B.

2014-01-01

NASA is examining two options for the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), which will return asteroid material to a Lunar Distant Retrograde Orbit (LDRO) using a robotic solar-electric-propulsion spacecraft, called the Asteroid Redirect Vehicle (ARV). Once the ARV places the asteroid material into the LDRO, a piloted mission will rendezvous and dock with the ARV. After docking, astronauts will conduct two extravehicular activities (EVAs) to inspect and sample the asteroid material before returning to Earth. One option involves capturing an entire small (approximately 4-10 m diameter) near-Earth asteroid (NEA) inside a large inflatable bag. However, NASA is examining another option that entails retrieving a boulder (approximately 1-5 m) via robotic manipulators from the surface of a larger (approximately 100+ m) pre-characterized NEA. This option can leverage robotic mission data to help ensure success by targeting previously (or soon to be) well-characterized NEAs. For example, the data from the Hayabusa mission has been utilized to develop detailed mission designs that assess options and risks associated with proximity and surface operations. Hayabusa's target NEA, Itokawa, has been identified as a valid target and is known to possess hundreds of appropriately sized boulders on its surface. Further robotic characterization of additional NEAs (e.g., Bennu and 1999 JU3) by NASA's OSIRIS REx and JAXA's Hayabusa 2 missions is planned to begin in 2018. The boulder option is an extremely large sample-return mission with the prospect of bringing back many tons of well-characterized asteroid material to the Earth-Moon system. The candidate boulder from the target NEA can be selected based on inputs from the world-wide science community, ensuring that the most scientifically interesting boulder be returned for subsequent sampling. This boulder option for NASA's ARM can leverage knowledge of previously characterized NEAs from prior robotic missions, which provides more

MISSIONS: The Mobile-Based Disaster Mitigation System in Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Passarella, Rossi; Putri Raflesia, Sarifah; Lestarini, Dinda; Rifai, Ahmad; Veny, Harumi

2018-04-01

Disaster mitigation is essential to minimize the effects of disasters. Indonesia is one of the disaster prone areas in Asia and the government explores the usage of Information technology (IT) to aid its mitigation efforts. Currently, there are Indonesian websites which hold information regarding the weather monitoring, climate conditions, and geophysics. But, there is no clear indicator of mitigation efforts or things to do during an emergency. Therefore, this research proposed MISSIONS, a disaster mitigation model using geo-fencing technique to detect the location of the users through their mobile devices. MISSIONS uses mobile-based disaster mitigation system as a way to disseminate critical information to victims during emergency when they are in disaster zones using virtual fences. It aims to help the government to reduce the effects of disaster and aid in the mitigation efforts. The implementation result shows that MISSIONS have a high accuracy in detecting user whereabouts.

Advancement of Solidification Processing Technology Through Real Time X-Ray Transmission Microscopy: Sample Preparation

Science.gov (United States)

Stefanescu, D. M.; Curreri, P. A.

1996-01-01

Two types of samples were prepared for the real time X-ray transmission microscopy (XTM) characterization. In the first series directional solidification experiments were carried out to evaluate the critical velocity of engulfment of zirconia particles in the Al and Al-Ni eutectic matrix under ground (l-g) conditions. The particle distribution in the samples was recorded on video before and after the samples were directionally solidified. In the second series samples of the above two type of composites were prepared for directional solidification runs to be carried out on the Advanced Gradient Heating Facility (AGHF) aboard the space shuttle during the LMS mission in June 1996. X-ray microscopy proved to be an invaluable tool for characterizing the particle distribution in the metal matrix samples. This kind of analysis helped in determining accurately the critical velocity of engulfment of ceramic particles by the melt interface in the opaque metal matrix composites. The quality of the cast samples with respect to porosity and instrumented thermocouple sheath breakage or shift could be easily viewed and thus helped in selecting samples for the space shuttle experiments. Summarizing the merits of this technique it can be stated that this technique enabled the use of cast metal matrix composite samples since the particle location was known prior to the experiment.

[The mission].

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz Moreno, J; Blanch Mon, A

2000-01-01

After having made a historical review of the concept of mission statement, of evaluating its importance (See Part I), of describing the bases to create a mission statement from a strategic perspective and of analyzing the advantages of this concept, probably more important as a business policy (See Parts I and II), the authors proceed to analyze the mission statement in health organizations. Due to the fact that a mission statement is lacking in the majority of health organizations, the strategy of health organizations are not exactly favored; as a consequence, neither are its competitive advantage nor the development of its essential competencies. After presenting a series of mission statements corresponding to Anglo-Saxon health organizations, the authors highlight two mission statements corresponding to our social context. The article finishes by suggesting an adequate sequence for developing a mission statement in those health organizations having a strategic sense.

A coded mask telescope for the Spacelab 2 mission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willmore, A.P.; Skinner, G.K.; Eyles, C.J.; Ramsey, B.

1984-01-01

A dual coded mask telescope for the Spacelab 2 mission is now in the final stages of preparation at Birmingham University. It is due for launch in late 1984/early 1985 and will be by far the largest and most sophisticated such instrument to be flown in this time-frame. The design and capabilities of the telescope will be described. (orig.)

Trailblazing Medicine Sustaining Explorers During Interplanetary Missions

CERN Document Server

Seedhouse, Erik

2011-01-01

To prepare for the day when astronauts leave low-Earth orbit for long-duration exploration missions, space medicine experts must develop a thorough understanding of the effects of microgravity on the human body, as well as ways of mitigating them. To gain a complete understanding of the effects of space on the human body and to create tools and technologies required for successful exploration, space medicince will become an increasingly collaborative discipline incorporating the skills of physicians, biomedical scientists, engineers, and mission planners. Trailblazing Medicine examines the future of space medicine in relation to human space exploration; describes what is necessary to keep a crew alive in space, including the use of surgical robots, surface-based telemedicine, and remote emergency care; discusses bioethical problems such as euthanasia, sex, and precautionary surgery; investigates the medical challenges faced by interplanetary astronauts; details the process of human hibernation.

Nigeria’s Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) Mission For Phase 2 - Lessons Learned

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erepamo Osaisai, F.

2015-01-01

Lessons Learned from Mission and Preparation: - Planning and successful implementation of a new NP programme is an enormous task; must take into consideration strict adherence to an established regime of nuclear safety and security; - Requires development of multilateral and bilateral partnerships and commitment to transparency, as well as the need to subject national programme implementation to external scrutiny: • The INIR process allows for independent assessment of national programmes against established standards and international best practices; • The period of development of the Self-Evaluation Report creates an opportunity for genuine soul searching and enthrones some degree of realism; • Preparation for and hosting of the INIR Mission strengthen the national stakeholder base and creates a convivial atmosphere for effective cooperation and partnership between national institutions (seventeen in Nigeria); and • Makes an embarking country a better informed and more knowledgeable customer.

The UFFO (Ultra Fast Flash Observatory) Pathfinder: Science and Mission

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chen, P.; Ahmad, S.; Ahn, K.

in a more rigorous test of current internal shock models, probe the extremes of bulk Lorentz factors, provide the first early and detailed measurements of fast-rise GRB optical light curves, and help verify the prospect of GRB as a new standard candle. We will describe the science and the mission...

Mission-Based Serious Games for Cross-Cultural Communication Training

Science.gov (United States)

Schrider, Peter J.; Friedland, LeeEllen; Valente, Andre; Camacho, Joseph

2011-01-01

Appropriate cross-cultural communication requires a critical skill set that is increasingly being integrated into regular military training regimens. By enabling a higher order of communication skills, military personnel are able to interact more effectively in situations that involve local populations, host nation forces, and multinational partners. The Virtual Cultural Awareness Trainer (VCAT) is specifically designed to help address these needs. VCAT is deployed by Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) on Joint Knowledge Online (JKO) as a means to provide online, mission-based culture and language training to deploying and deployed troops. VCAT uses a mix of game-based learning, storytelling, tutoring, and remediation to assist in developing the component skills required for successful intercultural communication in mission-based settings.

Draft 1988 mission plan amendment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-06-01

This draft 1988 amendment to the Mission Plan for the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program has been prepared by the US Department of Energy (DOE). The purpose is to inform the Congress of the DOE's plans for implementing the provisions of the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987 (P.L. 100-203) for the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program. This document is being submitted in draft form to Federal agencies, states, previously affected Indian Tribes, affected units of local government, and the public. After the consideration of comments, this amendment will be revised as appropriate and submitted to the Congress. 39 refs., 7 figs., 4 tabs

Mission IRRS to Spain. First mission of this type realised in the world

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lentijo, J. C.; Mellado, I.

2008-01-01

The IRRS (Integrated Regulatory Review Service) mission to the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN), which took place from January 28 until February 8, has been the first integrated review of a regulatory body that includes all the aspects on nuclear safety radiation protection and security of all the facilities and activities under CSN responsibility. The review team was composed of eighteen experts from fifteen member sates, two observers, three IAEA officers and an administrative assistant, which have performed an exhaustive analysis of the Spanish regulatory system, including the legal and governmental infrastructure, the functions, responsibilities an organization of the CSN, the regulations and standards, and the assessment and inspection activities. The team members have interviewed different stake holders (public administrations, technical support organizations and licensees) and have observed several CSN inspections to different facilities as well. From the CSN point of view, the results of the IRRS mission are very positive. The relevant efforts devoted to prepare it, mainly the self-assessment process and the action plan established for implementing the improvement opportunities, have benefited the whole regulatory system and practices, being not the least the updating of the regulations and standards and the development of a CSN management system according to the IAEA requirement GS-R-3. (Author)

Mission operations management

Science.gov (United States)

Rocco, David A.

1994-01-01

Redefining the approach and philosophy that operations management uses to define, develop, and implement space missions will be a central element in achieving high efficiency mission operations for the future. The goal of a cost effective space operations program cannot be realized if the attitudes and methodologies we currently employ to plan, develop, and manage space missions do not change. A management philosophy that is in synch with the environment in terms of budget, technology, and science objectives must be developed. Changing our basic perception of mission operations will require a shift in the way we view the mission. This requires a transition from current practices of viewing the mission as a unique end product, to a 'mission development concept' built on the visualization of the end-to-end mission. To achieve this change we must define realistic mission success criteria and develop pragmatic approaches to achieve our goals. Custom mission development for all but the largest and most unique programs is not practical in the current budget environment, and we simply do not have the resources to implement all of our planned science programs. We need to shift our management focus to allow us the opportunity make use of methodologies and approaches which are based on common building blocks that can be utilized in the space, ground, and mission unique segments of all missions.

Innovative financing for rural surgical patients: Experience in mission hospitals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gnanaraj Jesudian

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In rural India most of the surgical patients become impoverished due to surgical treatment pushing several families below poverty line. We describe the various methods that we tried to help these patients pay for the surgical procedures without becoming impoverished. Some of them were successful and many of them were not so successful. The large turnover and innovative methods helped the mission hospitals to serve the poor and the marginalized. Some of these methods might not be relevant in areas other than Northeast India while many could be used in other areas.

The Value of Ellul's Analysis in Understanding Propaganda in the Helping Professions

Science.gov (United States)

Gambrill, Eileen

2012-01-01

This article draws on Ellul's analysis of propaganda in understanding propaganda in the helping professions. Key in such an analysis is the interweaving of the psychological and sociological. Contrary to the discourse in mission statements of professional organizations and their codes of ethics calling for informed consent, competence of…

Analogs and the BHP Risk Reduction Strategy for Future Spaceflight Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Whitmire, Sandra; Leveton, Lauren

2011-01-01

In preparation for future exploration missions to distant destinations (e.g., Moon, Near Earth Objects (NEO), and Mars), the NASA Human Research Program s (HRP) Behavioral Health and Performance Element (BHP) conducts and supports research to address four human health risks: Risk of Behavioral Conditions; Risk of Psychiatric Conditions; Risk of Performance Decrements Due to Inadequate Cooperation, Coordination, Communication, and Psychosocial Adaptation within a Team; and Risk of Performance Errors due to Sleep Loss, Fatigue, Circadian Desynchronization, and Work Overload (HRP Science Management Plan, 2008). BHP Research, in collaboration with internal and external research investigators, as well as subject matter experts within NASA operations including flight surgeons, astronauts, and mission planners and others within the Mission Operations Directorate (MOD), identifies knowledge and technology gaps within each Risk. BHP Research subsequently manages and conducts research tasks to address and close the gaps, either through risk assessment and quantification, or the development of countermeasures and monitoring technologies. The resulting deliverables, in many instances, also support current Medical Operations and/or Mission Operations for the International Space Station (ISS).

Monte Carlo Analysis as a Trajectory Design Driver for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Nickel, Craig; Parker, Joel; Dichmann, Don; Lebois, Ryan; Lutz, Stephen

2016-01-01

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will be injected into a highly eccentric Earth orbit and fly 3.5 phasing loops followed by a lunar flyby to enter a mission orbit with lunar 2:1 resonance. Through the phasing loops and mission orbit, the trajectory is significantly affected by lunar and solar gravity. We have developed a trajectory design to achieve the mission orbit and meet mission constraints, including eclipse avoidance and a 30-year geostationary orbit avoidance requirement. A parallelized Monte Carlo simulation was performed to validate the trajectory after injecting common perturbations, including launch dispersions, orbit determination errors, and maneuver execution errors. The Monte Carlo analysis helped identify mission risks and is used in the trajectory selection process.

Concepts of Operations for Asteroid Rendezvous Missions Focused on Resources Utilization

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Robert P.; Sibille, Laurent; Sanders, Gerald B.; Jones, Christopher A.

2014-01-01

Several asteroids are the targets of international robotic space missions currently manifested or in the planning stage. This global interest reflects a need to study these celestial bodies for the scientific information they provide about our solar system, and to better understand how to mitigate the collision threats some of them pose to Earth. Another important objective of these missions is providing assessments of the potential resources that asteroids could provide to future space architectures. In this paper, we examine a series of possible mission operations focused on advancing both our knowledge of the types of asteroids suited for different forms of resource extraction, and the capabilities required to extract those resources for mission enhancing and enabling uses such as radiation protection, propulsion, life support, shelter and manufacturing. An evolutionary development and demonstration approach is recommended within the framework of a larger campaign that prepares for the first landings of humans on Mars. As is the case for terrestrial mining, the development and demonstration approach progresses from resource prospecting (understanding the resource, and mapping the 'ore body'), mining/extraction feasibility and product assessment, pilot operations, to full in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). Opportunities to gather specific knowledge for ISRU via resource prospecting during science missions to asteroids are also examined to maximize the pace of development of needed ISRU capabilities and technologies for deep space missions.

Science Enabling Exploration: Using LRO to Prepare for Future Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Lawrence, S.; Jolliff, B. L.; Stopar, J.; Speyerer, E. J.; Petro, N. E.

2016-12-01

Discoveries from LRO have transformed our understanding of the Moon (e. g., [1],[2],[3]), but LRO's instruments were originally designed to collect the measurements required to enable future lunar surface exploration [3]. A high lunar exploration priority is the collection of new samples and their return to Earth for comprehensive analysis [4]. The importance of sample return from South Pole-Aitken is well-established [Jolliff et al., this conference], but there are numerous other locations where sample return will yield important advances in planetary science. Using new LRO data, we have defined an achievability envelope based on the physical characteristics of successful lunar landing sites [5]. Those results were then used to define 1km x 1km regions of interest where sample return could be executed, including: the basalt flows in Oceanus Procellarum (22.1N, 53.9W), the Gruithuisen Domes (36.1N, 39.7W), the Dewar cryptomare (2.2S, 166.8E), the Aristarchus pyroclastic deposit (24.8N, 48.5W), the Sulpicius Gallus formation (19.9N, 10.3E), the Sinus Aestuum pyroclastic deposit (5.2N, 9.2W), the Compton-Belkovich volcanic complex (61.5N, 99.9E), the Ina Irregular Mare Patch (18.7N, 5.3E), and the Marius Hills volcanic complex (13.4N, 55.9W). All of these locations represent safe landing sites where sample returns are needed to advance our understanding of the evolution of the lunar interior and the timescales of lunar volcanism ([6], [7]). If LRO is still active when any future mission reaches the surface, LRO's capability to rapidly place surface activities into broader geologic context will provide operational advantages. LRO remains a unique strategic asset that continues to address the needs of future missions. References: [1] M. S. Robinson et al., Icarus, 252, 229-235, 2015. [2] S. E. Braden et al. Nat. Geosci., 7, 11, 787-791, 2014. [3] J. W. Keller et al. Icarus, 273, 2-24, 2016. [4] LEAG, Lunar Exploration Roadmap, 2011. [5] S. J. Lawrence et al., LPI

Robotic Reconnaissance Missions to Small Bodies and Their Potential Contributions to Human Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Abell, P. A.; Rivkin, A. S.

2015-01-01

Introduction: Robotic reconnaissance missions to small bodies will directly address aspects of NASA's Asteroid Initiative and will contribute to future human exploration. The NASA Asteroid Initiative is comprised of two major components: the Grand Challenge and the Asteroid Mission. The first component, the Grand Challenge, focuses on protecting Earth's population from asteroid impacts by detecting potentially hazardous objects with enough warning time to either prevent them from impacting the planet, or to implement civil defense procedures. The Asteroid Mission involves sending astronauts to study and sample a near- Earth asteroid (NEA) prior to conducting exploration missions of the Martian system, which includes Phobos and Deimos. The science and technical data obtained from robotic precursor missions that investigate the surface and interior physical characteristics of an object will help identify the pertinent physical properties that will maximize operational efficiency and reduce mission risk for both robotic assets and crew operating in close proximity to, or at the surface of, a small body. These data will help fill crucial strategic knowledge gaps (SKGs) concerning asteroid physical characteristics that are relevant for human exploration considerations at similar small body destinations. Small Body Strategic Knowledge Gaps: For the past several years NASA has been interested in identifying the key SKGs related to future human destinations. These SKGs highlight the various unknowns and/or data gaps of targets that the science and engineering communities would like to have filled in prior to committing crews to explore the Solar System. An action team from the Small Bodies Assessment Group (SBAG) was formed specifically to identify the small body SKGs under the direction of the Human Exploration and Operations Missions Directorate (HEOMD), given NASA's recent interest in NEAs and the Martian moons as potential human destinations [1]. The action team

Nuclear reactor power as applied to a space-based radar mission

Science.gov (United States)

Jaffe, L.; Fujita, T.; Beatty, R.; Bhandari, P.; Chow, E.; Deininger, W.; Ewell, R.; Grossman, M.; Kia, T.; Nesmith, B.

1988-01-01

The SP-100 Project was established to develop and demonstrate feasibility of a space reactor power system (SRPS) at power levels of 10's of kilowatts to a megawatt. To help determine systems requirements for the SRPS, a mission and spacecraft were examined which utilize this power system for a space-based radar to observe moving objects. Aspects of the mission and spacecraft bearing on the power system were the primary objectives of this study; performance of the radar itself was not within the scope. The study was carried out by the Systems Design Audit Team of the SP-100 Project.

[Determine and Implement Updates to Be Made to MODEAR (Mission Operations Data Enterprise Architecture Repository)

Science.gov (United States)

Fanourakis, Sofia

2015-01-01

My main project was to determine and implement updates to be made to MODEAR (Mission Operations Data Enterprise Architecture Repository) process definitions to be used for CST-100 (Crew Space Transportation-100) related missions. Emphasis was placed on the scheduling aspect of the processes. In addition, I was to complete other tasks as given. Some of the additional tasks were: to create pass-through command look-up tables for the flight controllers, finish one of the MDT (Mission Operations Directorate Display Tool) displays, gather data on what is included in the CST-100 public data, develop a VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) script to create a csv (Comma-Separated Values) file with specific information from spreadsheets containing command data, create a command script for the November MCC-ASIL (Mission Control Center-Avionics System Integration Laboratory) testing, and take notes for one of the TCVB (Terminal Configured Vehicle B-737) meetings. In order to make progress in my main project I scheduled meetings with the appropriate subject matter experts, prepared material for the meetings, and assisted in the discussions in order to understand the process or processes at hand. After such discussions I made updates to various MODEAR processes and process graphics. These meetings have resulted in significant updates to the processes that were discussed. In addition, the discussions have helped the departments responsible for these processes better understand the work ahead and provided material to help document how their products are created. I completed my other tasks utilizing resources available to me and, when necessary, consulting with the subject matter experts. Outputs resulting from my other tasks were: two completed and one partially completed pass through command look-up tables for the fight controllers, significant updates to one of the MDT displays, a spreadsheet containing data on what is included in the CST-100 public data, a tool to create a csv

Game Changing: NASA's Space Launch System and Science Mission Design

Science.gov (United States)

Creech, Stephen D.

2013-01-01

NASA s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is directing efforts to build the Space Launch System (SLS), a heavy-lift rocket that will carry the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) and other important payloads far beyond Earth orbit (BEO). Its evolvable architecture will allow NASA to begin with Moon fly-bys and then go on to transport humans or robots to distant places such as asteroids and Mars. Designed to simplify spacecraft complexity, the SLS rocket will provide improved mass margins and radiation mitigation, and reduced mission durations. These capabilities offer attractive advantages for ambitious missions such as a Mars sample return, by reducing infrastructure requirements, cost, and schedule. For example, if an evolved expendable launch vehicle (EELV) were used for a proposed mission to investigate the Saturn system, a complicated trajectory would be required - with several gravity-assist planetary fly-bys - to achieve the necessary outbound velocity. The SLS rocket, using significantly higher C3 energies, can more quickly and effectively take the mission directly to its destination, reducing trip time and cost. As this paper will report, the SLS rocket will launch payloads of unprecedented mass and volume, such as "monolithic" telescopes and in-space infrastructure. Thanks to its ability to co-manifest large payloads, it also can accomplish complex missions in fewer launches. Future analyses will include reviews of alternate mission concepts and detailed evaluations of SLS figures of merit, helping the new rocket revolutionize science mission planning and design for years to come.

Earthbound mission how UK funding fails to match enthusiasm for space exploration

CERN Multimedia

Nordling, L

2004-01-01

Article discussing the UK governments reluctance to fund space research projects. An example is the ESA Aurora programme which is aiming to put humans on Mars by 2030, with interim visits to the moon and a series of unmanned probes preparing the way for interplanetary manned missions (1 page)

A Sustainable, Reliable Mission-Systems Architecture that Supports a System of Systems Approach to Space Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Steve; Orr, Jim; O'Neil, Graham

2004-01-01

A mission-systems architecture based on a highly modular "systems of systems" infrastructure utilizing open-standards hardware and software interfaces as the enabling technology is absolutely essential for an affordable and sustainable space exploration program. This architecture requires (a) robust communication between heterogeneous systems, (b) high reliability, (c) minimal mission-to-mission reconfiguration, (d) affordable development, system integration, and verification of systems, and (e) minimum sustaining engineering. This paper proposes such an architecture. Lessons learned from the space shuttle program are applied to help define and refine the model.

IAEA Completes Nuclear Security Advisory Mission in Ecuador

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2018-01-01

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts today completed a nuclear security advisory mission in Ecuador. The mission was carried out at the request of the Government of Ecuador. The scope of the two-week International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) mission included the legislative and regulatory framework for the security of radioactive material, regulatory licensing, inspection and enforcement as well as coordination among authorities and other stakeholders involved in nuclear security. In September 2017, Ecuador ratified the 2005 Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) and its incorporation into the nuclear security regime was also included in the scope of the mission. The IPPAS team carried out a number of visits, including to a steel company that uses gamma radiography, two hospitals, the National Polytechnic University and a company that transports radioactive material. In addition, the team visited a temporary storage facility for disused radioactive sources in Alóag, a town about 50 km south of the capital, Quito. The team observed that Ecuador is making efforts towards enhancing its national nuclear security regime. The team provided recommendations and suggestions to support Ecuador in enhancing and sustaining nuclear security. Good practices were identified that can serve as examples to other IAEA Member States to help strengthen their nuclear security activities.

Teacher Preparation with GLOBE and NASA Assets

Science.gov (United States)

Czajkowski, K. P.; Templin, M.; Struble, J.; Mierzwiak, S.; Hedley, M. L.; Padgett, D.

2017-12-01

The GLOBE Program has been a working with teachers and students for over 20 years. Pre-service education students can be a target audience as well. Mission EARTH is a NASA funded project through the NASA Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) from the Science Mission Directorate. A goal of Mission EARTH is to improve student understanding of Earth System Science and to engage the next generation of scientists and global citizens. This presentation will discuss Weather and Climate courses offered at both the University of Toledo and Tennessee State University for pre-service education students. Students engaged in atmospheric observations through the GLOBE protocols and developed research projects to study El Nino. Undergraduate students helped K-12 students take GLOBE observations as well by partnering with in-service GLOBE teachers affiliated with these GLOBE partnerships.

Micro-Inspector Spacecraft for Space Exploration Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Juergen; Alkalai, Leon; Lewis, Carol

2005-01-01

NASA is seeking to embark on a new set of human and robotic exploration missions back to the Moon, to Mars, and destinations beyond. Key strategic technical challenges will need to be addressed to realize this new vision for space exploration, including improvements in safety and reliability to improve robustness of space operations. Under sponsorship by NASA's Exploration Systems Mission, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), together with its partners in government (NASA Johnson Space Center) and industry (Boeing, Vacco Industries, Ashwin-Ushas Inc.) is developing an ultra-low mass (missions. The micro-inspector will provide remote vehicle inspections to ensure safety and reliability, or to provide monitoring of in-space assembly. The micro-inspector spacecraft represents an inherently modular system addition that can improve safety and support multiple host vehicles in multiple applications. On human missions, it may help extend the reach of human explorers, decreasing human EVA time to reduce mission cost and risk. The micro-inspector development is the continuation of an effort begun under NASA's Office of Aerospace Technology Enabling Concepts and Technology (ECT) program. The micro-inspector uses miniaturized celestial sensors; relies on a combination of solar power and batteries (allowing for unlimited operation in the sun and up to 4 hours in the shade); utilizes a low-pressure, low-leakage liquid butane propellant system for added safety; and includes multi-functional structure for high system-level integration and miniaturization. Versions of this system to be designed and developed under the H&RT program will include additional capabilities for on-board, vision-based navigation, spacecraft inspection, and collision avoidance, and will be demonstrated in a ground-based, space-related environment. These features make the micro-inspector design unique in its ability to serve crewed as well as robotic spacecraft, well beyond Earth-orbit and into arenas such

Ontological Reasoning for Human-Robot Teaming in Search and Rescue Missions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bagosi, T.; Hindriks, k.V.; Neerincx, M.A.

2016-01-01

In search and rescue missions robots are used to help rescue workers in exploring the disaster site. Our research focuses on how multiple robots and rescuers act as a team, and build up situation awareness. We propose a multi-agent system where each agent supports one member, either human or robot.

Computer graphics aid mission operations. [NASA missions

Science.gov (United States)

Jeletic, James F.

1990-01-01

The application of computer graphics techniques in NASA space missions is reviewed. Telemetric monitoring of the Space Shuttle and its components is discussed, noting the use of computer graphics for real-time visualization problems in the retrieval and repair of the Solar Maximum Mission. The use of the world map display for determining a spacecraft's location above the earth and the problem of verifying the relative position and orientation of spacecraft to celestial bodies are examined. The Flight Dynamics/STS Three-dimensional Monitoring System and the Trajectroy Computations and Orbital Products System world map display are described, emphasizing Space Shuttle applications. Also, consideration is given to the development of monitoring systems such as the Shuttle Payloads Mission Monitoring System and the Attitude Heads-Up Display and the use of the NASA-Goddard Two-dimensional Graphics Monitoring System during Shuttle missions and to support the Hubble Space Telescope.

Mission Benefits Analysis of Logistics Reduction Technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Ewert, Michael K.; Broyan, James Lee, Jr.

2013-01-01

Future space exploration missions will need to use less logistical supplies if humans are to live for longer periods away from our home planet. Anything that can be done to reduce initial mass and volume of supplies or reuse or recycle items that have been launched will be very valuable. Reuse and recycling also reduce the trash burden and associated nuisances, such as smell, but require good systems engineering and operations integration to reap the greatest benefits. A systems analysis was conducted to quantify the mass and volume savings of four different technologies currently under development by NASA s Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Logistics Reduction and Repurposing project. Advanced clothing systems lead to savings by direct mass reduction and increased wear duration. Reuse of logistical items, such as packaging, for a second purpose allows fewer items to be launched. A device known as a heat melt compactor drastically reduces the volume of trash, recovers water and produces a stable tile that can be used instead of launching additional radiation protection. The fourth technology, called trash-to-gas, can benefit a mission by supplying fuel such as methane to the propulsion system. This systems engineering work will help improve logistics planning and overall mission architectures by determining the most effective use, and reuse, of all resources.

US ADOPTION OF IFRS MAY HELP TO JUMPSTART THE US ECONOMY

OpenAIRE

Anne B. Fosbre; Ellen M. Kraft,; Paul B. Fosbre,

2011-01-01

The United States prompt adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) may help to jumpstart the US economy. Investors would be able to make comparisons and evaluate investment opportunities worldwide. US Multinational companies would be able to cut costs. In preparation of financial statements using IFRS the results presented usually portray higher figures. This would help to present more favorable valuations and help to promote growth with improved financial reporting. The ...

Mission Need Statement: Idaho Spent Fuel Facility Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barbara Beller

2007-09-01

Approval is requested based on the information in this Mission Need Statement for The Department of Energy, Idaho Operations Office (DOE-ID) to develop a project in support of the mission established by the Office of Environmental Management to "complete the safe cleanup of the environmental legacy brought about from five decades of nuclear weapons development and government-sponsored nuclear energy research". DOE-ID requests approval to develop the Idaho Spent Fuel Facility Project that is required to implement the Department of Energy's decision for final disposition of spent nuclear fuel in the Geologic Repository at Yucca Mountain. The capability that is required to prepare Spent Nuclear Fuel for transportation and disposal outside the State of Idaho includes characterization, conditioning, packaging, onsite interim storage, and shipping cask loading to complete shipments by January 1,2035. These capabilities do not currently exist in Idaho.

The NEOTωIST mission (Near-Earth Object Transfer of angular momentum spin test)

Science.gov (United States)

Drube, Line; Harris, Alan W.; Engel, Kilian; Falke, Albert; Johann, Ulrich; Eggl, Siegfried; Cano, Juan L.; Ávila, Javier Martín; Schwartz, Stephen R.; Michel, Patrick

2016-10-01

We present a concept for a kinetic impactor demonstration mission, which intends to change the spin rate of a previously-visited asteroid, in this case 25143 Itokawa. The mission would determine the efficiency of momentum transfer during an impact, and help mature the technology required for a kinetic impactor mission, both of which are important precursors for a future space mission to deflect an asteroid by collisional means in an emergency situation. Most demonstration mission concepts to date are based on changing an asteroid's heliocentric orbit and require a reconnaissance spacecraft to measure the very small orbital perturbation due to the impact. Our concept is a low-cost alternative, requiring only a single launch. Taking Itokawa as an example, an estimate of the order of magnitude of the change in the spin period, δP, with such a mission results in δP of 4 min (0.5%), which could be detectable by Earth-based observatories. Our preliminary study found that a mission concept in which an impactor produces a change in an asteroid's spin rate could provide valuable information for the assessment of the viability of the kinetic-impactor asteroid deflection concept. Furthermore, the data gained from the mission would be of great benefit for our understanding of the collisional evolution of asteroids and the physics behind crater and ejecta-cloud development.

A framework for employing femtosatellites in planetary science missions, including a proposed mission concept for Titan

Science.gov (United States)

Perez, Tracie Renea Conn

Over the past 15 years, there has been a growing interest in femtosatellites, a class of tiny satellites having mass less than 100 grams. Research groups from Peru, Spain, England, Canada, and the United States have proposed femtosat designs and novel mission concepts for them. In fact, Peru made history in 2013 by releasing the first - and still only - femtosat tracked from LEO. However, femtosatellite applications in interplanetary missions have yet to be explored in detail. An interesting operations concept would be for a space probe to release numerous femtosatellites into orbit around a planetary object of interest, thereby augmenting the overall data collection capability of the mission. A planetary probe releasing hundreds of femtosats could complete an in-situ, simultaneous 3D mapping of a physical property of interest, achieving scientific investigations not possible for one probe operating alone. To study the technical challenges associated with such a mission, a conceptual mission design is proposed where femtosats are deployed from a host satellite orbiting Titan. The conceptual mission objective is presented: to study Titan's dynamic atmosphere. Then, the design challenges are addressed in turn. First, any science payload measurements that the femtosats provide are only useful if their corresponding locations can be determined. Specifically, what's required is a method of position determination for femtosatellites operating beyond Medium Earth Orbit and therefore beyond the help of GPS. A technique is presented which applies Kalman filter techniques to Doppler shift measurements, allowing for orbit determination of the femtosats. Several case studies are presented demonstrating the usefulness of this approach. Second, due to the inherit power and computational limitations in a femtosatellite design, establishing a radio link between each chipsat and the mothersat will be difficult. To provide a mathematical gain, a particular form of forward error

Development: Ages & Stages--Helping Children Manage Fears

Science.gov (United States)

Poole, Carla; Miller, Susan A.; Church, Ellen Booth

2004-01-01

By watching, listening, and offering gentle reassurance, you can help young children work through their fears. Sudden noises, movement, or unfamiliar people often frighten babies. After 12 months of nurturing experiences with familiar teachers and routines, a baby is more prepared and less easily startled. Preschoolers have a variety of fears such…

Conceptual definition of a technology development mission for advanced solar dynamic power systems

Science.gov (United States)

Migra, R. P.

1986-01-01

An initial conceptual definition of a technology development mission for advanced solar dynamic power systems is provided, utilizing a space station to provide a dedicated test facility. The advanced power systems considered included Brayton, Stirling, and liquid metal Rankine systems operating in the temperature range of 1040 to 1400 K. The critical technologies for advanced systems were identified by reviewing the current state of the art of solar dynamic power systems. The experimental requirements were determined by planning a system test of a 20 kWe solar dynamic power system on the space station test facility. These requirements were documented via the Mission Requirements Working Group (MRWG) and Technology Development Advocacy Group (TDAG) forms. Various concepts or considerations of advanced concepts are discussed. A preliminary evolutionary plan for this technology development mission was prepared.

The Application of Lean Thinking Principles and Kaizen Practices for the Successful Development and Implementation of the Ares I-X Flight Test Rocket and Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Askins, B. R.; Davis, S. R.; Heitzman, K. S.; Olsen, R. A.

2011-01-01

On October 28, 2009 the Ares I-X flight test rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center and flew its suborbital trajectory as designed. The mission was successfully completed as data from the test, and associated development activities were analyzed, transferred to stakeholders, and well documented. A positive lesson learned from Ares I-X was that the application of lean thinking principles and kaizen practices was very effective in streamlining development activities. Ares I-X, like other historical rocket development projects, was hampered by technical, cost, and schedule challenges and if not addressed boldly could have resulted in cancellation of the test. The mission management team conducted nine major meetings, referred to as lean events, across its elements to assess plans, procedures, processes, requirements, controls, culture, organization, use of resources, and anything that could be changed to optimize schedule or reduce risk. The preeminent aspect of the lean events was the focus on value added activities and the removal or at least reduction in non-value added activities. Trained Lean Six Sigma facilitators assisted the Ares I-X developers in conducting the lean events. They indirectly helped formulate the mission s own unique methodology for assessing schedule. A core team was selected to lead the events and report to the mission manager. Each activity leveraged specialized participants to analyze the subject matter and its related processes and then recommended alternatives and solutions. Stakeholders were the event champions. They empowered and encouraged the team to succeed. The keys to success were thorough preparation, honest dialog, small groups, adherence to the Ares I-X ground rules, and accountability through disciplined reporting and tracking of actions. This lean event formula was game-changing as demonstrated by Ares I-X. It is highly recommended as a management tool to help develop other complex systems efficiently. The key benefits for

Helping CERN give back to society

CERN Multimedia

2014-01-01

The CERN & Society mission: ‘To spread the CERN spirit of scientific curiosity for the inspiration and benefit of society.’   Digital library schools in Africa, Arts@CERN, a beam line for schools competition and perhaps soon a dedicated biomedical research facility: CERN infrastructure and expertise have a great influence on society, and we have the potential to do much more. For that, however, we need help, and that’s why we have launched the CERN & Society initiative, which this week sees the publication of a new website for those who want to understand more about how our research touches everyday life, as well as for those who wish to help CERN in this new endeavour. Fundamental research fulfils a very human need. The quest to understand the universe we live in is as old as humanity itself, and CERN is in the vanguard of that effort today. For our scientists and engineers, pushing technology to the limit is part of their day job, and in doing so they ...

Safety and Mission Assurance Knowledge Management Retention: Managing Knowledge for Successful Mission Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Teresa A.

2006-01-01

Knowledge Management is a proactive pursuit for the future success of any large organization faced with the imminent possibility that their senior managers/engineers with gained experiences and lessons learned plan to retire in the near term. Safety and Mission Assurance (S&MA) is proactively pursuing unique mechanism to ensure knowledge learned is retained and lessons learned captured and documented. Knowledge Capture Event/Activities/Management helps to provide a gateway between future retirees and our next generation of managers/engineers. S&MA hosted two Knowledge Capture Events during 2005 featuring three of its retiring fellows (Axel Larsen, Dave Whittle and Gary Johnson). The first Knowledge Capture Event February 24, 2005 focused on two Safety and Mission Assurance Safety Panels (Space Shuttle System Safety Review Panel (SSRP); Payload Safety Review Panel (PSRP) and the latter event December 15, 2005 featured lessons learned during Apollo, Skylab, and Space Shuttle which could be applicable in the newly created Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV)/Constellation development program. Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and the Space Shuttle promised and delivered exciting human advances in space and benefits of space in people s everyday lives on earth. Johnson Space Center's Safety & Mission Assurance team work over the last 20 years has been mostly focused on operations we are now beginning the Exploration development program. S&MA will promote an atmosphere of knowledge sharing in its formal and informal cultures and work processes, and reward the open dissemination and sharing of information; we are asking "Why embrace relearning the "lessons learned" in the past?" On the Exploration program the focus will be on Design, Development, Test, & Evaluation (DDT&E); therefore, it is critical to understand the lessons from these past programs during the DDT&E phase.

[Myanmar mission].

Science.gov (United States)

Alfandari, B; Persichetti, P; Pelissier, P; Martin, D; Baudet, J

2004-06-01

The authors report the accomplishment of humanitarian missions in plastic surgery performed by a small team in town practice in Yangon, about their 3 years experience in Myanmar with 300 consultations and 120 surgery cases. They underline the interest of this type of mission and provide us their reflexion about team training, the type of relation with the country where the mission is conducted and the type of right team.

The Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM)

Science.gov (United States)

Abell, Paul; Gates, Michele; Johnson, Lindley; Chodas, Paul; Mazanek, Dan; Reeves, David; Ticker, Ronald

2016-07-01

be made approximately a year before launch, but there is a strong recommendation from the scientific and resource utilization communities that the ARM target be volatile and organic rich. Three of the proposed candidates are carbonaceous NEAs. Specifically, the ARRM reference target, 2008 EV5 is a carbonaceous (C-type) asteroid that has been remotely characterized (via visual, infrared, and radar wavelengths), is believed to be hydrated, and provides significant return mass (boulders on the surface greater than 20 metric tons). It also has an advantage in that the orbital dynamics of the NEA fall within the current baseline mission timeline of five years between the return of the robotic vehicle to cis-lunar space and the launch of the ARCM. Therefore, NEA 2008 EV5 provides a valid target that can be used to help with formulation and development efforts. Input to ARM and Future Activities: In the fall of 2015, NASA chartered the Formulation Assessment and Support Team (FAST) to provide timely inputs for mission requirement formulation in support of the ARRM Requirements Closure Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM) in mid-December of 2015, to assist in developing an initial list of potential mission investigations, and to provide input on potential hosted payloads and partnerships. Expertise from the science, engineering, and technology communities was represented in exploring lines of inquiry related to key characteristics of the ARRM reference target asteroid (2008 EV5) for engineering design purposes. As of December 2015, the FAST has been formally retired and the FAST final report was publically released in February of 2016. However, plans have been made to stand up an ARM Investigation Team (IT), which is expected be formed in 2016. The multidisciplinary IT will assist with the definition and support of mission investigations, support ARM program-level and project-level functions, and support NASA Head-quarters interactions with the science and technology

Cassini’s Discoveries at Saturn and the Proposed Cassini Solstice Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Pappalardo, R. T.; Spilker, L. J.; Mitchell, R. T.; Cuzzi, J.; Gombosi, T. I.; Ingersoll, A. P.; Lunine, J. I.

2009-12-01

Understanding of the Saturn system has been greatly enhanced by the Cassini-Huygens mission. Fundamental discoveries have altered our views of Saturn, Titan and the other icy satellites, the rings, and magnetosphere of the system. Key discoveries include: water-rich plumes emanating from the south pole of Enceladus; hints of possible activity on Dione and of rings around Rhea; a methane hydrological cycle on Titan complete with fluvial erosion, lakes, and seas of liquid methane and ethane; non-axisymmetric ring microstructure in all moderate optical depth rings; south polar vortices on Saturn; and a unique magnetosphere that shares characteristics with both Earth’s and Jupiter’s magnetospheres. These new discoveries are directly relevant to current Solar System science goals including: planet and satellite formation processes, formation of gas giants, the nature of organic material, the history of volatiles, habitable zones and processes for life, processes that shape planetary bodies, and evolution of exoplanets. The proposed 7-year Cassini Solstice Mission would address new questions that have arisen during the Cassini Prime and Equinox Missions, and would observe seasonal and temporal change in the Saturn system to prepare for future missions to Saturn, Titan, and Enceladus. The proposed Cassini Solstice Mission would provide new science in three ways. First, it would observe seasonally and temporally dependent processes on Saturn, Titan and other icy satellites, and within the rings and magnetosphere, in a hitherto unobserved seasonal phase from equinox to solstice. Second, it would address new questions that have arisen during the mission thus far, providing qualitatively new measurements (e.g. of Enceladus and Titan) which could not be accommodated in the earlier mission phases. Tthird, it would conduct a close-in mission phase at Saturn that would provide unique science including comparison to the Juno observations at Jupiter.

Astronauts McNair and Stewart prepare for reentry

Science.gov (United States)

1984-01-01

Astronauts Ronald E. McNair and Robert L. Stewart prepare for the re-entry phase of the shuttle Challenger near the end of the 41-B mission. The are stationed behind the crew commander and pilot. Stewart is already wearing his helmet. McNair is stowing some of his gear.

Preparation of biodiesel with the help of ultrasonic and hydrodynamic cavitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Jianbing; Wang, Jianli; Li, Yongchao; Yu, Yunliang; Xu, Zhichao

2006-12-22

An alkali-catalyzed biodiesel production method with power ultrasonic (19.7 kHz) has been developed that allows a short reaction time and high yield because of emulsification and cavitation of the liquid-liquid immiscible system. Orthogonality experiments were employed to evaluate the effects of synthesis parameters. Furthermore, hydrodynamic cavitation was used for biodiesel production in comparison to ultrasonic method. Both methods were proved to be efficient, and time and energy saving for the preparation of biodiesel by transesterification of soybean oil.

Business analysis: The commercial mission of the International Asteroid Mission

Science.gov (United States)

The mission of the International Asteroid Mission (IAM) is providing asteroidal resources to support activities in space. The short term goal is to initiate IAM by mining a near-Earth, hydrous carbonaceous chondrite asteroid to service the nearer-term market of providing cryogenic rocket fuel in low lunar orbit (LLO). The IAM will develop and contract for the building of the transportation vehicles and equipment necessary for this undertaking. The long-term goal is to expand operations by exploiting asteroids in other manners, as these options become commercially viable. The primary business issues are what revenue can be generated from the baseline mission, how much will the mission cost, and how funding for this mission can be raised. These issues are addressed.

Planning and execution of knowledge management assist missions for nuclear organizations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-05-01

problems. The IAEA is implementing a special subprogram on Nuclear Knowledge Management with a focus on the development of guidance for KM, on networking nuclear education and training and on the preservation of nuclear knowledge. Knowledge management consists of three fundamental components: people, processes and technology. Knowledge management focuses on people and organizational culture to stimulate and nurture the sharing and use of knowledge; on processes or methods to find, create, capture and share knowledge; and on technology to store and make knowledge accessible which will allow people to work together without being located together. People are the most important component. Managing knowledge depends upon people's willingness to share and reuse knowledge. In 2005, the IAEA introduced the concept of KM missions. The missions were established to: Facilitate the transfer of pragmatic KM methodologies and tools; Assist Member States considering implementation of nuclear power programmes to integrate KM in their management system from the very beginning; Provide specific consultancy services to address emergent problems and long term issues related to KM and associated issues; Assist organizations formulate detailed requirements and action plans related to KM; Help organizations identify, by self-assessment, their own KM maturity levels against a set of pre-defined criteria. This document is written to provide a common framework for KM missions and to provide general guidance for all mission participants. This document has been prepared to provide a basic structure and common reference for KM missions. As such, it is addressed, principally, to the team members of KM missions and also to the Counterpart requesting a mission. Although not mandatory, the guidelines provided in this document should be used as the basis for all future KM missions

Text Maps: Helping Students Navigate Informational Texts.

Science.gov (United States)

Spencer, Brenda H.

2003-01-01

Notes that a text map is an instructional approach designed to help students gain fluency in reading content area materials. Discusses how the goal is to teach students about the important features of the material and how the maps can be used to build new understandings. Presents the procedures for preparing and using a text map. (SG)

Planning for Crew Exercise for Future Deep Space Mission Scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Cherice; Ryder, Jeff

2015-01-01

Providing the necessary exercise capability to protect crew health for deep space missions will bring new sets of engineering and research challenges. Exercise has been found to be a necessary mitigation for maintaining crew health on-orbit and preparing the crew for return to earth's gravity. Health and exercise data from Apollo, Space Lab, Shuttle, and International Space Station missions have provided insight into crew deconditioning and the types of activities that can minimize the impacts of microgravity on the physiological systems. The hardware systems required to implement exercise can be challenging to incorporate into spaceflight vehicles. Exercise system design requires encompassing the hardware required to provide mission specific anthropometrical movement ranges, desired loads, and frequencies of desired movements as well as the supporting control and monitoring systems, crew and vehicle interfaces, and vibration isolation and stabilization subsystems. The number of crew and operational constraints also contribute to defining the what exercise systems will be needed. All of these features require flight vehicle mass and volume integrated with multiple vehicle systems. The International Space Station exercise hardware requires over 1,800 kg of equipment and over 24 m3 of volume for hardware and crew operational space. Improvements towards providing equivalent or better capabilities with a smaller vehicle impact will facilitate future deep space missions. Deep space missions will require more understanding of the physiological responses to microgravity, understanding appropriate mitigations, designing the exercise systems to provide needed mitigations, and integrating effectively into vehicle design with a focus to support planned mission scenarios. Recognizing and addressing the constraints and challenges can facilitate improved vehicle design and exercise system incorporation.

Moral and Cultural Awareness in Emerging Adulthood: Preparing for Multi-Faith Workplaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patricia Snell Herzog

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The study evaluates a pilot course designed to respond to findings from the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR and similar findings reporting changes in U.S. life course development and religious participation through an intervention based on sociological theories of morality. The purpose of the study is to investigate the impacts of a business course in a public university designed to prepare emerging adults for culturally and religiously diverse workplaces. The intended outcomes are for students to better identify their personal moral values, while also gaining cultural awareness of the moral values in six different value systems: five major world religions and secular humanism. The study response rate was 97 percent (n = 109. Pre- and post-test survey data analyze changes in the reports of students enrolled in the course (primary group compared to students in similar courses but without an emphasis on morality (controls. Qualitative data include survey short answer questions, personal mission statements, and student essays describing course impacts. Quantitative and qualitative results indicate reported increases in identification of personal moral values and cultural awareness of other moral values, providing initial evidence that the course helps prepare emerging adults for multi-faith workplaces.

A mission to Mercury and a mission to the moons of Mars

Science.gov (United States)

1993-07-01

Two Advanced Design Projects were completed this academic year at Penn State - a mission to the planet Mercury and a mission to the moons of Mars (Phobos and Deimos). At the beginning of the fall semester the students were organized into six groups and given their choice of missions. Once a mission was chosen, the students developed conceptual designs. These designs were then evaluated at the end of the fall semester and combined into two separate mission scenarios. To facilitate the work required for each mission, the class was reorganized in the spring semester by combining groups to form two mission teams. An integration team consisting of two members from each group was formed for each mission team so that communication and exchange of information would be easier among the groups. The types of projects designed by the students evolved from numerous discussions with Penn State faculty and mission planners at the Lewis Research Center Advanced Projects Office. Robotic planetary missions throughout the solar system can be considered valuable precursors to human visits and test beds for innovative technology. For example, by studying the composition of the Martian moons, scientists may be able to determine if their resources may be used or synthesized for consumption during a first human visit.

Critical analysis of India's National Mission on Medicinal Plants (NMMP in providing access to quality botanical drugs to improve public health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahi Jain

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Drugs play an important role in improving health of the population. Medicinal plants help in addressing the health issues of a large section of the population – especially the low and middle-income people. However, there are some concerns about the supply, efficacy and safety in using them. This study reviews India's major initiative toward medicinal plants namely, the National Mission on Medicinal Plants to meet medicinal plants challenges. The study analyzed the mission's probable shortcomings due to its design and operational details. This study used “content analysis” approach for analysis of mission's publicly available documents, viz. “Operational guidelines” and its two amendments. The study identified prevalent 28 shortcomings in the original document related to clarity of the document; accountability, transparency and stakeholders' representation. These challenges were partially addressed in two amendments, which indicate persistence of shortcomings in design and operational details. The mission can help in improving and strengthening the Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy program by addressing those shortcomings.

Playing Around in the Solar System: Mini-games for Many Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, D. K.; Leon, N.; Fitzpatrick, A. J.; Wessen, A.

2010-12-01

Several NASA solar system missions will have major milestones during 2011, the Year of the Solar System. These events include launches, encounters, and orbit insertions. Other missions will continue the explorations already underway. The “Year of the Solar System Game” on The Space Place website (http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/solar-system) brings all these efforts together in the context of the whole solar system. The game helps to build awareness of the characteristics of our solar system and some of the missions that are continuing to advance our knowledge and understanding. It is one of many educational tools being developed and deployed for the Year of the Solar System. The game is a “super-game” that encompasses a number of mission-related “mini-games.” The mini-games can be played individually, and they all contribute toward achievements in the super-game. The enveloping interface for all the games is an animated solar system. The player clicks on a planet or a moon, sees a close-up image, and reads a short paragraph about the object. If the object has been endowed with a mission mini-game, player can click on the tiny spacecraft, read about the mission, then play the game—or, if impatient, just immediately play the game (and read about the mission later, we hope). A score “page” keeps track of the player’s achievements and scores. Players earn achievements by reading about the planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and missions and by playing the mission mini-games. The game targets upper elementary age children, as does the entire Space Place website. Each mini-game, although simple, incorporates elements of the spacecrafts’ missions and their target objects. For example, in Cassini Commander, the player must navigate the Cassini spacecraft through gaps in Saturn’s rings and around Saturn’s moons. The super-game is designed to accommodate any number of mission mini-games, so we are hoping to continue to add missions and increase

Development and evaluation of bioregenerative menus for Mars habitat missions

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Maya R.; Catauro, Patricia; Perchonok, Michele

2012-12-01

Two 10-day menus were developed in preparation for a Mars habitat mission. The first was built on the assumption, as in previous menu development efforts for closed ecological systems, that the food system would be vegetarian, whereas the second menu introduced shelf-stable, prepackaged meat and entrée items from the current International Space Station (ISS) food system. Both menus delivered an average of 3000 cal daily but the macronutrient proportions resulted in an excess of carbohydrates and dietary fiber per mission nutritional recommendations. Generally, the individual recipes comprising both menus were deemed acceptable by internal sensory panel (average overall acceptability=7.4). The incorporation of existing ISS entrée items did not have a significant effect on the acceptability of the menus. In a final comparison, the food system upmass, or the amount of food that is shipped from the Earth, increased by 297 kg with the addition of prepackaged entrées to the menu. However, the addition of the shipped massed was counterbalanced by a 864 kg reduction in required crops. A further comparison of the crew time required for meal preparation and farming, food system power requirements, and food processing equipment mass is recommended to definitively distinguish the menus.

A word processor optimized for preparing journal articles and student papers.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolach, A H; McHale, M A

2001-11-01

A new Windows-based word processor for preparing journal articles and student papers is described. In addition to standard features found in word processors, the present word processor provides specific help in preparing manuscripts. Clicking on "Reference Help (APA Form)" in the "File" menu provides a detailed help system for entering the references in a journal article. Clicking on "Examples and Explanations of APA Form" provides a help system with examples of the various sections of a review article, journal article that has one experiment, or journal article that has two or more experiments. The word processor can automatically place the manuscript page header and page number at the top of each page using the form required by APA and Psychonomic Society journals. The "APA Form" submenu of the "Help" menu provides detailed information about how the word processor is optimized for preparing articles and papers.

MoonNEXT: A European Mission to the Moon

Science.gov (United States)

Carpenter, J. D.; Koschny, D.; Crawford, I.; Falcke, H.; Kempf, S.; Lognonne, P.; Ricci, C.; Houdou, B.; Pradier, A.

2008-09-01

MoonNEXT is a mission currently being studied, under the direction of the European Space Agency, whose launch is foreseen between 2015 and 2018. MoonNEXT is intended to prepare the way for future exploration activities on the Moon, while addressing key science questions. Exploration Objectives The primary goal for the MoonNEXT mission is to demonstrate autonomous soft precision landing with hazard avoidance; a key capability for future exploration missions. The nominal landing site is at the South Pole of the Moon, at the edge of the Aitken basin and in the region of Shackleton crater, which has been identified as an optimal location for a future human outpost by the NASA lunar architecture team [1]. This landing site selection ensures a valuable contribution by MoonNEXT to the Global Exploration Strategy [2]. MoonNEXT will also prepare for future lunar exploration activities by characterising the environment at the lunar surface. The potentially hazardous radiation environment will me monitored while a dedicated instrument package will investigate the levitation and mobility of lunar dust. Experience on Apollo demonstrated the potentially hazardous effects of dust for surface operations and human activities and so an understanding of these processes is important for the future. Life sciences investigations will be carried out into the effects of the lunar environment (including radiation, gravity and illumination conditions) on a man made ecosystem analogous to future life support systems. In doing so MoonNEXT will demonstrate the first extraterrestrial man made ecosystem and develop valuable expertise for future missions. Geological and geochemical investigations will explore the possibilities for In Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU), which will be essential for long term human habitation on the Moon and is of particular importance at the proposed landing site, given its potential as a future habitat location. Science Objectives In addition to providing extensive

Bomber Deterrence Missions: Criteria To Evaluate Mission Effectiveness

Science.gov (United States)

2016-02-16

international security, the practice of general deterrence usually occurs when nations feel insecure , suspicious or even hostility towards them but...both a deterrence and assurance mission even though it was not planned or advertised as such. Since the intent of this mission was partly perceived

Sample preparation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1992-01-01

Sample preparation prior to HPLC analysis is certainly one of the most important steps to consider in trace or ultratrace analysis. For many years scientists have tried to simplify the sample preparation process. It is rarely possible to inject a neat liquid sample or a sample where preparation may not be any more complex than dissolution of the sample in a given solvent. The last process alone can remove insoluble materials, which is especially helpful with the samples in complex matrices if other interactions do not affect extraction. Here, it is very likely a large number of components will not dissolve and are, therefore, eliminated by a simple filtration process. In most cases, the process of sample preparation is not as simple as dissolution of the component interest. At times, enrichment is necessary, that is, the component of interest is present in very large volume or mass of material. It needs to be concentrated in some manner so a small volume of the concentrated or enriched sample can be injected into HPLC. 88 refs

The ESA Scientific Exploitation of Operational Missions element

Science.gov (United States)

Desnos, Yves-Louis; Regner, Peter; Zehner, Claus; Engdahl, Marcus; Benveniste, Jerome; Delwart, Steven; Gascon, Ferran; Mathieu, Pierre-Philippe; Bojkov, Bojan; Koetz, Benjamin; Arino, Olivier; Donlon, Craig; Davidson, Malcolm; Goryl, Philippe; Foumelis, Michael

2014-05-01

The objectives of the ESA Scientific Exploitation of Operational Missions (SEOM) programme element are • to federate, support and expand the research community • to strengthen the leadership of European EO research community • to enable the science community to address new scientific research As a preparation for the SEOM element a series of international science users consultation has been organized by ESA in 2012 and 2013 In particular the ESA Living Planet Symposium was successfully organized in Edinburgh September 2013 and involving 1700 participants from 60 countries. The science users recommendations have been gathered and form the basis for the 2014 SEOM work plan approved by ESA member states. The SEOM element is organized along the following action lines: 1. Developing open-source, multi-mission, scientific toolboxes : the new toolboxes for Sentinel 1/2/3 and 5P will be introduced 2. Research and development studies: the first SEOM studies are being launched such as the INSARAP studies for Sentinel 1 interferometry in orbit demonstration , the IAS study to generate an improved spectroscopic database of the trace gas species CH4, H2O, and CO in the 2.3 μm region and SO2 in the UV region for Sentinel 5 P. In addition larger Sentinels for science call will be tendered in 2014 covering grouped studies for Sentinel 1 Land , Sentinel 1 Ocean , Sentinel 2 Land, Sentinel 3 SAR Altimetry ,Sentinel 3 Ocean color, Sentinel 3 Land and Sentinels Synergy . 3. Science users consultation : the Sentinel 2 for Science workshop is planned from 20 to 22 may 2014 at ESRIN to prepare for scientific exploitation of the Sentinel-2 mission (http://seom.esa.int/S2forScience2014 ) . In addition the FRINGE workshop focusing on scientific explotation of Sentinel1 using SAR interferometry is planned to be held at ESA ESRIN in Q2 2015 4. Training the next generation of European EO scientists on the scientific exploitation of Sentinels data: the Advanced Training course Land

20 years of cleft lip and palate missions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lambrecht, J Thomas; Kreusch, Thomas; Marsh, Jeff L; Schopper, Christian

2014-01-01

Volunteer missions for cleft lip and palate (CLP) care in Indonesia (1991-1992), India (1994-2003), Bhutan (2005-2010), and Kenya (2011), took place always at the same Hospital in each country. Altogether over a thousand patients were operated using a conservative protocol: Safety first - no experiments. Five months and 5 kg were the basic rules. For the native doctors, training help for self-help was priority. In the announcements, patients with CLP were primarily addressed. Burns, contractions, tumors, and trauma-cases were the second priority. Fresh trauma was done in night shifts with the local surgeons in order not to interfere. Besides facial esthetics speech was the number one issue, following priorities fell into place. Cultural aspects played a certain role in the different countries and continents.

20 years of cleft lip and palate missions

Science.gov (United States)

Lambrecht, J. Thomas; Kreusch, Thomas; Marsh, Jeff L.; Schopper, Christian

2014-01-01

Volunteer missions for cleft lip and palate (CLP) care in Indonesia (1991-1992), India (1994-2003), Bhutan (2005-2010), and Kenya (2011), took place always at the same Hospital in each country. Altogether over a thousand patients were operated using a conservative protocol: Safety first - no experiments. Five months and 5 kg were the basic rules. For the native doctors, training help for self-help was priority. In the announcements, patients with CLP were primarily addressed. Burns, contractions, tumors, and trauma-cases were the second priority. Fresh trauma was done in night shifts with the local surgeons in order not to interfere. Besides facial esthetics speech was the number one issue, following priorities fell into place. Cultural aspects played a certain role in the different countries and continents. PMID:25593861

The Impact of Mission Duration on a Mars Orbital Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Arney, Dale; Earle, Kevin; Cirillo, Bill; Jones, Christopher; Klovstad, Jordan; Grande, Melanie; Stromgren, Chel

2017-01-01

Performance alone is insufficient to assess the total impact of changing mission parameters on a space mission concept, architecture, or campaign; the benefit, cost, and risk must also be understood. This paper examines the impact to benefit, cost, and risk of changing the total mission duration of a human Mars orbital mission. The changes in the sizing of the crew habitat, including consumables and spares, was assessed as a function of duration, including trades of different life support strategies; this was used to assess the impact on transportation system requirements. The impact to benefit is minimal, while the impact on cost is dominated by the increases in transportation costs to achieve shorter total durations. The risk is expected to be reduced by decreasing total mission duration; however, large uncertainty exists around the magnitude of that reduction.

Logistics Needs for Potential Deep Space Mission Scenarios Post Asteroid Crewed Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez, Pedro, Jr.

2015-01-01

A deep-space mission has been proposed to identify and redirect an asteroid to a distant retrograde orbit around the moon, and explore it by sending a crew using the Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft. The Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission (ARCM), which represents the third segment of the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), could be performed on EM-3 or EM-4 depending on asteroid return date. Recent NASA studies have raised questions on how we could progress from current Human Space Flight (HSF) efforts to longer term human exploration of Mars. This paper will describe the benefits of execution of the ARM as the initial stepping stone towards Mars exploration, and how the capabilities required to send humans to Mars could be built upon those developed for the asteroid mission. A series of potential interim missions aimed at developing such capabilities will be described, and the feasibility of such mission manifest will be discussed. Options for the asteroid crewed mission will also be addressed, including crew size and mission duration.

OSART guidelines. 1994 edition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-05-01

These guidelines have been prepared to provide a basic structure and common reference both across the various areas covered by an OSART mission and across all the missions in the programme. As such, they are addressed, principally, to the team members of OSART missions but they will also provide guidance to a host nuclear plant preparing to receive a mission. The guidelines are intended to help each expert to formulate his review in the light of this own experience. They are not all inclusive and should not limit the expert's investigations, but are better considered as illustrating the adequate requirements for his review

Space Mission Operations Ground Systems Integration Customer Service

Science.gov (United States)

Roth, Karl

2014-01-01

, and cultural differences, to ensure an efficient response to customer issues using a small Customer Service Team (CST) and adaptability, constant communication with customers, technical expertise and knowledge of services, and dedication to customer service. The HOSC Customer Support Team has implemented a variety of processes, and procedures that help to mitigate the potential problems that arise when integrating ground system services for a variety of complex missions and the lessons learned from this experience will lead the future of customer service in the space operations industry.

A novel orbiter mission concept for venus with the EnVision proposal

Science.gov (United States)

de Oliveira, Marta R. R.; Gil, Paulo J. S.; Ghail, Richard

2018-07-01

In space exploration, planetary orbiter missions are essential to gain insight into planets as a whole, and to help uncover unanswered scientific questions. In particular, the planets closest to the Earth have been a privileged target of the world's leading space agencies. EnVision is a mission proposal designed for Venus and competing for ESA's next launch opportunity with the objective of studying Earth's closest neighbor. The main goal is to study geological and atmospheric processes, namely surface processes, interior dynamics and atmosphere, to determine the reasons behind Venus and Earth's radically different evolution despite the planets' similarities. To achieve these goals, the operational orbit selection is a fundamental element of the mission design process. The design of an orbit around Venus faces specific challenges, such as the impossibility of choosing Sun-synchronous orbits. In this paper, an innovative genetic algorithm optimization was applied to select the optimal orbit based on the parameters with more influence in the mission planning, in particular the mission duration and the coverage of sites of interest on the Venusian surface. The solution obtained is a near-polar circular orbit with an altitude of 259 km that enables the coverage of all priority targets almost two times faster than with the parameters considered before this study.

Preface: The Chang'e-3 lander and rover mission to the Moon

Science.gov (United States)

Ip, Wing-Huen; Yan, Jun; Li, Chun-Lai; Ouyang, Zi-Yuan

2014-12-01

The Chang'e-3 (CE-3) lander and rover mission to the Moon was an intermediate step in China's lunar exploration program, which will be followed by a sample return mission. The lander was equipped with a number of remote-sensing instruments including a pair of cameras (Landing Camera and Terrain Camera) for recording the landing process and surveying terrain, an extreme ultraviolet camera for monitoring activities in the Earth's plasmasphere, and a first-ever Moon-based ultraviolet telescope for astronomical observations. The Yutu rover successfully carried out close-up observations with the Panoramic Camera, mineralogical investigations with the VIS-NIR Imaging Spectrometer, study of elemental abundances with the Active Particle-induced X-ray Spectrometer, and pioneering measurements of the lunar subsurface with Lunar Penetrating Radar. This special issue provides a collection of key information on the instrumental designs, calibration methods and data processing procedures used by these experiments with a perspective of facilitating further analyses of scientific data from CE-3 in preparation for future missions.

LISA Pathfinder: hardware tests and their input to the mission

Science.gov (United States)

Audley, Heather

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is a joint ESA-NASA mission for the first space-borne gravitational wave detector. LISA aims to detect sources in the 0.1mHz to 1Hz range, which include supermassive black holes and galactic binary stars. Core technologies required for the LISA mission, including drag-free test mass control, picometre interferometry and micro-Newton thrusters, cannot be tested on-ground. Therefore, a precursor satellite, LISA Pathfinder, has been developed as a technology demonstration mission. The preparations for the LISA Pathfinder mission have reached an exciting stage. Tests of the engineering model of the optical metrology system have recently been completed at the Albert Einstein Institute, Hannover, and flight model tests are now underway. Significantly, they represent the first complete integration and testing of the space-qualified hardware and are the first tests on system level. The results and test procedures of these campaigns will be utilised directly in the ground-based flight hardware tests, and subsequently within in-flight operations. In addition, they allow valuable testing of the data analysis methods using the MatLab based LTP data analysis toolbox. This contribution presents an overview of the test campaigns calibration, control and perfor-mance results, focusing on the implications for the Experimental Master Plan which provides the basis for the in-flight operations and procedures.

Enlarging the `knowledge toolbox': helping students prepare for an innovation-driven world

Science.gov (United States)

Nilsen, Elizabeth

2015-03-01

Physics students graduate from their course of studies to enter the ``world of work.'' While for many years that transition meant joining a large corporation for a life-long career, this is no longer the case. Today's graduates will find their career with a series of organizations - often start-ups and small to mid-sized organizations - whose future depends on the ability to rapidly leverage technical knowledge into useful products and services. This session will discuss the value of preparing physics students to be innovators and entrepreneurs, both as a strategy to prepare them for future careers, as well as an opportunity to fully engage students in seeing the relevance of physics to ``real world'' challenges. The session will feature three case studies: 1) embedding core knowledge and skills within a technical content course; 2) building learning experiences around a team-based start-up exploration; 3) engaging an entire department in considering how to comprehensively include innovation & entrepreneurship themes in the curriculum. The session will conclude with information about how faculty members and institutions can access resources for adopting this approach to their course offerings.

Encouraging Autonomy and Preparing for IELTS: Mutually Exclusive Goals?

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett-Lennard, Siri

1997-01-01

Suggests foreign students in Australia may not be getting preparation needed to integrate successfully into university study. Research is reviewed that indicates these students not only need help preparing for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) but also with learning at an Australian university. Academic preparation courses…

[Support and tools for preparing for birth].

Science.gov (United States)

Bouychou, Mathilde; Sallez, Hélène; de Brito, Gina; Mouilti, Yamina; Piquée, Nathalie; Boyé, Hélène

There are a thousand and one ways of preparing to be a parent. Specific support is offered to pregnant women or the couple in order to take the time to prepare for this personal transformation. Haptonomy, sophrology, shiatsu and massage, acupuncture or gestalt therapy are some of the methods helping parents to prepare to welcome their future child with peace of mind. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

A legacy endures. A Maine system emphasizes its sponsor's mission in all aspects of its work.

Science.gov (United States)

Stapleton, Marguerite

2005-01-01

The Sisters of Charity Health System, Lewiston, ME, a member of Covenant Health Systems, Lexington, MA, remains deeply committed to the mission of service begun by its foundress, St. Marguerite d'Youville. Although St. Marguerite experienced a hard life, her resilience and her commitment to the poor and disadvantaged serve as an inspiration to those who continue her legacy of compassionate care. The founding work of St. Marguerite and the sisters has helped to foster a culture in which the mission of service thrives among the system's 2,000 employees. This culture can be attributed to two things: the system's organizational values of compassion, stewardship, respect, and excellence; and the recognition of those employees whose work embodies these values. From the boardroom to the patient room, mission is integrated into each decision and action. Every two years, each of Covenant Health System's member facilities engages in a mission assessment process that examines various aspects of mission, including Catholic identity, holistic care, care for the poor, mission values integration, ethics and employee relations. In addition, the Sisters of Charity Health System's board has its own standing Mission and Community Committee, which looks strategically at how creatively and faithfully the system is continuing to live its mission.

Group dynamics training for manned spaceflight and the capsuls mission: Prophylactic against incompatibility and its consequences?

Science.gov (United States)

Kass, R.; Kass, J.

On February 7, 1994, four Canadian Astronauts were sealed off in a hyperbaric chamber at the Canadian Government's Defense and Civil Institute for Environmental Medicine in Toronto, Canada. This space lab training mission lasted seven days and was the first to be conducted with astronauts outside of Russia. The objective of this mission was to give Canadian astronauts, space scientists and the staff of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the opportunity to gain first hand experience on preparational and operational aspects of a typical space mission. Twenty-one scientific experiments involving six countries from several disciplines were involved in this mission. This paper describes the goals and preliminary results of a psychological experiment/training program that used the CAPSULS mission as a test bed for its application in the manned space flight environment. The objective of this project was to enhance the understanding of small group behaviour with a view to maximizing team effectiveness and task accomplishment in teams living and working in isolation under difficult and confined conditions. The application of this model in the light of future missions is a key thesis in this paper.

Anaesthesia in austere environments: literature review and considerations for future space exploration missions.

Science.gov (United States)

Komorowski, Matthieu; Fleming, Sarah; Mawkin, Mala; Hinkelbein, Jochen

2018-01-01

Future space exploration missions will take humans far beyond low Earth orbit and require complete crew autonomy. The ability to provide anaesthesia will be important given the expected risk of severe medical events requiring surgery. Knowledge and experience of such procedures during space missions is currently extremely limited. Austere and isolated environments (such as polar bases or submarines) have been used extensively as test beds for spaceflight to probe hazards, train crews, develop clinical protocols and countermeasures for prospective space missions. We have conducted a literature review on anaesthesia in austere environments relevant to distant space missions. In each setting, we assessed how the problems related to the provision of anaesthesia (e.g., medical kit and skills) are dealt with or prepared for. We analysed how these factors could be applied to the unique environment of a space exploration mission. The delivery of anaesthesia will be complicated by many factors including space-induced physiological changes and limitations in skills and equipment. The basic principles of a safe anaesthesia in an austere environment (appropriate training, presence of minimal safety and monitoring equipment, etc.) can be extended to the context of a space exploration mission. Skills redundancy is an important safety factor, and basic competency in anaesthesia should be part of the skillset of several crewmembers. The literature suggests that safe and effective anaesthesia could be achieved by a physician during future space exploration missions. In a life-or-limb situation, non-physicians may be able to conduct anaesthetic procedures, including simplified general anaesthesia.

Cryogenic Propellant Storage and Transfer Technology Demonstration For Long Duration In-Space Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Michael L.; Motil, Susan M.; Kortes, Trudy F.; Taylor, William J.; McRight, Patrick S.

2012-01-01

The high specific impulse of cryogenic propellants can provide a significant performance advantage for in-space transfer vehicles. The upper stages of the Saturn V and various commercial expendable launch vehicles have used liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants; however, the application of cryogenic propellants has been limited to relatively short duration missions due to the propensity of cryogens to absorb environmental heat resulting in fluid losses. Utilizing advanced cryogenic propellant technologies can enable the efficient use of high performance propellants for long duration missions. Crewed mission architectures for beyond low Earth orbit exploration can significantly benefit from this capability by developing realistic launch spacing for multiple launch missions, by prepositioning stages and by staging propellants at an in-space depot. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration through the Office of the Chief Technologist is formulating a Cryogenic Propellant Storage and Transfer Technology Demonstration Mission to mitigate the technical and programmatic risks of infusing these advanced technologies into the development of future cryogenic propellant stages or in-space propellant depots. NASA is seeking an innovative path for human space exploration, which strengthens the capability to extend human and robotic presence throughout the solar system. This mission will test and validate key cryogenic technological capabilities and has the objectives of demonstrating advanced thermal control technologies to minimize propellant loss during loiter, demonstrating robust operation in a microgravity environment, and demonstrating efficient propellant transfer on orbit. The status of the demonstration mission concept development, technology demonstration planning and technology maturation activities in preparation for flight system development are described.

JSpOC Mission System Application Development Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Luce, R.; Reele, P.; Sabol, C.; Zetocha, P.; Echeverry, J.; Kim, R.; Golf, B.

2012-09-01

The Joint Space Operations Center (JSpOC) Mission System (JMS) is the program of record tasked with replacing the legacy Space Defense Operations Center (SPADOC) and Astrodynamics Support Workstation (ASW) capabilities by the end of FY2015 as well as providing additional Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and Command and Control (C2) capabilities post-FY2015. To meet the legacy replacement goal, the JMS program is maturing a government Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) infrastructure that supports the integration of mission applications while acquiring mature industry and government mission applications. Future capabilities required by the JSpOC after 2015 will require development of new applications and procedures as well as the exploitation of new SSA data sources. To support the post FY2015 efforts, the JMS program is partnering with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to build a JMS application development environment. The purpose of this environment is to: 1) empower the research & development community, through access to relevant tools and data, to accelerate technology development, 2) allow the JMS program to communicate user capability priorities and requirements to the developer community, 3) provide the JMS program with access to state-of-the-art research, development, and computing capabilities, and 4) support market research efforts by identifying outstanding performers that are available to shepherd into the formal transition process. The application development environment will consist of both unclassified and classified environments that can be accessed over common networks (including the Internet) to provide software developers, scientists, and engineers everything they need (e.g., building block JMS services, modeling and simulation tools, relevant test scenarios, documentation, data sources, user priorities/requirements, and SOA integration tools) to develop and test mission applications. The developed applications will be exercised in these

The Human Mars Mission: Transportation assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kos, Larry

1998-01-01

If funding is available, and for NASA planning purposes, the Human Mars Mission (HMM) is baselined to take place during the 2011 and 2013/2014 Mars opportunities. Two cargo flights will leave for Mars during the first opportunity, one to Mars orbit and the second to the surface, in preparation for the crew during the following opportunity. Each trans-Mars injection (TMI) stack will consist of a cargo/payload portion (currently coming in at between 65 and 78 mt) and a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) stage (currently coming in at between 69 and 77 mt loaded with propellant) for performing the departure ΔVs to get on to the appropriate Mars trajectories. Three 66,700 N thrust NTP engines comprise the TMI stage for each stack and perform a ΔV ranging from 3580 to 3890 m/s as required by the trajectory (with gravity losses and various performance margins added to this for the total TMI ΔV performed). This paper will discuss the current application of this NTP stage to a Human Mars mission, and project what implications a nuclear trans-Earth injection (TEI) stage as well as a bi-modal NTP stage could mean to a human visit to Mars

DOE Hanford Network Upgrades and Disaster Recovery Exercise Support the Cleanup Mission Now and into the Future

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eckman, Todd J.; Hertzel, Ali K.; Lane, James J.

2013-11-07

In 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site, located in Washington State, funded an update to the critical network infrastructure supporting the Hanford Federal Cloud (HFC). The project, called ET-50, was the final step in a plan that was initiated five years ago called "Hanford's IT Vision, 2015 and Beyond." The ET-50 project upgraded Hanford's core data center switches and routers along with a majority of the distribution layer switches. The upgrades allowed HFC the network intelligence to provide Hanford with a more reliable and resilient network architecture. The culmination of the five year plan improved network intelligence and high performance computing as well as helped to provide 10 Gbps capable links between core backbone devices (10 times the previous bandwidth). These improvements allow Hanford the ability to further support bandwidth intense applications, such as video teleconferencing. The ET-50 switch upgrade, along with other upgrades implemented from the five year plan, have prepared Hanford's network for the next evolution of technology in voice, video, and data. Hand-in-hand with ET-50's major data center outage, Mission Support Alliance's (MSA) Information Management (IM) organization executed a disaster recovery (DR) exercise to perform a true integration test and capability study. The DR scope was planned within the constraints of ET-50's 14 hour datacenter outage window. This DR exercise tested Hanford's Continuity of Operations (COOP) capability and failover plans for safety and business critical Hanford Federal Cloud applications. The planned suite of services to be tested was identified prior to the outage and plans were prepared to test the services ability to failover from the primary Hanford data center to the backup data center. The services tested were: Core Network (backbone, firewall, load balancers); Voicemail; Voice over IP (VoIP); Emergency Notification; Virtual desktops

DOE Hanford Network Upgrades and Disaster Recovery Exercise Support the Cleanup Mission Now and into the Future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eckman, Todd J.; Hertzel, Ali K.; Lane, James J.

