The Johns Hopkins University
Lunar obligations
$35Mas prime
Lunar awards
59as prime
Its subcontractors
8$2.3M reported
Primes it works for
5$1.6M in subawards
Who it subcontracts to
MAHINA COLOR CAMERA: SNAPSHOT MULTISPECTRAL IMAGING FOR LUNAR APPLICAT
AI CLIMATE TIPPING-POINT SIMULATOR (ACTS) DATA AND ANALYSIS
HIGH-FIDELITY DYNAMICAL MAPPING OF THE MAGNETOSPHERE TO THE AURORAL REGION AND ITS APPLICATION TO SUBSTORMS RESOLVE ISSUES USING NEW ML-BASED APPROACHES
OPGRAV - PRECISE SMALL BODY MASS MEASUREMENTS DURING HIGH-SPEED FLYBYS DATA PROCESSING TO REPLICATE RESULTS
RESEARCHER TO DEVISE AND COORDINATE SEVERAL SERIES OF PISTON CYLINDER EXPERIMENTS.
BUILD MULTIPHYSICS MODELS
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES SUPPORTING SCIENCE AND LUNAR EXPLORATION (RASSLE)
RADIATION FACILITY RENTAL SERVICE IS IN SUPPORT OF RADIATION EFFECTS EVALUATION
Who it works for
WE PROPOSE TO USE HIGH THROUGHPUT CULTURE EXPERIMENTS OF PHOTOSYNTHETIC MODEL ORGANISMS PREVIOUSLY ISOLATED, AVAILABLE FROM PUBLIC CULTURE COLLECTIONS, AND WITH ENRICHMENT CULTURES IN BIOREACTORS SEEDED WITH METALS AND RARE EARTH ELEMENTS OF INTEREST TO DETERMINE THE MICROORGANISMS" BIOMINERALIZATION CAPABILITIES. SPECIFICALLY, WE WILL: " BUILD 96-DEEP-WELL PLATE BIOREACTORS WITH OPTICAL MICROPLATES FOR PHOTONIC HIGH-THROUGHPUT SCREENING. " SCREEN MICROORGANISMS AND ENRICHMENT CULTURES FOR BIOMINERALIZATION CAPABILITIES AND PROVIDE THE CULTURES TO OTHER TEAM MEMBERS. " COLLECT ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLES DURING ONE FIELD TRIP. " OBTAIN ENRICHMENT CULTURES FROM ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLES AND CHARACTERIZE THEM WITH MOLECULAR METHODS. " IDENTIFY METABOLIC PATHWAYS BY WHICH MICROORGANISMS PERFORM BIOTRANSFORMATION USING MOLECULAR METHODS. " INTEGRATE DATA WITH ANALYSES AND MODELING EFFORTS FROM OTHER TEAM MEMBERS; PERFORM ADDITIONAL CULTURE EXPERIMENTS (PERTURBATIONS) BASED ON FEEDBACK FROM OTHER TEAM MEMBERS. " PARTICIPATE AND DATA ANALYSIS AND MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION.
DR. KUNTZ WILL MODEL THE EMISSIONS FROM THE LUNAR PLATFORM INCLUDING BACKGROUNDS AND PRODUCE DATA REDUCTION AND ANALYSIS TOOLS. IN PARTICULAR, HE WILL BE PRODUCING A TOOL TO MODEL THE COSMIC X-RAY BACKGROUND AS OBSERVED BY THIS INSTRUMENT, AND WILL CONTRIBUTE TO MODELING OTHER BACKGROUNDS AS NEEDED. HE WILL DEVELOP ALGORITHMS FOR DETECTING THE LOCATION OF THE MAGNETOPAUSE WITHIN THE X-RAY IMAGES. HE WILL ALSO ASSIST IN PROVIDING AND MODIFYING EXISTING X-RAY REDUCTION SOFTWARE FOR USE IN THE LEXI PROJECT.
REQUIRED TASKS FOR THE ROLE OF VENUS EXPLORATION ANALYSIS GROUP (VEXAG) CHAIR INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, PLANNING AND CONDUCTING ANNUAL MEETINGS, PREPARING FOR AND LEADING STEERING COMMITTEE MEETINGS, PREPARING FOR AND ATTENDING ANNUAL PLANETARY ADVISORY COMMITTEE (PAC) MEETINGS, PREPARING FOR AND HOLDING AN ANNUAL TOWN HALL MEETING, AND ATTENDING TO ROUTINE AS WELL AS URGENT ANALYSIS GROUP COMMUNICATIONS. USRA WILL ARRANGE AND PAY FOR ASSESSMENT GROUP CHAIR TRAVEL, INCLUDING: " TRAVEL EXPENSES FOR VEXAG MEETINGS " TRAVEL EXPENSES FOR 2 PAC MEETINGS PER YEAR " TRAVEL EXPENSES PLUS REGISTRATION FEE FOR 2 MEETINGS PER YEAR (AGU, LPSC, OR DPS)
RADIATION EFFECTS AND VOLATILE EMISSIONS FROM ASTEROIDS AND LUNAR OBJECTS
" YEAR1: ADVISE THE ARTEMIS PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR AND INSTRUMENT TEAM ON THE FLOWDOWN OF SCIENCE REQUIREMENTS TO TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS. (NO FUNDING IS REQUESTED FOR THIS EFFORT.) " YEAR 2: PLAN FOR AND ATTEND SCIENCE TEAM MEETING IN BOULDER TO FURTHER DEFINE MISSION OBJECTIVES. " YEAR 3: PARTICIPATE IN FINALIZING SCIENCE OBJECTIVES, TARGET LISTS AND OBSERVING STRATEGIES. ATTEND TEAM MEETING IN BOULDER. " YEAR 4: PARTICIPATE IN THE ANALYSIS OF SCIENCE DATA AND DISSEMINATION OF RESULTS INCLUDING AUTHORING OF PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATION OF RESULTS AT AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY MEETING. IN ADDITION TO THESE TASKS HE WILL PARTICIPATE IN TELECOMS, AUTHOR, REVIEW AND COMMENT ON INSTRUMENTATION DOCUMENTATION, SCIENCE PUBLICATIONS AND GENERATE REPORTS AS NECESSARY TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE PROJECT.
Lunar awards as prime
| Award | Description | Period | Obligated |
|---|---|---|---|
| NNA14AB02A | FPDS BASE DESCRIPTION MULTIPLE YEAR AWARD&INCREMENTAL FUNDING FOR YEARS ONE TO FIVE. THIS PROPOSAL IS ENTITLED VOLATILES REGOLITH AND THERMAL INVESTIGATIONS CONSORTIUM FOR EXPLORATION AND SCIENCE (VORTICES). THIS IS AWARDED IN RESPONSE TO COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NOTICE (CAN) NO. NNH13ZDA006C SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION RESEARCH VIRTUAL INSTITUTE (SSERVI) CYCLE TWO. THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR IS DR. BENJAMIN J. BUSSEY WITH JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY (JHU BALT). PROJECT SUMMARY: THE SURFACE&NEAR-SURFACE OF PLANETARY OBJECT IS HOST TO A WIDE VARIETY OF PROCESSES. IT IS THE PART OF THE BODY THAT INTERACTS WITH IMPACTS SOLAR&GALACTIC ENERGY TO CREATE OR DESTROY VOLATILES IT IS THE PART THAT WE SEE WITH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS &THE PART THAT WILL BE SAMPLED&TESTED BY ROBOTS&ASTRONAUTS. THE VORTICES TEAM HAS IDENTIFIED A SET OF INTERLOCKING THEMES CONSIDERING THE ENTIRE REGOLITH-VOLATILE SYSTEM OF THE MOON&SMALL BODIES IN THE CONTEXT OF SCIENCE&EXPLORATION. THESE THEMES ARE: 1) VOLATILES IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM: SOURCES PROCESSES AND SINKS: UNDERSTAND HOW AND WHERE VOLATILES (E.G. OH&H2O) FORM HOW THEY INTERACT PHYSICALLY AND/OR CHEMICALLY WITH REGOLITH HOW THEY ARE TRANSPORTED ACROSS&WITHIN THE REGOLITH &THEIR ULTIMATE FATE BE IT SEQUESTRATION IN A COLD TRAP OR LOSS FROM THE BODY 2) REGOLITH: ORIGIN&EVOLUTION ON AIRLESS BODIES: UNDERSTAND HOW REGOLITHS ARE FORMED&EVOLVE &HOW THOSE FORMATION&EVOLUTION PROCESSES VARY ACROSS THE INNER SOLAR SYSTEM 3) RESOURCES: IDENTIFICATION&EXPLOITATION: UNDERSTAND HOW VOLATILE&SOLAR ILLUMINATION RESOURCES ARE DISTRIBUTED&HOW THEY ENABLE ROBOTIC&HUMAN EXPLORATION AND 4) FILLING STRATEGIC KNOWLEDGE GAPS: UNDERSTAND&ADDRESS THOSE UNKNOWNS IN KNOWLEDGE&TECHNIQUE NEEDED TO ENABLE HUMAN EXPLORATION OF THE MOON ASTEROIDS&THE MARTIAN MOONS. THE THEMES SHOULD NOT BE SEEN AS FENCED-OFF RESEARCH EFFORTS BUT SHOULD BE PICTURED AS COMPONENT PARTS OF THE INTEGRATED EFFORT THAT IS VORTICES. | 2014-03-20 → 2021-02-14 | $5.6M |
| 80NSSC24M0016 | RESEARCH ACTIVITIES SUPPORTING SCIENCE AND LUNAR EXPLORATION (RASSLE) | 2023-11-01 → 2028-10-31 | $4.3M |
| 80NSSC23K0840 | 22-DALI22_2-0008 MAHINA COLOR CAMERA: SNAPSHOT MULTISPECTRAL IMAGING FOR LUNAR APPLICATIONS | 2023-03-31 → 2027-03-30 | $2.8M |
| 80NSSC25K7304 | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS | 2025-01-02 → 2027-03-05 | $2.0M |
| 80NSSC25K0062 | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCYS EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. | 2025-06-05 → 2027-09-30 | $1.6M |
| 80NSSC25K7270 | THE ROSES FUNDING OPPORTUNITY GOALS ARE: EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. | 2025-01-01 → 2027-12-31 | $1.4M |
| 80NSSC19K0351 | BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: (A) PHASE-RATIO ANALYSIS IS BECOMING A WIDELY USED TECHNIQUE TO OBTAIN SUB-RESOLUTION INFORMATION ON THE SCATTERING BEHAVIOR AND PARTICLE SIZE FOR THE SURFACES OF AIRLESS BODIES. RECENTLY PUBLISHED EXAMPLES HAVE EMPLOYED SPACECRAFT IMAGES FROM THE MOON MERCURY EROS AND VESTA. PHASE-RATIO IMAGES FORMED FROM CO-REGISTERED IMAGES OF THE SAME LOCATION COLLECTED AT DIFFERENT PHASE ANGLES CAN REVEAL ANOMALOUS PHOTOMETRIC BEHAVIOR. THE ANOMALY CAN BE INTERPRETED IN TERMS OF THE ROUGHNESS OR PARTICLE SIZE OF THE SURFACE. FOR EXAMPLE PYROCLASTIC DEPOSITS ON MERCURY WERE FOUND TO HAVE CHARACTER CONSISTENT WITH THE PRESENCE OF MATERIAL THAT IS FINER-GRAINED THAN THE SURROUNDINGS. HOWEVER CONCLUSIONS TO DATE HAVE BEEN LIMITED TO QUALITATIVE INFERENCES ("AREA 1 MUST HAVE FINER PARTICLES THAN NEARBY AREA 2"). THE LACK OF A COMPREHENSIVE LABORATORY FRAMEWORK FOR INTERPRETATION PREVENTS QUESTIONS LIKE "HOW MUCH FINER?" FROM BEING ANSWERED. (B) THERE IS GROWING INTEREST IN IMAGING POLARIMETRY AS A REMOTE-SENSING TECHNIQUE FOR INTERROGATING PLANETARY SURFACES. THE HAYABUSA SPACECRAFT CARRIED A CAMERA (AMICA) DESIGNED TO OBTAIN POLARIZATION IMAGES OF ASTEROID ITOKAWA. THE FORTHCOMING KOREA PATHFINDER LUNAR ORBITER (KPLO) INCLUDES POLCAM WHICH WILL COLLECT MULTI-POLARIZATION IMAGING OF THE MOON. UNLIKE REFLECTANCE AND EMITTANCE SPECTROSCOPY THERE HAS BEEN RELATIVELY LITTLE LABORATORY WORK AIMED AT EXPLORING THE POLARIZATION BEHAVIOR OF PLANETARY SURFACE MATERIALS. SUCH FOUNDATIONAL WORK IS NECESSARY FOR THE POLCAM AND OTHER FUTURE DATASETS TO YIELD THEIR GREATEST SCIENTIFIC RETURN. PROPOSED METHODS/TECHNIQUES: WE PROPOSE TO ESTABLISH A PLANETARY SURFACE TEXTURE LABORATORY AS AN INVESTIGATOR FACILITY INSTRUMENT TO EXPLORE THE PHASE AND POLARIZATION OF REGOLITH ANALOGS AS A FUNCTION OF ILLUMINATION (I) VIEWING (E) AND PHASE (G) ANGLES. WE WILL COLLECT DATA WITH AN IMAGING POLARIMETER THAT WAS PURCHASED WITH APL OVERHEAD FUNDS. THE CAMERA SIMULTANEOUSLY COLLECTS IMAGES IN MULTIPLE POLARIZATION STATES. WITH PME FUNDING WE PROPOSE TO CONSTRUCT A GONIOMETER SO THAT A LIGHT SOURCE AND THE POLARIMETER CAN BE MOVED THROUGH A RANGE OF (I E G). SOIL ANALOGS WILL BE PLACED IN TRAYS THAT ARE LARGE ENOUGH TO PERMIT DIFFERENT SURFACE PREPARATIONS TO BE VIEWED TOGETHER. THE REGOLITH ANALOGS WILL BE CHARACTERIZED IN TERMS OF PARTICLE SIZE-FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION AND CRUCIALLY THE MATERIAL WILL ALSO BE CHARACTERIZED IN TERMS OF SHAPE. THE PARTICLE SIZE/SHAPE ANALYSIS WILL BE DONE WITH A RETSCH CAMSIZER X2 IN WHICH AN AIR STREAM ENTRAINS A SAMPLE OF GRANULAR MATERIAL AND PASSES THE PARTICLES THROUGH A MICROSCOPE AND HIGH-SPEED CAMERA. AUTOMATED IMAGE-PROCESSING ROUTINES EXTRACT A VARIETY OF PARTICLE SIZE AND SHAPE PARAMETERS INCLUDING AVERAGE PARTICLE DIAMETER SPHERICITY AND CONVEXITY AS WELL AS THE STANDARD DEVIATIONS AND SIZE-FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTIONS OF THESE PARAMETERS. THE DATA OBTAINED WITH PSTL WILL ALSO PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR MODELING STUDIES. THE COMPREHENSIVE DATA IN (I E G) WILL BE USED FOR PHOTOMETRIC MODELING E.G. EXTRACTION OF HAPKE PARAMETERS THAT CAN BE LINKED TO THE KNOWN PARTICLE PROPERTIES. WE WILL TEST EMPIRICAL RELATIONS THAT CONNECT PARTICLE SIZE TO POLARIZATION AND ALSO DEVELOP RIGOROUS RADIATIVE-TRANSFER CODE THAT INCLUDES STOKES PARAMETERS AND INCORPORATES PARTICLE SIZE PACKING AND SHAPE. PERCEIVED SIGNIFICANCE: THE PROPOSED LABORATORY REPRESENTS A UNIQUE CAPABILITY FOR IMAGING STUDIES OF THE PHOTOMETRIC AND POLARIZATION BEHAVIOR OF REGOLITH ANALOGS THAT HAVE BEEN QUANTITATIVELY CHARACTERIZED. BY CARRYING OUT SYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATION OF WELL CHARACTERIZED SAMPLES WE WILL PROVIDE THE FOUNDATION FOR INTERPRETATION OF PHASE-RATIO IMAGE DATA FROM PAST AND FUTURE PLANETARY MISSIONS AND FOR FUTURE POLARIZATION IMAGE DATA FROM MISSIONS LIKE KPLO. REMOTE ASSESSMENT OF PARTICLE SHAPES AND SIZES COULD ALSO BENEFIT SITE SELECTION FOR IN SITU RESOURCE UTILIZATION. | 2018-12-20 → 2024-12-19 | $847K |
