University of Maryland, College Park
Lunar obligations
$25Mas prime
Lunar awards
40as prime
Its subcontractors
17$5.5M reported
Primes it works for
10$2.1M in subawards
Who it subcontracts to
GEOPHYSICAL EXPLORATION OF THE DYNAMICS AND EVOLUTION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM (GEODES)
CRATER: CHARACTERIZATION OF REGOLITH AND TRACE ECONOMIC RESOURCES
- Amu Engineering Inc$503K
CRATER: CHARACTERIZATION OF REGOLITH AND TRACE ECONOMIC RESOURCES
FFATA: A DIGITAL TWIN INTEGRATING KNOWLEDGE AND AI FOR UNDERSTANDING CARBON AND BIODIVERSITY CORRIDORS IN CENTRAL AFRICA
GEOPHYSICAL EXPLORATION OF THE DYNAMICS AND EVOLUTION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM (GEODES)
FFATA: GEOPHYSICAL EXPLORATION OF THE DYNAMICS AND EVOLUTION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM (GEODES)
GEOPHYSICAL EXPLORATION OF THE DYNAMICS AND EVOLUTION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM (GEODES)
CRATER: CHARACTERIZATION OF REGOLITH AND TRACE ECONOMIC RESOURCES
FFATA: A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATED PRECISE PRESCRIBED FIRE MAPPING IN THE EVERGLADES HEADWATERS
GEOPHYSICAL EXPLORATION OF THE DYNAMICS AND EVOLUTION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM (GEODES)
FFATA-DOWSER: DETECTING OBJECTS' WATER FROM SPATIAL EPITHERMAL-NEUTRON RESPONSE
- Samara Data LLC$194K
GEOPHYSICAL EXPLORATION OF THE DYNAMICS AND EVOLUTION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM (GEODES)
CRATER: CHARACTERIZATION OF REGOLITH AND TRACE ECONOMIC RESOURCES
FFATA: A DIGITAL TWIN INTEGRATING KNOWLEDGE AND AI FOR UNDERSTANDING CARBON AND BIODIVERSITY CORRIDORS IN CENTRAL AFRICA
- Mitti Labs Limited$105K
FFATA: ENHANCING ACCURACY AND RELIABILITY OF CROPRESIDUE BURNING EMISSIONS FOR NATIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORIES IN A CLIMATESMART FRAMEWORK
Who it works for
SUBRECIPIENT SHALL PROVIDE TECHNICAL INFORMATION CONCERNING ANY INVENTION, DISCOVERY, IMPROVEMENT, OR INNOVATION MADE BY SUBRECIPIENT IN THE PERFORMANCE OF WORK UNDER LUNAR-VISE. ANNUAL NEW TECHNOLOGY REPORTS DUE ON 12/31/2022; 12/31/2023; 12/31/2024; 12/31/2025, 12/31/2026 FINAL INVENTORY REPORT OF FEDERALLY-OWNED PROPERTY DUE ON 11/29/2026 (90 DAYS AFTER PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE). SUBRECIPIENT SHALL PROVIDE PROJECT-SPECIFIC DELIVERABLES AS DELINEATED IN THE ATTACHED SCOPE OF WORK.
NICHOLAS SCHMERR WILL SERVE AS THE DEPUTY PI (DPI) ON THE PROJECT, AND MENTOR A POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLAR WHO WILL WORK ON THE LEMS-A3 MISSION. DPI SCHMERR WILL COORDINATE SCIENCE PLANNING OF THE INSTRUMENT AND OVERSEE SCIENCE ACTIVITIES WITH CO-IS DURING AND AFTER SURFACE OPERATIONS. THE SCIENCE OBJECTIVES THE SEISMOMETER ARE DELINEATED IN THE SCIENCE TRACEABILITY MATRIX. DPI SCHMERR WILL WORK WITH THE POSTDOC AND LEMS-A3 SCIENCE TEAM ON THE DATA ANALYSIS, ARCHIVING, AND PUBLISHING OF THE SEISMOMETER DATASETS AND RESULTANT PRODUCTS. UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY (UMD) 1. DEPUTY-PI (DPI) SCHMERR'S GROUP PARTICIPATION IN ALL LEMS-A3 TEAM MEETINGS, TELECONFERENCES, AND VIRTUAL MEETINGS, AND ANY WORKING GROUP ACTIVITIES. 2. AS DPI, SCHMERR WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE ARTEMIS III KICKOFF MEETING, CRITICAL DESIGN REVIEW, SYSTEM INTEGRATION REVIEW, AND PAYLOAD DELIVERY OF THE SEISMOMETER INSTRUMENT FROM UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA HELP TO OVERSEE THE FINAL DELIVERY OF LEMS-A3 TO THE PAYLOAD DELIVERY SYSTEM. 3. DPI SCHMERR WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE CREW TRAINING AND FLIGHT TRAINING EXERCISES AT JOHNSON SPACE CENTER AS A SEISMOLOGY FIELD EXPERT, AND ADVISER TO THE ARTEMIS TEAM ON SEISMOMETER INSTRUMENT DEPLOYMENT AND OPERATIONS. 4. DPI SCHMERR AND THE POSTDOC WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE ARTEMIS III EVA ACTIVITIES AS SEISMOLOGY SCIENCE EXPERTS PRESENT IN THE SER DURING SURFACE OPERATIONS, SCHMERR AS THE SENIOR SCIENTIST FOR THE INSTRUMENT, AND BACKUP FROM THE POSTDOC. 5. DPI SCHMERR AND THE POSTDOC WILL LEAD THE MOONQUAKE SERVICE AND IDENTIFICATION AND ARCHIVING OF EVENTS IN THE COLLECTED DATASETS. 6. MENTORSHIP BY DPI SCHMERR OF THE UMD POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLAR AND ADVISING ON THEIR RESEARCH ACTIVITIES. 7. MAINTENANCE OF THE UMD SUBCONTRACT BY DPI SCHMERR AND ASSISTANCE TO THE PI IN REPORTING ACTIVITIES FOR WRITTEN FEEDBACK TO NASA ON THE PROJECT PROGRESS REPORTS. 8. CONTRIBUTION OF SCIENTIFIC EXPERTISE OF DPI SCHMERR'S GROUP, CODES FOR WAVE SIMULATION AND DATA MODELING, AND DATA ANALYSIS FOR THE SEISMIC EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS, AND SEISMIC DATASETS. 9. EDITORSHIP AND AUTHORSHIP OF PEER-REVIEWED PAPERS PRESENTING SEISMIC RESULTS FROM THE MISSION, CROSS-REVIEWS BETWEEN GEOPHYSICAL PACKAGES 10. PARTICIPATION IN PREPARING DATA FOR DATA ARCHIVE IN THE PDS AND IRIS-DMC 11. PARTICIPATION IN OUTREACH AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
WILL PROVIDE HIGHLY SIDEROPHILE ELEMENT ANALYSES AND OSMIUM AND MOLYBDENUM ISOTOPE ANALYSIS OF IMPACT LITHOLOGIES AND REGOLITH SAMPLES TO IDENTIFY IMPACT PROJECTILES. THEY WILL ALSO PROVIDE ANALYSES OF EXPERIMENTAL SAMPLES TO DETERMINE IF LUNAR SIDEROPHILE ELEMENTS IN MAGMATIC SOURCE REGIONS ARE THE RESULT OF INTERNAL PROCESSES OR THE DELIVERY OF A LATE VENEER OF THOSE ELEMENTS. THESE ACTIVITIES WILL BE INTEGRATED WITH THOSE OF OTHER TEAM INVESTIGATORS WHO ARE STUDYING ADDITIONAL PETROLOGICAL, GEOCHEMICAL, AND ISOTOPIC ATTRIBUTES OF THE SAMPLES AND/OR ARE INVESTIGATING RELATED LUNAR SCIENCE ISSUES AS PART OF THE CENTER FOR LUNAR SCIENCE AND EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES. UMD PARTICIPANTS WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE INTELLECTUAL DISCUSSION OF THE TEAM AND WORK WITH THE TEAM TO EXPLORE THE SCIENCE PRIORITIES IDENTIFIED IN THE PROPOSAL AND, WHEN WARRANTED AND APPROVED, FOLLOW NEW LEADS THAT THE WORK REVEALS. BECAUSE THIS IS A TEAM EFFORT THAT HAS A STRONG INTEREST IN TRAINING YOUNG INVESTIGATORS, THE CO-I AND STUDENT(S) WILL PARTICIPATE IN TEAM MEETINGS USING TELE-CONFERENCING TOOLS PROVIDING THE STUDENT(S) AN OPPORTUNITY TO INTERACT WITH OTHER SENIOR CLSE SCIENTISTS AND MEET HIS/HER PEERS ON TEH TEAM.
