{"project":{"acronym":"","projectId":93636,"title":"Microgravity Granular Material Research (MGMR) Facility for ISS","primaryTaxonomyNodes":[{"taxonomyNodeId":10862,"taxonomyRootId":8816,"parentNodeId":10855,"level":3,"code":"TX12.1.7","title":"Special Materials","definition":"This area covers materials with specialized functions.","exampleTechnologies":"Adhesive materials concepts, nanofiltering and fluid barrier materials, porous/non-porous materials, optically transparent window materials, materials with negative refractive index, aerogels, metamaterials, topological materials, functionally graded materials, metallic glasses, nanocrystalline metals, materials with controllable CTE, multifunctional laminates, shape memory alloys, high entropy alloys, multi-functional materials","hasChildren":false,"hasInteriorContent":true}],"startTrl":2,"currentTrl":5,"endTrl":5,"benefits":"The MGMR facility developed under this effort will address both fundamental science and technology development need of NASA and its commercial partners. There is no terrestrial research facility that can study aggregation of millimeter-scale agglomerates or particles, a fundamental process in the formation of planetesimals and a process that must be understood for future NASA and commercial applications such as asteroid ISRU and air circulation and filtering in long life deep space environmental control systems. Also, no terrestrial test facility exists that can test low-velocity, low-density-gas pneumatic transport concepts suitable for movement of regolith and other granular solids on asteroids or in processing facilities on the moons of Mars. Such equipment might be very beneficial for ISRU applications; however, such equipment will not be considered for deep space missions if we do not know enough about potential failure mechanisms, or about design parameter space to design and construct robust micro-g pneumatic transport systems. The proposed facility will allow appropriate science and engineering tests to be conducted in a readily accessible location and in an appropriate environment. In addition this facility will be well suited as a test environment for third party commercial use on ISS supporting NASA contracts.
Commercial space mining is a rapidly ascending industry. Large companies such as Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance are investing in this area and a $200M commercial venture fund has been established for this industry simulating the creation of several rapidly growing small companies. TransAstra Corporation is part of this new resource-recovery industry, which also includes companies such as Deep Space Industries, Planetary Resources, Moon Express, and Shakleton Energy. These companies anticipate excavating, transporting and processing large quantities of regolith to recover water and other volatiles and to process the minerals for fabrication of radiation shielding or structures. Such operations will involve transporting, storing and handling large quantities of granular solids under reduced or micro-gravity. Advancement of the understanding of the fundamental behavior of granular materials under reduced gravity conditions and under reduced gas pressures or vacuum conditions will be critical for them in designing their equipment and processes. The industry will have a strong interest in the science and technological developments that can come from a micro-g granular materials research facility. We are confident that our company, and others will want to sponsor purely commercial directed studies using the facility once it is available on the ISS.","description":"TransAstra Corporation in collaboration with Grainflow Dynamics Inc. and the Colorado School of Mines proposes to develop a general purpose Micro-g Granular Material Research (MGMR) facility for use on the ISS. This facility will include a test section into which third party experimenters can place their apparatus and will be suitable for studying steady or variable gas-solid flows over a 2-orders of magnitude range in particle size and 4-orders of magnitude in solids-fraction at gas pressures ranging from atmospheric to vacuum and flow velocities from a 10s of m/s per second down to stationary conditions. This facility will provide a unique opportunity to gain understanding of the fundamental physical behavior of granular solids in microgravity over a range of solids fractions that are unobtainable terrestrially due to gravitationally induced settling. It will also support study of phenomena occurring in static assemblies of solid particulates and in pneumatic transport. MGMR will support exploration of static, transient, and steady-state flow conditions. In