William Marsh Rice University
Who it subcontracts to
CONSTRAINING THE ORIGIN AND TIMESCALE OF LUNAR MG-SUITE MAGMATISM
Who it works for
NO SINGLE ANALYTICAL MEASUREMENT IS CURRENTLY ACCEPTED AS A “SMOKING GUN” FOR BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY. A PREPONDERANCE OF EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT BIOTIC VERSUS ABIOTIC SIGNATURES IS BEST GENERATED BY COMBINING MANY INDEPENDENT VALIDATING MEASUREMENTS ON A SAMPLE. GIVEN THE INSTRUMENTATION CONSTRAINTS ON FUTURE MISSIONS, WE AIM TO EXPERIMENTALLY FIND THE OPTIMAL AND MINIMAL COMBINATION OF METRICS THAT COLLECTIVELY YIELD THE GREATEST DISCRIMINATION BETWEEN ABIOTIC AND BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES. INDIVIDUAL BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES (E.G. CELL CULTURES) AND ABIOTIC SAMPLES (E.G. SILICA COLLOIDS) WILL BE DIVIDED INTO ALIQUOTS TO BE MEASURED BY DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES IN DIFFERENT LABORATORIES. DATA FROM MULTIPLE ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES ON INDIVIDUAL SAMPLES WILL BE COMBINED WITH PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS (PCA), WHICH REDUCES LARGE DATASETS TO AGGREGATE METRICS (PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS) THAT CONTAIN THE LARGEST VARIATION IN THE DATA. MEASUREMENTS ON MULTIPLE SAMPLE TYPES WILL BE SCORED ON DIFFERENT PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS TO FIND WHICH BEST DISCRIMINATES FOR THE PRESENCE OF LIFE. THE BEST COMPONENTS WILL REVEAL WHICH ANALYTICAL METHODS, AND WHICH SPECTRAL REGIONS WITHIN THOSE METHODS, PROVIDE A HOLISTIC CONFIDENCE METRIC BASED ON THE TOTALITY OF OUR OBSERVATIONS. NO PRECONCEIVED THEORIES FOR DETECTABLE SIGNATURES ARE ASSUMED, BUT RATHER, A DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH TO ESTABLISHING A SUMMATIVE HOLISTIC METRIC FOR BOTH ABIOTIC AND BIOLOGICAL SIGNATURES IS PLANNED. NO NEW TECHNOLOGIES ARE NECESSARY FOR IMMEDIATE PROGRESS. SAMPLE VARIABILITY WILL FIRST BE TESTED WITH LAB CULTURES (SIMPLE BACTERIA, YEAST, AND ARCHAEA; MARINE AND FRESHWATER SAMPLES), THEN ENVIRONMENTAL CULTURES FROM UNIQUE EARTH HABITATS MOST LIKELY TO MIMIC EXTRATERRESTRIAL HABITATS THAT MIGHT HARBOR LIFE WITHIN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. THE ASSEMBLED TEAM (SANTANGELO, HAFNER, MORA, AND VU) COLLECTIVELY HAVE THE EXPERIENCE, EQUIPMENT, AND EXPERTISE TO MAXIMIZE GAINS TOWARD DEFINING A HOLISTIC BIOSIGNATURE METRIC WITHIN THE REQUESTED THREE-YEAR FUNDING PERIOD.
Lunar awards as prime
| Award | Description | Period | Obligated |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80NSSC25K7505 | 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. | 2025-02-01 → 2027-05-18 | $804K |
| 80NSSC25K7664 | 24-PIMOVE24-0024 CONSTRAINING THE ORIGIN AND TIMESCALE OF LUNAR MG-SUITE MAGMATISM | 2025-07-01 → 2028-06-30 | $646K |
| 80NSSC21K1299 | THE RECENTLY ESTABLISHED NASA ARTEMIS MISSION REFLECTS THE GROWING INTEREST OF SENDING HUMANS TO COLONIZE THE MOON AND MARS AND TO EXPLORE MORE OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. | 2021-08-30 → 2026-03-26 | $328K |
