Characterization of lunar surface materials for use in construction

The Workshop on the Concept of a Common Lunar Lander, which was held at the NASA Johnson Space Center on July 1 and 2, 1991, discussed potential payloads to be placed on the Moon by a common, generic, unmanned, vehicle beginning late in this decade. At this workshop, a variety of payloads were identified including a class of one-meter (and larger) optical telescopes to operate on the lunar surface. These telescopes for lunar-based astronomy are presented in an earlier section of this report. The purpose of this section is to suggest that these and other payloads for the Common Lunar Lander be used to facilitate technology development for the proposed 16-meter Aperture UV/Visible/IR Large Lunar Telescope (LLT) and a large optical aperture-synthesis instrument analogous to the Very Large Array of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory

A lunar far-side very low frequency array

Papers were presented to consider very low frequency (VLF) radio astronomical observations from the moon. In part 1, the environment in which a lunar VLF radio array would function is described. Part 2 is a review of previous and proposed low-frequency observatories. The science that could be conducted with a lunar VLF array is described in part 3. The design of a lunar VLF array and site selection criteria are considered, respectively, in parts 4 and 5. Part 6 is a proposal for precursor lunar VLF observations. Finally, part 7 is a summary and statement of conclusions, with suggestions for future science and engineering studies. The workshop concluded with a general consensus on the scientific goals and preliminary design for a lunar VLF array

Why Didn\u27t The Dogs Bark?

This study examines patterns of news coverage of five West Virginia mining disasters in local, regional and national news media. It grew out of an effort to follow up an earlier study of relief efforts at the Monongah mine disaster of 1907. One of the principal findings is that local newspapers consistently provided limited coverage of mining disasters and almost no coverage of relief efforts carried on in the wake of disasters. National coverage, by the New York Times and regional coverage by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reveals a number of persistent themes and some important differences

The Capstone Journey: Exploring Design, Delivery and Evaluation in an Undergraduate Management Discipline Context

The focus of this paper is the development of a capstone management course and the application of educational action research through continual learning. In this article, we use the continual learning frame of plan, do, study, and act to underpin an educational action research design on the development of a capstone management course. As part of an Active Learning Trial, the development of the capstone experience has been captured in the embodiment of that experience. Our aim is to guide other academics in developing their own capstone course, particularly, within management with extension into other disciplines. Through continual improvement, we stress the importance of integrating the primary voice of the students, to emphasize the active learning and to optimize a meaningful experience in connecting theory to practice – the key to the capstone experience. Examples of how to gain feedback and integrate classroom improvements are given. To do this we present two cycles where we applied and practiced continual learning and educational action research to understand and evoke improvements within the course. These changes are evidenced through aggregated student feedback

An artificially generated atmosphere near a lunar base

We discuss the formation of an artificial atmosphere generated by vigorous lunar base activity in this paper. We developed an analytical, steady-state model for a lunar atmosphere based upon previous investigations of the Moon's atmosphere from Apollo. Constant gas-injection rates, ballistic trajectories, and a Maxwellian particle distribution for an oxygen-like gas are assumed. Even for the extreme case of continuous He-3 mining of the lunar regolith, we find that the lunar atmosphere would not significantly degrade astronomical observations beyond about 10 km from the mining operation

A sensor for combustion thermometry based on blue diode lasers.

