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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Observing Atmospheric Refraction with Stellar Occultation: Case Study with data from Tyvak-0172

Understanding the upper atmosphere is vital to successful hypersonic flight. Perturbations in temperature and density due to phenomena such as gravity waves and turbulence strongly affect the performance of a hypersonic vehicle (Roy and Blottner, 2006). Observing upper atmospheric conditions from the ground is difficult due to the interference of clouds, so most observations are gathered with weather balloons. However, balloons can only travel up to about 35 km from the Earth surface. Therefore, we turn to remote sensing for atmospheric conditions above 35 km.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Constraining the Dynamo Layers in Jupiter and Saturn with Observations and Scaling Laws

The dipole-dominated magnetic fields of Jupiter and Saturn provide evidence for active dynamos operating within their deep interiors, yet the depth of the convecting dynamo layers remains poorly constrained. While magnetic field observations, gravity data, and interior models each provide partial insight, they have not been combined into a single, self-consistent picture of the internal structure. Here, we develop a framework that links observed magnetic field strength with intrinsic heat flux and gravity-constrained interior structure using energy-based dynamo scaling laws. By relating the axial magnetic field strength to the convective power, we infer the radial thickness of the dynamo-generating region for both Jupiter and Saturn. The constants of proportionality in the scaling relations are derived using independent constraints from Earth observations, Jupiter observations, and numerical dynamo simulations. Applied to Jupiter, this framework shows how the inferred dynamo layer thickness is coupled to the outer boundary of the dynamo region. Thinner dynamo layers are predicted when the outer boundary shifts to shallower depths, and no solutions are possible when the outer boundary is less than 73% of Jupiter’s radius. These results constrain plausible geometries for future numerical dynamo simulations. Extending the analysis to Saturn, we find a thick, deep-seated dynamo layer with an outer radius at 42% of the radius to be most plausible. An alternative solution with an inner radius of the dynamo region at 60% of the planetary radius, as suggested by ring seismology models, requires a very thin dynamo layer, occupying only 2%–3% of the total radius.

Geosciences↗
DOE OSTI2025

Mechanisms in Regulating the Quasi‐Biennial Oscillation in Exascale Earth System Model Version 2

Abstract The update to the deep convection parameterization in the energy exascale Earth system model version 2 (E3SMv2) makes the simulated quasi‐biennial oscillation (QBO) have a shorter period than without the update when other tunable parameters the same since the update makes convection more intense but less frequent while leaving the time‐mean convective heating tendency almost unchanged. Amplitudes of momentum fluxes of parameterized gravity waves (GWs) are intensified since they are determined by the square of convective heating tendency. In addition, stronger planetary waves are simulated in E3SMv2 with the convection scheme update, partially due to the tropospheric precipitation change. Furthermore, there is evidence that planetary waves are intensified in the stratosphere due to the dissipation of enhanced parameterized GWs. These factors are found to be responsible for modulating the QBO simulated in E3SMv2.

Li, Yuanpu [Climate and Global Dynamics Division U↗
DOE OSTI2023

Scaling Containment on a Large Centrifuge

Containment science concerns the trapping or leakage of radioactive cavity gases from underground nuclear explosions (UNEs). The most physically relevant data for validation of containment science comes from legacy UNE testing or large field-scale chemical explosions. Field-scale tests can inform on the degree of residual stress imparted to host geology and possible formation of an accompanying gas-containing “stress cage”, for example, as a function of chemical explosion yield. However, field testing can be expensive, difficult to conduct, and challenging to instrument with limitations on data coverage (i.e., the number of boreholes; difficult coring through damage zones). Small-scale laboratory tests are typically simpler to conduct and more thoroughly characterize, but may not include the right scale of containment processes for stress-cage or chimney formation. This report presents the theory and fundamentals of large centrifuge physical modeling, including a history of explosive or similar testing relevant to containment science investigations on centrifuges. Subscale models with embedded chemical explosives in the enhanced gravity of a large centrifuge can represent hundreds of meters of depth and large explosions not otherwise attainable in the laboratory as based on scaling of length, energy, and other processes by the g-factor of the centrifuge (i.e., the number of times larger the centrifugal force is than the gravitational force on the Earth’s surface). The centrifuge uniquely joins the simplicity and exhaustiveness of laboratory-scale characterization with the physics of field-scale processes. This report is part of Sandia National Laboratories’ (SNL’s) effort to prepare for physical modeling with approximately one-meter tall geologic models of stress cage and/or chimney formation on its 29-foot [8.84 m] radius centrifuge with a load capacity of 1.6 million 𝑔-pounds [726 𝑔-ton]. The scaling relationships herein will inform model design decisions and performance requirements for in-flight sensors.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Stanford Thermal Earth Model for the Conterminous United States

