Technology Focus

Electronics/Computers

Software

Materials

Mechanics/Machinery

Manufacturing

Bio-Medical

Physical Sciences

Information Sciences

Books and Reports

01-14 January 2014

NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014 1

INTRODUCTION

Tech Briefs are short announcements of innovations originating from research and development

activities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. They emphasize information considered likely to be transferable across industrial, regional, or disciplinary lines and are issued to

encourage commercial application.

Additional Information on NASA Tech Briefs and TSPs

Additional information announced herein may be obtained from the NASA Technical Reports Server:

http://ntrs.nasa.gov.

Please reference the control numbers appearing at the end of each Tech Brief. Information on NASA’s

Innovative Partnerships Program (IPP), its documents, and services is available on the World Wide Web

at http://www.ipp.nasa.gov.

Innovative Partnerships Offices are located at NASA field centers to provide technology-transfer access to

industrial users. Inquiries can be made by contacting NASA field centers listed below.

Ames Research Center

David Morse

(650) 604-4724

david.r.morse@nasa.gov

Dryden Flight Research Center

Ron Young

(661) 276-3741

ronald.m.young@nasa.gov

Glenn Research Center

Kimberly A. Dalgleish-Miller

(216) 433-8047

kimberly.a.dalgleish@nasa.gov

Goddard Space Flight Center

Nona Cheeks

(301) 286-5810

nona.k.cheeks@nasa.gov

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Dan Broderick

(818) 354-1314

daniel.f.broderick@jpl.nasa.gov

Johnson Space Center

John E. James

(281) 483-3809

john.e.james@nasa.gov

Kennedy Space Center

David R. Makufka

(321) 867-6227

david.r.makufka@nasa.gov

Langley Research Center

Michelle Ferebee

(757) 864-5617

michelle.t.ferebee@nasa.gov

Marshall Space Flight Center

Terry L. Taylor

(256) 544-5916

terry.taylor@nasa.gov

Stennis Space Center

Ramona Travis

(228) 688-3832

ramona.e.travis@ssc.nasa.gov

NASA Headquarters

Daniel Lockney,

Technology Transfer Program Executive

(202) 358-2037

daniel.p.lockney@nasa.gov

Small Business Innovation Research

(SBIR) & Small Business Technology

Transfer (STTR) Programs

Rich Leshner, Program Executive

(202) 358-4920

rleshner@nasa.gov

NASA Field Centers and Program Offices

5 Technology Focus: Sensors

5 Multi-Source Autonomous Response for Targeting

and Monitoring of Volcanic Activity

6 Software Suite to Support In-Flight Characterization

of Remote Sensing Systems

6 Visual Image Sensor Organ Replacement

7 Electronics/Computers

7 Ultra-Wideband, Dual-Polarized, Beam-Steering

P-Band Array Antenna

7 Centering a DDR Strobe in the Middle of a

Data Packet

8 Using a Commercial Ethernet PHY Device in

a Radiation Environment

8 Submerged AUV Charging Station

11 Mechanics/Machinery

11 Habitat Demonstration Unit (HDU) Vertical

Cylinder Habitat

12 Origami-Inspired Folding of Thick, Rigid Panels

13 Bio-Medical

13 A Novel Protocol for Decoating and Permeabilizing

Bacterial Spores for Epifluorescent Microscopy

13 Method and Apparatus for Automated Isolation of

Nucleic Acids from Small Cell Samples

14 Enabling Microliquid Chromatography by Microbead

Packing of Microchannels

14 On-Command Force and Torque Impeding Devices

(OC-FTID) Using ERF

17 Physical Sciences

17 Deployable Fresnel Rings

18 Transition-Edge Hot-Electron Microbolometers for

Millimeter and Submillimeter Astrophysics

19 Software

19 Spacecraft Trajectory Analysis and Mission

Planning Simulation (STAMPS) Software

19 Cross Support Transfer Service (CSTS) Framework Library

19 Arbitrary Shape Deformation in CFD Design

19 Range Safety Flight Elevation Limit

Calculation Software

21 Information Technologies

21 Frequency-Modulated, Continuous-Wave Laser

Ranging Using Photon-Counting Detectors

21 Calculation of Operations Efficiency Factors for Mars

Surface Missions

22 GPU Lossless Hyperspectral Data Compression System

22 Robust, Optimal Subsonic Airfoil Shapes

23 Protograph-Based Raptor-Like Codes

23 Fuzzy Neuron: Method and Hardware Realization

24 Kalman Filter Input Processor for Boresight Calibration

24 Organizing Compression of Hyperspectral Imagery

to Allow Efficient Parallel Decompression

25 Temperature Dependences of Mechanisms

Responsible for the Water-Vapor Continuum

Absorption

NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014 3

This document was prepared under the sponsorship of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Neither the United States Government nor any person acting on behalf of the United States Government assumes any liability resulting from the use of the information contained

in this document, or warrants that such use will be free from privately owned rights.

01-14 January 2014

NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014 5

Multi-Source Autonomous Response for Targeting and Monitoring of Volcanic Activity

This concept has great relevance to Earth science and future planetary exploration.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California

The study of volcanoes is important

for both purely scientific and human

survival reasons. From a scientific standpoint, volcanic gas and ash emissions

contribute significantly to the terrestrial

atmosphere. Ash depositions and lava

flows can also greatly affect local environments. From a human survival standpoint, many people live within the reach

of active volcanoes, and therefore can be

endangered by both atmospheric (ash,

debris) toxicity and lava flow.

There are many potential information

sources that can be used to determine

how to best monitor volcanic activity

worldwide. These are of varying temporal frequency, spatial regard, method of

access, and reliability. The problem is

how to incorporate all of these inputs in

a general framework to assign/task/reconfigure assets to monitor events in a

timely fashion.

In situ sensing can provide a valuable

range of complementary information

such as seismographic, discharge,

acoustic, and other data. However,

many volcanoes are not instrumented

with in situ sensors, and those that have

sensor networks are restricted to a relatively small numbers of point sensors.

Consequently, ideal volcanic study synergistically combines space and in situ

measurements.

This work demonstrates an effort to

integrate spaceborne sensing from

MODIS (Terra and Aqua), ALI (EO-1),

Worldview-2, and in situ sensing in an automated scheme to improve global volcano monitoring. Specifically, it is a “sensor web” concept in which a number of

volcano monitoring systems are linked

together to monitor volcanic activity

more accurately, and this activity measurement automatically tasks space assets

to acquire further satellite imagery of

ongoing volcanic activity.

A general framework was developed

for evidence combination that accounts

for multiple information sources in a

scientist-directed fashion to weigh inputs and allocate observations based on

the confidence of an events occurrence, rarity of the event at that location, and other scientists’ inputs. The

software framework uses multiple

source languages and is a general

framework for combining inputs and

incrementally submitting observation

requests/reconfigurations, accounting

for prior requests.

The autonomous aspect of operations is unique, especially in the context of the wide range of inputs that includes manually inputted electronic

reports (such as the Air Force Weather

Advisories), automated satellite-based

detection methods (such as MODVOLC and GOESVOLC), and in situ

sensor networks.

This work was done by Ashley G. Davies,

Joshua R. Doubleday, and Daniel Q. Tran of

Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

EO-1 is managed by Goddard Space Flight

Center. Further information is contained in a

TSP (see page 1).

The software used in this innovation is available for commercial licensing. Please contact Dan

Broderick at Daniel.F.Broderick@jpl.nasa.gov.

Refer to NPO-48148.

Technology Focus: Sensors

The dataflow of the Sensor Web System uses alert systems to task volcano observations automatically

based on scientist-specified observation campaigns.

Science

Tracking

Systems

Event

Alerts

MODVOLC

GOESVOLC

AFWA

VAAC

VEDUR

Science 

Event 

Manager

ASPEN

Planning

System

Current

Observation

Schedule

Science

Observation

Campaigns
6 NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014

Software Suite to Support In-Flight Characterization of Remote

Sensing Systems

Stennis Space Center, Mississippi

A characterization software suite was developed to facilitate NASA’s in-flight characterization of commercial remote sensing systems. Characterization of aerial and

satellite systems requires knowledge of

ground characteristics, or ground truth.

This information is typically obtained with

instruments taking measurements prior to

or during a remote sensing system overpass. Acquired ground-truth data, which

can consist of hundreds of measurements

with different data formats, must be

processed before it can be used in the

characterization. Accurate in-flight characterization of remote sensing systems relies

on multiple field data acquisitions that are

efficiently processed, with minimal error.

