• From prototype to flight: qualifying a Ka-band Parabolic Deployable Antenna (KaPDA) for CubeSats 

  Sauder, Jonathan; Chahat, Nacer; Hirsch, Brian; Hodges, Richard; Peral, Eva; Thomson, Mark W.; Rahmat-Samii, Yahya (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2017, 2017-01-09)

  CubeSats have experienced a number of exciting technological advancements in the past several years. However, until recently, there has been very limited development in the area of high gain CubeSat antennas, which are ...
• Band engineering, growth and characteristics of type-II InAs/GaSb superlattice-based detectors 

  Khoshakhlagh, A.; Ting, D.Z.; Soibel, A.; Hill, C.J.; Hoglund, L.; Nguyen, J.; Keo, S.A.; Liao, A.; Gunapala, S.D. (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2016, 2016-10-02)

  We report on band engineering, growth and device performance of infrared photodetectors based on type II InAs/Ga(In)Sb strain layer superlattices (SLs) using the complementary barrier infrared detector (CBIRD) design. The ...
• Satellite sea ice measurements in the Arctic Ocean 

  Halpern, David; Drinkwater, Mark R.; Meier, Walter N.; Melling, Humfrey (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2016, 2016-06-08)
• Humanoids and the potential role of electroactive materials/mechanisms in advancing their capability 

  Bar-Cohen, Yoseph (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2016, 2016-06-05)

  Humanoids are increasingly becoming capable biologically inspired robots that are appearing and behaving lifelike. Making humanlike robots is the ultimate challenge to biomimetics and, while for many years they were ...
• Auto-gopher-2 - wireline deep sampler driven by percussive piezoelectric actuator and rotary EM motors 

  Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Zacny, Kris; Badescu, Mircea; Lee, Hyeong Jae; Sherrit, Stewart; Bao, Xiaoqi; Freeman, David; Paulsen, Gale L.; Beegle, Luther (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2016, 2016-06-05)

  Two of the key purposes of future NASA’s solar system exploration of planetary bodies are the search for potentially preserved bio-signatures and for habitable regions. To address these objectives, a biologically inspired ...
• Risk reduction for the system design of an enhanced MMRTG 

  Woerner, David (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2016, 2016-05-29)

  This paper briefly describes some of the documented risks and mitigations or reduction approaches to be applied in the coming 3 years, on the way to completing the eMMRTG concept.
• NASADEM global elevation model: methods and progress 

  Crippen, R.; Buckley, S.; Belz, E.; Gurrola, E.; Hensley, S.; Kobrick, M.; Lavalle, M.; Martin, J.; Neumann, M.; Nguyen, Q.; Rosen, P.; Shimada, J.; Simard, M.; Tung, W. (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2016, 2016-07-12)

  NASADEM is a near-global elevation model that is being produced primarily by completely reprocessing the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) radar data and then merging it with refined ASTER GDEM elevations. The new ...
• Monolithic high power semiconductor seed lasers near 2.5 µm 

  Bagheri, Mahmood; Frez, Clifford; Spiers, Gary; Fradet, Mathieu; Forouhar, Siamak (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2016, 2016-06-27)

  We report on the development and demonstration of a compact 2-mm semiconductor seed laser for CO2 lidar instruments. Our monolithic high-power fiber-pigtailed semiconductor seed laser will greatly enhance the operability ...
• Productivity challenges for Mars rover operations 

  Gaines, Daniel; Anderson, Robert; Doran, Gary; Huffman, William; Justice, Heather; Mackey, Ryan; Rabideau, Gregg; Vasavada, Ashwin; Verma, Vandana; Estlin, Tara; Fesq, Lorraine; Ingham, Michel; Maimone, Mark; Nesnas, Issa (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2016, 2016-06-12)

  Achieving consistently high levels of productivity for surface exploration missions has been a challenge for Mars missions. While the rovers have made major discoveries and accomplished a large number of objectives, they ...
• Technology Development Plan and Preliminary Results for a Low Temperature Hybrid Mars Ascent Vehicle Concept 

  Karp, Ashley; Nakazono, Barry; Shotwell, Robert; Benito, Joel; Vaughan, David (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2017, 2017-07-10)

