1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) ECF 2024 Quadchart Yang.pdf Shuolong Yang University of Chicago This effort will leverage the latest developments in superconductors to build a power transmission cable that can operate in the extreme cold temperatures found on the Moon with very low electrical losses. The team will use novel manufacturing techniques to grow alternating layers of FeSe SrTiO3 films onto a substrate and the resulting, superconducting tape can be fashioned into electrical transmission lines. The project will culminate with a demonstration 1-meter-long…
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Power on the Dark Side: Stimulus-Responsive Adsorbents for Low-Energy Controlled Storage and Delivery of Low Boiling Fuels to Mobile Assets in Permanently Shaded Regions
1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) ECF 2024 Quadchart McGuirk.pdf Christopher McGuirk Colorado School of Mines This project will investigate and develop improved storage methods for the fuels needed to generate electrical power in places where sunlight is not available. The effort will focus on particularly tailored materials called Metal Oxide Frameworks, or MOFs, that can be used to store methane and oxygen. The methane and oxygen can be reacted in a solid oxide fuel cell to generate electricity, and storing them in a MOF…
Read MorePiezoelectric-Based Power Conversion for Lunar Surface Systems
1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) ECF 2024 Quadchart Boles.pdf Jessica Boles University of California, Berkeley This project will develop piezoelectric-based power conversion for small power systems on the lunar surface. These piezoelectric systems can potentially offer high power density to significantly reduce size, weight, and cost. They can also offer high efficiency as well as resistance to the extreme lunar environment with its expected prolonged exposure to extreme cold and radiation. The effort will build and test prototype piezoelectric DC-to-DC power converters and DC-to-DC…
Read MoreLightweight Deployable Solar Reflectors
1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) ECF 2024 Quadchart Arya.pdf Manan Arya Stanford University This grant will design and develop lightweight, low-cost modular solar reflectors that can be stowed for transport in a compact volume. These reflectors can potentially be used to reflect and concentrate sunlight into a permanently shadowed area of the Moon where it could power photovoltaics. These reflectors could also potentially be used for concentrated photovoltaics for deep-space missions, solar thermal propulsion, or for thermal mining. The team will use recently developed…
Read MoreMetamaterial Particles for Orbital Environment Remediation
1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Davide Guzzetti Auburn University ECF 2023 Quadchart Guzzetti.pdf Professor Guzzetti will study and design small metamaterial particles which can be predictably moved by forces that exist on orbit like the Earth’s magnetic field or heat flux. These Programmable Metamaterial Particle Ensembles (PMPEs) could be deployed as dust clouds and used to deorbit small (<1cm), orbital debris. Back to ECF 2023 Full List
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