Mar 16 2016

From The Space Library

MEDIA ADVISORY M16-029 Planetary Conference to Feature Ceres, Mars, Pluto Science Results

Researchers from NASA and other institutions will present science results from the agency’s Mars missions, New Horizons flyby of Pluto, and Dawn mission observations of the dwarf planet Ceres during the 47th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference March 21-25 near Houston.

The conference will take place at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center at 1601 Lake Robbins Drive in The Woodlands, Texas. Briefing times (all CDT) are as follows:

• Noon, Monday, March 21 -- New Horizons mission media briefing
• Noon, Tuesday, March 22 -- Dawn mission media briefing
• 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 22 -- Alan Stern, principal investigator for the New Horizons mission, will deliver a lecture, “The Exploration of Pluto.” This lecture is free and open to the public.

Media may register to attend. For information including links to the program, media advisories and contact information, visit [this link.]

Briefings will be live streamed and/or archived online. The schedule is available at [this link]

In July 2015, NASA’s New Horizons became the first spacecraft to fly past Pluto, observing a wide range of surface expressions and geology that raise fundamental questions about how small planets can have active processes billions of years after they formed.

Results from the first year of Dawn’s exploration of Ceres mission will be presented, including new insights about the dwarf planet’s surface and composition.

The science presentations at the conference will include what researchers have learned from recent investigation by NASA's Curiosity rover of an active Martian sand dune and diverse findings from other NASA missions to Mars.

The conference is presented by the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) in Houston. LPI is managed by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA), a national, nonprofit consortium of 105 leading research universities chartered in 1969 by the National Academy of Sciences at the request of NASA. USRA operates programs and institutes focused on research and education in several disciplines engaged in space-related science and engineering.

RELEASE 16-006 NASA Pursues Burning Desire to Study Fire Safety in Space

“NASA’s objective is to reduce the risk of long-duration exploration missions, and a spacecraft fire is one of the biggest concerns for NASA and the international space exploration community,” said Jason Crusan, NASA’s Advanced Exploration System director.

Working with a team of researchers from 11 U.S. and international government agencies and universities, NASA’s Spacecraft Fire Experiment, or Saffire, will be remotely conducted by Saffire and Orbital ATK personnel from the Orbital ATK Control Center in Dulles, Va. The experiment takes place in a three-by-three-by-five foot tall module carried aboard Cygnus. Once Cygnus arrives at the space station, the module remains aboard the vehicle while supplies for the station are offloaded. The experiment is conducted during the return trip to Earth.

“Gaining a better understanding of how fire behaves in space will help further NASA’s efforts in developing better materials and technologies to reduce crew risk and increase space flight safety,” said Gary A. Ruff, NASA’s Spacecraft Fire Safety Demonstration project manager.

Each Saffire module is equipped to characterize and document the burning of large materials in a microgravity environment. These samples and the environment are like those found on the space station and the Orion spacecraft that will eventually take astronauts to an asteroid and Mars. Images and data captured from inside the module will be transmitted to Orbital ATK and relayed to Glenn prior to Cygnus’ destructive reentry to Earth. Researchers at Glenn as well as those on the international team will analyze the data and use it to further develop technologies to safeguard future astronauts from a spacecraft fire.

“Saffire will be the biggest man-made fire ever in space. Currently, we can only conduct small combustion experiments in the microgravity environment of the space station. Saffire will allow us to safely burn larger samples of material without added risk to the station or its crew.” said Ruff. “Using the Cygnus cargo vehicle to host Saffire offers a unique opportunity to conduct beneficial spacecraft fire safety research using existing mission profiles.”

The first Saffire experiment will assess a large-scale microgravity fire using sample material that is approximately 16 inches wide and 37 inches long. Two subsequent flight experiments in 2016 consist of Saffire-II, which will assess oxygen flammability limits using samples that are 2 inches wide and 12 inches long; and Saffire-III, which will assess a second large-scale microgravity fire. Each module will be flown aboard an Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo vehicle during a resupply mission to the space station.

The Spacecraft Fire Safety Demonstration Project that developed the Saffire flight systems is sponsored by the Advanced Exploration Systems Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The three Saffire units were built at Glenn using components fabricated in manufacturing facilities at Glenn, NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, and White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, N.M. Three additional experiment modules will be designed and built by engineers at Glenn and launched in Orbital ATK cargo vehicles beginning in 2018.

RELEASE 16-033 NASA Selects American Small Business, Research Institution Projects for Continued Development

NASA has selected 137 research and technology proposals from 117 American small businesses and research institutions that will enable NASA's future missions into deep space, while also benefiting the U.S. economy right here on Earth.

The agency received 323 proposals in response to its 2015 solicitation for its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. From those, NASA selected 134 SBIR Phase II General proposals, with a total value of approximately $100.5 million, and three Phase II Select proposals, valued at approximately $3.8 million, for contract negotiations under Phase II of the SBIR program.

Proposals were selected according to their technical merit and feasibility, in addition to the experience, qualifications and facilities of the submitting business. Additional criteria included effectiveness of the work plan and commercial potential.

"We are pleased to select more than 100 SBIR proposals again this year. These proposals represent the entrepreneurial spirit of small businesses that fuel our economy and create jobs on Main Street," said Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The dollar value of these innovation projects represents an investment in the American economy."

Selected proposals from these small businesses will support the development of technologies in the areas of aeronautics, science, human exploration and operations, and space technology. A sampling of proposals demonstrates the breadth of research and development these awards will fund.

• Software for single-operator, multiple unmanned aircraft systems missions that could assist NASA and the commercial space industry in managing multiple rover and spacecraft missions.
• The ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) process will directly print parts in one machine at one time, eliminating part movements from process to process and vendor to vendor. UAM offers the potential for lower-cost, more reliable systems over other 3-D printing techniques such as laser-based systems.
• Development and commercialization of environmentally robust frequency combs that will enable the search for exoplanets. An optical frequency comb is a tool for precise measurement of color across the light spectrum.
• Sensors for real-time cryogenic pipes monitoring that could be used not only for space launch facilities, but also for chemical refineries and production plants.

NASA's SBIR program is a competitive, awards-based program that encourages American small businesses to engage in federal research, development and commercialization. The program enables businesses to explore technological potential while providing the incentive to profit from new commercial products and services. Small businesses create about two out of every three jobs in the U.S. each year, and about half the American workforce either own or work for a small business.

SBIR Phase II General and Phase II Select projects will expand on the results of recently completed Phase I projects. Phase I projects received six-month contracts as much as $125,000. SBIR Phase II projects last no more than two years and receive contracts valued as much as $750,000 per award. Awards under the SBIR Phase II Select solicitation may be as much as $1.5 million per award. Phase III, or the commercialization of an innovation, may occur after successful completion of Phase II.

NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California, manages the SBIR Program for STMD. Each of NASA's 10 centers manage individual projects.