  A hybrid propulsion system is being considered for a potential Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) based on its low temperature capability, ability to restart and high performance. The hybrid’s ability to survive in low and variable ...
• Status of NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communication Technology Demonstration 

  Biswas, Abhijit; Srinivasan, Meera; Rogalin, Ryan; Piazzolla, Sabino; Liu, John; Schratz, Brian; Wong, Andre; Wright, Malcolm; Roberts, William T; Kovalik, Joseph; Ortiz, Gerardo; Na-Nakornpanom, Arthur; Shaw, Matthew; Okino, Clay; Andrews, Kenneth; Peng, Michael; Orozco, David; Klipstein, William (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2017, 2017-11-14)

  With NASA funding, the Deep Space Optical Communication (DSOC) Project at JPL is planning a system level technology demonstration of optical communications from deep space. A 22 cm diameter flight laser transceiver (FLT) ...
• Transient thermal analysis of the 12.5 kW HERMeS Hall thruster 

  Reilly, Sean; Sekerak, Michael; Hofer, Richard (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2016, 2016-07-10)

  In this paper, we describe a thermal model of the HERMeS thruster and focus upon the thruster's transient performance under different initial firing conditions. The thruster's transient thermal response is critical to ...
• NISAR spacecraft environmental torque modeling during operations 

  Rizvi, Farheen (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2016, 2016-06-13)

  Environmental torques imparted on the NISAR spacecraft are modeled. The environmental torques comprise of the gravity gradient, atmospheric drag, and solar radiation pressure. These torques act as external disturbances on ...
• MLI blanket effective emittance variance and its effect on spacecraft propellant line thermal control 

  Miller, Jennifer R.; Bhandari, Pradeep; Novak, Keith; Lyra, Jacqueline (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2016, 2016-07-10)

  Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) blankets commonly employed for temperature control of spacecraft propellant lines consistently show large variances in their effective emittances. These variances are primarily due to workmanship, ...
• Electrostatic discharge testing of carbon composite solar array panels for the Europa mission to Jupiter 

  Green, Nelson W.; Dawson, Stephen F. (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2016, 2016-04-04)

  Carbon composite solar array panel coupons similar to those considered for use on the planned NASA Europa Mission were exposed to energetic electrons to observe the size and rate of electrostatic discharge production. The ...
• Space architecture for MoonVillage 

  Sherwood, Bent (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2016, 2016-07-10)

  The concept of a multinational MoonVillage, as proposed by Jan Wörner of ESA, is analyzed with respect to diverse factors affecting its implementation feasibility: potential activities and scale as a function of location, ...
• MAGNETOUR: surfing planetary systems on electromagnetic and multi-body gravity fields 

  Lantoine, Gregory; Russell, Ryan P.; Anderson, Rodney L.; Garrett, Henry B.; Katz, Ira (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2016, 2016-05-24)

  A comprehensive visit of the complex outer planet systems is a central goal in space science. However, orbiting multiple moons of the same planet would be extremely prohibitive using traditional propulsion and power ...
• Reconstructed parachute system performance during the second LDSD supersonic flight dynamics test 

  O'Farrell, Clara; Brandeau, Erich J.; Tanner, Christopher L.; Gallon, John C.; Muppidi, Suman; Clark, Ian G. (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2016, 2016-06-13)

  This paper describes the resulting reconstructed behavior of the PDD and SSRS during deployment and inflation, their aerodynamic performance on SFDT-2, the failure of the SSRS shortly after full inflation, and the LDSD ...
• Mid and thermal infrared remote sensing at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

  Johnson, William R.; Hook, Simon J. (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2016, 2016-04-17)

  Over the past few decades, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been building up a portfolio of technology to capture the MTIR for various scientific applications. Three recent sensors are briefly reviewed: The airborne ...
• Modeling of active tether system concepts for planetary exploration 

  Quadrelli, Marco B.; Ono, Masahiro; Jain, Abhinandan (Pasadena, CA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2016, 2016-05-24)

  This paper summarizes an approach for modeling, simulation, and control of tethered systems in which the tether is actively controlled. Various aspects of the system model are described, including tether dynamics, end-effector ...

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