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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Catching Rays: How Bifacial_Radiance Sheds Light on the Future of Solar PV

The challenge of energy transition is immediate and immense, with current projections targeting 75 TW of photovoltaics (PV) capacity globally by 2050. Alongside the rapid deployment is the "solar-coaster" ride the PV industry experiences with evolving technologies and novel installation methods. In 2016, NREL developed bifacial_radiance, a python open-source modeling tool for bifacial PV. This tool is a wrapper of the raytracing engine Radiance, which you all know better than us at this workshop. Bifacial_radiance integrates the many characteristics of common PV systems to model irradiance on both the front and rear sides of bifacial PV technology - a technology that now represents 75% of utility-scale deployment in the US. Bifacial_radiance has been pivotal for understanding bifacial system performance, shading, and edge effects, and now agrivoltaics research. It has also helped develop simplified models used in PV due diligence tools for optimizing new deployments or evaluating the performance of existing projects. Now, it's the go-to comparison tool for many university, and industry-developed systems modeling tools, and a pivotal tool for further research in photovoltaics. This talk will cover the needs bifacial_radiance addresses as an open-source tool, its development path, and the opportunity for any raytracer to shine light on the solar industry through research and practical application of modeling in regular site installations and novel setups like agrivoltaics and vertical panels at high latitudes (and even the South Pole!).

agrivoltaics↗
NASA NTRS1973

Polar sea ice observations by means of microwave radiometry

Principles pertinent to the utilization of 1.55 cm wavelength radiation emanating from the surface of the earth for studying the changing characteristics of polar sea ice are briefly reviewed. Recent data obtained at that wavelength with an imaging radiometer on-board the Nimbus 5 satellite are used to illustrate how the seasonal changes in extent of sea ice in both polar regions may be monitored free of atmospheric interference. Within a season, changes in the compactness of the sea ice are also observed from the satellite. Some substantial areas of the Arctic sea ice canopy identified as first-year ice in the past winter were observed not to melt this summer, a graphic illustration of the eventual formation of multiyear ice in the Arctic. Finally, the microwave emissivity of some of the multiyear ice areas near the North Pole was found to increase significantly in the summer, probably due to liquid water content in the firm layer.

Gloersen, P.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Overview of Small and Large-Scale Space Solar Power Concepts

An overview of space solar power studies performed at the Boeing Company under contract with NASA will be presented. The major concepts to be presented are: 1. Power Plug in Orbit: this is a spacecraft that collects solar energy and distributes it to users in space using directed radio frequency or optical energy. Our concept uses solar arrays having the same dimensions as ISS arrays, but are assumed to be more efficient. If radiofrequency wavelengths are used, it will necessitate that the receiving satellite be equipped with a rectifying antenna (rectenna). For optical wavelengths, the solar arrays on the receiving satellite will collect the power. 2. Mars Clipper I Power Explorer: this is a solar electric Mars transfer vehicle to support human missions. A near-term precursor could be a high-power radar mapping spacecraft with self-transport capability. Advanced solar electric power systems and electric propulsion technology constitute viable elements for conducting human Mars missions that are roughly comparable in performance to similar missions utilizing alternative high thrust systems, with the one exception being their inability to achieve short Earth-Mars trip times. 3. Alternative Architectures: this task involves investigating alternatives to the traditional solar power satellite (SPS) to supply commercial power from space for use on Earth. Four concepts were studied: two using photovoltaic power generation, and two using solar dynamic power generation, with microwave and laser power transmission alternatives considered for each. All four architectures use geostationary orbit. 4. Cryogenic Propellant Depot in Earth Orbit: this concept uses large solar arrays (producing perhaps 600 kW) to electrolyze water launched from Earth, liquefy the resulting hydrogen and oxygen gases, and store them until needed by spacecraft. 5. Beam-Powered Lunar Polar Rover: a lunar rover powered by a microwave or laser beam can explore permanently shadowed craters near the lunar poles to search for water ice and other frozen volatiles. Near such craters are mountain peaks and highlands that are in near permanent sunlight. Power can be beamed from a collector on a sunlit mountain or crater rim to a rover inside a crater. Near-term applications of space solar power technology can therefore pave the way toward large-scale commercial power from space.