DEVELOPING ROBUST MULTI-DIMENSIONAL ATMOSPHERIC RETRIEVAL METHODS FOR HIGH-RESOLUTION CROSS-CORRELATION SPECTROSCOPY
CO-I, JESSICA M. SUNSHINE, PH.D. WILL PRIMARILY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR INTEGRATING THE EPOXI DATA INTO THE TEAMS EFFORTS TO CONSTRAIN THE THERMAL COMPONENT IN THESE MEASUREMENTS TO BEST DETERMINE THE OH/H2O DISTRIBUTION ON THE LUNAR SURFACE AT 0.17 LOE. WHILE THE EPOXI DATA HAS LIMITED SPATIAL COVERAGE AND IS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER IN RESOLUTION, IT HAS CRITICALLY LONGER WAVELENGTH COVERAGE THAN M3. WE WILL THEREFORE USE THE EPOXI DATA TO INDEPENDENTLY SEPARATE THE THERMAL AND OH/H2O FEATURES. EFFORTS WILL FOCUS EXPLORING VARIOUS APPROACHES TO THERMAL CORRECTION USING EPOXI DATA TO EVALUATE THEIR UTILITY AND RESIDUAL EFFECTS WHEN APPLIED TO M3 DATA. IN ADDITION, WE WILL EXAMINE AREAS WHERE THERE ARE COMMON DATA (GEOGRAPHICALLY) BETWEEN EPOXI AND M3 TO QUANTIFY THE ERRORS ASSOCIATE WITH THE LIMITED SPECTRAL RANGE OF M3. ONCE BOUNDS ARE PLACED ON THE THERMAL CALIBRATION, DR. SUNSHINE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE TEAM IN THE SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS OF BOTH M3 AND EPOXI DATA TO UNDERSTAND HOW OH/H2O IS DISTRIBUTED ON THE LUNAR SURFACE AND HOW IT VARIES WITH MATURITY, COMPOSITION, AND TIME OF DAY. THROUGHOUT THE STUDY DR. SUNSHINE WILL PARTICIPATE IN PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS OF THE WORK AND PUBLICATION OF RESULTS.
SEISMOMETER FOR A LUNAR NETWORK (SLN)
SUBRECIPIENT WILL LEAD THE ANALYSIS OF SYNTHETIC GCM DATA USING A NOVEL MAPPING METHOD.
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES SUPPORTING SCIENCE AND LUNAR EXPLORATION (RASSLE)
DR. RITA COLWELL WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DISCUSSIONS WITH THE DECISION-MAKERS AND POLICY MAKERS ON THE USE OF GLOBAL CHOLERA PREDICTION SYSTEM AND BUILDING CAPACITY FOR USE OF SUCH TECHNOLOGIES. IN CLOSE COORDINATION WITH UNOCHA AND UN FOUNDATION, SHE WILL TRAVEL TO ATTEND MEETINGS WITH STAKEHOLDERS, DEMONSTRATE THE UTILITY OF CHOLERA PREDICTION, ASSOCIATED DECISION MAKING ACTIVITIES, AND PROMOTE THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER SAMPLING FOR VIBRIOS.
- Brown University$31K
THE PI WILL PROVIDE INTEGRATED COMPOSITIONAL REMOTE SENSING ANALYSES FOR THE LUNAR SURFACE AT SEVERAL SITES OF INTEREST RELEVANT TO UPCOMING LANDED MISSIONS. HE WILL ALSO PROVIDE SCIENCE CONTEXT RELEVANT TO PLANNING AND CONDUCTING LUNAR SURFACE ACTIVITIES OPTIMIZED TO ADDRESS HIGH-PRIORITY SCIENCE QUESTIONS.
Lunar awards as prime
| Award | Description | Period | Obligated |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80NSSC19M0216 | THE MOON NEAR EARTH ASTEROIDS (NEAS) AND THE MARTIAN MOONS PHOBOS AND DEIMOS ARE ALL SSERVI TARGET BODIES AS THEY PRESENT A WIDE VARIETY OF NATURAL WONDERS AND ARE POTENTIAL HOSTS TO RESOURCES THAT WILL ONE DAY ENABLE HUMAN EXPLORATION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM. OUR RESEARCH PROGRAM GEOPHYSICAL EXPLORATION OF THE DYNAMICS AND EVOLUTION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM (GEODES) WILL EXPLORE A SUITE OF NATURAL RESOURCES ON THESE BODIES THROUGH MULTIDISCIPLINARY GEOPHYSICAL INVESTIGATIONS. GEOPHYSICAL METHODS HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLY SUCCESSFUL IN IDENTIFYING RESOURCES ON EARTH AS THEY PROVIDE A MEANS OF CHARACTERIZING AND MAPPING THE SUB-SURFACE USING DATA GATHERED ON AND ABOVE THE SURFACE. WE FOCUS OUR GEOPHYSICAL INVESTIGATIONS ON FOUR ESSENTIAL RESOURCES THAT WILL ENABLE FUTURE HUMAN SPACE EXPLORATION: ..1. LAVA TUBES AND VOID SPACES CAPABLE OF HOSTING PEOPLE AND INFRASTRUCTURE .2. ICY DEPOSITS THAT CAN BE USED FOR VOLATILE EXTRACTION .3. REGOLITH WHICH MAY BE A BUILDING MATERIAL BUT ALSO PRESENTS A HAZARD TO HUMAN AND ROBOTIC HEALTH .4. GEOLOGICALLY RECENT VOLCANISM TECTONISM AND IMPACTS WHICH MOBILIZE CONCENTRATE AND TRAP VOLATILES AND UNIQUE ROCK CHEMISTRIES. ..THE UNIFYING GOAL OF GEODES IS TO ENABLE IN-SITU RESOURCE UTILIZATION (ISRU) OF THESE SOLAR SYSTEM BODIES FOR THESE NATURAL RESOURCES. THE REASON GEOPHYSICAL METHODS HAVE BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL IN IDENTIFYING RESOURCES ON EARTH IS THAT THESE METHODS PROVIDE A MEANS OF CHARACTERIZING AND MAPPING THE SUB-SURFACE USING DATA GATHERED ON AND ABOVE THE SURFACE. OUR BROAD TEAM HAS EXPERTISE IN ORBITAL GEOPHYSICS AND FIELD GEOPHYSICAL TECHNIQUES THAT WILL BE REQUIRED FOR FUTURE SPACE EXPLORATION. ..CURRENTLY THERE ARE GAPS IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW MOST EFFECTIVELY TO USE THESE GEOPHYSICAL METHODS FOR SITE EVALUATION ON SSERVI TARGET BODIES INCLUDING THE MOON NEAR EARTH ASTEROIDS (NEAS) AND THE MOONS OF MARS. WHICH GEOPHYSICAL METHODS ARE MOST EFFECTIVE FOR CHARACTERIZATION OF SPECIFIC RESOURCE TARGETS AND WHAT ARE THE RESOLUTIONS OF THESE METHODS? HOW CAN WE EFFICIENTLY REDUCE UNCERTAINTIES IN RESOURCE EXPLORATION AND ISRU THROUGH APPLICATION OF DIVERSE GEOPHYSICAL METHODS IN INTEGRATED EXPLORATION SURVEYS? FOR EACH RESOURCE THEME WHICH SURVEYS SHOULD BE DONE AS PART OF SITE EVALUATION AND CHARACTERIZATION AND IN WHAT ORDER? WHAT MODELING APPROACHES WILL MAKE THE BEST USE OF THESE EXTREMELY VALUABLE AND COSTLY GEOPHYSICAL DATA TO MAXIMIZE INFORMATION GAIN? OUR INVESTIGATIONS WILL APPROACH EACH RESOURCE-THEME FROM "ORBIT TO OUTCROP" BY ANALYZING EXISTING GEOPHYSICAL DATA AND MODELS FOR SSERVI TARGET BODIES AND THROUGH GEOPHYSICAL EXPLORATION OF FIELD ANALOG SITES ON EARTH WHERE SIMILAR RESOURCES ARE FOUND. ANALOG SITES ON EARTH WILL BE USED BY THE GEODES TEAM TO DEVELOP FOR EACH THEME (A) EXPLORATION STRATEGIES (B) METHODS OF INTEGRATING MULTIPLE GEOPHYSICAL METHODS AND (C) MODELING CAPABILITY TO EFFICIENTLY CHARACTERIZE RESOURCES. THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR THE GEODES PROJECT BECAUSE WE ARE WELL-POSITIONED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF RAPID IMPROVEMENTS IN AUTOMATED GEOPHYSICAL DATA COLLECTION LEADING TO VASTLY IMPROVED RESOLUTION OF GEOPHYSICAL ANOMALIES AND MUCH MORE EFFICIENT GEOPHYSICAL MODELING CAPABILITY THAN PREVIOUSLY AVAILABLE. ..GEODES WILL BE DEDICATED TO SUPPORTING AND EXPANDING THE GOALS AND RESOURCES OF SSERVI AS A VIRTUAL INSTITUTE. GEODES WILL CONDUCT IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS TO TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF RESEARCHERS IN GEOPHYSICAL DATA PROCESSING DATA ANALYSIS AND MODELING USING COMPUTER CODES DEVELOPED BY THE EARTH GEOPHYSICS COMMUNITY. GEODES WILL ENGAGE THE PUBLIC THROUGH AN ACTIVE ONLINE PRESENCE PUBLIC GEOPHYSICS DEMONSTRATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE ACTIVATION RESOURCES. GEODES WILL PARTNER WITH EXISTING SSERVI TEAMS THAT ALSO INVESTIGATE ONE OR MORE OF THE NATURAL RESOURCES FROM DIFFERENT SCIENCE PERSPECTIVES TO ENHANCE OUR ABILITY TO FORGE METHODS TO ENABLE FUTURE SPACE EXPLORATION AT THE MOON NEAS AND THE MOONS OF MARS. . | 2019-10-01 → 2027-06-30 | $6.5M |
| 80MSFC20C0012 | NEXT GENERATION LUNAR RETROREFLECTORS (NGLR) | 2019-11-12 → 2023-12-02 | $2.7M |
| 80NSSC19K0768 | IN SITU LASER ABLATION SAMPLING ENABLES SPATIALLY-RESOLVED MEASUREMENTS (ON THE SCALE OF<100 MICRONS) OF INORGANIC AND ORGANIC COMPOSITION VIA BOND-BREAKING AND MASS REMOVAL OF MINERALOGICAL MATRICES AND DESORPTION/IONIZATION OF EMBEDDED ORGANIC CONTENT RESPECTIVELY. HIGH-RESOLUTION MASS SPECTROMETRY EMPOWERS THE SEPARATION OF ISOBARIC INTERFERENCES (CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS SHARING THE SAME NOMINAL MASS) INCLUDING ATOMIC (E.G. 54CR+ VERSUS 54FE+) MOLECULAR (E.G. 28SI16O+ VERSUS 12C16O2+) AND ORGANIC SIGNALS (E.G. PROTONATED PHENYLALANINE C9H12NO2+ VERSUS PROTONATED TRIAMINOPURINE C5H8N7+). IN COMBINATION THESE TWO ANALYTICAL CAPABILITIES OFFER UNPARALLELED POTENTIAL TO PROBE THE CHEMISTRY OF THE LUNAR SURFACE AND SUBSURFACE. | 2019-04-08 → 2025-04-07 | $2.1M |
| 80NSSC24K0128 | DEVELOPMENT AND TEST OF LUNAR DUST REMOVAL USING A GECKO ROLLER | 2023-10-30 → 2026-10-29 | $1.8M |
| 80NSSC25K7221 | 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 | 2024-12-11 → 2027-12-10 | $1.5M |
| 80NSSC25K0013 | 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. | 2025-05-28 → 2027-05-27 | $1.4M |
| 80NSSC19K1030 | THE GOAL TO BE ADDRESSED IS DISCOVERY OF SUBSURFACE WATER ON THE MOON AND MARS IN BOTH ORBITAL AND LANDER MISSIONS. .THE APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY TO BE USED TO ADDRESS THE GOALS IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPACT ROBUST LOW POWER AND LOW-VOLTAGE NEUTRON DETECTOR WITH VELOCITY AND ENERGY RESOLUTION. NEUTRON DETECTION IS A PROVEN TECHNIQUE FOR IDENTIFYING PLANETARY SUBSURFACE WATER. DUE TO THEIR 15-MINUTE LIFETIME NEUTRONS ARE ABSENT AS BACKGROUND IN COSMIC RAYS OR SOLAR NEUTRON WIND. ANY NEUTRON FOUND NEAR A PLANETARY BODY HAS BEEN PRODUCED BY COSMIC RAY SPALLATION OF PLANETARY MATTER AND THEREBY CARRIES SIGNATURES OF ITS BIRTHPLACE. THE ENERGY SPECTRUM OF PLANETARY NEUTRONS REVEALS THE PRESENCE OF HYDROGEN. SPALLATION NEUTRONS ARE BORN AT MEV ENERGIES; THOSE FOUND WITH ME V ENERGIES HAVE BEEN THERMALIZED BY HYDROGENOUS PLANETARY MATTER. NEUTRONS PASS EASILY THROUGH MOST MATERIALS SO SUBSURFACE WATER CAN BE A SOURCE OF THERMAL NEUTRONS. INDEED THERMAL NEUTRON DETECTION IS THE ONLY GENERALLY APPLICABLE TECHNIQUE FOR FINDING WATER WITHIN A SOLID MATRIX. .NEUTRON DETECTORS (NDS) HAVE BEEN INCORPORATED IN PLANETARY MISSIONS FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE. BASED ON HELIUM-3 PROPORTIONAL COUNTERS THESE DETECTORS HAVE DEMANDING OPERATIONAL OVERHEADS SUCH AS HIGH VOLTAGE HIGH GAS PRESSURE LARGE MASS AND BULKY SHIELDING. THEY ALSO HAVE LIMITED RESOLUTION OF NEUTRON ENERGIES AND DIRECTIONS WHICH ARE CRITICAL TO LOCATING AN UNKNOWN HYDROGENOUS DEPOSIT. .WE HAVE BROUGHT TO TRL 2 A NOVEL ND THAT OVERCOMES THESE LIMITATIONS. IT IS A NETWORK OF COMPACT LOW-OVERHEAD DETECTOR CELLS WITH DIVERSE DIRECTION AND ENERGY RESOLUTION; IT REPLACES THE HIGH-VOLTAGE PROPORTIONAL-COUNTER ELECTRONICS OF PRESENT NDS WITH MODERN SILICON PHOTOMULTIPLIERS OPERATING AT 28-VOLTS. OPTICAL DETECTION ALSO HAS A HIGHER INTRINSIC BANDWIDTH THAN THE ELECTRIC-DISCHARGE DETECTION USING PROPORTIONAL COUNTERS. THE HIGH-PRESSURE HELIUM-3 OF PRESENT NDS IS REPLACED BY A MICRON-THICK BORON-10 THIN FILM DEPOSITED ON A SILICON CHIP EMBEDDED IN ATMOSPHERIC-PRESSURE XENON. .WE HAVE DEMONSTRATED NEUTRON DETECTION WITH A PROTOYPE IN A SEALED CUBICAL PHYSICS PACKAGE OF VOLUME 5 CM^3 AND MASS OF 10 G. ALL POWER CONTROL AND READOUT ELECTRONICS ARE CONTAINED IN A SINGLE CONTROL MODULE POWERED BY THE USB BUS. POWER CONSUMPTION IN STEADY OPERATION IS ABOUT 30 MW. EXPERIMENTAL TESTS TO DATE SUPPLEMENTED BY DETAILED MODELING SUGGEST THAT THIS DETECTOR HAS NEUTRON DETECTION SENSITIVITY AND GAMMA REJECTION COMPARABLE TO THAT OF THE LEND INSTRUMENT AND SUPERIOR ENERGY AND DIRECTIONAL RESOLUTION. .WE PROPOSE TO BRING TO TRL 4 A DETECTOR BASED ON A CELLULAR NETWORK OF COMPACT PHYSICS PACKAGES OPERATED BY A SINGLE CONTROL MODULE. WITH APPROPRIATE MODERATORS AND CELL ALIGNMENT CORRELATION OF SIGNALS ACROSS THE NETWORK WILL SAMPLE THE ANGULAR DISTRIBUTION OF PLANETARY LEAKAGE NEUTRONS. .OUR PROPOSED WORK IS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE PLANETARY SCIENCE RESEARCH PROGRAM BECAUSE ORBITAL REMOTE SENSING AND IN SITU MEASUREMENT OF NEUTRONS HAVE PROVEN TO BE IMPORTANT TOOLS FOR PLANETARY GEOCHEMISTRY RESEARCH. DETERMINING THE QUANTITY AND VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION OF VOLATILE SPECIES ON AND BELOW THE SURFACE OF PLANETARY BODIES IS VITAL FOR UNDERSTANDING THE PRIMORDIAL CHEMICAL INVENTORY AND SUBSEQUENT EVOLUTION OF PLANETS. DUE TO UNAVOIDABLE PRACTICAL LIMITATIONS ALL EARLY LUNAR MISSION NEUTRON INSTRUMENTS COULD ONLY DELIVER INTEGRATED DATA ON DETECTED FLUXES AVERAGED OVER LARGE ENERGY RANGES AND ESCAPE ANGLES FROM LUNAR SURFACE. THE FIRST ORBITAL NEUTRON TELESCOPE (LEND - CSETN) HAD A LOW SIGNAL/NOISE RATIO BECAUSE BACKGROUND IONS ELECTRONS PHOTONS AND SCATTERED NEUTRONS TRIGGERED NEUTRON DETECTOR SIGNALS. OUR INSTRUMENT CAN PROVIDE DETAILED DIRECTIONALITY AND ENERGY INFORMATION OF PLANETARY LEAKAGE NEUTRONS WITH HIGH DETECTION EFFICIENCY AND LOW BACKGROUND SIGNALS. ITS SIMPLE CELLULAR ARCHITECTURE CAN BE ADAPTED TO BOTH ORBITAL AND LANDER MISSIONS. . | 2019-05-23 → 2023-05-22 | $889K |
