University of Missouri System
Lunar obligations
$3.4Mas prime
Lunar awards
6as prime
Its subcontractors
2$192K reported
Primes it works for
0none reported
Who it subcontracts to
"1. COLLABORATE WITH THE TEAM LEAD BY DR. GERTSCH IN DESIGNING A FLIGHT-FORWARD REGOLITH BENEFICIATION SYSTEM. THIS WILL INCLUDE WORKING WITH SCIENTISTS ON THE TEAM TO OPTIMIZE INITIAL DESIGNS FOR UTILITY, ROBUSTNESS, SIMPLICITY, MASS, AND POWER. 2. PERFORM TRADES ON A MAGNETIC SEPARATION SYSTEM. 3. DESIGN, FABRICATE, AND TEST A BREADBOARD-LEVEL SEPARATION SYSTEM."
"DR. RUNYON POSSESSES EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE IN REDUCED GRAVITY PARABOLIC FLIGHT EXPERIMENT DESIGN AND OPERATION, HAVING PARTICIPATED IN 20 PARABOLIC FLIGHT CAMPAIGNS TO DATE. HE WILL PROVIDE ACCESS TO AND GUIDANCE WITH THE SCIENCE GLOVEBOX ENCLOSURE WHICH WILL HOUSE THE BENEFICIATION APPARATUS. ACCORDINGLY, HE WILL ASSIST WITH SHIPPING THE EXPERIMENT FROM ITS STORAGE IN SPRING ARBOR, MICHIGAN TO MISSOURI S&T; ASSIST WITH EXPERIMENT APPARATUS INTEGRATION INTO THE GLOVEBOX AND ASSOCIATED GLOVEBOX MODIFICATIONS; ASSIST WITH ALL THREE PROPOSED PARABOLIC FLIGHT RESEARCH CAMPAIGNS; ASSIST WITH SHIPPING THE EXPERIMENT BACK TO SPRING ARBOR; ASSIST WITH DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION; AND PUBLICATION WRITING."
Who it works for
Not reported as a subcontractor on lunar awards.
Lunar awards as prime
| Award | Description | Period | Obligated |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80NSSC22K0738 | REGOLITH BENEFICIATION SYSTEM FOR PRODUCTION OF LUNAR CALCIUM AND ALUMINUM | 2022-05-15 → 2026-06-30 | $2.3M |
| 80NSSC18K1665 | WATER VAPOR CONDENSATION HAS MANY APPLICATIONS IN LOW EARTH ORBIT OR DEEP SPACE NASA MISSIONS BUT TRADITIONAL WATER CONDENSERS DESIGNED FOR GROUND APPLICATIONS MAINLY RELY ON GRAVITATIONAL FORCES TO REMOVE CONDENSED LIQUID FROM COOLING SURFACES. IN THE ABSENCE OF GRAVITY CONDENSED LIQUID COLLECTS ON SOLID SURFACES WHICH INCREASES THERMAL RESISTANCE AND HINDERS FURTHER CONDENSATION. IN THIS PROPOSED EFFORT THE ELECTROWETTING-ON-DIELECTRIC (EWOD) EFFECT WILL BE UTILIZED TO PROMOTE DROPLET NUCLEATION AND AUTOMATE THE REMOVAL OF CONDENSED DROPWISE WATER DROPLETS FROM THE CONDENSING SURFACE AS THEY FORM THEREBY FREEING SURFACE AREA FOR CONTINUED CONDENSATION AND SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASING CONDENSATION EFFICIENCY. THE CURRENT TECHNOLOGY READINESS LEVEL (TRL) OF THIS CONCEPT IS LEVEL 4. WE HAVE CARRIED OUT EXPERIMENTS IN LABORATORY AND VALIDATED ENHANCED CONDENSATION WITH EWOD ON THE GROUND. THE HIGHER CONDENSATION RATE IS DUE TO STRONGER DROPLET DYNAMICS AFFECTED BY ELECTRIC FIELD WHICH HELPS DROPLETS TO SELF-PROPEL FROM THE CONDENSING SURFACE MORE EASILY. FURTHER ENHANCEMENT OF CONDENSATION WITH EWOD IS EXPECTED TO TAKE PLACE IN A ZERO-G ENVIRONMENT BECAUSE IT CAN INDUCE DROPLET JUMPING MORE EASILY WITHOUT GRAVITY INDUCED DROPLET FLOW. TO PROVE THIS CLAIM AND CERTIFY EWOD CONDENSATION AS USEFUL FOR SPACE MISSIONS IT IS NECESSARY TO TEST OUR INNOVATION IN A ZERO-G ENVIRONMENT. THE ZERO GRAVITY CORPORATION (ZERO-G) WILL SUPPORT OUR ZERO-G FLIGHT TESTS WITH PARABOLIC MANEUVERS. ZERO-G IS A SOLE SOURCE PROVIDER OF PARABOLIC FLIGHTS IN THE UNITED STATES PROVIDING HIGH QUALITY MICROGRAVITY ENVIRONMENTS USING SPECIALLY-MODIFIED B727-200. FOUR PARABOLIC FLIGHTS WITH THREE