Digital Commons Network^™

De-Starlite: A Directed Energy Planetary Defense Mission, Kelly Kosmo, Mark Pryor, Philip Lubin, Gary B. Hughes, Hugh O'Neill, Peter Meinhold, Jonathan Suen, Jordan Riley, Janelle Griswold, Brianna Vail Cook, Isabella E. Johansson, Qicheng Zhang, Kevin Walsh, Carl Melis, Miikka Kangas, J Bible, Caio Motta, Travis Brashears, Shana Mathew, Justin Bollag

Statistics

This paper presents the motivation behind and design of a directed energy planetary defense system that utilizes laser ablation of an asteroid to impart a deflecting force on the target. The proposed system is called DE-STARLITE for Directed Energy System for Targeting of Asteroids and ExploRation – LITE as it is a small, stand-on unit of a larger standoff DE-STAR system. Pursuant to the stand-on design, ion engines will propel the spacecraft from low-Earth orbit (LEO) to the near-Earth asteroid (NEA). During laser ablation, the asteroid itself becomes the "propellant"; thus a very modest spacecraft can deflect an asteroid much …

Optical Modeling For A Laser Phased-Array Directed Energy System, Gary B. Hughes, Philip Lubin, Janelle Griswold, Brianna Cook, Durante Bozzini, Hugh O'Neill, Peter Meinhold, Jonathan Suen, J Bible, Jordan Riley, Isabella E. Johansson, Mark Pryor, Miikka Kangas

Statistics

We present results of optical simulations for a laser phased array directed energy system. The laser array consists of individual optical elements in a square or hexagonal array. In a multi-element array, the far-field beam pattern depends on both mechanical pointing stability and on phase relationships between individual elements. The simulation incorporates realistic pointing and phase errors. Pointing error components include systematic offsets to simulate manufacturing and assembly variations. Pointing also includes time-varying errors that simulate structural vibrations, informed from random vibration analysis of the mechanical design. Phase errors include systematic offsets, and time-varying errors due to both mechanical vibration …

Multiple Transient Memories In Experiments On Sheared Non-Brownian Suspensions, Joseph D. Paulsen, Nathan Keim, Sidney R. Nagel

Physics

A system with multiple transient memories can remember a set of inputs but subsequently forgets almost all of them, even as they are continually applied. If noise is added, the system can store all memories indefinitely. The phenomenon has recently been predicted for cyclically sheared non-Brownian suspensions. Here we present experiments on such suspensions, finding behavior consistent with multiple transient memories and showing how memories can be stabilized by noise.

Transcritical Generation Of Nonlinear Internal Waves In The Presence Of Background Shear Flow, Marek Stastna, Ryan Walter

Physics

While the occurrence of large amplitude internal waves in the Earth's natural bodies of water is widely documented, the generation of these waves remains an active area of exploration. We discuss numerical simulations of transcritical flows of a density stratified fluid with a dual focus on the role of a background shear current and transitions of the background current from super to subcritical. We demonstrate that the presence of a background shear can lead to the formation of large quasi-trapped regions of high vorticity over the downstream slope of the topography, but that this vorticity leads to only moderate perturbations …

Is There Progress Toward Sustainability?: Despite The Inherent Human Resistance To Change., Jens Pohl

Collaborative Agent Design (CAD) Research Center

The theme of this paper is to briefly survey the status of current efforts to maintain our natural environment and then discuss prospects for achieving future sustainability. The author finds that while there has been general recognition of the need for environmental sensitivity and conservation of natural resources, progress toward achieving sustainability goals has been slow. A principal reason for this lack of action is found in the reactive nature of the human species. Situated by biological design in our environment we typically respond to environmental changes only after they have occurred. Accordingly, while a number of revolutionary proposals have …

Laboratory Evaluation Of Black Carbon Deposition Onto Snow And Transport Via Snowmelt, Larry D. Hermanson, Joshua P. Schwarz

