Key Projects
Research and workforce development in space exploration are longstanding traditions at Texas A&M University. As evidenced by these select examples of space-related awards and projects, our faculty members are leaders in earth and planetary sciences, human space flight and planetary surface engineering research.
Cyclotron-Based Nuclear Science
Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science
The Texas A&M University Cyclotron Institute is a major technical and educational resource for the state and the nation. The institute focuses on conducting research, educating students in accelerator-based science and technology and providing technical capabilities for a wide variety of applications in space science, materials science, analytical procedures and nuclear medicine. Approximately 100 institute members – scientists, engineers, technicians, support staff, graduate students and undergraduate students – are involved in these programs.
The Texas Defense Aerospace Manufacturing Community
Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation
TDAMC’s mission is to introduce targeted smart manufacturing skills and technologies into the Texas defense aerospace manufacturing ecosystem. They connect industry, government, research organizations and academia to address key challenges within regional coalitions that make up Texas’ defense-aerospace manufacturing ecosystem. TDAMC aims to meet current and future U.S. Department of Defense needs, including industrial surge production capability requirements. TDAMC is led by the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station.
Center of Excellence in Nuclear Training and University Based Research
Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration
CENTAUR provides research experience necessary to develop the next generation of leaders in stewardship science in low-energy nuclear science in support of the workforce and research needs relevant to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s mission. CENTAUR pursues research in low-energy nuclear science through experimental, theoretical and technical programs using accelerators at Texas A&M’s Cyclotron Institute and Florida State University’s John D. Fox Superconducting Linear Accelerator Laboratory as well as facilities at other participating institutions.
High Energy Physics at Texas A&M
Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science
High Energy Physics is a group that operates out of the Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy at Texas A&M. It studies the fundamental particles and interactions between the particles that make up our Universe. This includes dark matter and dark energy. High Energy Physics consists of groups based in experimental and theoretical research. Some groups work with the Large Hadron Collider as well as on direct and indirect searches for the particles of dark matter with the Super CDMS, LUX and Fermi experiments. This includes the design and construction of accelerators for use in creating particle collisions. Other groups work on the fundamental principles of string theory and gravity, as well as on the interface between cosmology, dark matter, models and phenomenology.
Compact Optomechanical Accelerometers for Space Geodesy
Funded by NASA
The Laboratory of Space Systems and Optomechanics (LASSO) at Texas A&M, led by Dr. F. Guzman, will develop a compact optomechanical low-frequency acceleration sensor with sensitivity levels that enable mass change and geodesy observations. This will improve understanding of surface anomalies in Earth’s gravitational field and its dynamics. LASSO will collaborate with Dr. Christopher McCullough at JPL, who will assist the research program by providing scientific expertise to help steer the technology development in a direction that maximizes scientific output, as well as by conducting gravity field recovery simulations using experimentally determined instrument performance as determined at progressive stages in the development process.
Virtual Assistant for Spacecraft Anomaly Treatment During Long Duration Exploration Missions
Funded by NASA
VNSCOR will investigate the impact of using virtual assistants to support crew members in the context of anomaly treatment during long Duration Exploration Missions, when ground support will be limited. Virtual assistants will be developed building upon the software architecture from existing virtual assistants. They will provide support for various aspects of anomaly treatment, including detecting and diagnosing the anomaly, as well as recommending a course of action. The impact of virtual assistants on performance, cognitive workload, situational awareness and trust, will be assessed through a set of three experiments with human subjects in a laboratory environment.
Adaptive Aerostructures for Revolutionary Civil Supersonic Transportation
Funded by NASA
This university-led program will provide strategic leadership toward technology convergence that advances NASA’s Aerospace Research Mission Directorate’s research objectives regarding Thrust 2: “Innovation in Commercial Supersonic Aircraft.”
A multi-disciplinary team of academic and industrial experts will explore, for the first time, the potential of small real-time geometric outer mold line reconfigurations to minimize sonic boom signatures and aircraft drag in response to changing ambient conditions, thereby enabling noise-compliant overland supersonic flight.
Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere
Funded by NASA
This is a NASA Earth Venture Suborbital research project to investigate the impacts of intense thunderstorms over the U.S. on the summertime stratosphere. By combining NEXRAD and GOES-16 observations of overshooting tops with forecasts of atmospheric winds from the National Weather Service, researchers will be able to predict the paths of air injected by overshooting storms. ER-2 flights will be planned to intercept plumes from those storms hours to days after they occur. Flights on consecutive days will allow researchers to visit the same plumes at different times to study how the chemicals within the plumes evolve in the stratospheric environment.
