A quarterly publication of the NASA Scientific and Technical Information (STI) Program 

produced by the NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)

for the users of our information products and services

July 2003

The NASA Technical Report Server (NTRS) has 

been providing Web-based aeronautics and 

space scientific and technical information 

since 1995, when it was established to provide 

access to all NASA Center library document 

collections. With the closing of individual 

Technical Report Servers (TRSs) at some 

Centers in 2003 and the development of a new 

NASA Aeronautics and Space Database (see 

From the Program Office) for the NASA 

community, the NTRS will soon be the public's 

portal for NASA STI.

Launched this April, the NTRS has a totally new look. An easy-to-use interface provides two search 

options and a browse option for access to STI. If you choose the Simple Search, you only have to enter 

some keywords to gain access to the bibliographic records of NASA publications. If you want to use a 

more sophisticated approach, the Advanced Search lets you specify what you want to search for in 

title, author, date, number, and abstract fields. The Advanced Search will also give you broader 

access: you can search non-NASA as well as NASA collections. The Browse function lets you look at 

these collections directly.

But there is more to the new NTRS than meets the eye. In upgrading the NTRS, NASA added a new 

capability: metadata harvesting. Metadata is data about data, i.e., the information you usually see in 

your search results. Harvesting is something that may be new to many of us. In metadata harvesting, 

the metadata records are pulled from the originating archives and indexed at the local service 

provider. The full-text files remain at the originating archives. The goal of metadata harvesting is to 

provide the user with more reliable, integrated, and consistent searching experience than is possible 

through distributed searching. For more information, see the

Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH). NTRS harvests metadata from 
NASA Centers, research projects, and affiliated institutes. It also harvests from non-NASA sources such 

as the Physics E-print Server, BioMed Central, the Energy Citation Database, and Aeronautical 

Research Committee reports from the MAGiC Project. In all, NTRS provides access to over 540,000 

metadata records and 270,000 full-text reports, updated on a weekly basis.

On June 10, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Project kicked 

off by launching Spirit, the first of two unique robotic 

"geologists." Spirit will roam a landing area on Mars that 

shows evidence of a wet history. The rover will examine 

rocks and soil for clues to whether the site may have been 

a hospitable place for life. The second rover, Opportunity, 

scheduled for a July 2 launch, will examine a site on the 

opposite side of Mars. Together, the identical rovers will be 

able to see sharper images, explore farther and examine 

rocks better than anything that has ever landed on the Red 

Planet.

Between now and the time these rovers land and begin collecting data early next year, you can brush 

up on your robotics or find material for the many education and outreach efforts NASA will be 

conducting. We have provided a list of recently added publications from the NASA Aeronautics and 

Space Database together with their Document IDs.

Robotics Citations

General

Pedersen, L.; Kortenkamp, D.; Wettergreen, D.; Nourbakhsh, I.; Korsmeyer, David. A 

Survey of Space Robotics. Document ID: 20030054507.

Troutman, Patrick A.; Bethke, Kristen; Stillwagen, Fred; Caldwell, Darrell L., Jr.; 

Manvi, Ram; Strickland, Chris; Krizan, Shawn A. Revolutionary Concepts for Human 

Outer Planet Exploration (HOPE). Document ID: 20030006858.

Landis, Geoffrey A. Robots and Humans: Synergy in Planetary Exploration. Document 

ID: 20030006862 (conference paper); 20030032442 (preprint).

O'Handley, Douglas A. The Next Logical Step — Post ISS. Document ID: 20030006906.
Knuth, Kevin H. Intelligent Machines in the 21st Century: Automating the Processes of 

Inference and Inquiry. Document ID: 20030022793.

Systems

Guidance and Control

Bernstein, Daniel S.; Zilberstein, Shlomo. Reinforcement Learning for 

Weakly—Coupled MDPs and an Application to Planetary Rover Control; 

Final Report. Document ID: 20030034817.

Zilberstein, Shlomo; Morris, Robert. Self-Directed Cooperative Planetary 

Rovers; Final Report. Document ID: 20030034825.

