PSTDL

R&D Mechanical Engineer (Ph.D. or Masters)

Semesters

This position may have additional semesters if the allocation of further funding is available. Most positions involve 40 hrs/week during the summer and 10-20 hrs/week when classes occur. The guaranteed semesters for this position are:

• Summer 2022
• Fall 2022
• Spring 2023
• Summer 2023
• Fall 2023
• Spring 2024

Description

For this project under leadership of the Colorado School of Mines, we at MTU are developing an attachment for a rover to be built by Lunar Outpost that will compact layers of lunar sand and dust using vibratory needles. This will result in a site preparation for a lunar landing pad construction where the underlaying sand and dust needs to by compacted to 90% relative density over a large area within a given time.

Tasks

• Design, build, and test vibratory compaction device for a moon rover.
• Work independently and communicate results with lab and stakeholders.
• Analyze vibration data to determine optimal compactor configuration.
• Test compaction device in lunar regolith simulant (atmospheric, vacuum).

Qualifications

Recommended Majors

• Mechanical Engineering

Required

• You must be a U.S. person.
• Commit to a 2-year NASA research grant.
• 3D Printing Experience
• Machine Shop Experience (including CNC Mill and lathe)
• Data Analysis Experience
• Data Collection Experience
• CAD Experience
• Independent worker.

Preferred

• Experience in collection of vibratory data.
• Experience in producing reports on collected data.
• Experience in effectively communicating results.

Projects

NASA LuSTR 2021More information coming soon.