Potter, Seth↗
NASA NTRS2013

The Collection 6 'dark-target' MODIS Aerosol Products

Aerosol retrieval algorithms are applied to Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors on both Terra and Aqua, creating two streams of decade-plus aerosol information. Products of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and aerosol size are used for many applications, but the primary concern is that these global products are comprehensive and consistent enough for use in climate studies. One of our major customers is the international modeling comparison study known as AEROCOM, which relies on the MODIS data as a benchmark. In order to keep up with the needs of AEROCOM and other MODIS data users, while utilizing new science and tools, we have improved the algorithms and products. The code, and the associated products, will be known as Collection 6 (C6). While not a major overhaul from the previous Collection 5 (C5) version, there are enough changes that there are significant impacts to the products and their interpretation. In its entirety, the C6 algorithm is comprised of three sub-algorithms for retrieving aerosol properties over different surfaces: These include the dark-target DT algorithms to retrieve over (1) ocean and (2) vegetated-dark-soiled land, plus the (3) Deep Blue (DB) algorithm, originally developed to retrieve over desert-arid land. Focusing on the two DT algorithms, we have updated assumptions for central wavelengths, Rayleigh optical depths and gas (H2O, O3, CO2, etc.) absorption corrections, while relaxing the solar zenith angle limit (up to 84) to increase pole-ward coverage. For DT-land, we have updated the cloud mask to allow heavy smoke retrievals, fine-tuned the assignments for aerosol type as function of season location, corrected bugs in the Quality Assurance (QA) logic, and added diagnostic parameters such as topographic altitude. For DT-ocean, improvements include a revised cloud mask for thin-cirrus detection, inclusion of wind speed dependence in the retrieval, updates to logic of QA Confidence flag (QAC) assignment, and additions of important diagnostic information. At the same time as we have introduced algorithm changes, we have also accounted for upstream changes including: new instrument calibration, revised land-sea masking, and changed cloud masking. Upstream changes also impact the coverage and global statistics of the retrieved AOD. Although our responsibility is to the DT code and products, we have also added a product that merges DT and DB product over semi-arid land surfaces to provide a more gap-free dataset, primarily for visualization purposes. Preliminary validation shows that compared to surface-based sunphotometer data, the C6, Level 2 (along swath) DT-products compare at least as well as those from C5. C6 will include new diagnostic information about clouds in the aerosol field, including an aerosol cloud mask at 500 m resolution, and calculations of the distance to the nearest cloud from clear pixels. Finally, we have revised the strategy for aggregating and averaging the Level 2 (swath) data to become Level 3 (gridded) data. All together, the changes to the DT algorithms will result in reduced global AOD (by 0.02) over ocean and increased AOD (by 0.02) over land, along with changes in spatial coverage. Changes in calibration will have more impact to Terras time series, especially over land. This will result in a significant reduction in artificial differences in the Terra and Aqua datasets, and will stabilize the MODIS data as a target for AEROCOM studie

Aerosol retrieval algorithms↗
NASA NTRS2006

Advanced Energy Conversion Technologies and Architectures for Earth and Beyond

Research, development and studies of novel space-based solar power systems, technologies and architectures for Earth and beyond are needed to reduce the cost of clean electrical power for terrestrial use and to provide a stepping stone for providing an abundance of power in space, i.e., manufacturing facilities, tourist facilities, delivery of power between objects in space, and between space and surface sites. The architectures, technologies and systems needed for space to Earth applications may also be used for in-space applications. Advances in key technologies, i.e., power generation, power management and distribution, power beaming and conversion of beamed power are needed to achieve the objectives of both terrestrial and extraterrestrial applications. There is a need to produce "proof-ofconcept" validation of critical WPT technologies for both the near-term, as well as far-term applications. Investments may be harvested in near-term beam safe demonstrations of commercial WPT applications. Receiving sites (users) include ground-based stations for terrestrial electrical power, orbital sites to provide power for satellites and other platforms, future space elevator systems, space vehicle propulsion, and space surface sites. Space surface receiving sites of particular interest include the areas of permanent shadow near the moon s North and South poles, where WPT technologies could enable access to ice and other useful resources for human exploration. This paper discusses work addressing a promising approach to solar power generation and beamed power conversion. The approach is based on a unique high-power solar concentrator array called Stretched Lens Array (SLA) applied to both solar power generation and beamed power conversion. Since both versions (solar and laser) of SLA use many identical components (only the photovoltaic cells need to be different), economies of manufacturing and scale may be realized by using SLA on both ends of the laser power beaming system in a space solar power application. Near-term uses of this SLA-laser-SLA system may include terrestrial and space exploration in near Earth space. Later uses may include beamed power for bases or vehicles on Mars. Strategies for developing energy infrastructures in space which utilize this technology are presented. This dual use system produces electrical energy efficiently from either coherent light, such as from a highly coherent laser, or from conventional solar illumination. This allows, for example, supplementing solar energy with energy provided by highly coherent laser illumination during periods of low solar illumination or no illumination. This reduces the need for batteries and alternate sources of power. The capability of using laser illumination in a lowest order Gaussian laser mode provides means for transmitting power optically with maximum efficiency and precision over the long distances characteristic of space. A preliminary receiving system similar to that described here, has been produced and tested under solar and laser illumination. A summary of results is given.

