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Dr. Shahid Aslam

Photo of SHAHID ASLAM

Dr. Shahid Aslam

  • AST, PLANETARY STUDIES
  • 301.614.6961
  • NASA/GSFC
  • Mail Code: 693
  • Greenbelt , MD 20771
  • Employer: NASA

    • Brief Bio

    Over 25 years of space instrument hardware development experience with direct contributions to the following NASA flight programs: Pressure Modulated Infra-Red Radiometer (PMIRR) on Mars Observer; Composite Infra-Red Spectrometer (CIRS) on Cassini; Gas and Aerosol Monitoring Sensor-craft (GAMS); Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE III) and James Web Space Telescope (JWST).

    Current Projects

    Net Flux Radiometer for the Ice Giants

    Working on maturing the technology readiness level of a net flux radiometer for inclusion on a future atmospheric entry probe missions to the Ice Giants.

    Thermopile Focal Plane Array - “Technology Maturation and Risk Mitigation”

    Working on designing a radiation hard focal plane assembly with multi-channel ASIC readout for a multi-channel infrared radiometer, which uses miniature bandpass filters to define each spectral channel.

    Development of a Prototype for the Thermal Infrared Composite Imaging Spectrometer (TIRCIS) Instrument

    We are building a thermal instrument that can map Io's surface temperatures to determine its thermal propoerties while also mapping extent of volcanic deposits on its surface.

    Non Dispersive Infra-Red Gas Analyzer

    We are measuring H2O and CO2 partial pressures in a Non Dispersive Infra-Red Gas Analyzer (NDIRGA), using a measurement scheme based on the Beer-Lambert Law. The NDIRGA is placed between the sample containment system and the gas containment system of CAESAR (New Frontiers - Pre-Phase A) and uses two redundant 4-channel (quad) thermopile detectors with 2.7-μm and 6.6-μm H2O absorption band, 4.0-μm reference filter and 4.2 µm CO2 absorption band, each paired with redundant IR sources. Knowledge of the water vapor partial pressure will ensure that we avoid reaching the triple point of water (within the P-T range 3 Torr @ 268 K and 16 mTorr @ 218 K). The measurement uses a collimated pulsed IR light source focused onto the quad thermopile detectors with IR bandpass filters in front of them. The absorbed IR light on the thermopiles generate small thermoelectric voltages that are amplified and digitized by a multi-channel digitizer (MCD) ASIC. The 20 bit digitized signals from the MCD ASIC are communicated to the FPGA board in the MEB for further data processing.

    Positions/Employment

    7/2018 - Present

    Principal Investigator: ROSES PICASSO "Advanced Net Flux Radiometer Focal Plane Assembly for Ice Giants"

    NASA, GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771.
    7/2017 - Present

    Co-Investigator: ROSES PICASSO "Development of a Prototype for the Thermal Infrared Composite Imaging Spectrometer (TIRCIS) Instrument"

    NASA, GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771
    1/2018 - Present

    Instrument Scientist, NDIRGA, CAESAR

    NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD, 20771
    9/2013 - 9/2014

    Principal Investigator of ROSES ICEE "Thermal Imager for Europa Reconnaissance (TIMER)"

    NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD, 20771
    6/2013 - 12/2018

    Instrument Scientist - CIRS/CASSINI

    NASA/Goddard, Greenbelt, MD, 20771
    9/2013 - 1/2015

    Co-Investigator (NASA PI), MiniFTS for SmallSat Applications

    NASA/Goddard, Greenbelt, MD, 20771
    1/2010 - Present

    Space Scientist

    NASA/Goddard, Greenbelt, MD, 20771
    7/1996 - 4/2010

    Principal Scientist

    Raytheon Corporation, NASA, GSFC Detector Systems Branch Greenbelt, MD, 20771

    Education

    • D.Phil., Planetary Physics, St. Cross College, University of Oxford, UK
    • M.Sc., Crystallography, Birkbeck College, University of London, UK
    • B.Sc., Applied Physics, The City University, London, UK

