Vertical Lunar Regolith Conveyance for In-Situ Resource Utilization

The purpose of the space technology is the vertical, or near-vertical, conveyance of lunar regolith for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). The preliminary design is a modular space mechanism that uses a static screw method with a rotating tube for vertical conveyance of regolith. The funding will refine and extend the existing breadboard prototype, fund incremental demonstrations of progressive functionality, fund associated modeling and simulation validated against the advanced prototype and fund testing in realistic environments for TRL maturation. The target markets include: Government - (1) Industrialization and infrastructure efforts for the moon and (2) Industrialization and infrastructure efforts for Mars and other Small Bodies targeted for exploration in the solar system. Commercial - (1) Vertical conveyance of terrestrial materials for industrial applications, (2) Vertical conveyance of agricultural material such as grains, granular fertilizer and herbicide and (3) Vertical conveyance of granular feedstock materials used in conventional manufacturing and additive manufacturing.

This space mechanism can directly support NASA's ISRU efforts for lunar infrastructure. It will, more likely than not, find other applications in extraterrestrial infrastructure for moving granular material in all gravity, vacuum and atmospheric environments. Commercial opportunities include but are not limited to - (1) Vertical conveyance of terrestrial materials for industrial applications, (2) Vertical conveyance of agricultural material such as grains, granular fertilizer and herbicide and (3) Vertical conveyance of granular feedstock materials used in conventional manufacturing and additive manufacturing. One only has to observe the myriad grain storage complexes that appear in farming areas of the US to see the potential for more efficient vertical conveyance of grains, in particular. These facilities work by elevating grain from ground level to heights of 60 - 100 feet before that grain is distributed by directing it to the appropriate gigantic bin.

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.