This project will help to identify potential flight areas for UA dynamic soaring gliders. We propose to measure both horizontal and vertical winds, to determine characteristics of turbulence spectra at high altitudes up to at ~100K using balloons . The on-board equipment includes Pitot tubes, microbarographs, autopilot PX4, GPS, computers, video and radio links. Multiple-hole Pitot probes will be mounted on a boom (stationary or retractable) at some distance from the main payload cradle. The payload of ~3 kg will be packaged into a box per required specifications. Data interpretation will be conducted in collaboration with Planetary Systems Branch NASA Ames Research Center (Mr. Alex Kling).
NASA is planning to release the call for proposal for the HASP 2024 flight season later in 2023. If selected, the developed system will bee tested there in addition to flight testing planned locally in Tucson.

Background: The aviation industry has been increasingly exploring electrification as a means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and operational costs. Electric aircraft represent a promising solution, offering lower carbon footprints and reduced noise pollution compared to conventional fossil fuel-powered aircraft. However, one of the significant challenges in the development of electric aircraft is the limited energy storage capacity and the overall weight of batteries required to power the aircraft. Traditional lithium-ion batteries used in electric aircraft are heavy and occupy valuable space, leading to reduced payload capacity and flight range. To overcome these limitations, researchers have been investigating the concept of integrating energy storage directly into the aircraft's structure. A "structural rechargeable battery" would serve the dual purpose of providing energy storage and acting as part of the aircraft's load-bearing structure, optimizing weight distribution and improving overall performance.
Problem Description: The capstone project focuses on developing a lightweight structural rechargeable battery specifically designed for electric aircraft applications. The primary objective is to integrate a battery system into an aircraft structure (e.g., wings, fuselage, etc.) that not only provides sufficient energy storage for extended flight range but also contributes to reducing the aircraft's overall weight and enhancing its aerodynamic efficiency. In addition, a possibility of harvesting a mechanical energy to re-charge a battery will be explored.

Design Requirements:
1. Energy Density: The battery must have a high energy density to store a significant amount of electrical energy while maintaining a low weight-to-energy ratio.
2. Structural Integration: The battery cells and components need to be seamlessly integrated into the aircraft's structure without compromising its mechanical properties and structural integrity.
3. Weight Optimization: The system should be designed with lightweight materials and efficient construction techniques to minimize the overall weight of the aircraft while maximizing energy storage capacity.
4. Safety and Reliability: Safety is paramount in aviation, and the battery design must meet stringent safety standards and demonstrate reliability during operation, charging, and discharging.
5. Thermal Management: Electric aircraft batteries generate heat during charging and discharging cycles, necessitating effective thermal management to prevent overheating and ensure optimal battery performance.
6. Fast Charging: The battery should be designed for fast charging capabilities to reduce turnaround times between flights and improve operational efficiency.
7. Certification and Compliance: The system design must comply with aviation regulations and standards, including airworthiness certification, to ensure its feasibility for commercial and private aircraft use.
The capstone project aims to address these challenges through advanced materials research, battery cell design optimization, thermal analysis, and structural simulations. By developing a high-performance, lightweight structural rechargeable battery for electric aircraft, the project seeks to contribute significantly to the advancement and widespread adoption of eco-friendly electric aviation technologies.

Teams are invited to participate in the 28th Design/Build/Fly competition. The mission for 2024 will be defined later, but traditionally it focuses on the design, build and test of an electric aircraft. The goal is a balanced design possessing good, demonstrated flight handling qualities and practical and affordable manufacturing requirements while providing a high vehicle performance.

