Space technology in the discovery and development of mineral and energy resources

Space technology, applied to the discovery and extraction of mineral and energy resources, is summarized. Orbital remote sensing for geological purposes has been widely applied through the use of LANDSAT satellites. These techniques also have been of value for protection against environmental hazards and for a better understanding of crustal structure

GCS support/development system configuration document

The software programming environment used in the development of Guidance and Control Software (GCS) implementations used in a software error studies experiment conducted by the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) and the NASA-Langley is described. The Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics RTCA/DO-178A guidelines are fulfilled, and requirements for document number 9 in which the hardware, software, and processes used to develop and maintain the software for the GCS project are described. The software programming environment for GCS largely consists of tools that are included in Digital Equipment Corporations software layered product library or are a part of the VAX/VMS baseline system

Impact origin of the Sudbury structure: Evolution of a theory

This paper reviews the origin, development, and present status of the widely accepted theory, proposed by Robert S. Dietz in 1962, that the Sudbury structure was formed by meteoritic or asteroidal impact. The impact theory for the origin of the Sudbury structure seems supported by a nearly conclusive body of evidence. However, even assuming an impact origin to be correct, at least three major questions require further study: (1) the original size and shape of the crater, before tectonic deformation and erosion; (2) the source of the melt now forming the Sudbury Igneous Complex; and (3) the degree, if any, to which the Ni-Cu-platinum group elements are meteoritic. The history of the impact theory illustrates several under-appreciated aspects of scientific research: (1) the importance of cross-fertilization between space research and terrestrial geology; (2) the role of the outsider in stimulating thinking by insiders; (3) the value of small science, at least in the initial stages of an investigation, Dietz's first field work having been at his own expense; and (4) the value of analogies (here, between the Sudbury Igneous Complex and the maria), which although incorrect in major aspects, may trigger research on totally new lines. Finally, the Sudbury story illustrates the totally unpredictable and, by implication, unplannable nature of basic research, in that insight to the origin of the world's then-greatest Ni deposit came from the study of tektites and the Moon

Geological use of Earth-orbital photography

Geological uses of earth-orbital photography with case historie

A proposed test area for the spaceborne geodynamic ranging system

Precise geodetic measurements are proposed in which an orbiting laser obtains intersite distance between retroreflectors 25 to 100 km apart on the ground. The recommended area is a rectangle 200 by 400 km in southern California and adjacent Nevada, trending northeast. It includes the entire width of the San Andreas fault zone, the Garlock fault, the thrust faults of the Transverse Ranges, and the active strike-slip faults of the Mojave Desert

Lunar impact craters

Topography and evolution of lunar craters - meteoritic impact - selenograph

Lunar resources - Their value in lunar and planetary exploration

Nature and extraction of lunar resources for use in increasing economy of manned lunar and planetary exploratio