An Extensible, User- Modifiable Framework for Planning Activities

This software provides a development framework that allows planning activities for the Mars Science Laboratory rover to be altered at any time, based on changes of the Activity Dictionary. The Activity Dictionary contains the definition of all activities that can be carried out by a particular asset (robotic or human). These definitions (and combinations of these definitions) are used by mission planners to give a daily plan of what a mission should do. During the development and course of the mission, the Activity Dictionary and actions that are going to be carried out will often be changed. Previously, such changes would require a change to the software and redeployment. Now, the Activity Dictionary authors are able to customize activity definitions, parameters, and resource usage without requiring redeployment. This software provides developers and end users the ability to modify the behavior of automatically generated activities using a script. This allows changes to the software behavior without incurring the burden of redeployment. This software is currently being used for the Mars Science Laboratory, and is in the process of being integrated into the LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer) mission, as well as the International Space Station

MSLICE Science Activity Planner for the Mars Science Laboratory Mission

MSLICE (Mars Science Laboratory InterfaCE) is the tool used by scientists and engineers on the Mars Science Laboratory rover mission to visualize the data returned by the rover and collaboratively plan its activities. It enables users to efficiently and effectively search all mission data to find applicable products (e.g., images, targets, activity plans, sequences, etc.), view and plan the traverse of the rover in HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) images, visualize data acquired by the rover, and develop, model, and validate the activities the rover will perform. MSLICE enables users to securely contribute to the mission s activity planning process from their home institutions using off-the-shelf laptop computers. This software has made use of several plug-ins (software components) developed for previous missions [e.g., Mars Exploration Rover (MER), Phoenix Mars Lander (PHX)] and other technology tasks. It has a simple, intuitive, and powerful search capability. For any given mission, there is a huge amount of data and associated metadata that is generated. To help users sort through this information, MSLICE s search interface is provided in a similar fashion as major Internet search engines. With regard to the HiRISE visualization of the rover s traverse, this view is a map of the mission that allows scientists to easily gauge where the rover has been and where it is likely to go. The map also provides the ability to correct or adjust the known position of the rover through the overlaying of images acquired from the rover on top of the HiRISE image. A user can then correct the rover s position by collocating the visible features in the overlays with the same features in the underlying HiRISE image. MSLICE users can also rapidly search all mission data for images that contain a point specified by the user in another image or panoramic mosaic. MSLICE allows the creation of targets, which provides a way for scientists to collaboratively name features on the surface of Mars. These targets can also be used to convey instrument-pointing information to the activity plan. The software allows users to develop a plan of what they would like the rover to accomplish for a given time period. When developing the plan, the user can input constraints between activities or groups of activities. MSLICE will enforce said constraints and ensure that all mission flight rules are satisfied

Trade, Prices, and Output in Japan: A Simple Monetary Model (Commerce, prix et production au Japon: un modèle monétaire simple) (Comercio, precios y producto del Japón: Un modelo monetario sencillo)