    Professional Societies

    Philosophical Society of Washington DC, 2018 - Present
    Member
    American Astronomical Society (AAS), 2010 - Present
    Member
    Division of Planetary Science (DPS - AAS), 2010 - Present
    Member

    Awards

    1. 2003 NASA Contractor Excellence Award
    2. 2005 NASA Public Service Award Medal
    3. 2008 United States Patent #7,34,932: Schottky Barrier Diode
    4. 2015 United States Patent #9,024,271 B1
    5. 2016 United States Patent #9,285,268 B2
    6. 2017 United States Patent #9,685,913 B2: Auto-zero Differential Amplifier
    7. 2018 United States Patent # 9,985,594 B2: Gated CDS Integrator
    8. 2018 United States Patent #10,158,335 B2: Gated CDS Integrator (Continuation)
    9. 2019 United Staes Patent #10,184,839 B1: Nanostructered Vanadium Oxide Uncooled Bolometers

    Publications

    Refereed

    Nixon, C. A., S. Aslam, S. Guzewich, et al. J. Esper, S. N. Thompson, T. Hewagama, D. Tran, and G. Nehmetallah. 2019. "TEAM - Titan Exploration Atmospheric Microprobes." 2019 IEEE Aerospace Conference, [10.1109/aero.2019.8742127]

    Hewagama, T., J. M. Bauer, K. Hughes, et al. D. Jennings, K. Brown, P. E. Clark, M. Daly, L. Feaga, D. Folta, N. Gorius, T. Hurford, M. Mumma, T. Livengood, C. Nixon, J. Sunshine, G. Villanueva, A. Zucherman, B. Malphrus, and S. Aslam. 2018. "Overview of Primitive Object Volatile Explorer (PrOVE) CubeSat or Smallsat concept." CubeSats and NanoSats for Remote Sensing II, [10.1117/12.2321264]

    Mousis, O., D. Atkinson, T. Cavalié, et al. L. Fletcher, M. Amato, S. Aslam, F. Ferri, J.-B. Renard, T. Spilker, E. Venkatapathy, P. Wurz, K. Aplin, A. Coustenis, M. Deleuil, M. Dobrijevic, T. Fouchet, T. Guillot, P. Hartogh, T. Hewagama, M. Hofstadter, V. Hue, R. Hueso, J.-P. Lebreton, E. Lellouch, J. Moses, G. Orton, J. Pearl, A. Sánchez-Lavega, A. Simon, O. Venot, J. Waite, R. Achterberg, S. Atreya, F. Billebaud, M. Blanc, F. Borget, B. Brugger, S. Charnoz, T. Chiavassa, V. Cottini, L. d’Hendecourt, G. Danger, T. Encrenaz, N. Gorius, L. Jorda, B. Marty, R. Moreno, A. Morse, C. Nixon, K. Reh, T. Ronnet, F.-X. Schmider, S. Sheridan, C. Sotin, P. Vernazza, and G. Villanueva. 2018. "Scientific rationale for Uranus and Neptune in situ explorations." Planetary and Space Science, 155: 12-40 [10.1016/j.pss.2017.10.005]

    Nag, S., T. Hewagama, G. Georgiev, et al. B. Pasquale, S. Aslam, and C. K. Gatebe. 2017. "Multispectral Snapshot Imagers onboard Small Satellite Formations for Multi-Angular Remote Sensing." IEEE Sensors Journal, 17 (16): [10.1109/jsen.2017.2717384]

    Jennings, D. E., F. M. Flasar, V. G. Kunde, et al. C. A. Nixon, M. E. Segura, P. N. Romani, N. Gorius, S. Albright, J. C. Brasunas, R. C. Carlson, A. A. Mamoutkine, E. Guandique, M. S. Kaelberer, S. Aslam, R. K. Achterberg, G. L. Bjoraker, C. M. Anderson, V. Cottini, J. C. Pearl, M. D. Smith, B. E. Hesman, R. D. Barney, S. Calcutt, T. J. Vellacott, L. J. Spilker, S. G. Edgington, S. M. Brooks, P. Ade, P. J. Schinder, A. Coustenis, R. Courtin, G. Michel, R. Fettig, S. Pilorz, and C. Ferrari. 2017. "Composite infrared spectrometer (CIRS) on Cassini: publisher’s note." Applied Optics, 56 (21): 5897 [10.1364/ao.56.005897]

