A Photogrammetric System for Model Attitude Measurement in Hypersonic Wind Tunnels

A series of wind tunnel tests have been conducted to evaluate a multi-camera videogrammetric system designed to measure model attitude in hypersonic facilities. The technique utilizes processed video data and photogrammetric principles for point tracking to compute model position including pitch, roll and yaw. A discussion of the constraints encountered during the design, and a review of the measurement results obtained from the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) 31-Inch Mach 10 tunnel are presented

Experimental Methods Using Photogrammetric Techniques for Parachute Canopy Shape Measurements

NASA Langley Research Center in partnership with the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center has collaborated on the development of a payload instrumentation package to record the physical parameters observed during parachute air drop tests. The instrumentation package records a variety of parameters including canopy shape, suspension line loads, payload 3-axis acceleration, and payload velocity. This report discusses the instrumentation design and development process, as well as the photogrammetric measurement technique used to provide shape measurements. The scaled model tests were conducted in the NASA Glenn Plum Brook Space Propulsion Facility, OH

Calibration of the Thermal Infrared Sensor on the Landsat Data Continuity Mission

The Landsat series of satellites provides the longest running continuous data set of moderate-spatial-resolution imagery beginning with the launch of Landsat 1 in 1972 and continuing with the 1999 launch of Landsat 7 and current operation of Landsats 5 and 7. The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) will continue this program into a fourth decade providing data that are keys to understanding changes in land-use changes and resource management. LDCM consists of a two-sensor platform comprised of the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensors (TIRS). A description of the applications and design of the TIRS instrument is given as well as the plans for calibration and characterization. Included are early results from preflight calibration and a description of the inflight validation

»Programmable« Selective Inexpensive Potentiometric Detector for Flow Injection Analysis. Potassium Determination with a Nafion Membrane Modified Electrode

The study of a nafion membrane (ISE membrane) for the inexpensive potentiometric detection of potassium ion in a flow injection system is reported. The nafion membrane doped with potassium ion showed that excellent selectivity could be achieved for various cations, except for Rb+, and some interference for Cs+. A linear potential response of 10-2 - 10~® M for the potassium ion was obtained with a detection limit of about 0.5 x 10-6 M. This approach can be employed for constructing a potentiometric detector for virtually any cation (soluble at basic pH values) by simply changing the electrode pretreatment (or doping solution)

Experimental study on the velocity limits of magnetized rotating plasmas

An experimental study on the physical limits of the rotation velocity of magnetized plasmas is presented. Experiments are performed in the Maryland Centrifugal Experiment (MCX) [R. F. Ellis , Phys. Plasmas 12, 055704 (2005)], a mirror magnetic field plasma rotating azimuthally. The externally applied parameters that control the plasma characteristics-applied voltage, external magnetic field, and fill pressure-are scanned across the entire available range of values. It is found that the plasma rotation velocity does not exceed the Alfven velocity, in agreement with the equilibrium requirements of magnetically confined plasmas. Measured rotation velocities are also lower than the critical ionization velocity in hydrogen, but a strict limit was not observable within MCX parametric capabilities. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics

The OSIRIS-REx Visible and InfraRed Spectrometer (OVIRS): Spectral Maps of the Asteroid Bennu

The OSIRIS-REx Visible and Infrared Spectrometer (OVIRS) is a point spectrometer covering the spectral range of 0.4 to 4.3 microns (25,000-2300 cm-1). Its primary purpose is to map the surface composition of the asteroid Bennu, the target asteroid of the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission. The information it returns will help guide the selection of the sample site. It will also provide global context for the sample and high spatial resolution spectra that can be related to spatially unresolved terrestrial observations of asteroids. It is a compact, low-mass (17.8 kg), power efficient (8.8 W average), and robust instrument with the sensitivity needed to detect a 5% spectral absorption feature on a very dark surface (3% reflectance) in the inner solar system (0.89-1.35 AU). It, in combination with the other instruments on the OSIRIS-REx Mission, will provide an unprecedented view of an asteroid's surface.Comment: 14 figures, 3 tables, Space Science Reviews, submitte