In support of NASA’s Artemis mission which will involve humans returning to the Moon, there are ambitious plans to explore little-known regions of the Moon for unique features and resource prospects. There is an important need to develop a rover platform that is fully instrumented to explore Lunar south pole craters and analyze surface and near-subsurface geological formations to prospect for resources. High-priority resources include oxygen, water, aluminum, iron, titanium, silica, and platinum. The prospecting rover needs to have the capability to operate independently of other planned lunar assets. The rover will need to communicate back with Earth using NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN). The rover must perform as much in-situ geological science to support prospecting. Where possible, the rover may cache obtained samples for pickup by a future sample return mission. The rover needs to operate for at least 90 Earth days and upload a detailed prospecting report that provides estimates of surface resource reserves. The student team will perform this rover design work as part of the NASA RASCAL 2023/2024 Competition. The work will begin with concept design and culminate with detailed design and prototype development in the second semester.

In support of NASA’s Artemis mission which will involve humans returning to the Moon, there are ambitious plans to explore little-known regions of the Moon for unique features and resource prospects. There is an important need to develop a rover platform that is fully instrumented to explore Lunar south pole craters and analyze surface and near-subsurface geological formations to prospect for resources. High-priority resources include oxygen, water, aluminum, iron, titanium, silica, and platinum. The prospecting rover needs to have the capability to operate independently of other planned lunar assets. The rover will need to communicate back with Earth using NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN). The rover must perform as much in-situ geological science to support prospecting. Where possible, the rover may cache obtained samples for pickup by a future sample return mission. The rover needs to operate for at least 90 Earth days and upload a detailed prospecting report that provides estimates of surface resource reserves. The student team will perform this rover design work as part of the NASA RASCAL 2023/2024 Competition. The work will begin with concept design and culminate with prototype development in the second semester.

Human civilization faces several potential man-made and natural catastrophes that threaten to wipe out Earth’s rich biodiversity. The Svalbard Seed Vault in Norway was constructed to store plant seeds vital for world’s food supply. It, however, faces the dangers of flooding from rising sea levels/melting of the North Pole due to accelerated climate change. A proposed future alternative would be to store Earth’s rich biodiversity in the form of DNA, eggs, sperm, and specialized cells under cryogenic conditions in the Moon’s lava tubes. However, to practically unfreeze and prepare the biodiversity for reintroduction to Earth will likely require a series of space-based terrariums located between Earth and the Moon. The proposed project is to conceptualize, design and build a prototype space-based terrarium inside a 3U Centrifuge CubeSat with a total mass of 4 kg and a total volume of 3000 cm3. It is to operate in Low Earth Orbit for 1-2 years. A team of students will perform systems design, design of mechanical, electrical, thermal, GNC (Guidance Navigation, Control), and science-payload design. The prototype end-product is a working prototype with stand-in COTS components for the spacecraft hardware. The proposed prototype-space-based terrarium is intended to test technologies and operational capability in preparation for the design of a larger, more capable terrarium intended to be placed in the Earth-Moon-Sun L2 Lagrange point. This L2 terrarium is meant to be self-sustaining for 30-50 years.

The sensor board will need to be able to measure a) Electrical Potential, b) Impedance, c) Optical Transmission, d) Sound and e) Resistance. This will allow recording a three lead electro cardiogram, body fat and water composition, arterial blood oxygenation, heart sound, temperature and strain. The sensors should interface with the Raspberry Pi. The customer of the project will be educators and students. The design should be modular so that the user can decide to use one, multiple or all sensors. One approach could be to design a Hardware Attached Top (HAT) that includes a microcontroller to communicate with sensor modules. An other is to use an extension cable to avoid size limitations of a HAT. The team will receive existing tested designs for impedance and resistance measurements but will need to come up with a new design to measure sound and verify and test designs for pulse oximetry and electrocardiography (depending composition of the team). The team will need to focus on manufacturability and simplicity of software and integration of multiple sensors in an educational setting. Standards for safe operation of the sensors will need to be considered.

The requirements for this project require students to be creative, explore, and enjoy the design process while maintaining professional and respectful relationships with each other. The primary objective is to conceptualize a mechanical and chemical that would be used to repurpose hemp/cannabis biomass into usable raw materials that can replace fossil fuel base materials.

Research and Development:
- Investigate existing sustainable and eco-friendly technologies for converting biomass into biobased raw materials.
- Endeavor to enhance, amalgamate, emulate, or innovate using existing concepts, or develop new ones.