PEOPLE ON BOARD ARE SCHEDULED IN MARCH AND NOVEMBER 2019. THE PLANNED MISSIONS OF FLIGHT TEST INCLUDE A) VISUALIZATION OF WATER DROPWISE CONDENSATION IN ZERO-G ENVIRONMENT; B) VISUALIZATION OF EWOD ENHANCED DROPWISE CONDENSATION BEHAVIOR IN ZERO-G ENVIRONMENT AND C) ASSESSMENT ON KEY PARAMETERS OF CONDENSATION DYNAMICS UNDER ZERO-G ENVIRONMENT FOR SYSTEM OPTIMIZATION. THE EXPERIMENTAL SETUP IS COMPOSED OF NOVEL CONDENSING SURFACES ENABLED WITH ELECTROWETTING FOR FLIGHT TESTING A COOLER FOR COOLING SAMPLE SUBSTRATE THERMOMETERS FOR TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT A HUMIDIFIER TO GENERATE MIST A LIGHTING SOURCE FOR HIGHLIGHTING CONDENSATION DYNAMICS A POWER SUPPLY WITH PEAK VOLTAGE OF ABOUT 50V AND A CONTROLLABLE FREQUENCY A HIGH-SPEED CAMERA AND A DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM. THE TOTAL MASS AND SIZE OF THE EXPERIMENTAL SETUP SHOULD BE WITHIN 25LBS AND 8FT X 6FT X 8FT (L H W) RESPECTIVELY. WORKING FLUID IS WATER (LESS THAN 0.5 GALLONS). NO HAZARDOUS MATERIAL IS USED. THE ONLY SAFETY CONCERN WOULD BE THE STABILITY OF INSTRUMENTS DURING FLIGHT TESTING. THE SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT OF PHASE-CHANGE HEAT TRANSFER TECHNOLOGY UTILIZING EWOD ENHANCED CONDENSERS WILL HAVE A PROFOUND IMPACT ON FUTURE DEEP SPACE NASA MISSIONS SUCH AS THE PSYCHE MISSION AND THE EUROPA CLIPPER WHOSE DISTANCE FROM THE EARTH WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT TIME DELAY IN SIGNAL EXCHANGE WITH THE EARTH. THIS WILL NECESSITATE COMPUTATIONALLY INTENSIVE AUTOMATED DECISION MAKING WHICH WILL ADD TO THE HEAT GENERATION CAUSED BY THE OTHER ELECTRONICS ON BOARD. AN EFFICIENT AND RELIABLE THERMAL CONTROL SYSTEM WILL BE CRUCIAL FOR KEEPING ALL SYSTEMS IN THEIR OPTIMAL OPERATIONAL TEMPERATURE RANGE. EWOD ENHANCED CONDENSERS WILL ALSO HAVE APPLICATIONS IN ANY FUTURE PROJECT INVOLVING HUMAN HABITATION SUCH AS THE LUNAR ORBITAL PLATFORM OR THE ORION SPACE CAPSULE. TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY CONTROL ARE VITALLY IMPORTANT FOR LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS AND EFFICIENT WATER CONDENSATION HAS APPLICATIONS IN CABIN AIR CONDITIONING AND DEHUMIDIFICATION. LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS ALSO RELY ON EFFECTIVE WASTEWATER RECYCLING WHICH OFTEN INVOLVES A DISTILLATION PROCESS AND AN EWOD ENHANCED CONDENSER COULD PROVIDE AN EXCELLENT SOLUTION FOR THE COLLECTION OF WATER CONDENSATE IN A DISTILLATION SYSTEM. | 2018-10-01 → 2022-12-31 | $558K |
| 80NSSC25K7573 | 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. | 2025-07-01 → 2027-06-30 | $250K |
| 80NSSC19K1150 | HIGH VELOCITY FLOWS EXPERIENCED DURING PLANETARY REENTRY POSE DIFFICULT CHALLENGES TO BOTH HUMAN AND ROBOTIC SPACEFLIGHT. THE THERMAL ENVIRONMENT EXPERIENCED IN REENTRY IS AS DANGEROUS AS IT IS DIFFICULT TO PREDICT AND ANALYZE. FURTHERMORE ANALYSIS CHALLENGES SUCH AS FLOWS INVOLVING PARTICLES LIKE DUST AND SPALLED THERMAL PROTECTION SYSTEM (TPS) MATERIAL LEAD TO FURTHER UNCERTAINTIES IN VEHICLE PERFORMANCE DURING THE ENTRY DESCENT AND LANDING (EDL) PHASE OF MISSIONS REQUIRING THE USE OF GENEROUS DESIGN MARGINS IN TPS THICKNESSES. THESE PARTICULATE-LADEN FLOWS CAN BE EXPERIENCED IN A NUMBER OF MISSION SCENARIOS SUCH AS ENTRY INTO MARS DURING OR SHORTLY AFTER A GLOBAL DUST STORM OR ENTRY INTO EARTH AT HIGH VELOCITIES EXPERIENCED IN LUNAR OR MARS RETURN TRAJECTORIES WHERE SPALLATION OF THE TPS MATERIAL CAN OCCUR. | 2019-08-01 → 2023-07-31 | $197K |
