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USSF Awards University Consortium Research Opportunity 2.0
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By NASA
Credit: NASA NASA, on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has selected Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio to build three coronagraphs for the Lagrange 1 Series project, part of NOAA’s Space Weather Next program.
Once operational, the coronagraphs will provide critical data to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, which issues forecasts, warnings, and alerts that help mitigate space weather impacts, including electric power outages and interruption to communications and navigation systems.
This cost-plus-fixed-fee contract is valued at approximately $60 million, and the anticipated period of performance is from this November through January 2034, concluding after launch of the second coronagraph aboard a NOAA spacecraft. The third coronagraph will be delivered as a flight spare.
This contract award marks a transfer of coronagraph development from the government to the U.S. commercial sector. The contract scope includes design, analysis, development, fabrication, integration, test, verification, and evaluation of the coronagraphs; launch support; supply and maintenance of ground support equipment; and support of post-launch instrument operations at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility. The work will take place at Southwest Research Institute’s facility in San Antonio.
The coronagraphs will observe the density structure of the Sun’s faint outermost atmosphere — the corona — and will detect Earth-directed coronal mass ejections shortly after they erupt, providing the longest possible lead time for geomagnetic storm watches. With this forewarning, public and private organizations affected by space weather can take actions to protect their assets. The coronagraphs will also provide data continuity from the Space Weather follow-on Lagrange 1 mission.
NASA and NOAA oversee the development, launch, testing and operation of all the satellites in the project. NOAA is the program owner providing the requirements and funding along with managing the program, operations, data products, and dissemination to users. NASA and its commercial partners develop and build the instruments, spacecraft, and provide launch services on behalf of NOAA.
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov
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Abbey Donaldson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
Abbey.a.donaldson@nasa.gov
Jeremy Eggers
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
757-824-2958
jeremy.l.eggers@nasa.gov
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By NASA
5 Min Read Wearable Tech for Space Station Research
A wearable monitoring device is visible on the left wrist of NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps. Credits: NASA Science in Space Nov 2024
Many of us wear devices that count our steps, measure our heart rate, track sleep patterns, and more. This information can help us make healthy decisions – research shows the devices encourage people to move more, for example – and could flag possible problems, such as an irregular heartbeat.
Wearable monitors also have become common tools for research on human health, including studies on the International Space Station. Astronauts have worn special watches, headbands, vests, and other devices to help scientists examine sleep quality, effectiveness of exercise, heart health, and more.
Warm to the core
Spaceflight can affect body temperature regulation and daily rhythms due to factors such as the absence of convection (a natural process that transfers heat away from the body) and changes in the cardiovascular and metabolic systems.
A current investigation from ESA (European Space Agency), Thermo-Mini or T-Mini examines how the body regulates its core temperature during spaceflight. The study uses a non-invasive headband monitor that astronauts can wear for hours at a time. Data from the monitor allow researchers to determine the effect on body temperature from environmental and physiological factors such as room temperature and humidity, time of day, and physical stress. The same type of sensor already is used on Earth for research in clinical environments, such as improving incubators, and studies of how hotter environments affect human health.
Thermolab, an earlier ESA investigation, examined thermoregulatory and cardiovascular adaptations during rest and exercise in microgravity. Researchers found that core body temperature rises higher and faster during exercise in space than on Earth and that the increase was sustained during rest, a phenomenon that could affect the health of crew members on long-term spaceflight. The finding also raises questions about the thermoregulatory set point humans are assumed to have as well as our ability to adapt to climate change on Earth.
NASA astronaut Nick Hague wears the T-mini device while exercising.NASA To sleep, perchance to dream
Spaceflight is known to disrupt sleep-wake patterns. Actiwatch Spectrum, a device worn on the wrist, contains an accelerometer to measure motion and photodetectors to monitor ambient lighting. It is an upgrade of previous technology used on the space station to monitor the length and quality of crew member sleep. Data from earlier missions show that crew members slept significantly less during spaceflight than before and after. The Actiwatch Sleep-Long investigation used an earlier version of the device to examine how ambient light affects the sleep-wake cycle and found an association between sleep deficiency and changes during spaceflight in circadian patterns, or the body’s response to a normal 24-hour light and dark cycle. Follow up studies are testing lighting systems to address these effects and help astronauts maintain healthy circadian rhythms.
