Award Data

Remote sensing, when combined with real-time processing, provides instant feedback on safety, mission success and system health. Being able to combine embedded sensing with distributed networks gives us the additional potential to further benefit many systems and sub-systems in the aerospace industry including launch vehicles, ground test equipment and spacecraft. These remote distributed sensor ...

To provide additional telemetry and data for long-term mission, the composition of internal atmosphere of spacesuits must be determined. Specifically, the unambiguous detection and quantification of carbon dioxide is crucial for mission completion. Detection of other gasses (ammonia, oxygen) is also necessary for a complete sensor suite. Seacoast Science and Case Western Reserve University pro ...

The objective of this proposed project is to provide a new set of sensitivity analysis theory and codes, the Sensitivity Analysis for Design Optimization Integrated Software Tool set, to work within the existing NASA O3 Tool. In this Phase I effort, the sensitivity approach will be implemented for two basic types of analysis, namely static systems of equations (linear and non-linear) and eigen-pro ...

The Apollo 15 Lunar Module rocket plume excavated regolith which sandblasted at speeds in excess of 1000 m/s the Surveyor 2 lander 200 m away. A Curiosity rover instrument was permanently damaged during SkyCrane landing on Mars. Any future human surface missions to planetary bodies covered in regolith (e.g. Mars, Moon) would need to address ejecta created during landing or takeoff. The intent of ...

The proposed 9-month research project aims for the development of additive manufacturing techniques for the creation of electronic devices. It will develop an innovative additive manufacturing technique that combines the ink-based printing with laser melting technology to directly print a three-dimensional (3D) system with built-in electrical properties and functioning as an electronic device. Th ...

The US congress has instructed NASA to include a lander component in the next Europa mission. The mission has a target launch date of 2022, and its primary goal will be to search Europa?s icy surface for evidence of life that may persist within the ice shell or subsurface ocean. The Europa lander study specifically recommends a combination of a mass spectrometer and a Raman spectrometer to investi ...

Optical fibers are inherently tolerant of cosmic radiation and a wide temperature range, immune to electromagnetic noise and thus solar flares, etc. Embedded fiber sensors can be highly resistant to shock and vibration, hence their usage in the oil drilling industry. IFOS will work with Stanford?s Center for Design Research to develop a robotic prospecting tool with fiber-optic based haptic sensi ...

GTL?s SNS technology aids in the operation of new or existing structural health monitoring (SHM) systems by integrating data and power pathways into the structure. The use of this technology within a composite structure would allow engineers to place sensors from an SHM system directly where they are needed on a structure with instant power. GTL?s SNS technology offers the potential for developers ...

DEC-Shield technology offers the means to generate electric power from cosmic radiation sources and fuse dissimilar systems and functionality into a structural component to create a Multi-functional Structure (MFS). DEC-Shield integrated into MFS technology can be used to generate electric power and provide radiation protection in a space vehicle; even maximizing that protection by spreading the ...

Advanced turbomachinery components play a critical role in launch vehicle and spacecraft liquid rocket propulsion systems. To achieve desired efficiencies, extremely tight tolerances are often imposed between inducer blades and shrouds or other system components which sets up strong interactions that influence both the aerodynamics and the structural performance of blades and vanes. These transien ...