| 80NSSC25K7698 | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS | 2025-05-01 → 2029-04-30 | $798K |
| 80NSSC17K0599 | THE MAGNETIC FIELD IS A FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICAL QUANTITY AND ITS ACCURATE MEASUREMENT WITH ABSOLUTE STABILITY TO BETTER THAN 1 NT IS REQUIRED FOR MANY FUTURE SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION MISSIONS. FUTURE MISSIONS REQUIRING THIS CAPABILITY INCLUDE THE EUROPA LANDER WHICH COULD RESOLVE INDUCTION SIGNALS TO CHARACTERIZE EUROPA'S SUB-SURFACE OCEAN; THE URANUS ORBITER AND PROBE WHICH SEEKS TO CHARACTERIZE URANUS' UNIQUE OFFSET MULTI-POLE MAGNETIC FIELD; AN ENCELADUS ORBITER; AND THE LUNAR GEOPHYSICAL NETWORK. ALL OF THESE MISSIONS REQUIRE MEASUREMENT OF SMALL-AMPLITUDE MAGNETIC SIGNALS WITH EXCELLENT LONG-TERM STABILITY. EUROPA INDUCED MAGNETIC FIELDS ARE A FEW NANO-TESLAS IN AMPLITUDE AND ARE GENERATED BY EXPOSURE TO PERIODIC MAGNETIC FIELD VARIATIONS RESULTING FROM THE ROTATION OF THE JOVIAN TILTED MAGNETIC FIELD ABOUT THE PLANETARY SPIN AXIS AT A PERIOD OF 11 H AND FROM THE MOON TRAVERSING THE MAGNETIC ENVIRONMENT OF ITS HOST PLANET IN AN ECCENTRIC ORBIT AT A PERIOD OF 85 H. MAGNETIC SOUNDING IS ALREADY AN INTEGRAL INVESTIGATION OF THE EUROPA MULTIPLE FLYBY MISSION AND IT IS IDEALLY COMPLEMENTED BY LANDER OBSERVATIONS BECAUSE THE INDUCTION RESPONSE IS SENSITIVE TO ALTITUDE SO THAT THE INDUCTION SCIENCE RETURN IS GREATLY ENHANCED BY COMBINING THE HIGH-ALTITUDE FLYBY OBSERVATIONS WITH THOSE FROM THE SURFACE. FLUXGATE MAGNETOMETERS ALONE CANNOT DELIVER THE REQUIRED PERFORMANCE BECAUSE THEIR CALIBRATION CAN DRIFT SO THAT LONG-TERM STABILITY IS NOT GUARANTEED. THE PROVEN SOLUTION IS TO PARTNER THE HIGH-HERITAGE FLUXGATE INSTRUMENTS WITH AN ABSOLUTE REFERENCE MAGNETOMETER WHICH SERVES AS A CALIBRATION SOURCE. THE FACT IS HOWEVER THAT THE MASS AND POWER OF SUCH INSTRUMENT COMBINATION AND OF MOST ATOMIC MAGNETOMETERS ALONE EXCEED THE CAPABILITIES OF MANY PLANETARY MISSIONS ESPECIALLY THOSE WITH A LANDER ELEMENT. | 2017-12-01 → 2023-07-30 | $778K |
| 80NSSC22K0535 | SCIENCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES: GRAVIMETRY IS A STANDARD TOOL FOR ANALYSIS OF SUBSURFACE STRUCTURE ON THE EARTH. ON THE MOON THE APOLLO 17 MISSION CONDUCTED THE ONLY SURFACE GRAVITY TRAVERSE TO DATE OVER SEVERAL KILOMETERS ACROSS THE TAURUS-LITTROW | 2022-01-26 → 2027-03-31 | $714K |
| 80NSSC21K0222 | LUNAR DUST CONSISTS OF ROCK PULVERIZED AND WELDED BY FREQUENT MICROMETEOROID IMPACTS AND THE RESULTING AGGLUTINATES ARE SHARP AND JAGGED IRREGULAR FINE PARTICLES WITH UNIQUE MECHANICAL AND ELECTROSTATIC PROPERTIES. THEIR UBIQUITOUS PRESENCE POSES | 2021-01-11 → 2025-01-10 | $650K |
| 80NSSC17K0342 | THE LYMAN ALPHA MAPPING PROJECT (LAMP) AND LROC WIDE-ANGLE CAMERA ABOARD LRO ARE COLLECTING FAR-ULTRAVIOLET (FUV) AND NEAR-ULTRAVIOLET (NUV) DATA OF THE MOON THAT IS PROVIDING UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES OF THE LUNAR SURFACE. IN PARTICULAR LUNAR SURFACE MATURITY MANIFESTS DIFFERENTLY IN THE FUV AS COMPARED TO THE VISIBLE (VIS) NEAR-INFRARED (NIR) AND EVEN THE MID- (MUV) TO NEARULTRAVIOLET (NUV) [1-5]. SOME RECENT OBSERVATIONS OF THE MUV TO NUV WITH LRO WAC HAVE LED SOME TO SUGGEST THE ULTRAVIOLET IS MORE SENSITIVE TO THINNER DEPOSITS AND SHORTER TIME SCALES THAN LONGER WAVELENGTHS AND THEREFORE WILL PROVE INFORMATIVE TOWARDS RELATIVE AGE DATING ON SHORTER TIME SCALES. LAMP MAY BE SIMILAR AND PERHAPS EVEN MORE SENSITIVE AT THE<200 NM SCALES HOWEVER WITH THESE UNIQUE STRENGTHS COME CHALLENGES TOWARDS ITS INTERPRETATION THAT NEED TO BE UNDERSTOOD AND RESOLVED. FOR EXAMPLE ONLY A FEW DATA SETS HAVE BEEN COLLECTED IN THE LAB TO SUPPORT AND VALIDATE INTERPRETATION OF LAMP DATA SETS BOTH IN TERMS OF COMPOSITION AND MATURITY [6-9]. SOME OF THESE DATA SETS ARE SEVERAL DECADES OLD AND WERE COLLECTED WITH LESS ADVANCED INSTRUMENTATION AND UNDER NON LUNAR-LIKE CONDITIONS. THIS MAKES INTERPRETING THIS 'NEW' WAVELENGTH RANGE CHALLENGING YET VERY RIPE FOR USE. HERE WE WILL EXAMINE THE LUNAR SURFACE AND DIFFERENCES IN SURFACE MATURITY IN THE FUV RELATIVE TO THE MUV NUV AND VIS BUT IN THE CONTEXT OF LABORATORY SPECTRA EELS DATA OF VALENCE STATE AND HAADF IMAGING OF LUNAR HIGHLANDS SAMPLES AND FE-IMPREGNATED SILICA GEL LUNAR ANALOGS TO SOLIDIFY OUR UNDERSTANDING OF SPACE WEATHERING PROCESSES AND THE ROLE OF FE AND ITS PARTICLE SIZE DEPOSITED ON GRAINS IN THE VIS AND NIR. THESE DATA WILL THEN BE USED TO EXAMINE LUNAR MATURITY IN THE MARE HIGHLANDS AND POLAR REGIONS SYSTEMATICALLY AS A FUNCTION OF LATITUDE. SIMILAR OBSERVATIONS WITH CLEMENTINE HAVE SHOWN VARIATION ON MATURITY WITH LATITUDE HERE WE AIM TO SEE IF THE ULTRAVIOLET AGREES AND IF SO DOES IT PROVIDE ANY MORE USEFUL INFORMATION SINCE IT IS LESS SUSCEPTIBLE TO CHEMISTRY INDUCED VARIATIONS IN SPECTRAL COLOR AS COMPARED TO VISIBLE AND NEAR-INFRARED DATA. | 2017-08-01 → 2022-07-31 | $553K |
| 80NSSC20K0981 | THE MERCURY RADIOMETER AND THERMAL INFRARED SPECTROMETER (MERTIS) IS AN INSTRUMENT ON THE ESA MERCURY PLANETARY ORBITER (MPO) WITHIN THE ESA/JAXA JOINT MISSION BEPICOLOMBO. MERTIS LAUNCHED ON OCTOBER 20 2018 AND WILL FLY BY THE EARTH/MOON VENUS | 2020-05-07 → 2027-05-06 | $546K |
| NNX15AR98G | THE QUESTION OF THE BASIC VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL COMPOSITIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE LUNAR CRUST IS STILL UNRESOLVED BUT CAN BE ADDRESSED WITH NEW REMOTE SENSING DATA. HIGH SPECTRAL RESOLUTION NEAR INFRARED AND MULTISPECTRAL THERMAL INFRARED LUNAR DATA ARE NOW BOTHAVAILABLE NEARLY GLOBALLY AND AT HIGH SPATIAL RESOLUTIONS. THIS PROPOSAL WILL UTILIZE THESE DATASETS AND INTEGRATE NEW LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS IN SIMULATED LUNAR ENVIRONMENT AND STATE OF THE ART RADIATIVE TRANSFER MODELS TO MAP THE MINERALOGY EXPOSED ON THE LUNAR SURFACE AND INFER ITS VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION.WE WILL ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: HOW DOES MG NUMBER VARY ACROSS THE LUNAR SURFACE? DOES THE LUNAR CRUST BECOME MORE MAFIC WITH DEPTH? IS LUNAR MANTLE EXPOSED ON THE SURFACE AND WHAT IS ITS MINERALOGY? THERE HAS BEEN SUCCESS DETECTING ANDMAPPING COMPOSITIONALLY EXTREME LITHOLOGIES SUCH AS PURE PLAGIOCLASE PYROXENE FREE OLIVINE OLIVINE FREE PYROXENE ILMENITE AND MGSPINEL USING NEAR INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY AND SILICA RICH LITHOLOGIES AND VARIATIONS IN PLAGIOCLASE COMPOSITION USING THERMAL INFRARED MULTISPECTRAL IMAGING. WHILE THESE ARE IMPORTANT ADVANCES OTHER IMPORTANT LUNAR SCIENCE PROBLEMS REQUIRE DETERMINING THE RELATIVEABUNDANCES OF THE MAJOR MINERALS WHERE THE LITHOLOGIES ARE NOT DOMINATED BY A SINGLE MINERAL AND TO WHICH A PARTICULAR SPECTROSCOPIC TECHNIQUE IS PARTICULARLY SENSITIVE. FORTUNATELY THE STRENGTHS OF NEAR INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY NAMELY DIFFERENTIATING AMONG MAGIC MINERALS AND THERMAL INFRARED MULTISPECTRAL OBSERVATIONS ASSESSING FELDSPAR MAFIC RATIOS ARE COMPLEMENTARY AND TOGETHER CANPROVIDE A CLOSED ACCURATE SOLUTION. THE PROPOSED WORK WILL ACCOMPLISH THE FOLLOWING: REFINE AND VALIDATE A MINERAL ABUNDANCE ESTIMATE METHODOLOGY CAPABLE OF BETTERTHAN 10 PERCENT ABSOLUTE ACCURACY THAT INTEGRATES NIR AND TIR SPECTRAL IMAGING USING RADIATIVE TRANSFER MODELING AND TARGETED LABORATORY TIR MEASUREMENTS OF LUNAR SOILS AND ANALOG MINERALS IN SIMULATED LUNAR ENVIRONMENT DERIVE THE GLOBAL MINERALOGY OF THE MOON AIMED AT MAPPING AND UNDERSTANDING VARIATIONS IN MG NUMBER ASSESS THE STRUCTURE OF THE LUNAR CRUST BY EXAMINING CRATER CENTRALPEAKS THROUGH IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF THE FELDSPAR MAFIC RATIO AND MAFIC MINERALOGY PROVIDED BY OUR METHOD INVESTIGATE MAFIC COMPOSITIONAL ANOMALIES THAT COINCIDE WITH LOW PLAGIOCLASE ABUNDANCES AS POTENTIAL EXPOSURES OF LUNAR MANTLE MAKE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE ALL HIGH RESOLUTION MINERAL ABUNDANCE MAP PRODUCTS AND MEASURED LABORATORY SPECTRA. THE PRODUCTS OF THESE COMBINED ANALYSES WILL BE OF GREAT VALUE TO THE LUNAR COMMUNITY AND LAY THE GROUNDWORK FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING LUNAR SURFACE COMPOSITIONAND THUS THIS FORMATION AND EVOLUTION OF THE LUNAR CRUST.THE PROPOSED WORK IS RELEVANT TO THE LDAP PROGRAM BECAUSE IT USES PUBLICALLY AVAILABLE DATA FROM THE LRO DIVINER CHANDRYANN 1 M3 AND KAGUYA MI MISSIONS. SPECIFICALLY IT DIRECTLY ADDRESSES THE HIGH PRIORITY AREAS OF LUNAR RESEARCH IDENTIFICATION CHARACTERIZATION OF LUNAR MINERALOGY AS A FUNCTION OF LOCATION AND DEPTH AND CONTRIBUTES TO OTHERS INCLUDING IDENTIFICATION AND/ORCHARACTERIZATION OF POTENTIAL LANDING SITES OF HIGH LUNAR SCIENCE RETURN. BECAUSE THIS PROPOSAL IS RELEVANT TO LDAP IT IS INTRINSICALLY RELEVANT TO NASA PSD. | 2015-08-10 → 2021-08-10 | $534K |
