NASA space Habitation academic Innovation Challenge

With the forward progress of NASA’s new Space Launch System and emphasis on future deep space missions, the breadth of technology required to successfully complete such long duration flights is inadequate. The challenges that exist – from producing food on the journey to effectively recycling breathable air to utilizing every last resource available – create opportunities for groundbreaking innovation.

The X-Hab Challenge seeks to provide university students with the opportunity to be on the forefront of such innovation. For the past four years, NASA has identified necessary technologies for deep space missions and invited universities from around the country to develop concepts, prototypes, and lessons learned that will help shape future space missions. This year’s selected partners and areas of emphasis are:

• University of Colorado – Remotely Operated Gardening Robot System
• Oklahoma State University – Vertical Habitat Design
• Rice University – SpaceRing Power-Cooling System
• University of Maryland – Neutral Buoyancy Habitat Study
• University of South Alabama – Novel Absorbent Air Revitalization for Closed Environments
• University of Wisconsin – Compartmentalized Onboard Material Extrusion Technology

Each of the universities has assembled a multi-discipline team of students that invest months working together, developing concepts, and frequently producing working prototypes.

University of Alabama, Huntsville: Microgravity Random Access Stowage & Rack System

The University of Alabama, Huntsville team developed a modular storage system, seen here installed in a demonstrator at Marshall Space Flight Center.

A team from the University of Alabama, Huntsville developed a unique modular storage system for long duration spaceflight. The prototype system was actually installed in a habitat concept demonstrator at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, in Huntsville, Alabama.

The system was designed to minimize mass, be scalable to accommodate various sizes and sustain launch conditions. The team interviewed experts around NASA and performed a detailed engineering assessment to develop their design from concept to implementation.

The UAH students worked with common, commercially available parts, including 80/20 hardware and Velcro, to complete the task efficiently and effectively in conjunction with the team at Marshall.

California Polytechnic State University: Vertical Habitability Layout and Fabrication Studies

The Cal Poly Team preparing to demonstrate their mockup of a vertically oriented habitat system.

The student team from Cal Poly created a comprehensive Building Information Model (BIM) assessing workspaces, functions and subsystems. They used a three stage trade and analysis cycle and a suite of analysis tools to create the BIM. The students created innovative designs for crew systems and workstations, even down to footholds and windows. The project culminated by implementing the design concept in a full-size mockup in a parking lot on campus.

Oklahoma State University: Horizontally Oriented Inflatable Deep Space Habitat

A demonstration of Oklahoma State University’s horizontal habitat concept using International Space Station derived elements.

The team from Oklahoma State University (OSU) participated for the third year in a row and matured concepts based on a horizontally oriented habitat concept. The team performed a detailed digital design to layout the design and implementation of subsystems and crew work stations within this concept. And finally, they designed and built a full-size functional mockup for demonstration purposes.  The OSU team continued their excellent outreach efforts with a miniature X-Hab challenge for high schools within their region.

Texas A&M University: Wireless Smart Plug

Concept Diagram and Working Prototype of Wireless Smart Plug Developed by Texas A&M University.

The team from Texas A&M developed a NASA Wireless Smart Plug (NWSP) that allows for wireless transmission of current draw for a system power feed. This current draw information is fed to a master control unit to enable automated management of power systems. This type of capability is critical for long duration spaceflight to maximize available resources.

Extensive hardware and software development effort led to the creation of five operational test units. The team traveled to NASA’s Johnson Space Center to test the units with the habitat avionics test bed and successfully characterizes their performance.

University of Colorado: Remote Plant Food Production Capability

University of Colorado’s robotic plant growth is demonstrated at the Kennedy Space Center.

The team from University of Colorado developed a complete system for robotically growing, nurturing and maintaining plants on space missions. The system was designed to allow for robotic maintenance of the plants by a remote operator while also allowing a user to interface and interact with the plant system in a way that does not disrupt autonomy provided by the robotic systems. A complete robot arm, solid state lighting system, watering system, operational turntable and graphical user interfaces were among the systems provided in the demonstration system.

The system was deployed and demonstrated at both Johnson Space Center and Kennedy Space Center. The Colorado team produced a survey to collect from end users to further mature their system concept.

For more details visit : NASA.gov