Zilberstein, Shlomo; Washington, Richard; Bernstein, Daniel S.; 

Mouaddib, Abdel-Illah; Morris, Robert. Decision-Theoretic Control of 

Planetary Rovers; Final Report. Document ID: 20030034662.

Viveash, Jacqueline; White, Joanna; Boughton, Jenny; King, Stuart; 

Kaye, Martin. Remote Control of Vehicles. Document ID: 20030019096.

Clancey, William J.; Sierhuis, Maarten; Kaskiris, Charis; vanHoof, Ron. 

Advantages of Brahms for Specifying and Implementing a Multiagent 

Human—Robotic Exploration System. Document ID: 20030033849.

Trimble, Jay. Human Centered Design and Development for NASA's 

MerBoard. Document ID: 20030025284.

Bias, M. Bernardine; Lemai, Solange; Muscettola, Nicola; Korsmeyer, 

David; Korsmeyer, David; Korsmeyer, David; Korsmeyer, David. A RealTime Rover Executive based On Model-Based Reactive Planning. 

Document ID: 20030018864.

Russell, Daniel M.; Trimble, Jay; Wales, Roxana; Clancy, Daniel; Clancy, 

Daniel; Clancy, Daniel; Clancy, Daniel. Two Paths from the Same Place: 

Task Driven and Human Centered Evolution of a Group Information 

SurfaceDocument ID: 20030018912.

Sierhuis, Maarten; Clancey, William J.; Seah, Chin; Trimble, Jay P.; 

Sims, Michael H. Modeling and Simulation for Mission Operations Work 

System Design. Document ID: 20030021664.

Power and Propulsion

Elliott, John O.; Lipinski, Ronald J.; Poston, David I. Mission Concept for 

a Nuclear Reactor—Powered Mars Cryobot Lander. Document ID: 
20030006801.

Elliott, John O.; Lipinski, Ronald J.; Poston, David I. Design Concept for 

a Nuclear Reactor—Powered Mars Rover. Document ID: 20030006804.

Thieme, Lanny G.; Schreiber, Jeffrey. G. NASA GRC Stirling Technology 

Development Overview. Document ID: 20030006832.

Baird, Russell S.; Sanders, Gerald B.; Simon, Thomas M. ISRU 

Development Strategy and Recent Activities to Support Near and Far 

Term Missions. Document ID: 20030006890. 

Boucher, Dale S.; Richard, Jim; Dupuis, Erick. The Development of ISRU 

and ISSE Technologies Leveraging Canadian Mining Expertise. Document 

ID: 20030006896. 

Baird, Russell S.; Sanders, Gerald; Simon, Thomas; McCurdy, Kerri. ISRU 

Reactant, Fuel Cell Based Power Plant for Robotic and Human Mobile 

Exploration Applications. Document ID: 20030006897.

Temperature

Novak, Keith S.; Phillips, Charles J.; Birur, Gajanana C.; Sunada, Eric T.; 

Pauken, Michael T. Development of a Thermal Control Architecture for 

the Mars Exploration Rovers. Document ID: 20030006783. 

Ganapathi, Gani B.; Birur, Gajanana C.; Tsuyuki, Glenn T.; McGrath, 

Paul L.; Patzold, Jack D. Active Heat Rejection System on Mars 

Exploration Rover — Design Changes from Mars Pathfinder. Document ID: 

20030006784. 

Swanson, Theodore D.; Birur, Gajanana C. NASA Thermal Control 

Technologies for Robotic Spacecraft. Document ID: 20030031332.

Hearing

Okuno, Hiroshi G.; Nakadai, Kazuhiro. Active audition for humanoid 

robots that can listen to three simultaneous talkers. Document ID: 

20030026188.

Applications

Data Collection

Mondal, S.; Sattar, T. P.; Bridge, B. Acquisition of Time of Flight 

Diffraction Data by Mobile Robots. Document ID: 20030027689.
Glass, B.; Briggs, G. Evaluation of Human vs. Teleoperated Robotic 

Performance in Field Geology Tasks at a Mars Analog Site. Document ID: 

20030032439.

