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NASA NTRS2026

The Contaminant Footprint of Landed Spacecraft: Toward an Inventory and Modelling Framework

All spacecraft generate and carry contaminants, i.e., unwanted and potentially harmful material. When a spacecraft lands and operates in vacuum, as onto Earth’s Moon, it introduces contaminants into its environment that may compromise mission science objectives and engineering performance. Contamination may degrade sites of unique value to planetary science or in situ resource utilization. This presentation will identify and compare source terms and transport vectors for contaminants – in particular, organic material – generated by landed spacecraft. An integrated modeling framework for the organic contamination footprint of spacecraft missions will be described and presented.

Gas Dynamics↗
NASA NTRS2026

Does the International Space Station Leak DNA? Preliminary Results from the ISS External Microorganisms Payload

Existing crewed spacecraft like the ISS (International Space Station) leak by design. The ISS routinely releases gas to maintain life support systems and when astronauts exit the station to perform space walks. The chemical component of this leakage is well characterized, but the biological components are not. The ISS is not subject to planetary protection requirements, but planned missions to Mars will use similar systems and will be subject to planetary protection requirements. If detectable microorganisms are escaping through vents and or airlocks we may need to redesign our crewed habitats to minimize this type of contamination. To test the hypothesis that microorganisms from inside ISS are detectable on exterior surfaces an astronaut used the ISS External Microorganisms sampling kit (Rucker et al. 2018) to sample exterior surfaces of the ISS during an EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) in January of 2025. These samples were returned to Earth for DNA extraction and sequencing. We successfully, extracted and sequenced bacterial, fungal and viral DNA from these samples that was not present in the negative controls. These results should help NASA refine the planetary protection requirements for crewed missions. Methods: The samples were collected using sterile, DNA free, buccal swabs (23 mm. diameter) housed in custom canisters. Each canister uses a 0.2 μm Teflon filter to maintain sterility as the caddy, holding 8 swabs moves in and out of vacuum. The astronaut sampled the: 1) airlock vestibule, 2) airlock thermal cover, 3) a gap in the micrometeorite shielding near the airlock, 4) a handrail near the airlock, 5) the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly vent, and 6) the Vacuum Exhaust System vent. The seventh swab was exposed to vacuum during the EVA without touching it to a surface. The eighth swab, a negative control, was not opened until the caddy returned to Earth. DNA was extracted from the swabs using a QIamp UCP Pathogen kit and prepared for sequencing on an Aviti (Element Biosciences) sequencer (Arslan et al. 2024). The resulting sequences were analyzed using the EDGE Bioinformatics platform (Li et al. 2017). The sequences were analyzed individually using tools like BLAST, GOTTCHA2, Kraken2, and PanGIA. The data were also assembled into metagenome assembled genomes) using tools like CONCOCT, MaxBin2 and MetaBAT2. Results: We successfully extracted and sequenced bacterial, archaeal, fungal and viral DNA from all seven samples. The handrail swab had the lowest number of reads (768,651) and the airlock thermal cover had the highest number of reads (8,819,230). These samples contain DNA from human associated bacteria (e.g. Crynebacterium riegelii ), fungi (.e.g. Penicillium rubens ), and viruses (e.g Alphapapillomavirus ). Conclusion: Preliminary interpretation suggest that the airlock and the space suits themselves are the largest sources of contaminant DNA. Most if not all of the DNA is from organisms known to be present inside the ISS. Vents attached to life support systems may be a lesser source of biological contamination. Further analysis should help NASA address planetary protection knowledge gaps for crewed missions.

Aaron B Regberg↗
NASA NTRS2005

Update on Development of 360V, 28kWh Lithium-Ion Battery

Engineering unit submodule batteries (EUSB) the 360V, 28kWh EAPU battery were designed and assembled by COM DEV. These submodules consist of Sony Li-Ion 18650HC cells in a 5P-41S array yielding 180V, 1.4 kWh. Tests of these and of substrings and single cells at COM DEV and at JSC under various performance and abuse conditions demonstrated that performance requirements can be met. The thermal vacuum tests demonstrated that the worst case hot condition is the design driver. Deficiencies in the initial diode protection scheme of the battery were identified as a result of test failures. Potential solutions to the scheme are under development and will be presented.