2013-01-01

In 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site, located in Washington State, funded an update to the critical network infrastructure supporting the Hanford Federal Cloud (HFC). The project, called ET-50, was the final step in a plan that was initiated five years ago called 'Hanford's IT Vision, 2015 and Beyond.' The ET-50 project upgraded Hanford's core data center switches and routers along with a majority of the distribution layer switches. The upgrades allowed HFC the network intelligence to provide Hanford with a more reliable and resilient network architecture. The culmination of the five year plan improved network intelligence and high performance computing as well as helped to provide 10 Gbps capable links between core backbone devices (10 times the previous bandwidth). These improvements allow Hanford the ability to further support bandwidth intense applications, such as video teleconferencing. The ET-50 switch upgrade, along with other upgrades implemented from the five year plan, have prepared Hanford's network for the next evolution of technology in voice, video, and data. Hand-in-hand with ET-50's major data center outage, Mission Support Alliance's (MSA) Information Management (IM) organization executed a disaster recovery (DR) exercise to perform a true integration test and capability study. The DR scope was planned within the constraints of ET-50's 14 hour datacenter outage window. This DR exercise tested Hanford's Continuity of Operations (COOP) capability and failover plans for safety and business critical Hanford Federal Cloud applications. The planned suite of services to be tested was identified prior to the outage and plans were prepared to test the services ability to failover from the primary Hanford data center to the backup data center. The services tested were: Core Network (backbone, firewall, load balancers); Voicemail; Voice over IP (VoIP); Emergency Notification; Virtual desktops; and, Select set of production applications

CEO Sites Mission Management System (SMMS)

Science.gov (United States)

Trenchard, Mike

2014-01-01

Late in fiscal year 2011, the Crew Earth Observations (CEO) team was tasked to upgrade its science site database management tool, which at the time was integrated with the Automated Mission Planning System (AMPS) originally developed for Earth Observations mission planning in the 1980s. Although AMPS had been adapted and was reliably used by CEO for International Space Station (ISS) payload operations support, the database structure was dated, and the compiler required for modifications would not be supported in the Windows 7 64-bit operating system scheduled for implementation the following year. The Sites Mission Management System (SMMS) is now the tool used by CEO to manage a heritage Structured Query Language (SQL) database of more than 2,000 records for Earth science sites. SMMS is a carefully designed and crafted in-house software package with complete and detailed help files available for the user and meticulous internal documentation for future modifications. It was delivered in February 2012 for test and evaluation. Following acceptance, it was implemented for CEO mission operations support in April 2012. The database spans the period from the earliest systematic requests for astronaut photography during the shuttle era to current ISS mission support of the CEO science payload. Besides logging basic image information (site names, locations, broad application categories, and mission requests), the upgraded database management tool now tracks dates of creation, modification, and activation; imagery acquired in response to requests; the status and location of ancillary site information; and affiliations with studies, their sponsors, and collaborators. SMMS was designed to facilitate overall mission planning in terms of site selection and activation and provide the necessary site parameters for the Satellite Tool Kit (STK) Integrated Message Production List Editor (SIMPLE), which is used by CEO operations to perform daily ISS mission planning. The CEO team

Enhancing Hubble's vision service missions that expanded our view of the universe

CERN Document Server

Shayler, David J

2016-01-01

After a 20-year struggle to place a large, sophisticated optical telescope in orbit the Hubble Space Telescope was finally launched in 1990, though its primary mirror was soon found to be flawed. A dramatic mission in 1993 installed corrective optics so that the intended science program could finally begin. Those events are related in a companion to this book, The Hubble Space Telescope: From Concept to Success.   Enhancing Hubble’s Vision: Service Missions That Expanded Our View of the Universe tells the story of the four missions between 1997 and 2009 that repaired, serviced and upgraded the instruments on the telescope to maintain its state-of-the-art capabilities. It draws on first hand interviews with those closely involved in the project. The spacewalking skills and experiences gained from maintaining and upgrading Hubble had direct application to the construction of the International Space Station and help with its maintenance. These skills can be applied to future human and robotic satellite servic...

OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission Image Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Chevres Fernandez, Lee Roger; Bos, Brent

2018-01-01

NASA’s Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission constitutes the “first-of-its-kind” project to thoroughly characterize a near-Earth asteroid. The selected asteroid is (101955) 1999 RQ36 (a.k.a. Bennu). The mission launched in September 2016, and the spacecraft will reach its asteroid target in 2018 and return a sample to Earth in 2023. The spacecraft that will travel to, and collect a sample from, Bennu has five integrated instruments from national and international partners. NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission spacecraft includes the Touch-And-Go Camera System (TAGCAMS) three camera-head instrument. The purpose of TAGCAMS is to provide imagery during the mission to facilitate navigation to the target asteroid, confirm acquisition of the asteroid sample and document asteroid sample stowage. Two of the TAGCAMS cameras, NavCam 1 and NavCam 2, serve as fully redundant navigation cameras to support optical navigation and natural feature tracking. The third TAGCAMS camera, StowCam, provides imagery to assist with and confirm proper stowage of the asteroid sample. Analysis of spacecraft imagery acquired by the TAGCAMS during cruise to the target asteroid Bennu was performed using custom codes developed in MATLAB. Assessment of the TAGCAMS in-flight performance using flight imagery was done to characterize camera performance. One specific area of investigation that was targeted was bad pixel mapping. A recent phase of the mission, known as the Earth Gravity Assist (EGA) maneuver, provided images that were used for the detection and confirmation of “questionable” pixels, possibly under responsive, using image segmentation analysis. Ongoing work on point spread function morphology and camera linearity and responsivity will also be used for calibration purposes and further analysis in preparation for proximity operations around Bennu. Said analyses will provide a broader understanding

The STEREO Mission

CERN Document Server

2008-01-01

The STEREO mission uses twin heliospheric orbiters to track solar disturbances from their initiation to 1 AU. This book documents the mission, its objectives, the spacecraft that execute it and the instruments that provide the measurements, both remote sensing and in situ. This mission promises to unlock many of the mysteries of how the Sun produces what has become to be known as space weather.

The Raman Laser Spectrometer for the ExoMars Rover Mission to Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Rull, Fernando; Maurice, Sylvestre; Hutchinson, Ian; Moral, Andoni; Perez, Carlos; Diaz, Carlos; Colombo, Maria; Belenguer, Tomas; Lopez-Reyes, Guillermo; Sansano, Antonio; Forni, Olivier; Parot, Yann; Striebig, Nicolas; Woodward, Simon; Howe, Chris; Tarcea, Nicolau; Rodriguez, Pablo; Seoane, Laura; Santiago, Amaia; Rodriguez-Prieto, Jose A.; Medina, Jesús; Gallego, Paloma; Canchal, Rosario; Santamaría, Pilar; Ramos, Gonzalo; Vago, Jorge L.; RLS Team

2017-07-01

The Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) on board the ESA/Roscosmos ExoMars 2020 mission will provide precise identification of the mineral phases and the possibility to detect organics on the Red Planet. The RLS will work on the powdered samples prepared inside the Pasteur analytical suite and collected on the surface and subsurface by a drill system. Raman spectroscopy is a well-known analytical technique based on the inelastic scattering by matter of incident monochromatic light (the Raman effect) that has many applications in laboratory and industry, yet to be used in space applications. Raman spectrometers will be included in two Mars rovers scheduled to be launched in 2020. The Raman instrument for ExoMars 2020 consists of three main units: (1) a transmission spectrograph coupled to a CCD detector; (2) an electronics box, including the excitation laser that controls the instrument functions; and (3) an optical head with an autofocus mechanism illuminating and collecting the scattered light from the spot under investigation. The optical head is connected to the excitation laser and the spectrometer by optical fibers. The instrument also has two targets positioned inside the rover analytical laboratory for onboard Raman spectral calibration. The aim of this article was to present a detailed description of the RLS instrument, including its operation on Mars. To verify RLS operation before launch and to prepare science scenarios for the mission, a simulator of the sample analysis chain has been developed by the team. The results obtained are also discussed. Finally, the potential of the Raman instrument for use in field conditions is addressed. By using a ruggedized prototype, also developed by our team, a wide range of terrestrial analog sites across the world have been studied. These investigations allowed preparing a large collection of real, in situ spectra of samples from different geological processes and periods of Earth evolution. On this basis, we are working

For Earth into space: The German Spacelab Mission D-2

Science.gov (United States)

Sahm, P. R.; Keller, M. H.; Schiewe, B.

The Spacelab Mission D-2 successfully lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on April 26, 1993. With 88 experiments on board covering eleven different research disciplines it was a very ambitious mission. Besides materials and life science subjects, the mission also encompassed astronomy, earth observation, radiation physics and biology, telecommunication, automation and robotics. Notable results were obtained in almost all cases. To give some examples of the scientific output, building upon results obtained in previous missions (FSLP, D1) diffusion in melts was broadly represented delivering most precise data on the atomic mobility within various liquids, and crystal growth experiments (the largest gallium arsenide crystal grown by the floating zone technique, so far obtained anywhere, was one of the results), biological cell growth experiments were continued (for example, beer yeast cultures, continuing their growth on earth, delivered a qualitatively superior brewery result), the human physiology miniclinic configuration ANTHRORACK gave novel insights concerning cardiovascular, pulmonary, and renal (fluid volume determining) factors. Astronomical experiments yielded insights into our own galaxy within the ultra violet spectrum, earth observation experiments delivered the most precise resolution data superimposed by thematic mapping of many areas of the Earth, and the robotics experiment brought a remarkable feature in that a flying object was caught by the space robot, which was only achieved through several innovative advances during the time of experiment preparation. The eight years of preparation were also beneficial in another sense. Several discoveries have been made, and various technology transfers into ground-based processes were verified. To name the outstanding ones, in the materials science a novel bearing materials production process was developped, a patent granted for an improved high temperature heating chamber; with life sciences a new hormone

Entrepreneurial Attitudes and Behaviors that Can Help Prepare Successful Change-Agents in Education

Science.gov (United States)

Borasi, Raffaella; Finnigan, Kara

2010-01-01

This article explores how the preparation of educators committed to improving education can capitalize on entrepreneurship when broadly defined as "transforming ideas into enterprises that generate economic, intellectual and/or social value." The article reports on the case-studies of six educators who have been successful change-agents in a…

Astrobiology and habitability studies in preparation for future Mars missions: trends from investigating minerals, organics and biota

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ehrenfreund, P.; Roling, W.F.M.; Thiel, C.S.; Quin, R.; Septhon, M.A.; Stoker, C.; Kotler, M.; Oliveira Lebre Direito, M.S.; Martins, Z.; Orzechowska, G.; Kidd, R.D.; van Sluis, C.A.; Foing, H.

2011-01-01

Several robotic exploration missions will travel to Mars during this decade to investigate habitability and the possible presence of life. Field research at Mars analogue sites such as desert environments can provide important constraints for instrument calibration, landing site strategies and

Astrobiology and habitability studies in preparation for future Mars missions : Trends from investigating minerals, organics and biota

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ehrenfreund, P.; Röling, W.F.M.; Thiel, C.S.; Quinn, R.; Sephton, M.A.; Stoker, C.; Kotler, J.M.; Direito, S.O.L.; Martins, Z.; Orzechowska, G.E.; Kidd, R.D.; Van Sluis, C.A.; Foing, B.H.

2011-01-01

Several robotic exploration missions will travel to Mars during this decade to investigate habitability and the possible presence of life. Field research at Mars analogue sites such as desert environments can provide important constraints for instrument calibration, landing site strategies and

The Economics of NASA Mission Cost Reserves

Science.gov (United States)

Whitley, Sally; Shinn, Stephen

2012-01-01

Increases in NASA mission costs are well-noted but not well-understood, and there is little evidence that they are decreasing in frequency or amount over time. The need to control spending has led to analysis of the causes and magnitude of historical mission overruns, and many program control efforts are being implemented to attempt to prevent or mitigate the problem (NPR 7120). However, cost overruns have not abated, and while some direct causes of increased spending may be obvious (requirements creep, launch delays, directed changes, etc.), the underlying impetus to spend past the original budget may be more subtle. Gaining better insight into the causes of cost overruns will help NASA and its contracting organizations to avoid .them. This paper hypothesizes that one cause of NASA mission cost overruns is that the availability of reserves gives project team members an incentive to make decisions and behave in ways that increase costs. We theorize that the presence of reserves is a contributing factor to cost overruns because it causes organizations to use their funds less efficiently or to control spending less effectively. We draw a comparison to the insurance industry concept of moral hazard, the phenomenon that the presence of insurance causes insureds to have more frequent and higher insurance losses, and we attempt to apply actuarial techniques to quantifY the increase in the expected cost of a mission due to the availability of reserves. We create a theoretical model of reserve spending motivation by defining a variable ReserveSpending as a function of total reserves. This function has a positive slope; for every dollar of reserves available, there is a positive probability of spending it. Finally, the function should be concave down; the probability of spending each incremental dollar of reserves decreases progressively. We test the model against available NASA CADRe data by examining missions with reserve dollars initially available and testing whether

VEGA Space Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Moroz, V.; Murdin, P.

2000-11-01

VEGA (mission) is a combined spacecraft mission to VENUS and COMET HALLEY. It was launched in the USSR at the end of 1984. The mission consisted of two identical spacecraft VEGA 1 and VEGA 2. VEGA is an acronym built from the words `Venus' and `Halley' (`Galley' in Russian spelling). The basic design of the spacecraft was the same as has been used many times to deliver Soviet landers and orbiter...

Sectoral programming mission isotope techniques for geothermal development. Philippines. UNDP sectoral support

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Froehlich, K.; Sun, Y.

1995-10-01

This report discusses the accomplishments of IAEA Technical Cooperation project PHI/8/016 ''Isotope Techniques in Geothermal Hydrology''. It is intended to help Philippine National Oil Company's Energy Development Corporation (PNOC-EDC) in use of isotope techniques for geothermal development. This report discusses outcomes of the mission, conclusions and recommendations on applications of isotopes techniques in geothermal agro-industrial plants and geothermal hydrology

Compensatory help-seeking in young and older adults: does seeking help, help?

Science.gov (United States)

Alea, Nicole; Cunningham, Walter R

2003-01-01

Asking other people for help is a compensatory behavior that may be useful across the life span to enhance functioning. Seventy-two older and younger men and women were either allowed to ask for help or were not allowed to ask for help while solving reasoning problems. Although the older adults answered fewer problems correctly, they did not seek additional help to compensate for their lower levels of performance. Younger adults sought more help. There were no age differences, however, in the types of help sought: indirect help (e.g., hints) was sought more often than direct help (e.g., asking for the answer). Exploratory analyses revealed that one's ability level was a better indicator than age of the utility of help-seeking. Findings are interpreted in the context of social and task-related influences on the use of help-seeking as a compensatory behavior across the life span.

Cassini Mission Sequence Subsystem (MSS)

Science.gov (United States)

Alland, Robert

2011-01-01

This paper describes my work with the Cassini Mission Sequence Subsystem (MSS) team during the summer of 2011. It gives some background on the motivation for this project and describes the expected benefit to the Cassini program. It then introduces the two tasks that I worked on - an automatic system auditing tool and a series of corrections to the Cassini Sequence Generator (SEQ_GEN) - and the specific objectives these tasks were to accomplish. Next, it details the approach I took to meet these objectives and the results of this approach, followed by a discussion of how the outcome of the project compares with my initial expectations. The paper concludes with a summary of my experience working on this project, lists what the next steps are, and acknowledges the help of my Cassini colleagues.

A "Medical Mission" at Home: The Needs of Rural America in Terms of Otolaryngology Care

Science.gov (United States)

Winters, Ryan; Pou, Anna; Friedlander, Paul

2011-01-01

Objectives: Describe the population, Medicaid, uninsured, and otolaryngology practice demographics for 7 representative rural Southeastern states, and propose academic-affiliated outreach clinics as a service to help meet the specialty care needs of an underserved rural population, based on the "medical mission" model employed in…

Covenant model of corporate compliance. "Corporate integrity" program meets mission, not just legal, requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

Tuohey, J F

1998-01-01

Catholic healthcare should establish comprehensive compliance strategies, beyond following Medicare reimbursement laws, that reflect mission and ethics. A covenant model of business ethics--rather than a self-interest emphasis on contracts--can help organizations develop a creed to focus on obligations and trust in their relationships. The corporate integrity program (CIP) of Mercy Health System Oklahoma promotes its mission and interests, educates and motivates its employees, provides assurance of systemwide commitment, and enforces CIP policies and procedures. Mercy's creed, based on its mission statement and core values, articulates responsibilities regarding patients and providers, business partners, society and the environment, and internal relationships. The CIP is carried out through an integrated network of committees, advocacy teams, and an expanded institutional review board. Two documents set standards for how Mercy conducts external affairs and clarify employee codes of conduct.

The STS-95 crew and their families prepare for their return flight to JSC

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

At the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Station, STS-95 Pilot Steven W. Lindsey (left), Lindsey's daughter (front), and Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr. (right), a senator from Ohio and one of the original seven Project Mercury astronauts, give a thumbs up on the success of the mission. Members of the STS-95 crew and their families prepared for their return flight to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The STS-95 mission ended with landing at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility at 12:04 p.m. EST on Nov. 7. Others returning were Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr.; Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski; Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson; Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, with the European Space Agency (ESA); and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). The mission included research payloads such as the Spartan-201 solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as a SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process.

Trying-out a walking help

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krummheuer, Antonia Lina; Raudaskoski, Pirkko Liisa

2016-01-01

that constitute the trial as a joint activity in which the impaired participant becomes a competent participant and independent walker. The analysis is based on video recordings from a case study in which a person with brain injury is trying out a new type of walking help. The trial is understood as a situated...... learning process in which the participants prepare, enact and assess the performance of the technology supported walking. The paper distinguishes two iterative phases in which the impaired person is constituted as an independent walker: the adjustment and assessment of a body-device relation and, further...

NASA flight controllers - Meeting cultural and leadership challenges on the critical path to mission success

Science.gov (United States)

Clement, James L., Jr.; Ritsher, Jennifer Boyd

2006-01-01

As part of its preparation for missions to the Moon and Mars, NASA has identified high priority critical path roadmap (CPR) questions, two of which focus on the performance of mission control personnel. NASA flight controllers have always worked in an incredibly demanding setting, but the International Space Station poses even more challenges than prior missions. We surveyed 14 senior ISS flight controllers and a contrasting sample of 12 more junior controllers about the management and cultural challenges they face and the most effective strategies for addressing them. There was substantial consensus among participants on some issues, such as the importance of building a personal relationship with Russian colleagues. Responses from junior and senior controllers differed in some areas, such as training. We frame the results in terms of two CPR questions. We aim to use our results to improve flight controller training.

Examples of Sentinel-2A Mission Exploitation Results

Science.gov (United States)

Koetz, Benjamin; Hoersch, Bianca; Gascon, Ferran; Desnos, Yves-Louis; Seifert, Frank Martin; Paganini, Marc; Ramoino, Fabrizio; Arino, Olivier

2017-04-01

The Sentinel-2 Copernicus mission will bring significant breakthrough in the exploitation of space borne optical data. Sentinel-2 time series will transform land cover, agriculture, forestry, in-land water and costal EO applications from mapping to monitoring, from snapshot to time series data analysis, from image-based to pixel-based processing. The 5-days temporal revisiting of the Sentinel-2 satellites, when both units will be operated together, will usher us in a new era for time series analysis at high spatial resolutions (HR) of 10-20 meters. The monitoring of seasonal variations and processes in phenology and hydrology are examples of the many R&D areas to be studied. The mission's large swath and systematic acquisitions will further support unprecedented coverage at the national scale addressing information requirements of national to regional policies. Within ESA programs, such as the Data User Element (DUE), Scientific Exploitation of Operational Missions (SEOM) and Climate Change Initiative (CCI), several R&D activities are preparing the exploitation of the Sentinel-2 mission towards reliable measurements and monitoring of e.g. Essential Climate Variables and indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals. Early Sentinel-2 results will be presented related to a range of applications and scientific domains such as agricultural monitoring at national scale (DUE Sen2Agri), wetland extent and condition over African Ramsar sites (DUE GlobWetland-Africa), land cover mapping for climate change (CCI Land Cover), national land monitoring (Cadaster-Env), forest degradation (DUE ForMoSa), urban mapping (DUE EO4Urban), in-land water quality (DUE SPONGE), map of Mediterranean aquaculture (DUE SMART) and coral reef habitat mapping (SEOM S2-4Sci Coral). The above-mentioned activities are only a few examples from the very active international land imaging community building on the long-term Landsat and Spot heritage and knowledge.

IAEA Completes Nuclear Security Review Mission in United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

. Macfarlane. 'Together, the international community is working to strengthen nuclear security worldwide'. Background The mission was the 60th IPPAS mission conducted by the IAEA since the program began in 1995. The mission was the third to a Nuclear-Weapon State with a very large civil nuclear programme. IPPAS missions are intended to help IAEA Member States strengthen their national nuclear security regimes. The missions provide, upon request, peer advice on implementing international instruments, as well as IAEA nuclear security guidance on the protection of nuclear and other radioactive material and associated facilities and activities. IPPAS missions are conducted both on a nation-wide and facility-specific basis. The United States is an important partner in IAEA nuclear security activities and the largest national contributor to the IAEA Nuclear Security Fund. The United States also regularly contributes in kind by providing equipment and experts for missions, lecturers for training courses and contributes to the development of documents in the IAEA Nuclear Security Series. The United States is party to the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material but has not yet ratified its 2005 Amendment. The United States also supports the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources as well as the Guidance on the Import and Export of Radioactive Sources. (IAEA)

The MSG Central Facility - A Mission Control System for Windows NT

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, R.

The MSG Central Facility, being developed by Science Systems for EUMETSAT1, represents the first of a new generation of satellite mission control systems, based on the Windows NT operating system. The system makes use of a range of new technologies to provide an integrated environment for the planning, scheduling, control and monitoring of the entire Meteosat Second Generation mission. It supports packetised TM/TC and uses Science System's Space UNiT product to provide automated operations support at both Schedule (Timeline) and Procedure levels. Flexible access to historical data is provided through an operations archive based on ORACLE Enterprise Server, hosted on a large RAID array and off-line tape jukebox. Event driven real-time data distribution is based on the CORBA standard. Operations preparation and configuration control tools form a fully integrated element of the system.

NASA Mars 2020 Rover Mission: New Frontiers in Science

Science.gov (United States)

Calle, Carlos I.

2014-01-01

The Mars 2020 rover mission is the next step in NASAs robotic exploration of the red planet. The rover, based on the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover now on Mars, will address key questions about the potential for life on Mars. The mission would also provide opportunities to gather knowledge and demonstrate technologies that address the challenges of future human expeditions to Mars.Like the Mars Science Laboratory rover, which has been exploring Mars since 2012, the Mars 2020 spacecraft will use a guided entry, descent, and landing system which includes a parachute, descent vehicle, and, during the provides the ability to land a very large, heavy rover on the surface of Mars in a more precise landing area. The Mars 2020 mission is designed to accomplish several high-priority planetary science goals and will be an important step toward meeting NASAs challenge to send humans to Mars in the 2030s. The mission will conduct geological assessments of the rover's landing site, determine the habitability of the environment, search for signs of ancient Martian life, and assess natural resources and hazards for future human explorers. The science instruments aboard the rover also will enable scientists to identify and select a collection of rock and soil samples that will be stored for potential return to Earth in the future. The rover also may help designers of a human expedition understand the hazards posed by Martian dust and demonstrate how to collect carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which could be a valuable resource for producing oxygen and rocket fuel.

THE JEM-EUSO MISSION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mario Bertaina

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The JEM-EUSO mission explores the origin of the extreme energy cosmic rays (EECRs above 50EeV and explores the limits of the fundamental physics, through the observations of their arrival directions and energies. It is designed to open a new particle astronomy channel. This superwide-field (60 degrees telescope with a diameter of about 2.5m looks down from space onto the night sky to detect near UV photons (330 ÷ 400nm, both fluorescent and Cherenkov photons emitted from the giant air showers produced by EECRs. The arrival direction map with more than five hundred events will tell us the origin of the EECRs and allow us to identify the nearest EECR sources with known astronomical objects. It will allow them to be examined in other astronomical channels. This is likely to lead to an  nderstanding of the acceleration mechanisms perhaps producing discoveries in astrophysics and/or fundamental physics. The comparison of the energy spectra among the spatially resolved individual sources will help to clarify the acceleration/emission mechanism, and also finally confirm the Greisen–Zatsepin–Kuz’min process for the validation of Lorentz invariance up to γ ~ 1011. Neutral components (neutrinos and gamma rays can also be detected as well, if their fluxes are high enough. The JEM-EUSO mission is planned to be launched by a H2B rocket about 2017 and transferred to ISS by H2 Transfer Vehicle (HTV. It will be attached to the Exposed Facility external experiment platform of “KIBO”.

Helping Educators Grow: Strategies and Practices for Leadership Development

Science.gov (United States)

Drago-Severson, Eleanor

2012-01-01

How can we prepare practicing and aspiring education leaders for the complex, adaptive challenges they face? In "Helping Educators Grow," Eleanor Drago-Severson presents a new approach to leadership development. Too often, she argues, we teach leadership development the same way we teach world history: just the facts. Instead, we need to…

Advanced software development workstation: Object-oriented methodologies and applications for flight planning and mission operations

Science.gov (United States)

Izygon, Michel

1993-01-01

The work accomplished during the past nine months in order to help three different organizations involved in Flight Planning and in Mission Operations systems, to transition to Object-Oriented Technology, by adopting one of the currently most widely used Object-Oriented analysis and Design Methodology is summarized.

Perspectives on mission in the book of Zechariah

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel, O'Kennedy F.

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The prophetic book of Zechariah is often neglected when studying the mission of God and his church. Zechariah originated during the post-exilic era in Jerusalem and there are many similarities between this community and the post-apartheid community in South Africa. There are several references to nations and peoples in Zechariah, but most of them refer to Gods judgment against the nations. This article focuses on three key missionary passages namely Zechariah 2:11 (15, 8:20-23 and 14:16. The prophet visualises a faith community where the other nations will come and join them to experience the presence of God. Zechariah 2:11 uses covenantal language and emphasises that many nations shall be my people. Churches struggle to attract non-believers in our time. The study of Zechariah can help the church to be more missional so that non-believers will utter the words of Zechariah 8:23: Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.

Commissioning with low-intensity beams helps prepare CMS for this year’s physics run. This event is one of the first low-intensity collisions recorded in the CMS detector, during the early hours of 23 April 2016

CERN Multimedia

AUTHOR|(CDS)2068005

2016-01-01

Commissioning with low-intensity beams helps prepare CMS for this year’s physics run. This event is one of the first low-intensity collisions recorded in the CMS detector, during the early hours of 23 April 2016

High Energy Astrophysics and Fundamental Physics Missions in Japan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takahashi, Tadayuki [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), JAXA, 3-1-1, Yoshinodai, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan, 252-5210 (Japan)

2013-10-15

ISAS is the main branch institute of JAXA responsible for space science, conducting academic research by making the maximum use of its own scientific satellites, planetary probes, sounding rockets, and scientific balloons, and of collaborations with, and support from, other divisions/institutions of JAXA. By conducting observations not possible from the ground with the utilization of the space environment, we study the structure of the universe including the large-scale cosmological structure, nearby planetary systems, and the origin of universe. Currently we are concentrating on X-ray and Gamma-ray astronomy, infrared astronomy and radio astronomy. ASTRO-H is the largest international X-ray observatory which is currently under development, with launch scheduled for 2015. SPICA is being prepared as the next generation large and cooled infrared telescope. A number of working groups have been established to prepare missions with a vision towards the future.

The 2nd Generation Real Time Mission Monitor (RTMM) Development

Science.gov (United States)

Blakeslee, Richard; Goodman, Michael; Meyer, Paul; Hardin, Danny; Hall, John; He, Yubin; Regner, Kathryn; Conover, Helen; Smith, Tammy; Lu, Jessica;

The French proposal for a high spatial resolution Hyperspectral mission

Science.gov (United States)

Carrère, Véronique; Briottet, Xavier; Jacquemoud, Stéphane; Marion, Rodolphe; Bourguignon, Anne; Chami, Malik; Chanussot, Jocelyn; Chevrel, Stéphane; Deliot, Philippe; Dumont, Marie; Foucher, Pierre-Yves; Gomez, Cécile; Roman-Minghelli, Audrey; Sheeren, David; Weber, Christiane; Lefèvre, Marie-José; Mandea, Mioara

2014-05-01

More than 25 years of airborne imaging spectroscopy and spaceborne sensors such as Hyperion or HICO have clearly demonstrated the ability of such a remote sensing technique to produce value added information regarding surface composition and physical properties for a large variety of applications. Scheduled missions such as EnMAP and PRISMA prove the increased interest of the scientific community for such a type of remote sensing data. In France, a group of Science and Defence users of imaging spectrometry data (Groupe de Synthèse Hyperspectral, GSH) established an up-to-date review of possible applications, define instrument specifications required for accurate, quantitative retrieval of diagnostic parameters, and identify fields of application where imaging spectrometry is a major contribution. From these conclusions, CNES (French Space Agency) decided a phase 0 study for an hyperspectral mission concept, named at this time HYPXIM (HYPerspectral-X IMagery), the main fields of applications are vegetation biodiversity, coastal and inland waters, geosciences, urban environment, atmospheric sciences, cryosphere and Defence. Results pointed out applications where high spatial resolution was necessary and would not be covered by the other foreseen hyperspectral missions. The phase A started at the beginning of 2013 based on the following HYPXIM characteristics: a hyperspectral camera covering the [0.4 - 2.5 µm] spectral range with a 8 m ground sampling distance (GSD) and a PAN camera with a 1.85 m GSD, onboard a mini-satellite platform. This phase A is currently stopped due to budget constraints. Nevertheless, the Science team is currently focusing on the preparation for the next CNES prospective meeting (March, 2014), an important step for the future of the mission. This paper will provide an update of the status of this mission and of new results obtained by the Science team.

Communications and Informational Technologies: professional preparation of the Informatics professor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrian Robaina Valdés

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The development of the society it is sign by the development of the techniques and the science that has challenges the educational system in the formation of the new generation. The Cuban Educational politics had defined the social mission to each subsystem of education, in the particular case of the professional polytechnic education, belongs to the professors of Informatics, the accomplish of this mission, develop an important role in the educational use of the communication and informational technologies that requires and an adequate professional preparation. The aim of this article is to based form the theoretical and methodological point, the process of the professional preparation of the professors of informatics in the technical schools while they apply the communication and informational technologies, the theorical bases offered the historical past and tendencies of the professional preparation while they apply the communication and information technologies, the educative use of information technologies in the pedagogical process and the theoretical support in this process, using revision methods bibliography and systematizing . We may say that the research work concludes that the preparation of the professors had passed for different stages that had point to the need of the formation of professor to give answers to the introduction of the informatics subject at school, using different ways, the postgraduate updates and all the variety of ways to upgrade the professors will use. Form the educative point of view a part from the study as a subject must be use as an intermediate in the pedagogical process, also, to determine the characteristic that distinguish the professional preparation process.

Mission control team structure and operational lessons learned from the 2009 and 2010 NASA desert RATS simulated lunar exploration field tests

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Ernest R.; Badillo, Victor; Coan, David; Johnson, Kieth; Ney, Zane; Rosenbaum, Megan; Smart, Tifanie; Stone, Jeffry; Stueber, Ronald; Welsh, Daren; Guirgis, Peggy; Looper, Chris; McDaniel, Randall

2013-10-01

team the opportunity to gain insight into functional hardware requirements via lessons learned from executing the Desert RATS field test missions. This paper will detail the mission control team structure that was used during the 2009 and 2010 Desert RATS Lunar analog missions. It will also present a number of the lessons learned by the operations team during these field tests. Major lessons learned involved Mission Control Center (MCC) operations, pre-mission planning and training processes, procedure requirements, communication requirements, and logistic support for analogs. This knowledge will be applied to future Desert RATS field tests, and other Earth based analog testing for space exploration, to continue the evolution of manned space operations in preparation for human planetary exploration. It is important that operational knowledge for human space exploration missions be obtained during Earth-bound field tests to the greatest extent possible. This allows operations personnel the ability to examine various flight control and crew operations scenarios in preparation for actual space missions.

Applying Strategic Visualization(Registered Trademark) to Lunar and Planetary Mission Design

Science.gov (United States)

Frassanito, John R.; Cooke, D. R.

2002-01-01

NASA teams, such as the NASA Exploration Team (NEXT), utilize advanced computational visualization processes to develop mission designs and architectures for lunar and planetary missions. One such process, Strategic Visualization (trademark), is a tool used extensively to help mission designers visualize various design alternatives and present them to other participants of their team. The participants, which may include NASA, industry, and the academic community, are distributed within a virtual network. Consequently, computer animation and other digital techniques provide an efficient means to communicate top-level technical information among team members. Today,Strategic Visualization(trademark) is used extensively both in the mission design process within the technical community, and to communicate the value of space exploration to the general public. Movies and digital images have been generated and shown on nationally broadcast television and the Internet, as well as in magazines and digital media. In our presentation will show excerpts of a computer-generated animation depicting the reference Earth/Moon L1 Libration Point Gateway architecture. The Gateway serves as a staging corridor for human expeditions to the lunar poles and other surface locations. Also shown are crew transfer systems and current reference lunar excursion vehicles as well as the Human and robotic construction of an inflatable telescope array for deployment to the Sun/Earth Libration Point.

Ultra-Sensitive Electrostatic Accelerometers and Future Fundamental Physics Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Touboul, Pierre; Christophe, Bruno; Rodrigues, M.; Marque, Jean-Pierre; Foulon, Bernard

Ultra-sensitive electrostatic accelerometers have in the last decade demonstrated their unique performance and reliability in orbit leading to the success of the three Earth geodesy missions presently in operation. In the near future, space fundamental physics missions are in preparation and highlight the importance of this instrument for achieving new scientific objectives. Corner stone of General Relativity, the Equivalence Principle may be violated as predicted by attempts of Grand Unification. Verification experiment at a level of at least 10-15 is the objective of the CNES-ESA mission MICROSCOPE, thanks to a differential accelerometer configuration with concentric cylindrical test masses. To achieve the numerous severe requirements of the mission, the instrument is also used to control the attitude and the orbital motion of the space laboratory leading to a pure geodesic motion of the drag-free satellite. The performance of the accelerometer is a few tenth of femto-g, at the selected frequency of the test about 10-3 Hz, i.e several orbit frequencies. Another important experimental research in Gravity is the verification of the Einstein metric, in particular its dependence with the distance to the attractive body. The Gravity Advanced Package (GAP) is proposed for the future EJSM planetary mission, with the objective to verify this scale dependence of the gravitation law from Earth to Jupiter. This verification is performed, during the interplanetary cruise, by following precisely the satellite trajectory in the planet and Sun fields with an accurate measurement of the non-gravitational accelerations in order to evaluate the deviations to the geodesic motion. Accelerations at DC and very low frequency domain are concerned and the natural bias of the electrostatic accelerometer is thus compensated down to 5 10-11 m/s2 thanks to a specific bias calibration device. More ambitious, the dedicated mission Odyssey, proposed for Cosmic Vision, will fly in the Solar

Safety Characteristics in System Application of Software for Human Rated Exploration Missions for the 8th IAASS Conference

Science.gov (United States)

Mango, Edward J.

2016-01-01

NASA and its industry and international partners are embarking on a bold and inspiring development effort to design and build an exploration class space system. The space system is made up of the Orion system, the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) system. All are highly coupled together and dependent on each other for the combined safety of the space system. A key area of system safety focus needs to be in the ground and flight application software system (GFAS). In the development, certification and operations of GFAS, there are a series of safety characteristics that define the approach to ensure mission success. This paper will explore and examine the safety characteristics of the GFAS development. The GFAS system integrates the flight software packages of the Orion and SLS with the ground systems and launch countdown sequencers through the 'agile' software development process. A unique approach is needed to develop the GFAS project capabilities within this agile process. NASA has defined the software development process through a set of standards. The standards were written during the infancy of the so-called industry 'agile development' movement and must be tailored to adapt to the highly integrated environment of human exploration systems. Safety of the space systems and the eventual crew on board is paramount during the preparation of the exploration flight systems. A series of software safety characteristics have been incorporated into the development and certification efforts to ensure readiness for use and compatibility with the space systems. Three underlining factors in the exploration architecture require the GFAS system to be unique in its approach to ensure safety for the space systems, both the flight as well as the ground systems. The first are the missions themselves, which are exploration in nature, and go far beyond the comfort of low Earth orbit operations. The second is the current exploration

Logistics Needs for Potential Deep Space Mission Scenarios Post Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez, Pedro, Jr.; Shultz, Eric; Mattfeld, Bryan; Stromgren, Chel; Goodliff, Kandyce

2015-01-01

The Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) is currently being explored as the next step towards deep space human exploration, with the ultimate goal of reaching Mars. NASA is currently investigating a number of potential human exploration missions, which will progressively increase the distance and duration that humans spend away from Earth. Missions include extended human exploration in cis-lunar space which, as conceived, would involve durations of around 60 days, and human missions to Mars, which are anticipated to be as long as 1000 days. The amount of logistics required to keep the crew alive and healthy for these missions is significant. It is therefore important that the design and planning for these missions include accurate estimates of logistics requirements. This paper provides a description of a process and calculations used to estimate mass and volume requirements for crew logistics, including consumables, such as food, personal items, gasses, and liquids. Determination of logistics requirements is based on crew size, mission duration, and the degree of closure of the environmental control life support system (ECLSS). Details are provided on the consumption rates for different types of logistics and how those rates were established. Results for potential mission scenarios are presented, including a breakdown of mass and volume drivers. Opportunities for mass and volume reduction are identified, along with potential threats that could possibly increase requirements.

Planetary protection issues related to human missions to Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Debus, A.; Arnould, J.

2008-09-01

In accordance with the United Nations Outer Space Treaties [United Nations, Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, UN doc A/RES/34/68, resolution 38/68 of December 1979], currently maintained and promulgated by the Committee on Space Research [COSPAR Planetary Protection Panel, Planetary Protection Policy accepted by the COSPAR Council and Bureau, 20 October 2002, amended 24 March 2005, http://www.cosparhq.org/scistr/PPPolicy.htm], missions exploring the Solar system must meet planetary protection requirements. Planetary protection aims to protect celestial bodies from terrestrial contamination and to protect the Earth environment from potential biological contamination carried by returned samples or space systems that have been in contact with an extraterrestrial environment. From an exobiology perspective, Mars is one of the major targets, and several missions are currently in operation, in transit, or scheduled for its exploration. Some of them include payloads dedicated to the detection of life or traces of life. The next step, over the coming years, will be to return samples from Mars to Earth, with a view to increasing our knowledge in preparation for the first manned mission that is likely to take place within the next few decades. Robotic missions to Mars shall meet planetary protection specifications, currently well documented, and planetary protection programs are implemented in a very reliable manner given that experience in the field spans some 40 years. With regards to sample return missions, a set of stringent requirements has been approved by COSPAR [COSPAR Planetary Protection Panel, Planetary Protection Policy accepted by the COSPAR Council and Bureau, 20 October 2002, amended 24 March 2005, http://www.cosparhq.org/scistr/PPPolicy.htm], and technical challenges must now be overcome in order to preserve the Earth’s biosphere from any eventual contamination risk. In addition to the human dimension of

End of mission report on seismic safety review mission for Belene NPP site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gurpinar, A.; Mohammadioun, B.; Schneider, H.; Serva, L.