micro-gravity, low speed pneumatic transport can cause aggregation of particles resulting in the formation of gel-like structures which grow to fill available volumes. Such fractal-lattice particulate-gels are a potential blocking mechanism that could affect low-velocity pneumatic transport in human habitation systems and/or ISRU operations on asteroids or other small bodies such as the moons of Mars. Understanding what contributes to the strength of such gels and developing the means to avoid or disrupt them will be crucial for the design of solids transport systems in future ISRU facilities. The MGMR will provide a unique environment for advancement of both fundamental science and of technologies important for the advancement of solar system exploration. The MGMR will also serve as a subscale testbed for the fabrication of radiation shields made from asteroid regolith for human deep space habitats.","startYear":2017,"startMonth":6,"endYear":2017,"endMonth":12,"statusDescription":"Completed","principalInvestigators":[{"contactId":225851,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Joel","lastName":"Sercel","fullName":"Joel Sercel","fullNameInverted":"Sercel, Joel","primaryEmail":"sercel@transastracorp.com","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}],"projectManagers":[{"contactId":461333,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Theresa","lastName":"Stanley","fullName":"Theresa M Stanley","fullNameInverted":"Stanley, Theresa M","middleInitial":"M","primaryEmail":"theresa.m.stanley@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false},{"contactId":92159,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Cynthia","lastName":"Frost","fullName":"Cynthia L Frost","fullNameInverted":"Frost, Cynthia L","middleInitial":"L","primaryEmail":"cynthia.frost@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"website":"","libraryItems":[{"file":{"fileExtension":"pdf","fileId":295412,"fileName":"SBIR_2017_1_BC_H8.01-9521","fileSize":4339917,"objectId":291939,"objectType":{"lkuCodeId":889,"code":"LIBRARY_ITEMS","description":"Library Items","lkuCodeTypeId":182,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"OBJECT_TYPE","description":"Object Type"}},"objectTypeId":889,"fileSizeString":"4.1 MB"},"files":[{"fileExtension":"pdf","fileId":295412,"fileName":"SBIR_2017_1_BC_H8.01-9521","fileSize":4339917,"objectId":291939,"objectType":{"lkuCodeId":889,"code":"LIBRARY_ITEMS","description":"Library Items","lkuCodeTypeId":182,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"OBJECT_TYPE","description":"Object Type"}},"objectTypeId":889,"fileSizeString":"4.1 MB"}],"id":291939,"title":"Briefing Chart","description":"Microgravity Granular Material Research (MGMR) Facility for ISS, Phase I Briefing Chart","libraryItemTypeId":1222,"projectId":93636,"primary":false,"publishedDateString":"","contentType":{"lkuCodeId":1222,"code":"DOCUMENT","description":"Document","lkuCodeTypeId":341,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"LIBRARY_ITEM_TYPE","description":"Library Item Type"}}},{"caption":"Microgravity Granular Material Research (MGMR) Facility for ISS, Phase I Briefing Chart Image","file":{"fileExtension":"png","fileId":297023,"fileName":"SBIR_2017_1_BC_H8.01-9521","fileSize":4675429,"objectId":293554,"objectType":{"lkuCodeId":889,"code":"LIBRARY_ITEMS","description":"Library Items","lkuCodeTypeId":182,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"OBJECT_TYPE","description":"Object Type"}},"objectTypeId":889,"fileSizeString":"4.5 MB"},"files":[{"fileExtension":"png","fileId":297023,"fileName":"SBIR_2017_1_BC_H8.01-9521","fileSize":4675429,"objectId":293554,"objectType":{"lkuCodeId":889,"code":"LIBRARY_ITEMS","description":"Library Items","lkuCodeTypeId":182,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"OBJECT_TYPE","description":"Object Type"}},"objectTypeId":889,"fileSizeString":"4.5 MB"}],"id":293554,"title":"Briefing Chart Image","description":"Microgravity Granular Material Research (MGMR) Facility for ISS, Phase I Briefing Chart Image","libraryItemTypeId":1095,"projectId":93636,"primary":true,"publishedDateString":"","contentType":{"lkuCodeId":1095,"code":"IMAGE","description":"Image","lkuCodeTypeId":341,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"LIBRARY_ITEM_TYPE","description":"Library Item Type"}}}],"transitions":[],"primaryImage":{"file":{"fileExtension":"png","fileId":297023,"fileSizeString":"0 Byte"},"id":293554,"description":"Microgravity Granular Material Research (MGMR) Facility for ISS, Phase I Briefing Chart Image","projectId":93636,"publishedDateString":""},"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
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