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Aqueous Processes and Microbial Habitability of Gale Crater Sediments from the Blunts Point to the Glenn Torridon Clay Unit
Get PDFA driving factor for sending the Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity rover to Gale Crater was the orbital detection of clay minerals in the Glen Torridon (GT) clay unit. Clay mineral detections in GT suggested a past aqueous environment that was habitable, and could contain organic evidence of past microbiology. The mission of the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument onboard Curiosity was to detect organic evidence of past microbiology and to detect volatile bearing mineralogy that can inform on whether past geochemical conditions would have supported microbiological activity. The objective of this work was to 1) evaluate the depositional/alteration conditions of Blunts Point (BP) to GT sediments 2) search for evidence of organics, and 3) evaluate microbial habitability in the BP, Vera Rubin Ridge (VRR), and GT sedimentary rock
Introduction to UTM Services & Communication
Get PDFThis presentation provides an overview of NASA's UAS traffic management (UTM) system, defines key concepts, and gives a brief recap of the research done thus far. The UTM system is comprised of four key concepts: UAS Service Suppler (USS), USS Network, UAS Supplemental Data Service Suppliers (SDSP), and the Flight Information Management System (FIMS). Walking through an example UTM operation illustrates the basic contribution of and relationship between each of these components. While this is what a future operation could look like, today we have only started down the road. NASA, and particularly NASA Ames, has spent the last four years on UTM research, of which helped inform both regulation and industry
Oxygen Isotopic Imaging of Refractory Inclusions from the Miller Range (MIL) 090019 CO3 Chondrite: A Perovskite Perspective
Get PDFCalcium-Aluminum-rich Inclusions (CAIs) in primitive meteorites are the first solids to condense in the Solar System. The oxygen isotopic compositions recorded in various mineral components of CAIs provide clues about their origins and post-formation histories, recording processes such as condensation, melting, nebular alteration, and fluidrock reactions on the parent body. MIL 090019 is similar to some rare carbonaceous chondrites such as Acfer 094, DOM 08004/6 and ALH 77303 that contain high abundances of a variety of refractory inclusions. This provides an opportunity to study the oxygen isotopic record of different types of refractory inclusions within the same meteorite. We analyzed CAIs specifically targeting primary minerals that are direct nebular condensates, such as corundum and perovskite, with the goal of gaining insights into the O isotopic composition of the nebular gas(es) from which these CAIs condensed. As MIL 090019 is a classified as CO3.1, it shows some signs of thermal metamorphism, compared to the more primitive CO3 meteorites (e.g., DOM 08004/06). A second goal of this study is to search for evidence of nebular processes in phases such as perovskite and melilite that are susceptible to parent body alteration to varying degrees. We analyzed the oxygen isotopic compositions of various CAIs from the MIL 090019 CO3 carbonaceous chondrite by ion imaging using the NanoSIMS 50L (Nano Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer) at JSC following methods described in. An advantage of ion imaging over traditional spot analyses is that it provides spatial context to the oxygen isotopic data. This work builds on previously reported oxygen isotopic composition of two other CAIs (CAI-44 and CAI-E2) from the same meteorite thin section
Developing a Customized Composite Drought Index for Pakistan
Get PDFPakistan experiences frequent and intense agricultural drought, varying spatially and temporally. Prolonged dry conditions often result in failed crop production. Using multiple variables, different components of drought can be captured across a multitude of climatic zones and throughout different seasons. Developing a composite drought index (CDI), specific for each district, will provide a more complete view of agricultural drought and enhance early warning systems
Boulder Bands on Lobate Debris Aprons: Does Spatial Clustering Reveal Accumulation History for Martian Glaciations?
Get PDFGlacial landforms such as lobate debris aprons (LDA) and Concentric Crater Fill (CCF) are the dominant debris-covered glacial landforms on Mars. These landforms represent a volumetrically significant component of the Amazonian water ice budget, however, because small craters (diameter D 0.5-1 km) are poorly retained glacial brain terrain surfaces, and, since the glacial landforms are geologically young, it is challenging to reliably constrain either individual glacial deposit ages or formational sequences in order to determine how quickly the glaciers accumulated. A fundamental question remaining is whether ice deposition and flow that formed LDA occurred episodically during a few, short instances, or whether glacial flow was quasi-continuous over a long period (~108 yr). Because glaciation is thought to be controlled largely by obliquity excursions, a larger question is whether glacial deposits on Mars exhibit regional to global characteristics that can be used to infer synchronicity of flow or degradation
Risk Mapping and Interaction Approach: A Special Session for HSRB Risk Custodians
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Potential Alteration of Analogue Regolith by X-Ray Computed Tomography
Get PDFThe Mars 2020 rover mission will collect and cache samples from the martian surface for possible retrieval and subsequent return to Earth. Mars Returned Samples may provide definitive information about the presence of organic compounds that could shed light on the existence of past or present life on Mars. Post-mission analyses will depend on the development of a set of reliable sample handling and analysis procedures that cover the full range of materials which may or may not contain evidence of past or present martian life [1]
Leveraging Partnerships, Science Content, Special Events, and NASA Assets to Help Girl Scouts Earn Space Science Badges
Get PDFThroughout 2019, NASA celebrated historic anniversaries and announced bold new programs generating excitement about earth and space exploration. One of the most notable events was the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 historic first steps on the Moon. Complementing this anniversary event were the additional activities and events conducted across the agency that highlighted the many science achievements that were attained across all of NASAs Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Divisions (earth, planetary, heliophysics, and astrophysics). Further excitement was generated through NASAs Artemis program which plans to send the first woman and next man to the surface of the Moon. NASA continues to inspire the public including learners of all ages around the world. Building on this momentum, in October 2019, the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Science Engagement team partnered with the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) and the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto to host an event that enabled Girl Scouts to earn recently released space science badges developed by the Reach for the Stars: NASA Science for Girls Scouts Program. The event celebrated SMD science and highlighted Earths Moon and International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN) while facilitating the earning of the NASA inspired space science badges. This event was coordinated and led by the ARES Science Engagement team as part of their collaborative work and involvement in NASAs SMD Science Activation Program
TEM Characterization of Solar Wind Effects on Genesis Mission Silicon Collectors
Get PDFThe Genesis Discovery Mission passively allowed solar wind (SW) to implant into substrates during exposure times up to ~853 days from 2001 to 2004. The spacecraft then returned the SW to Earth for analysis. Substrates included semiconductor wafers (silicon, sapphire, and germanium), as well as a number of thin films supported by either silicon or sapphire wafers. During flight, subsets of the SW collectors were exposed to one of 4 SW regimes: bulk solar wind, coronal hole solar wind (CH, high speed), interstream solar wind (IS, low speed) or coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Each SW regime had a different composition and range of ion speeds and, during their collection, uniquely changed their host SW collector. This study focuses on bulk vs IS SW effects on CZ silicon
New Candidate Interstellar Particle in Stardust IS Aerogel Collector: Analysis by STXM and Ptychography
Get PDFThe Stardust Interstellar Preliminary Examination (ISPE) reported in 2014 the discovery of 7 probable contemporary interstellar (IS) particles captured in Stardust IS Collector aerogel and foils. The ISPE reports represented work done over 6 years by more than 60 scientists and >30,000 volunteers, which emphasizes the challenge identifying and analyzing Stardust IS samples was far beyond the primary Stardust cometary collection. We present a new potentially interstellar particle resulting from a continuation of analyses of the IS aerogel collection