The OSIRIS-Rex Asteroid Sample Return: Mission Operations Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gal-Edd, Jonathan; Cheuvront, Allan

2014-01-01

The OSIRIS-REx mission employs a methodical, phased approach to ensure success in meeting the missions science requirements. OSIRIS-REx launches in September 2016, with a backup launch period occurring one year later. Sampling occurs in 2019. The departure burn from Bennu occurs in March 2021. On September 24, 2023, the SRC lands at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). Stardust heritage procedures are followed to transport the SRC to Johnson Space Center, where the samples are removed and delivered to the OSIRIS-REx curation facility. After a six-month preliminary examination period the mission will produce a catalog of the returned sample, allowing the worldwide community to request samples for detailed analysis.Traveling and returning a sample from an Asteroid that has not been explored before requires unique operations consideration. The Design Reference Mission (DRM) ties together space craft, instrument and operations scenarios. The project implemented lessons learned from other small body missions: APLNEAR, JPLDAWN and ESARosetta. The key lesson learned was expected the unexpected and implement planning tools early in the lifecycle. In preparation to PDR, the project changed the asteroid arrival date, to arrive one year earlier and provided additional time margin. STK is used for Mission Design and STKScheduler for instrument coverage analysis.

A Sample Handling System for Mars Sample Return - Design and Status

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allouis, E.; Renouf, I.; Deridder, M.; Vrancken, D.; Gelmi, R.; Re, E.

2009-04-01

A mission to return atmosphere and soil samples form the Mars is highly desired by planetary scientists from around the world and space agencies are starting preparation for the launch of a sample return mission in the 2020 timeframe. Such a mission would return approximately 500 grams of atmosphere, rock and soil samples to Earth by 2025. Development of a wide range of new technology will be critical to the successful implementation of such a challenging mission. Technical developments required to realise the mission include guided atmospheric entry, soft landing, sample handling robotics, biological sealing, Mars atmospheric ascent sample rendezvous & capture and Earth return. The European Space Agency has been performing system definition studies along with numerous technology development studies under the framework of the Aurora programme. Within the scope of these activities Astrium has been responsible for defining an overall sample handling architecture in collaboration with European partners (sample acquisition and sample capture, Galileo Avionica; sample containment and automated bio-sealing, Verhaert). Our work has focused on the definition and development of the robotic systems required to move the sample through the transfer chain. This paper presents the Astrium team's high level design for the surface transfer system and the orbiter transfer system. The surface transfer system is envisaged to use two robotic arms of different sizes to allow flexible operations and to enable sample transfer over relatively large distances (~2 to 3 metres): The first to deploy/retract the Drill Assembly used for sample collection, the second for the transfer of the Sample Container (the vessel containing all the collected samples) from the Drill Assembly to the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). The sample transfer actuator also features a complex end-effector for handling the Sample Container. The orbiter transfer system will transfer the Sample Container from the capture mechanism through a bio-sealing system to the Earth Return Capsule (ERC) and has distinctly different requirements from the surface transfer system. The operations required to transfer the samples to the ERC are clearly defined and make use of mechanisms specifically designed for the job rather than robotic arms. Though it is mechanical rather than robotic, the design of the orbiter transfer system is very complex in comparison to most previous missions to fulfil all the scientific and technological requirements. Further mechanisms will be required to lock the samples into the ERC and to close the door at the rear of the ERC through which the samples have been inserted. Having performed this overall definition study, Astrium is now leading the next step of the development of the MSR sample handling: the Mars Surface Sample Transfer and Manipulation project (MSSTM). Organised in two phases, the project will re-evaluate in phase 1 the output of the previous study in the light of new inputs (e.g. addition of a rover) and investigate further the architectures and systems involved in the sample transfer chain while identifying the critical technologies. The second phase of the project will concentrate on the prototyping of a number of these key technologies with the goal of providing an end-to end validation of the surface sample transfer concept.

Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging Performance in a High-Fidelity Lunar Terrain Field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chuang, Jason

2015-01-01

The prime objective of this project is to evaluate Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) systems and compare their performance for hazard avoidance when tested at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC's) lunar high-fidelity terrain field (see fig. 1). Hazard avoidance is the ability to avoid boulders, holes, or slopes that would jeopardize a safe landing and the deployment of scientific payloads. This capability is critical for any sample return mission intending to land in challenging terrain. Since challenging terrain is frequently where the most scientifically attractive targets are, hazard avoidance will be among the highest priorities for future robotic exploration missions. The maturation of hazard avoidance sensing addressed in this project directly supports the MSFC Tier I priority of sample return.

Phobos Sample Return: Next Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zelenyi, Lev; Martynov, Maxim; Zakharov, Alexander; Korablev, Oleg; Ivanov, Alexey; Karabadzak, George

The Martian moons still remain a mystery after numerous studies by Mars orbiting spacecraft. Their study cover three major topics related to (1) Solar system in general (formation and evolution, origin of planetary satellites, origin and evolution of life); (2) small bodies (captured asteroid, or remnants of Mars formation, or reaccreted Mars ejecta); (3) Mars (formation and evolution of Mars; Mars ejecta at the satellites). As reviewed by Galimov [2010] most of the above questions require the sample return from the Martian moon, while some (e.g. the characterization of the organic matter) could be also answered by in situ experiments. There is the possibility to obtain the sample of Mars material by sampling Phobos: following to Chappaz et al. [2012] a 200-g sample could contain 10-7 g of Mars surface material launched during the past 1 mln years, or 5*10-5 g of Mars material launched during the past 10 mln years, or 5*1010 individual particles from Mars, quantities suitable for accurate laboratory analyses. The studies of Phobos have been of high priority in the Russian program on planetary research for many years. Phobos-88 mission consisted of two spacecraft (Phobos-1, Phobos-2) and aimed the approach to Phobos at 50 m and remote studies, and also the release of small landers (long-living stations DAS). This mission implemented the program incompletely. It was returned information about the Martian environment and atmosphere. The next profect Phobos Sample Return (Phobos-Grunt) initially planned in early 2000 has been delayed several times owing to budget difficulties; the spacecraft failed to leave NEO in 2011. The recovery of the science goals of this mission and the delivery of the samples of Phobos to Earth remain of highest priority for Russian scientific community. The next Phobos SR mission named Boomerang was postponed following the ExoMars cooperation, but is considered the next in the line of planetary exploration, suitable for launch around 2022. A possible scenario of the Boomerang mission includes the approach to Deimos prior to the landing of Phobos. The needed excess ΔV w.r.t. simple scenario (elliptical orbit à near-Phobos orbit) amounts to 0.67 km s-1 (1.6 vs 0.93 km s-1). The Boomerang mission basically repeats the Phobos-SR (2011) architecture, where the transfer-orbiting spacecraft lands on the Phobos surface and a small return vehicle launches the return capsule to Earth. We consider the Boomerang mission as an important step in Mars exploration and a direct precursor of Mars Sample Return. The following elements of the Boomerang mission might be directly employed, or serve as the prototypes for the Mars Sample return in future: Return vehicle, Earth descent module, Transfer-orbital spacecraft. We urge the development of this project for its high science value and recognize its elements as potential national contribution to an international Mars Sample Return project. Galimov E.M., Phobos sample return mission: scientific substantiation, Solar System Res., v.44, No.1, pp5-14, 2010. Chappaz L., H.J. Melosh, M. Vaguero, and K.C. Howell, Material transfer from the surface of Mars to Phobos and Deimos, 43rd Lunar and planetary Science Conference, paper 1422, 2012.

Four Interstellar Dust Candidates from the Stardust Interstellar Dust Collector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Westphal, A. J.; Allen, C.; Bajt, S.; Bechtel, H. A.; Borg, J.; Brenker, F.; Bridges, J.; Brownlee, D. E.; Burchell, M.; Burghammer, M.;

Multiple-Matrix Sampling: A Technique for Maximizing the Effectiveness of Lengthy Survey Instruments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shemick, John M.

1983-01-01

In a project to identify and verify professional competencies for beginning industrial education teachers, researchers found a 173-item questionnaire unwieldy. Using multiple-matrix sampling, they distributed subsets of items to respondents, resulting in adequate returns as well as duplication, postage, and time savings. (SK)

Mars Missions Using Emerging Commercial Space Transportation Capabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gonzales, Andrew A.

2016-01-01

New Discoveries regarding the Martian Environment may impact Mars mission planning. Transportation of investigation payloads can be facilitated by Commercial Space Transportation options. The development of Commercial Space Transportation. Capabilities anticipated from various commercial entities are examined objectively. The potential for one of these options, in the form of a Mars Sample Return mission, described in the results of previous work, is presented to demonstrate a high capability potential. The transportation needs of the Mars Environment Team Project at ISU 2016 may fit within the payload capabilities of a Mars Sample Return mission, but the payload elements may or may not differ. Resource Modules will help you develop a component of a strategy to address the Implications of New Discoveries in the Martian Environment using the possibility of efficient, commercial space transportation options. Opportunities for open discussions as appropriate during the team project formulation period at the end of each Resource Module. The objective is to provide information that can be incorporated into your work in the Team Project including brainstorming.

A Search for Viable Venus and Jupiter Sample Return Mission Trajectories for the Next Decade

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leong, Jason N.; Papadopoulos, Periklis

2005-01-01

Planetary exploration using unmanned spacecraft capable of returning geologic or atmospheric samples have been discussed as a means of gathering scientific data for several years. Both NASA and ESA performed initial studies for Sample Return Missions (SRMs) in the late 1990 s, but most suggested a launch before the year 2010. The GENESIS and STARDUST spacecraft are the only current examples of the SRM concept with the Mars SRM expected around 2015. A feasibility study looking at SRM trajectories to Venus and Jupiter, for a spacecraft departing the Earth between the years 2011 through 2020 was conducted for a university project. The objective of the study was to evaluate SRMs to planets other than Mars, which has already gained significant attention in the scientific community. This paper is a synopsis of the study s mission trajectory concept and the conclusions to the viability of such a mission with today s technology.

Small D-type asteroids in the NEO population: new targets for space missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barucci, Maria Antonietta; Perna, D.; Popescu, M.; Fornasier, S.; Doressoundiram, A.; Lantz, C.; Merlin, F.; Fulchignoni, M.; Dotto, E.; Kanuchova, S.

2018-06-01

In the framework of the Near Earth Objects (NEOs) observational campaign carried out within the NEOShield-2 project, we identify nine new small D-type asteroids with estimated diameter less than 600 m. The link with meteorites for this class of asteroids is weak and the best fit obtained is with the Tagish Lake meteorite for seven of them. D-type asteroids are believed to contain the most pristine material of the Solar system and could have delivered the pre-biotic material to the Earth. Our results double the known sample of the D-types in the NEO population and triple the candidates of this class for a sample-return mission (at very low ΔV). Our finding increases considerably the number of targets for sample-return mission. A sample-return mission to a D-type asteroid will provide a major progress in understanding the early history of the Solar system and to investigate the origin of life on the Earth.

The Opera Instrument: An Advanced Curation Development for Mars Sample Return Organic Contamination Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fries, M. D.; Fries, W. D.; McCubbin, F. M.; Zeigler, R. A.

2018-01-01

Mars Sample Return (MSR) requires strict organic contamination control (CC) and contamination knowledge (CK) as outlined by the Mars 2020 Organic Contamination Panel (OCP). This includes a need to monitor surficial organic contamination to a ng/sq. cm sensitivity level. Archiving and maintaining this degree of surface cleanliness may be difficult but has been achieved. MSR's CK effort will be very important because all returned samples will be studied thoroughly and in minute detail. Consequently, accurate CK must be collected and characterized to best interpret scientific results from the returned samples. The CK data are not only required to make accurate measurements and interpretations for carbon-depleted martian samples, but also to strengthen the validity of science investigations performed on the samples. The Opera instrument prototype is intended to fulfill a CC/CK role in the assembly, cleaning, and overall contamination history of hardware used in the MSR effort, from initial hardware assembly through post-flight sample curation. Opera is intended to monitor particulate and organic contamination using quartz crystal microbalances (QCMs), in a self-contained portable package that is cleanroom-compliant. The Opera prototype is in initial development capable of approximately 100 ng/sq. cm organic contamination sensitivity, with additional development planned to achieve 1 ng/sq. cm. The Opera prototype was funded by the 2017 NASA Johnson Space Center Innovation Charge Account (ICA), which provides funding for small, short-term projects.

Asteroid exploration and utilization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Radovich, Brian M.; Carlson, Alan E.; Date, Medha D.; Duarte, Manny G.; Erian, Neil F.; Gafka, George K.; Kappler, Peter H.; Patano, Scott J.; Perez, Martin; Ponce, Edgar

1992-01-01

The Earth is nearing depletion of its natural resources at a time when human beings are rapidly expanding the frontiers of space. The resources possessed by asteroids have enormous potential for aiding and enhancing human space exploration as well as life on Earth. Project STONER (Systematic Transfer of Near Earth Resources) is based on mining an asteroid and transporting raw materials back to Earth. The asteroid explorer/sample return mission is designed in the context of both scenarios and is the first phase of a long range plan for humans to utilize asteroid resources. Project STONER is divided into two parts: asteroid selection and explorer spacecraft design. The spacecraft design team is responsible for the selection and integration of the subsystems: GNC, communications, automation, propulsion, power, structures, thermal systems, scientific instruments, and mechanisms used on the surface to retrieve and store asteroid regolith. The sample return mission scenario consists of eight primary phases that are critical to the mission.

Overview of the Mars Sample Return Earth Entry Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dillman, Robert; Corliss, James

2008-01-01

NASA's Mars Sample Return (MSR) project will bring Mars surface and atmosphere samples back to Earth for detailed examination. Langley Research Center's MSR Earth Entry Vehicle (EEV) is a core part of the mission, protecting the sample container during atmospheric entry, descent, and landing. Planetary protection requirements demand a higher reliability from the EEV than for any previous planetary entry vehicle. An overview of the EEV design and preliminary analysis is presented, with a follow-on discussion of recommended future design trade studies to be performed over the next several years in support of an MSR launch in 2018 or 2020. Planned topics include vehicle size for impact protection of a range of sample container sizes, outer mold line changes to achieve surface sterilization during re-entry, micrometeoroid protection, aerodynamic stability, thermal protection, and structural materials selection.

2005 Earth-Mars Round Trip

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

This paper presents, in viewgraph form, the 2005 Earth-Mars Round Trip. The contents include: 1) Lander; 2) Mars Sample Return Project; 3) Rover; 4) Rover Size Comparison; 5) Mars Ascent Vehicle; 6) Return Orbiter; 7) A New Mars Surveyor Program Architecture; 8) Definition Study Summary Result; 9) Mars Surveyor Proposed Architecture 2003, 2005 Opportunities; 10) Mars Micromissions Using Ariane 5; 11) Potential International Partnerships; 12) Proposed Integrated Architecture; and 13) Mars Exploration Program Report of the Architecture Team.

Seeking the Balance: Risks, Choices and Life Priorities in the Life-Patterns Project, 1998-1999. Working Paper 19.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dwyer, Peter; Harwood, Aramiha; Tyler, Debra

This paper provides an update on the 1998 findings from an Australian longitudinal study begun in 1991 and titled the Life-Patterns Project. Based on 1,430 returns of the questionnaire and interviews of a sub-sample of 100, it examines implications of patterns beginning to emerge as participants enter their mid-twenties and reassess their…

Project Return: Community Education Initiative and Babygram Hospital Outreach, 1991-92.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York City Board of Education, Brooklyn, NY. Office of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment.

Project Return, a dropout recovery program to assist pregnant and parenting teenagers and parents of elementary school children to return to school, was first implemented in 1989-90. By 1991-92, there were two components of Project Return: its community education initiative in seven elementary schools, and the Babygram Hospital Outreach Program…

Development Status of the WetLab-2 Project: New Tools for On-orbit Real-time Quantitative Gene Expression.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jung, Jimmy; Parra, Macarena P.; Almeida, Eduardo; Boone, Travis; Chinn, Tori; Ricco, Antonio; Souza, Kenneth; Hyde, Liz; Rukhsana, Yousuf; Richey, C. Scott

2013-01-01

The primary objective of NASA Ames Research Centers WetLab-2 Project is to place on the ISS a research platform to facilitate gene expression analysis via quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) of biological specimens grown or cultured on orbit. The WetLab-2 equipment will be capable of processing multiple sample types ranging from microbial cultures to animal tissues dissected on-orbit. In addition to the logistical benefits of in-situ sample processing and analysis, conducting qRT-PCR on-orbit eliminates the confounding effects on gene expression of reentry stresses and shock acting on live cells and organisms. The system can also validate terrestrial analyses of samples returned from ISS by providing quantitative on-orbit gene expression benchmarking prior to sample return. The ability to get on orbit data will provide investigators with the opportunity to adjust experimental parameters for subsequent trials based on the real-time data analysis without need for sample return and re-flight. Finally, WetLab-2 can be used for analysis of air, surface, water, and clinical samples to monitor environmental contaminants and crew health. The verification flight of the instrument is scheduled to launch on SpaceX-5 in Aug. 2014.Progress to date: The WetLab-2 project completed a thorough study of commercially available qRT-PCR systems and performed a downselect based on both scientific and engineering requirements. The selected instrument, the Cepheid SmartCycler, has advantages including modular design (16 independent PCR modules), low power consumption, and rapid ramp times. The SmartCycler has multiplex capabilities, assaying up to four genes of interest in each of the 16 modules. The WetLab-2 team is currently working with Cepheid to modify the unit for housing within an EXPRESS rack locker on the ISS. This will enable the downlink of data to the ground and provide uplink capabilities for programming, commanding, monitoring, and instrument maintenance. The project is currently designing a module that will lyse the cells and extract RNA of sufficient quality for use in qRT-PCR reactions while using a housekeeping gene to normalize RNA concentration and integrity. Current testing focuses on two promising commercial products and chemistries that allow for RNA extraction with minimal complexity and crew time.

EURO-CARES: European Roadmap for a Sample Return Curation Facility and Planetary Protection Implications.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brucato, John Robert

2016-07-01

A mature European planetary exploration program and evolving sample return mission plans gathers the interest of a wider scientific community. The interest is generated from studying extraterrestrial samples in the laborato-ry providing new opportunities to address fundamental issues on the origin and evolution of the Solar System, on the primordial cosmochemistry, and on the nature of the building blocks of terrestrial planets and on the origin of life. Major space agencies are currently planning for missions that will collect samples from a variety of Solar Sys-tem environments, from primitive (carbonaceous) small bodies, from the Moon, Mars and its moons and, final-ly, from icy moons of the outer planets. A dedicated sample return curation facility is seen as an essential re-quirement for the receiving, assessment, characterization and secure preservation of the collected extraterrestrial samples and potentially their safe distribution to the scientific community. EURO-CARES is a European Commission study funded under the Horizon-2020 program. The strategic objec-tive of EURO-CARES is to create a roadmap for the implementation of a European Extraterrestrial Sample Cu-ration Facility. The facility has to provide safe storage and handling of extraterrestrial samples and has to enable the preliminary characterization in order to achieve the required effectiveness and collaborative outcomes for the whole international scientific community. For example, samples returned from Mars could pose a threat on the Earth's biosphere if any living extraterrestrial organism are present in the samples. Thus planetary protection is an essential aspect of all Mars sample return missions that will affect the retrival and transport from the point of return, sample handling, infrastructure methodology and management of a future curation facility. Analysis of the state of the art of Planetary Protection technology shows there are considerable possibilities to define and develop technical and scientific features in a sample return mission and the infrastructural, procedur-al and legal issues that consequently rely on a curation facility. This specialist facility will be designed with con-sideration drawn from highcontainment laboratories and cleanroom facilities to protect the Earth from contami-nation with potential Martian organisms and the samples from Earth contaminations. This kind of integrated facility does not currently exist and this emphasises the need for an innovative design approach with an integrat-ed and multidisciplinary design to enable the ultimate science goals of such exploration. The issues of how the Planetary Protection considerations impact on the system technologies and scientific meaurements, with a final aim to prioritize outstanding technology needs is presented in the framework of sam-ple return study missions and the Horizon-2020 EURO-CARES project.

A practical guide to value of information analysis.

PubMed

Wilson, Edward C F

2015-02-01

Value of information analysis is a quantitative method to estimate the return on investment in proposed research projects. It can be used in a number of ways. Funders of research may find it useful to rank projects in terms of the expected return on investment from a variety of competing projects. Alternatively, trialists can use the principles to identify the efficient sample size of a proposed study as an alternative to traditional power calculations, and finally, a value of information analysis can be conducted alongside an economic evaluation as a quantitative adjunct to the 'future research' or 'next steps' section of a study write up. The purpose of this paper is to present a brief introduction to the methods, a step-by-step guide to calculation and a discussion of issues that arise in their application to healthcare decision making. Worked examples are provided in the accompanying online appendices as Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

Does the private sector receive an excessive return from investments in health care infrastructure projects? Evidence from the UK.

PubMed

Vecchi, Veronica; Hellowell, Mark; Gatti, Stefano

2013-05-01

This paper is concerned with the cost-efficiency of Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs) in the delivery of hospital facilities in the UK. We outline a methodology for identifying the "fair" return on equity, based on the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) of each investor. We apply this method to assess the expected returns on a sample of 77 contracts signed between 1997 and 2011 by health care provider organisations in the UK. We show that expected returns are in general in excess of the WACC benchmarks. The findings highlight significant problems in current procurement practices and the methodologies by which bids are assessed. To minimise the financial impact of hospital investments on health care systems, a regulatory regime must ensure that expected returns are set at the "fair" rate. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mars Ascent Vehicle Gross Lift-off Mass Sensitivities for Robotic Mars Sample Return

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dux, Ian J.; Huwaldt, Joseph A.; McKamey, R. Steve; Dankanich, John W.

2011-01-01

The Mars ascent vehicle is a critical element of the robotic Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission. The Mars ascent vehicle must be developed to survive a variety of conditions including the trans-Mars journey, descent through the Martian atmosphere and the harsh Martian surface environments while maintaining the ability to deliver its payload to a low Mars orbit. The primary technology challenge of developing the Mars ascent vehicle system is designing for all conditions while ensuring the mass limitations of the entry descent and landing system are not exceeded. The NASA In-Space Propulsion technology project has initiated the development of Mars ascent vehicle technologies with propulsion system performance and launch environments yet to be defined. To support the project s evaluation and development of various technology options the sensitivity of the Mars ascent vehicle gross lift-off mass to engine performance, inert mass, target orbits, and launch conditions has been completed with the results presented herein.

The OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission Operations Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gal-Edd, Jonathan S.; Cheuvront, Allan

2015-01-01

OSIRIS-REx is an acronym that captures the scientific objectives: Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer. OSIRIS-REx will thoroughly characterize near-Earth asteroid Bennu (Previously known as 1019551999 RQ36). The OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission delivers its science using five instruments and radio science along with the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM). All of the instruments and data analysis techniques have direct heritage from flown planetary missions. The OSIRIS-REx mission employs a methodical, phased approach to ensure success in meeting the mission's science requirements. OSIRIS-REx launches in September 2016, with a backup launch period occurring one year later. Sampling occurs in 2019. The departure burn from Bennu occurs in March 2021. On September 24, 2023, the Sample Return Capsule (SRC) lands at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). Stardust heritage procedures are followed to transport the SRC to Johnson Space Center, where the samples are removed and delivered to the OSIRIS-REx curation facility. After a six-month preliminary examination period the mission will produce a catalog of the returned sample, allowing the worldwide community to request samples for detailed analysis. Traveling and returning a sample from an Asteroid that has not been explored before requires unique operations consideration. The Design Reference Mission (DRM) ties together spacecraft, instrument and operations scenarios. Asteroid Touch and Go (TAG) has various options varying from ground only to fully automated (natural feature tracking). Spacecraft constraints such as thermo and high gain antenna pointing impact the timeline. The mission is sensitive to navigation errors, so a late command update has been implemented. The project implemented lessons learned from other "small body" missions. The key lesson learned was 'expect the unexpected' and implement planning tools early in the lifecycle. This paper summarizes the ground and spacecraft design as presented at OSIRIS-REx Critical Design Review(CDR) held April 2014.

Project Return and Babygram Hospital Outreach, 1993-94.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weiler, Jeanne

Project Return, a dropout recovery program to assist pregnant and parenting teenagers and parents of elementary school children to return to school, was first implemented in 1989-90, and by 1993-94 had expanded to serve 19 sites in New York City. The Babygram Hospital Outreach program, an outgrowth of Project Return, operated in 12 hospitals and…

Stardust Entry: Landing and Population Hazards in Mission Planning and Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Desai, P.; Wawrzyniak, G.

2006-01-01

The 385 kg Stardust mission was launched on Feb 7, 1999 on a mission to collect samples from the tail of comet Wild 2 and from interplanetary space. Stardust returned to Earth in the early morning of January 15, 2006. The sample return capsule landed in the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) southwest of Salt Lake City. Because Stardust was landing on Earth, hazard analysis was required by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, UTTR, and the Stardust Project to ensure the safe return of the landing capsule along with the safety of people, ground assets, and aircraft. This paper focuses on the requirements affecting safe return of the capsule and safety of people on the ground by investigating parameters such as probability of impacting on UTTR, casualty expectation, and probability of casualty. This paper introduces the methods for the calculation of these requirements and shows how they affected mission planning, site selection, and mission operations. By analyzing these requirements before and during entry it allowed for the selection of a robust landing point that met all of the requirements during the actual landing event.

Full-Scale Spacecraft Simulator Design for a 2D Zero Gravity Small Body Surface Sampling Validation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mongelli, Marco

NASA is developing several Touch-And-Go (TAG) classes of missions. These types of missions like the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return [1] or a comet sample return mission (CSSR)[2], consist usually in three phases: propulsive approach to the target, sampling and propulsion to move the spacecraft away from the target. The development of TAG mission, from concept to realization, is usually divided in two phases: Phase I discusses the major trades that could affect the mission architecture; Phase II focuses in detail on the design. This project of a spacecraft emulator fits into phase II and specifically on the way the spacecraft could react in absence of gravity while the Sample Acquisition System (SAS) is collecting the sample. A full-scale spacecraft on a 2D zero-friction environment has been designed. Also a propulsion system has been implemented to re-create the full dynamics of a spacecraft in space.

Microgravity Testing of a Surface Sampling System for Sample Return from Small Solar System Bodies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Franzen, M. A.; Preble, J.; Schoenoff, M.; Halona, K.; Long, T. E.; Park, T.; Sears, D. W. G.

2004-01-01

The return of samples from solar system bodies is becoming an essential element of solar system exploration. The recent National Research Council Solar System Exploration Decadal Survey identified six sample return missions as high priority missions: South-Aitken Basin Sample Return, Comet Surface Sample Return, Comet Surface Sample Return-sample from selected surface sites, Asteroid Lander/Rover/Sample Return, Comet Nucleus Sample Return-cold samples from depth, and Mars Sample Return [1] and the NASA Roadmap also includes sample return missions [2] . Sample collection methods that have been flown on robotic spacecraft to date return subgram quantities, but many scientific issues (like bulk composition, particle size distributions, petrology, chronology) require tens to hundreds of grams of sample. Many complex sample collection devices have been proposed, however, small robotic missions require simplicity. We present here the results of experiments done with a simple but innovative collection system for sample return from small solar system bodies.

Continued Development of in Situ Geochronology for Planetary Using KArLE (Potassium-Argon Laser Experiment)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Devismes, D.; Cohen, B. A.

2016-01-01

Geochronology is a fundamental measurement for planetary samples, providing the ability to establish an absolute chronology for geological events, including crystallization history, magmatic evolution, and alteration events, and providing global and solar system context for such events. The capability for in situ geochronology will open up the ability for geochronology to be accomplished as part of lander or rover complement, on multiple samples rather than just those returned. An in situ geochronology package can also complement sample return missions by identifying the most interesting rocks to cache or return to Earth. The K-Ar radiometric dating approach to in situ dating has been validated by the Curiosity rover on Mars as well as several laboratories on Earth. Several independent projects developing in situ rock dating for planetary samples, based on the K-Ar method, are giving promising results. Among them, the Potassium (K)-Argon Laser Experiment (KArLE) at MSFC is based on techniques already in use for in planetary exploration, specifically, Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS, used on the Curiosity Chemcam), mass spectroscopy (used on multiple planetary missions, including Curiosity, ExoMars, and Rosetta), and optical imaging (used on most missions).

WetLab-2: Tools for Conducting On-Orbit Quantitative Real-Time Gene Expression Analysis on ISS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parra, Macarena; Almeida, Eduardo; Boone, Travis; Jung, Jimmy; Schonfeld, Julie

2014-01-01

The objective of NASA Ames Research Centers WetLab-2 Project is to place on the ISS a research platform capable of conducting gene expression analysis via quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) of biological specimens sampled or cultured on orbit. The project has selected a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) qRT-PCR system, the Cepheid SmartCycler and will fly it in its COTS configuration. The SmartCycler has a number of advantages including modular design (16 independent PCR modules), low power consumption, rapid ramp times and the ability to detect up to four separate fluorescent channels at one time enabling multiplex assays that can be used for normalization and to study multiple genes of interest in each module. The team is currently working with Cepheid to enable the downlink of data from the ISS to the ground and provide uplink capabilities for programming, commanding, monitoring, and instrument maintenance. The project has adapted commercial technology to design a module that can lyse cells and extract RNA of sufficient quality and quantity for use in qRT-PCR reactions while using a housekeeping gene to normalize RNA concentration and integrity. The WetLab-2 system is capable of processing multiple sample types ranging from microbial cultures to animal tissues dissected on-orbit. The ability to conduct qRT-PCR on-orbit eliminates the confounding effects on gene expression of reentry stresses and shock acting on live cells and organisms or the concern of RNA degradation of fixed samples. The system can be used to validate terrestrial analyses of samples returned from ISS by providing on-orbit gene expression benchmarking prior to sample return. The ability to get on orbit data will provide investigators with the opportunity to adjust experiment parameters for subsequent trials based on the real-time data analysis without need for sample return and re-flight. Researchers will also be able to sample multigenerational changes in organisms. Finally, the system can be used for analysis of air, surface, water, and clinical samples to monitor environmental contaminants and crew health. The verification flight of the instrument is scheduled to launch on SpaceX-7 in June 2015.

Lead-Testing Service to Elementary and Secondary Schools Using Anodic Stripping Voltammetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goebel, Amanda; Vos, Tracy; Louwagie, Anne; Lundbohm, Laura; Brown, Jay H.

2004-02-01

This article outlines a successful community service project that involved members of our undergraduate chemistry club and area elementary schools. Elementary school students from various science classes throughout the region collected drinking water samples and mailed them to the university for analysis. Chemistry club members analyzed the water samples for possible lead contamination using anodic stripping voltammetry. The results and experimental data were returned to the science teachers for use in a variety of class projects. Chemistry club members presented their work during our annual Environmental Chemistry Conference. All participating science classes were invited to the conference. Over the years, participation in this project has steadily increased to its current enrollment of 28 science classes throughout the region.

Heatshield for Extreme Entry Environment Technology (HEEET)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Venkatapathy, E.; Ellerby, D.; Stackpoole, M..; Peterson, K.; Gage, P.; Beerman, A.; Blosser, M.; Chinnapongse, R.; Dillman, R.; Feldman, J.;

Planetary exploration through year 2000: An augmented program. Part two of a report by the Solar System Exploration Committee of the NASA Advisory Council

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

In 1982, the NASA Solar System Exploration Committee (SSEC) published a report on a Core Program of planetary missions, representing the minimum-level program that could be carried out in a cost effective manner, and would yield a continuing return of basic scientific results. This is the second part of the SSEC report, describing missions of the highest scientific merit that lie outside the scope of the previously recommended Core Program because of their cost and technical challenge. These missions include the autonomous operation of a mobile scientific rover on the surface of Mars, the automated collection and return of samples from that planet, the return to Earth of samples from asteroids and comets, projects needed to lay the groundwork for the eventual utilization of near-Earth resources, outer planet missions, observation programs for extra-solar planets, and technological developments essential to make these missions possible.

Materials samples face rigors of space.

PubMed

Flinn, Edward D

2002-07-01

The Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) is described. This project is designed to conduct long duration materials tests on samples attached to the ISS. A batch of 750 material samples were delivered on STS-105 and attached to the ISS airlock. They will be exposed to the space environment for 18 months and are slated to return on STS-114. A second batch of 750 samples is being prepared. The experiment containers were used originally for the Mir Environmental Effects Payload, which tested a variety of substances, including some slated for use on the ISS. Researchers are particularly interested in the effects of atomic oxygen on the samples. Some samples are being tested to determine their use in radiation protection. As part of the MISSE project, ultrathin tether materials are being tested for use on the Propulsive Small Expendable Depoloyer System (ProSEDS), which will use a tether system to change a satellite's orbital altitude.

Satisfactions and Dissatisfactions of People in Traditional and Nontraditional Jobs. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock.

A study examined the satisfactions and dissatisfactions of people employed in traditional and nontraditional jobs. During the project, mail questionnaires were returned by a sample of 352 residents that included both males and females employed in traditional occupations. Information was collected from the respondents regarding their sex, ethnic…

Curating NASA's future extraterrestrial sample collections: How do we achieve maximum proficiency?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCubbin, Francis; Evans, Cynthia; Allton, Judith; Fries, Marc; Righter, Kevin; Zolensky, Michael; Zeigler, Ryan

2016-07-01

Introduction: The Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office (henceforth referred to herein as NASA Curation Office) at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) is responsible for curating all of NASA's extraterrestrial samples. Under the governing document, NASA Policy Directive (NPD) 7100.10E "Curation of Extraterrestrial Materials", JSC is charged with "The curation of all extraterrestrial material under NASA control, including future NASA missions." The Directive goes on to define Curation as including "…documentation, preservation, preparation, and distribution of samples for research, education, and public outreach." Here we describe some of the ongoing efforts to ensure that the future activities of the NASA Curation Office are working to-wards a state of maximum proficiency. Founding Principle: Curatorial activities began at JSC (Manned Spacecraft Center before 1973) as soon as design and construction planning for the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) began in 1964 [1], not with the return of the Apollo samples in 1969, nor with the completion of the LRL in 1967. This practice has since proven that curation begins as soon as a sample return mission is conceived, and this founding principle continues to return dividends today [e.g., 2]. The Next Decade: Part of the curation process is planning for the future, and we refer to these planning efforts as "advanced curation" [3]. Advanced Curation is tasked with developing procedures, technology, and data sets necessary for curating new types of collections as envisioned by NASA exploration goals. We are (and have been) planning for future curation, including cold curation, extended curation of ices and volatiles, curation of samples with special chemical considerations such as perchlorate-rich samples, curation of organically- and biologically-sensitive samples, and the use of minimally invasive analytical techniques (e.g., micro-CT, [4]) to characterize samples. These efforts will be useful for Mars Sample Return, Lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin Sample Return, and Comet Surface Sample Return, all of which were named in the NRC Planetary Science Decadal Survey 2013-2022. We are fully committed to pushing the boundaries of curation protocol as humans continue to push the boundaries of space exploration and sample return. However, to improve our ability to curate astromaterials collections of the future and to provide maximum protection to any returned samples, it is imperative that curation involvement commences at the time of mission conception. When curation involvement is at the ground floor of mission planning, it provides a mechanism by which the samples can be protected against project-level decisions that could undermine the scientific value of the re-turned samples. A notable example of one of the bene-fits of early curation involvement in mission planning is in the acquisition of contamination knowledge (CK). CK capture strategies are designed during the initial planning stages of a sample return mission, and they are to be implemented during all phases of the mission from assembly, test, and launch operations (ATLO), through cruise and mission operations, to the point of preliminary examination after Earth return. CK is captured by witness materials and coupons exposed to the contamination environment in the assembly labs and on the space craft during launch, cruise, and operations. These materials, along with any procedural blanks and returned flight-hardware, represent our CK capture for the returned samples and serves as a baseline from which analytical results can be vetted. Collection of CK is a critical part of being able to conduct and interpret data from organic geochemistry and biochemistry investigations of returned samples. The CK samples from a given mission are treated as part of the sample collection of that mission, hence they are part of the permanent archive that is maintained by the NASA curation Office. We are in the midst of collecting witness plates and coupons for the OSIRIS-REx mission, and we are in the planning stages for similar activities for the Mars 2020 rover mission, which is going to be the first step in a multi-stage campaign to return martian samples to Earth. Concluding Remarks: The return of every extraterrestrial sample is a scientific investment, and the CK samples and any procedural blanks represent an insurance policy against imperfections in the sample-collection and sample-return process. The curation facilities and personnel are the primary managers of that investment, and the scientific community, at large, is the beneficiary. The NASA Curation Office at JSC has the assigned task of maintaining the long-term integrity of all of NASA's astromaterials and ensuring that the samples are distributed for scientific study in a fair, timely, and responsible manner. It is only through this openness and global collaboration in the study of astromaterials that the return on our scientific investments can be maximized. For information on requesting samples and becoming part of the global study of astromaterials, please visit curator.jsc.nasa.gov References: [1] Mangus, S. & Larsen, W. (2004) NASA/CR-2004-208938, NASA, Washington, DC. [2] Allen, C. et al., (2011) Chemie Der Erde-Geochemistry, 71, 1-20. [3] McCubbin, F.M. et al., (2016) 47th LPSC #2668. [4] Zeigler, R.A. et al., (2014) 45th LPSC #2665.

WetLab-2: Providing Quantitative PCR Capabilities on ISS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parra, Macarena; Jung, Jimmy Kar Chuen; Almeida, Eduardo; Boone, Travis David; Schonfeld, Julie; Tran, Luan Hoang

2015-01-01

The objective of NASA Ames Research Centers WetLab-2 Project is to place on the ISS a system capable of conducting gene expression analysis via quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) of biological specimens sampled or cultured on orbit. The WetLab-2 system is capable of processing sample types ranging from microbial cultures to animal tissues dissected on-orbit. The project has developed a RNA preparation module that can lyse cells and extract RNA of sufficient quality and quantity for use as templates in qRT-PCR reactions. Our protocol has the advantage that it uses non-toxic chemicals, alcohols or other organics. The resulting RNA is transferred into a pipette and then dispensed into reaction tubes that contain all lyophilized reagents needed to perform qRT-PCR reactions. These reaction tubes are mounted on rotors to centrifuge the liquid to the reaction window of the tube using a cordless drill. System operations require simple and limited crew actions including syringe pushes, valve turns and pipette dispenses. The resulting process takes less than 30 min to have tubes ready for loading into the qRT-PCR unit.The project has selected a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) qRT-PCR unit, the Cepheid SmartCycler, that will fly in its COTS configuration. The SmartCycler has a number of advantages including modular design (16 independent PCR modules), low power consumption, rapid thermal ramp times and four-color detection. The ability to detect up to four fluorescent channels will enable multiplex assays that can be used to normalize for RNA concentration and integrity, and to study multiple genes of interest in each module. The WetLab-2 system will have the capability to downlink data from the ISS to the ground after a completed run and to uplink new programs. The ability to conduct qRT-PCR on-orbit eliminates the confounding effects on gene expression of reentry stresses and shock acting on live cells and organisms or the concern of RNA degradation of fixed samples. The system can be used to validate terrestrial analyses of samples returned from ISS by providing on-orbit gene expression benchmarking prior to sample return. The ability to get on-orbit data will provide investigators with the opportunity to adjust experimental parameters in real time for subsequent trials, without the need for sample return and re-flight to sample multigenerational changes. The system can also be used for analysis of air, surface, water, and clinical samples to monitor environmental contaminants and crew health. The verification flight of the instrument is scheduled to launch on SpaceX-7 in June 2015. The WetLab-2 Project is supported by NASAs ISS Program at JSC, Code OZ.

STARDUST: An Incredulous Dream to Incredible Return

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsou, Peter

2006-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the Stardust mission. The goal of the mission was to return to Earth a very small part of a comet for study. The success of the mission gave us a small part of a comet to use for research into questions such as the cometary origin of water and life on earth and the formation of the solar system. The slides review the challenges, the strategy, the laboratory experiments, the instrument development, the characteristics of Aerogel, the Stardust trajectory, pictures of the samples and a listing of the firsts that were accomplished during the Stardust project.

Phobos-Grunt ; Russian Sample Return Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marov, M.

As an important milestone in the Mars exploration, space vehicle of new generation "Phobos-Grunt" is planned to be launched by the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. The project is optimized around Phobos sample return mission and follow up missions targeted to study some Main asteroid belt bodies, NEO , and short period comets. The principal constrain is "Soyuz-Fregat" rather than "Proton" launcher utilization to accomplish these challenging goals. The vehicle design incorporates innovative SEP technology involving electrojet engines that allowed us to increase significantly the missions energetic capabilities, as well as high autonomous on- board systems . Basic criteria underlining the "Phobos-Grunt" mission scenario, scientific objections and rationale, involving Mars observations during the vehicle insertion into Mars orbit and Phobos approach manoeuvres, are discussed and an opportunity for international cooperation is suggested.

On-Orbit Quantitative Real-Time Gene Expression Analysis Using the Wetlab-2 System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parra, Macarena; Jung, Jimmy; Almeida, Eduardo; Boone, Travis; Tran, Luan; Schonfeld, Julie

2015-01-01

NASA Ames Research Center's WetLab-2 Project enables on-orbit quantitative Reverse Transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis without the need for sample return. The WetLab-2 system is capable of processing sample types ranging from microbial cultures to animal tissues dissected on-orbit. The project developed a RNA preparation module that can lyse cells and extract RNA of sufficient quality and quantity for use as templates in qRT-PCR reactions. Our protocol has the advantage of using non-toxic chemicals and does not require alcohols or other organics. The resulting RNA is dispensed into reaction tubes that contain all lyophilized reagents needed to perform qRT-PCR reactions. System operations require simple and limited crew actions including syringe pushes, valve turns and pipette dispenses. The project selected the Cepheid SmartCycler (TradeMark), a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) qRT-PCR unit, because of its advantages including rugged modular design, low power consumption, rapid thermal ramp times and four-color multiplex detection. Single tube multiplex assays can be used to normalize for RNA concentration and integrity, and to study multiple genes of interest in each module. The WetLab-2 system can downlink data from the ISS to the ground after a completed run and uplink new thermal cycling programs. The ability to conduct qRT-PCR and generate results on-orbit is an important step towards utilizing the ISS as a National Laboratory facility. Specifically, the ability to get on-orbit data will provide investigators with the opportunity to adjust experimental parameters in real time without the need for sample return and re-flight. On orbit gene expression analysis can also eliminate the confounding effects on gene expression of reentry stresses and shock acting on live cells and organisms or the concern of RNA degradation of fixed samples and provide on-orbit gene expression benchmarking prior to sample return. Finally, the system can also be used for analysis of air, surface, water, and clinical samples to monitor environmental pathogens and crew health. The validation flight of the WetLab-2 system using E. coli bacteria and mouse liver launched on SpaceX-7 in June 2015 and will remain on the ISS National Laboratory.

OSIRIS-REx and mission sample science: The return of at least 60 g of pristine regolith from asteroid Bennu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Connolly, H. C., Jr.; Lauretta, D. S.

2014-07-01

Introduction: The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) asteroid sample return mission was selected by NASA in May 2011 as the third New Frontiers mission. The target, (101955) Bennu, is a B-type near-Earth asteroid (NEA), hypothesized to be similar to CI or CM carbonaceous chondrites. The key science objectives of the mission are summarized in [1]. To meet these science objectives, the science team is coordinated and governed by the Science Executive Council (SEC): A group of six persons that run various elements of mission science. Mission Sample Science (MSS) is charged with analysis of the returned sample. Mission Sample Science: MSS is run by a Mission Scientist and composed of the following working groups: Carbonaceous Meteorite Working Group (CMWG), Dynamical Evolution Working Group (DEWG), Regolith Development Working Group (RDWG), Sample Analysis Working Group (SampleWG), Sample Site Science Working Group (SSSWG), and TAGSAM Working Group (TAGSAMWG). CMWG works to define and create well-characterized test samples, both natural and synthetic, for the development of spectral test data. These data are used to verify the depth and accuracy of spectral analysis techniques for processing data collected by the OSIRIS-REx spectrometers (OVIRS and OTES). The DEWG is charged with constraining the history of asteroid Bennu from main-belt asteroid to NEA. They also work closely with the SampleWG to define the hypotheses for the dynamical evolution of Bennu through the analysis of the returned sample. The RDWG is focused on developing constraints on the origin and evolution of regolith on Bennu through investigations of the surface geology and, working with the SampleWG, test these hypotheses through sample analysis. RDWG is also focused on the analysis of the sampling event and reconstructing what occurred during the event. SampleWG is focused on documenting Contamination Knowledge, which is distinct but related to mission Contamination Control. The main deliverable for this working group is the Sample Analysis Plan, due in 2019. Furthermore, it is this working group that is responsible for constituting the Preliminary Examination Team (PET) and performing the analyses of the returned sample during the first six months after return. SSSWG has the main deliverable of providing to the project the Science Value Maps (SVMs), which are part of the sample site selection process. If we can deliver the spacecraft to candidate sample sites, if it is safe to sample at them, and if there is material that can be ingested, SVMs will be a semi-quantitative aid in picking the optimum site to meet mission science goals. Finally, TAGSAM (Touch And Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism) is the sampler for the mission and this working group is concerned primarily with characterizing TAGSAM capabilities against a range of regolith types. Mission Sample Science provides an over-arching structure to reconstruct the pre- and post-accretion history of Bennu from the formation of pre-solar grains, chondrules, up to geological activity within the asteroid to its final dynamical evolution through analysis of the returned sample using a wide range of disciplines and expertise.

Heat Shield for Extreme Entry Environment Technology (HEEET)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Venkatapathy, Ethiraj

2017-01-01

The Heat Shield for Extreme Entry Environment Technology (HEEET) project seeks to mature a game changing Woven Thermal Protection System (TPS) technology to enable in situ robotic science missions recommended by the NASA Research Council Planetary Science Decadal Survey committee. Recommended science missions include Venus probes and landers; Saturn and Uranus probes; and high-speed sample return missions.

Phobos-Grunt: Russian sample return mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marov, M. Ya.; Avduevsky, V. S.; Akim, E. L.; Eneev, T. M.; Kremnev, R. S.; Kulikov, S. D.; Pichkhadze, K. M.; Popov, G. A.; Rogovsky, G. N.

2004-01-01

As an important milestone in the exploration of Mars and small bodies, a new generation space vehicle ``Phobos-Grunt'' is planned to be launched by the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. The project is optimized around a Phobos sample return mission and follow up missions targeted to study some main asteroid belt bodies, NEOs and short period comets. The principal constraint is use of the ``Soyuz-Fregat'' rather than the ``Proton'' launcher to accomplish these challenging goals. The vehicle design incorporates innovative SEP technology involving electrojet engines that allowed us to increase significantly the mission's energetic capabilities, as well as highly autonomous on-board systems. Basic criteria underlining the ``Phobos-Grunt'' mission scenario, scientific objectives and rationale including Mars observations during the vehicle's insertion into Mars orbit and Phobos approach maneuvers, are discussed and an opportunity for international cooperation is suggested.

Developing Tools and Technologies to Meet MSR Planetary Protection Requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, Ying

2013-01-01

This paper describes the tools and technologies that need to be developed for a Caching Rover mission in order to meet the overall Planetary Protection requirements for future Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign. This is the result of an eight-month study sponsored by the Mars Exploration Program Office. The goal of this study is to provide a future MSR project with a focused technology development plan for achieving the necessary planetary protection and sample integrity capabilities for a Mars Caching Rover mission.

Augmented Fish Health Monitoring; Volume II of II, Completion Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Michak, Patty

1991-12-01

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) initiated the Augmented Fish Health Monitoring project in 1986. This project was a five year interagency project involving fish rearing agencies in the Columbia Basin. Participating agencies included: Washington Department of Fisheries (WDF), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). This is the final data report for the Augmented Fish Health Monitoring project. Data collected and sampling results for 1990 and 1991 are presented within this report. An evaluation of this project can be found in Augmented Fish Health Monitoring, Volume 1,more » Completion Report.'' May, 1991. Pathogen detection methods remained the same from methods described in Augmented Fish Health Monitoring, Annual Report 1989,'' May, 1990. From January 1, 1990 to June 30, 1991 fish health monitoring sampling was conducted. In 1990 21 returning adult stocks were sampled. Juvenile pre-release exams were completed on 20 yearling releases, and 13 sub-yearling releases in 1990. In 1991 17 yearling releases and 11 sub-yearling releases were examined. Midterm sampling was completed on 19 stocks in 1990. Organosomatic analysis was performed at release on index station stocks; Cowlitz spring and fall chinook, Lewis river early coho and Lyons Ferry fall chinook.« less

X-38 Program Status/Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, Brian L.

2001-01-01

The X-38 Project consists of a series of experimental vehicles designed to provide the technical "blueprint" for the International Space Station's (ISS) Crew Return Vehicle (CRV). There are three atmospheric vehicles and one space flight vehicle in the program. Each vehicle is designed as a technical stepping stone for the next vehicle, with each new vehicle being more complex and advanced than it's predecessor. The X-38 project began in 1995 at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas at the direction of the NASA administrator. From the beginning, the project has had the CRY design validation as its ultimate goal. The CRY has three basic missions that drive the design that must be proven during the course of the X-38 Project: a) Emergency return of an ill or injured crew member. b) Emergency return of an entire ISS crew due to the inability of ISS to sustain life c) Planned return of an entire ISS crew due to the inability to re-supply the ISS or return the crew. The X-38 project must provide the blueprint for a vehicle that provides the capability for human return from space for all three of these design missions.

76 FR 30433 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Regulation Project

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2011-05-25

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The effects of microgravity on gene expression of Arabidopsis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Correll, Melanie; Stimpson, Alexander; Pereira, Rhea; Kiss, John Z.

TROPI (for TROPIsms) consisted of a series of experiments on the International Space Station to study the interaction between phototropism and gravitropism. As part of TROPI, we received frozen Arabidopsis seedlings from the ISS on three shuttle missions (STS-116, STS-117 and STS-120). These seedlings are being used for gene expression studies. Unfortunately, the quality of RNA returned from the first return mission was poor while that from the second and third missions were of high quality. This indicates that some environmental parameters were not maintained during first return mission since all of these samples were stored in the same location at -80° C on the ISS. Therefore, due to the loss during the first sample return, we had to develop new protocols to maximize RNA yields and optimize labeling techniques for microarray analysis. Using these new protocols, RNA was extracted from several sets of seedlings grown in various light treatments and µg levels and microarray analyses performed. Hundreds of genes were shown to be regulated in response to microgravity and include transcription factors (WRKY, MYB, ZF families) and those involved in plant hormone signaling (auxin, ethylene, and ABA responsive genes). The characterization of the regulated pathways and genes specific to gravity and light treatments is underway. (This project is Supported By: NASA NCC2-1200).

Formation of the portfolio of high-rise construction projects on the basis of optimization of «risk-return» rate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uvarova, Svetlana; Kutsygina, Olga; Smorodina, Elena; Gumba, Khuta

2018-03-01

The effectiveness and sustainability of an enterprise are based on the effectiveness and sustainability of its portfolio of projects. When creating a production program for a construction company based on a portfolio of projects and related to the planning and implementation of initiated organizational and economic changes, the problem of finding the optimal "risk-return" ratio of the program (portfolio of projects) is solved. The article proposes and approves the methodology of forming a portfolio of enterprise projects on the basis of the correspondence principle. Optimization of the portfolio of projects on the criterion of "risk-return" also contributes to the company's sustainability.

Propulsion Technology Development for Sample Return Missions Under NASA's ISPT Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, David J.; Pencil, Eric J.; Vento, Daniel; Dankanich, John W.; Munk, Michelle M.; Hahne, David

2011-01-01

The In-Space Propulsion Technology (ISPT) Program was tasked in 2009 to start development of propulsion technologies that would enable future sample return missions. Sample return missions could be quite varied, from collecting and bringing back samples of comets or asteroids, to soil, rocks, or atmosphere from planets or moons. The paper will describe the ISPT Program s propulsion technology development activities relevant to future sample return missions. The sample return propulsion technology development areas for ISPT are: 1) Sample Return Propulsion (SRP), 2) Planetary Ascent Vehicles (PAV), 3) Entry Vehicle Technologies (EVT), and 4) Systems/mission analysis and tools that focuses on sample return propulsion. The Sample Return Propulsion area is subdivided into: a) Electric propulsion for sample return and low cost Discovery-class missions, b) Propulsion systems for Earth Return Vehicles (ERV) including transfer stages to the destination, and c) Low TRL advanced propulsion technologies. The SRP effort will continue work on HIVHAC thruster development in FY2011 and then transitions into developing a HIVHAC system under future Electric Propulsion for sample return (ERV and transfer stages) and low-cost missions. Previous work on the lightweight propellant-tanks will continue under advanced propulsion technologies for sample return with direct applicability to a Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission and with general applicability to all future planetary spacecraft. A major effort under the EVT area is multi-mission technologies for Earth Entry Vehicles (MMEEV), which will leverage and build upon previous work related to Earth Entry Vehicles (EEV). The major effort under the PAV area is the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). The MAV is a new development area to ISPT, and builds upon and leverages the past MAV analysis and technology developments from the Mars Technology Program (MTP) and previous MSR studies.

Stardust Blazes MOA Trail

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Faris, Grant B.; Bryant, Larry W.

2010-01-01

Mission Operations Assurance (MOA) started at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with the Magellan and Galileo missions of the late 80's. It continued to develop and received a significant impetus with the failures of two successive missions to Mars in the late 90's. MOA continued to evolve with each successive project at JPL achieving its current maturity with the Stardust sample return to Earth.

Assisting persons living with HIV/AIDS to return to work: programmatic steps for AIDS service organizations.

PubMed

Brooks, R A; Klosinski, L E

1999-06-01

The objective of this study was to develop a comprehensive picture of the concerns and needs of persons living with HIV/AIDS who are interested in returning to work. To collect information in this new area, a series of focus groups was conducted with a random sample of clients from AIDS Project Los Angeles who were currently unemployed and expressed a desire to return to work. The results indicate a range of concerns among individuals with HIV/AIDS about returning to work, such as a loss of or change in medical benefits, the need for flexibility in employment to address ongoing medical needs, concerns regarding disclosure of their HIV/AIDS status, the possibility of job related discrimination, and the need to address the practical aspects of reentering the labor market after a prolonged absence. The findings suggest a series of action steps for AIDS service organizations and others to address the needs of persons with HIV/AIDS in this new area.

76 FR 77891 - Open Meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Return Processing Delays Project Committee

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Vision and Voyages: Lessons Learned from the Planetary Decadal Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Squyres, S. W.