Provided here are various forms of the Stanford Thermal Earth Model, as well as the data and methods used for its creation. The predictions produced by this model were visualized in two-dimensional spatial maps across the modeled depths (0-7 km) for the conterminous United States. The thermal earth model is made available as an application programming interface (API) and as feature layers on ArcGIS, which are both provided via links below. A data-driven spatial interpolation algorithm based on physics-informed graph neural networks was used to develop these national temperature-at-depth maps. The model satisfied the three-dimensional heat conduction law by predicting subsurface temperature, surface heat flow, and rock thermal conductivity. Many physical quantities, including bottomhole temperature, depth, geographic coordinates, elevation, sediment thickness, magnetic anomaly, gravity anomaly, gamma-ray flux of radioactive elements, seismicity, and electric conductivity were used as model inputs. Surface heat flow, temperature, and thermal conductivity predictions were constructed for depths of 0-7 km at an interval of 1 km with spatial resolution of 18 km2 per grid cell. The model showed superior temperature, surface heat flow and thermal conductivity mean absolute errors of 4.8C, 8.1 mW/m2 and 0.07 W/(C-m), respectively..

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Giant-planet Influence on the Collective Gravity of a Primordial Scattered Disk

Axisymmetric disks of high-eccentricity, low-mass bodies on near-Keplerian orbits are unstable to an out-of-plane buckling. This “inclination instability” exponentially grows the orbital inclinations, raises perihelion distances, and clusters in the argument of perihelion. Here we examine the instability in a massive primordial scattered disk including the orbit-averaged gravitational influence of the giant planets. We show that differential apsidal precession induced by the giant planets will suppress the inclination instability unless the primordial mass is ≳20 Earth masses. We also show that the instability should produce a “perihelion gap” at semimajor axes of hundreds of astronomical units, as the orbits of the remnant population are more likely to have extremely large perihelion distances (O(100 au)) than intermediate values.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Multirate partitioned Runge–Kutta methods for coupled Navier–Stokes equations

Earth system models are complex integrated models of atmosphere, ocean, sea ice, and land surface. Coupling the components can be a significant challenge due to the difference in physics, temporal, and spatial scales. Further, this study explores multirate partitioned Runge-Kutta methods for the fluid-fluid interaction problem and demonstrates its parallel performance by using the PETSc library. We consider compressible Navier-Stokes equations with gravity coupled through a rigid-lid interface. Our large-scale numerical experiments reveal that multirate partitioned Runge-Kutta coupling schemes (1) can conserve total mass; (2) have second-order accuracy in time; and (3) provide favorable strong- and weak-scaling performance on modern computing architectures. We also show that the speedup factors of multirate partitioned Runge-Kutta methods match theoretical expectations over their base (single-rate) method.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Continuous recovery of phosphoric acid and Rare-Earths containing particles from phosphoric acid sludge using a decanter centrifuge

Recovery of rare earth elements (REEs) from various industrial and natural streams currently draws significant attention in efforts to meet the demands of the manufacturing industry. Among many industrial byproducts and waste streams, phosphoric acid sludge could be one of the most economically feasible resources for the recovery of REEs because solid particles in the sludge contain relatively concentrated REEs, up to 3,000 ppm, while the liquid component of the sludge is valuable phosphoric acid (P 2 O 5 ) that can be recovered and returned to the main product. Due to high viscosity and large solids content (e.g., 30–40 %), however, this byproduct stream requires multistep separation and purification processes. In this study, a single-step process involving a continuous-flow decanter centrifuge (CFDC) was employed to investigate its feasibility for continuous solid/liquid separation from real phosphoric acid sludge. High centrifugal forces generated from up to 1500 G gravity acceleration separate solid particles from the sludge, generating a liquid-rich stream and a solids-rich stream at the exit of the CFDC. A single pass of phosphoric-acid sludge through the CFDC yielded 95 % liquid recovery and 90 % recovery of REEs-containing solids from 20 to 34 wt% solids-containing sludge. Finally, a reduced order model developed for the CFDC operation showed good agreement with experimental data, and preliminary technoeconomic analysis revealed potential process feasibility.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2026

