Making ‘Moon Dust Sensors’ May Set the Stage for In-Space Manufacturing Advances

If moon and planetary dust called regolith can be used to build sensors in space, it could help make space exploration safer and yield fundamental insights to propel space-based manufacturing, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University researcher Dr. Seetha Raghavan says.

With a new $600,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, Raghavan and her students plan to leverage a “direct ink writing” process — a form of additive manufacturing akin to 3D printing — to make ceramic nanocomposites in a microgravity environment.

The project’s primary goal, she explained, is to better understand how low-gravity space conditions impact material processing and properties. Her team also hopes to create new ceramic and regolith-based sensors by fine-tuning manufacturing parameters.

“We have a unique opportunity to create new materials with extraordinary properties we cannot achieve here on Earth,” said Raghavan. “At the same time, the creation of functional materials like sensors using resources available from lunar and planetary regolith will help us achieve space-exploration goals.”

Specifically, ensuring the safety of astronauts in space will require high-performing new sensors to “detect chemicals and gases, monitor significant temperature changes and identify damage to supporting structures,” added Raghavan, a professor of Aerospace Engineering at Embry-Riddle’s College of Engineering in Daytona Beach, Florida.

For the NSF-funded project, dubbed BRITE-PIVOT (Boosting Research Ideas for Transformative and Equitable Advances in Engineering), Raghavan will tap into her expertise in the field of light-matter interactions — the study of how matter can absorb, emit, transmit, reflect and refract light — to characterize the mechanics of ceramic materials under extreme conditions. In the past, her work has included using lasers to characterize stress and temperature in jet engines under extreme conditions.

The “PIVOT” part of the BRITE-PIVOT project reflects Raghavan’s journey as a researcher, as she shifts her focus to take a deeper dive into the realm of space manufacturing. “Our scientific training does not limit us, as researchers, to one field,” she noted. “Rather, it gives us the ability to tackle big challenges, in this case even beyond our world.”

As a first step in the three-year project, Raghavan’s team will begin developing an “acoustic levitation device,” in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, to simulate aspects of manufacturing in a microgravity environment. The Embry-Riddle research team will then develop unique measuring devices to study how microgravity changes heat transfer and fluid flow during material processing, and how those changes impact the microstructure of materials.

Engaging Students at All Levels

Yet another aspect of the BRITE-PIVOT project will focus on the broader participation of women and underrepresented minority students in STEM. That goal will be achieved “by developing education modules to bring the excitement of manufacturing in space to K-12 students around the world,” Raghavan said. She will work with Ignited Thinkers, a nonprofit organization that focuses on making space education accessible for all students. The organization has run space education summits in Tanzania and Kenya to provide accessible options to students around the world.

As Raghavan’s lead doctoral student on the project, Laura Johann’s experience understanding materials exposed to the harsh space environment will be valuable to achieve technical goals. Laura will also assist with STEM outreach and help mentor a team of undergraduate students, in support of the project.

“I believe that Embry-Riddle, especially with Dr. Raghavan’s expertise, is poised to lead in exploring the visionary concept of in-space manufacturing, and I am honored to have the opportunity to bring this idea to fruition,” said Johann, a native of Orange County, California, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering. “This multidisciplinary effort is about embracing the space environment and inspiring young minds to believe that courage and creativity are key to discovery.”

In addition to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, collaborators on the Embry-Riddle project will include Zero Gravity Corporation, Sierra Space and Redwire Space to support access to the microgravity environment for testing during short zero-g flights, medium-duration suborbital flights and longer-duration ISS flights.

The NSF’s BRITE initiative provides grants to experienced investigators forging new research directions or entering new fields, as Raghavan will be doing with her project. The BRITE program seeks to “expand knowledge for a diverse science and engineering workforce” and “address fundamental research that creates new knowledge in one or more program areas of the division of civil, mechanical and anufacturing Innovation.”

Dr. Jim Gregory, dean of Embry-Riddle’s College of Engineering, said, “Dr. Raghavan is an outstanding researcher who is passionate about mentoring students to ensure their success. Her latest grant from the NSF will help our college achieve a key goal, by making an engineering education more appealing and accessible to a broader array of students so that we can widen the talent pipeline for the future.”

Posted In: Applied Science | Engineering