1995-01-01

Upon the invitation of the Bulgarian government through the Committee for the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy and within the framework of the implementation of the Technical Cooperation project BUL/9/012 related to site and seismic of NPPs, a mission visited Sofia 3 - 7 July 1995. The mission constituted a follow-up of the interim review of subjects related to tectonic stability and seismic hazard characterization of the site which was performed in September 1993. The main objective of the mission was the final review of the subjects already reviewed in September 1993 as well as issues related to geotechnical engineering and foundation safety. The main terms of reference of the present mission was to verify the implementation of the recommendations of the Site Safety Review Mission of June 1990. This document gives findings on geology-tectonics, seismology and foundation safety. In the end conclusions and recommendations of the mission are presented

Preparing participants for intergenerational interaction training for success

CERN Document Server

Hawkins, Melissa; Mcguire, Francis A

2013-01-01

Preparing Participants for Intergenerational Interaction: Training for Success examines established intergenerational programs and provides the training methods necessary for activity directors or practitioners to start a similar program. This book contains exercises that will help you train colleagues and volunteers for these specific programs and includes criteria for activity evaluations. Preparing Participants for Intergenerational Interaction will help you implement programs that enable older adults to build friendships, pass down their skills and knowledge to adolescents, and provide youths with positive role models. Discussing the factors that often limit the interaction of older adults with youths, this text stresses the importance of conveying information and history to younger generations. You will learn why the exchange between different generations is crucial to society and to the improvement of the community in which you live. Preparing Participants for Intergenerational Interaction provides you ...

Mental preparation for the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Jeffrey

2012-01-01

The purpose of this review is to describe how Paralympians can prepare for the 2014 Paralympic Games through mental skill use. A search of adapted physical activity, sport psychology, and disability-specific journals was conducted along with electronic databases (eg, ArticleFirst) using the terms sport psychology, Olympics, Paralympics, psychological and mental preparation and skills, imagery, visualization, self-talk, anxiety, confidence, and performance enhancement. Reference lists from relevant articles were then used to continue the search. No constraining dates were used. A review of the results from both qualitative and quantitative research on Paralympians, Olympians, and elite-level athletes suggests that mental preparation and mental skill development can help Paralympians enhance their performances. Sport psychologists can help Paralympians develop mental skills to manage the unique stressors of the Paralympics to increase the odds of having superior performances.

Mission Operations Directorate - Success Legacy of the Space Shuttle Program (Overview of the Evolution and Success Stories from MOD During the Space Shuttle program)

Science.gov (United States)

Azbell, Jim A.

2011-01-01

In support of the Space Shuttle Program, as well as NASA's other human space flight programs, the Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) at the Johnson Space Center has become the world leader in human spaceflight operations. From the earliest programs - Mercury, Gemini, Apollo - through Skylab, Shuttle, ISS, and our Exploration initiatives, MOD and its predecessors have pioneered ops concepts and emphasized a history of mission leadership which has added value, maximized mission success, and built on continual improvement of the capabilities to become more efficient and effective. This paper provides specific examples that illustrate how MOD's focus on building and contributing value with diverse teams has been key to their successes both with the US space industry and the broader international community. This paper will discuss specific examples for the Plan, Train, Fly, and Facilities aspects within MOD. This paper also provides a discussion of the joint civil servant/contractor environment and the relative badge-less society within MOD. Several Shuttle mission related examples have also been included that encompass all of the aforementioned MOD elements and attributes, and are used to show significant MOD successes within the Shuttle Program. These examples include the STS-49 Intelsat recovery and repair, the (post-Columbia accident) TPS inspection process and the associated R-Bar Pitch Maneuver for ISS missions, and the STS-400 rescue mission preparation efforts for the Hubble Space Telescope repair mission. Since their beginning, MOD has consistently demonstrated their ability to evolve and respond to an ever changing environment, effectively prepare for the expected and successfully respond to the unexpected, and develop leaders, expertise, and a culture that has led to mission and Program success.

B plant mission analysis report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lund, D.P.

1995-01-01

This report further develops the mission for B Plant originally defined in WHC-EP-0722, ''System Engineering Functions and Requirements for the Hanford Cleanup Mission: First Issue.'' The B Plant mission analysis will be the basis for a functional analysis that breaks down the B Plant mission statement into the necessary activities to accomplish the mission. These activities are the product of the functional analysis and will then be used in subsequent steps of the systems engineering process, such as identifying requirements and allocating those requirements to B Plant functions. The information in this mission analysis and the functional and requirements analysis are a part of the B Plant technical baseline

Mission Specialist Pedro Duque undergoes equipment check prior to launch

Science.gov (United States)

1998-01-01

In the Operations and Checkout Building, STS-95 Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, with the European Space Agency, gets help with his suit from suit technician Tommy McDonald. The STS-95 crew were conducting flight crew equipment fit checks prior to launch on Oct. 29. STS-95 is expected to launch at 2 p.m. EST on Oct. 29, last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, and land at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7.

International solar-terrestrial physics program: a plan for the core spaceflight missions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1985-01-01

This brochure has been prepared to describe the scope of the science problems to be investigated and the mission plan for the core International Solar-Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) Program. This information is intended to stimulate discussions and plans for the comprehensive worldwide ISTP Program. The plan for the study of the solar - terrestrial system is included. The Sun, geospace, and Sun-Earth interaction is discussed as is solar dynamics and the origins of solar winds.

Missions to Venus

Science.gov (United States)

Titov, D. V.; Baines, K. H.; Basilevsky, A. T.; Chassefiere, E.; Chin, G.; Crisp, D.; Esposito, L. W.; Lebreton, J.-P.; Lellouch, E.; Moroz, V. I.; Nagy, A. F.; Owen, T. C.; Oyama, K.-I.; Russell, C. T.; Taylor, F. W.; Young, R. E.

2002-10-01

Venus has always been a fascinating objective for planetary studies. At the beginning of the space era Venus became one of the first targets for spacecraft missions. Our neighbour in the solar system and, in size, the twin sister of Earth, Venus was expected to be very similar to our planet. However, the first phase of Venus spacecraft exploration in 1962-1992 by the family of Soviet Venera and Vega spacecraft and US Mariner, Pioneer Venus, and Magellan missions discovered an entirely different, exotic world hidden behind a curtain of dense clouds. These studies gave us a basic knowledge of the conditions on the planet, but generated many more questions concerning the atmospheric composition, chemistry, structure, dynamics, surface-atmosphere interactions, atmospheric and geological evolution, and the plasma environment. Despite all of this exploration by more than 20 spacecraft, the "morning star" still remains a mysterious world. But for more than a decade Venus has been a "forgotten" planet with no new missions featuring in the plans of the world space agencies. Now we are witnessing the revival of interest in this planet: the Venus Orbiter mission is approved in Japan, Venus Express - a European orbiter mission - has successfully passed the selection procedure in ESA, and several Venus Discovery proposals are knocking at the doors of NASA. The paper presents an exciting story of Venus spacecraft exploration, summarizes open scientific problems, and builds a bridge to the future missions.

Women's oral and dental health aspects in humanitarian missions and disasters: Jordanian experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Smadi, Leena; Sumadi, Aiman Al

2016-01-01

The study aimed to review oral and dental health aspects in female patients presented to Jordanian Royal Medical Services (RMS) international humanitarian missions over a 3-year period. Analysis of humanitarian missions of RMS data and records over a 3-year period (2011-2013) in regard to women's oral and dental health issues was done. The data were analyzed in regard to the number of women seen, the presenting conditions, and the prevalence of oral and dental diseases and procedures in these cases. During the 3-year period, 72 missions were deployed in four locations (Gaza, Ram Allah-West Bank, Jeneen-West Bank, and Iraq). The total number of females seen in this period was 86,436 women, accounting for 56 percent of adult patients seen by RMS humanitarian missions. Dental Clinics were deployed to only two missions (Iraq and Gaza), during which they received 13,629 visits; of these, 41 percent were females (5,588 patients), 29 percent were males, and 30 percent were in the pediatric age group. Trauma accounts for only 7 percent of the cases, while nonacute dental problems (caries and gingivitis) were responsible for the majority of cases (31.6 and 28.7 percent, respectively). RMS dental services during humanitarian mission deployment are a vital part of comprehensive healthcare. Women usually seek more dental care than men, with the majority of treatments for nonacute conditions. RMS experiences demonstrate the tremendous need for a well-defined preparedness plan for deployment of humanitarian missions that considers the contributions of all types of health professionals, the appropriate mobile technology to respond to emergent health risks, and a competent workforce ready and able to respond. Such preparation will require our dental education programs to develop disaster preparedness competencies to achieve the desired level of understanding.

Statistics of AUV's Missions for Operational Ocean Observation at the South Brazilian Bight.

Science.gov (United States)

dos Santos, F. A.; São Tiago, P. M.; Oliveira, A. L. S. C.; Barmak, R. B.; Miranda, T. C.; Guerra, L. A. A.

2016-02-01

The high costs and logistics limitations of ship-based data collection represent an obstacle for a persistent in-situ data collection. Satellite-operated Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV's) or gliders (as these AUV's are generally known by the scientific community) are presented as an inexpensive and reliable alternative to perform long-term and real-time ocean monitoring of important parameters such as temperature, salinity, water-quality and acoustics. This work is focused on the performance statistics and the reliability for continuous operation of a fleet of seven gliders navigating in Santos Basin - Brazil, since March 2013. The gliders performance were evaluated by the number of standby days versus the number of operating days, the number of interrupted missions due to (1) equipment failure, (2) weather, (3) accident versus the number of successful missions and the amount and quality of data collected. From the start of the operations in March 2013 to the preparation of this work (July 2015), a total of 16 glider missions were accomplished, operating during 728 of the 729 days passed since then. From this total, 11 missions were successful, 3 missions were interrupted due to equipment failure and 2 gliders were lost. Most of the identified issues were observed in the communication with the glider (when recovery was necessary) or the optode sensors (when remote settings solved the problem). The average duration of a successful mission was 103 days while interrupted ones ended on average in 7 days. The longest mission lasted for 139 days, performing 859 continuous profiles and covering a distance of 2734 Km. The 2 projects performed together 6856 dives, providing an average of 9,5 profiles per day or one profile every 2,5 hours each day during 2 consecutive years.

Funding and Strategic Alignment Guidance for Infusing Small Business Innovation Research Technology Into Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate Projects for 2016

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Hung D.; Steele, Gynelle C.

2017-01-01

This report is intended to help NASA program and project managers incorporate Small Business Innovation Research Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) technologies into NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) projects. Other Government and commercial projects managers can also find this useful. Space Transportation; Life Support and Habitation Systems; Extra-Vehicular Activity; High EfficiencySpace Power; Human Exploration and Operations Mission,

Robotic Missions to Small Bodies and Their Potential Contributions to Human Exploration and Planetary Defense

Science.gov (United States)

Abell, Paul A.; Rivkin, Andrew S.

2015-01-01

Introduction: Robotic missions to small bodies will directly address aspects of NASA's Asteroid Initiative and will contribute to future human exploration and planetary defense. The NASA Asteroid Initiative is comprised of two major components: the Grand Challenge and the Asteroid Mission. The first component, the Grand Challenge, focuses on protecting Earth's population from asteroid impacts by detecting potentially hazardous objects with enough warning time to either prevent them from impacting the planet, or to implement civil defense procedures. The Asteroid Mission involves sending astronauts to study and sample a near-Earth asteroid (NEA) prior to conducting exploration missions of the Martian system, which includes Phobos and Deimos. The science and technical data obtained from robotic precursor missions that investigate the surface and interior physical characteristics of an object will help identify the pertinent physical properties that will maximize operational efficiency and reduce mission risk for both robotic assets and crew operating in close proximity to, or at the surface of, a small body. These data will help fill crucial strategic knowledge gaps (SKGs) concerning asteroid physical characteristics that are relevant for human exploration considerations at similar small body destinations. These data can also be applied for gaining an understanding of pertinent small body physical characteristics that would also be beneficial for formulating future impact mitigation procedures. Small Body Strategic Knowledge Gaps: For the past several years NASA has been interested in identifying the key SKGs related to future human destinations. These SKGs highlight the various unknowns and/or data gaps of targets that the science and engineering communities would like to have filled in prior to committing crews to explore the Solar System. An action team from the Small Bodies Assessment Group (SBAG) was formed specifically to identify the small body SKGs under the

IAEA Completes Nuclear Security Review Mission in Hungary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

improvement of nuclear security. The IPPAS team provided a draft report to the HAEA and will submit a final report soon. Because it contains security-related information about specific Hungarian nuclear sites, the report cannot be made publicly available. ''Hungary will implement recommendations and suggestions in the near future, and we intend to invite a follow-up mission afterwards,'' said Kristof Horvath, Deputy Director General of the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority. Background: The mission was the 59th IPPAS mission conducted by the IAEA since the program began in 1995, and the second requested by the Hungary (the first was conducted in 1997). IPPAS missions are intended to help nations strengthen their national nuclear security regime. The missions provide peer advice on implementing international instruments, and IAEA guidance on the protection of nuclear and other radioactive material and associated facilities. The missions call upon a team of international experts to assess a nation's system of physical protection, compare it with international best practices and make recommendations for improvements. IPPAS missions are conducted both on a nation-wide and facility-specific basis. Hungary is party to all international instruments relevant to nuclear security, including the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) and has ratified its 2005 Amendment. Hungary also supports the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources as well as the Guidance on the Import and Export of Radioactive Sources. The IAEA will host a major Nuclear Security Conference in Vienna on 1-5 July 2013. All 159 IAEA Member States have been invited to the International Conference on Nuclear Security: Enhancing Global Efforts, which will provide a global forum for senior officials to discuss nuclear security priorities. (IAEA)

Technology Readiness Level Assessment Process as Applied to NASA Earth Science Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Leete, Stephen J.; Romero, Raul A.; Dempsey, James A.; Carey, John P.; Cline, Helmut P.; Lively, Carey F.

2015-01-01

Technology assessments of fourteen science instruments were conducted within NASA using the NASA Technology Readiness Level (TRL) Metric. The instruments were part of three NASA Earth Science Decadal Survey missions in pre-formulation. The Earth Systematic Missions Program (ESMP) Systems Engineering Working Group (SEWG), composed of members of three NASA Centers, provided a newly modified electronic workbook to be completed, with instructions. Each instrument development team performed an internal assessment of its technology status, prepared an overview of its instrument, and completed the workbook with the results of its assessment. A team from the ESMP SEWG met with each instrument team and provided feedback. The instrument teams then reported through the Program Scientist for their respective missions to NASA's Earth Science Division (ESD) on technology readiness, taking the SEWG input into account. The instruments were found to have a range of TRL from 4 to 7. Lessons Learned are presented; however, due to the competition-sensitive nature of the assessments, the results for specific missions are not presented. The assessments were generally successful, and produced useful results for the agency. The SEWG team identified a number of potential improvements to the process. Particular focus was on ensuring traceability to guiding NASA documents, including the NASA Systems Engineering Handbook. The TRL Workbook has been substantially modified, and the revised workbook is described.

IAEA Remediation Mission to Japan Concludes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

Full text: A team of international experts today completed a preliminary assessment of the strategy and plans being considered by the Japanese authorities to remediate the areas off-site the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant reported to have elevated levels of radiation. The IAEA dispatched the mission to Japan on 7 October following a request from the country's Government. The mission, comprising 12 international and IAEA experts from several countries, visited numerous locations in the Fukushima Prefecture and conducted meetings in Tokyo and Fukushima with Japanese officials from several Ministries and institutions. ''The meetings held and visits made by the team over the last eight days gave us a first-hand appreciation of the extraordinary efforts and dedication on the part of Japanese people in their effort to remediate the areas affected by elevated levels of radiation in the Fukushima Prefecture,'' says Mr. Juan Carlos Lentijo, Team Leader and General Director for Radiation Protection at Spain's nuclear regulatory authority. ''As Japan continues its current remediation efforts, it is our belief that this work will bring relief to the populations who are affected by the consequences of the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.'' In a Preliminary Summary Report delivered to Japanese authorities today, the team prepared a set of conclusions including, though not limited to, the following: - Japan developed an efficient program for remediation - allocating the necessary legal, financial and technological resources to bring relief to the people affected by the accident, with priority being given to children. The Team was impressed with the strong commitment to the remediation effort from all institutions and parties involved, including the public; - Japan has also taken practical measures to inform the public and involve residents and local institutions in the process of defining its remediation strategy; - Japan is advised to avoid

Preparing for Emergency Situations

Science.gov (United States)

Asproth, Viveca; Amcoff Nyström, Christina

2010-11-01

Disaster relief can be seen as a dynamic multi actor process with actors both joining and leaving the relief work during the help and rescue phase after the disaster has occurred. Actors may be governmental agencies, non profit voluntary organisations or spontaneous helpers comprised of individual citizens or temporal groups of citizens. Hence, they will vary widely in agility, competence, resources, and endurance. To prepare for for disasters a net based Agora with simulation of emergency situations for mutual preparation, training, and organisational learning is suggested. Such an Agora will ensure future security by: -Rising awareness and preparedness of potential disaster responders by help of the components and resources in the netAgora environment; -Improving cooperation and coordination between responders; -Improving competence and performance of organisations involved in security issues; -Bridging cultural differences between responders from different organizations and different backgrounds. The developed models are intended to reflect intelligent anticipatory systems for human operator anticipation of future consequences. As a way to catch what should be included in this netbased Agora and to join the split pictures that is present, Team Syntegrity could be a helpful tool. The purpose of Team Syntegrity is to stimulate collaboration and incite cross fertilization and creativity. The difference between syntegration and other group work is that the participants are evenly and uniquely distributed and will collectively have the means, the knowledge, the experience, the perspectives, and the expertise, to deal with the topic. In this paper the possibilities with using Team Syntegrity in preparation for the development of a netbased Agora is discussed. We have identified that Team Syntegrity could be useful in the steps User Integration, Designing the netAgora environment, developing Test Scenarios, and assessment of netAgora environment.

Preface: The Chang'e-3 lander and rover mission to the Moon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ip Wing-Huen; Yan Jun; Li Chun-Lai; Ouyang Zi-Yuan

2014-01-01

The Chang'e-3 (CE-3) lander and rover mission to the Moon was an intermediate step in China's lunar exploration program, which will be followed by a sample return mission. The lander was equipped with a number of remote-sensing instruments including a pair of cameras (Landing Camera and Terrain Camera) for recording the landing process and surveying terrain, an extreme ultraviolet camera for monitoring activities in the Earth's plasmasphere, and a first-ever Moon-based ultraviolet telescope for astronomical observations. The Yutu rover successfully carried out close-up observations with the Panoramic Camera, mineralogical investigations with the VIS-NIR Imaging Spectrometer, study of elemental abundances with the Active Particle-induced X-ray Spectrometer, and pioneering measurements of the lunar subsurface with Lunar Penetrating Radar. This special issue provides a collection of key information on the instrumental designs, calibration methods and data processing procedures used by these experiments with a perspective of facilitating further analyses of scientific data from CE-3 in preparation for future missions

New Hubble Servicing Mission to upgrade instruments

Science.gov (United States)

2006-10-01

its history. Astronomers are requesting five times more observing time than that available to them” says Bob Fosbury, Head of the HST European Coordinating Facility. “The new instruments will open completely new windows on the universe. Extraordinary observations are planned over the coming years, including some of the most fascinating physical phenomena ever seen: investigation of planets around other stars, digging deeper into the ancestry of our Milky Way and above all gaining a much deeper insight into the evolution of the universe.” Around the same time that the Shuttle lifts off for the Servicing Mission, ESA will launch Herschel, the orbiting telescope with the largest mirror ever deployed in space. Herschel will complement Hubble in the infrared part of the spectrum and is an ESA mission with NASA participation. Instead of being left at the mercy of its aging instruments, the Hubble Space Telescope will now be given the new lease of life it deserves. In the hope that more discoveries from Hubble will help explain more of the mysteries of the universe, astronauts will make this fifth trip to the world’s most powerful visual light observatory and increase its lifespan and scientific power. Hubble’s direct successor, the James Webb Space Telescope - a collaborative project being undertaken by NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency - is scheduled for launch in 2013. The Servicing Mission just decided on will reduce the gap between the end of the HST mission and the start of the JWST mission. Notes for editors The Hubble Space Telescope project is being carried out by ESA and NASA on the basis of international cooperation.

Air Breathing Propulsion Controls and Diagnostics Research at NASA Glenn Under NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Garg, Sanjay

2015-01-01

The Intelligent Control and Autonomy Branch (ICA) at NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Glenn Research Center (GRC) in Cleveland, Ohio, is leading and participating in various projects in partnership with other organizations within GRC and across NASA, the U.S. aerospace industry, and academia to develop advanced controls and health management technologies that will help meet the goals of the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) Programs. These efforts are primarily under the various projects under the Advanced Air Vehicles Program (AAVP), Airspace Operations and Safety Program (AOSP) and Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program (TAC). The ICA Branch is focused on advancing the state-of-the-art of aero-engine control and diagnostics technologies to help improve aviation safety, increase efficiency, and enable operation with reduced emissions. This paper describes the various ICA research efforts under the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Programs with a summary of motivation, background, technical approach, and recent accomplishments for each of the research tasks.

The Messenger Mission to Mercury

CERN Document Server

Domingue, D. L

2007-01-01

NASA’s MESSENGER mission, launched on 3 August, 2004 is the seventh mission in the Discovery series. MESSENGER encounters the planet Mercury four times, culminating with an insertion into orbit on 18 March 2011. It carries a comprehensive package of geophysical, geological, geochemical, and space environment experiments to complete the complex investigations of this solar-system end member, which begun with Mariner 10. The articles in this book, written by the experts in each area of the MESSENGER mission, describe the mission, spacecraft, scientific objectives, and payload. The book is of interest to all potential users of the data returned by the MESSENGER mission, to those studying the nature of the planet Mercury, and by all those interested in the design and implementation of planetary exploration missions.

Synergies Between the Kepler, K2 and TESS Missions with the PLATO Mission (Revised)

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins, Jon M.

2017-01-01

Two transit survey missions will have been flown by NASA prior to the launch of ESA's PLATO Mission in 2026, laying the groundwork for exoplanet discovery via the transit method. The Kepler Mission, which launched in 2009, collected data on its 100+ square degree field of view for four years before failure of a reaction wheel ended its primary mission. The results from Kepler include 2300+ confirmed or validated exoplanets, 2200+ planetary candidates, 2100+ eclipsing binaries. Kepler also revolutionized the field of asteroseismology by measuring the pressure mode oscillations of over 15000 solar-like stars spanning the lifecycle of such stars from hydrogen-burning dwarfs to helium-burning red giants. The re-purposed Kepler Mission, dubbed K2, continues to observe fields of view in and near the ecliptic plane for 80 days each, significantly broadening the scope of the astrophysical investigations as well as discovering an additional 156 exoplanets to date. The TESS mission will launch in 2017 to conduct an all-sky survey for small exoplanets orbiting stars 10X closer and 100X brighter than Kepler exoplanet host stars, allowing for far greater follow-up and characterization of their masses as well as their sizes for at least 50 small planets. Future assets such as James Webb Space Telescope, and ground-based assets such as ESOs Very Large Telescope (VLT) array, the Exremely Large Telescope (ELT), and the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) will be able to characterize the atmospheric composition and properties of these small planets. TESS will observe each 24 X 96 field of view for 30 days and thereby cover first the southern and then the northern hemisphere over 13 pointings during each year of the primary mission. The pole-most camera will observe the James Webb continuous viewing zone for one year in each hemisphere, permitting much longer period planets to be detected in this region. The PLATO mission will seek to detect habitable Earth-like planets with an instrument

EUCLID mission design

Science.gov (United States)

Wallner, Oswald; Ergenzinger, Klaus; Tuttle, Sean; Vaillon, L.; Johann, Ulrich

2017-11-01

EUCLID, a medium-class mission candidate of ESA's Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 Program, currently in Definition Phase (Phase A/B1), shall map the geometry of the Dark Universe by investigating dark matter distributions, the distance-redshift relationship, and the evolution of cosmic structures. EUCLID consists of a 1.2 m telescope and two scientific instruments for ellipticity and redshift measurements in the visible and nearinfrared wavelength regime. We present a design concept of the EUCLID mission which is fully compliant with the mission requirements. Preliminary concepts of the spacecraft and of the payload including the scientific instruments are discussed.

Mission operations technology

Science.gov (United States)

Varsi, Giulio

In the last decade, the operation of a spacecraft after launch has emerged as a major component of the total cost of the mission. This trend is sustained by the increasing complexity, flexibility, and data gathering capability of the space assets and by their greater reliability and consequent longevity. The trend can, however, be moderated by the progressive transfer of selected functions from the ground to the spacecraft and by application, on the ground, of new technology. Advances in ground operations derive from the introduction in the mission operations environment of advanced microprocessor-based workstations in the class of a few million instructions per second and from the selective application of artificial intelligence technology. In the last few years a number of these applications have been developed, tested in operational settings and successfully demonstrated to users. Some are now being integrated in mission operations facilities. An analysis of mission operations indicates that the key areas are: concurrent control of multiple missions; automated/interactive production of command sequences of high integrity at low cost; automated monitoring of spacecraft health and automated aides for fault diagnosis; automated allocation of resources; automated processing of science data; and high-fidelity, high-speed spacecraft simulation. Examples of major advances in selected areas are described.

Tank waste remediation system retrieval and disposal mission initial updated baseline summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swita, W.R.

1998-01-01

This document provides a summary of the Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Retrieval and Disposal Mission Initial Updated Baseline (scope, schedule, and cost), developed to demonstrate Readiness-to-Proceed (RTP) in support of the TWRS Phase 1B mission. This Updated Baseline is the proposed TWRS plan to execute and measure the mission work scope. This document and other supporting data demonstrate that the TWRS Project Hanford Management Contract (PHMC) team is prepared to fully support Phase 1B by executing the following scope, schedule, and cost baseline activities: Deliver the specified initial low-activity waste (LAW) and high-level waste (HLW) feed batches in a consistent, safe, and reliable manner to support private contractors' operations starting in June 2002; Deliver specified subsequent LAW and HLW feed batches during Phase 1B in a consistent, safe, and reliable manner; Provide for the interim storage of immobilized HLW (IHLW) products and the disposal of immobilized LAW (ILAW) products generated by the private contractors; Provide for disposal of byproduct wastes generated by the private contractors; and Provide the infrastructure to support construction and operations of the private contractors' facilities

Liquid Effluents Program mission analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lowe, S.S.

1994-01-01

Systems engineering is being used to identify work to cleanup the Hanford Site. The systems engineering process transforms an identified mission need into a set of performance parameters and a preferred system configuration. Mission analysis is the first step in the process. Mission analysis supports early decision-making by clearly defining the program objectives, and evaluating the feasibility and risks associated with achieving those objectives. The results of the mission analysis provide a consistent basis for subsequent systems engineering work. A mission analysis was performed earlier for the overall Hanford Site. This work was continued by a ''capstone'' team which developed a top-level functional analysis. Continuing in a top-down manner, systems engineering is now being applied at the program and project levels. A mission analysis was conducted for the Liquid Effluents Program. The results are described herein. This report identifies the initial conditions and acceptable final conditions, defines the programmatic and physical interfaces and sources of constraints, estimates the resources to carry out the mission, and establishes measures of success. The mission analysis reflects current program planning for the Liquid Effluents Program as described in Liquid Effluents FY 1995 Multi-Year Program Plan

Lunar Exploration Missions Since 2006

Science.gov (United States)

Lawrence, S. J. (Editor); Gaddis, L. R.; Joy, K. H.; Petro, N. E.

2017-01-01

The announcement of the Vision for Space Exploration in 2004 sparked a resurgence in lunar missions worldwide. Since the publication of the first "New Views of the Moon" volume, as of 2017 there have been 11 science-focused missions to the Moon. Each of these missions explored different aspects of the Moon's geology, environment, and resource potential. The results from this flotilla of missions have revolutionized lunar science, and resulted in a profoundly new emerging understanding of the Moon. The New Views of the Moon II initiative itself, which is designed to engage the large and vibrant lunar science community to integrate the results of these missions into new consensus viewpoints, is a direct outcome of this impressive array of missions. The "Lunar Exploration Missions Since 2006" chapter will "set the stage" for the rest of the volume, introducing the planetary community at large to the diverse array of missions that have explored the Moon in the last decade. Content: This chapter will encompass the following missions: Kaguya; ARTEMIS (Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of the Moon’s Interaction with the Sun); Chang’e-1; Chandrayaan-1; Moon Impact Probe; Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO); Lunar Crater Observation Sensing Satellite (LCROSS); Chang’e-2; Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL); Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE); Chang’e-3.

Integrated Human-Robotic Missions to the Moon and Mars: Mission Operations Design Implications

Science.gov (United States)

Mishkin, Andrew; Lee, Young; Korth, David; LeBlanc, Troy

2007-01-01

For most of the history of space exploration, human and robotic programs have been independent, and have responded to distinct requirements. The NASA Vision for Space Exploration calls for the return of humans to the Moon, and the eventual human exploration of Mars; the complexity of this range of missions will require an unprecedented use of automation and robotics in support of human crews. The challenges of human Mars missions, including roundtrip communications time delays of 6 to 40 minutes, interplanetary transit times of many months, and the need to manage lifecycle costs, will require the evolution of a new mission operations paradigm far less dependent on real-time monitoring and response by an Earthbound operations team. Robotic systems and automation will augment human capability, increase human safety by providing means to perform many tasks without requiring immediate human presence, and enable the transfer of traditional mission control tasks from the ground to crews. Developing and validating the new paradigm and its associated infrastructure may place requirements on operations design for nearer-term lunar missions. The authors, representing both the human and robotic mission operations communities, assess human lunar and Mars mission challenges, and consider how human-robot operations may be integrated to enable efficient joint operations, with the eventual emergence of a unified exploration operations culture.

GRACE Status at Mission End

Science.gov (United States)

Tapley, B. D.; Flechtner, F. M.; Watkins, M. M.; Bettadpur, S. V.

2017-12-01

The twin satellites of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) were launched on March 17, 2002 and have operated for nearly 16 years. The mission objectives are to observe the spatial and temporal variations of the Earth's mass through its effects on the gravity field at the GRACE satellite altitude. The mass changes observed are related to both the changes within the solid earth and the change within and between the Erath system components. A significant cause of the time varying mass is water motion and the GRACE mission has provided a continuous decade long measurement sequence which characterizes the seasonal cycle of mass transport between the oceans, land, cryosphere and atmosphere; its inter-annual variability; and the climate driven secular, or long period, mass transport signals. The fifth reanalysis on the mission data set, the RL05 data, were released in mid-2013. With the planned launch of GRACE Follow-On in early 2018, plans are underway for a reanalysis that will be consistent with the GRACE FO processing standards. The mission is entering the final phases of its operation life with mission end expected to occur in early 2018. The current mission operations strategy emphasizes extending the mission lifetime to obtain an overlap with the GRACE FO. This presentation will review the mission status and the projections for mission lifetime, describe the current operations philosophy and its impact on the science data, discuss the issues related to achieving the GRACE and GRACE FO connection and discuss issues related to science data products during this phase of the mission period.

Mission simulation as an approach to develop requirements for automation in Advanced Life Support Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Erickson, J. D.; Eckelkamp, R. E.; Barta, D. J.; Dragg, J.; Henninger, D. L. (Principal Investigator)

1996-01-01

This paper examines mission simulation as an approach to develop requirements for automation and robotics for Advanced Life Support Systems (ALSS). The focus is on requirements and applications for command and control, control and monitoring, situation assessment and response, diagnosis and recovery, adaptive planning and scheduling, and other automation applications in addition to mechanized equipment and robotics applications to reduce the excessive human labor requirements to operate and maintain an ALSS. Based on principles of systems engineering, an approach is proposed to assess requirements for automation and robotics using mission simulation tools. First, the story of a simulated mission is defined in terms of processes with attendant types of resources needed, including options for use of automation and robotic systems. Next, systems dynamics models are used in simulation to reveal the implications for selected resource allocation schemes in terms of resources required to complete operational tasks. The simulations not only help establish ALSS design criteria, but also may offer guidance to ALSS research efforts by identifying gaps in knowledge about procedures and/or biophysical processes. Simulations of a planned one-year mission with 4 crewmembers in a Human Rated Test Facility are presented as an approach to evaluation of mission feasibility and definition of automation and robotics requirements.

Moon Search Algorithms for NASA's Dawn Mission to Asteroid Vesta

Science.gov (United States)

Memarsadeghi, Nargess; Mcfadden, Lucy A.; Skillman, David R.; McLean, Brian; Mutchler, Max; Carsenty, Uri; Palmer, Eric E.

2012-01-01

A moon or natural satellite is a celestial body that orbits a planetary body such as a planet, dwarf planet, or an asteroid. Scientists seek understanding the origin and evolution of our solar system by studying moons of these bodies. Additionally, searches for satellites of planetary bodies can be important to protect the safety of a spacecraft as it approaches or orbits a planetary body. If a satellite of a celestial body is found, the mass of that body can also be calculated once its orbit is determined. Ensuring the Dawn spacecraft's safety on its mission to the asteroid Vesta primarily motivated the work of Dawn's Satellite Working Group (SWG) in summer of 2011. Dawn mission scientists and engineers utilized various computational tools and techniques for Vesta's satellite search. The objectives of this paper are to 1) introduce the natural satellite search problem, 2) present the computational challenges, approaches, and tools used when addressing this problem, and 3) describe applications of various image processing and computational algorithms for performing satellite searches to the electronic imaging and computer science community. Furthermore, we hope that this communication would enable Dawn mission scientists to improve their satellite search algorithms and tools and be better prepared for performing the same investigation in 2015, when the spacecraft is scheduled to approach and orbit the dwarf planet Ceres.

Trajectory design for a lunar mapping and near-Earth-asteroid flyby mission

Science.gov (United States)

Dunham, David W.; Farquhar, Robert W.

1993-01-01

In August, 1994, the unusual asteroid (1620) Geographos will pass very close to the Earth. This provides one of the best opportunities for a low-cost asteroid flyby mission that can be achieved with the help of a gravity assist from the Moon during the years 1994 and 1995. A Geographos flyby mission, including a lunar orbiting phase, was recommended to the Startegic Defense Initiative (SDI) Office when they were searching for ideas for a deep-space mission to test small imaging systems and other lightweight technologies. The goals for this mission, called Clementine, were defined to consist of a comprehensive lunar mapping phase before leaving the Earth-Moon system to encounter Geographos. This paper describes how the authors calculated a trajectory that met the mission goals within a reasonable total Delta-V budget. The paper also describes some refinements of the initially computed trajectory and alternative trajectories were investigated. The paper concludes with a list of trajectories to fly by other near-Earth asteroids during the two years following the Geographos opportunity. Some of these could be used if the Geographos schedule can not be met. If the 140 deg phase angle of the Geographos encounter turns out to be too risky, a flyby of (2120) Tantalus in January, 1995, has a much more favorable approach illumination. Tantalus apparently can be reached from the same lunar orbit needed to get to Geographos. However, both the flyby speed and distance from the Earth are much larger for Tantalus than for Geographos.

The NASA GOLD Mission: Exploring the Interface between Earth and Space

Science.gov (United States)

Mason, T.; Costanza, B.

2017-12-01

NASA's Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk, or GOLD, mission will explore a little understood area close to home, but historically hard to observe: the interface between Earth and space, a dynamic area of near-Earth space that responds both to space weather above, and the lower atmosphere below. GOLD, scheduled to launch into geostationary orbit in early 2018, will collect observations with a 30-minute cadence, much higher than any mission that has come before it. This will enable GOLD to be the first mission to study the day-to-day weather of a region of space—the thermosphere and ionosphere—rather than its long-term climate. GOLD will explore the near-Earth space environment, which is home to astronauts, radio signals used to guide airplanes and ships, and satellites that provide our communications and GPS systems. GOLD's unprecedented images and data will enable research that can improve situational awareness to help protect astronauts, spacecraft, and humans on the ground. As part of the GOLD communications and outreach program, the Office of Communications & Outreach at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) is developing a suite of products and programs to introduce the science of the GOLD mission to a broad range of public audiences, including students, teachers, journalists, social media practitioners, and the wider planetary and Earth science communities. We plan to showcase with this poster some of the tools we are developing to achieve this goal.

Overview of Mission Design for NASA Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission Concept

Science.gov (United States)

Strange, Nathan; Landau, Damon; McElrath, Timothy; Lantoine, Gregory; Lam, Try; McGuire, Melissa; Burke, Laura; Martini, Michael; Dankanich, John

2013-01-01

Part of NASA's new asteroid initiative would be a robotic mission to capture a roughly four to ten meter asteroid and redirect its orbit to place it in translunar space. Once in a stable storage orbit at the Moon, astronauts would then visit the asteroid for science investigations, to test in space resource extraction, and to develop experience with human deep space missions. This paper discusses the mission design techniques that would enable the redirection of a 100-1000 metric ton asteroid into lunar orbit with a 40-50 kW Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) system.

Behavioral and biological effects of autonomous versus scheduled mission management in simulated space-dwelling groups

Science.gov (United States)

Roma, Peter G.; Hursh, Steven R.; Hienz, Robert D.; Emurian, Henry H.; Gasior, Eric D.; Brinson, Zabecca S.; Brady, Joseph V.

2011-05-01

Logistical constraints during long-duration space expeditions will limit the ability of Earth-based mission control personnel to manage their astronaut crews and will thus increase the prevalence of autonomous operations. Despite this inevitability, little research exists regarding crew performance and psychosocial adaptation under such autonomous conditions. To this end, a newly-initiated study on crew management systems was conducted to assess crew performance effectiveness under rigid schedule-based management of crew activities by Mission Control versus more flexible, autonomous management of activities by the crews themselves. Nine volunteers formed three long-term crews and were extensively trained in a simulated planetary geological exploration task over the course of several months. Each crew then embarked on two separate 3-4 h missions in a counterbalanced sequence: Scheduled, in which the crews were directed by Mission Control according to a strict topographic and temporal region-searching sequence, and Autonomous, in which the well-trained crews received equivalent baseline support from Mission Control but were free to explore the planetary surface as they saw fit. Under the autonomous missions, performance in all three crews improved (more high-valued geologic samples were retrieved), subjective self-reports of negative emotional states decreased, unstructured debriefing logs contained fewer references to negative emotions and greater use of socially-referent language, and salivary cortisol output across the missions was attenuated. The present study provides evidence that crew autonomy may improve performance and help sustain if not enhance psychosocial adaptation and biobehavioral health. These controlled experimental data contribute to an emerging empirical database on crew autonomy which the international astronautics community may build upon for future research and ultimately draw upon when designing and managing missions.

Observatory data and the Swarm mission

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Macmillan, S.; Olsen, Nils

2013-01-01

products. We describe here the preparation of the data set of ground observatory hourly mean values, including procedures to check and select observatory data spanning the modern magnetic survey satellite era. We discuss other possible combined uses of satellite and observatory data, in particular those......The ESA Swarm mission to identify and measure very accurately the different magnetic signals that arise in the Earth’s core, mantle, crust, oceans, ionosphere and magnetosphere, which together form the magnetic field around the Earth, has increased interest in magnetic data collected on the surface...... of the Earth at observatories. The scientific use of Swarm data and Swarm-derived products is greatly enhanced by combination with observatory data and indices. As part of the Swarm Level-2 data activities plans are in place to distribute such ground-based data along with the Swarm data as auxiliary data...