| 80NSSC25K7342 | 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. | 2024-12-01 → 2027-11-30 | $819K |
| 80NSSC25K7457 | 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 | 2024-12-04 → 2027-12-03 | $741K |
| 80NSSC25K7220 | 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. | 2024-12-01 → 2027-11-30 | $604K |
| 80NSSC20K0788 | EXPLORING THE INTERIOR OF MARS AND THE MOON USING OBJECT-ORIENTED GRAVITY INVERSIONS | 2020-03-16 → 2024-03-15 | $499K |
| 80NSSC25K7042 | REGIONAL AND LOCAL GEOLOGIC MAPPING OF THE MOON'S ARISTARCHUS PLATEAU FOR EXPLORATION AND SCIENCE | 2025-01-01 → 2026-12-31 | $440K |
| 80NSSC25K0222 | 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. | 2025-08-04 → 2028-08-03 | $383K |
| 80NSSC21K0384 | WE PROPOSE TO APPLY RU ISOTOPE ANALYTICAL METHODOLOGY TO INVESTIGATE THE GENETICS OF THE BASIN-FORMING LUNAR IMPACTORS THAT DOMINATE THE HSE PRESENT IN LUNAR IMPACT MELT ROCKS. | 2021-01-01 → 2025-12-31 | $338K |
| 80NSSC25K7056 | 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. | 2024-10-07 → 2027-10-06 | $326K |
| 80NSSC18K0227 | ABSTRACT: ELECTROSTATICALLY-DRIVEN REGOLITH MOTION HAS BEEN A SOURCE OF CONTROVERSY IN THE PLANETARY SCIENCE COMMUNITY SINCE THE SURVEYOR OBSERVATIONS OF LUNAR HORIZON GLOW. RECENT ADVANCES IN REGOLITH CHARGING MODELS HAVE SOLVED THE LONG-STANDING QUESTION OF HOW GRAINS BECOME SUFFICIENTLY CHARGED TO OVERCOME GRAVITY AND COHESION. A VARIETY OF CIRCUMSTANTIAL OBSERVATIONAL EVIDENCE INDICATES THE ELECTROSTATICALLY-DRIVEN REGOLITH MOTION OCCURS ON AIRLESS BODIES. FURTHERMORE ELECTROSTATIC DUST MOTION IS MOST LIKELY TO OCCUR ON ASTEROIDS (AS COMPARED TO THE OTHER AIRLESS BODIES) DUE TO THEIR WEAK GRAVITY. HOWEVER TO DATE THERE HAVE BEEN NO ATTEMPTS TO OBSERVE ELECTROSTATIC DUST MOTION AT AN ASTEROID. WE PROPOSE TO CONDUCT THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE SEARCH FOR ELECTROSTATIC DUST MOTION AT AN ASTEROID USING EXISTING PLASMA AND DUST DYNAMICS MODELS. WE PROPOSE TO ENHANCE THE SCIENCE RETURN OF THE OSIRIS-REX MISSION BY COMPARING OBSERVATIONS OF NEAR-SURFACE DUST DETECTED BY THE OCAMS INSTRUMENT SUITE DURING SITE SELECTION AND TOUCH-AND-GO PHASES OF THE MISSION TO NUMERICAL PREDICTIONS OF ELECTROSTATICALLYDRIVEN DUST MOTION. THE SCIENCE OBJECTIVES OF THE PROPOSED INVESTIGATION ARE TO: 1. COMPARE COMPUTATIONAL PREDICTIONS OF LOCATION AND GRAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF ELECTROSTATICALLY LEVITATING DUST GRAINS TO OCAMS OBSERVATIONS. 2. EVALUATE ELECTROSTATIC DUST MOTION AS A FORMATION MECHANISM FOR OBSERVED DUST-LADEN FEATURES ON BENNU. 3. ASSESS THE FEASIBILITY OF ELECTROSTATIC DUST LOFTING DURING THE TOUCH-AND-GO MISSION PHASE AND LOOK FOR ANY SIGNATURES OF ELECTROSTATIC DUST MOTION DURING THIS ACTIVITY. RELEVANCE: WE PROPOSE TO INVESTIGATE THE MORPHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF THE INTERACTION OF THE SOLAR WIND PLASMA WITH BENNU'S SURFACE THEREBY COMPLEMENTING OSIRIS-REX'S EXISITING FOCUS ON THE DYNAMICS GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY OF BENNU. THE PROPOSED INVESTIGATION IS COMPLIMENTARY TO THE OSIRIS-REX MISSION'S CURRENT PLANS TO DETECT DUST PLUMES OBSERVE SURFACE FEATURES AND PROBE REGOLITH PROPERTIES VIA SAMPLE COLLECTION. ADDITIONALLY THE PROPOSED INVESTIGATION WOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OSIRIS-REX'S CAPABILITY TO SERVE AS THE FIRST INVESTIGATION OF ELECTROSTATIC DUST MOTION AT AN ASTEROID THEREBY ENHANCING THE SCIENCE RETURN OF THE MISSION BY OBSERVING PHENOMENA THAT MAY BE ACTIVE ON OTHER SMALL AIRLESS BODIES INCLUDING THE MOON AND MARS' MOONS. | 2017-11-29 → 2021-11-30 | $322K |
| 80NSSC19K1398 | THE POTASSIUM-ARGON LASER EXPERIMENT (KARLE) IS A TARGETED INVESTIGATION THAT ENABLES IN SITU RADIOMETRIC DATING OF PLANETARY MATERIALS AS WELL AS MINERALOGICAL IDENTIFICATION AND COMPOSITIONAL MEASUREMENTS OF MAJOR AND MINOR ELEMENTS. THE KARLE INSTRUMENT SIMULTANEOUSLY MEASURES K (VIA LASER INDUCED BREAKDOWN SPECTROSCOPY OR LIBS) AND AR (VIA TRADITIONAL MASS SPECTROMETRY) TO PROVIDE AGE DETERMINATIONS WITH HIGH PRECISION AND ACCURACY REVEALING INSIGHTS INTO THE TIMING OF MAJOR LUNAR DIFFERENTIATION EVENTS BOMBARDMENT HISTORY AND ULTIMATELY THE CALIBRATION OF THE CRATER RECORD. ALL GEOCHEMICAL MEASUREMENTS INCLUDING K AND AR ANALYSES RELY ON LEGACY HARDWARE ELEMENTS PROVEN TO OPERATE ON MARS AND/OR OTHER PLANETARY ENVIRONMENTS INTERFACED THROUGH AN INNOVATIVE VACUUM CHAMBER AND SAMPLE DELIVERY SYSTEM. A BREADBOARD VERSION OF THE KARLE INVESTIGATION SUPPORTED THROUGH PIDDP FUNDING HAS VERIFIED FULL FUNCTIONALITY UNDER LABORATORY CONDITIONS. THROUGH THIS DALI EFFORT A HIGH FIDELITY ENGINEERING TEST UNIT (ETU) OF THE KARLE INSTRUMENT WILL BE DESIGNED TO MINIMIZE MASS VOLUME AND POWER RESOURCES SHOWN TO SATISFY ALL FUNCTIONAL/SCIENCE REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFIED TO TRL 6 (SYSTEM-LEVEL DEMONSTRATION UNDER RELEVANT ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS) TO VALIDATE THE READINESS OF THIS DESIGN AS A FUTURE LUNAR LANDER PAYLOAD OPTION. THE INSTRUMENT