R&D Mechanical Engineer
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:
- Spring 2022
- Summer 2022
Description
NASA KSC is developing a molten regolith electrolysis reactor to produce oxygen on the lunar surface. This reactor needs to be supplied with 10-100 kg of lunar regolith in a given time and MTU is responsible for characterizing the transport and delivery mechanisms. This will be done through experiments to measure the friction of different materials impacted through regolith interaction and study hopper flow. Three methods of material transport will also be investigated. These experiments will be designed and built for testing with lunar regolith simulant under atmospheric conditions with the project maturing to vacuum testing in our dusty thermal vacuum chamber.
Tasks
- CAD Design
- Construction and and Assembly of Conveying Systems
- Conveying System Testing (Atmospheric and Vacuum)
- Data Collection
- Data Analysis
Qualifications
Recommended Majors
- Mechanical Engineering
Required
- You must be a U.S. person.
- CAD (NX, Autodesk Inventor)
- Shop Experience (High/Competent)
- Data Analysis Software (Excel, MatLab)
Preferred
- Some Electrical Knowledge (Basic Motor Wiring, Arduino)
- Labview Experience
Projects
NASA GCD MREProvide a regolith feeder and transportation system for the MRE reactor