To address the need for timely, reproducible ground-truth data, a characterization software suite was developed to automate the data processing methods. The

characterization software suite is engineering code, requiring some prior

knowledge and expertise to run. The

suite consists of component scripts for

each of the three main in-flight characterization types: radiometric, geometric,

and spatial. The component scripts for

the radiometric characterization operate

primarily by reading the raw data acquired by the field instruments, combining it with other applicable information,

and then reducing it to a format that is

appropriate for input into MODTRAN

(MODerate resolution atmospheric

TRANsmission), an Air Force Research

Laboratory-developed radiative transport

code used to predict at-sensor measurements. The geometric scripts operate by

comparing identified target locations

from the remote sensing image to known

target locations, producing circular error

statistics defined by the Federal Geographic Data Committee Standards. The

spatial scripts analyze a target edge within

the image, and produce estimates of Relative Edge Response and the value of the

Modulation Transfer Function at the

Nyquist frequency.

The software suite enables rapid, efficient, automated processing of groundtruth data, which has been used to provide reproducible characterizations on a

number of commercial remote sensing

systems. Overall, this characterization

software suite improves the reliability of

ground-truth data processing techniques

that are required for remote sensing system in-flight characterizations.

This work was done by Thomas Stanley of

Stennis Space Center; Robert Ryan, Mary

Pagnutti, Slawomir Blonski, Kenton Ross,

Kara Holekamp, Gerald Gasser, and Wes

Tabor of Lockheed Martin; and Ronald

Vaughan of CSC.

For more information, contact the SSC Office

of Center Chief Technologist at 228-688-1929

or by email at SSC-Technology@nasa.gov. Refer

to SSC-00393.

This innovation is a system that augments human vision through a technique called “Sensing Super-position”

using a Visual Instrument Sensory

Organ Replacement (VISOR) device.

The VISOR device translates visual and

other sensors (i.e., thermal) into sounds

to enable very difficult sensing tasks.

Three-dimensional spatial brightness

and multi-spectral maps of a sensed

image are processed using real-time

image processing techniques (e.g. histogram normalization) and transformed

into a two-dimensional map of an audio

signal as a function of frequency and

time. Because the human hearing system is capable of learning to process and

interpret extremely complicated and

rapidly changing auditory patterns, the

translation of images into sounds reduces the risk of accidentally filtering

out important clues.

The VISOR device was developed to

augment the current state-of-the-art

head-mounted (helmet) display systems.

It provides the ability to sense beyond

the human visible light range, to increase human sensing resolution, to use

wider angle visual perception, and to improve the ability to sense distances. It

also allows compensation for movement

by the human or changes in the scene

being viewed.

This work was done by David A. Maluf of

Ames Research Center. Further information is

contained in a TSP (see page 1).

Inquiries concerning rights for the commercial

use of this invention should be addressed to the

Ames Technology Partnerships Division at 1-

855-NASA-BIZ (1-855-6272-249) or sumedha.

garud@nasa.gov. Refer to ARC-15578-2.

Visual Image Sensor Organ Replacement

Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California
NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014 7

Electronics/Computers

Ultra-Wideband, Dual-Polarized, Beam-Steering

P-Band Array Antenna

The novel design geometry can be scaled with minor modifications.

Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

A dual-polarized, wide-bandwidth

(200 MHz for one polarization, 100

MHz for the orthogonal polarization)

antenna array at P-band was designed to

be driven by NASA’s EcoSAR digital

beam former. EcoSAR requires two wide

P-band antenna arrays mounted on the

wings of an aircraft, each capable of

steering its main beam up to 35° offboresight, allowing the twin radar beams

to be steered at angles to the flight path.

The science requirements are mainly for

dual-polarization capability and a wide

bandwidth of operation of up to 200

MHz if possible, but at least 100 MHz

with high polarization port isolation and

low cross-polarization. The novel design

geometry can be scaled with minor modifications up to about four times higher

or down to about half the current design

frequencies for any application requiring a dual-polarized, wide-bandwidth

steerable antenna array.

EcoSAR is an airborne interferometric P-band synthetic aperture radar

(SAR) research application for studying

two- and three-dimensional fine-scale

measurements of terrestrial ecosystem

structure and biomass, which will ultimately aid in the broader study of the

carbon cycle and climate change. The

two 2×8 element P-band antenna arrays

required by the system will be separated

by a baseline of about 25 m, allowing for

interferometry measurements. The wide

100-to-200-MHz bandwidth dual-polarized beams employed will allow the determination of the amount of biomass

and even tree height on the ground.

To reduce the size of the patches

along the boresight dimension in order

to fit them into the available space, two

techniques were employed. One technique is to add slots along the edges of

each patch where the main electric currents are expected to flow, and the other

technique is to bend the central part of

the patch away from the ground plane.

The latter also facilitates higher mechanical rigidity.

The high port isolation of more than

40 dB was achieved by employing a

highly symmetrical feed mechanism for

each pair of elements: three apertures

coupling to the patch elements were

placed along the two symmetry lines of

the antenna element pair. Two apertures were used in tandem to excite two

of the stacked patch elements for one

polarization; the other was used to excite one element from one side and the

other element from the other side, opposite in phase, taking care of the remaining polarization. The apertures

narrow down to a small gap where they

are excited by a crossing microstrip

line to prevent any asymmetrical excitation of the two sides of the aperture

gap, minimizing port-to-port coupling.

Using patches that are non-planar

leads to higher mechanical rigidity and

smaller patch sizes to fit into the available space. Aperture coupling minimizes direct metal-to-metal connections.

Using an aperture coupling feed mechanism results in a feed network for two

antenna elements with a total of three

feed points, plus one simple in-phase

combiner to reduce it to two ports. It

greatly reduces the complexity of the alternative, but more conventional, way of

feeding a pair of two dual-polarized elements with high port isolation.

This work was done by Cornelis du Toit of

DSFG for Goddard Space Flight Center. Further information is contained in a TSP (see

page 1). GSC-16778-1

The Orion CEV Northstar ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit)

project required a DDR (double data

rate) memory bus driver/receiver (DDR

PHY block) to interface with external

DDR memory. The DDR interface

(JESD79C) is based on a source synchronous strobe (DQS\) that is sent along

with each packet of data (DQ). New data

is provided concurrently with each edge

of strobe and is sent irregularly. In order

to capture this data, the strobe needs to

be delayed and used to latch the data

into a register.

A circuit solves the need for training

a DDR PRY block by incorporating a

PVT-compensated delay element in the

strobe path. This circuit takes an external reference clock signal and uses the

regular clock to calibrate a known delay

through a data path. The compensated

delay DQS signal is then used to capture the DQ data in a normal register.

This register structure can be configured as a FIFO (first in first out), in

order to transfer data from the DDR

domain to the system clock domain.

This design is different in that it does

not rely upon the need for training the

system response, nor does it use a PLL

(phase locked loop) or a DLL (delay

locked loop) to provide an offset of the

strobe signal.

The circuit is created using standard

ASIC building blocks, plus the PVT

(process, voltage, and temperature)

compensated delay line. The design uses

a globally available system clock as a reference, alleviating the need to operate

synchronously with the remote memory.

The reference clock conditions the PVT

compensated delay line to provide a preCentering a DDR Strobe in the Middle of a Data Packet

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
8 NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014

determined amount of delay to any data

signal that passes through this delay line.

The delay line is programmed in degrees of offset, so that one could think of

the clock period representing 360° of

delay. In an ideal environment, delaying

the strobe 1/4 of a clock cycle (90°)

would place the strobe in the middle of

the data packet. This delayed strobe can

then be used to clock the data into a register, satisfying setup and hold requirements of the system.

This work was done by Michael Johnson,

Dave Nelson, James Seefeldt, Weston Roper,

and Craig Passow of Honeywell for Johnson

Space Center. For further information, contact

the JSC Innovation Partnerships Office at

(281) 483-3809.

Title to this invention has been waived

under the provisions of the National Aeronautics and Space Act {42 U.S.C. 2457(f)},

to Honeywell. Inquiries concerning licenses

for its commercial development should be addressed to:

Honeywell

P.O. Box 52199

Phoenix, AZ 85072-2199

Refer to MSC-24931-1, volume and number of this NASA Tech Briefs issue, and the

page number.

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

(AUVs) are becoming increasingly important for military surveillance and

mine detection. Most AUVs are battery

powered and have limited lifetimes of a

few days to a few weeks. This greatly limits the distance that AUVs can travel underwater. Using a series of submerged

AUV charging stations, AUVs could

travel a limited distance to the next

charging station, recharge its batteries,

and continue to the next charging station, thus traveling great distances in a

relatively short time, similar to the Old

West “Pony Express.”

One solution is to use temperature

differences at various depths in the

ocean to produce electricity, which is

then stored in a submerged battery. It is

preferred to have the upper buoy submerged a reasonable distance below the

surface, so as not to be seen from above

and not to be inadvertently destroyed by

storms or ocean going vessels. In a previous invention, a phase change material

(PCM) is melted (expanded) at warm

temperatures, for example, 15 °C, and

frozen (contracted) at cooler temperatures, for example, 8 °C.