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams wears an Actiwatch as she conducts research.NASA Wearable Monitoring tested a lightweight vest with embedded sensors to monitor heart rate and breathing patterns during sleep and help determine whether changes in heart activity affect sleep quality. The technology offers a significant advantage by monitoring heart activity without waking the test subject and could help patients on Earth with sleep disorders. Researchers reported positive performance and good quality of recorded signals, suggesting that the vest can contribute to comprehensive monitoring of individual health on future spaceflight and in some settings on Earth as well.
These and other studies support development of countermeasures to improve sleep for crew members, helping to maintain alertness and lessen fatigue during missions.
(Not) waiting to exhale
Humans exhale carbon dioxide and too much of it can build up in closed environments, causing headaches, dizziness, and other symptoms. Spacecraft have systems to remove this substance from cabin air, but pockets of carbon dioxide can form and be difficult to detect and remove. Personal CO2 Monitor tested specially designed sensors attached to clothing to monitor the wearer’s immediate surroundings. Researchers reported that the devices functioned adequately as either crew-worn or static monitors, an important step toward using them to determine how carbon dioxide behaves in enclosed systems like spacecraft.
One of the wearable carbon dioxide monitors clipped to the wall near a crew sleeping compartment. Radiation in real time
EVARM, an investigation from CSA (Canadian Space Agency), used small wireless dosimeters carried in a pocket to measure radiation exposure during spacewalks. The data showed that this method is a feasible way to measure radiation exposure, which could help focus routine dosage monitoring where it is most needed. Any shielding and countermeasures developed also could help protect people who work in high-radiation areas on Earth.
ESA’s Active Dosimeter tested a radiation dosimeter worn by crew members to measure changes in their exposure over time based on the space station’s orbit and altitude, the solar cycle, and solar flares. Measurements from the device allowed researchers to analyze radiation dosage across an entire space mission.
ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet holds one of the mobile units for the Active Dosimeter study.NASA The Active Dosimeter also was among the instruments used to measure radiation on NASA’s Orion spacecraft during its 25.5-day uncrewed Artemis I mission around the Moon and back in 2022.
Another device tested on the space station and then on Artemis I, AstroRad Vest is designed to protect astronauts from solar particle events. Researchers used these and other radiation measuring devices to show that Orion’s design can protect its crew from potentially hazardous radiation levels during lunar missions.
The International Space Station serves as an important testbed for these technologies and many others being developed for future missions to the Moon and beyond.
Melissa Gaskill
International Space Station Research Communications Team
Johnson Space Center
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By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA provides a variety of pathways for those outside the agency to contribute to authentic and meaningful research. Whether you’re a student pursuing a degree in STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics), an educator looking for new ways to engage your classroom, or a citizen scientist enthusiastic about sharing your observations, there’s a wide array of opportunities to get involved in NASA research.
Citizen scientists around the world participate in environmental observation and measurement efforts through GLOBE.NASA Everybody
People from all around the world can make contributions to NASA research through citizen science projects and other opportunities available to the public.
Share your observations and take measurements in your part of the world through GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment), an international science and education initiative that engages students, teachers, and the public in collecting and analyzing environmental data. Do you have a relevant idea for human health science research that could be performed on the future Gateway lunar space station? Follow these steps to share your idea for consideration. The Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing program through NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate invites citizen scientists to develop innovations in recycling material waste on deep space missions, develop aids/devices for navigating on the lunar surface during future Artemis missions, and more. Do you have the “right stuff” to participate in a simulated deep space mission? NASA’s HERA (the Human Exploration Research Analog) is seeking healthy subjects to participate in 45-day simulations to study the physiological and psychological effects of isolation and confinement on humans to help prepare for future missions to the Moon and Mars. Visit the NASA Citizen Science webpage for more opportunities to discover the secrets of the universe, search for life elsewhere, and improve life on Earth and in space. This collage features the winning designs in the 2024 Dream with Us Design Challenge, which asks students to dream of innovations for the future of aviation.NASA Middle and High School Students
Students can gain valuable experience while making a difference in the future of aeronautics and exploration.
