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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 145 records · Page 8

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NASA NTRS2021

Instrument Thermal Management for Lunar Night Survival without Radioisotopes

This paper summarizes the technology development progress on two JPL projects focused on developing thermal designs/technologies that enable lunar instrument overnight survival without radioisotopes. Through an internal project known as ARTEMIS, JPL has developed lunar night survivable designs for magnetometer, seismometer, and IR spectrometer science payloads (SPs). These designs incorporate four hyper-isolative thermal management features under development on the NASA GCD-funded PALETTE project: (a) a dual enclosure system with high strength, low k tension cable (TC) supports and a variable conductance thermal link (VCTL) composed of a reverse-operation DTE thermal switch (ROD-TSW) in series with a miniaturized loop heat pipe (mini-LHP); (b) a parabolic reflector radiator (PRR) for low-to-mid latitude lunar sites; (c) ultra-low e* “spacerless” MLI, in which individual layers are hung from the TC supports; and (d) ultra-low G thermal isolators made with polymeric material or polymer/TC assemblies. Each instrument design incorporates solar panels, batteries, telecom, C&DH, and other features necessary for self-sufficient, extended-duration operation on the lunar surface. This paper will provide an overview of the ARTEMIS and PALETTE projects and provide a top-level description of the instrument thermal management approach.

Lin, Ying↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Surviving Night at the Lunar South Pole: Exploring Viability of Radioisotope Power Systems for a Crewed Rover

Spacecraft thermal environments tend to be extreme, and the lunar surface is no exception. Future lunar missions aim to explore the lunar south pole region, focusing on permanently shadowed region (PSRs) that may act as cold traps for volatile elements such as hydrogen. By careful selection of landing sites, the longest continuous period devoid of insolation near these PSRs can be reduced significantly from the maximum of 354 hours. Future NASA missions aim to allow exploration of PSRs with a crewed lunar rover. Program architectures may impose a requirement that the vehicle be able to survive repeated lunar nights. Surface temperatures at southern latitudes can be lower than 100K during night, causing significant energy demands heating components above keep-alive temperatures. This adversely affects lunar programs which are heavily mass-constrained. A technical exploration of various radioisotope power systems and their viability, benefits, and drawbacks was completed. An analysis was also performed examining potential vehicular mass reduction and increased lunar night survivability due to the inclusion of radioisotope power sources. The results of this analysis were compared to a baseline non-nuclear vehicle utilizing only batteries and solar arrays for energy storage.

radioisotope↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Gene Expression of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Crew Members During Long-Duration Space Missions Indicate Dysregulation of Immunological and Cell Survival Mechanisms

Lymphocytes are naturally exposed to genotoxic stresses. DNA damage occurs during the entire lymphocyte’s life span and is induced mainly by reactive oxygen species (ROS), replication fork collapse, or telomere shortening during the immune response or intense cell proliferation phases. Strong evidence for the influence of immune function on DNA repair comes from studies of SCID disease. SCID mice not only have a deficient V(D)J recombination but are also unable to repair double strand breaks, leading to increased radiation sensitivity. The leukocytes’ transcriptome of 8 ISS crew members revels a dysregulated immune function and activation of cellular survival pathways in response to space environment. We have performed PCR analysis in peripheral mononuclear cells from the same crew members. A list of 62 genes were carefully selected addressing immunological and cell survival pathways. Differentially expressed genes indicated changes in chemokine receptor activity, chemokine binding, toll-like receptors, adhesion molecules and cellular response to DNA damage.

Maria Moreno-Villanueva↗

NASA NTRS2024

Gene Expression of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Crew Members During Long-Duration Space Missions Indicate Dysregulation of Immunological and Cell Survival Mechanisms

María Moreno-Villanueva↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Cryogenically-Operable Electronics for Surviving the Lunar Night

Current solar-powered robotic lunar landers and rovers have not demonstrated survivability of the extreme cold temperatures seen during the 354-hour lunar night. To address this capability gap, we have been investigating the feasibility of a passive hibernation approach to enable low-cost solar- and battery-powered missions to operate over multiple lunar cycles. This strategy relies on isolating the batteries from the main bus during the lunar night and allowing cells to freeze as temperatures descend as low as 50K. The entire power architecture remains in a hibernation state with no electrical activity until lunar dawn. When the sun returns over the horizon, the now-illuminated solar arrays begin generating power. In order to manage the array power, architecture consisting of cryogenically-operable COTS electronics must be utilized. This architecture will distribute and control power to subsystems - importantly controlling heaters to bring the frozen lithium-ion battery cells to normal operating conditions. This alternative approach to lunar operations will enable low-cost commercial lunar landers and payloads to passively survive the night and continue to operate over multiple lunar cycles without a significant impact to cost or payload mass. Research last year focused on creating a power supply that was capable of operation at cryogenic temperatures. At the end of FY23, our team successfully designed and manufactured a Sequential Switching Shunt Regulator (S3R) that is operational in a cryogenic vacuum chamber. It is capable of full operation down to the coldest lunar night temperatures (~50K). Our presentation will provide an overview of the Lunar Hibernation strategy but will focus mainly on the technical details of this cryogenically-operable shunt regulator and test results.

Cryogenic↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Survivability of NASA’s 10k RDRE

Rotating detonation rocket engines (RDRE) have widespread global industry and academic interest. Lessons learned in survivability is critical to furthering this technology. To support RDRE development, NASA hot-fire tested several 10k lbf thrust class thrust chamber assemblies with various propellent combinations including liquid oxygen/ liquid methane, liquid oxygen/ liquid hydrogen, and liquid oxygen/RP-1. The thrust chamber assemblies include injectors, inner bodies, and outer bodies that were additively manufactured (AM) laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) GRCop-42. This paper will cover hardware damage identified in the 2023 and 2024 RDRE testing campaigns and lessons learned to improve survivability for future RDREs. Particularly notable were the findings concerning the number of detonation waves formed and their effects on the bolted interface and its sealing.

Tessa M. Fedotowsky↗

NASA NTRS1961