NRP Post 2021 Issue 1

National Aeronautics and Space Administration THE 2021 Issue 1

NRPA Publication of NASAP OSTResearch Park

CMU Works on Wide Bandwidth to Avert Interference Full article on page 4

USGS & SSA Research Smaller Earthquakes “With Ambition” Full article on page 10 NRP Post

IN THIS ISSUE

3 | Geoffrey Ament of STC Receives NASA Ames Contractor of the Year Award NASA recognizes Mr. Geoffrey Ament’s accomplish- ments at Ames Research Center

4 | CMU Reducing Interference ECE researchers were awarded a $1M NSF grant to investigate new ways to avert interference

6 | Breakthrough Initiatives Help to Look for Life in the Clouds of Venus Initiatives to fund study into search for primitive life in the clouds of Venus

8 |RMV’s Hands on Approach to Educa- tion on ESD RMV’s in person and virtual classes on electrostatic discharge by Bob Vermillion

10 |USGS’s Study on the Movements of Smaller Earthquakes Study by USGS on how smaller quakes can actually shake more aggressively

2 www.nasa.gov NRP Post Mr. Geoffrey Ament of STC Receives NASA Ames Contractor of the Year Award Moffett Field, California, Summer 2020

r. Geoffrey Ament, an STC employ- Francisco, CA, and subsequently led ee who works on the AEMMS con- to a NASA Contractor Report (NASA/ Mtract at NASA Ames in Mountain View, CR-2018-219736). Furthermore, as part CA, was recently awarded the NASA of the Mars Helicopter risk reduction Ames Contractor of the Year Award. effort, he designed and assembled the Mr. Ament is a Research Associatein test hardware for the rotor blade spin- the field of Mechatronics Engineering. up in the JPL Space Simulator, a re- The award citation reads, “Mr. Ament’s quirement for Mars Helicopter testing; desire to explore, design, and inno- moreover, he led efforts to build a dust vate embodies the true spirit of what chamber and coaxial rotor control sys- a NASA Engineer should be. He is ar- tem to perform dust studies in order to ticulate, meticulous with his work, and study saltation and the effects of dust strives for excellence.” In their nomi- on the helicopter’s on-board sensors. nation letter the nominators cited that, Currently, Mr. Ament is the lead for all “Since the start of his employment as rotorcraft testing performed at Martian a Science and Technology Corporation atmospheric densities in the Planetary (STC) research associate in August of Aeolian Laboratory (PAL), and he de- 2015, Mr. Ament has made substantial signed (and is currently assembling) a contributions to NASA’s RLVT mission 2-by-2 meter wind tunnel for rotor test- with respect to both terrestrial and Mar- ing at Martian atmospheric conditions tian flight. In 2017, he was part of the as well as terrestrial UAV testing.” Multicopter Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) performance test team, during STC would like to congratulate Mr. which he designed and manufactured Ament on this award and to thank him quadcopter mounting hardware for for the years of exceptional service that mounting to the 7-by-10 ft wind tunnel he has provided to NASA Ames through sting mount. He was the test director STC. for the first-ever wind tunnel test of a simulated rotorcraft in forward flight at Mars atmospheric conditions, which led to a data report that he present- ed at the 2018 AHS conference in San

www.nasa.gov/researchpark 3 NRP Post Detecting Wireless Interference BY Krista Burns June 23, 2020 ECE researchers were awarded a $1M NSF grant to investigate a system that allows devices to scan wide bandwidths to avert interference.

n a time where countless devic- er and simplicity of most IoT devices are connected to the Internet es,” said Swarun Kumar, assistant wirelessly, interference is inevita- professor and principal investigator. Ible. Spectrum pollution in the Inter- “They are narrowband and unable net-of-Things (IoT) era is something to sense and avoid incumbents on all users experience—a lag in con- shared spectrum.” necting to your favorite app, not being able to sync to a wireless print- The proposal presents a system er, the dreaded loading circle when designed for low-power devices to trying to stream your favorite show. sense spectrum at minimal energy But what if IoT devices could detect and cost, allowing these devices to and respect the presence of other behave as low-cost and distributed devices on a shared spectrum? spectrum observatories. This would allow for devices and users to have a seamless wireless Much like land and water, radio experience. spectrum is a shared resource by many stakeholders; Wi-Fi routers, Swarun Kumar, Anthony Rowe, and cellular companies, AM/FM radio Robert Iannucci from Carnegie Mel- stations, television towers, etc. lon University’s Department of Elec- Companies lease spectrum use un- trical and Computer Engineering der multi-year contracts. However, in new window have been award- a lot of the spectrum is not used ed a $1 million National Science consistently, leading to significant Foundation (NSF) grant to investi- wastage of a costly resource. What gate a system that allows teams of if there was a way to monitor the geo-distributed low-power devices spectrum and signal when it’s avail- to quickly and efficiently scan wide able at a given location so that it bandwidths to avert interference. could be leased on-the-fly when va- “The core challenge is the low-pow- cant? This would save companies

