Award Data

Creare is developing a miniature power system for NOA weather monitoring stations in remote locations. This system can provide electric power continuously from naturally occurring temperature differences that exist between ambient air and water in environments such as the Arctic Ocean and the Great Lakes. Generating power directly from these temperature difference uses the atmosphere and ocean/lat ...

The United States has a vast network of pipelines used for fuel transport. This infrastructure, installed in 1950–1970, is one of the largest in the world. Yet poor/missing records of the materials used, combined with the overall age and associated environmental degradation effects, often results in unsafe operation. Current non-destructive inspection techniques are only capable of detecting mat ...

The portable life support system for the exploration space suit (xPLSS) must control CO2 and humidity levels inside the space suit pressure garment. The preferred approach is to use a pressure swing adsorption process based on Amine Swingbed technology. One of the key technical challenges for xPLSS operation on the Martian surface is the need to vent CO2 and water vapor from the swingbeds to an am ...

Future astrophysics missions require efficient, low-temperature cryocoolers to cool advanced instruments or serve as the upper-stage cooler for sub-Kelvin refrigerators. Potential astrophysics missions include Lynx, the Origin Space Telescope, and the Superconducting Gravity Gradiometer. Cooling loads for these missions are up to 300 mW at temperatures of 4 to 10 K, with additional loads at higher ...

As the power levels and sizes of small satellites grow, new applications open up, along with new challenges for thermal control. Greater amounts of heat must be transported across longer distances, making it more difficult to control component temperatures using simple, passive systems. We propose to develop an innovative thermal storage technology for small satellite thermal control systems. Our ...

Refueling spacecraft in space offers tremendous benefits for increased spacecraft payload capacity and reduced launch cost. However, in a microgravity environment, acquiring vapor-free cryogenic liquid propellants from supply tanks and then transferring them to receiving tanks is very challenging. To address this challenge, Creare developed a robust, lightweight hybrid Liquid Acquisition Device (L ...

Future astrophysics missions require efficient, low-temperature cryocoolers to cool advanced instruments or serve as the upper-stage cooler for sub-Kelvin refrigerators. Potential astrophysics missions include Lynx, the Origins Space Telescope, and the Superconducting Gravity Gradiometer. Cooling loads for these missions are up to 300 mW at temperatures of 4 to 10 K, with additional loads at highe ...

NASA seeks novel low power thermal-to-electric miniature energy conversion technology to potentially define the next-generation of future power systems. These converters are required to transform thermal energy from Radioisotope Heater Units into on-demand electricity essential to space exploration probes, unmanned surface rovers, small landers, small satellites, and similar small-scale systems op ...

Long-term monitoring of Titanrsquo;s atmosphere and planetary surface requires a robust autonomous vehicle capable of interacting with Titanrsquo;s heterogeneous surface and profiling its chemically dynamic atmosphere. Creare proposes the Titan Ringlet, a drone capable of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) that can transition to horizontal flight to extend the range beyond that of a typical multi ...

Future NASA Space Science Missions will incorporate detectors, sensors, shields, and telescopes that must be cooled to cryogenic temperatures. An enabling technology for these missions is advanced cryocoolers that can provide continuous and distributed cooling with minimal input power. On this program, Creare proposes to develop and demonstrate an innovative cryocooler that produces refrigeratio ...