Trustees of the Colorado School of Mines
Lunar obligations
$1.9Mas prime
Lunar awards
6as prime
Its subcontractors
0none reported
Primes it works for
0none reported
Who it subcontracts to
No subawards reported under its lunar awards.
Who it works for
Not reported as a subcontractor on lunar awards.
Lunar awards as prime
| Award | Description | Period | Obligated |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80NSSC20K0070 | THE LUNAR ORBITAL PLATFORM-GATEWAY WILL SERVE AS A STAGING POINT FOR MANNED AND UNMANNED MISSIONS TO THE MOON MARS AND BEYOND. WHILE THE GATEWAY WILL SUSTAIN HUMAN CREWS FOR SMALL PERIODS OF TIME IT WILL BE PRIMARILY STAFFED BY AUTONOMOUS CARETAKER ROBOTS LIKE THE FREE-FLYING ASTROBEE PLATFORM: THE GATEWAY'S SOLE RESIDENTS DURING QUIESCENT (UNCREWED) PERIODS. THIS CREATES A UNIQUE HUMAN-TECHNICAL SYSTEM COMPRISED OF TWO CATEGORIES OF HUMAN TEAMMATES: GROUND CONTROL WORKERS PERMANENTLY STATIONED ON EARTH AND ASTRONAUTS THAT MAY TRANSITION OVER TIME BETWEEN WORK ON EARTH THE GATEWAY THE MOON AND MARS AND THREE TYPES OF MACHINE TEAMMATES: ROBOT WORKERS STATIONED ON THE GATEWAY ROBOT WORKERS STATIONED ON THE MOON AND MARS AND THE GATEWAY ITSELF. | 2019-10-15 → 2024-10-14 | $599K |
| 80NSSC18K0262 | THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP AN INTELLIGENT DRILLING SYSTEM FOR MATERIAL CHARACTERIZATION WHILE DRILLING. THIS SYSTEM COULD BE USED FOR SURFACE EXPLORATION ON THE MOON AND MARS TO A SHALLOW DEPTH AND IDENTIFY THE DEPTH OF SURFACE REGOLITH IN LOOSE AND FROZEN FORM AND ALSO IDENTIFY COMPACTED MATERIAL AND VOLCANIC BOULDERS. THIS IS IN LINE WITH THE NASA ESI SOLICITATION TOPIC #4 EXTRACTION OF WATER FROM HARD EXTRATERRESTRIAL SOILS . IN PARTICULAR THIS PROPOSAL ADDRESSES THE FIRST IDENTIFIED TOPIC: INSTRUMENTS TO MEASURE GEOTECHNICAL PROPERTIES INCLUDING DENSITY WITH DEPTH COHESION SHEAR DEFORMATION MODULUS SHEAR STRENGTH INTERNAL FRICTION ANGLE MODULUS OF FRICTION AND MODULUS OF COHESION . THE PROPOSED WORK IS IN COLLABORATION WITH CENTER FOR SPACE RESOURCES (SCR) AND EARTH MECHANICS INSTITUTE (EMI) AT THE COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES (CSM). THE INTENT IS TO DEVELOP A LOW POWERED DRILL UNIT FOR ROTARY DRILLING ON LUNAR/MARTIAN SURFACE USING POLYCRYSTALLINE DIAMOND COMPACT (PDC) BITS AND MONITORING AND ANALYSIS OF THE DRILLING PARAMETERS TO IDENTIFY THE MATERIAL BEING DRILLED THROUGH. THE PAST EXPERIENCE OF THE PIS IN THIS FIELD SHOWS THAT THE MATERIAL PROPERTIES SUCH AS STRENGTH OF THE MEDIUM CAN BE ESTIMATED WITH REASONABLE ACCURACY. PART OF THE PROPOSED TECHNOLOGY IS ALREADY AVAILABLE AND THE WORK TO BE COMPLETED INVOLVES DESIGN OF THE DRILL UNIT