| 80NSSC25K0076 | PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. | 2025-06-11 → 2029-06-10 | $500K |
| 80NSSC25K0073 | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCYS EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. | 2025-09-01 → 2029-08-31 | $486K |
| NNX13AJ61G | THE OLD PARADIGM OF AN ALMOST COMPLETELY DRY MOON IS UNDERGOING A MAJOR REVISION WITH NEW SPACE- AND SAMPLED-BASED DATA. THE EXISTENCE OF AN UNEXPECT | 2013-04-23 → ? | $467K |
| 80NSSC25K7434 | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS | 2025-01-01 → 2027-12-31 | $454K |
| 80NSSC21K0171 | WE PROPOSE TO EXPLORE THE EXTENT TO WHICH PHOTOMETRIC EFFECTS CAN ACCOUNT FOR THE TIME-OF-DAY AND LATITUDINAL VARIATIONS OBSERVED IN ULTRAVIOLET AND INFRARED REFLECTANCE SIGNATURES OF WATER ON THE SURFACE OF THE ILLUMINATED MOON. SPECIFICALLY WE WILL EXPLORE THE ISSUE OF RADIATIVE TRANSFER AT UV AND IR WAVELENGTHS THAT OCCURS THROUGH AND BETWEEN SILICATE PARTICLES COATED WITH A HIGHLY ABSORBING MEDIUM SUCH AS OH/H2O OR NANOPHASE OPAQUE MINERALS I.E. SPACE-WEATHERING RINDS. THE ABSORPTION FEATURE NEAR 2.8 UM IN REFLECTANCE SPECTRA OF THE SOLAR ILLUMINATED SURFACE OF THE MOON HAS BEEN OBSERVED TO VARY WITH TIME OF DAY IN THE EQUATORIAL AND MID-LATITUDES AND AT HIGHER LATITUDES TO BE STABLE BUT ALSO DEEPER THAN IS OBSERVED AT EQUATORIAL LATITUDES. THIS DIURNAL VARIATION IN THE DEPTH OF THE "3-UM BAND" HAS BEEN POSTULATED TO BE INDICATIVE OF THE FORMATION OF WATER (EITHER OH OR H2O) BY SOLAR-WIND IMPLANTATION LOSS BY THERMAL PROCESSES AND REJUVENATION AGAIN BY SOLAR WIND FROM MORNING TO NOON TO EVENING (FIGURE 1). SIMILARLY A DIURNAL VARIATION IN A UV SIGNATURE AT ~165 NM HAS BEEN OBSERVED AND A SIMILAR MECHANISM PROPOSED. THE STRONGER 2.8-UM BAND AT HIGHER LATITUDES HAS BEEN PROPOSED TO BE THE RESULT OF GREATER ACCUMULATION WITHOUT THERMAL LOSS (BECAUSE OF THE COOLER TEMPERATURES). WE POSTULATE THAT BOTH THE DIURNAL VARIATION IN THE UV AND IR AND THE INCREASING BAND DEPTH WITH HIGHER LATITUDES IN THE IR MAY BE LARGELY OR ENTIRELY AN APPARENT EFFECT DUE TO CHANGES IN THE ANGLE OF INCIDENT ILLUMINATION WITH TIME OF DAY AND WITH LATITUDE. THE PHOTOMETRIC MODELING OF LAYERED REGOLITH PARTICLES IS NOT ADDRESSED THROUGH CURRENT PHOTOMETRIC CORRECTIONS. WE APPROACH TESTING THIS HYPOTHESIS WITH TWO INDEPENDENT AND COMPLEMENTARY METHODS. FIRST WE WILL USE HAPKE SPECTRAL MODELING OF SILICATE PARTICLES WITH OH/H2O COATINGS TO THEORETICALLY TEST A PHOTOMETRIC EXPLANATION FOR THE OBSERVED VARIATIONS IN THESE UV AND IR SPECTRAL FEATURES WITH TIME OF DAY AND LATITUDE. SECOND WE WILL CONDUCT LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS IN WHICH DEUTERONS (SIMULATED SOLAR WIND) WILL BE IMPLANTED IN SILICATE REGOLITH ANALOGS OVER A RELEVANT RANGE OF TEMPERATURES AND TOTAL FLUENCES COUPLED WITH CONCURRENT UV AND INFRARED REFLECTANCE MEASUREMENTS TO CONSTRAIN THE RATE OF SPECTRAL FEATURE DEVELOPMENT AND EVOLUTION TO DIRECTLY TEST THE HYPOTHESIS OF BAND FORMATION LOSS AND REJUVENATION BY THE SOLAR WIND. | 2021-01-01 → 2026-08-31 | $450K |
| 80NSSC19K0783 | OBJECTIVES: THE AIM OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO UNDERSTAND THE PROCESSES SURROUNDING THE GENERATION OF THE ANCIENT LUNAR DYNAMO. OUR MAJOR GOAL IS TO DETERMINE WHETHER MECHANICAL DRIVING DUE TO A PRECESSING MANTLE POSSIBLY IN COMBINATION WITH CONVECTION CAN EXPLAIN THE PALEOMAGNETIC RECORD. WE WILL ALSO DETERMINE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INVESTIGATIONS OF LUNAR PALEOMAGNETIC POLES AND TRUE POLAR WANDER (TPW).METHODS: THIS STUDY WILL INVOLVE THREE TASKS TO INVESTIGATE THE DYNAMICS AND CONSEQUENCES OF A MANTLE-PRECESSION DRIVEN LUNAR DYNAMO: TASK 1: INVESTIGATIONS OF LUNAR DYNAMO MODELS DRIVEN ONLY BY MANTLE PRECESSION: THIS TASK WILL INVOLVE MODIFYING NUMERICAL DYNAMO CODES TO INCLUDE EFFECTS OF MANTLE PRECESSION AND CARRY OUT SUITES OF DYNAMO SIMULATIONS IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE DYNAMICS OF MANTLE PRECESSION DRIVEN DYNAMOS. WE WILL THEN DEVELOP SCALING STUDIES FOR THE LUNAR MAGNETIC FIELD STRENGTH AND COMPARE OUR RESULTS TO THE LUNAR PALEOMAGNETIC RECORD. TASK 2: INVESTIGATIONS OF LUNAR DYNAMO MODELS DRIVEN BY A COMBINATION OF MANTLE PRECESSION AND CONVECTION: THIS TASK WILL INVOLVE COMBINING THE MANTLE-PRECESSION DRIVING DEVELOPED IN TASK 1 WITH STANDARD CONVECTIVE DRIVING IN A SUITE OF DYNAMO SIMULATIONS IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE COMBINED DYNAMICS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE LUNAR DYNAMO. TASK 3: INVESTIGATIONS OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF THESE DYNAMO MODEL RESULTS FOR LUNAR PALEOPOLE STUDIES: IN THIS TASK WE WILL USE INFORMATION FROM THE DYNAMOS MODELS IN TASKS 1 AND 2 TO DETERMINE IF STANDARD PALEOPOLE CALCULATION TECHNIQUES THAT INVOLVE USING THE GEOCENTRICAXIAL- DIPOLE (GAD) HYPOTHESIS PRODUCE BIASES IN PALEOPOLE STUDIES FOR THE MOON. PERCEIVED SIGNIFICANCE/RELEVANCE TO NASA: THIS WORK WILL PROVIDE FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE LUNAR DYNAMO MECHANISM THAT PRODUCED THE LUNAR CRUSTAL REMANENT MAGNETIC FIELD. THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE THE STRENGTH MORPHOLOGY AND STABILITY OF THE LUNAR SURFACE PALEOMAGNETIC FIELD IS NEEDED TO CONSTRAIN PROPERTIES OF THE MAGNETIZED CRUST SUCH AS THE THICKNESS AND MAGNETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY OF THE MAGNETIZED LAYER. THE MORPHOLOGY AND STABILITY OF THE LUNAR DYNAMO WILL ALSO AID STUDIES OF LUNAR PALEOPOLES IN DETERMINING WHETHER THE GEOCENTRIC AXIAL DIPOLE (GAD) HYPOTHESIS IS REASONABLE FOR PALEOMAGNETIC POLE STUDIES THAT ARE USED TO DETERMINE TPW ON THE MOON. IN ADDITION THE INVESTIGATION OF MECHANICAL DRIVING AND THE COMBINATION WITH CONVECTIVE DRIVING COULD HAVE POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS TO OTHER PLANETARY DYNAMOS. THIS STUDY IS RELEVANT TO NASA'S INTERESTS AND PROGRAMS SINCE IT INVOLVES INVESTIGATIONS OF PLANETARY INTERIORS AND NUMERICAL MODELING OF PHYSICAL PLANETARY PROCESSES. IN PARTICULAR THIS PROPOSAL IS RESPONSIVE TO THE "INTERIOR STRUCTURE" AND "PLANETARY MAGNETISM" CATEGORIES OF THE "SURFACES AND INTERIORS" ITEM ON PAGE 2 OF APPENDIX C.3 OF THE 2017 ROSES SOLICITATION SINCE IT DEALS WITH THE INTERIOR PROCESSES RESPONSIBLE FOR PRODUCING THE ANCIENT LUNAR MAGNETIC FIELD. | 2019-04-08 → 2023-04-07 | $423K |
| 80NSSC25K7810 | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. | 2025-03-05 → 2028-03-04 | $422K |
| 80NSSC19K0272 | THE DUNGEY CYCLE IS ONE OF THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF SPACE PHYSICS AND THE DISTANT PLASMA SHEET (PS) IS ITS FIRST SEGMENT IN THE CLOSED FIELD-LINE REGION OF THE MAGNETOSPHERE. IN THIS PROJECT WE WILL INVESTIGATE THE PLASMA CONVECTION IN THE DISTANT PS WITH AN EMPHASIS ON MAGNETIC FLUX TRANSPORT. MORE SPECIFICALLY BY OBSERVATIONALLY ADDRESSING THE FOLLOWING THREE SCIENCE QUESTIONS (SQS) WE WILL SEEK TO PROVIDE NEW INSIGHTS INTO ELECTRODYNAMIC COUPLING OF THE DISTANT PS WITH OTHER AREAS OF THE SOLAR WIND-MAGNETOSPHEREIONOSPHERE (SW-M-I) SYSTEM: SQ1) HOW IS THE CONVECTION IN THE DISTANT PS STATISTICALLY CHARACTERIZED? SQ2) HOW DOES THE CONVECTION IN THE DISTANT PS RESPOND TO THE ENHANCEMENT OF THE SOLAR WIND DRIVING? SQ3) WHAT IS THE IONOSPHERIC MANIFESTATION OF THE CONVECTION ENHANCEMENT IN THE DISTANT PS? WE WILL USE AS A PRIMARY DATA SET PLASMA MAGNETIC FIELD AND ELECTRIC FIELD MEASUREMENTS MADE BY THE ARTEMIS SPACECRAFT. WE WILL ALSO USE OTHER DATA SETS SUCH AS THE SAME MEASUREMENTS BUT MADE BY THE THEMIS NEAR-EARTH PROBES THE OMNI SOLAR WIND AND IMF DATA AND ALL-SKY IMAGER (ASI) DATA FROM THEMIS GROUND BASED OBSERVATORY STATIONS. SINCE THE EQUATORIAL MAGNETIC FIELD IS USUALLY VERY WEAK IN THE DISTANT PS THE FLOW VELOCITY IS NOT ALWAYS AN APPROPRIATE MEASURE OF CONVECTION. IN THIS PROJECT WE WILL ADDRESS THE PS CONVECTION MOSTLY IN TERMS OF THE TRANSPORT RATE OF MAGNETIC FLUX TRANSPORT THAT IS ELECTRIC FIELD. THE FOLLOWING IS THE DESCRIPTION OF OUR APPROACH TO EACH SCIENCE QUESTION. - FOR SQ1 WE WILL CALCULATE THE PROBABILITY DENSITY FUNCTIONS OF V_PERP AND E (OR -VXB) MEASURED BY ARTEMIS. AN EMPHASIS WILL BE PLACED ON THE RELATIVE CONTRIBUTION OF BURSTY TRANSPORT. BY COMPARING WITH THE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED RESULTS OF THE NEAR-EARTH PS WE WILL ADDRESS THE ROLE OF DISTANT RECONNECTION IN THE EARTHWARD TRANSPORT OF MAGNETIC FLUX. WE WILL ALSO MAKE A SIMILAR COMPARISON WITH MEASUREMENTS MADE AT R<12 RE BY THE THEMIS NEAR-EARTH PROBES DURING THE SAME PERIOD AS ARTEMIS. - FOR SQ2 WE WILL SELECT SOUTHWARD IMF TURNINGS USING THE OMNI DATA. WE WILL CONDUCT A SUPERPOSED EPOCH ANALYSIS WITH THE SOUTHWARD TURNING AS A REFERENCE TIME AND WILL ADDRESS WHEN AND IN WHAT FORM (I.E. BURSTY VS. STEADY) THE CONVECTION ENHANCES IN THE DISTANT PS. WE WILL ALSO EXAMINE IF THE CONVECTION ENHANCEMENT IS PRECEDED BY A CERTAIN PERIOD OF ENERGY STORAGE. - FOR SQ3 USING THE GROUND ASI DATA TAKEN DURING CONVECTION ENHANCEMENT EVENTS OBSERVED BY ARTEMIS WE WILL EXAMINE WHAT AURORAL FORMS CORRESPONDS TO THE CONVECTION ENHANCEMENT AND HOW IT DEVELOPS SPATIALLY (I.E. LONGITUDINALLY OR EQUATORWARD). THE RESULT WILL BE ADDRESSED IN THE CONTEXT OF THE RECENTLY PROPOSED SEQUENCE OF SUBSTORM INITIATION WITH AN EMPHASIS ON THE POSSIBLE LINK BETWEEN THE DISTANT RECONNECTION AND THE POLEWARD BOUNDARY INTENSIFICATIONS (PBIS) OF AURORAL EMISSION. BY SYNTHESIZING THE RESULTS OF THOSE PROPOSED STUDIES WE WILL PROVIDE A NEW LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING OF THE ELECTRODYNAMIC LINK OF THE DISTANT MAGNETOTAIL WITH OTHER AREAS OF THE SW-M-I SYSTEM. THE SUBJECT OF THIS PROJECT THE ELECTRODYNAMICS OF THE DISTANT PS IS COHERENT WITH THE ONE OF THE SCIENCE TARGETS OF THE ARTEMIS MISSION THAT IS MAGNETOTAIL-SOLAR WIND INTERACTION. THIS PROJECT WILL SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCE ITS SCIENTIFIC OUTPUT BY INVESTIGATING THE LINK OF THE DISTANT PS WITH THE NEAR-EARTH PS (SQ1) SOLAR WIND (SQ2) AND IONOSPHERE (SQ3). THE SUBJECT IS ALSO CLOSELY RELATED TO THE MAGNETOTAIL RECONNECTION AND SUBSTORM INITIATION SEQUENCE WHICH ARE THE TARGETS OF THE MMS AND THEMIS MISSIONS RESPECTIVELY. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL STUDY THE DISTANT MAGNETOTAIL FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF THE SW-M-I COUPLING AND THEREFORE IT IS COHERENT WITH THE GOAL OF THE HELIOPHYSICS SYSTEM OBSERVATORY AND MORE GENERALLY WITH A HIGH-LEVEL SCIENCE GOAL OF HELIOPHYSICS DECADAL SURVEY. | 2019-03-01 → 2024-02-28 | $416K |
