Low-g Transport of Dust Liberated from Spacesuit Fabric

The Lunar g Transport of Dust Liberated from Spacesuit Fabric experiment leverages a technology called ClothBot – a mechanical apparatus designed to autonomously stretch, shear, and crumple a patch of spacesuit material in a controlled manner. Actual suit material will be loaded with particles and mounted in ClothBot prior to launch on a suborbital vehicle. The planned in-flight activity includes employing fabric agitation to shed the particles, tracking the operation on video, and measuring the concentrations and size distributions of dust particles with miniature sensors.

The Lunar g Transport of Dust Liberated from Spacesuit Fabric experiment leverages a technology called ClothBot – a mechanical apparatus designed to autonomously stretch, shear, and crumple a patch of spacesuit material in a controlled manner. Actual suit material will be loaded with dust particles and mounted in ClothBot prior to launch on a suborbital vehicle. The planned in-flight activity includes employing fabric agitation to shed the particles, tracking the operation on video, and measuring the concentrations and size distributions of dust particles with miniature sensors. This has the potential to benefit NASA missions and the commercial space industry.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.