Cooperative Agreement 80ARC017M0007

MULTIPLE YEAR AWARD WITH INCREMENTAL FUNDING FOR YEARS ONE TO FIVE. THIS PROPOSAL IS ENTITLED RADIATION EFFECTS ON VOLATILES AND EXPLORATION OF ASTEROIDS AND LUNAR SURFACES REVEALS. THIS IS AWARDED IN RESPONSE TO COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NOTICE CAN NO. NNH16ZDA009C NASA SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION RESEARCH VIRTUAL INSTITUTE SSERVI CYCLE THREE 3. THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR IS DR. THOMAS M. ORLANDO WITH THE GEORGIA TECH RESEARCH CORPORATION GIT. PROJECT SUMMARY: RECENT SPACE EXPLORATION MISSIONS HAVE REVEALED VOLATILE DEPOSITS ON SEVERAL SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS INCLUDING THE MOON MARS MERCURY AND NEAR EARTH ASTEROIDS (NEAS). MOST OF THESE AIRLESS I.E. ZERO-ATMOSPHERE OBJECTS ARE UNDER CONSIDERATION BY NASA AS DESTINATIONS FOR FUTURE HUMAN EXPLORATION. THESE OBJECTS ARE BOMBARDED BY RADIATION (I.E. SOLAR WIND GALACTIC AND SOLAR COSMIC RAYS) AND THE INTERACTION OF RADIATION WITH THEIR SURFACES CAN ALTER AND EVEN PRODUCE VOLATILES. MORE IMPORTANTLY THE CONSTANT RADIATION ASSAULT POSES OBVIOUS LIFE-THREATENING AND PROGRAM-LIMITING HEALTH RISKS. AS A MEMBER OF THE SSERVI THE REVEALS TEAM WILL EXPLORE THE FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIED ASPECTS CORRELATED WITH RADIATION PROCESSING OF NATURAL REGOLITH AND MAN-MADE COMPOSITE MATERIALS. THE REVEALS TEAM WILL FOCUS ON TWO INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH THEMES EACH COMPRISED OF MULTIPLE TASKS THAT WILL BE CARRIED OUT IN AN INTEGRATED SYSTEMS APPROACH.THEME 1 INTERACTION OF RADIATION AND MICROMETEORITES WITH SURFACE OF AIRLESS BODIES THE SOLAR WIND INTERACTION WITH REGOLITH HAS BEEN IMPLICATED AS A POSSIBLE SOURCE OF VOLATILES (I.E. WATER) THAT CAN BE TRAPPED AND SEQUESTERED IN THE NEAR SURFACE REGION OF THE MOON AND POSSIBLY DEMOS PHOBOS AND NEAS. THE RELEVANT PHYSICAL PROCESSES AND DRIVING INTERACTIONS ARE UNCLEAR. THEREFORE THEME 1 WILL FOCUS ON THREE TASKS: 1) EXAMINE SOLAR WIND MICROMETEORITE PROCESSING OF AIRLESS BODY SURFACES AND DUST IRRADIATION SOURCES 2 DEVELOP MOLECULAR MODELS DESCRIBING RADIATION INDUCED TRANSFORMATION OF REGOLITH 3 EXAMINE THE ROLE OF CHARGING AND ELECTRIC FIELDS ON VOLATILE FORMATION/RELEASE AND 4) TEST SOLAR COLLECTION PANELS AS AN IN SITU RESOURCE UTILIZATION STRATEGY OF PRODUCING WATER FROM REGOLITHTHEME 2 DEVELOPING AND TESTING NEW MATERIALS FOR IMPROVED SAFETY AND HEALTH DURING HUMAN EXPLORATION HUMAN EXPLORATION MISSIONS BEYOND NEAR EARTH ORBIT CANNOT OCCUR WITHOUT A VALIDATED APPROACH TO ADDRESSING ASTRONAUT HEALTH RISKS DUE TO RADIATION. THIS REQUIRES CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SPACE RADIATION ENVIRONMENT EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION OF RADIATION PROTECTION METHODOLOGIES AND THE ABILITY TO PREDICT AND MONITOR THE RADIATION ABSORBED BY ASTRONAUTS ON A REAL-TIME AND MISSION-INTEGRATED BASIS. AS OF 2016 THE DEEP-SPACE RADIATION ENVIRONMENT IS REASONABLY CHARACTERIZED BUT RADIATION PROTECTION MATERIALS FOR HUMAN HABITATS AND SPACE-SUITS HAVE NOT BEEN FULLY DEVELOPED AND CHARACTERIZED AND REAL-TIME RADIATION MONITORS ARE IN THEIR INFANCY. FOR EXAMPLE REAL-TIME AREA RADIATION MONITORS ARE CURRENTLY UTILIZED ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION WITH INCONSISTENT RESULTS AND THEY ARE NOT INTEGRATED WITH SPACE-SUITS. DEVELOPMENT OF STRONG FLEXIBLE AND RADIATION PROTECTIVE MATERIAL IS ALSO LAGGING. THEREFORE THEME 2 WILL FOCUS ON ASSESSING AND MITIGATING HUMAN RADIATION RISKS BY 1 TESTING REGOLITH AS A POTENTIAL SHIELDING MATERIAL 2) DEVELOPING CHARACTERIZING AND TESTING NOVEL COMPOSITE MATERIALS FOR SUPERIOR MECHANICAL THERMAL AND ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES 3 INTEGRATING THE BEST POLYMER COMPOSITES AS MODIFICATION TO EXISTING SPACE-SUITS AND 4 DEVELOPING REAL-TIME LOW WEIGHT AND LOW POWER CONSUMPTION RADIATION MONITORING DEVICES USING GRAPHENE AND OTHER 2D MATERIALS.