| 80NSSC20K0098 | WE PROPOSE TO CONDUCT A FLIGHT TEST OF THE JANUS-PIMS PAYLOAD ON A BLUE ORIGIN NEW SHEPARD LAUNCH VEHICLE TO RAISE ITS TRL FOR FUTURE LUNAR MISSIONS. THIS PAYLOAD COMBINES TWO INSTRUMENTS TO DEVELOP A LOW COST RELIABLE METHOD OF CHARACTERIZING LOCAL LUNAR SURFACE RADIATION AND MAGNETIC FIELD ENVIRONMENTS ON ROVERS AND LANDERS. SUCH A CAPABILITY IS VITAL BECAUSE LUNAR SURFACE MAGNETIC FIELDS VARY SIGNIFICANTLY AND DIRECTLY IMPACT THE RADIATION EXPOSURE AT EACH PARTICULAR LANDING SITE (WHICH CAN BE EXTREMELY HARMFUL TO HUMANS AND EQUIPMENT). HOWEVER LITTLE OBSERVATIONS FROM THE LUNAR SURFACE EXIST AND IT IS DIFFICULT TO PREDICT THE ACTUAL ENVIRONMENT. SO OUR PROPOSED PAYLOAD IS REQUIRED TO UNDERSTAND THE CONDITIONS OF EACH SPECIFIC LANDING SITE. COORDINATED RADIATION AND MAGNETIC FIELD MEASUREMENTS WILL PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT INSIGHT INTO HOW CRUSTAL MAGNETIC FIELDS IMPACT THE LOCAL RADIATION ENVIRONMENT. AS AN ADDITIONAL BENEFIT OF THIS FLIGHT TEST THE JANUS-PIMS WILL BE USED AS THE FIRST ATTEMPT TO MEASURE CHARGED PARTICLES AT SUBORBITAL ALTITUDES FROM A COMMERCIAL SPACECRAFT WHICH WILL VERIFY THE POSSIBILITY OF MAKING ROUTINE OBSERVATIONS ESSENTIAL FOR UNDERSTANDING EARTH S ATMOSPHERE AT SUCH ALTITUDES. TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION: APL IS ITERATIVELY APPLYING COMMERCIAL SRLVS TO REDUCE INSTRUMENT DEVELOPMENT COST SCHEDULE AND RISK. A KEY ELEMENT OF OUR PROGRAM IS ESTABLISHING A COMMON SPACECRAFT INTEGRATION PLATFORM (JANUS) THAT ELIMINATES THE NEED FOR DEVELOPING COMPLETE AND INDEPENDENT PAYLOADS FOR EVERY MISSION. OVER THE LAST 8 YEARS WE HAVE EVOLVED THE JANUS DESIGN THROUGH 6 SUCCESSFUL TEST FLIGHTS. FOR THIS PROPOSAL WE WILL INTEGRATE JANUS WITH OUR PLASMA INSTRUMENT FOR MAGNETIC SOUNDING (PIMS) INSTRUMENT (UNDER DEVELOPMENT FOR THE EUROPA CLIPPER MISSION BUT ADAPTED FOR THE LUNAR ENVIRONMENT) TO MEASURE LOWER ENERGY (<100 EV) CHARGED PARTICLES. THE PROPOSED FLIGHT TEST WILL ADVANCE THIS TECHNOLOGY FOR LUNAR (AND BEYOND) APPLICATIONS. AFTER SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT TEST OF THE PROPOSED JANUS-PIMS WE CAN COMBINE THIS PAYLOAD WITH OUR (HIGHER ENERGY) RADIATION MONITORING SYSTEM (ERM) WHICH IS A MATURE SENSOR WITH FLIGHT HERITAGE ON NASA S VAN ALLEN PROBE MISSION (AND ALSO SELECTED FOR THE EUROPA CLIPPER MISSION). WE REQUIRE THE PIMS INSTRUMENT TO MEASURE LOWER ENERGY PARTICLES SO WE CAN CHARACTERIZE THE ENTIRE RADIATION SPECTRUM. THIS COMBINED SYSTEM WILL PROVIDE A COMPLETE LUNAR RADIATION HAZARD AND ENVIRONMENTAL MEASUREMENT SYSTEM THAT IS SELF-CONTAINED FLEXIBLE AND LOW COST. OUR PAYLOAD WILL NOT ONLY CHARACTERIZE THE LUNAR SURFACE ENVIRONMENT BUT ALSO EASILY ACCOMMODATE OTHER INSTRUMENT PAYLOADS AND DEVELOPMENT/ TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATIONS ON ANY LUNAR MISSION. ALIGNMENT AND JUSTIFICATION OF SCOPE: THE PROPOSED WORK FALLS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENT UTILIZING SUBORBITAL FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM BECAUSE OUR GOAL IS TO DEMONSTRATE A SPACE EXPLORATION AND UTILIZATION TECHNOLOGY IN A RELEVANT SPACE-LIKE ENVIRONMENT USING A CURRENTLY AVAILABLE U.S. COMMERCIAL SUBORBITAL ROCKET. THE PROPOSED PROJECT ALIGNS WITH TOPIC 1 (SUPPORTING SUSTAINABLE LUNAR EXPLORATION AND THE EXPANSION OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY INTO CISLUNAR SPACE) AS OUR PAYLOAD WILL FURTHER NASA LUNAR EXPLORATION GOALS BECAUSE ACCURATE CHARACTERIZATION AND MONITORING OF THE LUNAR SURFACE RADIATION AND AMBIENT ENVIRONMENT AT EACH INDIVIDUAL LOCATION IS ESSENTIAL FOR SAFE AND EFFECTIVE ROBOTIC AND HUMAN SURFACE OPERATIONS ON THE LUNAR SURFACE (SUCH AN APPLICATION IS ALSO RELEVANT BEYOND EARTH S ORBIT). OUR PROPOSAL NOT ONLY MEETS THESE EXPLICITLY STATED PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS BUT ALSO ADDRESS TWO OF NASA S LUNAR STRATEGIC KNOWLEDGE GAPS: (THEME 2) UNDERSTAND THE LUNAR ENVIRONMENT AND ITS EFFECTS ON HUMAN LIFE AND (THEME 3) UNDERSTAND HOW TO WORK AND LIVE ON THE LUNAR SURFACE) WITH EMPHASIS ON DETERMINING NEAR SURFACE RADIATION/PLASMA ENVIRONMENTS AND THE NATURE OF DIFFERENTIAL ELECTRICAL CHARGING. | 2019-10-31 → 2027-04-30 | $415K |
| 80NSSC22K1338 | 21-LDAP21_2-0015 LUNAR IMPACT MELT DEPOSIT STRATIGRAPHY | 2022-10-01 → 2027-09-30 | $414K |
| 80NSSC20K0313 | SINCE THE CONCLUSION OF THE LADEE MISSION OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE LADEE NMS INSTRUMENT WORKS WITH RESPECT TO MEASURING MASS 18 (WATER) HAS EVOLVED. MANY INITIAL STUDIES OF WATER IN THE LUNAR EXOSPHERE DID NOT ACCOUNT FOR THE ACCUMULATION OF WATER IN THE INSTRUMENT DURING THE INSTRUMENT OFF-TIME. | 2020-01-01 → 2024-12-31 | $402K |
| 80NSSC19K0370 | SCIENCE GOALS: SPECTRAL MEASURES OF MATURITY IN THE VISIBLE PORTION OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM MODESTLY CORRELATE WITH MAGNETIC INDICES OF LUNAR SOIL SAMPLES ENABLING AN EVALUATION OF LUNAR SURFACE MATURATION PROCESSES. NEWLY ACQUIRED DATA OF THE LUNAR SURFACE FROM MULTISPECTRAL INSTRUMENTS (E.G. THE MOON MINERALOGY MAPPER AND THE KAGUYA MI) THE DIVINER LUNAR RADIOMETER LROC WAC AND THE MINI-RF RADAR NOW ALLOW US TO EXPLORE MATURITY RELATIONSHIPS AT A VARIETY OF WAVELENGTH REGIONS RELATIVE TO CLEMENTINE COLOR DATA. OUR PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATIONS SUGGEST THAT THE MATURITY OF FEATURES CAN BE IDENTIFIED AT A VARIETY OF WAVELENGTHS THOUGH THE FEATURES MAY MANIFEST DIFFERENTLY DEPENDING ON THE WAVELENGTH REGION EXAMINED. EXAMINATION OF THREE CRATERS OF DIFFERING AGES (CLASSIFIED AS "YOUNG" "INTERMEDIATE" AND "OLD") SUGGEST THAT AGE EFFECTS ARE SEEN IN ALL WAVELENGTHS. HOWEVER NO DETAILED STUDY INTEGRATING THESE MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES ACROSS THE LUNAR SURFACE HAS YET BEEN PERFORMED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THESE POTENTIAL RELATIONSHIPS. HERE WE PROPOSE AN INTEGRATED STUDY OF CRATER EJECTA BLANKETS TO PROBE MATURATION PROCESSES TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW CRATER EJECTA DEGRADE IN VARIOUS TERRAINS ACROSS THE LUNAR SURFACE AS SEEN IN REMOTE SENSING DATA SPANNING FROM THE UV TO MICROWAVE WAVELENGTHS. PROPOSED METHODOLOGY: WE WILL INVESTIGATE THE EJECTA BLANKETS OF YOUNG LUNAR CRATERS USING A VARIETY OF DATA SETS AT A VARIETY OF WAVELENGTHS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THEIR EMPLACEMENT MATURITY AND DEGRADATION HISTORY. SPECIFICALLY WE WILL ANALYZE DATA FROM THE SPECTROMETER ON BOARD KAGUYA LRO'S DIVINER THE LROC WAC LRO-LAMP AND THE MINI- RF INSTRUMENT TO EXAMINE MATURITY OF LUNAR MATERIALS SPECIFICALLY EJECTA BLANKETS OF YOUNG CRATERS AND ASSIGN (RELATIVE) AGES TO THESE CRATERS BASED ON THE CALCULATED MATURITY WITH EACH DATA SET. WE WILL ALSO LEVERAGE CLEMENTINE COLOR DATA TO GENERATE OMAT MAPS TO ENABLE COMPARISONS WITH A STANDARD MATURITY INDEX. THIS WILL BE DONE IN 4 MAIN TASKS: 1) EXAMINE RADAR SCATTERING CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUNG CRATER EJECTA ACROSS THE LUNAR SURFACE 2) EXAMINE THESE SAME CRATERS IN OPTICAL THERMAL AND UV-VIS DATA SETS TO IDENTIFY ANY MATURITY EFFECTS ACROSS WAVELENGTHS 3) INTEGRATE RELATIVE AGES FROM DIFFERENT DATA SETS AND COMPARE WITH OMAT; 4) EXAMINE SPECIFIC CORRELATIONS BETWEEN INDICES IDENTIFIED IN VARIOUS DATA SETS. RELEVANCE OF THE PROPOSED WORK TO THE LUNAR DATA ANALYSIS PROGRAM (LDAP): THE LDAP CALL STATES: "AN INVESTIGATOR MAY PROPOSE A STUDY...BASED ON ANALYSIS OF LUNAR DATA COLLECTED BY SPACECRAFT AT THE MOON... INCLUDING DATA FROM THE MOON MINERALOGY MAPPER (M3) AND THE LUNAR RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER (LRO). WE PROPOSE TO USE DATA FROM BOTH LRO (UTILIZING DATA FROM THE MINI-RF DIVINER AND LROC INSTRUMENTS) AND THE M3 INSTRUMENT TO UNDERSTAND MATURATION OF CRATER EJECTA. BY UTILIZING MULTIPLE DATA SETS AT MULTIPLE WAVELENGTHS WE HOPE TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A MORE COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF THE AGE OF LUNAR MATERIALS AND HOW THE DEGRADATION AND MATURATION OF CRATER EJECTA IS SEEN IN REMOTELY SENSED DATA. THE CALL ALSO ALLOWS FOR: ...DATA ANALYSES [REQUIRING] THE USE OF OLDER MISSION DATA SETS (E.G. APOLLO CLEMENTINE) " IN THE CONTEXT OF ENHANCING THE ANALYSIS AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE DATA FROM THE MISSIONS LISTED ABOVE. THE USE OF OLDER DATA SETS AS COMPLEMENTARY/SUPPLEMENTARY DATA SETS TO THE MISSIONS LISTED ABOVE FOR THE PURPOSE OF CREATING A NEEDED DATA PRODUCT (E.G. MAPS) FOR ANALYSIS IS ALLOWABLE." WE WILL BE USING CLEMENTINE DATA TO GENERATE OMAT MAPS TO COMPARE WITH THE MORE RECENT DATA FROM LRO. REMOTE SENSING OF THE MATURITY OF IMPACT CRATER EJECTA IS A CRITICAL METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE RELATIVE AGES OF IMPACT CRATERS AND THUS THE NATURE OF THE RECENT (<1GA) BOMBARDMENT HISTORY OF THE MOON. COMPARISON OF THESE DATA SETS WILL ALLOW FOR AN IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF HOW EJECTA MATURITY EXPRESSES ITSELF BOTH OPTICALLY AND IN RADAR DATA. | 2018-12-20 → 2025-12-19 | $383K |
| NNX14AQ91G | THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS TO MAKE PROGRESS IN UNDERSTANDING THE ENIGMATIC FEATURES KNOWN AS LUNAR SWIRLS, AND LEVERAGING THE FINDINGS TO | 2014-08-29 → 2020-08-28 | $371K |