Davies, Francis↗
NASA NTRS2025

Erosion Results of the MISSE 9-15 Polymers and Composites Experiment 1-4 (PCE 1-4)

Polymers and other oxidizable materials on the exterior of spacecraft in the low Earth orbit (LEO) space environment can be eroded from reaction with atomic oxygen (AO). Therefore, in order to design durable spacecraft it is important to know the extent of erosion that will occur during a mission. This can be determined by knowing the LEO AO erosion yield, E y (volume loss per incident oxygen atom), of materials susceptible to AO reaction. In addition, recent flight experiments have shown that the AO E y can vary with the AO fluence and/or solar exposure. Therefore, obtaining AO E y data for materials flown on various spaceflight missions is important. NASA Glenn Research Center has flown numerous experiments as part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) missions on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS) to characterize the LEO E y of polymers, composites, protective coatings, and other spacecraft materials. Recently, four Glenn experiments with 365 flight (F) samples were flown on ISS’s MISSE-Flight Facility (MISSE-FF). These experiments are the Polymers and Composites Experiment-1 (PCE-1) flown as part of the MISSE-9 mission, the PCE-2 flown as part of the MISSE-10 mission, the PCE-3 flown as part of the MISSE-12 and MISSE-15 missions, and the PCE-4 flown as part of the MISSE-13 mission. Although each experiment had numerous sample objectives, the primary objective was to determine the LEO AO E y of various spacecraft materials as a function of solar irradiation and AO fluence. This paper provides a summary of the erosion data for the PCE 1-4 AO E y samples. The AO E y for 150 samples flown in either the LEO ram, wake, zenith or nadir directions are provided. The AO ram fluence varied from 2.97×10 20 atoms/cm 2 after 0.89 years of direct space exposure (with relatively high levels of Si contamination) on MISSE 12 to 3.93×10 20 atoms/cm 2 after 1.17 years of direct space exposure on MISSE-10. The ram AO E y values for uncoated polymers range from 3.81×10 –25 cm 3 /atom for polytetrafluoroethylene (M9R-C20 F) exposed to an AO fluence of 3.44×10 20 atoms/cm 2 on MISSE-9 to 4.43×10 –23 cm 3 /atom for AO etched low density polyimide aerogel (M12R-C21 F) exposed to an AO fluence of 2.97×10 21 atoms/cm 2 on MISSE-12. Because of the low AO fluence and relatively high Si contamination, a number of PCE-3 wake samples experienced mass gain. Thus, AO E y values are not provided for these samples. Although there are calculated AO E y values for the zenith, wake and nadir samples, the ram AO E y for a particular material is a more reliable value in terms of AO exposure because the zenith, wake and nadir directions were exposed to either no or very little AO fluence and thus other space environmental factors (i.e. vacuum, thermal extremes and thermal cycling, and/or various types of radiation) are responsible for the mass loss.

Erosion yield↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Fluid-Thermal-Structural Interactions Induced by an Asymmetric Shock-Wave/Boundary-Layer Interaction in a Mach-6 Compression Corner

An experimental study is conducted of the fluid-thermal-structural interaction of a clamped compliant panel exposed to a three dimensional shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction (SWBLI) induced by a Mach-6 compression ramp with a spanwise nonuniform incoming boundary layer. The nonuniform boundary layer was produced by placing trips on one side of the upstream flat plate, resulting in largely turbulent flow on the tripped side and transitional flow on the untripped side. Measurements of the flowfield confirmed that the tripped boundary layer contained elevated levels of unsteadiness, and the SWBLI was observed to vary from attached to fully separated as the ramp angle was increased from 10◦ to 38◦; the separation region on the tripped side of the panel was noticeably smaller, showing the elevated turbulence levels of the tripped-side flow to remain relatively localized rather than diffusing across the whole model. Full-field, time-resolved panel deformations were measured using high-speed photogrammetry and the vibrational response at each compression angle was characterized. Although the measured modes conformed largely to those from classical clamped-plate theory, some skewing of the mode shapes was observed. IR thermography highlighted regions of the compliant region where elevated temperatures were likely to promote thermal softening effects to the transient panel response. The quasi-static deformation and stress field was used to characterize the internal stress factor of each mode and showed a meaningful relationship between transient panel response and stress contained within each mode: modes with antinodes lying in high-stress areas of the plate tended to exhibit increases in vibrational frequency and decreases in vibrational power, whereas the opposite was true for modes with antinodes in low-stress areas.

