NASA HUNCH Design and Prototyping Projects for 2020-2021
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NASA HUNCH
Design and Prototyping
Projects for
2020-2021
NASA Links for Educators and Students
• www.nasahunch.com
Space Station Layout
• General information for students on NASA.gov site: http://www.space.com/3-international-space-station.html
• http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/9- Space Station air circulation
12/index.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_support_system
A-Z Topic on nasa.gov
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/ Station Tour (there are lots of others)
Space Station Tours https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGvA8kS-
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/suni_ _5M
iss_tour.html
Information about International Space Station Physics of Microgravity
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index http://nasasearch.nasa.gov/search?utf8=%E2%
.html 9C%93&affiliate=nasa&query=Physics+of+Microgravity
Living in Space-Multiple resources listed
http://nasasearch.nasa.gov/search?query=living+in+spac • Design and Prototyping gives Students the opportunity
e&affiliate=nasa&utf8=%E2%9C%93 to help develop important hardware and features that
could help the astronauts live more functionally and
aid in the scientific and engineering capability on the
Working in Space International Space Station, Gateway and the moon.
http://nasasearch.nasa.gov/search?query=working+in+s
pace&affiliate=nasa&utf8=%E2%9C%93 • The Following slides have different project ideas that
students could work toward for the 2019-2020 school
year.
• Talk with your mentor to determine the dates for your
Preliminary Design Review (October to November
time frame), Critical Design Review (February to
March time frame) and the Final Review will be April
15, 2020 at Johnson Space Center.
NASA Resources Google Maps of ISS
Life in Space https://www.google.com/maps/@29.5604733,-
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spacef 95.0855252,3a,75y,116.77h,82.07t/data=!3m6!1
light/Astronauts/Living_in_space e1!3m4!1sSEfknbwn4K4AAAQvxgbyJQ!2e0!7i100
00!8i5000
Understanding Fluid Dynamics in Space
General Information for Students https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn5KuSHgu
https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/9- UE
12/index.html
Generic Agriculture Lab for the ISS Problem: Many people would like to fly a plant growth experiment to the ISS but get discouraged that they have to design the container as well as the experiment. Could HUNCH make it easier for prospective researchers by designing a NanoLab that could work for many experiments instead of just one experiment? Objective: Design a generic NanoLab for growing seeds and/or small plants that could be used by any high school, university or researcher that wants to try out their experiment on the ISS. The purpose of this NanoLab is for it to be versatile enough so that anyone who wants to do a seed or small plant growth study in zero gravity can make small adjustments to the platform and send up their experiment without having to design the whole lab from the bottom up. • Limited to 2 USB cables for power • Everything must fit inside a 10cm x 10cm x 20cm aluminum container (external dimensions) the walls of the aluminum container are 3.18 mm thick. You will need to make the internal structure that supports the electronics, the plant growth chamber, camera, sensors, lights…. • Supply of water or other media such as gels or agar for seeds and plant • Light for plant and growth area. • At least one camera—still or video?---consideration of time intervals of how often pictures are needed at different times of the growth • Location for seeds to germinate and grow • Fan for air circulation? • Arduino for control of water, light, air, timing, power, sensors,… • Stay with Spark fun for components—HUNCH is partnering with Spark Fun so your team will get a discount on their products. • This lab will need to be able to function for the 30 day mission. For more details please go to the Project Information and Documentation page http://www.hunchdesign.com/uploads/2/2/0/9/22093000/ag_nano_lab_10-13.pdf
Problem: No Heat Shield
When in orbit, a space craft is circling the Earth at around 17.500 miles per hour depending on the height of the orbit. Returning from space through
Earth’s atmosphere usually requires a heat shield to protect the occupants from the excessive temperatures generated as the friction of the air particles
slow down the space craft. Most space craft use an ablative heat shield that flakes away as the material gets hot and carries away the heat with the
little flakes. The space shuttle had insulating tiles that could handle the heat and prevented the heat from transferring through to the inside of the ship.
All of these ships and space craft had a lot of mass and a lot of momentum that made it difficult to slow them down from orbital speed.
Imagine if you had a very low mass space craft but a large surface area, it would take a smaller amount of force to slow it down. The less mass, the less
force to slow its velocity. The larger the surface area, the greater the effect of the air friction.