| 2629010 | I-CORPS: TRANSLATION POTENTIAL OF IN-SITU PRODUCTION OF ALUMINUM AND OXYGEN FROM LUNAR SOIL USING ELECTROCHEMICAL PROCESSING -THIS I-CORPS PROJECT IS BASED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGY FOR PRODUCING ALUMINUM AND OXYGEN FROM LUNAR SOIL USING ELECTROCHEMICAL PROCESSING TO ADDRESS A CRITICAL CONSTRAINT IN LUNAR EXPLORATION. FUTURE LUNAR EXPLORATION AND COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES ARE EXPECTED TO REQUIRE THOUSANDS OF KILOGRAMS OF STRUCTURAL MATERIALS, MANUFACTURING FEEDSTOCKS, AND LIFE SUPPORT CONSUMABLES. HOWEVER, TRANSPORTING THESE RESOURCES FROM EARTH IS PROHIBITIVELY EXPENSIVE AND REPRESENTS A MAJOR BARRIER TO SUSTAINED SPACE OPERATIONS. AFFORDABLE RESOURCE PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES WILL BECOME INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT. THIS TECHNOLOGY ENABLES THE EXTRACTION OF VALUABLE MATERIALS DIRECTLY FROM LUNAR SOIL, REDUCING LAUNCH MASS REQUIREMENTS AND LOWERING MISSION COSTS WHILE SUPPORTING CONSTRUCTION, MANUFACTURING, TRANSPORTATION, AND LIFE SUPPORT APPLICATIONS. IN ADDITION TO SUPPORTING THE SPACE ECONOMY, THE UNDERLYING ELECTROCHEMICAL PROCESSING METHODS MAY ENABLE MORE EFFICIENT METAL PRODUCTION ON EARTH. APPLICATIONS INCLUDE SPACE INFRASTRUCTURE, ADVANCED MANUFACTURING, INDUSTRIAL ELECTROCHEMICAL PROCESSING, AND RESOURCE EXTRACTION INDUSTRIES. THIS TECHNOLOGY MAY REDUCE OPERATING COSTS, IMPROVE SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE, AND ENABLE NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN BOTH SPACE AND EARTH SECTORS. THIS I-CORPS PROJECT UTILIZES EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING COUPLED WITH FIRST-HAND INVESTIGATION OF THE INDUSTRY ECOSYSTEM TO ASSESS THE TRANSLATION POTENTIAL OF MOLTEN SALT ELECTROLYSIS TECHNOLOGY FOR THE IN-SITU PRODUCTION OF ALUMINUM AND OXYGEN FROM LUNAR REGOLITH. THIS TECHNOLOGY EMPLOYS A TWO-STEP PROCESS IN WHICH ALUMINUM-BEARING MINERALS ARE CONVERTED INTO ALUMINA AND SUBSEQUENTLY REDUCED ELECTROCHEMICALLY IN A MOLTEN CALCIUM CHLORIDE ELECTROLYTE TO PRODUCE METALLIC ALUMINUM AND OXYGEN. EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH HAS DEMONSTRATED THE PRODUCTION OF ALUMINUM WITH PURITIES EXCEEDING 95 WEIGHT PERCENT USING CORROSION-RESISTANT ELECTRODE MATERIALS UNDER REPRESENTATIVE PROCESSING CONDITIONS. IN ADDITION, THIS TECHNOLOGY OPERATES AT LOWER TEMPERATURES COMPARED WITH EXISTING METHODS WHILE SELECTIVELY PRODUCING ALUMINUM, AND IMPROVING PROCESS EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCT QUALITY. BEYOND ALUMINUM, THE SAME ELECTROCHEMICAL PLATFORM MAY BE ADAPTED TO EXTRACT ADDITIONAL METALS SUCH AS TITANIUM AND IRON, OFFERING A VERSATILE AND EXTENSIBLE PATHWAY FOR INTEGRATED LUNAR RESOURCE UTILIZATION. ADOPTION OF THIS TECHNOLOGY MAY PROVIDE USERS WITH REDUCED LOGISTICS COSTS, INCREASED OPERATIONAL INDEPENDENCE, AND EXPANDED MANUFACTURING CAPABILITIES FOR FUTURE SPACE AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS ON EARTH. 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.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD. | 2026-08-15 → 2027-07-31 | $50K |
| 80NSSC24K0338 | THE CASE FOR LUNAR ALUMINUM | 2023-12-01 → 2024-11-30 | $10K |