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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A series of free-mass designs for the ultrasonic/sonic driller/corer (USDC) has been developed to maximize the transfer of energy from the piezoelectric transducer through the horn...
Briefs: Materials
Over the past 30 years, significant technology gains in polymer engineering have greatly expanded the applications suited to adhesive bonding with epoxy resins. Advanced bonding...
Briefs: Materials
Electrochemical Ultracapacitors Using Graphitic Nanostacks
Electrochemical ultracapacitors (ECs) have been developed using graphitic nanostacks as the electrode material. The advantages of this technology will be the reduction of device size due to superior power densities and relative powers compared to traditional activated carbon electrodes....
Briefs: Medical
Monitoring Location and Angular Orientation of a Pill
A mobile pill transmitter system moves through, or adjacent to, one or more organs in an animal or human body, while transmitting signals from its present location and/or present angular orientation. The system also provides signals from which the present roll angle of the pill, about a selected...
Briefs: Medical
Molecular Technique to Reduce PCR Bias for Deeper Understanding of Microbial Diversity
Current planetary protection policies require that spacecraft targeted to sensitive solar system bodies be assembled and readied for launch in controlled cleanroom environments. A better understanding of the distribution and frequency at which high-risk...
Briefs: Medical
Dramatic improvements have been made in NASA’s Whole Blood Staining Device (WBSD) since it was last described in “Whole-Blood- Staining Device,” (MSC-22614) NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 23, No. 10 (October...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
PRTs and Their Bonding for Long-Duration, Extreme- Temperature Environments
Research was conducted on the qualification of Honeywell platinum resistance thermometer (PRT) bonding for use in the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). This is the first time these sensors will be used for Mars-related projects. Different types of PRTs were employed for the...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
3D Display Using Conjugated Multiband Bandpass Filters
Stereoscopic display techniques are based on the principle of displaying two views, with a slightly different perspective, in such a way that the left eye views only by the left eye, and the right eye views only by the right eye. However, one of the major challenges in optical devices is...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Real-Time, Non-Intrusive Detection of Liquid Nitrogen in Liquid Oxygen at High Pressure and High Flow
An integrated fiber-optic Raman sensor has been designed for real-time, nonintrusive detection of liquid nitrogen in liquid oxygen (LOX) at high pressures and high flow rates in order to monitor the quality of LOX used during rocket engine ground...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Microwave imaging radiometers operating in the 50–183 GHz range for retrieving atmospheric temperature and water vapor profiles from airborne platforms have...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Laser Ablation Electrodynamic Ion Funnel for 'In Situ' Mass Spectrometry on Mars
A front-end instrument, the laser ablation ion funnel, was developed, which would ionize rock and soil samples in the ambient Martian atmosphere, and efficiently transport the product ions into a mass spectrometer for in situ analysis.
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Mid- and Long-IR Broadband Quantum Well Photodetector
A single-stack broadband quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) has been developed that consists of stacked layers of GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells with absorption peaks centered at various wavelengths spanning across the 9-to-11-μm spectral regions. The correct design of broadband QWIPs was a...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Dual-Compartment Inflatable Suitlock
A paper discusses a dual-compartment inflatable suitlock (DCIS) for Extra-vehicular Activity (EVA) that will allow for dust control, suit maintenance, and efficient EVA egress/ingress. The expandable (inflatable technologies) aspect of the design will allow the unit to stow in a compact package for transport.
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Techniques for Solution-Assisted Optical Contacting
A document discusses a “solution-assisted contacting” technique for optical contacting. An optic of surface flatness Lambda/20 was successfully contacted with one of “moderate” surface quality, or Lambda/4. Optics used were both ultra-low expansion (ULE) glass (Lambda/4 and Lambda/20) and...
Briefs: Materials
Large-Strain Transparent Magnetoactive Polymer Nanocomposites
A document discusses polymer nanocomposite superparamagnetic actuators that were prepared by the addition of organically modified superparamagnetic nanoparticles to the polymer matrix. The nanocomposite films exhibited large deformations under a magnetostatic field with a low loading...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Thermodynamic Vent System for an On-Orbit Cryogenic Reaction Control Engine
A report discusses a cryogenic reaction control system (RCS) that integrates a Joule-Thompson (JT) device (expansion valve) and thermodynamic vent system (TVS) with a cryogenic distribution system to allow fine control of the propellant quality (subcooled liquid) during...
Briefs: Information Technology
Time Distribution Using SpaceWire in the SCaN Testbed on ISS
A paper describes an approach for timekeeping and time transfer among the devices on the CoNNeCT project’s SCaN Testbed. It also describes how the clocks may be synchronized with an external time reference; e.g., time tags from the International Space Station (ISS) or RF signals...
Briefs: Lighting
These displays could play crucial roles in ultra-portable products such as next-generation pico-projectors and in emerging fields such as biophotonics and...
Briefs: Lighting
Nanowires — microscopic fibers that can be “grown” in a lab — have a variety of potential applications, including LEDs and sensors. A team of MIT researchers...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Method of Bonding Optical Elements With Near-Zero Displacement
The International X-ray Project seeks to build an x-ray telescope using thousands of pieces of thin and flexible glass mirror segments. Each mirror segment must be bonded into a housing in nearly perfect optical alignment without distortion. Forces greater than 0.001 Newton, or...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Optical Phase Recovery and Locking in a PPM Laser Communication Link
Free-space optical communication holds great promise for future space missions requiring high data rates. For data communication in deep space, the current architecture employs pulse position modulation (PPM). In this scheme, the light is transmitted and detected as pulses within...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
The design and initial demonstration of a laser pump module (LPM) incorporating single-mode, grating-stabilized 808- nm diode lasers and a...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Method to Enhance the Operation of an Optical Inspection Instrument Using Spatial Light Modulators
For many aspheric and freeform optical components, existing interferometric solutions require a custom computer-generated hologram (CGH) to characterize the part. The overall objective of this research is to develop hardware and a procedure to produce...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
High-Speed Edge-Detecting Line Scan Smart Camera
A high-speed edge-detecting line scan smart camera was developed. The camera is designed to operate as a component in a NASA Glenn Research Center developed inlet shock detection system. The inlet shock is detected by projecting a laser sheet through the airflow. The shock within the airflow is the...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
In a photon counting detector array, each pixel in the array produces an electrical pulse when an incident photon on that pixel is detected. Detection and demodulation of an optical communication...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Optical Communications Channel Combiner
NASA has identified deep-space optical communications links as an integral part of a unified space communication network in order to provide data rates in excess of 100 Mb/s. The distances and limited power inherent in a deep-space optical downlink necessitate the use of photon-counting detectors and a...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Development of Thermal Infrared Sensor To Supplement Operational Land Imager
The thermal infrared sensor (TIRS) is a quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP)-based instrument intended to supplement the Operational Land Imager (OLI) for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM). The TIRS instrument is a far-infrared imager operating in the...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Air gaging relies on a law of physics that states flow and pressure are directly proportionate to clearance and react inversely to each other. As clearance increases,...
Briefs: Information Technology
Absolute Position of Targets Measured Through a Chamber Window Using Lidar Metrology Systems
Lidar is a useful tool for taking metrology measurements without the need for physical contact with the parts under test. Lidar instruments are aimed at a target using azimuth and elevation stages, then focus a beam of coherent, frequency modulated laser...
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