2015-12-01

The most recent planetary decadal survey, entitled Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022, provided a detailed set of priorities for solar system exploration. Those priorities drew on broad input from the U.S. and international planetary science community. Using white papers, town hall meetings, and open meetings of the decadal committees, community views were solicited and a consensus began to emerge. The final report summarized that consensus. Like many past decadal reports, the centerpiece of Vision and Voyages was a set of priorities for future space flight projects. Two things distinguished this report from some previous decadals. First, conservative and independent cost estimates were obtained for all of the projects that were considered. These independent cost estimates, rather than estimates generated by project advocates, were used to judge each project's expected science return per dollar. Second, rather than simply accepting NASA's ten-year projection of expected funding for planetary exploration, decision rules were provided to guide program adjustments if actual funding did not follow projections. To date, NASA has closely followed decadal recommendations. In particular, the two highest priority "flagship" missions, a Mars rover to collect samples for return to Earth and a mission to investigate a possible ocean on Europa, are both underway. The talk will describe the planetary decadal process in detail, and provide a more comprehensive assessment of NASA's response to it.

Sample Returns Missions in the Coming Decade

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Desai, Prasun N.; Mitcheltree, Robert A.; Cheatwood, F. McNeil

2000-01-01

In the coming decade, several missions will attempt to return samples to Earth from varying parts of the solar system. These samples will provide invaluable insight into the conditions present during the early formation of the solar system, and possibly give clues to how life began on Earth. A description of five sample return missions is presented (Stardust, Genesis, Muses-C. Mars Sample Return, and Comet Nucleus Sample Return). An overview of each sample return mission is given, concentrating particularly on the technical challenges posed during the Earth entry, descent, and landing phase of the missions. Each mission faces unique challenges in the design of an Earth entry capsule. The design of the entry capsule must address the aerodynamic, heating, deceleration, landing, and recovery requirements for the safe return of samples to Earth.

Mars Sample Return Architecture Overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, C. D.; Vijendran, S.

2018-04-01

NASA and ESA are exploring potential concepts for a Sample Retrieval Lander and Earth Return Orbiter that could return samples planned to be collected and cached by the Mars 2020 rover mission. We provide an overview of the Mars Sample Return architecture.

Asteroid exploration and utilization: The Hawking explorer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carlson, Alan; Date, Medha; Duarte, Manny; Erian, Neil; Gafka, George; Kappler, Peter; Patano, Scott; Perez, Martin; Ponce, Edgar; Radovich, Brian

1991-01-01

The Earth is nearing depletion of its natural resources at a time when human beings are rapidly expanding the frontiers of space. The resources which may exist on asteroids could have enormous potential for aiding and enhancing human space exploration as well as life on Earth. With the possibly limitless opportunities that exist, it is clear that asteroids are the next step for human existence in space. This report comprises the efforts of NEW WORLDS, Inc. to develop a comprehensive design for an asteroid exploration/sample return mission. This mission is a precursor to proof-of-concept missions that will investigate the validity of mining and materials processing on an asteroid. Project STONER (Systematic Transfer of Near Earth Resources) is based on two utilization scenarios: (1) moving an asteroid to an advantageous location for use by Earth; and (2) mining an asteroids and transporting raw materials back to Earth. The asteroid explorer/sample return mission is designed in the context of both scenarios and is the first phase of a long range plane for humans to utilize asteroid resources. The report concentrates specifically on the selection of the most promising asteroids for exploration and the development of an exploration scenario. Future utilization as well as subsystem requirements of an asteroid sample return probe are also addressed.

Asteroid exploration and utilization: The Hawking explorer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carlson, Alan; Date, Medha; Duarte, Manny; Erian, Neil; Gafka, George; Kappler, Peter; Patano, Scott; Perez, Martin; Ponce, Edgar; Radovich, Brian

1991-12-01

The Earth is nearing depletion of its natural resources at a time when human beings are rapidly expanding the frontiers of space. The resources which may exist on asteroids could have enormous potential for aiding and enhancing human space exploration as well as life on Earth. With the possibly limitless opportunities that exist, it is clear that asteroids are the next step for human existence in space. This report comprises the efforts of NEW WORLDS, Inc. to develop a comprehensive design for an asteroid exploration/sample return mission. This mission is a precursor to proof-of-concept missions that will investigate the validity of mining and materials processing on an asteroid. Project STONER (Systematic Transfer of Near Earth Resources) is based on two utilization scenarios: (1) moving an asteroid to an advantageous location for use by Earth; and (2) mining an asteroids and transporting raw materials back to Earth. The asteroid explorer/sample return mission is designed in the context of both scenarios and is the first phase of a long range plane for humans to utilize asteroid resources. The report concentrates specifically on the selection of the most promising asteroids for exploration and the development of an exploration scenario. Future utilization as well as subsystem requirements of an asteroid sample return probe are also addressed.

Breaking Free of Sample Size Dogma to Perform Innovative Translational Research

PubMed Central

Bacchetti, Peter; Deeks, Steven G.; McCune, Joseph M.

2011-01-01

Innovative clinical and translational research is often delayed or prevented by reviewers’ expectations that any study performed in humans must be shown in advance to have high statistical power. This supposed requirement is not justifiable and is contradicted by the reality that increasing sample size produces diminishing marginal returns. Studies of new ideas often must start small (sometimes even with an N of 1) because of cost and feasibility concerns, and recent statistical work shows that small sample sizes for such research can produce more projected scientific value per dollar spent than larger sample sizes. Renouncing false dogma about sample size would remove a serious barrier to innovation and translation. PMID:21677197

Analysis of Returned Comet Nucleus Samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Sherwood

1997-12-01

This volume contains abstracts that have been accepted by the Program Committee for presentation at the Workshop on Analysis of Returned Comet Nucleus Samples, held in Milpitas, California, January 16-18, 1989. Conveners are Sherwood Chang (NASA Ames Research Center) and Larry Nyquist (NASA Johnson Space Center). Program Committee members are Thomas Ahrens (ex-officio; California Institute of Technology), Lou Allamandola (NASA Ames Research Center), David Blake (NASA Ames Research Center), Donald Brownlee (University of Washington, Seattle), Theodore E. Bunch (NASA Ames Research Center), Humberto Campins (Planetary Science Institute), Jeff Cuzzi (NASA Ames Research Center), Eberhard Griin (Max-Plank-Institut fiir Kemphysik), Martha Hanner (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Alan Harris (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), John Kerrid-e (University of Califomia, Los Angeles), Yves Langevin (University of Paris), Gerhard Schwehm (ESTEC), and Paul Weissman (Jet Propulsion Laboratory). Logistics and administrative support for the workshop were provided by the Lunar and Planetary Institute Projects Office.

Analysis of Returned Comet Nucleus Samples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chang, Sherwood (Compiler)

1997-01-01

This volume contains abstracts that have been accepted by the Program Committee for presentation at the Workshop on Analysis of Returned Comet Nucleus Samples, held in Milpitas, California, January 16-18, 1989. Conveners are Sherwood Chang (NASA Ames Research Center) and Larry Nyquist (NASA Johnson Space Center). Program Committee members are Thomas Ahrens (ex-officio; California Institute of Technology), Lou Allamandola (NASA Ames Research Center), David Blake (NASA Ames Research Center), Donald Brownlee (University of Washington, Seattle), Theodore E. Bunch (NASA Ames Research Center), Humberto Campins (Planetary Science Institute), Jeff Cuzzi (NASA Ames Research Center), Eberhard Griin (Max-Plank-Institut fiir Kemphysik), Martha Hanner (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Alan Harris (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), John Kerrid-e (University of Califomia, Los Angeles), Yves Langevin (University of Paris), Gerhard Schwehm (ESTEC), and Paul Weissman (Jet Propulsion Laboratory). Logistics and administrative support for the workshop were provided by the Lunar and Planetary Institute Projects Office.

Impact of lunar and planetary missions on the space station: Preliminary STS logistics report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

Space station requirements for lunar and planetary missions are discussed. Specific reference is made to projected Ceres and Kopff missions; Titan probes; Saturn and Mercury orbiters; and a Mars sample return mission. Such requirements as base design; station function; program definition; mission scenarios; uncertainties impact; launch manifest and mission schedule; and shuttle loads are considered. It is concluded that: (1) the impact of the planetary missions on the space station is not large when compared to the lunar base; (2) a quarantine module may be desirable for sample returns; (3) the Ceres and Kopff missions require the ability to stack and checkout two-stage OTVs; and (4) two to seven manweeks of on-orbit work are required of the station crew to launch a mission and, with the exception of the quarantine module, dedicated crew will not be required.

Products from NASA's In-Space Propulsion Technology Program Applicable to Low-Cost Planetary Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, David J.; Pencil, Eric; Vento, Daniel; Peterson, Todd; Dankanich, John; Hahne, David; Munk, Michelle M.

2011-01-01

Since September 2001 NASA s In-Space Propulsion Technology (ISPT) program has been developing technologies for lowering the cost of planetary science missions. Recently completed is the high-temperature Advanced Material Bipropellant Rocket (AMBR) engine providing higher performance for lower cost. Two other cost saving technologies nearing completion are the NEXT ion thruster and the Aerocapture technology project. Also under development are several technologies for low cost sample return missions. These include a low cost Hall effect thruster (HIVHAC) which will be completed in 2011, light weight propellant tanks, and a Multi-Mission Earth Entry Vehicle (MMEEV). This paper will discuss the status of the technology development, the cost savings or performance benefits, and applicability of these in-space propulsion technologies to NASA s future Discovery, and New Frontiers missions, as well as their relevance for sample return missions.

Mars Sample Return without Landing on the Surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jurewicz, A. J. G.; Jones, Steven M.; Yen, A. S.

2000-01-01

Many in the science community want a Mars sample return in the near future, with the expectation that it will provide in-depth information, significantly beyond what we know from remote sensing, limited in-situ measurements, and work with Martian meteorites. Certainly, return of samples from the Moon resulted in major advances in our understanding of both the geologic history of our planetary satellite, and its relationship to Earth. Similar scientific insights would be expected from analyses of samples returned from Mars. Unfortunately, Mars-lander sample-return missions have been delayed, for the reason that NASA needs more time to review the complexities and risks associated with that type of mission. A traditional sample return entails a complex transfer-chain, including landing, collection, launch, rendezvous, and the return to Earth, as well as an evaluation of potential biological hazards involved with bringing pristine Martian organics to Earth. There are, however, means of returning scientifically-rich samples from Mars without landing on the surface. This paper discusses an approach for returning intact samples of surface dust, based on known instrument technology, without using an actual Martian lander.

Rapid Electrochemical Detection and Identification of Microbiological and Chemical Contaminants for Manned Spaceflight Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pierson, Duane; Botkin, Douglas; Gazda, Daniel

2014-01-01

Microbial control in the spacecraft environment is a daunting task, especially in the presence of human crew members. Currently, assessing the potential crew health risk associated with a microbial contamination event requires return of representative environmental samples that are analyzed in a ground-based laboratory. It is therefore not currently possible to quickly identify microbes during spaceflight. This project addresses the unmet need for spaceflight-compatible microbial identification technology. The electrochemical detection and identification platform is expected to provide a sensitive, specific, and rapid sample-to-answer capability for in-flight microbial monitoring that can distinguish between related microorganisms (pathogens and non-pathogens) as well as chemical contaminants. This will dramatically enhance our ability to monitor the spacecraft environment and the health risk to the crew. Further, the project is expected to eliminate the need for sample return while significantly reducing crew time required for detection of multiple targets. Initial work will focus on the optimization of bacterial detection and identification. The platform is designed to release nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) from microorganisms without the use of harmful chemicals. Bacterial DNA or RNA is captured by bacteria-specific probe molecules that are bound to a microelectrode, and that capture event can generate a small change in the electrical current (Lam, et al. 2012. Anal. Chem. 84(1): 21-5.). This current is measured, and a determination is made whether a given microbe is present in the sample analyzed. Chemical detection can be accomplished by directly applying a sample to the microelectrode and measuring the resulting current change. This rapid microbial and chemical detection device is designed to be a low-cost, low-power platform anticipated to be operated independently of an external power source, characteristics optimal for manned spaceflight and areas where power and computing resources are scarce.

Status of NASA In-Space Propulsion Technologies and Their Infusion Potential

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, David; Pencil, Eric; Vento, Dan; Peterson, Todd; Dankanich, John; Hahne, David; Munk, Michelle

2011-01-01

Since 2001, the In-Space Propulsion Technology (ISPT) program has been developing in-space propulsion technologies that will enable or enhance NASA robotic science missions. These in-space propulsion technologies have broad applicability to future competed Discovery and New Frontiers mission solicitations, and are potentially enabling for future NASA flagship and sample return missions currently being considered. This paper provides status of the technology development of several in-space propulsion technologies that are ready for infusion into future missions. The technologies that are ready for flight infusion are: 1) the high-temperature Advanced Material Bipropellant Rocket (AMBR) engine providing higher performance; 2) NASA s Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) ion propulsion system, a 0.6-7 kW throttle-able gridded ion system; and 3) Aerocapture technology development with investments in a family of thermal protection system (TPS) materials and structures; guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) models of blunt-body rigid aeroshells; and aerothermal effect models. Two component technologies that will be ready for flight infusion in FY12/13 are 1) Advanced Xenon Flow Control System, and 2) ultra-lightweight propellant tank technology advancements and their infusion potential will be also discussed. The paper will also describe the ISPT project s future focus on propulsion for sample return missions: 1) Mars Ascent Vehicles (MAV); 2) multi-mission technologies for Earth Entry Vehicles (MMEEV) needed for sample return missions from many different destinations; and 3) electric propulsion for sample return and low cost missions. These technologies are more vehicle-focused, and present a different set of technology infusion challenges. Systems/Mission Analysis focused on developing tools and assessing the application of propulsion technologies to a wide variety of mission concepts.

Hayabusa Reentry and Recovery of Its Capsule -Quick Report

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawaguchi, Junichiro; Yoshikawa, Makoto; Kuninaka, Hitoshi

The Hayabusa spacecraft successfully returned to the Earth and re-entered into the atmosphere for sample recovery after also the successful touching-downs to NEO Itokawa in 2005. The reentry occurred on June 13th, and took place in Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA) of Australia. This paper presents how the reentry and recovery operations were performed, and also reports the current status about the sample curation activity. The Hayabusa mission aims at demonstrating key technologies requisite for future real Sample and Return missions. However, the spacecraft adopted the actual Sample and Return flight sequence and was designed to make a world's first round trip to an extra terrestrial object with touching-down and lifting-off. It is the spacecraft propelled by the ion engines aboard for interplanetary cruise. The Hayabusa spacecraft launched in May of 2003 reached NEO Itokawa in September of 2005 via Earth gravity assist in May of 2004. It stayed there for about two and a half months, and performed detailed scientific observation and mapping and determination of the shape. In November of 2005, the spacecraft made two touching-downs and lifting-offs having attempted collection of surface sample. At the second opportunity, the spacecraft directed shooting a projectile. But, due to the programming problem, presumably the projectile was not shot. However, the spacecraft may have captured some small amount of sample particles in a catcher aboard, when the spacecraft made actual touches down to the surface. The spacecraft suffered from fuel leak in December of 2005, and the communication resumed after seven weeks of hiatus. And the ion engines all faced their life by November of 2009, and the project team devised an alternative drive configuration and successfully coped with the difficulty. Despite many hardships, the spacecraft has been operated for return cruise, and it made a reentry for sample recovery this June. The sample catcher was retrieved at WPA and transported back to the curation facility of JAXA. Currently the curators have examined analyzed the catcher recovered. This presentation quickly reports recent status of the spacecraft, capsule and sample analysis.

77 FR 70835 - Centennial Challenges 2013 Sample Return Robot Challenge

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-27

... NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION Centennial Challenges 2013 Sample Return Robot...). SUMMARY: This notice is issued in accordance with 51 U.S.C. 20144(c). The 2013 Sample Return Robot.... The 2013 Sample Return Robot Challenge is a prize competition designed to encourage development of new...

Status of Sample Return Propulsion Technology Development Under NASA's ISPT Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, David J.; Glaab, Louis J.; Munk, Michelle M.; Pencil, Eric; Dankanich, John; Peterson, Todd T.

2012-01-01

The In-Space Propulsion Technology (ISPT) program was tasked in 2009 to start development of propulsion technologies that would enable future sample return missions. ISPT s sample return technology development areas are diverse. Sample Return Propulsion (SRP) addresses electric propulsion for sample return and low cost Discovery-class missions, propulsion systems for Earth Return Vehicles (ERV) including transfer stages to the destination, and low technology readiness level (TRL) advanced propulsion technologies. The SRP effort continues work on HIVHAC thruster development to transition into developing a Hall-effect propulsion system for sample return (ERV and transfer stages) and low-cost missions. Previous work on the lightweight propellant-tanks continues for sample return with direct applicability to a Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission with general applicability to all future planetary spacecraft. The Earth Entry Vehicle (EEV) work focuses on building a fundamental base of multi-mission technologies for Earth Entry Vehicles (MMEEV). The main focus of the Planetary Ascent Vehicles (PAV) area is technology development for the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), which builds upon and leverages the past MAV analysis and technology developments from the Mars Technology Program (MTP) and previous MSR studies

Simulation of investment returns of toll projects.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-08-01

This research develops a methodological framework to illustrate key stages in applying the simulation of investment returns of toll projects, acting as an example process of helping agencies conduct numerical risk analysis by taking certain uncertain...

Future Mission Proposal Opportunities: Discovery, New Frontiers, and Project Prometheus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Niebur, S. M.; Morgan, T. H.; Niebur, C. S.

2003-01-01

The NASA Office of Space Science is expanding opportunities to propose missions to comets, asteroids, and other solar system targets. The Discovery Program continues to be popular, with two sample return missions, Stardust and Genesis, currently in operation. The New Frontiers Program, a new proposal opportunity modeled on the successful Discovery Program, begins this year with the release of its first Announcement of Opportunity. Project Prometheus, a program to develop nuclear electric power and propulsion technology intended to enable a new class of high-power, high-capability investigations, is a third opportunity to propose solar system exploration. All three classes of mission include a commitment to provide data to the Planetary Data System, any samples to the NASA Curatorial Facility at Johnson Space Center, and programs for education and public outreach.

CORSAIR (COmet Rendezvous, Sample Acquisition, Investigation, and Return): A New Frontiers Mission Concept to Collect Samples from a Comet and Return Them to Earth for Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sandford, S. A.; Chabot, N. L.; Dello Russo, N.; Leary, J. C.; Reynolds, E. L.; Weaver, H. A.; Wooden, D. H.

2017-07-01

CORSAIR (COmet Rendezvous, Sample Acquisition, Investigation, and Return) is a mission concept submitted in response to NASA's New Frontiers 4 call. CORSAIR's proposed mission is to return comet nucleus samples to Earth for detailed analysis.

Trajectory Determination for Chang 'e-3 Probe Soft-landing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yezhi, S.; Huang, Y.

2017-12-01

On December 2, 2013, The Chang 'e-3 (ce-3) probe was successfully launched from a long march-3b carrier rocket at Xichang satellite launch center. After more than five days of flying, the probe was captured by the moon to 100 km by 100 km. The orbit maneuvered to 15 km by 100 km 4 days later. Finally, at 21:12 Beijing time on December 14, 2013, it landed at the junction of the Sinus Iridum and Mare Imbrium. In the ce-3 project, the combined test mode of the radio ranging measurement and very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) was used. The soft-landing was carried out in ce-3 mission for the sampling .The paper presents a new method of trajectory determination for soft landing and sampling returning for lunar probe by B spline approximation. By simulation and data processing of Chang'E-3(CE-3), it could be assumed that the accuracy of trajectory determination of soft landing is less than 100 meters in CE-3. It appears that the difference between the endpoint of trajectory and the location from image processed by NASA'S LRO is less than 50m .It confirms the method of soft landing trajectory determination provided by the paper is effective. The paper analyzes the dynamics and control characteristics of the sampling returning, provides the preliminary feasible trajectory determination method for soft landing and sampling return of Chang'E-5 (CE - 5).

An Efficient Approach for Mars Sample Return Using Emerging Commercial Capabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gonzales, Andrew A.; Stoker, Carol R.

2016-01-01

Mars Sample Return is the highest priority science mission for the next decade as recommended by the 2011 Decadal Survey of Planetary Science. This article presents the results of a feasibility study for a Mars Sample Return mission that efficiently uses emerging commercial capabilities expected to be available in the near future. The motivation of our study was the recognition that emerging commercial capabilities might be used to perform Mars Sample Return with an Earth-direct architecture, and that this may offer a desirable simpler and lower cost approach. The objective of the study was to determine whether these capabilities can be used to optimize the number of mission systems and launches required to return the samples, with the goal of achieving the desired simplicity. All of the major element required for the Mars Sample Return mission are described. Mission system elements were analyzed with either direct techniques or by using parametric mass estimating relationships. The analysis shows the feasibility of a complete and closed Mars Sample Return mission design based on the following scenario: A SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch vehicle places a modified version of a SpaceX Dragon capsule, referred to as "Red Dragon", onto a Trans Mars Injection trajectory. The capsule carries all the hardware needed to return to Earth Orbit samples collected by a prior mission, such as the planned NASA Mars 2020 sample collection rover. The payload includes a fully fueled Mars Ascent Vehicle; a fueled Earth Return Vehicle, support equipment, and a mechanism to transfer samples from the sample cache system onboard the rover to the Earth Return Vehicle. The Red Dragon descends to land on the surface of Mars using Supersonic Retropropulsion. After collected samples are transferred to the Earth Return Vehicle, the single-stage Mars Ascent Vehicle launches the Earth Return Vehicle from the surface of Mars to a Mars phasing orbit. After a brief phasing period, the Earth Return Vehicle performs a Trans Earth Injection burn. Once near Earth, the Earth Return Vehicle performs Earth and lunar swing-bys and is placed into a Lunar Trailing Orbit - an Earth orbit, at lunar distance. A retrieval mission then performs a rendezvous with the Earth Return Vehicle, retrieves the sample container, and breaks the chain of contact with Mars by transferring the sample into a sterile and secure container. With the sample contained, the retrieving spacecraft makes a controlled Earth re-entry preventing any unintended release of Martian materials into the Earth's biosphere. The mission can start in any one of three Earth to Mars launch opportunities, beginning in 2022.

Cost-Savings Analysis of the Better Beginnings, Better Futures Community-Based Project for Young Children and Their Families: A 10-Year Follow-up.

PubMed

Peters, Ray DeV; Petrunka, Kelly; Khan, Shahriar; Howell-Moneta, Angela; Nelson, Geoffrey; Pancer, S Mark; Loomis, Colleen

2016-02-01

This study examined the long-term cost-savings of the Better Beginnings, Better Futures (BBBF) initiative, a community-based early intervention project for young children living in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods during their transition to primary school. A quasi-experimental, longitudinal two-group design was used to compare costs and outcomes for children and families in three BBBF project neighborhoods (n = 401) and two comparison neighborhoods (n = 225). A cost-savings analysis was conducted using all project costs for providing up to 4 years of BBBF programs when children were in junior kindergarten (JK) (4 years old) to grade 2 (8 years old). Data on 19 government service cost measures were collected from the longitudinal research sample from the time the youth were in JK through to grade 12 (18 years old), 10 years after ending project participation. The average family incremental net savings to government of providing the BBBF project was $6331 in 2014 Canadian dollars. When the BBBF monetary return to government as a ratio of savings to costs was calculated, for every dollar invested by the government, a return of $2.50 per family was saved. Findings from this study have important implications for government investments in early interventions focused on a successful transition to primary school as well as parenting programs and community development initiatives in support of children's development.

NASA Curation Preparation for Ryugu Sample Returned by JAXA's Hayabusa2 Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nakamura-Messenger, Keiko; Righter, Kevin; Snead, Christopher J.; McCubbin, Francis M.; Pace, Lisa F.; Zeigler, Ryan A.; Evans, Cindy

2017-01-01

The NASA OSIRIS-REx and JAXA Hayabusa2 missions to near-Earth asteroids Bennu and Ryugu share similar mission goals of understanding the origins of primitive, organic-rich asteroids. Under an agreement between JAXA and NASA, there is an on-going and productive collaboration between science teams of Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS-REx missions. Under this agreement, a portion of each of the returned sample masses will be exchanged between the agencies and the scientific results of their study will be shared. NASA’s portion of the returned Hayabusa2 sample, consisting of 10% of the returned mass, will be jointly separated by NASA and JAXA. The sample will be legally and physically transferred to NASA’s dedicated Hayabusa2 curation facility at Johnson Space Center (JSC) no later than one year after the return of the Hayabusa2 sample to Earth (December 2020). The JSC Hayabusa2 curation cleanroom facility design has now been completed. In the same manner, JAXA will receive 0.5% of the total returned OSIRIS-REx sample (minimum required sample to return 60 g, maximum sample return capacity of 2 kg) from the rest of the specimen. No later than one year after the return of the OSIRIS-REx sample to Earth (September 2023), legal, physical, and permanent custody of this sample subset will be transferred to JAXA, and the sample subset will be brought to JAXA’s Extraterrestrial Sample Curation Center (ESCuC) at Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Sagamihara City Japan.

Habitation Module Technology for Mars Sample Preservation and Return

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Humphries., Peter.; Barez., Fred.; Brant., Tom.; Gutti Shashidhar Gowda., Aishwarya.

2018-04-01

Lunar-Mars sample return is of interest to the space community such as NASA, ESA, and private industry. Collected samples of Mars need to be preserved and properly treated in returnable cache, packed to stop back-contamination prior to the return mission.

Organic Contamination Baseline Study in NASA Johnson Space Center Astromaterials Curation Laboratories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calaway, Michael J.; Allen, Carlton C.; Allton, Judith H.

2014-01-01

Future robotic and human spaceflight missions to the Moon, Mars, asteroids, and comets will require curating astromaterial samples with minimal inorganic and organic contamination to preserve the scientific integrity of each sample. 21st century sample return missions will focus on strict protocols for reducing organic contamination that have not been seen since the Apollo manned lunar landing program. To properly curate these materials, the Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office under the Astromaterial Research and Exploration Science Directorate at NASA Johnson Space Center houses and protects all extraterrestrial materials brought back to Earth that are controlled by the United States government. During fiscal year 2012, we conducted a year-long project to compile historical documentation and laboratory tests involving organic investigations at these facilities. In addition, we developed a plan to determine the current state of organic cleanliness in curation laboratories housing astromaterials. This was accomplished by focusing on current procedures and protocols for cleaning, sample handling, and storage. While the intention of this report is to give a comprehensive overview of the current state of organic cleanliness in JSC curation laboratories, it also provides a baseline for determining whether our cleaning procedures and sample handling protocols need to be adapted and/or augmented to meet the new requirements for future human spaceflight and robotic sample return missions.

Engaging College Students at Two-year Campuses in Aerospace Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dirienzo, William

2018-01-01

College students at two-year campuses have unique challenges to their learning and are often "nontraditional" students, including first-generation and/or returning adult students. They have little or no exposure to research, related to science and aerospace or otherwise, and so they do not think of these fields as possible careers or understand how the disciplines operate. Exposing these students to real research projects, especially ones that include rocket payloads, have a dramatic effect on the interests and academic success of students. Projects such as these can be quite large and expensive, perhaps prohibitively so for small institutions. We engaged a group of these students through the RockOn and RockSat programs lead by the Colorado Space Grant Consortium, which are programs for postsecondary students to access space with relatively easy access and low cost. The student team designed, built, and flew a scientific payload on a suborbital sounding rocket launched at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The experiment sent E. coli DNA samples into space to assess the damage and measured the radiation exposure with and without radiation shielding, and assessed the samples for DNA damage upon their return. We report on the process and the effects on the students as part of their experience.

Simple, Defensible Sample Sizes Based on Cost Efficiency

PubMed Central

Bacchetti, Peter; McCulloch, Charles E.; Segal, Mark R.

2009-01-01

Summary The conventional approach of choosing sample size to provide 80% or greater power ignores the cost implications of different sample size choices. Costs, however, are often impossible for investigators and funders to ignore in actual practice. Here, we propose and justify a new approach for choosing sample size based on cost efficiency, the ratio of a study’s projected scientific and/or practical value to its total cost. By showing that a study’s projected value exhibits diminishing marginal returns as a function of increasing sample size for a wide variety of definitions of study value, we are able to develop two simple choices that can be defended as more cost efficient than any larger sample size. The first is to choose the sample size that minimizes the average cost per subject. The second is to choose sample size to minimize total cost divided by the square root of sample size. This latter method is theoretically more justifiable for innovative studies, but also performs reasonably well and has some justification in other cases. For example, if projected study value is assumed to be proportional to power at a specific alternative and total cost is a linear function of sample size, then this approach is guaranteed either to produce more than 90% power or to be more cost efficient than any sample size that does. These methods are easy to implement, based on reliable inputs, and well justified, so they should be regarded as acceptable alternatives to current conventional approaches. PMID:18482055

Integrated science and engineering for the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lauretta, D.

2014-07-01

Introduction: The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) asteroid sample return mission will survey near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu to understand its physical, mineralogical, and chemical properties, assess its resource potential, refine the impact hazard, and return a sample of this body to the Earth [1]. This mission is scheduled for launch in 2016 and will rendezvous with the asteroid in 2018. Sample return to the Earth follows in 2023. The OSIRIS-REx mission has the challenge of visiting asteroid Bennu, characterizing it at global and local scales, then selecting the best site on the asteroid surface to acquire a sample for return to the Earth. Minimizing the risk of exploring an unknown world requires a tight integration of science and engineering to inform flight system and mission design. Defining the Asteroid Environment: We have performed an extensive astronomical campaign in support of OSIRIS-REx. Lightcurve and phase function observations were obtained with UA Observatories telescopes located in southeastern Arizona during the 2005--2006 and 2011--2012 apparitions [2]. We observed Bennu using the 12.6-cm radar at the Arecibo Observatory in 1999, 2005, and 2011 and the 3.5-cm radar at the Goldstone tracking station in 1999 and 2005 [3]. We conducted near-infrared measurements using the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii in September 2005 [4]. Additional spectral observations were obtained in July 2011 and May 2012 with the Magellan 6.5-m telescope [5]. We used the Spitzer space telescope to observe Bennu in May 2007 [6]. The extensive knowledge gained as a result of our telescopic characterization of Bennu was critical in the selection of this object as the OSIRIS-REx mission target. In addition, we use these data, combined with models of the asteroid, to constrain over 100 different asteroid parameters covering orbital, bulk, rotational, radar, photometric, spectroscopic, thermal, regolith, and asteroid environmental properties. We have captured this information in a mission configuration-controlled document called the Design Reference Asteroid. This information is used across the project to establish the environmental requirements for the flight system and for overall mission design. Maintaining a Pristine Sample: OSIRIS-REx is driven by the top-level science objective to return >60 g of pristine, carbonaceous regolith from asteroid Bennu. We define a "pristine sample" to mean that no foreign material introduced into the sample hampers our scientific analysis. Basically, we know that some contamination will take place --- we just have to document it so that we can subtract it from our analysis of the returned sample. Engineering contamination requirements specify cleanliness in terms of particle counts and thin- films residues --- scientists define it in terms of bulk elemental and organic abundances. After initial discussions with our Contamination Engineers, we agreed on known, albeit challenging, particle and thin-film contamination levels for the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) and the Sample Return Capsule. These levels are achieved using established cleaning procedures while minimizing interferences for sample analysis. Selecting a Sample Site: The Sample Site Selection decision is based on four key data products: Deliverability, Safety, Sampleability, and Science Value Maps. Deliverability quantifies the probability that the Flight Dynamics team can deliver the spacecraft to the desired location on the asteroid surface. Safety maps assess candidate sites against the capabilities of the spacecraft. Sampleability requires an assessment of the asteroid surface properties vs. TAGSAM capabilities. Scientific value maximizes the probability that the collected sample contains organics and volatiles and can be placed in a geological context definitive enough to determine sample history. Science and engineering teams work collaboratively to produce these key decision-making maps.

Low-Income Community Solar: Utility Return Considerations for Electric Cooperatives

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aznar, Alexandra Y; Gagne, Douglas A

The objective of this short report is to identify project structures that make low-income community solar projects more cost-effective, replicable, and scalable, for electric cooperative and municipal utilities. This report explores the tradeoffs between providing energy bill savings for low-income subscribers and utility project returns, as well as some of the key lessons learned from existing successful low-income community solar pilot projects.

The NASA Bed Rest Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rhodes, Bradley; Meck, Janice

2005-01-01

NASA s National Vision for Space Exploration includes human travel beyond low earth orbit and the ultimate safe return of the crews. Crucial to fulfilling the vision is the successful and timely development of countermeasures for the adverse physiological effects on human systems caused by long term exposure to the microgravity environment. Limited access to in-flight resources for the foreseeable future increases NASA s reliance on ground-based analogs to simulate these effects of microgravity. The primary analog for human based research will be head-down bed rest. By this approach NASA will be able to evaluate countermeasures in large sample sizes, perform preliminary evaluations of proposed in-flight protocols and assess the utility of individual or combined strategies before flight resources are requested. In response to this critical need, NASA has created the Bed Rest Project at the Johnson Space Center. The Project establishes the infrastructure and processes to provide a long term capability for standardized domestic bed rest studies and countermeasure development. The Bed Rest Project design takes a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, integrated approach that reduces the resource overhead of one investigator for one campaign. In addition to integrating studies operationally relevant for exploration, the Project addresses other new Vision objectives, namely: 1) interagency cooperation with the NIH allows for Clinical Research Center (CRC) facility sharing to the benefit of both agencies, 2) collaboration with our International Partners expands countermeasure development opportunities for foreign and domestic investigators as well as promotes consistency in approach and results, 3) to the greatest degree possible, the Project also advances research by clinicians and academia alike to encourage return to earth benefits. This paper will describe the Project s top level goals, organization and relationship to other Exploration Vision Projects, implementation strategy, address Project deliverables, schedules and provide a status of bed rest campaigns presently underway.

Sample Curation at a Lunar Outpost

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, Carlton C.; Lofgren, Gary E.; Treiman, A. H.; Lindstrom, Marilyn L.

2007-01-01

The six Apollo surface missions returned 2,196 individual rock and soil samples, with a total mass of 381.6 kg. Samples were collected based on visual examination by the astronauts and consultation with geologists in the science back room in Houston. The samples were photographed during collection, packaged in uniquely-identified containers, and transported to the Lunar Module. All samples collected on the Moon were returned to Earth. NASA's upcoming return to the Moon will be different. Astronauts will have extended stays at an out-post and will collect more samples than they will return. They will need curation and analysis facilities on the Moon in order to carefully select samples for return to Earth.

78 FR 49296 - Centennial Challenges 2014 Sample Return Robot Challenge

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-13

... Return Robot Challenge AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). ACTION: Notice of Centennial Challenges 2014 Sample Return Robot Challenge. SUMMARY: This notice is issued in accordance with 51 U.S.C. 20144(c). The 2014 Sample Return Robot Challenge is scheduled and teams that wish to...

76 FR 56819 - Centennial Challenges 2012 Sample Return Robot Challenge

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-14

... Return Robot Challenge AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This notice is issued in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 2451(314)(d). The 2012 Sample Return Robot.... The 2012 Sample Return Robot Challenge is a prize competition designed to encourage development of new...

Development of a consensus approach for return of pathology incidental findings in the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project.

PubMed

Lockhart, Nicole C; Weil, Carol J; Carithers, Latarsha J; Koester, Susan E; Little, A Roger; Volpi, Simona; Moore, Helen M; Berkman, Benjamin E

2018-06-14

The active debate about the return of incidental or secondary findings in research has primarily focused on return to research participants, or in some cases, family members. Particular attention has been paid to return of genomic findings. Yet, research may generate other types of findings that warrant consideration for return, including findings related to the pathology of donated biospecimens. In the case of deceased biospecimen donors who are also organ and/or tissue transplant donors, pathology incidental findings may be relevant not to family members, but to potential organ or tissue transplant recipients. This paper will describe the ethical implications of pathology incidental findings in the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project, the process for developing a consensus approach as to if/when such findings should be returned, possible implications for other research projects collecting postmortem tissues and how the scenario encountered in GTEx fits into the larger return of results/incidental findings debate. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

An efficient approach for Mars Sample Return using emerging commercial capabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzales, Andrew A.; Stoker, Carol R.

2016-06-01

Mars Sample Return is the highest priority science mission for the next decade as recommended by the 2011 Decadal Survey of Planetary Science (Squyres, 2011 [1]). This article presents the results of a feasibility study for a Mars Sample Return mission that efficiently uses emerging commercial capabilities expected to be available in the near future. The motivation of our study was the recognition that emerging commercial capabilities might be used to perform Mars Sample Return with an Earth-direct architecture, and that this may offer a desirable simpler and lower cost approach. The objective of the study was to determine whether these capabilities can be used to optimize the number of mission systems and launches required to return the samples, with the goal of achieving the desired simplicity. All of the major element required for the Mars Sample Return mission are described. Mission system elements were analyzed with either direct techniques or by using parametric mass estimating relationships. The analysis shows the feasibility of a complete and closed Mars Sample Return mission design based on the following scenario: A SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch vehicle places a modified version of a SpaceX Dragon capsule, referred to as ;Red Dragon;, onto a Trans Mars Injection trajectory. The capsule carries all the hardware needed to return to Earth Orbit samples collected by a prior mission, such as the planned NASA Mars 2020 sample collection rover. The payload includes a fully fueled Mars Ascent Vehicle; a fueled Earth Return Vehicle, support equipment, and a mechanism to transfer samples from the sample cache system onboard the rover to the Earth Return Vehicle. The Red Dragon descends to land on the surface of Mars using Supersonic Retropropulsion. After collected samples are transferred to the Earth Return Vehicle, the single-stage Mars Ascent Vehicle launches the Earth Return Vehicle from the surface of Mars to a Mars phasing orbit. After a brief phasing period, the Earth Return Vehicle performs a Trans Earth Injection burn. Once near Earth, the Earth Return Vehicle performs Earth and lunar swing-bys and is placed into a Lunar Trailing Orbit-an Earth orbit, at lunar distance. A retrieval mission then performs a rendezvous with the Earth Return Vehicle, retrieves the sample container, and breaks the chain of contact with Mars by transferring the sample into a sterile and secure container. With the sample contained, the retrieving spacecraft makes a controlled Earth re-entry preventing any unintended release of Martian materials into the Earth's biosphere. The mission can start in any one of three Earth to Mars launch opportunities, beginning in 2022.

An Efficient Approach for Mars Sample Return Using Emerging Commercial Capabilities.

PubMed

Gonzales, Andrew A; Stoker, Carol R

2016-06-01

Mars Sample Return is the highest priority science mission for the next decade as recommended by the 2011 Decadal Survey of Planetary Science [1]. This article presents the results of a feasibility study for a Mars Sample Return mission that efficiently uses emerging commercial capabilities expected to be available in the near future. The motivation of our study was the recognition that emerging commercial capabilities might be used to perform Mars Sample Return with an Earth-direct architecture, and that this may offer a desirable simpler and lower cost approach. The objective of the study was to determine whether these capabilities can be used to optimize the number of mission systems and launches required to return the samples, with the goal of achieving the desired simplicity. All of the major element required for the Mars Sample Return mission are described. Mission system elements were analyzed with either direct techniques or by using parametric mass estimating relationships. The analysis shows the feasibility of a complete and closed Mars Sample Return mission design based on the following scenario: A SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch vehicle places a modified version of a SpaceX Dragon capsule, referred to as "Red Dragon", onto a Trans Mars Injection trajectory. The capsule carries all the hardware needed to return to Earth Orbit samples collected by a prior mission, such as the planned NASA Mars 2020 sample collection rover. The payload includes a fully fueled Mars Ascent Vehicle; a fueled Earth Return Vehicle, support equipment, and a mechanism to transfer samples from the sample cache system onboard the rover to the Earth Return Vehicle. The Red Dragon descends to land on the surface of Mars using Supersonic Retropropulsion. After collected samples are transferred to the Earth Return Vehicle, the single-stage Mars Ascent Vehicle launches the Earth Return Vehicle from the surface of Mars to a Mars phasing orbit. After a brief phasing period, the Earth Return Vehicle performs a Trans Earth Injection burn. Once near Earth, the Earth Return Vehicle performs Earth and lunar swing-bys and is placed into a Lunar Trailing Orbit - an Earth orbit, at lunar distance. A retrieval mission then performs a rendezvous with the Earth Return Vehicle, retrieves the sample container, and breaks the chain of contact with Mars by transferring the sample into a sterile and secure container. With the sample contained, the retrieving spacecraft makes a controlled Earth re-entry preventing any unintended release of Martian materials into the Earth's biosphere. The mission can start in any one of three Earth to Mars launch opportunities, beginning in 2022.

An Efficient Approach for Mars Sample Return Using Emerging Commercial Capabilities

PubMed Central

Gonzales, Andrew A.; Stoker, Carol R.

2016-01-01

Mars Sample Return is the highest priority science mission for the next decade as recommended by the 2011 Decadal Survey of Planetary Science [1]. This article presents the results of a feasibility study for a Mars Sample Return mission that efficiently uses emerging commercial capabilities expected to be available in the near future. The motivation of our study was the recognition that emerging commercial capabilities might be used to perform Mars Sample Return with an Earth-direct architecture, and that this may offer a desirable simpler and lower cost approach. The objective of the study was to determine whether these capabilities can be used to optimize the number of mission systems and launches required to return the samples, with the goal of achieving the desired simplicity. All of the major element required for the Mars Sample Return mission are described. Mission system elements were analyzed with either direct techniques or by using parametric mass estimating relationships. The analysis shows the feasibility of a complete and closed Mars Sample Return mission design based on the following scenario: A SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch vehicle places a modified version of a SpaceX Dragon capsule, referred to as “Red Dragon”, onto a Trans Mars Injection trajectory. The capsule carries all the hardware needed to return to Earth Orbit samples collected by a prior mission, such as the planned NASA Mars 2020 sample collection rover. The payload includes a fully fueled Mars Ascent Vehicle; a fueled Earth Return Vehicle, support equipment, and a mechanism to transfer samples from the sample cache system onboard the rover to the Earth Return Vehicle. The Red Dragon descends to land on the surface of Mars using Supersonic Retropropulsion. After collected samples are transferred to the Earth Return Vehicle, the single-stage Mars Ascent Vehicle launches the Earth Return Vehicle from the surface of Mars to a Mars phasing orbit. After a brief phasing period, the Earth Return Vehicle performs a Trans Earth Injection burn. Once near Earth, the Earth Return Vehicle performs Earth and lunar swing-bys and is placed into a Lunar Trailing Orbit - an Earth orbit, at lunar distance. A retrieval mission then performs a rendezvous with the Earth Return Vehicle, retrieves the sample container, and breaks the chain of contact with Mars by transferring the sample into a sterile and secure container. With the sample contained, the retrieving spacecraft makes a controlled Earth re-entry preventing any unintended release of Martian materials into the Earth’s biosphere. The mission can start in any one of three Earth to Mars launch opportunities, beginning in 2022. PMID:27642199

STARDUST and HAYABUSA: Sample Return Missions to Small Bodies in the Solar System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sandford, S. A.

2005-01-01

There are currently two active spacecraft missions designed to return samples to Earth from small bodies in our Solar System. STARDUST will return samples from the comet Wild 2, and HAYABUSA will return samples from the asteroid Itokawa. On January 3,2004, the STARDUST spacecraft made the closest ever flyby (236 km) of the nucleus of a comet - Comet Wild 2. During the flyby the spacecraft collected samples of dust from the coma of the comet. These samples will be returned to Earth on January 15,2006. After a brief preliminary examination to establish the nature of the returned samples, they will be made available to the general scientific community for study. The HAYABUSA spacecraft arrived at the Near Earth Asteroid Itokawa in September 2005 and is currently involved in taking remote sensing data from the asteroid. Several practice landings have been made and a sample collection landing will be made soon. The collected sample will be returned to Earth in June 2007. During my talk I will discuss the scientific goals of the STARDUST and HAYABUSA missions and provide an overview of their designs and flights to date. I will also show some of the exciting data returned by these spacecraft during their encounters with their target objects.

Non-destructive sampling of a comet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jessberger, H. L.; Kotthaus, M.

1991-04-01

Various conditions which must be met for the development of a nondestructive sampling and acquisition system are outlined and the development of a new robotic sampling system suited for use on a cometary surface is briefly discussed. The Rosetta mission of ESA will take samples of a comet nucleus and return both core and volatile samples to earth. Various considerations which must be taken into account for such a project are examined including the identification of design parameters for sample quality; the identification of the most probable site conditions; the development of a sample acquisition system with respect to these conditions; the production of model materials and model conditions; and the investigation of the relevant material properties. An adequate sampling system should also be designed and built, including various tools, and the system should be tested under simulated cometary conditions.

Sample Handling Considerations for a Europa Sample Return Mission: An Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fries, M. D.; Calaway, M. L.; Evans, C. A.; McCubbin, F. M.

2015-01-01

The intent of this abstract is to provide a basic overview of mission requirements for a generic Europan plume sample return mission, based on NASA Curation experience in NASA sample return missions ranging from Apollo to OSIRIS-REx. This should be useful for mission conception and early stage planning. We will break the mission down into Outbound and Return legs and discuss them separately.

Consideration of sample return and the exploration strategy for Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bogard, D. C.; Duke, M. B.; Gibson, E. K.; Minear, J. W.; Nyquist, L. E.; Phinney, W. C.

1979-01-01

The scientific rationale and requirements for a Mars surface sample return were examined and the experience gained from the analysis and study of the returned lunar samples were incorporated into the science requirements and engineering design for the Mars sample return mission. The necessary data sets for characterizing Mars are presented. If further analyses of surface samples are to be made, the best available method is for the analysis to be conducted in terrestrial laboratories.

Intimate Partner Violence Exposure, Salivary Cortisol, and Childhood Asthma

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bair-Merritt, Megan H.; Johnson, Sara B.; Okelo, Sande; Page, Gayle

2012-01-01

Parents were given supplies to collect 3 child salivary cortisol samples (awakening, 30-min after awakening, bedtime) at home on a typical day, and return them via mail. Medical records also were abstracted. Results: Fifty-three percent (n = 29) returned child salivary samples. Families who returned samples typically returned them within 2 weeks,…

Sampling probability distributions of lesions in mammograms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Looney, P.; Warren, L. M.; Dance, D. R.; Young, K. C.

2015-03-01

One approach to image perception studies in mammography using virtual clinical trials involves the insertion of simulated lesions into normal mammograms. To facilitate this, a method has been developed that allows for sampling of lesion positions across the cranio-caudal and medio-lateral radiographic projections in accordance with measured distributions of real lesion locations. 6825 mammograms from our mammography image database were segmented to find the breast outline. The outlines were averaged and smoothed to produce an average outline for each laterality and radiographic projection. Lesions in 3304 mammograms with malignant findings were mapped on to a standardised breast image corresponding to the average breast outline using piecewise affine transforms. A four dimensional probability distribution function was found from the lesion locations in the cranio-caudal and medio-lateral radiographic projections for calcification and noncalcification lesions. Lesion locations sampled from this probability distribution function were mapped on to individual mammograms using a piecewise affine transform which transforms the average outline to the outline of the breast in the mammogram. The four dimensional probability distribution function was validated by comparing it to the two dimensional distributions found by considering each radiographic projection and laterality independently. The correlation of the location of the lesions sampled from the four dimensional probability distribution function across radiographic projections was shown to match the correlation of the locations of the original mapped lesion locations. The current system has been implemented as a web-service on a server using the Python Django framework. The server performs the sampling, performs the mapping and returns the results in a javascript object notation format.

Integrating Public Perspectives in Sample Return Planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Race, Margaret S.; MacGregor, G.

2001-01-01

Planning for extraterrestrial sample returns, whether from Mars or other solar system bodies, must be done in a way that integrates planetary protection concerns with the usual mission technical and scientific considerations. Understanding and addressing legitimate societal concerns about the possible risks of sample return will be a critical part of the public decision making process ahead. This paper presents the results of two studies, one with lay audiences, the other with expert microbiologists, designed to gather information, on attitudes and concerns about sample return risks and planetary protection. Focus group interviews with lay subjects, using generic information about Mars sample return and a preliminary environmental impact assessment, were designed to obtain an indication of how the factual content is perceived and understood by the public. A research survey of microbiologists gathered information on experts' views and attitudes about sample return, risk management approaches and space exploration risks. These findings, combined with earlier research results on risk perception, will be useful in identifying levels of concern and potential conflicts in understanding between experts and the public about sample return risks. The information will be helpful in guiding development of the environmental impact statement and also has applicability to proposals for sample return from other solar system bodies where scientific uncertainty about extraterrestrial life may persist at the time of mission planning.

Measures which host countries and countries of origin could adopt to promote the return of migrants.

PubMed

Debart, M H

1986-03-01

The immigration wave in the 1960s and 1970s brought scores of migrants to Europe. Most intended to work a few years in a foreign country and return to their homeland; however, poor economies in their own countries discouraged their return. At the same time, jobs became scarcer in their host countries. Several European countries today are resorting to measures designed to promote the return of migrants to their countries of origin. This paper outlines the two major options open to governments in their reintegration efforts. Option 1 requires instituting a definite reintegration policy. Public aid to promote reintegration may be provided. For example, the French give aid contingent upon the return of foreign workers in the labor force to the country of origin and not just upon their departure from the host country. Classical methods pay conpensation to the foreign worker; the problem then is to determine at what point to limit the funds. It must be decided whether or not unemployment benefits should be capitalized and whether or not to reimburse social security and old age contributions. It is also desirable for foreign workers to have access to a specialized organization which is able to advise them on setting up a project or business on their return; ideally, this organization should finance the project. Perhaps the best solution is to enlist participation of the governments of the countries of origin to make job openings known to their nationals desiring to return. Option 2 requires that reintegration be introduced into other economic and social programs. Returning foreign workers would be included as a factor in overall policy planning. Vocational training for return migrants could be proposed to job seekers as well as to dismissed workers. A portion of money used to finance housing projects could be earmarked for construction or reservation of housing in the country of origin. Bilateral vocational training programs can be addressed to nationals who want to return home. A portion of bilateral public development aid may also be used in support of reintegration projects. Finally, it should be possible to propose small development projects in the country of origin for nationals desiring to return.

Ka-Band Link Study and Analysis for a Mars Hybrid RF/Optical Software Defined Radio

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zeleznikar, Daniel J.; Nappier, Jennifer M.; Downey, Joseph A.

2014-01-01

The integrated radio and optical communications (iROC) project at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) is investigating the feasibility of a hybrid RF and optical communication subsystem for future deep space missions. The hybrid communications subsystem enables the advancement of optical communications while simultaneously mitigating the risk of infusion by combining an experimental optical transmitter and telescope with a reliable Ka-band RF transmitter and antenna. The iROC communications subsystem seeks to maximize the total data return over the course of a potential 2-year mission in Mars orbit beginning in 2021. Although optical communication by itself offers potential for greater data return over RF, the reliable Ka-band link is also being designed for high data return capability in this hybrid system. A daily analysis of the RF link budget over the 2-year span is performed to optimize and provide detailed estimates of the RF data return. In particular, the bandwidth dependence of these data return estimates is analyzed for candidate waveforms. In this effort, a data return modeling tool was created to analyze candidate RF modulation and coding schemes with respect to their spectral efficiency, amplifier output power back-off, required digital to analog conversion (DAC) sampling rates, and support by ground receivers. A set of RF waveforms is recommended for use on the iROC platform.

Advanced Curation Preparation for Mars Sample Return and Cold Curation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fries, M. D.; Harrington, A. D.; McCubbin, F. M.; Mitchell, J.; Regberg, A. B.; Snead, C.

2017-01-01

NASA Curation is tasked with the care and distribution of NASA's sample collections, such as the Apollo lunar samples and cometary material collected by the Stardust spacecraft. Curation is also mandated to perform Advanced Curation research and development, which includes improving the curation of existing collections as well as preparing for future sample return missions. Advanced Curation has identified a suite of technologies and techniques that will require attention ahead of Mars sample return (MSR) and missions with cold curation (CCur) requirements, perhaps including comet sample return missions.

On the petrological, geochemical, and geophysical characterization of a returned Mars surface sample and the impact of biological sterilization on the analyses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

A study was conducted: to identify those experiments that could and should be done on a returned Martian sample in order to characterize its inorganic properties; to evaluate, insofar as can be done, the effects of potential biological sterilization of the sample by heating prior to its return; to identify particular analytical techniques needing further improvement in order to make optimum use of a returned sample; and to identify experiments to be done on simulants, with and without sterilization, that better define the limits of information available about the planet from analyses of returned samples.

NASA Sample Return Missions: Recovery Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pace, L. F.; Cannon, R. E.

2017-01-01

The Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR), southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, is the site of all NASA unmanned sample return missions. To date these missions include the Genesis solar wind samples (2004) and Stardust cometary and interstellar dust samples (2006). NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Mission will return its first asteroid sample at UTTR in 2023.

INDOT Research Program Benefit Cost Analysis—Return on Investment for Projects Completed in FY 2016

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-12-01

The Governors Office requested an annual financial analysis of the INDOT Research Program to determine the return on the research investment (ROI). The current financial analysis is for research projects that completed in FY 2016. Analyses on prev...

OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission Image Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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 regarding the functionality of the camera system, which will in turn aid in the fly-down to the asteroid, as it will allow the pick of a suitable landing and sample location.

Sample Return: What Happens to the Samples on Earth?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McNamara, Karen

2010-01-01

As space agencies throughout the world turn their attention toward human exploration of the Moon, Mars, and the solar system beyond, there has been an increase in the number of robotic sample return missions proposed as precursors to these human endeavors. In reality, however, we, as a global community, have very little experience with robotic sample return missions: 3 of the Russian Luna Missions successfully returned lunar material in the 1970s; 28 years later, in 2004, NASA s Genesis Mission returned material from the solar wind; and in 2006, NASA s Stardust Mission returned material from the Comet Wild2. [Note: The Japanese Hyabusa mission continues in space with the hope of returning material from the asteroid 25143 Itokawa.] We launch many spacecraft to LEO and return them to Earth. We also launch spacecraft beyond LEO to explore the planets, our solar system, and beyond. Some even land on these bodies. But these do not return. So as we begin to contemplate the sample return missions of the future, some common questions arise: "What really happens when the capsule returns?" "Where does it land?" "Who retrieves it and just how do they do that?" "Where does it go after that?" "How do the scientists get the samples?" "Do they keep them?" "Who is in charge?" The questions are nearly endless. The goal of this paper/presentation is to uncover many of the mysteries of the post-return phase of a mission - from the time the return body enters the atmosphere until the mission ends and the samples become part of a long term collection. The discussion will be based largely on the author s own experience with both the Genesis and Stardust missions. Of course, these two missions have a great deal in common, being funded by the same NASA Program (Discovery) and having similar team composition. The intent, however, is to use these missions as examples in order to highlight the general requirements and the challenges in defining and meeting those requirements for the final phase of sample return missions. The choices made by the Genesis and Stardust teams regarding recovery and sample handling will be discussed. These will be compared with the handling of returned lunar samples and the proposed handling of the Hyabusa samples as well. Finally, though none of these recent missions have been restricted within NASA s Planetary Protection Protocol, this is likely to change as missions venture farther from Earth. The implementation of Planetary Protection requirements will vary significantly based on mission scenario, however some of the potential implications of restricted Earth return will be considered.

