Opt AC Lunar Power Transmission Study (OPT AC POWER-STUDY)

The purpose of the Optimal AC Lunar Power Transmission Study is to help inform the power community if the currently proposed 1000 Hz AC frequency is ideal for Lunar Surface power transmission when considering mass, reliability, and complexity. This effort directly aligns to NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Shortfall 1592, High Power, Long-Distance Energy Transmission Across Distributed Surface Assets, and Shortfall 1591, Power Management Systems for Long Duration Lunar and Martian Missions.  This task also aligns to STMD's planned LIVE Domain's need to “Provide power through common distribution interfaces to and among assets on the lunar surface".  Finally, this study benefits other STMD power technology developments, including Vertical Solar Array Technology (VSAT), LunaGrid-Lite Tipping Point (LGL TP) and Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin in their ongoing work involving the Universal Modular Interface Connector (UMIC).This trade study focuses on identifying the optimal frequency for long-distance, high-power AC transmission on the Lunar Surface and balancing the need for reliable high-power, long-distance AC transmission with the lowest mass power cable.  Specifically, this task performed impedence sweeps and full power transmission tests on the cable to assess performance in both a terrestrial setting and a simulated lunar environment within a dirty thermal vacuum (TVAC) chamber, under vacuum conditions and in contact with a lunar regolith simulant JSC-1A, possessing magnetic susceptability properties. Both shielded and unshilded versions of the cable were tested in various configurations, with and without contact with the JSC-1A simulant. The outcome of the testing yielded no significant power losses detected. 

​This effort directly aligns to NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Shortfall 1592, High Power, Long-Distance Energy Transmission Across Distributed Surface Assets, and Shortfall 1591, Power Management Systems for Long Duration Lunar and Martian Missions.  This task also aligns to STMD's planned LIVE Domain's need to “Provide power through common distribution interfaces to and among assets on the lunar surface".  This study will benefit other STMD power technology developments, including Vertical Solar Array Technology (VSAT), LunaGrid-Lite Tipping Point (LGL TP) and Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin in their ongoing work involving the Universal Modular Interface Connector (UMIC). This study may also help benefit the lunar regolith simulant community with increased knowledge of electrical interactions between lunar regolith and space power transmission cables.​ Testing with an extended cable length is of benefit by increasing the chance of noise over the longer length. Testing the cable in the electrically charged regolith simulant may produce inductive, partial discharge or corona reactions, which can help inform ideal frequencies.  ​

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.