The Purpose of a Student Affairs Preparation Program within Jesuit Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Stringer, Jeremy; Swezey, Erin

2006-01-01

This article addresses the congruence of a student affairs professional preparation program within Jesuit higher education. It connects the mission of Jesuit education and Jesuit religious and educational principles to the philosophy of student affairs work in colleges and universities. A program in student development administration at Seattle…

Mission requirements for a manned earth observatory. Task 2: Reference mission definition and analyiss, volume 2

Science.gov (United States)

1973-01-01

The mission requirements and conceptual design of manned earth observatory payloads for the 1980 time period are discussed. Projections of 1980 sensor technology and user data requirements were used to formulate typical basic criteria pertaining to experiments, sensor complements, and reference missions. The subjects discussed are: (1) mission selection and prioritization, (2) baseline mission analysis, (3) earth observation data handling and contingency plans, and (4) analysis of low cost mission definition and rationale.

IAEA Completes Nuclear Security Review Mission in Republic of Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-01-01

security, and the example given by the ROK strengthens the message about the value of applying the IAEA Security Guidance and the use of its advisory services,'' said Carlos Torres Vidal, Head of the IAEA Nuclear Security of Materials and Facilities Section. ''The IPPAS mission was very useful in improving the ROK's nuclear security regime. The Republic of Korea will implement the recommendations and suggestions in the near future, and we intend to invite a follow-up mission afterwards,'' said Kim Yong-Hwan, the Secretary General of NSSC. Background The mission was the 62nd IPPAS mission conducted by the IAEA since the programme began in 1995. The ROK was the 40th country which hosted an IPPAS mission. IPPAS missions are intended to help States strengthen their national nuclear security regime. The missions provide peer advice on implementing international instruments, and IAEA guidance on the protection of nuclear and other radioactive material and associated facilities. The missions call upon a team of international experts to assess a nation's system of physical protection, compare it with international best practices and make recommendations for improvement. IPPAS missions are conducted both on a nationwide and facility-specific basis. (IAEA)

The search for ZZ Ceti stars in the original Kepler mission

Science.gov (United States)

Greiss, S.; Hermes, J. J.; Gänsicke, B. T.; Steeghs, D. T. H.; Bell, Keaton J.; Raddi, R.; Tremblay, P.-E.; Breedt, E.; Ramsay, G.; Koester, D.; Carter, P. J.; Vanderbosch, Z.; Winget, D. E.; Winget, K. I.

2016-04-01

We report the discovery of 42 white dwarfs in the original Kepler mission field, including nine new confirmed pulsating hydrogen-atmosphere white dwarfs (ZZ Ceti stars). Guided by the Kepler-Isaac Newton Telescope Survey, we selected white dwarf candidates on the basis of their U - g, g - r, and r - Hα photometric colours. We followed up these candidates with high-signal-to-noise optical spectroscopy from the 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope. Using ground-based, time series photometry, we put our sample of new spectroscopically characterized white dwarfs in the context of the empirical ZZ Ceti instability strip. Prior to our search, only two pulsating white dwarfs had been observed by Kepler. Ultimately, four of our new ZZ Cetis were observed from space. These rich data sets are helping initiate a rapid advancement in the asteroseismic investigation of pulsating white dwarfs, which continues with the extended Kepler mission, K2.

Global Lunar Gravity Field Determination Using Historical and Recent Tracking Data in Preparation for SELENE

Science.gov (United States)

Goossens, S.; Matsumoto, K.; Namiki, N.; Hanada, H.; Iwata, T.; Tsuruta, S.; Kawano, N.; Sasaki, S.

2006-12-01

In the near future, a number of satellite missions are planned to be launched to the Moon. These missions include initiatives by China, India, the USA, as well as the Japanese SELENE mission. These missions will gather a wealth of lunar data which will improve the knowledge of the Moon. One of the main topics to be addressed will be the lunar gravity field. Especially SELENE will contribute to improving the knowledge of the gravity field, by applying 4-way Doppler tracking between the main satellite and a relay satellite, and by applying a separate differential VLBI experiment. These will improve the determination of the global gravity field, especially over the far side and at the lower degrees (mostly for degrees lower than 30), as is shown by extensive simulations of the SELENE mission. This work focuses on the determination of the global lunar gravity field from all available tracking data to this date. In preparation for the SELENE mission, analysis using Lunar Prospector tracking data, as well as Clementine data and historical data from the Apollo and Lunar Orbiter projects is being conducted at NAOJ. Some SMART-1 tracking data are also included. The goal is to combine the good-quality data from the existing lunar missions up to this date with the tracking data from SELENE in order to derive a new lunar gravity field model. The focus therefore currently lies on processing the available data and extracting lunar gravity field information from them. It is shown that the historical tracking data contribute especially to the lower degrees of the global lunar gravity field model. Due to the large gap in tracking data coverage over the far side for the historical data, the higher degrees are almost fully determined by the a priori information in the form of a Kaula rule. The combination with SELENE data is thus expected to improve the estimate for the lower degrees even further, including coverage of the far side. Since historical tracking data are from orbits with

How Mockups, a Key Engineering Tool, Help to Promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Harry E.

2010-01-01

The United States ranking among the world in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is decreasing. To counteract this problem NASA has made it part of its mission to promote STEM education among the nation s youth. Mockups can serve as a great tool when promoting STEM education in America. The Orion Cockpit Working Group has created a new program called Students Shaping America s Next Space Craft (SSANS) to outfit the Medium Fidelity Orion Mockup. SSANS will challenge the students to come up with unique designs to represent the flight design hardware. There are two main types of project packages created by SSANS, those for high school students and those for university students. The high school projects will challenge wood shop, metal shop and pre-engineering classes. The university projects are created mainly for senior design projects and will require the students to perform finite element analysis. These projects will also challenge the undergraduate students in material selection and safety requirements. The SSANS program will help NASA in its mission to promote STEM education, and will help to shape our nations youth into the next generation of STEM leaders.

Community College Mission: A '60s Mission Looking at a Y2K World.

Science.gov (United States)

Levin, Bernard H.

Although the world has changed considerably in the past three decades, community colleges and their guiding missions have largely not adapted to changing conditions. College mission statements tend to be unfocused documents that provide overly broad goals. In the business world, the mission statements of effective companies are brief, crisp, and…

Service-learning abroad: a life-changing experience for nursing students.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawkins, Janice Evans; Vialet, Channel L

2012-01-01

Incorporating service-learning experiences into nursing education is one way to help prepare students for practice in a global, culturally diverse society. Partnering with a church with a long-term mission program in El Salvador offers the nursing school at Old Dominion University opportunity to develop a service-learning program and support healthcare missions.

Keyword: help! Online resources for disaster preparedness.

Science.gov (United States)

Hart, Amadie H; Cushman, Margaret J

2002-01-01

Health care organizations such as home care agencies should have post-disaster contingency plans in place that include contacts with the local, county, or state emergency management office, local branch of the Red Cross, and a clearly identified point person within the agency to coordinate disaster response efforts. Home care agencies must plan for the far-reaching effects that disasters can have on people in the community. This article provides some online resources to help you, your organization, and your family prepare for unexpected events.

The Emergent Capabilities of Distributed Satellites and Methods for Selecting Distributed Satellite Science Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Corbin, B. A.; Seager, S.; Ross, A.; Hoffman, J.

2017-12-01

Distributed satellite systems (DSS) have emerged as an effective and cheap way to conduct space science, thanks to advances in the small satellite industry. However, relatively few space science missions have utilized multiple assets to achieve their primary scientific goals. Previous research on methods for evaluating mission concepts designs have shown that distributed systems are rarely competitive with monolithic systems, partially because it is difficult to quantify the added value of DSSs over monolithic systems. Comparatively little research has focused on how DSSs can be used to achieve new, fundamental space science goals that cannot be achieved with monolithic systems or how to choose a design from a larger possible tradespace of options. There are seven emergent capabilities of distributed satellites: shared sampling, simultaneous sampling, self-sampling, census sampling, stacked sampling, staged sampling, and sacrifice sampling. These capabilities are either fundamentally, analytically, or operationally unique in their application to distributed science missions, and they can be leveraged to achieve science goals that are either impossible or difficult and costly to achieve with monolithic systems. The Responsive Systems Comparison (RSC) method combines Multi-Attribute Tradespace Exploration with Epoch-Era Analysis to examine benefits, costs, and flexible options in complex systems over the mission lifecycle. Modifications to the RSC method as it exists in previously published literature were made in order to more accurately characterize how value is derived from space science missions. New metrics help rank designs by the value derived over their entire mission lifecycle and show more accurate cumulative value distributions. The RSC method was applied to four case study science missions that leveraged the emergent capabilities of distributed satellites to achieve their primary science goals. In all four case studies, RSC showed how scientific value was

Van Allen Probes Mission Space Academy: Educating middle school students about Earth's mysterious radiation belts

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, L.; Turney, D.; Matiella Novak, A.; Smith, D.; Simon, M.

2013-12-01

How's the weather in space? Why on Earth did NASA send two satellites above Earth to study radiation belts and space weather? To learn the answer to questions about NASA's Van Allen Probes mission, 450 students and their teachers from Maryland middle schools attended Space Academy events highlighting the Van Allen Probes mission. Sponsored by the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and Discovery Education, the events are held at the APL campus in Laurel, MD. Space Academies take students and teachers on behind-the-scenes exploration of how spacecraft are built, what they are designed to study, and introduces them to the many professionals that work together to create some of NASA's most exciting projects. Moderated by a public relations representative in the format of an official NASA press conference, the daylong event includes a student press conference with students as reporters and mission experts as panelists. Lunch with mission team members gives students a chance to ask more questions. After lunch, students don souvenir clean room suits, enjoy interactive science demonstrations, and tour APL facilities where the Van Allen Probes were built and tested before launch. Students may even have an opportunity to peek inside a clean room to view spacecraft being assembled. Prior to the event, teachers are provided with classroom activities, lesson plans, and videos developed by APL and Discovery Education to help prepare students for the featured mission. The activities are aligned to National Science Education Standards and appropriate for use in the classroom. Following their visit, student journalists are encouraged to write a short article about their field trip; selections are posted on the Space Academy web site. Designed to engage, inspire, and influence attitudes about space science and STEM careers, Space Academies provide an opportunity to attract underserved populations and emphasize that space science is for everyone. Exposing students to a diverse group of

Becoming a missional church: The struggle of the Lesotho Evangelical Church in Southern Africa or Paris Evangelical Missionary Society in Meadowlands, Soweto

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonard Tsdiso Kganyapa

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The existence of the Lesotho Evangelical Church in Southern Africa (LECSA and Paris Evangelical Missionary Society (PEMS in the western areas of Johannesburg, South Western Township (Soweto and, more poignantly, Meadowlands and their forced removal experience are succinctly captured. The struggle of the LECSA and PEMS Meadowlands Parish in becoming a missional ecclesia in a sea of missional challenges in her context is vividly spelt out. They, inter alia, include constitutional matters, language policy, finances, ministerial preparation, lay-ministry development, institutionalisation of ministry, unity issues, prophetic ministry, mission and evangelism. The researcher, then, proposes an intervention – of course not a perfect one – that perhaps will galvanise the LECSA and PEMS Meadowlands Parish members to improve on what they have been doing and become a missional ecclesia in her context, Meadowlands.

A Classroom Exercise to Examine the Trade-off between Mission Capacity and Life Cycle Cost

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Keebom; Doerr, Kenneth H.

2015-01-01

This article presents a classroom exercise, centered on a simulation that has been used for 4 years in an MBA program to help students develop an understanding of the trade-offs involved in managing capital assets in the public sector. Though often ignored in business schools, "mission" is a key criterion that must be considered when…

Mission operations update for the restructured Earth Observing System (EOS) mission

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Angelita Castro; Chang, Edward S.

1993-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Earth Observing System (EOS) will provide a comprehensive long term set of observations of the Earth to the Earth science research community. The data will aid in determining global changes caused both naturally and through human interaction. Understanding man's impact on the global environment will allow sound policy decisions to be made to protect our future. EOS is a major component of the Mission to Planet Earth program, which is NASA's contribution to the U.S. Global Change Research Program. EOS consists of numerous instruments on multiple spacecraft and a distributed ground system. The EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is the major ground system developed to support EOS. The EOSDIS will provide EOS spacecraft command and control, data processing, product generation, and data archival and distribution services for EOS spacecraft. Data from EOS instruments on other Earth science missions (e.g., Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)) will also be processed, distributed, and archived in EOSDIS. The U.S. and various International Partners (IP) (e.g., the European Space Agency (ESA), the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) of Japan, and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA)) participate in and contribute to the international EOS program. The EOSDIS will also archive processed data from other designated NASA Earth science missions (e.g., UARS) that are under the broad umbrella of Mission to Planet Earth.

Intelligent Mission Controller Node

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Perme, David

2002-01-01

The goal of the Intelligent Mission Controller Node (IMCN) project was to improve the process of translating mission taskings between real-world Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C41...

Life support approaches for Mars missions

Science.gov (United States)

Drysdale, A. E.; Ewert, M. K.; Hanford, A. J.

Life support approaches for Mars missions are evaluated using an equivalent system mass (ESM) approach, in which all significant costs are converted into mass units. The best approach, as defined by the lowest mission ESM, depends on several mission parameters, notably duration, environment and consequent infrastructure costs, and crew size, as well as the characteristics of the technologies which are available. Generally, for the missions under consideration, physicochemical regeneration is most cost effective. However, bioregeneration is likely to be of use for producing salad crops for any mission, for producing staple crops for medium duration missions, and for most food, air and water regeneration for long missions (durations of a decade). Potential applications of in situ resource utilization need to be considered further.

UAV Mission Optimization through Hybrid-Electric Propulsion

Science.gov (United States)

Blackwelder, Philip Scott

. A second nut was added to secure the starter gear but at the expense of removing the engine drive pulley. Removing the engine pulley meant that the starter gear must remain engaged to transmit torque to the propeller shaft as opposed to the engine pulley. This issue can be resolved using different hardware, however changing the mounting hardware would require additional modifications to the associated component which time would not permit. Though battery technology still proves to be the main constraint of electrified powertrain, careful design and mission planning can help minimize the weight penalties incurred. The mission planning code complements previous research by comparing the weight penalties of a blended climb versus an engine only climb and selecting the lightest option. Though reverse thrust engine starting proved unsuccessful, the success of geared engine starting now allows the engine to be shut off during loiter reducing both acoustic profile and fuel consumption during loiter.

Engineering safety review mission Krsko NPP external events PSA. Ljubljana, Slovenia 19-23 February 1996. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Budnitz, R.J.; Smith, P.

1996-01-01

Within the scope of the TC Project RER/9/035, a review mission visited Ljubljana, Slovenia, 19-23 February 1996. Two outside experts, Messrs. R.J. Budnitz (USA) and Paul Smith (USA), as well as a staff member, A. Guerpinar (ESS-NSNI) took part in the review. The purpose of the mission was to assist the Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration to review the external events PSA prepared by Krsko NPP consultants Westinghouse Energy Systems Europe and EQE International. Another seismic safety review was performed concurrently in Ljubljana involving the investigations in relation to the tectonic stability and reassessment of the design basis ground motion characterization for the Krsko NPP site

Mission of Mercy.

Science.gov (United States)

Humenik, Mark

2014-01-01

Some dentists prefer solo charity work, but there is much to be said for collaboration within the profession in reaching out to those who are dentally underserved. Mission of Mercy (MOM) programs are regularly organized across the country for this purpose. This article describes the structure, reach, and personal satisfaction to be gained from such missions.

'Bimodal' NTR and LANTR propulsion for human missions to Mars/Phobos

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borowski, Stanley K.; Dudzinski, Leonard A.; McGuire, Melissa L.

1999-01-01

The nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) is one of the leading propulsion options for future human missions to Mars due to its high specific impulse (Isp ∼850-1000 s) and attractive engine thrust-to-weight ratio (∼3-10). Because only a miniscule amount of enriched uranium-235 fuel is consumed in a NTR during the primary propulsion maneuvers of a typical Mars mission, engines configured for both propulsive thrust and modest power generation (referred to as 'bimodal' operation) provide the basis for a robust, 'power-rich' stage enabling propulsive Mars capture and reuse capability. A family of modular 'bimodal' NTR (BNTR) vehicles are described which utilize a common 'core' stage powered by three 66.7 kN (∼15 klbf) BNTRs that produce 50 kWe of total electrical power for crew life support, an active refrigeration/reliquification system for long term, 'zero-boiloff' liquid hydrogen (LH 2 ) storage, and high data rate communications. Compared to other propulsion options, a Mars mission architecture using BNTR transfer vehicles requires fewer transportation system elements which reduces mission mass, cost and risk because of simplified space operations. For difficult Mars options, such as a Phobos rendezvous and sample return mission, volume (not mass) constraints limit the performance of the 'all LH 2 ' BNTR stage. The use of ''LOX-augmented' NTR (LANTR) engines, operating at a modest oxygen-to-hydrogen (O/H) mixture ratio (MR) of 0.5, helps to increase 'bulk' propellant density and total thrust during the trans-Mars injection (TMI) burn. On all subsequent burns, the bimodal LANTR engines operate on LH 2 only (MR=0) to maximize vehicle performance while staying within the mass limits of two ∼80 t 'Magnum' heavy lift launch vehicles (HLLVs)

Preparation of Kepler light curves for asteroseismic analyses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

García, R.A.; Hekker, Saskia; Stello, Dennis

2011-01-01

The Kepler mission is providing photometric data of exquisite quality for the asteroseismic study of different classes of pulsating stars. These analyses place particular demands on the pre-processing of the data, over a range of time-scales from minutes to months. Here, we describe processing...... procedures developed by the Kepler Asteroseismic Science Consortium to prepare light curves that are optimized for the asteroseismic study of solar-like oscillating stars in which outliers, jumps and drifts are corrected....

A Saturn Ring Observer Mission Using Multi-Mission Radioisotope Power Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abelson, Robert D.; Spilker, Thomas R.; Shirley, James H.

2006-01-01

Saturn remains one of the most fascinating planets within the solar system. To better understand the complex ring structure of this planet, a conceptual Saturn Ring Observer (SRO) mission is presented that would spend one year in close proximity to Saturn's A and B rings, and perform detailed observations and measurements of the ring particles and electric and magnetic fields. The primary objective of the mission would be to understand ring dynamics, including the microphysics of individual particles and small scale (meters to a few kilometers) phenomena such as particle agglomeration behavior. This would be accomplished by multispectral imaging of the rings at multiple key locations within the A and B rings, and by ring-particle imaging at an unprecedented resolution of 0.5 cm/pixel. The SRO spacecraft would use a Venus-Earth-Earth-Jupiter Gravity Assist (VEEJGA) and be aerocaptured into Saturn orbit using an advanced aeroshell design to minimize propellant mass. Once in orbit, the SRO would stand off from the ring plane 1 to 1.4 km using chemical thrusters to provide short propulsive maneuvers four times per revolution, effectively causing the SRO vehicle to 'hop' above the ring plane. The conceptual SRO spacecraft would be enabled by the use of a new generation of multi-mission Radioisotope Power Systems (RPSs) currently being developed by NASA and DOE. These RPSs include the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) and Stirling Radioisotope Generator (SRG). The RPSs would generate all necessary electrical power (≥330 We at beginning of life) during the 10-year cruise and 1-year science mission (∼11 years total). The RPS heat would be used to maintain the vehicle's operating and survival temperatures, minimizing the need for electrical heaters. Such a mission could potentially launch in the 2015-2020 timeframe, with operations at Saturn commencing in approximately 2030

Dynamic Sampling of Trace Contaminants During the Mission Operations Test of the Deep Space Habitat

Science.gov (United States)

Monje, Oscar; Valling, Simo; Cornish, Jim

2013-01-01

The atmospheric composition inside spacecraft during long duration space missions is dynamic due to changes in the living and working environment of crew members, crew metabolism and payload operations. A portable FTIR gas analyzer was used to monitor the atmospheric composition within the Deep Space Habitat (DSH) during the Mission Operations Test (MOT) conducted at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). The FTIR monitored up to 20 gases in near- real time. The procedures developed for operating the FTIR were successful and data was collected with the FTIR at 5 minute intervals. Not all the 20 gases sampled were detected in all the modules and it was possible to measure dynamic changes in trace contaminant concentrations that were related to crew activities involving exercise and meal preparation.

NASA Program Office Technology Investments to Enable Future Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Thronson, Harley; Pham, Thai; Ganel, Opher

2018-01-01

The Cosmic Origins (COR) and Physics of the Cosmos (PCOS) Program Offices (POs) reside at NASA GSFC and implement priorities for the NASA HQ Astrophysics Division (APD). One major aspect of the POs’ activities is managing our Strategic Astrophysics Technology (SAT) program to mature technologies for future strategic missions. The Programs follow APD guidance on which missions are strategic, currently informed by the NRC’s 2010 Decadal Survey report, as well as APD’s Implementation Plan and the Astrophysics Roadmap.In preparation for the upcoming 2020 Decadal Survey, the APD has established Science and Technology Definition Teams (STDTs) to study four large-mission concepts: the Origins Space Telescope (née, Far-IR Surveyor), Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission, Large UV/Optical/IR Surveyor, and Lynx (née, X-ray Surveyor). The STDTs will develop the science case and design reference mission, assess technology development needs, and estimate the cost of their concept. A fifth team, the L3 Study Team (L3ST), was charged to study potential US contributions to ESA’s planned Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) gravitational-wave observatory.The POs use a rigorous and transparent process to solicit technology gaps from the scientific and technical communities, and prioritize those entries based on strategic alignment, expected impact, cross-cutting applicability, and urgency. For the past two years, the technology-gap assessments of the four STDTs and the L3ST are included in our process. Until a study team submits its final report, community-proposed changes to gaps submitted or adopted by a study team are forwarded to that study team for consideration.We discuss our technology development process, with strategic prioritization informing calls for SAT proposals and informing investment decisions. We also present results of the 2017 technology gap prioritization and showcase our current portfolio of technology development projects. To date, 96 COR and 86

Integrated payload and mission planning, phase 3. Volume 3: Ground real-time mission operations

Science.gov (United States)

White, W. J.

1977-01-01

The payloads tentatively planned to fly on the first two Spacelab missions were analyzed to examine the cost relationships of providing mission operations support from onboard vs the ground-based Payload Operations Control Center (POCC). The quantitative results indicate that use of a POCC, with data processing capability, to support real-time mission operations is the most cost effective case.

A decision model for planetary missions

Science.gov (United States)

Hazelrigg, G. A., Jr.; Brigadier, W. L.

1976-01-01

Many techniques developed for the solution of problems in economics and operations research are directly applicable to problems involving engineering trade-offs. This paper investigates the use of utility theory for decision making in planetary exploration space missions. A decision model is derived that accounts for the objectives of the mission - science - the cost of flying the mission and the risk of mission failure. A simulation methodology for obtaining the probability distribution of science value and costs as a function spacecraft and mission design is presented and an example application of the decision methodology is given for various potential alternatives in a comet Encke mission.

Helping Students Prepare To Juggle Career and Family: Young Adults Attitudes toward Maternal Employment.

Science.gov (United States)

Rowles, Dorothy; Gambone, Kirsten; Szuchyt, Jamie; Deitrick, Susan; Gelband, Amy; Lu, Barbara Chris; Zohe, Dorothy; Stickney, Deborah; Fields, Susan; Chambliss, Catherine

Counseling students in order to help them make sound educational, career, and personal decisions requires an understanding of their values, priorities, and preconceptions about their options. The present study explored the attitudes of male and female college students regarding maternal employment, and their own career and family expectations, in…

Tank waste remediation system retrieval and disposal mission phase 1 financial analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wells, M.W.

1998-01-01

The purpose of the Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Retrieval and Disposal Mission Phase 1 Financial Analysis is to provide a quantitative and qualitative cost and schedule risk analysis of HNF-1946, Tank Waste Remediation System Retrieval and Disposal Mission Initial Updated Baseline (Swita et al. 1998). The Updated Baseline (Section 3.0) is compared to the current TWRS Project Multi-Year Work Plan (MYWP) for fiscal year (FY) 1998 and target budgets for FY 1999 through FY 2011 (Section 4.1). The analysis then evaluates the executability of HNF-1946 (Sections 4.2 through 4.5) and recommends a path forward for risk mitigation (Sections 4.6, 4.7, and 5.0). A sound systems engineering approach was applied to understand and analyze the Phase 1B Retrieval and Disposal mission. Program and Level 1 Logics were decomposed to Level 8 of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) where logic was detailed, scope was defined, detail durations and estimates prepared, and resource loaded schedules developed. Technical Basis Review (TBR) packages were prepared which include this information and, in addition, defined the enabling assumptions for each task, and the risks associated with performance. This process is discussed in Section 2.1. Detailed reviews at the subactivity within the Level 1 Logic TBR levels were conducted to provide the recommended solution to the Phase 1B Retrieval and Disposal Mission. Independent cost analysis and risk assessments were performed by members of the Lockheed Martin Hanford Corporation (LMHC) Business Management and Chief Financial Officer organization along with specialists in risk analysis from TRW, Inc. and Lockheed Martin Energy Systems. The process evaluated technical, schedule, and cost risk by category (program specific fixed and variable, integrated program, and programmatic) based on risk certainly from high probability well defined to very low probability that is not bounded or priceable as discussed in Section 2.2. The results have been

Critical Robotic Lunar Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Plescia, J. B.

2018-04-01

Perhaps the most critical missions to understanding lunar history are in situ dating and network missions. These would constrain the volcanic and thermal history and interior structure. These data would better constrain lunar evolution models.

Global Precipitation Measurement Mission: Architecture and Mission Concept

Science.gov (United States)

Bundas, David

2005-01-01

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission is a collaboration between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and other partners, with the goal of monitoring the diurnal and seasonal variations in precipitation over the surface of the earth. These measurements will be used to improve current climate models and weather forecasting, and enable improved storm and flood warnings. This paper gives an overview of the mission architecture and addresses some of the key trades that have been completed, including the selection of the Core Observatory s orbit, orbit maintenance trades, and design issues related to meeting orbital debris requirements.

A review of Spacelab mission management approach

Science.gov (United States)

Craft, H. G., Jr.

1979-01-01

The Spacelab development program is a joint undertaking of the NASA and ESA. The paper addresses the initial concept of Spacelab payload mission management, the lessons learned, and modifications made as a result of the actual implementation of Spacelab Mission 1. The discussion covers mission management responsibilities, program control, science management, payload definition and interfaces, integrated payload mission planning, integration requirements, payload specialist training, payload and launch site integration, payload flight/mission operations, and postmission activities. After 3.5 years the outlined overall mission manager approach has proven to be most successful. The approach does allow the mission manager to maintain the lowest overall mission cost.

An auto-focusing heuristic model to increase the reliability of a scientific mission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gualdesi, Lavinio

2006-01-01

Researchers invest a lot of time and effort on the design and development of components used in a scientific mission. To capitalize on this investment and on the operational experience of the researchers, it is useful to adopt a quantitative data base to monitor the history and usage of the components. This work describes a model to monitor the reliability level of components. The model is very flexible and allows users to compose systems using the same components in different configurations as required by each mission. This tool provides availability and reliability figures for the configuration requested, derived from historical data of the components' previous performance. The system is based on preliminary checklists to establish standard operating procedures (SOP) for all components life phases. When an infringement to the SOP occurs, a quantitative ranking is provided in order to quantify the risk associated with this deviation. The final agreement between field data and expected performance of the component makes the model converge onto a heuristic monitoring system. The model automatically focuses on points of failure at the detailed component element level, calculates risks, provides alerts when a demonstrated risk to safety is encountered, and advises when there is a mismatch between component performance and mission requirements. This model also helps the mission to focus resources on critical tasks where they are most needed

In situ NIR reflectance and LIBS measurements in lava tubes in preparation for future Mars missions

Science.gov (United States)

Leveille, R.; Sobron, P.

2017-12-01

The ATiLT (Astrobiology Training in Lava Tubes) program addresses Mars astrobiology exploration objectives by performing field work and instrumental analyses in lava tubes as high fidelity analog environments to putative lava tubes on Mars. The main field location for ATiLT is the Lava Beds National Monument (LABE) in Northern California. LABE is situated on the lower north flank of the Medicine Lake Volcano of the Cascade arc. This location features hundreds of caves, most of which are relatively shallow, typically well above the water table, reaching 20-45m below land surface at their maximum depth. Some LABE caves feature `cold sinks' where cold air sinks and becomes trapped in deeper cave passages, thus allowing perennial ice to accumulate despite above freezing surface temperatures. Several lava tube caves in LABE also contain seasonal or perennial ice accumulations, which makes them excellent analogs to Mars lava tubes where the presence of ice has been predicted. While lava tubes are very attractive systems to test hypotheses related to habitability and the possibility for life on Mars, at present there are no comprehensive in-situ instrument-driven characterizations of the mineralogy and geochemistry of lava tubes. ATiLT fills this gap by providing detailed, in-situ investigations with scientific instruments relevant to Mars exploration. Our aim is to help constrain future exploration targets on Mars and define future mission operations and requirements. For this purpose, in May 2017 we carried out a field campaign in several lava tubes at LABE. We deployed two miniature spectroscopic sensors suitable for dark, humid, cave conditions: NIR reflectance (1-5 μm) and LIBS (300-900 nm). The advantages of combining NIR reflectance and LIBS are evident: LIBS can reveal the relative concentration of major (and often trace) elements present in a bulk sample, whereas NIR reflectance yields information on the individual mineral species and their chemical and

Psychosocial interactions during ISS missions

Science.gov (United States)

Kanas, N. A.; Salnitskiy, V. P.; Ritsher, J. B.; Gushin, V. I.; Weiss, D. S.; Saylor, S. A.; Kozerenko, O. P.; Marmar, C. R.

2007-02-01

Based on anecdotal reports from astronauts and cosmonauts, studies of space analog environments on Earth, and our previous research on the Mir Space Station, a number of psychosocial issues have been identified that can lead to problems during long-duration space expeditions. Several of these issues were studied during a series of missions to the International Space Station. Using a mood and group climate questionnaire that was completed weekly by crewmembers in space and personnel in mission control, we found no evidence to support the presence of predicted decrements in well-being during the second half or in any specific quarter of the missions. The results did support the predicted displacement of negative feelings to outside supervisors among both crew and ground subjects. There were several significant differences in mood and group perceptions between Americans and Russians and between crewmembers and mission control personnel. Crewmembers related cohesion to the support role of their leader, and mission control personnel related cohesion to both the task and support roles of their leader. These findings are discussed with reference to future space missions.

Human exploration mission studies

Science.gov (United States)

Cataldo, Robert L.

1989-01-01

The Office of Exploration has established a process whereby all NASA field centers and other NASA Headquarters offices participate in the formulation and analysis of a wide range of mission strategies. These strategies were manifested into specific scenarios or candidate case studies. The case studies provided a systematic approach into analyzing each mission element. First, each case study must address several major themes and rationale including: national pride and international prestige, advancement of scientific knowledge, a catalyst for technology, economic benefits, space enterprise, international cooperation, and education and excellence. Second, the set of candidate case studies are formulated to encompass the technology requirement limits in the life sciences, launch capabilities, space transfer, automation, and robotics in space operations, power, and propulsion. The first set of reference case studies identify three major strategies: human expeditions, science outposts, and evolutionary expansion. During the past year, four case studies were examined to explore these strategies. The expeditionary missions include the Human Expedition to Phobos and Human Expedition to Mars case studies. The Lunar Observatory and Lunar Outpost to Early Mars Evolution case studies examined the later two strategies. This set of case studies established the framework to perform detailed mission analysis and system engineering to define a host of concepts and requirements for various space systems and advanced technologies. The details of each mission are described and, specifically, the results affecting the advanced technologies required to accomplish each mission scenario are presented.

Preparation and Launch of the JEM ISS Elements - A NASA Mission Manager's Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Higginbotham, Scott A.

2016-01-01

The pre-flight launch site preparations and launch of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) elements of the International Space Station required an intense multi-year, international collaborative effort between US and Japanese personnel at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). This presentation will provide a brief overview of KSC, a brief overview of the ISS, and a summary of authors experience managing the NASA team responsible that supported and conducted the JEM element operations.

Flight mission control for multiple spacecraft

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan, Robert E.

1990-10-01

A plan developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for mission control of unmanned spacecraft is outlined. A technical matrix organization from which, in the past, project teams were formed to uniquely support a mission is replaced in this new plan. A cost effective approach was needed to make best use of limited resources. Mission control is a focal point operations and a good place to start a multimission concept. Co-location and sharing common functions are the keys to obtaining efficiencies at minimum additional risk. For the projects, the major changes are sharing a common operations area and having indirect control of personnel. The plan identifies the still direct link for the mission control functions. Training is a major element in this plan. Personnel are qualified for a position and certified for a mission. This concept is more easily accepted by new missions than the ongoing missions.

Help Helps, but Only so Much: Research on Help Seeking with Intelligent Tutoring Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Aleven, Vincent; Roll, Ido; McLaren, Bruce M.; Koedinger, Kenneth R.

2016-01-01

Help seeking is an important process in self-regulated learning (SRL). It may influence learning with intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs), because many ITSs provide help, often at the student's request. The Help Tutor was a tutor agent that gave in-context, real-time feedback on students' help-seeking behavior, as they were learning with an ITS.…

NASA's Planetary Science Missions and Participations

Science.gov (United States)

Daou, Doris; Green, James L.

2017-04-01

NASA's Planetary Science Division (PSD) and space agencies around the world are collaborating on an extensive array of missions exploring our solar system. Planetary science missions are conducted by some of the most sophisticated robots ever built. International collaboration is an essential part of what we do. NASA has always encouraged international participation on our missions both strategic (ie: Mars 2020) and competitive (ie: Discovery and New Frontiers) and other Space Agencies have reciprocated and invited NASA investigators to participate in their missions. NASA PSD has partnerships with virtually every major space agency. For example, NASA has had a long and very fruitful collaboration with ESA. ESA has been involved in the Cassini mission and, currently, NASA funded scientists are involved in the Rosetta mission (3 full instruments, part of another), BepiColombo mission (1 instrument in the Italian Space Agency's instrument suite), and the Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer mission (1 instrument and parts of two others). In concert with ESA's Mars missions NASA has an instrument on the Mars Express mission, the orbit-ground communications package on the Trace Gas Orbiter (launched in March 2016) and part of the DLR/Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer instruments going onboard the ExoMars Rover (to be launched in 2018). NASA's Planetary Science Division has continuously provided its U.S. planetary science community with opportunities to include international participation on NASA missions too. For example, NASA's Discovery and New Frontiers Programs provide U.S. scientists the opportunity to assemble international teams and design exciting, focused planetary science investigations that would deepen the knowledge of our Solar System. The PSD put out an international call for instruments on the Mars 2020 mission. This procurement led to the selection of Spain and Norway scientist leading two instruments and French scientists providing a significant portion of another

Orion Optical Navigation Progress Toward Exploration Mission 1

Science.gov (United States)

Holt, Greg N.; D'Souza, Christopher N.; Saley, David

2018-01-01

Optical navigation of human spacecraft was proposed on Gemini and implemented successfully on Apollo as a means of autonomously operating the vehicle in the event of lost communication with controllers on Earth. The Orion emergency return system utilizing optical navigation has matured in design over the last several years, and is currently undergoing the final implementation and test phase in preparation for Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) in 2019. The software development is past its Critical Design Review, and is progressing through test and certification for human rating. The filter architecture uses a square-root-free UDU covariance factorization. Linear Covariance Analysis (LinCov) was used to analyze the measurement models and the measurement error models on a representative EM-1 trajectory. The Orion EM-1 flight camera was calibrated at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) electro-optics lab. To permanently stake the focal length of the camera a 500 mm focal length refractive collimator was used. Two Engineering Design Unit (EDU) cameras and an EDU star tracker were used for a live-sky test in Denver. In-space imagery with high-fidelity truth metadata is rare so these live-sky tests provide one of the closest real-world analogs to operational use. A hardware-in-the-loop test rig was developed in the Johnson Space Center Electro-Optics Lab to exercise the OpNav system prior to integrated testing on the Orion vehicle. The software is verified with synthetic images. Several hundred off-nominal images are also used to analyze robustness and fault detection in the software. These include effects such as stray light, excess radiation damage, and specular reflections, and are used to help verify the tuning parameters chosen for the algorithms such as earth atmosphere bias, minimum pixel intensity, and star detection thresholds.

Preparing for SMOS: Sea Salinity Campaigns and Results

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Søbjærg, Sten Schmidl; Balling, Jan E.; Kristensen, Steen Savstrup

2006-01-01

Mapping of sea surface salinity, based on L-band radiometric measurements, is presently investigated as a preparation for space missions. Special concern is on correction for effects caused by the sea surface roughness, and this paper will address two campaigns, LOSAC and CoSMOS, with the aim...... of investigating these effects. Conclusions from LOSAC are presented, and open issues to be investigated during the presently ongoing CoSMOS campaign are outlined. Finally, the installation and campaign plan for CoSMOS are presented....

Sustainable, Reliable Mission-Systems Architecture

Science.gov (United States)

O'Neil, Graham; Orr, James K.; Watson, Steve

2007-01-01

A mission-systems architecture, based on a highly modular infrastructure utilizing: open-standards hardware and software interfaces as the enabling technology is essential for affordable and sustainable space exploration programs. This mission-systems architecture requires (a) robust communication between heterogeneous system, (b) high reliability, (c) minimal mission-to-mission reconfiguration, (d) affordable development, system integration, and verification of systems, and (e) minimal sustaining engineering. This paper proposes such an architecture. Lessons learned from the Space Shuttle program and Earthbound complex engineered system are applied to define the model. Technology projections reaching out 5 years are mde to refine model details.

How integration of global omics-data could help preparing for pandemics - a scent of influenza

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bos, Lieuwe D. J.; de Jong, Menno D.; Sterk, Peter J.; Schultz, Marcus J.

2014-01-01

Pandemics caused by novel emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases could lead to high mortality and morbidity world-wide when left uncontrolled. In this perspective, we evaluate the possibility of integration of global omics-data in order to timely prepare for pandemics. Such an approach requires

308 Building deactivation mission analysis report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lund, D.P.

1995-01-01

This report presents the results of the 308 Building (Fuels Development Laboratory) Deactivation Project mission analysis. Hanford systems engineering (SE) procedures call for a mission analysis. The mission analysis is an important first step in the SE process. The functions and requirements to successfully accomplish this mission, the selected alternatives and products will later be defined using the SE process

309 Building deactivation mission analysis report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lund, D.P.

1995-01-01

This report presents the results of the 309 Building (Plutonium Fuels Utilization Program) Deactivation Project mission analysis. Hanford systems engineering (SE) procedures call for a mission analysis. The mission analysis is an important first step in the SE process. The functions and requirements to successfully accomplish this mission, the selected alternatives and products will later be defined using the SE process

Crew Transportation System Design Reference Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Mango, Edward J.

2015-01-01

Contains summaries of potential design reference mission goals for systems to transport humans to andfrom low Earth orbit (LEO) for the Commercial Crew Program. The purpose of this document is to describe Design Reference Missions (DRMs) representative of the end-to-end Crew Transportation System (CTS) framework envisioned to successfully execute commercial crew transportation to orbital destinations. The initial CTS architecture will likely be optimized to support NASA crew and NASA-sponsored crew rotation missions to the ISS, but consideration may be given in this design phase to allow for modifications in order to accomplish other commercial missions in the future. With the exception of NASA’s mission to the ISS, the remaining commercial DRMs are notional. Any decision to design or scar the CTS for these additional non-NASA missions is completely up to the Commercial Provider. As NASA’s mission needs evolve over time, this document will be periodically updated to reflect those needs.