Reconnaissance and Surveillance

Young, Stuart H.; Scanlon, Michael V. Detection and Localization with an 

Acoustic Array on a Small Robotic Platform in Urban Environments; 

Progress Report. Document ID: 20030032920.

Manufacturing

Smith, J. A. Locating LCD Glass for Robotic Handling. Document ID: 

20030027793.

This department is for you! We welcome your contributions and comments. Send them to us and we 

will publish them in the next issue.

New NASA Technical Report Server (NTRS)

The new NTRS was made available for educators, researchers, scholars, and the public in April 2003. 

The NTRS provides access to NASA — generated and — sponsored scientific and technical literature. To 

further enhance its aerospace collection, the new NTRS includes reports and articles from non-NASA 

aerospace sources as well: the Physics e-print server (arXiv), BioMed Central, the Energy Citation 

Database (from the U.S. Department of Energy), and Aeronautical Research Committee reports from 

the MAGiC project. In total, NTRS provides access to over 540,000 records and numerous full-text 

reports. All information provided by NTRS is "unclassified, unlimited" and updated on a regular basis. 

The publications cover all aspects of aerospace — related research, and range from the first National 

Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) reports first published in 1917 to the most recently 

published NASA research. See http://ntrs.nasa.gov.
The Neurolab Spacelab Mission: Neuroscience Research in Space, NASA SP-2003-553, edited by Jay 

C. Buckey, Jr. and Jerry L. Homick, has been published by Johnson Space Center. The 16-day 

Neurolab mission, devoted to studies of the brain and nervous system, was conducted in the Spacelab 

aboard Space Shuttle flight STS-90. This book presents mission results in the form of scientific reports 

from individual investigator teams and technical reports on mission-specific procedures and 

equipment. Captioned illustrations (many in color), extensive references, and a detailed index 

enhance the utility of the book. 

Memoirs of an Aeronautical Engineer: Flight Tests at Ames Research Center: 1940-1970 by Seth B. 

Anderson (NASA SP-2002-4526). This is the newest monograph in the NASA History collection, and 

features extensive insight into most of the major programs carried out at Ames Research Center 

during a thirty-year span. Over half of the monograph is devoted to an excellent pictorial history of 

the different aircraft that Mr. Anderson worked on. To order please send a self-addressed stamped 

envelope ($3.95 domestic) to NASA Headquarters Information Center, Code CI-4, 300 E St., SW, 

Washington, DC 20546. 

Celebrating a Century of Flight (NASA SP-2002-09-511-HQ). This very attractive and informative 32-

page, 8 1/2 x 11", color brochure was edited by Tony Springer, the NASA centennial of flight 

coordinator, with input from the NASA History Office and many other organizations including the U.S. 

Air Force and the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission. It was designed by Melissa Kennedy. It is an 

excellent introduction to aerospace history since the Wright brothers' historic flight in December 

1903. To request a hard copy of this brochure, please send a self-addressed 9x12" envelope with 

appropriate postage (typically $1.06 within the U.S., $1.35 for Canada, and $3.20 for overseas. 

International customers are asked to purchase U.S. postage through an outlet such as 

www.stampsonline.com) to the NASA Headquarters Information Center, Code CI-4, Washington, DC 

20546. An electronic PDF version is also available online by clicking here. 

Flight Research at Ames, 1940-1997 (NASA SP-3300, 1998) by Paul F. Borchers, James A. Franklin, 

and Jay W. Fletcher. A richly illustrated, monograph-length publication, this is a very informative 

work on aeronautics research in general. A special thanks to Chris Gamble for formatting this book for 

the Web. 
The Planetary Quarantine Program: Origins and Achievements, 1956-1973 (NASA SP-4902, 1974). 

By Charles R. Phillips. A thin, but significant, volume on a topic of considerable interest over the 

years. Thanks to Chris Gamble for scanning and formatting this book for the Web. 

Engineer in Charge: A History of the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory,1917-1958 (NASA SP-4305, 

1987). By James R. Hansen. A well-written, informative Center history of NASA Langley's aeronautical 

research roots. Special thanks to Chris Gamble for preparing this book for the Web.

