310 research outputs found
Research in particles and fields
The astrophysical aspects of cosmic rays and gamma rays and of the electromagnetic field environment of the Earth and other planets are investigated. These investigations are carried out by means of energetic particle and photon detector systems flown on spacecraft and balloons
Extravehicular Activity Asteroid Exploration and Sample Collection Capability
One of the challenging primary objectives associated with NASA's Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission (ARCM) is to demonstrate deep space Extravehicular Activity (EVA) and tools and to obtain asteroid samples to return to Earth for further study. Prior Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) spacewalks have benefited from engineered EVA interfaces which have been designed and manufactured on Earth. Rigid structurally mounted handrails, and tools with customized interfaces and restraints optimize EVA performance. For ARCM, EVA complexity increases due to the uncertainty of the asteroid properties. The variability of rock size, shape and composition, as well as behavior of the asteroid capture mechanism will complicate EVA translation, tool restraint, and body stabilization. The unknown asteroid hardness and brittleness will complicate tool use. The rock surface will introduce added safety concerns for cut gloves and debris control. Feasible solutions to meet ARCM EVA objectives were identified using experience gained during Apollo, Shuttle, and ISS EVAs, terrestrial mountaineering practices, NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) 16 mission, and during Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory testing in the Modified Advanced Crew Escape Suit (MACES) suit. This paper will summarize the overall operational concepts for conducting EVAs for the ARCM mission including translation paths and body restraint methods, potential tools used to extract the samples, design implications for the Asteroid Redirect Vehicle (ARV) for EVA, and the results of early development testing of potential EVA tasks
Study of the April 20, 2007 CME-Comet Interaction Event with an MHD Model
This study examines the tail disconnection event on April 20, 2007 on comet
2P/Encke, caused by a coronal mass ejection (CME) at a heliocentric distance of
0.34 AU. During their interaction, both the CME and the comet are visible with
high temporal and spatial resolution by the STEREO-A spacecraft. Previously,
only current sheets or shocks have been accepted as possible reasons for comet
tail disconnections, so it is puzzling that the CME caused this event. The MHD
simulation presented in this work reproduces the interaction process and
demonstrates how the CME triggered a tail disconnection in the April 20 event.
It is found that the CME disturbs the comet with a combination of a
sudden rotation of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), followed by a
gradual rotation. Such an interpretation applies our understanding
of solar wind-comet interactions to determine the \textit{in situ} IMF
orientation of the CME encountering Encke.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, accepted by the ApJ Letter
Cohort Profile: The 'Bristol Cats Study' (BCS)-a birth cohort of kittens owned by UK households
Nova light curves from the Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) - II. The extended catalogue
We present the results from observing nine Galactic novae in eruption with the Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) between 2004 and 2009. While many of these novae reached peak magnitudes that were either at or approaching the detection limits of SMEI, we were still able to produce light curves that in many cases contained more data at and around the initial rise, peak, and decline than those found in other variable star catalogs. For each nova, we obtained a peak time, maximum magnitude, and for several an estimate of the decline time (t2). Interestingly, although of lower quality than those found in Hounsell et al. (2010a), two of the light curves may indicate the presence of a pre-maximum halt. In addition the high cadence of the SMEI instrument has allowed the detection of low amplitude variations in at least one of the nova light curves
Scientific Hybrid Realtiy Environments (SHyRE): Bringing Field Work into the Laboratory
The use of analog environments in preparing for future planetary surface exploration is key in ensuring we both understand the processes shaping other planetary surfaces as well as develop the technology, systems, and concepts of operations necessary to operate in these geologic environments. While conducting fieldwork and testing technology in relevant terrestrial field environments is crucial in this development, it is often the case that operational testing requires a time-intensive iterative process that is hampered by the rigorous conditions (e.g. terrain, weather, location, etc.) found in most field environments. Additionally, field deployments can be costly and must be scheduled months in advance, therefore limiting the testing opportunities required to investigate and compare science operational concepts to only once or twice per year
On the autonomous detection of coronal mass ejections in heliospheric imager data
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95523/1/jgra21843.pd
THERMAL EFFICIENCY OF DIFFERENT COVERAGE MATERIALS IN REDUCED MODELS OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY FACILITIES: A CASE STUDY
Broiler breeder hen performance and egg hatchability during rainy season in Brazilian semi-arid region
Moon Shadow by Cosmic Rays under the Influence of Geomagnetic Field and Search for Antiprotons at Multi-TeV Energies
We have observed the shadowing of galactic cosmic ray flux in the direction
of the moon, the so-called moon shadow, using the Tibet-III air shower array
operating at Yangbajing (4300 m a.s.l.) in Tibet since 1999. Almost all cosmic
rays are positively charged; for that reason, they are bent by the geomagnetic
field, thereby shifting the moon shadow westward. The cosmic rays will also
produce an additional shadow in the eastward direction of the moon if cosmic
rays contain negatively charged particles, such as antiprotons, with some
fraction. We selected 1.5 x10^{10} air shower events with energy beyond about 3
TeV from the dataset observed by the Tibet-III air shower array and detected
the moon shadow at level. The center of the moon was detected
in the direction away from the apparent center of the moon by 0.23 to
the west. Based on these data and a full Monte Carlo simulation, we searched
for the existence of the shadow produced by antiprotons at the multi-TeV energy
region. No evidence of the existence of antiprotons was found in this energy
region. We obtained the 90% confidence level upper limit of the flux ratio of
antiprotons to protons as 7% at multi-TeV energies.Comment: 13pages,4figures; Accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physic
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