Science & Technology

Thermal Management for Lunar Missions

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Advanced technologies are sought for thermal management of Earth-orbiting spacecraft, the human lunar habitat, landers, and rovers, for Martian transit spacecraft, as well as planetary expeditions to Jupiter, Venus, and their moons. Future spacecraft will require more sophisticated thermal control systems that can dissipate or reject greater heat loads at higher input heat fluxes while … Read More →

Geology and Resources of the Moon

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The Moon represents an incredible archive of the early history of the inner Solar System, a several billion years period that included the stabilization of Earth into a world capable of sustaining life. We may never fully understand the evolution of environmental conditions in the inner Solar System that eventually led to the origin of … Read More →

Robotic Swarm Intelligence for Lunar Exploration

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Deep space presents numerous hazards and harsh conditions for remote exploration missions, which must often operate autonomously without intervention from Earth. To increase the survivability of remote missions, space agencies are exploiting principles and techniques that can help such systems become more resilient through self-management and automatic adaptation. By adhering to the principles of autonomic … Read More →

Cosmic ray flux illustration. Credit: NASA

Understanding Radiation for Future Lunar Missions

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The Moon is the next stepping stone for human space exploration, and several nations have announced plans for its exploration by humans. Space radiation exposure is one of the major risks for astronauts’ health as chronic exposure to galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) may have late health effects such as induction of cataract, cancer, or degenerative … Read More →

AI Onboard: Intelligent Algorithms in Space

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Storing and analyzing data in the cloud is still exciting and powerful because of features like cost-saving, loss prevention, and security; but when it comes to applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) where a delay can result in a risky situation, cloud computation is woefully incompetent. Real-time applications like environmental … Read More →