THAT COULD BE MOUNTED ON A TYPICAL ROVER FOR EXPLORATION PURPOSES. HOWEVER INSTEAD OF COLLECTING OF THE CORE SAMPLES FOR TESTING THE DRILL UNIT WILL CHARACTERIZE THE MATERIALS BY ANALYSIS OF DRILLING PARAMETERS. THE PROPOSED WORK INVOLVES STUDY OF PROPERTIES OF FROZEN REGOLITH BY PERFORMING VARIETY OF PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTY TESTS ON FROZEN SIMULANTS WITH VARIOUS WATER CONTENT AT DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES. THE RESULT OF TESTING WILL ALLOW FOR SELECTION OF ROCK TYPES OR DESIGN OF GROUTS THAT MIMICS THE PROPERTIES OF FROZEN SIMULANT/REGOLITH FOR DRILLING TESTS. THE DRILLING UNIT BITS AND DRILL STRING WILL BE DESIGNED TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS FOR OPERATION ON MOON/MARS. THIS WILL BE FOLLOWED BY FABRICATION OF THE DRILL AND INSTRUMENTATION WITH SENSORY DEVICES TO MONITOR/RECORD CRITICAL DRILLING PARAMETERS. THE SYSTEM AND ITS INSTRUMENTATION WILL BE CALIBRATED BEFORE TESTING AND WILL BE USED TO DRILL THROUGH VARIOUS FORMATIONS THAT MIMIC THE MATERIAL PROPERTIES OF THE FROZEN REGOLITH FOR TRAINING OF THE CHARACTERIZATION ALGORITHM. COLLECTED DATA WILL BE ANALYZED AND PROPER PATTERN RECOGNITION ALGORITHMS WILL BE DEVELOPED TO ALLOW FOR CLASSIFICATION OF VARIOUS FORMATION BASED ON DRILLING PARAMETERS AND SIGNATURE OF THE DRILL BEHAVIOR. THE INITIAL TESTING WILL BE FOLLOWED BY PREPARATION OF THE SAMPLES OF SIMULATED REGOLITH CONTAINING WATER (THROUGH VAPOR ABSORPTION) IN CRYOGENIC CONDITIONS TO OBSERVE THE ACTION OF THE DRILL IN THIS MATERIAL AND FOR TROUBLESHOOTING AS NEEDED. DATA COLLECTED IN A LAYERED SAMPLE THAT SIMULATES FROZEN REGOLITH WITH VARIOUS LEVELS OF MOISTURE CONTENT WILL BE USED TO VALIDATE THE ABILITY OF THE UNIT FOR CHARACTERIZING THE MATERIAL ON THE POLAR AND DARK SIDE OF THE MOON AS WELL AS FROZEN SURFACE OF THE MARS FOR WATER EXTRACTION. THE STUDY WILL ALSO INCLUDE THE USE PDC BITS AND WEAR RESISTANCE MATERIALS IN DESIGN OF THE OPTIMUM DRILL BIT PATTERN AND WILL BE SUPPORTED THROUGH US SYNTHETIC WHICH IS ONE OF THE PROMINENT PRODUCERS OF PDC PRODUCTS IN THE WORLD. INNOVATIONS IN THIS STUDY WILL INCLUDE THE COMBINATION OF PROPER DRILL BIT MATERIAL AND DESIGN DEVELOPING THE DESIGN FOR A DRILL UNIT CAPABLE OF OPERATING AT THE CONDITIONS ON THE MOON/MARS COUPLED WITH THE INTELLIGENT MATERIAL CHARACTERIZATION PROGRAMS THAT CAN OFFER A REAL TIME EVALUATION OF THE FORMATIONS BEING DRILLED. THE RESULTS OF THE TESTING AND ANALYSIS WILL BE REFLECTED IN VARIOUS FORMS OF PUBLICATIONS INCLUDING JOURNAL AND CONFERENCE PAPERS AS WELL AS PERIODIC AND FINAL REPORT TO NASA. | 2017-12-01 → 2022-05-31 | $499K |