24 CFR 511.11 - Project requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... low income occupancy or rent projections, or restrictions on return on investment or other similar policies that prevent an owner, whether for-profit or non-profit, from maximizing return or setting rent... requirements and with the affirmative marketing requirements and procedures adopted under § 511.13, for the...

A Review of New and Developing Technology to Significantly Improve Mars Sample-Return Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carsey, F.; Brophy, J.; Gilmore, M.; Rodgers, D.; Wilcox, B.

2000-01-01

A JPL development activity was initiated in FY 1999 for the purpose of examining and evaluating technologies that could materially improve future (i.e., beyond the 2005 launch) Mars sample return missions. The scope of the technology review was comprehensive and end-to-end; the goal was to improve mass, cost, risk, and scientific return. A specific objective was to assess approaches to sample return with only one Earth launch. While the objective of the study was specifically for sample-return, in-situ missions can also benefit from using many of the technologies examined.

A Review of New and Developing Technology to Significantly Improve Mars Sample-Return Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carsey, F.; Brophy, J.; Gilmore, M.; Rodgers, D.; Wilcox, B.

2000-07-01

A JPL development activity was initiated in FY 1999 for the purpose of examining and evaluating technologies that could materially improve future (i.e., beyond the 2005 launch) Mars sample return missions. The scope of the technology review was comprehensive and end-to-end; the goal was to improve mass, cost, risk, and scientific return. A specific objective was to assess approaches to sample return with only one Earth launch. While the objective of the study was specifically for sample-return, in-situ missions can also benefit from using many of the technologies examined.

Curating NASA's Astromaterials Collections: Past, Present, and Future

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zeigler, Ryan

2015-01-01

Planning for the curation of samples from future sample return missions must begin during the initial planning stages of a mission. Waiting until the samples have been returned to Earth, or even when you begin to physically build the spacecraft is too late. A lack of proper planning could lead to irreversible contamination of the samples, which in turn would compromise the scientific integrity of the mission. For example, even though the Apollo missions first returned samples in 1969, planning for the curation facility began in the early 1960s, and construction of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory was completed in 1967. In addition to designing the receiving facility and laboratory that the samples will be characterized and stored in, there are many aspects of contamination that must be addressed during the planning and building of the spacecraft: planetary protection (both outbound and inbound); cataloging, documenting, and preserving the materials used to build spacecraft (also known as coupons); near real-time monitoring of the environment in which the spacecraft is being built using witness plates for critical aspects of contamination (known as contamination control); and long term monitoring and preservation of the environment in which the spacecraft is being built for most aspects of potential contamination through the use of witness plates (known as contamination knowledge). The OSIRIS REx asteroid sample return mission, currently being built, is dealing with all of these aspects of contamination in order to ensure they return the best preserved sample possible. Coupons and witness plates from OSIRIS REx are currently being studied and stored (for future studies) at the Johnson Space Center. Similarly, planning for the clean room facility at Johnson Space Center to house the OSIRIS-REx samples is well advanced, and construction of the facility should begin in early 2017 (despite a nominal 2023 return date for OSIRIS-REx samples). Similar development is being done, in concert with JAXA, for the return of Hayabusa 2 samples (nominally in 2020). We are also actively developing advanced techniques like cold curation and organically clean curation in anticipation of future sample return missions such as comet nucleus sample return and Mars sample return.

Mars Sample Return Orbiter Architecture Options — Results of the ESA Mars Sample Return Architecture Assessment Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Derz, U.; Joffre, E.; Perkinson, M.-C.; Huesing, J.; Beyer, F.; Sanchez Perez, J. M.

2018-04-01

This paper presents the identified most promising chemical and electric propulsion architecture options of the Mars Sample Return (MSR) orbiter identified during the recent ESA MSR Architecture Assessment Study.

Multiple Smaller Missions as a Direct Pathway to Mars Sample Return

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Niles, P. B.; Draper, D. S.; Evans, C. A.; Gibson, E. K.; Graham, L. D.; Jones, J. H.; Lederer, S. M.; Ming, D.; Seaman, C. H.; Archer, P. D.;

U-Th-Pb, Sm-Nd, Rb-Sr, and Lu-Hf systematics of returned Mars samples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tatsumoto, M.; Premo, W. R.

1988-01-01

The advantage of studying returned planetary samples cannot be overstated. A wider range of analytical techniques with higher sensitivities and accuracies can be applied to returned samples. Measurement of U-Th-Pb, Sm-Nd, Rb-Sr, and Lu-Hf isotopic systematics for chronology and isotopic tracer studies of planetary specimens cannot be done in situ with desirable precision. Returned Mars samples will be examined using all the physical, chemical, and geologic methods necessary to gain information on the origin and evolution of Mars. A returned Martian sample would provide ample information regarding the accretionary and evolutionary history of the Martian planetary body and possibly other planets of our solar system.

Integrating public perspectives in sample return planning.

PubMed

Race, M S; MacGregor, D G

2000-01-01

Planning for extraterrestrial sample returns--whether from Mars or other solar system bodies--must be done in a way that integrates planetary protection concerns with the usual mission technical and scientific considerations. Understanding and addressing legitimate societal concerns about the possible risks of sample return will be a critical part of the public decision making process ahead. This paper presents the results of two studies, one with lay audiences, the other with expert microbiologists designed to gather information on attitudes and concerns about sample return risks and planetary protection. Focus group interviews with lay subjects, using generic information about Mars sample return and a preliminary environmental impact assessment, were designed to obtain an indication of how the factual content is perceived and understood by the public. A research survey of microbiologists gathered information on experts' views and attitudes about sample return, risk management approaches and space exploration risks. These findings, combined with earlier research results on risk perception, will be useful in identifying levels of concern and potential conflicts in understanding between experts and the public about sample return risks. The information will be helpful in guiding development of the environmental impact statement and also has applicability to proposals for sample return from other solar system bodies where scientific uncertainty about extraterrestrial life may persist at the time of mission planning. c2001 COSPAR Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comet nucleus and asteroid sample return missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Melton, Robert G.; Thompson, Roger C.; Starchville, Thomas F., Jr.; Adams, C.; Aldo, A.; Dobson, K.; Flotta, C.; Gagliardino, J.; Lear, M.; Mcmillan, C.

1992-01-01

During the 1991-92 academic year, the Pennsylvania State University has developed three sample return missions: one to the nucleus of comet Wild 2, one to the asteroid Eros, and one to three asteroids located in the Main Belt. The primary objective of the comet nucleus sample return mission is to rendezvous with a short period comet and acquire a 10 kg sample for return to Earth. Upon rendezvous with the comet, a tethered coring and sampler drill will contact the surface and extract a two-meter core sample from the target site. Before the spacecraft returns to Earth, a monitoring penetrator containing scientific instruments will be deployed for gathering long-term data about the comet. A single asteroid sample return mission to the asteroid 433 Eros (chosen for proximity and launch opportunities) will extract a sample from the asteroid surface for return to Earth. To limit overall mission cost, most of the mission design uses current technologies, except the sampler drill design. The multiple asteroid sample return mission could best be characterized through its use of future technology including an optical communications system, a nuclear power reactor, and a low-thrust propulsion system. A low-thrust trajectory optimization code (QuickTop 2) obtained from the NASA LeRC helped in planning the size of major subsystem components, as well as the trajectory between targets.

Lessons learned from a decade of international space cooperation.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnes, R. J. H.

1971-01-01

A case history of the Alouette/ISIS series is presented, giving attention to aspects of U.S.-Canadian cooperation in this program. The project is only one example of a broad network of international cooperative relationships established by NASA over the past decade. Participation by other countries in important space science and applications projects is not limited to those providing flight hardware or conducting flight observations. Much valuable work is done on the ground, ranging from analysis in the laboratories of samples returned from the moon to correlated ground-based reception and analysis of radio beacon signals from satellites. It was found that cooperation is more likely to proceed smoothly and produce beneficial results if it is focused on projects that are clearly defined and agreed on in advance.

77 FR 61053 - Open Meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Return Processing Delays Project Committee

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-05

... suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service. DATES: The meeting will be held... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Internal Revenue Service Open Meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Return Processing Delays Project Committee AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury. ACTION...

77 FR 21156 - Open Meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Return Processing Delays Project Committee

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-09

... suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service. DATES: The meeting will be held... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Internal Revenue Service Open Meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Return Processing Delays Project Committee AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury. ACTION...

77 FR 8328 - Open Meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Return Processing Delays Project Committee

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-14

... suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service. DATES: The meeting will be held... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Internal Revenue Service Open Meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Return Processing Delays Project Committee AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Treasury. ACTION...

Climate impacts on agricultural land use in the USA: the role of socio-economic scenarios

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mu, Jianhong E.; Sleeter, Benjamin M.; Abatzoglou, John T.; Antle, John M.

2017-01-01

We examine the impacts of climate on net returns from crop and livestock production and the resulting impact on land-use change across the contiguous USA. We first estimate an econometric model to project effects of weather fluctuations on crop and livestock net returns and then use a semi-reduced form land-use share model to study agricultural land-use changes under future climate and socio-economic scenarios. Estimation results show that crop net returns are more sensitive to thermal and less sensitive to moisture variability than livestock net returns; other agricultural land uses substitute cropland use when 30-year averaged degree-days or precipitation are not beneficial for crop production. Under future climate and socio-economic scenarios, we project that crop and livestock net returns are both increasing, but with crop net returns increasing at a higher rate; cropland increases with declines of marginal and pastureland by the end of the twenty-first century. Projections also show that impacts of future climate on agricultural land uses are substantially different and a larger variation of land-use change is evident when socio-economic scenarios are incorporated into the climate impact analysis.

Communications Relay and Human-Assisted Sample Return from the Deep Space Gateway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cichan, T.; Hopkins, J. B.; Bierhaus, B.; Murrow, D. W.

2018-02-01

The Deep Space Gateway can enable or enhance exploration of the lunar surface through two capabilities: 1. communications relay, opening up access to the lunar farside, and 2. sample return, enhancing the ability to return large sample masses.

The Moon as a 100% Isolation Barrier for Earth During Exobiological Examination of Solar System Sample Return Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DiGregorio, B. E.

2018-04-01

The only 100% guarantee of protecting Earth's biosphere from a hazardous back contamination event is to use the Moon as a sample return examination facility to qualify samples for eventual return to Earth.

The Moon: A 100% Isolation Barrier for Earth During Exobiological Examination of Solar System Sample Return Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DiGregorio, B. E.

2018-02-01

The only 100% guarantee of protecting our planet's biosphere from a back contamination event is to use the Moon as a sample return examination facility to qualify samples for eventual return to Earth.

Mars Rover Sample Return mission study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bourke, Roger D.

1989-01-01

The Mars Rover/Sample Return mission is examined as a precursor to a manned mission to Mars. The value of precursor missions is noted, using the Apollo lunar program as an example. The scientific objectives of the Mars Rover/Sample Return mission are listed and the basic mission plans are described. Consideration is given to the options for mission design, launch configurations, rover construction, and entry and lander design. Also, the potential for international cooperation on the Mars Rover/Sample Return mission is discussed.

Mars Sample Handling Protocol Workshop Series: Workshop 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rummel, John D. (Editor); Acevedo, Sara E. (Editor); Kovacs, Gregory T. A. (Editor); Race, Margaret S. (Editor); DeVincenzi, Donald L. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Numerous NASA reports and studies have identified Planetary Protection (PP) as an important part of any Mars sample return mission. The mission architecture, hardware, on-board experiments, and related activities must be designed in ways that prevent both forward- and back-contamination and also ensure maximal return of scientific information. A key element of any PP effort for sample return missions is the development of guidelines for containment and analysis of returned sample(s). As part of that effort, NASA and the Space Studies Board (SSB) of the National Research Council (NRC) have each assembled experts from a wide range of scientific fields to identify and discuss issues pertinent to sample return. In 1997, the SSB released its report on recommendations for handling and testing of returned Mars samples. In particular, the NRC recommended that: a) samples returned from Mars by spacecraft should be contained and treated as potentially hazardous until proven otherwise, and b) rigorous physical, chemical, and biological analyses [should] confirm that there is no indication of the presence of any exogenous biological entity. Also in 1997, a Mars Sample Quarantine Protocol workshop was convened at NASA Ames Research Center to deal with three specific aspects of the initial handling of a returned Mars sample: 1) biocontainment, to prevent 'uncontrolled release' of sample material into the terrestrial environment; 2) life detection, to examine the sample for evidence of organisms; and 3) biohazard testing, to determine if the sample poses any threat to terrestrial life forms and the Earth's biosphere. In 1999, a study by NASA's Mars Sample Handling and Requirements Panel (MSHARP) addressed three other specific areas in anticipation of returning samples from Mars: 1) sample collection and transport back to Earth; 2) certification of the samples as non-hazardous; and 3) sample receiving, curation, and distribution. To further refine the requirements for sample hazard testing and the criteria for subsequent release of sample materials from quarantine, the NASA Planetary Protection Officer convened an additional series of workshops beginning in March 2000. The overall objective of these workshops was to develop comprehensive protocols to assess whether the returned materials contain any biological hazards, and to safeguard the purity of the samples from possible terrestrial contamination. This document is the report of the second Workshop in the Series. The information herein will ultimately be integrated into a final document reporting the proceedings of the entire Workshop Series along with additional information and recommendations.

NASA needs a long-term sample return strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agee, C.

Sample return missions, as demonstrated by Apollo, can have a huge payoff for plan- etary science. Beyond NASAAfs current Discovery missions, Stardust and Genesis, there are no future U.S. sample return missions on the books. At this juncture, it would be desirable for NASA to develop a coherent, long-term strategy for sample return missions to prime targets such as Mars, Venus, and other solar system bodies. The roster of missions planned for this decade in NASAAfs Mars Program no longer includes a sample return. Arguments against an early Mars sample return (MSR) in- clude the high cost, high risk, and not knowing the Agright placeAh on the Martian surface to sample. On the other hand, answering many of the key scientific questions about Mars, including the search for life, may require sample return. In lieu of MSR, NASA plans, out to 2009, a mix of orbital and landed missions that will perform re- mote and in-situ science at Mars. One approach to MSR that may lead to success in the opportunities beyond 2009 is a series of simple missions where large rovers and complex instruments are replaced by robust Mars ascent vehicles and lander-based sampling techniques. AgMobilityAh and Agsample diversityAh in these early reconnaissance sample return missions are accomplished by sending each mission to a distinctly different location based on our understanding of Martian geology prior to launch. The expected wealth of knowledge from these simple sample return missions will help guide Mars exploration beyond 2020. Venus sample return (VSR) should also be a high priority in NASAAfs exploration of the solar system. Our understanding of the Venusian surface is fragmentary at best and the mineralogy in unknown. We have no verified meteorites from Venus and thus radiometric ages of the crust do not exist. Venusian science best done on Earth from a VSR would include (1) precise isotopic measurements of atmospheric gases, soil, and rock, (2) age dating of rock, (3) trace element chemistry of soil and rock, (4) charac- terization of very small phases, (5) characterization of complex weathering products, (6) detailed rock mineralogy and petrology.

Benefits of in situ propellant utilization for a Mars sample return mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wadel, Mary F.

1993-01-01

Previous Mars rover sample return mission studies have shown a requirement for Titan 4 or STS Space Shuttle launch vehicles to complete a sample return from a single Mars site. These studies have either used terrestrial propellants or considered in situ production of methane and oxygen for the return portion of the mission. Using in situ propellants for the return vehicles reduces the Earth launch mass and allows for a smaller Earth launch vehicle, since the return propellant is not carried from Earth. Carbon monoxide and oxygen (CO/O2) and methane and oxygen (CH4/O2) were investigated as in situ propellants for a Mars sample return mission and the results were compared to a baseline study performed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory using terrestrial propellants. Capability for increased sample return mass, use of an alternate launch vehicle, and an additional mini-rover as payload were included. CO/O2 and CH4/O2 were found to decrease the baseline Earth launch mass by 13.6 and 9.2 percent, respectively. This resulted in higher payload mass margins for the baseline Atlas 2AS launch vehicle. CO/O2 had the highest mass margin. And because of this, it was not only possible to increase the sample return mass and carry an additional mini-rover, but was also possible to use the smaller Atlas 2A launch vehicle.

Numerical simulations of regolith sampling processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schäfer, Christoph M.; Scherrer, Samuel; Buchwald, Robert; Maindl, Thomas I.; Speith, Roland; Kley, Wilhelm

2017-07-01

We present recent improvements in the simulation of regolith sampling processes in microgravity using the numerical particle method smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH). We use an elastic-plastic soil constitutive model for large deformation and failure flows for dynamical behaviour of regolith. In the context of projected small body (asteroid or small moons) sample return missions, we investigate the efficiency and feasibility of a particular material sampling method: Brushes sweep material from the asteroid's surface into a collecting tray. We analyze the influence of different material parameters of regolith such as cohesion and angle of internal friction on the sampling rate. Furthermore, we study the sampling process in two environments by varying the surface gravity (Earth's and Phobos') and we apply different rotation rates for the brushes. We find good agreement of our sampling simulations on Earth with experiments and provide estimations for the influence of the material properties on the collecting rate.

Supporting Women Returning to Work: A European Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shepherd, Jan; Saxby-Smith, Sue

A 2-year project examined the effectiveness of courses for returning workers in enabling women to make a sustained return to paid employment in the following countries: France; Spain; Ireland; and the United Kingdom. In each country, a short foundation-level program and a longer accredited return-to-work program were selected for evaluation.…

Designing to Sample the Unknown: Lessons from OSIRIS-REx Project Systems Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Everett, David; Mink, Ronald; Linn, Timothy; Wood, Joshua

2017-01-01

On September 8, 2016, the third NASA New Frontiers mission launched on an Atlas V 411. The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) will rendezvous with asteroid Bennu in 2018, collect a sample in 2020, and return that sample to Earth in September 2023. The development team has overcome a number of challenges in order to design and build a system that will make contact with an unexplored, airless, low-gravity body. This paper will provide an overview of the mission, then focus in on the system-level challenges and some of the key system-level processes. Some of the lessons here are unique to the type of mission, like discussion of operating at a largely-unknown, low-gravity object. Other lessons, particularly from the build phase, have broad implications. The OSIRIS-REx risk management process was particularly effective in achieving an on-time and under-budget development effort. The systematic requirements management and verification and the system validation also helped identify numerous potential problems. The final assessment of the OSIRIS-REx performance will need to wait until the sample is returned in 2023, but this post-launch assessment will capture some of the key systems-engineering lessons from the development team.

An unmanned mission to Mars with sample collection and in-situ resource utilization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

The design for the Mars Analysis and Return Vehicle with In-Situ Resource Utilization (MARVIN) project is outlined. The MARVIN mission is designed to collect samples of the Martian environment; to produce fuel from local Martian resources; and to use the fuel produced to return the samples to earth. It uses only existing technologies. Exploratory Technologies' mission-design efforts have focused on methods of orbit determination, sample collection, fuel production, power, communications, control, and structural design. Lambert Targeting provided Delta-V's, launch dates, and travel times. The landing site is the Tharsis Plateau, to the southeast of Olympus Mons, chosen for its substantial scientific value. Samples of soil, dust, and atmosphere are collected with lander-based collection devices: the soil sample, with a robotic arm similar to those used in the Viking missions; the atmospheric sample, from a bleed line to the compressor in the fuel-production facility; a dust sample, from the dust-collection container in the fuel-production facility; and a redundant dust sample, with a with a passive filter system, which relies upon neither a power source nor other collection methods. The sample-return capsule (SRC) houses these samples, which are triply contained to prevent contamination. Proven technology can be used to produce methane and oxygen for fuel with relative ease at the landing site: the Sabatier reactor produces methane and water by combining carbon dioxide and hydrogen (brought from earth); the Reverse Water-Gas Shift unit combines carbon dioxide and hydrogen to form carbon monoxide and water; a water-electrolysis unit splits the water into hydrogen and oxygen. The Mars-lander vehicle (MLV) transports the equipment from earth to Mars. The Mars-ascent vehicle (MAV) contains the SRC and the engine, which is the same for both the MLV and the MAV. All equipment that is unnecessary for the Mars-Earth trajectory remains on Mars. This report presents detailed sizing information, for which a spreadsheet has been developed. The trends suggest possibilities for expansion, and suggestions for future work in these areas are offered.

Planning for the Collection and Analysis of Samples of Martian Granular Materials Potentially to be Returned by Mars Sample Return

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrier, B. L.; Beaty, D. W.

2017-12-01

NASA's Mars 2020 rover is scheduled to land on Mars in 2021 and will be equipped with a sampling system capable of collecting rock cores, as well as a specialized drill bit for collecting unconsolidated granular material. A key mission objective is to collect a set of samples that have enough scientific merit to justify returning to Earth. In the case of granular materials, we would like to catalyze community discussion on what we would do with these samples if they arrived in our laboratories, as input to decision-making related to sampling the regolith. Numerous scientific objectives have been identified which could be achieved or significantly advanced via the analysis of martian rocks, "regolith," and gas samples. The term "regolith" has more than one definition, including one that is general and one that is much more specific. For the purpose of this analysis we use the term "granular materials" to encompass the most general meaning and restrict "regolith" to a subset of that. Our working taxonomy includes the following: 1) globally sourced airfall dust (dust); 2) saltation-sized particles (sand); 3) locally sourced decomposed rock (regolith); 4) crater ejecta (ejecta); and, 5) other. Analysis of martian granular materials could serve to advance our understanding areas including habitability and astrobiology, surface-atmosphere interactions, chemistry, mineralogy, geology and environmental processes. Results of these analyses would also provide input into planning for future human exploration of Mars, elucidating possible health and mechanical hazards caused by the martian surface material, as well as providing valuable information regarding available resources for ISRU and civil engineering purposes. Results would also be relevant to matters of planetary protection and ground-truthing orbital observations. We will present a preliminary analysis of the following, in order to generate community discussion and feedback on all issues relating to: What are the specific reasons (and their priorities) for collecting samples of granular materials? How do those reasons translate to sampling priorities? In what condition would these samples be expected to be received? What is our best projection of the approach by which these samples would be divided, prepared, and analyzed to achieve our objectives?

An unmanned mission to Mars with sample collection and in-situ resource utilization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1994-05-01

The design for the Mars Analysis and Return Vehicle with In-Situ Resource Utilization (MARVIN) project is outlined. The MARVIN mission is designed to collect samples of the Martian environment; to produce fuel from local Martian resources; and to use the fuel produced to return the samples to earth. It uses only existing technologies. Exploratory Technologies' mission-design efforts have focused on methods of orbit determination, sample collection, fuel production, power, communications, control, and structural design. Lambert Targeting provided Delta-V's, launch dates, and travel times. The landing site is the Tharsis Plateau, to the southeast of Olympus Mons, chosen for its substantial scientific value. Samples of soil, dust, and atmosphere are collected with lander-based collection devices: the soil sample, with a robotic arm similar to those used in the Viking missions; the atmospheric sample, from a bleed line to the compressor in the fuel-production facility; a dust sample, from the dust-collection container in the fuel-production facility; and a redundant dust sample, with a with a passive filter system, which relies upon neither a power source nor other collection methods. The sample-return capsule (SRC) houses these samples, which are triply contained to prevent contamination. Proven technology can be used to produce methane and oxygen for fuel with relative ease at the landing site: the Sabatier reactor produces methane and water by combining carbon dioxide and hydrogen (brought from earth); the Reverse Water-Gas Shift unit combines carbon dioxide and hydrogen to form carbon monoxide and water; a water-electrolysis unit splits the water into hydrogen and oxygen. The Mars-lander vehicle (MLV) transports the equipment from earth to Mars. The Mars-ascent vehicle (MAV) contains the SRC and the engine, which is the same for both the MLV and the MAV. All equipment that is unnecessary for the Mars-Earth trajectory remains on Mars. This report presents detailed sizing information, for which a spreadsheet has been developed. The trends suggest possibilities for expansion, and suggestions for future work in these areas are offered.

Returns to Education in Bangladesh

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Asadullah, Mohammad Niaz

2006-01-01

This paper reports labour market returns to education in Bangladesh using data from recent nationwide household survey. Returns are estimated separately for rural and urban samples, males, females and private-sector employees. Substantial heterogeneity in returns is observed; for example, estimates are higher for urban (than rural sample) and…

GeoLab Concept: The Importance of Sample Selection During Long Duration Human Exploration Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calaway, M. J.; Evans, C. A.; Bell, M. S.; Graff, T. G.

2011-01-01

In the future when humans explore planetary surfaces on the Moon, Mars, and asteroids or beyond, the return of geologic samples to Earth will be a high priority for human spaceflight operations. All future sample return missions will have strict down-mass and volume requirements; methods for in-situ sample assessment and prioritization will be critical for selecting the best samples for return-to-Earth.

Mars Sample Return: Mars Ascent Vehicle Mission and Technology Requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowles, Jeffrey V.; Huynh, Loc C.; Hawke, Veronica M.; Jiang, Xun J.

2013-01-01

A Mars Sample Return mission is the highest priority science mission for the next decade recommended by the recent Decadal Survey of Planetary Science, the key community input process that guides NASAs science missions. A feasibility study was conducted of a potentially simple and low cost approach to Mars Sample Return mission enabled by the use of developing commercial capabilities. Previous studies of MSR have shown that landing an all up sample return mission with a high mass capacity lander is a cost effective approach. The approach proposed is the use of an emerging commercially available capsule to land the launch vehicle system that would return samples to Earth. This paper describes the mission and technology requirements impact on the launch vehicle system design, referred to as the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV).

Mars Sample Return: Mars Ascent Vehicle Mission and Technology Requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowles, Jeffrey V.; Huynh, Loc C.; Hawke, Veronica M.

2013-01-01

A Mars Sample Return mission is the highest priority science mission for the next decade recommended by the recent Decadal Survey of Planetary Science, the key community input process that guides NASA's science missions. A feasibility study was conducted of a potentially simple and low cost approach to Mars Sample Return mission enabled by the use of new commercial capabilities. Previous studies of MSR have shown that landing an all up sample return mission with a high mass capacity lander is a cost effective approach. The approach proposed is the use of a SpaceX Dragon capsule to land the launch vehicle system that would return samples to Earth. This paper describes the mission and technology requirements impact on the launch vehicle system design, referred to as the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV).

COMPASS Final Report: Near Earth Asteroids Rendezvous and Sample Earth Returns (NEARER)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oleson, Steven R.; McGuire, Melissa L.

2009-01-01

In this study, the Collaborative Modeling for Parametric Assessment of Space Systems (COMPASS) team completed a design for a multi-asteroid (Nereus and 1996 FG3) sample return capable spacecraft for the NASA In-Space Propulsion Office. The objective of the study was to support technology development and assess the relative benefits of different electric propulsion systems on asteroid sample return design. The design uses a single, heritage Orion solar array (SA) (approx.6.5 kW at 1 AU) to power a single NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster ((NEXT) a spare NEXT is carried) to propel a lander to two near Earth asteroids. After landing and gathering science samples, the Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) vehicle spirals back to Earth where it drops off the first sample s return capsule and performs an Earth flyby to assist the craft in rendezvousing with a second asteroid, which is then sampled. The second sample is returned in a similar fashion. The vehicle, dubbed Near Earth Asteroids Rendezvous and Sample Earth Returns (NEARER), easily fits in an Atlas 401 launcher and its cost estimates put the mission in the New Frontier s (NF's) class mission.

NEA Multi-Chamber Sample Return Container with Hermetic Sealing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rafeek, Shaheed; Kong, Kin Yuen; Sadick, Shazad; Porter, Christopher C.

2000-01-01

A sample return container is being developed by Honeybee Robotics to receive samples from a derivative of the Champollion/ST4 Sample Acquisition and Transfer Mechanism or other samplers such as the 'Touch and Go' Surface Sampler (TGSS), and then hermetically seal the samples for a sample return mission. The container is enclosed in a phase change material (PCM) chamber to prevent phase change during return and re-entry to earth. This container is designed to operate passively with no motors and actuators. Using the rotation axis of the TGSS sampler for interfacing, transferring and sealing samples, the container consumes no electrical power and therefore minimizes sample temperature change. The circular container houses multiple isolated canisters, which will be sealed individually for samples acquired from different sites or depths. The TGSS based sampler indexes each canister to the sample transfer position, below the index interface for sample transfer. After sample transfer is completed, the sampler indexes a seal carrier, which lines up seals with the openings of the canisters. The sampler moves to the sealing interface and seals the sample canisters one by one. The sealing interface can be designed to work with C-seals, knife edge seals and cup seals. This sample return container is being developed by Honeybee Robotics in collaboration with the JPL Exploration Technology program. A breadboard system of the sample return container has been recently completed and tested. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Public Risk Assessment of Off-Nominal Genesis Entries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mendeck, Gavin F.; Kadwa, Binaifer

2006-01-01

Public risk estimations were among the preparations for the entry of the Genesis sample return capsule. Personnel at the Johnson Space Center were requested to provide estimates of the public risk of off-nominal entries. These scenarios dealt with an incomplete trajectory maneuver that would result in the capsule landing outside of the controlled Utah Test and Training Range. Using a conservative approach to the inputs and assumptions, such off-nominal entries were demonstrated to fall within the project risk limits.

Biological Sciences and Bioelectromagnetics in Europe: Summary Report.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-08-26

shielded room in which the Madrid study. This project, dubbed "Pro- Earth’s magnetic field has been removed , Ject Henhouse," involves the original they...investi- the patients are removed from the room gator), a laboratory in Sweden (Dr. and returned to their normal environ- KJell Mild), and two...a little far removed of the samples were sent to them by mail and is certainly an area that needs more and had a reduced proliferation rate. It work

Strategic Map for Enceladus Plume Biosignature Sample Return Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sherwood, Brent; Yano, Hajime

The discovery of jets emitting salty water from the interior of Saturn’s small moon Enceladus is one of the most astounding results of the Cassini mission to date. The measured presence of organic species in the resulting plume, the finding that the jet activity is valved by tidal stretching at apochrone, and the modeled lifetime of E-ring particles, all indicate that the textbook conditions for habitability are met at Enceladus today: liquid water, biologically available elements, and source of energy, longevity of conducive conditions. Enceladus may be the best place in our solar system to search for direct evidence of biomarkers, and the plume provides a way to sample for and even return them to Earth for detailed analysis. It is straightforward to imagine a Stardust-like, fly-through, plume particle and gas collection and return mission for Enceladus. An international team (LIFE, Life Investigation For Enceladus) has dedicated itself to pursuing such a flight project. Concept engineering and evaluation indicate that the associated technical, programmatic, regulatory, and cost issues are quite unlike the Stardust precedent however, not least because of such a mission’s Category-V, Restricted Earth Return, classification. The paper presents a strategic framework that systematically integrates the cultivation of science advocacy, resolution of diverse stakeholder issues, development of verifiable and affordable technical solutions, validation of cost estimation methods, alignment with other candidate astrobiology missions, complementarity of international agency goals, and finally the identification of appropriate research and flight-mission opportunities. Resolving and using this map is essential if we are to know the astrobiological state of Enceladus in our lifetime.

Sample Return from Small Solar System Bodies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orgel, L.; A'Hearn, M.; Bada, J.; Baross, J.; Chapman, C.; Drake, M.; Kerridge, J.; Race, M.; Sogin, M.; Squyres, S.

With plans for multiple sample return missions in the next decade, NASA requested guidance from the National Research Council's SSB on how to treat samples returned from solar system bodies such as planetary satellites, asteroids and comets. A special Task Group assessed the potential for a living entity to be included in return samples from various bodies as well as the potential for large scale effects if such an entity were inadvertently introduced into the Earth's biosphere. The Group also assessed differences among solar system bodies, identified investigations that could reduce uncertainty about the bodies, and considered risks of returned samples compared to natural influx of material to the Earth in the form of interplanetary dust particles, meteorites and other small impactors. The final report (NRC, 1998) provides a decision making framework for future missions and makes recommendations on how to handle samples from different planetary satellites and primitive solar system bodies

Comet Odyssey: Comet Surface Sample Return

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weissman, Paul R.; Bradley, J.; Smythe, W. D.; Brophy, J. R.; Lisano, M. E.; Syvertson, M. L.; Cangahuala, L. A.; Liu, J.; Carlisle, G. L.

2010-10-01

Comet Odyssey is a proposed New Frontiers mission that would return the first samples from the surface of a cometary nucleus. Stardust demonstrated the tremendous power of analysis of returned samples in terrestrial laboratories versus what can be accomplished in situ with robotic missions. But Stardust collected only 1 milligram of coma dust, and the 6.1 km/s flyby speed heated samples up to 2000 K. Comet Odyssey would collect two independent 800 cc samples directly from the surface in a far more benign manner, preserving the primitive composition. Given a minimum surface density of 0.2 g/cm3, this would return two 160 g surface samples to Earth. Comet Odyssey employs solar-electric propulsion to rendezvous with the target comet. After 180 days of reconnaissance and site selection, the spacecraft performs a "touch-and-go” maneuver with surface contact lasting 3 seconds. A brush-wheel sampler on a remote arm collects up to 800 cc of sample. A duplicate second arm and sampler collects the second sample. The samples are placed in a return capsule and maintained at colder than -70 C during the return flight and at colder than -30 C during re-entry and for up to six hours after landing. The entire capsule is then refrigerated and transported to the Astromaterials Curatorial Facility at NASA/JSC for initial inspection and sample analysis by the Comet Odyssey team. Comet Odyssey's planned target was comet 9P/Tempel 1, with launch in December 2017 and comet arrival in June 2022. After a stay of 300 days at the comet, the spacecraft departs and arrives at Earth in May 2027. Comet Odyssey is a forerunner to a flagship Cryogenic Comet Sample Return mission that would return samples from deep below the nucleus surface, including volatile ices. This work was supported by internal funds from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

A Draft Science Management Plan for Returned Samples from Mars: Recommendations from the International Mars Architecture for the Return of Samples (iMARS) Phase II Working Group

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haltigin, T.; Lange, C.; Mugnuolo, R.; Smith, C.

2018-04-01

This paper summarizes the findings and recommendations of the International Mars Architecture for the Return of Samples (iMARS) Phase II Working Group, an international team comprising 38 members from 16 countries and agencies.

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

A judge for the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge follows a robot on the playing field during the challenge on Saturday, June 16, 2012 in Worcester, Mass. Teams were challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Projected Changes in Temperature and Precipitation Extremes over China as Measured by 50-yr Return Values and Periods Based on a CMIP5 Ensemble

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Ying; Gao, Xuejie; Giorgi, Filippo; Zhou, Botao; Shi, Ying; Wu, Jie; Zhang, Yongxiang

2018-04-01

Future changes in the 50-yr return level for temperature and precipitation extremes over mainland China are investigated based on a CMIP5 multi-model ensemble for RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. The following indices are analyzed: TXx and TNn (the annual maximum and minimum of daily maximum and minimum surface temperature), RX5day (the annual maximum consecutive 5-day precipitation) and CDD (maximum annual number of consecutive dry days). After first validating the model performance, future changes in the 50-yr return values and return periods for these indices are investigated along with the inter-model spread. Multi-model median changes show an increase in the 50-yr return values of TXx and a decrease for TNn, more specifically, by the end of the 21st century under RCP8.5, the present day 50-yr return period of warm events is reduced to 1.2 yr, while extreme cold events over the country are projected to essentially disappear. A general increase in RX5day 50-yr return values is found in the future. By the end of the 21st century under RCP8.5, events of the present RX5day 50-yr return period are projected to reduce to < 10 yr over most of China. Changes in CDD-50 show a dipole pattern over China, with a decrease in the values and longer return periods in the north, and vice versa in the south. Our study also highlights the need for further improvements in the representation of extreme events in climate models to assess the future risks and engineering design related to large-scale infrastructure in China.

Strategies for Investigating Early Mars Using Returned Samples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carrier, B. L.; Beaty, D. W.; McSween, H. Y.; Czaja, A. D.; Goreva, Y. S.; Hausrath, E. M.; Herd, C. D. K.; Humayun, M.; McCubbin, F. M.; McLennan, S. M.;

Laboratory Studies of Cometary Materials - Continuity Between Asteroid and Comet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Messenger, Scott; Walker, Robert M.

2015-01-01

Laboratory analysis of cometary samples have been enabled by collection of cometary dust in the stratosphere by high altitude aircraft and by the direct sampling of the comet Wild-2 coma by the NASA Stardust spacecraft. Cometary materials are composed of a complex assemblage of highly primitive, unprocessed interstellar and primordial solar system materials as well as a variety of high temperature phases that must have condensed in the inner regions of the protoplanetary disk. These findings support and contradict conclusions of comet properties based solely on astronomical observations. These sample return missions have instead shown that there is a continuity of properties between comets and asteroids, where both types of materials show evidence for primitive and processed materials. Furthermore, these findings underscore the importance and value of direct sample return. There will be great value in comparing the findings of the Stardust cometary coma sample return mission with those of future asteroid surface sample returns OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa II as well as future comet nucleus sample returns.

A Sample Return Container with Hermetic Seal

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kong, Kin Yuen; Rafeek, Shaheed; Sadick, Shazad; Porter, Christopher C.

2000-01-01

A sample return container is being developed by Honeybee Robotics to receive samples from a derivative of the Champollion/ST4 Sample Acquisition and Transfer Mechanism or other samplers and then hermetically seal samples for a sample return mission. The container is enclosed in a phase change material (PCM) chamber to prevent phase change during return and re-entry to earth. This container is designed to operate passively with no motors and actuators. Using the sampler's featured drill tip for interfacing, transfer-ring and sealing samples, the container consumes no electrical power and therefore minimizes sample temperature change. The circular container houses a few isolated canisters, which will be sealed individually for samples acquired from different sites or depths. The drill based sampler indexes each canister to the sample transfer position, below the index interface for sample transfer. After sample transfer is completed, the sampler indexes a seal carrier, which lines up seals with the openings of the canisters. The sampler moves to the sealing interface and seals the sample canisters one by one. The sealing interface can be designed to work with C-seals, knife edge seals and cup seals. Again, the sampler provides all sealing actuation. This sample return container and co-engineered sample acquisition system are being developed by Honeybee Robotics in collaboration with the JPL Exploration Technology program.

The Mathematics of the Return from Home Ownership.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vest, Floyd; Griffith, Reynolds

1991-01-01

A mathematical model or project analysis that calculates the financial return from home ownership is described. This analysis illustrates topics such as compound interest, annuities, amortization schedules, internal rate of return, and other elements of school and college mathematics up through numerical analysis. (KR)

Restricted by Whom? A Historical Review of Strategies and Organization for Restricted Earth Return of Samples from NASA Planetary Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pugel, Betsy

2017-01-01

This presentation is a review of the timeline for Apollo's approach to Planetary Protection, then known as Planetary Quarantine. Return of samples from Apollo 11, 12 and 14 represented NASA's first attempts into conducting what is now known as Restricted Earth Return, where return of samples is undertaken by the Agency with the utmost care for the impact that the samples may have on Earth's environment due to the potential presence of microbial or other life forms that originate from the parent body (in this case, Earth's Moon).

Managing Incidental Findings and Research Results in Genomic Research Involving Biobanks & Archived Datasets

PubMed Central

Wolf, Susan M.; Crock, Brittney N.; Van Ness, Brian; Lawrenz, Frances; Kahn, Jeffrey P.; Beskow, Laura M.; Cho, Mildred K.; Christman, Michael F.; Green, Robert C.; Hall, Ralph; Illes, Judy; Keane, Moira; Knoppers, Bartha M.; Koenig, Barbara A.; Kohane, Isaac S.; LeRoy, Bonnie; Maschke, Karen J.; McGeveran, William; Ossorio, Pilar; Parker, Lisa S.; Petersen, Gloria M.; Richardson, Henry S.; Scott, Joan A.; Terry, Sharon F.; Wilfond, Benjamin S.; Wolf, Wendy A.

2013-01-01

Biobanks and archived datasets collecting samples and data have become crucial engines of genetic and genomic research. Unresolved, however, is what responsibilities biobanks should shoulder to manage incidental findings (IFs) and individual research results (IRRs) of potential health, reproductive, or personal importance to individual contributors (using “biobank” here to refer to both collections of samples and collections of data). This paper reports recommendations from a 2-year, NIH-funded project. The authors analyze responsibilities to manage return of IFs and IRRs in a biobank research system (primary research or collection sites, the biobank itself, and secondary research sites). They suggest that biobanks shoulder significant responsibility for seeing that the biobank research system addresses the return question explicitly. When re-identification of individual contributors is possible, the biobank should work to enable the biobank research system to discharge four core responsibilities: to (1) clarify the criteria for evaluating findings and roster of returnable findings, (2) analyze a particular finding in relation to this, (3) re-identify the individual contributor, and (4) recontact the contributor to offer the finding. The authors suggest that findings that are analytically valid, reveal an established and substantial risk of a serious health condition, and that are clinically actionable should generally be offered to consenting contributors. The paper specifies 10 concrete recommendations, addressing new biobanks and biobanks already in existence. PMID:22436882

34 CFR 694.16 - What are the requirements for redistribution or return of scholarship funds not awarded to a...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... of scholarship funds not awarded to a project's eligible students? 694.16 Section 694.16 Education...) § 694.16 What are the requirements for redistribution or return of scholarship funds not awarded to a project's eligible students? The following requirements apply only to section 404E scholarship awards for...

34 CFR 694.16 - What are the requirements for redistribution or return of scholarship funds not awarded to a...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... of scholarship funds not awarded to a project's eligible students? 694.16 Section 694.16 Education...) § 694.16 What are the requirements for redistribution or return of scholarship funds not awarded to a project's eligible students? The following requirements apply only to section 404E scholarship awards for...

34 CFR 694.16 - What are the requirements for redistribution or return of scholarship funds not awarded to a...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... of scholarship funds not awarded to a project's eligible students? 694.16 Section 694.16 Education...) § 694.16 What are the requirements for redistribution or return of scholarship funds not awarded to a project's eligible students? The following requirements apply only to section 404E scholarship awards for...

34 CFR 694.16 - What are the requirements for redistribution or return of scholarship funds not awarded to a...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... of scholarship funds not awarded to a project's eligible students? 694.16 Section 694.16 Education...) § 694.16 What are the requirements for redistribution or return of scholarship funds not awarded to a project's eligible students? The following requirements apply only to section 404E scholarship awards for...

Return to Education for Recovering Drug Addicts: The Soilse Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barter, Eric

2010-01-01

This article is an account of a return to education course set up to cater to the needs of recovering heroin addicts in a Dublin rehabilitation project in the summer of 2008. It begins with a brief outline of the HSE Soilse rehabilitation and recovery programme and the rationale for seeking association with the Department of Adult and Community…

X-Ray Computed Tomography: The First Step in Mars Sample Return Processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Welzenbach, L. C.; Fries, M. D.; Grady, M. M.; Greenwood, R. C.; McCubbin, F. M.; Zeigler, R. A.; Smith, C. L.; Steele, A.

2017-01-01

The Mars 2020 rover mission will collect and cache samples from the martian surface for possible retrieval and subsequent return to Earth. If the samples are returned, that mission would likely present an opportunity to analyze returned Mars samples within a geologic context on Mars. In addition, it may provide definitive information about the existence of past or present life on Mars. Mars sample return presents unique challenges for the collection, containment, transport, curation and processing of samples [1] Foremost in the processing of returned samples are the closely paired considerations of life detection and Planetary Protection. In order to achieve Mars Sample Return (MSR) science goals, reliable analyses will depend on overcoming some challenging signal/noise-related issues where sparse martian organic compounds must be reliably analyzed against the contamination background. While reliable analyses will depend on initial clean acquisition and robust documentation of all aspects of developing and managing the cache [2], there needs to be a reliable sample handling and analysis procedure that accounts for a variety of materials which may or may not contain evidence of past or present martian life. A recent report [3] suggests that a defined set of measurements should be made to effectively inform both science and Planetary Protection, when applied in the context of the two competing null hypotheses: 1) that there is no detectable life in the samples; or 2) that there is martian life in the samples. The defined measurements would include a phased approach that would be accepted by the community to preserve the bulk of the material, but provide unambiguous science data that can be used and interpreted by various disciplines. Fore-most is the concern that the initial steps would ensure the pristine nature of the samples. Preliminary, non-invasive techniques such as computed X-ray tomography (XCT) have been suggested as the first method to interrogate and characterize the cached samples without altering the materials [1,2]. A recent report [4] indicates that XCT may minimally alter samples for some techniques, and work is needed to quantify these effects, maximizing science return from XCT initial analysis while minimizing effects.

47 CFR 54.301 - Local switching support.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... requirement by summing the components listed in this paragraph. (1) Return on Investment attributable to COE... investment by the authorized interstate rate of return. Projected unseparated local switching net investment... paragraph (c) of this section: [Return on Investment attributable to COE Category 3—Included in Account 7300...

Downselection for Sample Return — Defining Sampling Strategies Using Lessons from Terrestrial Field Analogues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stevens, A. H.; Gentry, D.; Amador, E.; Cable, M. L.; Cantrell, T.; Chaudry, N.; Cullen, T.; Duca, Z.; Jacobsen, M.; Kirby, J.; McCaig, H.; Murukesan, G.; Rader, E.; Rennie, V.; Schwieterman, E.; Sutton, S.; Tan, G.; Yin, C.; Cullen, D.; Geppert, W.; Stockton, A.

2018-04-01

We detail multi-year field investigations in Icelandic Mars analogue environments that have yielded results that can help inform strategies for sample selection and downselection for Mars Sample Return.

Deciphering Martian climatic history using returned samples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paige, D. A.; Krieger, D. B.; Brigham, C. A.

1988-01-01

By necessity, a Mars sample return mission must sample the upper few meters of the Martian surface. This material was subjected to a wide variety of physical processes. Presently, the most important processes are believed to be wind-driven erosion and deposition, and water ice accumulation at higher latitudes. A sample return mission represents an opportunity to better understand and quantify these important geological processes. By obtaining sample cores at key locations, it may be possible to interpret much of recent Martian climatic history.

76 FR 9406 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Regulation Project

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-17

... Required to File Individual Income Tax Returns Using Magnetic Media--Taxpayer Choice Statements. DATES... Required to File Individual Income Tax Returns Using Magnetic Media--Taxpayer Choice Statements OMB Number... individual income tax returns using magnetic media pursuant to section 6011(e)(3) of the Internal Revenue...

Synchronized Lunar Pole Impact Plume Sample Return Trajectory Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Genova, Anthony L.; Foster, Cyrus; Colaprete, Tony

2016-01-01

The presented trajectory design enables two maneuverable spacecraft launched onto the same trans-lunar injection trajectory to coordinate a steep impact of a lunar pole and subsequent sample return of the ejecta plume to Earth. To demonstrate this concept, the impactor is assumed to use the LCROSS missions trajectory and spacecraft architecture, thus the permanently-shadowed Cabeus crater on the lunar south pole is assumed as the impact site. The sample-return spacecraft is assumed to be a CubeSat that requires a complimentary trajectory design that avoids lunar impact after passing through the ejecta plume to enable sample-return to Earth via atmospheric entry.

A Trade Study and Metric for Penetration and Sampling Devices for Possible Use on the NASA 2003 and 2005 Mars Sample Return Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McConnell, Joshua B.

2000-01-01

The scientific exploration of Mars will require the collection and return of subterranean samples to Earth for examination. This necessitates the use of some type of device or devices that possesses the ability to effectively penetrate the Martian surface, collect suitable samples and return them to the surface in a manner consistent with imposed scientific constraints. The first opportunity for such a device will occur on the 2003 and 2005 Mars Sample Return missions, being performed by NASA. This paper reviews the work completed on the compilation of a database containing viable penetrating and sampling devices, the performance of a system level trade study comparing selected devices to a set of prescribed parameters and the employment of a metric for the evaluation and ranking of the traded penetration and sampling devices, with respect to possible usage on the 03 and 05 sample return missions. The trade study performed is based on a select set of scientific, engineering, programmatic and socio-political criterion. The use of a metric for the various penetration and sampling devices will act to expedite current and future device selection.

Russian Planetary Program: Phobos and the Moon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galimov, E. M.; Marov, M. Ya.; Politshuk, G. M.; Zeleniy, L. M.

2006-08-01

Planetary exploration is a cornerstone of space science and technology development. Russia has a great legacy of the world recognized former space missions to the Moon and planets. Strategy of the Russian Federal Space Agency and the Russian Academy of Sciences planetary program for the coming decade is focused on space vehicle of new generation. The basic concept of this spacecraft development is the modern technology utilization, significant cost reduction and meeting objectives of the important science return. The bottom line is the use of middle class Soyuz-type launcher, which places the principal constraint on mass of the vehicle and mission profile. Flexibility in the design of space vehicle, including a possibility of SEP technology utilization, facilitates its adaptability for extended program of the solar system exploration. As the first step, the project is optimized around sample return mission from satellite of Mars Phobos ("Phobos-Grunt" or PSR) which is in the list of the Russian Federal Space Program for 2006 to 2015. It is to be launched in 2009 and completed in 2012. The experience gained from the former Russian "Phobos 88" serves as a clue to provide an important basis for the mission concept enabling solution of many problems of the project design and its implementation. There is a challenge to return relic matter from such small body like Phobos for the ground labs comprehensive study. The payload is also targeted for in-flight and extended remote sensing and in situ measurements using the capable instrument packages. The project is addressed as a milestone in the Russian program of the solar system study, with a potential for future ambitious missions to asteroids and comets pooling international efforts. Also endorsed by the Russian Federal Space Program is "Luna-Glob" mission to the Moon tentatively scheduled for 2011. The goal is to advance lunar science with the well instrumented orbiter, lander, and the network of penetrators. Return back to the Moon with the new modern technology utilization is a great challenge in the current phase of the solar system exploration.

Reassessment of Planetary Protection Requirements for Mars Sample Return Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, David; Race, Margaret; Farmer, Jack

In 2008, NASA asked the US National Research Council (NRC) to review the findings of the report, Mars Sample Return: Issues and Recommendations (National Academy Press, 1997), and to update its recommendations in the light of both current understanding of Mars's biolog-ical potential and ongoing improvements in biological, chemical, and physical sample-analysis capabilities and technologies. The committee established to address this request was tasked to pay particular attention to five topics. First, the likelihood that living entities may be included in samples returned from Mars. Second, scientific investigations that should be conducted to reduce uncertainty in the assessment of Mars' biological potential. Third, the possibility of large-scale effects on Earth's environment if any returned entity is released into the environment. Fourth, the status of technological measures that could be taken on a mission to prevent the inadvertent release of a returned sample into Earth's biosphere. Fifth, criteria for intentional sample release, taking note of current and anticipated regulatory frameworks. The paper outlines the recommendations contained in the committee's final report, Planetary Protection Requirements for Mars Sample Return Missions (The National Academies Press, 2009), with particular emphasis placed on the scientific, technical and policy changes since 1997 and indications as to how these changes modify the recommendations contained in the 1997 report.

Projected changes to short- and long-duration precipitation extremes over the Canadian Prairie Provinces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masud, M. B.; Khaliq, M. N.; Wheater, H. S.

2017-09-01

The effects of climate change on April-October short- and long-duration precipitation extremes over the Canadian Prairie Provinces were evaluated using a multi-Regional Climate Model (RCM) ensemble available through the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program. Simulations considered include those performed with six RCMs driven by the National Centre for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis II product for the 1981-2000 period and those driven by four Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Models (AOGCMs) for the current 1971-2000 and future 2041-2070 periods (i.e. a total of 11 current-to-future period simulation pairs). A regional frequency analysis approach was used to develop 2-, 5-, 10-, 25-, and 50-year return values of precipitation extremes from NCEP and AOGCM-driven current and future period simulations that respectively were used to study the performance of RCMs and projected changes for selected return values at regional, grid-cell and local scales. Performance errors due to internal dynamics and physics of RCMs studied for the 1981-2000 period reveal considerable variation in the performance of the RCMs. However, the performance errors were found to be much smaller for RCM ensemble averages than for individual RCMs. Projected changes in future climate to selected regional return values of short-duration (e.g. 15- and 30-min) precipitation extremes and for longer return periods (e.g. 50-year) were found to be mostly larger than those to the longer duration (e.g. 24- and 48-h) extremes and short return periods (e.g. 2-year). Overall, projected changes in precipitation extremes were larger for southeastern regions followed by southern and northern regions and smaller for southwestern and western regions of the study area. The changes to return values were also found to be statistically significant for the majority of the RCM-AOGCM simulation pairs. These projections might be useful as a key input for the future planning of urban drainage infrastructure and development of strategic climate change adaptation measures.

Evaluating Core Quality for a Mars Sample Return Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weiss, D. K.; Budney, C.; Shiraishi, L.; Klein, K.

2012-01-01

Sample return missions, including the proposed Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, propose to collect core samples from scientifically valuable sites on Mars. These core samples would undergo extreme forces during the drilling process, and during the reentry process if the EEV (Earth Entry Vehicle) performed a hard landing on Earth. Because of the foreseen damage to the stratigraphy of the cores, it is important to evaluate each core for rock quality. However, because no core sample return mission has yet been conducted to another planetary body, it remains unclear as to how to assess the cores for rock quality. In this report, we describe the development of a metric designed to quantitatively assess the mechanical quality of any rock cores returned from Mars (or other planetary bodies). We report on the process by which we tested the metric on core samples of Mars analogue materials, and the effectiveness of the core assessment metric (CAM) in assessing rock core quality before and after the cores were subjected to shocking (g forces representative of an EEV landing).

Technology for return of planetary samples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

Technological requirements of a planetary return sample mission were studied. The state-of-the-art for problems unique to this class of missions was assessed and technological gaps were identified. The problem areas where significant advancement of the state-of-the-art is required are: life support for the exobiota during the return trip and within the Planetary Receiving Laboratory (PRL); biohazard assessment and control technology; and quarantine qualified handling and experimentation methods and equipment for studying the returned sample in the PRL. Concepts for solving these problems are discussed.