Tubes containing the PCM, which

could be paraffin such as pentadecane,

would be inserted into a container filled

with hydraulic oil. When the PCM is

melted (expanded), it pushes the oil out

into a container that is pressurized to

about 3,000 psi (≈20.7 MPa). When a

valve is opened, the high-pressure oil

passes through a hydraulic motor, which

turns a generator and charges a battery.

The low-pressure oil is finally reabsorbed into the PCM canister when the

PCM tubes are frozen (contracted).

Some of the electricity produced could

be used to control an external bladder

or a motor to the tether line, such that

depth cycling is continued for a very

long period of time.

Alternatively, after the electricity is

generated by the hydraulic motor, the

exiting low-pressure oil from the hydraulic motor could be vented directly

Submerged AUV Charging Station

Potential uses include studying ocean climate change, pollution, salinity, and currents.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California

This work involved placing a commercial Ethernet PHY on its own power

boundary, with limited current supply,

and providing detection methods to determine when the device is not operating and when it needs either a reset or

power-cycle. The device must be radiation-tested and free of destructive latchup errors.

The commercial Ethernet PHY’s own

power boundary must be supplied by a

current-limited power regulator that

must have an enable (for power cycling), and its maximum power output

must not exceed the PHY’s input requirements, thus preventing damage to

the device. A regulator with configurable output limits and short-circuit

protection (such as the RHFL4913, rad

hard positive voltage regulator family) is

ideal. This will prevent a catastrophic

failure due to radiation (such as a short

between the commercial device’s power

and ground) from taking down the

board’s main power.

Logic provided on the board will detect errors in the PHY. An FPGA (fieldprogrammable gate array) with embedded Ethernet MAC (Media Access

Control) will work well. The error detection includes monitoring the PHY’s interrupt line, and the status of the Ethernet’s switched power. When the PHY is

determined to be non-functional, the

logic device resets the PHY, which will

often clear radiation induced errors. If

this doesn’t work, the logic device

power-cycles the FPGA by toggling the

regulator’s enable input. This should

clear almost all radiation induced errors

provided the device is not latched up.

This work was done by Jeremy Parks,

Michael Arani, and Roberto Arroyo of Honeywell Aerospace for Johnson Space Center. For

further information, contact the JSC Innovation Partnerships Office at (281) 483-3809.

Title to this invention has been waived

under the provisions of the National Aeronautics and Space Act {42 U.S.C. 2457(f)}, to

Honeywell. Inquiries concerning licenses for its

commercial development should be addressed to:

Honeywell

P.O. Box 52199

Phoenix, AZ 85072-2199

Refer to MSC-24934-1, volume and number

of this NASA Tech Briefs issue, and the page

number.

Using a Commercial Ethernet PHY Device in a

Radiation Environment

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014 9

to an external bladder on the AUV,

such that filling of the bladder causes

the AUV to rise, and emptying of the

bladder allows the AUV to descend.

This type of direct buoyancy control is

much more energy efficient than using

electrical pumps in that the inefficiencies of converting thermal energy to

electrical energy to mechanical energy

is avoided.

AUV charging stations have been developed that use electricity produced by

waves on floating buoys and that use

electricity from solar photovoltaics on

floating buoys. This is the first device

that has absolutely no floating or visible

parts, and is thus impervious to storms,

inadvertent ocean vessel collisions, or

enemy sabotage.

This work was done by Jack A. Jones and

Yi Chao of Caltech, and Thomas Curtin of

NATP for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Further information is contained in a TSP

(see page 1).

In accordance with Public Law 96-517,

the contractor has elected to retain title to this

invention. Inquiries concerning rights for its

commercial use should be addressed to:

Innovative Technology Assets Management

JPL, Mail Stop 321-123

4800 Oak Grove Drive

Pasadena, CA 91109-8099

E-mail: iaoffice@jpl.nasa.gov

Refer to NPO-46985, volume and number

of this NASA Tech Briefs issue, and the

page number.

NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014 11

Mechanics/Machinery

NASA’s Constellation Architecture

Team defined an outpost scenario optimized for intensive mobility that uses

small, highly mobile pressurized rovers

supported by portable habitat modules

that can be carried between locations of

interest on the lunar surface. A compact

vertical cylinder characterizes the habitat

concept, where the large diameter maximizes usable flat floor area optimized for

a gravity environment and allows for efficient internal layout. The module was

sized to fit into payload fairings for the

Constellation Ares V launch vehicle, and

optimized for surface transport carried

by the All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer (ATHLETE) mobility

system. Launch and other loads are carried through the barrel to a top and bottom truss that interfaces with a structural

support unit (SSU). The SSU contains

self-leveling feet and docking interfaces

for Tri-ATHLETE grasping and heavy lift.

A pressurized module needed to be

created that was appropriate for the

lunar environment, could be easily relocated to new locations, and could be

docked together in multiples for expanding pressurized volume in a lunar

outpost. It was determined that horizontally oriented pressure vessels did not

optimize floor area, which takes advantage of the gravity vector for full use. Hybrid hard-inflatable habitats added an

unproven degree of complexity that may

eventually be worked out. Other versions of vertically oriented pressure vessels were either too big, bulky, or did not

optimize floor area.

The purpose of the HDU vertical habitat module is to provide pressurized units

that can be docked together in a modular

way for lunar outpost pressurized volume

expansion, and allow for other vehicles,

rovers, and modules to be attached to the

outpost to allow for IVA (intra-vehicular

activity) transfer between them. The module is a vertically oriented cylinder with a

large radius to allow for maximal floor

area and use of volume. The modular, 5-

m-diameter HDU vertical habitat module

consists of a 2-m-high barrel with 0.6-mhigh end domes forming the 56-cubicmeter pressure vessel, and a 19-squaremeter floor area. The module has up to

four docking ports located orthogonally

from each other around the perimeter,

and up to one docking port each on the

top or bottom end domes. In addition,

the module has mounting trusses top and

bottom for equipment, and to allow docking with the ATHLETE mobility system.

Novel or unique features of the HDU

vertical habitat module include the nodelike function with multiple pressure

hatches for docking with other versions

of itself and other modules and vehicles;

the capacity to be carried by an ATHLETE mobility system; and the ability to

attach inflatable ‘attic’ domes to the top

for additional pressurized volume.

This work was done by Alan Howe, Kriss J.

Kennedy, Tracy R. Gill, Terry O. Tri, Larry

Toups, Robert I. Howard, Gary R. Spexarth,

Stephen Cavanaugh, William M. Langford,

and John T. Dorsey of Johnson Space Center.

Further information is contained in a TSP

(see page 1). MSC-25517-1

Habitat Demonstration Unit (HDU) Vertical Cylinder Habitat

Modular habitats maximize floor area and are easy to join together.

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas

The Habitat Demonstration Unit (HDU) Vertical Cylinder Node features multiple pressure hatches for docking with other versions of itself and other modules and vehicles. (Note: ECLSS is Environmental Control and Life Support System.)

Raised annular boss

4.2 m dia

Pressure Vessel:

Volume: 60 m3

Flr Area: 16 m2 (172 ft2)

Geometry:

0.5 m top end dome

4.5 m dia x 3.1 m cyl

0.5 m bottom end dome

Passive hatch

Extendable jackstands

Tubular support frame

(can contain ECLSS &

power elements)

Equipment deck (can support

ECLSS and other equipment)

Top square hatch
12 NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014

Origami-Inspired Folding of Thick, Rigid Panels

Hinges are used to achieve the necessary folding.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California

To achieve power of 250 kW or

greater, a large compression ratio of

stowed-to-deployed area is needed.

Origami folding patterns were used to

inspire the folding of a solar array to

achieve synchronous deployment; however, origami models are generally created for near-zero-thickness material.

Panel thickness is one of the main challenges of origami-inspired design.

Three origami-inspired folding techniques (flasher, square twist, and map

fold) were created with rigid panels

and hinges. Hinge components are

added to the model to enable folding

of thick, rigid materials. Origami models are created assuming zero (or near

zero) thickness. When a material with

finite thickness is used, the panels are

required to bend around an increasingly thick fold as they move away from

the center of the model. The two approaches for dealing with material

thickness are to use membrane hinges

to connect the panels, or to add panel

hinges, or hinges of the same thickness, at an appropriate width to enable

folding.

