Multiple year award with incremental funding for years one to five. This proposal is entitled, "trex: toolbox for research and exploration." this is awarded in response to cooperative agreement notice…

This federal contract award, valued at $5,485,341.00, was made by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to the Planetary Science Institute (PSI), a non-profit research organization based in Tucson, Arizona. The award is for a multi-year (2017 to 2025) Cooperative Agreement titled "TREX: Toolbox for Research and Exploration" under NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) program.

The overarching goal of the TREX project is to develop tools and research methods to support the exploration of airless, dust-covered planetary surfaces, particularly the Moon and small solar system bodies, in preparation for future human missions. The work involves laboratory spectral measurements, data analysis of existing spacecraft data, and the development of instrumentation and software to improve mission planning and safety. The award does not have a set-aside designation, reflecting PSI's demonstrated expertise in planetary science research. The institute will leverage its extensive network of collaborators at universities and other research organizations to execute this project, which complements the work of other SSERVI teams.

Multiple year award with incremental funding for years one to five. This proposal is entitled, "trex: toolbox for research and exploration." this is awarded in response to cooperative agreement notice (can) no. NNH16ZDA009C, NASA solar system exploration research virtual institute (sservi), cycle three. The principal investigator is DR. Amanda r. Hendrix with planetary science institute (PSI). Project summary: the overarching goal of the trex team is develop tools and research methods for exploration of airless surfaces that are coated in fine-grained dust to prepare for human missions. Our team will using laboratory spectral measurements and experiments, accompanied by studies of existing data from the moon and small bodies to understand their surface characteristics and to investigate in situ resource utilization (isru) potential on small-body targets. Additionally, our team will develop instrumentation (especially ultra-violet_UV_visible capabilities) and software for future use at those bodies (either remotely and/or with humans). These tools will improve mission success by decreasing risk and assuring the safety of astronauts and spacecraft. The trex tasks complement those of current sservi teams by emphasizing analyses of the finest fraction of grains and UV wavelengths. Trex has 4 themes that will be addressed through the life time of the award. They are: 1) development of non-ambient (vacuum, multi-temperature) broad wavelength spectral database of planetary materials. We will utilize a range of facilities to make the spectral measurements, with unique and overlapping capabilities in order to derive a robust set of cross-calibrated lab data. 2) investigations of fine-grained materials on the lunar surface. Lab data from theme one will be used along with spacecraft data of the moon and modeling techniques, to characterize lunar grain size, mineralogy and correlations with geologic features, with an overall goal of investigation isru potential and future instrument development needs. 3) investigations of fine grained materials on the surfaces of small bodies. Near earth objects (NEO), and the martian moons are potential future human destinations and evoke a number of critical questions regarding the diversity of their compositions and dynamical histories. And 4) decision-making in a fine-grained analog environment. We will develop both software and instrumentation for SUE in the field as a testing ground for future robotic planetary uses. The tasks accomplished by the trex team will enable NASA' exploration of the moon, NEO, and the moons of the mars by acquiring the information and knowledge that will serve as tools for future human and robotic exploration. Trex has assembled an international team of experts to address these four themes, leveraging a number of members of the existing distributed PSI staff structure and their extensive knowledge of the moon, small bodies, data analysis and instrument techniques, and by incorporating students, post-doctoral researchers, and key partners at other institutions.