Howell, Joe T.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Area Lighting Yuma Sector Border Patrol Area, AZ. SSL Evaluation [Brief]

Along the Yuma Sector Border Patrol Area in Yuma, Arizona, the GATEWAY program conducted a trial evaluation in which the incumbent quartz metal halide area lighting was replaced with LED at three pole locations, and illuminance measurements were recorded initially and at 2500 hours, 5000 hours, 7000, and 11,000 hours of operation. Additionally, four second-generation LED luminaires installed as part of the full installation were evaluated initially and again after 4,000 hours of operation. While the initial energy, lighting quality, and maintenance benefits relative to the incumbent high-pressure sodium system were very satisfactory, the study raises important questions regarding the long-term performance of LED lighting systems in high-temperature environments.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
NASA NTRS2007

Robust Fuzzy Controllers Using FPGAs

Electro-mechanical device controllers typically come in one of three forms, proportional (P), Proportional Derivative (PD), and Proportional Integral Derivative (PID). Two methods of control are discussed in this paper; they are (1) the classical technique that requires an in-depth mathematical use of poles and zeros, and (2) the fuzzy logic (FL) technique that is similar to the way humans think and make decisions. FL controllers are used in multiple industries; examples include control engineering, computer vision, pattern recognition, statistics, and data analysis. Presented is a study on the development of a PD motor controller written in very high speed hardware description language (VHDL), and implemented in FL. Four distinct abstractions compose the FL controller, they are the fuzzifier, the rule-base, the fuzzy inference system (FIS), and the defuzzifier. FL is similar to, but different from, Boolean logic; where the output value may be equal to 0 or 1, but it could also be equal to any decimal value between them. This controller is unique because of its VHDL implementation, which uses integer mathematics. To compensate for VHDL's inability to synthesis floating point numbers, a scale factor equal to 10(sup (N/4) is utilized; where N is equal to data word size. The scaling factor shifts the decimal digits to the left of the decimal point for increased precision. PD controllers are ideal for use with servo motors, where position control is effective. This paper discusses control methods for motion-base platforms where a constant velocity equivalent to a spectral resolution of 0.25 cm(exp -1) is required; however, the control capability of this controller extends to various other platforms.

Monroe, Author Gene S., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Field Scale Testing of RESOLVE at 2010 ISRU Analog Test

When mankind returns to the moon, there will be one aspect of the architecture that will totally change how we explore the solar system. For the first time in space exploration, we will take the initial steps towards breaking our reliance on Earth-supplied consumables by extracting resources from planetary bodies. Our first efforts in this area, known as In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), will be directed at extracting some of the abundant oxygen found in the lunar regolith. But the "holy grail" of lunar ISRU will be finding an exploitable source of lunar hydrogen. If we can find a source of hydrogen that can be reasonably extracted from the regolith, it would provide a foundation for true independence from Earth consumables. With in-situ hydrogen and oxygen (and/or water) we can produce many of the major consumables needed to travel to and operate on a sustainable lunar outpost. We would have water to drink, oxygen to breath, and rocket propellants and fuel cell reagents to enable extended access and operations across the moon. NASA initiated development of an experiment package named RESOLVE (Regolith & Environment Science and Oxygen & Lunar Volatile Extraction) that could be flown to the rim or into a permanently shadowed crater to answer the questions surrounding elevated hydrogen at the lunar poles.