| 80NSSC25K7150 | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES. DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. | 2025-01-01 → 2027-12-31 | $360K |
| 80NSSC25K7676 | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS | 2025-04-01 → 2028-03-31 | $353K |
| 80NSSC25K7473 | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS | 2025-04-01 → 2028-03-31 | $348K |
| 80NSSC19K0541 | IN RECENT YEARS THE SURFACE OF MERCURY HAS BEEN CHARACTERIZED IN UNPRECEDENTED DETAIL. ONE OF THE MOST INTRIGUING RESULTS HAS BEEN THE DETECTION OF DISTINCTIVE REFLECTANCE AND NEUTRON FLUX SIGNATURES IN MERCURY'S POLAR REGIONS BY INSTRUMENTS ON THE MESSENGER SPACECRAFT. THESE MEASUREMENTS COMBINED WITH EARTH-BASED RADAR DATA AND THERMAL MODELING PRESENT COMPELLING EVIDENCE FOR THE PRESENCE OF WATER ICE IN PERMANENTLY SHADOWED REGIONS NEAR MERCURY'S POLES WHERE TEMPERATURES ARE SO LOW THAT WATER (AND OTHER VOLATILES) CAN REMAIN THERMALLY STABLE OVER GEOLOGICAL TIMESCALES. MERCURY'S POLAR DEPOSITS PROVIDE A UNIQUE AND IMPORTANT GEOLOGICAL RECORD OF THE DELIVERY OF WATER TO THE INNER SOLAR SYSTEM. IN ORDER TO INTERPRET THIS RECORD IT IS CRUCIAL TO DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE ORIGIN AND NATURE OF POLAR ICE ON MERCURY. SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE INVESTIGATED MECHANISMS THAT MAY DELIVER WATER TO THE LUNAR POLES BUT FEW SUCH STUDIES EXIST FOR MERCURY DESPITE EVIDENCE THAT WATER ICE IS MORE ABUNDANT ON MERCURY THAN ON THE MOON. SEVERAL DISTINCT LINES OF EVIDENCE SUGGEST THAT THE WATER ICE DETECTED IN MERCURY'S POLAR COLD TRAPS MAY HAVE BEEN DELIVERED BY A RECENT COMET (OR VOLATILE-RICH ASTEROID) IMPACT. IN THIS WORK WE PROPOSE TO INVESTIGATE THROUGH NUMERICAL MODELING THE TRANSPORT AND DEPOSITION OF WATER ON MERCURY IN THE AFTERMATH OF A VOLATILE-RICH IMPACT. OUR OBJECTIVES ARE TO ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: HOW IS WATER TRANSPORTED AND REDISTRIBUTED IN THE AFTERMATH OF A VOLATILE-RICH IMPACT ON MERCURY? WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TRANSIENT ATMO/EXOSPHERE GENERATED BY A VOLATILE-RICH IMPACT ON MERCURY? WHAT FRACTION OF IMPACT-DELIVERED VOLATILES MAY BE PRESERVED AS SURFACE DEPOSITS? COULD A RECENT IMPACT EXPLAIN ALL THE OBSERVED FEATURES OF MERCURY'S POLAR DEPOSITS? IN PARTICULAR THE HOKUSAI IMPACT HAS BEEN INVESTIGATED AS A POTENTIAL SOURCE CRATER FOR PRESENT-DAY POLAR DEPOSITS; DOES MODELING SUPPORT THIS SCENARIO AND/OR YIELD FURTHER INSIGHTS? TO CARRY OUT THE PROPOSED WORK WE PLAN TO USE A DIRECT SIMULATION MONTE CARLO (DSMC) CODE THAT MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM HAVE PREVIOUSLY APPLIED TO INVESTIGATE THE TRANSPORT AND DEPOSITION OF WATER IN THE AFTERMATH OF A LUNAR COMET IMPACT (PREM ET AL. 2015). THE DSMC CODE WILL BE ADAPTED TO ACCOUNT FOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE MOON AND MERCURY IN TERMS OF GRAVITY SIZE SOLAR FLUX AND SURFACE THERMAL ENVIRONMENT (INCLUDING THE EFFECTS OF MERCURY'S 3:2 SPIN-ORBIT RESONANCE WITH THE SUN). TO FACILITATE COMPARISON OF MODEL RESULTS WITH REMOTE SENSING DATA A DETAILED REPRESENTATION OF THE COLD TRAPS MAPPED BY MESSENGER WILL BE INCORPORATED AND THE EFFECTS OF SUB-RESOLUTION COLD TRAPS AND SURFACE ROUGHNESS WILL BE MODELED STOCHASTICALLY. MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM HAVE PREVIOUSLY DERIVED CONSTRAINTS ON THE PARAMETERS OF THE HOKUSAI CRATER-FORMING IMPACT - A CANDIDATE SOURCE-CRATER FOR PRESENT-DAY POLAR DEPOSITS (ERNST ET AL. 2016). WE WILL PERFORM A SUITE OF SIMULATIONS TO EXPLORE THE PARAMETER SPACE ASSOCIATED WITH THE HOKUSAI IMPACT AND WILL ALSO EXAMINE THE INFLUENCE OF IMPACT TIME-OF-DAY ON VOLATILE FALLOUT. IN ORDER TO RUN THESE SIMULATIONS WE PLAN TO USE THE TEXAS ADVANCED COMPUTING CENTER'S STAMPEDE SUPERCOMPUTER. THIS PROPOSAL RESPONDS TO SSW OBJECTIVES OF SUPPORTING RESEARCH (INCLUDING NUMERICAL MODELING) INTO PROCESSES THAT AFFECT THE SURFACES AND ATMO/EXOSPHERES OF PLANETARY BODIES. THE FOCUS OF THIS STUDY IS MERCURY BUT THE PROPOSED WORK WOULD ALSO INCREASE OUR BROADER UNDERSTANDING OF THE BEHAVIOR OF VOLATILES ON NOMINALLY AIRLESS BODIES. THIS WORK WOULD ALSO ADDRESS SEVERAL IMPORTANT QUESTIONS HIGHLIGHTED IN THE DECADAL SURVEY: HOW ARE VOLATILE ELEMENTS AND COMPOUNDS DISTRIBUTED TRANSPORTED AND SEQUESTERED IN NEARSURFACE ENVIRONMENTS ON THE SURFACES OF THE MOON AND MERCURY? WHAT FRACTIONS OF VOLATILES REPRESENT LATE METEORITIC AND COMETARY INFALL? DO VOLATILES ON MERCURY AND THE MOON CONSTRAIN ANCIENT ATMOSPHERIC ORIGINS SOURCES AND LOSS PROCESSES? | 2019-04-01 → 2025-03-31 | $338K |
| 80NSSC17K0418 | SCIENTIFIC GOALS: WE SEEK TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE RELATIVE RATES OF THE TWO MAIN AGENTS OF LUNAR SPACE WEATHERING: MICROMETEOROID BOMBARDMENT AND THE SOLAR WIND. MANY RECENT STUDIES HAVE POINTED TO THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SOLAR WIND IN ALTERING THE LUNAR SOIL BY CREATING AMORPHOUS RIMS THAT CONTAIN NANOPHASE-SIZED GRAINS OF IRON METAL. THE NANOPHASE IRON METAL IN PARTICULAR ALTERS THE SPECTRAL PROPERTIES OF THE SOIL IN WAYS THAT ARE WELL KNOWN. BUT MICROMETEOROID BOMBARDMENT IS ALSO A KEY COMPONENT OF LUNAR SPACE WEATHERING AND IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF AGGLUTINATES GLASSY AGGLOMERATIONS OF MINERAL FRAGMENTS AND IRON METAL PARTICLES. AGGLUTINATES COMPRISE APPROXIMATELY HALF OF TYPICAL MATURE LUNAR SOILS AND ARE THUS HIGHLY IMPORTANT FOR UNDERSTANDING THE CHANGES IN SPECTRAL PROPERTIES THAT RESULT FROM MICROMETEOROID BOMBARDMENT. SURPRISINGLY THE DETAILED SPECTRAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AGGLUTINATES AND HOW THOSE CHARACTERISTICS VARY WITH SOIL COMPOSITION ARE NOT WELL KNOWN. THIS KNOWLEDGE GAP HINDERS THE ABILITY TO PURSUE SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS RELATED TO SPACE WEATHERING. IN THE WORK PROPOSED HERE WE WILL IMPROVE OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE SPECTRAL PROPERTIES OF AGGLUTINATES SO THAT WE CAN SEPARATELY MODEL THE RATES OF SPACE WEATHERING DUE TO THE SOLAR WIND (NANOPHASE IRON PRODUCTION) AND MICROMETEOROID BOMBARDMENT (AGGLUTINATE PRODUCTION) IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE EVOLUTION OF THE LUNAR REGOLITH THROUGHOUT THE COPERNICAN PERIOD. FURTHER THE NEW UNDERSTANDING OF AGGLUTINATE SPECTRA WILL PERMIT US TO EXAMINE RECENT WORK THAT SUGGESTS IT IS THE FLUX OF SOLAR WIND RATHER THAN TOTAL DOSE THAT DETERMINES HOW A SOIL MATURES. METHODOLOGY: OUR PROPOSED WORK IS SEPARATED INTO FOUR TASKS. IN THE FIRST TASK WE WILL CHARACTERIZE AGGLUTINATES SEPARATED FROM APOLLO SOIL SAMPLES THAT BRACKET THE MAJOR RANGE OF LUNAR COMPOSITION AND COLLECT REFLECTANCE SPECTRA OF THESE SEPARATES. THE SECOND TASK WILL SEEK TO UNDERSTAND WHAT PROPERTIES CONTROL THE OBSERVED SPECTRAL REFLECTANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEPARATES USING ELECTRON AND XRAY PETROGRAPHY AND ELECTRON MICROPROBE ANALYSES TO DETERMINE GLASS AND MINERAL CHEMISTRY AND FRACTION. OUR THIRD TASK IS TO USE THE INFORMATION COLLECTED IN THE LABORATORY TO DETERMINE THE BEST WAY TO TREAT AGGLUTINATES IN RADIATIVE TRANSFER MODELS OF LUNAR SOIL SPECTRA BY TESTING SEVERAL METHODS OF VARYING COMPLEXITY. OUR FOURTH TASK WILL USE THE IMPROVEMENTS TO RADIATIVE TRANSFER MODELS DEVELOPED IN TASK 3 TO ADDRESS OUR MAIN SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIVE RATES OF LUNAR SPACE WEATHERING DUE TO THE SOLAR WIND AND MICROMETEOROID BOMBARDMENT. WE WILL SELECT BOTH KAGUYA SPECTRAL PROFILER (SP) DATA AND MOON MINERALOGY MAPPER (M3) SPECTRA OF CRATERS OF A RANGE OF AGES AND MODEL THE AGGLUTINATE AND NANOPHASE IRON ABUNDANCE WITHIN THE EJECTA OF THESE CRATERS. AGES OF THE CRATERS WILL BE TAKEN FROM THE LITERATURE OR DETERMINED USING THE CORRELATION BETWEEN CRATER AGE AND THE 95TH PERCENTILE VALUE OF EJECTA ROCK ABUNDANCE DETERMINED FROM DIVINER DATA. THESE RATES WILL BE COMPARED TO NEW DETERMINATIONS OF RATES OF REGOLITH GARDENING AND WILL BE COMPARED TO SPECIAL LOCATIONS SUCH AS AT HIGH LATITUDES AND CRUSTAL MAGNETIC ANOMALIES. RELEVANCE: THIS PROPOSAL FOCUSES ON A SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS OF LUNAR DATA (PRIMARILY KAGUYA SP M3 AND DIVINER) TO UNDERSTAND THE RATES OF SPACE WEATHERING PROCESSES ON THE MOON. THIS WORK IS NOT CURRENTLY POSSIBLE WITHOUT A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF LUNAR AGGLUTINATE SPECTRAL PROPERTIES AND THUS IN SUPPORT OF OUR SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION WE WILL PURSUE "NONDATA ANALYSIS" TASKS (LABORATORY WORK AND RADIATIVE TRANSFER MODEL IMPROVEMENTS) WHICH ARE RESPONSIVE TO THE LDAP CALL BECAUSE THEY "ARE NECESSARY TO ANALYZE (OR HELP ANALYZE) THE LUNAR MISSION DATA." AS THE MAIN GOAL OF THIS WORK IS A SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF LUNAR DATA IT IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR SOLAR SYSTEM WORKINGS ("SOLAR SYSTEM WORKINGS DOES NOT ACCEPT PROPOSALS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR SUBMISSION TO A DAP"). | 2017-08-09 → 2023-08-08 | $309K |
| 80NSSC25K7442 | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. | 2025-03-01 → 2028-02-29 | $309K |
| 80NSSC20K1163 | POWERED DESCENT ON THE MOON AND MARS RELIES ON ROCKET EXHAUST PLUMES TO IMPINGE ON THE GROUND COVERED WITH GRANULAR SOIL CREATING DENSE PARTICLE CLOUDS AND HIGH-SPEED EJECTA WHICH CAN POSE DANGER TO THE SPACECRAFT AND ASTRONAUTS ABOARD. | 2020-08-01 → 2024-11-30 | $308K |
| NNX16AN50G | AS AN EARLY CRYSTALLIZING MINERAL, ORTHOPYROXENE PROVIDES IMPORTANT CLUES FOR UNDERSTANDING THE EVOLUTION OF THE LUNAR SURFACE, FROM THE EARLIEST MAG | 2016-10-01 → 2022-09-30 | $302K |
| 80NSSC25K7518 | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. | 2025-01-01 → 2027-12-31 | $288K |