Space Mission Options for Reconnaissance and Mitigation of Asteroid 2024 YR4

Near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR 4 was discovered on 2024-12-27 and its probability of Earth impact in December 2032 peaked at ~3% on 2025-02-18. Additional observations ruled out Earth impact by 2025-02-23. However, the probability of lunar impact in December 2032 then rose, reaching ~4% by the end of the apparition in May 2025. James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations on 2025-03-26 estimated the asteroid’s diameter at 60 ± 7 m. Studies of 2024 YR 4 ’s potential lunar impact effects suggest lunar ejecta could increase micrometeoroid debris flux in low Earth orbit up to 1000 times above background levels over just a few days, possibly threatening astronauts and spacecraft. In this work, we present options for space missions to 2024 YR 4 that could be utilized if lunar impact is confirmed. Here, we cover flyby & rendezvous reconnaissance, deflection, and robust disruption of the asteroid. We examine both rapid-response and delayed launch options through 2032. We evaluate chemical and solar electric propulsion, various launch vehicles, optimized deep space maneuvers, and gravity assists. Re-tasking extant spacecraft and using built spacecraft not yet launched are also considered. The best reconnaissance mission options launch in late 2028, leaving only approximately three years for development at the time of this writing in August 2025. Deflection missions were assessed and appear impractical. However, kinetic robust disruption missions are available with launches between April 2030 and April 2032. Nuclear robust disruption missions are also available with launches between late 2029 and late 2031. Finally, even if lunar impact is ruled out there is significant potential utility in deploying a reconnaissance mission to characterize the asteroid.

Asteroid deflection↗
DOE OSTI2023

A mountain-induced moist baroclinic wave test case for the dynamical cores of atmospheric general circulation models

Idealized test cases for the dynamical cores of atmospheric general circulation models are informative tools to assess the accuracy of the numerical designs and investigate the general characteristics of atmospheric motions. A new test case is introduced that is built upon a baroclinically unstable base state with an added orographic barrier. The topography is analytically prescribed and acts as a trigger of both baroclinic Rossby waves and inertia–gravity waves on a rotating, regular-sized planet. Both dry and idealized moist configurations are suggested. The latter utilizes the Kessler warm-rain precipitation scheme. The test case enhances the complexity of the existing test suite hierarchy and focuses on the impacts of two midlatitudinal mountain ridges on the circulation. Selected simulation examples from four dynamical cores are shown. These are the Spectral Element and Finite Volume dynamical cores, which are part of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Earth System Model (CESM), versions 2.1.3 and 2.2, and the Cubed-Sphere Finite Volume dynamical cores, which is new to CESM version 2.2. In addition, the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) is tested. The overall flow patterns agree well in the four dynamical cores, but the details can vary greatly. The examples highlight the broad palette of use cases for the test case and reveal physics–dynamics coupling issues.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Incorporating the Effect of Large‐Scale Vertical Motion on Convection Through Convective Mass Flux Adjustment in E3SMv2