    Jennings, D. E., F. M. Flasar, V. G. Kunde, et al. C. A. Nixon, M. E. Segura, P. N. Romani, N. Gorius, S. Albright, J. C. Brasunas, R. C. Carlson, A. A. Mamoutkine, E. Guandique, M. S. Kaelberer, S. Aslam, R. K. Achterberg, G. L. Bjoraker, C. M. Anderson, V. Cottini, J. C. Pearl, M. D. Smith, B. E. Hesman, R. D. Barney, S. Calcutt, T. J. Vellacott, L. J. Spilker, S. G. Edgington, S. M. Brooks, P. Ade, P. J. Schinder, A. Coustenis, R. Courtin, G. Michel, R. Fettig, S. Pilorz, and C. Ferrari. 2017. "Composite infrared spectrometer (CIRS) on Cassini." Applied Optics, 56 (18): 5274 [10.1364/ao.56.005274]

    Aslam, S., M. Amato, N. Bowles, et al. S. Calcutt, T. Hewagama, J. Howard, C. Howett, W.-T. Hsieh, T. Hurford, J. Hurley, P. Irwin, D. E. Jennings, E. Kessler, B. Lakew, M. Loeffler, M. Mellon, A. Nicoletti, C. A. Nixon, N. Putzig, G. Quilligan, J. Rathbun, M. Segura, J. Spencer, J. Spitale, and G. West. 2016. "Dual-telescope multi-channel thermal-infrared radiometer for outer planet fly-by missions." Acta Astronautica, 128: 628-639 [10.1016/j.actaastro.2016.08.009]

    Mousis, O., S. Aslam, C. A. Nixon, et al. D. Atkinson, T. Spilker, E. Venkatapathy, and J. Poncy. 2016. "The Hera Saturn Entry Probe Mission." Planetary and Space Science , 130: 80-103 [10.1016/j.pss.2015.06.020]

    Aslam, S., M. J. Amato, D. Atkinson, et al. A. Colaprete, T. Hewaganma, D. E. Jennings, J. Lunine, C. A. Nixon, A. A. Simon, O. Mousis, and E. J. Wollack. 2015. "Net Flux Radiometer for a Saturn Probe." European Planetary Science Congress, 10: 388-389. (Submitted)

    Quilligan, G. T., S. Aslam, B. Lakew, et al. R. B. Katz, J. DuMonthier, and I. Kleyner. 2014. "A 0.18μm CMOS Thermopile Readout ASIC Immune to 50 Mrad Total Ionizing Dose (Si) and Single Event Latchup to 174 MeV-cm2/mg." International Workshop on Instrumentation for Planetary Missions (IPM-2014),

    Aslam, S., A. Akturk, and G. T. Quilligan. 2012. "A Radiation Hard Multi-Channel Digitizer ASIC for Operation in the Harsh Jovian Environment." Extreme Environment Electronics, 849-862, ISBN: 978-1-439.

    Aslam, S., T. Hewagama, D. E. Jennings, and C. A. Nixon. 2012. "A Near Infrared and Thermal Imager for Mapping Tttan's Surface Features." Titan Through Time II Workshop, 35.

    Aslam, S., G. Gronoff, T. Hewagama, S. Janz, and C. Kotecki. 2012. "GaN-based Detector Technology for Next Generation Ultraviolet Planetary Missions." International Workshop on Instrumentation for Planetary Missions (IPM-2012),

    Merrell, W. C., S. Aslam, A. D. Brown, et al. J. A. Chervenak, M. A. Quijada, and E. J. Wollack. 2012. "Compact Micromachined Infrared Bandpass Filters for Planetary Spectroscopy." Applied Optics, 51 (15): 3046-3053.

