News & Events

Unique NASA Science Lab Tackles 'Sticky' Issue of Lunar Dust

Aug 24, 2005 - In the safety-conscious, science-driven business of aerospace research, where laboratories routinely are set up as "clean rooms," in which sterility is paramount, Dr. Mian Abbas' lab is something of an anomaly. The word "dust" is even in its name. Not that the "Dusty Plasma Lab," part of the National Space Science and Technology Center in Huntsville, Ala., is any less well maintained than any other professional research facility. The dust found here is unique for another reason. It comes from Earth's Moon.
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New Centennial Challenge Aims At Extracting Oxygen From Moondust

(May 21,2005, Hopkin) reported that NASA has unveiled its newest Centennial Challenge, offering a "cool quarter-of-a-million dollars" for the "astronomical alchemist who can create breathable oxygen from moondust." Nature adds that the "challenge is called MoonROx, for Moon Regolith Oxygen (the regolith being the layer of loose rubble on a planet or moon's surface)," and adds that the "rules are simple. Entrants must build a device, within certain weight and power limits, that can extract at least five kilograms of oxygen from a sample of volcanic ash (a substitute for lunar soil) in the space of eight hours. The first team to build and demonstrate such a gadget before 1 June 2008 will claim the cash."
Nature News article   |   Centennial Challenges home

ISRU activities on oxygen generation and the upcoming Simulant workshop mentioned on Space.com

Nov 10, 2004 - Propellant pit stop - One of the central challenges for NASA's Lunar and Planetary Surface Operations Technology efforts is to validate -- or invalidate -- by 2011 the systems-of-systems level concept of ISRU, especially for the production of oxygen and propellants from lunar resources.
Read the full article on space.com

NASA's Microgravity Program Changes

A result of the President's vision of a mission to the Moon, Mars, and Beyond, announced on January 14, 2004, is a reorganization of the NASA Offices, with the result that the Office of Biological and Physical Research (OBPR) which oversaw the microgravity research programs no longer exits as such. Much of the work and personnel from OBPR have been transferred to the new Exploration Systems Mission Directorate headed by Rear Admiral Craig E. Steidle (Ret.) as Associate Administrator and reporting directly to Mr. Sean O'Keefe. Details of the new Directorate can be found at http://exploration.nasa.gov/about/index.html. To implement the exploration program, the emphasis has changed from fundamental science to technology with deliverables at a higher Technology Readiness Level. The web site gives details as we now know them and more details are becoming available as the new Directorate matures. In addition, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has a web site for the Exploration Science and Technology Division, which gives details on the thrusts of the programs in exploration as they pertain to MSFC. The url is http://est.msfc.nasa.gov/. In a parallel move, NASA's Office of Space Science (formerly Code S), has also reformulated its charter to conform more to the exploration initiative. Details can be found at in the Vision for Space Exploration web site at http://www.nasa.gov/missions/solarsystem/explore_main.html.

The new directions NASA is taking will be well represented at the 2005 National Space and Missile Materials symposium to be held 27 June - 1 July at Summerlin, NV. NASA is in fact co-sponsoring the symposium. Details are at http://www.usasymposium.com/nsmms/, and include descriptions of the specific Sessions to held. Of particular interest is the Session 1: Moon & Mars: There and Back. Current and potential investigators are encouraged to submit abstracts and attend this symposium. The abstracts are due on December 10, 2004. Please note that the symposium is US ONLY and ITAR Restricted and is not open to the general public.

Upcoming Workshops

• Lunar Regolith Simulant Materials - January 24-26, 2005
  Marshall Institute in Huntsville Alabama