Lunar Glovebox Balance with Wireless Technology

The most important equipment required for processing lunar samples is a high-quality mass balance for maintaining accurate weight inventory, security, and scientific study. After careful review, a Curation Office memo by Michael Duke in 1978 chose the Mettler PL200 to be used for sample weight measurements inside the gloveboxes (Fig. 3). These commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) balances did not meet the strict accepted material requirements in the Lunar lab. As a result, each balance housing, weighing pan, and wiring was custom retrofitted to meet Lunar Operating Procedure (LOP) 54 requirements [for material construction restrictions]. The original design drawings for the custom housings, readout support stands, and wiring were done by the JSC engineering directorate. The 1977- 1978 schematics, drawings, and files are now housed in the curation Data Center. Per the design specifications, the housing was fabricated from aluminum grade 6061 T6, seamless welds, and anodized per MIL-A-8625 type I, class I. The balance feet were TFE Teflon and any required joints were sealed with Viton A gaskets. The readout display and support stands outside the glovebox were fabricated from 300 series stainless steel with #4 finish and mounted to the glovebox with welded bolts. Wire harnesses that linked the balance with the outside display and power were encapsulated with TFE Teflon and transported through custom Deutsch wire bulk head pass-through systems from inside to outside the glovebox. These Deutsch connectors were custom fabricated with 316L stainless steel bodies, Viton A O-rings, aluminum 6061 with electroless nickel plating, Teflon (replacing the silicone), and gold crimp connectors (no soldering). Many of the Deutsch connectors may have been used in the Apollo program high vacuum complex in building 37 and date to about 1968 to 1970

Adventures in Lunar Core Processing: Timeline of and Preparation for Opening of Core Sample 73002 for the ANGSA Program

The Apollo mission returned 382 kg of rocks, soil and core samples, which have helped to advance our knowledge of lunar science. Studies of these lunar samples are crucial for our understanding of the Moons geological evolution. Here, we present the meticulous process that involves preparing for, and ultimately opening, the unopened Apollo 17 drive tube: 73002,0, so that the next generation of lunar scientists can further our insight into the Moons history

Erosion of the cliffs of Outer Cape Cod : tables and graphs

Originally issued as Reference No. 64-21, series later renamed WHOI-.The following tables and graphs place in convenient storage the results of several years of careful surveying and at the same time provide rudimentary interpretation of resuIts by comparing erosion rates. The reader will find listed in the bibliography pertinent published papers which analyze these coastal erosion data in great detail.This work has been supported by the Geography Branch of the Office of Naval Research, Contract Number Nonr 1254 (00), (NR-388-018), and by Nonr 2196 (00)

Evolution of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory to the Astromaterial Sample Curation Facility: Technical Tensions Between Containment and Cleanliness, Between Particulate and Organic Cleanliness

The Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) was planned and constructed in the 1960s to support the Apollo program in the context of landing on the Moon and safely returning humans. The enduring science return from that effort is a result of careful curation of planetary materials. Technical decisions for the first facility included sample handling environment (vacuum vs inert gas), and instruments for making basic sample assessment, but the most difficult decision, and most visible, was stringent biosafety vs ultra-clean sample handling. Biosafety required handling of samples in negative pressure gloveboxes and rooms for containment and use of sterilizing protocols and animal/plant models for hazard assessment. Ultra-clean sample handling worked best in positive pressure nitrogen environment gloveboxes in positive pressure rooms, using cleanable tools of tightly controlled composition. The requirements for these two objectives were so different, that the solution was to design and build a new facility for specific purpose of preserving the scientific integrity of the samples. The resulting Lunar Curatorial Facility was designed and constructed, from 1972-1979, with advice and oversight by a very active committee comprised of lunar sample scientists. The high precision analyses required for planetary science are enabled by stringent contamination control of trace elements in the materials and protocols of construction (e.g., trace element screening for paint and flooring materials) and the equipment used in sample handling and storage. As other astromaterials, especially small particles and atoms, were added to the collections curated, the technical tension between particulate cleanliness and organic cleanliness was addressed in more detail. Techniques for minimizing particulate contamination in sample handling environments use high efficiency air filtering techniques typically requiring organic sealants which offgas. Protocols for reducing adventitious carbon on sample handling surfaces often generate particles. Further work is needed to achieve both minimal particulate and adventitious carbon contamination. This paper will discuss these facility topics and others in the historical context of nearly 50 years' curation experience for lunar rocks and regolith, meteorites, cosmic dust, comet particles, solar wind atoms, and asteroid particles at Johnson Space Center