Planetary protection issues for sample return missions.

PubMed

DeVincenzi, D L; Klein, H P

1989-01-01

Sample return missions from a comet nucleus and the Mars surface are currently under study in the US, USSR, and by ESA. Guidance on Planetary Protection (PP) issues is needed by mission scientists and engineers for incorporation into various elements of mission design studies. Although COSPAR has promulgated international policy on PP for various classes of solar system exploration missions, the applicability of this policy to sample return missions, in particular, remains vague. In this paper, we propose a set of implementing procedures to maintain the scientific integrity of these samples. We also propose that these same procedures will automatically assure that COSPAR-derived PP guidelines are achieved. The recommendations discussed here are the first step toward development of official COSPAR implementation requirements for sample return missions.

Orbiting Sample Capture and Orientation Technologies for Potential Mars Sample Return

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Younse, P.; Adajian, R.; Dolci, M.; Ohta, P.; Olds, E.; Lalla, K.; Strahle, J. W.

2018-04-01

Technologies applicable to a potential Mars Sample Return Orbiter for orbiting sample container capture and orientation are presented, as well as an integrated MArs CApture and ReOrientation for a potential NExt Mars Orbiter (MACARONE) concept.

Study of sample drilling techniques for Mars sample return missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mitchell, D. C.; Harris, P. T.

1980-01-01

To demonstrate the feasibility of acquiring various surface samples for a Mars sample return mission the following tasks were performed: (1) design of a Mars rover-mounted drill system capable of acquiring crystalline rock cores; prediction of performance, mass, and power requirements for various size systems, and the generation of engineering drawings; (2) performance of simulated permafrost coring tests using a residual Apollo lunar surface drill, (3) design of a rock breaker system which can be used to produce small samples of rock chips from rocks which are too large to return to Earth, but too small to be cored with the Rover-mounted drill; (4)design of sample containers for the selected regolith cores, rock cores, and small particulate or rock samples; and (5) design of sample handling and transfer techniques which will be required through all phase of sample acquisition, processing, and stowage on-board the Earth return vehicle. A preliminary design of a light-weight Rover-mounted sampling scoop was also developed.

A Draft Protocol for Detecting Possible Biohazards in Martian Samples Returned to Earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Viso, M.; DeVincenzi, D. L.; Race, M. S.; Schad, P. J.; Stabekis, P. D.; Acevedo, S. E.; Rummel, J. D.

2002-01-01

In preparation for missions to Mars that will involve the return of samples, it is necessary to prepare for the safe receiving, handling, testing, distributing, and archiving of martian materials here on Earth. Previous groups and committees have studied selected aspects of sample return activities, but a specific protocol for handling and testing of returned -=1 samples from Mars remained to be developed. To refine the requirements for Mars sample hazard testing and to develop criteria for the subsequent release of sample materials from precautionary containment, NASA Planetary Protection Officer, working in collaboration with CNES, convened a series of workshops to produce a Protocol by which returned martian sample materials could be assessed for biological hazards and examined for evidence of life (extant or extinct), while safeguarding the samples from possible terrestrial contamination. The Draft Protocol was then reviewed by an Oversight and Review Committee formed specifically for that purpose and composed of senior scientists. In order to preserve the scientific value of returned martian samples under safe conditions, while avoiding false indications of life within the samples, the Sample Receiving Facility (SRF) is required to allow handling and processing of the Mars samples to prevent their terrestrial contamination while maintaining strict biological containment. It is anticipated that samples will be able to be shipped among appropriate containment facilities wherever necessary, under procedures developed in cooperation with international appropriate institutions. The SRF will need to provide different types of laboratory environments for carrying out, beyond sample description and curation, the various aspects of the protocol: Physical/Chemical analysis, Life Detection testing, and Biohazard testing. The main principle of these tests will be described and the criteria for release will be discussed, as well as the requirements for the SRF and its personnel.

Demonstrator of atmospheric reentry system with hyperbolic velocity—DASH

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morita, Yasuhiro; Kawaguchi, Jun'ichiro; Inatani, Yoshifumi; Abe, Takashi

2003-01-01

Among a wide variety of challenging projects planned for the coming decade is the MUSES-C mission designed by the ISAS of Japan. Despite huge amount of data collected by the previous interplanetary spacecraft and probes, the origin and evolution of the solar system still remains unveiled due to their limited information. Thus, our concern has been directed toward a sample return to carry sample from an asteroid back to the earth, which will contribute to better understanding of the system. One of the keys to success is considered the reentry technology with hyperbolic velocity, which has not been demonstrated yet. With this as background, the demonstrator of atmospheric reentry system with hyperbolic velocity, DASH, has been given a commitment to demonstrate the high-speed reentry technology, which will be launched in summer of next year by Japan's H-IIA rocket in a piggyback configuration. The spaceship, composed of a reentry capsule and its carrier, will be injected into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) and after several revolutions it will deorbit by burn of a solid propellant deorbit motor. The capsule, identical to that of the sample return mission, can experience the targeted level of thermal environment even from the GTO by tracing a specially designed reentry trajectory.

A preliminary study of Mars rover/sample return missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

The Solar System Exploration Committee (SSEC) of the NASA Advisory Council recommends that a Mars Sample Return mission be undertaken before the year 2000. Comprehensive studies of a Mars Sample Return mission have been ongoing since 1984. The initial focus of these studies was an integrated mission concept with the surface rover and sample return vehicle elements delivered to Mars on a single launch and landed together. This approach, to be carried out as a unilateral U.S. initiative, is still a high priority goal in an Augmented Program of exploration, as the SSEC recommendation clearly states. With this background of a well-understood mission concept, NASA decided to focus its 1986 study effort on a potential opportunity not previously examined; namely, a Mars Rover/Sample Return (MRSR) mission which would involve a significant aspect of international cooperation. As envisioned, responsibility for the various mission operations and hardware elements would be divided in a logical manner with clearly defined and acceptable interfaces. The U.S. and its international partner would carry out separately launched but coordinated missions with the overall goal of accomplishing in situ science and returning several kilograms of surface samples from Mars. Important considerations for implementation of such a plan are minimum technology transfer, maximum sharing of scientific results, and independent credibility of each mission role. Under the guidance and oversight of a Mars Exploration Strategy Advisory Group organized by NASA, a study team was formed in the fall of 1986 to develop a preliminary definition of a flight-separable, cooperative mission. The selected concept assumes that the U.S. would undertake the rover mission with its sample collection operations and our international partner would return the samples to Earth. Although the inverse of these roles is also possible, this study report focuses on the rover functions of MRSR because rover operations have not been studied in as much detail as the sample return functions of the mission.

Mars Rover Sample Return mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bourke, Roger D.; Kwok, Johnny H.; Friedlander, Alan

1989-01-01

To gain a detailed understanding of the character of the planet Mars, it is necessary to send vehicle to the surface and return selected samples for intensive study in earth laboratories. Toward that end, studies have been underway for several years to determine the technically feasible means for exploring the surface and returning selected samples. This paper describes several MRSR mission concepts that have emerged from the most recent studies.

MOI to TEI : a Mars Sample Return strategy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Chad W.; Maddock, Robert W.

2006-01-01

This paper describes the issues and challenges related to the design of the rendezvous between the Earth Return Vehicle (ERV) and the Orbiting Sample (OS) for the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission. In particular, attention will be focused on the strategy for 'optimizing' the intermediate segment of the rendezvous process, during which there are a great number of variables that must be considered and well understood.

A Draft Test Protocol for Detecting Possible Biohazards in Martian Samples Returned to Earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rummel, John D. (Editor); Race, Margaret S.; DeVincenzi, Donald L.; Schad, P. Jackson; Stabekis, Pericles D.; Viso, Michel; Acevedo, Sara E.

2002-01-01

This document presents the first complete draft of a protocol for detecting possible biohazards in Mars samples returned to Earth: it is the final product of the Mars Sample Handling Protocol Workshop Series. convened in 2000-2001 by NASA's Planetary Protection Officer. The goal of the five-workshop Series vas to develop a comprehensive protocol by which returned martian sample materials could be assessed k r the presence of any biological hazard(s) while safeguarding the purity of the samples from possible terrestrial contamination.

Planetary sample rapid recovery and handling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

Methods for recovering and cost effectively handling planetary samples following return to the vicinity of Earth were designed for planetary mission planners. Three topics are addressed: (1) a rough cost estimate was produced for each of a series of options for the handling of planetary samples following their return to the vicinity of Earth; (2) the difficulty of quickly retrieving planetary samples from low circular and high elliptical Earth orbit is assessed; and (3) a conceptual design for a biological isolation and thermal control system for the returned sample and spacecraft is developed.

Mars Sample Handling Functionality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, M. A.; Mattingly, R. L.

2018-04-01

The final leg of a Mars Sample Return campaign would be an entity that we have referred to as Mars Returned Sample Handling (MRSH.) This talk will address our current view of the functional requirements on MRSH, focused on the Sample Receiving Facility (SRF).

JSC Advanced Curation: Research and Development for Current Collections and Future Sample Return Mission Demands

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fries, M. D.; Allen, C. C.; Calaway, M. J.; Evans, C. A.; Stansbery, E. K.

2015-01-01

Curation of NASA's astromaterials sample collections is a demanding and evolving activity that supports valuable science from NASA missions for generations, long after the samples are returned to Earth. For example, NASA continues to loan hundreds of Apollo program samples to investigators every year and those samples are often analyzed using instruments that did not exist at the time of the Apollo missions themselves. The samples are curated in a manner that minimizes overall contamination, enabling clean, new high-sensitivity measurements and new science results over 40 years after their return to Earth. As our exploration of the Solar System progresses, upcoming and future NASA sample return missions will return new samples with stringent contamination control, sample environmental control, and Planetary Protection requirements. Therefore, an essential element of a healthy astromaterials curation program is a research and development (R&D) effort that characterizes and employs new technologies to maintain current collections and enable new missions - an Advanced Curation effort. JSC's Astromaterials Acquisition & Curation Office is continually performing Advanced Curation research, identifying and defining knowledge gaps about research, development, and validation/verification topics that are critical to support current and future NASA astromaterials sample collections. The following are highlighted knowledge gaps and research opportunities.

Paleomagnetic Studies of Returned Samples from Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weiss, B. P.; Beaty, D. W.; McSween, H. Y.; Carrier, B. L.; Czaja, A. D.; Goreva, Y. S.; Hausrath, E.; Herd, C. D. K.; Humayun, M.; McCubbin, F. M.; McLennan, S. M.; Pratt, L. M.; Sephton, M. A.; Steele, A.

2018-04-01

Magnetic measurements of returned samples could transform our understanding of the martian dynamo and its connection to climatic and planetary thermal evolution and provide powerful constraints on the preservation state of sample biosignatures.

Planning Considerations Related to Collecting and Analyzing Samples of the Martian Soils

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Yang; Mellon, Mike T.; Ming, Douglas W.; Morris, Richard V.; Noble, Sarah K.; Sullivan, Robert J.; Taylor, Lawrence A.; Beaty, David W.

2014-01-01

The Mars Sample Return (MSR) End-to-End International Science Analysis Group (E2E-iSAG [1]) established scientific objectives associ-ated with Mars returned-sample science that require the return and investigation of one or more soil samples. Soil is defined here as loose, unconsolidated materials with no implication for the presence or absence of or-ganic components. The proposed Mars 2020 (M-2020) rover is likely to collect and cache soil in addition to rock samples [2], which could be followed by future sample retrieval and return missions. Here we discuss key scientific consid-erations for sampling and caching soil samples on the proposed M-2020 rover, as well as the state in which samples would need to be preserved when received by analysts on Earth. We are seeking feedback on these draft plans as input to mission requirement formulation. A related planning exercise on rocks is reported in an accompanying abstract [3].

After the War: Stories of the women who did scientific and technical work on the Manhattan Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howes, Ruth

2014-03-01

When the Japanese surrendered on September 2, 1945, the crash research program of the Manhattan Project abruptly ended although the labs continued to produce nuclear weapons to supplement the single implosion bomb ready for deployment. The older (over 25) members of the scientific staff at Los Alamos and other Manhattan Project sites were eager to return to jobs at universities and in industry, and the younger staff members wanted to finish graduate degrees. Women were no exception to this rule. In addition, the government launched a huge propaganda effort to persuade women to leave the workforce and make jobs available for returning GIs. Doors that had been open to women scientists and technicians abruptly closed as the economy returned to a peacetime footing. Stories of the women scientists and technicians of the Manhattan Project illustrate the strategies they used to meet these challenges as well as their remarkable determination to continue their careers.

26 CFR 1.6050D-1 - Information returns relating to energy grants and financing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... projects designed to conserve or produce energy shall make an information return for each calendar year... conservation expenditures or renewable energy source expenditures made by the taxpayer before January 1, 1986... 26 Internal Revenue 13 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Information returns relating to energy grants...

Return to General Education and Vocational Education & Training in Indian Context: Policy Implications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahmed, Tutan; Chattopadhyay, Raghabendra

2016-01-01

Purpose: Measurement of returns to vocational education has always remained a matter of controversy (Psacharopoulos, 1994; Bennell and Segerstrom, 1998; Ziderman, 1997). Based upon the return evidence many World Bank projects were scrapped (Middleton and Ziderman, 1997, Bennell and Segerstrom, 1998). However, there is again a growing interest for…

A sample return mission to a pristine NEO submitted to ESA CV 2015-2025

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michel, P.; Barucci, A.

2007-08-01

ESA Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 aims at furthering Europe's achievements in space science, for the benefit of all mankind. ESA' multinational Space Science Advisory Committee prepared the final plan, which contains a selection of themes and priorities. In the theme concerning how the Solar System works, a Near-Earth Object (NEO) sample return mission is indicated among the priorities. Indeed, small bodies, as primitive leftover building blocks of the Solar System formation process, offer clues to the chemical mixture from which the planets formed some 4.6 billion years ago. The Near Earth Objects (NEOs) are representative of the population of asteroids and dead comets and are thought to be similar in many ways to the ancient planetesimal swarms that accreted to form the planets. NEOs are thus fundamentally interesting and highly accessible targets for scientific research and space missions. A sample return space mission to a pristine NEO has thus been proposed in partnership with the Japanese Space Agency JAXA, involving a large European community of scientists. The principal objectives are to obtained crucial information about 1) the properties of the building blocks of the terrestrial planets; 2) the major events (e.g. agglomeration, heating, ... .) which ruled the history of planetesimals; 3) the properties of primitive asteroids which may contain presolar material unknown in meteoritic samples; 4) the organics in primitive materials; 5) the initial conditions and evolution history of the solar nebula; and 6) on the potential origin of molecules necessary for life. This project appears clearly to have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of primitive materials. It involves a main spacescraft which will allow the determination of important physical properties of the target (shape, mass, crater distribution . . . ) and which will take samples by a touch-and-go procedure, a Lander for in-situ investigation of the sampling site, and sampling depending on technological development and resource allocations, a re-entry capsule, and scientific payloads. We will present the mission targets, scenarios and techniques that have been proposed.

The shift from defined benefit pensions to 401(k) plans and the pension assets of the baby boom cohort

PubMed Central

Poterba, James; Venti, Steven; Wise, David A.

2007-01-01

The rise of 401(k) plans and the decline of defined benefit plans will have an important effect on the wealth of future retirees. Changing demographic structure also will affect the aggregate stock of retirement wealth. We project the stock of assets held in retirement plans and the average retirement saving of retirees through 2040. Our projections show large increases in wealth at retirement, especially if the returns on corporate equities are comparable with historical returns. Retirement wealth will grow, however, even if equity returns fall substantially below their historical level. PMID:17686989

Mars Sample Return Spacecraft Before Arrival Artist Concept

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-06-20

This artist concept of a proposed Mars sample return mission portrays an aeroshell-encased spacecraft approaching Mars. This spacecraft would put a sample-retrieving rover and an ascent vehicle onto the surface of Mars.

Project EGRESS: The design of an assured crew return vehicle for the space station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

Keeping preliminary studies by NASA in mind, an Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV) was developed. The system allows the escape of one or more crew members from Space Station Freedom in case of emergency. The design of the vehicle addresses propulsion, orbital operations, reentry, landing and recovery, power and communication, and life support. In light of recent modifications in Space Station design, Project EGRESS (Earthbound Guaranteed ReEntry from Space Station) pays particular attention to its impact on Space Station operations, interfaces and docking facilities, and maintenance needs. A water landing, medium lift vehicle was found to best satisfy project goals of simplicity and cost efficiency without sacrificing the safety and reliability requirements. With a single vehicle, one injured crew member could be returned to Earth with minimal pilot involvement. Since the craft is capable of returning up to five crew members, two such permanently docked vehicles would allow full evacuation of the Space Station. The craft could be constructed entirely with available 1990 technology and launched aboard a shuttle orbiter.

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

"Harry" a Goldendoodle is seen wearing a NASA backpack during the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) "TouchTomorrow" education and outreach event that was held in tandem with the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge on Saturday, June 16, 2012 in Worcester, Mass. The challenge tasked robotic teams to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

Team members of "Survey" drive their robot around the campus on Saturday, June 16, 2012 at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. The Survey team was one of the final teams participating in the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge at WPI. Teams were challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-15

University of Waterloo (Canada) Robotics Team members test their robot on the practice field one day prior to the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge, Friday, June 15, 2012 at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Mass. Teams will compete for a $1.5 million NASA prize to build an autonomous robot that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-14

A University of Waterloo Robotics Team member tests their robot on the practice field two days prior to the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge, Thursday, June 14, 2012 at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Mass. Teams will compete for a $1.5 million NASA prize to build an autonomous robot that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Lunar far side sample return missions using the Soviet Luna system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, P. H., Jr.

1977-01-01

The paper assesses the feasibility of using the Soviet Lunar Sample Return vehicle in cooperation with the United States to return a sample of lunar soil from the far side of the moon. Analysis of the orbital mechanics of the Luna system shows how landing sites are restricted on the moon. The trajectory model is used to duplicate the 3 Luna missions flown to date and the results compared to actual Soviet data. The existence of suitable trajectories for the earth return trip is assessed, including landing dispersions at earth. Several possible areas of technical difficulty are identified.

It's Time to Develop a New "Draft Test Protocol" for a Mars Sample Return Mission (or Two…).

PubMed

Rummel, John D; Kminek, Gerhard

2018-04-01

The last time NASA envisioned a sample return mission from Mars, the development of a protocol to support the analysis of the samples in a containment facility resulted in a "Draft Test Protocol" that outlined required preparations "for the safe receiving, handling, testing, distributing, and archiving of martian materials here on Earth" (Rummel et al., 2002 ). This document comprised a specific protocol to be used to conduct a biohazard test for a returned martian sample, following the recommendations of the Space Studies Board of the US National Academy of Sciences. Given the planned launch of a sample-collecting and sample-caching rover (Mars 2020) in 2 years' time, and with a sample return planned for the end of the next decade, it is time to revisit the Draft Test Protocol to develop a sample analysis and biohazard test plan to meet the needs of these future missions. Key Words: Biohazard detection-Mars sample analysis-Sample receiving facility-Protocol-New analytical techniques-Robotic sample handling. Astrobiology 18, 377-380.

Laser remote sensing of backscattered light from a target sample

DOEpatents

Sweatt, William C [Albuquerque, NM; Williams, John D [Albuquerque, NM

2008-02-26

A laser remote sensing apparatus comprises a laser to provide collimated excitation light at a wavelength; a sensing optic, comprising at least one optical element having a front receiving surface to focus the received excitation light onto a back surface comprising a target sample and wherein the target sample emits a return light signal that is recollimated by the front receiving surface; a telescope for collecting the recollimated return light signal from the sensing optic; and a detector for detecting and spectrally resolving the return light signal. The back surface further can comprise a substrate that absorbs the target sample from an environment. For example the substrate can be a SERS substrate comprising a roughened metal surface. The return light signal can be a surface-enhanced Raman signal or laser-induced fluorescence signal. For fluorescence applications, the return signal can be enhanced by about 10.sup.5, solely due to recollimation of the fluorescence return signal. For SERS applications, the return signal can be enhanced by 10.sup.9 or more, due both to recollimation and to structuring of the SERS substrate so that the incident laser and Raman scattered fields are in resonance with the surface plasmons of the SERS substrate.

Investigating the Geological History of Asteroid 101955 Bennu Through Remote Sensing and Returned Sample Analyses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Messenger, S.; Connolly, H. C., Jr.; Lauretta, D. S.; Bottke, W. F.

2014-01-01

The NASA New Frontiers Mission OSRIS-REx will return surface regolith samples from near-Earth asteroid 101955 Bennu in September 2023. This target is classified as a B-type asteroid and is spectrally similar to CI and CM chondrite meteorites [1]. The returned samples are thus expected to contain primitive ancient Solar System materials that formed in planetary, nebular, interstellar, and circumstellar environments. Laboratory studies of primitive astromaterials have yielded detailed constraints on the origins, properties, and evolutionary histories of a wide range of Solar System bodies. Yet, the parent bodies of meteorites and cosmic dust are generally unknown, genetic and evolutionary relationships among asteroids and comets are unsettled, and links between laboratory and remote observations remain tenuous. The OSIRIS-REx mission will offer the opportunity to coordinate detailed laboratory analyses of asteroidal materials with known and well characterized geological context from which the samples originated. A primary goal of the OSIRIS-REx mission will be to provide detailed constraints on the origin and geological and dynamical history of Bennu through coordinated analytical studies of the returned samples. These microanalytical studies will be placed in geological context through an extensive orbital remote sensing campaign that will characterize the global geological features and chemical diversity of Bennu. The first views of the asteroid surface and of the returned samples will undoubtedly bring remarkable surprises. However, a wealth of laboratory studies of meteorites and spacecraft encounters with primitive bodies provides a useful framework to formulate priority scientific questions and effective analytical approaches well before the samples are returned. Here we summarize our approach to unraveling the geological history of Bennu through returned sample analyses.

Airborne Observation of the Hayabusa Sample Return Capsule Re-Entry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grinstead, Jay H.; Jenniskens, Peter; Cassell, Alan M.; Albers, James; Winter, Michael W.

2011-01-01

NASA Ames Research Center and the SETI Institute collaborated on an effort to observe the Earth re-entry of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Hayabusa sample return capsule. Hayabusa was an asteroid exploration mission that retrieved a sample from the near-Earth asteroid Itokawa. Its sample return capsule re-entered over the Woomera Prohibited Area in southern Australia on June 13, 2010. Being only the third sample return mission following NASA's Genesis and Stardust missions, Hayabusa's return was a rare opportunity to collect aerothermal data from an atmospheric entry capsule returning at superorbital speeds. NASA deployed its DC-8 airborne laboratory and a team of international researchers to Australia for the re-entry. For approximately 70 seconds, spectroscopic and radiometric imaging instruments acquired images and spectra of the capsule, its wake, and destructive re-entry of the spacecraft bus. Once calibrated, spectra of the capsule will be interpreted to yield data for comparison with and validation of high fidelity and engineering simulation tools used for design and development of future atmospheric entry system technologies. A brief summary of the Hayabusa mission, the preflight preparations and observation mission planning, mission execution, and preliminary spectral data are documented.

Low encounter speed comet COMA sample return missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsou, P.; Yen, C. W.; Albee, A. L.

1994-01-01

Comets, being considered the most primitive bodies in the solar system, command the highest priority among solar-system objects for studying solar nebula evolution and the evolution of life through biogenic elements and compounds. The study of comets, and more especially, of material from them, provides an understanding of the physical, chemical, and mineralogical processes operative in the formation and earliest development of the solar systems. These return samples will provide valuable information on comets and serve as a rosetta stone for the analytical studies conducted on interplanetary dust particles over the past two decades, and will provide much needed extraterrestrial samples for the planetary materials community since the Apollo program. Lander sample return missions require rather complex spacecraft, intricate operations, and costly propulsion systems. By contrast, it is possible to take a highly simplified approach for sample capture and return in the case of a comet. In the past, we have considered Earth free-return trajectory to the comet, in which passive collectors intercept dust and volatiles from the cometary coma. However, standard short period cometary free-return trajectories results in the comet to the spacecraft encounter speeds in the range of 10 km/s. At these speeds the kinetic energy of the capture process can render significant modification of dust structure, change of solid phase as well as the lost of volatiles components. This paper presents a class of new missions with trajectories with significant reduction of encounter speeds by incorporating gravity assists and deep space maneuvering. Low encounter speed cometary flyby sample return will enable a marked increase in the value of the return science. Acquiring thousands of samples from a known comet and thousands of images of a comet nucleus would be space firsts. Applying new approach in flight mechanics to generate a new class of low encounter speed cometary sample return trajectories opens new possibilities in science. A systematic search of trajectories for the first decade of the twenty-first century will be made. The target encounter speed is for less than 7 km/s to short period comets.

Organic and inorganic geochemistry of samples returned from Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kotra, R. K.; Johnson, R. G.

1988-01-01

Although a tremendous amount of knowledge can be obtained by in situ experiments on Mars, greater benefits will be realized with the sample return mission from the perspective of exobiology. Sampling techniques are briefly discussed.

Robotic Sample Manipulator for Handling Astromaterials Inside the Geolab Microgravity Glovebox

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bell, Mary S.; Calaway, M. J.; Evans, C. A.; Li,Z.; Tong, S.; Zhong, Y.; Dahiwala, R.; Wang, L.; Porter, F.

2013-01-01

Future human and robotic sample return missions will require isolation containment systems with strict protocols and procedures for reducing inorganic and organic contamination. Robotic handling and manipulation of astromaterials may be required for preliminary examination inside such an isolation containment system. In addition, examination of astromaterials in microgravity will require constant contact to secure samples during manipulation. The National Space Grant Foundation exploration habitat (XHab) academic innovative challenge 2012 administered through the NASA advanced exploration systems (AES) deep space habitat (DSH) project awarded funding to the University of Bridgeport team to develop an engineering design for tools to facilitate holding and handling geological samples for analysis in a microgravity glovebox environment. The Bridgeport XHab team developed a robotic arm system with a three-finger gripper that could manipulate geologic samples within the existing GeoLab glovebox integrated into NASA's DSH called the GeoLab Robotic Sample Manipulator (see fig. 1 and 2). This hardware was deployed and tested during the 2012 DSH mission operations tests [1].

Contamination Knowledge Strategy for the Mars 2020 Sample-Collecting Rover

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farley, K. A.; Williford, K.; Beaty, D W.; McSween, H. Y.; Czaja, A. D.; Goreva, Y. S.; Hausrath, E.; Herd, C. D. K.; Humayun, M.; McCubbin, F. M.;

Backward Planetary Protection Issues and Possible Solutions for Icy Plume Sample Return Missions from Astrobiological Targets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yano, Hajime; McKay, Christopher P.; Anbar, Ariel; Tsou, Peter

The recent report of possible water vapor plumes at Europa and Ceres, together with the well-known Enceladus plume containing water vapor, salt, ammonia, and organic molecules, suggests that sample return missions could evolve into a generic approach for outer Solar System exploration in the near future, especially for the benefit of astrobiology research. Sampling such plumes can be accomplished via fly-through mission designs, modeled after the successful Stardust mission to capture and return material from Comet Wild-2 and multiple, precise trajectory controls of the Cassini mission to fly through Enceladus’ plume. The proposed LIFE (Life Investigation For Enceladus) mission to Enceladus, which would sample organic molecules from the plume of that apparently habitable world, provides one example of the appealing scientific return of such missions. Beyond plumes, the upper atmosphere of Titan could also be sampled in this manner. The SCIM mission to Mars, also inspired by Stardust, would sample and return aerosol dust in the upper atmosphere of Mars and thus extends this concept even to other planetary bodies. Such missions share common design needs. In particular, they require large exposed sampler areas (or sampler arrays) that can be contained to the standards called for by international planetary protection protocols that COSPAR Planetary Protection Policy (PPP) recommends. Containment is also needed because these missions are driven by astrobiologically relevant science - including interest in organic molecules - which argues against heat sterilization that could destroy scientific value of samples. Sample containment is a daunting engineering challenge. Containment systems must be carefully designed to appropriate levels to satisfy the two top requirements: planetary protection policy and the preserving the scientific value of samples. Planning for Mars sample return tends to center on a hermetic seal specification (i.e., gas-tight against helium escape). While this is an ideal specification, it far exceeds the current PPP requirements for Category-V “restricted Earth return”, which typically center on a probability of escape of a biologically active particle (e.g., < 1 in 10 (6) chance of escape of particles > 50 nm diameter). Particles of this size (orders of magnitude larger than a helium atom) are not volatile and generally “sticky” toward surfaces; the mobility of viruses and biomolecules requires aerosolization. Thus, meeting the planetary protection challenge does not require hermetic seal. So far, only a handful of robotic missions accomplished deep space sample returns, i.e., Genesis, Stardust and Hayabusa. This year, Hayabusa-2 will be launched and OSIRIS-REx will follow in a few years. All of these missions are classified as “unrestricted Earth return” by the COSPAR PPP recommendation. Nevertheless, scientific requirements of organic contamination control have been implemented to all WBS regarding sampling mechanism and Earth return capsule of Hayabusa-2. While Genesis, Stardust and OSIRIS-REx capsules “breathe” terrestrial air as they re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, temporal “air-tight” design was already achieved by the Hayabusa-1 sample container using a double O-ring seal, and that for the Hayabusa-2 will retain noble gas and other released gas from returned solid samples using metal seal technology. After return, these gases can be collected through a filtered needle interface without opening the entire container lid. This expertise can be extended to meeting planetary protection requirements from “restricted return” targets. There are still some areas requiring new innovations, especially to assure contingency robustness in every phase of a return mission. These must be achieved by meeting both PPP and scientific requirements during initial design and WBS of the integrated sampling system including the Earth return capsule. It is also important to note that international communities in planetary protection, sample return science, and deep space engineering must meet to enable this game-changing opportunity of Outer Solar System exploration.

Introduction to Mars Sampling Handling Workshop Series. Workshop on Life Detection: Issues and Topics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rummel, John D.

2001-01-01

Before martian soil and rock samples can be distributed to the research community, the returned materials will initially be quarantined and examined in a proposed BSL-4 containment facility to assure that no putative martian microorganisms or attendant potential biohazards exist. During the initial quarantine, state-of-the-art life detection and biohazard testing of the returned martian samples will be conducted. Life detection, as defined here in regard to Mars sample return missions, is the detection of living organisms and/or materials that have been derived from living organisms that may be present in the sample.

A Draft Test Protocol for Detecting Possible Biohazards in Martian Samples Returned to Earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rummel, John D.; Race, Margaret S.; DeVinenzi, Donald L.; Schad, P. Jackson; Stabekis, Pericles D.; Viso, Michel; Acevedo, Sara E.

2002-01-01

This document presents the first complete draft of a protocol for detecting possible biohazards in Mars samples returned to Earth; it is the final product of the Mars Sample Handling Protocol Workshop Series, convened in 2000-2001 by NASA's Planetary Protection Officer. The goal of the five-workshop Series vas to develop a comprehensive protocol by which returned martian sample materials could be assessed for the presence of any biological hazard(s) while safeguarding the purity of the samples from possible terrestrial contamination The reference numbers for the proceedings from the five individual Workshops.

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, left, listens as Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Robotics Resource Center Director and NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge Judge Ken Stafford points out how the robots navigate the playing field during the challenge on Saturday, June 16, 2012 in Worcester, Mass. Teams were challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, right, listens as Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Robotics Resource Center Director and NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge Judge Ken Stafford points out how the robots navigate the playing field during the challenge on Saturday, June 16, 2012 in Worcester, Mass. Teams were challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

Posters for the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) "TouchTomorrow" education and outreach event are seen posted around the campus on Saturday, June 16, 2012 at WPI in Worcester, Mass. The TouchTomorrow event was held in tandem with the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge. The NASA-WPI challenge tasked robotic teams to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

Panoramic of some of the exhibits available on the campus of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) during their "TouchTomorrow" education and outreach event that was held in tandem with the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge on Saturday, June 16, 2012 in Worcester, Mass. The NASA-WPI challenge tasked robotic teams to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Anthony Shrout)

Soyuz 24 Return Samples: Assessment of Air Quality Aboard the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

James, John T.

2011-01-01

Fifteen mini-grab sample containers (m-GSCs) were returned aboard Soyuz. This is the first time all samples were acquired with the mini-grab samplers. The toxicological assessment of 15 m-GSCs from the ISS is shown. The recoveries of the 3 internal standards, C(13)-acetone, fluorobenzene, and chlorobenzene, from the GSCs averaged 75, 97 and 79%, respectively. Formaldehyde badges were not returned on Soyuz 24

SOCCER: Comet Coma Sample Return Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Albee, A. L.; Uesugi, K. T.; Tsou, Peter

1994-01-01

Comets, being considered the most primitive bodies in the solar system, command the highest priority among solar system objects for studying solar nebula evolution and the evolution of life through biogenic elements and compounds. Sample Of Comet Coma Earth Return (SOCCER), a joint effort between NASA and the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) in Japan, has two primary science objectives: (1) the imaging of the comet nucleus and (2) the return to Earth of samples of volatile species and intact dust. This effort makes use of the unique strengths and capabilities of both countries in realizing this important quest for the return of samples from a comet. This paper presents an overview of SOCCER's science payloads, engineering flight system, and its mission operations.

Capital projects: Economic and financial analyses of nine capital projects in Egypt. Technical report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hanrahan, M.; Walker, J.

1994-03-01

Over the period 1977-92, the US Agency for International Development (A.I.D.) funded nine capital projects in Egypt, which collectively increased electric power generation, introduced a modern telephone system in Cairo and Alexandria, and rehabilitated a water and sewer system that served 23 million people. This study presents detailed ex post facto analyses of the projects` economic and financial internal rates of return. The methodology, assumptions, and data are examined and described. Results indicate a mixed performance, with generally low to medium financial and economic rates of return. In large measure, the poor performance was due to the Egyptian Government`s poormore » economic policies.« less

The application of large numbers of pleasure boats to collect synoptic sea-truth for ERTS-1 overpasses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klemas, V. (Principal Investigator); Davis, G.; Philpot, W.

1974-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. In order to interpret and annotate current circulation and suspended sediment concentration maps derived from ERTS-1 digital tapes, the University of Delaware has been collecting water samples and other data from boats and helicopters. In order to increase the number of samples at the exact time of the ERTS-1 pass over Delaware Bay, pleasure craft were organized to obtain samples of the entire test site. On the ERTS-1 pass of July second, scientists were stationed at three public boat launches along the Bay to hand out sampling packets to interested boaters. The packets contained two litre sampling bottles, a map, data card, and a pen. The boaters were asked to fill the two bottles between 11 and 11:15 a.m., mark their location on the map, and fill out the data card. Forty-nine packets were handed out of which 40 were returned (82%). Only four of the 40 were not in the alloted time range. This gave 36 real time data points covering approximately 30 nautical miles. The samples are being analyzed for sediment concentration, particle size, and salinity. Participating boaters will receive a copy of an ERTS image of the Delaware Bay and a summary report of the project. Because of the success of the project, future use of pleasure boaters is being planned.

Sampling Mars: Analytical requirements and work to do in advance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koeberl, Christian

1988-01-01

Sending a mission to Mars to collect samples and return them to the Earth for analysis is without doubt one of the most exciting and important tasks for planetary science in the near future. Many scientifically important questions are associated with the knowledge of the composition and structure of Martian samples. Amongst the most exciting questions is the clarification of the SNC problem- to prove or disprove a possible Martian origin of these meteorites. Since SNC meteorites have been used to infer the chemistry of the planet Mars, and its evolution (including the accretion history), it would be important to know if the whole story is true. But before addressing possible scientific results, we have to deal with the analytical requirements, and with possible pre-return work. It is unlikely to expect that a possible Mars sample return mission will bring back anything close to the amount returned by the Apollo missions. It will be more like the amount returned by the Luna missions, or at least in that order of magnitude. This requires very careful sample selection, and very precise analytical techniques. These techniques should be able to use minimal sample sizes and on the other hand optimize the scientific output. The possibility to work with extremely small samples should not obstruct another problem: possible sampling errors. As we know from terrestrial geochemical studies, sampling procedures are quite complicated and elaborate to ensure avoiding sampling errors. The significance of analyzing a milligram or submilligram sized sample and putting that in relationship with the genesis of whole planetary crusts has to be viewed with care. This leaves a dilemma on one hand, to minimize the sample size as far as possible in order to have the possibility of returning as many different samples as possible, and on the other hand to take a sample large enough to be representative. Whole rock samples are very useful, but should not exceed the 20 to 50 g range, except in cases of extreme inhomogeneity, because for larger samples the information tends to become redundant. Soil samples should be in the 2 to 10 g range, permitting the splitting of the returned samples for studies in different laboratories with variety of techniques.

Seeking Signs of Life on Mars: The Importance of Sedimentary Suites as Part of Mars Sample Return

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

iMOST Team; Mangold, N.; McLennan, S. M.; Czaja, A. D.; Ori, G. G.; Tosca, N. J.; Altieri, F.; Amelin, Y.; Ammannito, E.; Anand, M.; Beaty, D. W.; Benning, L. G.; Bishop, J. L.; Borg, L. E.; Boucher, D.; Brucato, J. R.; Busemann, H.; Campbell, K. A.; Carrier, B. L.; Debaille, V.; Des Marais, D. J.; Dixon, M.; Ehlmann, B. L.; Farmer, J. D.; Fernandez-Remolar, D. C.; Fogarty, J.; Glavin, D. P.; Goreva, Y. S.; Grady, M. M.; Hallis, L. J.; Harrington, A. D.; Hausrath, E. M.; Herd, C. D. K.; Horgan, B.; Humayun, M.; Kleine, T.; Kleinhenz, J.; Mackelprang, R.; Mayhew, L. E.; McCubbin, F. M.; McCoy, J. T.; McSween, H. Y.; Moser, D. E.; Moynier, F.; Mustard, J. F.; Niles, P. B.; Raulin, F.; Rettberg, P.; Rucker, M. A.; Schmitz, N.; Sefton-Nash, E.; Sephton, M. A.; Shaheen, R.; Shuster, D. L.; Siljestrom, S.; Smith, C. L.; Spry, J. A.; Steele, A.; Swindle, T. D.; ten Kate, I. L.; Usui, T.; Van Kranendonk, M. J.; Wadhwa, M.; Weiss, B. P.; Werner, S. C.; Westall, F.; Wheeler, R. M.; Zipfel, J.; Zorzano, M. P.

2018-04-01

Sedimentary, and especially lacustrine, depositional environments are high-priority geological/astrobiological settings for Mars Sample Return. We review the detailed investigations, measurements, and sample types required to evaluate such settings.

Triple F - A Comet Nucleus Sample Return Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kueppers, Michael; Keller, Horst Uwe; Kuhrt, Ekkehard; A'Hearn, Michael; Altwegg, Kathrin; Betrand, Regis; Busemann, Henner; Capria, Maria Teresa; Colangeli, Luigi

2008-01-01

The Triple F (Fresh From the Fridge) mission, a Comet Nucleus Sample Return, has been proposed to ESA s Cosmic Vision program. A sample return from a comet enables us to reach the ultimate goal of cometary research. Since comets are the least processed bodies in the solar system, the proposal goes far beyond cometary science topics (like the explanation of cometary activity) and delivers invaluable information about the formation of the solar system and the interstellar molecular cloud from which it formed. The proposed mission would extract three samples of the upper 50 cm from three locations on a cometary nucleus and return them cooled to Earth for analysis in the laboratory. The simple mission concept with a touch-and-go sampling by a single spacecraft was proposed as an M-class mission in collaboration with the Russian space agency ROSCOSMOS.

Triple F - A Comet Nucleus Sample Return Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kueppers, Michael; Keller, H. U.; Kuehrt, E.; A'Hearn, M. F.; Altwegg, K.; Bertrand, R.; Busemann, H.; Capria, M. T.; Colangeli, L.; Davidsson, B.;

A Genesis breakup and burnup analysis in off-nominal Earth return and atmospheric entry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Salama, Ahmed; Ling, Lisa; McRonald, Angus

2005-01-01

The Genesis project conducted a detailed breakup/burnup analysis before the Earth return to determine if any spacecraft component could survive and reach the ground intact in case of an off-nominal entry. In addition, an independent JPL team was chartered with the responsibility of analyzing several definitive breakup scenarios to verify the official project analysis. This paper presents the analysis and results of this independent team.

Winged cargo return vehicle. Volume 1: Conceptual design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The Advanced Design Project (ADP) allows an opportunity for students to work in conjunction with NASA and other aerospace companies on NASA Advanced Design Projects. The following volumes represent the design report: Volume 1 Conceptual Design; Volume 2 Wind Tunnel Tests; Volume 3 Structural Analysis; and Volume 4 Water Tunnel Tests. The project chosen by the University of Minnesota in conjunction with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center for this year is a Cargo Return Vehicle (CRV) to support the Space Station Freedom. The vehicle is the third generation of vehicles to be built by NASA, the first two being the Apollo program, and the Space Shuttle program. The CRV is to work in conjunction with a personnel launch system (PLS) to further subdivide and specialize the vehicles that NASA will operate in the year 2000. The cargo return vehicle will carry payload to and from the Space Station Freedom (SSF).

Arc Jet Testing of Carbon Phenolic for Mars Sample Return and Future NASA Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Laub, Bernard; Chen, Yih-Kanq; Skokova, Kristina; Delano, Chad

2004-01-01

The objective of the Mars Sample Return (MSR) Mission is to return a sample of MArtian soil to Earth. The Earth Entry Vehicle (EEV) brings te samples through the atmosphere to the ground.The program aims to: Model aerothermal environment during EEV flight; On the basis of results, select potential TPS materials for EEV forebody; Fabricate TPS materials; Test the materials in the arc jet environment representative of predicted flight environment;Evaluate material performance; Compare results of modeling predictions with test results.

The Ph-D project: Manned expedition to the Moons of Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singer, S. Fred

2000-01-01

The Ph-D (Phobos-Deimos) mission involves the transfer of six to eight men (and women), including two medical scientists, from Earth orbit to Deimos, the outer satellite of Mars. There follows a sequential program of unmanned exploration of the surface of Mars by means of some ten to twenty unmanned rover vehicles, each of which returns Mars samples to the Deimos laboratory. A two-man sortie descends to the surface of Mars to gain a direct geological perspective and develop priorities in selecting samples. At the same time, other astronauts conduct a coordinated program of exploration (including sample studies) of Phobos and Deimos. Bringing men close to Mars to control exploration is shown to have scientific and other advantages over either (i) (manned) control from the Earth, or (ii) manned operations from Mars surface. The mission is envisaged to take place after 2010, and to last about two years (including a three-to six-month stay at Deimos). Depending on then-available technology, take-off weight from Earth orbit is of the order of 300 tons. A preferred mission scheme may preposition propellants and equipment at Deimos by means of ``slow freight,'' possibly using a ``gravity boost'' from Venus. It is then followed by a ``manned express'' that conveys the astronauts more rapidly to Deimos. Both chemical and electric propulsion are used in this mission, as appropriate. Electric power is derived from solar and nuclear sources. Assuming that certain development costs can be shared with space-station programs, the incremental cost of the project is estimated as less than $40 billion (in 1998 dollars), expended over a 15-year period. The potential scientific returns are both unique and important: (i) Establishing current or ancient existence of life-forms on Mars; (ii) Understanding the causes of climate change by comparing Earth and Mars; (iii) Martian planetary history; (iv) Nature and origin of the Martian moons. Beyond the Ph-D Project, many advanced programs beckon; discussed here are exploitation of Martian resources, Martian ``agriculture'', and the possibility of planetary engineering experiments that can benefit survival on the Earth. .

Spatial Mapping of Organic Carbon in Returned Samples from Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siljeström, S.; Fornaro, T.; Greenwalt, D.; Steele, A.

2018-04-01

To map organic material spatially to minerals present in the sample will be essential for the understanding of the origin of any organics in returned samples from Mars. It will be shown how ToF-SIMS may be used to map organics in samples from Mars.

The Importance of Meteorite Collections to Sample Return Missions: Past, Present, and Future Considerations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Welzenbach, L. C.; McCoy, T. J.; Glavin, D. P.; Dworkin, J. P.; Abell, P. A.

2012-01-01

While much of the scientific community s current attention is drawn to sample return missions, it is the existing meteorite and cosmic dust collections that both provide the paradigms to be tested by these missions and the context for interpreting the results. Recent sample returns from the Stardust and Hayabusa missions provided us with new materials and insights about our Solar System history and processes. As an example, Stardust sampled CAIs among the population of cometary grains, requiring extensive and unexpected radial mixing in the early solar nebula. This finding would not have been possible, however, without extensive studies of meteoritic CAIs that established their high-temperature, inner Solar System formation. Samples returned by Stardust also revealed the first evidence of a cometary amino acid, a discovery that would not have been possible with current in situ flight instrument technology. The Hayabusa mission provided the final evidence linking ordinary chondrites and S asteroids, a hypothesis that developed from centuries of collection and laboratory and ground-based telescopic studies. In addition to these scientific findings, studies of existing meteorite collections have defined and refined the analytical techniques essential to studying returned samples. As an example, the fortuitous fall of the Allende CV3 and Murchison CM2 chondrites within months before the return of Apollo samples allowed testing of new state-of-the-art analytical facilities. The results of those studies not only prepared us to better study lunar materials, but unanticipated discoveries changed many of our concepts about the earliest history and processes of the solar nebula. This synergy between existing collections and future space exploration is certainly not limited to sample return missions. Laboratory studies confirmed the existence of meteorites from Mars and raised the provocative possibility of preservation of ancient microbial life. The laboratory studies in turn led to a new wave of Mars exploration that ultimately could lead to sample return focused on evidence for past or present life. This partnership between collections and missions will be increasingly important in the coming decades as we discover new questions to be addressed and identify targets for for both robotic and human exploration . Nowhere is this more true than in the ultimate search for the abiotic and biotic processes that produced life. Existing collections also provide the essential materials for developing and testing new analytical schemes to detect the rare markers of life and distinguish them from abiotic processes. Large collections of meteorites and the new types being identified within these collections, which come to us at a fraction of the cost of a sample return mission, will continue to shape the objectives of future missions and provide new ways of interpreting returned samples.

Mars rover sample return mission utilizing in situ production of the return propellants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bruckner, A. P.; Nill, L.; Schubert, H.; Thill, B.; Warwick, R.

1993-01-01

This paper presents an unmanned Mars sample return mission that utilizes propellants manufactured in situ from the Martian atmosphere for the return trip. A key goal of the mission is to demonstrate the considerable benefits that can be realized through the use of indigenous resources and to test the viability of this approach as a precursor to manned missions to Mars. Two in situ propellant combinations, methane/oxygen and carbon monoxide/oxygen, are compared to imported terrestrial hydrogen/oxygen within a single mission architecture, using a single Earth launch vehicle. The mission is assumed to be launched from Earth in 2003. Upon reaching Mars, the landing vehicle aerobrakes, deploys a small satellite, and lands on the Martian surface. Once on the ground, the propellant production unit is activated, and the product gases are liquefied and stored in the empty tanks of the Earth Return Vehicle (ERV). Power for these activities is provided by a dynamic isotope power system. A semiautonomous rover, powered by the indigenous propellants, gathers between 25 and 30 kg of soil and rock samples which are loaded aboard the ERV for return to Earth. After a surface stay time of approximately 1.5 years, the ERV leaves Mars for the return voyage to Earth. When the vehicle reaches the vicinity of Earth, the sample return capsule detaches, and is captured and circularized in LEO via aerobraking maneuvers.

Planetary Protection Provisions for the Mars 2020 Mission: Enabling Discovery by Constraining Contamination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rummel, J. D.; Conley, C. A.

2013-12-01

The 2013-2022 NRC Decadal Survey named its #1 Flagship priority as a large, capable Mars rover that would be the first of a three-mission, multi-decadal effort to return samples from Mars. More recently, NASA's Mars Program has stated that a Mars rover mission known as 'Mars 2020' would be flown to Mars (in 2020) to accomplish a subset of the goals specified by the NRC, and the recent report of the Mars 2020 Science Definition Team (SDT) has recommended that the mission accomplish broad and rigorous in situ science, including seeking biosignatures, acquiring a diverse set of samples intended to address a range of Mars science questions and storing them in a cache for potential return to Earth at a later time, and other engineering goals to constrain costs and support future human exploration. In some ways Mars 2020 will share planetary protection requirements with the Mars Science Laboratory mission that landed in 2012, which included landing site constraints based on the presence of a perennial heat source (the MMRTG) aboard the lander/rover. In a very significant way, however, the presence of a sample-cache and the potential that Mars 2020 will be the first mission in the chain that will return a sample from Mars to Earth. Thus Mars 2020 will face more stringent requirements aimed at keeping the mission from returning Earth contamination with the samples from Mars. Mars 2020 will be looking for biosignatures of ancient life, on Mars, but will also need to be concerned with the potential to detect extant biosignatures or life itself within the sample that is eventually returned. If returned samples are able to unlock wide-ranging questions about the geology, surface processes, and habitability of Mars that cannot be answered by study of meteorites or current mission data, then either the returned samples must be free enough of Earth organisms to be releasable from a quarantine facility or the planned work of sample scientists, including high- and low-T geochemistry, igneous and sedimentary petrology, mineral spectroscopy, and astrobiology, will have to be accomplished within a containment facility. The returned samples also need to be clean of Earth organisms to avoid the potential that Earth contamination will mask the potential for martian life to be detected, allowing only non-conclusive or false-negative results. The requirements placed on the Mars 2020 mission to address contamination control in a life-detection framework will be one of the many challenges faced in this potential first step in Mars sample return.

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

Visitors, some with their dogs, line up to make their photo inside a space suit exhibit during the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) "TouchTomorrow" education and outreach event that was held in tandem with the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge on Saturday, June 16, 2012 in Worcester, Mass. The NASA-WPI challenge tasked robotic teams to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

The bronze statue of the goat mascot for Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) named "Gompei" is seen wearing a staff t-shirt for the "TouchTomorrow" education and outreach event that was held in tandem with the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge on Saturday, June 16, 2012 in Worcester, Mass. The challenge tasked robotic teams to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-15

Intrepid Systems robot, foreground, and the University of Waterloo (Canada) robot, take to the practice field on Friday, June 15, 2012 at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. Robot teams will compete for a $1.5 million NASA prize in the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge at WPI. Teams have been challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Hayabusa Re-Entry: Trajectory Analysis and Observation Mission Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cassell, Alan M.; Winter, Michael W.; Allen, Gary A.; Grinstead, Jay H.; Antimisiaris, Manny E.; Albers, James; Jenniskens, Peter

2011-01-01

On June 13th, 2010, the Hayabusa sample return capsule successfully re-entered Earth s atmosphere over the Woomera Prohibited Area in southern Australia in its quest to return fragments from the asteroid 1998 SF36 Itokawa . The sample return capsule entered at a super-orbital velocity of 12.04 km/sec (inertial), making it the second fastest human-made object to traverse the atmosphere. The NASA DC-8 airborne observatory was utilized as an instrument platform to record the luminous portion of the sample return capsule re-entry (60 sec) with a variety of on-board spectroscopic imaging instruments. The predicted sample return capsule s entry state information at 200 km altitude was propagated through the atmosphere to generate aerothermodynamic and trajectory data used for initial observation flight path design and planning. The DC- 8 flight path was designed by considering safety, optimal sample return capsule viewing geometry and aircraft capabilities in concert with key aerothermodynamic events along the predicted trajectory. Subsequent entry state vector updates provided by the Deep Space Network team at NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory were analyzed after the planned trajectory correction maneuvers to further refine the DC-8 observation flight path. Primary and alternate observation flight paths were generated during the mission planning phase which required coordination with Australian authorities for pre-mission approval. The final observation flight path was chosen based upon trade-offs between optimal viewing requirements, ground based observer locations (to facilitate post-flight trajectory reconstruction), predicted weather in the Woomera Prohibited Area and constraints imposed by flight path filing deadlines. To facilitate sample return capsule tracking by the instrument operators, a series of two racetrack flight path patterns were performed prior to the observation leg so the instruments could be pointed towards the region in the star background where the sample return capsule was expected to become visible. An overview of the design methodologies and trade-offs used in the Hayabusa re-entry observation campaign are presented.

Osiris-Rex and Hayabusa2 Sample Cleanroom Design and Construction Planning at NASA-JSC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Righter, Kevin; Pace, Lisa F.; Messenger, Keiko

2018-01-01

Final Paper and not the abstract is attached. The OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission launched to asteroid Bennu September 8, 2016. The spacecraft will arrive at Bennu in late 2019, orbit and map the asteroid, and perform a touch and go (TAG) sampling maneuver in July 2020. After confirma-tion of successful sample stowage, the spacecraft will return to Earth, and the sample return capsule (SRC) will land in Utah in September 2023. Samples will be recovered from Utah and then transported and stored in a new sample cleanroom at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. All curation-specific ex-amination and documentation activities related to Ben-nu samples will be conducted in the dedicated OSIRIS-REx sample cleanroom to be built at NASA-JSC.

Almahata Sitta and Brecciated Ureilites: Insights into the Heterogeneity of Asteroids and Implications for Sample Return

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ross, A. J.; Herrin, J. S.; Alexander, L.; Downes, H.; Smith, C. L.; Jenniskens, P.

2011-01-01

Analysis of samples returned to terrestrial laboratories enables more precise measurements and a wider range of techniques to be utilized than can be achieved with either remote sensing or rover instruments. Furthermore, returning samples to Earth allows them to be stored and re-examined with future technology. Following the success of the Hayabusa mission, returning samples from asteroids should be a high priority for understanding of early solar system evolution, planetary formation and differentiation. Meteorite falls provide us with materials and insight into asteroidal compositions. Almahata Sitta (AS) was the first meteorite fall from a tracked asteroid (2008 TC3) [1] providing a rare opportunity to compare direct geochemical observations with remote sensing data. Although AS is predominantly ureilitic, multiple chondritic fragments have been associated with this fall [2,3]. This is not unique, with chondritic fragments being found in many howardite samples (as described in a companion abstract [4]) and in brecciated ureilites, some of which are known to represent ureilitic regolith [5-7]. The heterogeneity of ureilite samples, which are thought to all originate from a single asteroidal ureilite parent body (UPB) [5], gives us information about both internal and external asteroidal variations. This has implications both for the planning of potential sample return missions and the interpretation of material returned to Earth. This abstract focuses on multiple fragments of two meteorites: Almahata Sitta (AS); and Dar al Gani (DaG) 1047 (a highly brecciated ureilite, likely representative of ureilite asteroidal regolith).