| 80NSSC26K1356 | THE PROPOSED EFFORT DIRECTLY RESPONDS TO NASA S CALL TO ADVANCE AUTONOMOUS SURFACECONSTRUCTION CAPABILITIES NEEDED FOR SUSTAINED LUNAR PRESENCE BY EVOLVING ASPECT S SINGLEPLATFORM AUTONOMY INTO A GENERALIZED ADAPTIVE AUTONOMY SYSTEM. BY EXPANDING THE | 2026-09-29 → 2027-09-28 | $400K |
| 80NSSC20K1219 | LOCATING AND DETERMINING WHAT LUNAR VOLATILES EXIST IN THE MOON'S PSR'S AN INHERENT NEED TO VOLATILE MINING EFFORTS. THE ABILITY TO FIND LUNAR VOLATILES CHARACTERIZE ICY REGOLITH MAP VOLATILE DENSITY AND DETERMINE VOLATILE SPECIES IS IMPORTANT FOR | 2020-08-01 → ? | $148K |
| 80MSFC22CA007 | THE MMPACT PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON THE UTILIZATION OF LUNAR IN-SITU MATERIALS FOR THE MANUFACTURING CONSTRUCTION OF LARGE-SCALE INFRASTRUCTURE ELEMENTS LIKE HABITATS, BERMS, LANDING PADS, BLAST SHIELDS, WALKWAYS, FLOORS, STORAGE FACILITIES, ETC. | 2022-03-23 → 2024-03-24 | $139K |
| 80NSSC18K1169 | OBJECTIVES THERE ARE THREE KEY OBJECTIVES TO THIS PROPOSAL: MODELING DESIGN AND EVALUATION. EACH OBJECTIVE HAS RESEARCH GOALS IN BOTH FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS FOR SPACE MISSIONS. THE FIRST OBJECTIVE IS TO PHYSICALLY MODEL THE PROCESSES AND MATERIAL PROPERTIES NEEDED FOR THE DESIGN OF A SYSTEM USING CONCENTRATED SUNLIGHT TO 3D PRINT REGOLITH IN A SIMULATED EXTRAPLANETARY ENVIRONMENT. INDUSTRIAL 3D PRINTING IS OFTEN ACCOMPLISHED ON EARTH BY SINTERING POWDER PARTICLES TOGETHER USING A LASER. MANY CLASSES OF MATERIALS HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY SINTERED INCLUDING PLASTICS METALS AND CERAMICS. COLLECTED SUNLIGHT USES THE SAME FUNDAMENTAL PROCESS OF APPLYING HIGH ENERGY TO A SMALL AREA OF PARTICLES SINTERING THEM TOGETHER SCANNING ACROSS A SURFACE TO MAKE A SINTERED PARTICLE LAYER AND REPEATING THE PROCESS BY LAYERS UNTIL A PART IS COMPLETE. PHYSICAL MODELS OF THESE PROCESSES HAVE BEEN PRODUCED IN ACADEMIA AND INDUSTRY FOR LASER SYSTEMS WITH REGULATED GRAIN SIZES AND SURFACE CONDITIONS BUT THERE IS NO MODEL FOR SUCH A SYSTEM USING SUNLIGHT OR UNSIEVED REGOLITH. THE MODELING WILL ENTAIL THE USE OF OPTICAL DESIGN SOFTWARE SUCH AS ZEMAX FOR RAY TRACING AND THERMO-MECHANICAL MODELING IN SOFTWARE SUCH AS ABAQUS. MODELS WILL BE COMPARED WITH PRACTICAL TEST RESULTS TO EVALUATE THEIR UTILITY FOR FUNDAMENTAL MATERIAL SCIENCE AND ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING SYSTEM DESIGN. THE SECOND OBJECTIVE IS TO DESIGN AND DEVELOP SUCH A SYSTEM. THE SYSTEM WILL CONSIST OF A LIGHT SOURCE A COLLECTING LENS A POSITIONING SYSTEM AND A REGOLITH SPREADER. PARTS WILL BE PRODUCED ON THIS SYSTEM FIRST IN OPEN AIR THEN UNDER PARTIAL OR FULL VACUUM AND THE ELECTROSTATIC