STAR Program Research Presentations

Black carbon (BC) is an aerosol material produced by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass. BC has been shown to be the second most important anthropogenic climate warming agent after carbon dioxide due to its ability to absorb solar radiation, influence cloud behavior, and accelerate snow melt. BC in otherwise clean snow can significantly reduce its reflectivity. In order to learn about the significance of BC contamination in snow, we explored the deposition of BC onto snow and the transport of BC in snow during snowmelt. A Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2), was used to measure the concentration and …

Energy Surety For Us Army Buildings In Afghanistan, Eric D. Reisweber

STAR Program Research Presentations

Energy access and reliability are high priorities at the U.S. Army bases in Afghanistan. Using photovoltaic (PV) arrays can help diversify the systems that supply energy to a given area increasing energy safety, security, reliability and sustainability—and thus improving energy surety. PV systems, which convert incoming solar radiation into usable electric power, may be a wise choice for bases in the Middle East because the solar resource is relatively constant and abundant. Solar resource refers to the amount of solar radiation a given location on earth’s surface receives. The solar resource for two locations were investigated in this study using …

Remote Exploration: Understanding Martian Surface Processes, Sarah M. Bass, Virginia C. Gulick, Natalie Glines, Patrick Freeman

STAR Program Research Presentations

Earth and Mars share many similar physical features, including canyons, valleys, craters, volcanoes, ice, and gullies. My research focuses on two distinct projects. The first concentrates on the formation of gullies, which are channel networks generally formed on mid-latitude crater walls on Mars. Debated gully-forming processes include the melting of snowpacks, sublimation of accumulated carbon dioxide frost, melting of snow-rich dusty mantle material, and groundwater flows. Using High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) images of gullies and working with Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) in ENVI, we are able to perform detailed studies of gully morphology, including volume calculations using slope, …

Laser Frequency Stabilization For Lisa, Andrew B. Parker, Andrew J. Sutton, Glenn De Vine

STAR Program Research Presentations

This research focuses on laser ranging developments for LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna), a planned NASA-ESA gravitational wave detector in space. LISA will utilize precision laser interferometry to track the changes in separation between three satellites orbiting 5 million kilometers apart. Specifically, our goal is to investigate options for laser frequency stabilization. Previous research has shown that an optical cavity system can meet LISA's stability requirements, but these units are large and heavy, adding cost to the implementation. A heterodyne Mach-Zehnder interferometer could be integrated onto LISA’s existing optical bench, greatly reducing the weight, provided the interferometer meets the stability …

Environmental Testing Of Lasers For Jpl's Cold Atom Laboratory, Carey L. Baxter

STAR Program Research Presentations

NASA’s Cold Atom Lab (CAL) is a multi-user facility designed to study ultra-cold quantum gases in the microgravity environment of the International Space Station (ISS). One of the main goals of CAL is to explore the unknown territory of extremely low temperatures—possibly as low as the picokelvin range!—where new and fascinating quantum phenomena can be observed. At such temperatures matter stops behaving as particles and instead becomes macroscopic matter waves. CAL will be remotely controlled to perform a multitude of experiments and is scheduled to launch in 2016. In order to anticipate problems that might occur during and post-launch, including …

A Prototype Microwave Cavity Control Circuit For Use In Next Generation Free Electron Laser, Josh Thompson, Peter Neal Barrina, Jiayi Jiang, Joe Frisch, Steve Smith, Daniel Van Winkle

STAR Program Research Presentations

One of the current programs at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is the Linac Coherent Light Source, or LCLS. Using the existing hardware of the last third of their linear accelerator (or “linac”), SLAC has created one of the most energetic X-ray free electron lasers (or “FEL”). Since 2009, LCLS has used this FEL to perform a wide range of experiments across all sciences, most notably ultrafast filming at the molecular scale. As requests for beam-time with this laser increases, SLAC is purposing a linac upgrade to better match this demand. This upgrade, named LCLS-II, will replace existing copper radio frequency …

Jellyfish Throwdown: Invasive Versus Native, Brooke Bemowski, Trisha Huynh, Lindsay J. Sullivan, Wim Kimmerer

