NASA's Search Research Articles

Kinetic impact of a space vehicle with asteroid on collision course with earth

NEO (Near Earth Objects) are near-Earth space objects (asteroids and comets), whose orbit approaches the planet at one third of the average Earth-Sun distance. NEO are potentially capable of hitting Earth in the next century, with the exception of comets that can do so by the gravitational effect of Jupiter, pushing them into the Solar System. Current estimates1 indicate about 940 near-Earth objects larger than 1 kilometer in diameter. The US Congress has set targets for NASA's search for NEO, with 90% of them with a diameter of up to 1 km or greater in 10 years. This was motivated by a recent discovery in 2009 of a NEO approximately 2 to 3 km in diameter. These objects could cause global devastation if they hit Earth. In this research the NEO-Earth collision dynamics is studied and a statistic of physical and technological parameters is established as a mitigation strategy.

Stellar Variability Observed with Kepler

AbstractThe Kepler photometer was launched in March 2009 initiating NASA's search for Earth-size planets orbiting in the habitable zone of their star. After three years of science operations, Kepler has proven to be a veritable cornucopia of science results, both for exoplanets and for astrophysics. The phenomenal photometric precision and continuous observations required in order to identify small, rocky transiting planets enables the study of a large range of phenomena contributing to stellar variability for many thousands of solar-like stars in Kepler's field of view in exquisite detail. These effects range from <1 ppm acoustic oscillations on timescales from a few minutes and longward, to flares on timescales of hours, to spot-induced modulation on timescales of days to weeks to activity cycles on timescales of months to years. Recent improvements to the science pipeline have greatly enhanced Kepler's ability to reject instrumental signatures while better preserving intrinsic stellar variability, opening up the timescales for study well beyond 10 days. We give an overview of the stellar variability we see across the full range of spectral types observed by Kepler, from the cool, small red M stars to the hot, large late A stars, both in terms of amplitude as well as timescale. We also present a picture of what the extended mission will likely bring to the field of stellar variability as we progress from a 3.5 year mission to a 7.5+ year mission.

Longer Trips Possible for Human Missions

In his News Focus story “NASA weighs asteroids: Cheaper than moon, but still not easy” (18 February, p. [841][1]), R. Kerr discusses NASA's search for destination near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) and the hope that a suitably sized candidate NEA, which can serve as a “stepping stone” for humans to

A Windfall for Defenders of the Planet

Only about 5% of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) 140 meters in diameter and larger—so-called city killers—have been found under NASA's search program. If U.S. astronauts hopscotch from one NEA practicing for their trip to Mars, it will be a big help to the search.

Life as We Do Not Know It: The NASA Search for (and Synthesis of) Alien Life

Life as We Do Not Know It: The NASA Search for (and Synthesis of) Alien Life

The synergy of biology, intelligent systems, and space exploration

The authors discuss some of the ways that intelligent systems are advancing the understanding of human and other genomes as well as the molecular regulatory mechanisms for gene expression. They also extrapolate and speculate on space applications that could result from this new understanding of biology, in such areas as human spaceflight (including space medicine and life support systems), NASA's search for life elsewhere (astrobiology), and robotic spaceflight (biofabrication and in situ assembly).

Cultural aspects of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence

SETI is an acronym which stands for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. The NASA SETI High Resolution Microwave Survey Project is a new and comprehensive search for evidence of microwave signals from extraterrestrial civilizations. It will formally begin on October 12, 1992, and last to the end of the century. The discovery of another form of intelligent life would be an important milestone for our civilization. In addition to the new scientific knowledge that we might acquire on the chemistry, physiology, behavior and evolutionary history of extraterrestrial life forms, we may also learn of the cultural achievements of another civilization, or indeed of many other civilizations. It is likely that the society that we detect will be much in advance of our own, so that they may long ago have passed through the evolutionary stage we are at now. The implications of such a discovery would have important consequences for our own future. This paper presents an analysis of some of the important areas which will require study as we approach the beginning of the NASA search. There are significant questions about the ease or difficulty of incorporating the new knowledge into the belief structures of different religions. Sociological and educational changes over time may equal or exceed those of the Copernican revolution. The status of the other civilization relative to ours is a challenging question for international space law. There are institutional and international questions on who will represent Earth in any future interstellar communication endeavors that we may attempt. There may be challenges in how we absorb the knowledge of an advanced technology. In political science we may have much to learn from their history, and what influence it may have on our own future. Last but not least, there is the effect of the discovery on individual and group psychology. These are the cultural aspects of SETI. Each area warrants further study, and recommendations are made as to the mechanisms which could be used to undertake such studies.

