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Through Artemis, NASA plans to conduct long-duration human and robotic missions on the lunar surface in preparation for future crewed exploration of Mars. Expanding exploration capabilities requires a robust lunar infrastructure, including practical and cost-effective ways to construct a lunar base. One method is employing in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) – or the ability to use naturally occurring resources – to produce consumables and build structures in the future, which will make explorers more Earth-independent.

An ISRU process that NASA wants to learn more about is forging metals from lunar minerals to create structures and tools in the future. Through its 2023 Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-Changing (BIG) Idea Lunar Forge Challenge, NASA sought innovative concepts from university students to design an ISRU metal production pipeline on the Moon. The year-and-a-half-long challenge, funded by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) and Office of STEM Engagement, supports NASA’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative in developing new approaches and novel technologies to pave the way for successful exploration on the surface of the Moon.

Finalist teams presented their research, designs, prototypes, and testing results to a panel of NASA and industry judges at a culminating forum on Nov. 16, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Read the full article on NASA.gov

Image Credit: National Institute of Aerospace

Author Credit: Stefanie Payne

Original Post Date: Nov. 21, 2023

Getting to work on cutting-edge research is a privilege typically reserved for graduate students, but South Dakota Mines is not your typical university, and Jaden Dougal, a junior mechanical engineering major from Rockwall, Texas, is not your typical student.

Dougal has been helping conduct research on laser ablation for efficient space debris removal. She describes it as using space-based lasers to target debris in low earth orbit: shooting them with a nanosecond or femtosecond laser to change the debris’ trajectory — either slow it down enough to fall into the Earth’s atmosphere to burn up or speed it up enough to be sent to a graveyard orbit.

Dougal can participate in this research thanks to Prasoon Diwakar, PhD, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and research supported from the NASA South Dakota Space Grant Consortium.

Read the full article on SDSMT.edu

Author Credit: South Dakota Mines

Image Credit: South Dakota Mines

Original Post Date: 3/28/24

Rising University of South Dakota senior Maddie Rozmajzl landed a prestigious summer internship with NASA at the Ames Research Center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California’s Silicon Valley, an opportunity she describes as a dream come true.

“I am so grateful to be chosen for this opportunity, and I can’t wait to see my progress by the end of the summer,” said Rozmajzl, a biomedical engineering major from Omaha, Nebraska. “I have dreamt to work for such a prestigious company as NASA, and I have dreamt about being a part of a team who is known for achieving the impossible.”

During her 10-week internship, Rozmajzl is working in the Bioengineering & Instrumentation Lab, participating in projects connected to the Lunar Explorer Instrument for space biology Applications (LEIA) mission, which is set to launch in 2026. Her responsibilities include working on the biocompatibility of materials and an optical density probe for LEIA group support equipment.

Read the full article on USD.edu

Image Credit: University of South Dakota

Author Credit: Hanna DeLange

Original Post Date: 7/1/2024

Florida Space Grant Consortium supported research published research results in Astrobiology, “Effects of Spaceflight on the Brain.”

Read the research article online in the National Library of Medicine.

Astrobiology & Journal Impact Factors

Article Date: 6/27/24

NASA has awarded Professor Kevin Crosby $300,000 in seed funding to build a new research and internship program for Carthage students.

The majority of these funds are designated for 10 summer internships over the next two years. Selected students will take part in space science research on campus during the academic year and then spend a summer working at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The agency recently announced Carthage as one of 13 grant recipients for the Science Mission Directorate Bridge Program. Targeting schools that primarily serve undergraduate or underrepresented students, it’s designed to cultivate a more diverse, inclusive, and accessible workforce — both at NASA and in STEM occupations across the country.

“We look forward to nurturing these collaborations between faculty and NASA researchers, while supporting the development of the next generation of researchers,” said program director Padi Boyd.

Read the full article on Carthage.edu

Author Credit: Carthage College

Image Credit: WISGC

Original Post Date: July 16, 2024

Jules Levanti ’25 started her collegiate journey studying finance – not even thinking about undergraduate research, let alone studying the universe. But three years later, Levanti is the first Elon University student to be named an Undergraduate Research Scholar by North Carolina Space Grant to further her research on dwarf galaxies.

“When I first got to Elon, I remember seeing the Five Elon Experiences, looking at research and saying ‘Oh, I’m not doing that,’ but obviously things have changed and thank God,” said Levanti.

‘Where I’m meant to be’

Levanti, who is studying astrophysics with minors in computer science and mathematics, said astronomy was always an interest, but it wasn’t until she took an astronomy class at Elon that she began to consider it as a major.

Read the full article on elon.edu.

Author Credit:  Avery Craine Powell

Image Credit: https://www.elon.edu/

Original Post Date: 7/23/2024

A team of five Indigenous students from the University of Waterloo participated in the First Nations Launch, an annual high-power rocket competition sponsored by NASA’s Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium (WSGC), designed to provide a unique aerospace learning experience.

It was the team’s first time taking part in the competition which involved designing, building and launching a high-powered model rocket carrying cargo to an apogee of 2000 feet. Months of hard work and invaluable support culminated in an epic — and windy — weekend in Kenosha, Wisconsin that everyone agrees, was a blast.

“We didn’t know what to expect going in,” says Matthieu Lavallee, a second-year chemical engineering student and Algonquin Anishinaabe member of the Wolf Lake First Nation in Québec.

“Each step was a massive learning curve which was great. There were lots of technical parameters we had to meet such as payload size and deployment timing, we also had some testing challenges as it isn’t possible to launch a high-powered rocket in Canada without proper authorization. But we had tons of support and nothing felt impossible.”