Researcher Dr. Shinji Suzuki suggested that an astronaut release paper airplanes from the International Space Station and let them re-enter the Earth’s
atmosphere and expected that they would make it to the ground without burning up as they slowed down. Someone must have thought the odds
were too low for success out of the experiment so the airplanes were never released. Despite the paper airplane experiment not occurring, I am
convinced from existing evidence that it is still a great idea but I would like better odds of getting real data for an orbital speed payload returning to the
ground without a heat shield.
Objective:
• Develop an air foil that would allow a 200 gram electronic package (battery included) to be slowed down by the atmosphere without burning up.
• Develop an electronic payload that would allow tracking and maybe data acquisition from the time of release to the time it might land (could be a
long time--like a year or more).
• This package should utilize ham radio frequency 437MHz to send a ping on a regular basis so it can be tracked easily from the ground.
• Sunlight sensor could help to only send a signal when it is getting power from the sun
• NORAD can track some items in space depending on the cross sectional area, reflectance and orientation
• Antenna size—6.42”
• Tips to consider :
• a maple tree seed pod and how it helicopters down to the ground
• Different paper airplane designs
• Toys that fly and flutter to the ground
• What kind of materials would you use?
• Power supply?
• How big of an object can NORAD track in space? Would they be willing to assist with tracking? It will have a different visibility in different orientations.
For more details please go to the Project Information and Documentation page
http://www.hunchdesign.com/uploads/2/2/0/9/22093000/no_heat_shield-_10-13.pdf
Lunar Supply Pods—computer modeling
Problem:
NASA is being asked to make a Lunar Base for a permanent human presence on the moon. To supply food, water and day to
day ‘dumb’ equipment to a Lunar Base we need to develop another method of landing supplies that doesn’t leave expensive
rocket engines and fuel tanks on the surface every time the astronauts need something. Since there isn’t air around the
moon that would allow us to use heat shields, airfoils or parachutes, is it possible to slow down supply pods without engines
and fuel but instead roll across the sand.
Objective:
Develop a computer model that will provide information demonstrating at what speeds a supply pod of food, water and other
essentials could be dropped onto the lunar surface and the pod survive the impact and rolling without the supplies being
burned up from over heating, turned into mush or scattered across the surface.
Some of the variables will include:
• Mass of container and contents
• Strength of container
• Velocity at touchdown
• Angle of contact with the surface
• Surface particle size—sand to gravel to rocks to boulders
• Undulation of the surface
• Coefficient of restitution of pod
• Internal and external dampening of container affects the restitution of pod
• Spin of pod—forward or backward
For more details please go to the Project Information and Documentation page
For more detailed information about the project refer to Landing Materials on the Moon in the Information and Supporting Documents page on
http://www.hunchdesign.com/uploads/2/2/0/9/22093000/lunar_supply_pods_-_10-16.pdf
the Design and Prototype website.
Lunar Supply Pod Mover Problem: Supply Pods are going to roll to a stop on the Moon with food, water and other supplies for the astronauts. NASA will need a way to bring the pod back to the habitat where it can be unloaded. They will already have a rover that can be driven out to the pod but they will need some kind of tool to either pick it up or roll it back to the habitat. Objective: Design and build a scale model of a hand operated or electric tool that will be used with the SEV to pick up or move a Lunar Supply Pod • Build a prototype that will fit on your desk. The one that goes to the moon would need to be able to lift 3 tons on Earth. • Don’t let the supply pod swing and bang into the SEV while driving back to the habitat • Your prototype can be hand operated but have a plan for how your team would power it. • Plan on supply pods being at least two different sizes—small and large • Needs to be easy to attach and remove from the SEV Pointers and thoughts: • Keep it simple • Light weight • Does the pod need to be lifted? How high? • Since grappling points might be damaged after touchdown and rolling to a stop, it would be wise to have more than one way to pick it up or move it • The first and simplest ideas are what will lead the engineering to keep it operational for a long time. • Hydraulics won’t work in the temperature swings of the moon—the fluid or the seals may expand and contract too much in the temperature swings and cause leaking and other problems. • There could be different sizes for different equipment. Make yours so it can handle a small and a large size pod. • If it is damaged from the rolling of the touch down, it may not roll very easy. • I am certain there will be a time for supply pod retrieval to be done robotically but there will always be a need for the people to go get the job done. For more details please go to the Project Information and Documentation page http://www.hunchdesign.com/uploads/2/2/0/9/22093000/supply_pod_mover_10-13.pdf
Lunar Soil Baffles/Waffles
for Habitats
Problem:
Lunar soil is a cheap radiation and impact protective cover for lunar habitats. The
habitats are expected to be inflated and very smooth which would allow the dry,
powdery dirt to slide down the sides with little coverage on the top where it is most
needed. We need some method of keeping the dirt that is placed on top from sliding
down the sides and being retained on top.