Planetary Protection for LIFE-Sample Return from Enceladus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsou, Peter; Yano, Hajime; Takano, Yoshinori; McKay, David; Takai, Ken; Anbar, Ariel; Baross, J.

Introduction: We are seeking a balanced approach to returning Enceladus plume samples to state-of-the-art terrestrial laboratories to search for signs of life. NASA, ESA, JAXA and other space agencies are seeking habitable worlds and life beyond Earth. Enceladus, an icy moon of Saturn, is the first known body in the Solar System besides Earth to emit liquid water from its interior. Enceladus is the most accessible body in our Solar System for a low cost flyby sample return mission to capture aqueous based samples, to determine its state of life development, and shed light on how life can originate on wet planets/moons. LIFE combines the unique capabilities of teams of international exploration expertise. These returned Enceladus plume samples will determine if this habitable body is in fact inhabited [McKay et al, 2014]. This paper describes an approach for the LIFE mission to capture and return samples from Enceladus while meeting NASA and COSPAR planetary protection requirements. Forward planetary protection requirements for spacecraft missions to icy solar system bodies have been defined, however planetary protection requirements specific to an Earth return of samples collected from Enceladus or other Outer Planet Icy Moons, have yet to be defined. Background: From the first half century of space exploration, we have returned samples only from the Moon, comet Wild 2, the Solar Wind and the asteroid Itokawa. The in-depth analyses of these samples in terrestrial laboratories have yielded detailed chemical information that could not have been obtained otherwise. While obtaining samples from Solar System bodies is trans-formative science, it is rarely performed due to cost and complexity. The discovery by Cassini of geysers on Enceladus and organic materials in the ejected plume indicates that there is an exceptional opportunity and strong scientific rationale for LIFE. The earliest low-cost possible flight opportunity is the next Discovery Mission [Tsou et al 2012]. Current Plan: At the 1st flyby of Enceladus at high plume altitude (~150 km), we would survey the status of the plume and jets by making in situ measurements of the gas and dust densities, compositions, and velocities. We would also collect solid ice/volatile samples based upon prior ground planning. The 2nd and final flyby (determined via optimal trajectory from the 1st flyby) will be conducted at low altitude (~20 km), and would perform in situ measurements and collect solid ice and volatile samples. During the 5 year return cruise, we would maintain the samples in their captured state (frozen) under desiccating conditions of low temperature and pressure. After a direct Earth reentry, we would transport the frozen samples from the sample return capsule into a sealed sample transport container, which would then be transported to a higher Biosafety Level (BSL) facility from JAMSTEC (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology) for sample return capsule de-integration and sample distribution. Planetary Protection: Several options for sample return have been conceived and some even demonstrated on previous flight missions (STARDUST, Genesis and Hayabusa). To date, a flight qualified sample containment system does not exist in the US, and it would be cost prohibitive to flight-qualify such a system for use by LIFE under a Discovery Program. Harsh sterilization of the samples would destroy valuable molecular information, defeating the very purpose of returning samples to assess the habitability of Enceladus. The LIFE team has found a viable approach by teaming with JAXA/ISAS. Their Hayabusa II sample containment is a third generation device that can be further improved to meet these NASA and COSPAR planetary protection requirements in an Integrated Sample Subsystem for LIFE. Another aspect of LIFE is the initial de-integration and certification of the returned samples in a higher BSL facility. JAMSTEC is the world’s leading oceanography organization. They are heading the International Marine Research Program in the world's oceans, seeking life and investigating life signatures and ongoing molecular evolution. Therefore, JAMSTEC is deeply interested in participating in a search for life in an ocean from another world via LIFE. Their experience in searching for and handling life in the oceans will be a great asset for LIFE. They are developing a higher BSL facility on their research ship Chikyu [Takano et al., 2014: cf. Sekine et al., 2014] for their marine research which can also accommodate LIFE's sample initial processing and possible preliminary examination period. References: McKay et al. Astrobiology submitted 2014. Tsou et al., Astrobiology 2012; Takano et al., Advances in Space Research, 2014; Sekine et al., Aerospace Technology Japan, 2014.

Comet coma sample return instrument

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Albee, A. L.; Brownlee, Don E.; Burnett, Donald S.; Tsou, Peter; Uesugi, K. T.

1994-01-01

The sample collection technology and instrument concept for the Sample of Comet Coma Earth Return Mission (SOCCER) are described. The scientific goals of this Flyby Sample Return are to return to coma dust and volatile samples from a known comet source, which will permit accurate elemental and isotopic measurements for thousands of individual solid particles and volatiles, detailed analysis of the dust structure, morphology, and mineralogy of the intact samples, and identification of the biogenic elements or compounds in the solid and volatile samples. Having these intact samples, morphologic, petrographic, and phase structural features can be determined. Information on dust particle size, shape, and density can be ascertained by analyzing penetration holes and tracks in the capture medium. Time and spatial data of dust capture will provide understanding of the flux dynamics of the coma and the jets. Additional information will include the identification of cosmic ray tracks in the cometary grains, which can provide a particle's process history and perhaps even the age of the comet. The measurements will be made with the same equipment used for studying micrometeorites for decades past; hence, the results can be directly compared without extrapolation or modification. The data will provide a powerful and direct technique for comparing the cometary samples with all known types of meteorites and interplanetary dust. This sample collection system will provide the first sample return from a specifically identified primitive body and will allow, for the first time, a direct method of matching meteoritic materials captured on Earth with known parent bodies.

Space Radiation Cancer Risk Projections for Exploration Missions: Uncertainty Reduction and Mitigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cucinotta, Francis; Badhwar, Gautam; Saganti, Premkumar; Schimmerling, Walter; Wilson, John; Peterson, Leif; Dicello, John

2002-01-01

In this paper we discuss expected lifetime excess cancer risks for astronauts returning from exploration class missions. For the first time we make a quantitative assessment of uncertainties in cancer risk projections for space radiation exposures. Late effects from the high charge and energy (HZE) ions present in the galactic cosmic rays including cancer and the poorly understood risks to the central nervous system constitute the major risks. Methods used to project risk in low Earth orbit are seen as highly uncertain for projecting risks on exploration missions because of the limited radiobiology data available for estimating HZE ion risks. Cancer risk projections are described as a product of many biological and physical factors, each of which has a differential range of uncertainty due to lack of data and knowledge. Monte-Carlo sampling from subjective error distributions represents the lack of knowledge in each factor to quantify risk projection overall uncertainty. Cancer risk analysis is applied to several exploration mission scenarios. At solar minimum, the number of days in space where career risk of less than the limiting 3% excess cancer mortality can be assured at a 95% confidence level is found to be only of the order of 100 days.

Soyuz 25 Return Samples: Assessment of Air Quality Aboard the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

James, John T.

2011-01-01

Six mini-grab sample containers (m-GSCs) were returned aboard Soyuz 25. The toxicological assessment of 6 m-GSCs from the ISS is shown. The recoveries of the 3 internal standards, C-13-acetone, fluorobenzene, and chlorobenzene, from the GSCs averaged 76, 108 and 88%, respectively. Formaldehyde badges were not returned aboard Soyuz 25.

Antibody against infectious salmon anaemia virus among feral Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cipriano, R.C.

2009-01-01

Archived sera from Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) that returned to the Penobscot River (Maine), Merrimack River (Massachusetts), and Connecticut River (in Massachusetts) from 1995 to 2002 were analysed for antibodies against infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Up to 60 samples were archived per river system per year. In a given year, the number of fish sampled by ELISA for ISAV antibodies in the Penobscot River ranged from 2.9 to 11.2, and the range of salmon sampled in the Merrimack River and the Connecticut River was 31.3-100 and 20.0-67.5, respectively. Archived sera were not available for the 1995 and 2002 year classes from the Connecticut River. In all, 1141 samples were processed; 14 serum samples tested positive for antibodies to ISAV. In the Penobscot River, serum from one fish tested positive in each of the 1995 and 1999 year-class returns, and sera from two fish tested positive in the 1998 returns. In the Merrimack River, sera from four fish tested positive in each of the 1996 and 1997 returns, and sera from two fish were positive in the 2002 return. None of the archived sera from Atlantic salmon that returned to the Connecticut River tested positive. ?? 2009 United States Government, Department of the Interior.

Gene expression from plants grown on the International Space Station

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stimpson, Alexander; Pereira, Rhea; Kiss, John Z.; Correll, Melanie

Three experiments were performed on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2006 as part of the TROPI experiments. These experiments were performed to study graviTROPIsm and photoTROPIsm responses of Arabidopsis in microgravity (µg). Seedlings were grown with a variety of light and gravitational treatments for approximately five days. The frozen samples were returned to Earth during three space shuttle missions in 2007 and stored at -80° C. Due to the limited amount of plant biomass returned, new protocols were developed to minimize the amount of material needed for RNA extraction as a preparation for microarray analysis. Using these new protocols, RNA was extracted from several sets of seedlings grown in red light followed by blue light with one sample from 1.0g treatment and the other at µg. Using a 2-fold change criterion, microarray (Affymetrix, GeneChip) results showed that 613 genes were upregulated in the µg sample while 757 genes were downregulated. Upregulated genes in response to µg included transcription factors from the WRKY (15 genes), MYB (3) and ZF (8) families as well as those that are involved in auxin responses (10). Downregulated genes also included transcription factors such as MYB (5) and Zinc finger (10) but interestingly only two WRKY family genes were down-regulated during the µg treatment. Studies are underway to compare these results with other samples to identify the genes involved in the gravity and light signal transduction pathways (this project is Supported By: NASA NCC2-1200).

Constraining the Source Craters of the Martian Meteorites: Implications for Prioritiziation of Returned Samples from Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herd, C. D. K.; Tornabene, L. L.; Bowling, T. J.; Walton, E. L.; Sharp, T. G.; Melosh, H. J.; Hamilton, J. S.; Viviano, C. E.; Ehlmann, B. L.

2018-04-01

We have made advances in constraining the potential source craters of the martian meteorites to a relatively small number. Our results have implications for Mars chronology and the prioritization of samples for Mars Sample Return.

The TPS Advanced Development Project for CEV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reuther, James; Wercinski, Paul; Venkatapathy, Ethiraj; Ellerby, Don; Raiche, George; Bowman, Lynn; Jones, Craig; Kowal, John

2006-01-01

The CEV TPS Advanced Development Project (ADP) is a NASA in-house activity for providing two heatshield preliminary designs (a Lunar direct return as well as a LEO only return) for the CEV, including the TPS, the carrier structure, the interfaces and the attachments. The project s primary objective is the development of a single heatshield preliminary design that meets both Lunar direct return and LEO return requirements. The effort to develop the Lunar direct return capable heatshield is considered a high risk item for the NASA CEV development effort due to the low TRL (approx. 4) of the candidate TPS materials. By initiating the TPS ADP early in the development cycle, the intent is to use materials analysis and testing in combination with manufacturing demonstrations to reduce the programmatic risk of using advanced TPS technologies in the critical path for CEV. Due to the technical and schedule risks associated a Lunar return heatshield, the ADP will pursue a parallel path design approach, whereby a back-up TPS/heatshield design that only meets LEO return requirements is also developed. The TPS materials and carrier structure design concept selections will be based on testing, analysis, design and evaluation of scalability and manufacturing performed under the ADP. At the TPS PDR, the preferred programmatic strategy is to transfer the continued (detailed) design, development, testing and evaluation (DDT&E) of both the Lunar direct and LEO return designs to a government/prime contractor coordinated sub-system design team. The CEV prime contractor would have responsibility for the continued heatshield sub-system development. Continued government participation would include analysis, testing and evaluation as well as decision authority at TPS Final System Decision (FSD) (choosing between the primary and back-up heatshields) occurring between TPS PDR and TPS Critical Design Review (CDR). After TPS FSD the prime CEV contractor will complete the detailed design, certification testing, procurement, and integration of the CEV TPS.

Deriving Stellar Masses for the ALFALFA α.100 Sample

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hess, Logan; Cornell 2017 Summer REU

2018-01-01

For this project, we explore different methods of deriving the stellar masses of galaxies in the ALFALFA (Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA) α.100 survey. In particular, we measure the effectiveness of SED (Spectral Energy Distribution) on the sample. SED fitting was preformed by MAGPHYS (Multi-wavelength Analysis of Galaxy Physical Properties), utilizing a wide range of photometry in the UV, optical, and IR bands. Photometry was taken from GALAX GR6/7 (UV), SDSS DR13 (optical), WISE All-Sky (near-IR), and Herschel PACS/SPIRE (far-IR). The efficiency of SED fitting increases with a broader range of photometry, however detection rates varied significantly across the different bands. Using a more “comprehensive” sample of galaxies, the GSWLC-A (GALAX, SDSS, WISE Legacy Catalog All-Sky Survey), we aimed to measure which combination of bands provided the largest sample return with the lowest amount of uncertainty, which could then be used to estimate the masses of the galaxies in the α.100 sample.

OSIRIS-REx Flight Dynamics and Navigation Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, B.; Antreasian, P.; Carranza, E.; Jackman, C.; Leonard, J.; Nelson, D.; Page, B.; Stanbridge, D.; Wibben, D.; Williams, K.; Moreau, M.; Berry, K.; Getzandanner, K.; Liounis, A.; Mashiku, A.; Highsmith, D.; Sutter, B.; Lauretta, D. S.

2018-06-01

OSIRIS-REx is the first NASA mission to return a sample of an asteroid to Earth. Navigation and flight dynamics for the mission to acquire and return a sample of asteroid 101955 Bennu establish many firsts for space exploration. These include relatively small orbital maneuvers that are precise to ˜1 mm/s, close-up operations in a captured orbit about an asteroid that is small in size and mass, and planning and orbit phasing to revisit the same spot on Bennu in similar lighting conditions. After preliminary surveys and close approach flyovers of Bennu, the sample site will be scientifically characterized and selected. A robotic shock-absorbing arm with an attached sample collection head mounted on the main spacecraft bus acquires the sample, requiring navigation to Bennu's surface. A touch-and-go sample acquisition maneuver will result in the retrieval of at least 60 grams of regolith, and up to several kilograms. The flight activity concludes with a return cruise to Earth and delivery of the sample return capsule (SRC) for landing and sample recovery at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR).

OSIRIS-REx, Returning the Asteroid Sample

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ajluni, Thomas, M.; Everett, David F.; Linn, Timothy; Mink, Ronald; Willcockson, William; Wood, Joshua

2015-01-01

This paper addresses the technical aspects of the sample return system for the upcoming Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) asteroid sample return mission. The overall mission design and current implementation are presented as an overview to establish a context for the technical description of the reentry and landing segment of the mission.The prime objective of the OSIRIS-REx mission is to sample a primitive, carbonaceous asteroid and to return that sample to Earth in pristine condition for detailed laboratory analysis. Targeting the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, the mission launches in September 2016 with an Earth reentry date of September 24, 2023.OSIRIS-REx will thoroughly characterize asteroid Bennu providing knowledge of the nature of near-Earth asteroids that is fundamental to understanding planet formation and the origin of life. The return to Earth of pristine samples with known geologic context will enable precise analyses that cannot be duplicated by spacecraft-based instruments, revolutionizing our understanding of the early Solar System. Bennu is both the most accessible carbonaceous asteroid and one of the most potentially Earth-hazardous asteroids known. Study of Bennu addresses multiple NASA objectives to understand the origin of the Solar System and the origin of life and will provide a greater understanding of both the hazards and resources in near-Earth space, serving as a precursor to future human missions to asteroids.This paper focuses on the technical aspects of the Sample Return Capsule (SRC) design and concept of operations, including trajectory design and reentry retrieval. Highlights of the mission are included below.The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft provides the essential functions for an asteroid characterization and sample return mission: attitude control propulsion power thermal control telecommunications command and data handling structural support to ensure successful rendezvous with Bennu characterization of Bennus properties delivery of the sampler to the surface, and return of the spacecraft to the vicinity of the Earth sample collection, performed by the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM), to acquire a regolith sample from the surface Earth re-entry and SRC recovery. Following sample collection, OSIRIS-REx drifts away from Bennu until the Asteroid Departure Maneuver is commanded on March 4, 2021, sending OSIRIS-REx on a ballistic return cruise to Earth. No additional large deterministic maneuvers are required to return the SRC to Earth. During the cruise, tracking and trajectory correction maneuvers (TCMs) are performed as necessary to precisely target the entry corridor. As OSIRIS-REx approaches Earth, the reentry plans are reviewed starting about a year before arrival, and preparations begin. The spacecraft is targeted away from the Earth until 7 days before entry. The final two trajectory correction maneuvers bring the spacecraft on target toward the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR), with sufficient time for contingency resolution. The SRC releases 4 hours prior to atmospheric entry interface and, using the Stardust capsule heritage design, employs a traditional drogue and main parachute descent system for a soft touchdown.

An Internationally Coordinated Science Management Plan for Samples Returned from Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haltigin, T.; Smith, C. L.

2015-12-01

Mars Sample Return (MSR) remains a high priority of the planetary exploration community. Such an effort will undoubtedly be too large for any individual agency to conduct itself, and thus will require extensive global cooperation. To help prepare for an eventual MSR campaign, the International Mars Exploration Working Group (IMEWG) chartered the international Mars Architecture for the Return of Samples (iMARS) Phase II working group in 2014, consisting of representatives from 17 countries and agencies. The overarching task of the team was to provide recommendations for progressing towards campaign implementation, including a proposed science management plan. Building upon the iMARS Phase I (2008) outcomes, the Phase II team proposed the development of an International MSR Science Institute as part of the campaign governance, centering its deliberations around four themes: Organization: including an organizational structure for the Institute that outlines roles and responsibilities of key members and describes sample return facility requirements; Management: presenting issues surrounding scientific leadership, defining guidelines and assumptions for Institute membership, and proposing a possible funding model; Operations & Data: outlining a science implementation plan that details the preliminary sample examination flow, sample allocation process, and data policies; and Curation: introducing a sample curation plan that comprises sample tracking and routing procedures, sample sterilization considerations, and long-term archiving recommendations. This work presents a summary of the group's activities, findings, and recommendations, highlighting the role of international coordination in managing the returned samples.

The record of Martian climatic history in cores and its preservation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zent, A. P.

1988-01-01

Among the questions to be addressed by a Mars Sample Return Mission are the history of the Martian climate and the mechanisms that control the volatile cycles. Unfortunately, the evidence that bears most strongly on those issues lies in the volatile distribution in, and physical configuration of, a very delicate and volatile system: the uppermost Martian regolith. Some useful measurements to be made on returned samples of the regolith are identified, along with the many critical considerations in ensuring the usefulness of returned samples.

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

A visitor to the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) "TouchTomorrow" education and outreach event helps demonstrate how a NASA rover design enables the rover to climb over obstacles higher than it's own body on Saturday, June 16, 2012 at WPI in Worcester, Mass. The event was held in tandem with the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge. The NASA-WPI challenge tasked robotic teams to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-15

Wunderkammer Laboratory Team leader Jim Rothrock, left, answers questions from 8th grade Sullivan Middle School (Mass.) students about his robot named "Cerberus" on Friday, June 15, 2012, at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. Rothrock's robot team will compete for a $1.5 million NASA prize in the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge at WPI. Teams have been challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-15

Intrepid Systems robot "MXR - Mark's Exploration Robot" takes to the practice field and tries to capture the white object in the foreground on Friday, June 15, 2012 at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. Intrepid Systems' robot team will compete for a $1.5 million NASA prize in the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge at WPI. Teams have been challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

Children visiting the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) "TouchTomorrow" education and outreach event try to catch basketballs being thrown by a robot from FIRST Robotics at Burncoat High School (Mass.) on Saturday, June 16, 2012 at WPI in Worcester, Mass. The TouchTomorrow event was held in tandem with the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge. The NASA-WPI challenge tasked robotic teams to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Carbon Isotopic Measurements of Amino Acids in Stardust-Returned Samples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elsila, Jamie

2009-01-01

NASA's Stardust spacecraft returned to Earth samples from comet 81P/Wild 2 in January 2006. Preliminary examinations revealed the presence of a suite of organic compounds including several amines and amino acids, but the origin of these compounds could not be identified. Here, we present the carbon isotopic ratios of glycine and e-aminocaproic acid (EACA), the two most abundant amino acids, in Stardust-returned foil samples measured by gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry coupled with quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-CAMS/IRMS).

The Rosetta Stones of Mars — Should Meteorites be Considered as Samples of Opportunity for Mars Sample Return?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tait, A. W.; Schröder, C.; Ashley, J. W.; Velbel, M. A.; Boston, P. J.; Carrier, B. L.; Cohen, B. A.; Bland, P. A.

2018-04-01

We summarize insights about Mars gained from investigating meteorites found on Mars. Certain types of meteorites can be considered standard probes inserted into the martian environment. Should they be considered for Mars Sample Return?

Low-Latency Telerobotic Sample Return and Biomolecular Sequencing for Deep Space Gateway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lupisella, M.; Bleacher, J.; Lewis, R.; Dworkin, J.; Wright, M.; Burton, A.; Rubins, K.; Wallace, S.; Stahl, S.; John, K.; Archer, D.; Niles, P.; Regberg, A.; Smith, D.; Race, M.; Chiu, C.; Russell, J.; Rampe, E.; Bywaters, K.

2018-02-01

Low-latency telerobotics, crew-assisted sample return, and biomolecular sequencing can be used to acquire and analyze lunar farside and/or Apollo landing site samples. Sequencing can also be used to monitor and study Deep Space Gateway environment and crew health.

Mars Sample Return: The Value of Depth Profiles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hausrath, E. M.; Navarre-Sitchler, A. K.; Moore, J.; Sak, P. B.; Brantley, S. L.; Golden, D. C.; Sutter, B.; Schroeder, C.; Socki, R.; Morris, R. V.;

The Importance of Contamination Knowledge in Curation - Insights into Mars Sample Return

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harrington, A. D.; Calaway, M. J.; Regberg, A. B.; Mitchell, J. L.; Fries, M. D.; Zeigler, R. A.; McCubbin, F. M.

2018-01-01

The Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), in Houston, TX (henceforth Curation Office) manages the curation of extraterrestrial samples returned by NASA missions and shared collections from international partners, preserving their integrity for future scientific study while providing the samples to the international community in a fair and unbiased way. The Curation Office also curates flight and non-flight reference materials and other materials from spacecraft assembly (e.g., lubricants, paints and gases) of sample return missions that would have the potential to cross-contaminate a present or future NASA astromaterials collection.

What Can You Do with a Returned Sample of Martian Dust?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zolensky, Michael E.; Nakamura-Messenger, K.

2007-01-01

A major issue that we managed to successfully address for the Stardust Mission was the magnitude and manner of preliminary examination (PET) of the returned samples, which totaled much less than 1 mg. Not since Apollo and Luna days had anyone faced this issue, and the lessons of Apollo PET were not extremely useful because of the very different sample masses in this case, and the incredible advances in analytical capabilities since the 1960s. This paper reviews some of the techniques for examination of small very rare samples that would be returned from Mars missions.

Development and Testing of Harpoon-Based Approaches for Collecting Comet Samples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Purves, Lloyd (Compiler); Nuth, Joseph (Compiler); Amatucci, Edward (Compiler); Wegel, Donald; Smith, Walter; Church, Joseph; Leary, James; Kee, Lake; Hill, Stuart; Grebenstein, Markus;

Ongoing Capabilities and Developments of Re-Entry Plasma Ground Tests at EADS-ASTRIUM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jullien, Pierre

2008-01-01

During re-entry, spacecrafts are subjected to extreme thermal loads. On mars, they may go through dust storms. These external heat loads are leading the design of re-entry vehicles or are affecting it for spacecraft facing solid propellant jet stream. Sizing the Thermal Protection System require a good knowledge of such solicitations and means to model and reproduce them on earth. Through its work on European projects, ASTRIUM has developed the full range of competences to deal with such issues. For instance, we have designed and tested the heat-shield of the Huygens probe which landed on Titan. In particular, our plasma generators aim to reproduce a wide variety of re-entry conditions. Heat loads are generated by the huge speed of the probes. Such conditions cannot be fully reproduced. Ground tests focus on reproducing local aerothermal loads by using slower but hotter flows. Our inductive plasma torch enables to test little samples at low TRL. Amongst the arc-jets, one was design to test architecture design of ISS crew return system and others fit more severe re-entry such as sample returns or Venus re-entry. The last developments aimed in testing samples in seeded flows. First step was to design and test the seeding device. Special diagnostics characterizing the resulting flow enabled us to fit it to the requirements.

What stock market returns to expect for the future?

PubMed

Diamond, P A

2000-01-01

In evaluating proposals for reforming Social Security that involve stock investments, the Office of the Chief Actuary (OCACT) has generally used a 7.0 percent real return for stocks. The 1994-96 Advisory Council specified that OCACT should use that return in making its 75-year projections of investment-based reform proposals. The assumed ultimate real return on Treasury bonds of 3.0 percent implies a long-run equity premium of 4.0 percent. There are two equity-premium concepts: the realized equity premium, which is measured by the actual rates of return; and the required equity premium, which investors expect to receive for being willing to hold available stocks and bonds. Over the past two centuries, the realized premium was 3.5 percent on average, but 5.2 percent for 1926 to 1998. Some critics argue that the 7.0 percent projected stock returns are too high. They base their arguments on recent developments in the capital market, the current high value of the stock market, and the expectation of slower economic growth. Increased use of mutual funds and the decline in their costs suggest a lower required premium, as does the rising fraction of the American public investing in stocks. The size of the decrease is limited, however, because the largest cost savings do not apply to the very wealthy and to large institutional investors, who hold a much larger share of the stock market's total value than do new investors. These trends suggest a lower equity premium for projections than the 5.2 percent of the past 75 years. Also, a declining required premium is likely to imply a temporary increase in the realized premium because a rising willingness to hold stocks tends to increase their price. Therefore, it would be a mistake during a transition period to extrapolate what may be a temporarily high realized return. In the standard (Solow) economic growth model, an assumption of slower long-run growth lowers the marginal product of capital if the savings rate is constant. But lower savings as growth slows should partially or fully offset that effect. The present high stock prices, together with projected slow economic growth, are not consistent with a 7.0 percent return. With a plausible level of adjusted dividends (dividends plus net share repurchases), the ratio of stock value to gross domestic product (GDP) would rise more than 20-fold over 75 years. Similarly, the steady-state Gordon formula--that stock returns equal the adjusted dividend yield plus the growth rate of stock prices (equal to that of GDP)--suggests a return of roughly 4.0 percent to 4.5 percent. Moreover, when relative stock values have been high, returns over the following decade have tended to be low. To eliminate the inconsistency posed by the assumed 7.0 percent return, one could assume higher GDP growth, a lower long-run stock return, or a lower short-run stock return with a 7.0 percent return on a lower base thereafter. For example, with an adjusted dividend yield of 2.5 percent to 3.0 percent, the market would have to decline about 35 percent to 45 percent in real terms over the next decade to reach steady state. In short, either the stock market is overvalued and requires a correction to justify a 7.0 percent return thereafter, or it is correctly valued and the long-run return is substantially lower than 7.0 percent (or some combination). This article argues that the "overvalued" view is more convincing, since the "correctly valued" hypothesis implies an implausibly small equity premium. Although OCACT could adopt a lower rate for the entire 75-year period, a better approach would be to assume lower returns over the next decade and a 7.0 percent return thereafter.

Opportunities and Challenges of Linking Scientific Core Samples to the Geoscience Data Ecosystem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noren, A. J.

2016-12-01

Core samples generated in scientific drilling and coring are critical for the advancement of the Earth Sciences. The scientific themes enabled by analysis of these samples are diverse, and include plate tectonics, ocean circulation, Earth-life system interactions (paleoclimate, paleobiology, paleoanthropology), Critical Zone processes, geothermal systems, deep biosphere, and many others, and substantial resources are invested in their collection and analysis. Linking core samples to researchers, datasets, publications, and funding agencies through registration of globally unique identifiers such as International Geo Sample Numbers (IGSNs) offers great potential for advancing several frontiers. These include maximizing sample discoverability, access, reuse, and return on investment; a means for credit to researchers; and documentation of project outputs to funding agencies. Thousands of kilometers of core samples and billions of derivative subsamples have been generated through thousands of investigators' projects, yet the vast majority of these samples are curated at only a small number of facilities. These numbers, combined with the substantial similarity in sample types, make core samples a compelling target for IGSN implementation. However, differences between core sample communities and other geoscience disciplines continue to create barriers to implementation. Core samples involve parent-child relationships spanning 8 or more generations, an exponential increase in sample numbers between levels in the hierarchy, concepts related to depth/position in the sample, requirements for associating data derived from core scanning and lithologic description with data derived from subsample analysis, and publications based on tens of thousands of co-registered scan data points and thousands of analyses of subsamples. These characteristics require specialized resources for accurate and consistent assignment of IGSNs, and a community of practice to establish norms, workflows, and infrastructure to support implementation.

Proposed Project Selection Method for Human Support Research and Technology Development (HSR&TD)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Harry

2005-01-01

The purpose of HSR&TD is to deliver human support technologies to the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) that will be selected for future missions. This requires identifying promising candidate technologies and advancing them in technology readiness until they are acceptable. HSR&TD must select an may of technology development projects, guide them, and either terminate or continue them, so as to maximize the resulting number of usable advanced human support technologies. This paper proposes an effective project scoring methodology to support managing the HSR&TD project portfolio. Researchers strongly disagree as to what are the best technology project selection methods, or even if there are any proven ones. Technology development is risky and outstanding achievements are rare and unpredictable. There is no simple formula for success. Organizations that are satisfied with their project selection approach typically use a mix of financial, strategic, and scoring methods in an open, established, explicit, formal process. This approach helps to build consensus and develop management insight. It encourages better project proposals by clarifying the desired project attributes. We propose a project scoring technique based on a method previously used in a federal laboratory and supported by recent research. Projects are ranked by their perceived relevance, risk, and return - a new 3 R's. Relevance is the degree to which the project objective supports the HSR&TD goal of developing usable advanced human support technologies. Risk is the estimated probability that the project will achieve its specific objective. Return is the reduction in mission life cycle cost obtained if the project is successful. If the project objective technology performs a new function with no current cost, its return is the estimated cash value of performing the new function. The proposed project selection scoring method includes definitions of the criteria, a project evaluation questionnaire, and a scoring formula.

SPLAT: The Sample Probe for Landing And Testing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonyea, K.; Dendinger, T.; Fernandez, J.; Jaunzemis, A.

2014-06-01

A sample return mission from the ISS or low Earth orbit is developed. Vehicle can safely return small biological payloads with consideration of heating, aerodynamics and structural integrity of the vehicle.

24 CFR 970.15 - Specific criteria for HUD approval of demolition requests.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... HOUSING PROJECTS § 970.15 Specific criteria for HUD approval of demolition requests. (a) In addition to... public housing project must certify that the project: (1) Is obsolete as to physical condition, location... modifications is cost-effective to return the public housing project or portion of the project to useful life...

Hayabusa Recovery, Curation and Preliminary Sample Analysis: Lessons Learned from Recent Sample Return Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zolensky, Michael E.

2011-01-01

I describe lessons learned from my participation on the Hayabusa Mission, which returned regolith grains from asteroid Itokawa in 2010 [1], comparing this with the recently returned Stardust Spacecraft, which sampled the Jupiter Family comet Wild 2. Spacecraft Recovery Operations: The mission Science and Curation teams must actively participate in planning, testing and implementing spacecraft recovery operations. The crash of the Genesis spacecraft underscored the importance of thinking through multiple contingency scenarios and practicing field recovery for these potential circumstances. Having the contingency supplies on-hand was critical, and at least one full year of planning for Stardust and Hayabusa recovery operations was necessary. Care must be taken to coordinate recovery operations with local organizations and inform relevant government bodies well in advance. Recovery plans for both Stardust and Hayabusa had to be adjusted for unexpectedly wet landing site conditions. Documentation of every step of spacecraft recovery and deintegration was necessary, and collection and analysis of launch and landing site soils was critical. We found the operation of the Woomera Text Range (South Australia) to be excellent in the case of Hayabusa, and in many respects this site is superior to the Utah Test and Training Range (used for Stardust) in the USA. Recovery operations for all recovered spacecraft suffered from the lack of a hermetic seal for the samples. Mission engineers should be pushed to provide hermetic seals for returned samples. Sample Curation Issues: More than two full years were required to prepare curation facilities for Stardust and Hayabusa. Despite this seemingly adequate lead time, major changes to curation procedures were required once the actual state of the returned samples became apparent. Sample databases must be fully implemented before sample return for Stardust we did not adequately think through all of the possible sub sampling and analytical activities before settling on a database design - Hayabusa has done a better job of this. Also, analysis teams must not be permitted to devise their own sample naming schemes. The sample handling and storage facilities for Hayabusa are the finest that exist, and we are now modifying Stardust curation to take advantage of the Hayabusa facilities. Remote storage of a sample subset is desirable. Preliminary Examination (PE) of Samples: There must be some determination of the state and quantity of the returned samples, to provide a necessary guide to persons requesting samples and oversight committees tasked with sample curation oversight. Hayabusa s sample PE, which is called HASPET, was designed so that late additions to the analysis protocols were possible, as new analytical techniques became available. A small but representative number of recovered grains are being subjected to in-depth characterization. The bulk of the recovered samples are being left untouched, to limit contamination. The HASPET plan takes maximum advantage of the unique strengths of sample return missions

Hall Thruster Technology for NASA Science Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manzella, David; Oh, David; Aadland, Randall

2005-01-01

The performance of a prototype Hall thruster designed for Discovery-class NASA science mission applications was evaluated at input powers ranging from 0.2 to 2.9 kilowatts. These data were used to construct a throttle profile for a projected Hall thruster system based on this prototype thruster. The suitability of such a Hall thruster system to perform robotic exploration missions was evaluated through the analysis of a near Earth asteroid sample return mission. This analysis demonstrated that a propulsion system based on the prototype Hall thruster offers mission benefits compared to a propulsion system based on an existing ion thruster.

Sample Collection for Investigation of Mars (SCIM): An Early Mars Sample Return Mission Through the Mars Scout Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leshin, L. A.; Yen, A.; Bomba, J.; Clark, B.; Epp, C.; Forney, L.; Gamber, T.; Graves, C.; Hupp, J.; Jones, S.

2002-01-01

The Sample Collection for Investigation of Mars (SCIM) mission is designed to: (1) make a 40 km pass through the Martian atmosphere; (2) collect dust and atmospheric gas; and (3) return the samples to Earth for analysis. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

MSR ESA Earth Return Orbiter Mission Design Trades

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez Perez, J. M.; Varga, G. I.; Huesing, J.; Beyer, F.

2018-04-01

The paper describes the work performed at ESOC in support of the Mars Sample Return ESA Earth Return Orbiter definition studies by exploring the trajectory optimization and mission design trade spaces of Mars return missions using electric and chemical propulsion.

Mars Sample Handling Protocol Workshop Series: Workshop 2a (Sterilization)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rummel, John D. (Editor); Brunch, Carl W. (Editor); Setlow, Richard B. (Editor); DeVincenzi, Donald L. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The Space Studies Board of the National Research Council provided a series of recommendations to NASA on planetary protection requirements for future Mars sample return missions. One of the Board's key findings suggested, although current evidence of the martian surface suggests that life as we know it would not tolerate the planet's harsh environment, there remain 'plausible scenarios for extant microbial life on Mars.' Based on this conclusion, all samples returned from Mars should be considered potentially hazardous until it has been demonstrated that they are not. In response to the National Research Council's findings and recommendations, NASA has undertaken a series of workshops to address issues regarding NASA's proposed sample return missions. Work was previously undertaken at the Mars Sample Handling and Protocol Workshop 1 (March 2000) to formulate recommendations on effective methods for life detection and/or biohazard testing on returned samples. The NASA Planetary Protection Officer convened the Mars Sample Sterilization Workshop, the third in the Mars Sample Handling Protocol Workshop Series, on November 28-30, 2000 at the Holiday Inn Rosslyn Westpark, Arlington, Virginia. Because of the short timeframe between this Workshop and the second Workshop in the Series, which was convened in October 2000 in Bethesda, Maryland, they were developed in parallel, so the Sterilization Workshop and its report have therefore been designated as '2a'). The focus of Workshop 2a was to make recommendations for effective sterilization procedures for all phases of Mars sample return missions, and to answer the question of whether we can sterilize samples in such a way that the geological characteristics of the samples are not significantly altered.

The Importance of Returned Martian Samples for Constraining Potential Hazards to Future Human Exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

iMOST Team; Harrington, A. D.; Carrier, B. L.; Fernandez-Remolar, D. C.; Fogarty, J.; McCoy, J. T.; Rucker, M. A.; Spry, J. A.; Altieri, F.; Amelin, Y.; Ammannito, E.; Anand, M.; Beaty, D. W.; Benning, L. G.; Bishop, J. L.; Borg, L. E.; Boucher, D.; Brucato, J. R.; Busemann, H.; Campbell, K. A.; Czaja, A. D.; Debaille, V.; Des Marais, D. J.; Dixon, M.; Ehlmann, B. L.; Farmer, J. D.; Glavin, D. P.; Goreva, Y. S.; Grady, M. M.; Hallis, L. J.; Hausrath, E. M.; Herd, C. D. K.; Horgan, B.; Humayun, M.; Kleine, T.; Kleinhenz, J.; Mangold, N.; Mackelprang, R.; Mayhew, L. E.; McCubbin, F. M.; McLennan, S. M.; McSween, H. Y.; Moser, D. E.; Moynier, F.; Mustard, J. F.; Niles, P. B.; Ori, G. G.; Raulin, F.; Rettberg, P.; Schmitz, N.; Sefton-Nash, E.; Sephton, M. A.; Shaheen, R.; Shuster, D. L.; Siljestrom, S.; Smith, C. L.; Steele, A.; Swindle, T. D.; ten Kate, I. L.; Tosca, N. J.; Usui, T.; Van Kranendonk, M. J.; Wadhwa, M.; Weiss, B. P.; Werner, S. C.; Westall, F.; Wheeler, R. M.; Zipfel, J.; Zorzano, M. P.

2018-04-01

Thorough characterization and evaluation of returned martian regolith and airfall samples are critical to understanding the potential health and engineering system hazards during future human exploration.

Potential High Priority Subaerial Environments for Mars Sample Return

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

iMOST Team; Bishop, J. L.; Horgan, B.; Benning, L. G.; Carrier, B. L.; Hausrath, E. M.; Altieri, F.; Amelin, Y.; Ammannito, E.; Anand, M.; Beaty, D. W.; Borg, L. E.; Boucher, D.; Brucato, J. R.; Busemann, H.; Campbell, K. A.; Czaja, A. D.; Debaille, V.; Des Marais, D. J.; Dixon, M.; Ehlmann, B. L.; Farmer, J. D.; Fernandez-Remolar, D. C.; Fogarty, J.; Glavin, D. P.; Goreva, Y. S.; Grady, M. M.; Hallis, L. J.; Harrington, A. D.; Herd, C. D. K.; Humayun, M.; Kleine, T.; Kleinhenz, J.; Mangold, N.; Mackelprang, R.; Mayhew, L. E.; McCubbin, F. M.; Mccoy, J. T.; McLennan, S. M.; McSween, H. Y.; Moser, D. E.; Moynier, F.; Mustard, J. F.; Niles, P. B.; Ori, G. G.; Raulin, F.; Rettberg, P.; Rucker, M. A.; Schmitz, N.; Sefton-Nash, E.; Sephton, M. A.; Shaheen, R.; Shuster, D. L.; Siljestrom, S.; Smith, C. L.; Spry, J. A.; Steele, A.; Swindle, T. D.; ten Kate, I. L.; Tosca, N. J.; Usui, T.; Van Kranendonk, M. J.; Wadhwa, M.; Weiss, B. P.; Werner, S. C.; Westall, F.; Wheeler, R. M.; Zipfel, J.; Zorzano, M. P.

2018-04-01

The highest priority subaerial environments for Mars Sample Return include subaerial weathering (paleosols, periglacial/glacial, and rock coatings/rinds), wetlands (mineral precipitates, redox environments, and salt ponds), or cold spring settings.

OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample-Return Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DellaGiustina, D. N.; Lauretta, D. S.

2016-12-01

Launching in September 2016, the primary objective of the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission is to return a pristine sample of asteroid (101955) Bennu to Earth for sample analysis. Bennu is a carbonaceous primitive near-Earth object, and is expected to be rich in volatile and organic material leftover from the formation of the Solar System. OSIRIS-REx will return a minimum of 60 g of bulk surface material from this body using a novel "touch-and-go" sample acquisition mechanism. Analyses of these samples will provide unprecedented knowledge about presolar history, from the initial stages of planet formation to the origin of life. Before sample acquisition, OSIRIS-REx will perform global mapping of Bennu, detailing the asteroid's composition and texture, resolving surface features, revealing its geologic and dynamic history, and providing context for the returned samples. The mission will also document the sampling site in situ at sub-centimeter scales, as well as the asteroid sampling event. In addition, OSIRIS-REx will measure the Yarkovsky effect, a non-Keplerian force affecting the orbit of this potentially hazardous asteroid, and provide a ground truth data for the interpretation of telescopic observations of carbonaceous asteroids.

Intelligent Multi-Media Integrated Interface Project

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-06-01

RADC (COES) Griffiss AFB NY 13441-5700. This will assist us in main- taining a current mailing list. Do not return copies of this report unless...contractual obligations or notices on a specific document require that it be returned. INTELLIGENT MULTI-MEDIA INTEGRATED INTERFACE PROJECT J. G. Neal J. M...lure ag. A = W qMN 1. AGENCY USE ONLY AM BW 2. REPORT DATE R,,PE AND DATES COYERED June 1990 Final Oct 87 to Oct 89 4. TTLE AND SUIlllLE S. FUNDING

Biowaste monitoring system for shuttle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fogal, G. L.; Sauer, R. L.

1975-01-01

The acquisition of crew biomedical data has been an important task on all manned space missions from Project Mercury through the recently completed Skylab Missions. The monitoring of metabolic wastes from the crew is an important aspect of this activity. On early missions emphasis was placed on the collection and return of biowaste samples for post-mission analysis. On later missions such as Skylab, equipment for inflight measurement was also added. Life Science experiments are being proposed for Shuttle missions which will require the inflight measurement and sampling of metabolic wastes. In order to minimize the crew impact associated with these requirements, a high degree of automation of these processes will be required. This paper reviews the design and capabilities of urine biowaste monitoring equipment provided on past-manned space programs and defines and describes the urine volume measurement and sampling equipment planned for the Shuttle Orbiter program.

Advanced Curation of Current and Future Extraterrestrial Samples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, Carlton C.

2013-01-01

Curation of extraterrestrial samples is the critical interface between sample return missions and the international research community. Curation includes documentation, preservation, preparation, and distribution of samples. The current collections of extraterrestrial samples include: Lunar rocks / soils collected by the Apollo astronauts Meteorites, including samples of asteroids, the Moon, and Mars "Cosmic dust" (asteroid and comet particles) collected by high-altitude aircraft Solar wind atoms collected by the Genesis spacecraft Comet particles collected by the Stardust spacecraft Interstellar dust collected by the Stardust spacecraft Asteroid particles collected by the Hayabusa spacecraft These samples were formed in environments strikingly different from that on Earth. Terrestrial contamination can destroy much of the scientific significance of many extraterrestrial materials. In order to preserve the research value of these precious samples, contamination must be minimized, understood, and documented. In addition the samples must be preserved - as far as possible - from physical and chemical alteration. In 2011 NASA selected the OSIRIS-REx mission, designed to return samples from the primitive asteroid 1999 RQ36 (Bennu). JAXA will sample C-class asteroid 1999 JU3 with the Hayabusa-2 mission. ESA is considering the near-Earth asteroid sample return mission Marco Polo-R. The Decadal Survey listed the first lander in a Mars sample return campaign as its highest priority flagship-class mission, with sample return from the South Pole-Aitken basin and the surface of a comet among additional top priorities. The latest NASA budget proposal includes a mission to capture a 5-10 m asteroid and return it to the vicinity of the Moon as a target for future sampling. Samples, tools, containers, and contamination witness materials from any of these missions carry unique requirements for acquisition and curation. Some of these requirements represent significant advances over methods currently used. New analytical and screening techniques will increase the value of current sample collections. Improved web-based tools will make information on all samples more accessible to researchers and the public. Advanced curation of current and future extraterrestrial samples includes: Contamination Control - inorganic / organic Temperature of preservation - subfreezing / cryogenic Non-destructive preliminary examination - X-ray tomography / XRF mapping / Raman mapping Microscopic samples - handling / sectioning / transport Special samples - unopened lunar cores Informatics - online catalogs / community-based characterization.

In Situ Pre-Selection of Return Samples with Bio-Signatures by Combined Laser Mass Spectrometry and Optical Microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiesendanger, R.; Wurz, P.; Tulej, M.; Wacey, D.; Neubeck, A.; Grimaudo, V.; Riedo, A.; Moreno, P.; Cedeño-López, A.; Ivarsson, M.

2018-04-01

The University of Bern developed instrument prototypes that allow analysis of samples on Mars prior to bringing them back to Earth, allowing to maximize the scientific outcome of the returned samples. We will present the systems and first results.

Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) and Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) as Critical In Situ Investigation for Targeting Mars Returned Samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freissinet, C.; Glavin, D. P.; Mahaffy, P. R.; Szopa, C.; Buch, A.; Goesmann, F.; Goetz, W.; Raulin, F.; SAM Science Team; MOMA Science Team

2018-04-01

SAM (Curiosity) and MOMA (ExoMars) Mars instruments, seeking for organics and biosignatures, are essential to establish taphonomic windows of preservation of molecules, in order to target the most interesting samples to return from Mars.

It's Time to Develop a New "Draft Test Protocol" for a Mars Sample Return Mission (or Two....)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rummel, J. D.

2018-04-01

A Mars Sample Return (MSR) will involve analysis of those samples in containment, including their safe receiving, handling, testing, and archiving. With an MSR planned for the end of the next decade, it is time to update the existing MSR protocol.

Supporting research and technology activities in the preparation of a three-dimensional map of the infrared sky

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tarter, Jill C.

1993-01-01

The final report for the period 15 Mar. 1986 to 31 Mar. 1993 for the Cooperative Agreement is presented. The purpose of this Cooperative Agreement was to collaborate with NASA civil servant and contractor personnel, and other Institute personnel in a project to use all available cataloged astronomical infrared data to construct a detailed three dimensional model of the infrared sky. Areas of research included: IRAS colors of normal stars and the infrared excesses in Be stars; galactic structure; how to use the observed IRAS source counts as a function of position to deduce the physical structure of the galaxy; IRAS properties of metal-poor stars; IRAS database studies; and solar space exploration including projects such as the Space Station Gas-Grain Simulator and the Mars Rover/Sample Return Mission.

MRSR: Rationale for a Mars Rover/Sample Return mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carr, Michael H.

1992-01-01

The Solar System Exploration Committee of the NASA Advisory Council has recommended that a Mars Rover/Sample Return mission be launched before the year 2000. The recommendation is consistent with the science objectives as outlined by the National Academy of Sciences committees on Planetary and Lunar Exploration, and Planetary Biology and Chemical Evolution. Interest has also focused on Mars Rover/Sample Return (MRSR) missions, because of their crucial role as precursors for human exploration. As a result of this consensus among the advisory groups, a study of an MRSR mission began early in 1987. The study has the following goals: (1) to assess the technical feasibility of the mission; (2) to converge on two or three options for the general architecture of the mission; (3) to determine what new technologies need to be developed in order to implement the mission; (4) to define the different options sufficiently well that preliminary cost estimates can be made; and (5) to better define the science requirements. This chapter briefly describes Mars Rover/Sample Return missions that were examined in the late 1980s. These missions generally include a large (1000 kg) rover and return of over 5 kg of sample.

Contemporary Impact Analysis Methodology for Planetary Sample Return Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perino, Scott V.; Bayandor, Javid; Samareh, Jamshid A.; Armand, Sasan C.

2015-01-01

Development of an Earth entry vehicle and the methodology created to evaluate the vehicle's impact landing response when returning to Earth is reported. NASA's future Mars Sample Return Mission requires a robust vehicle to return Martian samples back to Earth for analysis. The Earth entry vehicle is a proposed solution to this Mars mission requirement. During Earth reentry, the vehicle slows within the atmosphere and then impacts the ground at its terminal velocity. To protect the Martian samples, a spherical energy absorber called an impact sphere is under development. The impact sphere is composed of hybrid composite and crushable foam elements that endure large plastic deformations during impact and cause a highly nonlinear vehicle response. The developed analysis methodology captures a range of complex structural interactions and much of the failure physics that occurs during impact. Numerical models were created and benchmarked against experimental tests conducted at NASA Langley Research Center. The postimpact structural damage assessment showed close correlation between simulation predictions and experimental results. Acceleration, velocity, displacement, damage modes, and failure mechanisms were all effectively captured. These investigations demonstrate that the Earth entry vehicle has great potential in facilitating future sample return missions.

Mars Sample Return Architecture Assessment Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Centuori, S.; Hermosín, P.; Martín, J.; De Zaiacomo, G.; Colin, S.; Godfrey, A.; Myles, J.; Johnson, H.; Sachdev, T.; Ahmed, R.

2018-04-01

Current paper presents the results of ESA funded activity "Mars Sample Return Architecture Assessment Study" carried-out by DEIMOS Space, Lockheed Martin UK Ampthill, and MDA Corporation, where more than 500 mission design options have been studied.

Cleaning and Cleanliness Verification Techniques for Mars Returned Sample Handling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mickelson, E. T.; Lindstrom, D. J.; Allton, J. H.; Hittle, J. D.

2002-01-01

Precision cleaning and cleanliness verification techniques are examined as a subset of a comprehensive contamination control strategy for a Mars sample return mission. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Asteroid (Flora and Eros) sample-return missions via solar electric propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friedlander, A. L.

1971-01-01

The characteristics and capabilities of solar electric propulsion for performing sample-return missions to the asteroids Flora and Eros are considered. Trajectory/payload analysis and mission design tradeoff options are emphasized.

Risk Analysis of Return Support Material on Gas Compressor Platform Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silvianita; Aulia, B. U.; Khakim, M. L. N.; Rosyid, Daniel M.

2017-07-01

On a fixed platforms project are not only carried out by a contractor, but two or more contractors. Cooperation in the construction of fixed platforms is often not according to plan, it is caused by several factors. It takes a good synergy between the contractor to avoid miss communication may cause problems on the project. For the example is about support material (sea fastening, skid shoe and shipping support) used in the process of sending a jacket structure to operation place often does not return to the contractor. It needs a systematic method to overcome the problem of support material. This paper analyses the causes and effects of GAS Compressor Platform that support material is not return, using Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) and Event Tree Analysis (ETA). From fault tree analysis, the probability of top event is 0.7783. From event tree analysis diagram, the contractors lose Rp.350.000.000, - to Rp.10.000.000.000, -.

The Future of Drought in the Southeastern U.S.: Projections from downscaled CMIP5 models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keellings, D.; Engstrom, J.

2017-12-01

The Southeastern U.S. has been repeatedly impacted by severe droughts that have affected the environment and economy of the region. In this study the ability of 32 downscaled CMIP5 models, bias corrected using localized constructed analogs (LOCA), to simulate historical observations of dry spells from 1950-2005 are assessed using Perkins skill scores and significance tests. The models generally simulate the distribution of dry days well but there are significant differences between the ability of the best and worst performing models, particularly when it comes to the upper tail of the distribution. The best and worst performing models are then projected through 2099, using RCP 4.5 and 8.5, and estimates of 20 year return periods are compared. Only the higher skill models provide a good estimate of extreme dry spell lengths with simulations of 20 year return values within ± 5 days of observed values across the region. Projected return values differ by model grouping, but all models exhibit significant increases.

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

NASA Program Manager for Centennial Challenges Sam Ortega help show a young visitor how to drive a rover as part of the interactive NASA Mars rover exhibit during the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) "TouchTomorrow" education and outreach event that was held in tandem with the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge on Saturday, June 16, 2012 in Worcester, Mass. The NASA-WPI challenge tasked robotic teams to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

In situ propellant production - A new potential for round-trip spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stancati, M. L.; Niehoff, J. C.; Wells, W. C.; Ash, R. L.

1979-01-01

In situ propellant production (ISPP) greatly reduces the Earth escape requirements for some roundtrip missions, particularly Mars Sample Return. ISPP systems are described which produce oxygen or oxygen and methane from available atmospheric and surface materials. With ISPP, a 1 kg sample can be returned direct from Mars using a single Shuttle launch. Mars entry can be either direct or from orbit. Comet and asteroid sample return is also accomplished within a single Shuttle launch. Launch requirements for round-trip missions to Ganymede and Callisto are reduced by 15 to 40%.

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver and NASA Chief Technologist Mason Peck stop to look at the bronze statue of the goat mascot for Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) named "Gompei" that is wearing a staff t-shirt for the "TouchTomorrow" education and outreach event that was held in tandem with the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge on Saturday, June 16, 2012 in Worcester, Mass. The challenge tasked robotic teams to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-16

Intrepid Systems Team member Mark Curry, left, talks with NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver and NASA Chief Technologist Mason Peck, right, about his robot named "MXR - Mark's Exploration Robot" on Saturday, June 16, 2012 at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. Curry's robot team was one of the final teams participating in the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge at WPI. Teams were challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-15

SpacePRIDE Team members Chris Williamson, right, and Rob Moore, second from right, answer questions from 8th grade Sullivan Middle School (Mass.) students about their robot on Friday, June 15, 2012 at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. SpacePRIDE's robot team will compete for a $1.5 million NASA prize in the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge at WPI. Teams have been challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-06-15

Intrepid Systems Team member Mark Curry, right, answers questions from 8th grade Sullivan Middle School (Mass.) students about his robot named "MXR - Mark's Exploration Robot" on Friday, June 15, 2012, at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. Curry's robot team will compete for a $1.5 million NASA prize in the NASA-WPI Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge at WPI. Teams have been challenged to build autonomous robots that can identify, collect and return samples. NASA needs autonomous robotic capability for future planetary exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Carbon Isotopic Ratios of Amino Acids in Stardust-Returned Samples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elsila, Jamie E.; Glavin, Daniel P.; Dworkin, Jason P.