| 80NSSC17K0305 | WE PROPOSE THE CONCEPT OF A DEEP SPACE SMALL SPACECRAFT LUNAR ORBITAL MISSION CAPABLE OF CONDUCTING DISCOVERY-CLASS SCIENCE OF UNDERSTANDING THE WATER ON THE MOON BY LEVERAGING NEW LAUNCH OPTIONS PROPULSION TECHNOLOGY MINIATURIZATION OF INSTRUMENTATION AND IMPROVED COMMUNICATIONS. THIS STUDY WILL INVESTIGATE THE EXTENT TO WHICH HIGH-PRIORITY LUNAR DECADAL SURVEY SCIENCE QUESTIONS CAN BE ANSWERED USING A DEEP SPACE SMALL SPACECRAFT. SPECIFICALLY WE PROPOSE TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT TO WHICH AN EELV SECONDARY PAYLOAD ADAPTER (ESPA)-CLASS MISSION USING SOLAR-ELECTRIC PROPULSION CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE PROCESSES BEHIND THE FORMATION LOSS EVOLUTION AND SEQUESTRATION OF WATER ON THE MOON. THIS MISSION WILL CHARACTERIZE THE VOLATILES (WATER ICE OTHER FORMS OF H2O AND OH) ON AND WITHIN THE SURFACE OF THE MOON. BETTER UNDERSTANDING VOLATILES IN THE INNER SOLAR SYSTEM AND SPECIFICALLY THE MOON IS A HIGH-PRIORITY OBJECTIVE IN THE 2014 NASA SCIENCE PLAN THE 2013-2022 DECADAL SURVEY AND HAS BEEN THE OBJECTIVE OF SEVERAL CUBESAT MISSIONS TO THE MOON AND IS THE OBJECTIVE OF AT LEAST ONE DISCOVERY MISSION CONCEPT. | 2017-07-27 → ? | $254K |
| 80NSSC26K1352 | THE PROPOSAL IS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF GPU BASED PROCESSING FOR AN EXISTING BOUNDARY ELEMENT METHOD (BEM) MODEL FOR LUNAR DUST TO SPEED UP COMPUTATION TIME BY AN ESTIMATED 1-2 ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE. THE PROPOSAL HAS THREE OBJECTIVES: IMPLEMENT THE GPU | 2026-09-29 → 2027-09-28 | $250K |
| 80NSSC24K1726 | LUNAR TOPOGRAPHY AND REGOLITH EVOLUTION USING POLCAM AND SHADOWCAM | 2024-10-01 → 2027-09-30 | $250K |
| 80NSSC21K0080 | WE ARE REQUESTING A TRANSFER OF THE GRANT ENTITLED GEOLOGICAL AND COMPOSITIONAL STUDIES OF EJECTA AND MELT OF LUNAR IMPACT BASINS FROM THE LUNAR AND PLANETARY INSTITUTE TO THE APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY WHERE THE PI HAS RECENTLY MOVED. WE DO NOT ANTICIPATE A NEED FOR A CHANGE IN THE SCOPE PROPOSED TASKS OR SCIENTIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL. DATA USED FOR THE COMPLETION OF THE ORIGINALLY PROPOSED OBJECTIVES WILL INCLUDE ALL ORIGINALLY PROPOSED DATASETS AND METHODOLOGY AS WELL AS NEWER HIGHER RESOLUTION DATASETS FROM LRO KAGUYA (E.G. MINERAL MAPS) AND ARECIBO. THE WORK PLAN HAS BEEN UPDATED HERE TO REFLECT THE NEW PERSONNEL AND TIME REMAINING IN THE PROPOSAL PERIOD. AS A RESULT OF THE UNAVOIDABLE GAP IN TIME BETWEEN DR. SPUDIS ILLNESS AND PASSING AND THE INITIATION OF THE PI TRANSFER AS WELL AS THE TRANSITION OF THE NEW PI (H. MEYER) TO APL WE ANTICIPATE REQUESTING AT LEAST ONE NO-COST EXTENSION (MORE LIKELY TWO) BEFORE THE END OF THE PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE. | 2021-03-11 → 2026-03-10 | $243K |
| 80NSSC19K1264 | MY PROPOSAL GOAL IS CHARACTERIZING IO'S INFLUENCE ON JUPITER'S MAGNETOSPHERE. THIS MOON IS THE PRIMARY PARTICLE SOURCE IN JUPITER'S MAGNETOSPHERE WITH SOURCE PARTICLES IONIZED QUICKLY BY THE HIGH RADIATION ENVIRONMENT ON TIMESCALES OF DAYS TO HOURS. THUS UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF THIS MOON IS ESSENTIAL FOR UNDERSTANDING JUPITER'S MAGNETOSPHERE. THIS GOAL ALSO IMPACTS OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE HABITABILITY OF EUROPA. IN ORDER TO INTERPRET EUROPA OBSERVATIONS IMPACTS OF THE DOMINANT SOURCE IO MUST BE IDENTIFIED AND ACCOUNTED FOR. SUCH A TASK IS QUITE DIFFICULT CONSIDERING IO ORBITS<4 RJ CLOSER TO JUPITER AND CAN EASILY IMPACT THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND EUROPA. THIS TASK IS EVEN MORE CHALLENGING BECAUSE IO VOLCANIC SOURCE VARIABILITY IS NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD OR CONSTRAINED. MY OBJECTIVES INCLUDE IDENTIFYING TIME PERIODS REPRESENTING VARYING LEVELS OF IO SOURCE ACTIVELY. I WILL THEN CHARACTERIZE THE MAGNETOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT AS A FUNCTION OF MAGNETIC L SHELL MAGNETIC LATITUDE AND TIME. THEN USING THESE RESULTS AS CONSTRAINTS I WILL REPRODUCE THE 3-D NEUTRAL DISTRIBUTION DURING ALL OF OBSERVED PERIODS. FROM THESE RESULTS I PROPOSE TO CHARACTERIZE THE MAGNETOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT RELATIVE TO DIFFERENT SOURCE ACTIVITY PERIODS AS WELL AS THE TIME CONSTANTS FOR MAGNETOSPHERIC RESPONSE TO IO SOURCE ACTIVITY VARIATION. APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY: TO ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS I WILL BUILD ON MY PREVIOUS DATA ANALYSIS AND MODELING RESEARCH. THE JAXA HISAKI MISSION IS CURRENTLY OBSERVING THE JOVIAN NEUTRAL AND PLASMA TORI IN THE UV SPECTRUM. AS A GUEST INVESTIGATOR ON THIS MISSION I HAVE CONDUCTED RESEARCH ON THE BOTH OF THESE FEATURES. SO FAR WE HAVE COLLECTED THREE DISTINCT SEASONS OF OBSERVATIONS (>4 MONTHS FOR EACH PERIOD). THE FIRST SEASON SHOWS ONLY LOW IO ACTIVITY. THE SECOND SEASON SHOWS INCREASE PEAK AND DECREASE IN IO ACTIVITY. THE THIRD SEASON APPEARS TO SHOW A LOWER SOURCE ACTIVITY PERIOD. WHILE THESE OBSERVATIONS ARE VERY IMPORTANT AND CRITICAL THEY ARE ONLY ABLE TO OBSERVE THE NEAR IO TORUS ENVIRONMENT. THUS I INTEND TO CORRELATE THESE (AND FUTURE) OBSERVATIONAL PERIODS WITH ALL AVAILABLE JUNO PLASMA (JADE) AND ENERGETIC PARTICLE (JEDI) OBSERVATIONS. THESE DATA WILL PROVIDE CRITICAL INSIGHT INTO THE ENVIRONMENT AT OTHER MAGNETOSPHERIC REGIONS NOT OBSERVABLE BY HISAKI THUS PROVIDING A MORE COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF THE CURRENT MAGNETOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT. THESE OBSERVATIONS THEN PROVIDE CRITICAL CONSTRAINTS FOR MY 3-D MONTE CARLO MAGNETOSPHERIC MODEL. MY MODEL ACCOUNTS FOR ALL GRAVITATIONAL EFFECTS AS WELL AS PARTICLE INTERACTION PROCESSES INCLUDING ELECTRON IMPACT IONIZATION AND DISSOCIATION PHOTO-IONIZATION AND PHOTO-DISSOCIATION RECOMBINATION CHARGE EXCHANGE NEUTRAL-NEUTRAL COLLISIONS COLLISION WITH JUPITER/SATELLITES AS WELL ESCAPE FROM THE MAGNETOSPHERE. THIS MATURE MODEL HAS BEEN VALIDATED AND SUCCESSFULLY APPLIED FOR OVER 14 YEARS. ADDITIONALLY WE RECENTLY INCORPORATED PLASMA TRANSPORT CODE TO PRODUCE A NEUTRAL-PLASMA SELF-CONSISTENT MODEL. WE WILL EXECUTE THIS MODEL USING ALL AVAILABLE JUNO AND HISAKI OBSERVATIONS TO ANALYZE THE MAGNETOSPHERIC RESPONSE DURING VARIOUS OBSERVED IO ACTIVITY PHASES TO SHOW HOW IO SOURCE ACTIVITY IMPACTS JUPITER'S MAGNETOSPHERE AS ALL AS HOW QUICKLY THE MAGNETOSPHERE RESPONDS TO SOURCE INCREASES AND DECREASES. SCOPE AND APPROPRIATENESS THE JUNO PSP: THIS PROPOSED WORK IS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE NASA JUNO PARTICIPATING SCIENTIST PROGRAM BECAUSE COMBINING MY MODEL AND HISAKI OBSERVATIONS WITH JUNO OBSERVATIONS WILL EXPAND SCIENTIFIC RETURN AND BROADEN JUNO MISSION INVESTIGATIONS. IN PARTICULAR MY PROPOSED INVESTIGATION IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE SOLICITED TOPIC: "GLOBAL MAGNETOSPHERE: EXPLORE JUPITER'S THREE-DIMENSIONAL GLOBAL MAGNETOSPHERE AWAY FROM THE POLAR REGIONS". THE PROGRAM ELEMENT IS APPROPRIATE BECAUSE ACCESS TO JUNO DATA THAT IS NOT CURRENTLY PUBLICALLY AVAILABLE IS ESSENTIAL FOR PROVIDING NECESSARY MAGNETOSPHERIC CONSTRAINTS. | 2019-07-08 → 2027-07-07 | $243K |
| NNX16AJ94G | THE IDENTIFICATION AND MAPPING OF MAJOR GEOCHEMICAL TERRANES ON THE MOON HAS PROVIDED INSIGHTS INTO THE PROCESSES THAT DOMINATED LUNAR CRUSTAL EVOLUT | 2016-06-01 → 2020-05-31 | $207K |
| 80NSSC25K7978 | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES. | 2025-08-01 → 2028-07-31 | $200K |
| 80NSSC19K0642 | PER A SELECTION LETTER DATED SEPTEMBER 21 2018 THIS PROPOSAL WAS SELECTED AT A REDUCED FUNDING LEVEL OF $75 000 FOR THE FIRST YEAR AND $80 000 FOR THE SECOND YEAR. TO ACCOMPLISH THE PROPOSED WORK AT THE REDUCED FUNDING LEVEL WE WILL CARRY OUT THE FOLLOWING REDUCED TASKS: WE WILL FULLY CARRY OUT TASK 1. WE WILL COMBINE TASKS 2 AND 3 INTO ONE TASK WHERE WE WILL COMBINE THE ELEMENTAL ABUNDANCES DERIVED FROM TASK 1 WITH AN ALREADY EXISTING RECONSTRUCTED THERMAL NEUTRON MAP TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HIGHLANDS ELEMENTAL ABUNDANCES. INSTEAD OF ATTENDING THREE CONFERENCES AND WRITING THREE SCIENTIFIC PAPERS WE WILL ONLY ATTEND TWO CONFERENCES AND WRITE TWO PEER-REVIEWED PAPERS. TASKS THAT WILL NOT BE ACCOMPLISHED INCLUDE AN ANALYSIS OF AN EPITHERMAL NEUTRON MAP FOR ADDITIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF HIGHLANDS COMPOSITIONS. BECAUSE OF THE REDUCED FUNDING WE WILL NOT CARRY OUT A COMBINED ANALYSIS OF LUNAR SAMPLES WITH THE ORBITAL DATA AS THAT REQUIRED THE SERVICES OF DR. ANDREW BECK IN THE ORIGINALLY PROPOSED THIRD YEAR. THE REVISED WORK WILL BE CARRIED OUT BY DRS. DAVID LAWRENCE PATRICK PEPLOWSKI AND JACK WILSON AS DESCRIBED IN THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL. | 2019-03-13 → 2023-03-12 | $153K |
| 80NSSC25M7074 | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. | 2025-06-01 → 2028-05-31 | $146K |
| 80NSSC23K0134 | 22-PIMOVE22-0002 EVOLUTION OF LUNAR TOPOGRAPHY AND REGOLITH AS CONSTRAINED BY POLARIMETRY | 2022-10-21 → 2024-10-20 | $135K |
| 80NSSC25K7537 | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS | 2025-01-01 → 2026-12-31 | $132K |
| 80NSSC25K7516 | CHARACTERIZING THE SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE ENVIRONMENT NEAR THE MOON | 2024-12-27 → 2026-12-26 | $121K |
| NNX15AV56G | IMPACT CRATERING IS THE DOMINANT WEATHERING PROCESS ON THE MOON. LARGER IMPACTS DEFORM AND REDISTRIBUTE MATERIAL ACROSS THE LUNAR SURFACE WHILE SMALL | 2015-08-28 → ? | $114K |
| 80NSSC22K0532 | THE COMPOSITION AND ABUNDANCE OF VOLATILES STORED WITHIN ICE STABILITY REGIONS (ISRS) OF THE LUNAR SOUTH POLE ARE NOT ONLY OF GREAT INTEREST FOR HUMAN EXPLORATION BUT ALSO FOR UNDERSTANDING VOLATILE HISTORY IN THE EARTH-MOON SYSTEM. ALTHOUGH FIVE P | 2022-01-26 → 2024-01-25 | $111K |
