Exploring a structured decision approach as a means of fostering participatory space policy making at NASA

In 1996, the National Research Council's Committee on Risk Characterization argued convincingly for the implementation of more participatory approaches to improve policy making by incorporating a wide range of stakeholder values and concerns in policy decisions. Guidance about how to best carry out such an approach in an agency like NASA is less clear. To address this gap, this paper discusses how the use of a structured approach to involve expert and non-expert stakeholders in policy making can improve the quality of stakeholder involvement and resulting decisions for space policy making at NASA. Supporting this discussion are results from two recent experiments. One compared the quality and type of participants’ input in a conventional stakeholder workshop with that of a more structured participatory process. The results from this experiment showed that a structured decision approach leads to more thoughtful and better-informed decisions. A second experiment showed that structured, participatory decision processes can help to legitimize space policy decisions after they have been implemented, leading to future benefits for the space agency.     

Extrasolar solar-sail trajectories and dark matter

Hyper-thin, high-speed solar-photon sail space probes exploring the Sun?s Oort comet cloud could also be used to set an upper bound to the concentration of WIMPS (weakly interacting massive particles), one of the suggested (but unconfirmed) forms of dark matter within the vicinity of the solar system. Newton?s Shell Theorem would be applied to determine variations in apparent solar mass as the probe moves further out from the Sun. Application of this technique to the trajectories of Pioneer 10/11 reveals that the upper limit to WIMP concentration within ~60 AU of the Sun is ~0.2 Earth masses, as revealed in studies of the Pioneer Anomaly. If the published accuracy of the Pioneer acceleration measurements can be increased by an order of magnitude, probe trajectory measurements out to ~10,000 AU may confirm or falsify the hypothesis that WIMP mass within the solar vicinity is ~3X star mass. It is shown that a space-manufactured ~40-nm thick beryllium hollow-body solar sail deployed from a ~0.07 AU perihelion is a candidate spacecraft for such a mission. Possible science-team organization strategy for a ~100-year mission to ~10,000 AU is discussed.     

The Ultraviolet Spectrograph on NASA’s Juno Mission

The ultraviolet spectrograph instrument on the Juno mission (Juno-UVS) is a long-slit imaging spectrograph designed to observe and characterize Jupiter’s far-ultraviolet (FUV) auroral emissions. These observations will be coordinated and correlated with those from Juno’s other remote sensing instruments and used to place in situ measurements made by Juno’s particles and fields instruments into a global context, relating the local data with events occurring in more distant regions of Jupiter’s magnetosphere. Juno-UVS is based on a series of imaging FUV spectrographs currently in flight—the two Alice instruments on the Rosetta and New Horizons missions, and the Lyman Alpha Mapping Project on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission. However, Juno-UVS has several important modifications, including (1) a scan mirror (for targeting specific auroral features), (2) extensive shielding (for mitigation of electronics and data quality degradation by energetic particles), and (3) a cross delay line microchannel plate detector (for both faster photon counting and improved spatial resolution). This paper describes the science objectives, design, and initial performance of the Juno-UVS.     

A concept for NASA's Mars 2016 astrobiology field laboratory

The Mars Program Plan includes an integrated and coordinated set of future candidate missions and investigations that meet fundamental science objectives of NASA and the Mars Exploration Program (MEP). At the time this paper was written, these possible future missions are planned in a manner consistent with a projected budget profile for the Mars Program in the next decade (2007-2016). As with all future missions, the funding profile depends on a number of factors that include the exact cost of each mission as well as potential changes to the overall NASA budget. In the current version of the Mars Program Plan, the Astrobiology Field Laboratory (AFL) exists as a candidate project to determine whether there were (or are) habitable zones and life, and how the development of these zones may be related to the overall evolution of the planet. The AFL concept is a surface exploration mission equipped with a major in situ laboratory capable of making significant advancements toward the Mars Program's life-related scientific goals and the overarching Vision for Space Exploration. We have developed several concepts for the AFL that fit within known budget and engineering constraints projected for the 2016 and 2018 Mars mission launch opportunities. The AFL mission architecture proposed here assumes maximum heritage from the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). Candidate payload elements for this concept were identified from a set of recommendations put forth by the Astrobiology Field Laboratory Science Steering Group (AFL SSG) in 2004, for the express purpose of identifying overall rover mass and power requirements for such a mission. The conceptual payload includes a Precision Sample Handling and Processing System that would replace and augment the functionality and capabilities provided by the Sample Acquisition Sample Processing and Handling system that is currently part of the 2009 MSL platform.     

