Award Data

The proposed project utilizes the unique capabilities of the Materials International Space Station Experiment-Flight Facility (MISSE-FF) platform to perform low-Earth orbit (LEO) materials validation testing to advance the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of advanced spacesuit hard upper torso (HUT) composite materials developed under a prior NASA SBIR Phase I/current Phase II contract.nbsp; The d ...

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 ...

The detection of radionuclide aerosols is a critical indicator of a nuclear detonation. Existing sensors as part of the International Monitoring System operate in a batch process and typically have a 48 to 72 hour delay between aerosol sample collection and measurement activities due to limits of instrument sensitivity. The continuous, instantaneous measurements of atmospheric aerosol radiation le ...

An important NASA mission is to remotely analyze fires, such as wildfires and burning biomasses, for their chemical content. The chemical species of most interest have infrared spectral signatures at wavelengths ranging from 1.5 microns to 12 microns. A broadband infrared focal plane array (FPA) with that spectral coverage and high quantum efficiency is a key technology to enable this mission. Qma ...

To support development of atmospheric balloons and gossamer structures, NASA requires a capability for real-time, dynamic strain measurement in thin polymeric membranes during deployment and flight. This capability will provide quantitative test data to inform balloon design efforts, as well as enable real-time monitoring of material state during flight. Existing technologies include wired or wi ...

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 ...

The innovation of the Agricultural SOil Moisture and Irrigation Status (A·SOM·IS) platform is the development of operational and moderate resolution mapping and assessment of soil moisture, irrigation status (irrigated vs not), and crop water stress metrics at field scale for agricultural decision support tools. The platform focuses on utilization of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and blends SAR ...