{"id":12512,"date":"2024-11-19T18:05:23","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T22:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/northwestern-university-takes-top-honors-in-big-idea-lunar-inflatables-challenge\/"},"modified":"2024-11-19T18:05:23","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T22:05:23","slug":"northwestern-university-takes-top-honors-in-big-idea-lunar-inflatables-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/northwestern-university-takes-top-honors-in-big-idea-lunar-inflatables-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Northwestern University Takes Top Honors in BIG Idea Lunar Inflatables Challenge\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Northwestern University Takes Top Honors in BIG Idea Lunar Inflatables Challenge\u00a0<\/h2>\n

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Following eight months of intense research, design, and prototyping, six university teams presented their \u201cInflatable Systems for Lunar Operations\u201d concepts to a panel of judges at NASA\u2019s 2024 Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-Changing (BIG) Idea Challenge<\/a> forum.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The challenge, funded by NASA\u2019s Space Technology Mission Directorate and Office of STEM Engagement, seeks novel ideas from higher education on a new topic each year and supports the agency\u2019s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative<\/a> in developing new approaches and innovative technologies to pave the way for successful exploration on the surface of the Moon. This year, teams were asked to develop low Size, Weight, and Power inflatable technologies, structures and systems that could benefit future Artemis missions<\/a> to the Moon and beyond.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Taking top honors at this year\u2019s forum receiving the Artemis Award was Northwestern University with National Aerospace Corporation & IMS Engineered Products, with their concept titled METALS: Metallic Expandable Technology for Artemis Lunar Structures<\/em>. The Artemis Award is given to the team whose concept has the best potential to contribute to and be integrated into an Artemis mission.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The Northwestern University BIG Idea Challenge team developed METALS, an inflatable metal concept for long-term storage of cryogenic fluid on the Moon. The concept earned the Artemis Award, top honors in NASA\u2019s 2024 BIG Idea Challenge.<\/div>\n
Credit: National Institute of Aerospace <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Artemis Award is a generous recognition of the potential impact that our work can have. We hope it can be a critical part of the Artemis Program moving forward. We\u2019re exceptionally grateful to have the opportunity to engage directly with NASA in research for the Artemis Program in such a direct way while we\u2019re still students.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\"Julian<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Julian Rocher<\/p>\n

Team co-lead for Northwestern University <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

METALS is an inflatable system for long term cryogenic fluid storage on the Moon. Stacked layers of sheet metal are welded along their aligned edges, stacked inside a rocket, and inflated once on the lunar surface. The manufacturing process is scalable, reliable, and simple. Notably, METALS boasts superior performance in the harsh lunar environment, including resistance against radiation, abrasion, micrometeorites, gas permeability, and temperature extremes.<\/p>\n

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\"Northwestern<\/a><\/figure>
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Northwestern University team members pose with lunar inflatable prototypes from their METALS project in NASA\u2019s 2024 BIG Idea Challenge. <\/div>\n
Credit: Northwestern University<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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We learned to ask the right questions, and we learned to question what is the status quo and to go above and beyond and think outside the box. It\u2019s a special mindset for everyone to have on this team\u2026 it\u2019s what forces us to innovate.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\"Trevor<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Trevor Abbott<\/p>\n

Team co-lead for Northwestern University <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Arizona State University took home the 2024 BIG Idea Challenge Systems Engineering prize for their project, AEGIS: Inflatable Lunar Landing Pad System.\u00a0The\u00a0AEGIS\u00a0system\u00a0is designed to deflect the exhaust gasses of lunar landers thereby reducing regolith, or Moon dust,\u00a0disturbances\u00a0generated during landing.\u00a0The system\u00a0is deployed on the lunar surface where it uses 6\u00a0anchors in its base to secure itself to the ground. Once inflated to its deployed size of 14 m in diameter, AEGIS provides a reusable precision landing zone for incoming landers.<\/p>\n