Abstract Recent observational studies suggest that the large‐scale dynamical forcing (vertical motion) plays important roles in deep convection development. In this study we propose a convective mass flux adjustment (MAdj) approach to represent the dynamical effects of large‐scale vertical motion on convection in the Department of Energy's Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 2 (E3SMv2). With MAdj, convection is enhanced (suppressed) when there is large‐scale ascending (descending) motion at the planetary boundary layer top. The coupling of convection with large‐scale circulation significantly improves the simulation of climate variability in E3SMv2 across multiple scales from the diurnal cycle, convectively coupled equatorial waves, to the Madden‐Julian Oscillation (MJO). The standard E3SMv2 tends to simulate overly weak diurnal amplitude of precipitation and overly weak variance of convectively coupled equatorial Kelvin and westward inertio‐gravity (WIG) waves. It also fails to simulate the essential characteristics of the MJO: continuous eastward propagation. With MAdj, the amplitude of diurnal cycle of precipitation is systematically increased and its probability density distribution is much closer to observations. The MAdj can also simulate more realistic eastward propagation of the MJO and much stronger convectively coupled Kelvin and WIG waves. Moreover, the MAdj approach slightly improves the climatology simulations in precipitation, cloud, radiation, circulation, temperature, and moisture fields, with overall root‐mean‐square error (RMSE) of major climatological fields reduced by about 2%. The MAdj approach suppresses excessive grid‐scale precipitation, reducing precipitation wet biases over South China Sea, Philippine Sea, Himalayas, and South Pacific Convergence Zone in western Pacific in summer.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Energy Exascale Earth System Model v2.0

First release of version 2 of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model. The atmosphere component remains EAM. Major changes since version 1 include: all column-physics parameterizations are computed on a separate grid that has approximately half the number of points of the dynamics grid, a new nonhydrostatic dynamical core (running in hydrostatic mode) with semi-Lagrangian tracer transport, CLUBB updated from v1 to v2, a new convective trigger (dCAPE/ULL) based on the dynamic Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) (dCAPE) and the Unrestricted Launch Level (ULL) concepts is used in ZM. minimum cloud droplet number changed, gravity wave drag energy conservation fixed and new tunings used, dust emission size distribution changed to emit more coarse dust particles The land component is still ELM. Major changes since version 1 include: using SNICAR-AD for radiation in snow to match the sea-ice model and fixing bugs in snow compaction and water state calculation. The ocean component remains MPAS-ocean. Major change since version 1 include: Redi isopycnal mixing has been updated, tested, and tuned in combination with the Gent-McWilliams parameterization, a sign error was fixed in the 3rd-order flux routines, the mesh used in low-resolution coupled cases was modified and the time steps adjusted, new regionally refined meshes were created, one focused on North America and another on the Southern Ocean, including ice shelf cavities. The sea-ice component remains MPAS-seaice. Major changes since version 1 include: A new heat- and freshwater-conserving coupling of frazil ice, turning off of SSH filtering, addition of SNICAR-AD and snow grain aging. The land-ice component remains MPAS-Albany-landIce (MALI) and is a static ice sheet. There is more out-of-the-box support for cryosphere configurations including the new regionally refined configuration around Antarctica with ice shelf cavities. The river model is MOSART. The half-degree river mesh was redone so it no longer treats Black and Caspian seas as ocean. The coupler remains cpl7/MCT. Major changes since version 1 include handling of ice shelf melt fluxes (heat / freshwater exchange with the ocean), and data icebergs. All components allow regional refinement of their meshes and two separate example of refinement, one in and around North America and one around Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, are provided.

E3SM Project, DOE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Pretreatment of Bituminous Coal By-Products for the Hydrometallurgical Extraction of Rare Earth Elements

Low-temperature plasma (LTP) oxidation has been widely used to study the mineralogy of the mineral matter existing in coal sources. The current study investigated the potential of LTP oxidation as a pre-treatment method to improve rare earth element (REE) leachability from coal and its by-products. Representative density-fractionated samples of Baker and Fire Clay coarse refuse seam materials were ground to a top size of 180 µm and subjected to low-temperature plasma oxidation. Subsequently, the treated samples were leached at 1% w/v solids concentration and 75 °C for 5 h using (i) de-ionized (DI) water, (ii) 0.1 mol/L of ammonium sulfate, and (iii) 1.2 mol/L of sulfuric acid. It was determined that LTP treatment improved REE leaching characteristics, especially the leaching of heavy REEs (HREE), existing in the lighter density fractions of the Baker seam coarse refuse material. For instance, the HREE recovery for the 1.6 specific gravity (SG) float fraction increased from 8% to 33% using 0.1 mol/L of ammonium sulfate solution after 32 h of LTP treatment. This finding indicated that HREEs associated with the organic matter were released by the LTP treatment and adsorbed onto the surfaces of highly negative charged mineral matter and was exchanged with ammonium to allow their recovery. Similarly, when using 1.2 mol/L of sulfuric acid, the HREE recovery increased from 23% to 53% for the 1.6 SG float fraction. Interestingly, LTP oxidation did not provide significant improvement in REE recovery from the 2.2 sink density fractions, which was likely due to its lower organic content. No significant benefits were observed when treating the Fire Clay coarse refuse material, which was likely due to the lack of organic affinity and the difficult-to-leach REE minerals associated with the coal source such as monazite, xenotime, and zircon. Conversely, high-temperature oxidation within a temperature range of 600–750 °C significantly improved REE leaching characteristics for both coal sources. Improvement in REE recovery was due to decarbonization of the material, clay dehydroxylation and subsequent conversion of liberated REE-bearing minerals into a more leachable form. However, increasing the temperature above 800 °C decreased REE recovery due to the conversion of meta-kaolinite into mullite, which is chemically stable.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