In order to assess empirically the role of monetary factors in the process of short-run determination of output growth, inflation, and the trade balance, a model is developed for Japan and estimated for the period 1965-76. The model is essentially monetarist, in that the excess supply of cash balances plays the leading role in the short-run adjustment process of the economy. The adjustments of output, prices, and the trade balance are assumed to depend on the excess supply of money, the degree of openness of the economy, and the existing level of excess capacity. The estimated model tracks the short-run movements of endogenous variables well, notwithstanding the large disturbances associated with the world monetary system, the commodity boom, and the "oil crisis," all of which occurred during the period. The estimated coefficients indicate that variations in the money supply have a strong impact on the economy. In addition, the level of excess capacity in the economy acts as an important self-equilibrating variable; a larger level of excess capacity is shown to reduce inflation and to stimulate the growth rate of output. Starting with the fairly high level of excess capacity in 1977, the model is simulated to show the reactions of output, prices, and the trade balance to various rates of monetary expansion. At one extreme, a rate of monetary expansion close to 20 per cent is required to bring the economy to its full capacity by 1980. Such an early achievement of full employment, however, would result in a substantial increase in the rate of inflation and would change the present large trade surplus to a deficit within a couple of years. /// La présente étude constitue une tentative d'évaluation empirique du rôle des facteurs monétaires dans le processus de détermination à court terme de la croissance de la production, de l'inflation et de la balance commerciale au Japon entre 1965 et 1976. Le modèle testé est essentiellement monétariste; en effet, l'excédent d'encaisses monétaires joue un rôle prépondérant dans le processus d'ajustement à court terme de l'économie. Par hypothèse, les ajustements de la production, des prix et de la balance commerciale dépendent de l'offre excédentaire de monnaie, du degré d'ouverture de l'économie et du niveau existant de capacité de production excédentaire. Le modèle estimé retrace bien les mouvements à court terme des variables endogènes, malgré les perturbations importantes liées au système monétaire mondial, à la forte hausse des prix des produits de base et à la crise pétrolière, qui sont survenues pendant cette période. Les coefficients estimés indiquent que les variations de la masse monétaire exercent une action stabilisatrice considérable. En outre, le niveau de capacité excédentaire dans l'économie agit comme une variable importante qui s'équilibre d'elle-même; il apparait qu'un niveau plus élevé de capacité excédentaire réduit l'inflation et stimule le taux de croissance de la production. A partir du niveau relativement élevé de capacité excédentaire de 1977, une simulation est effectuée pour montrer les réactions de la production, des prix et de la balance commerciale à divers taux d'expansion monétaire. A l'un des extrêmes, un taux d'expansion monétaire de près de 20 pour 100 est nécessaire pour que l'écart de production entre production effective et production potentielle soit comblé totalement en 1980. Toutefois, la réalisation aussi précoce du plein emploi entraînerait une augmentation très sensible du taux d'inflation et transformerait le fort excédent commercial actuel en déficit, en l'espace de deux ans. /// En el presente estudio se pretende evaluar empíricamente la función de los factores monetarios en la determinación a corto plazo del aumento del producto, la inflación y la balanza comercial de Japón en el período 1965-76. El modelo que se somete a prueba es esencialmente monetarista, ya que el exceso de oferta de saldos de efectivo desempeña la función principal en el proceso de ajuste a corto plazo de la economía. Se parte del supuesto de que el ajuste del producto, los precios y la balanza comercial dependen del exceso de oferta monetaria, el grado de apertura de la economía y el nivel existente de capacidad sin utilizar. En el modelo estimado se siguen bien las variaciones a corto plazo de las variables endógenas, no obstante las grandes perturbaciones relacionadas con el sistema monetario mundial, la subida de los precios de los productos primarios y la "crisis del petróleo", todo lo cual ocurrió durante el período. Los coeficientes estimados indican que las variaciones de la oferta monetaria surten efectos de estabilización significativos. Además, el grado de capacidad sin utilizar en la economía sirve de importante variable autoequilibradora; se hace ver que el aumento de la capacidad sin utilizar reduce la inflación y estimula el ritmo de crecimiento del producto. Partiendo del nivel bastante alto de exceso de capacidad en 1977, se simulan en el modelo las reacciones del producto, los precios y la balanza comercial con respecto a varias tasas de expansión monetaria. En el punto máximo, hace falta una tasa de expansión monetaria próxima al 20 por ciento para que, en 1980, se cierre por completo la brecha del producto. Sin embargo, tan pronta consecución del pleno empleo produciría un considerable aumento de la tasa de inflación y, en un par de años, convertiría en déficit el cuantioso superávit comercial de la actualidad.

Causality between money and prices in Indonesia

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between money supply and prices in Indonesia, where money supply is taken to be the stock of narrow money (currency + demand deposits) and prices are proxied by the Jakarta cost of living index. The period studied is 1969-1980. Two concepts of causality namely "proper" causality in which the causal effect takes at least one quarter to manifest itself and "instantaneous" causality in which there are no lags, are employed. The hypothesis of "proper" causality is rejected by both Granger and Sims tests. However, the hypothesis that money and prices are contemporaneously correlated cannot be easily dismissed. Using the framework of [Geweke], contemporaneous causality is treated as a part of linear feedback and the lagged version of Sims test was used. We found that the hypothesis that prices cause money supply cannot be dismissed on the basis of Wald test. However, the contribution of instantaneous causality is very large to the total variance of linear feedback