Ambient temperature recorder

A temperature data recorder, designated the Ambient Temperature Recorder (ATR-4), was developed at NASA Ames Research Center to meet particular requirements for space life sciences experiments. The small, self-contained, four-channel, battery-powered device records 32 kilobytes of temperature data over a range of -40 to +60 C at four sampling intervals ranging from 1.875 to 15 minutes. Data is stored in its internal electronic memory for later readout by a personal computer

Oxygen from the lunar soil by molten silicate electrolysis

Accepting that oxygen, rather than gigantic gems or gold, is likely to make the Moon's Klondike, the extraction of oxygen from the lunar soil by molten silicate electrolysis has chosen to be investigated. Process theory and proposed lunar factory are addressed

Lunar oxygen and metal for use in near-Earth space: Magma electrolysis

Because it is energetically easier to get material from the Moon to Earth orbit than from the Earth itself, the Moon is a potentially valuable source of materials for use in space. The unique conditions on the Moon, such as vacuum, absence of many reagents common on the Earth, and the presence of very nontraditional ores suggest that a unique and nontraditional process for extracting materials from the ores may prove the most practical. With this in mind, an investigation of unfluxed silicate electrolysis as a method for extracting oxygen, iron, and silicon from lunar regolith was initiated and is discussed. The advantages of the process include simplicity of concept, absence of need to supply reagents from Earth, and low power and mass requirements for the processing plant. Disadvantages include the need for uninterrupted high temperature and the highly corrosive nature of the high-temperature silicate melts which has made identifying suitable electrode and container materials difficult

Lunar resources: Toward living off the lunar land

The following topics are addressed: (1) lunar resources and surface conditions; (2) guidelines for early lunar technologies; (3) the lunar farm; (4) the lunar filling station; (5) lunar construction materials; (6) the lunar power company; (7) the electrolysis of molten silicate as a means of producing oxygen and metals for use on the Moon and in near-Earth space

Preliminary design study of hydrogen and ammonia resistojets for prime and auxiliary thrusters

Designs of high performance resistojets for primary and auxiliary propulsion are described.Thruster power for the primary propulsion application was in the 2 to 3 kW range while auxiliary propulsion power per thruster was 0.15 to 0.25 kW. Propellants considered were hydrogen and ammonia. The report described design techniques used to forecast the temperature and energy flux distributions using mathematical modeling by personal microcomputer. BASIC language is used throughout to give the designer rapid interaction and control. Both designs integrate compact first stage coils with concentric tubular heaters. The hybrid heater design allows better thruster power matching with the spacecraft power bus. Projected specific impulse levels were 760 to 830 s for hydrogen and 380 to 410 s for ammonia

An Intersectional Approach to Differential Item Functioning: Reflecting Configurations of Inequality

Differential Item Functioning (DIF) is commonly employed to examine measurement bias of test scores. Current approaches to DIF compare item functioning separately for select demographic identities such as gender, racial stratification, and economic status. Examining potential item bias fails to recognize and capture the intersecting configurations of inequality (McCall, 2001) specific to a person\u27s identify which impact item bias. The study presented here explores an intersectional approach to the flagging of items for content review using the standardized-D DIF method. The intersectional approach aims to capture the confounding/compounding impacts of intersectional configurations of inequality

Nuclear Cryogenic Propulsion Stage Conceptual Design and Mission Analysis

No abstract availabl

Nuclear Cryogenic Propulsion Stage Conceptual Design and Mission Analysis

The Nuclear Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (NCPS) is an in-space transportation vehicle, comprised of three main elements, designed to support a long-stay human Mars mission architecture beginning in 2035. The stage conceptual design and the mission analysis discussed here support the current nuclear thermal propulsion going on within partnership activity of NASA and the Department of Energy (DOE). The transportation system consists of three elements: 1) the Core Stage, 2) the In-line Tank, and 3) the Drop Tank. The driving mission case is the piloted flight to Mars in 2037 and will be the main point design shown and discussed. The corresponding Space Launch System (SLS) launch vehicle (LV) is also presented due to it being a very critical aspect of the NCPS Human Mars Mission architecture due to the strong relationship between LV lift capability and LV volume capacity