A protocol and analysis of year-long simulations of global storm-resolving models and beyond

We propose a protocol to evaluate and analyze year-long simulations of global storm-resolving models (GSRMs). The proposed protocol complements an earlier 40-day simulation protocol under the DYAMOND (DYnamics of the Atmospheric general circulation Modeled On Non-hydrostatic Domains) project to allow the analysis of the seasonal cycle and associated climatic relevant phenomena. This intercomparison aims to reveal how GSRMs, which can simulate mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) in the global domain, reproduce atmospheric large-scale structures related to convection beyond month-long simulations. The intercomparison for one-year simulations is conducted by either atmosphere-only models or atmosphere–ocean coupled models with atmospheric horizontal mesh sizes less than 5 km. We recommend the continuous four seasons from March 2020 to February 2021 as a target period for the intercomparison but with options for many groups to join more flexibly. The output variables are collected at 0.25° resolution, and archives of a small set of native grid variables are encouraged to analyze tropical cyclones and MCSs. Through the proposed global storm-resolving simulation, we will evaluate the climatological distributions of the atmospheric large-scale circulations, such as the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), monsoon, midlatitude jets, their time evolution, and the upscale impacts on them. We present sample analyses from a one-year simulation using the 3.5 km mesh Nonhydrostatic Icosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM), revealing the realistic zonal contrast of tropical precipitation, no double ITCZ structure, the reasonable midlatitude jet position and intensity but a weak bias of storm track activities, and a warm bias over the Eurasia during boreal winter. We also clarify the cross-scale interaction, such as the effects of cold pools on mean precipitation over the Maritime Continent through the precipitation diurnal cycle and the effects of resolved gravity waves on midlatitude mean flows. The proposed one-year simulation protocol is referred to as the “Sendai Protocol.” This protocol is not unique or definite for evaluating GSRMs; we prospect a hierarchical set of experiments from short-term to multi-year simulations as GSRM intercomparisons.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Birefringence tests of gravity with multimessenger binaries

Extensions to General Relativity (GR) allow the polarization of gravitational waves (GW) from astrophysical sources to suffer from amplitude and velocity birefringence, which respectively induce changes in the ellipticity and orientation of the polarization tensor. Here, we introduce a multi-messenger approach to test this polarization behavior of GWs during their cosmological propagation using binary sources, for which the initial polarization is determined by the inclination and orientation angles of the orbital angular momentum vector with respect to the line of sight. In particular, we use spatially resolved radio imaging of the jet from a binary neutron star (BNS) merger to constrain the orientation angle and hence the emitted polarization orientation of the GW signal at the site of the merger, and compare to that observed on Earth by GW detectors. For GW170817, using past measurements of the inclination angle, we constrain the deviation from GR due to amplitude birefringence to κ A = $-0.12^{+0.60}_ {-0.61}$, while the velocity birefringence parameter κ V remains unconstrained. The inability to constrain κ V is due to the low amplitude of GW170817 in the Virgo detector, and measurements of the polarization orientation require information from a combination of multiple detectors with different alignments. For this reason, we also mock future BNS mergers with resolved afterglow proper motion and project that κ V could be constrained to a precision of 5 rad (corresponding to an angular shift of the GW polarization of δ φV ≈ 0.2 rad for a BNS at 100 Mpc) by a future network of third-generation ground-based GW detectors such as Cosmic Explorer and the radio High Sensitivity Array. Crucially, this velocity birefringence effect cannot be constrained with dark binary mergers as it requires polarization information at the emission time, which can be provided only by electromagnetic emission.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Probing cosmic inflation with the LiteBIRD cosmic microwave background polarization survey