Spectral Proper Orthogonal Decomposition↗
NASA NTRS2020

The Slow Demise of the Long-Lived Sn 2005ip

The Type IIn supernova (SN IIn) 2005ip is one of the most well-studied and long-lasting examples of an SN interacting with its circumstellar environment. The optical light curve plateaued at a nearly constant level for more than five years, suggesting ongoing shock interaction with an extended and clumpy circumstellar medium (CSM). Here, we present continued observations of the SN from ∼1000 to 5000 d post-explosion at all wavelengths, including X-ray, ultraviolet, near-infrared (NIR), and mid-infrared. The UV spectra probe the pre-explosion mass loss and show evidence for CNO processing. From the bolometric light curve, we find that the total radiated energy is in excess of 10 50 erg, the progenitor star’s pre-explosion mass-loss rate was >~ 1 × 10 −2 Mꙩ yr −1 , and the total mass lost shortly before explosion was >~1Mꙩ, though the mass lost could have been considerably larger depending on the efficiency for the conversion of kinetic energy to radiation. The ultraviolet through NIR spectrum is characterized by two high-density components, one with narrow high-ionization lines, and one with broader low-ionization H I, He I, [OI], Mg II, and Fe II lines. The rich Fe II spectrum is strongly affected by Lyα fluorescence, consistent with spectral modelling. Both the Balmer and He I lines indicate a decreasing CSM density during the late interaction period. We find similarities to SN 1988Z, which shows a comparable change in spectrum at around the same time during its very slow decline. These results suggest that, at long last, the shock interaction in SN 2005ip may finally be on the decline.

stars↗
NASA NTRS2008

Spray Forming of NiTi and NiTiPd Shape-Memory Alloys

In the work to be presented, vacuum plasma spray forming has been used as a process to deposit and consolidate prealloyed NiTi and NiTiPd powders into near net shape actuators. Testing showed that excellent shape memory behavior could be developed in the deposited materials and the investigation proved that VPS forming could be a means to directly form a wide range of shape memory alloy components. The results of DSC characterization and actual actuation test results will be presented demonstrating the behavior of a Nitinol 55 alloy and a higher transition temperature NiTiPd alloy in the form of torque tube actuators that could be used in aircraft and aerospace controls.

Aero-Surface Controls↗
NASA NTRS2026

Gateway Element and Payload Materials Outgassing Analyses: HALO, HERMES, and ERSA

Gateway was intended to be humanity’s first space station around the Moon, but its development has been paused as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shifts focus to achieving the United States’ National Space Policy goals. Instead of an orbiting lunar outpost, NASA will now pursue the development of a lunar surface base to support a sustained human presence on the Moon. Before the program’s pause, Gateway’s Induced Environments team worked to ensure payloads and elements (i.e., modules) complied with induced environment requirements. Methods developed and insights gained from this work will have applicability to NASA’s Moon Base and the potential repurposing of Gateway elements and payloads, as well as to induced environments modeling for future space stations. The Gateway program’s induced environment included molecular contamination, electric thruster plume sputter and redeposition, and lunar dust transfer from the Human Landing System (HLS). Primary sources of external molecular contamination included materials outgassing, chemical thruster plume contamination, and vacuum venting. The focus of this paper will be on element- and payload-level materials outgassing analyses performed for Gateway Configuration 1, extending the previously-developed framework for Gateway system-level external molecular contamination modeling. Gateway Configuration 1 consisted of the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO). It also included payloads like the European Radiation Sensor Array (ERSA) attached to PPE and the Heliophysics Environmental and Radiation Measurement Experiment Suite (HERMES) attached to HALO. The element- and payload-level analyses to be introduced in this paper for HALO, HERMES, and ERSA enabled high-fidelity descriptions of Gateway’s external molecular contamination environment. Approaches to geometric modeling, meshing, outgassing rate assignment, molecular transport modeling, and analysis methodology will be presented. Element and payload contaminant deposition onto sensitive Gateway receiver surfaces will be summarized and results compared to induced environment requirements. While these results incorporate refinements made over the course of the program, they were not intended to be final. Therefore, modeling assumptions and inputs, potential improvements, and lessons-learned will be documented to inform future work on Moon Base, repurposed elements and payloads, and other space stations.

Gateway↗
NASA NTRS2026

Simulating the Lunar Thermal Environment for the Surface-Deployed LEMS Artemis III TVAC Test

The Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) is an autonomous, survive-the lunar-night seismic suite to be deployed on the Lunar surface by the Artemis III crew and designed to operate continuously for two years. It will see the extremes of the Lunar south pole thermal environment where surface temperatures range from -200°C to +20°C and where nighttime duration is at least 354 hours. Given power and mass constraints, the thermal system is limited to 2.5 Watts of heat during the lunar night. Presented is the system thermal vacuum test plan and configuration to validate the thermal control system performance in a flight-like environment. The test will measure the nighttime heat leaks for the bus and 18 seismometers to ensure lunar night survival and operability.