STAR Program Research Presentations

The San Francisco Bay Estuary is home to many species of marine and wildlife that create a delicate ecological balance. Invasive jellyfish introduced to the bay though cargo shipping are believed to be competing with the endangered delta smelt for the same food source of copepods. Samples of zooplankton were taken from high and low salinity zones in the San Francisco Bay over three years in months June through February to correlate with the peak of the jellyfish lifecycle. The preserved samples are looked through and jellyfish are removed and recorded. The species of jellyfish is determined using features such …

Assessing The Influence Of Mineral Surface Chemistry On Soil Organic Matter Stability In The Us In Response To Climate Change, Alexandra Toledo, Katherine Heckman

STAR Program Research Presentations

Soils represent a significant pool for carbon storage and sequestration. Previous field experiments have indicated that some mineral compositions are more effective in preserving soil organic matter (SOM) from microbial degradation. Due to climate change, it is important to quantify which soil types are changing in mineral surface chemistry. One way to do that is by differentiating the SOM stabilization mechanisms in different soil types at various depths. This study focused on examining the distribution of soil mass and composition by the soils density and mineral classification and the soils stability by measuring the amount of carbon and radiocarbon abundance. …

Using Remote Sensing Data To Predict The Spread Of Mosquito Borne Disease, Mary Ellen O'Donnell, Erika Podest

STAR Program Research Presentations

There is interest in how environmental variables derived from satellite data such as temperature, vegetation cover, and precipitation correlate to vector borne disease occurrence such as malaria and dengue fever. This study will be carried out using a decision tree based open source software called Random Forests to find correlations between the remote sensing variables and mosquito abundance. Software will be written in C# to take large amounts of data from the NASA satellite database and automatically format it for the Random Forest Software input. Correlations found, using Random Forests, between disease incidence and the variables can be used as …

Hunting Starstuff: Searching For Calcium-Aluminum-Rich Inclusions In Cometary Dust, Christian Engelbrecht

STAR Program Research Presentations

NASA’s Stardust mission (1999 - 2006) returned physical samples of the particles ejected by the comet 81P/Wild 2, collected in ultralight and extremely low density aerogel. These samples have been extensively analyzed using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), among other techniques, to determine the elemental, chemical and mineralogical composition of Wild 2. Because comets are thought to be formed in the icy outer regions of the solar system, billions of years ago, the Stardust data gives us details of the composition of the ancient solar system and its subsequent evolution. One of the surprises to come out of the data is the …

Salinity And Temperature Distribution Of Jellyfish In The San Francisco Estuary, Trisha Huynh, Brooke Bemowski, Lindsay Sullivan, Wim Kimmerer

STAR Program Research Presentations

Jellyfish are generally characterized by their jelly-like bodies and internal lining (two tissue layers). They found both in the phylum Ctenophora and the phylum Cnidaria. Ctenophores differ from cnidarians primarily due to the rows of “combs”, or cilia, which are used for transportation. Additionally, ctenophores possess sticky cells while cindarians possess stinging cells. Jellyfish depend on zooplankton (small floating aquatic animals) as a food source; as a result, they are potential competitors and predators to plankton-eating fish and may negatively impact fish populations.

As recently as 1950, jellyfish have entered the San Francisco Bay from the Mediterranean Sea (probably …

Maximizing Precision Of Variable Star Photometry With Digital Cameras In Suburban Environments, David Hergesheimer

STAR Program Research Presentations

Photometry is the measure of the brightness of an object. When making such measurements on stars, it is done is units of magnitude, which is on a logarithmic scale with a base of ~2.512. Variable star photometry using a commercially available digital camera is not going to be as accurate and precise as equipment used by astronomers, and because of the logarithmic scale of magnitude used, determining how much of an effect different error reduction strategies have is not straightforward, and is best done experimentally.