Utah, The Right Place: The Official Centennial History

Journal Article Utah, The Right Place: The Official Centennial History Get access Utah, The Right Place: The Official Centennial History. By Alexander Thomas G.. (Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 1995. 487 pp. Illustrations, maps, tables, bibliography, index. $24.95.) Roger D. Launius Roger D. Launius NASA Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Western Historical Quarterly, Volume 27, Issue 4, Winter 1996, Pages 540–542, https://doi.org/10.2307/970565 Published: 01 November 1996

Senate seeks to cut NASA's search for "Green Martians"

Senate seeks to cut NASA's search for "Green Martians"

The MCSA 2.1: A fully digital real-time spectrum analyzer developed for NASA's SETI Project

The MCSA 2.1, the Multi-Channel Spectrum Analyzer, is a fully digital spectrometer optimized for the detection of narrow-band signals. The MCSA 2.1 has a single analog input, which is fed to an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter running at 130 M samples per second, and hence covers a 65 MHz bandwidth. The MCSA 2.1 design includes a digital downconverter, which bandpasses 10 MHz, downshifts it to baseband, and outputs complex samples at 10.833 MHz. This 10 MHz “superband” is split into 144 “bands” of 69.4 kHz, then further split into 108 “subbands” of 643 Hz, then divided into “bins” of six simultaneous resolutions: 1, 2, 4, 7, 14, and 28 Hz. The data from each resolution is normalized by the estimated noise power and then output as: (1) 4-bit power for incoherent Continuous Wave (CW) detection; (2) 8-bit thresholded power for pulsed signal detection; and (3) 32-bit complex amplitude for almost non-drifting coherent CW detection and for possible future signal detectors. The MCSA 2.2 has two inputs, exactly twice the hardware, and processes two antenna polarizations which are available at radioastronomy observatories. The MSCA 2.2 includes 70 Printed Circuit Boards (PCB), including 10 custom logic board designs and two buffer board designs. The system is under development for NASA's Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Project. Provided adequate NASA funding is available, the MCSA 2.2 will be installed and performing SETI searches in October 1992.

Real time data acquisition in SETI

NASA's Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence presents unique challenges for data acquisition and analysis. During the proposed Microwave Observing Project each MultiChannel Spectrum Analyser (MCSA) system will process more than 60 million bytes of information every second. To prevent a backlog of data and to avoid delays in the confirmation of potential signals, the data will be processed in real time with special purpose hardware and software. The software is required to control and coordinate the hardware systems and the data that they produce. The performance of the system must be continuously monitored to assure that the search achieves maximum sensitivity, minimum contamination by Radio Frequency Interference, and optimal use of observing resources. We have developed a prototype data acquisition system that has been used in field tests of a prototype MCSA and software signal detection algorithms. The system, called VERA 2.0, is based on virtually concurrent communication software processes within a single computer. A new version under development will use several independent computers, communicating over a network. Each computer will be responsible for a portion of the data processing. Some techinques of artificial intelligence will be used to evaluate potential signals during the observation.

