CC21 Lunar TORCH

The lunar environment is much different than that found on the surface of the Earth. Key differences include: 1. The thermal environment - There is no atmosphere to moderate temperature differences from the sunlit side of an object to the shadowed side. One side under direct solar illumination becomes very hot and the shadowed side becomes very cold as its heat is radiated away. Thermal management is a significant challenge on the lunar surface. 2. Illumination - there is no atmosphere to diffuse and distribute light to shadowed areas. Thus areas in shadow are extremely dark and require external illumination. This is especially true near the lunar poles where the sun's low angle of incidence causes much of the surface to be in shadow and makes navigation and operations in these areas very challenging. Crews working on the shadowed side of equipment would require an external source of illumination to provide visibility in the work area. 3. Power - Initially, almost all electrical power on the lunar surface will be derived from solar cells. The power output is limited by the solar cell surface area and their efficiency. By reflecting additional sunlight onto a solar cell array we can increase the power output of existing arrays without deploying larger arrays. A Mobile Heliostat that can redirect sunlight where needed could help with all three of the challenges listed.
NASA is seeking to challenge the GrabCAD Community to design a mobile lunar heliostat that can be used to support operations at the Artemis Base Camp by redirecting solar energy where it is most needed. The Lunar Tele-Operated Rover-based Configurable Heliostat (Lunar TORCH) system serves as a cost effective multi-purpose tool for lunar operations by manipulating a critical resource (sunlight). The goal of this challenge is to develop an innovative low mass mobile heliostat that can be tightly packaged on a lander and easily deployed on the lunar surface. The basic configuration should be scalable to provide large amounts of solar energy where needed (i.e. ISRU systems located in permanently shadowed regions). The Lunar TORCH could also be remotely operated by ground control or Artemis astronauts and commanded where it is needed to support operations at the Artemis base camp. The focus of this challenge is on the deployable heliostat subsystem and not on the rover that supports it. Challengers can use a generic rover design or come up with their own if it will help with attachment and deployment of the heliostat subsystem. Many good examples of rovers can be found in the GrabCAD library (i.e. Mars Rover Prototype). The heliostat design should be lightweight, self-deployable, and allow for compact packaging. NASA is looking for innovative packaging and deployment methods that can reliably and autonomously deploy the heliostat subsystem after being unloaded on the lunar surface. The lunar environment is much different than that found on the surface of the Earth. Key differences include: 1. The thermal environment - There is no atmosphere to moderate temperature differences from the sunlit side of an object to the shadowed side. One side under direct solar illumination becomes very hot and the shadowed side becomes very cold as its heat is radiated away. Thermal management is a significant challenge on the lunar surface. 2. Illumination - there is no atmosphere to diffuse and distribute light to shadowed areas. Thus areas in shadow are extremely dark and require external illumination. This is especially true near the lunar poles where the sun's low angle of incidence causes much of the surface to be in shadow and makes navigation and operations in these areas very challenging. Crews working on the shadowed side of equipment would require an external source of illumination to provide visibility in the work area. 3. Power - Initially, almost all electrical power on the lunar surface will be derived from solar cells. The power output is limited by the solar cell surface area and their efficiency. By reflecting additional sunlight onto a solar cell array we can increase the power output of existing arrays without deploying larger arrays. A Mobile Heliostat that can redirect sunlight where needed could help with all three of the challenges listed.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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.