High temperature, wireless seismometer sensor for Venus
Space agency mission plans state the need to measure the seismic activity on Venus. Because of the high temperature on Venus (462°C average surface temperature) and the difficulty in placing and wiring multiple sensors using robots, a high temperature, wireless sensor using a wide bandgap semiconductor is an attractive option. This paper presents the description and proof of concept measurements of a high temperature, wireless seismometer sensor for Venus. A variation in inductance of a coil caused by the movement of an aluminum probe held in the coil and attached to a balanced leaf-spring seismometer causes a variation of 700 Hz in the transmitted signal from the oscillator/sensor system at 426°C. This result indicates that the concept may be used on Venus.
Communications Research and Development at NASA Glenn Research Center
AbstractOver the last several decades, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Glenn Research Center (GRC), formerly Lewis Research Center (LeRC) has performed research and technology development of aeronautic- and space-based communications in support of NASA and the nation. In the 1970s, GRC partnered with the Canadian Department of Communications through the Communications Technology Satellite (CTS) Project, in which GRC researchers were responsible for the development of critical technology components, such as the high-power, traveling-wave tube amplifier (TWTA), thereby pioneering the surge of television channels via satellite. For its efforts, LeRC was awarded an Emmy by the television industry. The decade of the 1980s served as a period for technology development that culminated in the launch of the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) in 1993. The ACTS demonstration of spot beam antenna technology resulted in an overall increase of efficiency in satellite communicat...
Tidal to seismic frequency investigations with a quartz accelerometer of new geometry
A wide-band, tidal to seismic frequency, accelerometer has been developed that is of simple internal geometry and low drift (<10−9 g/day). Initial tidal and earth-mode frequency investigations are described along with detailed design features and internal noise measurements.