CONDITIONS OF PLANETARY BODIES WITHOUT RADIATION BELTS. THE THIRD OBJECTIVE IS TO USE MODERN NON-DESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION TECHNIQUES ON PARTS PRODUCED BY THE SYSTEM TO OPTIMIZE THE PRINTING PROCESS AND EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE TECHNOLOGY WHEN COMPARED WITH OTHER BETTER UNDERSTOOD TECHNIQUES PROPOSED FOR USE IN SPACE RESOURCE UTILIZATION MISSIONS. THESE TECHNIQUES MAY INCLUDE INFRARED IMAGING DURING THE PRINTING PROCESS X-RAY ANALYSIS OF GRAIN STRUCTURE ULTRASONIC MEASUREMENT OF VOIDS OR A NUMBER OF OTHER AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGIES AT THE COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES. RESEARCH METHODS THE PROPOSAL OBJECTIVES WILL BE MET WITH AN ITERATIVE PROCESS: A COMPUTER MODEL WILL BE DEVELOPED A PROTOTYPE WILL PRODUCE PARTS THE PARTS WILL BE EVALUATED AND THE MODEL AND PROTOTYPE WILL BE ADJUSTED TO ALIGN TEST RESULTS WITH DESIRED OUTCOMES. THOUGH THE MODELING IS ALLOCATED TIME AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PROCESS CONTINUAL UPDATING OF THE COMPUTER MODEL WILL BE ESSENTIAL TO BOTH SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING AND QUALITY CONTROL. THERE IS EXPERTISE AT THE COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES IN COLLECTED SOLAR RADIATION OPTICAL MINING SIMULATED EXTRAPLANETARY ENVIRONMENTS ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING AND REGOLITH GEOPHYSICS. ALL WORK WILL BE PERFORMED BY THE STUDENT BUT THESE RESOURCES WILL BE UTILIZED TO MAINTAIN FOCUS ON THE IMPORTANT UNANSWERED QUESTIONS DISCUSSED IN THIS PROPOSAL. SIGNIFICANCE THOUGH CONCENTRATED SOLAR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING HAS OFTEN BEEN SUGGESTED FOR SPACE MANUFACTURING AND EXPLORATION VERY LITTLE FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE OR ENGINEERING HAS BEEN DONE ON IT TO DATE. PHYSICAL MODELING OF GRANULAR BEHAVIOR THERMAL PROCESSES AND BULK MATERIAL PROPERTIES OF REGOLITH SINTERED IN A REALISTIC ENVIRONMENT WILL BE VALUABLE FIRST STEPS TOWARDS ANY MANUFACTURING ON MARS OR THE MOON. THOUGH CONCENTRATED SOLAR PRINTING SYSTEMS BY NATURE WILL HAVE FEW MOVING PARTS THE OPTICAL DESIGN AND PROCESS PARAMETER OPTIMIZATION NECESSARY TO PRODUCE A WORKING SYSTEM HAS YET TO BE DONE. THE RESULTS OF THIS GRANT COULD BE IMMEDIATELY USEFUL IN PLANNING RESOURCE UTILIZATION MISSIONS FOR THE NEXT DECADE. SOLAR-MATERIAL INTERACTION MODELING WILL ALSO BE USEFUL FOR OPTICAL MINING OF ASTEROIDS THERMAL MINING OF SHADOWED REGIONS ON THE MOON AND MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES USING REGOLITH AS FEED STOCK. | 2018-08-15 → ? | $74K |