Thermal↗
NASA NTRS2026

Simulating the Lunar Thermal Environment for the Surface-Deployed LEMS Artemis III TVAC Test

The Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) is an autonomous, survive-the lunar-night seismic suite to be deployed on the Lunar surface by the Artemis III crew and designed to operate continuously for two years. It will see the extremes of the Lunar south pole thermal environment where surface temperatures range from -200°C to +20°C and where nighttime duration is at least 354 hours. Given power and mass constraints, the thermal system is limited to 2.5 Watts of heat during the lunar night. Presented is the system thermal vacuum test plan and configuration to validate the thermal control system performance in a flight-like environment. The test will measure the nighttime heat leaks for the bus and 18 seismometers to ensure lunar night survival and operability.

Thermal↗
NASA NTRS2026

Simulating the Lunar Thermal Environment for the Surface-Deployed LEMS Artemis III TVAC Test

The Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) is an autonomous, survive-the lunar-night seismic suite to be deployed on the Lunar surface by the Artemis III crew and designed to operate continuously for two years. It will see the extremes of the Lunar south pole thermal environment where surface temperatures range from -200°C to +20°C and where nighttime duration is at least 354 hours. Given power and mass constraints, the thermal system is limited to 2.5 Watts of heat during the lunar night. Presented is the system thermal vacuum test plan and configuration to validate the thermal control system performance in a flight-like environment. The test will measure the nighttime heat leaks for the bus and 18 seismometers to ensure lunar night survival and operability.

TVAC↗
NASA NTRS1993

Experimental and analytical ion thruster research

The results of further spectroscopic studies on the plume from a 3 cm ion source operated on an argon propellant is reported on. In particular, it is shown that it should be possible to use the spectroscopic technique to measure the plasma density of the ion plume close to the grids, where it is difficult to use electrical probe measurements. How the technique, along with electrical probe measurements in the far downstream region of the plume, can be used to characterize the operation of a three-grid, 15 cm diameter thruster from NASA JPL is outlined. Pumping speed measurements on the Vacuum Research Facility have shown that this facility should be adequate for testing the JPL thruster at pressures in the low 10(exp -5) Torr range. Finally, we describe a simple analytical model which can be used to calculate the grid impingement current which results from charge-exchange collisions in the ion plume.

Wilhelmus M. Ruyten↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Laser Forming of Sheet Metal for In-Space Manufacturing Applications

As the in-space economy matures, the migration of typically Earth-bound manufacturing methods, such as metal forming and joining, up to space will be required to meet the increasing demand for refueling and supply depots, habitats, laboratories, lunar surface structures, and sites for deep-space exploration shipbuilding. Only in this way can the magnitude of individual structures begin to exceed what can be launched, deployed, docked, or inflated and allow true economies of scale to be unlocked in space. However, typical terrestrial methods of forming and shaping sheet metal require massive machinery with the ability to deflect reaction forces to a large mass in a fixed reference frame (Earth). To both limit up-mass required for manufacture and to mitigate the issues of reaction forces in the relative reference frames of space, a non-contact, laser-based method of forming metal sheet is proposed. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), in cooperation with DARPA and the University of Florida (UF), have begun investigation of non-contact methods of laser forming sheet metal in thermal vacuum (TVAC) conditions to great success. To date, several grades of aluminum, stainless steel, and titanium coupons have been formed via laser-induced internal stresses in these metals at both ambient atmosphere and vacuum conditions. Temperatures in these tests ranged from -120 to 60 C, and though the total energy required to induce strain does vary with workpiece temperature and environmental pressure, the method remains predictable and controllable for the materials investigated. It is believed that this method will revolutionize manufacturing in-space as it not only continues to build upon the capabilities of the laser (sensing, marking, cutting, drilling, joining, and now forming) as an all-in-one tool, but also reduces the need to counteract forming forces as would be required in mechanical bending. In theory, all required stress to induce bending is generated through thermal gradient and strain within the workpiece, meaning that the need for reaction control and fuel expense on-orbit will be limited. Archimedes once stated, “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world”. With a laser as our lever and our workpiece its own fulcrum, we can move the world’s manufacturing into space.