This work was done by Brian P. Trease,

Mark W. Thomson, Deborah A. Sigel, and

Phillip E. Walkemeyer of Caltech; Shannon

Zirbel and Larry Howell of Brigham Young

University; and Robert Lang of Lang

Origami for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.Further information is contained in a

TSP (see page 1). NPO-48861

A Membrane Backing enables the folding of a

six-sided origami flasher with rigid panels.
NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014 13

Bio-Medical

Based on previously reported procedures for permeabilizing vegetative bacterial cells, and numerous trial-and-error

attempts with bacterial endospores, a

protocol was developed for effectively

permeabilizing bacterial spores, which

facilitated the applicability of fluorescent

in situ hybridization (FISH) microscopy.

Bacterial endospores were first purified

from overgrown, sporulated suspensions

of B. pumilus SAFR-032. Purified spores

at a concentration of ≈10 million

spores/mL then underwent proteinase-K

treatment, in a solution of 468.5 μL of

100 mM Tris-HCl, 30 μL of 10% SDS, and

1.5 μL of 20 mg/mL proteinase-K for ten

minutes at 35 oC. Spores were then harvested by centrifugation (15,000 g for 15

minutes) and washed twice with sterile

phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution. This washing process consisted of

resuspending the spore pellets in 0.5 mL

of PBS, vortexing momentarily, and harvesting again by centrifugation. Treated

and washed spore pellets were then resuspended in 0.5 mL of decoating solution, which consisted of 4.8 g urea, 3 mL

Milli-Q water, 1 mL 0.5M Tris, 1 mL 1M

dithiothreitol (DTT), and 2 mL 10%

sodium-dodecylsulfate (SDS), and were

incubated at 65 oC for 15 minutes while

being shaken at 165 rpm.

Decoated spores were then, once

again, washed twice with sterile PBS, and

subjected to lysozyme/mutanolysin

treatment (7 mg/mL lysozyme and 7U

mutanolysin) for 15 minutes at 35 oC.

Spores were again washed twice with

sterile PBS, and spore pellets were resuspended in 1-mL of 2% SDS. This treatment, facilitating inner membrane permeabilization, lasted for ten minutes at

room temperature. Permeabilized

spores were washed two final times with

PBS, and were resuspended in 200 μL of

sterile PBS. At this point, the spores were

permeable and ready for downstream

processing, such as oligonucleotideprobe infiltration, hybridization, and microscopic evaluation. FISH-microscopic

imagery confirmed the effective and efficient (≈50% successful permeabilization

and recovery) permeabilization of numerous spore preparations.

The novelty of the technology developed here is in its applicability to bacterial endospores. While protocols

abound for the effective permeabilization of bacterial, archaeal, and eukaryotic vegetative cells, there are no such

reliable methods for decoating and permeabilizing bacterial endospores in a

manner that is amenable to downstream

FISH microscopic analyses. This innovation enables the direct visualization and

enumeration of spores via FISH-based

microscopic techniques, circumventing

the complications that accompany previously required germination regimes.

The synergistic enzymatic weakening of

the many spore layers facilitates a structural compromise that is just enough to

render the spores permeable without degrading the spore to a level, which precludes it from recognition.

This work was done by Myron T. La Duc of

Caltech, and Bidyut Mohapatra of the University of South Alabama for NASA’s Jet

Propulsion Laboratory. For more information,

contact iaoffice@jpl.nasa.gov. NPO-48035

A Novel Protocol for Decoating and Permeabilizing Bacterial

Spores for Epifluorescent Microscopy

This technique can be used in semiconductor, pharmaceutical, and food processing industries.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California

Method and Apparatus for Automated Isolation of Nucleic

Acids from Small Cell Samples

Advantages include reduced or eliminated use of toxic reagents and operator-independent extraction.

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas

RNA isolation is a ubiquitous need,

driven by current emphasis on microarrays and miniaturization. With commercial systems requiring 100,000 to

1,000,000 cells for successful isolation,

there is a growing need for a small-footprint, easy-to-use device that can harvest

nucleic acids from much smaller cell samples (1,000 to 10,000 cells). The process

of extraction of RNA from cell cultures is

a complex, multi-step one, and requires

timed, asynchronous operations with multiple reagents/buffers. An added complexity is the fragility of RNA (subject to

degradation) and its reactivity to surface.

A novel, microfluidics-based, integrated cartridge has been developed that

can fully automate the complex process

of RNA isolation (lyse, capture, and elute

RNA) from small cell culture samples.

On-cartridge cell lysis is achieved using

either reagents or high-strength electric

fields made possible by the miniaturized

format. Traditionally, silica-based,

porous-membrane formats have been

used for RNA capture, requiring slow

perfusion for effective capture. In this

design, high efficiency capture/elution

are achieved using a microsphere-based

“microfluidized” format. Electrokinetic

phenomena are harnessed to actively

mix microspheres with the cell lysate and

capture/elution buffer, providing important advantages in extraction efficiency,

processing time, and operational flexibility. Successful RNA isolation was demon-
14 NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014

strated using both suspension (HL-60)

and adherent (BHK-21) cells.

Novel features associated with this development are twofold. First, novel designs that execute needed processes with

improved speed and efficiency were developed. These primarily encompass

electric-field-driven lysis of cells. The

configurations include electrode-containing constructs, or an “electrode-less”

chip design, which is easy to fabricate

and mitigates fouling at the electrode

surface; and the “fluidized” extraction

format based on electrokinetically assisted mixing and contacting of microbeads in a shape-optimized chamber.

A secondary proprietary feature is in the

particular layout integrating these components to perform the desired operation of RNA isolation.

Apart from a novel functional capability, advantages of the innovation include

reduced or eliminated use of toxic

reagents, and operator-independent extraction of RNA.

This work was done by Shivshankar Sundaram, Balabhaskar Prabhakarpandian,

Kapil Pant, and Yi Wang of CFD Research

Corp. for Johnson Space Center. Further information is contained in a TSP (see page 1).

In accordance with Public Law 96-517,

the contractor has elected to retain title to this

invention. Inquiries concerning rights for its

commercial use should be addressed to:

CFD Research Corp.

215 Wynn Dr.

Huntsville, AL 35805

Phone No.: (256) 726-4800

E-mail: bio_web@cfdrc.com

Refer to MSC-24375-1, volume and number of this NASA Tech Briefs issue, and the

page number.

Enabling Microliquid Chromatography by Microbead Packing

of Microchannels

Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

The microbead packing is the critical

element required in the success of onchip microfabrication of critical microfluidic components for in-situ analysis and

detection of chiral amino acids. In order

for microliquid chromatography to

occur, there must be a stationary phase

medium within the microchannel that interacts with the analytes present within

flowing fluid. The stationary phase media

are the microbeads packed by the process

discussed in this work. The purpose of

the microliquid chromatography is to

provide a lightweight, low-volume, and

low-power element to separate amino

acids and their chiral partners efficiently

to understand better the origin of life.

In order to densely pack microbeads

into the microchannels, a liquid slurry of

microbeads was created. Microbeads

were extracted from a commercially available high-performance liquid chromatography column. The silica beads extracted were 5 microns in diameter, and

had surface coating of phenyl-hexyl.

These microbeads were mixed with a 200-

proof ethanol solution to create a microbead slurry with the right viscosity for

packing. A microfilter is placed at the

outlet via of the microchannel and the

slurry is injected, then withdrawn across a

filter using modified syringes. After each

injection, the channel is flushed with

ethanol to enhance packing. This cycle is

repeated numerous times to allow for a

tightly packed channel of microbeads.

Typical microbead packing occurs in

the macroscale into tubes or channels by

using highly pressurized systems. Moreover, these channels are typically long

and straight without any turns or curves.

On the other hand, this method of microbead packing is completed within a

microchannel 75 micrometers in diameter. Moreover, the microbead packing is

completed into a serpentine type microchannel, such that it maximizes microchannel length within a microchip.

Doing so enhances the interactions of

the analytes with the microbeads to separate efficiently amino acids and amino

acid enantiomers.

This work was done by Manuel Balvin

and Yun Zheng of Goddard Space Flight Center. Further information is contained in a

TSP (see page 1). GSC-16514-1

On-Command Force and Torque Impeding Devices (OC-FTID)

Using ERF

This technology is applicable as a rehabilitation or exercise device.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California

Various machines have been developed

to address the need for countermeasures

of bone and muscle deterioration when

humans operate over extended time in

space. Even though these machines are in

use, each of them has many limitations

that need to be addressed in an effort to

prepare for human missions to distant

bodies in the solar system.

An exercise exoskeleton was conceived that performs on-demand resistivity by inducing force and torque impedance via ElectroRheological Fluid

(ERF). The resistive elements consist of

pistons that are moving inside ERF-filled

cylinders or a donut-shaped cavity, and

the fluid flows through the piston when

the piston is moved. Tests of the operation of ERF against load showed the feasibility of this approach.