Spaceflight Revolution: NASA Langley Research Center From Sputnik to Apollo (NASA SP-4308, 

1995) by James R. Hansen. This volume picks up where Engineer in Charge left off by addressing 

NASA's forays into spaceflight research. Special thanks to Chris Gamble for preparing this book for the 

Web. 

Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in the history of the U.S. Civil Space Program, 

Volume III: Using Space (NASA SP-4407). This is the third volume in an ongoing series of reference 

books that are useful for those interested in both space history and space policy. It consists of four 

chapters of documents with introductory essays. You may also want to see some of the other volumes 

in this series that are online in a similar format by clicking here. Thanks to Chris Gamble for scanning 

this resource for the Web. 

Beyond the Ionosphere: Fifty Years of Satellite Communications (NASA SP-4217, 1997), ed. by 

Andrew J. Butrica. This book is an excellent history of satellite communications, covering the gamut 

of satellites from Echo 1 to the Global Positioning System, and includes many essays on satellite 

communications in other countries. A special thanks to Chris Gamble for scanning this book for the 

Web. 

Aerospace Food Technology (NASA SP-202, 1969). This report is the result of a conference held in 

1969 on the subject of food in the aerospace industry. Presentations included are on the different 

types of food given to astronauts, airline passengers, and naval aquanauts, to name a few. Thanks go 

to Chris Gamble for formatting this publication for the Web. 

Exploring Space with a Camera (NASA SP-168, 1968). This pictorial report is full of interesting 

pictures detailing the early exploits of NASA and its satellites. From pictures of clouds to those of the 

moon and even an impressive collection of photographs taken by astronauts themselves, this resource 

is worth at least one look. Thanks to Chris Gamble for the scanning and formatting of this publication 

so that it could be placed on the Web. 

A Historic Meeting at the White House on Human Spaceflight involving President Kennedy and NASA 

Administrator James Webb on November 20, 1962. This meeting, with a number of other high-level 

participants, was prompted in part by press reports that NASA was not devoting enough attention to 

the Apollo lunar landing program and the possible requirement for an additional supplemental 

appropriation of over $400 million to NASA's current budget. This meeting is a window into the role 

that human spaceflight played in international and domestic politics in the early 1960s. It also 

provides insights into the thinking of high-level government officials about spaceflight, their personal 

interactions, and the cooperation and conflict of their organizations. The meeting was tape recorded, 

but the recording was not released until August 2001. It is of relatively high quality when compared to 
other presidential recordings from the era, but it is still rather difficult to discern and understand the 

various voices. This Web site includes the full audio transcription streaming format, the written 

transcript, and other supporting information. Special thanks to Dwayne A. Day, Glen Swanson, Douglas 

Ortiz, and Sivram Prasad for their help setting up this site. 

Evolution of the Solar System (NASA SP-345, 1976) by Hannes Alfven and Gustaf Arrhenius. This is an 

excellent volume on planetary science. While it includes some scientific equations, it also includes 

many diagrams and images, and the authors strove to make the material understandable to the 

educated lay reader. Special thanks to Chris Gamble for scanning and formatting this book for the 

Web. 

Saturn Illustrated Chronology (MHR-5, Marshall Space Flight Center, fifth edition, 1971) is now 

available on the Web. This book covers the first 11 years of the Saturn program, from April 1957 

through April 1968. Abounding with pictures about the Saturn program, it is a magnificent pictorial 

chronology of the program that has launched so many NASA spacecraft over the years. Special thanks 

to Malcolm Munro for all of his hard work in scanning and formatting this beautiful chronology for the 

Web. 

Apollo 13 Review Board (a.k.a. Cortright Commission) is now available online in fully textsearchable PDF files. This is the report issued after the Apollo 13 accident which prevented the 

mission from landing on the Moon. Thanks to Colin Fries and Sivram Prasad of the History Office for 

their help in scanning and formatting this report for the Web. 

Model Research (NASA SP-4103, 1985) by Alex Roland is now available on the Web. This book, in two 

volumes, is a history of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Though it is nearly 

20 years old, it is an exciting and impressive look into the organization that, during its time, set the 

standard for aeronautical research. Thanks to volunteer Chris Gamble for formatting the book for the 

Web.