Oxidant enhancement in martian dust devils and storms: storm electric fields and electron dissociative attachment

Laboratory studies, numerical simulations, and desert field tests indicate that aeolian dust transport can generate atmospheric electricity via contact electrification or "triboelectricity." In convective structures such as dust devils and dust storms, grain stratification leads to macroscopic charge separations and gives rise to an overall electric dipole moment in the aeolian feature, similar in nature to the dipolar electric field generated in terrestrial thunderstorms. Previous numerical simulations indicate that these storm electric fields on Mars can approach the ambient breakdown field strength of approximately 25 kV/m. In terrestrial dust phenomena, potentials ranging from approximately 20 to 160 kV/m have been directly measured. The large electrostatic fields predicted in martian dust devils and storms can energize electrons in the low pressure martian atmosphere to values exceeding the electron dissociative attachment energy of both CO2 and H2O, which results in the formation of the new chemical products CO/O- and OH/H-, respectively. Using a collisional plasma physics model, we present calculations of the CO/O- and OH/H- reaction and production rates. We demonstrate that these rates vary geometrically with the ambient electric field, with substantial production of dissociative products when fields approach the breakdown value of approximately 25 kV/m. The dissociation of H2O into OH/H- provides a key ingredient for the generation of oxidants; thus electrically charged dust may significantly impact the habitability of Mars.     

Landforms of Europa and selection of landing sites

Three major features make Europa a unique scientific target for a lander-oriented interplanetary mission: (1) the knowledge of the composition of the surface of Europa is limited to interpretations of the spectral data, (2) a lander could provide unique new information about outer parts of the solar system, and (3) Europa may have a subsurface ocean that potentially may harbor life, the traces of which may occur on the surface and could be sampled directly by a lander. These characteristics of Europa bring the requirement of safe landing to the highest priority level because any successful landing on the surface of this moon will yield scientific results of fundamental importance. The safety requirements include four major components. (1) A landing site should preferentially be on the anti-Jovian hemisphere of Europa in order to facilitate the orbital maneuvers of the spacecraft. (2) A landing site should be on the leading hemisphere of Europa in order to extend the lifetime of a lander and sample pristine material of the planet. (3) Images with the highest possible resolution must be available for the selection of landing sites. (4) The terrain for landing must have morphology (relief) that minimizes the risk of landing and represents a target that is important from a scientific point of view. These components severely restrict the selection of regions for landing on the surface of Europa. After the photogeologic analysis of all Galileo images with a resolution of better than about 70 m/pixel taken for the leading hemisphere of Europa, we propose one primary and two secondary (backup) landing sites. The primary site (51.8°S, 177.2°W) is within a pull-apart zone affected by a small chaos. The first backup site (68.1°S, 196.7°W) is also inside of a pull-apart zone and is covered by images of the lower resolution (51.4 m/pixel). The second backup site (2.4°N, 181.1°W) is imaged by relatively low-resolution images (∼70 m/pixel) and corresponds to a cluster of small patches of dark and probably smooth plains that may represent landing targets of the highest scientific priority from the scientific point of view. The lack of the high-resolution images for this region prevents, however, its selection as the primary landing target.     

