PHASE II-IGNITE - ECOMINE - BIOREGENERATIVE MINERAL MINING FROM LUNAR REGOLITH

DEFINITIVE CONTRACT won by SPACE LAB TECHNOLOGIES, LLC · work in BOULDER, CO

$899,778

Recipient	SPACE LAB TECHNOLOGIES, LLC UEI WDXTJ9AHNZ68
Award ID	80NSSC24CA217
Award amount	$899,778
Award type	DEFINITIVE CONTRACT
Awarding agency	National Aeronautics and Space Administration — National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NAICS	541715 — RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES (EXCEPT NANOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY)
PSC	AJ14
Set-aside	Small business
Start date	Sep 30, 2024
End date	May 31, 2027
Place of performance	BOULDER, CO
Record updated	Jun 30, 2026

View the official award record

More awards won by SPACE LAB TECHNOLOGIES, LLC

REGENERATIVE SPACE LIFE SUPPORT WILL UNDOUBTEDLY REQUIRE FOOD PRODUCTION, TO RECOVER NUTRIENTS AND CLOSE THE CARBON LOOP IN A SPACECRAFT HABITAT. AQUATIC PLANTS HAVE ENORMOUS POTENTIAL FOR EDIBLE BIOMASS PRODUCTION BUT HAVE BEEN LITTLE STUDIED AS POTENTIAL FOOD CROPS FOR SPACE APPLICATIONS. THE PROPOSED G-LILYPOND IS AN AUTONOMOUS ENVIRONMENTALLY CONTROLLED FLOATING PLANT CULTIVATION SYSTEM FOR USE IN MICROGRAVITY. THE G-LILYPOND CONCEPT EXPANDS THE TYPES OF CROPS THAT CAN BE GROWN ON A SPACECRAFT TO INCLUDE AQUATIC FLOATING PLANTS AS A NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT FOR THE CREW DIET. INNOVATIVE FEATURES INCLUDE LOW MAINTENANCE, INCREASED RELIABILITY WITH PASSIVE WATER DELIVERY, VOLUME EFFICIENCY, FULL LIFE CYCLE SUPPORT VIA VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION, CLOSE CANOPY LIGHTING, AND CROP VERSATILITY. BIOMASS PRODUCED WILL BE USED PRIMARILY AS FOOD BUT COULD ALSO BE USED FOR BIOFUEL OR FERTILIZER. THIS COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN SPACE LAB TECHNOLOGIES, UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, AND REFCON SERVICES, INC. WILL COMBINE PHASE II DESIGN, ANALYSIS, PROTOTYPE FABRICATION, AND TESTING TO DEMONSTRATE TECHNOLOGY FUNCTION AND PREPARE FOR FLIGHT PROTOTYPE DEMONSTRATION IN THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT. PHASE II WILL BEGIN WITH THE PHASE I CONCEPTUAL DESIGN AND ANALYSES AND CULMINATE IN THE DETAILED DESIGN, FABRICATION AND TESTING OF AN INTEGRATED ENGINEERING DEMONSTRATION UNIT (EDU). IN ADDITION, WE WILL DEVELOP A FLIGHT PROTOTYPE OF THE WATER TRANSPORT LOOP, BUILT TO OPERATE IN A RELEVANT MICROGRAVITY ENVIRONMENT, FOR USE IN FUTURE FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES. FINALLY EQUIVALENT SYSTEM MASS OF THE PROPOSED G-LILYPOND CONCEPT WILL BE ESTABLISHED FOR THE DETAILED EDU DESIGN. PHASE I CONCEPTUAL DESIGN AND FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT ILLUMINATED SEVERAL IMPORTANT FOCUS AREAS FOR PHASE II, AND WELL POSITIONED OUR TEAM TO ACCOMPLISH OUR PROPOSED OBJECTIVES.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration · $820,326 · Sep 14, 2018

THE PORTABLE LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM (PLSS) OF THE ADVANCED EXTRAVEHICULAR MOBILITY UNIT (AEMU) PROVIDES THE NECESSARY ENVIRONMENT FOR A CREW MEMBER TO OPERATE WITHIN THE SPACE SUIT. WITHIN THE PLSS, THE OXYGEN VENTILATION LOOP PROVIDES CARBON DIOXIDE WASHOUT, GAS TEMPERATURE CONTROL, HUMIDITY CONTROL, AND TRACE CONTAMINANT REMOVAL. HISTORICALLY, THERE HAVE BEEN ISSUES WITH THE MEASUREMENT OF AIR FLOW FOR THE OXYGEN VENTILATION LOOP. WITH THE APOLLO EMU, THERE WERE HUMIDITY ISSUES WITH THE IMPLEMENTED FLOW METER. FOR THE SPACE SHUTTLE/ISS EMU, THE FLOW SENSOR WAS A FLAPPER/MICROSWITCH COMBINATION THAT ONLY MEASURED A DISCRETE THRESHOLD FOR FLOW. THE PROPOSED INNOVATION ALLOWS FOR CONTINUOUS AIR FLOW MEASUREMENT FROM 1 TO 8 ACFM WITH STATIC PRESSURES OF 3.5 TO 25 PSIA IN THE PURE OXYGEN ENVIRONMENT. THIS NEW METHOD MEETS THE LOW PRESSURE DROP REQUIREMENT AND ALLOWS OPERATION BEYOND LOW EARTH ORBIT (LEO) WITH RADIATION HARDENED ELECTRONICS. AN ENGINEERING DEMONSTRATION UNIT (EDU) WILL BE DEVELOPED DURING PHASE II.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration · $754,982 · Aug 12, 2019

MARSOASIS - AN EFFICIENT AUTONOMOUSLY CONTROLLED MARTIAN CROP PRODUCTION SYSTEM

National Aeronautics and Space Administration · $754,919 · Dec 20, 2019

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