Sensors & Test

Lunar Mapper (LM) is a Web-based software that allows visualization of lunar spatial data layers acquired from lunar missions and other sources. The data includes imagery, digital elevation models, resource maps, and model output. LM is accessed using standard Web browsers and uses open-source tools and libraries. The data is stored on...

Software has been developed that provides an integrated and automated test environment for the Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS). This software package is Linux based and provides interactive and scripted control to test the JPL Software Defined Radio (SDR)...

Nanosensors have been developed for chemical detection using carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Unlike other chemical sensors, this solid-state approach requires no reagents and can be refreshed with a solid-state ultraviolet (UV) diode. The sensors possess high sensitivity (ppbv), fast...

Chemical sensors have been developed over the past decades to detect gases and vapors at various concentration levels for deployment in a wide range of industrial applications. The detection usually centers on a change of a particular property or status of the...

Amperometric electrochemical sensors are commonly used for the detection of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2) in air. The electrochemistry of heterogeneous CO and H2 oxidations is similar enough that the sensors show significant cross-sensitivities between the two gases. Thus, in...

Several methods are presently being developed to sense the presence of a target molecule in small or modest concentration in a fluid. However, estimation of the concentration of the target molecule is unavailable where the fluid is substantially motionless...

This floating ultrasonic transducer inspection system is based on a “momentary touching” scheme wherein the ultrasonic transducer is in contact with the structure being scanned for a relatively short time while performing the measurement. A vibrating element is a...

A miniaturized Schottky diode hydrogen and hydrocarbon sensor with the structure of catalytic metal-metal oxide-silicon carbide (SiC) has been developed. The major innovation of this work is the use of the metal oxide, palladium oxide (PdOx), as a...

Galvanic isolated monitoring of voltages for launch vehicle, missiles, and space-deployed systems can be very challenging. Radiation exposure makes use of optics-based sensors difficult, as they can latch-up and become corrupted by the radiation environment; such devices can moreover be thermally challenged....

The means to make a flexible and/or erectable magnetic field response sensor, a geometrically fixed capacitor mounting frame, a wireless dipstick, and an elastically flexible capacitor support have been developed. Either the capacitor mounting frame or the flexible, erectable magnetic field...

The testing of materials that ablate as a design function requires detailed time history of the ablation process. The rate at which the surface recedes during testing is a critically important measure of the performance of thermal protection system (TPS) materials like heat shields for aerospace vehicles....

The complexity of spaceflight design requires reliable, fault-tolerant equipment capable of providing real-time dosimetry during a mission, which is not feasible with existing thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) technology. Real-time monitoring is important for...

The risks associated with introducing new hardware and methods into an operational environment have in part prohibited cryogen level measurement technology from advancing. In prior art, measurements have been made with invasive probes immersed in the cryogenic...

There is a widely acknowledged need for metrics to quantify the performance of video systems. Existing metrics are either difficult to measure or are largely theoretical. They do not reflect the full range of effects to which video may be subject, or do not relate easily to video performance in real-world tasks. The...

The lunar regolith exhibits extremely low conductivity. Penetrating the regolith presents problems if the geo-technical properties of the regolith are not well understood and accounted for.

The COSMIC (Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate) mission has GPS (Global Positioning System) radio occultation dual-band receivers onboard. The received signals slice through the ionosphere, layer by layer, in much the same way as...

The innovation provides enhanced health management routines for batteries. A mathematical model has been developed to describe battery behavior during individual discharge cycles, as well as over the cycle life. Different prognostic modes for estimating the state of charge, state of life, end of discharge,...

To reduce the cost of building specialized interfaces, missions can adopt Goddard Mission Services Evolution Center (GMSEC) technologies and applications. Assurances need to be made that application implementation should follow the GMSEC messaging standards. The GMSEC Interface...

This innovation consists of a procedure and set of equations that allows thermal balance steady-state temperatures to be predicted hours before the balance is reached based on current temperature and rate-of-change measurements. This will allow tests to run...

A document discusses a method for simple and efficient numerical integration (quadrature) of integrals characterized by a near-hypersingularity. Near-hypersingular integrals arise in gradients of Newton-type potentials when the fields at a desired observation point are close to the source. The...

Conventional Shack-Hartmann Wavefront Sensing requires a point source such as a star to perform wavefront sensing. This software allows one to conduct such sensing using an extended-scene or scene-based image. The software allows a Shack-Hartmann Wavefront Sensor (SH-WFS)...

On occasion, anomalies in the highly dynamic test data obtained during rocket engine tests may appear. These issues must be investigated, and corrective action is generally mandated before testing resumes; usually only three days are allotted to identify and correct the issues. Spurious signals in...