Initial closed operation of the CELSS Test Facility Engineering Development Unit.

As part of the NASA Advanced Life Support Flight Program, a Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Test Facility Engineering Development Unit has been constructed and is undergoing initial operational testing at NASA Ames Research Center. The Engineering Development Unit (EDU) is a tightly closed, stringently controlled, ground-based testbed which provides a broad range of environmental conditions under which a variety of CELSS higher plant crops can be grown. Although the EDU was developed primarily to provide near-term engineering data and a realistic determination of the subsystem and system requirements necessary for the fabrication of a comparable flight unit, the EDU has also provided a means to evaluate plant crop productivity and physiology under controlled conditions. This paper describes the initial closed operational testing of the EDU, with emphasis on the hardware performance capabilities. Measured performance data during a 28-day closed operation period are compared with the specified functional requirements, and an example of inferring crop growth parameters from the test data is presented. Plans for future science and technology testing are also discussed.     

Population dynamics of transgenic microorganisms in the different microecosystem conditions.

The role of key environmental factors in adaptation of spore-forming and non-spore-forming transgenic microorganisms (TM) have been studied in model ecosystems. Model TM Escherichia coli Z905 (bearing plasmid genes of bacterial luminescence Ap (r) Lux+) has been found to have a higher adaptation potential than TM Bacillus subtilis 2335/105 (bearing genes of human alpha 2-interferon Km (r) Inf+), planned for employment as a living vaccine under varying environmental conditions. Effects of abiotic factors on migration of natural and recombinant plasmids between microorganisms under model ecosystem conditions has been estimated. The transgenic microorganisms with low copy number survived better under introduction conditions in the microcosms studied. This trend has been shown to be independent of the microcosm type and its complexity. Grant numbers: 99-04-96017, 25, 00-07-9011.     

The Low-Latitude Boundary Layer at the Flanks of the Magnetopause

This is a brief overview on what we know and do not know about the low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL) at the flanks of the magnetotail. On the basis of recent observations, simulations and theories we conclude that reconnection is the dominant process in generating the LLBL and its structure probably even under northward IMF conditions. Part of the LLBL always seems to be on open field lines. Possibly the LLBL possesses a double structure with its outer part open and inner part closed. Anomalous diffusive processes cannot sustain the LLBL but provide sufficient diffusivity for reconnection. Strong diffusion is only expected in narrow localized regions and can make the transition to superdiffusion. Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) is favoured for northward IMF, producing vortices at the tail flanks. Its contribution to efficient mass transport still remains questionable. Coupling of the LLBL to the ionosphere can strongly affect the internal structure of the LLBL, causing turbulent eddies and detachments of plasma blobs as also field-aligned currents and electron heating. The structure and dynamics of the LLBL are affected by field-aligned electric potentials that decouple the LLBL from the ionosphere. Non-ideal coupling simulations suggest that the dusk flank is decoupled, favouring KHI, while the dawn flank is dominated by currents and turbulence.     

Moving target imaging algorithm for SAR data

A digital processing algorithm for fine-resolution imaging of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) moving targets is described. The targets may have any translational and rotational motion components relative to the data collection platform. The algorithm requires the presence of up to three prominent points in the image of the target; the signals from these points provide estimates of the unknown target motion parameters. Phase compensation and data formatting based on these estimates eliminate motion-induced phase errors. This algorithm has been implemented on a VAX computer and used to process both simulated and real SAR data of moving targets. Results obtained using the simulated data are presented     

Factors influencing the heating of the auroral electrojet by high power radio waves

Results are presented from recent ionospheric modification experiments in which the EISCAT UHF radar measured the E-region temperature and density response to high power RF heating above Tromsø. A variety of electrojet conditions were encountered during these experiments. In particular, the electron drift velocity varied considerably allowing the heating efficiency of the RF heater to be investigated as a function of electron flow velocity. These observations constitute the first direct investigation of electrojet temperature modifications by high power radio waves and provide a test of a recent theoretical model in which the combined effects of RF heating and of natural plasma turbulence associated with the Farley-Buneman instability have been considered.     

Designing planetary protection into the Mars Observer mission.

Planetary protection has been an important consideration during the process of designing the Mars Observer mission. It affected trajectory design of both the interplanetary transfer and the orbits at Mars; these in turn affected the observation strategies developed for the mission. The Project relied mainly on the strategy of collision avoidance to prevent contamination of Mars. Conservative estimates of spacecraft reliability and Martian atmosphere density were used to evaluate decisions concerning the interplanetary trajectory, the orbit insertion phase at Mars, and operations in orbit at Mars and afterwards. Changes in the trajectory design, especially in the orbit insertion phase, required a refinement of those estimates.     

Autonomous navigation using the TDRSS Onboard Navigation System (TONS)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is currently developing a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) System (TDRSS) Onboard Navigation System (TONS) to provide onboard knowledge of highly accurate navigation products autonomously to users of TDRSS. The TONS I operational system processes Doppler data derived from scheduled forward-link S-band services to provide onboard orbit and frequency determination and time maintenance. TONS I is implemented using a stable onboard frequency reference, a Doppler measurement capability in the user transponder, and onboard navigation/signal acquisition software. The success of the TONS experiment (1992/1993), which was implemented on the Explorer Platform/Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EP/EUVE) spacecraft, demonstrated the flight readiness of TONS I. TONS II-A provides the user with additional Doppler data derived from an S-band beacon signal, available approximately 80 percent of the time. This paper describes the TONS operational capabilities, configurations, and expected performance.     

Venus Express: Scientific goals, instrumentation, and scenario of the mission

The first European mission to Venus (Venus Express) is described. It is based on a repeated use of the Mars Express design with minor modifications dictated in the main by more severe thermal environment at Venus. The main scientific task of the mission is global exploration of the Venusian atmosphere, circumplanetary plasma, and the planet surface from an orbiting spacecraft. The Venus Express payload includes seven instruments, five of which are inherited from the missions Mars Express and Rosetta. Two instruments were specially designed for Venus Express. The advantages of Venus Express in comparison with previous missions are in using advanced instrumentation and methods of remote sounding, as well as a spacecraft with a broad spectrum of capabilities of orbital observations.