Space Science Institute

Who it subcontracts to

No subawards reported under its lunar awards.

Who it works for

1. Southwest Research Institute$200K

   CO-I WILL DEVELOP NEW MODELS DESCRIBING THE SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL BEHAVIOR OF CHEMICAL SPECIES IN THE PROTOLUNAR DISK AND PROTOLUNAR MATERIAL DURING LUNAR ACCRETION

2. Georgia Tech Research Corp$111K

   DR. WILLIAM FARRELL SO THE SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE (SSI) IS A NAMED CO-INVESTIGATOR ON THE CENTER FOR LUNAR ENVIRONMENT AND VOLATILE EXPLORATION RESEARCH (CLEVER) PROPOSAL SELECTED FOR FUNDING TO BECOME PART OF NASA'S SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION RESEARCH VIRTUAL INSTITUTE (SSERVI). THIS PROPOSAL WAS LED BY PROFESSOR THOMAS ORLANDO FROM THE GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. CLEVER LEVERAGES A COHESIVE AND DIVERSE TEAM OF INVESTIGATORS TO PROVIDE AN INTEGRATED SYSTEMS-LEVEL APPROACH TO CHARACTERIZING AND UNDERSTANDING THE LUNAR ENVIRONMENT AND VOLATILE INVENTORIES REQUIRED FOR NEAR-TERM HUMAN LUNAR EXPLORATION MISSIONS. THE RESOURCES AND KNOWLEDGE ARE ABSOLUTELY REQUIRED FOR THE SUSTAINABLE PRESENCE OF HUMANS ON THE MOON. CLEVER HAS THREE MAJOR THEMES: (1) SOLAR WIND AND METEORIC PRODUCTION OF VOLATILES, (2) SPACE WEATHERING EFFECT ON VOLATILE CONTENT, AND (3) GRAIN CHARGING AND DUST MITIGATION. DR. FARRELL HAS EXPERTISE IN PLASMA, VOLATILES, AND DUST CHARGING THAT WILL SUPPORT RESEARCH IN ALL THREE AREAS. HE WILL ESPECIALLY EMPHASIZE WORK IN THEME 1. SPECIFICALLY, HE IS THE LEAD OF TASK 4 OF THEME 1: MODEL SOLAR WIND AND IMPACT-INDUCED FORMATION AND RELEASE OF HYDROGEN, METHANE AND WATER IN/ON LUNAR REGOLITH. AS PART OF CLEVER, HE WILL ASSIST IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MERGED HYDROGEN AND HYDROXYL DIFFUSION MODEL TO DETERMINE WHERE HYDROGENATION TURNS INTO HYDROXYLATION AND HYDRATION. HE WILL ALSO DEVELOP A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL DIFFUSION MODEL FOR THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE CREATION OF METHANE AND OTHER HYDROCARBONS VIA THE H AND C ATOM COLLISIONS IN THE TOP PORTIONS OF THE LUNAR REGOLITH. HE WILL COMPARE THESE RESULTS WITH LADEE OBSERVATIONS AND FEED MODEL RESULTS FORWARD TO CLPS INVESTIGATIONS INCLUDING THE UPCOMING VIPER MISSION.

3. Planetary Science Institute$110K

   CO- I OSTERLOO WILL ASSIST CO-I GREG HOLSCLAW (LASP) IN THE ACQUISITION AND ANALYSIS OF PURE MINERAL PARTICULATES, ICE- MINERAL MIXTURES, AND POTENTIALLY METEORITE OR LUNAR SAMPLES, IF THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AND AS TIME PERMITS. CURRENTLY, THERE ARE ~32 PURE MINERAL SAMPLES TO BE ACQUIRED IN THE UV SPECTROMETER (~115 TO ~600 NM) LOCATED IN THE DUST LABORATORY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO. UNDER NORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS, WE ANTICIPATE BEING ABLE TO ACQUIRE 2 SAMPLES PER DAY, HOWEVER WE ANTICIPATE THE NEED FOR REPEATED MEASUREMENTS GIVEN THE COMPLEXITY OF THE SYSTEM AND HAVE AMPLE BUILD IN TIME FOR THESE MEASUREMENTS. WE WILL ALSO ACQUIRE SPECTRA OF THE PURE MINERAL SAMPLES USING THE OCEAN OPTICS FIELD SPECTROMETER, WHICH WILL AID IN MINERAL IDENTIFICATIONS WITHIN THE FIELD. ONCE THE PURE MINERAL SAMPLES HAVE BEEN ACQUIRED AND ANALYZED, CO-I OSTERLOO WILL ASSIST CO-I HOLSCLAW ON DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN FOR ICE/MINERAL MIXTURE ANALYSIS. BECAUSE THIS PROCESS WILL BE DESTRUCTIVE TO THE SAMPLES, WE WILL USE SAMPLES WITH THE MOST BULK IN THIS ANALYSIS. WE ANTICIPATE PREPARING UP TO 3 MINERAL/ICE MIXTURE SAMPLES AT VARYING MINERAL/ICE ABUNDANCES FOR THIS INVESTIGATION. ADDITIONALLY, CO-I OSTERLOO WILL AID CO-I HOLSCLAW IN FIELD WORK IN THE SPRING OF 2022. ADDITIONALLY, SHE WILL PREPARE AND AID IN MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION AND PARTICIPATE IN BI-WEEKLY AND MONTHLY TREX TELECONS.

4. Cal State La University Auxiliary Services Inc$62K

   SUBAWARD WILL COMPARE THE PERIODICITIES IN BOTH VENUS CLOUD LEVEL WINDS AND PROCESSED IRTF OXYGEN NIGHTGLOW IMAGES TO ASSESS DYNAMICAL COUPLING BETWEEN THE VENUSIAN LOWER AND UPPER ATMOSPHERE. SUBAWARD WILL THEN CONDUCT A SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF A STATE-OF-THE-ART CLIMATE MODEL PARAMETERS TO FIT THE IRTF NIGHTGLOW IMAGES.