S.P.A.R.C.S.- Solar Panel Acoustic Resonance Cleaning System

As the world races towards the future of clean energy, solar panels are becoming common place. One of the largest problems faced is accumulated dirt and dust on the surface of these solar panels. Panels become covered in dirt and debris and no longer provide efficient output of solar energy. This problem is faced on earth and beyond the stars. For years, NASA has been trying to solve the issue of “dust” from mars or the moon settling on solar panels, lenses, and other surfaces. The regolith threatens the potential of human existence on the surface of the moon. The sharp edges are far more abrasive to human lungs if the particles are tracked in on equipment, suits, or shoes. As we extend our lunar exploration and attempt to establish a base on the moon, regolith removal will be key for human safety. Rover life spans have exceeded initial expectations, but nearly all face the same downfall. Their panels accumulate too much regolith for the solar rays to charge the rover.https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/celebration_posters_2023/1032/thumbnail.jp

Lunar and Lagrangian Point L1/L2 CubeSat Communication and Navigation Considerations

CubeSats have grown in sophistication to the point that relatively low-cost mission solutions could be undertaken for planetary exploration. There are unique considerations for lunar and L1/L2 CubeSat communication and navigation compared with low earth orbit CubeSats. This paper explores those considerations as they relate to the Lunar IceCube Mission. The Lunar IceCube is a CubeSat mission led by Morehead State University with participation from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Busek Company and Vermont Tech. It will search for surface water ice and other resources from a high inclination lunar orbit. Lunar IceCube is one of a select group of CubeSats designed to explore beyond low-earth orbit that will fly on NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) as secondary payloads for Exploration Mission (EM) 1. Lunar IceCube and the EM-1 CubeSats will lay the groundwork for future lunar and L1/L2 CubeSat missions. This paper discusses communication and navigation needs for the Lunar IceCube mission and navigation and radiation tolerance requirements related to lunar and L1/L2 orbits. Potential CubeSat radios and antennas for such missions are investigated and compared. Ground station coverage, link analysis, and ground station solutions are also discussed. This paper will describe modifications in process for the Morehead ground station, as well as further enhancements of the Morehead ground station and NASA Near Earth Network (NEN) that are being considered. The potential NEN enhancements include upgrading current NEN Cortex receiver with Forward Error Correction (FEC) Turbo Code, providing X-band uplink capability, and adding ranging options. The benefits of ground station enhancements for CubeSats flown on NASA Exploration Missions (EM) are presented. This paper also describes how the NEN may support lunar and L1/L2 CubeSats without any enhancements. In addition, NEN is studying other initiatives to better support the CubeSat community, including streamlining the compatibility testing, planning and scheduling associated with CubeSat missions

The Dependable Multiprocessor: An Application Study

The Dependable Multiprocessor (DM) F-cubed flight prototype developed by Morehead State University is a flexible computing platform for CubeSats. The processor cluster allows users to expand CubeSat capabilities where extensive processing tasks are required. The DM contains eight (8) Gumstix™ Overo Water processor modules, an Ethernet Switch, DM current sense/current limit/voltage cutoff/reset power management circuitry, and a variety of spacecraft interfaces for testing, debugging. All of these functions are contained in a 75 mm x 75 mm x 35 mm package, roughly 1/3 of a 1U CubeSat section. This presentation will demonstrate how the DM module can be applied to a high performance mission and how the capabilities are flexible to meet mission needs