WindBots: A Concept for Persistent In-Situ Science Explorers for Gas Giants

This report summarizes the study of a mission concept to Jupiter with one or multiple Wind Robots able to operate in the Jovian atmosphere, above and below the clouds - down to 10 bar, for long durations and using energy obtained from local sources. This concept would be a step towards persistent exploration of gas giants by robots performing in-situ atmospheric science, powered by locally harvested energy. The Wind Robots, referred in this report as WindBots (WBs), would ride the planetary winds and transform aeolian energy into kinetic energy of flight, and electrical energy for on-board equipment. Small shape adjustments modify the aerodynamic characteristics of their surfaces, allowing for changes in direction and a high movement autonomy. Specifically, we sought solutions to increase survivability to strong/turbulent winds, and mobility and autonomy compared to passive balloons

LES, DNS and RANS for the analysis of high-speed turbulent reacting flows

The purpose of this research is to continue our efforts in advancing the state of knowledge in large eddy simulation (LES), direct numerical simulation (DNS), and Reynolds averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) methods for the computational analysis of high-speed reacting turbulent flows. In the second phase of this work, covering the period 1 Sep. 1993 - 1 Sep. 1994, we have focused our efforts on two research problems: (1) developments of 'algebraic' moment closures for statistical descriptions of nonpremixed reacting systems, and (2) assessments of the Dirichlet frequency in presumed scalar probability density function (PDF) methods in stochastic description of turbulent reacting flows. This report provides a complete description of our efforts during this past year as supported by the NASA Langley Research Center under Grant NAG1-1122

Computational Support for Technology- Investment Decisions

Strategic Assessment of Risk and Technology (START) is a user-friendly computer program that assists human managers in making decisions regarding research-and-development investment portfolios in the presence of uncertainties and of non-technological constraints that include budgetary and time limits, restrictions related to infrastructure, and programmatic and institutional priorities. START facilitates quantitative analysis of technologies, capabilities, missions, scenarios and programs, and thereby enables the selection and scheduling of value-optimal development efforts. START incorporates features that, variously, perform or support a unique combination of functions, most of which are not systematically performed or supported by prior decision- support software. These functions include the following: Optimal portfolio selection using an expected-utility-based assessment of capabilities and technologies; Temporal investment recommendations; Distinctions between enhancing and enabling capabilities; Analysis of partial funding for enhancing capabilities; and Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis. START can run on almost any computing hardware, within Linux and related operating systems that include Mac OS X versions 10.3 and later, and can run in Windows under the Cygwin environment. START can be distributed in binary code form. START calls, as external libraries, several open-source software packages. Output is in Excel (.xls) file format

The distribution of ammonia on Jupiter from a preliminary inversion of Juno Microwave Radiometer data

The Juno microwave radiometer measured the thermal emission from Jupiter's atmosphere from the cloud tops at about 1 bar to as deep as a hundred bars of pressure during its first flyby over Jupiter (PJ1). The nadir brightness temperatures show that the Equatorial Zone is likely to be an ideal adiabat, which allows a determination of the deep ammonia abundance in the range 362^(+33)_(-33) ppm. The combination of Markov chain Monte Carlo method and Tikhonov regularization is studied to invert Jupiter's global ammonia distribution assuming a prescribed temperature profile. The result shows (1) that ammonia is depleted globally down to 50–60 bars except within a few degrees of the equator, (2) the North Equatorial Belt is more depleted in ammonia than elsewhere, and (3) the ammonia concentration shows a slight inversion starting from about 7 bars to 2 bars. These results are robust regardless of the choice of water abundance

Implications of the Ammonia Distribution on Jupiter from 1 to 100 Bars as Measured by the Juno Microwave Radiometer

The latitude-altitude map of ammonia mixing ratio shows an ammonia-rich zone at 0-5degN, with mixing ratios of 320-340 ppm, extending from 40-60 bars up to the ammonia cloud base at 0.7 bars. Ammonia-poor air occupies a belt from 5-20degN. We argue that downdrafts as well as updrafts are needed in the 0-5degN zone to balance the upward ammonia flux. Outside the 0-20degN region, the belt-zone signature is weaker. At latitudes out to +/-40deg, there is an ammonia-rich layer from cloud base down to 2 bars which we argue is caused by falling precipitation. Below, there is an ammonia-poor layer with a minimum at 6 bars. Unanswered questions include how the ammonia-poor layer is maintained, why the belt-zone structure is barely evident in the ammonia distribution outside 0-20degN, and how the internal heat is transported through the ammonia-poor layer to the ammonia cloud base

