Mini Impactor Sensors for Lunar Geotechnical Arrays

Key Technical Challenges: Selecting the right hardware components and the proper construction of the impactor for survivability in a high-g event.\nApproach/Research Plan: Investigate the landscape of suitable MEMS devices; Design suitable support electronics; Adapt Glenn's current impact test rig; Use acquired data to formulate sensor concept and design; Install initial sensor packages in small impactor; Complete initial small impactor tests; Redesign and repackage mini-impactor; and, Complete testing of redesigned/repackaged mini-impactor.\nDifferent/Complementary: Due to the uniqueness of the impactor mission requirements, a literature search illuminates the fact that industry and academia have not focused on the design and construction of similar devices. \nNext Step: Future phases of this project will address the methods for identifying and communicating the geographical location of each of the impactors relative to each other as well as how to accumulate the seismic data to produce maps of the subsurface structures.

Goal: To produce an instrument sensitive enough to record the seismic activity resulting from impacts several hundred meters away and rugged enough to transmit its data after surviving the initial high-g impact with the surface.\nCapability Need/Knowledge Gap: There are no ideal sensors that meet both of the primary requirements for sensitivity and ruggedness, but there are a few that perform fairly decently in both categories. \nState-of-the-Art/Knowledge: Currently, the most likely candidates for sensors that can be considered are the capacitive MEMS accelerometers.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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