WILL BE EXPOSED TO VACUUM PRESSURES THERMAL CYCLING AND REPRESENTATIVE RANDOM VIBRATION LOADS; THE ANALYTICAL PERFORMANCE OF KARLE WILL BE TESTED BEFORE AND AFTER EACH TEST TO ENSURE TECHNOLOGY MATURATION IN FULL COMPLIANCE WITH TRL ADVANCEMENT. A SERIES OF NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC ANALOG SAMPLES WILL BE PREPARED TO QUANTITATIVELY CHARACTERIZE THE CAPABILITIES OF THE INSTRUMENT INCLUDING: ESTABLISHING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN INSTRUMENT RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS (E.G. POWER ENERGY DATA VOLUME) AND ACHIEVABLE PRECISION/ACCURACY ON AGE DETERMINATIONS; RECOGNIZING DIAGNOSTIC INDICATORS OF HOST MINERALOGY; AND IDENTIFYING LIMITS OF DETECTION FOR MAJOR AND MINOR ELEMENTS. AS A PARTNER INSTITUTION THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND WILL SERVE AN ESSENTIAL SUPPORT ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT DEMONSTRATION AND QUALIFICATION OF THE KARLE ETU. GRADUATE STUDENT ZIQIN ( GRACE ) NI WILL PARTICIPATE AS BOTH AN INSTRUMENT SCIENTIST AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING SUPPORT. SPECIFICALLY GRACE WILL PROVIDE GROUND-TRUTH MEASUREMENTS OF A SERIES OF ROUND ROBIN SAMPLES THAT WILL BE ANALYZED VIA STATE-OF-THE-ART COMMERCIAL INSTRUMENTATION (SEE FACILITIES SECTION FOR DETAILS) AS WELL AS THE KARLE PROTOTYPE BREADBOARD AT NASA GSFC AND THE HIGH-FIDELITY ETU THAT WILL BE GENERATED THROUGH THIS DALI EFFORT. SHE WILL ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO MECHANICAL DESIGN REVIEWS SCIENCE TEAM MEETINGS AND INTEGRATION AND TEST OF THE KARLE SAMPLE CHAMBER WHEN READY. CO-I RICARDO AREVALO JR. WILL ALSO SUPPORT THESE SPECIFIC TASKS BUT HIS PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES WILL BE TO ADVISE/MENTOR GRACE NI AS AN EARLY CAREER SCIENTIST/ENGINEER SUPPORT GROUND-TRUTH MEASUREMENTS AND PARTICIPATE IN SCIENCE TEAM MEETINGS AND RESPOND THE EVOLVING PRIORITIES OF THE LUNAR COMMUNITY (FOR EXAMPLE AS CAPTURED BY THE LUNAR EXPLORATION ASSESSMENT GROUP LEAG). | 2019-07-24 → 2024-07-23 | $292K |
| NNX17AI11G | THIS PROPOSAL FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EAST-WEST INSTITUTE DESCRIBES AN EFFORT TO CONTINUE THE PI'S ANALYTICAL EFFORTS IN SUPPORT OF THE LUNAR EXPLORATION NEUTRON DETECTOR (LEND) INSTRUMENT ON BOARD THE LUNAR RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER SPACECRAFT. THE LEND INSTRUMENT IS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO INVESTIGATE THE LUNAR HYDROGEN DISTRIBUTIONS NEAR THE POLES. ONGOING OPERATIONS AND REMOTE SENSING BY LEND DURING THE CORNERSTONE MISSION (CM) IS REQUIRED BY THAT PROPOSAL THE SENIOR REVIEW PROCESS. THREE PRIMARY TASKS ARE DESCRIBED ALL OF WHICH ARE IMPORTANT EFFORTS TO BE COMPLETED DURING THE CM. THESE EFFORTS SHOULD IMPROVE THE LEND CALIBRATION AND PRESENT THE POSSIBILITY OF NEW SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS. THE STATEMENT OF WORK AND FUNDING REQUEST ARE REASONABLE AND SHOULD BE FUNDED. | 2017-03-16 → ? | $276K |
| 80NSSC18K0348 | MOST EXISTING SPACECRAFT THERMAL SUBSYSTEMS RELY ON SINGLE-PHASE HEAT TRANSFER BUT THE DRIVE TOWARDS LIGHTER SMALLER HIGHER POWER SUBSYSTEMS TO MAKE FUTURE MISSIONS POSSIBLE WILL REQUIRE USE OF TWO-PHASE THERMAL SYSTEMS. THE KEY CHALLENGE IN DEVELOPING TWO-PHASE THERMAL SYSTEMS IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HEAT TRANSFER DATABASE AND RELIABLE MODELS FOR FLOW BOILING IN VARIABLE GRAVITY ENVIRONMENTS FROM WHICH THE PERFORMANCE OF TWO-PHASE HEAT EXCHANGERS IN SPACECRAFT CAN BE CONFIDENTLY PREDICTED. THE USE OF TWO-PHASE THERMAL SYSTEMS ON SPACECRAFT HAS BEEN GREATLY HAMPERED BY THE INABILITY TO PREDICT WITH SUFFICIENT CONFIDENCE THEIR PERFORMANCE AT VARIOUS GRAVITY LEVELS (EARTH MARS AND LUNAR GRAVITY AND LOW-G). THE PERFORMANCE PREDICTION OF TWO-PHASE SYSTEMS UNDER THESE CONDITIONS REQUIRES A SUFFICIENT HEAT TRANSFER DATABASE AND RELIABLE MODELS BOTH OF WHICH ARE NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE. ALTHOUGH SOME RESEARCH IN LOW-GRAVITY ADIABATIC FLOWS HAS BEEN PERFORMED VERY LITTLE HEAT TRANSFER DATA RELEVANT TO ADVANCED SPACE HEAT EXCHANGERS IS AVAILABLE AND THE MECHANISMS BY WHICH HEAT IS REMOVED FROM THE SURFACES UNDER VARYING GRAVITY ENVIRONMENTS ARE UNCLEAR. WE WILL DEVELOP THE DATA AND MODELS NEEDED TO PREDICT THE BEHAVIOR OF TWO-PHASE FLOWS IN GEOMETRIES RELEVANT TO ADVANCED HEAT EXCHANGERS IN VARIABLE GRAVITY ENVIRONMENTS THROUGHOUT THE BOILING CURVE IN LOW-G 1-G AND HIGH-G (1.6G). UNLIKE PREVIOUS WORK WHERE ONLY TIME- OR SPACEAVERAGED HEAT TRANSFER DATA WERE MEASURED WE WILL OBTAIN LOCAL MEASUREMENTS OF THE WALL HEAT TRANSFER COEFFICIENT WITH HIGH TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL RESOLUTION USING TEMPERATURE SENSITIVE PAINTS (TSP). TEST CONDITIONS INCLUDE BUBBLY FLOW SLUG FLOW CHURN FLOW ANNULAR FLOW INVERSE ANNULAR FLOW AND ULTIMATELY DRYOUT. WE HAVE PERFORMED MEASUREMENTS WITH INFRARED THERMOGRAPHY IN THE PAST BUT HAVE RECENTLY TRANSITIONED TO USING TSPS SINCE THE DATA INTERPRETATION IS MUCH EASIER AND THE UNCERTAINTIES ARE MUCH SMALLER. EXAMPLES OF DATA RECENTLY OBTAINED USING TSPS ARE SHOWN ALONG WITH FLOW VISUALIZATION. AT THE END OF THE TEST CAMPAIGN WE EXPECT TO HAVE COMPLETED A PRELIMINARY OVERVIEW OF THE TEST MATRIX FOR A FUTURE ISS EXPERIMENT. THE TRL LEVEL IS CURRENTLY 4 AND IS EXPECTED TO EXIT AT 4 AS WELL. | 2018-01-03 → ? | $257K |
| 80NSSC25M7046 | 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. | 2025-02-01 → 2028-01-31 | $250K |
| 80NSSC25K7787 | 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 → 2028-04-30 | $248K |
