{"project":{"acronym":"","projectId":5747,"title":"Mars Gashopper Airplane, Phase I","primaryTaxonomyNodes":[{"taxonomyNodeId":10724,"taxonomyRootId":8816,"parentNodeId":10721,"level":3,"code":"TX07.1.3","title":"Resource Processing for Production of Mission Consumables","definition":"This area covers resource processing technologies that produce mission consumables, such as water, breathable oxygen, inert gases, and propellants, from pre-processed resources.","exampleTechnologies":"Instruments and devices functioning in the relevant gravity environment including: thermal/mechanical components and reactors to extract end-product resources from inert materials (e.g. thermal reactors for volatile extraction from regolith); chemical, electrochemical, and biological materials, catalysts, components, and reactors to extract and combine resources to produce end-products (e.g. catalytic reactors to produce methane, electrolysis devices to produce oxygen, etc.); phase-change devices to extract or distill end-product gases from by-product recycling sources (e.g. cryocoolers for gas product drying); filtration and purification devices for meeting mission-critical end use requirements; crosscutting technologies for enhancing production system durability and reliability in harsh environments (e.g. dust tolerant seals and bearings); crosscutting technologies for utilizing sources of high-temperature thermal energy for process-heating (e.g. integrated solar concentrators); and models and simulations to identify and quantify opportunities for systemic reductions in power requirements and enhancements in durability and reliability for resource processing systems","hasChildren":false,"hasInteriorContent":true}],"description":"The Mars Gas Hopper Airplane, or \"gashopper\" is a novel concept for propulsion of a robust Mars flight and surface exploration vehicle that utilizes indigenous CO2 propellant to enable greatly enhanced mobility. The gashopper will first retrieve CO2 gas from the Martian environment to store it in liquid form at a pressure of about 10 bar. When enough CO2 is stored to make a substantial flight to another Mars site, a hot pellet bed is heated to ~1000 K and the CO2 propellant is warmed to ~300 K to pressurize the tank to ~65 bar. A valve is then opened, allowing the liquid CO2 to pass through the hot pellet bed that heats and gasifies the CO2 for propulsion. The hot gas is piped to a set of thrusters beneath the aircraft, allowing vertical takeoff, after which the gas is shunted off to a primary rearward pointing thruster to generate forward flight speed. The hot gas system is also used for attitude control and main propulsion during landing. The advantage of the gashopper is that it provides Mars exploration with a fully controllable aerial reconnaissance vehicle that can repeatedly land and explore surface sites as well.","startYear":2005,"startMonth":1,"endYear":2005,"endMonth":7,"statusDescription":"Completed","principalInvestigators":[{"contactId":406378,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Robert","lastName":"Zubrin","fullName":"Robert Zubrin","fullNameInverted":"Zubrin, Robert","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programDirectors":[{"contactId":206378,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Jason","lastName":"Kessler","fullName":"Jason L Kessler","fullNameInverted":"Kessler, Jason L","middleInitial":"L","primaryEmail":"jason.l.kessler@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programExecutives":[{"contactId":215154,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Jennifer","lastName":"Gustetic","fullName":"Jennifer L Gustetic","fullNameInverted":"Gustetic, Jennifer L","middleInitial":"L","primaryEmail":"jennifer.l.gustetic@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programManagers":[{"contactId":62051,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Carlos","lastName":"Torrez","fullName":"Carlos Torrez","fullNameInverted":"Torrez, Carlos","primaryEmail":"carlos.torrez@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"website":"","libraryItems":[],"transitions":[],"responsibleMd":{"acronym":"STMD","canUserEdit":false,"city":"","external":false,"linkCount":0,"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","naorganization":false,"organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"program":{"acronym":"SBIR/STTR","active":true,"description":"
The NASA SBIR and STTR programs fund the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs as described in the annual Solicitations and have significant potential for successful commercialization. If you are a small business concern (SBC) with 500 or fewer employees or a non-profit RI such as a university or a research laboratory with ties to an SBC, then NASA encourages you to learn more about the SBIR and STTR programs as a potential source of seed funding for the development of your innovations.
The SBIR and STTR programs have 3 phases:
The SBIR and STTR Phase I contracts last for 6 months with a maximum funding of $125,000, and Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum funding of $750,000 - $1.5 million.
Opportunity for Continued Technology Development Post-Phase II:
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program currently has in place two initiatives for supporting its small business partners past the basic Phase I and Phase II elements of the program that emphasize opportunities for commercialization. Specifically, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program has the Phase II Enhancement (Phase II-E) and Phase II eXpanded (Phase II-X) contract options.
Please review the links below to obtain more information on the SBIR/STTR programs.
Provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR programs as implemented by NASA
Provides access to the annual SBIR/STTR Solicitations containing detailed information on the program eligibility requirements, proposal instructions and research topics and subtopics
Schedule and links for the SBIR/STTR solicitations and selection announcements
Federal and non-Federal sources of assistance for small business
Search our complete archive of awarded project abstracts to learn about what NASA has funded
Still have questions? Visit the program FAQs
","programId":73,"responsibleMd":{"acronym":"STMD","canUserEdit":false,"city":"","external":false,"linkCount":0,"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","naorganization":false,"organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"responsibleMdId":4875,"stockImageFileId":36648,"title":"Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer"},"leadOrganization":{"acronym":"LaRC","canUserEdit":false,"city":"Hampton","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"external":false,"linkCount":0,"organizationId":4852,"organizationName":"Langley Research Center","organizationType":"NASA_Center","stateTerritory":{"abbreviation":"VA","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"Virginia","stateTerritoryId":7},"stateTerritoryId":7,"naorganization":false,"organizationTypePretty":"NASA Center"},"supportingOrganizations":[{"canUserEdit":false,"city":"Lakewood","congressionalDistrict":"Colorado 07","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"external":true,"linkCount":0,"organizationId":2602,"organizationName":"Pioneer Astronautics","organizationType":"Industry","stateTerritory":{"abbreviation":"CO","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"Colorado","stateTerritoryId":15},"stateTerritoryId":15,"ein":"042657707 ","dunsNumber":"120561456","uei":"K4K5TTXNDSM3","naorganization":false,"organizationTypePretty":"Industry"}],"statesWithWork":[{"abbreviation":"CO","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"Colorado","stateTerritoryId":15},{"abbreviation":"VA","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"Virginia","stateTerritoryId":7}],"lastUpdated":"2018-10-10","releaseStatusString":"Released","viewCount":503,"endDateString":"Jul 2005","startDateString":"Jan 2005"}}