Improving the Operations of the Earth Observing One Mission via Automated Mission Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Chien, Steve A.; Tran, Daniel; Rabideau, Gregg; Schaffer, Steve; Mandl, Daniel; Frye, Stuart

2010-01-01

We describe the modeling and reasoning about operations constraints in an automated mission planning system for an earth observing satellite - EO-1. We first discuss the large number of elements that can be naturally represented in an expressive planning and scheduling framework. We then describe a number of constraints that challenge the current state of the art in automated planning systems and discuss how we modeled these constraints as well as discuss tradeoffs in representation versus efficiency. Finally we describe the challenges in efficiently generating operations plans for this mission. These discussions involve lessons learned from an operations model that has been in use since Fall 2004 (called R4) as well as a newer more accurate operations model operational since June 2009 (called R5). We present analysis of the R5 software documenting a significant (greater than 50%) increase in the number of weekly observations scheduled by the EO-1 mission. We also show that the R5 mission planning system produces schedules within 15% of an upper bound on optimal schedules. This operational enhancement has created value of millions of dollars US over the projected remaining lifetime of the EO-1 mission.

Quality Assurance and T&E of Inertial Systems for RLV Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Sathiamurthi, S.; Thakur, Nayana; Hari, K.; Peter, Pilmy; Biju, V. S.; Mani, K. S.

2017-12-01

This work describes the quality assurance and Test and Evaluation (T&E) activities carried out for the inertial systems flown successfully in India's first reusable launch vehicle technology demonstrator hypersonic experiment mission. As part of reliability analysis, failure mode effect and criticality analysis and derating analysis were carried out in the initial design phase, findings presented to design review forums and the recommendations were implemented. T&E plan was meticulously worked out and presented to respective forums for review and implementation. Test data analysis, health parameter plotting and test report generation was automated and these automations significantly reduced the time required for these activities and helped to avoid manual errors. Further, T&E cycle is optimized without compromising on quality aspects. These specific measures helped to achieve zero defect delivery of inertial systems for RLV application.

Space Weather opportunities from the Swarm mission including near real time applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stolle, Claudia; Floberghagen, Rune; Luehr, Hermann

2013-01-01

Sophisticated space weather monitoring aims at nowcasting and predicting solar-terrestrial interactions because their effects on the ionosphere and upper atmosphere may seriously impact advanced technology. Operating alert infrastructures rely heavily on ground-based measurements and satellite...... these products in timely manner will add significant value in monitoring present space weather and helping to predict the evolution of several magnetic and ionospheric events. Swarm will be a demonstrator mission for the valuable application of LEO satellite observations for space weather monitoring tools....

Preparing Scientists to be Community Partners

Science.gov (United States)

Pandya, R. E.

2012-12-01

Many students, especially students from historically under-represented communities, leave science majors or avoid choosing them because scientific careers do not offer enough opportunity to contribute to their communities. Citizen science, or public participation in scientific research, may address these challenges. At its most collaborative, it means inviting communities to partner in every step of the scientific process from defining the research question to applying the results to community priorities. In addition to attracting and retaining students, this level of community engagement will help diversify science, ensure the use and usability of our science, help buttress public support of science, and encourage the application of scientific results to policy. It also offers opportunities to tackle scientific questions that can't be accomplished in other way and it is demonstrably effective at helping people learn scientific concepts and methods. In order to learn how to prepare scientists for this kind of intensive community collaboration, we examined several case studies, including a project on disease and public health in Africa and the professionally evaluated experience of two summer interns in Southern Louisiana. In these and other cases, we learned that scientific expertise in a discipline has to be accompanied by a reservoir of humility and respect for other ways of knowing, the ability to work collaboratively with a broad range of disciplines and people, patience and enough career stability to allow that patience, and a willingness to adapt research to a broader set of scientific and non-scientific priorities. To help students achieve this, we found that direct instruction in participatory methods, mentoring by community members and scientists with participatory experience, in-depth training on scientific ethics and communication, explicit articulation of the goal of working with communities, and ample opportunity for personal reflection were essential

Design and Performance of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Super NiCd Batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmad, Anisa J.; Rao, Gopalakrishna M.; Jallice, Doris E.; Moran Vickie E.

1999-01-01

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) is a joint mission between NASA and the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan. The observatory is designed to monitor and study tropical rainfall and the associated release of energy that helps to power the global atmospheric circulation shaping both weather and climate around the globe. The spacecraft was launched from Japan on November 27,1997 via the NASDA H-2 launch vehicle. The TRMM Power Subsystem is a Peak Power Tracking system that can support the maximum TRMM load of 815 watts at the end of its three year life. The Power Subsystem consists of two 50 Ampere Hour Super NiCd batteries, Gallium Arsenide Solar Array and the Power System Electronics. This paper describes the TRMM Power Subsystem, battery design, cell and battery ground test performance, and in-orbit battery operations and performance.

Potential of future operational missions sentinel 4 and 5 for atmospheric monitoring and science (CAMELOT).

Science.gov (United States)

Levelt, P. F.; Veefkind, J. P.

2010-05-01

Dedicated atmospheric chemistry observations from space have been made for over 30 years now, starting with the SBUV and TOMS measurements of the ozone layer. Since then huge progress has been made, improving the accuracy of the measurements, extending the amount of constituents, and by sensing not only the stratosphere, but the last five to ten years also the troposphere. The potential to operational monitor the atmosphere, following the meteorological community, came within reach. At the same time, the importance for society of regular operational environmental measurements, related to the ozone layer, air quality and climate change, became apparent, amongst others resulting in the EU initiative Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) In order to prepare the operational missions in the context of the GMES, ESA took the initiative to further study the user requirements for the Sentinel 4 and 5 (precursor) missions. The Sentinel 4 and 5 (precursor) missions are dedicated operational missions to monitor the atmospheric composition in the 2013-2020 timeframe and onward. The user requirements for the sentinel missions focus on monitoring the atmosphere from an environmental point of view (ozone layer, air quality and climate). ESA's CAMELOT (Composition of the Atmospheric Mission concEpts and SentineL Observation Techniques) study is the follow-on study to ESA's CAPACITY study finished in 2005. The general objective of the CAMELOT study is to further contribute to the definition of the air quality and climate protocol monitoring parts of the GMES Sentinel 4 and 5 missions. CAMELOT consists of a large European consortium formed by 9 European institutes (KNMI (lead), RAL, U.Leicester, SRON, FMI, BIRA-IASB, CNR-IFAC,NOVELTIS and RIU-U.Koeln). In the presentation an overview will give a short overview of the CAMELOT study, including some specific results for combined retrievals, cloud statistics for different orbit geometries and retrievals for several orbit

Planning a pharmacy-led medical mission trip, part 4: an exploratory study of student experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Dana A; Fairclough, Jamie L; Ferrill, Mary J

2012-09-01

At the Gregory School of Pharmacy (GSOP), pharmacy students routinely participate in domestic and international medical mission trips. Participation can be for academic credit as part of final-year Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs) or as required community service hours. These mission experiences could potentially result in both professional and personal transformations for participating students. To evaluate data collected from GSOP pharmacy students regarding their experiences on the medical mission field in 2011 and how that participation has impacted the students professionally and personally. GSOP students participating in an international or domestic medical mission trip in the summer of 2011 were asked to voluntarily complete pre- and posttrip surveys. Of the 68 final-year APPE students and student volunteers who participated in a summer 2011 GSOP medical mission trip, 36 (53%) completed pre- and posttrip surveys. The mission trips significantly impacted students' beliefs regarding better preparation to care for the medical needs of patients, identification of others' needs, understanding team dynamics, perceptions about the value of patient care, and comfort level with the provision of medical and pharmaceutical care in a foreign country. However, there were no statistically significant improvements in students' perceptions of their ability to care for the emotional needs of patients, the importance of team unity, and their level of respect for team members; their ability to lead or participate in future trips; and their belief that participating preceptors and faculty serve as effective role models of servant leaders. Based on the findings from this exploratory study, participation in a domestic or international medical mission trip as a student volunteer or APPE student appears to have a positive impact on some of the beliefs and perceptions of GSOP students. By continuing to follow these particular students and similar cohorts of students in

The Bible and mission in faith perspective: J.Hudson Taylor and the early China Inland Mission

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wigram, C.E.M.

2007-01-01

The thesis 'The Bible and Mission in Faith Perspective: J.Hudson Taylor and the Early China Inland Mission' by Christopher E.M. Wigram analysis the hermeneutical assumptions that underlay Hudson Taylor's approach to biblical interpretation, and the significance of his approach for the mission which

The PROPEL Electrodynamic Tether Demonstration Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Bilen, Sven G.; Johnson, C. Les; Wiegmann, Bruce M.; Alexander, Leslie; Gilchrist, Brian E.; Hoyt, Robert P.; Elder, Craig H.; Fuhrhop, Keith P.; Scadera, Michael

2012-01-01

The PROPEL ("Propulsion using Electrodynamics") mission will demonstrate the operation of an electrodynamic tether propulsion system in low Earth orbit and advance its technology readiness level for multiple applications. The PROPEL mission has two primary objectives: first, to demonstrate the capability of electrodynamic tether technology to provide robust and safe, near-propellantless propulsion for orbit-raising, de-orbit, plane change, and station keeping, as well as to perform orbital power harvesting and formation flight; and, second, to fully characterize and validate the performance of an integrated electrodynamic tether propulsion system, qualifying it for infusion into future multiple satellite platforms and missions with minimal modification. This paper provides an overview of the PROPEL system and design reference missions; mission goals and required measurements; and ongoing PROPEL mission design efforts.

The IAEA Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) - Information Meeting Dublin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al Khatibeh, Ahmad

2014-05-01

IRRS is developed to help States evaluate the current status of compliance of their regulatory infrastructures for safety with IAEA Standards. This report discusses the function of IRRS missions as a tool for evaluating the regulatory structure for Member States. It was presented to RPII staff in a Powerpoint document in preparation for the IRRS Mission to Ireland in August 2015

Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut Pilot Study

Science.gov (United States)

Lloyd, Charles W.; Olivotto, C.; Boese, A.; Spiero, F.; Galoforo, G.; Niihori, M.

2011-01-01

Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut is an international educational challenge focusing on fitness and nutrition as we encourage students to "train like an astronaut." Teams of students (aged 8-12) learn principles of healthy eating and exercise, compete for points by finishing training modules, and get excited about their future as "fit explorers." The 18 core exercises (targeting strength, endurance, coordination, balance, spatial awareness, and more) involve the same types of skills that astronauts learn in their training and use in spaceflight. This first-of-its-kind cooperative outreach program has allowed 14 space agencies and various partner institutions to work together to address quality health/fitness education, challenge students to be more physically active, increase awareness of the importance of lifelong health and fitness, teach students how fitness plays a vital role in human performance for exploration, and inspire and motivate students to pursue careers in STEM fields. The project was initiated in 2009 in response to a request by the International Space Life Sciences Working Group. USA, Netherlands, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Colombia, Spain, and United Kingdom hosted teams for the pilot this past spring, and Japan held a modified version of the challenge. Several more agencies provided input into the preparations. Competing on 131 teams, more than 3700 students from 40 cities worldwide participated in the first round of Mission X. OUTCOMES AND BEST PRACTICES Members of the Mission X core team will highlight the outcomes of this international educational outreach pilot project, show video highlights of the challenge, provide the working group s initial assessment of the project and discuss the future potential of the effort. The team will also discuss ideas and best practices for international partnership in education outreach efforts from various agency perspectives and experiences

Composable Mission Framework for Rapid End-to-End Mission Design and Simulation, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The innovation proposed here is the Composable Mission Framework (CMF) a model-based software framework that shall enable seamless continuity of mission design and...

�Mission and Power� � The relevance of the Edinburgh 2010 discussion in the theological engagement with violence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cornelius J.P. Niemandt

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The ecumenical conference in Edinburgh in 2010 identified the issue of �Mission and Power� as one of the pressing mission themes for our generation. Christian mission has always been associated with power. The promise of the risen Christ was that his followers would receive power when the Holy Spirit came on them. History, unfortunately, recounts how Christian mission became backed by force and violence, the very opposite of the kind of power and energy associated with the Spirit of God. At the Edinburgh 2010 conference this violence in mission was studied as expressed in churches� relations with indigenous peoples. This article engages violence theologically and ecumenically by inviting the Edinburgh 2010 discussion into the reflection on violence in the democratic South Africa, as it was presented as a contribution to a wider discussion on violence in South Africa. This is done with the following objectives in mind: (1 to better understand the interplay between violence and power against the background of a broader global and ecumenical discussion of this issue; and (2 to suggest clues for the theological reflection on violence that may help to create a powerless, spacecreating discourse that opens up thinking and contributes to healing and justice.The article concludes by building on the Edinburg 2010 foundations of mission as dialogue and proposing prophetic dialogue as a powerless discourse: �Transforming the meaning of mission means that � God�s mission calls all people to work together for healing and justice in partnerships of mutuality and respect.�

Seeds-in-space education experiment during the Dutch soyuz mission DELTA

Science.gov (United States)

Weterings, Koen; Wamsteker, Jasper; Loon, Jack van

2007-09-01

We have used the broad appeal of the universe and space flight to boost interest in science education in The Netherlands via a classroom experiment designated Seeds In Space (SIS). By germinating Rucola seeds in the dark and in the light in ground classrooms and by comparing these results with those obtained in the same experiment performed in the International Space Station (ISS) during the Dutch Soyuz mission DELTA, students could learn about the cues that determine direction of plant growth. This paper describes both the preparations that led up to the SIS experiment as well as the popular and scientific outcome. Within The Netherlands, some 80.000 students participated, representing 15% of the population in the age group of 10-14 years old. In addition, another 80.000 German pupils, a few local schools in the Moscow -Koroljov- area and some in the Dutch Antilles also participated in the SIS experiment. Considering these numbers, it can be concluded that SIS was a very successful educational project and might be considered for future space flight missions.

Technology Maturation in Preparation for the Cryogenic Propellant Storage and Transfer (CPST) Technology Demonstration Mission (TDM)

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Michael L.; Doherty, Michael P.; Moder, Jeffrey P.

2014-01-01

In support of its goal to find an innovative path for human space exploration, NASA embarked on the Cryogenic Propellant Storage and Transfer (CPST) Project, a Technology Demonstration Mission (TDM) to test and validate key cryogenic capabilities and technologies required for future exploration elements, opening up the architecture for large in-space cryogenic propulsion stages and propellant depots. Recognizing that key Cryogenic Fluid Management (CFM) technologies anticipated for on-orbit (flight) demonstration would benefit from additional maturation to a readiness level appropriate for infusion into the design of the flight demonstration, the NASA Headquarters Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) authorized funding for a one-year technology maturation phase of the CPST project. The strategy, proposed by the CPST Project Manager, focused on maturation through modeling, concept studies, and ground tests of the storage and fluid transfer of CFM technology sub-elements and components that were lower than a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 5. A technology maturation plan (TMP) was subsequently approved which described: the CFM technologies selected for maturation, the ground testing approach to be used, quantified success criteria of the technologies, hardware and data deliverables, and a deliverable to provide an assessment of the technology readiness after completion of the test, study or modeling activity. The specific technologies selected were grouped into five major categories: thick multilayer insulation, tank applied active thermal control, cryogenic fluid transfer, propellant gauging, and analytical tool development. Based on the success of the technology maturation efforts, the CPST project was approved to proceed to flight system development.

Centralized mission planning and scheduling system for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Kavelaars, Alicia; Barnoy, Assaf M.; Gregory, Shawna; Garcia, Gonzalo; Talon, Cesar; Greer, Gregory; Williams, Jason; Dulski, Vicki

2014-01-01

Satellites in Low Earth Orbit provide missions with closer range for studying aspects such as geography and topography, but often require efficient utilization of space and ground assets. Optimizing schedules for these satellites amounts to a complex planning puzzle since it requires operators to face issues such as discontinuous ground contacts, limited onboard memory storage, constrained downlink margin, and shared ground antenna resources. To solve this issue for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM, Landsat 8), all the scheduling exchanges for science data request, ground/space station contact, and spacecraft maintenance and control will be coordinated through a centralized Mission Planning and Scheduling (MPS) engine, based upon GMV’s scheduling system flexplan9 . The synchronization between all operational functions must be strictly maintained to ensure efficient mission utilization of ground and spacecraft activities while working within the bounds of the space and ground resources, such as Solid State Recorder (SSR) and available antennas. This paper outlines the functionalities that the centralized planning and scheduling system has in its operational control and management of the Landsat 8 spacecraft.

Mythbusting Medical Writing: Goodbye, Ghosts! Hello, Help!

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Cindy W; Gertel, Art; Jacobs, Adam; Marchington, Jackie; Weaver, Shelley; Woolley, Karen

To meet ethical and scientific obligations, authors should submit timely, high-quality manuscripts. Authors, however, can encounter ethical (e.g., authorship designation) and practical (e.g., time and resource limitations) challenges during manuscript preparation. Could professional medical writers-not ghostwriters-help authors address these challenges? This essay summarizes evidence countering three myths that may have hindered authors from considering the use of professional medical writers. Authors with sufficient time, writing expertise, and reporting guideline knowledge may meet their obligations without writing assistance. Unfortunately, not all authors are in this position. Decisions about writing support should be based on evidence, not myths.

Preparing to Test Rover Mobility

Science.gov (United States)

2005-01-01

Rover engineers prepare a mixture of sandy and powdery materials to simulate some difficult Mars driving conditions inside a facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The tests in early May 2005 were designed to help plan the best way for the rover Opportunity to drive off of a soft-sand dune that the rover dug itself into the previous week.

An analysis of high-performing science students' preparation for collegiate science courses

Science.gov (United States)

Walter, Karen

This mixed-method study surveyed first year high-performing science students who participated in high-level courses such as International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced Placement (AP), and honors science courses in high school to determine their perception of preparation for academic success at the collegiate level. The study used 52 students from an honors college campus and surveyed the students and their professors. The students reported that they felt better prepared for academic success at the collegiate level by taking these courses in high school (pstudent GPA with honors science courses (n=55 and Pearson's r=-0.336), while AP courses (n=47 and Pearson's r=0.0016) and IB courses (n=17 and Pearson's r=-0.2716) demonstrated no correlation between perception of preparation and GPA. Students reported various themes that helped or hindered their perception of academic success once at the collegiate level. Those themes that reportedly helped students were preparedness, different types of learning, and teacher qualities. Students reported in a post-hoc experience that more lab time, rigorous coursework, better teachers, and better study techniques helped prepare them for academic success at the collegiate level. Students further reported on qualities of teachers and teaching that helped foster their academic abilities at the collegiate level, including teacher knowledge, caring, teaching style, and expectations. Some reasons for taking high-level science courses in high school include boosting GPA, college credit, challenge, and getting into better colleges.

Spacelab Mission Implementation Cost Assessment (SMICA)

Science.gov (United States)

Guynes, B. V.

1984-01-01

A total savings of approximately 20 percent is attainable if: (1) mission management and ground processing schedules are compressed; (2) the equipping, staffing, and operating of the Payload Operations Control Center is revised, and (3) methods of working with experiment developers are changed. The development of a new mission implementation technique, which includes mission definition, experiment development, and mission integration/operations, is examined. The Payload Operations Control Center is to relocate and utilize new computer equipment to produce cost savings. Methods of reducing costs by minimizing the Spacelab and payload processing time during pre- and post-mission operation at KSC are analyzed. The changes required to reduce costs in the analytical integration process are studied. The influence of time, requirements accountability, and risk on costs is discussed. Recommendation for cost reductions developed by the Spacelab Mission Implementation Cost Assessment study are listed.

Spacelab life sciences 2 post mission report

Science.gov (United States)

Buckey, Jay C.

1994-01-01

Jay C. Buckey, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas served as an alternate payload specialist astronaut for the Spacelab Life Sciences 2 Space Shuttle Mission from January 1992 through December 1993. This report summarizes his opinions on the mission and offers suggestions in the areas of selection, training, simulations, baseline data collection and mission operations. The report recognizes the contributions of the commander, payload commander and mission management team to the success of the mission. Dr. Buckey's main accomplishments during the mission are listed.

Autonomous, In-Flight Crew Health Risk Management for Exploration-Class Missions: Leveraging the Integrated Medical Model for the Exploration Medical System Demonstration Project

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, D. J.; Kerstman, E.; Saile, L.; Myers, J.; Walton, M.; Lopez, V.; McGrath, T.

2011-01-01

The Integrated Medical Model (IMM) captures organizational knowledge across the space medicine, training, operations, engineering, and research domains. IMM uses this knowledge in the context of a mission and crew profile to forecast risks to crew health and mission success. The IMM establishes a quantified, statistical relationship among medical conditions, risk factors, available medical resources, and crew health and mission outcomes. These relationships may provide an appropriate foundation for developing an in-flight medical decision support tool that helps optimize the use of medical resources and assists in overall crew health management by an autonomous crew with extremely limited interactions with ground support personnel and no chance of resupply.

Mars Navigator: An Interactive Multimedia Program about Mars, Aerospace Engineering, Astronomy, and the JPL Mars Missions. [CD-ROM

Science.gov (United States)

Gramoll, Kurt

This CD-ROM introduces basic astronomy and aerospace engineering by examining the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) Mars Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor missions to Mars. It contains numerous animations and narrations in addition to detailed graphics and text. Six interactive laboratories are included to help understand topics such as the…

The 'Granite' collegial mission of dialogue. Report; Mission collegiale de concertation Granite. Rapport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boisson, P; Huet, Ph; Mingasson, J

2000-06-01

The aim of the 'Granite' collegial mission of dialogue is to inform the French authorities, associations and population about the project of construction of an underground laboratory for the study of the disposal of high level and long-life radioactive wastes in a granitic environment. The aim of the dialogue was not to select a site but to collect the public reactions and advices about such a project. However, such a dialogue has partially failed because of a misunderstanding of the population about the aims of the mission. However, the mission has collected many point of views and questions which are developed in this report. The first and second chapters recall the process of the mission and its progress, while a third chapter stresses on the questions asked by the public and which concern the fear of nuclear wastes and the incompatibility between the disposal of wastes and the socio-economical development of the region concerned. Thanks to the lessons drawn from this experience, the mission has formulated some recommendations (chapter 4) concerning the need for a better information of the population about any topic in relation with the radioactive wastes. Some complementary information is provided in appendixes. (J.S.)

KEPLER Mission: development and overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borucki, William J

2016-01-01

The Kepler Mission is a space observatory launched in 2009 by NASA to monitor 170 000 stars over a period of four years to determine the frequency of Earth-size and larger planets in and near the habitable zone of Sun-like stars, the size and orbital distributions of these planets, and the types of stars they orbit. Kepler is the tenth in the series of NASA Discovery Program missions that are competitively-selected, PI-directed, medium-cost missions. The Mission concept and various instrument prototypes were developed at the Ames Research Center over a period of 18 years starting in 1983. The development of techniques to do the 10 ppm photometry required for Mission success took years of experimentation, several workshops, and the exploration of many ‘blind alleys’ before the construction of the flight instrument. Beginning in 1992 at the start of the NASA Discovery Program, the Kepler Mission concept was proposed five times before its acceptance for mission development in 2001. During that period, the concept evolved from a photometer in an L2 orbit that monitored 6000 stars in a 50 sq deg field-of-view (FOV) to one that was in a heliocentric orbit that simultaneously monitored 170 000 stars with a 105 sq deg FOV. Analysis of the data to date has detected over 4600 planetary candidates which include several hundred Earth-size planetary candidates, over a thousand confirmed planets, and Earth-size planets in the habitable zone (HZ). These discoveries provide the information required for estimates of the frequency of planets in our galaxy. The Mission results show that most stars have planets, many of these planets are similar in size to the Earth, and that systems with several planets are common. Although planets in the HZ are common, many are substantially larger than Earth. (review article)

Mars Atmosphere Resource Verification INsitu (MARVIN) - In Situ Resource Demonstration for the Mars 2020 Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, Gerald B.; Araghi, Koorosh; Ess, Kim M.; Valencia, Lisa M.; Muscatello, Anthony C.; Calle, Carlos I.; Clark, Larry; Iacomini, Christie

2014-01-01

The making of oxygen from resources in the Martian atmosphere, known as In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), has the potential to provide substantial benefits for future robotic and human exploration. In particular, the ability to produce oxygen on Mars for use in propulsion, life support, and power systems can provide significant mission benefits such as a reducing launch mass, lander size, and mission and crew risk. To advance ISRU for possible incorporation into future human missions to Mars, NASA proposed including an ISRU instrument on the Mars 2020 rover mission, through an announcement of opportunity (AO). The purpose of the the Mars Atmosphere Resource Verification INsitu or (MARVIN) instrument is to provide the first demonstration on Mars of oxygen production from acquired and stored Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide, as well as take measurements of atmospheric pressure and temperature, and of suspended dust particle sizes and amounts entrained in collected atmosphere gases at different times of the Mars day and year. The hardware performance and environmental data obtained will be critical for future ISRU systems that will reduce the mass of propellants and other consumables launched from Earth for robotic and human exploration, for better understanding of Mars dust and mitigation techniques to improve crew safety, and to help further define Mars global circulation models and better understand the regional atmospheric dynamics on Mars. The technologies selected for MARVIN are also scalable for future robotic sample return and human missions to Mars using ISRU.

A Conceptual Framework of "Top 5" Ethical Lessons for the Helping Professions

Science.gov (United States)

Castro-Atwater, Sheri A.; Huynh Hohnbaum, Anh-Luu

2015-01-01

One of the important tasks of supervisors and educators in the human service fields is to provide their fieldwork students with models of appropriate ethical behavior and decision-making. The ethical training that educators provide to students in the helping professions will greatly influence how prepared students feel to navigate through…

Student perceptions about the mission of dental schools to advance global dentistry and philanthropy.

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanoff, Chris S; Ivanoff, Athena E; Yaneva, Krassimira; Hottel, Timothy L; Proctor, Hannah L

2013-10-01

In this study, 491 dental students at one dental school in the United States and one in Bulgaria were surveyed to assess their perceptions about the mission of dental schools to advance global dentistry and philanthropy. The study included questions about prior involvement in charitable dental missions. Many respondents felt that their dental school does not advance global dentistry nor adequately teaches students the virtues of philanthropy and volunteerism. The majority agreed, however, that dental schools have a moral obligation to raise the level of oral health care worldwide and help underserved communities access basic dental care. They reported that an opportunity to spend a semester at a foreign dental school would enhance their dental education in ways that are not presently fulfilled; help them better understand cultural diversity; and teach them about philanthropy and volunteerism. In their opinion, international exchange programs that provide clinical rotations and field experiences in economically challenged and underserved areas of the world would a) foster the global advancement of dentistry; b) promote an appreciation for cultural diversity and socioeconomic disparity in the communities that graduates will be serving; and c) teach students the virtues of philanthropy and volunteerism. This study may contribute to understanding factors affecting student involvement in programs to advance global dentistry.

IRIS Mission Operations Director's Colloquium

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalho, Robert; Mazmanian, Edward A.

2014-01-01

Pursuing the Mysteries of the Sun: The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) Mission. Flight controllers from the IRIS mission will present their individual experiences on IRIS from development through the first year of flight. This will begin with a discussion of the unique nature of IRISs mission and science, and how it fits into NASA's fleet of solar observatories. Next will be a discussion of the critical roles Ames contributed in the mission including spacecraft and flight software development, ground system development, and training for launch. This will be followed by experiences from launch, early operations, ongoing operations, and unusual operations experiences. The presentation will close with IRIS science imagery and questions.

MMPM - Mars MetNet Precursor Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Harri, A.-M.; Schmidt, W.; Pichkhadze, K.; Linkin, V.; Vazquez, L.; Uspensky, M.; Polkko, J.; Genzer, M.; Lipatov, A.; Guerrero, H.; Alexashkin, S.; Haukka, H.; Savijarvi, H.; Kauhanen, J.

2008-09-01

We are developing a new kind of planetary exploration mission for Mars - MetNet in situ observation network based on a new semi-hard landing vehicle called the Met-Net Lander (MNL). The eventual scope of the MetNet Mission is to deploy some 20 MNLs on the Martian surface using inflatable descent system structures, which will be supported by observations from the orbit around Mars. Currently we are working on the MetNet Mars Precursor Mission (MMPM) to deploy one MetNet Lander to Mars in the 2009/2011 launch window as a technology and science demonstration mission. The MNL will have a versatile science payload focused on the atmospheric science of Mars. Detailed characterization of the Martian atmospheric circulation patterns, boundary layer phenomena, and climatology cycles, require simultaneous in-situ measurements by a network of observation posts on the Martian surface. The scientific payload of the MetNet Mission encompasses separate instrument packages for the atmospheric entry and descent phase and for the surface operation phase. The MetNet mission concept and key probe technologies have been developed and the critical subsystems have been qualified to meet the Martian environmental and functional conditions. Prototyping of the payload instrumentation with final dimensions was carried out in 2003-2006.This huge development effort has been fulfilled in collaboration between the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), the Russian Lavoschkin Association (LA) and the Russian Space Research Institute (IKI) since August 2001. Currently the INTA (Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial) from Spain is also participating in the MetNet payload development. To understand the behavior and dynamics of the Martian atmosphere, a wealth of simultaneous in situ observations are needed on varying types of Martian orography, terrain and altitude spanning all latitudes and longitudes. This will be performed by the Mars MetNet Mission. In addition to the science aspects the

Use and cardiovascular safety of transdermal and other granisetron preparations in cancer management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mason, Jay W; Moon, Thomas E

2013-01-01

5-HT 3 antagonists have been available as oral and intravenous preparations for decades. The availability more recently of transdermal granisetron and the anticipated availability of a subcutaneous granisetron preparation have provided helpful alternatives to patients, and these preparations have been shown to have less potential to prolong QT than other drugs in the class

The missions of medical schools: the pursuit of health in the service of society

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lewkonia Ray M

2001-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Mission statements and role documents of medical schools in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia have been examined on their Internet Web sites and categorised in purpose, content and presentation. The format and content are highly variable, but there is a common vision of three integral roles, namely, education, advancement of knowledge and service to society. Other frequent themes include tradition and historical perspective, service for designated communities, and benchmarking to accreditation standards. Differences in content reflect variable interpretation of the notion of "mission", and local or national characteristics such as institutional affiliations, the types, levels and organisation of medical education, relationships with health systems, and extent of multi-professional education. Outcomes data and measures of medical school performance referenced to the institution's stated missions are rarely encountered. Mission documents placed on the Internet are in the public domain. These Web sites and documents and linked information constitute a valuable new resource for international exchange of approaches and ideas in medical education and generally in academic medicine. Routine inclusion of outcome or performance data could help to demonstrate the community roles and social accountability of medical schools This paper proposes that partial standardisation of these Web documents could enhance their value both internally and for external readers. A generic descriptive statement template is offered.

Psychological training of NASA astronauts for extended missions

Science.gov (United States)

Holland, A. W.

1992-01-01

The success of operational teams working in remote and hostile environments rests in large part on adequate preparation of those teams prior to emplacement in field settings. Psychological training, directed at the maintenance of crew health and performance becomes increasingly important as space missions grow in duration and complexity. Methods: Topics to be discussed include: the conceptual framework of psychological training; needs analysis; content and delivery options; methods of assessing training efficacy; use of testbeds and analogies and the relationship of training to crew selection and real-time support activities. Results and Conclusions: This paper will discuss the psychological training approach being developed at the NASA/JSC Behavior and Performance Laboratory. This approach will be compared and contrasted with those underway in the U.S. Department of Defense and in other space agencies.

Distributed Space Mission Design for Earth Observation Using Model-Based Performance Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Nag, Sreeja; LeMoigne-Stewart, Jacqueline; Cervantes, Ben; DeWeck, Oliver

2015-01-01

Distributed Space Missions (DSMs) are gaining momentum in their application to earth observation missions owing to their unique ability to increase observation sampling in multiple dimensions. DSM design is a complex problem with many design variables, multiple objectives determining performance and cost and emergent, often unexpected, behaviors. There are very few open-access tools available to explore the tradespace of variables, minimize cost and maximize performance for pre-defined science goals, and therefore select the most optimal design. This paper presents a software tool that can multiple DSM architectures based on pre-defined design variable ranges and size those architectures in terms of predefined science and cost metrics. The tool will help a user select Pareto optimal DSM designs based on design of experiments techniques. The tool will be applied to some earth observation examples to demonstrate its applicability in making some key decisions between different performance metrics and cost metrics early in the design lifecycle.

A new look at medicine and the mind-body problem: can Dewey's pragmatism help medicine connect with its mission?

Science.gov (United States)

Shelton, Wayne

2013-01-01

This article discusses how the paradigm of Cartesian mind-body dualism has shaped the cultural and institutional life of modern science and medicine. John Dewey (1859-1952) made this case in a speech to the New York Academy of Medicine in 1927, "Preoccupation with the Disconnected," an expanded version of which was published as "Body and Mind" in the Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine in January 1928. From the perspective of Dewey's broader philosophy, the most urgent aspect of mind-body dualism is of a practical, not theoretical, nature. Medicine at present has an opportunity in both education and practice to reconcile internally disparate trends that result from mind-body dualism and to renew its mission.

Mission to the Solar System: Exploration and Discovery. A Mission and Technology Roadmap

Science.gov (United States)

Gulkis, S. (Editor); Stetson, D. S. (Editor); Stofan, E. R. (Editor)

1998-01-01

Solar System exploration addresses some of humanity's most fundamental questions: How and when did life form on Earth? Does life exist elsewhere in the Solar System or in the Universe? - How did the Solar System form and evolve in time? - What can the other planets teach us about the Earth? This document describes a Mission and Technology Roadmap for addressing these and other fundamental Solar System Questions. A Roadmap Development Team of scientists, engineers, educators, and technologists worked to define the next evolutionary steps in in situ exploration, sample return, and completion of the overall Solar System survey. Guidelines were to "develop aa visionary, but affordable, mission and technology development Roadmap for the exploration of the Solar System in the 2000 to 2012 timeframe." The Roadmap provides a catalog of potential flight missions. (Supporting research and technology, ground-based observations, and laboratory research, which are no less important than flight missions, are not included in this Roadmap.)

IAEA Mission Says France Committed to Safe, Responsible Management of Radioactive Waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2018-01-01

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts said France demonstrated a comprehensive commitment to safety with a responsible approach to the management of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. The team also made suggestions aimed at further enhancements and noted several good practices. The Integrated Review Service for Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel Management, Decommissioning and Remediation (ARTEMIS) team concluded an 11-day mission to France on 24 January. The mission, requested by the Government of France, was hosted by the Directorate General of Energy and Climate (DGEC), with the participation of officials from several relevant organizations including the French National Radioactive Waste Agency (ANDRA) and the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), which is responsible for nuclear and radiation safety regulation in the country. ARTEMIS missions provide independent expert advice from an international team of specialists convened by the IAEA. Reviews are based on the IAEA safety standards as well as international good practices. The mission to France aimed to help the country meet European Union obligations that require an independent peer review of national programmes for the safe and responsible management of spent fuel and radioactive waste. Nuclear power currently generates more than 70 percent of France’s electricity. The country has 58 operating nuclear power reactors, which will require the continuing safe management of radioactive waste and spent fuel. France operates facilities for the disposal of very low-level and low-level wastes, and is developing a deep geological repository for the disposal of high-level waste.

Mission Critical Occupation (MCO) Charts

Data.gov (United States)

Office of Personnel Management — Agencies report resource data and targets for government-wide mission critical occupations and agency specific mission critical and/or high risk occupations. These...

Overview of Site Preparation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garin, P.

2006-01-01

The preparation of Cadarache as the host of ITER is organised at a double level: Europe, since the beginning of the candidature in 2001, is coordinating the so-called European ITER Site Studies; France, as the host country, has put in place a dedicated structure at a decisional level (close to the government), and operational level in the PACA region with two entities: The Agency Iter France (AIF), inside the CEA, interlocutor of international and European entities, in charge of site preparation and fund recollection; An accompanying prefectoral mission, in charge mainly of road adaptation and the international school. The paper will cover all the aspects related to the preparation of the implementation of ITER: Technical aspects: the progress of site preparation itself, its servicing (water supply, electrical supply, Internet...), the road adaptation between the large harbour of Fos-sur-mer and Cadarache, etc. will be detailed. Regulatory procedures: in the framework of the delegation that the ITER partners gave to the CEA/AIF on 14 th September 2005, two main large files are in progress: The public debate, organised by an independent authority, informs the population of the challenges and impacts of ITER in Provence; The safety documents: the writing of the preliminary safety report, which will be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Authority and the files submitted to the public during the public enquiries are ongoing. Socioeconomic aspects: the welcome of ITER staff and their families is operational, via a dedicated Welcome Office; the location of an international school in Manosque leads now to its pre-figuration. The overall organisation will be described, as well as all planning forecast for the coming years, leading to the start of construction. (author)

Anti-Collision Function Design and Performances of the CNES Formation Flying Experiment on the PRISMA Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Cayeux, P.; Raballand, F.; Borde, J.; Berges, J.-C.; Meyssignac, B.

2007-01-01

Within the framework of a partnership agreement, EADS ASTRIUM has worked since June 2006 for the CNES formation flying experiment on the PRISMA mission. EADS ASTRIUM is responsible for the anti-collision function. This responsibility covers the design and the development of the function as a Matlab/Simulink library, as well as its functional validation and performance assessment. PRISMA is a technology in-orbit testbed mission from the Swedish National Space Board, mainly devoted to formation flying demonstration. PRISMA is made of two micro-satellites that will be launched in 2009 on a quasi-circular SSO at about 700 km of altitude. The CNES FFIORD experiment embedded on PRISMA aims at flight validating an FFRF sensor designed for formation control, and assessing its performances, in preparation to future formation flying missions such as Simbol X; FFIORD aims as well at validating various typical autonomous rendezvous and formation guidance and control algorithms. This paper presents the principles of the collision avoidance function developed by EADS ASTRIUM for FFIORD; three kinds of maneuvers were implemented and are presented in this paper with their performances.

Evaluation of full and degraded mission reliability and mission dependability for intermittently operated, multi-functional systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sols, Alberto; Ramirez-Marquez, Jose E.; Verma, Dinesh; Vitoriano, Begona

2007-01-01

Availability is one of the metrics often used in the evaluation of system effectiveness. Its use as an effectiveness metric is often dictated by the nature of the system under consideration. While some systems operate continuously, many others operate on an intermittent basis where each operational period may often involve a different set of missions. This is the most likely scenario for complex multi-functional systems, where each specific system mission may require the availability of a different combination of system elements. Similarly, for these systems, not only is it important to know whether a mission can be initiated, it is just as important to know whether the system is capable of completing such a mission. Thus, for these systems, additional measures become relevant to provide a more holistic assessment of system effectiveness. This paper presents techniques for the evaluation of both full and degraded mission reliability and mission dependability for coherent, intermittently operated multi-functional systems. These metrics complement previously developed availability and degraded availability measures of multi-functional systems, in the comprehensive assessment of system effectiveness

Multi-Mission SDR, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Wireless transceivers used for NASA space missions have traditionally been highly custom and mission specific. Programs such as the GRC Space Transceiver Radio...