    Lakew, B., S. Aslam, J. C. Brasunas, et al. N. Cao, N. Costen, A. La, L. Nguyen, T. Stevenson, and A. Waczynski. 2012. "MgB2 thin-film bolometer for applications in far-infrared instruments on future planetary missions." Physica C , 483: 119-126.

    Nixon, C. A., N. A. Teanby, S. B. Calcutt, et al. S. Aslam, D. E. Jennings, V. G. Kunde, F. M. Flasar, P. G. Irwin, F. W. Taylor, D. A. Glenar, and M. D. Smith. 2010. "Infrared limb sounding of Titan with the Cassini Composite InfraRed Spectrometer: effects of the mid-IR detector spatial responses: errata." Applied Optics, 49 (29): 5575 [10.1364/ao.49.005575]

    Lakew, B., S. Aslam, H. Jones, T. Stevenson, and N. Cao. 2010. "1/f noise in the superconducting transition of a MgB2 thin film." Physica C, Superconductivity., 470 (9-10): 451-455.

    Aslam, S., T. R. Stevenson, and B. Lakew. 2009. "Etching of MgB2 Thin Films for Transition Edge Superconducting Bolometer Fabrication." IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, 19 (3): 257-260.

    Nixon, C. A., N. A. Teanby, S. B. Calcutt, et al. S. Aslam, D. E. Jennings, V. G. Kunde, F. M. Flasar, P. G. Irwin, F. W. Taylor, D. A. Glenar, and M. D. Smith. 2009. "Infrared limb sounding of Titan with the Cassini Composite InfraRed Spectrometer: effects of the mid-IR detector spatial responses." Applied Optics, 48 (10): 1912 [10.1364/ao.48.001912]

    Aslam, S., H. Jones, and B. Lakew. 2007. "“Low-frequency noise measurements of high-Tc superconducting films: effect of DC capacitor in experimental setup”." Electronics Letters, 43 (23):

    Lakew, B., S. Aslam, H. H. Jones, et al. B. Moeckly, J. C. Brasunas, and D. Franz. 2006. "Effects of ionizing radiation on noise in MgB2 thin films- a candidate material for detectors for post-Cassini planetary missions." Physica C, 440: 1-5.

    Lakew, B., J. Brasunas, S. Aslam, and D. E. Pugel. 2004. "Transition-edge superconducting (TES) bolometer on monolithic sapphire membrane - construction and performance." Sensors & Actuators A,

    Brief Bio

    Over 25 years of space instrument hardware development experience with direct contributions to the following NASA flight programs: Pressure Modulated Infra-Red Radiometer (PMIRR) on Mars Observer; Composite Infra-Red Spectrometer (CIRS) on Cassini; Gas and Aerosol Monitoring Sensor-craft (GAMS); Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE III) and James Web Space Telescope (JWST).

    Publications

    Refereed

    Nixon, C. A., S. Aslam, S. Guzewich, et al. J. Esper, S. N. Thompson, T. Hewagama, D. Tran, and G. Nehmetallah. 2019. "TEAM - Titan Exploration Atmospheric Microprobes." 2019 IEEE Aerospace Conference [10.1109/aero.2019.8742127]

    Hewagama, T., J. M. Bauer, K. Hughes, et al. D. Jennings, K. Brown, P. E. Clark, M. Daly, L. Feaga, D. Folta, N. Gorius, T. Hurford, M. Mumma, T. Livengood, C. Nixon, J. Sunshine, G. Villanueva, A. Zucherman, B. Malphrus, and S. Aslam. 2018. "Overview of Primitive Object Volatile Explorer (PrOVE) CubeSat or Smallsat concept." CubeSats and NanoSats for Remote Sensing II [10.1117/12.2321264]

