PACK POINTS
More “Star Trek” than “Snuggie”
Michael Sieber, Ryan Boyle and Anne Tomasevich, textile engineering students who graduated this spring, have developed a covering for lunar outposts—the astronauts' living quarters on the moon.
With NASA’s plans to return to the moon by 2020 and station astronauts for several months, concern has grown over a dangerous phenomenon—space radiation. When space rays hit matter, they produce a dangerous spray of secondary particles which, when penetrating human flesh, can damage DNA, boosting the risk of cancer and other maladies. All this means that NASA needs a way to protect the astronauts on the moon.
Enter the lunar “blanket.”
Michael Sieber, Ryan Boyle and Anne Tomasevich, textile engineering students who graduated this spring, have developed a covering for lunar outposts—the astronauts’ living quarters on the moon.
The “blanket” was chosen as one of 10 undergraduate finalists in the Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic Linkage competition, an event sponsored by NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace.
“The product needed to be as lightweight as possible to feasibly fit on the transportation module and have the ability to be easily erected by a minimum number of astronauts for immediate use once on the moon,” Sieber said.
The “lunar texshield” is made from a lightweight polymer material that has a layer of radiation shielding that deflects or absorbs radiation. Its outermost surface includes a layer of solar cells to generate electricity, backed up by layers of radiation-absorbing materials.
“We used what we’ve learned throughout our college careers and
were able to apply that logic to provide a solution to a real-world problem.
That is what is cool to us.” 