Austin Phoenix Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State A disaggregated lunar infrastructure requires novel thermal management methods to enable future lunar operations. While thermal management solutions exist for large infrastructure, the smaller mobile systems that operate independently require improved temperature regulation devices that can survive without heaters or substantial power requirements, while limiting stress-inducing temperature fluctuations. New […]
Plasmon-Enhanced Radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic (PRTPV) Power Generation for Interstellar Missions
Keunhan ParkUniversity of Utah This proposal seeks to develop a transformative energy system — the plasmon-enhanced radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic (PRTPV) generator — that significantly surpasses the performance of current radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) in both specific power and efficiency. Designed to achieve a specific power of 17 W/kg and a thermal-to-electric conversion efficiency greater than 40%, […]
Plasmon-Enhanced Radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic (PRTPV) Power Generation for Interstellar Missions
Keunhan ParkUniversity of Utah This proposal seeks to develop a transformative energy system — the plasmon-enhanced radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic (PRTPV) generator — that significantly surpasses the performance of current radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) in both specific power and efficiency. Designed to achieve a specific power of 17 W/kg and a thermal-to-electric conversion efficiency greater than 40%, […]
- Curiosity (Rover)
- Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate
- General
- Human Health and Performance
- Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate
- Human System Risks
- Humans in Space
- Johnson Space Center
- Mars
- Mars 2020
- Mars Campaign Development Division
- Mars Climate Orbiter
- Mars Exploration Rovers (MER)
- Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer (OCHMO)
- Perseverance (Rover)
- Sojourner (Rover)
- Spirit (Rover)
- The Human Body in Space
Establishing Crew Exposure Limits of Martian Dust
Background Human exploration of Mars will expose crews to a persistent, fine particulate environment whose physicochemical properties and health implications remain only partly understood. Because no samples of authentic Martian airborne dust have been returned to Earth, NASA must rely on lunar dust toxicology, Martian regolith simulants, and extensive rover/lander geochemical and mineralogical datasets to […]
A New Compact Instrument Enables High-Fidelity Measurements of Energetic Particles on CubeSats
A team of NASA-sponsored scientists and engineers has developed a novel approach to observing high-energy particles in the near-Earth space environment, incorporating miniaturized sensors into a compact, multi-view particle detection instrument unlike any before it. Built for NASA’s Relativistic Electron Atmospheric Loss (REAL) CubeSat mission, the innovative instrument (also called REAL) enables more complete measurements […]
Confirmed: Collapsed Boeing 787-9’s Nose Gear Was Missing Downlock Pin
The initial investigation into why a Lufthansa Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner experienced a nose gear collapse at Frankfurt Airport on June 4th, 2026 has revealed that the downlock pin was missing. The absence of this component caused the plane’s front to suddenly collapse, plummeting to the ground, while being prepared at the gate for a flight to Los Angeles.