LiteBIRD, the Lite (Light) satellite for the study of B-mode polarization and Inflation from cosmic background Radiation Detection, is a space mission for primordial cosmology and fundamental physics. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) selected LiteBIRD in May 2019 as a strategic large-class (L-class) mission, with an expected launch in the late 2020s using JAXA’s H3 rocket. LiteBIRD is planned to orbit the Sun–Earth Lagrangian point L2, where it will map the cosmic microwave background polarization over the entire sky for three years, with three telescopes in 15 frequency bands between 34 and 448 GHz, to achieve an unprecedented total sensitivity of $2.2\, \mu$K-arcmin, with a typical angular resolution of 0.5° at 100 GHz. The primary scientific objective of LiteBIRD is to search for the signal from cosmic inflation, either making a discovery or ruling out well-motivated inflationary models. The measurements of LiteBIRD will also provide us with insight into the quantum nature of gravity and other new physics beyond the standard models of particle physics and cosmology. We provide an overview of the LiteBIRD project, including scientific objectives, mission and system requirements, operation concept, spacecraft and payload module design, expected scientific outcomes, potential design extensions, and synergies with other projects.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Feynman diagrams for matter wave interferometry

We introduce a new theoretical framework based on Feynman diagrams to compute phase shifts in matter wave interferometry. The method allows for analytic computation of higher order quantum corrections, beyond the traditional semi-classical approximation. These additional terms depend on the finite size of the initial matter wavefunction and/or have higher order dependence on ℏ. We apply the method to compute the response of matter wave interferometers to power law potentials and potentials with an arbitrary spatial dependence. The analytic expressions are validated by comparing to numerical simulations, and estimates are provided for the scale of the quantum corrections to the phase shift response to the gravitational field of the earth, anharmonic trapping potentials, and gravitational fields from local proof masses. We also find that for certain experimentally feasible parameters, these corrections are large enough to be measured and could lead to systematic errors if they are not mitigated. We find that to first order in a spatially dependent potential, quantum corrections vanish when the initial matter wavepacket has spherical symmetry and the potential satisfies Laplace's equation. We anticipate these quantum corrections will be especially important for trapped matter wave interferometers and for free-space matter wave interferometers in the presence of proof masses. These interferometers are becoming increasingly sensitive tools for mobile inertial sensing, gravity surveying, tests of gravity and its interplay with quantum mechanics, and searches for dark energy.

Glick, Jonah [Northwestern U.; Fermilab] (ORCID:00↗
DOE OSTI2026

Synthetic Digital Environments for Training Robots on Earth & Beyond [Poster]

Creating physical replicas of real-world environments to train robots for challenging outdoor tasks, whether constructing energy infrastructure like solar farms on Earth or on the Moon and Mars, is prohibitively expensive. This project will prototype a high-fidelity digital twin framework using NVIDIA IsaacSim to create realistic digital representations of robotic systems and their operating conditions, including varied terrains and environmental factors, allowing robots to learn and adapt in a faster, safer, and more affordable way to tackle unpredictable challenges in terrestrial and extraterrestrial applications. The Robotic Space Exploration (RoSE) Lab at Colorado School of Mines focused on the development and testing of synthetic digital twins to explore multi-physics interactions between robots and unstructured environments, with emphasis on lunar conditions such as deformable regolith, reduced gravity, and terrain-robot contact dynamics. The Industrialized Construction Innovation (ICI) team at National laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), simulated robotic apparatus and construction workflows using synthetic digital twins to inform real-world deployment, targeting application-driven use cases such as robotic construction of a scaled prototype of a photovoltaic energy infrastructure. Joint efforts between RoSE and ICI are continuing to explore how environment-scale multi-physics modeling and application-level robotic system simulation could be integrated to support robotic construction of energy infrastructure in highly unstructured environments, including scenarios relevant to the Lunar South Pole.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