Award Data

Sierra Engineering Inc. and Purdue University propose to develop a non-intrusive plume instrument capable of detecting and diagnosing combustion instability. This Stability Diagnostic System (SDS) will be designed, assembled, and tested during this effort. The SDS will include a high-speed video camera and multiple photodiode detectors for observing the plume. It will also include a software pa ...

For NASA exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, medical grade water generation is a necessity. Adsorption filter technology has shown some promise, but requires transport of disposable/replacement filter cartridges, which adds to the overall mass/volume of the system for medical grade water generation. Distillation and reverse osmosis are other techniques that are used to generate medical grad ...

Reaction wheel disturbances are some of the largest sources of noise on sensitive telescopes. Such wheel-induced mechanical noises are not well characterized. Disturbances can be amplified by wheel and other structural dynamics (for example, isolator modes), that are coupled to gyroscopic effects and therefore are wheel speed dependent. Tonal disturbances and wheel structural modes thus sweep acro ...

NASA's future missions to investigate the structure and evolution of the universe require highly-efficient, very low temperature coolers for low-noise detector systems. We propose to develop a highly-efficient, lightweight, space magnetic cooler that can continuously provide remote/distributed cooling at temperatures in the range of 1 K with a heat sink at about 30 K. The proposed magnetic coole ...

Manned lunar exploration will require extravehicular activity (EVA) suits that surpass existing technology. We propose an innovative thermal control system for EVA suits that uses an absorption heat pump with a flexible radiator that offers reduced size, lighter weight, conformability, rugged construction, and freeze tolerance. The heat pump absorbs a crew member's metabolic heat and rejects it ...

Environmental control systems for manned lunar and planetary bases will require condensing heat exchangers to control humidity. Condensing surfaces must be hydrophilic to ensure efficient operation and biocidal to prevent growth of microbes in the moist, condensing environment. The coatings must be extremely stable and adhere to the condensing surface for many years. We propose an innovative co ...

For lunar-based fission power systems that will support In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) or Mars robotic and manned missions, power requirements may vary from 10s to 100s of kWe to support initial human missions and longer term lunar bases. Due to the large amounts of waste heat generated by these systems, a key consideration is the development of lightweight, highly efficient heat rejection s ...

We propose to develop a compact handheld longwave infrared camera based on quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) focal plane array (FPA) technology. Based on the photoexcitation of electrons out of quantum wells of GaAs sandwiched between AlGaAs barriers, QWIP FPAs have emerged as a promising new candidate for longwave infrared imaging and spectroscopy, offering superb sensitivity, pixel ope ...

Future planetary exploration missions such as those planned by NASA and other space agencies over the next few decades require advanced chemical and biological marker measurement technologies that will help answer fundamental questions about the composition of the Solar System and the possibility of past and present extraterrestrial life. Electrical/electrochemical array-based systems are highly s ...

The new devices and missions to achieve the aims of the NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) are creating increasingly demanding thermal environments and applications. A key element that drives the design of thermal management systems in these demanding applications is the thermal interface material (TIM) between mating surfaces. Our innovation is a novel, vacuum-compatible, durable, heat-co ...