Implications of the ammonia distribution on Jupiter from 1 to 100 bars as measured by the Juno microwave radiometer

The latitude‐altitude map of ammonia mixing ratio shows an ammonia‐rich zone at 0–5°N, with mixing ratios of 320–340 ppm, extending from 40–60 bars up to the ammonia cloud base at 0.7 bars. Ammonia‐poor air occupies a belt from 5–20°N. We argue that downdrafts as well as updrafts are needed in the 0–5°N zone to balance the upward ammonia flux. Outside the 0–20°N region, the belt‐zone signature is weaker. At latitudes out to ±40°, there is an ammonia‐rich layer from cloud base down to 2 bars that we argue is caused by falling precipitation. Below, there is an ammonia‐poor layer with a minimum at 6 bars. Unanswered questions include how the ammonia‐poor layer is maintained, why the belt‐zone structure is barely evident in the ammonia distribution outside 0–20°N, and how the internal heat is transported through the ammonia‐poor layer to the ammonia cloud base.Key PointsThe altitude‐latitude map of Jupiter’s ammonia reveals unexpected evidence of large‐scale circulation down at least to the 50‐bar levelA narrow equatorial band is the only region where ammonia‐rich air from below the 50‐bar level can reach the ammonia cloud at 0.7 barsAt higher latitudes the ammonia‐rich air appears to be blocked by a layer of ammonia‐poor air between 3 and 15 barsPlain Language SummaryJupiter is a fluid planet. It has no solid continents to stabilize the weather. Scientists have wondered what the weather is like below the clouds because it might explain why storms last for decades or hundreds of years on Jupiter. The Juno spacecraft is the first chance we have had to take a look beneath the clouds, and this is the first analysis of the Juno data. The surprise is that, deep down, Jupiter’s weather looks a lot like Earth’s, with ammonia gas taking the place of water vapor. There is a band of high humidity at the equator and bands of low humidity on either side of the equator, like Earth’s tropical and subtropical bands. What is different is that the bands go much deeper than anyone expected and this is all taking place on a planet without an ocean or a solid surface.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138332/1/grl56217_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138332/2/grl56217.pd

Observations of MeV electrons in Jupiter's innermost radiation belts and polar regions by the Juno radiation monitoring investigation: Perijoves 1 and 3

Juno's "Perijove 1" (27 August 2016) and "Perijove 3" (11 December 2016) flybys through the innermost region of Jupiter's magnetosphere (radial distances J at closest approach) provided the first in situ look at this region's radiation environment. Juno's Radiation Monitoring Investigation collected particle counts and noise signatures from penetrating high-energy particle impacts in images acquired by the Stellar Reference Unit and Advanced Stellar Compass star trackers, and the Jupiter Infrared Auroral Mapper infrared imager. This coordinated observation campaign sampled radiation at the inner edges of the high-latitude lobes of the synchrotron emission region and more distant environments. Inferred omnidirectional >5 MeV and >10 MeV electron fluxes derived from these measurements provide valuable constraints for models of relativistic electron environments in the inner radiation belts. Several intense bursts of high-energy particle counts were also observed by the Advanced Stellar Compass in polar regions outside the radiation belts

Implications of the ammonia distribution on Jupiter from 1 to 100 bars as measured by the Juno microwave radiometer

The latitude-altitude map of ammonia mixing ratio shows an ammonia-rich zone at 0–5°N, with mixing ratios of 320–340 ppm, extending from 40–60 bars up to the ammonia cloud base at 0.7 bars. Ammonia-poor air occupies a belt from 5–20°N. We argue that downdrafts as well as updrafts are needed in the 0–5°N zone to balance the upward ammonia flux. Outside the 0–20°N region, the belt-zone signature is weaker. At latitudes out to ±40°, there is an ammonia-rich layer from cloud base down to 2 bars that we argue is caused by falling precipitation. Below, there is an ammonia-poor layer with a minimum at 6 bars. Unanswered questions include how the ammonia-poor layer is maintained, why the belt-zone structure is barely evident in the ammonia distribution outside 0–20°N, and how the internal heat is transported through the ammonia-poor layer to the ammonia cloud base