Stories
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Briefs: Medical
Methanol is sometimes referred to as ethanol's deadly twin. While the latter is the intoxicating ingredient in wine, beer, and liquor, the former is a chemical that...
Briefs: Energy
Pyroelectric energy generates energy from heat that would otherwise be wasted in a catalytic chemical reaction.
Briefs: Energy
Methanol is a key feedstock for the production of chemicals, some of which are used to make products such as plastics, plywood, and paints. Methanol also can fuel vehicles or be reformed to produce...
Briefs: Materials
Capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) and converting it to useful chemicals such as methanol could reduce both pollution and U.S. dependence on petroleum products. Catalysts are used to bring the reacting...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
EOS MLS Level 2 Data Processing Software, Version 4
This software reads MLS Level 1 products — the Earth Observing System (EOS) Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) calibrated measurements of microwave radiance products and operational meteorological data — and produces a set of estimates of atmospheric temperature and composition. The software...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Thin film gas sensors are small, lightweight, and relatively easy to operate; however, the testing of these thin film gas sensors is difficult in harsh environments...
Articles: Green Design & Manufacturing
Hi-Light - Solar Thermal Chemical Reactor Technology for Converting CO2 to Hydrocarbons
Xiangkun (Elvis) Cao, Jessica Akemi Cimada da Silva, David Erickson, and Tobias Hanrath, Cornell...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Low-Power, Lightweight, Ultra-Compact Reverse Water Gas Shift Reactor
Utilizing CO2 to produce H2O and O2 is critical for sustained manned missions in space, and supports both NASA’s cabin Atmosphere Revitalization System (ARS) and ln-situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) concepts. For long-term missions beyond low Earth orbit where resupply of...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
The largest supersonic parachute ever developed is one of the test articles on the Supersonic Flight Dynamics Test (SFDT) vehicle of the Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD)...
Briefs: Materials
Plasma Extraction of Oxygen from the Martian Atmosphere
Extraction of oxygen from the abundant carbon dioxide present on Mars (96% atmospheric composition) is an important objective in preparation for missions to the planet. Oxygen is not only a fundamental reactant with high-specific-energy chemical fuels such as hydrogen and methane, but, along...
Briefs: Energy
A local energy source is desired for near-shore and offshore applications. Gas generators, diesel generators, and long-length submerged power cables tend to be expensive. A proposed solution is to use offshore wind...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
On-Chip Microfluidic Components for In Situ Analysis, Separation, and Detection of Amino Acids
The Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory at GSFC has identified amino acids in meteorites and returned cometary samples by using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LCMS). These organic species are key markers for...
Articles: Energy
Aquaback Water Purification System
Bill Zebuhr, Scott Newquist, David Dussault, E. Andrew Condon, Steven Sahagian, Nicholas Wong, Michael Easton, William Burie, Charles...
Briefs: Materials
Detection of Carbon Monoxide Using Polymer-Composite Films With a Porphyrin-Functionalized Polypyrrole
Post-fire air constituents that are of interest to NASA include CO and some acid gases (HCl and HCN). CO is an important analyte to be able to sense in human habitats since it is a marker for both pre-fire detection and post-fire cleanup.
Briefs: Physical Sciences
All-Solid-State 2.45-to-2.78-THz Source
Sources in the THz range are required in order for NASA to implement heterodyne instruments in this frequency range. The source that has been demonstrated here will be used for an instrument on the SOFIA platform as well as for upcoming astrophysics missions. There are currently no electronic sources in the...
Briefs: Materials
Polymerization Initiated at the Sidewalls of Carbon Nanotubes
A process has been developed for growing polymer chains via anionic, cationic, or radical polymerization from the side walls of functionalized carbon nanotubes, which will facilitate greater dispersion in polymer matrices, and will greatly enhance reinforcement ability in polymeric...
Briefs: Materials
A lift-gas cracker (LGC) is an apparatus that generates a low-molecular-weight gas (mostly hydrogen with smaller amounts of carbon monoxide and/or carbon dioxide) at low gauge pressure by methanol...
Briefs: Materials
An improved class of formulations for PMR polyimide resins retards the imidization that undesirably occurs during handling and storage. While imidization is desired at the final...
Briefs: Materials
A further improvement has been made to reduce the high-temperature thermal conductivities of the aerogel-matrix composite materials described in “Improved Silica Aerogel Composite Materials”...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
An apparatus for extracting organic compounds from soils, sands, and other solid matrix materials utilizes water at subcritical temperature and pressure as a solvent. The apparatus,...
Briefs: Materials
Amorphous Silk Fibroin Membranes for Separation of CO₂
Amorphous silk fibroin has shown promise as a polymeric material derivable from natural sources for making membranes for use in removing CO2 from mixed-gas streams. For most applications of silk fibroin, for purposes other than gas separation, this material is used in its highly crystalline,...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Effects of Temperature on Polymer/Carbon Chemical Sensors
Experiments were conducted on the effects of temperature, polymer molecular weight, and carbon loading on the electrical resistances of polymer/carbon-black composite films. The experiment were performed in a continuing effort to develop such films as part of the JPL Electronic Nose (ENose),...
Briefs: Materials
Nano-engineered catalysts, and a method of fabricating them, have been developed in a continuing effort to improve the performances of direct methanol fuel cells as candidate power...
Briefs: Materials
A family of aerogel-matrix composite materials having thermal-stability and mechanical-integrity properties better than those of neat aerogels has been developed. Aerogels are known to be excellent...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Micro-Resistojet for Small Satellites
An efficient micro- resistojet has been developed with thrust in the millinewton level, with a specific impulse of approximately 250 seconds and power input of 20 watts or less that is useful for applications of up to 1,000 hours of operation or more. The essential feature of this invention is a gas- carrying...
Briefs: Materials
A family of polymer/ carbon films has been developed for use as sensory films in electronic noses for detecting SO2 gas at concentrations as low as 1 part per million (ppm). Most...
Briefs: Materials
A process for hydroxide-assisted bonding has been developed as a means of joining optical components made of ultra-low-expansion (ULE) glass, while maintaining sufficiently precise...
Briefs: Materials
Combinatorial experiments have led to the discovery that a nanophase alloy of Pt, Ru, Ni, and Zr is effective as an anode catalyst material for direct methanol fuel cells. This...
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
Making Single-Source Precursors of Ternary Semiconductors
&A synthesis route has been developed for the commercial manufacture of single- source precursors of chalcopyrite semiconductor absorber layers of thin-film solar photovoltaic cells. The semiconductors in question are denoted by the general formula CuInxGa1–xSySe2–y, where 0 ≤ x...
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Q&A: Physical Sciences
Webcasts
Webinars: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
The Over-Engineering Trap: Aligning Custom Equipment Specs with Operational...
Webinars: Communications
Where Time and Frequency Converge: Multi-Channel RF Analysis for Radar and...
Webinars: Software
Driving Reliability: Simulation Driven EMI Techniques for Modern Vehicle...
Editorial Webinars: Software
Smarter Aerospace Manufacturing & Design with Digital Twins and Agentic AI
Summits: AR/AI
2026 Battery & Electrification Summit (Online)
Podcasts: Information Technology
Arm’s Agentic AI CPU: Engineering the Next Generation of AI Data Centers