    Mousis, O., D. Atkinson, T. Cavalié, et al. L. Fletcher, M. Amato, S. Aslam, F. Ferri, J.-B. Renard, T. Spilker, E. Venkatapathy, P. Wurz, K. Aplin, A. Coustenis, M. Deleuil, M. Dobrijevic, T. Fouchet, T. Guillot, P. Hartogh, T. Hewagama, M. Hofstadter, V. Hue, R. Hueso, J.-P. Lebreton, E. Lellouch, J. Moses, G. Orton, J. Pearl, A. Sánchez-Lavega, A. Simon, O. Venot, J. Waite, R. Achterberg, S. Atreya, F. Billebaud, M. Blanc, F. Borget, B. Brugger, S. Charnoz, T. Chiavassa, V. Cottini, L. d’Hendecourt, G. Danger, T. Encrenaz, N. Gorius, L. Jorda, B. Marty, R. Moreno, A. Morse, C. Nixon, K. Reh, T. Ronnet, F.-X. Schmider, S. Sheridan, C. Sotin, P. Vernazza, and G. Villanueva. 2018. "Scientific rationale for Uranus and Neptune in situ explorations." Planetary and Space Science 155 12-40 [10.1016/j.pss.2017.10.005]

    Nag, S., T. Hewagama, G. Georgiev, et al. B. Pasquale, S. Aslam, and C. K. Gatebe. 2017. "Multispectral Snapshot Imagers onboard Small Satellite Formations for Multi-Angular Remote Sensing." IEEE Sensors Journal 17 (16): [10.1109/jsen.2017.2717384]

    Jennings, D. E., F. M. Flasar, V. G. Kunde, et al. C. A. Nixon, M. E. Segura, P. N. Romani, N. Gorius, S. Albright, J. C. Brasunas, R. C. Carlson, A. A. Mamoutkine, E. Guandique, M. S. Kaelberer, S. Aslam, R. K. Achterberg, G. L. Bjoraker, C. M. Anderson, V. Cottini, J. C. Pearl, M. D. Smith, B. E. Hesman, R. D. Barney, S. Calcutt, T. J. Vellacott, L. J. Spilker, S. G. Edgington, S. M. Brooks, P. Ade, P. J. Schinder, A. Coustenis, R. Courtin, G. Michel, R. Fettig, S. Pilorz, and C. Ferrari. 2017. "Composite infrared spectrometer (CIRS) on Cassini: publisher’s note." Applied Optics 56 (21): 5897 [10.1364/ao.56.005897]

    Jennings, D. E., F. M. Flasar, V. G. Kunde, et al. C. A. Nixon, M. E. Segura, P. N. Romani, N. Gorius, S. Albright, J. C. Brasunas, R. C. Carlson, A. A. Mamoutkine, E. Guandique, M. S. Kaelberer, S. Aslam, R. K. Achterberg, G. L. Bjoraker, C. M. Anderson, V. Cottini, J. C. Pearl, M. D. Smith, B. E. Hesman, R. D. Barney, S. Calcutt, T. J. Vellacott, L. J. Spilker, S. G. Edgington, S. M. Brooks, P. Ade, P. J. Schinder, A. Coustenis, R. Courtin, G. Michel, R. Fettig, S. Pilorz, and C. Ferrari. 2017. "Composite infrared spectrometer (CIRS) on Cassini." Applied Optics 56 (18): 5274 [10.1364/ao.56.005274]

    Aslam, S., M. Amato, N. Bowles, et al. S. Calcutt, T. Hewagama, J. Howard, C. Howett, W.-T. Hsieh, T. Hurford, J. Hurley, P. Irwin, D. E. Jennings, E. Kessler, B. Lakew, M. Loeffler, M. Mellon, A. Nicoletti, C. A. Nixon, N. Putzig, G. Quilligan, J. Rathbun, M. Segura, J. Spencer, J. Spitale, and G. West. 2016. "Dual-telescope multi-channel thermal-infrared radiometer for outer planet fly-by missions." Acta Astronautica 128 628-639 [10.1016/j.actaastro.2016.08.009]

    Mousis, O., S. Aslam, C. A. Nixon, et al. D. Atkinson, T. Spilker, E. Venkatapathy, and J. Poncy. 2016. "The Hera Saturn Entry Probe Mission." Planetary and Space Science 130 80-103 [10.1016/j.pss.2015.06.020]

