[meteorite-list] NASA, Partners Solicit Creative Materials Manufacturing Solutions

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:46:17 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201304262046.r3QKkHxR000838_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

April 26, 2013

Joshua Buck
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
jbuck at nasa.gov

RELEASE: 13-123

NASA, PARTNERS SOLICIT CREATIVE MATERIALS MANUFACTURING SOLUTIONS

WASHINGTON -- NASA, the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID), the U.S. State Department and Nike have issued a challenge
to identify 10 game-changing innovations that could enable fabric
systems to enhance global economic growth, drives human prosperity
and replenishes the planet's resources.

The challenge is open through July 15 and seeks creative innovations
in the materials from which fabrics are made, with a focus on
positive social and environmental impact in space and on Earth. Ten
innovators will be selected to present their fabrics solutions at the
LAUNCH: System Challenge 2013 forum, which NASA will host Sept. 26-28
at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Fabrics, and the materials from which they are made, are important for
designing new spacecraft and spacesuits that will protect astronauts
as they venture to destinations farther than they have been before.
Innovations presented at the LAUNCH: System Challenge 2013 forum may
lead to new, stronger, lighter and more affordable fabrics that will
benefit NASA as it sends humans deeper into our solar system.

Spacecraft traveling to destinations beyond low-Earth orbit, such as
an asteroid or Mars, will need stronger materials to protect
astronauts from galactic radiation. Likewise, when astronauts are
outside their spacecraft exploring an asteroid or the Martian
surface, they will need new, stronger, more durable and more flexible
spacesuits.

NASA and the LAUNCH Council, which is made up of thought leaders
representing a diverse and collaborative body of entrepreneurs,
scientists, engineers, government, media and business, will
participate in the forum and help guide these innovations forward.
The selected LAUNCH innovators will receive networking and mentoring
opportunities from influential business and government leaders, as
well as portfolio presentations.

Previous LAUNCH forums have focused on water, health, energy and waste
management. These forums resulted in innovations, including
technology that enables irrigation using brackish, saline and
polluted water; a biodegradable needle that can deliver vaccines or
medicine under the skin using a pressure device; a tiny holographic
microscope attached to a cell phone that can detect parasites and
bacteria in blood and water in remote locations; a handheld
lab-in-a-box that diagnoses a variety of diseases in a matter of
minutes; a modular, flexible smart-grid distribution technology to
provide access to power for those in need; and a simple, affordable
fuel cell that converts biomass directly to electricity.

NASA invests in technologies to create a better future, and those
investments pay off here on Earth, creating new jobs and improving
lives. LAUNCH was created to identify, showcase and support
innovative approaches to global sustainability challenges. LAUNCH
searches for visionaries whose ideas, technologies or programs show
great promise for making tangible impacts on society in the developed
and developing worlds.

For more information about LAUNCH: System Challenge 2013 and how to
enter the challenge, visit:

http://www.launch.org/challenges/systems-2013

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

-end-
Received on Fri 26 Apr 2013 04:46:17 PM PDT