| 2209795 | COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: FRAMEWORKS: SIMULATING AUTONOMOUS AGENTS AND THE HUMAN-AUTONOMOUS AGENT INTERACTION -THIS PROJECT AUGMENTS THE CHRONO COMPUTER SIMULATION PLATFORM IN TRANSFORMATIVE WAYS. CHRONO'S PURPOSE IS TO PREDICT THROUGH SIMULATION THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN MECHATRONIC SYSTEMS, THE ENVIRONMENT THEY OPERATE IN, AND HUMANS WITH WHOM THEY MIGHT INTERACT. THE OPEN-SOURCE SIMULATION PLATFORM IS SLATED TO BECOME A COMMUNITY-SHARED VIRTUAL INVESTIGATION TOOL USED TO PROBE COMPETING ENGINEERING DESIGNS AND TEST HYPOTHESES THAT WOULD BE TOO DANGEROUS, DIFFICULT, OR COSTLY TO VERIFY THROUGH PHYSICAL EXPERIMENTS. CHRONO HAS BEEN AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE USED IN MULTIPLE FIELDS AND DISCIPLINES, E.G., TERRAMECHANICS, ASTROPHYSICS; SOFT MATTER PHYSICS; BIOMECHANICS; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; CIVIL ENGINEERING; INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING; AND COMPUTER SCIENCE. SPECIFICALLY, IT IS USED TO ENGINEER THE 2023 VIPER LUNAR ROVER; RELIED UPON BY US ARMY EXPERTS IN EVALUATING ITS WHEELED AND TRACKED VEHICLE DESIGNS; USED IN THE US AND GERMANY IN THE WIND TURBINE INDUSTRY; AND INVOLVED IN DESIGNING WAVE ENERGY CONVERSION SOLUTIONS IN EUROPE. UPON PROJECT COMPLETION, CHRONO WILL BECOME A SIMULATION ENGINE IN GAZEBO, WHICH IS WIDELY USED IN ROBOTICS RESEARCH; OPERATE ON THE LARGEST DRIVING SIMULATOR IN THE US; EMPOWER RESEARCH IN THE BIO-ROBOTICS AND FIELD-ROBOTICS COMMUNITIES; AND ASSIST EFFORTS IN THE BROAD AREA OF AUTOMOTIVE RESEARCH CARRIED OUT BY A CONSORTIUM OF UNIVERSITIES AND COMPANIES UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF THE AUTOMOTIVE RESEARCH CENTER. THE EDUCATIONAL IMPACT OF THIS PROJECT IS THREEFOLD: TRAINING UNDERGRADUATE, GRADUATE, AND POST-DOCTORAL STUDENTS IN A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY FASHION THAT EMPHASIZES ADVANCED COMPUTING SKILLS DEVELOPMENT; ANCHORING TWO NEW COURSES IN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE CONTROL AND SIMULATION IN ROBOTICS; AND BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN COMPUTING THROUGH A RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM ON THE CAMPUS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON THAT ENGAGES TEACHERS AND STUDENTS FROM RURAL HIGH-SCHOOLS. INNOVATION AND DISCOVERY ARE FUELED BY QUALITY DATA. AT ITS CORE, THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO INCREASE THE SHARE OF THIS DATA THAT HAS SIMULATION AS ITS PROVENANCE. IN THIS CONTEXT, A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAM OF 40 RESEARCHERS AUGMENTS AND VALIDATES A PHYSICS-BASED SIMULATION FRAMEWORK THAT EMPOWERS RESEARCH IN AUTONOMOUS AGENTS (AAS). THE AAS OPERATE IN COMPLEX AND UNSTRUCTURED DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENTS AND MIGHT ENGAGE IN TWO-WAY INTERACTION WITH HUMANS OR OTHER AAS. THIS PROJECT ENABLES CHRONO TO GENERATE MACHINE LEARNING TRAINING DATA QUICKLY AND INEXPENSIVELY; FACILITATES COMPARISON OF COMPETING DESIGNS FOR ASSESSING TRADE-OFFS; AND GAUGES CANDIDATE DESIGN ROBUSTNESS VIA TESTING IN SIMULATION OF CORNER-CASE SCENARIOS. THESE TASKS ARE ACCOMPLISHED BY UPGRADING AND EXTENDING CHRONO TO LEVERAGE RECENT COMPUTATIONAL DYNAMICS INNOVATIONS, E.G., A FASTER INDEX 3 DIFFERENTIAL ALGEBRAIC EQUATIONS SOLVER; A NEW APPROACH TO SOLVING FRICTIONAL CONTACT PROBLEMS; A REAL-TIME SOLVER FOR HANDLING FLEXIBLE-BODY DYNAMICS IN SOFT ROBOTICS VIA NONLINEAR FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS; A BEST-IN-CLASS SIMULATOR FOR TERRADYNAMICS APPLICATIONS; RELIANCE ON JUST-IN-TIME COMPILING FOR PRODUCING EXECUTABLES THAT ARE BOTH PROBLEM- AND HARDWARE-OPTIMIZED; A NOVEL WAY FOR USING MIXED DATA REPRESENTATIONS FOR PARSIMONIOUS STORING OF STATE INFORMATION; AND A SCALABLE MULTI-AGENT FRAMEWORK THAT ENABLES GEOGRAPHICALLY-DISTRIBUTED, OVER THE INTERNET, REAL-TIME SIMULATION OF HUMAN-AA INTERACTION. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA. | 2022-07-01 → 2025-06-30 | $101K |
| 80NSSC20K0136 | ENCELADUS CONTAINS THE BEST CHARACTERIZED OCEAN ENVIRONMENT BEYOND EARTH. WE PROPOSE TO INVESTIGATE LARGE-SIZED MISSION CONCEPTS THAT LEVERAGE THE ASTROBIOLOGICAL OPPORTUNITY ENCELADUS OFFERS TO SEARCH FOR BIOSIGNATURES AND CONSTRAIN THE PROCESSES THAT DRIVE OCEAN HABITABILITY AND PLUME ACTIVITY. OUR GOAL IS TO PROVIDE A PRIORITIZED SET OF SCIENCE OBJECTIVES THAT ENSURES EVEN A NON-DETECTION OF LIFE PROVIDES MEANINGFUL RESULTS. WHILE AN ORBITER WITH VARIOUS SMALL LANDERS AND SOLO ORBITERS WERE SOME OF THE CONCEPTS STUDIED IN 2010 THE INCREASED UNDERSTANDING OF THE ENCELADUS ENVIRONMENT FROM CASSINI EXTENDED MISSION DATA AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS IN INSTRUMENTS OVER THE LAST NINE YEARS MAKE A NEW EVALUATION ESSENTIAL FOR PROVIDING ACCURATE ASSESSMENTS TO THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES. SINCE THE LAST DECADAL SURVEY CASSINI PROVIDED MORE EVIDENCE THAT ENCELADUS OCEAN MEETS THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR HABITABILITY: LIQUID WATER CHEMICAL BUILDING BLOCKS AND ENERGY SOURCES. THE INFERENCES FROM THE FRACTURE HISTORY AND GRAVITY FIELD OF A GLOBAL SUBSURFACE OCEAN WERE ED BY OBSERVATIONS OF PHYSICAL LIBRATION. SIMPLE AND COMPLEX ORGANICS HAVE BEEN DETECTED AMONGST THE WATER ICE AND VAPOR PLUME MATERIAL. THE PRESENCE OF SALTS SILICA AND MOLECULAR HYDROGEN IN THE PLUME SUGGEST THAT THE OCEAN IS GEOCHEMICALLY INTERACTING WITH A ROCKY CORE WHICH PROVIDES CHEMICAL ENERGY AKIN TO THE ACTIVITY THAT SUSTAINS ECOSYSTEMS AT EARTH S SEAFLOOR. BOTH THE EJECTION AND FALLOUT OF ENCELADUS PLUME MATERIAL HAVE BEEN MAPPED PROVIDING NEW INSIGHT INTO THE EASE OF ACCESSIBILITY OF FRESH OCEANIC MATERIAL BOTH IN FLIGHT AND ON THE SURFACE. RECENT INVESTMENT IN TECHNOLOGIES SUITABLE FOR SURFACE AND SUBSURFACE SCIENCE AT EUROPA (E.G. ICEE AND SESAME PROGRAMS) CAN BE LEVERAGED AT THE MORE RADIATION-BENIGN ENCELADUS SURFACE. THE EUROPA LANDER SCIENCE DEFINITION TEAM LAID THE GROUND WORK FOR DESIGNING BIOSIGNATURE DETECTION STRATEGIES AND IDENTIFYING COMPELLING LANDING SITES WITH LIMITED DATA. MARS2020 AND EXOMARS HAVE DRIVEN ADVANCEMENTS IN TECHNOLOGIES CAPABLE OF IDENTIFYING GEOCHEMICAL AND ISOTOPIC BIO-SIGNATURES. SAMPLE ACQUISITION SYSTEMS ARE ALSO CURRENTLY BEING STUDIED FOR COMET SAMPLE RETURN LUNAR LANDERS THE EUROPA LANDER STUDY AND A ROTORCRAFT ON TITAN. LESSONS LEARNED FROM THESE DEVELOPMENTS WILL FACILITATE PLANNING FOR SAMPLING AT ENCELADUS IN THE NEXT DECADE. THIS CONFLUENCE OF THE PROPERTIES OF THE OCEAN AND THE EASE OF ACCESS TO THE SAMPLES MAKES A PRESSING CASE FOR EXPLORING ENCELADUS IN THE NEXT DECADE. THE PLUMES ARE ACTIVE NOW AND HAVE BEEN SINCE AT LEAST VOYAGER A RETURN TO ENCELADUS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE ENSURES THE FRESHEST SAMPLES EVEN IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT THAT THE PLUMES BECOME INACTIVE. THE IMPERATIVE OF STUDYING ENCELADUS AS AN ASTROBIOLOGICAL TARGET WAS DEMONSTRATED IN THE NEW FRONTIERS 4 COMPETITION WITH TWO MEDIUM-CLASS MISSION CONCEPTS SUBMITTED FOR CONSIDERATION. BY INCLUDING EXTENSIVE PARTICIPATION FROM BOTH NF4 TEAMS AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL TEAM MEMBERS FROM A RANGE OF CAREER LEVELS PLANETARY SPECIALTIES AND MISSION EXPERTISE THIS PROPOSAL TAKES ADVANTAGE OF A CROSS-DISCIPLINARY POOL OF EXPERTISE TO REPRESENT THE INTERESTS OF THE BROADER ENCELADUS AND ASTROBIOLOGY COMMUNITIES. WITH DIRECT ACCESS TO FRESH PLUME SAMPLES AND THE HIGH HABITABLE POTENTIAL OF ITS OCEAN ENCELADUS THUS OFFERS THE UNIQUE AND UNPARALLELED POTENTIAL FOR ANSWERING THE FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS SURROUNDING LIFE ELSEWHERE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM. IN THIS PROPOSAL WE SEEK TO PROVIDE OPTIONS FOR FULFILLING THAT POTENTIAL IN THE NEXT DECADE. SPECIFICALLY WE WILL ELUCIDATE THE SCIENCE COST ASSOCIATED WITH TRADES BETWEEN LANDER +/- ORBITER ARCHITECTURES IN THE $1-2.5B COST RANGE. WE WILL IDENTIFY THE KEY SCIENCE OBJECTIVES SPECIFICALLY ENABLED BY KEY RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH AND KEY TECHNOLOGIES REQUIRED FOR EACH ARCHITECTURE AND COMBINATIONS THEREOF. A SKELETON POINT DESIGN WILL BE EVALUATED FOR THE OPTION WITH GREATEST SCIENCE RETURN PER DOLLAR. | 2019-11-01 → 2020-07-28 | $91K |
| G13LM014707 | AROUND THE CLOCK: TIME IN MEDIEVAL ISLAMIC CLINICAL CULTURES - NIH GRANT APPLICATION: PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT (30LINES OF TEXT) PHYSICIANS ARE ALWAYS OUT OF TIME. BURNOUT IS A KEY RISK IN MEDICAL PRACTICE TODAY. FOR MEDIEVAL PHYSICIANS, THIS FACT WAS AS OLD AS THE PROFESSION: HIPPOCRATES FAMOUSLY ENCAPSULATED THIS COMPLAINT IN HIS APHORISMS: “THE ART IS LONG, AND LIFE IS SHORT.” THERE WAS TRUTH TO THIS APHORISM. STUDYING MEDICINE WAS A LONG AND ARDUOUS PROCESS; PROSPECTS OF FINANCIAL GAIN WERE UNCERTAIN, AND PRACTICE MEANT SEEING MANY PATIENTS IN LITTLE TIME. THIS GRANT WILL SUPPORT WRITING A BOOK UNDER CONTRACT WITH JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS. THE BOOK INVESTIGATES THE HISTORY OF TIME AS A MEDICAL CATEGORY: WHAT IT MEANT IN MEDICAL THOUGHT AND PRACTICE, IN UNDERSTANDING BODIES AND DISEASES, IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND IN MEDICAL ETHICS, AND HOW IT INTERACTED WITH THE RELIGIOUS, CULTURAL, AND SOCIAL MEANINGS OF TIME. MEDIEVAL PHYSICIANS AND PATIENTS CONTENDED WITH ACUTE CONDITIONS AND EMERGENCIES, CHRONIC CONDITIONS, AND DISABILITIES, AND DISEASE PROGRESS, WHICH WAS THOUGHT TO BE INFLUENCED BY ASTROLOGICAL CONDITIONS. TIME WAS ALSO KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE HUMAN BODY, WHICH WAS INFLUENCED BY SEASONS AND CHANGED BY AGE. THE PROPOSED BOOK INVESTIGATES THE PRODUCTION OF TIME AS A CONCEPTUAL AND PRACTICAL CATEGORY IN MEDIEVAL ISLAMIC MEDICINE. “TIME” HERE IS SEEN HERE AS A CULTURAL CATEGORY UNDERSTOOD AT THE INTERSECTION OF THE THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL AND AS A LOCUS OF MEANING-MAKING. IT ALSO ACQUIRES ADDITIONAL TEXTURE WITHIN NON- MEDICAL CULTURAL CONSTRUCTIONS. IN THIS CONTEXT, “MEDICAL TIME” ENCOUNTERED THE FIVE DAILY PRAYERS, THE RELIGIOUS FEASTS, AND THE LUNAR AND SOLAR CALENDARS. IN SHORT, THIS BOOK AIMS TO INVESTIGATE THE THICK WEB OF MEANINGS THAT MADE “TIME” A SENSIBLE AND COMPREHENSIBLE, IF NOT ALWAYS COHERENT, CATEGORY. THE BOOK STARTS WITH AN ANALYSIS OF HOW TIME, MANIFESTING IN THE PASSAGE OF SEASONS AND OTHER ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA, WAS SEEN AS A MEDICAL CATEGORY. I THEN INVESTIGATE HOW TIME MANIFESTS ON THE BODY, CONSIDERING AGE AND AGE-RELATED CONDITIONS. TIME WAS ALSO KEY IN UNDERSTANDING SEX AND GENDER. FEMALE BODIES WERE THOUGHT TO DEVELOP IN UTERO AND REACH PUBERTY LATER THAN MALE BODIES, AND FEMALE BODIES WERE MEDICALLY UNDERSTOOD IN RELATION TO FERTILITY AND MENSTRUATION. I THEN INVESTIGATE TIME IN THE PATIENT-PHYSICIAN ENCOUNTER, DIAGNOSIS, AND TREATMENT, IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DISEASES AND DISEASE CATEGORIES, AND IN EPIDEMIC CONDITIONS. FINALLY, TIME IS AN IMPORTANT ETHICAL CATEGORY: FROM THE BEGINNING OF LIFE TO DEATH, TO ELDER CARE, TO THE MANAGEMENT OF A PHYSICIAN’S TIME. I WILL LOOK AT THE PLACE OF TIME IN THE MAKING OF ISLAMIC MEDICAL ETHICS. THE BOOK WILL SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF MEDIEVAL ISLAMIC MEDICINE, HAVE IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS ON HOW WE UNDERSTAND MEDICAL PRACTICE, ISSUES OF TIME MANAGEMENT, BURNOUT AND OTHER RELATED QUESTIONS. MOREOVER, THE BOOK WILL ADDRESS HOW THESE CONCEPTIONS OF TIME PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE MAKING OF MEDICAL ETHICS ESPECIALLY IN RELATION TO MUSLIM PHYSICIANS AND MUSLIM COMMUNITIES. THE BOOK WILL BE AN IMPORTANT ADDITION TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF ISLAM AND MEDICINE IN THE PAST AND HOW IT IMPACTS THE PRESENT. | 2025-01-01 → 2025-12-31 | $90K |