2009-01-01

NASA's Stardust spacecraft returned to Earth samples from comet 81P/Wild 2 in January 2006. Preliminary examinations revealed the presence of a suite of organic compounds including several amines and amino acids, but the origin of these compounds could not be identified. Here. we present the carbon isotopic ratios of glycine and E-aminocaproic acid (EACH), the two most abundant amino acids observed, in Stardust-returned foil samples measured by gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio crass spectrometry coupled with quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-QMS/IRMS).

Mars Sample Return Using Commercial Capabilities: Mission Architecture Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gonzales, Andrew A.; Stoker, Carol R.; Lemke, Lawrence G.; Bowles, Jeffery V.; Huynh, Loc C.; Faber, Nicholas T.; Race, Margaret S.

2014-01-01

Mars Sample Return (MSR) is the highest priority science mission for the next decade as recommended by the recent Decadal Survey of Planetary Science. This presentation provides an overview of a feasibility study for a MSR mission in which emerging commercial capabilities are used alongside other sources of mission elements. Goal is to reduce the number of mission systems and launches required to return the samples, with the goal of reducing mission cost.. Major elements required for the MSR mission are described. We report the feasibility of a complete and closed MSR mission design

Forecast Model and Product Assessment Project User’s Guide

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-01

Domain Filter FIXED LENGTH SECTION...1 0 - don’t filter 1 - return stations within latitude/longitude corners 2 - return...Latitude/Longitude Corners (lines skipped if not Domain Filter 1) -------------------------- CapeC_1_d1 26.000 SW corner latitude

76 FR 27749 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Regulation Project

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-12

... concerning information collection requirements related to Return Requirement for United States Persons... additional information or copies of this regulation should be directed to Joel Goldberger, (202) 927-9368... Internet at [email protected] . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Return Requirement for United...

Using Motivational Interviewing to Impact Readiness of RNs to Return to the Classroom.

PubMed

Phifer, Lynne; Robeano, Karen; Ivey, Angela; Blood-Siegfried, Jane

2018-06-01

Supporting nurses with associate degrees in nursing (ADNs) to return to school is challenging for nurse executives. Strategies include tuition reimbursement, scholarships, and flexible scheduling. Despite these measures, it is anticipated that we will fall short of a goal of 80% bachelor's degree-prepared nurses by 2020. The aim of this project was to increase ADN-prepared RN readiness to return to school through motivational interviewing.

Return Spawning/Rearing Habitat to Anadromous/Resident Fish within the Fishing Creek to Legendary Bear Creek Analysis Area Watersheds; 2002-2003 Final Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Taylor, Jr., Emmit E.

2004-03-01

This project is a critical component of currently on-going watershed restoration effort in the Lochsa River Drainage, including the Fishing (Squaw) Creek to Legendary Bear (Papoose) Creek Watersheds Analysis Area. In addition, funding for this project allowed expansion of the project into Pete King Creek and Cabin Creek. The goal of this project is working towards the re-establishment of healthy self-sustaining populations of key fisheries species (spring Chinook salmon, steelhead, bull trout, and westslope cutthroat trout) through returning historic habitat in all life stages (spawning, rearing, migration, and over-wintering). This was accomplished by replacing fish barrier road crossing culverts withmore » structures that pass fish and accommodate site conditions.« less

Future Lunar Sampling Missions: Big Returns on Small Samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shearer, C. K.; Borg, L.

2002-01-01

The next sampling missions to the Moon will result in the return of sample mass (100g to 1 kg) substantially smaller than those returned by the Apollo missions (380 kg). Lunar samples to be returned by these missions are vital for: (1) calibrating the late impact history of the inner solar system that can then be extended to other planetary surfaces; (2) deciphering the effects of catastrophic impacts on a planetary body (i.e. Aitken crater); (3) understanding the very late-stage thermal and magmatic evolution of a cooling planet; (4) exploring the interior of a planet; and (5) examining volatile reservoirs and transport on an airless planetary body. Can small lunar samples be used to answer these and other pressing questions concerning important solar system processes? Two potential problems with small, robotically collected samples are placing them in a geologic context and extracting robust planetary information. Although geologic context will always be a potential problem with any planetary sample, new lunar samples can be placed within the context of the important Apollo - Luna collections and the burgeoning planet-scale data sets for the lunar surface and interior. Here we illustrate the usefulness of applying both new or refined analytical approaches in deciphering information locked in small lunar samples.

Sustainable Mars Sample Return

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alston, Christie; Hancock, Sean; Laub, Joshua; Perry, Christopher; Ash, Robert

2011-01-01

The proposed Mars sample return mission will be completed using natural Martian resources for the majority of its operations. The system uses the following technologies: In-Situ Propellant Production (ISPP), a methane-oxygen propelled Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), a carbon dioxide powered hopper, and a hydrogen fueled balloon system (large balloons and small weather balloons). The ISPP system will produce the hydrogen, methane, and oxygen using a Sabatier reactor. a water electrolysis cell, water extracted from the Martian surface, and carbon dioxide extracted from the Martian atmosphere. Indigenous hydrogen will fuel the balloon systems and locally-derived methane and oxygen will fuel the MAV for the return of a 50 kg sample to Earth. The ISPP system will have a production cycle of 800 days and the estimated overall mission length is 1355 days from Earth departure to return to low Earth orbit. Combining these advanced technologies will enable the proposed sample return mission to be executed with reduced initial launch mass and thus be more cost efficient. The successful completion of this mission will serve as the next step in the advancement of Mars exploration technology.

Comet nucleus sample return mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

A comet nucleus sample return mission in terms of its relevant science objectives, candidate mission concepts, key design/technology requirements, and programmatic issues is discussed. The primary objective was to collect a sample of undisturbed comet material from beneath the surface of an active comet and to preserve its chemical and, if possible, its physical integrity and return it to Earth in a minimally altered state. The secondary objectives are to: (1) characterize the comet to a level consistent with a rendezvous mission; (2) monitor the comet dynamics through perihelion and aphelion with a long lived lander; and (3) determine the subsurface properties of the nucleus in an area local to the sampled core. A set of candidate comets is discussed. The hazards which the spacecraft would encounter in the vicinity of the comet are also discussed. The encounter strategy, the sampling hardware, the thermal control of the pristine comet material during the return to Earth, and the flight performance of various spacecraft systems and the cost estimates of such a mission are presented.

Assured crew return capability Crew Emergency Return Vehicle (CERV) avionics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Myers, Harvey Dean

1990-01-01

The Crew Emergency Return Vehicle (CERV) is being defined to provide Assured Crew Return Capability (ACRC) for Space Station Freedom. The CERV, in providing the standby lifeboat capability, would remain in a dormat mode over long periods of time as would a lifeboat on a ship at sea. The vehicle must be simple, reliable, and constantly available to assure the crew's safety. The CERV must also provide this capability in a cost effective and affordable manner. The CERV Project philosophy of a simple vehicle is to maximize its useability by a physically deconditioned crew. The vehicle reliability goes unquestioned since, when needed, it is the vehicle of last resort. Therefore, its systems and subsystems must be simple, proven, state-of-the-art technology with sufficient redundancy to make it available for use as required for the life of the program. The CERV Project Phase 1'/2 Request for Proposal (RFP) is currently scheduled for release on October 2, 1989. The Phase 1'/2 effort will affirm the existing project requirements or amend and modify them based on a thorough evaluation of the contractor(s) recommendations. The system definition phase, Phase 2, will serve to define CERV systems and subsystems. The current CERV Project schedule has Phase 2 scheduled to begin October 1990. Since a firm CERV avionics design is not in place at this time, the treatment of the CERV avionics complement for the reference configuration is not intended to express a preference with regard to a system or subsystem.

Examining Returned Samples in their Collection Tubes Using Synchrotron Radiation-Based Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schoonen, M. A.; Hurowitz, J. A.; Thieme, J.; Dooryhee, E.; Fogelqvist, E.; Gregerson, J.; Farley, K. A.; Sherman, S.; Hill, J.

2018-04-01

Synchrotron radiation-based techniques can be leveraged for triaging and analysis of returned samples before unsealing collection tubes. Proof-of-concept measurements conducted at Brookhaven National Lab's National Synchrotron Light Source-II.

Automated Mars surface sample return mission concepts for achievement of essential scientific objectives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weaver, W. L.; Norton, H. N.; Darnell, W. L.

1975-01-01

Mission concepts were investigated for automated return to Earth of a Mars surface sample adequate for detailed analyses in scientific laboratories. The minimum sample mass sufficient to meet scientific requirements was determined. Types of materials and supporting measurements for essential analyses are reported. A baseline trajectory profile was selected for its low energy requirements and relatively simple implementation, and trajectory profile design data were developed for 1979 and 1981 launch opportunities. Efficient spacecraft systems were conceived by utilizing existing technology where possible. Systems concepts emphasized the 1979 launch opportunity, and the applicability of results to other opportunities was assessed. It was shown that the baseline missions (return through Mars parking orbit) and some comparison missions (return after sample transfer in Mars orbit) can be accomplished by using a single Titan III E/Centaur as the launch vehicle. All missions investigated can be accomplished by use of Space Shuttle/Centaur vehicles.

Value of Sample Return and High Precision Analyses: Need for A Resource of Compelling Stories, Metaphors and Examples for Public Speakers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allton, J. H.

2017-01-01

There is widespread agreement among planetary scientists that much of what we know about the workings of the solar system comes from accurate, high precision measurements on returned samples. Precision is a function of the number of atoms the instrumentation is able to count. Accuracy depends on the calibration or standardization technique. For Genesis, the solar wind sample return mission, acquiring enough atoms to ensure precise SW measurements and then accurately quantifying those measurements were steps known to be non-trivial pre-flight. The difficulty of precise and accurate measurements on returned samples, and why they cannot be made remotely, is not communicated well to the public. In part, this is be-cause "high precision" is abstract and error bars are not very exciting topics. This paper explores ideas for collecting and compiling compelling metaphors and colorful examples as a resource for planetary science public speakers.

Mars sample return: Site selection and sample acquisition study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nickle, N. (Editor)

1980-01-01

Various vehicle and mission options were investigated for the continued exploration of Mars; the cost of a minimum sample return mission was estimated; options and concepts were synthesized into program possibilities; and recommendations for the next Mars mission were made to the Planetary Program office. Specific sites and all relevant spacecraft and ground-based data were studied in order to determine: (1) the adequacy of presently available data for identifying landing sities for a sample return mission that would assure the acquisition of material from the most important geologic provinces of Mars; (2) the degree of surface mobility required to assure sample acquisition for these sites; (3) techniques to be used in the selection and drilling of rock a samples; and (4) the degree of mobility required at the two Viking sites to acquire these samples.

Reexamining Sample Size Requirements for Multivariate, Abundance-Based Community Research: When Resources are Limited, the Research Does Not Have to Be.

PubMed

Forcino, Frank L; Leighton, Lindsey R; Twerdy, Pamela; Cahill, James F

2015-01-01

Community ecologists commonly perform multivariate techniques (e.g., ordination, cluster analysis) to assess patterns and gradients of taxonomic variation. A critical requirement for a meaningful statistical analysis is accurate information on the taxa found within an ecological sample. However, oversampling (too many individuals counted per sample) also comes at a cost, particularly for ecological systems in which identification and quantification is substantially more resource consuming than the field expedition itself. In such systems, an increasingly larger sample size will eventually result in diminishing returns in improving any pattern or gradient revealed by the data, but will also lead to continually increasing costs. Here, we examine 396 datasets: 44 previously published and 352 created datasets. Using meta-analytic and simulation-based approaches, the research within the present paper seeks (1) to determine minimal sample sizes required to produce robust multivariate statistical results when conducting abundance-based, community ecology research. Furthermore, we seek (2) to determine the dataset parameters (i.e., evenness, number of taxa, number of samples) that require larger sample sizes, regardless of resource availability. We found that in the 44 previously published and the 220 created datasets with randomly chosen abundances, a conservative estimate of a sample size of 58 produced the same multivariate results as all larger sample sizes. However, this minimal number varies as a function of evenness, where increased evenness resulted in increased minimal sample sizes. Sample sizes as small as 58 individuals are sufficient for a broad range of multivariate abundance-based research. In cases when resource availability is the limiting factor for conducting a project (e.g., small university, time to conduct the research project), statistically viable results can still be obtained with less of an investment.

Hayabusa: Navigation Challenges for Earth Return

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haw, Robert J.; Bhaskaran, S.; Strauss, W.; Sklyanskiy, E.; Graat, E. J.; Smith, J. J.; Menom, P.; Ardalan, S.; Ballard, C.; Williams, P.;

A study of system requirements for Phobos/Diemos missions. Volume 3: Phase 2 results, satellite sample return missions and satellite mobility concepts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The scientific objectives were considered for a Phobos/Deimos mission. The payloads for a minimum useful instrument complement were developed. The rationale for a sample return mission is discussed, along with the scientific constraints and requirements for the acquisition of samples.

Art Concepts - Mars Sample (Robot)

NASA Image and Video Library

1987-06-09

S87-35313 (15 May 1987)--- This artist's rendering illustrates a Mars Sample Return mission under study at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC). As currently envisioned, the spacecraft would be launched in the mid to late 1990's into Earth-orbit by a space shuttle, released from the shuttle's cargo bay and propelled toward Mars by an upper-stage engine. A lander (left background) would separate from an orbiting vehicle (upper right) and descend to the planet's surface. The lander's payload would include a robotic rover (foreground), which would spend a year moving about the Martian terrain collecting scientifically significant rock and soil samples. The rover would then return to the lander and transfer its samples to a small rocket that would carry them into orbit and rendezvous with the orbiter for a return to Earth. As depicted here the rover consists of three two-wheeled cabs, and is fitted with a stereo camera vision system and tool-equipped arms for sample collection. The Mars Sample Return studies are funded by NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications.

Nondestructive Analysis of Apollo Samples by Micro-CT and Micro-XRF Analysis: A PET Style Examination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zeigler, Ryan A.

2014-01-01

An integral part of any sample return mission is the initial description and classification of returned samples by the preliminary examination team (PET). The goal of a PET is to characterize and classify the returned samples, making this information available to the general research community who can then conduct more in-depth studies on the samples. A PET strives to minimize the impact their work has on the sample suite, which often limits the PET work to largely visual measurements and observations like optical microscopy. More modern techniques can also be utilized by future PET to nondestructively characterize astromaterials in a more rigorous way. Here we present our recent analyses of Apollo samples 14321 and 14305 by micro-CT and micro-XRF (respectively), assess the potential for discovery of "new" Apollo samples for scientific study, and evaluate the usefulness of these techniques in future PET efforts.

Planetary protection on international waters: An onboard protocol for capsule retrieval and biosafety control in sample return mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takano, Yoshinori; Yano, Hajime; Sekine, Yasuhito; Funase, Ryu; Takai, Ken

2014-04-01

Planetary protection has been recognized as one of the most important issues in sample return missions that may host certain living forms and biotic signatures in a returned sample. This paper proposes an initiative of sample capsule retrieval and onboard biosafety protocol in international waters for future biological and organic constituent missions to bring samples from possible habitable bodies in the solar system. We suggest the advantages of international waters being outside of national jurisdiction and active regions of human and traffic affairs on the condition that we accept the Outer Space Treaty. The scheme of onboard biological quarantine definitely reduces the potential risk of back-contamination of extraterrestrial materials to the Earth.

Institutional Venture Capital for the Space Industry: Providing Risk Capital for Space Companies that Provide Investor Returns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, Roscoe M., III

2002-01-01

provided by an institution. Those institutions tend to be Banks, Pension Funds, Insurance Funds, Corporations, and other incorporated entities that are obligated to earn a return on their invested capital. These institutions invest in a venture capital firm for the sole purpose of getting their money back with a healthy profit - within a set period of time. The venture capital firm is responsible for investing in and managing companies whose risk and return are higher than other less risky classes of investment. The venture capital firm's primary skill is its ability to manage the high risk of its venture investments while maintaining the high return potential of its venture investments. to businesses for the purpose of providing the above-mentioned Institutions a substantial return on their invested capital. Institutional Venture Capital for the Space Industry cannot be provided to projects or companies whose philosophy or intention is not to increase shareholder equity value within a set time period. efficiently when tied up in companies that intend to spend billions of dollars before the first dollar of revenue is generated. If 2 billion dollars of venture capital is invested in the equity of a Space Company for a minority equity position, then that Space Company must build that minority shareholder's equity value to a minimum investment return of 4 to 8 billion dollars. There are not many start-up companies that are able to reach public market equity valuations in the tens of billions of dollars within reasonable time horizons. Foundations, Manufacturers, and Strategic Investors can invest in projects that cannot realistically provide a substantial return on their equity to their investors within a reasonable period (5-7 years) of time. Venture Capitalists have to make money. Venture capitalists have made money on Satellite Television, Satellite Radio, Fixed Satellite Services, and other businesses. Venture capitalists have not made money on stand-alone aerospace projects that must create new markets to generate revenue.

77 FR 65608 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Regulation Project

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-29

... be assured of consideration. ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Yvette Lawrence, Internal... the definition of parachute payment if certain requirements are met (such as shareholder approval and... material in the administration of any internal revenue law. Generally, tax returns and tax return...

Landing Sites for a Mars Sample Return Mission in Arabia Terra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salese, F.; Pondrelli, M.; Schmidt, G. W.; Mitri, G.; Pacifici, A.; Cavalazzi, B.; Ori, G. G.; Glamoclija, M.; Hauber, E.; Le Deit, L.; Marinangeli, L.; Rossi, A. P.

2018-04-01

We are characterizing the geology of several areas in Arabia Terra as possible Mars Sample Return mission landing sites. Arabia Terra presents several interesting sites regarding the search for past traces of life on Mars.

OAST Space Theme Workshop. Volume 2: Theme summary. 4: Solar system exploration (no. 10). A: Statement of theme: B. 26 April 1976 Presentation. C. Summary. D. Initiative actions (form 5)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

Major strategies for exploring the solar system focus on the return of information and the return of matter. Both the planetary exploration facility, and an orbiting automated space station, and the sample return and exploration facility have similar requirements. The single most essential need to enable intensive study of the outer solar system is nuclear propulsion and power capability. New initiatives in 1978 related to the reactor, data and sample acquisition and return, navigation, and environmental protection are examined.

Family Reunification Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Administration for Children, Youth, and Families (DHHS), Washington, DC.

Utah's Department of Human Services' Family Reunification Project was initiated to demonstrate that intensive, time-limited, home-based services would enable children in foster care to return to their natural families more rapidly than regular foster care management permits. The following steps were taken in project development: (1) sites were…

MEPAG Recommendations for a 2018 Mars Sample Return Caching Lander - Sample Types, Number, and Sizes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, Carlton C.

2011-01-01

The return to Earth of geological and atmospheric samples from the surface of Mars is among the highest priority objectives of planetary science. The MEPAG Mars Sample Return (MSR) End-to-End International Science Analysis Group (MEPAG E2E-iSAG) was chartered to propose scientific objectives and priorities for returned sample science, and to map out the implications of these priorities, including for the proposed joint ESA-NASA 2018 mission that would be tasked with the crucial job of collecting and caching the samples. The E2E-iSAG identified four overarching scientific aims that relate to understanding: (A) the potential for life and its pre-biotic context, (B) the geologic processes that have affected the martian surface, (C) planetary evolution of Mars and its atmosphere, (D) potential for future human exploration. The types of samples deemed most likely to achieve the science objectives are, in priority order: (1A). Subaqueous or hydrothermal sediments (1B). Hydrothermally altered rocks or low temperature fluid-altered rocks (equal priority) (2). Unaltered igneous rocks (3). Regolith, including airfall dust (4). Present-day atmosphere and samples of sedimentary-igneous rocks containing ancient trapped atmosphere Collection of geologically well-characterized sample suites would add considerable value to interpretations of all collected rocks. To achieve this, the total number of rock samples should be about 30-40. In order to evaluate the size of individual samples required to meet the science objectives, the E2E-iSAG reviewed the analytical methods that would likely be applied to the returned samples by preliminary examination teams, for planetary protection (i.e., life detection, biohazard assessment) and, after distribution, by individual investigators. It was concluded that sample size should be sufficient to perform all high-priority analyses in triplicate. In keeping with long-established curatorial practice of extraterrestrial material, at least 40% by mass of each sample should be preserved to support future scientific investigations. Samples of 15-16 grams are considered optimal. The total mass of returned rocks, soils, blanks and standards should be approximately 500 grams. Atmospheric gas samples should be the equivalent of 50 cubic cm at 20 times Mars ambient atmospheric pressure.

Technology initiatives with government/business overlap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knapp, Robert H., Jr.

2015-03-01

Three important present-day technology development settings involve significant overlap between government and private sectors. The Advanced Research Project Agency for Energy (ARPA-E) supports a wide range of "high risk, high return" projects carried out in academic, non-profit or private business settings. The Materials Genome Initiative (MGI), based in the White House, aims at radical acceleration of the development process for advanced materials. California public utilities such as Pacific Gas & Electric operate under a structure of financial returns and political program mandates that make them arms of public policy as much as independent businesses.

Observations, Ideas, and Opinions: Systems Engineering and Integration for Return to Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gafka, George K.

2006-01-01

This presentation addresses project management and systems engineering and integration challenges for return to flight, focusing on the Thermal Protection System Tile Repair Project (TRP). The program documentation philosophy, communication with program requirements flow and philosophy and planned deliverables and documentation are outlined. The development of TRP 'use-as-is' analytical tools is also highlighted and emphasis is placed on the use flight history to assess pre-flight and real-time risk. Additionally, an overview is provided of the repair procedure, including an outline of the logistics deployment chart.

Merits of a Locality Sample for Accomplishing Mars Exploration Goals: The First Sample Return Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Draper, D. S.; Bogard, D. D.; Agee, C. B.; McKay, G. A.; Jones, J. H.

2002-05-01

A major stumbling block to a Mars sample return (MSR) mission is the seemingly prohibitive cost of maximizing sample diversity. The use of rovers, sophisticated on-board instrumentation, and various sample selection techniques are perceived by some to be necessary to maximize the scientific return by making it possible to acquire as diverse a suite of samples as possible. Here, we argue that many key science goals of the Mars Exploration Program may be accomplished by returning only a "locality sample" at a well-chosen landing site. A locality sample would be local regolith consisting of soil, windblown fines, and lithic fragments (plus Martian atmosphere). We argue that even the simplest sample return mission could revolutionize our understanding of the planet, without requiring the large outlays for technology development currently envisioned. By the time a MSR mission could realistically be flown, it is reasonable to expect that information from the Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, 2003 Mars Exploration Rovers, and 2005 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will be sufficient to make a good choice of landing site. Returned samples of Martian regolith have the potential to answer key questions of fundamental importance to the Mars Exploration Program: The search for life; understanding the role and history of water and other volatiles; helping to interpret remotely-sensed spectral data; and understanding the planet as a system. The value of such samples has been studied exhaustively for decades and detailed in publications dating back at least to 1974. A locality sample can further the search for life by identifying, among other things, trace quantities of surface organics, biogenic elements and their isotopic compositions, evidence for water in the form of hydrous minerals and/or cements, the nature of the Martian soil oxidant, trace biomarkers, and evidence for clay-forming processes. The role of water will be better understood by revealing, in addition, whether interactions between soil/rocks and the Martian atmosphere have recently occurred, and whether there are currently pathways among cyclic reservoirs (e.g. for carbon). Fundamental information regarding the current atmosphere is certain to be gained as well. Interpreting remotely-sensed data will be greatly strengthened by providing ground truth in the form of mineralogy and lithology of sample materials and by allowing an estimate of the extent of regolith gardening by impacts, the nature and thickness of dust coatings and/or alteration rinds, the nature of Martian layered deposits, and the extent to which materials like the Martian meteorites are present at the surface. Basic planetology questions that might be answered include the compositions and ages of the highlands or lowlands, and how wet Mars was, and at what time in its history. The much-discussed alternative, a mission built around a very capable rover, has several large drawbacks. First, the mass and expense of making the rover highly autonomous diminishes science return. Second, the rover represents a single-point failure; if the rover is stranded, the samples cannot be returned. Third, there is no demonstrable positive correlation between roving ability/range and sampling diversity. A simple locality-sample MSR mission provides the foundation for later, targeted return missions. Such a mission "follows the water" down into surface minerals and soils, and uniquely provides understanding of the surface environment that will best enable us to target the most promising sites to look for life.

A survey of rapid sample return needs from Space Station Freedom and potential return systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccandless, Ronald S.; Siegel, Bette; Charlton, Kevin

1991-01-01

Results are presented of a survey conducted among potential users of the life sciences and material sciences facilities at the Space Station Freedom (SSF) to determine the need for a special rapid sample return (RSR) mission to bring the experimental samples from the Space Station Freedom (SSF) to earth between the Space Shuttle visits. The results of the survey show that, while some experimental objectives would benefit from the RSR capability, other available cost- and mission-effective means could be used instead of the RSR proposed. Potential vehicles for transporting samples from the SSF to earth are examined in the context of the survey results.

Apollo Master Spacecraft Specification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1963-01-01

The ultimate objective of this project is to land men on the surface of the moon and return the men safely to earth. The objective of this document is to define the design approaches and operational techniques for transporting a three-man crew to the moon and returning them to earth.

78 FR 40831 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Regulation Project

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-08

... on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of... the information to ensure compliance with the requirement under the regulation that the taxpayer... internal revenue law. Generally, tax returns and tax return information are confidential, as required by 26...

The search for and identification of amino acids, nucleobases and nucleosides in samples returned from Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gehrke, Charles W.; Ponnamperuma, Cyril; Kuo, Kenneth C.; Stalling, David L.; Zumwalt, Robert W.

1989-01-01

An investigation of the returned Mars samples for biologically important organic compounds, with emphasis on amino acid, the puring and pyrimidine bases, and nucleosides is proposed. These studies would be conducted on subsurface samples obtained by drilling past the surface oxidizing layer with emphasis on samples containing the larges quantities of organic carbon as determined by the rover gas chromatographic mass spectrometer (GCMS). Extraction of these molecules from the returned samples will be performed using the hydrothermal extraction technique described by Cheng and Ponnamperuma. More rigorous extraction methods will be developed and evaluated. For analysis of the extract for free amino acids or amino acids present in a bound or peptidic form, aliquots will be analyzed by capillary GCMS both before and after hydrolysis with 6N hydrochloric acid. Establishment of the presence of amino acids would then lead to the next logical step which would be the use of chiral stationary gas chromatography phases to determine the enatiomeic composition of the amino acids present, and thus potentially establish their biotic or abiotic origin. Confirmational analyses for amino acids would include ion-exchange and reversed-phase liquid chromatographic analysis. For analyses of the returned Mars samples for nucleobases and nucleosides, affinity and reversed-phase liquid chromatography would be utilized. This technology coupled with scanning UV detection for identification, presents a powerful tool for nucleobase and nucleoside analysis. Mass spectrometric analysis of these compounds would confirm their presence in samples returned form Mars.

Impact Craters and Impactites as Important Targets for Mars Sample Return Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osinski, G. R.; Cockell, C. S.; Pontefract, A.; Sapers, H. M.; Tornabene, L. L.

2018-04-01

Research conducted over the past few years reveals that meteorite impact craters provide substrates and habitats for life. We propose that craters and their products should be reconsidered as high priority targets for Mars Sample Return missions.

Poor Man's Asteroid Sample Return Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Landis, R. R.; Graham, L. D.

2018-02-01

A cislunar platform at a Near-Rectilinear [Halo] Orbit in the vicinity of the Moon could provide an opportunity for a small NEA sample return mission at relatively low cost. There are a couple potential small ( 1m) object target dynamical groups.

Planning Related to the Curation and Processing of Returned Martian Samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCubbin, F. M.; Harrington, A. D.

2018-04-01

Many of the planning activities in the NASA Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office at JSC are centered around Mars Sample Return. The importance of contamination knowledge and the benefits of a mobile/modular receiving facility are discussed.

Rockballer Sample Acquisition Tool

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Giersch, Louis R.; Cook, Brant T.

2013-01-01

It would be desirable to acquire rock and/or ice samples that extend below the surface of the parent rock or ice in extraterrestrial environments such as the Moon, Mars, comets, and asteroids. Such samples would allow measurements to be made further back into the geologic history of the rock, providing critical insight into the history of the local environment and the solar system. Such samples could also be necessary for sample return mission architectures that would acquire samples from extraterrestrial environments for return to Earth for more detailed scientific investigation.

Mars Sample Return mission utilizing in-situ propellant production

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zubrin, Robert; Price, Steve

1995-01-01

This report presents the results of a study examining the potential of in-situ propellant production (ISPP) on Mars to aid in achieving a low cost Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission. Two versions of such a mission were examined: a baseline version employing a dual string spacecraft, and a light weight version employing single string architecture with selective redundancy. Both systems employed light weight avionics currently being developed by Lockheed Martin, Jet Propulsion Lab and elsewhere in the aerospace community, both used a new concept for a simple, light weight parachuteless sample return capsule, both used a slightly modified version of the Mars Surveyor lander currently under development at Lockheed Martin for flight in 1998, and both used a combination of the Sabatier-electrolysis and reverse water gas shift ISPP systems to produce methane/oxygen propellant on Mars by combining a small quantity of imported hydrogen with the Martian CO2 atmosphere. It was found that the baseline mission could be launched on a Delta 7925 and return a 0.5 kg sample with 82 percent mission launch margin;over and beyond subsystem allocated contingency masses . The lightweight version could be launched on a Mid-Lite vehicle and return a 0.25 kg sample with 11 percent launch margin, over and above subsystem contingency mass allocations.

Plume Collection Strategies for Icy World Sample Return

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neveu, M.; Glavin, D. P.; Tsou, P.; Anbar, A. D.; Williams, P.

2015-01-01

Three icy worlds in the solar system display evidence of pluming activity. Water vapor and ice particles emanate from cracks near the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus. The plume gas contains simple hydrocarbons that could be fragments of larger, more complex organics. More recently, observations using the Hubble and Herschel space telescopes have hinted at transient water vapor plumes at Jupiter's moon Europa and the dwarf planet Ceres. Plume materials may be ejected directly from possible sub-surface oceans, at least on Enceladus. In such oceans, liquid water, organics, and energy may co-exist, making these environments habitable. The venting of habitable ocean material into space provides a unique opportunity to capture this material during a relatively simple flyby mission and return it to Earth. Plume collection strategies should enable investigations of evidence for life in the returned samples via laboratory analyses of the structure, distribution, isotopic composition, and chirality of the chemical components (including biomolecules) of plume materials. Here, we discuss approaches for the collection of dust and volatiles during flybys through Enceladus' plume, based on Cassini results and lessons learned from the Stardust comet sample return mission. We also highlight areas where sample collector and containment technology development and testing may be needed for future plume sample return missions.

HEALTH-SCREENING PROTOCOLS FOR VINACEOUS AMAZONS (AMAZONA VINACEA) IN A REINTRODUCTION PROJECT.

PubMed

Saidenberg, André B S; Zuniga, Eveline; Melville, Priscilla A; Salaberry, Sandra; Benites, Nilson R

2015-12-01

Reintroduction is a growing field in the conservation of endangered species. The vinaceous Amazon parrot (Amazona vinacea) is extinct in several areas, and a project to release confiscated individuals to their former range is currently underway. The objective of this study was to evaluate and improve the selection and treatment of individual release candidates by detecting possible pathogen carriers using samples taken before and during release. As part of prerelease health protocols, samples were obtained from 29 parrots on three different occasions while in captivity and once after their release. Samples were screened for paramyxovirus type 1, avian influenza, poxvirus, coronavirus, psittacine herpesvirus 1, Chlamydia psittaci , enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC), Salmonella spp., and endoparasites. The majority of samples returned negative results, with the exception of two individuals that tested positive for C. psittaci in the first sampling and for Ascaridia spp. in the second pooled sampling. Treatments for C. psittaci and endoparasites were administered prior to release, and negative results were obtained in subsequent exams. The number of positive results for E. coli (non-EPEC) decreased during the rehabilitation period. Adequate quarantine procedures and health examinations greatly minimize disease risks. The protocols employed in this study resulted in acceptable health status in accordance with current environmental legislation in Brazil. Additionally, protocols allowed informed decisions to release candidates, minimized risks, and favored the selection of healthy individuals, thereby contributing to the recovery of this species. It is important to determine appropriate minimum health-screening protocols when advanced diagnostics may not be available or high costs make the tests prohibitive in countries where confiscations occur. We hypothesize that a minimum panel of tests of pooled samples can serve as an alternative approach that minimizes costs and overall workload and supports projects intended to restore and promote flagship species and hamper their illegal trade.

A Water Mass Tracer Detected in Aerosols Demonstrates Ocean-Atmosphere Mass Transfer and Links Sea Spray Aerosol to Source Waters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pendergraft, M.; Grimes, D. J.; Giddings, S. N.; Feddersen, F.; Prather, K. A.; Santander, M.; Lee, C.; Beall, C.

2016-12-01

During September and October of 2015 the Cross Surfzone/Inner-shelf Dye Exchange (CSIDE) project released rhodamine WT dye to study nearshore water movement and exchange offshore along a Southern California sandy beach. We utilized this opportunity to investigate ocean-atmosphere mass transfer via sea spray aerosol and linkage to source waters. Aerosol-concentrating sampling equipment was deployed at beachside and inland locations during three dye releases. Concentrated aerosol samples were analyzed for dye content using fluorescence spectroscopy. Here we present the ocean and atmosphere conditions associated with the presence and absence of dye in aerosol samples. Dye was identified in aerosol samples collected 0.1-0.3 km from the shoreline for 6 hs during the first and third dye releases of the CSIDE project. During these releases the dye persisted in the waters upwind of the sampling equipment. Dye was not detected in aerosol samples collected during the second release during which dye was moved away from waters upwind of the sampling equipment. Recovery of a chemical tracer in sea spray aerosol allows direct linkage to a known source area in the ocean that is independent of, but supported by, wind data. Our observations demonstrate: a tight ocean-atmosphere spatial coupling; a short residence time of coastal marine constituents before transfer to the atmosphere; that the ocean is both a sink for and a source of atmospheric and terrestrial material; and that human inputs to the ocean can return to us in sea spray aerosol.

Asteroid Sample Return Mission Launches on This Week @NASA – September 9, 2016

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-09-09

On Sept. 8, NASA launched the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security - Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx mission from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. OSIRIS-REx, the first U.S. mission to sample an asteroid, is scheduled to arrive at near-Earth asteroid Bennu in 2018. Mission plans call for the spacecraft to survey the asteroid, retrieve a small sample from its surface, and return the sample to Earth for study in 2023. Analysis of that sample is expected to reveal clues about the history of Bennu over the past 4.5 billion years, as well as clues about the evolution of our solar system. Also, Jeff Williams’ Record-Breaking Spaceflight Concludes, Next ISS Crew Prepares for Launch, Sample Return Robot Challenge, NASA X-Plane Gets its Wing, and Convergent Aeronautics Solutions Showcase!

Lunar Samples: Apollo Collection Tools, Curation Handling, Surveyor III and Soviet Luna Samples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allton, J.H.

2009-01-01

The 6 Apollo missions that landed on the lunar surface returned 2196 samples comprised of 382 kg. The 58 samples weighing 21.5 kg collected on Apollo 11 expanded to 741 samples weighing 110.5 kg by the time of Apollo 17. The main goal on Apollo 11 was to obtain some material and return it safely to Earth. As we gained experience, the sampling tools and a more specific sampling strategy evolved. A summary of the sample types returned is shown in Table 1. By year 1989, some statistics on allocation by sample type were compiled [2]. The "scientific interest index" is based on the assumption that the more allocations per gram of sample, the higher the scientific interest. It is basically a reflection of the amount of diversity within a given sample type. Samples were also set aside for biohazard testing. The samples set aside and used for biohazard testing were represen-tative, as opposed to diverse. They tended to be larger and be comprised of less scientifically valuable mate-rial, such as dust and debris in the bottom of sample containers.

Clean Water State Revolving Fund Infographic

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Infographic of the CWSRF program showing total project funding from 1987 through 2015, number of loans, how the program works, who is eligible for assistance, types of projects funded, and return on federal investment.

Reasons for resubmission of research projects to the research ethics committee of a university hospital in São Paulo, Brazil.

PubMed

Bueno, Mariana; Brevidelli, Maria Meimei; Cocarelli, Thaís; Santos, Gianni Mara Silva dos; Ferraz, Maria Auxiliadora; Mion, Décio

2009-01-01

It is important to know the reasons for resubmitting research projects to the Research Ethics Committee in order to help researchers to prepare their research projects, informed consent forms and needed research documentation. To verify the reasons for resubmitting projects that were previously rejected by the Ethics Committee. This is a cross-sectional study that evaluated research projects involving human beings. Research projects were submitted in 2007 to the Research Ethics Committee of the Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo. One thousand two hundred and fifty six research projects were submitted to the ethics committee and the average time for evaluating the research projects and related documents until a final decision was reached was 49.95 days. From the total, 399 projects were reviewed in 2 or more meetings until a final decision was reached. Of these, 392 research projects were included in the study; 35 projects were subsequently excluded for involving animals. Among the research projects included, 42.5% concerned research with new drugs, vaccines and diagnostic tests, 48.5% consisted of undergraduate students' research projects, 68.9% of the research had no sponsorship, and 97.5% were eventually approved. The main reasons for returning the projects to the researchers were the use of inadequate language and/or difficulty of understanding the informed consent form (32.2%), lack of information about the protocol at the informed consent form (25.8%), as well as doubts regarding methodological and statistical issues of the protocol (77.1%). Other reasons for returning the research projects involved lack of, inaccuracy on or incomplete documentation, need of clarification or approval for participation of external entities on the research, lack of information on financial support. Among the research projects that were returned to the researchers for additional clarification, the main reasons were inadequacies or doubts about the terms used in the informed consent form as well as lack of information regarding the research at the informed consent form and methodological and statistical issues regarding the protocol.

Color Filtering Localization for Three-Dimensional Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Liu, Zhihua; Gao, Han; Wang, Wuling; Chang, Shuai; Chen, Jiaxing

2015-01-01

Accurate localization of mobile nodes has been an important and fundamental problem in underwater acoustic sensor networks (UASNs). The detection information returned from a mobile node is meaningful only if its location is known. In this paper, we propose two localization algorithms based on color filtering technology called PCFL and ACFL. PCFL and ACFL aim at collaboratively accomplishing accurate localization of underwater mobile nodes with minimum energy expenditure. They both adopt the overlapping signal region of task anchors which can communicate with the mobile node directly as the current sampling area. PCFL employs the projected distances between each of the task projections and the mobile node, while ACFL adopts the direct distance between each of the task anchors and the mobile node. The proportion factor of distance is also proposed to weight the RGB values. By comparing the nearness degrees of the RGB sequences between the samples and the mobile node, samples can be filtered out. The normalized nearness degrees are considered as the weighted standards to calculate the coordinates of the mobile nodes. The simulation results show that the proposed methods have excellent localization performance and can localize the mobile node in a timely way. The average localization error of PCFL is decreased by about 30.4% compared to the AFLA method. PMID:25774706

Planetary Sample Caching System Design Options

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Collins, Curtis; Younse, Paulo; Backes, Paul

2009-01-01

Potential Mars Sample Return missions would aspire to collect small core and regolith samples using a rover with a sample acquisition tool and sample caching system. Samples would need to be stored in individual sealed tubes in a canister that could be transfered to a Mars ascent vehicle and returned to Earth. A sample handling, encapsulation and containerization system (SHEC) has been developed as part of an integrated system for acquiring and storing core samples for application to future potential MSR and other potential sample return missions. Requirements and design options for the SHEC system were studied and a recommended design concept developed. Two families of solutions were explored: 1)transfer of a raw sample from the tool to the SHEC subsystem and 2)transfer of a tube containing the sample to the SHEC subsystem. The recommended design utilizes sample tool bit change out as the mechanism for transferring tubes to and samples in tubes from the tool. The SHEC subsystem design, called the Bit Changeout Caching(BiCC) design, is intended for operations on a MER class rover.

Constraining Our Understanding of the Actions and Effects of Martian Volatiles Through the Study of Returned Samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

iMOST Team; Swindle, T. D.; Altieri, F.; Busemann, H.; Niles, P. B.; Shaheen, R.; Zorzano, M. P.; Amelin, Y.; Ammannito, E.; Anand, M.; Beaty, D. W.; Benning, L. G.; Bishop, J. L.; Borg, L. E.; Boucher, D.; Brucato, J. R.; Campbell, K. A.; Carrier, B. L.; Czaja, A. D.; Debaille, V.; Des Marais, D. J.; Dixon, M.; Ehlmann, B. L.; Farmer, J. D.; Fernandez-Remolar, D. C.; Fogarty, J.; Glavin, D. P.; Goreva, Y. S.; Grady, M. M.; Hallis, L. J.; Harrington, A. D.; Hausrath, E. M.; Herd, C. D. K.; Horgan, B.; Humayun, M.; Kleine, T.; Kleinhenz, J.; Mangold, N.; Mackelprang, R.; Mayhew, L. E.; McCubbin, F. M.; McCoy, J. T.; McLennan, S. M.; McSween, H. Y.; Moser, D. E.; Moynier, F.; Mustard, J. F.; Ori, G. G.; Raulin, F.; Rettberg, P.; Rucker, M. A.; Schmitz, N.; Sefton-Nash, E.; Sephton, M. A.; Shuster, D. L.; Siljestrom, S.; Smith, C. L.; Spry, J. A.; Steele, A.; ten Kate, I. L.; Tosca, N. J.; Usui, T.; Van Kranendonk, M. J.; Wadhwa, M.; Weiss, B. P.; Werner, S. C.; Westall, F.; Wheeler, R. M.; Zipfel, J.

2018-04-01

Volatiles play a key role in the evolution of Mars' atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere, and returned samples of the atmosphere, sedimentary rocks, regolith, and secondary minerals will inform our understanding of that evolution.

Sample Return in Preparation for Human Mission on the Surface of Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yun, P.

2018-04-01

Returned samples of martian regolith will help the science community make an informed decision in choosing the final human landing site and develop a better human mission plan to meet science criteria and IRSU and civil engineering criteria.

Student Participation in Mars Sample Return Rover Field Tests, Silver Lake, California

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, R. C.; Arvidson, R. E.; Bowman, J. D.; Dunham, C. D.; Backes, P.; Baumgartner, E. T.; Bell, J.; Dworetzky, S. C.; Klug, S.; Peck, N.

2000-01-01

An integrated team of students and teachers from four high schools across the country developed and implemented their own mission of exploration and discovery using the Mars Sample Return prototype rover, FIDO, at Silver Lake in the Mojave Desert.

A Rover Mobility Platform with Autonomous Capability to Enable Mars Sample Return

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fulford, P.; Langley, C.; Shaw, A.

2018-04-01

The next step in understanding Mars is sample return. In Fall 2016, the CSA conducted an analogue deployment using the Mars Exploration Science Rover. An objective was to demonstrate the maturity of the rover's guidance, navigation, and control.

Enabling Global Lunar Sample Return and Life-Detection Studies Using a Deep-Space Gateway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, B. A.; Eigenbrode, J. A.; Young, K. E.; Bleacher, J. E.; Trainer, M. E.

2018-02-01

The Deep Space Gateway could uniquely enable a lunar robotic sampling campaign that would provide incredible science return as well as feed forward to Mars and Europa by testing instrument sterility and ability to distinguish biogenic signals.

Second Wind: A Program for Returning Women Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Jane O., Ed.

Since most college programs are designed for young people, new programs need to be developed that overcome personal and institutional barriers, including sex-role stereotyping and sex-role socialization, that restrict returning women's educational opportunities on the college campus. This project establishes a model low-cost, self-perpetuating…

75 FR 53020 - Proposed Collection: Comment Request for Regulation Project

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-30

... record for the tax imposed on the entry of taxable fuel into the U.S. and revises definition of ``enterer.... ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Gerald Shields, Internal Revenue Service, Room 6129, 1111... the administration of any internal revenue law. Generally, tax returns and tax return information are...

Early Learning: Return on Investment. Annotated Bibliography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hite, Jenny

2014-01-01

Today's researchers seek to determine if contemporary pre-K programs provide the strong return on investment found by researchers in the 1960's High/Scope Perry Preschool Program and 1970's North Carolina Abecedarian Project. Research then showed that these two programs created positive academic effects that accompanied their students as they…

78 FR 48229 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Regulation Project

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-07

... on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of... distributions to verify compliance with section 529 and to determine the taxable amount of a distribution.... Generally, tax returns and tax return information are confidential, as required by 26 U.S.C. 6103. Request...

Initial Sample Analyses inside a Capsule: A Strategy of Life Detection and Planetary Protection for Ocean World Sample Return Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yano, Hajime; Takano, Yoshinori; Sekine, Yasuhito; Takai, Ken; Funase, Ryu; Fujishima, Kosuke; Shibuya, Takazo

2016-07-01

Planetary protection is considered to be one of the most crucial challenges to enable sample return missions from "Ocean Worlds", internal oceans of icy satellites as potential deep habitat such as Enceladus and Europa, due to the risk of backward contamination of bringing back potential biology-related matters or at most, possible extraterrestrial living signatures to the Earth. Here we propose an innovative technological solution for both life detection and planetary protection of such returned samples, namely by conducting all major life signature searches, which are also a critical path of quarantine processes of planetary protection, inside the Earth return capsule, prior to open the canister and expose to the terrestrial environment. We plan to test the latest sample capture and recovery methods of preparing multiple aliquot chambers in the sample return capsule. Each aliquot chamber will trap, for instance, plume particles and ambient volatiles during the spacecraft flying through Enceladus plumes so that respective analyses can be performed focusing on volatiles and minerals (i.e., habitability for life), organics (i.e., ingredients for life), biosignatures (i.e., activity of life) and for archiving the samples for future investigations at the same time. In-situ analysis will be conducted under complete containment through an optical interface port that allows pre-installed fiber optic cables to perform non-contact measurements and capillary tubing for extraction/injection of gas and liquids through metal barriers to be punctuated inside a controlled environment. Once primary investigations are completed, the interior of the capsule will be sterilized by gamma rays and UV irradiation. Post-sterilized aliquot chambers will be further analyzed under enclosed and ultraclean environment at BAL 2-3 facilities, rather than BSL4. We consider that this is an unique solution that can cope with severe requirements set for the Category-V sample returns for astrobiology-driven missions.

Successful Validation of Sample Processing and Quantitative Real-Time PCR Capabilities on the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parra, Macarena; Jung, Jimmy; Almeida, Eduardo; Boone, Travis; Schonfeld, Julie; Tran, Luan

2016-01-01

The WetLab-2 system was developed by NASA Ames Research Center to offer new capabilities to researchers. The system can lyse cells and extract RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) on-orbit from different sample types ranging from microbial cultures to animal tissues. The purified RNA can then either be stabilized for return to Earth or can be used to conduct on-orbit quantitative Reverse Transcriptase PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) (qRT-PCR) analysis without the need for sample return. The qRT-PCR results can be downlinked to the ground a few hours after the completion of the run. The validation flight of the WetLab-2 system launched on SpaceX-8 on April 8, 2016. On orbit operations started on April 15th with system setup and was followed by three quantitative PCR runs using an E. coli genomic DNA template pre-loaded at three different concentrations. These runs were designed to discern if quantitative PCR functions correctly in microgravity and if the data is comparable to that from the ground control runs. The flight data showed no significant differences compared to the ground data though there was more variability in the values, this was likely due to the numerous small bubbles observed. The capability of the system to process samples and purify RNA was then validated using frozen samples prepared on the ground. The flight data for both E. coli and mouse liver clearly shows that RNA was successfully purified by our system. The E. coli qRT-PCR run showed successful singleplex, duplex and triplex capability. Data showed high variability in the resulting Cts (Cycle Thresholds [for the PCR]) likely due to bubble formation and insufficient mixing during the procedure run. The mouse liver qRT-PCR run had successful singleplex and duplex reactions and the variability was slightly better as the mixing operation was improved. The ability to purify and stabilize RNA and to conduct qRT-PCR on-orbit is an important step towards utilizing the ISS as a National Laboratory facility. The ability to get on-orbit data will provide investigators with the opportunity to adjust experimental parameters in real time without the need for sample return and re-flight. The WetLab-2 Project is supported by the Research Integration Office in the ISS Program.

ICESCAPE Mission

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-07-08

Dartmouth College's Chris Polashenski cuts a block of ice from below a melt pond on sea ice in the Chukchi Sea on July 9, 2010, for analysis upon return from the mission. The research is part of NASA's ICESCAPE mission onboard the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy to sample the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the ocean and sea ice. Impacts of Climate change on the Eco-Systems and Chemistry of the Arctic Pacific Environment (ICESCAPE) is a multi-year NASA shipborne project. The bulk of the research will take place in the Beaufort and Chukchi Sea’s in summer of 2010 and fall of 2011. Photo Credit: (NASA/Kathryn Hansen)

Airborne RF Measurement System (ARMS) and Analysis of Representative Flight RF Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koppen, Sandra V.; Ely, Jay J.; Smith, Laura J.; Jones, Richard A.; Fleck, Vincent J.; Salud, Maria Theresa; Mielnik, John J.

2007-01-01

Environmental radio frequency (RF) data over a broad band of frequencies (30 MHz to 1000 MHz) were obtained to evaluate the electromagnetic environment in airspace around several airports. An RF signal measurement system was designed utilizing a spectrum analyzer connected to the NASA Lancair Columbia 300 aircraft's VHF/UHF navigation antenna. This paper presents an overview of the RF measurement system and provides analysis of sample RF signal measurement data. This aircraft installation package and measurement system can be quickly returned to service if needed by future projects requiring measurement of an RF signal environment or exploration of suspected interference situations.

Stardust Sample: Investigator's Guidebook

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, Carl

2006-01-01

In January 2006, the Stardust spacecraft returned the first in situ collection of samples from a comet, and the first samples of contemporary interstellar dust. Stardust is the first US sample return mission from a planetary body since Apollo, and the first ever from beyond the moon. This handbook is a basic reference source for allocation procedures and policies for Stardust samples. These samples consist of particles and particle residues in aerogel collectors, in aluminum foil, and in spacecraft components. Contamination control samples and unflown collection media are also available for allocation.

Project Lifespan-based Nonstationary Hydrologic Design Methods for Changing Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, L.

2017-12-01

Under changing environment, we must associate design floods with the design life period of projects to ensure the hydrologic design is really relevant to the operation of the hydrologic projects, because the design value for a given exceedance probability over the project life period would be significantly different from that over other time periods of the same length due to the nonstationarity of probability distributions. Several hydrologic design methods that take the design life period of projects into account have been proposed in recent years, i.e. the expected number of exceedances (ENE), design life level (DLL), equivalent reliability (ER), and average design life level (ADLL). Among the four methods to be compared, both the ENE and ER methods are return period-based methods, while DLL and ADLL are risk/reliability- based methods which estimate design values for given probability values of risk or reliability. However, the four methods can be unified together under a general framework through a relationship transforming the so-called representative reliability (RRE) into the return period, i.e. m=1/1(1-RRE), in which we compute the return period m using the representative reliability RRE.The results of nonstationary design quantiles and associated confidence intervals calculated by ENE, ER and ADLL were very similar, since ENE or ER was a special case or had a similar expression form with respect to ADLL. In particular, the design quantiles calculated by ENE and ADLL were the same when return period was equal to the length of the design life. In addition, DLL can yield similar design values if the relationship between DLL and ER/ADLL return periods is considered. Furthermore, ENE, ER and ADLL had good adaptability to either an increasing or decreasing situation, yielding not too large or too small design quantiles. This is important for applications of nonstationary hydrologic design methods in actual practice because of the concern of choosing the emerging nonstationary methods versus the traditional stationary methods. There is still a long way to go for the conceptual transition from stationarity to nonstationarity in hydrologic design.

Mars Rover/Sample Return (MRSR) Mission: Mars Rover Technology Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

A return to the surface of Mars has long been an objective of NASA mission planners. The ongoing Mars Rover and Sample Return (MRSR) mission study represents the latest stage in that interest. As part of NASA's preparation for a possible MRSR mission, a technology planning workshop was held to attempt to define technology requirements, options, and preliminary plans for the principal areas of Mars rover technology. The proceedings of that workshop are presented.

Mars Sample Return Using Commercial Capabilities: ERV Trajectory and Capture Requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Faber, Nicolas F.; Foster, Cyrus James; Wilson, David; Gonzales, Andrew; Stoker, Carol R.

2013-01-01

Mars Sample Return was presented as the highest priority planetary science mission of the next decade [1]. Lemke et al. [2] present a Mars Sample Return mission concept in which the sample is returned directly from the surface of Mars to an Earth orbit. The sample is recovered in Earth Orbit instead of being transferred between spacecraft in Mars Orbit. This paper provides the details of this sample recovery in Earth orbit and presents as such a sub-element of the overall Mars sample return concept given in [2]. We start from the assumption that a Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), initially landed on Mars using a modified SpaceX Dragon capsule, has successfully delivered the sample, already contained within an Earth Return Vehicle (ERV), to a parking orbit around Mars. From the parking orbit, the ERV imparts sufficient Delta-V to inject itself into an earthbound trajectory and to be captured into an Earth orbit eventually. We take into account launch window and Delta-V considerations as well as the additional constraint of increased safety margins imposed by planetary protection regulations. We focus on how to overcome two distinct challenges of the sample return that are driven by the issues of planetary protection: (1) the design of an ERV trajectory meeting all the requirements including the need to avoid contamination of Earth's atmosphere; (2) the concept of operations for retrieving the Martian samples in Earth orbit in a safe way. We present an approach to retrieve the samples through a rendezvous between the ERV and a second SpaceX Dragon capsule. The ERV executes a trajectory that brings it from low Mars orbit (LMO) to a Moon-trailing Earth orbit at high inclination with respect to the Earth-Moon plane. After a first burn at Trans-Earth Injection (TEI), the trajectory uses a second burn at perigee during an Earth flyby maneuver to capture the ERV in Earth orbit. The ERV then uses a non-propulsive Moon flyby to come to a near-circular Moon-trailing orbit. To perform the Earth Orbit Rendezvous (EOR), a second Dragon capsule is then launched from Earth and a similar lunar flyby is performed to rendezvous with the ERV. The requirements for rendezvous, close proximity operations and capture of the sample canister are described. A concept of operations for sample retrieval is presented along with design specifications of the ERV, the required modifications to the Dragon capsule, as well as the hardware, software, sensors, actuators, and capture mechanisms used. In our concept, a container is mounted to the front hatch of Dragon, capable of accommodating the sample canister and sealing it from the rest of the capsule. The sample canister is captured using a robotic arm with a magnetic grappling mechanism. Dragon then performs a propulsive maneuver to return to Earth for a controlled re-entry while the ERV (sans sample container) is left in the Moon trailing orbit. Contingency cases and related mitigation strategies are also discussed, including the advantages and disadvantages of performing the ERV rendezvous with a crew.

