Flexible Lunar Robotics/Rover Dust Mitigation Covers

One of the greatest challenges to conducting long-duration missions on the lunar or Mars surfaces is the effect of dust on mechanisms and mobility systems. The addition of covers to shield lunar dust was suggested on early Apollo missions, and the benefits were experienced on later missions when localized covers on some equipment were implemented. Moonprint Solutions will develop scalable and adaptable flexible hermetically sealed dust cover technologies that are broadly applicable to a range of uses on the lunar or Mars surface. This includes rotary, linear, and ball joints, as well as entire assemblies of rovers and robotics. Dust cover technology will be a part of a layered strategy where dust mitigation technologies compliment one another for maximum protection. Several innovations will be employed including polymeric materials that can survive repeated long-term cycling in lunar dust, flexing while at cryogenic temperatures (-213C), multi-layered cover designs for redundancy, and mobility joints in the cover that do not add torque to the robot or impede its mobility in any way. Several methods of attaching and sealing the covers to various robotic elements will be developed. The covers will be designed to keep dust out of sensitive mechanisms but could also be used to enhance thermal control, contain contamination sources for planetary protection, or to prevent offgassing from robotics that can affect sensitive equipment.

Flexible dust cover technology will support Artemis missions to the lunar south pole, and Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative missions that allow NASA and commercial entities to send science investigations and technology demonstrations to the lunar surface. The technology can be employed in a wide range of applications of equipment on the lunar surface (rovers, robots, mechanisms, mobile relocatable solar arrays or communications towers, space suits, etc.). Localized areas of equipment or entire mobility systems can be isolated to prolong mission life. The technology is extensible to flexible isolators for equipment that must be brought into habitable spaces from the lunar surface for repair or maintenance. Dust cover technology is also directly applicable to similar equipment protection needs on the surface of Mars. Cover technology can also be used to contain materials from the underlying equipment from escaping. This is applicable to many NASA missions that include planetary protection needs, or in microgravity applications where robotics need to function near sensitive optical/other equipment that is susceptible to degradation from offgassing from robotic equipment. NASA is paving the way for greater lunar commercial activities through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative that allows NASA and commercial entities to send science investigations and technology demonstrations to the lunar surface. As these activities mature and commercial entities begin to harvest lunar resources such as water, Helium-3, and rare earth metals, all the above-mentioned NASA application points of dust covers will become commercially required. Terrestrial applications also exist for covers that protect robotics that are used in challenging environments (machining, grit blasting, painting, medical-pharma clean applications, austere military environments, etc.). Needs are growing for protecting the robotic systems and also containing the robotic systems.

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.