Read the full article on UWaterloo.ca

Author Credit: Charlotte Danby

Image Credit: University of Waterloo

Original Post Date: June 24, 2024

The sun barely peeks over the horizon as a suitcase-like transport box exits Steward Observatory, home to the University of Arizona Department of Astronomy. Inside, held snugly in place by foam, is precious cargo: CatSat, the university’s first satellite built entirely by students.

After loading it into the back of the car, Shae Henley and Walter Rahmer, both engineering students at UArizona, stretch one last time in preparation for the 660-mile trip from Tucson to Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Their mission: Deliver the satellite and fit it inside a Firefly rocket that will launch into low-Earth orbit as early as July 1. If everything goes according to plan, CatSat will orbit around Earth every 95 minutes, gathering data about space weather while using an inflatable antenna from FreeFall Aerospace and a state-of-the-art radio from Rincon Research Corporation.

CatSat is a small satellite, also known as a CubeSat. The project kickoff was in 2016. For the past several years, students suited up in lab coats, hairnets and masks to meticulously wire up the satellite inside a clean room in the university’s Drake Building. Henley and Rahmer were part of the CatSat integration team, which also included team leads Hilly Paige and Del Spangler, both UArizona alumni, and engineering student Sarah Li.

Read the full story on News.Arizona.edu

Author Credit: Penny Sophia Duran, NASA Space Grant Science Writing Intern

Image Credit: Aman Chandra/FreeFall Aerospace

Original Post Date: June 29, 2024

NASA and the National Space Grant Foundation selected four university teams to develop advanced and innovative design ideas that will help solve Artemis mission challenges. The selections are part of the 2023-2024 Moon to Mars eXploration Systems and Habitation (M2M X-Hab) Academic Innovation Challenge sponsored by NASA’s Artemis Campaign Development Division.

The 2023-2024 M2M X-Hab Academic Innovation Challenge is an opportunity for NASA to build strategic partnerships with universities and tap into the ingenuity of the future Artemis Generation workforce. The challenge provides STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) students interested in aerospace careers with hands-on development and research experience, while strengthening NASA capability for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Past student participants have gone on to careers in the aerospace industry, including at NASA.

Universities in support of the M2M X-Hab 2023-2024 Academic Innovation Challenge will advance science and technology innovations for Artemis missions with the following projects:

Standardized Habitat Rack Design and Testing
University of Maryland Department of Aerospace Engineering and Space Systems Laboratory (SSL)

In this work students will develop, model, and test innovative concepts for standardized modular stowage and equipment racks in planetary surface habitats under lunar and Mars gravity conditions. This will include a survey of rack and stowage on the International Space Station and any other habitats with available information.  This information will inform the design of one or more modular habitat elements. Issues such as size and mass will be examined via tests of human manipulation in the underwater environment at both lunar and Mars gravity loadings, including rack transfer through simulated docking hatches between berthed pressurized modules. This will lead to the design and prototyping of a standardized modular rack element, which will be used to assess access and portability with both humans and robotic systems.

Design of Payload Racks to Support Future Habitation Platforms and Exploration Missions
University of Michigan Bioastronautics and Life Support Systems (BLiSS)

The project aims to ideate modifications to heritage rack designs and scale them to lunar and Martian habitats. The final deliverables of this project include high-fidelity CAD renderings in the intended environment of the proposed rack design, a system prototype to test both operations and human factors, and a final written report of the design process. The notional concept for our prototype payload rack describes a small-scale system that services a single payload while adapting to habitat architecture, human interfacing, and further scalability to lunar and Martian habitat environments. More in-depth analysis of integration methods will be conducted using multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques and formal trade studies in order to maximize the system’s performance and ergonomics.

Crew Mobility Modalities inside Moon/Mars Habitats
Auburn University Mechanical Engineering

Whether they are seen on the side of a stucco wall or crawling up a window, geckos are a ubiquitous companion throughout the human world.  The use of artificial gecko hands and feet for an astronaut or “synthetic setae” is both an attractive solution for Crew Mobility Modalities inside Moon/Mars Habitats and one fraught with complexities; the implementation of these complex geometries is not trivial. The major hurdle is developing adhesive high surface area features that allow for repeated use and resists damage. A deep understanding of the tribological properties of the surfaces and interface, i. e. coefficient of friction, surface roughness, contact mechanics and surface adhesion will be critical to uncovering effective methods for crew mobility.  A potential solution is to develop a smart surface, which can be tuned to change its properties through direct human control. Magnetorheological elastomers, silicone embedded with soft magnetic particles, can be used as the adhering surface of the habitat mobility solution, as small magnetic fields applied to material can cause dramatic changes in material stiffness and surface roughness. This material has the potential to be used as either part of the astronaut’s suit, as part of a target pad on a surface, or as a mobility projectile as it can be molded and 3D printed. Care must be taken in the design of material and geometry to overcome the unique problem associated with extraterrestrial use. Additionally, a liquid operated baffle system could be 3D printed into the design to allow for channels to expand and change the dimensions of the mobility apparatus. Similar devices have been developed with air as the medium.

Image Credit: NASA

Nine Henderson State University students were awarded funding this summer from the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium to support their projects and research.

Patrick Porch of Malvern, Michael Kempson of Bald Knob, and Chance Young of Cabot received a $15,000 Student Intensive Training Grant which provides a stipend for each student and funding for materials.

They are working on a high-powered rocketry project and pursuing their required certifications as they seek to compete in a national rocketry competition.

Kayce Krantz of Gurdon, who is also working on a rocketry project, received a STEM grant with a stipend intended to provide opportunities for underrepresented groups in the sciences.

Read the full article on Arkadelphian.com

Author Credit: Arkadelphian.com

Image Credit: Henderson State University

Original Post Date: June 26, 2024