Is Mars Sample Return Required Prior to Sending Humans to Mars?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carr, Michael; Abell, Paul; Allwood, Abigail; Baker, John; Barnes, Jeff; Bass, Deborah; Beaty, David; Boston, Penny; Brinkerhoff, Will; Budney, Charles;

Design and Testing of a One-Third Scale Soyuz TM Descent Module Spartan Conversion Project Super Loki Instrumentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, Loren A.; Armitage, Pamela Kay

1993-01-01

The 1992-1993 senior Aerospace Engineering Design class continued work on the post landing configurations for the Assured Crew Return Vehicle. The Assured Crew Return Vehicle will be permanently docked to the space station fulfilling NASA's commitment of Assured Crew Return Capability in the event of an accident or illness aboard the space station. The objective of the project was to give the Assured Crew Return Vehicle Project Office data to feed into their feasibility studies. Three design teams were given the task of developing models with dynamically and geometrically scaled characteristics. Groups one and two combined efforts to design a one-third scale model of the Russian Soyuz TM Descent Module, and an on-board flotation system. This model was designed to determine the flotation characteristics and test the effects of a rigid flotation and orientation system. Group three designed a portable water wave test facility to be located on campus. Because of additional funding from Thiokol Corporation, testing of the Soyuz model and flotation systems took place at the Offshore Technology Research Center. Universities Space Research Association has been studying the use of small expendable launch vehicles for missions which cost less than 200 million dollars. The Crusader2B. which consists of the original Spartan first and second stage with an additional Spartan second stage and the Minuteman III upper stage is being considered for this task. University of Central Florida project accomplishments include an analysis of launch techniques, a modeling technique to determine flight characteristics, and input into the redesign of an existing mobile rail launch platform.

Multimodel Assessment of the Factors Driving Stratospheric Ozone Evolution over the 21st Century

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oman, L. D.; Plummer, D. A.; Waugh, D. W.; Austin, J.; Scinocca, J. F.; Douglass, A. R.; Salawitch, R. J.; Canty, T.; Akiyoshi, H.; Bekki, S.;

Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Infographic

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Infographic of the DWSRF program showing total project funding from 1997 through 2016, number of loans, how the program works, who is eligible for assistance, loan terms; types of projects funded, and return on federal investment.

77 FR 54904 - Intent to Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report for the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-06

... Environmental Impact Statement/ Environmental Impact Report for the Proposed Ballona Wetlands Restoration...) for the proposed Ballona Wetlands Restoration Project. The proposed project is intended to return the... biological functions and services in the project area. Restoring the wetland functions and services would...

20 CFR 404.1599 - Work incentive experiments and rehabilitation demonstration projects in the disability program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... and demonstration projects designed to provide more cost-effective ways of encouraging disabled beneficiaries to return to work and leave benefit rolls. These experiments and demonstration projects will test... to test their effect on the program. (c) Applicability and scope—(1) Participants and nonparticipants...

20 CFR 404.1599 - Work incentive experiments and rehabilitation demonstration projects in the disability program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... and demonstration projects designed to provide more cost-effective ways of encouraging disabled beneficiaries to return to work and leave benefit rolls. These experiments and demonstration projects will test... to test their effect on the program. (c) Applicability and scope—(1) Participants and nonparticipants...

20 CFR 404.1599 - Work incentive experiments and rehabilitation demonstration projects in the disability program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... and demonstration projects designed to provide more cost-effective ways of encouraging disabled beneficiaries to return to work and leave benefit rolls. These experiments and demonstration projects will test... to test their effect on the program. (c) Applicability and scope—(1) Participants and nonparticipants...

20 CFR 404.1599 - Work incentive experiments and rehabilitation demonstration projects in the disability program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... and demonstration projects designed to provide more cost-effective ways of encouraging disabled beneficiaries to return to work and leave benefit rolls. These experiments and demonstration projects will test... to test their effect on the program. (c) Applicability and scope—(1) Participants and nonparticipants...

20 CFR 404.1599 - Work incentive experiments and rehabilitation demonstration projects in the disability program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... and demonstration projects designed to provide more cost-effective ways of encouraging disabled beneficiaries to return to work and leave benefit rolls. These experiments and demonstration projects will test... to test their effect on the program. (c) Applicability and scope—(1) Participants and nonparticipants...

Planning for the Paleomagnetic Investigations of Returned Samples from Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weiss, B. P.; Beaty, D. W.; McSween, H. Y., Jr.; Czaja, A. D.; Goreva, Y.; Hausrath, E.; Herd, C. D. K.; Humayun, M.; McCubbin, F. M.; McLennan, S. M.; Pratt, L. M.; Sephton, M. A.; Steele, A.; Hays, L. E.; Meyer, M. A.

2016-12-01

The red planet is a magnetic planet. Mars' iron-rich surface is strongly magnetized, likely dating back to the Noachian period when the surface may have been habitable. Paleomagnetic measurements of returned samples could transform our understanding of the Martian dynamo and its connection to climatic and planetary thermal evolution. Because the original orientations of Martian meteorites are unknown, all Mars paleomagnetic studies to date have only been able to measure the paleointensity of the Martian field. Paleomagnetic studies from returned Martian bedrock samples would provide unprecedented geologic context and the first paleodirectional information on Martian fields. The Mars 2020 rover mission seeks to accomplish the first leg by preparing for the potential return of 31 1 cm-diameter cores of Martian rocks. The Returned Sample Science Board (RSSB) has been tasked to advise the Mars 2020 mission in how to best select and preserve samples optimized for paleomagnetic measurements. A recent community-based study (Weiss et al., 2014) produced a ranked list of key paleomagnetism science objectives, which included: 1) Determine the intensity of the Martian dynamo 2) Characterize the dynamo reversal frequency with magnetostratigraphy 3) Constrain the effects of heating and aqueous alteration on the samples 4) Constrain the history of Martian tectonics Guided by these objectives, the RSSB has proposed four key sample quality criteria to the Mars 2020 mission: (a) no exposure to fields >200 mT, (b) no exposure to temperatures >100 °C, (c) no exposure to pressures >0.1 GPa, and (d) acquisition of samples that are absolutely oriented with respect to bedrock with a half-cone uncertainty of <5°. Our measurements of a Mars 2020 prototype drill have found that criteria (a-c) should be met by the drilling process. Furthermore, the core plate strike and dip will be measured to better than 5° for intact drill cores; we are working with the mission to establish ways to determine the core's angular orientation with respect to rotation around the drill hole axis. The next stage of our work is to establish whether and how these sample criteria would be maintained throughout the potential downstream missions that would return the samples to Earth.

Description of European Space Agency (ESA) Double Walled Isolator (DWI) Breadboard Currently Under Development for Demonstration of Critical Technology Foreseen to be Used in the Mars Sample Receiving Facility (MSRF)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vrublevskis, J.; Berthoud, L.; McCulloch, Y.; Bowman, P.; Holt, J.; Bridges, J.; Bennett, A.; Gaubert, F.; Duvet, L.

2018-04-01

The need for biocontainment from Planetary Protection Policy and the need for cleanliness for scientific investigation requires that the samples returned from Mars by the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission must be handled in a Double Walled Isolator (DWI).

Strategies for In situ and Sample Return Analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papanastassiou, D. A.

2006-12-01

There is general agreement that planetary exploration proceeds from orbital reconnaissance of a planet, to surface and near-surface in situ exploration, to sample return missions, which bring back samples for investigations in terrestrial laboratories, using the panoply of state-of-the-art analytical techniques. The applicable techniques may depend on the nature of the returned material and complementary and multi- disciplinary techniques can be used to best advantage. High precision techniques also serve to provide the "ground truth" and calibrate past and future orbital and in situ measurements on a planet. It is also recognized that returned samples may continue to be analyzed by novel techniques as the techniques become developed, in part to address specific characteristics of returned samples. There are geophysical measurements such as those of the moment of inertia of a planet, seismic activity, and surface morphology that depend on orbital and in-situ science. Other characteristics, such as isotopic ages and isotopic compositions (e.g., initial Sr and Nd) as indicators of planetary mantle or crust evolution and sample provenance require returned samples. In situ analyses may be useful for preliminary characterization and for optimization of sample selection for sample return. In situ analyses by Surveyor on the Moon helped identify the major element chemistry of lunar samples and the need for high precision mass spectrometry (e. g., for Rb-Sr ages, based on extremely low alkali contents). The discussion of in-situ investigations vs. investigations on returned samples must be directly related to available instrumentation and to instrumentation that can be developed in the foreseeable future. The discussion of choices is not a philosophical but instead a very practical issue: what precision is required for key investigations and what is the instrumentation that meets or exceeds the required precision. This must be applied to potential in situ instruments and to laboratory instruments. Age determinations and use of isotopes for deciphering planetary evolution are viewed as off-limits for in-situ determinations, as they require: a) typically high precision mass spectrometry (at 0.01% and below); b) the determination of parent-daughter element ratios at least at the percent level; c) the measurement of coexisting minerals (for internal isochron determinations); d) low contamination (e. g., for U-Pb and Pb-Pb); and e) removal of adhering phases and contaminants, not related to the samples to be analyzed. Total K-Ar age determinations are subject to fewer requirements and may be feasible, in situ, but in the absence of neutron activation, as required for 39Ar-40Ar, the expected precision is at the level of ~20%, with trapped Ar in the samples introducing further uncertainty. Precision of 20% for K-Ar may suffice to address some key cratering rate uncertainties on Mars, especially as applicable to the Middle Amazonian(1). For in situ, the key issues, which must be addressed for all measurements are: what precision is required and are there instruments available, at the required precision levels. These issues must be addressed many years before a mission gets defined. Low precision instruments on several in situ missions that do not address key scientific questions may in fact be more expensive, in their sum, than a sample return mission. In summary, all missions should undergo similar intense scrutiny with regard to desired science and feasibility, based on available instrumentation (with demonstrated and known capabilities) and cost. 1. P. T. Doran et al. (2004) Earth Sci. Rev. 67, 313-337.

The effect of financial incentives on chlamydia testing rates: Evidence from a randomized experiment☆

PubMed Central

Dolan, Paul; Rudisill, Caroline

2014-01-01

Financial incentives have been used in a variety of settings to motivate behaviors that might not otherwise be undertaken. They have been highlighted as particularly useful in settings that require a single behavior, such as appointment attendance or vaccination. They also have differential effects based on socioeconomic status in some applications (e.g. smoking). To further investigate these claims, we tested the effect of providing different types of non-cash financial incentives on the return rates of chlamydia specimen samples amongst 16–24 year-olds in England. In 2011 and 2012, we ran a two-stage randomized experiment involving 2988 young people (1489 in Round 1 and 1499 in Round 2) who requested a chlamydia screening kit from Freetest.me, an online and text screening service run by Preventx Limited. Participants were randomized to control, or one of five types of financial incentives in Round 1 or one of four financial incentives in Round 2. We tested the effect of five types of incentives on specimen sample return; reward vouchers of differing values, charity donation, participation in a lottery, choices between a lottery and a voucher and including vouchers of differing values in the test kit prior to specimen return. Financial incentives of any type, did not make a significant difference in the likelihood of specimen return. The more deprived individuals were, as calculated using Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), the less likely they were to return a sample. The extent to which incentive structures influenced sample return was not moderated by IMD score. Non-cash financial incentives for chlamydia testing do not seem to affect the specimen return rate in a chlamydia screening program where test kits are requested online, mailed to requestors and returned by mail. They also do not appear more or less effective in influencing test return depending on deprivation level. PMID:24373390

The effect of financial incentives on chlamydia testing rates: evidence from a randomized experiment.

PubMed

Dolan, Paul; Rudisill, Caroline

2014-03-01

Financial incentives have been used in a variety of settings to motivate behaviors that might not otherwise be undertaken. They have been highlighted as particularly useful in settings that require a single behavior, such as appointment attendance or vaccination. They also have differential effects based on socioeconomic status in some applications (e.g. smoking). To further investigate these claims, we tested the effect of providing different types of non-cash financial incentives on the return rates of chlamydia specimen samples amongst 16-24 year-olds in England. In 2011 and 2012, we ran a two-stage randomized experiment involving 2988 young people (1489 in Round 1 and 1499 in Round 2) who requested a chlamydia screening kit from Freetest.me, an online and text screening service run by Preventx Limited. Participants were randomized to control, or one of five types of financial incentives in Round 1 or one of four financial incentives in Round 2. We tested the effect of five types of incentives on specimen sample return; reward vouchers of differing values, charity donation, participation in a lottery, choices between a lottery and a voucher and including vouchers of differing values in the test kit prior to specimen return. Financial incentives of any type, did not make a significant difference in the likelihood of specimen return. The more deprived individuals were, as calculated using Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), the less likely they were to return a sample. The extent to which incentive structures influenced sample return was not moderated by IMD score. Non-cash financial incentives for chlamydia testing do not seem to affect the specimen return rate in a chlamydia screening program where test kits are requested online, mailed to requestors and returned by mail. They also do not appear more or less effective in influencing test return depending on deprivation level. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The Use of Returned Martian Samples to Evaluate the Possibility of Extant Life on Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

iMOST Team; ten Kate, I. L.; Mackelprang, R.; Rettberg, P.; Smith, C. L.; Altieri, F.; Amelin, Y.; Ammannito, E.; Anand, M.; Beaty, D. W.; Benning, L. G.; Bishop, J. L.; Borg, L. E.; Boucher, D.; Brucato, J. R.; Busemann, H.; Campbell, K. A.; Carrier, B. L.; Czaja, A. D.; Debaille, V.; Des Marais, D. J.; Dixon, M.; Ehlmann, B. L.; Farmer, J. D.; Fernandez-Remolar, D. C.; Fogarty, J.; Glavin, D. P.; Goreva, Y. S.; Grady, M. M.; Hallis, L. J.; Harrington, A. D.; Hausrath, E. M.; Herd, C. D. K.; Horgan, B.; Humayun, M.; Kleine, T.; Kleinhenz, J.; Mangold, N.; Mayhew, L. E.; McCoy, J. T.; McCubbin, F. M.; McLennan, S. M.; McSween, H. Y.; Moser, D. E.; Moynier, F.; Mustard, J. F.; Niles, P. B.; Ori, G. G.; Raulin, F.; Rucker, M. A.; Schmitz, N.; Sefton-Nash, E.; Sephton, M. A.; Shaheen, R.; Shuster, D. L.; Siljestrom, S.; Spry, J. A.; Steele, A.; Swindle, T. D.; Tosca, N. J.; Usui, T.; Van Kranendonk, M. J.; Wadhwa, M.; Weiss, B. P.; Werner, S. C.; Westall, F.; Wheeler, R. M.; Zipfel, J.; Zorzano, M. P.

2018-04-01

The astrobiological community is highly interested in interrogating returned martian samples for evidence of extant life. A single observation with one method will not constitute evidence of extant life — it will require a suite of investigations.

Efficient bootstrap estimates for tail statistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Breivik, Øyvind; Aarnes, Ole Johan

2017-03-01

Bootstrap resamples can be used to investigate the tail of empirical distributions as well as return value estimates from the extremal behaviour of the sample. Specifically, the confidence intervals on return value estimates or bounds on in-sample tail statistics can be obtained using bootstrap techniques. However, non-parametric bootstrapping from the entire sample is expensive. It is shown here that it suffices to bootstrap from a small subset consisting of the highest entries in the sequence to make estimates that are essentially identical to bootstraps from the entire sample. Similarly, bootstrap estimates of confidence intervals of threshold return estimates are found to be well approximated by using a subset consisting of the highest entries. This has practical consequences in fields such as meteorology, oceanography and hydrology where return values are calculated from very large gridded model integrations spanning decades at high temporal resolution or from large ensembles of independent and identically distributed model fields. In such cases the computational savings are substantial.

Returns on Investment in California County Departments of Public Health

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Objectives. To estimate the average return on investment for the overall activities of county departments of public health in California. Methods. I gathered the elements necessary to estimate the average return on investment for county departments of public health in California during the period 2001 to 2008–2009. These came from peer-reviewed journal articles published as part of a larger project to develop a method for determining return on investment for public health by using a health economics framework. I combined these elements by using the standard formula for computing return on investment, and performed a sensitivity analysis. Then I compared the return on investment for county departments of public health with the returns on investment generated for various aspects of medical care. Results. The estimated return on investment from $1 invested in county departments of public health in California ranges from $67.07 to $88.21. Conclusions. The very large estimated return on investment for California county departments of public health relative to the return on investment for selected aspects of medical care suggests that public health is a wise investment. PMID:27310339

Returns on Investment in California County Departments of Public Health.

PubMed

Brown, Timothy T

2016-08-01

To estimate the average return on investment for the overall activities of county departments of public health in California. I gathered the elements necessary to estimate the average return on investment for county departments of public health in California during the period 2001 to 2008-2009. These came from peer-reviewed journal articles published as part of a larger project to develop a method for determining return on investment for public health by using a health economics framework. I combined these elements by using the standard formula for computing return on investment, and performed a sensitivity analysis. Then I compared the return on investment for county departments of public health with the returns on investment generated for various aspects of medical care. The estimated return on investment from $1 invested in county departments of public health in California ranges from $67.07 to $88.21. The very large estimated return on investment for California county departments of public health relative to the return on investment for selected aspects of medical care suggests that public health is a wise investment.

The Preliminary Examination of Organics in the Returned Stardust Samples from Comet Wild 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sandford, S. A.; Aleon, J.; Alexander, C.; Butterworth, A.; Clemett, S. J.; Cody, G.; Cooper, G.; Dworkin, J. P.; Flynn, G. J.; Gilles, M. K.

2006-01-01

The primary objective of STARDUST is to collect coma samples from comet 8lP/Wild 2. These samples were collected by impact onto aerogel tiles on Jan 2, 2004 when the spacecraft flew through the comet's coma at a relative velocity of about 6.1 km/sec. Measurements of dust impacts on the front of the spacecraft suggest that the aerogel particle collector was impacted by 2800 +/- 500 particles larger than 15 micron in diameter. Following recovery of the Sample Return Capsule (SRC) on Jan 15, 2006, the aerogel collector trays will be removed in a clean room at JSC. After documentation of the collection, selected aerogel tiles will be removed and aerogel and cometary samples will be extracted for study. A number of different extraction techniques will be used, each optimized for the analytical technique that is to be used. The STARDUST Mission will carry out a 6 month preliminary examination (PE) of a small portion of the returned samples. The examination of the samples will be made by a number of subteams that will concentrate on specific aspects of the samples. One of these is the Organics PE Team (see the author list above for team members). These team members will use a number of analytical techniques to produce a preliminary characterization of the abundance and nature of the organics (if any) in the returned samples.

A Method for Choosing the Best Samples for Mars Sample Return

PubMed Central

Gordon, Peter R.

2018-01-01

Abstract Success of a future Mars Sample Return mission will depend on the correct choice of samples. Pyrolysis-FTIR can be employed as a triage instrument for Mars Sample Return. The technique can thermally dissociate minerals and organic matter for detection. Identification of certain mineral types can determine the habitability of the depositional environment, past or present, while detection of organic matter may suggest past or present habitation. In Mars' history, the Theiikian era represents an attractive target for life search missions and the acquisition of samples. The acidic and increasingly dry Theiikian may have been habitable and followed a lengthy neutral and wet period in Mars' history during which life could have originated and proliferated to achieve relatively abundant levels of biomass with a wide distribution. Moreover, the sulfate minerals produced in the Theiikian are also known to be good preservers of organic matter. We have used pyrolysis-FTIR and samples from a Mars analog ferrous acid stream with a thriving ecosystem to test the triage concept. Pyrolysis-FTIR identified those samples with the greatest probability of habitability and habitation. A three-tier scoring system was developed based on the detection of (i) organic signals, (ii) carbon dioxide and water, and (iii) sulfur dioxide. The presence of each component was given a score of A, B, or C depending on whether the substance had been detected, tentatively detected, or not detected, respectively. Single-step (for greatest possible sensitivity) or multistep (for more diagnostic data) pyrolysis-FTIR methods informed the assignments. The system allowed the highest-priority samples to be categorized as AAA (or A*AA if the organic signal was complex), while the lowest-priority samples could be categorized as CCC. Our methods provide a mechanism with which to rank samples and identify those that should take the highest priority for return to Earth during a Mars Sample Return mission. Key Words: Mars—Astrobiology—Search for Mars' organics—Infrared spectroscopy—Planetary habitability and biosignatures. Astrobiology 18, 556–570. PMID:29443541

A Method for Choosing the Best Samples for Mars Sample Return.

PubMed

Gordon, Peter R; Sephton, Mark A

2018-05-01

Success of a future Mars Sample Return mission will depend on the correct choice of samples. Pyrolysis-FTIR can be employed as a triage instrument for Mars Sample Return. The technique can thermally dissociate minerals and organic matter for detection. Identification of certain mineral types can determine the habitability of the depositional environment, past or present, while detection of organic matter may suggest past or present habitation. In Mars' history, the Theiikian era represents an attractive target for life search missions and the acquisition of samples. The acidic and increasingly dry Theiikian may have been habitable and followed a lengthy neutral and wet period in Mars' history during which life could have originated and proliferated to achieve relatively abundant levels of biomass with a wide distribution. Moreover, the sulfate minerals produced in the Theiikian are also known to be good preservers of organic matter. We have used pyrolysis-FTIR and samples from a Mars analog ferrous acid stream with a thriving ecosystem to test the triage concept. Pyrolysis-FTIR identified those samples with the greatest probability of habitability and habitation. A three-tier scoring system was developed based on the detection of (i) organic signals, (ii) carbon dioxide and water, and (iii) sulfur dioxide. The presence of each component was given a score of A, B, or C depending on whether the substance had been detected, tentatively detected, or not detected, respectively. Single-step (for greatest possible sensitivity) or multistep (for more diagnostic data) pyrolysis-FTIR methods informed the assignments. The system allowed the highest-priority samples to be categorized as AAA (or A*AA if the organic signal was complex), while the lowest-priority samples could be categorized as CCC. Our methods provide a mechanism with which to rank samples and identify those that should take the highest priority for return to Earth during a Mars Sample Return mission. Key Words: Mars-Astrobiology-Search for Mars' organics-Infrared spectroscopy-Planetary habitability and biosignatures. Astrobiology 18, 556-570.

Mars sample collection and preservation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blanchard, Douglas P.

1988-01-01

The intensive exploration of Mars is a major step in the systematic exploration of the solar system. Mars, earth, and Venus provide valuable contrasts in planetary evolution. Mars exploration has progressed through the stages of exploration and is now ready for a sample-return mission. About 5 kg of intelligently selected samples will be returned from Mars. A variety of samples are wanted. This requires accurate landing in areas of high interest, surface mobility and analytical capability, a variety of sampling tools, and stringent preservation and isolation measures.

Horizons and opportunities in lunar sample science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

The Moon is the cornerstone of planetary science. Lunar sample studies were fundamental in developing an understanding of the early evolution and continued development of planetary bodies, and have led to major revisions in understanding of processes for the accumulation of planetesimals and the formation of planets. Studies of lunar samples have increased an understanding of impact cratering, meteoroid and micrometeoroid fluxes, the interaction of planetary surfaces with radiations and particles, and even the history of the Sun. The lunar sample research program was especially productive, but by no means have all the important answers been determined; continued study of lunar samples will further illuminate the shadows of our knowledge about the solar system. Further, the treasures returned through the Apollo program provide information that is required for a return to the Moon, beginning with new exploration (Lunar Geoscience Observer (LGO)), followed by intensive study (new sample return missions), and eventually culminating in a lunar base and lunar resource utilization.

COmet Nucleus Dust and Organics Return (CONDOR): a New Frontiers 4 Mission Proposal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choukroun, M.; Raymond, C.; Wadhwa, M.

2017-09-01

CONDOR would collect and return a ≥ 50 g sample from the surface of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for detailed analysis in terrestrial laboratories. It would carry a simple payload comprising a narrow-angle camera and mm-wave radiometer to select a sampling site, and perform a gravity science investigation to survey changes of 67P since Rosetta. The proposed sampling system uses the BiBlade tool to acquire a sample down to 15 cm depth in a Touch-and-Go event. The Stardust-based sample return capsule is augmented with cooling and purge systems to maintain sample integrity during landing and until delivery to JSC's Astromaterials Curation Facility. Analysis of rock-forming minerals, organics, water and noble gases would probe the origin of these materials, and their evolution from the primordial molecular cloud to the 67P environment.

Technology Development and Advanced Planning for Curation of Returned Mars Samples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lindstrom, David J.; Allen, Carlton C.

2002-01-01

NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) curates extraterrestrial samples, providing the international science community with lunar rock and soil returned by the Apollo astronauts, meteorites collected in Antarctica, cosmic dust collected in the stratosphere, and hardware exposed to the space environment. Curation comprises initial characterization of new samples, preparation and allocation of samples for research, and clean, secure long-term storage. The foundations of this effort are the specialized cleanrooms (class 10 to 10,000) for each of the four types of materials, the supporting facilities, and the people, many of whom have been doing detailed work in clean environments for decades. JSC is also preparing to curate the next generation of extraterrestrial samples. These include samples collected from the solar wind, a comet, and an asteroid. Early planning and R\\&D are underway to support post-mission sample handling and curation of samples returned from Mars. One of the strong scientific reasons for returning samples from Mars is to search for evidence of current or past life in the samples. Because of the remote possibility that the samples may contain life forms that are hazardous to the terrestrial biosphere, the National Research Council has recommended that all samples returned from Mars be kept under strict biological containment until tests show that they can safely be released to other laboratories. It is possible that Mars samples may contain only scarce or subtle traces of life or prebiotic chemistry that could readily be overwhelmed by terrestrial contamination . Thus, the facilities used to contain, process, and analyze samples from Mars must have a combination of high-level biocontainment and organic / inorganic chemical cleanliness that is unprecedented. JSC has been conducting feasibility studies and developing designs for a sample receiving facility that would offer biocontainment at least the equivalent of current maximum containment BSL-4 (BioSafety Level 4) laboratories, while simultaneously maintaining cleanliness levels equaling those of state-of-the-art cleanrooms. Unique requirements for the processing of Mars samples have inspired a program to develop handling techniques that are much more precise and reliable than the approach (currently used for lunar samples) of employing gloved human hands in nitrogen-filled gloveboxes. Individual samples from Mars are expected to be much smaller than lunar samples, the total mass of samples returned by each mission being 0.5- 1 kg, compared with many tens of kg of lunar samples returned by each of the six Apollo missions. Smaller samples require much more of the processing to be done under microscopic observation. In addition, the requirements for cleanliness and high-level containment would be difficult to satisfy while using traditional gloveboxes. JSC has constructed a laboratory to test concepts and technologies important to future sample curation. The Advanced Curation Laboratory includes a new-generation glovebox equipped with a robotic arm to evaluate the usability of robotic and teleoperated systems to perform curatorial tasks. The laboratory also contains equipment for precision cleaning and the measurement of trace organic contamination.

Technology Development and Advanced Planning for Curation of Returned Mars Samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindstrom, D. J.; Allen, C. C.

2002-05-01

NASA/Johnson Space Center (JSC) curates extraterrestrial samples, providing the international science community with lunar rock and soil returned by the Apollo astronauts, meteorites collected in Antarctica, cosmic dust collected in the stratosphere, and hardware exposed to the space environment. Curation comprises initial characterization of new samples, preparation and allocation of samples for research, and clean, secure long-term storage. The foundations of this effort are the specialized cleanrooms (class 10 to 10,000) for each of the four types of materials, the supporting facilities, and the people, many of whom have been doing detailed work in clean environments for decades. JSC is also preparing to curate the next generation of extraterrestrial samples. These include samples collected from the solar wind, a comet, and an asteroid. Early planning and R&D are underway to support post-mission sample handling and curation of samples returned from Mars. One of the strong scientific reasons for returning samples from Mars is to search for evidence of current or past life in the samples. Because of the remote possibility that the samples may contain life forms that are hazardous to the terrestrial biosphere, the National Research Council has recommended that all samples returned from Mars be kept under strict biological containment until tests show that they can safely be released to other laboratories. It is possible that Mars samples may contain only scarce or subtle traces of life or prebiotic chemistry that could readily be overwhelmed by terrestrial contamination. Thus, the facilities used to contain, process, and analyze samples from Mars must have a combination of high-level biocontainment and organic / inorganic chemical cleanliness that is unprecedented. JSC has been conducting feasibility studies and developing designs for a sample receiving facility that would offer biocontainment at least the equivalent of current maximum containment BSL-4 (BioSafety Level 4) laboratories, while simultaneously maintaining cleanliness levels equaling those of state-of-the-art cleanrooms. Unique requirements for the processing of Mars samples have inspired a program to develop handling techniques that are much more precise and reliable than the approach (currently used for lunar samples) of employing gloved human hands in nitrogen-filled gloveboxes. Individual samples from Mars are expected to be much smaller than lunar samples, the total mass of samples returned by each mission being 0.5- 1 kg, compared with many tens of kg of lunar samples returned by each of the six Apollo missions. Smaller samples require much more of the processing to be done under microscopic observation. In addition, the requirements for cleanliness and high-level containment would be difficult to satisfy while using traditional gloveboxes. JSC has constructed a laboratory to test concepts and technologies important to future sample curation. The Advanced Curation Laboratory includes a new-generation glovebox equipped with a robotic arm to evaluate the usability of robotic and teleoperated systems to perform curatorial tasks. The laboratory also contains equipment for precision cleaning and the measurement of trace organic contamination.

GeoLab 2011: New Instruments and Operations Tested at Desert RATS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Evans, Cindy A.; Calaway, M. J.; Bell, M. S.

2012-01-01

GeoLab is a geological laboratory and testbed designed for supporting geoscience activities during NASA's analog demonstrations. Scientists at NASA's Johnson Space Center built GeoLab as part of a technology project to aid the development of science operational concepts for future planetary surface missions [1, 2, 3]. It is integrated into NASA's Habitat Demonstration Unit, a first generation exploration habitat test article. As a prototype workstation, GeoLab provides a high fidelity working space for analog mission crewmembers to perform in-situ characterization of geologic samples and communicate their findings with supporting scientists. GeoLab analog operations can provide valuable data for assessing the operational and scientific considerations of surface-based geologic analyses such as preliminary examination of samples collected by astronaut crews [4, 5]. Our analog tests also feed into sample handling and advanced curation operational concepts and procedures that will, ultimately, help ensure that the most critical samples are collected during future exploration on a planetary surface, and aid decisions about sample prioritization, sample handling and return. Data from GeoLab operations also supports science planning during a mission by providing additional detailed geologic information to supporting scientists, helping them make informed decisions about strategies for subsequent sample collection opportunities.

Probabilistic Design of a Mars Sample Return Earth Entry Vehicle Thermal Protection System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dec, John A.; Mitcheltree, Robert A.

2002-01-01

The driving requirement for design of a Mars Sample Return mission is to assure containment of the returned samples. Designing to, and demonstrating compliance with, such a requirement requires physics based tools that establish the relationship between engineer's sizing margins and probabilities of failure. The traditional method of determining margins on ablative thermal protection systems, while conservative, provides little insight into the actual probability of an over-temperature during flight. The objective of this paper is to describe a new methodology for establishing margins on sizing the thermal protection system (TPS). Results of this Monte Carlo approach are compared with traditional methods.

Forecasting stock return volatility: A comparison between the roles of short-term and long-term leverage effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Zhiyuan; Liu, Li

2018-02-01

In this paper, we extend the GARCH-MIDAS model proposed by Engle et al. (2013) to account for the leverage effect in short-term and long-term volatility components. Our in-sample evidence suggests that both short-term and long-term negative returns can cause higher future volatility than positive returns. Out-of-sample results show that the predictive ability of GARCH-MIDAS is significantly improved after taking the leverage effect into account. The leverage effect for short-term volatility component plays more important role than the leverage effect for long-term volatility component in affecting out-of-sample forecasting performance.

Sample Return Primer and Handbook

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barrow, Kirk; Cheuvront, Allan; Faris, Grant; Hirst, Edward; Mainland, Nora; McGee, Michael; Szalai, Christine; Vellinga, Joseph; Wahl, Thomas; Williams, Kenneth;

Mars Sample Return - Launch and Detection Strategies for Orbital Rendezvous

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woolley, Ryan C.; Mattingly, Richard L.; Riedel, Joseph E.; Sturm, Erick J.

2011-01-01

This study sets forth conceptual mission design strategies for the ascent and rendezvous phase of the proposed NASA/ESA joint Mars Sample Return Campaign. The current notional mission architecture calls for the launch of an acquisition/cache rover in 2018, an orbiter with an Earth return vehicle in 2022, and a fetch rover and ascent vehicle in 2024. Strategies are presented to launch the sample into a coplanar orbit with the Orbiter which facilitate robust optical detection, orbit determination, and rendezvous. Repeating ground track orbits exist at 457 and 572 km which provide multiple launch opportunities with similar geometries for detection and rendezvous.

Mars Sample Return: Launch and Detection Strategies for Orbital Rendezvous

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woolley, Ryan C.; Mattingly, Richard L.; Riedel, Joseph E.; Sturm, Erick J.

2011-01-01

This study sets forth conceptual mission design strategies for the ascent and rendezvous phase of the proposed NASA/ESA joint Mars Sample Return Campaign. The current notional mission architecture calls for the launch of an acquisition/ caching rover in 2018, an Earth return orbiter in 2022, and a fetch rover with ascent vehicle in 2024. Strategies are presented to launch the sample into a nearly coplanar orbit with the Orbiter which would facilitate robust optical detection, orbit determination, and rendezvous. Repeating ground track orbits existat 457 and 572 km which would provide multiple launch opportunities with similar geometries for detection and rendezvous.

Stardust@home: A Massively Distributed Public Search for Interstellar Dust in the Stardust Interstellar Dust Collector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Westphal, Andrew J.; Butterworth, Anna L.; Snead, Christopher J.; Craig, Nahide; Anderson, David; Jones, Steven M.; Brownlee, Donald E.; Farnsworth, Richard; Zolensky, Michael E.

2005-01-01

In January 2006, the Stardust mission will return the first samples from a solid solar system body beyond the Moon. Stardust was in the news in January 2004, when it encountered comet Wild2 and captured a sample of cometary dust. But Stardust carries an equally important payload: the first samples of contemporary interstellar dust ever collected. Although it is known that interstellar (IS) dust penetrates into the inner solar system [2, 3], to date not even a single contemporary interstellar dust particle has been captured and analyzed in the laboratory. Stardust uses aerogel collectors to capture dust samples. Identification of interstellar dust impacts in the Stardust Interstellar Dust Collector probably cannot be automated, but will require the expertise of the human eye. However, the labor required for visual scanning of the entire collector would exceed the resources of any reasonably-sized research group. We are developing a project to recruit the public in the search for interstellar dust, based in part on the wildly popular SETI@home project, which has five million subscribers. We call the project Stardust@home. Using sophisticated chemical separation techniques, certain types of refractory ancient IS particles (so-called presolar grains) have been isolated from primitive meteorites (e.g., [4] ). Recently, presolar grains have been identified in Interplanetary Dust Particles[6]. Because these grains are not isolated chemically, but are recognized only by their unusual isotopic compositions, they are probably less biased than presolar grains isolated from meteorites. However, it is entirely possible that the typical interstellar dust particle is isotopically solar in composition. The Stardust collection of interstellar dust will be the first truly unbiased one.

The OSIRIS-REx Contamination Control and Witness Strategy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dworkin, J. P.; Adelman, L.; Ajluni, T. M.; Andronikov, A. V.; Ballou, D. M.; Bartels, A. E.; Beshore, E.; Bierhaus, E. B.; Boynton, W. V.; Brucato, J. R.;

The CanMars Analogue Mission: Lessons Learned for Mars Sample Return

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osinski, G. R.; Beaty, D.; Battler, M.; Caudill, C.; Francis, R.; Haltigin, T.; Hipkin, V.; Pilles, E.

2018-04-01

We present an overview and lessons learned for Mars Sample Return from CanMars — an analogue mission that simulated a Mars 2020-like cache mission. Data from 39 sols of operations conducted in the Utah desert in 2015 and 2016 are presented.

Mars Sample Return: The Critical Need for Planning a Meaningful and Participatory Public Engagement Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klug Boonstra, S.

2018-04-01

The Mars Sample Return campaign offers the prospect of an historical leap forward in the understanding of the science of Mars, and an unprecedented opportunity to engage our citizenry in one of the enduring questions of humanity, "Are we alone?".

Elemental Composition of Mars Return Samples Using X-Ray Fluorescence Imaging at the National Synchrotron Light Source II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thieme, J.; Hurowitz, J. A.; Schoonen, M. A.; Fogelqvist, E.; Gregerson, J.; Farley, K. A.; Sherman, S.; Hill, J.

2018-04-01

NSLS-II at BNL provides a unique and critical capability to perform assessments of the elemental composition and the chemical state of Mars returned samples using synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence imaging and X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

Soyuz 7 Return Samples: Assessment of Air Quality Aboard the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

James, John T.

2004-01-01

The toxicological assessments of one grab sample canister (GSC), 6 dual sorbent tubes (DSTs), and 20 formaldehyde badges returned aboard Soyuz 7 are reported. Analytical methods have not changed from earlier reports. Surrogate standard recoveries from the GSC were 84-89%. The recoveries of the less volatile surrogates from the DSTs were 87 to 112%; however, 13C-acetone was only recovered at 53-59%. Formaldehyde recoveries from 2 lab controls were 87 and 95%; trip controls were not returned to ground.

76 FR 40722 - Pacific Green Power, LLC; Notice Of Preliminary Permit Application Accepted for Filing and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-11

...), proposing to study the feasibility of the Two Girls Creek Hydroelectric Project (Two Girls Creek Project or project) to be located on Two Girls Creek, near Sweet Home, Linn County, Oregon. The project would occupy...-diameter HDPE tailrace returning flows to Two Girls Creek above a natural fish barrier; and (5) a new 12...

CO2 Acquisition Membrane (CAM) Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mason, Larry W.

2003-01-01

The CO2 Acquisition Membrane (CAM) project was performed to develop, test, and analyze thin film membrane materials for separation and purification of carbon dioxide (CO2) from mixtures of gases, such as those found in the Martian atmosphere. The membranes developed in this project are targeted toward In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) applications, such as In Situ Propellant Production (ISPP) and In Situ Consumables Production (ISCP). These membrane materials may be used in a variety of ISRU systems, for example as the atmospheric inlet filter for an ISPP process to enhance the concentration of CO2 for use as a reactant gas, to passively separate argon and nitrogen trace gases from CO2 for habitat pressurization, to provide a system for removal of CO2 from breathing gases in a closed environment, or within a process stream to selectively separate CO2 from other gaseous components. The membranes identified and developed for CAM were evaluated for use in candidate ISRU processes and other gas separation applications, and will help to lay the foundation for future unmanned sample return and human space missions. CAM is a cooperative project split among three institutions: Lockheed Martin Astronautics (LMA), the Colorado School of Mines (CSM), and Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC).

The Proposed Mars Astrobiology Explorer - Cacher [MAX-C] Rover: First Step in a Potential Sample Return Campaign

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, Carlton C.; Beaty, David W.

2010-01-01

Sample return from Mars has been advocated by numerous scientific advisory panels for over 30 years, most prominently beginning with the National Research Council s [1] strategy for the exploration of the inner solar system, and most recently by the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG s) Next Decade Science Analysis Group [2]. Analysis of samples here on Earth would have enormous advantages over in situ analyses in producing the data quality needed to address many of the complex scientific questions the community has posed about Mars. Instead of a small, predetermined set of analytical techniques, state of the art preparative and instrumental resources of the entire scientific community could be applied to the samples. The analytical emphasis could shift as the meaning of each result becomes better appreciated. These arguments apply both to igneous rocks and to layered sedimentary materials, either of which could contain water and other volatile constituents. In 2009 MEPAG formed the Mid-Range Rover Science Analysis Group (MRR-SAG) to formulate a mission concept that would address two general objectives: (1) conduct high-priority in situ science and (2) make concrete steps towards the potential return of samples to Earth. This analysis resulted in a mission concept named the Mars Astrobiology Explorer-Cacher (MAX-C), which was envisioned for launch in the 2018 opportunity. After extensive discussion, this group concluded that by far the most definitive contribution to sample return by this mission would be to collect and cache, in an accessible location, a suite of compelling samples that could potentially be recovered and returned by a subsequent mission. This would have the effect of separating two of the essential functions of MSR, the acquisition of the sample collection and its delivery to martian orbit, into two missions.

Can we use postal surveys with anonymous testing to monitor chlamydia prevalence in young women in England? Pilot study incorporating randomised controlled trial of recruitment methods.

PubMed

Woodhall, Sarah C; Nichols, Tom; Alexander, Sarah; da Silva, Filomeno Coelho; Mercer, Catherine H; Ison, Catherine; Gill, O Noel; Soldan, Kate

2015-09-01

Chlamydia prevalence in the general population is a potential outcome measure for the evaluation of chlamydia control programmes. We carried out a pilot study to determine the feasibility of using a postal survey for population-based chlamydia prevalence monitoring. Postal invitations were sent to a random sample of 2000 17-year-old to 18-year-old women registered with a general practitioner in two pilot areas in England. Recipients were randomised to receive either a self-sampling kit (n=1000), a self-sampling kit and offer of £5 voucher on return of sample (n=500) or a self-sampling kit on request (n=500). Participants returned a questionnaire and self-taken vulvovaginal swab sample for unlinked anonymous Chlamydia trachomatis testing. Non-responders were sent a reminder letter 3 weeks after initial invitation. We calculated the participation rate (number of samples returned/number of invitations sent) and cost per sample returned (including cost of consumables and postage) in each group. A total of 155/2000 (7.8%) samples were returned with consent for testing. Participation rates varied by invitation group: 7.8% in the group who were provided with a self-sampling kit, 14% in the group who were also offered a voucher and 1.0% in the group who were not sent a kit. The cost per sample received was lowest (£36) in the group who were offered both a kit and a voucher. The piloted survey methodology achieved low participation rates. This approach is not suitable for population-based monitoring of chlamydia prevalence among young women in England. (UKCRN ID 10913). Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Return on Investment in Training: Research Readings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Andrew, Ed.

Following an introduction ("Return on Investment in Training" by Andrew Smith) that provides an overview and a synopsis of research findings, the following five chapters of this book present the results of five research projects funded by the National Research and Evaluation Committee in Australia in 1999-2000. The first four of these…

7 CFR 3560.305 - Return on investment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... accordance with the terms of their loan agreement and the following: (1) If there is a positive net cash flow... been taken, borrowers will be required to return any unauthorized ROI. (2) If there is negative cash flow in housing project operations, the Agency may authorize the borrower to take the ROI only after...

7 CFR 3560.305 - Return on investment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... accordance with the terms of their loan agreement and the following: (1) If there is a positive net cash flow... been taken, borrowers will be required to return any unauthorized ROI. (2) If there is negative cash flow in housing project operations, the Agency may authorize the borrower to take the ROI only after...

7 CFR 3560.305 - Return on investment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... accordance with the terms of their loan agreement and the following: (1) If there is a positive net cash flow... been taken, borrowers will be required to return any unauthorized ROI. (2) If there is negative cash flow in housing project operations, the Agency may authorize the borrower to take the ROI only after...

7 CFR 3560.305 - Return on investment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... accordance with the terms of their loan agreement and the following: (1) If there is a positive net cash flow... been taken, borrowers will be required to return any unauthorized ROI. (2) If there is negative cash flow in housing project operations, the Agency may authorize the borrower to take the ROI only after...

Early Learning: Readiness for School. Annotated Bibliography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), 2014

2014-01-01

Current research seeks to determine if today's pre-K programs provide strong returns on investment similar to the returns from the classic 1960's High/Scope Perry Preschool Program and 1970's North Carolina Abecedarian Project. These were known for the positive academic effects that children experienced as they moved through school. Policy-makers…

Combining Non–Destructive Magnetic and Raman Spectroscopic Analyses for Mars Sample Return — Powerful Tools In Situ and in Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoffmann, V. H.; Kaliwoda, M.; Hochleitner, R.; Mikouchi, T.; Wimmer, K.

2018-04-01

Very sophisticated, high-end techniques are requested for the investigation of pristine particles from a planetary surface, such as Mars, in situ or in our laboratories, in case of martian meteorites or even returned samples from (future) missions.

The Lunar Space Elevator, a Near Term Means to Reduce Cost of Lunar Access

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radley, C. F.

2018-04-01

LSE built from existing commercial polymers, launched, and deployed for <$2B. Prototype weighing 48 tons with 100 kg payload pays for itself in 53 sample return cycles. Reduces the cost of soft landing on the Moon >3x, sample return cost >9x.

Plans for Selection and In-Situ Investigation of Return Samples by the Supercam Instrument Onboard the Mars 2020 Rover

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiens, R. C.; Maurice, S.; Mangold, N.; Anderson, R.; Beyssac, O.; Bonal, L.; Clegg, S.; Cousin, A.; DeFlores, L.; Dromart, G.; Fisher, W.; Forni, O.; Fouchet, T.; Gasnault, O.; Grotzinger, J.; Johnson, J.; Martinez-Frias, J.; McLennan, S.; Meslin, P.-Y.; Montmessin, F.; Poulet, F.; Rull, F.; Sharma, S.

2018-04-01

The SuperCam instrument onboard Rover 2020 still provides a complementary set of analyses with IR reflectance and Raman spectroscopy for mineralogy, LIBS for chemistry, and a color imager in order to investigate in-situ samples to return.

Mars rover sample return: An exobiology science scenario

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosenthal, D. A.; Sims, M. H.; Schwartz, Deborah E.; Nedell, S. S.; Mckay, Christopher P.; Mancinelli, Rocco L.

1988-01-01

A mission designed to collect and return samples from Mars will provide information regarding its composition, history, and evolution. At the same time, a sample return mission generates a technical challenge. Sophisticated, semi-autonomous, robotic spacecraft systems must be developed in order to carry out complex operations at the surface of a very distant planet. An interdisciplinary effort was conducted to consider how much a Mars mission can be realistically structured to maximize the planetary science return. The focus was to concentrate on a particular set of scientific objectives (exobiology), to determine the instrumentation and analyses required to search for biological signatures, and to evaluate what analyses and decision making can be effectively performed by the rover in order to minimize the overhead of constant communication between Mars and the Earth. Investigations were also begun in the area of machine vision to determine whether layered sedimentary structures can be recognized autonomously, and preliminary results are encouraging.

A Mars Sample Return Sample Handling System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, David; Stroker, Carol

2013-01-01

We present a sample handling system, a subsystem of the proposed Dragon landed Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission [1], that can return to Earth orbit a significant mass of frozen Mars samples potentially consisting of: rock cores, subsurface drilled rock and ice cuttings, pebble sized rocks, and soil scoops. The sample collection, storage, retrieval and packaging assumptions and concepts in this study are applicable for the NASA's MPPG MSR mission architecture options [2]. Our study assumes a predecessor rover mission collects samples for return to Earth to address questions on: past life, climate change, water history, age dating, understanding Mars interior evolution [3], and, human safety and in-situ resource utilization. Hence the rover will have "integrated priorities for rock sampling" [3] that cover collection of subaqueous or hydrothermal sediments, low-temperature fluidaltered rocks, unaltered igneous rocks, regolith and atmosphere samples. Samples could include: drilled rock cores, alluvial and fluvial deposits, subsurface ice and soils, clays, sulfates, salts including perchlorates, aeolian deposits, and concretions. Thus samples will have a broad range of bulk densities, and require for Earth based analysis where practical: in-situ characterization, management of degradation such as perchlorate deliquescence and volatile release, and contamination management. We propose to adopt a sample container with a set of cups each with a sample from a specific location. We considered two sample cups sizes: (1) a small cup sized for samples matching those submitted to in-situ characterization instruments, and, (2) a larger cup for 100 mm rock cores [4] and pebble sized rocks, thus providing diverse samples and optimizing the MSR sample mass payload fraction for a given payload volume. We minimize sample degradation by keeping them frozen in the MSR payload sample canister using Peltier chip cooling. The cups are sealed by interference fitted heat activated memory alloy caps [5] if the heating does not affect the sample, or by crimping caps similar to bottle capping. We prefer cap sealing surfaces be external to the cup rim to prevent sample dust inside the cups interfering with sealing, or, contamination of the sample by Teflon seal elements (if adopted). Finally the sample collection rover, or a Fetch rover, selects cups with best choice samples and loads them into a sample tray, before delivering it to the Earth Return Vehicle (ERV) in the MSR Dragon capsule as described in [1] (Fig 1). This ensures best use of the MSR payload mass allowance. A 3 meter long jointed robot arm is extended from the Dragon capsule's crew hatch, retrieves the sample tray and inserts it into the sample canister payload located on the ERV stage. The robot arm has capacity to obtain grab samples in the event of a rover failure. The sample canister has a robot arm capture casting to enable capture by crewed or robot spacecraft when it returns to Earth orbit

Project BEST-PAL (Basic Education Skills Through-Parenting Affective Learning): Process Manual for Program Implementation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brevard Community Coll., Cocoa, FL.

This manual describes and evaluates the implementation of Project BEST-PAL (Basic Education Skills Through-Parent Affective Learning), Brevard Community College's special demonstration training project intended to return adults who have dropped out of the educational system back into the learning environment by bringing them to parenting classes…

Procedures for Developing an Inservice Industry/Education Exchange Program: Planning and Implementation Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Keith K.; Whiteman, Richard E.

This report describes an in-service industry exchange project conducted by Cerritos College during which five faculty members returned to the work place to update their skills and gather information useful in curriculum development. First, the project's objectives are delineated, covering: (1) formation of the Project Advisory Committee and…

[Biobanking requirements from the perspective of the clinician : Experiences in hematology and oncology].

PubMed

Koschmieder, S; Brümmendorf, T H

2018-04-05

The requirements for optimal biobanking from the point of view of the clinical partner can be highly variable. Depending on the material, processing, storage conditions, clinical data, and involvement of external partners, there will be special requirements for the participating clinician and specialist areas. What they all have in common is that the goal of any biobanking must be to improve clinical, translational, and basic research. While in the past biomaterials often had to be individually stored for each research project, modern biobanking offers decisive advantages: a comprehensive ethics vote fulfilling state-of-the-art data safety requirements, standardized processing and storage protocols, specialized biobank software for pseudonymization and localization, protection against power failures and defects of the equipment, centralized and sustainable storage, easy localization and return of samples, and their destruction or anonymization after completion of an individual project. In addition to this important pure storage function, central biobanking can provide a link to clinical data as well as the anonymous use of samples for project-independent research. Both biobank functions serve different purposes, are associated with specific requirements, and should be pursued in parallel. If successful, central biomaterial management can achieve a sustainable improvement of academic and non-academic biomedical research and the optimal use of resources. The close collaboration between clinicians and non-clinicians is a crucial prerequisite for this.

Project Management Professional Development: An Industry Led Programme.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gale, Andrew; Brown, Mike

2003-01-01

Describes a modular master's program in project management. Explores relationships between return on investment, management competencies, and learning outcomes in the context of industry-academic partnerships. Discusses the managed learning environment using WebCT. (Contains 40 references.) (SK)

A spreadsheet template compatible with Microsoft Excel and iWork Numbers that returns the simultaneous confidence intervals for all pairwise differences between multiple sample means.

PubMed

Brown, Angus M

2010-04-01

The objective of the method described in this paper is to develop a spreadsheet template for the purpose of comparing multiple sample means. An initial analysis of variance (ANOVA) test on the data returns F--the test statistic. If F is larger than the critical F value drawn from the F distribution at the appropriate degrees of freedom, convention dictates rejection of the null hypothesis and allows subsequent multiple comparison testing to determine where the inequalities between the sample means lie. A variety of multiple comparison methods are described that return the 95% confidence intervals for differences between means using an inclusive pairwise comparison of the sample means. 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

2014 NASA Centennial Challenges Sample Return Robot Challenge

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-06-12

Sample Return Robot Challenge staff members confer before the team Survey robots makes it's attempt at the level two challenge during the 2014 NASA Centennial Challenges Sample Return Robot Challenge, Thursday, June 12, 2014, at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass. Eighteen teams are competing for a $1.5 million NASA prize purse. Teams will be required to demonstrate autonomous robots that can locate and collect samples from a wide and varied terrain, operating without human control. The objective of this NASA-WPI Centennial Challenge is to encourage innovations in autonomous navigation and robotics technologies. Innovations stemming from the challenge may improve NASA's capability to explore a variety of destinations in space, as well as enhance the nation's robotic technology for use in industries and applications on Earth. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Implementing planetary protection requirements for sample return missions.

PubMed

Rummel, J D

2000-01-01

NASA is committed to exploring space while avoiding the biological contamination of other solar system bodies and protecting the Earth against potential harm from materials returned from space. NASA's planetary protection program evaluates missions (with external advice from the US National Research Council and others) and imposes particular constraints on individual missions to achieve these objectives. In 1997 the National Research Council's Space Studies Board published the report, Mars Sample Return: Issues and Recommendations, which reported advice to NASA on Mars sample return missions, complementing their 1992 report, The Biological Contamination of Mars Issues and Recommendations. Meanwhile, NASA has requested a new Space Studies Board study to address sample returns from bodies other than Mars. This study recognizes the variety of worlds that have been opened up to NASA and its partners by small, relatively inexpensive, missions of the Discovery class, as well as the reshaping of our ideas about life in the solar system that have been occasioned by the Galileo spacecraft's discovery that an ocean under the ice on Jupiter's moon Europa might, indeed, exist. This paper will report on NASA's planned implementation of planetary protection provisions based on these recent National Research Council recommendations, and will suggest measures for incorporation in the planetary protection policy of COSPAR. c2001 COSPAR Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development and progress of Ireland's biobank network: Ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI), standardized documentation, sample and data release, and international perspective.