Microscopic approach to analyze solar-sail space-environment effects

Near-sun space-environment effects on metallic thin films solar sails as well as hollow-body sails with inflation fill gas are considered. Analysis of the interaction of the solar radiation with the solar-sail materials is presented. This analysis evaluates worst-case solar radiation effects during solar-radiation-pressure acceleration. The dependence of the thickness of solar sail on temperature and on wavelength of the electromagnetic spectrum of solar radiation is investigated. Physical processes of the interactions of photons, electrons, protons and α-particles with sail material atoms and nuclei, and inflation fill gas molecules are analyzed. Calculations utilized conservative assumptions with the highest values for the available cross sections for interactions of solar photons, electrons and protons with atoms, nuclei and hydrogen molecules. It is shown that for high-energy photons, electrons and protons the beryllium sail is mostly transparent. Sail material will be partially ionized by solar UV and low-energy solar electrons. For a hollow-body photon sail effects including hydrogen diffusion through the solar-sail walls, and electrostatic pressure is considered. Electrostatic pressure caused by the electrically charged sail’s electric field may require mitigation since sail material tensile strength decreases with elevated temperature. It also can substitute inflation-gas pressure loss due to gas diffusion and perforation by micrometeoroids impact to keep the sail inflated.     

Progress in multilateral Earth observation cooperation: CEOS, IGOS and the ad hoc Group on Earth Observations

The Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) coordinates international civil space-borne missions designed to observe and study planet Earth. With over 100 Earth observation satellites expected to be launched during the next 10 years, it is clear that collaborative opportunities have not been fully maximized. In 2003 CEOS has been focusing on articulating a more comprehensive satellite data utilization approach and in following up on its significant involvement in the World Summit on Sustainable Development. The CEOS Chair also serves as Co-Chair of the Integrated Global Observing Strategy (IGOS) Partnership, which seeks to reduce observation gaps and unnecessary overlaps and to harmonize and integrate common interests of space-based and in situ systems. IGOS focused in 2003 on development of a number of themes, including Carbon Cycle, Water Cycle and GeoHazards. The IGOS Ocean Theme is now in its implementation phase. NOAA, while chairing CEOS and co-chairing IGOS, has also been actively involved in organizing and hosting a ministerial-level Earth Observation Summit with a follow-on Group on Earth Observations (GEO) charged with developing the framework for a comprehensive global Earth observation system(s). All these activities demonstrate the commitment to developing more coherent and sustained Earth observation strategies for the good of the planet.     

Spaceflight-relevant types of ionizing radiation and cortical bone: Potential LET effect?

Extended exposure to microgravity conditions results in significant bone loss. Coupled with radiation exposure, this phenomenon may place astronauts at a greater risk for mission-critical fractures. In a previous study, we identified a profound and prolonged loss of trabecular bone (29–39%) in mice following exposure to an acute, 2 Gy dose of radiation simulating both solar and cosmic sources. However, because skeletal strength depends on trabecular and cortical bone, accurate assessment of strength requires analysis of both bone compartments. The objective of the present study was to examine various properties of cortical bone in mice following exposure to multiple types of spaceflight-relevant radiation. Nine-week old, female C57BL/6 mice were sacrificed 110 days after exposure to a single, whole body, 2 Gy dose of gamma, proton, carbon, or iron radiation. Femora were evaluated with biomechanical testing, microcomputed tomography, quantitative histomorphometry, percent mineral content, and micro-hardness analysis. Compared to non-irradiated controls, there were significant differences compared to carbon or iron radiation for only fracture force, medullary area and mineral content. A greater differential effect based on linear energy transfer (LET) level may be present: high-LET (carbon or iron) particle irradiation was associated with a decline in structural properties (maximum force, fracture force, medullary area, and cortical porosity) and mineral composition compared to low-LET radiation (gamma and proton). Bone loss following irradiation appears to be largely specific to trabecular bone and may indicate unique biological microenvironments and microdosimetry conditions. However, the limited time points examined and non-haversian skeletal structure of the mice employed highlight the need for further investigation.