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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Research into phase-change material (PCM) options for NASA helped one of the researchers find the ideal material to use in a mug that maintains the ideal temperature of a hot beverage for hours. ThermAvant International now offers mugs and tumblers.Credit: ThermAvant International LLC Dr. Hongbin Ma was tired of drinking coffee that had gone cold. Fortunately, Ma, the CEO of ThermAvant Technologies LLC in Columbia, Missouri, was working on a NASA-funded study of phase-change materials, which are used to hold a steady temperature. Materials absorb or release more heat as they transition from solid to liquid or vice versa than they do before or after this phase change.
NASA has long used phase-changing materials to manage temperature extremes in space. The Apollo lunar rover, International Space Station, Orion capsule, and headlights on the newest spacesuit design all utilize phase-change material. As part of his NASA-funded research, Ma tested and recommended a phase-change material that could be used in a spacesuit-cooling system, a modified version of those used in spacecraft.
A phase-change material needs to transition at the desired temperature, but it also needs to be safe. Paraffin wax and refrigerants are effective but are toxic to humans, which would make a leak hazardous. Ma’s team ultimately recommended a bio-based option for spacesuits.
Bio-based waxes also proved to be the perfect solution for maintaining optimal temperature for coffee. In this case, it was a beeswax-like soy substance. Ma’s company, ThermAvant Technologies, took the opportunity to infuse the bio-based waxes into a product on Earth.
A phase-change heat exchanger like this one uses uses a PCM that will help maintain a comfortable temperature in the Orion spacecraft. NASA-funded research into spacesuit material alternatives helped ThermAvant International LLC develop the Burnout thermal mug for coffee. Credit: NASA Released in 2018, the Burnout Mug is vacuum insulated with the wax called HeatZorb, sealed between the inner and outer shells. The wax is formulated to maintain the ideal temperature for hot drinks over time. As soon as hot liquid goes in, the wax absorbs excess heat and melts, resulting in a drinkable temperature in just a few moments. As the coffee starts to cool, that stored heat is released back into it.
The company is developing other uses for the same technology to meet unique needs in the medical field. Two in development are a small insulin container and a donor organ transportation box – both of which rely on specific, controlled temperatures. From hot beverages to life-saving medical equipment, NASA’s research continues to drive innovation across industries.
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By NASA
On Sept. 9 and 10, scientists and engineers tested NASA’s LEMS (Lunar Environment Monitoring Station) instrument suite in a “sandbox” of simulated Moon regolith at the Florida Space Institute’s Exolith Lab at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
Lunar regolith is a dusty, soil-like material that coats the Moon’s surface, and researchers wanted to observe how the material would interact with LEMS’s hardware, which is being developed to fly to the Moon with Artemis III astronauts in late 2026.
Designed and built at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, LEMS is one of three science payloads chosen for development for Artemis III, which will be the first mission to land astronauts on the lunar surface since 1972.
The LEMS instrument package can operate both day and night. It will carry two University of Arizona-built seismometers to the surface to perform long-term monitoring for moonquakes and meteorite impacts.
Image credits: NASA/UCF/University of Arizona
Behind the Scenes of a NASA ‘Moonwalk’ in the Arizona Desert
NASA’s Artemis II Crew Uses Iceland Terrain for Lunar Training
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By Space Force
Dalton emphasized women are one of the U.S.’ competitive advantages as she took attendees on a journey through multiple Airmen and Guardians’ careers and their impacts on real-world operations.
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By NASA
NASA has awarded a contract extension to Stanford University, California, to continue the mission and services for the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) instrument on the agency’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO).
The cost-reimbursement, no fee contract extension provides for support, operation, and calibration of the HMI instrument, which is one of three main instruments on SDO. In addition, the extension provides for operating and maintaining the Joint Science Operations Center – Science Data Processing facility at Stanford as well as the HMI team’s support for Heliophysics System Observatory science.
The period of performance for the extension runs Tuesday, Oct. 1, through Sept. 30, 2027. The extension increases the total contract value for HMI services by about $12.5 million — from $173.84 million to $186.34 million.
SDO’s mission is to help advance our understanding of the Sun’s influence on Earth and near-Earth space by studying how the star changes over time and how solar activity is created. Understanding the solar environment and how it drives space weather is vital to protecting ground and space-based infrastructure as well as NASA’s efforts to establish a sustainable presence on the Moon with Artemis. The study of the Sun also teaches us more about how stars contribute to the habitability of planets throughout the universe.
The SDO mission launched in February 2010 with science operations beginning in May of that year. The HMI instrument on SDO studies oscillations and the magnetic field at the solar surface, or photosphere.
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/
Jeremy Eggers
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
757-824-2958
jeremy.l.eggers@nasa.gov
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