NASA Tech Briefs - January 2013 - Vol. 37 No. 1

Features

• Application Briefs

  Light-Control Systems Help NASA Go ‘Net Zero’

  Sensors Monitor Curiosity’s Drilling Arm

• Who's Who

  Chuck Jorgensen, Chief Scientist for Neuro Engineering, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA

• Articles

  Software is the Driving Innovation for Consumer Electronics

  Alloy-Enhanced Fans Maintain Fresh Air in Tunnels

Tech Briefs

• Physical Sciences

  Single-Photon-Sensitive HgCdTe Avalanche Photodiode Detector

  Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Using Silica Whispering- Gallery Mode Resonators

  Color-Changing Sensors for Detecting the Presence of Hypergolic Fuels

  Wind-Driven Wireless Networked System of Mobile Sensors for Mars Exploration

  Analysis of the Effects of Streamwise Lift Distribution on Sonic Boom Signature

  In Situ Solid Particle Generator

• Manufacturing & Prototyping

  Microwave Sinterator Freeform Additive Construction System (MS-FACS)

  Development of a Centrifugal Technique for the Microbial Bioburden Analysis of Freon (CFC-11)

  Advanced Materials and Manufacturing for Low- Cost, High-Performance Liquid Rocket Combustion Chambers

• Software

  Artificial Intelligence Software for Assessing Postural Stability

  System for Contributing and Discovering Derived Mission and Science Data

  Remote Viewer for Maritime Robotics Software

  Stackfile Database

  Reachability Maps for In Situ Operations

  JPL Space Telecommunications Radio System Operating Environment

  RFI-SIM: RFI Simulation Package

  ION Configuration Editor

  Dtest Testing Software

  IMPaCT — Integration of Missions, Programs, and Core Technologies

  Integrated Systems Health Management (ISHM) Toolkit

• Materials

  Using Pre-Melted Phase Change Material to Keep Payloads in Space Warm for Hours Without Power

  Fibrillar Adhesive for Climbing Robots

  Transformers: Shape-Changing Space Systems Built With Robotic Textiles

• Information Sciences

  3D Hail Size Distribution Interpolation/Extrapolation Algorithm

  Ionospheric Simulation System for Satellite Observations and Global Assimilative Model Experiments — ISOGAME

  Estimating Torque Imparted on Spacecraft Using Telemetry

  flexplan: Mission Planning System for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

  Airborne Tomographic Swath Ice Sounding Processing System

  PowderSim: Lagrangian Discrete and Mesh-Free Continuum Simulation Code for Cohesive Soils

  Basic Operational Robotics Instructional System

  Multiple-Frame Detection of Subpixel Targets in Thermal Image Sequences

  Metric Learning to Enhance Hyperspectral Image Segmentation

• Mechanics & Machinery

  Ultra-Compact Transputer-Based Controller for High-Level, Multi-Axis Coordination

  Magnetically Actuated Seal

  Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot Excavator

  Hybrid Electrostatic/ Flextensional Mir ror for Lightweight, Large-Aperture, and Cr yogenic Space Telescopes

  Sheet Membrane Spacesuit Water Membrane Evaporator

  Motor Qualification for Long-Duration Mars Missions

• Electronics & Computers

  DSP/FPGA Design for a High-Speed Programmable S-Band Space Transceiver

  Memory Circuit Fault Simulator

  On-Chip Power-Combining for High-Power Schottky Diode- Based Frequency Multipliers

  FPGA Vision Data Architecture

• Briefs

  Ultra-Compact, Superconducting Spectrometer-on-a-Chip at Submillimeter Wavelengths

  Rad-Tolerant, Thermally Stable, High-Speed Fiber-Optic Network for Harsh Environments

  UV Resonant Raman Spectrometer With Multi-Line Laser Excitation

  Towed Subsurface Optical Communications Buoy

  High-Collection-Efficiency Fluorescence Detection Cell

• Articles

  Trends In Fused Components For Fiber Lasers

  Photonics Design Automation

• Products

  3D Imaging Sensor

  C-mount Spectrometer Adapters

  2.8 MP GigE Vision Camera

  Cool Bypass Switches

  Multi-Channel Laser Modules

  Chip-Based Video Camera

  Silicon Solar Cells

  Infrared Image Sensor

  USB 3.0 CMOSIS-Sensor- Based Cameras

  Epoxy Based UV Curable System

  Surface Mount Photodiode with Daylight Filter

  Galvo and Controller Combination

  Tunable Lenses

  Product of the Month: the IRIS Color 3D Printer

• Briefs

  Photons Emitted by Quantum Dots Can be Made Indistinguishable Through Quantum Frequency Conversion

  Self-Assembled Monolayers Create P-N Junctions in Graphene Films

  New Platform Developed to Measure and Exploit Optomechanical Interactions

• Applications

  U.S. Department of State Retrofits Harry S. Truman Building With New Lighting Controls

• Articles

  Creating White Light Using LEDs

  LEDs Beware! The Rebirth of the Incandescent Light Bulb

• Research News

  Researchers Develop New Method to Light Roundabouts

  New Technology Could Make Fluorescent Lights A Thing Of The Past

  Low-Level Light Therapy Could Be Used to Treat Alzheimer’s Patients