Spatially-resolved measurements of flame temperature have been demonstrated with diode lasers for the first time. The technique is based on the use of blue diode lasers to perform laser-induced fluorescence on indium atoms seeded to the flame. Temperature measurements have been carried out in laminar flames both by the two-line atomic fluorescence technique, and also by a novel line-shape thermometry method that requires the use of only a single diode laser. The first part of this work involved the development of blue extended cavity diode lasers with favourable tuning properties. Two custom-designed extended cavity diode lasers (ECDL) have been built, emitting at wavelengths of around 410 nm and 451 nm respectively. These devices are capable of mode-hop free tuning over ranges greater than 90 GHz. The performance of these devices exceeds that of commercially available systems and a patent application has been filed. High resolution fluorescence spectroscopy has been performed on both the 52P1/2→62S1/2 and 52P3/2→62S1/2 transitions of indium atoms seeded at trace quantities into atmospheric pressure flames. In both cases, the spectra obtained show excellent agreement with a theoretical fit based on the individual hyperfine components of the transition. The two ECDLs have been used to build a sensor for the measurement of temperature in combustion systems. It is much simpler, more compact, less expensive, and more versatile than any previously existing device. The two lasers were used sequentially to probe indium atoms seeded to the flame. The ratio of the resulting fluorescence signals is related to the relative populations in the two sub-levels of the spin-orbit split ground state of indium, and thus to the temperature. Temperature measurements have been successfully performed in a laminar flame and the data thus obtained do not need to be corrected by any ‘calibration constant’. This novel thermometry technique offers a robust alternative to traditional methods involving bulky high power lasers. A further development has been made by demonstrating a fluorescence line-shape thermometry technique requiring only a single diode laser excitation source. Progress has been made towards the goal of rapid temperature measurements appropriate to the study of turbulent flames. This involved the development of a simple technique for actively locking the wavelength of the blue diode laser to a resonance line of the tellurium molecule. A high-speed thermometry system would work by rapidly switching between the two locked laser beams using an optical modulator

A Lunar Optical-Ultraviolet-Infrared Synthesis Array (LOUISA)

This document contains papers presented at a workshop held to consider 'optical ultraviolet infrared' interferometric observations from the moon. Part 1 is an introduction. Part 2 is a description of current and planned ground-based interferometers. Part 3 is a description of potential space-based interferometers. Part 4 addresses the potential for interferometry on the moon. Part 5 is the report of the workshop's working groups. Concluding remarks, summary, and conclusions are presented in Part 6

The influence of system transparency on trust: Evaluating interfaces in a highly automated vehicle

Previous studies indicate that, if an automated vehicle communicates its system status and intended behaviour, it could increase user trust and acceptance. However, it is still unclear what types of interfaces will better portray this type of information. The present study evaluated different configurations of screens comparing how they communicated the possible hazards in the environment (e.g. vulnerable road users), and vehicle behaviours (e.g. intended trajectory). These interfaces were presented in a fully automated vehicle tested by 25 participants in an indoor arena. Surveys and interviews measured trust, usability and experience after users were driven by an automated low-speed pod. Participants experienced four types of interfaces, from a simple journey tracker to a windscreen-wide augmented reality (AR) interface which overlays hazards highlighted in the environment and the trajectory of the vehicle. A combination of the survey and interview data showed a clear preference for the AR windscreen and an animated representation of the environment. The trust in the vehicle featuring these interfaces was significantly higher than pretrial measurements. However, some users questioned if they want to see this information all the time. One additional result was that some users felt motion sick when presented with the more engaging content. This paper provides recommendations for the design of interfaces with the potential to improve trust and user experience within highly automated vehicles

Pedestrian decision-making responses to external human-machine interface designs for autonomous vehicles

As part of a large UK-funded autonomous vehicle project (UK Autodrive), we examined pedestrian attitudes and road-crossing intentions using a real autonomous vehicle (AV) in an indoor arena. Two conceptual external human-machine interfaces (HMIs) were presented to display the vehicle's manoeuvring intentions. Participants experienced a simulated road-crossing task to assess their interactions with the AV. Although neither HMI concept was entirely free of criticism, there were objective performance differences for a projection-based HMI concept, as well as critical subjective opinions in pedestrian responses to specific manoeuvring contexts. These provided insight into pedestrians' safety concerns towards a vehicle where bi-directional communication with a driver is no longer possible, with suggestions for future vehicle HMI concepts

Ecological IVIS design : using EID to develop a novel in-vehicle information system

New in-vehicle information systems (IVIS) are emerging which purport to encourage more environment friendly or ‘green’ driving. Meanwhile, wider concerns about road safety and in-car distractions remain. The ‘Foot-LITE’ project is an effort to balance these issues, aimed at achieving safer and greener driving through real-time driving information, presented via an in-vehicle interface which facilitates the desired behaviours while avoiding negative consequences. One way of achieving this is to use ecological interface design (EID) techniques. This article presents part of the formative human-centred design process for developing the in-car display through a series of rapid prototyping studies comparing EID against conventional interface design principles. We focus primarily on the visual display, although some development of an ecological auditory display is also presented. The results of feedback from potential users as well as subject matter experts are discussed with respect to implications for future interface design in this field