Applicability and Utility of the Astromaterials X-Ray Computed Tomography Laboratory at Johnson Space Center

The Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office at NASAs Johnson Space Center is responsible for curating all of NASAs astromaterial sample collections (i.e. Apollo samples, Luna Samples, Antarctic Meteorites, Cosmic Dust Particles, Microparticle Impact Collection, Genesis solar wind atoms, Stardust comet Wild-2 particles, Stardust interstellar particles, and Hayabusa asteroid Itokawa particles) [1-3]. To assist in sample curation and distribution, JSC Curation has recently installed an X-ray computed tomography (XCT) scanner to visualize and characterize samples in 3D. [3] describes the instrumental set-up and the utility of XCT to astromaterials curation. Here we describe some of the current and future projects and illustrate the usefulness of XCT in studying astromaterials

Meteoritic Material Recovered from the 07 March 2018 Meteorite Fall into the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary

On 07 March 2018 at 20:05 local time (08 March 03:05 UTC), a dramatic meteor occurred over Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS) off of the Washington state coast (OCNMS fall, henceforth). Data to include seismometry (from both on-shore and submarine seismometers), weather radar imagery (Figure 1), and a moored weather buoy, were used to accurately identify the fall site. The site was visited by the exploration vessel E/V Nautilus (Ocean Exploration Trust) on 01 July 2018 [1] and by the research vessel R/V Falkor (Schmidt Ocean Institute) from 03-06 June 2019. Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) from both vessels were used to search for meteorites and sample seafloor sediments. These expeditions performed the first attempts to recover meteorites from a specific observed fall in the open ocean. Analysis of weather radar data indicates that this fall was unusually massive and featured meteorites of unusually high mechanical toughness, such that large meteorites were disproportionately produced compared to other meteorite falls (Figure 2)[2-4]. We report the recovery of many (>100) micrometeorite-sized melt spherules and other fragments, and one small (~1mm3 ) unmelted meteorite fragment identified to date. Approximately 80% of the fragments were recovered from a single sample, collected from a round pit in the seafloor sediment. Melt spherules are almost exclusively type I iron-rich spherules with little discernible oxidation. Analyses are currently underway to attempt to answer the primary science question by identifying the parent meteorite type. Also, differences in the number and nature of samples collected by Nautilus and Falkor reveal a distinct loss rate to oxidation over the 15 months following the fall that is useful to inform future recovery efforts

Comparative attachment, growth and mortalities of oyster (Crassostrea virginica) spat on slate and oyster shell in the James River, Virginia

Slate was investigated as a substitute for oyster shells which are used as a substrate for oyster spat (Crassostrea virginica) settlement in James River, Virginia oyster repletion programs. Oyster shells and slate fragments were planted on adjacent plots in two submerged locations about 825 m apart in July 1984. Quantitative .093 m2 (one ft2) samples were collected by a diver on seven occasions through July 1985, with additional samples collected from teh natural oyster bottoms adjacent to the two areas. Percent mortality, growth and numbers of live spat and spat scars (dead spat) per unit area of bottom were determined. As the end of the study, the number of spat on shell was 4-5 times higher than on slate; however, slate had 5-6 times more spat per unit area of bottom than the shell on the natural bottom. During the July to October setting season mortalities were much higher on slate than on shell; during the remaining period they were high but about equal on both substances

The use of sonic gear to chart locations of natural bars in lower Chesapeake Bay.

An underwater microphone has been developed to detect shell material on the bottom. The system is simple to use and easily constructed. It consists of a microphone encased in a PVC tube and suspended from an A-frame which is towed over the bottom. It is being used along with other methods to chart oyster bottoms in Virginia

Investigating UAS Operator Characteristics Influencing Mission Success

The two objectives of this study were to 1) evaluate how specific operator characteristics (prior experience in manned and unmanned flight, teamwork, and gaming) influence mission success in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operations; and 2) evaluate the potential utility of a performance assessment tool. Mission success was assessed using a modified version of the Situation Awareness Linked Indicators Adapted to Novel Tasks (SALIANT) methodology. Eighteen participants completed a UAS scenario (port security) as part of 9 two-person crews (pilot and sensor operator). Results showed that the SALIANT measure was able to discriminate differences in performance among the UAS crews. Results also revealed significant correlations between the targeted operator characteristics and several of the SALIANT indicators. Findings from this study will be used to refine the SALIANT measure to support future research on how to optimize human performance in this domain