Communication:
- For clarifications or proposing novel ideas, students are encouraged to email the sponsor. If further discussion is required, they may feel free to call the sponsor at 520-839-9845.
- Maintain open communication with peers, mentors, and the sponsor.

Collaboration Protocols:
- Engage in group brainstorming sessions, ensuring all ideas are given due consideration and respect.
- Each participant should establish an initial rapport with the sponsor to foster trust.
- The team leader is expected to connect with the sponsor weekly, ideally for a 10-15 minute update.
- Bi-weekly meetings involving the entire team should be planned and adhered to.
- Allow for individual autonomy.

Confidentiality and Intellectual Property:
- Maintain discretion concerning project details, limiting discussions to teammates, relevant faculty, and other University of Arizona stakeholders.
- Students will be asked to review and sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) to safeguard any intellectual property emerging from this project.


Above all, open and clear communication with team members, mentors, and the sponsor is of paramount importance.

Problem Statement: Civil security reconnaissance is invaluable to the operations of the Border
Patrol, Law Enforcement, and first responders in every type of environment. Although there are
large-scale assets available for these ground forces, the immediacy aspect of reconnaissance is
tough to satisfy for the emergency real-time surveillance information.

Solution: A low-cost, light-weight networked, aerial reconnaissance solution implemented by
ground forces on demand, no waiting for assets, no call for crew served air support, could make a
difference. System could also serve as fixed surveillance camera to monitor a suspected traffic
route, a complex urban scene, for first responder’s hazard assessment.
Concept of Employment: The operator turns the STAR round on and establishes the video link
with their hand-held display unit (smart phone, tablet, etc.) Then the operator launches the round
at the high-loft angle by using a standard issue flare pistol or maximum 40 mm caliber launcher.
Once at altitude, The STAR will provide wide angle field of view to the operator while holding
the station without burden to the operator. Altitude and time on station are to be refined; for the
point of departure, they are greater than 100 meters above ground level (AGL) and 5 minutes,
respectively. Image quality (resolution, stability etc.) must be sufficient for the operator to assess
the situation in real-time (for example, distinguish a threat: is a person holding a pistol or a
cellphone?)

Project Scope: This Phase 2 is the continuation of the 2022 Phase 1 effort, when the design team
had conducted the design, procurement, fabrication, and limited design verification testing of the
most critical technology elements and subsystems. The Phase 2 team will conduct necessary
design changes, performance analysis, procurement, fabrication, integration, verification, and
tests to deliver an integrated, form-factored STAR system (including a smart phone/tablet App to
initialize and launch the round, and to display the projected picture). The system must be
inexpensive (single time use), light-weight (easy to carry and non-destructive when falls) and
environmentally friendly, must not expose the operator to any harm and must be constructed
with common obtainable materials to simplify the procurement (51% of the system must be
constructed in the U.S.) It is acceptable to demonstrate the capability with 40 mm caliber
pneumatic launcher. It is desired that the system has future network expansion capability (several
STAR systems generate integrated surveillance view)

NEED:
Security forces, first responders, vehicles, UAVs and autonomous
systems are increasingly reliant on GPS in order to maneuver,
navigate, and reach their destination, leading to an extreme
vulnerability if GPS is jammed, disrupted, or otherwise made
unavailable.
OBJECTIVE:
The Localized Temporarily Deployable Adaptive Navigation
Network (LTDANN) is a method to overcome this vulnerability
using a multi-transmitter nodal network to provide relative and
absolute locationing without relying on the Global Positioning
System satellites. Initial program would be development of proof of concept 4 node network
to demonstrate algorithms, positioning accuracy, and robustness

Develop Useful Simulation
Develop and Integrate key hardware devices
Build Hardware (4 nodes + receiver)
Demonstrate communication between nodes
Demonstrate determination of range between two nodes
Demonstrate position agreement between 3 nodes
Introduce nodes with no known position and demonstrate position solving
Demonstrate receiver position solving