Captain, Janine E.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Application of Solar Electric Propulsion to the Low Thrust Lunar Transit of the Gateway Power and Propulsion Element

NASA has committed to returning to the moon, landing the first woman and the next man on its surface. To support a sustained lunar presence, NASA will assemble an orbital platform in a quasi-stable orbit near the moon known as a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO). This platform, known as Gateway, will support long duration exploration missions targeting the lunar south pole. An architecture simplification implemented in 2020 combined the first two elements of the Gateway together onto a single commercial launch vehicle (CLV). When launched, the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) will form the initial capability of NASA’s Gateway. The PPE, with its high-power Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) system, will propel the combined vehicle from an elliptical Earth parking orbit to the target NRHO. A transit of such a large mass, delivered to the moon from a single launch vehicle, is only made possible using the highly efficient SEP system. Delivering the same mass via more traditional chemical propulsion systems would require major modifications to the mission architecture, significantly more propellant mass, and could necessitate the use of a more powerful launch vehicle. This paper describes the design of the nominal low-thrust transit by which Gateway will be delivered to the NRHO utilizing the PPE SEP system. Additionally, this paper captures how the unique capabilities of the PPE electric propulsion system have guided the design of the trajectory and how mission requirements have, in turn, impacted the maturation of the SEP system.

electric propulsion↗
NASA NTRS2010

COMPASS Final Report: Lunar Communications Terminal (LCT)

The Lunar Communications Terminal (LCT) COllaborative Modeling and Parametric Assessment of Space Systems (COMPASS) session designed a terminal to provide communications between lunar South Pole assets, communications relay to/from these assets through an orbiting Lunar Relay Satellite (LRS) and navigation support. The design included a complete master equipment list, power requirement list, configuration design, and brief risk assessment and cost analysis. The Terminal consists of a pallet containing the communications and avionics equipment, surrounded by the thermal control system (radiator), an attached, deployable 10-m tower, upon which were mounted locally broadcasting and receiving modems and a deployable 1 m diameter Ka/S band dish which provides relay communications with the lunar relay satellites and, as a backup, Earth when it is in view. All power was assumed to come from the lunar outpost Habitat. Three LCT design options were explored: a stand-alone LCT servicing the manned outpost, an integrated LCT (into the Habitat or Lunar Lander), and a mini-LCT which provides a reduced level of communication for primarily robotic areas dealing as in situ resource utilization (ISRU) and remote science. Where possible all the designs assumed single fault tolerance. Significant mass savings were found when integrating the LCT into the Habitat or Lander but increases in costs occurred depending upon the level of man rating required for such designs.

Oleson, Steven R.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion: Materials Challenges for the 21st Century

The current focus of NASA s space fission effort is Fission Surface Power (FSP). FSP systems could be used to provide power anytime, anywhere on the surface of the Moon or Mars. FSP systems could be used at locations away from the lunar poles or in permanently shaded regions, with no performance penalty. A potential reference 40 kWe option has been devised that is cost-competitive with alternatives while providing more power for less mass. The potential reference system is readily extensible for use on Mars. At Mars the system could be capable of operating through global dust storms and providing year-round power at any Martian latitude. To ensure affordability, the potential near-term, 40 kWe reference concept is designed to use only well established materials and fuels. However, if various materials challenges could be overcome, extremely high performance fission systems could be devised. These include high power, low mass fission surface power systems; in-space systems with high specific power; and high performance nuclear thermal propulsion systems. This tutorial will provide a brief overview of space fission systems and will focus on materials challenges that, if overcome, could help enable advanced exploration and utilization of the solar system.