Rising high school juniors and seniors are eligible to apply for the four-week Gene Lab for High School Students training program sponsored by NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. The program focuses on collecting and analyzing complex biological data such as genetic codes, and computational biology. Through the annual TechRise Student Challenge offered by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, U.S. students in grades 6 to 12 form teams and design an experiment to fly on a suborbital flight platform such as a high-altitude balloon. Interested in aviation? The Dream With Us Design Challenge through NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate invites students in grades 6 to 12 to envision new innovations that will improve the safety, sustainability, and accessibility of aviation systems and technology. Through NASA internships, U.S. students ages 16 and up can boost their research experience and contribute to NASA’s work with the guidance of an agency mentor. This collage features the winning designs in the 2024 Dream with Us Design Challenge, which asks students to dream of innovations for the future of aviation.NASA Undergraduate and Graduate Students
NASA offers a variety of research opportunities for college students preparing to launch their own exciting careers in STEM.
NASA’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) grants competitive awards to enable college and university students within specific U.S. jurisdictions to participate in cutting-edge research projects that address NASA’s challenges and needs. The National Space Grant College and Fellowship Project (Space Grant), is a national network of colleges and universities comprising a total of 52 consortia across the U.S. These consortia fund several research opportunities for students attending member colleges and universities. Look up your state’s Space Grant consortium website to discover available opportunities. NASA internships are available in a wide range of opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, enabling meaningful contributions to NASA’s missions as well as authentic experience as a part of the agency’s world-class workforce. Through the University Student Research Challenge, students are invited to propose their ideas describing innovative new approaches to tackling one of six major research areas as outlined by NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. Students can take part in valuable studies of the ever-changing Earth system through NASA’s Earth Science Division’s Early Career Research (ECR) program. ECR includes the eight-week Student Airborne Research Program, the Climate Change Research Initiative, and more. College students at Minority Serving Institutions can contribute to the agency’s exploration goals through many opportunities offered by NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP). Educators of grades K-8 take part in a workshop hosted by NASA’s Next Gen STEM.NASA Educators
NASA provides opportunities for educators to participate in authentic aerospace research, as well as to engage their students in research in the classroom.
Space Grant offers a variety of opportunities for educators, from curriculum enhancement and faculty development to grants enabling teachers to bring NASA research into the classroom. Look up your state’s Space Grant consortium website to discover available opportunities. NASA welcomes interns with professional teaching experience to help foster the education and curiosity of students who will shape the future workforce. Visit NASA Internships to learn more and find current opportunities. Through NASA’s Climate Change Research Initiative, part of the agency’s Earth Science Division’s Early Career Research Program, high school STEM educators can join a research team led by NASA scientists to focus on a research area related to climate change. There’s More to Explore
Explore available NASA STEM learning experiences, such as internship roles, student competitions, or engagements with NASA researchers, through NASA’s STEM Gateway platform. Visit NASA’s Learning Resources webpage for the latest news and resources from the agency’s Office of STEM Engagement.
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By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Candeska Cikana Community College uses selective laser sintering, a type of 3D-printing in which heat and pressure form specific structures using layers of powdered material. Shown here, a student works to remove excess material, in this case a powdered form of nylon with carbon fibers, to reveal a prototype of the “Mapi Hapa,” or “sky shoe.” Candeska Cikana Community College Human exploration on the lunar surface is no small feat. It requires technologists and innovators from all walks of life to tackle many challenges, including feet.
From designing astronaut boots, addressing hazardous Moon dust, and researching new ways to land on Mars, NASA is funding valuable research through M-STAR (Minority University Research and Education Project’s (MUREP) Space Technology Artemis Research). The M-STAR program provides opportunities for students and faculty at Minority Serving Institutions to participate in space technology development through capacity building and research grants. With more than $11.5 million awarded since 2020, M-STAR aims to ensure NASA isn’t leaving any potential solution behind.
Best Foot Forward
Nicholas Bitner from Candeska Cikana Community College, left, and Jesse Rhoades from the University of North Dakota (UND), right, are pictured in UND’s BiPed lab, where their students test and capture motion data for the Mapi Hapa. Walter Criswell, UND Today Supportive boots are required for astronauts who will perform long duration Artemis missions on the Moon. With astronaut foot health in mind, students and faculty of North Dakota’s Candeska Cikana Community College in Fort Totten and the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks are designing a solution for extravehicular activity Moon boots. The project, called Mapi Hapa, proposes a 3D printed device that helps astronauts achieve the range of motion that takes place in the ankle when you draw your toe back towards the shin.
Candeska Cikana Community College is a tribal college that serves the Spirit Lake Nation, including the Dakota, Lakota, Sisseton, Wahpeton, and Yanktonai peoples.