| 80NSSC19K1171 | ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING (AM) COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS 3D PRINTING IS A BROAD CATEGORY OF TECHNIQUES THAT USE THE ADDITION OF MATERIAL IN A LAYER-WISE FASHION TO FABRICATE SOLID OBJECTS FROM COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN (CAD) MODELS USING METALS CERAMICS SANDS AND POLYMERS. THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY HAS BEEN PARTICULARLY DRAWN TO THE ADVANTAGES THAT AM PROVIDES OVER TRADITIONAL METHODS SUCH AS INCREASED BUILD FLEXIBILITY AND SIGNIFICANT MASS REDUCTION. WHILE WIDE SCALE ADOPTION OF AM FOR THE FABRICATION OF A VARIETY AEROSPACE COMPONENTS IS LIKELY IN THE COMING YEARS AM IS ALSO BEING EXPLORED AS A MEANS FOR SELF-SUSTAINABILITY AWAY FROM EARTH IN FUTURE PLANETARY EXPLORATION MISSIONS BY USING IN-SITU RESOURCES AS FEEDSTOCK MATERIALS TO PRODUCE TOOLS SUPPLIES STRUCTURES AND OTHER ASSETS. THE PROPOSED WORK SEEKS TO STUDY A PARTICULAR METHOD CALLED BINDER JET ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING (BJAM) TO ADDRESS TWO GOALS PERTAINING TO AEROSPACE APPLICATIONS: (1) TO IMPROVE THE BJAM PROCESS SO THAT HIGH-FIDELITY COMPLEX AND OFTEN ONE-OFF AEROSPACE COMPONENTS CAN BE MANUFACTURED AT MINIMAL COST AND LEAD TIMES AND (2) TO ASSESS THE VIABILITY OF BJAM AS A METHOD TO PRODUCE FUNCTIONAL PARTS FROM MARTIAN LUNAR AND ASTEROIDAL REGOLITH MATERIAL. THESE GOALS WILL BE ACHIEVED THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPUTATIONAL FRAMEWORK TO SIMULATE THE BJAM PROCESS TO EFFICIENTLY INVESTIGATE THE PARAMETERS THAT LEAD TO OPTIMAL PART PROPERTIES WHICH WILL REDUCE THE COSTS AND TIME INHERENT WITH TRIAL-AND-ERROR EXPERIMENTAL APPROACHES. BJAM IS A PARTICULAR TYPE OF POWDER-BED AM PROCESS THAT EMPLOYS A RASTER SCANNING INKJET PRINTHEAD TO ADMINISTER A FLUID BINDER INTO A POWDER LAYER OF A DESIRED MATERIAL TO SELECTIVELY JOIN PARTICLES. THE BOUND PARTICLE CLUSTERS FORM SOLID LINES AND SURFACES THAT MAKE UP A PART CROSS-SECTION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE GOVERNING CAD MODEL. THIS PROCESS IS REPEATED MANY TIMES WITH EACH CROSS-SECTION SUCCESSIVELY ADDED ON TOP OF THE PREVIOUS ONE UNTIL THE FULL GEOMETRY IS FORMED. BJAM HAS MANY UNIQUE ADVANTAGES COMPARED TO OTHER AM METHODS SUCH AS ITS WIDE RANGE OF SUITABLE MATERIALS RELATIVELY FAST BUILD TIMES AND COST EFFECTIVENESS. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A COMPONENT PRODUCED BY BJAM ARE A RESULT OF INTERFACIAL FLUID MECHANICS AND PARTICLE DYNAMICS THAT OCCUR WHEN A LIQUID DROPLET IMPACTS A POWDER LAYER. THE RESULTING PARTICLE AGGLOMERATION BOUND FROM A SINGLE BINDER DROPLET IS THE FUNDAMENTAL BUILDING ELEMENT OF THE PART AND IS THE PREDOMINANT FACTOR GOVERNING ITS STRENGTH DIMENSIONAL ACCURACY SURFACE PROPERTIES AND OVERALL QUALITY. ANALOGOUS TO A PIXEL IN A DIGITAL IMAGE THE PRIMITIVE SIZE AND SHAPE HAS AN IMPORTANT EFFECT ON THE RESOLUTION AND DIMENSIONAL ACCURACY OF THE FINAL PART. IN ORDER TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF BJAM COMPONENTS TO MEET THE STRINGENT DEMANDS OF AEROSPACE APPLICATIONS BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THIS FLUID-PARTICLE INTERACTION AFFECTS THE QUALITY OF THE FINAL PART IS REQUIRED. THIS WORK SEEKS TO ELUCIDATE THE ROLE OF INTERFACIAL PHYSICS AND FLUID-PARTICLE INTERACTION THROUGH DIRECT NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THE BJAM PROCESS. COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS (CFD) IS EMPLOYED TO SIMULATE THE FLUID PHASE AND A DISCRETE ELEMENT METHOD (DEM) APPROACH IS TAKEN TO RESOLVE THE PARTICLE DYNAMICS. THE TWO PHASES ARE COUPLED AND THE MOTION OF EACH MUST BE SOLVED SIMULTANEOUSLY. THE CFD ALGORITHM UTILIZES THE VOLUME OF FLUID (VOF) TECHNIQUE FOR CAPTURING MULTIFLUID FLOWS SEPARATED BY A DYNAMIC INTERFACE. | 2019-08-01 → 2022-12-31 | $191K |