The inside of the piston consists of

parallel electrodes with alternating polarity that increase the ERF viscosity

when activated. This increase leads to

the formation of a virtual valve inside

the piston creating impeding force to

the piston motion. The cross-sectional

area of the piston is mostly hollow to

allow low piston resistance to the motion when the electrodes are not activated, and produce high impedance

when the electrodes are activated. A balanced volume is created on the two
NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014 15

sides of the piston so that pushing it will

only involve fluid flow against the effect

of the increased viscosity in the gaps between the electrodes.

The elements are shaped as a cylinder

or donut with a piston that is moved inside the internal cavity containing ERF.

The elements have a piston inside the

cavity with shafts on its two sides. The

piston is pushed or pulled inside the

chambers and consists of parallel electrodes with opposing polarity wired

through one of the shafts. When the

electrodes are subjected to electric field,

they form a virtual valve causing increased viscosity and impeded flow.

Using ERF offers the ability to proportionally (as a function of the voltage) increase the viscosity of the fluid with a

very fast reaction time on the order of

milliseconds. The feasibility of this approach is straightforward from the nature of ERF materials and preliminary

tests made in the lab.

ERF properties of high yield stress,

low current density, and fast response

(less than one millisecond) offer essential characteristics for the construction

of the exoskeleton. ERFs can apply very

high electrically controlled resistive

forces or torque while their size (weight

and geometric parameters) can be very

small. Their long life and ability to function in a wide temperature range (from

–40 to 200 oC) allows for their use in extreme environments. ERFs are also nonabrasive, non-toxic, and nonpolluting

(meet health and safety regulations).

The technology is applicable as a compact exercise machine for astronauts’

countermeasure of microgravity, an exercise machine for sport, or as a device for

rehabilitation of patients with limb issues.

This work was done by Yoseph Bar-Cohen,

Mircea Badescu, and Stewart Sherrit of Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Further information is contained in a TSP

(see page 1).. NPO-48393

The Exoskeleton and the required elements that

control the mechanical impedance are shown.

The elements are shaped as a cylinder or donut

with a piston that is moved inside the internal

cavity containing ERF.

NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014 17

Physical Sciences

Deployable Fresnel Rings

This antenna technology can be used by first-responders and soldiers requiring cellular range

extension or satellite links to handheld devices.

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas

Deployable Fresnel rings (DFRs) significantly enhance the realizable gain of

an antenna. This innovation is intended

to be used in combination with another

antenna element, as the DFR itself acts as

a focusing or microwave lens element for

a primary antenna. This method is completely passive, and is also completely

wireless in that it requires neither a

cable, nor a connector from the antenna

port of the primary antenna to the DFR.

The technology improves upon the

previous NASA technology called a TriSector Deployable Array Antenna in at

least three critical aspects. In contrast to

the previous technology, this innovation

requires no connector, cable, or other

physical interface to the primary communication radio or sensor device. The

achievable improvement in terms of antenna gain is significantly higher than has

been achieved with the previous technology. Also, where previous embodiments

of the Tri-Sector antenna have been constructed with combinations of conventional (e.g., printed circuit board) and

conductive fabric materials, this innovation is realized using only conductive and

non-conductive fabric (i.e., “e-textile”)

materials, with the possible exception of a

spring-like deployment ring.

Conceptually, a DFR operates by canceling the out-of-phase radiation at a

plane by insertion of a conducting ring

or rings of a specific size and distance

from the source antenna, defined by

Fresnel zones. Design of DFRs follow

similar procedures to those outlined for

conventional Fresnel zone rings.

Gain enhancement using a single ring

is verified experimentally and through

computational simulation. The experimental test setup involves a microstrip

patch antenna that is directly behind a

single-ring DFR and is radiating towards

a second microstrip patch antenna. The

first patch antenna and DFR are shown

in Figure 1. At 2.42 GHz, the DFR improves the transmit antenna gain by 8.6

dB, as shown in Figure 2, relative to the

wireless link without the DFR. Figure 2

illustrates the relative strength of power

Figure 1. Microstrip Patch Antenna + DFR used in the experimental setup for testing transmitted

power enhancement using the DFR.

Deployable

Fresnel Ring

Microstrip Patch

Antenna

Figure 2. Relative Power received using the DFR and without the DFR.

-30.00

-35.00

-40.00

-45.00

-50.00

-55.00

-60.00

|S21| dB

|S21| dB No Ring

|S21| dB With Ring

2.35 2.37 2.39 2.41 2.43 2.45 2.47 2.49 2.51 2.53 2.55

f (GHz)
18 NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014

coupling between the first and second

microstrip antennas with and without

the DFR. Typically, a DFR is designed for

use at a particular frequency; however,

testing of a DFR indicated a relatively

wide operational bandwidth of approximately 8.2%. Wider bandwidth operation and multi-band operation are anticipated by extending the known art of

conventional Fresnel rings to the DFRs.

Increasing the number of rings used

to construct a DFR antenna increases

the gain, with the upper bound limited

often by the largest practical dimensions that can be tolerated for a given

application. The maximum theoretical

improvement in gain for a single ring is

9.5 dB. Experimental results are within

0.9 dB of this theoretical value. Adding

rings increases gain, and theoretically,

improvements of 10 to 13 dB above

that of the primary antenna gain can

be achieved with two- and three-ring

versions.

This work was done by Timothy F.

Kennedy, Patrick W. Fink, Andrew W. Chu,

and Gregory Y. Lin of Johnson Space Center.

Further information is contained in a TSP

(see page 1).

This invention has been patented by NASA

U.S. Patent No. 8,384,614. Inquiries concerning nonexclusive or exclusive license for

its commercial development should be addressed to the Patent Counsel, Johnson Space

Center, (281) 483-1003. Refer to MSC24525-1.

Transition-Edge Hot-Electron Microbolometers for Millimeter

and Submillimeter Astrophysics

New instruments promise to expand the investigation of cosmic microwave background radiation and its polarization to get better insight into the evolution of the universe.

Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

The millimeter and the submillimeter wavelengths of the electromagnetic

spectrum hold a wealth of information

about the evolution of the universe. In

particular, cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation and its polarization carry the oldest information in

the universe, and provide the best test

of the inflationary paradigm available

to astronomy today. Detecting gravity

waves through their imprint on the

CMB polarization would have extraordinary repercussions for cosmology

and physics.

A transition-edge hot-electron microbolometer (THM) consists of a superconducting bilayer transition-edge sensor (TES) with a thin-film absorber.

Unlike traditional monolithic bolometers that make use of micromachined

structures, the THM employs the decoupling between electrons and phonons at

millikelvin temperatures to provide thermal isolation. The devices are fabricated

photolithographically and are easily instegrated with antennas via microstrip

transmission lines, and with SQUID (superconducting quantum interference

device) readouts. The small volume of

the absorber and TES produces a short

thermal time constant that facilitates

rapid sky scanning.

The THM consists of a thin-film metal

absorber overlapping a superconducting

TES. The absorber forms the termination of a superconducting microstripline

that carries RF power from an antenna.

The purpose of forming a separate absorber and TES is to allow flexibility in

the optimization of the two components.

In particular, the absorbing film’s impedance can be chosen to match the antenna, while the TES impedance can be

chosen to match to the readout SQUID

amplifier. This scheme combines the advantages of the TES with the advantages

of planar millimeter-wave transmission

line circuits.

Antenna-coupling to the detectors via

planar transmission lines allows the detector dimensions to be much smaller

than a wavelength, so the technique can

be extended across the entire microwave, millimeter, and submillimeter

wavelength ranges. The circuits are fabricated using standard microlithographic techniques and are compatible

with uniform, large array formats. Unlike traditional monolithic bolometers

that make use of micromachined structures, the THM employs the decoupling

between electrons and phonons at millikelvin temperatures to provide thermal isolation. There is no fragile membrane in the structure for thermal

isolation, which improves the fabrication yield.

This work was done by Wen-Ting Hsieh,

Thomas Stevenson, Kongpop U-yen, and Edward Wollack of Goddard Space Flight Center; and Emily Barrentine of the University of

Wisconsin at Madison. Further information

is contained in a TSP (see page 1). GSC16656-1
NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014 19

Spacecraft Trajectory

Analysis and Mission

Planning Simulation

(STAMPS) Software

STAMPS simulates either three- or sixdegree-of-freedom cases for all spacecraft flight phases using translated HAL

flight software or generic GN&C models.

Single or multiple trajectories can be

simulated for use in optimization and

dispersion analysis. It includes math

models for the vehicle and environment,

and currently features a “C” version of

shuttle onboard flight software. The

STAMPS software is used for mission

planning and analysis within ascent/descent, rendezvous, proximity operations,

and navigation flight design areas.

