[meteorite-list] NASA Selects Early Stage Innovation Proposals from 10 Universities

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 12:28:02 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201309251928.r8PJS2aH029402_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

September 25, 2013

David E. Steitz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1730
david.steitz at nasa.gov
     
RELEASE 13-295
     
NASA Selects Early Stage Innovation Proposals from 10 Universities

NASA has selected 10 university-led proposals for study of innovative, early
stage space technologies that address high priority technical needs America's
space program must master to enable future missions.

The one-year grants from NASA's Space Technology Research Grants Program are
worth about $250,000 each, with an additional year of research possible.
Selected proposals address technology challenges that may improve
astrophysics scientific instruments, oxygen recovery for space life support
systems, cryogenic propellant storage for long-duration space exploration,
our identification, characterization and protection from near-Earth
asteroids.

"A critical element of America's space technology pipeline rests in the
cutting edge research in the early stage technologies conducted at the
nation's universities," said NASA's Associate Administrator for Space
Technology, Michael Gazarik, in Washington. "Through this investment NASA
will continue to benefit from university-led R and D."

The selected technology research areas require dramatic improvements over
existing capabilities for future science and human exploration missions.
Early stage, or low technology readiness level, technologies could mature
into tools that solve the difficult challenges facing future NASA missions.

Universities selected for NASA's early stage innovation grants and the titles
of their proposals are:

- Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore; "Detection, tracking, and
identification of asteroids through on-board image analysis"
- Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Mich.; "A new experiment for
determining evaporation and condensation coefficients of cryogenic
propellants and development of an efficient computational model of cryogenic
film stability in microgravity"
- Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.; "Broadband electrically tunable
monolithic mid-infrared laser"
- Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind.; "Innovations in understanding and
modeling cryogenic propellants for long-duration spaceflight"
- University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; "Asynchronous A/D converter for in
situ instruments operating under extreme environments"
- University of Colorado, Boulder; "Comprehensive modeling of the effects of
hazardous asteroid mitigation techniques"
- University of Florida, Gainesville; "Bio-inspired broadband antireflection
coatings at long wavelengths for space applications"
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; "Broad bandwidth metamaterial
antireflection coatings for measurement of the cosmic microwave background"
- University of South Carolina, Columbia; "Oxygen recovery via carbon dioxide
electrolysis with microtubular solid oxide cells"
- University of Utah, Salt Lake City; "A lightweight compact multi-spectral
imager using novel computer-generated micro-optics and spectral-extraction
algorithms"

The selected efforts will explore new science instrument technologies to
better understand the history, climates, evidence of past life and future
potential habitability of planets and moons within our solar system.

Researchers will investigate advances in optics technologies. These could
enable the challenging science measurements that may contribute to the
understanding of the first moments of the universe, the characterization of
galaxy evolution over time and the characterization of newly found
exoplanets, which are planets outside our solar system.

Researchers also will explore technologies that are needed for future long
duration human space exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, including
improvements in the recovery of oxygen from carbon dioxide, as well as
greatly increasing the capability to store and transfer cryogenic fluids in a
zero gravity environment.

In addition, researchers will develop technologies to better understand and
protect our planet from near-Earth asteroids. Advancing early stage
technologies will help with characterizing, understanding, and planning how
to mitigate the threat of near-Earth asteroids.

The selected areas address high-priority technical needs described in the
agency's 14 Space Technology Roadmaps and reflect the National Research
Council's review of these roadmaps.

Second year funding for these grants will be contingent on technical progress
and the availability of appropriated funds.

NASA's Space Technology Research Grants Program is designed to accelerate the
development of technologies originating from academia that support the future
science and exploration needs of NASA, other government agencies and American
industry. The program is part of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate,
which is innovating, developing, testing, and flying technology for use in
NASA's future missions and the greater aerospace community.

For more information about Space Technology Mission Directorate, as well as a
complete list of selected proposals, including principal investigators,
visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/16tPCjJ

-end-
Received on Wed 25 Sep 2013 03:28:02 PM PDT