Objective:
Develop a foldable waffle/baffle system that attaches to the out side of an inflatable Lunar soil can be used to protect astronauts from
habitat module that will hold the lunar dust and prevent it from sliding down the sides
of the habitat. The dust is expected to be deposited onto the top by way of Lunar Dust radiation and even micrometeorites. But if the
Blower modules are inflated smooth structures, how do yo
• Lighter weight is better keep the dirt from sliding down the sides of the
• Scale your prototype to a 24” diameter model (needs to fit on the demonstration habitat?
table)
• Collapses into small space for transport to the moon
• Must fold out as the enclosure inflates.
• Attaches to the outer covering of the inflatable habitat
• The main goal is to keep the soil from sliding off the top of an inflated module.
Once some minimum amount of soil is held in place, the soil on top of that should
pile up and remain.
• There may be other cloth/flexible material based methods besides waffles/baffles.
What kind of flexible, pattern could be made for
For more details please go to the Project Information and Documentation page
the outside of the inflatable habitat that could
http://www.hunchdesign.com/uploads/2/2/0/9/22093000/lunar_dust_blower
_and_waffle-baffle.pdf
help hold the soil onto the top and sides?
Lunar Dust Blower Problem: Lunar soil is a cheap radiation and impact protective cover for lunar habitats. The habitats are expected to be inflated and over 15 feet tall. Dirt can be pushed up to the sides of the habitat with a bulldozer type of blade but the most radiation will be coming straight down through the top of the habitat where it will be difficult to get the soil up to and just as difficult to keep it from sliding down. We need a simple method of getting the soil up on top of the habitat without damaging the outer covering—don’t pop the house. The sliding down of the soil will be handled by the Lunar Soil Waffles/baffles team. Fortunately for us, engineers in northern climates have already developed snow blowers that could scoop up light weight lunar soil and throw it up on top of the inflatable structures. The soil on the moon is similar to the mass of soil on Earth but is has less weight because it is on the moon. Snow blowers are designed for snow on Earth not lunar soil with rocks and abrasive grains. Lunar soil can be used to protect astronauts from Objective: radiation and even micrometeorites. But if the Modify a snow blower to be used on the moon to blow lunar dust onto the inflatable lunar modules are inflated smooth structures, how do you habitats to shield the crews from radiation and micrometeorites. To be clear, you are not redesigning a snow blower. Snow blower technology is already developed. get the dirt on top of the habitats without damaging • Must be electric the outer surfaces? • Don’t throw rocks bigger than 1” • Mitigate overheating of the motor • Good wheels for the moon (talk to last year’s Lunar Wheels teams) • Easy to control with heavy gloves and bulky space suits • Directional shooter of the dust • Easy to push and maneuver through dust • Variable speed motor (don’t throw it hard when close to the enclosure) • (This may be something that could also be automated in the future) For more details please go to the Project Information and Documentation page http://www.hunchdesign.com/uploads/2/2/0/9/22093000/lunar_dust_blower_and_waffle-baffle--_10-26.pdf
Simulated Gravity—VR/AR
Problem:
In many science fiction movies, the space craft rotate to make a simulated gravity for part of the ship. The
problem is that there are differences between a large spinning wheel and a gravitational body like Earth.
Simulated gravity has been talked about for decades but has never been tried. Before we send people on long
distance trips in a spinning can, we need to build one for an Earth orbit where problems can be found and then
solved. Before NASA spends the money on a rotating module in space, we should test out some of the ideas
before we build it. This is a great use for virtual and augmented reality.
Objective:
Develop a virtual reality or augmented reality simulation that will help train astronauts and engineers of the
difficulties in a rotating space craft 15m in diameter and rotating at a sufficient velocity to produce 1 g.
• This simulator should include the following objects:
• A toroidal module 15m in diameter and 3m wide that connects with two central core modules
• Four ladders leading from the central core down to the outer ring
• At least two people capable of running and doing work outs
• 3 base balls for juggling and throwing to another person
• A hose for watering the plants
• Several ‘pillows’ for growing plants in(you may choose the type of plants)(can’t use rigid pots in space)
• Bar bells and a set of weights
• A flying drone
• A shower
• 3 Pendulum clocks on the wall at different heights (these will keep time differently if they are identical clocks)
• Although the final product will need to utilize a head set and hand controllers that will allow the user to walk
around and interact in the virtual world, the initial version only needs to demonstrate the software.