44 www.nasa.govwww.nasa.gov NRP Post “The core challenge is the low-power and simplicity of most IoT devices. They are narrowband and unable to sense and avoid incumbents on shared spectrum.”

money, and increase the speed of “The testbed developed through the our devices. However, building such project will serve as a vehicle for a spectrum monitoring infrastruc- undergraduate and graduate-level ture can be costly. It would need projects as well as workshops for to be replicated all over the coun- K-12 students in the city of Pitts- try, and it would need to scan huge burgh,” said Kumar. “The team has swaths of spectrum, increasing the direct experience working with sen- cost further. sor deployments at Carnegie Mel- lon, the city of Pittsburgh, United Referred to as Swallow, this project States Geological Survey (USGS), explores the use of low-cost and and local industry partners and will low-power IoT devices to serve as leverage these connections to de- spectrum monitors that are cheap ploy Swallow at scale.” and can be placed anywhere. Glob- ally, IoT devices are projected to The project will be implemented and be deployed in tens of billions and evaluated on a large programmable be ubiquitous in the coming years. Low-Power Wide-Area Network- Rather than viewing these as yet ing testbed in the Carnegie Mellon another part of the spectrum shar- University campus that serves large ing problem, this project views them parts of the City of Pittsburgh. This as part of the solution in effectively award reflects NSF’s statutory mis- monitoring radio spectrum. sion and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using The project’s objective, if success- the Foundation’s intellectual merit ful, could pave a new way to man- and broader impacts review criteria. age, monitor, and better exploit spectrum—a valuable national resource—as the world embarks on high-speed wireless beyond 5-G.

www.nasa.gov/researchpark 5 NRP Post

San Francisco – September 15, 2020 INITIATIVES TO FUND STUDY INTO SEARCH FOR PRIMITIVE LIFE IN THE CLOUDS OF VENUS

ew evidence suggests presence of Discovery of Phosphine Npotential biosignature on closest planet to Earth. The new paper, from lead author Jane Greaves of Cardiff University, Seager and Breakthrough Initiatives, the privately-fund- their collaborators, demonstrates the pres- ed space science programs founded by science of phosphine (PH3) in the Venusian ence and technology investor and philan- atmosphere via an analysis of millime- thropist Yuri Milner, are funding a research ter-waveband observations by the Atacama study into the possibility of primitive life in Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, with the clouds of Venus. The study is inspired additional evidence from the James Clerk by the discovery, announced yesterday, of Maxwell Telescope (JCMT in Hawai’i). the gas phosphine, considered a potential biosignature, in the planet’s atmosphere. The level of phosphine detected in the clouds of Venus – about 20 parts per billion The science team undertaking the research – is completely unexpected for a gas sus- will comprise of world-class physicists, as- ceptible to destruction by ultraviolet radia- tronomers, astrobiologists, chemists and tion, either directly or by ultraviolet-induced engineers, led by Sara Seager, Professor of radicals. This suggests that some process Planetary Science, Physics and Aerospace is replenishing the gas. But what process? Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The group will investigate Phosphine is a “biogenic” chemical: all the scientific case for life and analyze the samples encountered on Earth have been technical challenges of an exploratory mis- produced by biological or human-made sion in the event that such evidence proves processes requiring considerable ener- compelling. gy inputs. Although the precise biological mechanisms generating phosphine are un-

6 www.nasa.gov NRP Post known, they are associated with the break- nus atmosphere and what further evidence down of organic matter by bacteria, with for life a mission to Venus could search for.” the gas being found in oxygen-free environ- ments such as marshlands and swamps, as Project Leadership well as the guts of animals. While the presence of phosphine on Venus may turn out Sara Seager – MIT – Principal Investigator to stem from a non-living process, no such Janusz Petkowski – MIT – Deputy PI process on a terrestrial planet is currently Chris Carr – Georgia Tech known to science. Bethany Ehlmann – Caltech David Grinspoon – Planetary Science Institute “The discovery of phosphine is an exciting Pete Klupar – Breakthrough Initiatives development,” said S. Pete Worden, Execu- Chief Engineer tive Director of the Breakthrough Initiatives. “We have what could be a biosignature, and The Breakthrough Initiatives are a suite of a plausible story about how it got there. The space science programs investigating the next step is to do the basic science needed fundamental questions of life in the Uni- to thoroughly investigate the evidence and verse. consider how best to confirm and expand on the possibility of life.” In July 2015, together with Stephen Hawk- ing, Yuri Milner announced the launch of “Finding life anywhere beyond Earth would the $100 million astronomical program be truly momentous,” said Yuri Milner, Breakthrough Listen, to reinvigorate the founder of the Breakthrough Initiatives. search for extraterrestrial intelligence in the “And if there’s a non-negligible chance that universe; and in April 2016 they launched it’s right next door on Venus, exploring that Breakthrough Starshot, a $100 million re- possibility is an urgent priority for our civi- search and engineering program seeking lization.” to develop a new technology for uncrewed interstellar travel. Breakthrough Watch is “We were stunned to find a molecule in Ve- an astronomical program to develop Earth- nus’s atmosphere that could come from or- and space-based technologies that can ganisms,” said Greaves. “We will continue find evidence of primitive life on Earth-like to monitor and hunt for more clues, to pin- planets in our cosmic neighborhood. All point where exactly on the planet the phos- these philanthropic initiatives are funded phine is coming from.” by Breakthrough Foundation established by Yuri and Julia Milner. And Seager commented, “We are thrilled to push the envelope to try to understand what kind of life could exist in the very harsh Ve-