This work was done by Nancy Puckett, Kris

Pettinger, John Hallstrom, Dana Brownfield,

Eric Blinn, Frank Williams, Kelli Wiuff,

Steve McCarty, Daniel Ramirez, Nicole Lamotte, and Tuan Vu of United Space Alliance

for Johnson Space Center. For further information, contact the JSC Innovation Partnerships

Office at (281) 483-3809. MSC-24958-1

Cross Support Transfer

Service (CSTS) Framework

Library

Within the Consultative Committee

for Space Data Systems (CCSDS), there

is an effort to standardize data transfer

between ground stations and control

centers. CCSDS plans to publish a collection of transfer services that will each

address the transfer of a particular type

of data (e.g., tracking data). These services will be called Cross Support Transfer Services (CSTSs). All of these services will make use of a common

foundation that is called the CSTS

Framework. This library implements the

User side of the CSTS Framework. “User

side” means that the library performs

the role that is typically expected of the

control center.

This library was developed in support

of the Goddard Data Standards program. This technology could be applicable for control centers, and possibly for

use in control center simulators needed

to test ground station capabilities. The

main advantages of this implementation

are its flexibility and simplicity. It provides the framework capabilities, while

allowing the library user to provide a

wrapper that adapts the library to any

particular environment.

The main purpose of this implementation was to support the inter-operability testing required by CCSDS. In

addition, it is likely that the implementation will be useful within the Goddard mission community (for use in

control centers).

This work was done by Timothy Ray of Goddard Space Flight Center. Further information

is contained in a TSP (see page 1). GSC16068-I

Arbitrary Shape

Deformation in CFD Design

Sculptor® is a commercially available

software tool, based on an Arbitrary

Shape Design (ASD), which allows the

user to perform shape optimization for

computational fluid dynamics (CFD)

design. The developed software tool

provides important advances in the

state-of-the-art of automatic CFD shape

deformations and optimization software. CFD is an analysis tool that is used

by engineering designers to help gain a

greater understanding of the fluid flow

phenomena involved in the components being designed. The next step in

the engineering design process is to

then modify, the design to improve the

components’ performance. This step

has traditionally been performed manually via trial and error. Two major

problems that have, in the past, hindered the development of an automated CFD shape optimization are (1)

inadequate shape parameterization algorithms, and (2) inadequate algorithms for CFD grid modification.

The ASD that has been developed as

part of the Sculptor® software tool is a

major advancement in solving these two

issues. First, the ASD allows the CFD designer to freely create his own shape parameters, thereby eliminating the restriction of only being able to use the CAD

model parameters. Then, the software

performs a smooth volumetric deformation, which eliminates the extremely

costly process of having to remesh the

grid for every shape change (which is

how this process had previously been

achieved). Sculptor® can be used to optimize shapes for aerodynamic and structural design of spacecraft, aircraft, watercraft, ducts, and other objects that affect

and are affected by flows of fluids and

heat. Sculptor® makes it possible to perform, in real time, a design change that

would manually take hours or days if

remeshing were needed.

This program was written by Mark Landon and Ernest Perry of Optimal Solutions

Software, LLC for Stennis Space Center. For

more information, contact Optimal Solutions

at 208-521-4660. Refer to SSC-00290.

Range Safety Flight

Elevation Limit

Calculation Software

This program was developed to fill a

need within the Wallops Flight Facility

workflow for automation of the development of vertical plan limit lines used by

flight safety officers during the conduct

of expendable launch vehicle missions.

Vertical plane present-position-based

destruct lines have been used by range

safety organizations at numerous launch

ranges to mitigate launch vehicle risks

during the early phase of flight. Various

ranges have implemented data submittal

and processing workflows to develop

these destruct lines. As such, there is significant prior art in this field. The ElLimits program was developed at

NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility to automate the process for developing vertical

plane limit lines using current computing technologies.

The ElLimits program is used to configure launch-phase range safety flight

control lines for guided missiles. The

name of the program derives itself from

the fundamental quantity that is computed — flight elevation limits. The user

specifies the extent and resolution of a

grid in the vertical plane oriented along

the launch azimuth. At each grid point,

the program computes the maximum

velocity vector flight elevation that can

be permitted without endangering a

specified back-range location. Vertical

plane x–y limit lines that can be utilized

on a present position display are derived

from the flight elevation limit data by

numerically propagating ‘streamlines’

through the grid.

The failure turn and debris propagation simulation technique used by the

application is common to all of its analysis options. A simulation is initialized at

a vertical plane grid point chosen by the

program. A powered flight failure turn

Software
20 NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014

is then propagated in the plane for the

duration of the so-called RSO reaction

time. At the end of the turn, a delta-velocity is imparted, and a ballistic trajectory is propagated to impact.

While the program possesses capability for powered flight failure turn modeling, it does not require extensive user

inputs of vehicle characteristics (e.g.,

thrust and aerodynamic data), nor does

it require reams of turn data after the

traditional fashion of the Air Force

ranges. The program requires a nominal trajectory table (time, altitude,

range, velocity, and flight elevation) and

makes heavy use of it to initialize and

model a failure turn.

This work was done by Raymond J. Lanzi

of Goddard Space Flight Center. Further information is contained in a TSP (see page 1).

GSC-16692-1
NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014 21

Information Technology

Calculation of Operations Efficiency Factors for Mars

Surface Missions

Several modeling methods are examined.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California

For planning of Mars surface missions, to be operated on a sol-by-sol

basis by a team on Earth (where a “sol”

is a Martian day), activities are described in terms of “sol types” that are

strung together to build a surface mission scenario. Some sol types require

ground decisions based on a previous

sol’s results to feed into the activity

planning (“ground in the loop”), while

others do not. Due to the differences

in duration between Earth days and

Mars sols, for a given Mars local solar

time, the corresponding Earth time

“walks” relative to the corresponding

times on the prior sol/day. In particular, even if a communication window

has a fixed Mars local solar time, the

Earth time for that window will be approximately 40 minutes later each succeeding day. Further complexity is

added for non-Mars synchronous communication relay assets, and when

there are multiple control centers in

different Earth time zones.

The solution is the development of

“ops efficiency factors” that reflect the

efficiency of a given operations configuration (how many and location of

control centers, types of communication windows, synchronous or non-synchronous nature of relay assets, sol

types, more-or-less sustainable operations schedule choices) against a theoretical “optimal” operations configuration for the mission being studied.

These factors are then incorporated

into scenario models in order to determine the surface duration (and therefore minimum spacecraft surface lifetime) required to fulfill scenario

objectives. The resulting model is used

to perform “what-if” analyses for variations in scenario objectives. The ops efficiency factor is the ratio of the figure

of merit for a given operations factor to

the figure of merit for the theoretical

optimal configuration.

The current implementation is a pair

of models in Excel. The first represents

a ground operations schedule for 500

sols in each operations configuration for

the mission being studied (500 sols was

chosen as being a long enough time to

Frequency-Modulated, Continuous-Wave Laser Ranging Using

Photon-Counting Detectors

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California

Optical ranging is a problem of estimating the round-trip flight time of a

phase- or amplitude-modulated optical

beam that reflects off of a target. Frequency-modulated, continuous-wave

(FMCW) ranging systems obtain this estimate by performing an interferometric

measurement between a local frequency-modulated laser beam and a delayed copy returning from the target.

The range estimate is formed by mixing

the target-return field with the local reference field on a beamsplitter and detecting the resultant beat modulation. In

conventional FMCW ranging, the source

modulation is linear in instantaneous

frequency, the reference-arm field has

many more photons than the target-return field, and the time-of-flight estimate is generated by balanced difference-detection of the beamsplitter

output, followed by a frequency-domain

peak search.

This work focused on determining the

maximum-likelihood (ML) estimation algorithm when continuous-time photoncounting detectors are used. It is

founded on a rigorous statistical characterization of the (random) photoelectron emission times as a function of the

incident optical field, including the deleterious effects caused by dark current

and dead time. These statistics enable

derivation of the Cramér-Rao lower

bound (CRB) on the accuracy of FMCW

ranging, and derivation of the ML estimator, whose performance approaches

this bound at high photon flux.

The estimation algorithm was developed, and its optimality properties were

shown in simulation. Experimental data

show that it performs better than the

conventional estimation algorithms

used. The demonstrated improvement is

a factor of 1.414 over frequency-domainbased estimation.

If the target interrogating photons

and the local reference field photons

are costed equally, the optimal allocation of photons between these two arms

is to have them equally distributed. This

is different than the state of the art, in

which the local field is stronger than the

target return. The optimal processing of

the photocurrent processes at the outputs of the two detectors is to perform

log-matched filtering followed by a summation and peak detection. This implies

that neither difference detection, nor

Fourier-domain peak detection, which

are the staples of the state-of-the-art systems, is optimal when a weak local oscillator is employed.

