ATSP Innovations, Inc. SBIR Phase I Award, July 2023

NASA is interested in long-term operation in the lunar environment, Mars and small bodies such as asteroids, comets, and Near-Earth Objects. Dust Tolerant Mechanisms and specifically the listed interest in sealing materials and techniques that can keep out regolith and operate in the extreme Moon/Mars environments are of high interest. The Moon is covered by large amounts of dust particles, called regolith, which could cause serious problems for tribological/bearing components on the Moon. Because the Moon has large temperature spans during day and night, from cryogenic temperatures of -173deg;C to upwards of 127deg;C, in addition to the abrasive studies, the effect of temperature should be taken into account to achieve a better understanding of their tribological performance in combination with abrasive dust. From the experience gained during the Apollo missions, significant lunar dust-related problems could occur. Therefore, NASA seeks technologies that are required to protect/tolerate the dust intrusion into rotary, linear, or static joints (e.g., bearings, landing gears, covers, etc.). The tribological study is largely dependent on experimental research that simulates outer space and relevant environments. The Lunar surface has vacuum added with cryogenic to high temperature condition. ATSP composite bulk material has demonstrated excellent wear resistant property in the presence of lunar dust simulant against 440C hardened bearing steel. The excellent data from previous Phase I and the tribological capability of ATSP combining we propose to find the best ATSP composite composition for the extreme lunar dusty environment. Thus, ATSP polymers can be a potential solution for aggressive dusty conditions as a sealing material. In Phase I, we will investigate the tribological and dynamic sealing performance of ATSP-based composites under various temperature conditions with abrasive dust.