For media inquiries: [email protected] OR Rubenstein Communications, Inc. New York, New York Kristen Bothwell [email protected] / +1.212.843.9227

www.nasa.gov/researchpark 7 NRP Post

NEW “Virtual” & “Hands On” ESD Program Monitor Certifica- tion Training Developed by RMV Moffett Field, California November, 2020

or USA high-tech companies rapid- Reliance upon supplier technical data ly adapting to the new business en- sheets, the Internet and catalog buys is vironment, Bob Vermillion, Founder a common practice from procurement to FRMV Tech Group LLC (RMV), has devel- R&D and support staff. oped a two-day Virtual Interactive and one-day comprehensive “Hands On” ESD A traceable Material Qualification List (Electrostatic Discharge) Program Monitor (MQL) will mitigate the number of non-com- Certification Course specific to NASA re- pliant and suspect counterfeit products in quirements and tailored for Ames Research the NASA supply chain. Center (ARC). The first class was held from the 12th-13th and 16th-17th of November Located on-site to verify EPA compliance, 2020 for NASA ARC prime contractors. the ESD Program Monitor provides re-

al-time value in support of current and fu- Starting virtually with live videos and in- ture mission success for NASA and other teractive experiments, Vermillion then led the “Hands On” Workshop over the next science and technology companies within two days with social distancing in the RMV the Bay Area and even across the nation. Building 19 ESD Laboratory. RMV implements new Space & Defense An RMV Personnel Safety Plan and PPE Virtual Four-Hour ESD Operator Certifica- were required for each student during the tion Training to meet future NASA 8739.6B “Hands On” Workshop. Vermillion empha- requirements sized the correct usage of ESD instruments in a “learn-by-doing” team approach. Ver- Bob Vermillion, named the Agency ESD ification of static control materials, con- Technical Authority at the Quality Leader- sumables, hand tools and products in the ship Forum in 2018, is conducting a four- Electrostatic Protective Area (EPA) were hour Space & Defense Virtual ESD User/ practiced by each student during the ses- Operator Certification Training with live sion. A big “take away” was materials demonstrations that started in 2021. manufactured and labeled as “ESD Safe” constitute no guarantee of ANSI/ESD per- For example, ESD fundamentals of ground- formance to NASA standards. ing, the consequences of non-compliant

8 www.nasa.gov NRP Post ””We didn’t know how much there was to learn about ESD” ... “It is like drinking out of a fire-hose” materials in proximity to flight hardware from participant feedback that its training and safe material handling techniques in needs to be “specific” to be effective for the EPA are covered with live demos for NASA requirements. better engagement. As Renee Mitchell, RMV President stated, Wrist straps, garments, footwear, con- “What NASA requires, the Department of sumables and hand tools for the handling Defense also requires. Because of our col- of devices are discussed with interactive laboration with NASA, it in turn benefits the software to demonstrate the elements of US Military.” a successful ESD program. For more information on RMV “Virtual and In the program, Users and Operators will “Hands On” ESD Programs, contact: learn the elemental differences between anti-stats and static dissipative polymers Renee Mitchell from the workstation to design and build [email protected] CubeSats for mission success. Just as 650-964-4792 important to understand is the risk of a charge board effect (CBE) at the worksta- You can also visit: tion for ESD Awareness. Bob Vermillion’s www.esdaerospacetraining.org use of live demos further enhance the to learn more about our company and learning process. the range of Application Specific training programs from our NASA Research Although multiple companies offer ESD Park location. Awareness Training, RMV has realized

www.nasa.gov/researchpark 9 www.nasa.gov/researchpark 9 NRP Post

Smaller Earthquakes “With Ambition” Produce the Most Ground Shaking Published on 4 November 2020 Seismological Society of America