This work was done by Baris I. Erkmen of

Caltech, and Zeb W. Barber and Jason Dahl

of Montana State University for NASA’s Jet

Propulsion Laboratory. For more information,

contact iaoffice@jpl.nasa.gov. NPO-48866
22 NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014

capture variations in relay asset interactions, Earth/Mars time phasing, and seasonal variations in holidays). This model

is used to estimate the ops efficiency factor for each operations configuration.

The second model in a separate Excel

spreadsheet is a scenario model, which

uses the sol types to rack up the total

number of “scenario sols” for that scenario (in other words, the ideal number

of sols it would take to perform the scenario objectives). Then, the number of

sols requiring ground in the loop is calculated based on the soil types contained in the given scenario. Next, the

scenario contains a description of what

sequence of operations configurations is

used, for how many days each, and this is

used with the corresponding ops efficiency factors for each configuration to

calculate the “ops duration” corresponding to that scenario. Finally, a margin is

applied to determine the minimum surface lifetime required for that scenario.

Typically, this level of analysis has not

been performed until much later in the

mission, and has not been able to influence mission design. Further, the notion

of moving to sustainable operations during Prime Mission — and the effect that

that move would have on surface mission productivity and mission objective

choices — has not been encountered

until the most recent rover missions

(MSL and Mars 2018).

This work was done by Sharon L. Layback

of Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Further information is contained in a

TSP (see page 1). NPO-48262

Hyperspectral imaging systems onboard aircraft or spacecraft can acquire

large amounts of data, putting a strain

on limited downlink and storage resources. Onboard data compression can

mitigate this problem but may require a

system capable of a high throughput. In

order to achieve a high throughput with

a software compressor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) implementation of a

compressor was developed targeting the

current state-of-the-art GPUs from

NVIDIA®.

The implementation is based on the

fast lossless (FL) compression algorithm

reported in “Fast Lossless Compression

of Multispectral-Image Data” (NPO42517), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 30, No. 8

(August 2006), page 26, which operates

on hyperspectral data and achieves excellent compression performance while

having low complexity. The FL compressor uses an adaptive filtering method

and achieves state-of-the-art performance in both compression effectiveness

and low complexity. The new Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems

(CCSDS) Standard for Lossless Multispectral & Hyperspectral image compression (CCSDS 123) is based on the

FL compressor. The software makes use

of the highly-parallel processing capability of GPUs to achieve a throughput

at least six times higher than that of a

software implementation running on a

single-core CPU. This implementation

provides a practical real-time solution

for compression of data from airborne

hyperspectral instruments.

This work was done by Nazeeh I. Aranki,

Didier Keymeulen, Aaron B. Kiely, and

Matthew A. Klimesh of Caltech for NASA’s Jet

Propulsion Laboratory. For more information,

contact iaoffice@jpl.nasa.gov.

The software used in this innovation is available for commercial licensing. Please contact Dan

Broderick at Daniel.F.Broderick@jpl.nasa.gov.

Refer to NPO-48571.

GPU Lossless Hyperspectral Data Compression System

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California

Robust, Optimal Subsonic Airfoil Shapes

Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California

A method has been developed to create an airfoil robust enough to operate

satisfactorily in different environments.

This method determines a robust, optimal, subsonic airfoil shape, beginning

with an arbitrary initial airfoil shape,

and imposes the necessary constraints

on the design. Also, this method is flexible and extendible to a larger class of

requirements and changes in constraints imposed.

In one embodiment, process steps include providing a specification of a desired pressure value at each of a sequence of selected locations on the

surface of a turbine airfoil; providing an

initial airfoil shape; providing a statement of at least one constraint to which a

final airfoil shape must conform; using

computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to

estimate a pressure value at each of the

selected perimeter locations for the initial airfoil shape; using CFD to determine the pressure distribution for the

airfoil shapes that are small perturbations to the initial airfoil shape; and

using an estimation method, such as a

neural network, a support vector machine, or a combination thereof, to construct a response surface that models the

pressure distribution as a function of the

airfoil shape using the CFD data. Other

process steps include using an optimization algorithm to search the response

surface for the airfoil shape having the

required pressure distribution, and providing at least one of an alphanumeric

description and a graphical description

of the modified airfoil shape.

Constraints may be drawn from the

following group, or may be one or more

other suitable constraints: vortex shedding strength from the trailing edge of

the airfoil is no greater than a selected

threshold value; a difference between

any resonant frequency of the airfoil

and the vortex shedding frequency is at

least equal to a threshold frequency difference; mass of the airfoil is no larger

than a threshold mass value; and pressure value at each of a sequence of selected locations along the surface of the

airfoil differs from a corresponding reference pressure value by no more than a

threshold pressure difference value.

This work was done by Man Mohan Rai of

Ames Research Center. Further information is

contained in a TSP (see page 1).

Inquiries concerning rights for the commercial use of this invention should be addressed

to the Ames Technology Partnerships Division

at 1-855-NASA-BIZ (1-855-6272-249). Refer

to ARC-14586-2
NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014 23

Fuzzy Neuron: Method and Hardware Realization

Simple and effective learning functions and adaptive elements can be placed into

small hardware systems to include instruments for space, bioimplantable devices, and

stochastic observers.

John H. Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

This innovation represents a method

by which single-to-multi-input, single-tomany-output system transfer functions

can be estimated from input/output

data sets. This innovation can be run in

the background while a system is operating under other means (e.g., through

human operator effort), or may be utilized offline using data sets created from

observations of the estimated system. It

utilizes a set of fuzzy membership functions spanning the input space for each

input variable. Linear combiners associated with combinations of input membership functions are used to create the

output(s) of the estimator. Coefficients

are adjusted online through the use of

learning algorithms.

This innovation has been demonstrated to be capable of creating usable

models that can effect any number of

complex transfer functions such as a continuous exclusive OR function, time domain (slew rate) filter, automatic gain

controller, non-linear algebraic function

calculator, and more. This innovation

was created specifically for embedment

within microcontrollers, allowing for

simple and effective placement of learning functions and adaptive elements into

small hardware systems to include instruments for space, bioimplantable devices,

stochastic observers, etc.

Small spaceflight (and other) instruments have been confined to simple systems utilizing microcontrollers and a

microcontroller core. Since most learning algorithms typically reside in larger

computational frames and are rather

complex (neural nets, for example), a

simpler solution to self-learning, autoadaptive systems would be attractive for

smaller embodiments. Fuzzy logic systems lend themselves well to microcontrollers, but adaptive fuzzy systems also

require a good deal of computational

power. Thus, the simpler components of

both fuzzy systems (input membership

functions) and the back error propagation neural net (the linear combiner)

were selected and fused into a simple

two-layer system that can be easily embedded into common microcontrollers.

The training method used is an LMS

(least mean square) algorithm based on

a modification to the Widrow-Hoff

learning algorithm. Coefficients and

constants for each linear combiner were

initialized to random values. Training

data from observations of a user's

Theoretical analysis has long indicated that feedback improves the error

exponent but not the capacity of pointto-point memoryless channels. The analytic and empirical results indicate that

at short blocklength regime, practical

rate-compatible punctured convolutional (RCPC) codes achieve low latency

with the use of noiseless feedback. In

3GPP, standard rate-compatible turbo

codes (RCPT) did not outperform the

convolutional codes in the short blocklength regime. The reason is the convolutional codes for low number of states

can be decoded optimally using Viterbi

decoder. Despite excellent performance

of convolutional codes at very short

blocklengths, the strength of convolutional codes does not scale with the

blocklength for a fixed number of states

in its trellis.

Protograph-based (PB) Raptor-like

codes can provide good performance

in an incremental redundancy scheme

with noiseless feedback over an additive

white Gaussian noise channel. Additionally, these codes are also desirable

for other applications were there is a

need for simple generation of various

code rates.

The proposed codes are based on protograph construction and they represent

a novel contribution. In the original Raptor code, the redundant bit generation is

based on a random selection of precoded

bits that are produced from an unstructured LDPC (Low Density Parity Check)

code. These redundant bits are selected

based on some optimized distribution.

Due to the nature of random selection,

the original Raptor code required some

additional information to be transmitted

to the receiver in order to enable the decoding process. In the proposed codes,

the redundant bits are generated based

to optimized protograph structure with

degree-1 nodes. Thus they do not need

any additional information to be transmitted to the receiver. The proposed

codes with protograph-based structure

have the advantage of low-complexity encoder and decoder implementation. The

proposed codes were designed for short

block sizes, but a similar construction

method can be applied to longer block

lengths for other applications.