Detection of the Earth with the SETI microwave observing system assumed to be operating out in the galaxy

This paper estimates the maximum range at which radar signals from the Earth could be detected by a search system similar to the NASA Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Microwave Observing Project (SETI MOP) assumed to be operating out in the galaxy. Figures are calculated for the Targeted Search, and for the Sky Survey parts of the MOP, both operating, as currently planned, in the second half of the decade of the 1990s. Only the most powerful terrestrial transmitters are considered, namely, the planetary radar at Arecibo in Puerto Rico, and the ballistic missile early warning systems (BMEWS). In each case the probabilities of detection over the life of the MOP are also calculated. The calculation assumes that we are only in the eavesdropping mode. Transmissions intended to be detected by SETI systems are likely to be much stronger and would of course be found with higher probability to a greater range. Also, it is assumed that the transmitting civilization is at the same level of technological evolution as ours on Earth. This is very improbable. If we were to detect another technological civilization, it would, on statistical grounds, be much older than we are and might well have much more powerful transmitters. Both factors would make detection by the NASA MOP a much more likely outcome.

NASA's Search for ETs Hits a Snag on Earth

NASA's Search for ETs Hits a Snag on Earth

A wide-band high-resolution spectrum analyzer.

This paper describes a two-million-channel 40-MHz-bandwidth, digital spectrum analyzer under development at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The analyzer system will serve as a prototype processor for the sky survey portion of NASA's Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence program and for other applications in the Deep Space Network. The analyzer digitizes an analog input, performs a 2(21)-point, Discrete Fourier Transform, accumulates the output power, normalizes the output to remove frequency-dependent gain, and automates simple signal detection algorithms. Due to its built-in frequency-domain processing functions and configuration flexibility, the analyzer is a very powerful tool for real-time signal analysis and detection.

An Analysis of the Elements of an all Sky Survey

One component of the NASA search for microwave signals of extraterrestrial intelligent origin will be an all sky survey at a significantly low limiting flux over a broad frequency range. We are currently designing an overall strategy which will permit this survey to be: (1) carried out using existing antennas in less than 3 years of observation time, (2) uniform in sensitivity (within 0.5 db) over the celestial sphere for any given frequency, and (3) complete to 6×10−23 W/m2 or better over the frequency range 1.2GHz⩽ν⩽10GHz with a frequency resolution of 32 Hz.

NASA search system analysis sheet

American DocumentationVolume 16, Issue 2 p. 124-126 Brief Communication NASA search system analysis sheet W. T. Brandhorst, W. T. Brandhorst Documentation Incorporated Bethesda, MarylandSearch for more papers by this authorP. F. Eckert, P. F. Eckert Documentation Incorporated Bethesda, MarylandSearch for more papers by this author W. T. Brandhorst, W. T. Brandhorst Documentation Incorporated Bethesda, MarylandSearch for more papers by this authorP. F. Eckert, P. F. Eckert Documentation Incorporated Bethesda, MarylandSearch for more papers by this author First published: April 1965 https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.5090160216AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Volume16, Issue2April 1965Pages 124-126 RelatedInformation

Science in Space

Journal Article Science in Space Get access Homer E. Newell Homer E. Newell Director, Office of Space Sciences NASA Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar AIBS Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 5, October 1962, Pages 24–26, https://doi.org/10.2307/1293005 Published: 01 October 1962

The NASA Space Edition

The NASA Space Edition Get access Hugh L. Dryden Hugh L. Dryden Deputy Administrator NASA Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar AIBS Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 5, October 1962, Page 23, https://doi.org/10.1093/aibsbulletin/12.5.23 Published: 01 October 1962

Space and the Scientific Community

Journal Article Space and the Scientific Community Get access Arnold W. Frutkin Arnold W. Frutkin Director, Office of International Programs NASA Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar AIBS Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 5, October 1962, Pages 68–69, https://doi.org/10.2307/1293013 Published: 01 October 1962

Obtaining Data from Space

Obtaining Data from Space Get access Edmond C. Buckley Edmond C. Buckley Director, Tracking and Data Acquisition NASA Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar AIBS Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 5, October 1962, Pages 64–67, https://doi.org/10.2307/1293012 Published: 01 October 1962