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Completed TRL 3 (started at 1, targeting 3)
This proposal is to fulfill the technology gap and provide affordable options for durable, stable thermal control material systems (TCMS) based coatings that can be dust shedding in charging environments and can furthermore can survive and operate in extreme environments. The recent efforts at AMSENG for the TCMS for the Lunar Applications indicated that the Charge Dissipating TCMS based on the secondary emission engineering are the promising concepts. It concluded that the coatings have very low dust sticking ability to the lunar simulant dust. The suggested phase I proposal is for extending this work towards affordable coatings for the extreme environments. The involved nano engineered material technologies at AMSENG are: Nano Engineered filled PDMS, the Carborane Siloxane Monomer based cross linkers and primers; along with the Pigments: PBT™, the Doped Zn:βLiAGO™ and the IR&D based Rad Hard Cementatious Inorganic Sols to be cured above RT to <100°C. Thus, the proposed efforts can address the feasibility evaluation of the advanced dust shedding TCMS coatings for the Lunar Extreme Environments. Thus, the proposed feasibility evaluation efforts can address the Novel Affordable dust shedding TCMS coatings products for the Lunar Extreme Environments through: Process Ultra low outgassing space stable filled PDMS with Carborane-Siloxane based cross linkers and Primers, nano engineered filled Elastomers with PBT™, BNNM™ and Doped Zn:βLiAGO™ Process Selected Pigments with New Rad Hard Cementatious Sol concepts and define Processing window for each concept composition Provide the feasibility data for the Dust Shedding TCMS coatings concepts for Thermal Control for harsh extreme environments Evaluation and selection of low cost coating processing options, with feasibility proof through GEO simulation, and Dust Simulation Recommend Qualification and Validation efforts for the Reliable Material Systems and processing options for Extreme Environment Lunar Mission hardware
NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) missions can greatly benefit from this dust mitigation thermal coating technology: all lunar-relating project - Power and Thermal Bus Sub Systems, and all projects involved with robotic science rovers and landers in Extreme Environments i n Affordable manner.
The Technology Developed can be useful for: Survivable Thermal Control Material Systems, Films & Adhesives that are hardened for the upper atmospheric man made or natural Nuclear Event Solar Storms and GEO, MEO & LEO survivable Products that can employ electron on demand strategies in products like: Hardened Thin Film Products, Wiring harnesses, Balloons
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