PubMed

Mee, Blanaid; Gaffney, Eoin; Glynn, Sharon A; Donatello, Simona; Carroll, Paul; Connolly, Elizabeth; Garrigle, Sarah Mc; Boyle, Terry; Flannery, Delia; Sullivan, Francis J; McCormick, Paul; Griffin, Mairead; Muldoon, Cian; Fay, Joanna; O'Grady, Tony; Kay, Elaine; Eustace, Joe; Burke, Louise; Sheikh, Asim A; Finn, Stephen; Flavin, Richard; Giles, Francis J

2013-02-01

Biobank Ireland Trust (BIT) was established in 2004 to promote and develop an Irish biobank network to benefit patients, researchers, industry, and the economy. The network commenced in 2008 with two hospital biobanks and currently consists of biobanks in the four main cancer hospitals in Ireland. The St. James's Hospital (SJH) Biobank coordinates the network. Procedures, based on ISBER and NCI guidelines, are standardized across the network. Policies and documents-Patient Consent Policy, Patient Information Sheet, Biobank Consent Form, Sample and Data Access Policy (SAP), and Sample Application Form have been agreed upon (after robust discussion) for use in each hospital. An optimum sequence for document preparation and submission for review is outlined. Once consensus is reached among the participating biobanks, the SJH biobank liaises with the Research and Ethics Committees, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, The National Cancer Registry (NCR), patient advocate groups, researchers, and other stakeholders. The NCR provides de-identified data from its database for researchers via unique biobank codes. ELSI issues discussed include the introduction of prospective consent across the network and the return of significant research results to patients. Only 4 of 363 patients opted to be re-contacted and re-consented on each occasion that their samples are included in a new project. It was decided, after multidisciplinary discussion, that results will not be returned to patients. The SAP is modeled on those of several international networks. Biobank Ireland is affiliated with international biobanking groups-Marble Arch International Working Group, ISBER, and ESBB. The Irish government continues to deliberate on how to fund and implement biobanking nationally. Meanwhile BIT uses every opportunity to promote awareness of the benefits of biobanking in events and in the media.

Multi-Mission System Analysis for Planetary Entry (M-SAPE) Version 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Samareh, Jamshid; Glaab, Louis; Winski, Richard G.; Maddock, Robert W.; Emmett, Anjie L.; Munk, Michelle M.; Agrawal, Parul; Sepka, Steve; Aliaga, Jose; Zarchi, Kerry;

International Agreement on Planetary Protection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

The maintenance of a NASA policy, is consistent with international agreements. The planetary protection policy management in OSS, with Field Center support. The advice from internal and external advisory groups (NRC, NAC/Planetary Protection Task Force). The technology research and standards development in bioload characterization. The technology research and development in bioload reduction/sterilization. This presentation focuses on: forward contamination - research on the potential for Earth life to exist on other bodies, improved strategies for planetary navigation and collision avoidance, and improved procedures for sterile spacecraft assembly, cleaning and/or sterilization; and backward contamination - development of sample transfer and container sealing technologies for Earth return, improvement in sample return landing target assessment and navigation strategy, planning for sample hazard determination requirements and procedures, safety certification, (liaison to NEO Program Office for compositional data on small bodies), facility planning for sample recovery system, quarantine, and long-term curation of 4 returned samples.

Reconsidering Return-to-Play Times: A Broader Perspective on Concussion Recovery

PubMed Central

D’Lauro, Christopher; Johnson, Brian R.; McGinty, Gerald; Allred, C. Dain; Campbell, Darren E.; Jackson, Jonathan C.

2018-01-01

Background: Return-to-play protocols describe stepwise, graduated recoveries for safe return from concussion; however, studies that comprehensively track return-to-play time are expensive to administer and heavily sampled from elite male contact-sport athletes. Purpose: To retrospectively assess probable recovery time for collegiate patients to return to play after concussion, especially for understudied populations, such as women and nonelite athletes. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Medical staff at a military academy logged a total of 512 concussion medical records over 38 months. Of these, 414 records included complete return-to-play protocols with return-to-play time, sex, athletic status, cause, and other data. Results: Overall mean return to play was 29.4 days. Sex and athletic status both affected return-to-play time. Men showed significantly shorter return to play than women, taking 24.7 days (SEM, 1.5 days) versus 35.5 days (SEM, 2.7 days) (P < .001). Intercollegiate athletes also reported quicker return-to-play times than nonintercollegiate athletes: 25.4 days (SEM, 2.6 days) versus 34.7 days (SEM, 1.6 days) (P = .002). These variables did not significantly interact. Conclusion: Mean recovery time across all groups (29.4 days) showed considerably longer return to play than the most commonly cited concussion recovery time window (7-10 days) for collegiate athletes. Understudied groups, such as women and nonelite athletes, demonstrated notably longer recovery times. The diversity of this sample population was associated with longer return-to-play times; it is unclear how other population-specific factors may have contributed. These inclusive return-to-play windows may indicate longer recovery times outside the population of elite athletes. PMID:29568786

Return on Scientific Investment - RoSI: a PMO dynamical index proposal for scientific projects performance evaluation and management.

PubMed

Caous, Cristofer André; Machado, Birajara; Hors, Cora; Zeh, Andrea Kaufmann; Dias, Cleber Gustavo; Amaro Junior, Edson

2012-01-01

To propose a measure (index) of expected risks to evaluate and follow up the performance analysis of research projects involving financial and adequate structure parameters for its development. A ranking of acceptable results regarding research projects with complex variables was used as an index to gauge a project performance. In order to implement this method the ulcer index as the basic model to accommodate the following variables was applied: costs, high impact publication, fund raising, and patent registry. The proposed structured analysis, named here as RoSI (Return on Scientific Investment) comprises a pipeline of analysis to characterize the risk based on a modeling tool that comprises multiple variables interacting in semi-quantitatively environments. This method was tested with data from three different projects in our Institution (projects A, B and C). Different curves reflected the ulcer indexes identifying the project that may have a minor risk (project C) related to development and expected results according to initial or full investment. The results showed that this model contributes significantly to the analysis of risk and planning as well as to the definition of necessary investments that consider contingency actions with benefits to the different stakeholders: the investor or donor, the project manager and the researchers.

An Overview of My 2004 Summer Internship

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hertert, Lucien

2004-01-01

This summer I have been working with the Non-destructive evaluation (NDE) group and NASA Glenn Research Center. As this is my second summer with the group, I was able to begin working as soon as I arrived. My first task was to develop a system to acquire an impedance analyzer. The basic setup of the system is as follows: a piezo- electric patch is attached to a sample, and a lead is attached to that patch. Another lead is attached directly to the sample, and the leads are connected to the impedance analyzer. The system then puts a voltage through the material over a range of frequencies, and the corresponding impedances are measured for each frequency. After data is collected, it can be compared to another data set, and through a series of calculations a damage parameter is produced. For the time being, we are using a correlation calculation to find the damage parameter. The hope for this project is that a baseline measurement can be taken, and then sometime later another measurement could be taken, and the damage parameter would determine how much damage had been done to the sample. To test this hypothesis, we took baseline data from a sample, and then sent it out to have a notch cut into it. When it was returned, we again took measurements on the sample, and the damage parameter was significantly lower. Another project that I have been working on pertains to the group's newly acquired acoustography system. This system creates a full field ultrasonic signal on one side of a sample, and an acousto-optic sensor is placed on the other side of the sample.

Isotopic studies in returned lunar samples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alexander, E. C., Jr.

1971-01-01

Analysis of lunar soil samples returned by Apollo 11 and 12 flights are discussed. Isotopic studies of the rare gases from Apollo 11 flight lunar samples are presented. The lunar soil analyses indicated the following: (1) high concentrations of solar wind rare gases, (2) isotopic match between solar wind gases and gas components in gas-rich meteorites, and (3) rare gases attributable to spallation reactions induced in heavier nuclides by cosmic ray particles.

Risk analysis of earth return options for the Mars rover/sample return mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

Four options for return of a Mars surface sample to Earth were studied to estimate the risk of mission failure and the risk of a sample container breach that might result in the release of Martian life forms, should such exist, in the Earth's biosphere. The probabilities calculated refer only to the time period from the last midcourse correction burn to possession of the sample on Earth. Two extreme views characterize this subject. In one view, there is no life on Mars, therefore there is no significant risk and no serious effort is required to deal with back contamination. In the other view, public safety overrides any desire to return Martian samples, and any risk of damaging contamination greater than zero is unacceptable. Zero risk requires great expense to achieve and may prevent the mission as currently envisioned from taking place. The major conclusion is that risk of sample container breach can be reduced to a very low number within the framework of the mission as now envisioned, but significant expense and effort, above that currently planned is needed. There are benefits to the public that warrant some risk. Martian life, if it exists, will be a major discovery. If it does not, there is no risk.

Moon-Mars simulation campaign in volcanic Eifel: Remote science support and sample analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Offringa, Marloes; Foing, Bernard H.; Kamps, Oscar

2016-07-01

Moon-Mars analogue missions using a mock-up lander that is part of the ESA/ILEWG ExoGeoLab project were conducted during Eifel field campaigns in 2009, 2015 and 2016 (Foing et al., 2010). In the last EuroMoonMars2016 campaign the lander was used to conduct reconnaissance experiments and in situ geological scientific analysis of samples, with a payload that mainly consisted of a telescope and a UV-VIS reflectance spectrometer. The aim of the campaign was to exhibit possibilities for the ExoGeoLab lander to perform remotely controlled experiments and test its applicability in the field by simulating the interaction with astronauts. The Eifel region in Germany where the experiments with the ExoGeoLab lander were conducted is a Moon-Mars analogue due to its geological setting and volcanic rock composition. The research conducted by analysis equipment on the lander could function in support of Moon-Mars sample return missions, by providing preliminary insight into characteristics of the analyzed samples. The set-up of the prototype lander was that of a telescope with camera and solar power equipment deployed on the top, the UV-VIS reflectance spectrometer together with computers and a sample webcam were situated in the middle compartment and to the side a sample analysis test bench was attached, attainable by astronauts from outside the lander. An alternative light source that illuminated the samples in case of insufficient daylight was placed on top of the lander and functioned on solar power. The telescope, teleoperated from a nearby stationed pressurized transport vehicle that functioned as a base control center, attained an overview of the sampling area and assisted the astronauts in their initial scouting pursuits. Locations of suitable sampling sites based on these obtained images were communicated to the astronauts, before being acquired during a simulated EVA. Sampled rocks and soils were remotely analyzed by the base control center, while the astronauts assisted by placing the samples onto the sample holder and adjusting test bench settings in order to obtain spectra. After analysis the collected samples were documented and stored by the astronauts, before returning to the base. Points of improvement for the EuroMoonMars2016 analog campaign are the remote control of the computers using an established network between the base and the lander. During following missions the computers should preferably be operated over a larger distance without interference. In the bottom compartment of the lander a rover is stored that in future campaigns could replace astronaut functions by collecting and returning samples, as well as performing adjustments to the analysis test bench by using a remotely controlled robotic arm. Acknowledgements: we thank Dominic Doyle for ESTEC optical lab support, Aidan Cowley (EAC) and Matthias Sperl (DLR) for support discussions, and collaborators from EuroMoonMars Eifel 2015-16 campaign team.

Return Migration as Failure or Success?: The Determinants of Return Migration Intentions Among Moroccan Migrants in Europe.

PubMed

de Haas, Hein; Fokkema, Tineke; Fihri, Mohamed Fassi

Different migration theories generate competing hypotheses with regard to determinants of return migration. While neoclassical migration theory associates migration to the failure to integrate at the destination, the new economics of labour migration sees return migration as the logical stage after migrants have earned sufficient assets and knowledge and to invest in their origin countries. The projected return is then likely to be postponed for sustained or indefinite periods if integration is unsuccessful. So, from an indication or result of integration failure return is rather seen as a measure of success. Drawing on recent survey data ( N  = 2,832), this article tests these hypotheses by examining the main determinants of return intention among Moroccan migrants across Europe. The results indicate that structural integration through labour market participation, education and the maintenance of economic and social ties with receiving countries do not significantly affect return intentions. At the same time, investments and social ties to Morocco are positively related, and socio-cultural integration in receiving countries is negatively related to return migration intentions. The mixed results corroborate the idea that there is no uniform process of (return) migration and that competing theories might therefore be partly complementary.

Vocational Rehabilitation Partnerships: Optimizing the Social Value Return on Investment of Employment Outcomes for People with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramos-Olszowy, Lorraine Florence

2011-01-01

This applied research project was developed to examine the social value return of investment (SV-ROI) of a community rehabilitation provider (CRP) in order to identify services that may optimize employment outcomes, better understand the associated factors affecting the employment outcomes and retention, and explore how vocational rehabilitation…

An Editor's Journey: Return to Haiti

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moy, Yvette

2012-01-01

This paper recounts the author's story as she returned to Haiti in February to join a building project near Port-Au-Prince and to document efforts by U.S. higher education institutions to help the country rebound from the devastating 2010 earthquake. The author describes how consortiums have been formed in order to support the development of the…

A Comparison Study of Return Ratio-Based Academic Enrollment Forecasting Models. Professional File. Article 129, Spring 2013

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zan, Xinxing Anna; Yoon, Sang Won; Khasawneh, Mohammad; Srihari, Krishnaswami

2013-01-01

In an effort to develop a low-cost and user-friendly forecasting model to minimize forecasting error, we have applied average and exponentially weighted return ratios to project undergraduate student enrollment. We tested the proposed forecasting models with different sets of historical enrollment data, such as university-, school-, and…

75 FR 63543 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Regulation Project

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-15

... Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting... the result of gross negligence. Section 301.6103(n)-1(e)(3) of the final regulations require that... revenue law. Generally, tax returns and tax return information are confidential, as required by 26 U.S.C...

Dynamic Acquisition and Retrieval Tool (DART) for Comet Sample Return : Session: 2.06.Robotic Mobility and Sample Acquisition Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Badescu, Mircea; Bonitz, Robert; Kulczycki, Erick; Aisen, Norman; Dandino, Charles M.; Cantrell, Brett S.; Gallagher, William; Shevin, Jesse; Ganino, Anthony; Haddad, Nicolas;

Determination of lunar ilmenite abundances from remotely sensed data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larson, Stephen M.; Johnson, Jeffrey R.; Singer, Robert B.

1991-01-01

The mineral ilmenite (FeTiO3) was found in abundance in lunar mare soils returned during the Apollo project. Lunar ilmenite often contains greater than 50 weight-percent titanium dioxide (TiO2), and is a primary potential resource for oxygen and other raw materials to supply future lunar bases. Chemical and spectroscopic analysis of the returned lunar soils produced an empirical function that relates the spectral reflectance ratio at 400 and 560 nm to the weight percent abundance of TiO2. This allowed mapping of the lunar TiO2 distribution using telescopic vidicon multispectral imaging from the ground; however, the time variant photometric response of the vidicon detectors produced abundance uncertainties of at least 2 to 5 percent. Since that time, solid-state charge-coupled device (CCD) detector technology capable of much improved photometric response has become available. An investigation of the lunar TiO2 distribution was carried out utilizing groundbased telescopic CCD multispectral imagery and spectroscopy. The work was approached in phases to develop optimum technique based upon initial results. The goal is to achieve the best possible TiO2 abundance maps from the ground as a precursor to lunar orbiter and robotic sample return missions, and to produce a better idea of the peak abundances of TiO2 for benefaction studies. These phases and the results are summarized.

Self-Image--Alien Image: A Bilateral Video Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kracsay, Susanne

1995-01-01

Describes a project in which Austrian and Hungarian students learned how people see each other by creating video pictures and letters of their neighbors (alien images) that were returned with corrections (self-images). Discussion includes student critiques, impressions, and misconceptions. (AEF)

7 CFR 634.12 - Eligible project areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Eligible project areas. 634.12 Section 634.12 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE... related to agricultural nonpoint source pollutants, including sediment animal waste, irrigation return...

7 CFR 634.12 - Eligible project areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Eligible project areas. 634.12 Section 634.12 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE... related to agricultural nonpoint source pollutants, including sediment animal waste, irrigation return...

7 CFR 634.12 - Eligible project areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Eligible project areas. 634.12 Section 634.12 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE... related to agricultural nonpoint source pollutants, including sediment animal waste, irrigation return...

7 CFR 634.12 - Eligible project areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Eligible project areas. 634.12 Section 634.12 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE... related to agricultural nonpoint source pollutants, including sediment animal waste, irrigation return...

35. From Final Construction Report on the Haleakala Road ProjectNR7, ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

35. From Final Construction Report on the Haleakala Road Project--NR-7, Hawaii National Park, Island of Maui, Territory of Hawaii. LOOKING BACK FROM STATION 335 AT RETURN CURVE. - Haleakala National Park Roads, Pukalani, Maui County, HI

Mars aqueous chemistry experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, Benton C.; Mason, Larry W.

1994-01-01

Mars Aqueous Chemistry Experiment (MACE) is designed to conduct a variety of measurements on regolith samples, encompassing mineral phase analyses, chemical interactions with H2O, and physical properties determinations. From these data, much can be learned or inferred regarding the past weathering environment, the contemporaneous soil micro-environments, and the general chemical and physical state of the Martian regolith. By analyzing both soil and duricrust samples, the nature of the latter may become more apparent. Sites may be characterized for comparative purposes and criteria could be set for selection of high priority materials on future sample return missions. The second year of the MACE project has shown significant progress in two major areas. MACE Instrument concept definition is a baseline design that has been generated for the complete MACE instrument, including definition of analysis modes, mass estimates and thermal model. The design includes multiple reagent reservoirs, 10 discrete analysis cells, sample manipulation capability, and thermal control. The MACE Measurement subsystems development progress is reported regarding measurement capabilities for aqueous ion sensing, evolved gas sensing, solution conductivity measurement, reagent addition (titration) capabilities, and optical sensing of suspended particles.

Mars aqueous chemistry experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, Benton C.; Mason, Larry W.

1994-06-01

Mars Aqueous Chemistry Experiment (MACE) is designed to conduct a variety of measurements on regolith samples, encompassing mineral phase analyses, chemical interactions with H2O, and physical properties determinations. From these data, much can be learned or inferred regarding the past weathering environment, the contemporaneous soil micro-environments, and the general chemical and physical state of the Martian regolith. By analyzing both soil and duricrust samples, the nature of the latter may become more apparent. Sites may be characterized for comparative purposes and criteria could be set for selection of high priority materials on future sample return missions. The second year of the MACE project has shown significant progress in two major areas. MACE Instrument concept definition is a baseline design that has been generated for the complete MACE instrument, including definition of analysis modes, mass estimates and thermal model. The design includes multiple reagent reservoirs, 10 discrete analysis cells, sample manipulation capability, and thermal control. The MACE Measurement subsystems development progress is reported regarding measurement capabilities for aqueous ion sensing, evolved gas sensing, solution conductivity measurement, reagent addition (titration) capabilities, and optical sensing of suspended particles.

Late-stage galaxy mergers in cosmos to z ∼ 1

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lackner, C. N.; Silverman, J. D.; Salvato, M.

2014-12-01

The role of major mergers in galaxy and black hole formation is not well-constrained. To help address this, we develop an automated method to identify late-stage galaxy mergers before coalescence of the galactic cores. The resulting sample of mergers is distinct from those obtained using pair-finding and morphological indicators. Our method relies on median-filtering of high-resolution images to distinguish two concentrated galaxy nuclei at small separations. This method does not rely on low surface brightness features to identify mergers, and is therefore reliable to high redshift. Using mock images, we derive statistical contamination and incompleteness corrections for the fraction ofmore » late-stage mergers. The mock images show that our method returns an uncontaminated (<10%) sample of mergers with projected separations between 2.2 and 8 kpc out to z∼1. We apply our new method to a magnitude-limited (m{sub FW} {sub 814}<23) sample of 44,164 galaxies from the COSMOS HST/ACS catalog. Using a mass-complete sample with logM{sub ∗}/M{sub ⊙}>10.6 and 0.25« less

Lower-Cost, Relocatable Lunar Polar Lander and Lunar Surface Sample Return Probes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amato, G. Michael; Garvin, James B.; Burt, I. Joseph; Karpati, Gabe

2011-01-01

Key science and exploration objectives of lunar robotic precursor missions can be achieved with the Lunar Explorer (LEx) low-cost, robotic surface mission concept described herein. Selected elements of the LEx concept can also be used to create a lunar surface sample return mission that we have called Boomerang

OSIRIS-REx A NASA Mission to a Near Earth Asteroid!...and Other Recent Happenings in the Solar System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moreau, Michael C.

2015-01-01

The OSIRIS-REx Mission launches in 2016 Arrives at Asteroid Bennu-2018 Returns a sample to Earth -2023 The mission, OSIRIS-REx, will visit an asteroid and return a sample from the early Solar System to help us understand how our Solar System formed.

Mars Sample Return as a Feed-Forward into Planetary Protection for Crewed Missions to the Martian Surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spry, J. A.; Siegel, B.

2018-04-01

PP implementation is a required part of crewed exploration of Mars. Determining how PP is achieved is contingent on improved knowledge of Mars, best obtained in part by analysis of martian material of known provenance, as part of a Mars Sample Return mission.

The Potential Impact of Mars' Atmospheric Dust on Future Human Exploration of the Red Planet: Mars Sample Return Considerations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winterhalter, D.; Levine, J. S.; Kerschmann, R.; Beaty, D. W.; Carrier, B. L.; Ashley, J. W.

2018-04-01

To aid early engineering and mission design efforts, the NESC held a workshop on the atmospheric dust and its impact on the human exploration of Mars. Of great interest is the possible Mars Sample Return contribution that will help to answer pertinent questions.

A return to the worker role after injury: firefighters seriously injured on the job and the decision to return to high-risk work.

PubMed

Scheelar, Jeanine F

2002-01-01

This paper presents information on occupational choices and behaviors as described by the model of human occupation and the profession of occupational therapy. This project was designed to answer the research question, "Why do people choose to return to the same high-risk careers after sustaining a serious work-related injury?" Two firefighters from a New York metropolitan area were interviewed individually to explore their roles, especially the worker role, their injuries, and their decisions to return to the same high-risk type of work. The results indicate that a strong social support system from co-workers, and the motivation and enjoyment of the job were the common factors that influenced the two participants to return to their jobs.

Regolith X-Ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) Aboard the OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masterson, R. A.; Chodas, M.; Bayley, L.; Allen, B.; Hong, J.; Biswas, P.; McMenamin, C.; Stout, K.; Bokhour, E.; Bralower, H.; Carte, D.; Chen, S.; Jones, M.; Kissel, S.; Schmidt, F.; Smith, M.; Sondecker, G.; Lim, L. F.; Lauretta, D. S.; Grindlay, J. E.; Binzel, R. P.

2018-02-01

The Regolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) is the student collaboration experiment proposed and built by an MIT-Harvard team, launched aboard NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission. REXIS complements the scientific investigations of other OSIRIS-REx instruments by determining the relative abundances of key elements present on the asteroid's surface by measuring the X-ray fluorescence spectrum (stimulated by the natural solar X-ray flux) over the range of energies 0.5 to 7 keV. REXIS consists of two components: a main imaging spectrometer with a coded aperture mask and a separate solar X-ray monitor to account for the Sun's variability. In addition to element abundance ratios (relative to Si) pinpointing the asteroid's most likely meteorite association, REXIS also maps elemental abundance variability across the asteroid's surface using the asteroid's rotation as well as the spacecraft's orbital motion. Image reconstruction at the highest resolution is facilitated by the coded aperture mask. Through this operation, REXIS will be the first application of X-ray coded aperture imaging to planetary surface mapping, making this student-built instrument a pathfinder toward future planetary exploration. To date, 60 students at the undergraduate and graduate levels have been involved with the REXIS project, with the hands-on experience translating to a dozen Master's and Ph.D. theses and other student publications.

Pathways Intern Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bell, Evan A.

2015-01-01

During my time at NASA, I worked with the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Organization (GMRO), better known as Swamp Works. The goal of the lab is to find ways to utilize resources found after the astronaut or robot has landed on another planet or asteroid. This concept is known as in-situ resource utilization and it is critical to long term missions such as those to Mars. During my time here I worked on the Asteroid and Lava Tube Free Flyer project (ALTFF). A lava tube, such as the one shown in figure 1, is a long tear drop shaped cavern that is produced when molten lava tunnels through the surrounding rock creating large unground pathways. Before mining for resources on Mars or on asteroids, a sampling mission must be done to scout out useful resource deposits. ALTFF's goal is to provide a low cost, autonomous scout robot that can sample the surface and return to the mother ship or lander for further processing of the samples. The vehicle will be looking for water ice in the regolith that can be processed into either potable water, hydrogen and oxygen fuel, or a binder material for 3D printing. By using a low cost craft to sample, there is much less risk to the more expensive mother ship or lander. While my main task was the construction of a simulation environment to test control code in and the construction of the asteroid free flyer prototype, there were other tasks that I performed relating to the ALTFF project.

Non-stationarity of extreme weather events in a changing climate - an application to long-term droughts in the US Southwest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grossmann, I.

2013-12-01

Return periods of many extreme weather events are not stationary over time, given increasing risks due to global warming and multidecadal variability resulting from large scale climate patterns. This is problematic as extreme weather events and long-term climate risks such as droughts are typically conceptualized via measures such as return periods that implicitly assume non-stationarity. I briefly review these problems and present an application to the non-stationarity of droughts in the US Southwest. The US Southwest relies on annual precipitation maxima during winter and the North American Monsoon (NAM), both of which vary with large-scale climate patterns, in particular ENSO, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). The latter two exhibit variability on longer (multi-decadal) time scales in addition to short-term variations. The region is also part of the subtropical belt projected to become more arid in a warming climate. The possible multidecadal impacts of the PDO on precipitation in the study region are analyzed with a focus on Arizona and New Mexico, using GPCC and CRU data since 1900. The projected impacts of the PDO on annual precipitation during the next three decades with GPCC data are similar in scale to the impacts of global warming on precipitation according to the A1B scenario and the CMIP2 multi-model means, while the combined impact of the PDO and AMO is about 19% larger. The effects according to the CRU dataset are about half as large as the projected global warming impacts. Given the magnitude of the projected impacts from both multidecadal variability and global warming, water management needs to explicitly incorporate both of these trends into long-term planning. Multi-decadal variability could be incorporated into the concept of return periods by presenting return periods as time-varying or as conditional on the respective 'phase' of relevant multidecadal patterns and on global warming. Problems in detecting the PDO signal and potential solutions are also discussed. We find that the long-term effect of the PDO can be more clearly separated from short-term variability by considering return periods of multi-year drought measures rather than return periods of simple drought measures that are more affected by short-term variations.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Outliers and similarity in APOGEE (Reis+, 2018)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reis, I.; Poznanski, D.; Baron, D.; Zasowski, G.; Shahaf, S.

2017-11-01

t-SNE is a dimensionality reduction algorithm that is particularly well suited for the visualization of high-dimensional datasets. We use t-SNE to visualize our distance matrix. A-priori, these distances could define a space with almost as many dimensions as objects, i.e., tens of thousand of dimensions. Obviously, since many stars are quite similar, and their spectra are defined by a few physical parameters, the minimal spanning space might be smaller. By using t-SNE we can examine the structure of our sample projected into 2D. We use our distance matrix as input to the t-SNE algorithm and in return get a 2D map of the objects in our dataset. For each star in a sample of 183232 APOGEE stars, the APOGEE IDs of the 99 stars with most similar spectra (according to the method described in paper), ordered by similarity. (3 data files).

Beyond Linear Sequence Comparisons: The use of genome-levelcharacters for phylogenetic reconstruction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boore, Jeffrey L.

2004-11-27

Although the phylogenetic relationships of many organisms have been convincingly resolved by the comparisons of nucleotide or amino acid sequences, others have remained equivocal despite great effort. Now that large-scale genome sequencing projects are sampling many lineages, it is becoming feasible to compare large data sets of genome-level features and to develop this as a tool for phylogenetic reconstruction that has advantages over conventional sequence comparisons. Although it is unlikely that these will address a large number of evolutionary branch points across the broad tree of life due to the infeasibility of such sampling, they have great potential for convincinglymore » resolving many critical, contested relationships for which no other data seems promising. However, it is important that we recognize potential pitfalls, establish reasonable standards for acceptance, and employ rigorous methodology to guard against a return to earlier days of scenario-driven evolutionary reconstructions.« less

The use of a laser ceilometer for sky condition determination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nadolski, Vickie L.; Bradley, James T.

The use of a laser ceilometer for determining sky condition is presented, with emphasis on the operation of the ceilometer, the sky-condition-reporting algorithm, and how the laser ceilometer and the sky-condition algorithm are used to give a report suitable for aircraft operations and meteorological application. The sampling and processing features of the Vaisala ceilometer produced a detailed and accurate cloud base 'signature' by taking 254 measurement samples of the energy scattered back from a single laser pulse as the pulse traveled from the surface to 12,000 ft. The transmit time from the projection of the laser pulse to its backscattering from a cloud element and subsequent return to a collocated receiver is measured and a cloud height element computed. Attention is given to the development of a vertical visibility concept and of a vertical-visibility algorithm, as well as the strengths and limitations of the sky condition report.

International cooperation for Mars exploration and sample return

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levy, Eugene H.; Boynton, William V.; Cameron, A. G. W.; Carr, Michael H.; Kitchell, Jennifer H.; Mazur, Peter; Pace, Norman R.; Prinn, Ronald G.; Solomon, Sean C.; Wasserburg, Gerald J.

1990-01-01

The National Research Council's Space Studies Board has previously recommended that the next major phase of Mars exploration for the United States involve detailed in situ investigations of the surface of Mars and the return to earth for laboratory analysis of selected Martian surface samples. More recently, the European space science community has expressed general interest in the concept of cooperative Mars exploration and sample return. The USSR has now announced plans for a program of Mars exploration incorporating international cooperation. If the opportunity becomes available to participate in Mars exploration, interest is likely to emerge on the part of a number of other countries, such as Japan and Canada. The Space Studies Board's Committee on Cooperative Mars Exploration and Sample Return was asked by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to examine and report on the question of how Mars sample return missions might best be structured for effective implementation by NASA along with international partners. The committee examined alternatives ranging from scientific missions in which the United States would take a substantial lead, with international participation playing only an ancillary role, to missions in which international cooperation would be a basic part of the approach, with the international partners taking on comparably large mission responsibilities. On the basis of scientific strategies developed earlier by the Space Studies Board, the committee considered the scientific and technical basis of such collaboration and the most mutually beneficial arrangements for constructing successful cooperative missions, particularly with the USSR.

Astrobiology Objectives for Mars Sample Return

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, M. A.

2002-05-01

Astrobiology is the study of life in the Universe, and a major objective is to understand the past, present, and future biologic potential of Mars. The current Mars Exploration Program encompasses a series of missions for reconnaissance and in-situ analyses to define in time and space the degree of habitability on Mars. Determining whether life ever existed on Mars is a more demanding question as evidenced by controversies concerning the biogenicity of features in the Mars meteorite ALH84001 and in the earliest rocks on Earth. In-situ studies may find samples of extreme interest but resolution of the life question most probably would require a sample returned to Earth. A selected sample from Mars has the many advantages: State-of-the-art instruments, precision sample handling and processing, scrutiny by different investigators employing different techniques, and adaptation of approach to any surprises It is with a returned sample from Mars that Astrobiology has the most to gain in determining whether life did, does, or could exist on Mars.

Payback as an investment criterion for sawmill improvement projects

Treesearch

G. B. Harpole

1983-01-01

Methods other than presented here should be used to assess projects for likely return on investment; but, payback is simple to calculate and can be used for calculations that will indicate the relative attractiveness of alternative improvement projects. This paper illustrates how payback ratios are calculated, how they can be used to rank alternative improvement...

Returning vacationers face heavy reading loads. [Reports, surveys and projections on the national energy supply

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berg, T.F.

1991-10-01

This article reviews the various reports, surveys and projections on the national energy supply of the summer of 1991. Discussed are the natural gas supplies, competitive electric power production, reliability of independent power, public attitudes toward natural gas, the market share of natural gas, and projection of US energy supply and demand.

The effect of short duration transportation on serum cortisol response in alpacas (Llama pacos).

PubMed

Anderson, D E; Grubb, T; Silveira, F

1999-03-01

This research project evaluated the changes in serum cortisol in six male and six female alpacas in response to transportation of short duration. All alpacas were subjected to trailer transportation for 30 min. Serum samples were obtained prior to transportation, immediately after transportation, and after a 4-h recovery period. Heart rate was recorded at each time interval and observations of individual behavioural characteristics were recorded. Data were analysed using analysis of variance. Heart rate was not significantly changed by transportation stress. Serum cortisol concentration was significantly higher after transportation, but head returned to baseline concentration after the 4-h recovery period. Behavioural characteristics were not associated with changes in serum cortisol concentration.

Multi-Mission Simulation and Visualization for Real-Time Telemetry Display, Playback and EDL Event Reconstruction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pomerantz, M. I.; Lim, C.; Myint, S.; Woodward, G.; Balaram, J.; Kuo, C.

2012-01-01

he Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) Reconstruction Task has developed a software system that provides mission operations personnel and analysts with a real time telemetry-based live display, playback and post-EDL reconstruction capability that leverages the existing high-fidelity, physics-based simulation framework and modern game engine-derived 3D visualization system developed in the JPL Dynamics and Real Time Simulation (DARTS) Lab. Developed as a multi-mission solution, the EDL Telemetry Visualization (ETV) system has been used for a variety of projects including NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), NASA'S Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) and JPL's MoonRise Lunar sample return proposal.

Differential high-speed digital micromirror device based fluorescence speckle confocal microscopy.

PubMed

Jiang, Shihong; Walker, John

2010-01-20

We report a differential fluorescence speckle confocal microscope that acquires an image in a fraction of a second by exploiting the very high frame rate of modern digital micromirror devices (DMDs). The DMD projects a sequence of predefined binary speckle patterns to the sample and modulates the intensity of the returning fluorescent light simultaneously. The fluorescent light reflecting from the DMD's "on" and "off" pixels is modulated by correlated speckle and anticorrelated speckle, respectively, to form two images on two CCD cameras in parallel. The sum of the two images recovers a widefield image, but their difference gives a near-confocal image in real time. Experimental results for both low and high numerical apertures are shown.

Conceptual definition of a 50-100 kWe NEP system for planetary science missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friedlander, Alan

1993-01-01

The Phase 1 objective of this project is to assess the applicability of a common Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP) flight system of the 50-100 kWe power class to meet the advanced transportation requirements of a suite of planetary science (robotic) missions, accounting for differences in mission-specific payloads and delivery requirements. The candidate missions are as follows: (1) Comet Nucleus Sample Return; (2) Multiple Mainbelt Asteroid Rendezvous; (3) Jupiter Grand Tour (Galilean satellites and magnetosphere); (4) Uranus Orbiter/Probe (atmospheric entry and landers); (5) Neptune Orbiter/Probe (atmospheric entry and landers); and (6) Pluto-Charon Orbiter/Lander. The discussion is presented in vugraph form.

Earth-return trajectory options for the 1985-86 Halley opportunity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farquhar, R. W.; Dunham, D. W.

1982-01-01

A unique and useful family of ballistic trajectories to Halley's comet is described. The distinguishing feature of this family is that all of the trajectories return to the Earth's vicinity after the Halley intercept. It is shown that, in some cases, the original Earth-return path can be reshaped by Earth-swingby maneuvers to achieve additional small-body encounters. One mission profile includes flybys of the asteroid Geographos and comet Tempel-2 following the Halley intercept. Dual-flyby missions involving comets Encke and Borrelly and the asteroid Anteros are also discussed. Dust and gas samples are collected during the high-velocity (about 70 km/sec) flythrough of Halley, and then returned to a high-apogee Earth orbit. Aerobraking maneuvers are used to bring the sample-return spacecraft to a low-altitude circular orbit where it can be recovered by the Space Shuttle.

Back to the future: the role of the ISS and future space stations in planetary exploration.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muller, Christian; Moreau, Didier

2010-05-01

Space stations as stepping stones to planets appear already in the1954 Disney-von Braun anticipation TV show but the first study with a specific planetary scientific objective was the ANTEUS project of 1978. This station was an evolution of SPACELAB hardware and was designed to analyse Mars samples with better equipment than the laboratory of the VIKING landers. It would have played the role of the reception facility present in the current studies of Mars sample return, after analysis, the "safe" samples would have been returned to earth by the space shuttle. This study was followed by the flights of SPACELAB and MIR. Finally after 35 years of development, the International Space Station reaches its final configuration in 2010. Recent developments of the international agreement between the space agencies indicate a life extending to 2025, it is already part of the exploration programme as its crews prepare the long cruise flights and missions to the exploration targets. It is now time to envisage also the use of this stable 350 tons spacecraft for planetary and space sciences. Planetary telescopes are an obvious application; the present SOLAR payload on COLUMBUS is an opportunity to use the target pointing capabilities from the ISS. The current exposure facilities are also preparing future planetary protection procedures. Other applications have already been previously considered as experimental collision and impact studies in both space vacuum and microgravity. Future space stations at the Lagrange points could simultaneously combine unique observation platforms with an actual intermediate stepping stone to Mars.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Izbicki, John A.; Wright, Michael T.; Seymour, Whitney A.

Hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), in 918 wells sampled throughout California between 2004 and 2012 by the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program—Priority Basin Project (GAMA—PBP) ranged from less than the study reporting limit (SRL) of 1 microgram per liter (μg/L) to 32 μg/L. Statewide, Cr(VI) was reported in 31 percent of sampled wells and equaled or exceeded the recently established (2014) California Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for Cr(VI) of 10 μg/L in 4 percent of sampled wells. Cr(VI) data collected for regulatory purposes overestimate Cr(VI) occurrence. Ninety percent of chromium was present as Cr(VI), which was detected more frequently and atmore » higher concentrations in alkaline (pH > 8), oxic water, and more frequently in agricultural and urban land uses compared to native land uses. Chemical, isotopic (tritium and carbon-14), and noble-gas data show high Cr(VI) in water from wells in alluvial aquifers in the southern California deserts result from long groundwater-residence times and geochemical reactions such as silicate weathering that increase pH, while oxic conditions persist. High Cr(VI) in water from wells in alluvial aquifers along the west-side of the Central Valley results from high-chromium abundance in source rock eroded to form those aquifers, and areal recharge processes (including irrigation return) that mobilize chromium from the unsaturated zone. Cr(VI) co-occurred with oxyanions having similar chemistry, including vanadium, selenium, and uranium. Cr(VI) was positively correlated with nitrate, consistent with increased concentrations in areas of agricultural land use and mobilization of chromium from the unsaturated zone by irrigation return.« less

New Business Models to Accelerate Innovation in Pediatric Oncology Therapeutics: A Review.

PubMed

Das, Sonya; Rousseau, Raphaël; Adamson, Peter C; Lo, Andrew W

2018-06-02

Few patient populations are as helpless and in need of advocacy as children with cancer. Pharmaceutical companies have historically faced significant financial disincentives to pursue pediatric oncology therapeutics, including low incidence, high costs of conducting pediatric trials, and a lack of funding for early-stage research. Review of published studies of pediatric oncology research and the cost of drug development, as well as clinical trials of pediatric oncology therapeutics at ClinicalTrials.gov, identified 77 potential drug development projects to be included in a hypothetical portfolio. The returns of this portfolio were simulated so as to compute the financial returns and risk. Simulated business strategies include combining projects at different clinical phases of development, obtaining partial funding from philanthropic grants, and obtaining government guarantees to reduce risk. The purely private-sector portfolio exhibited expected returns ranging from -24.2% to 10.2%, depending on the model variables assumed. This finding suggests significant financial disincentives for pursuing pediatric oncology therapeutics and implies that financial support from the public and philanthropic sectors is essential. Phase diversification increases the likelihood of a successful drug and yielded expected returns of -5.3% to 50.1%. Standard philanthropic grants had a marginal association with expected returns, and government guarantees had a greater association by reducing downside exposure. An assessment of a proposed venture philanthropy fund demonstrated stronger performance than the purely private-sector-funded portfolio or those with traditional amounts of philanthropic support. A combination of financial and business strategies has the potential to maximize expected return while eliminating some downside risk-in certain cases enabling expected returns as high as 50.1%-that can overcome current financial disincentives and accelerate the development of pediatric oncology therapeutics.

Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) Studies of Returned Comet Nucleus Samples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsay, Fun-Dow; Kim, Soon Sam; Liang, Ranty H.

1997-01-01

Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) studies have been carried out on organic and inorganic free radicals generated by gamma-ray and/or UV-irradiation and trapped in ice matrices. It is suggested that the concentration of these free radicals together with their thermal stability can be used as an accurate built-in geothermometer and radiation probe for returned comet nucleus sample studies. ESR studies have also been carried out on paramagnetic (Mn(2+), Ti(3+), and Fe(3+)) and ferromagnetic (ferric oxide and metallic iron) centers known to be present in terrestrial and extraterrestrial samples. The presence or absence of these magnetic centers coupled with their characteristic ESR lineshape can be used to investigate the shock effects, quenching/cooling rate and oxidation-reduction conditions in the formation and subsequent evolution of returned comet nucleus samples.

A Passive Earth-Entry Capsule for Mars Sample Return

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mitcheltree, Robert A.; Kellas, Sotiris

1999-01-01

A combination of aerodynamic analysis and testing, aerothermodynamic analysis, structural analysis and testing, impact analysis and testing, thermal analysis, ground characterization tests, configuration packaging, and trajectory simulation are employed to determine the feasibility of an entirely passive Earth entry capsule for the Mars Sample Return mission. The design circumvents the potential failure modes of a parachute terminal descent system by replacing that system with passive energy absorbing material to cushion the Mars samples during ground impact. The suggested design utilizes a spherically blunted 45-degree half-angle cone forebody with an ablative heat shield. The primary structure is a hemispherical, composite sandwich enclosing carbon foam energy absorbing material. Though no demonstration test of the entire system is included, results of the tests and analysis presented indicate that the design is a viable option for the Mars Sample Return Mission.

Sampling and Chemical Analysis of Potable Water for ISS Expeditions 12 and 13

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Straub, John E. II; Plumlee, Deborah K.; Schultz, John R.

2007-01-01

The crews of Expeditions 12 and 13 aboard the International Space Station (ISS) continued to rely on potable water from two different sources, regenerated humidity condensate and Russian ground-supplied water. The Space Shuttle launched twice during the 12- months spanning both expeditions and docked with the ISS for delivery of hardware and supplies. However, no Shuttle potable water was transferred to the station during either of these missions. The chemical quality of the ISS onboard potable water supplies was verified by performing ground analyses of archival water samples at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) Water and Food Analytical Laboratory (WAFAL). Since no Shuttle flights launched during Expedition 12 and there was restricted return volume on the Russian Soyuz vehicle, only one chemical archive potable water sample was collected with U.S. hardware and returned during Expedition 12. This sample was collected in March 2006 and returned on Soyuz 11. The number and sensitivity of the chemical analyses performed on this sample were limited due to low sample volume. Shuttle flights STS-121 (ULF1.1) and STS-115 (12A) docked with the ISS in July and September of 2006, respectively. These flights returned to Earth with eight chemical archive potable water samples that were collected with U.S. hardware during Expedition 13. The average collected volume increased for these samples, allowing full chemical characterization to be performed. This paper presents a discussion of the results from chemical analyses performed on Expeditions 12 and 13 archive potable water samples. In addition to the results from the U.S. samples analyzed, results from pre-flight samples of Russian potable water delivered to the ISS on Progress vehicles and in-flight samples collected with Russian hardware during Expeditions 12 and 13 and analyzed at JSC are also discussed.

A Low-Cost, Low-Risk Mission Concept for the Return of Martian Atmospheric Dust: Relevance to Human Exploration of Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wadhwa, M.; Leshin, L.; Clark, B.; Jones, S.; Jurewicz, A.; McLennan, S.; Mischna, M.; Ruff, S.; Squyres, S.; Westphal, A.

2017-06-01

We present a low-cost, low-risk mission concept for return of martian atmospheric dust. Such a mission would serve as a scientific, technological and operational pathfinder for future surface sample return and human exploration to Mars.

A cost and returns evaluation of alternative dairy products to determine capital investment and operational feasibility of a small-scale dairy processing facility.

PubMed

Becker, K M; Parsons, R L; Kolodinsky, J; Matiru, G N

2007-05-01

This study examines the economic feasibility of 50- and 500-cow dairy processing facilities for fluid milk, yogurt, and cheese. Net present value and internal rate of return calculations for projected costs and returns over a 10-yr period indicate that larger yogurt and cheese processing plants offer the most profitable prospects, whereas a smaller yogurt plant would break even. A smaller cheese plant would have insufficient returns to cover the cost of capital, and fluid milk processing at either scale is economically infeasible. Economic success in processing is greatly contingent upon individual business, financial management, and marketing skills.

Mars Exploration Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jordan, James F.; Miller, Sylvia L.

2000-01-01

The architecture of NASA's program of robotic Mars exploration missions received an intense scrutiny during the summer months of 1998. We present here the results of that scrutiny, and describe a list of Mars exploration missions which are now being proposed by the nation's space agency. The heart of the new program architecture consists of missions which will return samples of Martian rocks and soil back to Earth for analysis. A primary scientific goal for these missions is to understand Mars as a possible abode of past or present life. The current level of sophistication for detecting markers of biological processes and fossil or extant life forms is much higher in Earth-based laboratories than possible with remotely deployed instrumentation, and will remain so for at least the next decade. Hence, bringing Martian samples back to Earth is considered the best way to search for the desired evidence. A Mars sample return mission takes approximately three years to complete. Transit from Earth to Mars requires almost a single year. After a lapse of time of almost a year at Mars, during which orbital and surface operations can take place, and the correct return launch energy constraints are met, a Mars-to-Earth return flight can be initiated. This return leg also takes approximately one year. Opportunities to launch these 3-year sample return missions occur about every 2 years. The figure depicts schedules for flights to and from Mars for Earth launches in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009. Transits for less than 180 deg flight angle, measured from the sun, and more than 180 deg are both shown.

Hayabusa2 Sample Catcher and Container: Metal-Seal System for Vacuum Encapsulation of Returned Samples with Volatiles and Organic Compounds Recovered from C-Type Asteroid Ryugu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okazaki, Ryuji; Sawada, Hirotaka; Yamanouchi, Shinji; Tachibana, Shogo; Miura, Yayoi N.; Sakamoto, Kanako; Takano, Yoshinori; Abe, Masanao; Itoh, Shoichi; Yamada, Keita; Yabuta, Hikaru; Okamoto, Chisato; Yano, Hajime; Noguchi, Takaaki; Nakamura, Tomoki; Nagao, Keisuke

2017-07-01

The spacecraft Hayabusa2 was launched on December 3, 2014, to collect and return samples from a C-type asteroid, 162173 Ryugu (provisional designation, 1999 JU3). It is expected that the samples collected contain organic matter and water-bearing minerals and have key information to elucidate the origin and history of the Solar System and the evolution of bio-related organics prior to delivery to the early Earth. In order to obtain samples with volatile species without terrestrial contamination, based on lessons learned from the Hayabusa mission, the sample catcher and container of Hayabusa2 were refined from those used in Hayabusa. The improvements include (1) a mirror finish of the inner wall surface of the sample catcher and the container, (2) adoption of an aluminum metal sealing system, and (3) addition of a gas-sampling interface for gas collection and evacuation. The former two improvements were made to limit contamination of the samples by terrestrial atmosphere below 1 Pa after the container is sealed. The gas-sampling interface will be used to promptly collect volatile species released from the samples in the sample container after sealing of the container. These improvements maintain the value of the returned samples.

Returning to Work after Cancer: Quantitative Studies and Prototypical Narratives

PubMed Central

Steiner, John F.; Nowels, Carolyn T.; Main, Deborah S.

2009-01-01

Objective A combination of quantitative data and illustrative narratives may allow cancer survivorship researchers to disseminate their research findings more broadly. We identified recent, methodologically rigorous quantitative studies on return to work after cancer, summarized the themes from these studies, and illustrated those themes with narratives of individual cancer survivors. Methods We reviewed English-language studies of return to work for adult cancer survivors through June, 2008, and identified 13 general themes from papers that met methodological criteria (population-based sampling, prospective and longitudinal assessment, detailed assessment of work, evaluation of economic impact, assessment of moderators of work return, and large sample size). We drew survivorship narratives from a prior qualitative research study to illustrate these themes. Results Nine quantitative studies met 4 or more of our 6 methodological criteria. These studies suggested that most cancer survivors could return to work without residual disabilities. Cancer site, clinical prognosis, treatment modalities, socioeconomic status, and attributes of the job itself influenced the likelihood of work return. Three narratives - a typical survivor who returned to work after treatment, an individual unable to return to work, and an inspiring survivor who returned to work despite substantial barriers - illustrated many of the themes from the quantitative literature while providing additional contextual details. Conclusion Illustrative narratives can complement the findings of cancer survivorship research if researchers are rigorous and transparent in the selection, analysis, and retelling of those stories. PMID:19507264

A Chief Engineer's View of the NASA X-43A Scramjet Flight Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marshall, Laurie A.; Corpening, Griffin P.; Sherrill, Robert

2005-01-01

This paper presents an overview of the preparation and execution of the first two flights of the NASA X-43A scramjet flight test project. The project consisted of three flights, two planned for Mach 7 and one for Mach 10. The first flight, conducted on June 2, 2001, was unsuccessful and resulted in a nine-month mishap investigation. A two-year return to flight effort ensued and concluded when the second Mach 7 flight was successfully conducted on March 27, 2004. The challenges faced by the project team as they prepared the first ever scramjet-powered airplane for flight are presented. Modifications made to the second flight vehicle as a result of the first flight failure and the return to flight activities are discussed. Flight results and lessons learned are also presented.

Earth Entry Vehicle Design for Sample Return Missions Using M-SAPE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Samareh, Jamshid

2015-01-01

Most mission concepts that return sample material to Earth share one common element: an Earth entry vehicle (EEV). The primary focus of this paper is the examination of EEV design space for relevant sample return missions. Mission requirements for EEV concepts can be divided into three major groups: entry conditions (e.g., velocity and flight path angle), payload (e.g., mass, volume, and g-load limit), and vehicle characteristics (e.g., thermal protection system, structural topology, and landing concepts). The impacts of these requirements on the EEV design have been studied with an integrated system analysis tool, and the results will be discussed in details. In addition, through sensitivities analyses, critical design drivers that have been identified will be reviewed.

Workshop on Analysis of Returned Comet Nucleus Samples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

This volume contains abstracts that were accepted by the Program Committee for presentation at the workshop on the analysis of returned comet nucleus samples held in Milpitas, California, January 16 to 18, 1989. The abstracts deal with the nature of cometary ices, cryogenic handling and sampling equipment, origin and composition of samples, and spectroscopic, thermal and chemical processing methods of cometary nuclei. Laboratory simulation experimental results on dust samples are reported. Some results obtained from Halley's comet are also included. Microanalytic techniques for examining trace elements of cometary particles, synchrotron x ray fluorescence and instrument neutron activation analysis (INAA), are presented.

Assessment of Air Quality in the Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) Based on Samples Returned by STS-105 at the Conclusion of 7A.1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

James, John T.

2001-01-01

The toxicological assessment of air samples returned at the end of the STS-105 (7 A.1) flight to the ISS is reported. ISS air samples were taken in August 2001 from the Service Module, FGB, and U.S. Laboratory using grab sample canisters (GSCs) and/or formaldehyde badges. Preflight and end-of-mission samples were obtained from Discovery using GSCs. Analytical methods have not changed from earlier reports, and surrogate standard recoveries were 64-115%. Pressure tracking indicated no leaks in the canisters.

Geography, Not Health System Affiliations, Determines Patients' Revisits to the Emergency Department.

PubMed

Rising, Kristin L; Karp, David N; Powell, Rhea E; Victor, Timothy W; Carr, Brendan G

2018-04-01

To determine how frequently patients revisit the emergency department after an initial encounter, and to describe revisit capture rates for the same hospital, health system, and geographic region. Florida state data from January 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011, from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. This is a retrospective cohort study of emergency department return visits among Florida adults over an 18-month period. We evaluated pairs of index and 30-day return emergency department visits and compared capture rates for hospital, health system, and geographic units. Data were obtained from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project and the American Hospital Association Annual Survey Database. Among 9,416,212 emergency department visits, 22.6 percent (2,124,441) were associated with a 30-day return. Seventy percent (1,477,772) of 30-day returns occurred to the same hospital. The 30-day return capture rates were highest within the same geographic area: county-level capture at 92 percent (IQR=86-96 percent) versus health system capture at 75 percent (IQR = 68-81 percent). Acute care utilization patterns are often independent of health system boundaries. Current population-based health care models that attribute patients to a single provider or health system may be strengthened by considering geographic patterns of acute care utilization. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

Evaluation of gonorrhea test of cure at 1 week in a Los Angeles community-based clinic serving men who have sex with men.

PubMed

Beymer, Matthew R; Llata, Eloisa; Stirland, Ali M; Weinstock, Hillard S; Wigen, Christine L; Guerry, Sarah L; Mejia, Everardo; Bolan, Robert K

2014-10-01

Because of the decreasing susceptibility of Neisseria gonorrhoeae to cephalosporin therapy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends test of cure (TOC) 1 week after gonorrhea (GC) treatment if therapies other than ceftriaxone are used. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asks clinicians, particularly those caring for men who have sex with men (MSM) on the west coast, to consider retesting all MSM at 1 week. However, it is unclear if this is acceptable to providers and patients or if nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) are useful for TOC at 7 days. Between January and July 2012, MSM with GC were advised to return 1 week after treatment for TOC using NAAT. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to determine demographic and behavioral differences between MSM who returned for follow-up and MSM who did not. Of 737 men with GC, 194 (26.3%) returned between 3 and 21 days of treatment. Individuals who returned were more likely to have no GC history (P = 0.0001) and to report no initial symptoms (P = 0.02) when compared with individuals who did not return for TOC. Of those who returned, 0% of urethral samples, 7.4% of rectal samples, and 5.3% of pharyngeal samples were NAAT positive at TOC. Although TOC may be an important strategy in reducing complications and the spread of GC, low return rates may make implementation challenging. If implemented, extra efforts should be considered to enhance return rates among individuals with a history of GC. If TOCs are recommended at 1 week and NAATs are used, the interpretation of positive results, particularly those from extragenital sites, may be difficult.

Sampling strategies on Mars: Remote and not-so-remote observations from a surface rover

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singer, R. B.

1988-01-01

The mobility and speed of a semi-autonomous Mars rover are of necessity limited by the need to think and stay out of trouble. This consideration makes it essential that the rover's travels be carefully directed to likely targets of interest for sampling and in situ study. Short range remote sensing conducted from the rover, based on existing technology, can provide significant information about the chemistry and mineralogy of surrounding rocks and soils in support of sampling efforts. These observations are of course of direct scientific importance as well. Because of the small number of samples actually to be returned to Earth, it is also important that candidate samples be analyzed aboard the rover so that diversity can be maximized. It is essential to perform certain types of analyses, such as those involving volatiles, prior to the thermal and physical shocks of the return trip to Earth. In addition, whatever measurements can be made of nonreturned samples will be important to enlarge the context of the detailed analyses to be performed later on the few returned samples. Some considerations related to these objectives are discussed.