Award Data

The technology presented in this proposal has the capability of providing surface stabilization for landing pads, and a low-energy solution to build roads and other early components of infrastructure that are needed to kickstart a functional lunar or Martian base. The proposed innovation is a novel binder chemistry for the formation of a high-strength, heat-tolerant, regolith-binder composite mate ...

In this STTRnbsp;program, Nikira Labs Inc. and Colorado State University (CSU) will collaborate to develop an analyzer that measures oxygen (O2), carbon dioxide (CO2), oxygen isotope (d18O-O2), carbon isotope (d13C-CO2), and ethylene fluxes in plant chambers for direct quantification of photosynthesis, respiration, and plant health.nbsp;In Phase I, Nikira Labs and CSU demonstrated technical feasib ...

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) will develop integrated optical frequency shifters to enable Quantum-memory Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (QWDM). Our approach will enable the connection of multiple quantum memory registers across a free-space or fiber optical channel, increasing the bandwidth of near-term quantum networks by 10ndash;100x. As m ...

NASA will use swarms of robot vehicles for future planetary exploration, including Moon explorations in support of a sustained lunar presence. Advanced robotic and autonomous systems can overcome challenges inherent in navigating extreme terrain. Other tasks, such as obtaining mineral or ice samples from a wide area of a planetary surface or exploring terrain that blocks the transmission of signal ...

The program will develop a spectrometer with chip-scale footprint and performance rivaling high-end benchtop spectrum analyzers leveraging an innovative digital Fourier Transform (dFT) architecture, which uniquely enables exponential scaling of performance. Specifically,nbsp;the Phase II project will build on the accomplishments from Phase I and fabricate the photonic circuits via AIM Photonicsrsq ...

High-accuracy metrology is vitally important in manufacturing and optimally using ultra-high-quality free-form mirrors designed, for example, for space X-ray telescopes to manipulate X-ray light with nanometer-scale wavelengths. Due to the shorter wavelength, requirements on the surface figure (shape) and finish (roughness) of X-ray mirrors are many orders of magnitude more stringent than for visi ...

The growing volume and quality of Earth observations offer improvements in data assimilation and weather forecasting that can only be fully realized by advances in AI. 3D atmospheric profiles, including temperature, humidity, and winds, are key missing observables in NASA#39;s Earth Observation System (EOS) and presents large initial condition uncertainties in numerical weather prediction (NWP).nb ...

Our proposal provides a measurement technology to detect atmospheric conditions that favor the formation and persistence of aircraft-induced cirrus clouds in real time. These clouds account for the major share of aviationrsquo;s climate impact via radiative forcing. We need aircraft equipped with our technology that fly along the busiest flight corridors combined with adaptive flight routing as mi ...

The proposed innovation is a monitoring and advisory system for health management of solenoid operated valves (SOV) used in industrial applications. The proposed software application would assist maintenance personnel and equipment owners to optimize system operation and maintenance activities by providing up-to-date information of key health metrics. The relevance and significance of the proposed ...

Zephyr proposes to continue work on Pelican, a radiation-tolerant computation storage device. This storage device provides high-capacity solid state storage through the use of 3D-NAND technology and a custom flash-controller implementation. Pelican is designed from the ground up to mitigate the adverse effects of radiation while providing high performance with low Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP). I ...