Human and Robotic Science and Operations Research in Analog Environments
Funded by NASA
Turbulence Transport in Extreme Non-Equilibrium Environments
Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Navy Office of Naval Research
Multi-Physical Co-Design of Next Generation Axial Motors for Aerospace Applications
Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy
This university-led program will focus on the design, fabrication, and testing of a lightweight and ultra-efficient electric powertrain for aircraft propulsion to reduce the energy costs and emissions of aviation. The objective is to produce an axial flux motor with lightweight carbon fiber reinforced structural material; a gallium nitride multilevel inverter; a thermally conductive nanocomposite electrical insulation; and a two-phase microchannel thermal management system with zeolite thermal energy storage to absorb the excess heat generated during takeoff. The program will further enhance U.S. technology dominance in the field of high-performance electric motors for hybrid electric aviation, while reducing aviation emissions, noise and fuel cost.
Effects of Altered Gravity on Bimanual Coordination and Cardiovascular and Ocular Health
Funded by NASA
This lab will investigate how the body reacts to different gravitational environments. The research will have two areas of focus: bimanual coordination and cardiovascular and ocular health. The first area looks at bimanual coordination which refers to the ability to move both upper limbs to manipulate objects or perform tasks. An example of bimanual coordination is force coordination (pushing down on force sensors in a specific pattern) or movement coordination (moving both arms in a specific pattern). The second area of focus is on
ocular and cardiovascular changes that have been associated with spaceflight. It is believed that altered gravity can cause changes in vision, as well as changes to the cardiovascular system, such as changes in fluid distribution.
Researchers will use a tilt table, a lower body negative pressure device and a human-rated short radius centrifuge to study the changes in fluid distribution.
Rodent Research-23 Mission
Funded by NASA, SpaceX-21
Also known as Effects of Microgravity on Ocular Vascular Hydrodynamics, this project studies the function of arteries, veins and lymphatic structures in the eye and changes in the retina before and after spaceflight. At least 40 percent of astronauts experience vision impairment known as Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome on long-duration spaceflights, which could adversely affect mission success. The aim of this project is to clarify whether these vascular changes impair visual function.
Space Food Research Facility
Funded by NASA, Johnson Space Center
The facility’s mission is to expand the portfolio of food processing technologies that are available to the government and private space industry. This program offers opportunity for food science and technology undergraduate and graduate students to obtain hands-on experiential learning on food processing technologies while working closely with NASA to prepare foods for the U.S. astronauts on the International Space Station. SFRF is unique in that it provides both government, industry, and academic scientists the opportunity to investigate the combination of a variety of food processing technologies such as electron beam pasteurization along with legacy technologies that NASA and its space partners utilize. This is the only facility of its kind in the United States.
Engineering the Next Generation EVA Spacesuit for Mars
Funded by NASA
This university-led project’s mission is to develop the “SmartSuit” spacesuit; a novel spacesuit intelligent architecture for extravehicular activity (EVA) operations on Mars and other planetary environments that increases human performance by an order of magnitude on several quantifiable fronts for exploration missions. The project will investigate the trade-space of materials and sensor architectures, leading to design principles and sizing estimates of a candidate spacesuit. The project is a collaboration between NASA and the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station.
Developing Spaceflight Crew Virtual Assistants for Exploration
Funded by NASA
Human-Robot Interface for Extraterrestrial Construction
Funded by the National Science Foundation
This project aims to leverage the intelligence and capabilities of astronauts in a human-centric robotic system for extraterrestrial construction by providing human-robot interaction that offers stable, transparent and accurate telerobotic control. This project has important implications for extraterrestrial construction that are essential for a long-term human presence off-Earth, and particularly on the moon. This research will advance fundamental knowledge of astronaut-robot interaction, including how human sensory degradation in space and signal time delay/visual ambiguity interact to influence teleoperation task performance; how modulations of sensory feedback display dimensions are perceived; and how to most effectively map sensed data to enhance situational awareness and improved teleoperation performance. Virtual robotic system design and space mission simulations will also be employed in a STEM outreach program to motivate young students by teaching them about space exploration.
Breaking the “Launch Once, Use Once” Paradigm
Funded by U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research
This project aims to address the non-existent capability of On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (OSAM) in the geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO) belt. Current space assets last longer than their commissions and take up valuable space in the GEO belt. This research will identify basic research enablers for the space logistics and servicing paradigm to include assembly, refueling, repairing and repurposing. This research will have implications on many aspects of current satellites and the way they are both designed and operated.
Texas Intelligent Space Systems (TISS) Initiative
Funded by NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
TEES Support of Arkisys Space Servicing Solution
Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Air Force Research Laboratory and Arkisys Inc.
Co-Orbital Threat Prediction and Assessment
Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Air Force Research Laboratory and Ten One Aerospace, LLC
OPAL Project Year II
Funded by NASA, Jet Propulsion Lab
Tensegrity In-Space Manufacturing and Engineering Systems (TIMES) Institute
Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense’s National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Navigation Systems for Littoral Autonomous Proximity Operations
Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Navy Office of Naval Research
Conceptual Designs for a Commercially Funded Astronomical Space Telescope System
Funded by Black Sky Geospatial Solutions, Inc.
LASR Support of Federated Information, Networking and Communication Host (FINCH)
Funded by U.S. Department of Defense’s Air Force AFWERX and Black Sky Geospatial Solutions, Inc.