{"project":{"acronym":"","projectId":6882,"title":"Sealing Technologies for Repetitive Use in Abrasive, Electrostatic, High Vacuum Environments, Phase I","primaryTaxonomyNodes":[{"taxonomyNodeId":10731,"taxonomyRootId":8816,"parentNodeId":10726,"level":3,"code":"TX07.2.5","title":"Particulate Contamination Prevention and Mitigation","definition":"Particulate contamination prevention and mitigation provides a layered engineering defense that incorporates technologies for contamination prevention, exterior cleaning and protection, interior cleaning and protection, and gas quality preservation, as well as technologies associated with modeling plume and soil interactions.","exampleTechnologies":"\"Tunnels\" to minimize regolith transfer during extravehicular activities (EVAs); air and airlock cleaning; sample handling; dust covers; dissipation, reduction, and/or elimination of triboelectric charge build-up; passive cleaning; dust repellant, dust shedding materials and coatings; electrodynamic removal; electron discharge and bombardment; magnetic brushes; dust removal brushes; self-cleaning connectors; forced gas showers; forced gas cleaning of hard surfaces; Failure Isolation, Detection, and Recovery (FIDR); plume mitigation; deployable landing surfaces; deployable/erectable blast curtain around landing site; plume-resistant concrete; high fidelity, two-phase flow modeling for plume-soil interaction","hasChildren":false,"hasInteriorContent":true}],"description":"Clearly, the presence of lunar dust has the propensity for major adverse impacts on dynamic mechanical systems required for future lunar operations such as Rovers, Robotic Systems, In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) and science experiments. As such, the development of innovative techniques for mitigating dust affects is warranted. In abrasive environments such as the presence of regolith dust on the moon, mechanism seals must be either designed for robustness to avoid premature damage and leakage, or, the dust particles must be removed. For this SBIR, Starsys proposes an enabling all-metal, knife-edge seal capable of maintaining seal integrity even in the presence of the abrasive, lunar dust. The proposed Knife Edge Seal concept provides for an innovative mechanism by which to seal critical ISRU mechanisms even in the presence of lunar dust contamination. Starsys' knife edge seal approach will utilize a hard metal knife edge and seal gland filled with an Indium alloy. The knife edge geometry is sized to allow for low forces required to penetrate the Indium, while the gland geometry is sized to properly and reliably capture the Indium. The Indium is a phase change material available in a variety of alloys to target specific melting points. The Knife Edge Seal offers two distinct advantages when attempting to mitigate the affects of lunar dust; 1) the knife edge will penetrate any dust layer developed on the seal gland surface and embed itself into the gland material, and 2) the Indium can be heated and re-flowed in between mate and de-mate cycles, allowing the dust particles to mix in with the soft Indium material and most likely eliminating sufficient barrier between the knife edge and Indium to allow for sufficient sealing to occur. ","startYear":2008,"startMonth":2,"endYear":2008,"endMonth":7,"statusDescription":"Completed","principalInvestigators":[{"contactId":426224,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Scott","lastName":"Christiansen","fullName":"Scott Christiansen","fullNameInverted":"Christiansen, Scott","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":"JSC","canUserEdit":false,"city":"Houston","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"external":false,"linkCount":0,"organizationId":4853,"organizationName":"Johnson Space Center","organizationType":"NASA_Center","stateTerritory":{"abbreviation":"TX","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"Texas","stateTerritoryId":29},"stateTerritoryId":29,"naorganization":false,"organizationTypePretty":"NASA Center"},"supportingOrganizations":[{"canUserEdit":false,"city":"Louisville","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"external":true,"linkCount":0,"organizationId":4503,"organizationName":"SpaceDev, Inc.","organizationType":"Industry","stateTerritory":{"abbreviation":"CO","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"Colorado","stateTerritoryId":15},"stateTerritoryId":15,"ein":"273375203 ","naorganization":false,"organizationTypePretty":"Industry"}],"statesWithWork":[{"abbreviation":"CO","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"Colorado","stateTerritoryId":15},{"abbreviation":"TX","country":{"abbreviation":"US","countryId":236,"name":"United States"},"countryId":236,"name":"Texas","stateTerritoryId":29}],"lastUpdated":"2018-10-10","releaseStatusString":"Released","viewCount":617,"endDateString":"Jul 2008","startDateString":"Feb 2008"}}