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Arizona State University earned the Systems Engineering prize for their BIG Idea Challenge project: AEGIS: Inflatable Lunar Landing Pad System. <\/div>\n
Arizona State University<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

This year\u2019s forum was held in tandem with the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium\u2019s (LSIC) Fall Meeting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where students had the opportunity to network with NASA and industry experts, attend LSIC panels and presentations, and participate in the technical poster session. The consortium provides a forum for NASA to communicate technological requirements, needs, and opportunities, and for the community to share with NASA existing capabilities and critical gaps.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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We felt that hosting this year\u2019s BIG Idea Forum in conjunction with the LSIC Fall Meeting would be an exciting opportunity for these incredibly talented students to network with today\u2019s aerospace leaders in government, industry, and academia. Their innovative thinking and novel contributions are critical skills required for the successful development of the technologies that will drive exploration on the Moon and beyond.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\"Niki<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Niki Werkheiser<\/p>\n

Director of Technology Maturation in NASA\u2019s Space Technology Mission Directorate<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In February, teams submitted proposal packages, from which six finalists were selected for funding of up to $150,000 depending on each team\u2019s prototype and budget. The finalists then worked for eight months designing, developing, and demonstrating their concepts.\u202fThe 2024 BIG Idea program concluded at its annual forum, where teams presented their results and answered questions from judges. Experts from NASA, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and other aerospace companies evaluated the student concepts based on technical innovation, credibility, management, and the teams\u2019 verification testing. In addition to the presentation, the teams provided a technical paper and poster detailing their proposed inflatable system for lunar operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Year after year, BIG Idea student teams spend countless hours working on tough engineering design challenges. Their dedication and \u2018game-changing\u2019 ideas never cease to amaze me. They all have bright futures ahead of them.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\"David<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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David Moore<\/p>\n

Program Director for NASA\u2019s Game Changing Development program<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

NASA\u2019s Space Technology Mission Directorate sponsors the BIG Idea Challenge through a collaboration between its Game Changing Development program and the agency\u2019s Office of STEM Engagement. It is managed by a partnership between the National Institute of Aerospace and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.\u00a0\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

Team presentations, technical papers, and digital posters are available on the BIG Idea website<\/a>.\u202f\u202f\u00a0\u202f\u00a0\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

For full competition details, visit:\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/bigidea.nianet.org\/2024-challenge<\/a><\/p>\n

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Second-year mechanical engineering student Connor Owens, left, and electrical engineering graduate student Sarwan Shah run through how they\u2019ll test the sheath-and-auger anchor for the axial vertical pull test of the base anchor in a former shower room in Sun Devil Hall. <\/div>\n
Image credit: Charlie Leight\/ASU News<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n
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The University of Maryland BIG Idea Challenge team\u2019s Auxiliary Inflatable Wheels for Lunar Rover project in a testing environment <\/div>\n
University of Maryland<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n
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Students from University of Michigan and a component of their Cargo-BEEP (Cargo Balancing Expandable Exploration Platform) project<\/div>\n
University of Michigan<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n
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Northwestern University welders prepare to work on their 2024 BIG Idea Challenge prototype, a metal inflatable designed for deployment on the Moon.<\/div>\n
Northwestern University<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n
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Brigham Young University\u2019s Untethered and Modular Inflatable Robots for Lunar Operations project<\/div>\n
Brigham Young University<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n
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California Institute of Technology\u2019s PILLARS: Plume-deployed Inflatable for Launch and Landing Abrasive Regolith Shielding project<\/div>\n
California Institute of Technology <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n
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The\u00a0Inflatable Systems for Lunar Operations\u00a0theme allowed teams to submit various technology concepts such as soft robotics, deployable infrastructure components, emergency shelters or other devices for extended extravehicular activities, pressurized tunnels and airlocks, and debris shields and dust protection systems.\u00a0<\/div>\n
National Institute of Aerospace<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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