n earthquake of magnitude 8.0 or larger magnitude earthquakes that loom large in the will almost always cause strong shaking, imaginations of people from California to Chile, Abut a new study suggests that smaller said Minson. earthquakes—those around magnitude 5.5 or so–are the cause of most occurrences of strong A future magnitude 8.0 San Andreas Fault shaking at a 60-kilometer (37-mile) distance. earthquake will cause more total damage across the Los Angeles Basin than a smaller, Small earthquakes are expected to produce local earthquake like the 1933 magnitude 6.4 relatively weak shaking, and for the most part Long Beach earthquake, simply because the that’s true, said Sarah Minson of the U.S. Geo- larger earthquake causes shaking over a wider logical Survey. However, ground motion is area. But that just means that there will be more highly variable, and there are always outlier overall shaking, not that the shaking will neces- earthquakes at every size that generate more sarily be stronger in any particular locality, she shaking than expected. explained.

Combine that with the fact that there are more While waiting for the Big One, places like Long smaller magnitude earthquakes than large Beach are likely to have multiple damaging me- magnitude earthquakes, and most shaking dium earthquakes, “and thus most damage at comes from these “little earthquakes with am- any location is probably coming from smaller bition,” Minson and her colleagues report in earthquakes with ambition,” Minson added. Seismological Research Letters. The 1969 Santa Rosa, California earthquakes, The researchers found that for all distances around magnitude 6, caused about $50 million and for all levels of shaking, “the earthquakes damage in today’s dollars, while the magnitude that cause that level of shaking are systemat- 5.7 Magna, Utah earthquake earlier this year ically smaller magnitude than the earthquakes caused similar amounts of damage just to 100 that should cause that level of shaking,” said government buildings, the researchers noted. Minson, noting that this makes these smaller earthquakes a significant source of earthquake “For a lot of us, if we do look back over our per- damage. sonal experiences, the earthquake that we had the greatest amount of damage from is not the The findings could change how people think largest magnitude earthquake that we’ve felt at about and prepare for the “Big One,” the large all,” Minson said.

10 www.nasa.gov NRP Post

It’s a “sharks versus cows” concept, she add- earthquake source, the less likely it is that the ed. “Sharks are scary, and cows are not, but alert arrives before they feel the shaking. cows kill more people every year than sharks do.” “If it turns that most of our shaking is coming from smaller magnitude earthquakes, well, The researchers began with calculations of smaller magnitude earthquakes are spatial- the variation of expected ground acceler- ly more compact,” Minson said, who noted ation from an earthquake of a certain mag- that some systems also may not send out an nitude and distance away from the shaking, alert at all for small earthquakes that aren’t along with the well-known Gutenberg-Rich- expected to produce damaging shaking. ter magnitude-frequency relationship. The relationship demonstrates how the frequency The findings do not change the total amount of earthquakes decreases as the magnitude of earthquake hazard calculated for a region, grows, so that for each magnitude 8 earth- Minson stressed. “All we did is say, OK, when quake that occurs within a given region and that shaking comes, what is it likely to come time period, there will be 10 magnitude 7 as? And it’s much more likely to come as little earthquakes, 100 magnitude 6 earthquakes, earthquakes with ambition than a big earth- and so on. quake doing what big earthquakes do.”

Together, these two factors suggest that This means, as Minson’s USGS co-author most shaking should come from smaller Sara McBride says, that “it’s time to talk earthquakes that are “ambitious outliers” in about the medium ones.” Surveys and stud- terms of the amount of ground acceleration ies show that people often are demotivated they cause. “The probability of any of these by efforts to prepare for the Big One,- over small earthquakes producing shaking is tiny, whelmed by fatalism in the face of such an but there are many of them,” Minson said. event. Focusing on smaller but significant events could encourage people to devote Minson and colleagues confirmed this hy- more time and effort to earthquake prepared- pothesis after examining three data sets of ness, the researchers suggest. earthquakes from across the globe, ranging from magnitude 0.5 to 8.3. “If we talk about earthquakes like Loma Prie- ta and Northridge, and ask people to be pre- Ambitious little earthquakes may cause diffi- pared for that, it’s more tractable,” Minson culty for some earthquake early warning sys- said. “Those are the earthquakes that people tems, which alert users to potential damag- have experienced and know how to prepare ing shaking after an earthquake begins, the for and survive.” researchers write. The closer users are to the

www.nasa.gov/researchpark 11 NRP Post

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NASA Research Park Editor, Layout and Design: TED TRIANO Phone: (650) 604-2NRP 12 www.nasa.gov Email: [email protected] NP-2021-01-02-ARC Website: www.nasa.gov/researchpark