As NASA embarks upon deep-space human exploration, the next-generation extravehicular activity (EVA) radio will be a pivotal technology and an integral part of lunar surface systems success. It facilitates surface operations, enables crew mobility, and supports point to multi-point...

XCALIBR (XML Capability Analysis LIBRary) is a set of Extensible Markup Language (XML) database and spreadsheet-based analysis software tools designed to assist in technology-return-on-investment analysis and optimization of technology portfolios pertaining to outer- space missions. XCALIBR...

Two diamond-machining methods have been developed as part of an effort to design and fabricate an off-axis, biconic ellipsoidal, concave aluminum mirror for an infrared spectrometer at the Kitt Peak National Observatory. Beyond this initial application, the methods can be expected to enable...

Inflatable/deployable structures are under consideration for applications as varied as expansion modules for the International Space Station to destinations for space tourism to habitats for the lunar surface. Monitoring and maintaining the integrity of the physical structure is...

Standard penetrator sampling systems were designed in order to allow for sampling via penetrators to produce a full set of sample acquisitions including volatile liquids, fine powders, and solid fragments. A gravity harpoon sampler has been designed with a removable tip and a quick...

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model that includes representations of effects of unsteady cavitation and associated dynamic loads has been developed to increase the accuracy of simulations of the performances of turbopumps. Although the model was originally intended to serve as a...

A Pointing Covariance Analysis Tool (PCAT) has been developed for evaluating the expected performance of the pointing control system for NASA’s Space Interferometry Mission (SIM). The SIM pointing control system is very complex, consisting of multiple feedback and feedforward loops, and...

Advanced Solid State Lighting (SSL) is a technology that enables the use of LED lights in cost-sensitive applications where cooling of the LED is needed. One limitation that has hindered LED light designs in commercial applications is the cooling of the LEDs when used in the...

These patented 125-kHz RFID tags and readers enable tag information to be read and written through metal so that tags can be hermetically sealed inside metal parts such as surgical instruments, construction forms, weapons, and similar devices that must withstand harsh...

A company is seeking topically applied products and/or chemical technologies to eliminate or suppress pain sensation associated with epilation of undesired hair from skin. Pain elimination or suppression should be quick (<5 minutes) upon application on skin, and the effect should be temporary...

A company seeks existing materials that can be utilized in applications for a safety glove. This material must be cutresistant, flexible, and withstand oily, wet, muddy conditions. The material covering the top of the hand and fingers must be extremely flexible and designed to protect the hand and digits from being...

It’s a digital world out there, and the key to our survival, in my opinion, is not processing power. It’s data storage. Once all the numbers have been crunched, all the images have been gathered, and all the test results have been compiled, you need to store them somewhere. Somewhere safe, because unlike former means of recording...

Glenn Rakow is the Development Lead for SpaceWire, a high-speed communications protocol for space-flight electronics originally developed in 1999 by the European Space Agency (ESA). Under Rakow's leadership, the SpaceWire standard was developed into a network of nodes and routers interconnected through bi-directional, high-speed...

A team led by Professor Yosi Shacham-Diamand, vice-dean of Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Engineering, has developed a nano-sized laboratory, complete with a microscopic workbench, to measure water quality in real time. This lab-on-a-chip is a breakthrough in the effort to keep water safe from pollution. "We've developed a platform...

Scientists at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are designing and building the next-generation orbiting tracker for NASA that will supply data to more accurately predict the next hurricane, heat wave, or drought. The 18-inch interferometric receiver being built at UMass...