| 80NSSC20K0121 | NASA'S SMD CONDUCTS SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION THAT IS ENABLED BY ACCESS TO SPACE. THE NASA SCIENCE MISSION DIRECTORATE (SMD) AND THE NATION S SCIENCE COMMUNITY USE SPACE OBSERVATORIES TO CONDUCT SCIENTIFIC STUDIES OF THE EARTH AND SUN FROM SPACE TO VISIT AND RETURN DATA AND SAMPLES FROM OTHER BODIES IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND TO PEER OUT INTO THE VAST REACHES OF THE UNIVERSE AND BEYOND (NASA SMD SCIENCE PLAN 2014). FROM SPACE IN SPACE AND ABOUT SPACE NASA'S SCIENCE VISION ENCOMPASSES QUESTIONS AS PRACTICAL AS HURRICANE FORMATION AS ENTICING AS THE PROSPECT OF LUNAR RESOURCES AND AS PROFOUND AS THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE. TO ENSURE THE SUCCESS OF THE SPACE PROGRAM THROUGH GENERATIONS TO COME WE MUST HAVE SIMPLE BUT COMPELLING LONG-TERM GOALS AND A COHERENT THOUGHTFUL PLANS TO ACHIEVE THEM. RECENT INNOVATION IN SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEMS AND PROLIFERATION OF COMMERCIAL SPACE OPERATORS PROVIDE FREQUENT AND LOW-COST ACCESS TO SPACE. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED WORKSHOP IS TO GAUGE AND SOLICIT COMMUNITY INPUTS ON THE BEST WAY TO CREATE FULLY POPULATE AND MANAGE A PIPELINE OF SECONDARY PAYLOADS TO SUPPORT NASA SMD S NEW POLICY OF ADDING A SECONDARY PAYLOAD CARRIER FOR ALL SMD MISSIONS WITH EXCESS-MASS LIFT CAPACITY. PROPOSED WORKSHOP: INCREASED SCIENCE RETURN THROUGH RIDESHARE AND UTILIZING EXCESSMASS LIFT CAPACITY WILL PROVIDE SUCH A FORUM FOR THE SCIENCE COMMUNITIES TO: 1) RECOMMEND METHODS FOR POPULATING AND MANAGING THE SMD RIDESHARE PIPELINE 2) PROVIDE INSTRUMENT/SENSOR/MEASUREMENT CONCEPTS THAT WILL ENABLE MORE SECONDARY PAYLOADS TO BE AVAILABLE TO POPULATE ESPAS 3) DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO MAXIMIZE AVAILABLE RIDESHARE PAYLOADS WITHOUT SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASING THE FUNDS AVAILABLE 4) RECOMMEND COLLABORATION BETWEEN EXISTING PROGRAMS THAT CREATE MORE PAYLOADS IN THE PIPELINE BUT FURTHER OTHER VALUABLE EFFORTS LIKE CREATING MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR EARLY CAREER PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS 5) DEFINE WHAT COMMON INTERFACES BETWEEN RIDESHARE PAYLOADS AND THE SECONDARY PAYLOAD CARRIER MAKE SENSE 6) OUTLINE RIDESHARE OPPORTUNITY CONCEPTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE OUTSIDE OF NASA STUDY GOALS GUIDING PRINCIPLES | 2019-10-24 → ? | $71K |
| 80NSSC26K1175 | THE GOAL OF THIS PROGRAM ELEMENT IS TO ENABLE INDIVIDUAL RESEARCHERS TO PARTICIPATE AS A MEMBER OF A GEOLOGIC MAPPING TEAM IN THEPLANNING AND EXECUTION OF CAMPAIGN-STYLE MAPPING OF SELECTED REGIONS OF THE MOON. | 2026-10-01 → 2027-09-30 | $62K |
| 80NSSC26K1401 | THE OVERALL PURPOSE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO SUPPORT DR. DEBRA BUCZKOWSKI S PARTICIPATION AS A KEY MEMBER OF NASA S LUNAR MAPPING PROGRAM ENABLING HER TO CONTRIBUTE SPECIALIZED GEOLOGIC MAPPING EXPERTISE TO THE CAMPAIGN STYLE MAPPING OF SELECTED LUNAR REGIONS. THE PROPOSAL SEEKS FUNDING FOR ONE YEAR TO PERFORM HIGH-QUALITY GEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS USING REMOTE SENSING DATA INTEGRATE COMPOSITIONAL AND GEOMORPHIC INFORMATION AND COLLABORATE WITH NASA S BROADER SCIENTIFIC TEAM TO PRODUCE ACCURATE SCIENTIFICALLY VALUABLE LUNAR GEOLOGIC MAPS. BY LEVERAGING DR. BUCZKOWSKI S EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE MAPPING PLANETARY BODIES INCLUDING THE MOON MARS MERCURY VESTA AND CERES THE PROJECT AIMS TO STRENGTHEN NASA S UNDERSTANDING OF LUNAR STRATIGRAPHY SURFACE PROCESSES AND POTENTIAL RESOURCE RELEVANT GEOLOGIC UNITS WHILE ALSO ENRICHING FUTURE MISSION PLANNING AND SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS. | 2026-10-01 → 2027-09-30 | $62K |
| 80NSSC17K0284 | THE ASTROMATERIALS RESEARCH AND EXPLORATION SCIENCE DIVISION AT THE JOHNSON SPACE CENTER IN CONJUNCTION WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY APPLIED PHYSICS LAB AND THE LUNAR AND PLANETARY INSTITUTE PROPOSE A CONCEPT STUDY OF A MISSION TO INVESTIGATE A SITE OF POTENTIALLY RECENT VOLCANISM ON THE MOON ("INA-D" 18.7 N 5.3 E). INA IS AN IRREGULAR MARE PATCH OR IMP. OUR MISSION CONCEPT IMPEL (IRREGULAR MARE PATCH EXPLORATION LANDER) IS AN EVOLVED EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE SECONDARY PAYLOAD ADAPTER (ESPA)-CLASS SPACECRAFT AND LANDING SYSTEM CONCEIVED OF TO EXPLORE SPECIFIC GEOLOGIC FEATURES ON THE MOON LIKE IMPS. IMPS HAVE BEEN SUGGESTED BY RECENT RESULTS FROM LRO TO BE SITES OF RECENT (WITHIN THE LAST 100 M. Y.) LUNAR VOLCANIC LANDFORMS AND AS SUCH ARE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FOR UNDERSTANDING LUNAR GEOLOGY. AS SUCH THIS MISSION IS RESPONSIVE TO THE 2014 NASA SCIENCE PLAN GOALS TO BY EXPLORE AND OBSERVING THE OBJECTS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY FORM AND EVOLVE AND ADVANCE THE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROCESSES IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM OPERATE INTERACT AND EVOLVE. IMPEL WILL DETERMINE IF THERE ARE SUBMETER-SCALE FRACTURES WITHIN THE IMP DEPOSITS AND DETERMINE IF THERE ARE SUB-METER-SCALE COLLAPSE FEATURES OR PITTING WITHIN THE IMP DEPOSITS WHICH WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND IF THESE ARE INDEED SITES OF RECENT VOLCANIC ACTIVITY AND THE LANDED IMPEL WILL ALSO DETERMINE THE GRAIN SIZE AND COHESIVENESS OF IMP MOUNDS AND ASSOCIATED DEPOSITS AS WELL AS THE MINERAL PHASES IN THE REGOLITH OVERLYING IMPS TO CONSTRAIN AGES. THESE OBJECTIVES ALL REQUIRE HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGERY SUPERIOR TO THAT CURRENTLY PROVIDED BY THE LUNAR RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER (LRO) LI.E. <40CM/PIXELJ. ACCORDINGLY AS PART OF THE PROPOSED STUDY WE WILL FULLY EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY OF TWO ARCHITECTURES TO EXPLORE IMPS: 1) A IMPACTOR SPACECRAFT SIMILAR TO THE RANGER MISSIONS THAT WOULD CREATE A NEW IMPACT SITE ON AN IMP AND COLLECT INCREASINGLY HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGES DURING DESCENT. PREVIOUS IMAGING ACQUIRED BY LRO INCLUDES OBSERVATIONS OF THE PRE-IMPACT SURFACE OVER A WIDE RANGE OF PHASE ANGLES FOR SEVERAL IMPS AND ADDITIONAL IMAGES COULD BE USED TO CONSTRAIN MICRO- AND MACRO- SCALE POROSITY COHESION AND ANY SURFACE PATINA PROPERTIES OF THE IMP IMPACT LOCATION. 2) A LANDER ARCHITECTURE WHICH WOULD ALLOW FOR DIRECT MEASUREMENT OF SURFACE PROPERTIES EITHER WITH A PROBE SPECTROMETER OR MICROSCALE IMAGER. WHILE OUR INITIAL ESTIMATES INDICATE THAT THE LANDER IS FEASIBLE WE PROPOSE HERE TO DO A COMPLETE 6-MONTH CONCEPT STUDY INCLUDING SUCH TRADES AS INSTRUMENTATION MISSION ARCHITECTURE IMP LANDING HAZARDS PROPELLANT DESCENT ROTATION RATE IMAGE TRANSMISSION SOLAR CELL SELECTION FLIGHT COMPUTERS/SOFTWARE STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS AND COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS TO HELP DECIDE WHETHER THE IMPACTOR OR LANDER OPTIONS ARE MORE FEASIBLE. THE RESULTING CONCEPT WILL BE FULLY COST ESTIMATED BY THE JSC PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND INTEGRATION OFFICE WITH THE RESULTS PUBLISHED IN A REPORT AND PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATION. IMPEL COULD PROVIDE AN INNOVATIVE NEW WAY TO FACILITATE ANSWERING FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MOON AND INNER PLANETS IN A COST-EFFECTIVE WAY WHILE DEVELOPING A NEW METHOD TO OBTAIN LUNAR SURFACE ACCESS THAT COULD BE LEVERAGED FOR A VARIETY OF FUTURE MISSION ARCHITECTURES. | 2017-07-25 → ? | $59K |
| 80NSSC25K7413 | EXECUTE A BALANCED SCIENCE PROGRAM BASED ON DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ENGINEERING AND MEDICINE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES AND DIRECTION FROM CONGRESS. PARTICIPATE AS A KEY PARTNER AND ENABLER IN THE AGENCY S EXPLORATION INITIATIVE FOCUSING ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH OF ON AND FROM THE MOON LUNAR ORBIT MARS AND BEYOND. ADVANCE DISCOVERY IN EMERGING FIELDS BY IDENTIFYING AND EXPLOITING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES DEVELOP A DIRECTORATE-WIDE TARGET-USER FOCUSED APPROACH TO APPLIED PROGRAMS INCLUDING EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATIONS SPACE WEATHER PLANETARY DEFENSE AND SPACE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS | 2024-11-21 → 2026-11-20 | $39K |
| 80NSSC23K0758 | 22-DRATS22-0016 PROPOSAL TO PARTICIPATE IN ANALOG ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT ARTEMIS LUNAR OPERATIONS | 2023-04-01 → 2025-03-31 | $30K |