Laser↗
NASA NTRS2026

Investigation of Bipropellant Plume-Induced Contamination Effects on Coverglass Materials

Contamination and degradation of external spacecraft materials by unburned and partially combusted species from bipropellant thruster plumes has long been observed as a key component of the induced space environment. Space shuttle flight experiments and returned flight hardware from the International Space Station (ISS) have both experienced microscopic impact features induced by high-velocity thruster plume droplets. Analytical results have shown that droplet impingement angle relative to a receiving surface plays a key role in the surface damage. Although impacts with normal impingement angles contribute more severely to surface degradation than highly oblique angles, surface effects at higher impingement angles should not be dismissed. Thruster plume-induced materials degradation is a complex phenomenon that depends on a variety of parameters, including but not limited to material type, system temperature and pressure, plume composition, and thruster firing specifications such as number of pulses, pulse duration, and sample distance from the thruster. For space applications, attaining the vacuum pressure and temperature conditions necessary for flight-like plume expansion and exposure conditions is not a trivial task. The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR) is a facility uniquely capable of simulating such conditions. Test coupons were exposed to bipropellant thruster firings under high vacuum at the DLR facility. Percent area coverage (PAC) and droplet size distributions were evaluated for the uncoated and coated solar array coverglass materials over a range of impingement angles (0̊ to 75̊). A post-test imaging workflow was developed that aimed to quantify changes in sample surface morphology obtained from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images using the Image Processing and Analysis in Java (ImageJ) tool; an opensource image processing software. The goal was to create a framework through which to evaluate the effect of bipropellant-induced PAC and droplet size distribution on solar array coverglass optical transmission losses. Understanding this relationship is important because optical transmission losses are known to lead to current reduction in solar power generation systems. In addition to the development of surface characterization workflows, valuable lessons learned as they pertain to future investigations and experiments will be discussed. The authors hope that sharing these lessons will facilitate more utilization of DLR’s unique capabilities as well as open the conversation for how best to address experimental characterization of flight-like plume expansion and its impacts on materials surface degradation effects.

Gateway↗
NASA NTRS1992

Ruled and holographic experiment (AO 138-5)

The AO 138-5 experiment has been designed, via the French Cooperative Payload (FRECOPA) experiment with the aim to study the optical behavior of different diffraction gratings submitted to space vacuum long exposure and solar radiation. Samples were rules and holographic gratings, masters or replica, and some additional control mirrors with various coatings. The experiment was located on the B3, trailing edge of the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) and has been protected against atomic oxygen flux. The experienced thermal cycling has been evaluated from -23 C to 66 C during the flight, 34,000 orbits. The analysis has been focused on the triple point characterization including light efficiency, wavefront flatness quality and stray light level. Tests were conducted on control mirrors and gratings loaded but not exposed to cosmic dust or solar irradiations. They did not show any significant variations. Solar exposure has damaged the coating reflectivity in the ultraviolet region, the degradation is higher with the gratings, in terms of efficiency. However, wavefront flatness quality and stray light level tests revealed no additional changes.

Francis Bonnemason↗
NASA NTRS2015

A Battery Certification Testbed for Small Satellite Missions

A battery pack consisting of standard cylindrical 18650 lithium-ion cells has been chosen for small satellite missions based on previous flight heritage and compliance with NASA battery safety requirements. However, for batteries that transit through the International Space Station (ISS), additional certification tests are required for individual cells as well as the battery packs. In this manuscript, we discuss the development of generalized testbeds for testing and certifying different types of batteries critical to small satellite missions. Test procedures developed and executed for this certification effort include: a detailed physical inspection before and after experiments; electrical cycling characterization at the cell and pack levels; battery-pack overcharge, over-discharge, external short testing; battery-pack vacuum leak and vibration testing. The overall goals of these certification procedures are to conform to requirements set forth by the agency and identify unique safety hazards. The testbeds, procedures, and experimental results are discussed for batteries chosen for small satellite missions to be launched from the ISS.

Certification↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Case Study of AI-assisted Creation of a Thermodynamics Model of Precipitation Formation During Rapid Depressurization of a Vented Container

Precipitation may form in humid containers undergoing rapid depressurization. This precipitation may be liquid, i.e. fog, if the dewpoint is crossed above the freezing point of water, or direct snow crystallization if the dewpoint is crossed below the freezing point. Accurate modeling of this effect is potentially important for rapidly ascending vented containers in aircraft, spacecraft, and launch vehicles, as well as rapidly depressurizing vacuum chambers. A transient thermodynamics model of precipitation formation during the rapid depressurization of a container was developed in python. The model is written for a generic container and includes an optional water pool and water vapor source. Details of the model and results from several example cases spanning the full capabilities of the model, including a validation case, will be presented. Although the model is not novel, in contrast to prior works, this one was treated as a case study of the assistance of AI Large Language Models (LLMs) to create physical models. Impressions, performance, time, and cost of using AI for this task will be discussed.

precipitation↗