| 80NSSC19K0766 | SSOLVE (SUBMILLIMETER SOLAR OBSERVATION LUNAR VOLATILES EXPERIMENT) WILL USE SUBMILLIMETER AND TERAHERTZ RECEIVERS TO INVESTIGATE WATER IN THE LUNAR EXOSPHERE BY OBSERVING STRONG TRANSITIONS OF H2O OH AND HDO AGAINST THE SUN AS A BACKLIGHT SOURCE. SUBMM- THZ SYSTEMS PROVIDE THE HIGH SENSITIVITY NEEDED TO RESOLVE THE FUNDAMENTAL UNCERTAINTIES OF WATER VAPOR IN THE LUNAR EXOSPHERE: HOW MUCH IS THERE WHERE DOES IT COME FROM HOW IS IT LOST DOES IT EXIST PRIMARILY AS WATER MOLECULES OR AS HYDROXYL RADICALS. SSOLVE WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR A LANDED PLATFORM TO ACCESS THE SKY OVER THE LANDER AND TO MEASURE THE VARIABILITY OF EXOSPHERIC WATER WITH TIME OF DAY. IF AN ORBITAL PLATFORM IS AVAILABLE INSTEAD THE IDENTICAL DESIGN COULD BE DEPLOYED FOR NADIR VIEWING OF GAS TRANSITIONS AGAINST THERMAL EMISSION FROM THE LUNAR SURFACE TO MAP WATER IN THE EXOSPHERE AT ALL LATITUDES AND LOCAL TIMES. THE TOTAL COLUMN ABUNDANCE OF WATER AND FREE HYDROXYL RADICALS OVER THE MOON S SURFACE ADDRESSES THE HIGHLY UNCERTAIN QUANTITY OF WATER GROUP SPECIES IN THE ATMOSPHERE AND ITS CHEMICAL FORM. THE RELATIVE ENRICHMENT OF DEUTERIUM IS AN IMPORTANT CONSTRAINT ON THE DELIVERY MECHANISM FOR WATER TO THE LUNAR SURFACE PARTICULARLY IF THE COLUMN ABUNDANCE IS GREATER THAN THE EXOBASE LIMIT WHICH WOULD IMPLY AN INDIGENOUS SOURCE. IDENTIFYING OR RULING OUT SIGNIFICANT INDIGENOUS WATER IN THE CURRENT ATMOSPHERE WILL PROVIDE IMPORTANT INSIGHT INTO WHETHER THE LUNAR FORMATION PROCESS INCORPORATED SIGNIFICANT PRIMORDIAL WATER. MEASURING THE ABUNDANCE OF WATER IN THE LUNAR ATMOSPHERE AND DETERMINING WHETHER IT IS INDIGENOUS OR EXOGENOUS IS ESSENTIAL TO ASSESSING THE LIKELY AVAILABILITY OF WATER FOR IN SITU RESOURCE UTILIZATION (ISRU) OF LIMITED LUNAR WATER SUPPLIES. THE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR SSOLVE WILL LEVERAGE EXISTING CAPABILITIES AND DESIGNS AT GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER DERIVED FROM EXTENSIVE HERITAGE IN MICROWAVE SYSTEMS FOR EARTH ATMOSPHERE INVESTIGATIONS INCLUDING THE SUCCESSFUL EARTH-ORBITAL ICECUBE CUBESAT TO MEASURE ICE CLOUDS IN EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE. SSOLVE WILL USE A HELIOSTAT TO TRACK THE SUN REGARDLESS OF LANDER ORIENTATION OR LEVELING. DESIGNS HAVE ALREADY BEEN DEVELOPED FOR ANTENNA AND TELESCOPE ASSEMBLIES THE MECHANISM AND INTERNAL CALIBRATION. SUITABLE RECEIVER DESIGNS ARE AVAILABLE AT TRL4-5 TO SERVE AS THE FRONT END FOR THE 557 GHZ H2O 509 GHZ HDO AND 2.5 THZ OH RECEIVERS WITH SUITABLE DIGITAL SPECTROMETER BACK-END DESIGNS ALREADY AT HIGH TRL. SSOLVE IS A LOW-RISK HIGH SENSITIVITY HIGH RELIABILITY CONCEPT WITH POTENTIAL FOR HIGH SCIENTIFIC PAYOFF. | 2019-05-01 → 2023-04-30 | $241K |
| NNX15AP69H | ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATION OF LUNAR REGOLITH FOR SIZE BENEFICIATION USING SAME MATERIAL TRIBOCHARGING THE SUCCESS OF FUTURE LONG TERM MANNED LUNAR MISSIONS DEPENDS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CERTAIN KEY TECHNOLOGIES. ONE SUCH TECHNOLOGY THE UTILIZATION OF LUNAR REGOLITH FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF PARTS AND STRUCTURES IS ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT FACTORS IN REDUCING MISSION COST RISK AND COMPLEXITY. CURRENT RESEARCH ON THIS TOPIC FOCUSES ON 3D PRINTING TECHNIQUES USING REGOLITH AND OTHER ADVANCED FABRICATION METHODS. IN ORDER TO CREATE STRONG RELIABLE PARTS THE MINERAL COMPOSITION AND GRANULAR SIZE OF THE REGOLITH MUST BE TIGHTLY CONTROLLED. THOUGH MANY TERRESTRIAL DEVICES EXIST FOR SORTING GRANULAR MATERIALS BY SIZE AND MATERIAL LIKE SIEVES AND CENTRIFUGES MANY OF THESE ARE LARGE COMPLEX OR INEFFECTIVE IN THE LOW GRAVITY HIGHLY ELECTRICAL LUNAR ENVIRONMENT. FURTHERMORE THE LUNAR SURFACE IS HIGHLY ELECTRICALLY CHARGED POSING RISKS OF DISCHARGE AND SIGNIFICANT CLUMPING IN MANY REGOLITH HANDLING DEVICES. THEREFORE A NOVEL DEVICE FOR SIZE BENEFICIATION OF LUNAR GRAINS WHICH REMOVES OR UTILIZES THIS CHARGE WILL BE NECESSARY TO ADVANCE THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESOURCE UTILIZATION TECHNOLOGIES AND IMPROVE FUTURE EXPLORATION MISSIONS. TRIBOCHARGING SHOWS GREAT PROMISE AS A METHOD FOR BOTH SIZE BENEFICIATION AND MINERAL SEPARATION AND I PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A DEVICE USING THIS PHENOMENON FOR LUNAR REGOLITH. WHEN A GRANULAR MIXTURE IS SHAKEN THE TRIBOELECTRIC EFFECT CAUSES CHARGE TO ACCUMULATE ON PARTICULAR MINERALS IN THE MIXTURE IN A PREDICTABLE WAY. A FAR LESS UNDERSTOOD ASPECT OF THE TRIBOELECTRIC EFFECT IS THE TENDENCY FOR NEGATIVE CHARGE TO ALSO ACCUMULATE ON SMALLER GRAINS EVEN WHEN THE MIXTURE IS COMPOSED OF ONLY ONE INSULATING MATERIAL. WHILE MINERAL SEPARATION USING TRIBOCHARGING HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED SUCCESSFULLY NO SPACE READY DEVICE YET EXISTS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SIZE DEPENDENT CHARGING EFFECT. I WILL DESIGN BUILD AND TEST SUCH A DEVICE. I WILL FIRST DEVELOP AN UNDERLYING THEORY FOR SAME MATERIAL SIZE DEPENDENT TRIBOCHARGING THROUGH EXPERIMENTS. THIS THEORY WILL BE APPLIED TO LUNAR REGOLITH A COMPLEX AND DISPERSE MIXTURE OF MANY MATERIALS AND SIZES. THE DEVICE WILL USE ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATION OF TRIBOCHARGED GRAINS TO SORT THE MATERIAL WITH MINIMAL MOVING PARTS OR CONTACT WITH THE GRAINS. DUE TO THE HIGHLY ADHESIVE AND ABRASIVE NATURE OF LUNAR REGOLITH THIS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASES THE LIFESPAN OF THE DEVICE AND REDUCES ITS COMPLEXITY RELATIVE TO OTHER GRAIN SEPARATION CONCEPTS. IN ADDITION THE EXISTING CHARGE ON LUNAR GRAINS REDUCES THE EFFECTIVENESS OF OTHER EXISTING SEPARATION METHODS BUT IS A BOON TO AN ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATION DEVICE. THE RESULTS OF MY EXPERIMENTS WILL REVEAL THE EFFECTS OF VARIOUS PRE AND POST TREATMENT METHODS ON TRIBOCHARGING OF REGOLITH WHICH I CAN USE TO INCREASE THE DEGREE OF SIZE SEPARATION AND REMOVE THE CHARGE AFTER