IN-SITU INSTRUMENTATION IS NEEDED THAT CAN WITHSTAND THE HARSH ENVIRONMENTS IMPOSED BY PLANETARY ATMOSPHERE…

Public award description

IN-SITU INSTRUMENTATION IS NEEDED THAT CAN WITHSTAND THE HARSH ENVIRONMENTS IMPOSED BY PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES IN ORDER TO MAKE ADVANCEMENTS IN SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION. TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN WITHSTAND THE CORROSIVE/CAUSTIC GASES, RADIATION LEVELS, STRESSES, AND HIGH TEMPERATURES AND PRESSURES, WHILE STILL PRODUCING RELIABLE, REAL-TIME DATA ARE A MAJOR FACILITATOR FOR PLANETARY MISSIONS. TO ADDRESS THIS NEED, SPORIAN IS DEVELOPING A HARSH ENVIRONMENT PRESSURE SENSOR TARGETED TOWARD THE GLENN EXTREME ENVIRONMENT RIG (GEER) AND FUTURE VENUS PROBE SPACECRAFT. THE PROPOSED TECHNOLOGY WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO NASA S PLANETARY SCIENCE MISSION BY FACILITATING, ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMBER TESTING/VALIDATION, AND PRESSURE MEASUREMENTS IN THE VENUS ATMOSPHERE AND ON THE SURFACE. THE PHASE I EFFORT WILL FOCUS ON HEAVILY LEVERAGING PRIOR HARSH ENVIRONMENT, IN-SITU INSTRUMENTATION DEVELOPMENT AND, WITH INPUT FROM CURRENT/PRIOR NASA PARTNERS, CONSTRUCT, TEST, AND CHARACTERIZE PROTOTYPE SENSOR SUITES. IF SUCCESSFUL, SPORIAN WILL BE WELL PREPARED FOR PHASE II EFFORTS FOCUSED ON PRODUCING FULL DEMONSTRATION UNITS FOR APPLICATION-RELEVANT TESTING AND ADDRESSING INTEGRATION STRATEGIES