From: LARRY KLAES (ljk4@msn.com)
Date: Fri May 10 2002 - 22:06:57 PDT
----- Original Message -----
From: baalke@jpl.nasa.gov
Sent: Friday, May 10, 2002 3:34 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: MarsPort Competition Comes To KSC
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/release/2002/41-02.htm
NASA/Kennedy Space Center News Release
Bruce Buckingham
May 10, 2002
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(321) 867-2468
Jaydeep Mukherjee
Florida Space Grant Consortium
(321) 452-4301
KSC Release No. 41-02
MARSPORT COMPETITION COMES TO KSC
Future trailblazers are taking on the challenge of developing
technology that will allow for vegetation growth on the surface of
Mars. Students and faculty from universities around the country
will converge at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for this year's NASA
MarsPort Engineering Design Student Competition 2002 conference
organized by the Florida Space Grant Consortium (FSGC). Innovative
design ideas will be presented as part of a two-day conference on
May 14 - 15 at the Kurt H. Debus Conference Facility at the KSC
Visitor Complex.
Participants will present a paper on engineering trade studies to
design optimal configurations for a MarsPort Deployable Greenhouse
(MDG) for operation on the surface of Mars.
The MarsPort competition actually began in the fall of 2001 when
invitations were sent out to colleges and universities.
Participating student teams were required to write and submit a
proposal to the NASA MarsPort 2002 design review committee. From
the 20 entries received, six teams were selected to investigate and
perform trade studies to derive an optimal configuration for the
MDG. This involves a systematic defining of the MDG, and requires
analyzing and trading options for the greenhouse structure, light
collection, water and nutrient delivery, atmospheric controls, crop
selection, harvesting and materials handling, and thermal
management. The design keeps in mind the need for a minimal mass
and lift-off volume approach. In addition, deployment options from
the spacecraft and on the surface are also being analyzed.
Representatives of six university teams from Cornell University,
University of Colorado-Boulder, University of Florida, University
of Central Florida, Saint Louis University and Franklin W. Olin
College of Engineering, who are the finalists of the competition,
will be here to make their presentations before a panel of judges
from KSC, Dynamac Corporation and Florida Institute of Technology.
The winning team's innovative ideas will be used by NASA to
evaluate and study other engineering trade concepts.
The 2002 MarsPort competition conference will also feature
presentations by Dr. Sam Durrance, FSGC director and former
astronaut, and Dr. Gary Stutte, Plant Scientist, Dynamac
Corporation. JoAnn Morgan, KSC's External Relations and Business
Development Director, will welcome the participants.
This year's MarsPort competition is jointly administered and
sponsored by the FSGC and the Texas Space Grant Consortium and
co-sponsored by KSC and the Florida Space Research Institute.
The FSGC was formed in 1989 when NASA implemented the National
Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. The FSGC is a voluntary
association of 17 universities and colleges along with KSC, Florida
Space Authority (FSA), Astronaut Memorial Foundation and Higher
Education Consortium for Math and Sciences. The FSGC represents
Florida in NASA's Space Grant College and Education Program. It
serves more than 230,000 university students in Florida.
The MarsPort Engineering Design Competition 2002 conference hours
are 9:15 a.m. - 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14. The award ceremony will
be held on Wednesday, May 15 at 1:45 p.m. where Dr. James L.
Jennings, KSC Deputy Director, will present awards to the winning
teams. Further information on the NASA MarsPort competition may be
obtained by calling the Florida Space Grant Consortium at
321-452-4301.
Media representatives are invited to attend and should drive
directly to the KSC Visitor Complex and proceed to the Debus
Conference Facility.
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