Houts, Mike↗
NASA NTRS2024

Digital Lunar Exploration Sites (DLES) Terrain Crafting

Humans will soon be returning to the surface of the Moon with NASA’s Artemis program. The Artemis program is an international collaboration that will consist of a complex series of space systems and missions to explore the lunar surface and pave the way for the future exploration of Mars. NASA and its partners rely heavily on simulation for lighting and navigation studies as well as training astronauts, flight controllers, and mission support staff. The NASA Exploration Systems Simulations (NExSyS) team in the Simulation and Graphics Branch (ER7) in the Engineering Directorate at NASA’s Johnson Space Center has built up many simulation products to support this effort, one of which is the Digital Lunar Exploration Sites (DLES). DLES is a collection of products used to simulate and render the lunar surface in a digital environment. We discussed and presented an overview of the DLES products at the 2022 IEEE Aerospace Conference in Big Sky, MT with a paper titled "Digital Lunar Exploration Sites". This “DLES Terrain Crafting” paper will expand on the information previously provided in “DLES” paper and dive deeper into the details of the terrain crafting process and the toolsets used to support this task. The best digital data currently available of the lunar surface is provided by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Its Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) achieves an impressive resolution of 5m per pixel at the Lunar South Pole (LSP) and can generate datasets covering a large continuous region near the LSP. There are a few additional methods, such as Shape from Shading which can infer higher resolution data (up to 1m per pixel) from the LRO Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) images. However, surface-based simulations require higher-resolution data, and this paper will discuss the process of enhancing the terrain to meet that need. The process begins with capturing statistical data of craters in the regions of interest using images provided by the LRO NAC. This data is then used to scatter artificial features which are not captured in the truth data, resulting in an enhanced DEM with a much higher resolution of 20cm per pixel. Many tools were built up to assist in the creation of these artificial Digital Elevation Models (DEM), which this paper will discuss in detail. DEMs themselves are a very powerful representation of a planetary surface, and many operations and tools can utilize the data they contain. This paper includes a description of the rendering of the lunar surface in a graphics engine, generation of contact patches to simulate tire to ground interaction, and ray tracing utilities to model Line of Sight (LOS) interactions with the terrain. This paper will also explore some new tool sets currently under development which aim to utilize Machine Learning (ML) to assist in the identification of craters from LRO NAC imagery. While this is not a novel idea, the NExSyS team is developing a unique approach which may result in more robust identification of crater characteristics.

Artemis↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Surviving Night at the Lunar South Pole: Exploring Viability of Radioisotope Power Systems for a Crewed Rover

Spacecraft thermal environments tend to be extreme, and the lunar surface is no exception. Future lunar missions aim to explore the lunar south pole region, focusing on permanently shadowed region (PSRs) that may act as cold traps for volatile elements such as hydrogen. By careful selection of landing sites, the longest continuous period devoid of insolation near these PSRs can be reduced significantly from the maximum of 354 hours. Future NASA missions aim to allow exploration of PSRs with a crewed lunar rover. Program architectures may impose a requirement that the vehicle be able to survive repeated lunar nights. Surface temperatures at southern latitudes can be lower than 100K during night, causing significant energy demands heating components above keep-alive temperatures. This adversely affects lunar programs which are heavily mass-constrained. A technical exploration of various radioisotope power systems and their viability, benefits, and drawbacks was completed. An analysis was also performed examining potential vehicular mass reduction and increased lunar night survivability due to the inclusion of radioisotope power sources. The results of this analysis were compared to a baseline non-nuclear vehicle utilizing only batteries and solar arrays for energy storage.

radioisotope↗
NASA NTRS2013

Lunar Simulants, Analogues, and Standards: Needs and Realities for Mission Technologies Development

Integration of In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) capabilities into missions present both challenges as well as benefits for future missions to the Moon and Mars. However, since ISRU systems and capabilities have not flown, mission planners have been hesitant to include ISRU capabilities in mission critical roles, thereby significantly reducing the benefits that ISRU can provide in mission mass and cost reductions. For ISRU systems to provide products and services to 'customers' such as life support, propulsion, and power systems, close development of requirements, hardware, and operations between ISRU and these systems are required. To address these development and incorporation challenges, NASA and csA initiated a series of analog field test demonstrations at sites in Hawaii. Two tests completed in November of 2008 and February of 2010 have demonstrate all the critical steps in operating ISRU systems on the lunar surface at relevant mission scales as well as integration with power and propulsion systems. The third field test planned for July 2012 will demonstrate that a mission to the lunar poles to locate and characterize ice and other volatiles is possible in a highly integrated mission with multiple space agencies. These analog field tests have shown that not only are ISRU systems feasible at relevant mission scales, that they can be successfully integrated into mission architectures.

Sibille, Laurent↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Kinematic Navigation and Cartography Knapsack (KNaCK): Demonstrating SlLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) LiDAR as a Tool for Exploration and Mapping of Lunar Pits and Caves

KNaCK (Kinematic Navigation and Cartography Knapsack) is a backpack-mounted mobile LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) system. It can map its surroundings in 3 dimensions and localize itself in space. The project is exploring how LiDAR can advance terrain mapping and navigation at the lunar south pole. KNaCK is lead by Dr. Michael Zanetti of NASA MSFC’s Heliophysics and Planetary Science Branch. - KNaCK serves as - A test article for GPS denied mapping and navigation. - A test bed for SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) algorithms. - A test bed for commercial LiDAR units. - A tool for terrestrial science.