The NASA X-Ray Mission Concepts Study

Science.gov (United States)

Petre, Robert; Ptak, A.; Bookbinder, J.; Garcia, M.; Smith, R.; Bautz, M.; Bregman, J.; Burrows, D.; Cash, W.; Jones-Forman, C.;

Career Readiness: Are We There Yet?

Science.gov (United States)

Guidry, Christopher

2012-01-01

ACT is committed to working with career and technical educators in order to prepare students to meet the standards of the high-performance workplace. In short, prepare them to be career- and job-ready. This commitment is a reflection of ACT's mission: "helping people achieve education and workplace success." After devoting more than two decades of…

Science Mission Definition Studies for TROPIX

Science.gov (United States)

Fennell, J. F.

1997-01-01

This document summarizes the results of mission definition studies for solar electric propulsion missions that have been carried out over the last approximately three years. The major output from the studies has been two proposals which were submitted to NASA in response to Announcements of Opportunity for missions and an ongoing Global Magnetospheric Dynamics mission study. The bulk of this report consists of copies of the proposals and preliminary materials from the GMD study that will be completed in the coming months.

Production of iridium-alloy clad vent sets for the Cassini mission to Saturn

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Helle, K.J.; Moore, J.P.

1995-01-01

Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., has successfully produced the iridium-alloy clad vent sets required for encapsulation of plutonia for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Cassini mission to Saturn. Numerous improvements were made to the manufacturing process in various areas including dye-penetrant examination of cups, foil part stamping, chemical analysis, tungsten fixturing for laser welding, and enhanced inspections at high magnification. In addition, systems were initiated to ensure process control, and a detailed quality and technical surveillance program was prepared and followed to detect any incipient production problem early in the process so that corrective action could be taken immediately. The quality of the resulting iridium components has been high, and production yields have been above 90%. During the course of the production campaign for the Cassini mission, worker efficiencies lowered production costs, and further cost reductions are possible if operations are consolidated into a single area and bare-forming of the iridium alloys cups can be qualified for flight-quality clad vent sets

Development of a Pedagogical Model to Help Engineering Faculty Design Interdisciplinary Curricula

Science.gov (United States)

Navarro, Maria; Foutz, Timothy; Thompson, Sidney; Singer, Kerri Patrick

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a model to help engineering faculty overcome the challenges they face when asked to design and implement interdisciplinary curricula. Researchers at a U.S. University worked with an Interdisciplinary Consultant Team and prepared a steering document with Guiding Principles and Essential Elements for the…

IceBridge Mission Flight Reports

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The IceBridge Mission Flight Reports data set contains flight reports from NASA Operation IceBridge Greenland, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alaska missions. Flight reports...

Mechanical site preparation for forest restoration

Science.gov (United States)

Magnus Lof; Daniel C. Dey; Rafael M. Navarro; Douglass F. Jacobs

2012-01-01

Forest restoration projects have become increasingly common around the world and planting trees is almost always a key component. Low seedling survival and growth may result in restoration failures and various mechanical site preparation techniques for treatment of soils and vegetation are important tools used to help counteract this. In this article, we synthesize the...

Mission,System Design and Payload Aspects of ESA's Mercury Cornerstone Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Ferri, A.; Anselmi, A.; Scoon, G. E. N.

1999-09-01

Aim of this paper is to summarise the 1-year study performed by Alenia Aerospazio in close co-operation with the European Space Agency, on the Mercury Cornerstone System and Technology Study, as a part of Horizon 2000+ Scientific Programme plan. ESA's definition study towards a mission to Mercury conceives the launch of a S/C in 2009, on a two to three years journey, plus a one-year scientific observations and data take. The mission's primary objectives are manyfolded, aiming at approaching basic scientific questions on the origin and evolution of Mercury: identify and map the chemical and mineral composition of the surface, measure the topography of surface landforms, define the gravitational field, investigate particles and magnetic fields. The mission is also intended to resolve the librational state of the planet, in a system experiment requiring high accuracy inertial attitude (arcsecond level) and orbit (m-level) reconstitution. This experiment will allow to infer whether Mercury has a molten core, which is crucial to theories of magnetic field generation, and theories of the thermal history of terrestrial type planets. A hard-lander is planned to perform in-situ surface geochemical analysis. The mission is expected to provide scientists with a global portrait of Mercury returning about 1200 Gbits of scientific data, during a 1-year observation phase. The crucial aspects of the spacecraft design have to do with the high-temperature and high-radiation environment. Thermal control is achieved by a combination of orbit selection, attitude law, and special design provisions for IR shielding and HT insulation. Ad-hoc design provisions are envisaged for power and antenna mechanisms. Though the conceptual objectives of this industrial study focused on system architectures and enabling technologies for a "Cornerstone" class mission, in this paper emphasis is given on the scientific payload aspects.

OSART mission highlights 1989-1990: Operational safety practices in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-12-01

The IAEA Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) programme provides advice and assistance to Member States in enhancing the operational safety of nuclear power plants. OSART reviews are available to all countries with nuclear power plants in operation or approaching operation. Most of these countries have participated in the programme, by hosting one or more OSART missions or by making experts available to participate in missions. Careful design and high quality of construction are prerequisites for a safe nuclear power plant. However, a plant's safety depends ultimately on the ability and conscientiousness of the operating personnel and on their tools and work methods. OSART missions assess a facility's operational practices in comparison with those used successfully in other countries, and exchange, at the working level, ideas for promoting safety. Both the plants reviewed and the organizations providing experts have benefited from the programme. The observations of the OSART members are documented in technical notes which are then used as source material for the official OSART Report submitted to the government of the host country. The technical notes contain recommendations for improvements and descriptions of recommendable good practices. The same notes have been used to compile the present summary report which is intended for wide distribution to all organizations constructing, operating or regulating nuclear power plants. This report is the fourth in a series following IAEA-TECDOC-458, IAEA-TECDOC-497 and IAEA-TECDOC-570 and covers the period June 1989 to December 1990. Reference is also made to a summary report of Pre-OSART missions, which is in preparation. In addition, a report presenting OSART Good Practices has been published (IAEA-TECDOC-605)

Preparing for an Uncertain Forecast

Science.gov (United States)

Karolak, Eric

2011-01-01

Navigating the world of government relations and public policy can be a little like predicting the weather. One can't always be sure what's in store or how it will affect him/her down the road. But there are common patterns and a few basic steps that can help one best prepare for a change in the forecast. Though the forecast is uncertain, early…

Towards A Shared Mission

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Staunstrup, Jørgen; Orth Gaarn-Larsen, Carsten

A mission shared by stakeholders, management and employees is a prerequisite for an engaging dialog about the many and substantial changes and challenges currently facing universities. Too often this essen-tial dialog reveals mistrust and misunderstandings about the role and outcome of the univer......A mission shared by stakeholders, management and employees is a prerequisite for an engaging dialog about the many and substantial changes and challenges currently facing universities. Too often this essen-tial dialog reveals mistrust and misunderstandings about the role and outcome...... on a shared mission aiming at value creation (in the broadest interpretation). One important aspect of choosing value as the cornerstone of the mission of universities is to stress that the outcome is measured by external stakeholders and by their standards. Most of the paper is devoted to discussing value...... it possible to lead through processes that engage and excite while creating transparency and accountability. The paper will be illustrated with examples from Denmark and the Helios initiative taken by the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences (ATV) under the headline “The value creating university – courage...

Mission-Critical Systems Design Framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyriakos Houliotis

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Safety-critical systems are well documented and standardized (e.g. IEC 61508, RTCA DO-178B within system design cycles. However in Defence and Security, systems that are critical to the success of a Mission are not defined within the literature nor are there any guidelines in defining criticality in their design or operational capabilities. When it comes to Vetronics (Vehicle Electronics, a mission-critical system, is a system with much complexity and mixed criticality levels that is a part of the overall platform (military vehicle offering integrated system capabilities. In this paper, a framework is presented, providing guidelines in designing efficiently and effectively mission-critical systems considering principles of Interoperable Open Architectures (IOA, mission-critical integrity levels and following new standardization activities such as NATO Generic Vehicle Architecture (NGVA. A Defensive Aid Suite (DAS system is used as a case study to illustrate how this framework can be exploited. The indention of this extension is to provide an approach to precisely estimate threats in order to de-risk missions in the very early stages.

Preparing for Mars: The Evolvable Mars Campaign 'Proving Ground' Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Bobskill, Marianne R.; Lupisella, Mark L.; Mueller, Rob P.; Sibille, Laurent; Vangen, Scott; Williams-Byrd, Julie

2015-01-01

As the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) prepares to extend human presence beyond Low Earth Orbit, we are in the early stages of planning missions within the framework of an Evolvable Mars Campaign. Initial missions would be conducted in near-Earth cis-lunar space and would eventually culminate in extended duration crewed missions on the surface of Mars. To enable such exploration missions, critical technologies and capabilities must be identified, developed, and tested. NASA has followed a principled approach to identify critical capabilities and a "Proving Ground" approach is emerging to address testing needs. The Proving Ground is a period subsequent to current International Space Station activities wherein exploration-enabling capabilities and technologies are developed and the foundation is laid for sustained human presence in space. The Proving Ground domain essentially includes missions beyond Low Earth Orbit that will provide increasing mission capability while reducing technical risks. Proving Ground missions also provide valuable experience with deep space operations and support the transition from "Earth-dependence" to "Earth-independence" required for sustainable space exploration. A Technology Development Assessment Team identified a suite of critical technologies needed to support the cadence of exploration missions. Discussions among mission planners, vehicle developers, subject-matter-experts, and technologists were used to identify a minimum but sufficient set of required technologies and capabilities. Within System Maturation Teams, known challenges were identified and expressed as specific performance gaps in critical capabilities, which were then refined and activities required to close these critical gaps were identified. Analysis was performed to identify test and demonstration opportunities for critical technical capabilities across the Proving Ground spectrum of missions. This suite of critical capabilities is expected to

Approach to Spacelab Payload mission management

Science.gov (United States)

Craft, H. G.; Lester, R. C.

1978-01-01

The nucleus of the approach to Spacelab Payload mission management is the establishment of a single point of authority for the entire payload on a given mission. This single point mission manager will serve as a 'broker' between the individual experiments and the STS, negotiating agreements by two-part interaction. The payload mission manager, along with a small support team, will represent the users in negotiating use of STS accommodations. He will provide the support needed by each individual experimenter to meet the scientific, technological, and applications objectives of the mission with minimum cost and maximum efficiency. The investigator will assume complete responsibility for his experiment hardware definition and development and will take an active role in the integration and operation of his experiment.

Countdown to a Moon launch preparing Apollo for its historic journey

CERN Document Server

Ward, Jonathan H

2015-01-01

Thousands of workers labored at Kennedy Space Center around the clock, seven days a week, for half a year to prepare a mission for the liftoff of Apollo 11. This is the story of what went on during those hectic six months. Countdown to a Moon Launch provides an in-depth look at the carefully choreographed workflow for an Apollo mission at KSC. Using the Apollo 11 mission as an example, readers will learn what went on day by day to transform partially completed stages and crates of parts into a ready-to-fly Saturn V. Firsthand accounts of launch pad accidents, near misses, suspected sabotage, and last-minute changes to hardware are told by more than 70 NASA employees and its contractors. A companion to Rocket Ranch, it includes many diagrams and photographs, some never before published, to illustrate all aspects of the process. NASA’s groundbreaking use of computers for testing and advanced management techniques are also covered in detail. This book will demystify the question of how NASA could build and lau...

The Swift GRB MIDEX Mission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gehrels, N.

2003-01-01

Swift is a first-of-its-kind multiwavelength transient observatory for gamma-ray burst astronomy. It has the optimum capabilities for the next breakthroughs in determining the origin of gamma-ray bursts and their afterglows, as well as using bursts to probe the early Universe. Swift will also perform the first sensitive hard X-ray survey of the sky. The mission is being developed by an international collaboration and consists of three instruments, the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT), the X-ray Telescope (XRT), and the Ultraviolet and Optical Telescope (UVOT). The BAT, a wide-field gamma-ray detector, will detect 3-7 gamma-ray bursts per week with a sensitivity 5 times that of BATSE. The sensitive narrow-field XRT and UVOT will be autonomously slewed to the burst location in 20 to 70 seconds to determine 0.3-5.0 arcsec positions and perform optical, UV, and X-ray spectrophotometry. Strong education/public outreach and follow-up programs will help to engage the public and astronomical community. The Swift launch is planned for September 2003

Helping You Help Me: The Role of Diagnostic (In)congruence in the Helping Process within Organizations

OpenAIRE

Fisher, Colin M.; Pillemer, Julianna; Amabile, Teresa M.

2014-01-01

Through an inductive, multi-method field study at a major design firm, we investigated the helping process in project work and how that process affects the success of a helping episode, as perceived by help-givers and/or -receivers. We used daily diary entries and weekly interviews from four project teams, and a separate sample of critical incident interviews, to induce process models of successful and unsuccessful helping episodes. We found that, in unsuccessful episodes, help-givers and -re...

Planning a pharmacy-led medical mission trip, part 2: servant leadership and team dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Dana A; Brown, Daniel L; Yocum, Christine K

2012-06-01

While pharmacy curricula can prepare students for the cognitive domains of pharmacy practice, mastery of the affective aspects can prove to be more challenging. At the Gregory School of Pharmacy, medical mission trips have been highly effective means of impacting student attitudes and beliefs. Specifically, these trips have led to transformational changes in student leadership capacity, turning an act of service into an act of influence. Additionally, building team unity is invaluable to the overall effectiveness of the trip. Pre-trip preparation for teams includes activities such as routine team meetings, team-building activities, and implementation of committees, as a means of promoting positive team dynamics. While in the field, team dynamics can be fostered through activities such as daily debriefing sessions, team disclosure times, and provision of medical services.

Helping HELP with limited resources: the Luquillo experience

Science.gov (United States)

F.N. Scatena; JR Ortiz-Zayas; J.F. Blanco-Libreros

2008-01-01

By definition the HELP approach involves the active participation of individuals from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds, including representatives of industry, academics, natural resource managers, and local officials and community leaders. While there is considerable enthusiasm and support for the integrated HELP approach, a central problem for all HELP...

Test Preparation in the Accountability Era: Toward a Learning-Oriented Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Gebril, Atta

2018-01-01

The article introduces a learning-oriented approach to test preparation that could help in easing the tension between learning and assessment. The first part of the article discusses the different concepts that are usually used in the context of test preparation. The second section reports on the literature pertaining to the effects of test…

EU Police Mission and EU Mission for Security Sector Reform in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Højstrup Christensen, Gitte; Mandrup, Thomas

after the signing of two peace agreements (EUSEC). The EUPOL mission was terminated in 2014 and the EUSEC in 2016. Both missions were successful in some areas and failed in others. Despite their shortcomings, the EUPOL and EUSEC missions can provide valuable lessons for future EU Common Security...

Evolvable Mars Campaign Long Duration Habitation Strategies: Architectural Approaches to Enable Human Exploration Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Simon, Matthew A.; Toups, Larry; Howe, A. Scott; Wald, Samuel I.

2015-01-01

The Evolvable Mars Campaign (EMC) is the current NASA Mars mission planning effort which seeks to establish sustainable, realistic strategies to enable crewed Mars missions in the mid-2030s timeframe. The primary outcome of the Evolvable Mars Campaign is not to produce "The Plan" for sending humans to Mars, but instead its intent is to inform the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate near-term key decisions and investment priorities to prepare for those types of missions. The FY'15 EMC effort focused upon analysis of integrated mission architectures to identify technically appealing transportation strategies, logistics build-up strategies, and vehicle designs for reaching and exploring Mars moons and Mars surface. As part of the development of this campaign, long duration habitats are required which are capable of supporting crew with limited resupply and crew abort during the Mars transit, Mars moons, and Mars surface segments of EMC missions. In particular, the EMC design team sought to design a single, affordable habitation system whose manufactured units could be outfitted uniquely for each of these missions and reused for multiple crewed missions. This habitat system must provide all of the functionality to safely support 4 crew for long durations while meeting mass and volume constraints for each of the mission segments set by the chosen transportation architecture and propulsion technologies. This paper describes several proposed long-duration habitation strategies to enable the Evolvable Mars Campaign through improvements in mass, cost, and reusability, and presents results of analysis to compare the options and identify promising solutions. The concepts investigated include several monolithic concepts: monolithic clean sheet designs, and concepts which leverage the co-manifested payload capability of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) to deliver habitable elements within the Universal Payload Adaptor between the SLS upper stage and the Orion

ACADEMIC MISSION - FROM AUTOCRACY TO BUREAUCRACY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LIVIU NEAMŢU

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The mission is generic expression of reason for the existence of an organization. Organizational mission ensure continuity of existence beyond the objectives and targets of activities. It is the expression of an organization's responsibilities towards the environment in which it belongs. As the organization grows and its activities or environmental conditions change, managers adapt their strategies, but stated mission will remain valid for a period of time or unchanged throughout the life of the organization. All managerial elements of the organization are aligned with stated mission, starting from the organization structure, management behavior or specific business processes. The focus of the mission of an higher education institution on a need or several integrated needs, on customers who manifest this need and on how they can be met, that really means defining of its strategic domanin, as a sphere of influence of the organization in their environment. In this sphere of influence, three components integrate on three levels of the mission: to establish needs; identify the customer type to which an organization adress and key competencies that differentiate it from the rest competitors. To that context identifies four specific forms of academic institutions starting from their mission and strategic area: autocratic academic institutions, meritocrate academic institutions, democratic academic institutions, bureaucrats academic institutions.

Analysis Methodology for Optimal Selection of Ground Station Site in Space Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Nieves-Chinchilla, J.; Farjas, M.; Martínez, R.

2013-12-01

Optimization of ground station sites is especially important in complex missions that include several small satellites (clusters or constellations) such as the QB50 project, where one ground station would be able to track several spatial vehicles, even simultaneously. In this regard the design of the communication system has to carefully take into account the ground station site and relevant signal phenomena, depending on the frequency band. To propose the optimal location of the ground station, these aspects become even more relevant to establish a trusted communication link due to the ground segment site in urban areas and/or selection of low orbits for the space segment. In addition, updated cartography with high resolution data of the location and its surroundings help to develop recommendations in the design of its location for spatial vehicles tracking and hence to improve effectiveness. The objectives of this analysis methodology are: completion of cartographic information, modelling the obstacles that hinder communication between the ground and space segment and representation in the generated 3D scene of the degree of impairment in the signal/noise of the phenomena that interferes with communication. The integration of new technologies of geographic data capture, such as 3D Laser Scan, determine that increased optimization of the antenna elevation mask, in its AOS and LOS azimuths along the horizon visible, maximizes visibility time with spatial vehicles. Furthermore, from the three-dimensional cloud of points captured, specific information is selected and, using 3D modeling techniques, the 3D scene of the antenna location site and surroundings is generated. The resulting 3D model evidences nearby obstacles related to the cartographic conditions such as mountain formations and buildings, and any additional obstacles that interfere with the operational quality of the antenna (other antennas and electronic devices that emit or receive in the same bandwidth

Forecasting Proximal Femur and Wrist Fracture Caused by a Fall to the Side during Space Exploration Missions to the Moon and Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Lewandowski, Beth E.; Myers, Jerry G.; Sulkowski, C.; Ruehl, K.; Licata, A.

2008-01-01

The possibility of bone fracture in space is a concern due to the negative impact it could have on a mission. The Bone Fracture Risk Module (BFxRM) developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center is a statistical simulation that quantifies the probability of bone fracture at specific skeletal locations for particular activities or events during space exploration missions. This paper reports fracture probability predictions for the proximal femur and wrist resulting from a fall to the side during an extravehicular activity (EVA) on specific days of lunar and Martian exploration missions. The risk of fracture at the proximal femur on any given day of the mission is small and fairly constant, although it is slightly greater towards the end of the mission, due to a reduction in proximal femur bone mineral density (BMD). The risk of wrist fracture is greater than the risk of hip fracture and there is an increased risk on Mars since it has a higher gravitational environment than the moon. The BFxRM can be used to help manage the risk of bone fracture in space as an engineering tool that is used during mission operation and resource planning.

Getting Help

Science.gov (United States)

... Parents & Students Home > Special Features > Getting Help Getting Help Resources from NIAAA Treatment for Alcohol Problems: Finding ... and find ways to make a change. Professional help Your doctor. Primary care and mental health practitioners ...

IAEA Expert Remediation Mission to Japan Issues Preliminary Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

Full text: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s international expert mission to review remediation efforts in areas affected by the Fukushima Daiichi accident concluded today with the presentation of a Preliminary Summary Report to Japan's Senior Vice-Minister of the Environment, Shinji Inoue. The Follow-up IAEA International Mission on Remediation of Large Contaminated Areas Off-site the Fukushima Daiichi NPS recognised the huge effort and enormous resources that Japan is devoting to its remediation strategies and activities, with the aim of improving living conditions for people affected by the nuclear accident and enabling evacuees to return home. The Mission Team highlighted important progress since the first IAEA remediation mission in October 2011, noted that Japan had made good use of advice from that earlier Mission, and offered fresh advice in a number of areas where it is still possible to further improve current practices, taking into account both international standards and the experience of remediation programmes in other countries. 'Japan has done an enormous amount to reduce people's radiation exposure in the affected areas, to work towards enabling evacuees to go back to their homes and to support local communities in overcoming economic and social disruption', said team leader Juan Carlos Lentijo, Director of the Division of Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology in the IAEA Department of Nuclear Energy. 'The Mission Team has been really impressed by the involvement of a wide range of ministries, agencies and local authorities in driving these crucial remediation efforts'. Among the findings of the Mission, which was requested by the Japanese government and began on 14 October, the team welcomed the extensive provision of individual dosimeters so that residents can monitor their own radiation dose rates, helping to boost public confidence. Good progress has been made in the remediation of affected farmland, and comprehensive implementation of

Draft Mission Plan Amendment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1991-09-01

The Department of Energy`s Office Civilian Radioactive Waste Management has prepared this document to report plans for the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program, whose mission is to manage and dispose of the nation`s spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste in a manner that protects the health and safety of the public and of workers and the quality of the environment. The Congress established this program through the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. Specifically, the Congress directed us to isolate these wastes in geologic repositories constructed in suitable rock formations deep beneath the surface of the earth. In the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, the Congress mandated that only one repository was to be developed at present and that only the Yucca Mountain candidate site in Nevada was to be characterized at this time. The Amendments Act also authorized the construction of a facility for monitored retrievable storage (MRS) and established the Office of the Nuclear Waste Negotiator and the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. After a reassessment in 1989, the Secretary of Energy restructured the program, focusing the repository effort scientific evaluations of the Yucca Mountain candidate site, deciding to proceed with the development of an MRS facility, and strengthening the management of the program. 48 refs., 32 figs.

Draft Mission Plan Amendment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-09-01

The Department of Energy's Office Civilian Radioactive Waste Management has prepared this document to report plans for the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program, whose mission is to manage and dispose of the nation's spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste in a manner that protects the health and safety of the public and of workers and the quality of the environment. The Congress established this program through the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. Specifically, the Congress directed us to isolate these wastes in geologic repositories constructed in suitable rock formations deep beneath the surface of the earth. In the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, the Congress mandated that only one repository was to be developed at present and that only the Yucca Mountain candidate site in Nevada was to be characterized at this time. The Amendments Act also authorized the construction of a facility for monitored retrievable storage (MRS) and established the Office of the Nuclear Waste Negotiator and the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. After a reassessment in 1989, the Secretary of Energy restructured the program, focusing the repository effort scientific evaluations of the Yucca Mountain candidate site, deciding to proceed with the development of an MRS facility, and strengthening the management of the program. 48 refs., 32 figs

United States 1st Armored Division and Mission Command at the Battle of Faid Pass

Science.gov (United States)

2017-04-13

MilitaryReview_20130430_ art008.pdf and John Case, “The Exigency for Mission Command: A Comparison of World War II Command Cultures ,” Small Wars Journal...Borzoi Books, 1943), 229-232. 20 Concurrent to these efforts, the US and United Kingdom continued to mass forces in England for a cross channel...and psychological . The Axis had seized the initiative; the Allies just did not know it yet.154 Preparations for the Battle of Kasserine Pass

Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut. International Fitness Challenge

Science.gov (United States)

Lloyd, Charles

2011-01-01

The Mission X, Train like an Astronaut, pilot project was a 2-year effort directed by the International Life Science Working Group. The pilot was funded by the Human Research Program and was lead by the Human Research Program Education and Outreach (HRPEO) project and supported by a group of space agencies providing in-kind resources. The aim was to identify an international educational outreach concept that would promote a life science topic utilizing the education and outreach expertise of the various space agencies working on the utilization of the International Space Station. This in turn serves as an inspiration for the younger generation to aspire to go further in school, and provides insight into the capability of a participating country to ensure the effort provided value for their communities and children. The pilot project developed the necessary tools to promote communications between the partners and to use materials and expertise from all the countries? space agencies. The Mission X Website (trainlikeanastronaut.org) provided a single repository for the educational activities as well as a place for the Challenge Teams to provide their progress in the international fitness challenge. It also added to the International flavor as different countries were able to share and learn about what was happening with all those involved in the 6-week challenge period. A point system was utilized to promote constructive, cooperative competition in which 4164 students participated. The points were used to help FitKid, Astro Charlie, "Walk-To-The-Moon". The 18 physical and educational Mission X activities were made available on the Mission X website in seven languages. The Mission X pilot project was considered a success in 1) the design, development, and implementation of the multi-language website, 2) the expansion of healthy lifestyle awareness, and 3) the concept for drawing an international educational community together to highlight global topics in association

Prepare for an SpR interview.

Science.gov (United States)

Garner, J P; Heppell, P S J

2003-03-01

By the time you attend an interview for a military SpR number you should have no real problems but it pays to be prepared. Begin preparations early, reading widely and talk to as many people as possible. Your consultants will have a useful viewpoint on the proceedings and may be able to help you refine your answers to the common questions. Arrive at your interview in a smart and timely fashion and answer questions with confidence and common sense. Avoid confrontation and bluff and be courteous at all times, whatever you may be feeling inside and thank the interview panel as you leave.

Early Mission Maneuver Operations for the Deep Space Climate Observatory Sun-Earth L1 Libration Point Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Craig; Case, Sara; Reagoso, John; Webster, Cassandra

2015-01-01

The Deep Space Climate Observatory mission launched on February 11, 2015, and inserted onto a transfer trajectory toward a Lissajous orbit around the Sun-Earth L1 libration point. This paper presents an overview of the baseline transfer orbit and early mission maneuver operations leading up to the start of nominal science orbit operations. In particular, the analysis and performance of the spacecraft insertion, mid-course correction maneuvers, and the deep-space Lissajous orbit insertion maneuvers are discussed, com-paring the baseline orbit with actual mission results and highlighting mission and operations constraints..

Exploring Mission Concepts with the JPL Innovation Foundry A-Team

Science.gov (United States)

Ziemer, John K.; Ervin, Joan; Lang, Jared

2013-01-01

The JPL Innovation Foundry has established a new approach for exploring, developing, and evaluating early concepts called the A-Team. The A-Team combines innovative collaborative methods with subject matter expertise and analysis tools to help mature mission concepts. Science, implementation, and programmatic elements are all considered during an A-Team study. Methods are grouped by Concept Maturity Level (CML), from 1 through 3, including idea generation and capture (CML 1), initial feasibility assessment (CML 2), and trade space exploration (CML 3). Methods used for each CML are presented, and the key team roles are described from two points of view: innovative methods and technical expertise. A-Team roles for providing innovative methods include the facilitator, study lead, and assistant study lead. A-Team roles for providing technical expertise include the architect, lead systems engineer, and integration engineer. In addition to these key roles, each A-Team study is uniquely staffed to match the study topic and scope including subject matter experts, scientists, technologists, flight and instrument systems engineers, and program managers as needed. Advanced analysis and collaborative engineering tools (e.g. cost, science traceability, mission design, knowledge capture, study and analysis support infrastructure) are also under development for use in A-Team studies and will be discussed briefly. The A-Team facilities provide a constructive environment for innovative ideas from all aspects of mission formulation to eliminate isolated studies and come together early in the development cycle when they can provide the biggest impact. This paper provides an overview of the A-Team, its study processes, roles, methods, tools and facilities.

77 FR 21783 - Guidance on Media Fills for Validation of Aseptic Preparations for Positron Emission Tomography...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-11

...] Guidance on Media Fills for Validation of Aseptic Preparations for Positron Emission Tomography Drugs... Aseptic Preparations for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Drugs.'' This guidance is intended to help... Preparations for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Drugs.'' Most PET drugs are designed for parenteral...

Preparation, Characterization, and UV Irradiation of Mars Soil Analogues Under Simulated Martian Conditions to Support Detection of Molecular Biomarkers

Science.gov (United States)

Fornaro, T.; Brucato, J. R.; ten Kate, I. L.; Siljeström, S.; Steele, A.; Cody, G. D.; Hazen, R. M.

2018-04-01

We present laboratory activities of preparation, characterization, and UV irradiation processing of Mars soil analogues, which are key to support both in situ exploration and sample return missions devoted to detection of molecular biomarkers on Mars.

Social Tagging of Mission Data

Science.gov (United States)

Norris, Jeffrey S.; Wallick, Michael N.; Joswig, Joseph C.; Powell, Mark W.; Torres, Recaredo J.; Mittman, David S.; Abramyan, Lucy; Crockett, Thomas M.; Shams, Khawaja S.; Fox, Jason M.;

Funding and Strategic Alignment Guidance for Infusing Small Business Innovation Research Technology into Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Projects for 2016

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Hung D.; Steele, Gynelle C.

2017-01-01

This report is intended to help NASA program and project managers incorporate Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) technologies into NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) projects. Other Government and commercial project managers interested in ARMD funding opportunities through NASA's SBIR program will find this report useful as well.

Optimizing Orbit-Instrument Configuration for Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) Satellite Fleet

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Eric A.; Adams, James; Baptista, Pedro; Haddad, Ziad; Iguchi, Toshio; Im, Eastwood; Kummerow, Christian; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Following the scientific success of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) spearheaded by a group of NASA and NASDA scientists, their external scientific collaborators, and additional investigators within the European Union's TRMM Research Program (EUROTRMM), there has been substantial progress towards the development of a new internationally organized, global scale, and satellite-based precipitation measuring mission. The highlights of this newly developing mission are a greatly expanded scope of measuring capability and a more diversified set of science objectives. The mission is called the Global Precipitation Mission (GPM). Notionally, GPM will be a constellation-type mission involving a fleet of nine satellites. In this fleet, one member is referred to as the "core" spacecraft flown in an approximately 70 degree inclined non-sun-synchronous orbit, somewhat similar to TRMM in that it carries both a multi-channel polarized passive microwave radiometer (PMW) and a radar system, but in this case it will be a dual frequency Ku-Ka band radar system enabling explicit measurements of microphysical DSD properties. The remainder of fleet members are eight orbit-synchronized, sun-synchronous "constellation" spacecraft each carrying some type of multi-channel PMW radiometer, enabling no worse than 3-hour diurnal sampling over the entire globe. In this configuration the "core" spacecraft serves as a high quality reference platform for training and calibrating the PMW rain retrieval algorithms used with the "constellation" radiometers. Within NASA, GPM has advanced to the pre-formulation phase which has enabled the initiation of a set of science and technology studies which will help lead to the final mission design some time in the 2003 period. This presentation first provides an overview of the notional GPM program and mission design, including its organizational and programmatic concepts, scientific agenda, expected instrument package, and basic flight

Closing the uplink/downlink loop on the new Horizons Mission to Pluto

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Joseph G.; Birath, Emma; Carcich, Brian; Harch, Ann

Commanding the payload on a spacecraft (“ uplink” sequencing and command generation) and processing the instrument data returned (“ downlink” data processing) are two primary functions of Science Operations on a mission. While vitally important, it is sometimes surprisingly difficult to connect data returned from a spacecraft to the corresponding commanding and sequencing information that created the data, especially when data processing is done via an automated science data pipeline and not via a manual process with humans in the loop. For a variety of reasons it is necessary to make such a connection and close this loop. Perhaps the most important reason is to ensure that all data asked for has arrived safely on the ground. This is especially critical when the mission must erase parts of the spacecraft memory to make room for new data; mistakes here can result in permanent loss of data. Additionally, there are often key pieces of information (such as intended observation target or certain instrument modes that are not included in housekeeping, etc.) that are known only at the time of commanding and never makes it down in the telemetry. Because missions like New Horizons strive to be frugal with how much telemetry is sent back to Earth, and the telemetry may not include unambiguous identifiers (like observation ids, etc.), connecting downlinked data with uplink command information in an automated way can require creative approaches and heuristics. In this paper, we describe how these challenges were overcome on the New Horizons Mission to Pluto. The system developed involves ingesting uplink information into a database and automatically correlating it with downlinked data products. This allows for more useful data searches and the ability to attach the original intent of each observation to the processed science data. Also a new data tracking tool is now being developed to help in planning data playback from the spacecraft and to ensu- e data is verified

The Impact of Preparing Faculty in the Effective Use of Student Teams

Science.gov (United States)

Burbach, Mark E.; Matkin, Gina S.; Gambrell, Kem M.; Harding, Heath E.

2010-01-01

Companies increasingly rely on teams to improve productivity, and consequently employers expect colleges and universities to prepare graduates to effectively work in teams. To help with this need, instructors must be equipped to prepare students to fully capitalize on the power of teamwork. This study examines the effect of college instructor…

Do iPad Applications Help Students with Developmental Disabilities Improve Life-Readiness Skills?

Science.gov (United States)

Dunn, Michael; Barrio, Brenda; Hsiao, Yun-Ju

2016-01-01

Students with developmental disabilities often struggle with life-readiness skills (e.g., literacy skills such as reading and writing, task completion, and communication), which also help prepare students for the workplace. Assistive technology tools offer these students a means to do better in these areas. In this action-research study, we…

SPICE for ESA Planetary Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, M.

2018-04-01

The ESA SPICE Service leads the SPICE operations for ESA missions and is responsible for the generation of the SPICE Kernel Dataset for ESA missions. This contribution will describe the status of these datasets and outline the future developments.

Parametric cost estimation for space science missions

Science.gov (United States)

Lillie, Charles F.; Thompson, Bruce E.

2008-07-01

Cost estimation for space science missions is critically important in budgeting for successful missions. The process requires consideration of a number of parameters, where many of the values are only known to a limited accuracy. The results of cost estimation are not perfect, but must be calculated and compared with the estimates that the government uses for budgeting purposes. Uncertainties in the input parameters result from evolving requirements for missions that are typically the "first of a kind" with "state-of-the-art" instruments and new spacecraft and payload technologies that make it difficult to base estimates on the cost histories of previous missions. Even the cost of heritage avionics is uncertain due to parts obsolescence and the resulting redesign work. Through experience and use of industry best practices developed in participation with the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), Northrop Grumman has developed a parametric modeling approach that can provide a reasonably accurate cost range and most probable cost for future space missions. During the initial mission phases, the approach uses mass- and powerbased cost estimating relationships (CER)'s developed with historical data from previous missions. In later mission phases, when the mission requirements are better defined, these estimates are updated with vendor's bids and "bottoms- up", "grass-roots" material and labor cost estimates based on detailed schedules and assigned tasks. In this paper we describe how we develop our CER's for parametric cost estimation and how they can be applied to estimate the costs for future space science missions like those presented to the Astronomy & Astrophysics Decadal Survey Study Committees.

The deep space 1 extended mission

Science.gov (United States)

Rayman, Marc D.; Varghese, Philip

2001-03-01

The primary mission of Deep Space 1 (DS1), the first flight of the New Millennium program, completed successfully in September 1999, having exceeded its objectives of testing new, high-risk technologies important for future space and Earth science missions. DS1 is now in its extended mission, with plans to take advantage of the advanced technologies, including solar electric propulsion, to conduct an encounter with comet 19P/Borrelly in September 2001. During the extended mission, the spacecraft's commercial star tracker failed; this critical loss prevented the spacecraft from achieving three-axis attitude control or knowledge. A two-phase approach to recovering the mission was undertaken. The first involved devising a new method of pointing the high-gain antenna to Earth using the radio signal received at the Deep Space Network as an indicator of spacecraft attitude. The second was the development of new flight software that allowed the spacecraft to return to three-axis operation without substantial ground assistance. The principal new feature of this software is the use of the science camera as an attitude sensor. The differences between the science camera and the star tracker have important implications not only for the design of the new software but also for the methods of operating the spacecraft and conducting the mission. The ambitious rescue was fully successful, and the extended mission is back on track.

Massively Clustered CubeSats NCPS Demo Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Robertson, Glen A.; Young, David; Kim, Tony; Houts, Mike

2013-01-01

Technologies under development for the proposed Nuclear Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (NCPS) will require an un-crewed demonstration mission before they can be flight qualified over distances and time frames representative of a crewed Mars mission. In this paper, we describe a Massively Clustered CubeSats platform, possibly comprising hundreds of CubeSats, as the main payload of the NCPS demo mission. This platform would enable a mechanism for cost savings for the demo mission through shared support between NASA and other government agencies as well as leveraged commercial aerospace and academic community involvement. We believe a Massively Clustered CubeSats platform should be an obvious first choice for the NCPS demo mission when one considers that cost and risk of the payload can be spread across many CubeSat customers and that the NCPS demo mission can capitalize on using CubeSats developed by others for its own instrumentation needs. Moreover, a demo mission of the NCPS offers an unprecedented opportunity to invigorate the public on a global scale through direct individual participation coordinated through a web-based collaboration engine. The platform we describe would be capable of delivering CubeSats at various locations along a trajectory toward the primary mission destination, in this case Mars, permitting a variety of potential CubeSat-specific missions. Cameras on various CubeSats can also be used to provide multiple views of the space environment and the NCPS vehicle for video monitoring as well as allow the public to "ride along" as virtual passengers on the mission. This collaborative approach could even initiate a brand new Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program for launching student developed CubeSat payloads beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) on future deep space technology qualification missions. Keywords: Nuclear Propulsion, NCPS, SLS, Mars, CubeSat.

Gas mission; Mission gaz

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-07-01

This preliminary report analyses the desirable evolutions of gas transport tariffing and examines some questions relative to the opening of competition on the French gas market. The report is made of two documents: a synthesis of the previous report with some recommendations about the tariffing of gas transport, about the modalities of network access to third parties, and about the dissociation between transport and trade book-keeping activities. The second document is the progress report about the opening of the French gas market. The first part presents the European problem of competition in the gas supply and its consequences on the opening and operation of the French gas market. The second part presents some partial syntheses about each topic of the mission letter of the Ministry of Economics, Finances and Industry: future evolution of network access tariffs, critical analysis of contractual documents for gas transport and delivery, examination of auxiliary services linked with the access to the network (modulation, balancing, conversion), consideration about the processing of network congestions and denied accesses, analysis of the metering dissociation between the integrated activities of gas operators. Some documents are attached in appendixes: the mission letter from July 9, 2001, the detailed analysis of the new temporary tariffs of GdF and CFM, the offer of methane terminals access to third parties, the compatibility of a nodal tariffing with the presence of three transport operators (GdF, CFM and GSO), the contract-type for GdF supply, and the contract-type for GdF connection. (J.S.)

