Briefs: Physical Sciences
Video Acuity Measurement System
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....
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Measurement of Cryogenic Fluid Level with Laser Propagation and Surface Floor Reflection
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...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Heat-Flow Probe Design and Development
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.
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Solar Pumped Fiber Laser for Solar Sail Propulsion and Remote Power Transfer
A new method has been developed to create coherent laser light efficiently with direct optical coupling of the Sun’s energy into the gain medium for multiple uses. New advances in solar cell photovoltaic (PV) technologies have greatly improved their efficiencies,...
Briefs: Software
Integrated Space Weather Analysis System (iSWA)
The iSWA system is a Web-based dissemination framework for NASA-relevant space weather information that combines forecasts based on the most advanced space weather models with concurrent space environment information. A key design driver for the iSWA system is to generate and present vast amounts...
Briefs: Software
Automatic Localization of MSL Rover Mosaics in HiRISE Imagery
Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) surface operations require precise and accurate knowledge of rover position. A key means of establishing/verifying position is to match ortho-rectified mosaics from the MSL onboard cameras to orbital data. Manual localization by matching mosaics to HiRISE...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) requires new magnets that are smaller than their predecessors to accommodate new instrumentation. Because of their size, these...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
SAM/MSL Terrestrial Background Spectral Library
The SAM/MSL Terrestrial Background Spectral Library is one of the tools developed for identifying known terrestrial background for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) mission. The SAM instrument suite can detect trace elements in the ppb range and therefore requires a...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Keysight Technologies (formerly Agilent Technologies) develops world-leading equipment for solving tough measurement challenges. The company’s Infiniium 90000 Q-Series...
Briefs: Software
When the space shuttle’s external tank (ET) was being filled with the cryogenic fuel components LOX and LH2, moisture from the surrounding atmosphere could condense onto...
Briefs: Software
Efficient Spectral Endmember Detection Onboard Spacecraft
Spaceflight and planetary exploration place severe constraints on the available bandwidth for downlinking large hyperspectral images. Communications with spacecraft often occur intermittently, so mission-relevant hyperspectral data must wait for analysis on the ground before it can inform...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Using the Web Sockets Full-Duplex Communication Channel to Display Real-Time Sensor Data via Standard Web Browser
Web Sockets is a network full-duplex communication channel that allows Javascript programs embedded in Web pages to establish connections to applications running on the server that provided the Web pages. Two-way communication is...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Earth Now Mobile Phone App
A mobile device application created by NASA visualizes recent global climate data from Earth science satellites, including air temperature, sea surface salinity, carbon monoxide, ozone, and water vapor, as well as gravity and sea level variations. This app is an Open GL simple 3D object viewer for the Apple IOS and...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
PACIFIC: Process Algebra Capture of Intent from Information Content
Mixed-initiative teams of robots and humans working side-by-side in close proximity to each other need to be capable of reasoning about the actions and activities of each other within a mission context. This capability requires the robotic agents to have a sense of self, and...
Briefs: Software
Analytical Expression of Elevation-Dependent Relative Air Mass for Atmospheric Extinction Simulations
This software enables one to calculate elevation-dependent relative air mass. When imaging a setting or rising Sun on the ground or from space, the shape and the intensity distribution of a captured image are affected by the following three...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Quantification of Trace Chemicals Using the Vehicle Cabin Atmosphere Monitor
A software program analyzes data measured by the Vehicle Cabin Atmosphere Monitor (VCAM) and quantifies the concentrations of trace chemicals detected by VCAM. The software contains a unique way to quantify the signal measured by VCAM, to establish the concentration...
Briefs: Software
Multipurpose Attitude and Pointing System (MAPS) Version 6.2
MAPS is a suite of software tools used for pre-flight planning, real-time support, and post-flight analysis of spacecraft attitude and pointing for the International Space Station (ISS), HII Transfer Vehicle (HTV), Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), and other low Earth orbit (LEO)...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
The bundle adjustment, or more specifically, the colinearity math model it is based on, is undisputedly the most accurate method to perform 3D scene reconstruction from multiple images....
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Silicon Carbide Power Processing Unit for Hall Effect Thrusters
A high-efficiency, rad-hard, 3.5-kW SiC power supply was developed for the power processing unit (PPU) of Hall effect thrusters. This work specifically targets the design of a PPU power supply for the HiVHAC (High Voltage Hall Accelerator) thruster. The PPU power supply under...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Intensity-Calibrated Hydrogen Flame Spectrum
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) uses large quantities of liquid hydrogen and has expended significant effort in the development, testing, installation, and maintenance of hydrogen fire detectors based on ultraviolet, near-infrared, mid-infrared, and/or far-infrared flame...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
This innovation provides the following thermal properties data from a single steady-state test run: the effective thermal conductivity value (ke) for the full temperature difference, and...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
There is a need to perform accurate, high-temperature, complex dielectric constant measurements at microwave frequencies on materials, such as those on the...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Hollow aErothermal Ablation and Temperature (HEAT) Sensor for Tracking Isotherm Through TPS Material
The Hollow aErothermal Ablation and Temperature (HEAT) sensor is a multifunction sensor designed to track an isotherm by making an independent transient measurement at a defined location in the sensor that is equal to the temperature at which its...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Noncontact DC and AC Magnetostrictive Current Sensor
At the time of this reporting, there have been no effective methods of monitoring current in conductors in space without breaking the circuit or making contact with the conductor. In space, reliability rules all designs, and breaking a circuit to insert a sensor to monitor current would reduce...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Hydrogen Measurement in a Cryogen Flow Stream Reduces Waste of Helium
The purpose of this research was to develop an improved method for measuring hydrogen concentrations in a cryogen flow stream to minimize helium waste during the purge process. Currently, this type of measurement is performed manually with a sniffer, and involves obtaining...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Preparation, Planning, and Concept Demo of a Technique to Find ≈7-to-10-m Near Earth Asteroids
A paper describes a new technique designed to increase significantly the sensitivity for finding and tracking small, dim, and fast-moving near Earth asteroids (NEAs). The technique relies on a combined use of a novel data processing approach and a...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Method and Apparatus for Determining Propellant Mass in Microgravity by Capacitance Measurements
Propellant mass gauging in microgravity has posed a challenge for decades. Various methods have been applied, including ultrasonic, capacitance probes, point level sensors, thermal detectors (thermistors, thermocouples, etc.), Michelson...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Strobing to Mitigate Vibration for Display Legibility
This method mitigates the motion blur introduced when a display, and/or the operator reading it, is undergoing vibration (e.g. during the launch phase of spaceflight). If both the operator and the display are undergoing vibration, their respective impulses need not be in phase. This...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Image Processing Method To Determine Dust Optical Density
Image processing techniques for determining dust optical density in Apollo videos have been developed. The software generates histograms, and calculates the mean and standard deviation, which are then used to match dusty and clear images for the purpose of estimating an effective optical...
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