Recycling Defunct Satellite Material into a Fuel Source

A research team from the University of Waterloo’s Laboratory for Emerging Energy Research is looking into processing lunar regolith, the Moon’s top layer of soil and dust, into usable materials for life support, energy generation, and construction. This includes investigating the use of defunct satellite material as a fuel source when mixed with lunar regolith. Read on to learn more.

Addressing the Energy Challenge with Vehicle-to-Grid Power

NREL scientists use new power electronics to support the electric power grid. Read on to learn more.

Wearable Solar Concentrators

The novel solar concentrators can be applied to textile fibers without the textile becoming brittle and susceptible to cracking or accumulating water vapor in the form of sweat. Read on to learn more.

Mimicking 'Plant Power' Through Artificial Photosynthesis

According to the researchers, this proof-of-concept system could be adapted to help produce precursors for plastics or other chemical feedstocks, as well as scaled up to produce larger amounts of sustainable biofuels.

Improving Surveying Efficiency by Using Robots and Precision Positioning

In partnership with Point One, Civ Robotics is ensuring that precise construction layouts won’t be at odds with efficiency. Land surveying is a critical stage in the construction layout process, during which workers use various forms of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) to mark specific locations for builders. Read on to learn more.

Sensor Measures Light, Heat, and Touch

Researchers have developed a sensor that, similar to human skin, can sense temperature variation that originates from the touch of a warm object as well as the heat from solar radiation. The sensor combines pyroelectric and thermoelectric effects with a nano-optical phenomenon.

Hot Rocks Store Energy

Sandia engineers convert excess renewable electricity into heat that gets stored in piles of gravel.

Testing Space Applications with Solar Simulator Technology

NASA’s Artemis program consists of a series of missions designed to land humans on the Moon and establish a sustainable, continuing presence. A long-term foothold on the Moon’s surface enables invaluable research and testing opportunities that will set the stage for future groundbreaking missions, including the first human mission to Mars.

High-Brightness Source of Coherent Light Spanning from the UV to THz

An international team of researchers reports on a compact high-brightness mid-IR-driven source combining a gas-filled anti-resonant-ring photonic crystal fiber with a novel nonlinear-crystal. The tabletop source provides a seven-octave coherent spectrum from 340 nm–40,000 nm with spectral brightness 2–5 orders of magnitude higher than one of the brightest synchrotron facilities.

Exploring 3D Printing in a Weightless Environment

Recent experiments by a team from the West Virginia University focused on how a weightless microgravity environment affects 3D printing using titania foam, a material with potential applications ranging from UV blocking to water purification. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces published their findings.

INRS Researchers Design the World’s Fastest UV Camera

Imagine being able to snap a picture of extremely fast events on the order of a picosecond.

Ultrathin Solar Cells Aim to Improve Satellite Life

Most space satellites are powered by photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight to electricity. Exposure to certain orbit radiation can damage the devices. Scientists have proposed a radiation-tolerant photovoltaic cell design that features an ultrathin layer of light-absorbing material.

Accelerating Solar Energy Research More Sustainably

A robot developed at North Carolina State University can conduct experiments more sustainably and accelerate energy materials research.

Synthesizing Complex Optical Materials

Researchers have developed a colloidal synthesis method for alkaline earth chalcogenides. This method allows them to control the size of the nanocrystals in the material.

Developing More Durable Solar Cells

An international research collaboration led by UCLA has developed a way to use perovskite in solar cells while protecting it from the conditions that cause it to deteriorate.

5 Ws of Making Hydrogen from Sunlight

Rice University engineers are turning sunlight into hydrogen with record-breaking efficiency with a device that splits water molecules and generates hydrogen when stimulated by simulated sunlight.

NASA’s New, Resilient Approach to Moon, Mars Exploration

As NASA builds a blueprint for exploration throughout the solar system, the agency is doing it with staying power in mind. The agency's new analysis process is designed to align its Moon to Mars exploration strategy and codify the supporting architecture.

Making High-Performance Parts Inexpensive and Durable

Idaho National Laboratory has developed world-class capabilities to help industry design efficient SPS manufacturing processes. The lab’s newest addition makes it possible to manufacture new materials at industrially relevant scales.

Amplified Power of Traveling-Wave Tubes

Traveling-wave tubes designed for NASA are being used not only for satellite systems but also ground applications.

Cryogenic Selective Surfaces

A new thermal control coating material, developed for use as a coating or rigid tiles, reflects essentially all solar radiation in the space environment.

Radiative Cooling and Solar Heat from One System

Researchers have been exploring how to turbocharge a passive cooling technique — known as radiative or sky cooling — with sun-blocking nanomaterials that emit heat away from building rooftops.

Rapidly Configuring Robots for Lunar Exploration

A team of MIT engineers is designing a kit of universal robotic parts that an astronaut could easily mix and match to rapidly configure different robot “species” to fit various lunar missions.

NEID Spectrometer Lights Up Path to Exoplanet Exploration

NASA's NEID tool delivered its first batch of data on the nearest and best-studied star, our Sun.

Developing More Durable Solar Cells

An international research collaboration led by UCLA has developed a way to use perovskite in solar cells while protecting it from the conditions that cause it to deteriorate.

Sustainable Hydrogen Through Solar Power

A new kind of solar panel has achieved 9 percent efficiency in converting water into hydrogen and oxygen — mimicking a crucial step in natural photosynthesis.

Self-Cleaning Germicidal Door Handle

To overcome the limitations of using cleaning agents, sprays, or bulky high-cost sterilizing systems, NASA developed the Ultraviolet Germicidal Door Handle.

Technique Merges Solar Cell and Liquid Battery

A highly efficient and long-lasting solar flow battery generates, stores, and redelivers renewable electricity from the Sun in one device.