For more details please go to the Project Information and Documentation page
http://www.hunchdesign.com/uploads/2/2/0/9/22093000/simulated_gravity_vr_10-13.pdfFor more details please go to the Project Information and Documentation page
Mars Trash Ejector
Problem:
http://www.hunchdesign.com/uploads/2/2/0/9/22093000/trash_ejector
-_update.pdf
On the way to Mars or any distant destination, the astronauts will be eating food, repairing the
ship and accumulating trash. If they hold on to all of the trash, until they get to their
destination, they will be smelling up the vehicle and taking up lots of space. They will also
require more fuel to slow down than if they get rid of the trash on the way. We need some
kind of trash ejector to get the trash out and away from the ship and, better yet, burn it up in
the Martian atmosphere or Earth’s if they are coming home.
Objective:
Develop a scaled trash ejector for the Mars vehicle that will allow astronauts to dispose of their
trash containers safely on their way to and from Mars.
• The trash containers on the ISS are similar to a 5 gallon bucket—that’s too big for you to
demonstrate with. Design yours to eject something the size of a soup can as your
demonstrator. You should be able to demonstrate with either a rigid container like a soup
can or a soft container bag but it should be more densely packed (not a pillow).
• Your ejector will need a hatch on the inside of the space craft that the crew will open to
insert the trash container. Air inlet port
• It will need a hatch on the outside of the space craft that will open out into space so they
can shoot the trash away. Must have a locking mechanism that can be latched and
unlatched from inside the space craft.
• Method for opening and closing the external hatch from inside the space craft.
• Some method of inhibiting both hatches from being opened at the same time (we want to
keep all the air in the space craft). Soup can
• A way of removing air from inside the ejector so the crew isn’t consistently throwing away 1 m/s
the air supply. (this does not need to be functional but demonstrate how you will let air in
(so you can put trash in, and also how you will suck air out so you can eject trash)
• Will it be spring loaded? Pneumatic? bungees can’t handle the cycles needed or the
exposure to space.
• Some kind of handle or button for releasing the trash.
• Trash needs to be held in place until the crew is ready to shoot the trash even if the outside
hatch is open.
• Make it so the trash is ejected no faster than 1 m/s.
• Should be adjustable so that there are settings for 5kg of trash or less, 10 kg of trash or less
and 20 kg of trash or less. Its ok if you have more settings as well.
• Can you make the trash container spin (like a bullet or football) as it exits the ejector so that
it is more likely to stay on the correct path? It doesn’t have to be fast rotation. It would be
best if it is not tumbling. This is not a requirement just a thought to consider.Food Bite Dispenser
Problem:
Astronauts will be walking around on the Moon or Mars in their space suits for 6 to 8 hours at a time. It would
be valuable for them to have access to some kind of snack to keep their energy up during the long activity.
Another team is developing energy bites. By having bites instead of a bar means that not every bite has to be the
same, the astronaut would be able to have variety during the space walk where some are energy bar, some bites
could be beef jerkey, some could be hard candy to suck on and the last bite could be chewing gum (don’t blow
bubbles).
Objective:
Develop a dispenser for astronaut food bites that would be used in the helmet of the new space suit to be used
on the Moon and Mars.
• Pellet size should be around = 1” x. 75” x .5” (a little smaller than a fun size candy bar)—the exact shape and
size of the pellets should be dictated by a good edible size and a shape that goes through your dispenser
without clogging or jamming.
• Holds at around 8 pellets per cartridge
• Must be able to eat all of the pellets without use of hands.
• May be small enough to have 2 or 3 different dispensers in the helmet—aim for around 2 Snicker’s bars worth
of food in the helmet
• Person has to remove pellet from dispenser, can’t fall of in the helmet or shoot at the person’s face. (ex. Pez
dispensers make you pull the candy from the dispenser.)
• Could use electric motor to aid in the dispense but you will have to account for the volume of the batteries.
Tips:
• This will be in gravity so floating around is not a problem but crumbs in the suit could still be a problem.
• How will the dispenser attach in the helmet? Will Velcro be ok?
• Where would you place it in the helmet so they can still reach it?
• Keep it simple.
• Keep it as small as possible but supply enough food to be worth having.
For more details please go to the Project Information and Documentation page
http://www.hunchdesign.com/uploads/2/2/0/9/22093000/lunar_energy_food_bites_dispenser_10-14.pdfYou can also read