LiDAR↗
NASA NTRS2002

Applying Strategic Visualization(Registered Trademark) to Lunar and Planetary Mission Design

NASA teams, such as the NASA Exploration Team (NEXT), utilize advanced computational visualization processes to develop mission designs and architectures for lunar and planetary missions. One such process, Strategic Visualization (trademark), is a tool used extensively to help mission designers visualize various design alternatives and present them to other participants of their team. The participants, which may include NASA, industry, and the academic community, are distributed within a virtual network. Consequently, computer animation and other digital techniques provide an efficient means to communicate top-level technical information among team members. Today,Strategic Visualization(trademark) is used extensively both in the mission design process within the technical community, and to communicate the value of space exploration to the general public. Movies and digital images have been generated and shown on nationally broadcast television and the Internet, as well as in magazines and digital media. In our presentation will show excerpts of a computer-generated animation depicting the reference Earth/Moon L1 Libration Point Gateway architecture. The Gateway serves as a staging corridor for human expeditions to the lunar poles and other surface locations. Also shown are crew transfer systems and current reference lunar excursion vehicles as well as the Human and robotic construction of an inflatable telescope array for deployment to the Sun/Earth Libration Point.

Frassanito, John R.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Biocompatible Co–P Metallic Glasses with Superior Degradation Tolerance in Physiological Environments

Metallic glasses represent a class of metallic alloys with a fully amorphous structure and attractive properties, making them promising in bioimplant applications. Here, the degradation tolerance of biocompatible cobalt–phosphorus (Co–P) metallic glasses was studied in a simulated physiological environment. The metallic glasses were synthesized in the form of coatings through a facile electrodeposition approach. This method utilizes their outstanding surface characteristics and bypasses the size limitations usually associated with their bulk counterparts. Further, the Co–P alloys showed exceptional tribological response with ~14% lower coefficient of friction and 2 orders of magnitude lesser wear rate compared to SS316 stainless steel. In addition, the Co–P alloys showed a 3 times higher hardness and 4 times higher hardness/modulus ratio compared to SS316, indicating better elastic recovery under dynamic shear stresses that are common in load-bearing bioimplants. The Co–P metallic glasses exhibited excellent hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility in terms of lower platelet adhesion, spreading, and aggregation, a hemolysis ratio lower than 1%, and enhanced surface wettability, suggesting a superlative performance in bioimplant applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development and Qualification Status of the Electric Propulsion Systems for the NASA PPE Mission and Gateway Program

NASA is charged with landing the first American woman and next American man on the South Pole of the Moon and establishing sustainable lunar exploration by the end of the decade. To meet this challenge, NASA’s Gateway will develop and deploy critical infrastructure required for operations on the lunar surface and that enables a sustained presence on and around the moon. NASA’s Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), the first planned element of NASA’s cis-lunar Gateway, leverages prior and ongoing NASA and U.S. industry investments in high-power, long-life solar electric propulsion technology investments. NASA awarded a PPE contract to Maxar Technologies to provide a 50 kW-class SEP spacecraft that meets Gateway’s needs, aligns with industry’s heritage spacecraft buses, and allows extensibility for NASA’s Mars exploration goals. Maxar’s PPE concept design, is based on their high heritage, modular, and highly reliable 1300-series bus architecture. The electric propulsion system features three 12 kW Advanced Electric Propulsion (AEPS) thrusters from Aerojet Rocketdyne and four BHT-6000 thrusters from Busek. Maxar-provided power electronics and xenon flow controllers from Moog are utilized in both the 12kW and 6kW electric propulsion strings on the spacecraft. The paper will present overviews of NASA’s Gateway and the PPE Project, status of the development and qualification activities for the two electric propulsion system, and the planned implementation of PPE electric propulsion system as keystone of NASA’s Gateway. The PPE spacecraft is currently heading into the Critical Design Review, with the qualification and flight electric propulsion hardware fabrication already initiated and significant progress being made toward planned qualifications in support of the planned PPE spacecraft co-manifest launch in 2024.

Electric Propulsion↗