Development of a knowledge management system for the NOMAD instrument onboard the ExoMars TGO spacecraft

Purpose This paper aims to describe the development of a knowledge management system (KMS) for the Nadir and Occultation for Mars Discovery (NOMAD) instrument on board the ESA/Roscosmos 2016 ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) spacecraft. The KMS collects knowledge acquired during the engineering process that involved over 30 project partners. In addition to the documentation and technical data (explicit knowledge), a dedicated effort was made to collect the gained experience (tacit knowledge) that is crucial for the operational phase of the TGO mission and also for future projects. The system is now in service and provides valuable information for the scientists and engineers working with NOMAD Design/methodology/approach The NOMAD KMS was built around six areas: official documentation, technical specifications and test results, lessons learned, management data (proposals, deliverables, progress reports and minutes of meetings), picture files and movie files. Today, the KMS contains 110 GB of data spread over 11,000 documents and more than 13,000 media files. A computer-aided design (CAD) library contains a model of the full instrument as well as exported sub-parts in different formats. A context search engine for both documents and media files was implemented. Findings The conceived KMS design is basic, flexible and very robust. It can be adapted to future projects of a similar size. Practical implications The paper provides practical guidelines on how to retain the knowledge from a larger aerospace project. The KMS tool presented here works offline, requires no maintenance and conforms to data protection standards. Originality/value This paper shows how knowledge management requirements for space missions can be fulfilled. The paper demonstrates how to transform the large collection of project data into a useful tool and how to address usability aspects

A Belgian consensus on the definition of a treat‐to‐target outcome set in psoriasis management

Objective: Treat-to-target (T2T) is an algorithm to reach a predefined outcome. Here, we define a T2T outcome for moderate-to-severe psoriasis vulgaris. Methods: Briefly, the study included a literature review, discussions with key opinion leaders, recruitment of additional dermatologists with experience in managing moderate-to-severe psoriasis, 3 eDelphi survey rounds and a patient focus group. Relevant topics were selected during discussions prior to the survey for the statements. Surveys were based on the eDelphi methodology for consensus-building using a series of statements. Consensus was defined as at least 80% of participants agreeing. A psoriasis patient focus group provided feedback on topic selection and outcome. Results: A total of 5 discussions were held, and 3 eDelphi rounds were conducted with an average of 19 participants per round. The T2T outcome was set assuming shared decision between patient and dermatologist, awareness and referral for comorbidities by the dermatologist and appropriate treatment adherence by the patient. We defined 'ideal' and 'acceptable' targets; the latter referring to conditions restricting certain drugs. The T2T outcome was multidimensional, including >= Delta PASI90/75 or PGA <= 1, itch VAS score <= 1, absence of disturbing lesions, DLQI <= 1/3, incapacity daily functioning VAS score <= 1, safety <= mild side-effects and full/mild tolerability of treatment for the ideal and acceptable target, respectively. Finally, time to achieve the T2T outcome was set at 12 weeks after initiation for all treatments. At all times, safety should not exceed the presence of mild side-effects. Conclusion: With this novel T2T composite outcome for psoriasis, clinicians and patients can make shared decisions on the treatment goals they envisage, as a guidance for future treatment steps - leading to a tight control management of the disease

SINBAD electronic models of the interface and control system for the NOMAD spectrometer on board of ESA ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter mission

NOMAD is a spectrometer suite: UV-visible-IR spectral ranges. NOMAD is part of the payload of ESA ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter Mission. SINBAD boards are in charge of the communication and management of the power and control between the spacecraft and the instrument channels. SINBAD development took four years, while the entire development and test required five years, a very short time to develop an instrument devoted to a space mission. The hardware of SINBAD is shown in the attached poster: developed boards, prototype boards and final models. The models were delivered to the ESA in order to testing and integration with the spacecraft

SINBAD flight software, the on board software of NOMAD in ExoMars 2016

The Spacecraft INterface and control Board for NomAD (SINBAD) is an electronic interface designed by the Instituto de Astroffisica de Andalucfia (IAA-CSIC). It is part of the Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery instrument (NOMAD) on board in the ESAs ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter mission. This mission was launched in March 2016. The SINBAD Flight Software (SFS) is the software embedded in SINBAD. It is in charge of managing the interfaces, devices, data, observing sequences, patching and contingencies of NOMAD. It is presented in this paper the most remarkable aspects of the SFS design, likewise the main problems and lessons learned during the software development process