SEPARATION. THEREFORE THE DEVICE WOULD TAKE RAW CHARGED REGOLITH AS INPUT AND PRODUCE ELECTRICALLY NEUTRAL GRAINS SORTED BY MINERAL AND OR SIZE DEPENDING ON THE DESIRED MODE OF OPERATION. ELECTROSTATIC SIZE BENEFICIATION USING TRIBOCHARGING IS STILL A VERY YOUNG FIELD BUT SHOWS INCREDIBLE PROMISE FOR LOW COMPLEXITY REGOLITH SEPARATION. THE LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF THIS EFFECT HAS SEVERELY LIMITED ITS USE IN GRAIN SORTING APPLICATIONS TO DATE. GIVEN THE RECENT PUSH FOR BETTER IN SITU RESOURCE UTILIZATION AND THE ADVANCEMENTS IN 3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGIES THERE IS A RAPIDLY GROWING NEED FOR A DEVICE TO CONVERT REGOLITH INTO A USABLE RAW MATERIAL. MY PROPOSED SOLUTION IS SIMPLE RELIABLE AND FLEXIBLE AND PROVIDES A DESIGN HERITAGE FOR GRAIN SEPARATORS IN OTHER ENVIRONMENTS DUE TO THE UNIVERSALITY OF TRIBOCHARGING. DEVELOPING THIS TECHNOLOGY IS A CRITICAL AND INNOVATIVE STEP TOWARD EXPLORATION OF ANY DUSTY CELESTIAL BODY. | 2015-08-01 → 2019-07-31 | $232K |
| 80MSFC24CA016 | NEXT GENERATION LUNAR RETROREFLEECTORS (NGLR) SUPPORT OF SCIENCE OPERATIONS, DATA COLLECTION, LOCATION AND POINTING OF A LUNAR RETROREFLECTOR ON AND DURING THE 19D LUNAR MISSION, CURRENTLY SLATED FOR LAUNCH IN NOVEMBER 2024. | 2024-07-02 → 2025-05-31 | $224K |
| NNX15AP88G | THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF THIS PROPOSED EFFORT IS TO APPLY THE CALIBRATION ENHANCEMENTS TO ALL DI OBSERVATIONS OF THE MOON (ARCHIVED IN PDS) AND FOR THE F | 2015-07-10 → ? | $212K |
| 80NSSC24K0453 | THE SIGNIFICANCE OF COMPOSITIONALLY UNIQUE LUNAR PYROCLASTIC DEPOSITS | 2023-12-21 → 2026-12-20 | $150K |
| 80NSSC25K7647 | 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 | 2025-01-24 → 2027-01-23 | $132K |
| 80NSSC18K0875 | NO PARAMETER IN THE DESIGN OF SPACESUITS FOR PLANETARY EXPLORATION IS MORE IMPORTANT THANWEIGHT ON THE BACK: THE WEIGHT OF THE SUIT SYSTEM WHICH MUST BE SUPPORTED BY THE WEARER UNDER THE GRAVITY OF THE MOON OR MARS. THE ADDED WEIGHT OF THE SPACESUIT GARMENT AND PORTABLE LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM (PLSS) DRIVES THE REQUIRED EXERTION LEVEL OF THE WEARER AND ULTIMATELY SETS LIMITATIONS ON EVA DURATION DISTANCE TRAVELED ON FOOT AND PRODUCTIVITY OF THE EXPLORATION MISSION. IT IS CLEAR THAT PLANETARY SURFACE EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES WOULD BE GREATLY IMPROVED IF THE ASTRONAUTS DID NOT HAVE TO CARRY A PLSS TO MAINTAIN LIFE SUPPORT FUNCTIONS. AT THE SAME TIME ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS ON CREW MOBILITY LIMITS OF ACCESS AND OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES WOULD BE UNACCEPTABLE. THE CONCEPT FOR THIS NIAC PROPOSAL IS TO ACCOMPLISH THESE TWO SEEMINGLY CONFLICTING REQUIREMENTS THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF ADVANCED ROBOTIC SYSTEMS TO DEAL WITH BIOLOGICAL REQUIREMENTS (I.E. LIFE SUPPORT) FOR THE ASTRONAUTS: THEBIOBOT. THE DESIGN REFERENCE SCENARIO FOR THIS CONCEPT IS THAT ASTRONAUTS INVOLVED IN FUTURE LUNAR OR MARS EXPLORATION WILL BE ON THE SURFACE FOR WEEKS OR MONTHS RATHER THAN DAYS AND WILL BE INVOLVED IN REGULAR EVA OPERATIONS. IT IS NOT UNREASONABLE TO THINK OF GEOLOGISTS SPENDING SEVERAL DAYS IN EVA EXPLORATION EACH WEEK OVER A PROLONGED MISSION DURATION WITH FAR MORE AMBITIOUS OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES THAN WERE TYPICAL OF APOLLO. IN THIS SCENARIO EACH ASTRONAUT WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY ABIOBOT WHICH WILL TRANSPORT THEIR LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM AND CONSUMABLES AN EXTENDED UMBILICAL AND UMBILICAL REEL AND ROBOTIC SYSTEMS CAPABLE OF CONTROLLING THE POSITION AND MOTION OF THE UMBILICAL. THE ASTRONAUT WILL BE CONNECTED TO THE ROBOT VIA THE UMBILICAL CARRYING ONLY A SMALL EMERGENCY OPENLOOP LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM SIMILAR TO THOSE CONTAINED IN EVERY PLSS. THE ROBOTIC MOBILITY BASE WILL BE DESIGNED TO BE CAPABLE OF TRAVELING ANYWHERE THE ASTRONAUT CAN WALK AND WILL ALSO BE USEFUL AS A TRANSPORT FOR THE EVA TOOLS SCIENCE INSTRUMENTATION AND COLLECTED SAMPLES AND POTENTIALLY CARRYING THE ASTRONAUT ON TRAVERSES AS WELL. SUCH AS SYSTEM WILL ALSO BE A SIGNIFICANT ENHANCEMENT TO PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT IN THESE FUTURE EXPLORATION MISSIONS AS THE ROBOTIC VEHICLES CAN PROVIDE HIGH-RESOLUTION CAMERAS AND HIGH-BANDWIDTH COMMUNICATIONS GEAR TO PROVIDE HIGH-DEFINITION VIDEO COVERAGE OF EACH CREW THROUGHOUT EACH EVA SORTIE. THERE ARE ALSO ARCHITECTURE-LEVEL BENEFITS TO THIS CONCEPT. FOR EXAMPLE IN THE DRIVE TO REDUCE SUIT WEIGHT TO THE ABSOLUTE MINIMUM DUE TO THE LOAD OF THE PLSS DESIGN ELEMENTS WHICH WOULD ENHANCE SUIT MOBILITY (SUCH AS ROTARY BEARINGS) ARE FREQUENTLY DELETED RESULTING IN A LIGHTER BUT LESS FLEXIBLE SUIT ENCLOSURE. BY OFFLOADING THE LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM ELECTRICAL POWER AND CONSUMABLES THE RELATIVELY MEAGER INCREASE IN GARMENT MASS TO INCORPORATE THESE MOBILITY FEATURES WOULD BE EASILY ACCOMMODATED RESULTING IN NOT ONLY A LIGHTER BUT ALSO MORE FLEXIBLE SPACESUIT SYSTEM WITH AN OVERALL CENTER OF GRAVITY VERY CLOSE TO THAT OF THE WEARERS BODY. SINCE THE PLSS WEIGHT RESTRICTIONS WOULD BE NEGATED BY PLACING THE SYSTEM AND ITS CONSUMABLES ON AN ACCOMPANYING ROBOT THE OVERALL EVA SYSTEM COULD EASILY ADAPT TO LONGER SORTIES HIGHER CAPACITY ASTRONAUT COOLING SYSTEMS OR HIGHER LEVELS OF REDUNDANCY TO ENHANCE CREW SAFETY AND MINIMIZE THE POSSIBILITY OF A LOSS-OF-CREW EVENT. WHEN NO LONGER CONSTRAINED TO FIT WITHIN THE MASS AND VOLUME CONSTRAINTS OF A SPACESUIT BACKPACK PORTABLE LIFE SUPPORT DESIGNERS CAN CONSIDER TECHNOLOGY ALTERNATIVES BETTER SUITED TO EXTENDED EXPLORATION SUCH AS RADIATORS FOR COOLING SOLAR PANELS TO EXTEND ELECTRICAL POWER OR REGENERABLE CO2 SCRUBBING SYSTEMS. | 2018-05-15 → ? | $125K |