    Aslam, S., M. J. Amato, D. Atkinson, et al. A. Colaprete, T. Hewaganma, D. E. Jennings, J. Lunine, C. A. Nixon, A. A. Simon, O. Mousis, and E. J. Wollack. 2015. "Net Flux Radiometer for a Saturn Probe." European Planetary Science Congress (Submitted) 10 388-389

    Quilligan, G. T., S. Aslam, B. Lakew, et al. R. B. Katz, J. DuMonthier, and I. Kleyner. 2014. "A 0.18μm CMOS Thermopile Readout ASIC Immune to 50 Mrad Total Ionizing Dose (Si) and Single Event Latchup to 174 MeV-cm2/mg." International Workshop on Instrumentation for Planetary Missions (IPM-2014)

    Aslam, S., A. Akturk, and G. T. Quilligan. 2012. "A Radiation Hard Multi-Channel Digitizer ASIC for Operation in the Harsh Jovian Environment." Extreme Environment Electronics 849-862

    Aslam, S., T. Hewagama, D. E. Jennings, and C. A. Nixon. 2012. "A Near Infrared and Thermal Imager for Mapping Tttan's Surface Features." Titan Through Time II Workshop 35

    Aslam, S., G. Gronoff, T. Hewagama, S. Janz, and C. Kotecki. 2012. "GaN-based Detector Technology for Next Generation Ultraviolet Planetary Missions." International Workshop on Instrumentation for Planetary Missions (IPM-2012)

    Merrell, W. C., S. Aslam, A. D. Brown, et al. J. A. Chervenak, M. A. Quijada, and E. J. Wollack. 2012. "Compact Micromachined Infrared Bandpass Filters for Planetary Spectroscopy." Applied Optics 51 (15): 3046-3053

    Lakew, B., S. Aslam, J. C. Brasunas, et al. N. Cao, N. Costen, A. La, L. Nguyen, T. Stevenson, and A. Waczynski. 2012. "MgB2 thin-film bolometer for applications in far-infrared instruments on future planetary missions." Physica C 483 119-126

    Nixon, C. A., N. A. Teanby, S. B. Calcutt, et al. S. Aslam, D. E. Jennings, V. G. Kunde, F. M. Flasar, P. G. Irwin, F. W. Taylor, D. A. Glenar, and M. D. Smith. 2010. "Infrared limb sounding of Titan with the Cassini Composite InfraRed Spectrometer: effects of the mid-IR detector spatial responses: errata." Applied Optics 49 (29): 5575 [10.1364/ao.49.005575]

    Lakew, B., S. Aslam, H. Jones, T. Stevenson, and N. Cao. 2010. "1/f noise in the superconducting transition of a MgB2 thin film." Physica C, Superconductivity. 470 (9-10): 451-455

    Aslam, S., T. R. Stevenson, and B. Lakew. 2009. "Etching of MgB2 Thin Films for Transition Edge Superconducting Bolometer Fabrication." IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity 19 (3): 257-260

    Nixon, C. A., N. A. Teanby, S. B. Calcutt, et al. S. Aslam, D. E. Jennings, V. G. Kunde, F. M. Flasar, P. G. Irwin, F. W. Taylor, D. A. Glenar, and M. D. Smith. 2009. "Infrared limb sounding of Titan with the Cassini Composite InfraRed Spectrometer: effects of the mid-IR detector spatial responses." Applied Optics 48 (10): 1912 [10.1364/ao.48.001912]

    Aslam, S., H. Jones, and B. Lakew. 2007. "“Low-frequency noise measurements of high-Tc superconducting films: effect of DC capacitor in experimental setup”." Electronics Letters 43 (23):

    Lakew, B., S. Aslam, H. H. Jones, et al. B. Moeckly, J. C. Brasunas, and D. Franz. 2006. "Effects of ionizing radiation on noise in MgB2 thin films- a candidate material for detectors for post-Cassini planetary missions." Physica C 440 1-5

    Lakew, B., J. Brasunas, S. Aslam, and D. E. Pugel. 2004. "Transition-edge superconducting (TES) bolometer on monolithic sapphire membrane - construction and performance." Sensors & Actuators A

                                                                                                                                                                                            
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