Mission Reliability Estimation for Repairable Robot Teams

Science.gov (United States)

Trebi-Ollennu, Ashitey; Dolan, John; Stancliff, Stephen

2010-01-01

A mission reliability estimation method has been designed to translate mission requirements into choices of robot modules in order to configure a multi-robot team to have high reliability at minimal cost. In order to build cost-effective robot teams for long-term missions, one must be able to compare alternative design paradigms in a principled way by comparing the reliability of different robot models and robot team configurations. Core modules have been created including: a probabilistic module with reliability-cost characteristics, a method for combining the characteristics of multiple modules to determine an overall reliability-cost characteristic, and a method for the generation of legitimate module combinations based on mission specifications and the selection of the best of the resulting combinations from a cost-reliability standpoint. The developed methodology can be used to predict the probability of a mission being completed, given information about the components used to build the robots, as well as information about the mission tasks. In the research for this innovation, sample robot missions were examined and compared to the performance of robot teams with different numbers of robots and different numbers of spare components. Data that a mission designer would need was factored in, such as whether it would be better to have a spare robot versus an equivalent number of spare parts, or if mission cost can be reduced while maintaining reliability using spares. This analytical model was applied to an example robot mission, examining the cost-reliability tradeoffs among different team configurations. Particularly scrutinized were teams using either redundancy (spare robots) or repairability (spare components). Using conservative estimates of the cost-reliability relationship, results show that it is possible to significantly reduce the cost of a robotic mission by using cheaper, lower-reliability components and providing spares. This suggests that the

Report on the Stanford/KACST/AMES UVLED small satellite mission to demonstrate charge management of an electrically isolated proof mass for drag-free operation

Science.gov (United States)

Saraf, Shailendhar

A spacecraft demonstration of ultra-violet (UV) LEDs and UV LED charge management based on research done at Stanford University is being developed jointly by the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) Saudi Arabia and NASA Ames Research Center, with an expected launch date of June 2014. This paper will report on the payload design and testing, mission preparation, satellite launch and payload bring -up in space. Mission lifetime is expected to be at least one month, during which time the ability for the UV LEDs to mitigate actual space-based charging and the effects of radiation on the UV LED device performance will be studied. Precise control over the potential of an electrically isolated proof mass is necessary for the operation of devices such as a Gravitational Reference Sensor (GRS) and satellite missions such as LISA. The mission will demonstrate that AlGaN UV LEDs operating at 255 nm are an effective low-cost, low-power and compact substitute for Mercury vapor lamps used in previous missions. The goal of the mission is to increase the UV LED device to TRL-9 and the charge management system to TRL-7.

Measurement requirements for a Near-Earth Asteroid impact mitigation demonstration mission

Science.gov (United States)

Wolters, Stephen D.; Ball, Andrew J.; Wells, Nigel; Saunders, Christopher; McBride, Neil

2011-10-01

A concept for an Impact Mitigation Preparation Mission, called Don Quijote, is to send two spacecrafts to a Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA): an Orbiter and an Impactor. The Impactor collides with the asteroid while the Orbiter measures the resulting change in the asteroid's orbit, by means of a Radio Science Experiment (RSE) carried out before and after the impact. Three parallel Phase A studies on Don Quijote were carried out for the European Space Agency: the research presented here reflects the outcomes of the study by QinetiQ. We discuss the mission objectives with regard to the prioritisation of payload instruments, with emphasis on the interpretation of the impact. The Radio Science Experiment is described and it is examined how solar radiation pressure may increase the uncertainty in measuring the orbit of the target asteroid. It is determined that to measure the change in orbit accurately a thermal IR spectrometer is mandatory, to measure the Yarkovsky effect. The advantages of having a laser altimeter are discussed. The advantages of a dedicated wide-angle impact camera are discussed and the field-of-view is initially sized through a simple model of the impact.

Trajectory Design Considerations for Exploration Mission 1

Science.gov (United States)

Dawn, Timothy F.; Gutkowski, Jeffrey P.; Batcha, Amelia L.; Williams, Jacob; Pedrotty, Samuel M.

2018-01-01

Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) will be the first mission to send an uncrewed Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) to cislunar space in the fall of 2019. EM-1 was originally conceived as a lunar free-return mission, but was later changed to a Distant Retrograde Orbit (DRO) mission as a precursor to the Asteroid Redirect Mission. To understand the required mission performance (i.e., propellant requirement), a series of trajectory optimization runs was conducted using JSC's Copernicus spacecraft trajectory optimization tool. In order for the runs to be done in a timely manner, it was necessary to employ a parallelization approach on a computing cluster using a new trajectory scan tool written in Python. Details of the scan tool are provided and how it is used to perform the scans and post-process the results. Initially, a scan of daily due east launched EM-1 DRO missions in 2018 was made. Valid mission opportunities are ones that do not exceed the useable propellant available to perform the required burns. The initial scan data showed the propellant and delta-V performance patterns for each launch period. As questions were raised from different subsystems (e.g., power, thermal, communications, flight operations, etc.), the mission parameters or data that were of interest to them were added to the scan output data file. The additional data includes: (1) local launch and landing times in relation to sunrise and sunset, (2) length of eclipse periods during the in-space portion of the mission, (3) Earth line of sight from cislunar space, (4) Deep Space Network field of view looking towards cislunar space, and (5) variation of the downrange distance from Earth entry interface to splashdown. Mission design trades can also be performed based on the information that the additional data shows. For example, if the landing is in darkness, but the recovery operations team desires a landing in daylight, then an analysis is performed to determine how to change the mission design

Titan Orbiter Aerorover Mission with Enceladus Science (TOAMES)

Science.gov (United States)

Sittler, E.; Cooper, J.; Mahaffy, P.; Fairbrother, D.; de Pater, I.; Schulze-Makuch, D.; Pitman, J.

2007-08-01

organic chemistry on the surface. The Aerorover will probably use a "hot air" Montgolfier balloon concept using the waste heat from the MMRTG ~1-2 kwatts. New technologies will need to be developed and miniaturization will be required to maintain functionality while controlling mass, power and cost. Duty cycling will be used. The Aerorover will have all the instruments needed to sample Titan's atmosphere and surface with possible methane lakes-rivers. It will e.g., use multi-spectral imagers and for last 6 months of mission, balloon payload will land on surface at predetermined site to take core samples of the surface and use seismometers to help probe the interior. All remote (and active) sensors on the orbiter will share a ~1 meter telescope, called MIDAS (Multiple Instrument Distributed Aperture Sensor). MIDAS observations in stable orbit at Titan can provide full global maps of Titan's surface and could additionally provide long term observations of the Saturn system including Enceladus for extended mission phases over many years, potentially for decades. Experience from the Hubble Space Telescope has shown strong public interest and commitment to exciting generational missions.

The Double Star mission

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liu

2005-11-01

Full Text Available The Double Star Programme (DSP was first proposed by China in March, 1997 at the Fragrant Hill Workshop on Space Science, Beijing, organized by the Chinese Academy of Science. It is the first mission in collaboration between China and ESA. The mission is made of two spacecraft to investigate the magnetospheric global processes and their response to the interplanetary disturbances in conjunction with the Cluster mission. The first spacecraft, TC-1 (Tan Ce means "Explorer", was launched on 29 December 2003, and the second one, TC-2, on 25 July 2004 on board two Chinese Long March 2C rockets. TC-1 was injected in an equatorial orbit of 570x79000 km altitude with a 28° inclination and TC-2 in a polar orbit of 560x38000 km altitude. The orbits have been designed to complement the Cluster mission by maximizing the time when both Cluster and Double Star are in the same scientific regions. The two missions allow simultaneous observations of the Earth magnetosphere from six points in space. To facilitate the comparison of data, half of the Double Star payload is made of spare or duplicates of the Cluster instruments; the other half is made of Chinese instruments. The science operations are coordinated by the Chinese DSP Scientific Operations Centre (DSOC in Beijing and the European Payload Operations Service (EPOS at RAL, UK. The spacecraft and ground segment operations are performed by the DSP Operations and Management Centre (DOMC and DSOC in China, using three ground station, in Beijing, Shanghai and Villafranca.

Funding and Strategic Alignment Guidance for Infusing Small Business Innovation Research Technology Into Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Programs and Projects for 2015

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Hung D.; Steele, Gynelle C.

2016-01-01

This report is intended to help NASA program and project managers incorporate Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR)/(STTR) technologies into NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) projects. Other Government and commercial projects managers can also find this useful.

FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC Spacecraft Constellation System, Mission Results, and Prospect for Follow-On Mission

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen-Joe Fong

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC spacecraft constellation consisting of six LEO satellites is the world's first operational GPS Radio Occultation (RO mission. The mission is jointly developed by Taiwan¡¦s National Space Organization (NSPO and the United States¡¦UCAR in collaboration with NSF, USAF, NOAA, NASA, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the US Naval Research Laboratory. The FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC satellites were successfully launched from Vandenberg US AFB in California at 0140 UTC 15 April 2006 into the same orbit plane of the designated 516 km altitude. The mission goal is to deploy the six satellites into six orbit planes at 800 km altitude with a 30-degree separation for evenly distributed global coverage. All six FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC satellites are currently maintaining a satisfactory good state-of-health. Five out of six satellites have reached their final mission orbit of 800 km as of November 2007. The data as received by FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC satellites constellation have been processed in near real time into 2500 good ionospheric profiles and 1800 good atmospheric profiles per day. These have outnumbered the worldwide radiosondes (~900 mostly over land launched from the ground per day. The processed atmospheric RO data have been assimilated into the Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP models for real-time weather prediction and typhoon/hurricane forecasting by many major weather centers in the world. This paper describes the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC satellite constellation system performance and the mission results that span the period from April 2006 to October 2007; and reviews the prospect of a future follow-on mission.

75 FR 43919 - Energy and Infrastructure Mission to Saudi Arabia: Third City Stop Added to the Trade Mission...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-27

... and Dhahran; and Networking receptions in two cities of the trade mission. Proposed Mission Timetable... Saudi Arabia: Third City Stop Added to the Trade Mission Itinerary AGENCY: International Trade... expansion at Jubail Industrial City II with around 20 petrochemical and infrastructure projects worth more...

INTEGRITY -- Integrated Human Exploration Mission Simulation Facility

Science.gov (United States)

Henninger, D.; Tri, T.; Daues, K.

It is proposed to develop a high -fidelity ground facil ity to carry out long-duration human exploration mission simulations. These would not be merely computer simulations - they would in fact comprise a series of actual missions that just happen to stay on earth. These missions would include all elements of an actual mission, using actual technologies that would be used for the real mission. These missions would also include such elements as extravehicular activities, robotic systems, telepresence and teleoperation, surface drilling technology--all using a simulated planetary landscape. A sequence of missions would be defined that get progressively longer and more robust, perhaps a series of five or six missions over a span of 10 to 15 years ranging in durat ion from 180 days up to 1000 days. This high-fidelity ground facility would operate hand-in-hand with a host of other terrestrial analog sites such as the Antarctic, Haughton Crater, and the Arizona desert. Of course, all of these analog mission simulations will be conducted here on earth in 1-g, and NASA will still need the Shuttle and ISS to carry out all the microgravity and hypogravity science experiments and technology validations. The proposed missions would have sufficient definition such that definitive requirements could be derived from them to serve as direction for all the program elements of the mission. Additionally, specific milestones would be established for the "launch" date of each mission so that R&D programs would have both good requirements and solid milestones from which to build their implementation plans. Mission aspects that could not be directly incorporated into the ground facility would be simulated via software. New management techniques would be developed for evaluation in this ground test facility program. These new techniques would have embedded metrics which would allow them to be continuously evaluated and adjusted so that by the time the sequence of missions is completed

A business plan to help the 'global South' in its fight against neglected diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Frew, Sarah E; Liu, Victor Y; Singer, Peter A

2009-01-01

Although neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) threaten the health of those living in the developing world, innovation directed toward addressing NTDs is comparatively meager. Health biotechnology firms in rapidly growing economies in the global South are developing and selling vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics for these diseases to local markets. In this paper we identify a pipeline of sixty-two NTD products from seventy-eight "Southern" companies. We also propose creation of a Global Health Accelerator-a new nonprofit organization whose mission would be to support and help grow this Southern source of affordable innovation for NTDs.

Definition phase of Grand Tour missions/radio science investigations study for outer planets missions

Science.gov (United States)

Tyler, G. L.

1972-01-01

Scientific instrumentation for satellite communication and radio tracking systems in the outer planet exploration mission is discussed. Mission planning considers observations of planetary and satellite-masses, -atmospheres, -magnetic fields, -surfaces, -gravitational fields, solar wind composition, planetary radio emissions, and tests of general relativity in time delay and ray bending experiments.

Business Continuity Planning for Nursing Schools: Preparation for Potential Disasters.

Science.gov (United States)

Zerwic, Julie J; Rosen, Denise

2016-01-01

Nursing schools are vulnerable to disasters, ranging from pandemics to weather emergencies, fires, and acts of terrorism. To ensure minimal disruptions to teaching, provision of care, research, and other critical missions, nursing faculty and administrative leaders should develop a business continuity plan. The business continuity plan can help faculty, students, and administration identify critical functions and alternative plans if an emergency occurs. We offer our experience as a guide for other nursing schools.

Results of the Simulation and Assimilation of Doppler Wind Lidar Observations in Preparation for European Space Agency's Aeolus Mission

Science.gov (United States)

McCarty, Will

2011-01-01

With the launch of the European Space Agency's Aeolus Mission in 2013, direct spaceborne measurements of vertical wind profiles are imminent via Doppler wind lidar technology. Part of the preparedness for such missions is the development of the proper data assimilation methodology for handling such observations. Since no heritage measurements exist in space, the Joint Observing System Simulation Experiment (Joint OSSE) framework has been utilized to generate a realistic proxy dataset as a precursor to flight. These data are being used for the development of the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI) data assimilation system utilized at a number of centers through the United States including the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center and at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NOAA/NWS/NCEP) as an activity through the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation. An update of this ongoing effort will be presented, including the methodology of proxy data generation, the limitations of the proxy data, the handling of line-of-sight wind measurements within the GSI, and the impact on both analyses and forecasts with the addition of the new data type.

Hanford Mission Plan risk-based prioritization methodologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hesser, W.A.; Madden, M.S.; Pyron, N.M.; Butcher, J.L.

1994-08-01

Sites across the US Department (DOE) complex recognize the critical need for a systematic method for prioritizing among their work scope activities. Here at the Hanford Site, Pacific Northwest Laboratory and Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC) conducted preliminary research into techniques to meet this need and assist managers in making financial resource allocation decisions. This research is a subtask of the risk management task of the Hanford Mission Plan as described in the WHC Integrated Planning Work Breakdown Structure 1.8.2 Fiscal Year 1994 Work Plan. The research team investigated prioritization techniques used at other DOE sites and compared them with the Priority Planning Grid (PPG), a tool used at Hanford. The authors concluded that the PPG could be used for prioritization of resource allocation, but it needed to be revised to better reflect the Site's priorities and objectives. The revised PPG was tested with three Hanford programs, the PPG was modified, and updated procedures were prepared

Mission Level Autonomy for USSV

Science.gov (United States)

Huntsberger, Terry; Stirb, Robert C.; Brizzolara, Robert

2011-01-01

On-water demonstration of a wide range of mission-proven, advanced technologies at TRL 5+ that provide a total integrated, modular approach to effectively address the majority of the key needs for full mission-level autonomous, cross-platform control of USV s. Wide baseline stereo system mounted on the ONR USSV was shown to be an effective sensing modality for tracking of dynamic contacts as a first step to automated retrieval operations. CASPER onboard planner/replanner successfully demonstrated realtime, on-water resource-based analysis for mission-level goal achievement and on-the-fly opportunistic replanning. Full mixed mode autonomy was demonstrated on-water with a seamless transition between operator over-ride and return to current mission plan. Autonomous cooperative operations for fixed asset protection and High Value Unit escort using 2 USVs (AMN1 & 14m RHIB) were demonstrated during Trident Warrior 2010 in JUN 2010

Table-top trainings in radiation protection. Educational element or emergency planning?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stolar, A.

2009-01-01

Education plays an important role in emergency management to prepare members of all levels of management for the worst case scenario. The mission that organizations have to deal with, is based on the application of fundamental knowledge, accumulated know-how and knowledge of the intersections and abilities of the participating organizations. An effective, safe and resource-saving way to get effective help in preparing disasters are table-top trainings. What great warlords helped to win centuries ago, is now increasingly anchored on a statutory basis and introduced in the emergency planning. (orig.)

Going Online: Helping Technical Communicators Help Translators.

Science.gov (United States)

Flint, Patricia; Lord van Slyke, Melanie; Starke-Meyerring, Doreen; Thompson, Aimee

1999-01-01

Explains why technical communicators should help translators. Offers tips for creating "translation-friendly" documentation. Describes the research and design process used by the authors to create an online tutorial that provides technical communicators at a medical technology company the information they need to help them write and…

Space Mission Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) Project

Science.gov (United States)

Boyer, Roger

2014-01-01

The purpose of the Space Mission Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) Project is to extend current ground-based HRA risk prediction techniques to a long-duration, space-based tool. Ground-based HRA methodology has been shown to be a reasonable tool for short-duration space missions, such as Space Shuttle and lunar fly-bys. However, longer-duration deep-space missions, such as asteroid and Mars missions, will require the crew to be in space for as long as 400 to 900 day missions with periods of extended autonomy and self-sufficiency. Current indications show higher risk due to fatigue, physiological effects due to extended low gravity environments, and others, may impact HRA predictions. For this project, Safety & Mission Assurance (S&MA) will work with Human Health & Performance (HH&P) to establish what is currently used to assess human reliabiilty for human space programs, identify human performance factors that may be sensitive to long duration space flight, collect available historical data, and update current tools to account for performance shaping factors believed to be important to such missions. This effort will also contribute data to the Human Performance Data Repository and influence the Space Human Factors Engineering research risks and gaps (part of the HRP Program). An accurate risk predictor mitigates Loss of Crew (LOC) and Loss of Mission (LOM).The end result will be an updated HRA model that can effectively predict risk on long-duration missions.

GSFC Safety and Mission Assurance Organization

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Michael P.

2010-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's approach to safety and mission assurance. The contents include: 1) NASA GSFC Background; 2) Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate; 3) The Role of SMA-D and the Technical Authority; 4) GSFC Mission assurance Requirements; 5) GSFC Systems Review Office (SRO); 6) GSFC Supply Chain Management Program; and 7) GSFC ISO9001/AS9100 Status Brief.

The OICETS mission

Science.gov (United States)

Jono, Takashi; Arai, Katsuyoshi

2017-11-01

The Optical Inter-orbit Communications Engineering Test Satellite (OICETS) was successfully launched on 23th August 2005 and thrown into a circular orbit at the altitude of 610 km. The main mission is to demonstrate the free-space inter satellite laser communications with the cooperation of the Advanced Relay and Technology Mission (ARTEMIS) geostationary satellite developed by the European Space Agency. This paper presents the overview of the OICETS and laser terminal, a history of international cooperation between Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and ESA and typical results of the inter-orbit laser communication experiment carried out with ARTEMIS.

STS-51J Mission Insignia

Science.gov (United States)

1985-01-01

The 51-J mission insignia, designed by Atlantis's first crew, pays tribute to the Statue of Liberty and the ideas it symbolizes. The historical gateway figure bears additional significance for Astronauts Karol J. Bobko, mission commander; and Ronald J. Grabe, pilot, both New Your Natives.

Balancing your personal and professional lives: help for busy medical practice employees.

Science.gov (United States)

Hills, Laura Sachs

2008-01-01

It is extremely difficult for most people to balance work and home life. This is especially true of employees who work in fast-paced medical practices where they are on the go all day. Each medical practice employee must find his or her own way to balance work and life, but fortunately, the process can usually be boiled down to some basics. This article outlines a strategy for establishing the top five priorities in the medical practice employee's life. It suggests that medical practice personnel can develop and use a personal mission statement as a life guide. This article also suggests specific strategies medical practice employees can use to protect and make the best use of their private time. It provides examples of how medical practice personnel have changed their lives by dropping unnecessary activities from their daily schedules. Finally, this article offers guidance about getting children to help working parents balance their work and private lives, 10 additional tips for work/life balance, a work/life balance self-assessment quiz, and a template the medical practice employee can use to create a customized personal mission statement.

Europe's Preparation For GOCE Gravity Field Recovery

Science.gov (United States)

Suenkel, H.; Suenkel, H.

2001-12-01

The European Space Agency ESA is preparing for its first dedicated gravity field mission GOCE (Gravity Field and Steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer) with a proposed launch in fall 2005. The mission's goal is the mapping of the Earth's static gravity field with very high resolution and utmost accuracy on a global scale. GOCE is a drag-free mission, flown in a circular and sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude between 240 and 250 km. Each of the two operational phases will last for 6 months. GOCE is based on a sensor fusion concept combining high-low satellite-to-satellite tracking (SST) and satellite gravity gradiometry (SGG). The transformation of the GOCE sensor data into a scientific product of utmost quality and reliability requires a well-coordinated effort of experts in satellite geodesy, applied mathematics and computer science. Several research groups in Europe do have this expertise and decided to form the "European GOCE Gravity Consortium (EGG-C)". The EGG-C activities are subdivided into tasks such as standard and product definition, data base and data dissemination, precise orbit determination, global gravity field model solutions and regional solutions, solution validation, communication and documentation, and the interfacing to level 3 product scientific users. The central issue of GOCE data processing is, of course, the determination of the global gravity field model using three independent mathematical-numerical techniques which had been designed and pre-developed in the course of several scientific preparatory studies of ESA: 1. The direct solution which is a least squares adjustment technique based on a pre-conditioned conjugated gradient method (PCGM). The method is capable of efficiently transforming the calibrated and validated SST and SGG observations directly or via lumped coefficients into harmonic coefficients of the gravitational potential. 2. The time-wise approach considers both SST and SGG data as a time series. For an idealized

Microfluidic Sample Preparation for Diagnostic Cytopathology

Science.gov (United States)

Mach, Albert J.; Adeyiga, Oladunni B.; Di Carlo, Dino

2014-01-01

The cellular components of body fluids are routinely analyzed to identify disease and treatment approaches. While significant focus has been placed on developing cell analysis technologies, tools to automate the preparation of cellular specimens have been more limited, especially for body fluids beyond blood. Preparation steps include separating, concentrating, and exposing cells to reagents. Sample preparation continues to be routinely performed off-chip by technicians, preventing cell-based point-of-care diagnostics, increasing the cost of tests, and reducing the consistency of the final analysis following multiple manually-performed steps. Here, we review the assortment of biofluids for which suspended cells are analyzed, along with their characteristics and diagnostic value. We present an overview of the conventional sample preparation processes for cytological diagnosis. We finally discuss the challenges and opportunities in developing microfluidic devices for the purpose of automating or miniaturizing these processes, with particular emphases on preparing large or small volume samples, working with samples of high cellularity, automating multi-step processes, and obtaining high purity subpopulations of cells. We hope to convey the importance of and help identify new research directions addressing the vast biological and clinical applications in preparing and analyzing the array of available biological fluids. Successfully addressing the challenges described in this review can lead to inexpensive systems to improve diagnostic accuracy while simultaneously reducing overall systemic healthcare costs. PMID:23380972

The Mothership Mission Architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Ernst, S. M.; DiCorcia, J. D.; Bonin, G.; Gump, D.; Lewis, J. S.; Foulds, C.; Faber, D.

2015-12-01

The Mothership is considered to be a dedicated deep space carrier spacecraft. It is currently being developed by Deep Space Industries (DSI) as a mission concept that enables a broad participation in the scientific exploration of small bodies - the Mothership mission architecture. A Mothership shall deliver third-party nano-sats, experiments and instruments to Near Earth Asteroids (NEOs), comets or moons. The Mothership service includes delivery of nano-sats, communication to Earth and visuals of the asteroid surface and surrounding area. The Mothership is designed to carry about 10 nano-sats, based upon a variation of the Cubesat standard, with some flexibility on the specific geometry. The Deep Space Nano-Sat reference design is a 14.5 cm cube, which accommodates the same volume as a traditional 3U CubeSat. To reduce cost, Mothership is designed as a secondary payload aboard launches to GTO. DSI is offering slots for nano-sats to individual customers. This enables organizations with relatively low operating budgets to closely examine an asteroid with highly specialized sensors of their own choosing and carry out experiments in the proximity of or on the surface of an asteroid, while the nano-sats can be built or commissioned by a variety of smaller institutions, companies, or agencies. While the overall Mothership mission will have a financial volume somewhere between a European Space Agencies' (ESA) S- and M-class mission for instance, it can be funded through a number of small and individual funding sources and programs, hence avoiding the processes associated with traditional space exploration missions. DSI has been able to identify a significant interest in the planetary science and nano-satellite communities.

Core Science Systems--Mission overview

Science.gov (United States)

Gallagher, Kevin T.

2012-01-01

The Core Science Systems Mission Area delivers nationally focused Earth systems and information science that provides fundamental research and data that underpins all Mission Areas of the USGS, the USGS Science Strategy, and Presidential, Secretarial, and societal priorities. —Kevin T. Gallagher, Associate Director, Core Science Systems

Site Scientific Mission Plan for the Southern Great Plains CART site: January--June 1994

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schneider, J.M.; Lamb, P.J. [Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies; Sisterson, D.L. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States). Environmental Research Div.

1993-12-01

The Southern Great Plains (SGP) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site is designed to help satisfy the data needs of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program Science Team. This document defines the scientific priorities for site activities during the six months beginning on January 1, 1994, and also looks forward in lesser detail to subsequent six-month periods. The primary purpose of this Site Scientific Mission Plan is to provide guidance for the development of plans for site operations. It also provides information on current plans to the ARM Functional Teams (Management Team, Experiment Support Team, Operations Team, Data Management Team, Instrument Team, and Campaign Team), and it serves to disseminate the plans more generally within the ARM Program and among the Science Team. This document includes a description of the site`s operational status and the primary envisaged site activities, together with information concerning approved and proposed Intensive Observation Periods. Amendments will be prepared and distributed whenever the content changes by more than 30% within a six-month period. The primary users of this document are the site operator, the site scientist, the Science Team through the ARM Program Science Director, the ARM Program Experiment Center, and the aforementioned ARM Program Functional Teams. This plan is a living document that will be updated and reissued every six months as the observational facilities are developed, tested, and augmented and as priorities are adjusted in response to developments in scientific planning and understanding.

48 CFR 752.7013 - Contractor-mission relationships.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contractor-mission....7013 Contractor-mission relationships. For use in all USAID contracts involving performance overseas.... Contractor-Mission Relationships (OCT 1989) (a) The Contractor acknowledges that this contract is an...

The LISA Pathfinder Mission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Armano, M; Audley, H; Born, M; Danzmann, K; Diepholz, I; Auger, G; Binetruy, P; Baird, J; Bortoluzzi, D; Brandt, N; Fitzsimons, E; Bursi, A; Caleno, M; Cavalleri, A; Cesarini, A; Dolesi, R; Ferroni, V; Cruise, M; Dunbar, N; Ferraioli, L

2015-01-01

LISA Pathfinder (LPF), the second of the European Space Agency's Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology (SMART), is a dedicated technology validation mission for future spaceborne gravitational wave detectors, such as the proposed eLISA mission. LISA Pathfinder, and its scientific payload - the LISA Technology Package - will test, in flight, the critical technologies required for low frequency gravitational wave detection: it will put two test masses in a near-perfect gravitational free-fall and control and measure their motion with unprecedented accuracy. This is achieved through technology comprising inertial sensors, high precision laser metrology, drag-free control and an ultra-precise micro-Newton propulsion system. LISA Pathfinder is due to be launched in mid-2015, with first results on the performance of the system being available 6 months thereafter.The paper introduces the LISA Pathfinder mission, followed by an explanation of the physical principles of measurement concept and associated hardware. We then provide a detailed discussion of the LISA Technology Package, including both the inertial sensor and interferometric readout. As we approach the launch of the LISA Pathfinder, the focus of the development is shifting towards the science operations and data analysis - this is described in the final section of the paper (paper)

Titan Orbiter Aerorover Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Sittler Jr., E. C.; Acuna, M.; Burchell, M. J.; Coates, A.; Farrell, W.; Flasar, M.; Goldstein, B. E.; Gorevan, S.; Hartle, R. E.; Johnson, W. T. K.

2001-01-01

We propose a combined Titan orbiter and Titan Aerorover mission with an emphasis on both in situ and remote sensing measurements of Titan's surface, atmosphere, ionosphere, and magnetospheric interaction. The biological aspect of the Titan environment will be emphasized by the mission (i.e., search for organic materials which may include simple organics to 'amono' analogues of amino acids and possibly more complex, lightening detection and infrared, ultraviolet, and charged particle interactions with Titan's surface and atmosphere). An international mission is assumed to control costs. NASA will provide the orbiter, launch vehicle, DSN coverage and operations, while international partners will provide the Aerorover and up to 30% of the cost for the scientific instruments through collaborative efforts. To further reduce costs we propose a single PI for orbiter science instruments and a single PI for Aerorover science instruments. This approach will provide single command/data and power interface between spacecraft and orbiter instruments that will have redundant central DPU and power converter for their instruments. A similar approach could be used for the Aerorover. The mission profile will be constructed to minimize conflicts between Aerorover science, orbiter radar science, orbiter radio science, orbiter imaging science, and orbiter fields and particles (FP) science. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

JPL future missions and energy storage technology implications

Science.gov (United States)

Pawlik, Eugene V.

1987-01-01

The mission model for JPL future programs is presented. This model identifies mission areas where JPL is expected to have a major role and/or participate in a significant manner. These missions are focused on space science and applications missions, but they also include some participation in space station activities. The mission model is described in detail followed by a discussion on the needs for energy storage technology required to support these future activities.

LOTUS— Preparing Sentinel-3 SAR Altimetry Processing for Ocean and Land

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Per; Andersen, Ole Baltazar; Nielsen, Karina

2016-01-01

methods and processing chains need to be developed. Subsequently, new potential Copernicus products should be developed that utilize the improved alongtrack resolution over both the oceans and over land. The main objective of the LOTUS project is to prepare the scientific and operational use of data from......The Sentinel-3 satellite mission with its SRAL instrumentation contains new features compared to the conventional radar altimeter mission that form the basis for new innovative scientific analyses of both ocean and inland water levels. To utilize the full potential of the new data source, new...... that they will be used for commercial activities. LOTUS will develop processing scheme for extracting high-resolution sea surface heights, wave heights and wind speeds from SAR mode data. Over land, the LOTUS will develop processing scheme for extracting high-resolution river and lake heights, soil moisture, and snow...

Are we prepared to help low-resource communities cope with a severe influenza pandemic?

Science.gov (United States)

Starbuck, Eric S; von Bernuth, Rudolph; Bolles, Kathryn; Koepsell, Jeanne

2013-11-01

Recent research involving lab-modified H5N1 influenza viruses with increased transmissibility and the ongoing evolution of the virus in nature should remind us of the continuing importance of preparedness for a severe influenza pandemic. Current vaccine technology and antiviral supply remain inadequate, and in a severe pandemic, most low-resource communities will fail to receive adequate medical supplies. However, with suitable guidance, these communities can take appropriate actions without substantial outside resources to reduce influenza transmission and care for the ill. Such guidance should be completed, and support provided to developing countries to adapt it for their settings and prepare for implementation. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Solar Probe Plus: Mission design challenges and trades

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Yanping

2010-11-01

NASA plans to launch the first mission to the Sun, named Solar Probe Plus, as early as 2015, after a comprehensive feasibility study that significantly changed the original Solar Probe mission concept. The original Solar Probe mission concept, based on a Jupiter gravity assist trajectory, was no longer feasible under the new guidelines given to the mission. A complete redesign of the mission was required, which called for developing alternative trajectories that excluded a flyby of Jupiter. Without the very powerful gravity assist from Jupiter it was extremely difficult to get to the Sun, so designing a trajectory to reach the Sun that is technically feasible under the new mission guidelines became a key enabler to this highly challenging mission. Mission design requirements and challenges unique to this mission are reviewed and discussed, including various mission scenarios and six different trajectory designs utilizing various planetary gravity assists that were considered. The V 5GA trajectory design using five Venus gravity assists achieves a perihelion of 11.8 solar radii ( RS) in 3.3 years without any deep space maneuver (DSM). The V 7GA trajectory design reaches a perihelion of 9.5 RS using seven Venus gravity assists in 6.39 years without any DSM. With nine Venus gravity assists, the V 9GA trajectory design shows a solar orbit at inclination as high as 37.9° from the ecliptic plane can be achieved with the time of flight of 5.8 years. Using combined Earth and Venus gravity assists, as close as 9 RS from the Sun can be achieved in less than 10 years of flight time at moderate launch C3. Ultimately the V 7GA trajectory was chosen as the new baseline mission trajectory. Its design allowing for science investigation right after launch and continuing for nearly 7 years is unprecedented for interplanetary missions. The redesigned Solar Probe Plus mission is not only feasible under the new guidelines but also significantly outperforms the original mission concept

NASA Laboratory Analysis for Manned Exploration Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Krihak, Michael K.; Shaw, Tianna E.

2014-01-01

The Exploration Laboratory Analysis (ELA) project supports the Exploration Medical Capability Element under the NASA Human Research Program. ELA instrumentation is identified as an essential capability for future exploration missions to diagnose and treat evidence-based medical conditions. However, mission architecture limits the medical equipment, consumables, and procedures that will be available to treat medical conditions during human exploration missions. Allocated resources such as mass, power, volume, and crew time must be used efficiently to optimize the delivery of in-flight medical care. Although commercial instruments can provide the blood and urine based measurements required for exploration missions, these commercial-off-the-shelf devices are prohibitive for deployment in the space environment. The objective of the ELA project is to close the technology gap of current minimally invasive laboratory capabilities and analytical measurements in a manner that the mission architecture constraints impose on exploration missions. Besides micro gravity and radiation tolerances, other principal issues that generally fail to meet NASA requirements include excessive mass, volume, power and consumables, and nominal reagent shelf-life. Though manned exploration missions will not occur for nearly a decade, NASA has already taken strides towards meeting the development of ELA medical diagnostics by developing mission requirements and concepts of operations that are coupled with strategic investments and partnerships towards meeting these challenges. This paper focuses on the remote environment, its challenges, biomedical diagnostics requirements and candidate technologies that may lead to successful blood-urine chemistry and biomolecular measurements in future space exploration missions.

The 'Granite' collegial mission of dialogue. Report; Mission collegiale de concertation Granite. Rapport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boisson, P.; Huet, Ph.; Mingasson, J

2000-06-01

The aim of the 'Granite' collegial mission of dialogue is to inform the French authorities, associations and population about the project of construction of an underground laboratory for the study of the disposal of high level and long-life radioactive wastes in a granitic environment. The aim of the dialogue was not to select a site but to collect the public reactions and advices about such a project. However, such a dialogue has partially failed because of a misunderstanding of the population about the aims of the mission. However, the mission has collected many point of views and questions which are developed in this report. The first and second chapters recall the process of the mission and its progress, while a third chapter stresses on the questions asked by the public and which concern the fear of nuclear wastes and the incompatibility between the disposal of wastes and the socio-economical development of the region concerned. Thanks to the lessons drawn from this experience, the mission has formulated some recommendations (chapter 4) concerning the need for a better information of the population about any topic in relation with the radioactive wastes. Some complementary information is provided in appendixes. (J.S.)

Psyche Mission: Scientific Models and Instrument Selection

Science.gov (United States)

Polanskey, C. A.; Elkins-Tanton, L. T.; Bell, J. F., III; Lawrence, D. J.; Marchi, S.; Park, R. S.; Russell, C. T.; Weiss, B. P.

2017-12-01

NASA has chosen to explore (16) Psyche with their 14th Discovery-class mission. Psyche is a 226-km diameter metallic asteroid hypothesized to be the exposed core of a planetesimal that was stripped of its rocky mantle by multiple hit and run collisions in the early solar system. The spacecraft launch is planned for 2022 with arrival at the asteroid in 2026 for 21 months of operations. The Psyche investigation has five primary scientific objectives: A. Determine whether Psyche is a core, or if it is unmelted material. B. Determine the relative ages of regions of Psyche's surface. C. Determine whether small metal bodies incorporate the same light elements as are expected in the Earth's high-pressure core. D. Determine whether Psyche was formed under conditions more oxidizing or more reducing than Earth's core. E. Characterize Psyche's topography. The mission's task was to select the appropriate instruments to meet these objectives. However, exploring a metal world, rather than one made of ice, rock, or gas, requires development of new scientific models for Psyche to support the selection of the appropriate instruments for the payload. If Psyche is indeed a planetary core, we expect that it should have a detectable magnetic field. However, the strength of the magnetic field can vary by orders of magnitude depending on the formational history of Psyche. The implications of both the extreme low-end and the high-end predictions impact the magnetometer and mission design. For the imaging experiment, what can the team expect for the morphology of a heavily impacted metal body? Efforts are underway to further investigate the differences in crater morphology between high velocity impacts into metal and rock to be prepared to interpret the images of Psyche when they are returned. Finally, elemental composition measurements at Psyche using nuclear spectroscopy encompass a new and unexplored phase space of gamma-ray and neutron measurements. We will present some end

It Takes a Village. Collaborative Outer Planet Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Rymer, A. M.; Turtle, E. P.; Hofstadter, M. D.; Simon, A. A.; Hospodarsky, G. B.

2017-01-01

A mission to one or both of our local Ice Giants (Uranus and Neptune) emerged as a high priority in the most recent Planetary Science Decadal Survey and was also specifically mentioned supportively in the Heliophysics Decadal Survey. In 2016, NASA convened a science definition team to study ice giant mission concepts in more detail. Uranus and Neptune represent the last remaining planetary type in our Solar System to have a dedicated orbiting mission. The case for a Uranus mission has been made eloquently in the Decadal Surveys. Here we summarize some of the major drivers that lead to enthusiastic support for an Ice Giant mission in general, and use the example of a Uranus Mission concept to illustrate opportunities such a mission might provide for cross-division collaboration and cost-sharing.

Plutonium Finishing Plant Transition Project mission analysis report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Courson, D.B.

1994-01-01

This report defines the mission for the Plutonium Finishing Plant Transition Project (PFPTP) using a systems engineering approach. This mission analysis will be the basis for the functional analysis which will further define and break down the mission statement into all of the detailed functions required to accomplish the mission. The functional analysis is then used to develop requirements, allocate those requirements to functions, and eventually be used to design the system. This report: presents the problem which will be addressed, defines PFP Transition Project, defines the overall mission statement, describes the existing, initial conditions, defines the desired, final conditions, identifies the mission boundaries and external interfaces, identifies the resources required to carry out the mission, describes the uncertainties and risks, and discusses the measures which will be used to determine success