Hybrid ARQ (hybrid automatic repeat

request — HARQ) is an error control

method. In standard ARQ error detection, symbols such as cyclic redundancy

check (CRC) are added to the information data. In HARQ, forward error correction code such as LDPC code symbols

are also added to the existing error detection symbols, such that small random

errors are corrected without retransmission, and major errors are corrected via

a request for retransmission. The hybrid

scheme performs better than standard

ARQ in poor signal conditions. The proposed protograph-based Raptor-like

codes can be used with HARQ.

This work was done by Dariush Divsalar of

Caltech; and Tsung-Yi Chen, Jiadong Wang,

and Richard D. Wesel of UCLA for NASA’s

Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For more information, contact iaoffice@jpl.nasa.gov.

The software used in this innovation is available for commercial licensing. Please contact Dan

Broderick at Daniel.F.Broderick@jpl.nasa.gov.

Refer to NPO-48128.

Protograph-Based Raptor-Like Codes

The proposed codes have the advantage of low-complexity encoder and decoder implementation.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
24 NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014

A family of schemes has been devised

for organizing the output of an algorithm for predictive data compression of

hyperspectral imagery so as to allow efficient parallelization in both the compressor and decompressor. In these

schemes, the compressor performs a

number of iterations, during each of

which a portion of the data is compressed via parallel threads operating on

independent portions of the data. The

general idea is that for each iteration it is

predetermined how much compressed

data will be produced from each thread.

A simple version of this technique is

applicable when the image is divided

into “pieces” that are compressed independently. As an example, for a compressor that does not make use of interband correlation, a piece could be defined to be an individual spectral band,

or a fixed number of bands. In the technique, the compressed output for a

piece is comprised of multiple “chunks.”

The concatenated chunks for a given

piece form the compressed output for

the piece. Most of the compressed image

is produced in multiple iterations, where

during a given iteration, one chunk is

produced for each piece. Prior to the

start of an iteration, chunk sizes are calculated for each piece. The chunks can

be produced or decompressed in parallel. It is noted that it is not specified how

much of the image data will go into a

chunk, and in fact a chunk may contain

incomplete portions of encoded samples (at the chunk’s start or end). The

compressor iterates the process of deciding on chunk sizes and producing

chunks for each piece of the requested

size, until compression of each piece is

almost finished. At that point, the remainder of the pieces is compressed serially without a target chunk size.

Typically, the chunk size calculation

should seek to balance the progress

through each piece, i.e., to leave equal

numbers of samples remaining in each

piece; a suggested procedure has this

aim. A key requirement on the chunk

input(s) to a system and the resultant

output(s) in real time or a posteriori, or

from software-generated data sets, were

presented to the system, which generated outputs. Once a system is learned,

the coefficients and constants can be

frozen and the algorithm embedded in

an application.

This work was done by Michael J. Krasowski

and Norman F. Prokop of Glenn Research Center. Further information is contained in a

TSP (see page 1).

Inquiries concerning rights for the commercial use of this invention should be addressed to

NASA Glenn Research Center, Innovative

Partnerships Office, Attn: Steven Fedor, Mail

Stop 4–8, 21000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland,

Ohio 44135. Refer to LEW-18887-1.

Kalman Filter Input Processor for Boresight Calibration

The new software brings this technology to the industrial level.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California

Ka-band ranging provides the phase

center (PC) to phase center range,

which needs to be converted to the center of mass (CM) to center of mass

range. Nominally, both PC and CM lie

on the line connecting the spacecraft

GRAIL A and GRAIL B. In this case, the

conversion should be done simply by

adding the CM-to-PC distance L to the

measured range for both spacecraft.

However, due to various technical reasons, such as displacement of the true

CM from its nominal position in the

SRF, or spacecraft attitude fluctuations,

the PC and CM define a unit vector that

may be different from the nominal line

of sight. The objectives of the software

are to determine the actual line of sight

direction for each spacecraft and correct

the previously recorded range data, and

to provide instructions for how to maneuver each spacecraft to make necessary attitude corrections.

While elements of this approach have

been used for the boresight calibration

in the GRACE project, the new software

brings this technology to the industrial

level. It is now fully documented and can

be used by people other than its developers. This innovation provides graphic

outputs and log files that are critical for

quick analysis and troubleshooting. In

addition to the line of sight direction,

the software allows one to evaluate the

CM-PC base length, which is important

when the PM location is subject to variations (e.g., due to fuel depletion).

This software is implemented in

Python and offers excellent cross-platform porting possibilities. It is very versatile, and may be applied under various

circumstances and for other related purposes. This innovation is capable of combining the input data from several calibration maneuvers, evaluating individual range biases, and compressing the

time stamps. It uses Lagrange interpolation for the orbit data, and a unique

quaternion-interpolating algorithm for

interpolating the attitude data. As a result, data files with different data rates

and independent time stamps can be

handled together.

This work was done by Dmitry V. Strekalov,

Gerhard L. Kruizinga, Meegyeong Paik, DahNing Yuan, and Sami W. Asmar of Caltech for

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For more information, please contact Brian Morrison at

Brian.A.Morrison@jpl.nasa.gov.

This software is available for commercial licensing. Please contact Dan Broderick at

Daniel.F.Broderick@jpl.nasa.gov. Refer to

NPO-48479.

Organizing Compression of Hyperspectral Imagery to Allow

Efficient Parallel Decompression

Higher compression factors can be attained.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
NASA Tech Briefs, January 2014 25

size calculation is that reasonable chunk

sizes must be decided on based only on

information from the compressed data

available at a given point in the process.

Similarly, from previous data, it must be

possible to evaluate when to switch from

the parallel chunk compression to the

serial process that completes compression of each piece.

A more general technique accommodates pieces that are not compressed independently, allowing compressors such

as the Fast Lossless (FL) to more fully exploit dependencies between spectral

bands, which generally allows a higher

compression factor to be achieved.

This work was done by Matthew A.

Klimesh and Aaron B. Kiely of Caltech for

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Further

information is contained in a TSP (see page

1). NPO-48521

Temperature Dependences of Mechanisms Responsible for the

Water-Vapor Continuum Absorption

Results can be used to develop better empirical models.

Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

The water-vapor continuum absorption

plays an important role in the radiative

balance in the Earth’s atmosphere. It has

been experimentally shown that for ambient atmospheric conditions, the continuum absorption scales quadratically with

the H2O number density and has a

strong, negative temperature dependence (T dependence). Over the years,

there have been three different theoretical mechanisms postulated: far-wings of

allowed transition lines, water dimers, and

collision-induced absorption. The first

mechanism proposed was the accumulation of absorptions from the far-wings of

the strong allowed transition lines. Later,

absorption by water dimers was proposed,

and this mechanism provides a qualitative

explanation for the continuum characters

mentioned above. Despite the improvements in experimental data, at present

there is no consensus on which mechanism is primarily responsible for the continuum absorption.

Because all three mechanisms scale as

the square of the H2O monomer number density, one way to discriminate between the mechanisms is by their T dependences. This work involved a

detailed study of the T dependence of

the continuum absorption based on the

far-wing theory. Because the calculated

absorption coefficients, especially their

T dependences, match the new NIST

measurements very well, one can conclude that in the 800 to 1,150 cm–1 region, contributions from far-wings of allowed H2O lines are the dominant

source responsible for the continuum.

Although all three mechanisms have a

negative T dependence, their T dependences would be characterized by individual features. To analyze the characteristics of the latter will enable one to

assess their roles with more certainty.

The dimer spectra exhibit a very strong

negative T dependence, the far-wing

theory exhibits a moderately strong negative one, and the collision-induced absorption has a weak and mainly negative

T dependence. In addition, these three

have quite different T dependence patterns, i.e., the strength of its T dependence varies differently as the frequency

of interest varies.

The far-wing theory exhibits the most

complex T dependence pattern and it

could vary significantly as the frequency

of interest varies. On the other hand,

the collision-induced absorption spectra

exhibit a systematic T dependence with

frequency. Finally, the pattern of the T

dependence of the dimer absorption is

rather simpler. By comparing theoretical

calculations from the far-wing theory

with the most recent and accurate experimental data at different temperatures

ranging from 310.8 to 363.6 K in the infrared windows, it was found that theoretical results agree very well with measurements in the 800 to 1,200 cm–1

region. Meanwhile, the new measurements show that at room temperature,

the continuum data are in reasonable

agreement with the widely used semiempirical MT_CKD continuum model,

but at higher temperatures, the

MT_CKD model provides very low values, up to 50% less than those experimentally measured. This indicates that

the T dependence exhibited in the current MT_CKD model is not correct, and

this model has to be modified.

This work was done by Qiancheng Ma of

Goddard Space Flight Center. Further information is contained in a TSP (see page 1). GSC16075-1


National Aeronautics and

Space Administration