Nicholas Bitner, an instructor at Candeska Cikana and graduate student at the University of North Dakota, notes the unique skills that tribal students possess. “Their perspective, which is unlike that of any other student body, thrives on building with their hands and taking time to make decisions.”
Bitner also attributes many opportunities and successes of their program to M-STAR and its partnership which exemplifies the dire importance of consistent funding.
“Given the relationships, we have been able to expand our capabilities and our lab, but it has also given us funding. We were able to hire all our students in the engineering department as lab technicians. So, they get paid to do the research that they are a part of, and not only do they have that psychological ownership, but they also have a good paying job that looks nice on their resumes.”
In addition to addressing astronaut foot health, M-STAR funding is helping develop solutions to combat lunar regolith, or Moon dust, which can damage landers, spacesuits, and human lungs, if inhaled.
Lunar Dust Development
With M-STAR, New Mexico State University in Las Cruces developed affordable, reliable lunar regolith simulants to help test lunar surface technologies. The team also designed testing facilities that mimic environmental conditions on the Moon.
New Mexico State has already started sharing their simulants, including with a fellow M-STAR awardee. An M-STAR project selected in 2023 from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne uses the simulants to help test their experience in smart agriculture to test applications for crop production on the Moon.
University of Maryland, Eastern Shore explores the possibility of growing crops in lunar regolith by mixing varying proportions of lunar regolith simulant, horse manure, and potting soil. The lunar regolith simulant was provided by fellow M-STAR awardee at New Mexico State University in in Las Cruces.Stephanie Yeldell/NASA Douglas Cortez, associate professor in civil engineering at New Mexico State, believes different perspectives are essential to maximizing solutions.
“There are hundreds of people working at Minority Serving Institutions that are used to looking at the world in a completely different way,” said Cortez. “When they start looking at the same problem and parameters, they come up with very different solutions.”
As we look to sustainable presence on the Moon, NASA also has its sights set on Mars and M-STAR is helping develop technologies to inform crewed Martian exploration.
Stick the Landing
San Diego State University in California was awarded funding for research on Mars entry, descent, and landing technologies. The team aims to achieve optimal trajectory by developing onboard algorithms that guide vehicles to descent autonomously.
The M-STAR research opportunities have been invaluable to students like Chris Davami and his teammates working to develop improved methods to land on Mars.
Christopher Davami, who supported San Diego State University’s 2021 M-STAR project, is pictured here at NASA’s Langley Research Center, where he was selected for internships supporting research in aeroelasticity, atmospheric flight, and entry systems research.NASA “I would definitely not have been able to have these opportunities with NASA if it weren’t for M-STAR,” said Davami. “M-STAR helped pay for my education, which helped me save a lot in student loans. I probably wouldn’t be going to graduate school right now if I did not have this opportunity. This program enabled me to keep pursuing my research and continue doing what I love.”
Following his contributions to the M-STAR-funded project, Davami was awarded a NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunity in 2023 on his work in autonomous end-to-end trajectory planning and guidance constrained entry and precision power decent.
Through efforts like M-STAR, NASA aims to seed the future workforce and prepare colleges and universities to win other NASA research opportunities. When it comes to the advancement of space technology, people of different backgrounds and skillsets are needed to achieve what was once known as impossible. Not only can the diversification of ideas spark fundamental innovations in space, but it can also help students apply these technological advancements to solving problems here on Earth.
To learn more about M-STAR visit:
https://go.nasa.gov/442k76s
by: Gabrielle Thaw, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate
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By NASA
Credit: NASA NASA has awarded the Custodial and Refuse/Recycle Services contract to Ahtna Integrated Services LLC of Anchorage, Alaska, to provide trash, waste, and recycling services at the agency’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
This is a hybrid contract that includes a firm-fixed-price and an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity portion. The period of performance begins Friday, Nov. 1, with a 60-day phase-in period, followed by a one-year base period, and options to extend performance through November 2029. This contract has a maximum potential value of approximately $24 million.
Under this contract, the company will perform basic, regularly scheduled custodial and refuse and recycling services at NASA Ames. The company will focus on health and safety, environmental compliance, sanitary cleaning, and customer service.
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
https://nasa.gov
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Hillary Smith
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-313-1701
Hillary.smith@nasa.gov
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