| NNX15AL42G | THE OBJECTIVES OF OUR PROPOSED WORK ARE (I) TO DERIVE SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VARIATIONS OF TITAN'S SURFACE TEMPERATURE BY ANALYSIS OF THE MOON'S OUTGOI | 2015-05-26 → ? | $111K |
| 80NSSC25K0163 | 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. | 2025-10-01 → 2027-09-30 | $108K |
| 80NSSC25K7652 | 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 | 2025-02-05 → 2026-06-30 | $100K |
| 80NSSC19K0044 | DR. WHELLEY WILL LEAD TASKS 1 (GIS DATA MAPPING) AND 4 (SYNTHESIS) CONTRIBUTE TO TASK 3 (MORPHOLOGIC MAPPING) AND OVERSEE ALL ASPECTS OF THE PROPOSED WORK. HE WILL PRESENT THE GROUP S FINDINGS AT THE LUNAR AND PLANETARY SCIENCE CONFERENCE AND WILL LEAD A PAPER IN A HIGH IMPACT JOURNAL (E.G. NATURE GEOSCIENCE) ON THE STRATIGRAPHY OF THE LAYERED DEPOSITS IN ARABIA TERRA. HE WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR LEADING DATA ARCHIVING. | 2018-10-12 → 2020-10-11 | $98K |
| 80NSSC25K7216 | 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 | $93K |
| 80NSSC18K1260 | THIS PROPOSAL UTILIZES A TERRESTRIAL ANALOG SITE FOR ICY SATELLITES TO DETERMINE HOW A SINGLE-STATION SEISMOMETER CAN CONSTRAIN CYROSPHERIC CHARACTERISTICS. ICY WORLDS HAVE SEISMICALLY ACTIVE ICY SHELLS COVERING POTENTIALLY HABITABLE SUBSURFACE OCEANS. SEISMOLOGY IS THE PREEMINENT APPROACH FOR DETERMINING THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ICY SHELL NAMELY ITS THICKNESS. A SINGLE-STATION SEISMOMETER WOULD BE AN ECONOMIC AND EFFICIENT PAYLOAD FOR FUTURE LANDER MISSIONS. A TERRESTRIAL ANALOG SITE IS USED TO INVESTIGATE THE DATA AND ANALYSIS APPROACHES. WHILE THERE IS NO PERFECT EUROPAN ANALOG ON EARTH WE SELECTED AN ANALOG SITE THAT IS ACCESSIBLE WELL-STUDIED HAS A THICK ICE LAYER AND HAS IDEAL PASSIVE SOURCES. THE GULKANA GLACIER IS LOCATED ABOUT 200KM FROM FAIRBANKS ALASKA AND IS CONSIDERED "BENCHMARK" GLACIER BY THE USGS BECAUSE METEOROLOGICAL MASS BALANCE AND STREAM FLOW MEASUREMENTS HAVE BEEN RECORDED FOR SEVERAL DECADES. GULKANA HAS AN ICE LAYER THAT IS TENS TO HUNDREDS OF METERS THICK. WHILE THE GLACIER'S ICE THICKNESS IS MUCH THINNER THAN EUROPA'S ICY SHELL THE PASSIVE SEISMIC SOURCES INCLUDING ICE-QUAKES AND WATER DRAINAGE MIMIC THOSE OF EUROPA. IN SEPTEMBER 2017 THE SEISMIC INVESTIGATION OF ICE AND OCEAN STRUCTURES (SIIOS) WAS DEPLOYED ON GULKANA. SIIOS CONSISTS OF 19 SEISMIC INSTRUMENTS IN A SMALL (<5M ACROSS) ARRAY. MY RESEARCH FOCUSES ON TWO DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTS COUPLED TO THE GROUND AS WELL AS ONE SEISMOMETER THAN WAS PLACED ON A TABLE ABOVE THE OTHER TWO. MY FIRST TASK WILL USE THE ACTIVE SOURCE EXPERIMENT TO INVESTIGATE THE INTERIOR STRUCTURE OF THE GLACIER. THE ACTIVE SOURCE EXPERIMENT PROVIDES PRECISE EVENT TIMES AND LOCATIONS WHICH CAN BE USED TO INVERT FOR THE GLACIER'S STRUCTURE. A BAYESIAN INVERSION ALGORITHM IS USED TO DETERMINE PROBABLE STRUCTURES FROM THE ARRIVAL TIMES OF TWO BODY WAVES THE COMPRESSIONAL (P) AND SHEAR (S) WAVES. A SECOND BAYESIAN CODE WILL ATTEMPT TO LOCATE THE KNOWN EVENTS TO DETERMINE THE SEISMOMETERS' LOCATION EFFICACIES. THE SECOND TASK WILL ATTEMPT TO IDENTIFY UNKNOWN PASSIVE SOURCES SUCH AS ICEQUAKES AND WATER DRAINAGE EVENTS. I WILL USE THE FREQUENCIES AND DURATION OF THE SEISMIC SIGNALS TO BUILD A CATALOG OF EVENTS. THE FREQUENCIES OF THE EVENTS CAN BE DETERMINED BY CALCULATING THE FOURIER-TRANSFORM AND POWER SPECTRUM DENSITY OF SMALL SECTIONS OF THE TIME-SERIES. I CAN ALSO USE MY LOCATION ALGORITHM DEVELOPED IN THE FIRST TASK TO LOCATE THE UNKNOWN EVENTS. THE LAST TASK WILL BE TO TRANSLATE MY ALGORITHMS TO EUROPA. I WILL BUILD A CATALOG OF LARGE TELESEISMIC EVENTS (MOMENT MAGNITUDES ~5.3) SMALLER ICEQUAKES AND REGIONAL WATER DRAINAGE EVENTS. AN ALGORITHM WILL RANDOMLY SELECT EVENTS FROM THIS CATALOG AND BUILD A PLAUSIBLE TIME-SERIES OF SEISMIC EVENTS. BACKGROUND NOISE WILL BE ADDED TO THE TIME-SERIES USING FREELY AVAILABLE NOISE SIGNALS FROM PREVIOUS STUDIES. I WILL ATTEMPT TO IDENTIFY AND LOCATE THE EVENTS AND THEN COMPARE MY RESULTS TO THE SELECTED EVENTS TO DETERMINE THE ACCURACY OF MY APPROACH. EACH TASK WILL TAKE ABOUT SEVEN MONTHS TO COMPLETE SO THE ENTIRE PROJECT CAN BE COMPLETED IN TWO YEARS. EACH YEAR I WILL PRESENT MY WORK AT THE AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION (AGU) AND THE LUNAR AND PLANETARY SCIENCE CONFERENCE (LPSC). AFTER EACH TASK IS COMPLETE I WILL PUBLISH THE RESULTS IN A PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL. THIS WORK IS HIGHLY RELEVANT TO NASA OBJECTIVES AND THE CALL FOR THIS PROPOSAL. SPECIFICALLY I WILL USE INVESTIGATE INSTRUMENT TECHNOLOGY THAT COULD BE USED ON FUTURE PLANETARY MISSIONS. I WILL ALSO USE ANALOG STUDIES AND FIELDWORK TO BETTER UNDERSTAND CYROSEISMOLOGY TO PREPARE FOR FUTURE MISSIONS. WHILE THIS PROJECT IS FOCUSED ON EUROPA THE THIRD TASK COULD EASILY BE ADAPTED TO FOCUS ON ENCELADUS OR TITAN TWO ICY WORLDS THAT ARE ALSO HIGH PRIORITIES FOR NASA | 2018-09-01 → 2022-08-31 | $89K |
| 80NSSC25K7234 | 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. | 2024-10-11 → 2026-10-10 | $80K |
| 80NSSC25K7348 | 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 | 2024-11-04 → 2025-11-07 | $70K |
| 80NSSC24K1767 | A RAD FRAMEWORK FOR THE MOON: APPLYING RESIST-ACCEPT-DIRECT DECISION-MAKING | 2024-10-01 → 2026-09-30 | $58K |
| 80NSSC25M7142 | FUNDING OPPORTUNITY GOALS TEXT FOR ALL ROSES TECH EVALS: 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. | 2025-04-17 → 2028-04-16 | $57K |
| 80NSSC24K0738 | THE ENIGMA OF EVOLVED LUNAR GRANITES A CONSORTIUM APPROACH TO SOLVING THEIR PETROGENESIS | 2024-02-21 → 2027-02-20 | $40K |
| 80NSSC25K7248 | ENHANCING PERFORMANCE AND COMMUNICATION FOR DISTRIBUTED TEAMS DURING LUNAR SPACEWALKS | 2024-10-01 → 2026-03-10 | $25K |