Removal of straylight from ExoMars NOMAD-UVIS observations

We present an in-flight straylight removal method for the Ultraviolet and Visible Spectrometer (UVIS) channel of the Nadir and Occultation for Mars Discovery (NOMAD) instrument aboard the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO). The presence of a ‘red-leak’ straylight signal in the UVIS instrument was discovered post-launch in ground calibration measurements of spectral lamps; UVIS observations of lamps with negligible UV light emission (RS12) showed a significant signal at UV wavelengths. Subsequent analyses of nadir observations of the martian atmosphere revealed that at UV wavelengths the red-leak straylight was in excess of 300% of the true UV signal, jeopardising the primary science observations of the instrument (retrievals of atmospheric ozone). By modifying the UVIS readout method to obtain a region of interest around the illuminated region on the Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) detector, instead of a binned one-dimensional spectrum, and utilising straylight profiles derived from measurements of the RS12 calibration lamp we show that the majority of the straylight at UV wavelengths can be successfully removed for the nadir channel in a self-consistent manner. The corrected UVIS radiances are compared to coincident Mars Color Imager (MARCI) instrument observations with residuals between the two instruments generally remaining within 15%

Enabling planetary science across light-years. Ariel Definition Study Report

Ariel, the Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey, was adopted as the fourth medium-class mission in ESA's Cosmic Vision programme to be launched in 2029. During its 4-year mission, Ariel will study what exoplanets are made of, how they formed and how they evolve, by surveying a diverse sample of about 1000 extrasolar planets, simultaneously in visible and infrared wavelengths. It is the first mission dedicated to measuring the chemical composition and thermal structures of hundreds of transiting exoplanets, enabling planetary science far beyond the boundaries of the Solar System. The payload consists of an off-axis Cassegrain telescope (primary mirror 1100 mm x 730 mm ellipse) and two separate instruments (FGS and AIRS) covering simultaneously 0.5-7.8 micron spectral range. The satellite is best placed into an L2 orbit to maximise the thermal stability and the field of regard. The payload module is passively cooled via a series of V-Groove radiators; the detectors for the AIRS are the only items that require active cooling via an active Ne JT cooler. The Ariel payload is developed by a consortium of more than 50 institutes from 16 ESA countries, which include the UK, France, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Spain, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, and a NASA contribution

NOMAD/UVIS sensitivity investigation for Mars observations

The UVIS instrument is part of NOMAD, the “Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery” spectrometer suite has been selected by ESA and NASA to be part of the payload of the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter mission 2016. This instrument suite will conduct a spectroscopic survey of Mars’ atmosphere in the UV, visible and IR regions. UVIS’s observation modes include solar occultation, nadir and limb observations. The nadir mode will provide detailed trace gas mapping UVIS is an ultraviolet and visible spectrometer (200 – 650 nm) whose main objective is to detect and quantify trace gases’ concentrations but also to study aerosols present in the Martian atmosphere. The main absorbing trace gas in the wavelength range of UVIS is ozone which has already been extensively studied but for which there are still significant discrepancies in present day observations. The high signal-to-noise ratio of the instrument will allow us to measure ozone more precisely. Moreover the instrument could also detect other minor constituents that absorb in this wavelength range, such as SO2 if present. Because aerosols play a major role in the radiative transfer on the red planet, we also plan to investigate the different characteristics of the interaction between aerosols and UV-visible light. The UVIS instrument and its capabilities will be presented. The results of a sensitivity study on the detectability of minor constituents will be shown and discussed. NOMAD is being built by a European consortium led by IASB-BIRA (Belgium) and IAA (Spain), with contributions from OU (UK) and IFSI (Italy)

Sunscreen use and skin protection behaviour on the Belgian beach: a comparison 9 years later.

Public health campaigns encourage people to protect themselves against skin cancer by using sunscreens and taking other protective measures. The objective is to estimate the impact of these campaigns on the rise of awareness among the general public. This study explores the prevalence and predictors of solar protection behaviour in a sample of beachgoers and compares these results to another similar study carried out 9 years earlier (i.e. summer 2001). During the month of August 2010, a total of 408 participants (144 men and 264 women) were randomly selected on their way to the Belgian beach in the city of Ostend, Belgium. The solar protection behaviour of each participant was assessed by direct observation and an interview. The exact same questions were asked as in 2001. The general risk awareness stays the same for skin aging and skin cancer but gets higher for sunburn. When we control these results for sex, the overall higher general awareness is completely because of the higher awareness of the female subgroup. As in 2001, risk awareness is considerably higher in the female subgroup than in the male one. As in 2001, sunscreen cream was the most popular preventive behaviour in 2010 (use of sunscreen with sun protection factor 15 or higher reported by 66.4%), followed by timed sun exposure (46.8%), use of clothing and hats (36.8%) and shade (34.1%). As in summer 2001 the sunscreen use is more popular in the female population. The use of protective clothing and hats is more popular in the male group. As solar protection has become part of the beach behaviour routine, there is room for improvement for their more frequent application, the use of a higher sun protection factor (15+), timed sunbathing, more use of clothing and hats and seeking shade. The results of this study can assist in evaluating the effectiveness of present sun-protection campaigns and health education programmes.Comparative StudyJournal ArticleSCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe