Award Data

EVA radio is an important integral part of lunar missions and beyond. To minimize power consumption and mass of an EVA radio, innovative solutions are needed for the design of various modules ranging from RF front end to networking protocols. In this protocol, a comprehensive design architecture that can achieve ultra-low power miniaturized EVA radio is proposed. Under this architecture, new MEMS- ...

Innovative network architecture, protocols, and algorithms are proposed for both lunar surface networks and orbit access networks. Firstly, an overlaying architecture is proposed to seamlessly integrate lunar surface networks and orbit access networks. Secondly, for lunar surface networks, a network architecture based on hybrid mesh networking technologies is developed to support both fixed and mo ...

SynGenics Corporation proposes a program that incorporates systems engineering processes, Response Surface Methods, and state-of-the-art numerical methods to develop optimized, fail safe technologies to control shockwave boundary layer interactions and demonstrate improvements in supersonic mixed compression inlet performance. Specific program objectives are to apply structured, mathematically bas ...

Cornerstone Research Group Inc. (CRG) proposes to advance the state of the art in composite health management through refinement of an existing technology developed by CRG called Reflexive Composites. Reflexive Composites are the current state of the art in health management integrating piezoelectric structural health monitoring, healable polymer matrix composites, and intelligent controls delive ...

The Micro Pulsed Inductive Thruster with Solid Fuel Option (µPIT_SF) is a high-precision impulse bit electromagnetic plasma micro-thruster. The µPIT prototype is a small (< 230 g) thruster that produces and accelerates plasma. In the solid fuel mode, µPIT_SF is able to substantially extend the performance of standard PPT systems by ionization and heating of the high density neutral gas produce ...

Existing cognitive performance test batteries consist of synthetic tasks that, while they may probe isolated cognitive functions, provide an incomplete and unconvincing picture of an individual's true cognitive capacity within the total context of space missions. In essence, they are 'laboratory' measures that appear unrelated to the real-world environment. This leads to user non-compliance or rej ...

The development of magnesium diboride (MgB2) superconducting wires makes possible the potential to have much lighter weight superconducting stator and rotor coils for heavy aircraft motors and generators than with any other metal or ceramic superconductor. The MgB2 superconductor can be cooled to 20 K by liquid hydrogen fuel or conductively with a cyrocooler. The lighter weight coils, especiall ...

A new generation of Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counters (TEPCs) for micro-dosimetric measurements will be designed, incorporating recent advances in the electronics industry and a new detector configuration. The unit is projected to be 2.5x4.5x1 in, weigh less than 8 oz, and consume less than 100 mW of power. A detector configuration of thirteen half-inch spheres arranged in a 2-D array wi ...

The proposed work focuses on implementing fast-response pressure-sensitive paint and Surface Stress Sensitive Films for measurements of unsteady pressure and skin friction in rotorcraft applications. Significant rotorcraft problems such as dynamic stall, rotor blade loads in forward flight, and blade-vortex interaction all have significant unsteady pressure oscillations that must be resolved in or ...

Here we introduce a new sensor for measurement of skin friction and pressure, Surface Stress Sensitive Film (S3F). This technique can operate over a range of temperatures from cryogenic (160 K, -113„aC) to well above ambient (470 K, 197„aC). The operation of the sensor is based on the deformations of an elastic film that distorts under the action of the applied normal and tangential loads. Skin ...