Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative

The NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate’s (SpaceTech) Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative (LSII) aims to spur the deployment of technologies needed for lunar surface exploration and accelerate the technology readiness of key systems and components. It is well-recognized that in order to achieve sustained operations on the surface of the Moon, new technologies must be deployed, especially regarding power systems, in situ resource utilization, dust mitigation, excavation and construction, and access and operations within extreme environments.

APL LSII Leadership

The JHU/APL has assembled a team of individuals to support NASA SpaceTech in their technological role to enable a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface. The JHU/APL LSII Team support includes the following activities:

Providing science and engineering integration expertise
Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium management and coordination
Lunar simulant analysis and portal support, and
Technology Research opportunity support

Laura Cosentino

LSII Project Manager

Biography

Daniel Meidenbuaer

LSII Deputy Project Manager

Biography

Wes Fuhrman

LSII Lead

Biography

Rachel Klima

Lunar Tech & Science Advisor

Biography

Betsy Congdon

Chief Technologist

Biography

Kratina MacKay

LSII Administrator

Systems Integration Group

In their role as systems integrator, JHU/APL is facilitating access to essential engineering, research, and development capabilities in support of NASA SpaceTech goals. JHU/APL is undertaking technical analyses and other engineering support to address the acquisition, technical, and operational needs of NASA SpaceTech’s LSII, and contributing to strategic activities such as technology road mapping, and the assessment of national capabilities in support of NASA’s future solicitations. Enabled by both its University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) status as well as its extensive systems engineering experience in space mission and technology development, JHU/APL is providing objective technical advice to NASA SpaceTech ensuring that objectives will be effectively achieved.

Samalis Santini De Leon

Systems Integration (SI) Lead

Joshua Cahill

Lunar Tech & Science Integrator

Biography

Becky Masterson

System Integration (SI) University Challenges

Initiative Structure

Chief Exploration Scientist of Advanced Exploration Systems

Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate

Dr. Bleacher is a planetary geologist who is currently the Chief Exploration Scientist in NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Division within the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) at NASA headquarters. In this role he is the science advocate for NASA technology and architecture development that is intended to enable human exploration of the Moon, deep space and beyond. He also serves as a primary contact with NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and the science community external to NASA. Dr. Bleacher earned a BS in Geosciences from Franklin and Marshall College and Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from the Arizona State University. During his Ph.D. research he worked on the European Space Agency’s Mars Express Mission by conducting geologic mapping of the initial images acquired of the large Tharsis province volcanoes by the Mission’s High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). Dr. Bleacher joined NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) as a NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow after which he was hired by NASA as a research scientist. Dr. Bleacher’s research focuses on understanding the volcanic history the Earth, Moon and Mars by remote sensing mapping and field work. Upon joining the NASA workforce he began supporting the Constellation Program Office to conduct studies examining potential landing sites and developing science traverse plans to help define requirements for hardware on the lunar surface. Dr. Bleacher served as a science team member and test subject as a crew member for NASA’s Desert Research and Technology Studies (Desert RATS), which focused on field tests of operations associated with prototype human rovers for the Moon. He has served as the lead for the Goddard Instrument Field team, in which he organized GSFC’s planetary science field research deployments as well as GSFC’s Lead Exploration Scientist, for which he worked to create cross-Center awareness of ongoing human exploration projects. Dr. Bleacher is a co-author on a number of peer reviewed science publications including a cover article for the journal Nature focused on explosive volcanism on Mars as well as the chapter on Mars Volcanism in the Encyclopedia of Volcanoes, 2nd edition. He has served on a series of Special Action Teams (SATs) for the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) and Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) including the Lunar Sample Acquisition and Curation Review, Candidate Scientific Objectives for the Human Exploration of Mars, and Geological Astronaut Training and has served on NASA’s In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Systems Capability Leadership Team. He applies a strong interest in both scientific research and human exploration to his current role at NASA headquarters.

LSII Chief Scientist

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Dr. Dana Hurley is a planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). Presently, she is Chief Scientist of APL’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative task in support of NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate. Her research interests center on understanding the evolution of water and other volatile compounds in planetary environments. Her Ph.D. research at Rice University analyzed Mars Global Surveyor magnetometer and electron reflectometer data to examine the martian space environment and the role that the solar wind interaction has in atmospheric escape at Mars. Next, she began modeling the lunar exosphere and the delivery and retention of water ice in lunar polar regions. As a co-investigator on the Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) instrument onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), she examined far ultraviolet spectra to characterize the physical parameters of the lunar exosphere. She built numerical models that reproduced the observed evolution of vapor from impacts on the Moon including the LCROSS and GRAIL spacecraft impacts and impacts from meteoroids. She adapted her exosphere model for application at Mercury and the plumes of Enceladus. Her data analysis experience spanning spectroscopic remote sensing, in situ ion and neutral particle measurements, and magnetic fields allows her to investigate sparse atmospheres and how they interact with planetary surfaces and space plasma environments. In 2016, NASA SSERVI recognized her with the Michael J. Wargo Award for significant contributions through the integration of exploration and planetary science. In addition to research, Dr. Hurley’s management roles at APL include the Assistant Supervisor of the Science and Space Instrumentation Branch and the Strategic Integration Lead for Planetary Sciences. As an active planetary science community leader, Dr. Hurley presently sits on the NASA Planetary Science Advisory Committee and the American Astronomical Society’s Division of Planetary Sciences Committee. She was founder and, for its first 6 years, leader of the “Friends of Lunar/NEO Volatiles” Focus Group, which furthers collaboration among the science and engineering professionals interested in lunar volatiles. She is also active in promoting a culture of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility within APL. More about Dr. Hurley can be found at: https://civspace.jhuapl.edu/people/dana-hurley