Advancing ExoCam 360° Video Technology via In Situ Vacuum Chamber Test Relevant to Lunar Plume Surface Interaction

The principal objective of this Phase I SBIR is to advance the TRL of our ExoCam 360° camera system by operating it in a relevant vacuum environment that will accurately simulate an active PSI ground test event (a rocket engine firing into a surface of lunar regolith simulant) within NASA Langley Research Center’s (LaRC) new 60-ft Vacuum Sphere Test Facility, designed to emulate conditions of an actual landing on the Moon as closely as possible. Specifically, we will be researching and ultimately testing a high-resolution, high framerate, 360° field of view (FOV) commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) color video camera in vacuum chamber at Honeybee Robotics Altadena lab facility. This will including thermal conditioning, satisfactory environmental isolation, and after-market custom avionics developments necessary to actuate "record" mode on the camera for a predetermined length of time, actionable by a wired "GO" signal similar to what would be provided by the LaRC test chamber during the engine fire test. All this development is in preparation for ultimately capturing a rocket engine firing into the surface of lunar regolith simulant at a new NASA Langley Vacuum Sphere government test facility (still under construction). Although a terrestrial test, this set of test conditions will emulate the conditions of a lunar lander landing on the surface of the Moon, and verifying our camera functionality in a relevant test environment ahead of time will allow our team to be ideally prepared for the first opportunity to test in the LaRC facility, and advance not only TRL but also our development timeline for inclusion on upcoming Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) flight opportunities. TRL for this system is anticipated to advance from 2-4 via initial testing in these relevant conditions.