My research is conducting photometry on variable stars (changing brightness) with a digital camera, and …

Measuring K-Shell Transitions In L-Shell Ions Of Aluminum Using Llnl Ebit, Grecia Ramos

STAR Program Research Presentations

We measured the transition energies of the 1s-2p Kα transitions in Al4+ through Al11+. The aluminum ions were created and trapped using the LLNL’s Electron Beam Ion Trap (EBIT). Once created and trapped, upper levels were collisionally excited by electrons in EBIT's electron beam. X-ray emission following radiative decay of excited levels was detected using the EBIT Calorimeter Spectrometer (ECS). We have measured the centroids of the strongest lines to an accuracy of less than 1 eV. These results will be used to properly identify line emission from celestial x-ray sources, such as elliptical galaxy NGC 4472 and black hole …

The Power Plant Mapping Student Project, Kelsey Tayne, Tom Oda

STAR Program Research Presentations

The Power Plant Mapping Student Project: Bringing Citizen Science to Schools

Kelsey Tayne¹, Tom Oda²

¹STEM Teacher and Researcher (STAR) Fellow, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA 94132

²NOAA ESRL, Global Monitoring Division, Boulder, CO 80303

Emissions inventory (EI) is a conventional tool to monitor changes in anthropogenic emissions and can visually show geographical patterns of emission changes. The EI community is aware of significant errors in the geographical locations of point sources, including power plants. The Power Plant Mapping Student Project (PPMSP) is a platform designed for students in 4^th through 12 …

Geochemical Analysis Of Ice Age River Deposits From Turlock Lake Formation, Cemex Quarry Fresno, Ca, Ray J. Bargas

STAR Program Research Presentations

Nineteen bags of Pleistocene Age river deposited samples were taken from the Cemex Quarry in Fresno, CA. There are three formations in the area, deposited from rivers derived from glaciers, consisting of the Modesto, Riverbank, and Turlock Lake; youngest deposited to oldest respectively.

Phi sizes refer to each of the individual grains diameter, larger sized grains are in the negative spectrum while smaller grains are positive. Each sample has phi size bags that range in sizes from -5 to 4+, excluding phi size -2. For the phi sizes of -3 to -5, each individual rock was measured on its three …

Foss Big Data Storage Solution, Gary L. Jaffe

STAR Program Research Presentations

Utilizing the AERO Institute as an IT test bed or “sandbox”, a small-agile development team will design, build, and test a data management storage system to support post processing of archived and in-flight data collected with the Piccolo flight control system and Compact Fiber Optic Sensing System (C-FOSS). Both systems are integrated on the APV3 aircraft, a small remote-operated vehicle. Due to the amount of data collected from C-FOSS, a system will be designed to sort and organize large data sets. An open-source database will be explored as a viable solution to manage large data loads and provide multi-cluster system …

Local Buckling Behavior Of Round Steel Tubes Subjected To Compressive Loads, Joseph Moore, Ben Fell

STAR Program Research Presentations

This project will investigate the local buckling induced fracture behavior of round steel tubes subjected to axial compressive loads, representative of observed failures in buried pipelines during seismic events. Nine initial tests will be conducted across three lengths of round steel tube: 8”, 12”, and 20”. Another twelve tests will be conducted on the lengths of 12” and 20” to test varying initial compressive force upon the round steel tubes. Three D/t ratios will be considered for each length of round steel tube: 52.6, 78.9, and 121.2. To verify the material properties of the test specimens an ancillary tensile coupon …

Phylogenetic Diversity Of Microbial Isolates From The Mars Pathfinder, Kyla Bradylong, Adriana Blachowicz, Parag Vaishampayan, James N. Benardini, Wayne Schubert

STAR Program Research Presentations

As spacecraft are sent to different planets, they take with them microscopic pieces of life from Earth. It is the task of the Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group to keep as much of this life off other planets as possible as well as document any life that may have been sent. During the construction of the Mars Pathfinder, samples were collected from various locations on the spacecraft to test for contamination. These samples were then isolated, grown, documented, preserved and their 16S rRNA genes were sequenced for identification. The 16S rRNA gene sequence is utilized because it is a highly …

