NASA Measurements Summary for the IADC Working Group 1

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MCAT Meter Class Autonomous Telescope

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NIR Color vs Launch Date: A 20-Year Analysis of Space Weathering Effects on the Boeing 376 Spacecraft

The Boeing HS376 spin stabilized spacecraft was a popular design that was launched continuously into geosynchronous orbit starting in 1980 with the last launch occurring in 2002. Over 50 of the HS376 buses were produced to fulfill a variety of different communication missions for countries all over the world. The design of the bus is easily approximated as a telescoping cylinder that is covered with solar cells and an Earth facing antenna that is despun at the top of the cylinder. The similarity in design and the number of spacecraft launched over a long period of time make the HS376 a prime target for studying the effects of solar weathering on solar panels as a function of time. A selection of primarily nonoperational HS376 spacecraft launched over a 20 year time period were observed using the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope on Mauna Kea and multiband nearinfrared photometry produced. Each spacecraft was observed for an entire night cycling through ZYJHK filters and timevarying colors produced to compare nearinfrared color as a function of launch date. The resulting analysis shown here may help in the future to set launch date constraints on the parent object of unidentified debris objects or other unknown spacecraft

Development of the NASA MCAT Auxiliary Telescope for Orbital Debris Research

The National Aeronautical Space Administration has deployed the Meter Class Autonomous Telescope (MCAT) to Ascension Island with plans for it to become fully operational by summer 2016. This telescope will be providing data in support of research being conducted by the Orbital Debris Program Office at the Johnson Space Center. In addition to the main observatory, a smaller, auxiliary telescope is being deployed to the same location to augment and support observations generated by MCAT. It will provide near-simultaneous photometry and astrometry of debris objects, independent measurements of the seeing conditions, and offload low priority targets from MCAT's observing queue. Its hardware and software designs are presented here The National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) has recently deployed the Meter Class Autonomous Telescope (MCAT) to Ascension Island. MCAT will provide NASA with a dedicated optical sensor for observations of orbital debris with the goal of statistically sampling the orbital and photometric characteristics of the population from low Earth to Geosynchronous orbits. Additionally, a small auxiliary telescope, co-located with MCAT, is being deployed to augment its observations by providing near-simultaneous photometry and astrometry, as well as offloading low priority targets from MCAT's observing queue. It will also serve to provide an independent measurement of the seeing conditions to help monitor the quality of the data being produced by the larger telescope. Comprised of off-the-shelf-components, the MCAT Auxiliary Telescope will have a 16-inch optical tube assembly, Sloan g'r'i'z' and Johnson/Cousins BVRI filters, and a fast tracking mount to help facilitate the tracking of objects in low Earth orbit. Tracking modes and tasking will be similar to MCAT except an emphasis will be placed on observations that provide more accurate initial orbit determination for the objects detected by MCAT. The near-simultaneous observations will also provide the opportunity for multi-filter color information of the debris objects to be obtained. Color information can further distinguish the individual objects within the population and provide insight into the reflectance properties of their surface material. The specific hardware, software, and tasking methodology of the MCAT Auxiliary Telescope is presented here.

Red worlds: Spitzer exploration of a compact system of temperate terrestrial planets transiting a nearby Jupiter-sized star

Spitzer Proposal ID #13067The recently detected TRAPPIST-1 planetary system represents a unique opportunity to extend the nascent field of comparative exoplanetology into the realm of temperate terrestrial worlds. It is composed of at least three Earth-sized planets similar in sizes and irradiations to Earth and Venus transiting an ultra-cool dwarf star only 39 light-years away. Thanks to the Jupiter-size and infrared brightness of their host star, the planets are amenable for detailed atmospheric characterization with JWST, including for biosignatures detection. Our Spitzer Exploration Science Program aims to prepare and optimize the detailed study of this fascinating planetary system through the two following complementary sub-programs: (1) a 480 hrs continuous monitoring of the star to explore its full inner system up to its ice line in a search for any other transiting object(s) (planet, moon, Trojan) with a sensitivity high enough to detect any body as small as Ganymede, and (2) the observation of ~130 transits of the planets (520 hrs). This second part has two goals. First, to measure precisely the planets' masses and eccentricities through the Transit Timing Variations method, to constrain strongly their compositions and energy budgets. Secondly, to measure with an extremely high precision the planets' effective radii at 4.5 microns to assess, when combined with future HST/WFC3 observations, the presence of an atmosphere around them. The two complementary parts of this program will make it a long-lasting legacy of Spitzer to the fields of comparative exoplanetology and astrobiology, by providing the necessary measurements on the inner system of TRAPPIST-1 (complete census, masses, eccentricities, first insights on atmospheres) required to initiate and optimize the detailed atmospheric characterization of its different components with JWST and other future facilities

Interferon subverts an AHR–JUN axis to promote CXCL13⁺ T cells in lupus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is prototypical autoimmune disease driven by pathological T cell–B cell interactions1,2. Expansion of T follicular helper (TFH) and T peripheral helper (TPH) cells, two T cell populations that provide help to B cells, is a prominent feature of SLE3,4. Human TFH and TPH cells characteristically produce high levels of the B cell chemoattractant CXCL13 (refs. 5,6), yet regulation of T cell CXCL13 production and the relationship between CXCL13+ T cells and other T cell states remains unclear. Here, we identify an imbalance in CD4+ T cell phenotypes in patients with SLE, with expansion of PD-1+/ICOS+ CXCL13+ T cells and reduction of CD96hi IL-22+ T cells. Using CRISPR screens, we identify the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) as a potent negative regulator of CXCL13 production by human CD4+ T cells. Transcriptomic, epigenetic and functional studies demonstrate that AHR coordinates with AP-1 family member JUN to prevent CXCL13+ TPH/TFH cell differentiation and promote an IL-22+ phenotype. Type I interferon, a pathogenic driver of SLE7, opposes AHR and JUN to promote T cell production of CXCL13. These results place CXCL13+ TPH/TFH cells on a polarization axis opposite from T helper 22 (TH22) cells and reveal AHR, JUN and interferon as key regulators of these divergent T cell states