Pluto's global surface composition through pixel-by-pixel Hapke modeling of New Horizons Ralph/LEISA data

On July 14th 2015, NASA's New Horizons mission gave us an unprecedented detailed view of the Pluto system. The complex compositional diversity of Pluto's encounter hemisphere was revealed by the Ralph/LEISA infrared spectrometer on board of New Horizons. We present compositional maps of Pluto defining the spatial distribution of the abundance and textural properties of the volatiles methane and nitrogen ices and non-volatiles water ice and tholin. These results are obtained by applying a pixel-by-pixel Hapke radiative transfer model to the LEISA scans. Our analysis focuses mainly on the large scale latitudinal variations of methane and nitrogen ices and aims at setting observational constraints to volatile transport models. Specifically, we find three latitudinal bands: the first, enriched in methane, extends from the pole to 55deg N, the second dominated by nitrogen, continues south to 35deg N, and the third, composed again mainly of methane, reaches 20deg N. We demonstrate that the distribution of volatiles across these surface units can be explained by differences in insolation over the past few decades. The latitudinal pattern is broken by Sputnik Planitia, a large reservoir of volatiles, with nitrogen playing the most important role. The physical properties of methane and nitrogen in this region are suggestive of the presence of a cold trap or possible volatile stratification. Furthermore our modeling results point to a possible sublimation transport of nitrogen from the northwest edge of Sputnik Planitia toward the south.Comment: 43 pages, 7 figures; accepted for publication in Icaru

Refuge-Deptford mortuary complex

179 p. : ill., maps ; 26 cm.AMNH Library's copies lack t.p.Includes bibliographical references (p. 173-179).Mortuary archaeology on the Georgia coast / David Hurst Thomas and Clark Spencer Larsen -- Archaeological techniques and procedures / David Hurst Thomas and Clark Spencer Larsen -- The Cunningham Mound group / David Hurst Thomas, Clark Spencer Larsen, and Ann Marie Lunsford -- Seaside Mound group / David Hurst Thomas, Clark Spencer Larsen, and Ann Marie Lunsford -- Ceramics / Chester B. DePratter -- Comparisons / David Hurst Thomas -- Implications and some speculations / David Hurst Thomas -- Appendix. Seasonal growth variations in the shells of recent and prehistoric specimens of Mercenaria mercenaria from St. Catherines Island, Georgia / George R. Clark II."Data and implications from nine burial mounds excavated by crews of the American Museum of Natural History on St. Catherines Island, Georgia, are given in this monograph. As a group, these nine sites define a surprisingly homogeneous pattern and these data comprise virtually all that is known regarding the mortuary customs practiced along the Georgia and Florida coast between ca. 1500 B.C. to A.D. 600. The sites are rather unspectacular sand mounds, which exhibit a remarkably consistent stratigraphic patterning. The skeletal materials recovered are poorly preserved, except in the rare case when shell was added to the interment. The radiocarbon evidence, consisting of 29 determinations from the nine mounds, strongly suggests a marked periodicity in the use of these sites. In all cases, the areas seem to have been visited for centuries - in some cases millenia - prior to the actual construction of the mortuary mound. Several graves were placed into this pre-mound surface, and mound-building activities occurred at all sites sometime during the first 600 years A.D. A number of intrusive burials were added shortly thereafter, and then ceremonial activities virtually ceased at all sites. Most cultural materials found inside the mounds were accidental inclusions which resulted from pre-mound sacred (and probably secular) activities. Very few deliberate grave offerings were found. The biocultural evidence suggests that the Refuge-Deptford population enjoyed good health, although they suffered from an extreme rate of dental attrition. Although the data are limited, these sites seem to reflect an egalitarian sociopolitical organization operative during Refuge-Deptford times. The relatively high proportion of bundle burials seems to suggest that the annual round of these peoples exploited both island and mainland resources. We offer a number of cautious speculations regarding the nature of ritual and symbolism during the Refuge and Deptford phases. These suggestions are a variety of hypotheses that require testing with data from both mortuary and habitation sites of this period"--P. 5