San Joaquin River's Sediment Textural Features, Erika Arreguin-Cazarez

STAR Program Research Presentations

The research will be focusing on sediments from Turlock Lake and Riverbank. My focus is to analyze the sediments to know if there are any correlations between the textural features of the sediments between Turlock Lake and Riverbank based on their size. It is expected the environment of the lakes and the rivers has an effect in the changes and if the energy of the water flow also affects the different textural features. The textural features will focus on; roundness, shiny vs. dull, rough vs. smooth, and their shape. The shape is calculated by the three dimensions of the sediment; …

Big Data Storage Solution, Dulce P. Ramirez

STAR Program Research Presentations

The APV3 an unmanned vehicle utilizes different methods of data collection such as fiber optics, piccolo, and other data loggers. The fiber optics solely are able to collect thousands of strain data per 1/2 inch of wire, which generates enormous amounts of data. The AERO software architecture team will utilize the AERO institute as an IT test bed to validate the use of Cassandra, and development of a data interface. Using the already exiting AERO portal and Cassandra database the team will validate the ability to store and display data. Cassandra in contrast to other programs is inexpensive and may …

The Path To The Sea: Leatherback Hatchling Orientation At Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, Christina Macmillan, Kelly Stewart

STAR Program Research Presentations

Once sea turtle hatchlings emerge from their nest, they must find their way to the ocean by using cues such as a bright horizon and the slope of the beach. While moving toward the water, hatchlings often must navigate past predators and through vegetation, sticks, footprints in the sand, and other dangers such as ghost crab holes. Sometimes hatchlings become confused (or disoriented) and turn in circles to find the right route to the water. Sea turtle hatchlings also may become disoriented as a result of human impacts such as town lights or trash. The purpose of our experiment was …

San Joaquin River Grain Size, Anallely Ceballos

STAR Program Research Presentations

The purpose of this research in the bigger picture is to better anticipate future river flow of the San Joaquin River. By studying the sediments transported from the Sierra Nevada into different formations of rivers such as Turlock, Riverbank and Modesto, we hope to know more about what caused different river flow, sediment transportation and why. Samples from different outcrops in the Fresno quary have been collected and documented by another Fresno State Student. The samples were sieved and measured by phi size then classified by lithofacies. Lithofacies are grouping of rock units with similar lithologic (texture, composition, sed. structures) …

Wind Speed And Seismic Motion Data Analysis, Margarita Vidrio

STAR Program Research Presentations

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) was developed to exploit Einstein's prediction of gravitational waves to develop a new way to study the universe. Gravitational waves are detected by observing changes less than 1/10000 of the diameter of a proton in the distances between hanging mirrors that are four kilometers apart within two perpendicular evacuated tubes. These changes in distances between mirrors are produced by gravitational waves from large masses in space, such as colliding black holes. Many factors affect the sensitivity of the interferometer. LIGO’s Physical Environment Monitoring subsystem (PEM) is one method of both eliminating noise and …

The Chemical Mixture Methodology And Why We Enhance It, Erin Griffin

STAR Program Research Presentations

The Chemical Mixture Methodology (CMM) is a tool used to assess potential hazardous health impacts of the release of chemical mixtures into the atmosphere. Furthermore, the CMM helps determine if these potential adverse toxic effects will affect an individual’s ability to take protective actions in an emergency. The CMM first calculates the Hazard Index (HI) of each chemical then adds the individual HIs together. If the value of the summed HI is >1.0 further examination is warranted. To do so, Health Code Numbers (HCNs), that are similar to medical diagnostic codes, are used to group toxic effects targeting the same …

Foss Big Data Storage Solution, Nurdeen Salami

STAR Program Research Presentations

NASA projects require a reliable approach to store large volumes of data. Accordingly, it is crucial to adopt a lightweight, reliable, and scalable database. Current NASA databases bear costly license fees with undesirable speed and flexibility. The purpose of utilizing the AERO Institute as an IT test bed, or “Sandbox,” is to design, build, test, and implement software solutions prior to transfer to NASA projects. Cassandra coupled with the Astyanax API is a viable solution for storing big data. Store a minimum of 2GB of C-FOSS data in multiple file formats (.csv, .log, .xml, and .jpg). Use benchmark tests to …