Maine Space Grant Consortium

THE MAINE SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUM PROPOSES FOUR PROGRAMMATIC GOALS OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS TO SUPPORT THE EXPANSION AND DIVERSIFICATION OF MAINE S SPACE EXPLORATION RESEARCH AND EDUCATION CAPACITY ALONG THE K-GRADUATE CONTINUUM THAT ALIGNS.

THE MAINE SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUM IS AN INDEPENDENT 501(C)(3) ORGANIZATION AND IS GOVERNED BY A LL-MEMBER BOARD OF DIRECTORS THAT REPRESENTS AFFILIATE

THE MAINE SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUM (MSGC) A CAPABILITY ENHANCEMENT CONSORTIUM IS PROPOSING A THREE-YEAR PROGRAM TO ADDRESS BOTH THE STATE AND NASA NEEDS IN STEM RESEARCH AND EDUCATION. THE CONSORTIUM PROPOSES TO INVEST IN A PROGRAM MIX THAT ALIGNS WITH OBJECTIVE 2.4 OF NASA'S 2014 STRATEGIC PLAN NATIONAL SPACE GRANT COLLEGE AND FELLOWSHIPS PROGRAM'S GOALS AND OBJECTIVES AND THE NASA OFFLCE OF EDUCATION CURRENT AREAS OF EMPHASIS. OUR PROGRAM MIX IN YEAR 1 INCLUDES UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATEFELLOWSHIPS SUMMER INTERNSHIPS FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS INTEGRATION OF RESEARCH IN STEM CURRICULUM SCIENTIFIC BALLOONING FACULTY RESEARCH SEED GRANTS COLLABORATIONS WITH MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS AND A SMALL INVESTMENT IN K-12 TEACHERINITIATEDSTEM PROJECTS AND SPACE DAY MAINE. IN RESPONSE TO THE CHALLENGING 30% BUDGET REDUCTION IN OUR BASE BUDGET IN YEARS 2 AND 3 OUR STRATEGY IS NOT TO FUND PRE-COUEGE ACTIVITIES REDUCE INVESTMENTS IN OTHER PROGRAMS AND REDUCE STAFF LEVELS OF EFFORT BY AN AVERAGE OF 20%. THIS STRATEGY IS NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE A MEANINGFUL CAPABILITY ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM MIX THAT FOCUSES ON NASA INTERNSHIPS FELLOWSHIPS AND SCHOLARSHIPS; FFLGHER EDUCATION; AND RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE. WE INTEND TO RESTORE AU PROGRAMS AND STAFFING LEVELS OF EFFORT TO YEAR 1 LEVELS WHEN OUR BASE FUNDING IS RESTORED. FINALLY OUR AFFILIATE NETWORK IS AGGRESSIVELY REACHING OUT TO WOMEN UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES TO INCREASE THEIR AWARENESS OF MSGC PROGRAMS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AND TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO DIRECTLY AND/OR INDIRECTLY PARTICIPATE IN AU MSGC SUPPORTED ACTIVITIES. THIS EFFORT WILL HELP USENSURE THAT STUDENTS FACULTY AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS REPRESENT THE DIVERSITY OF THE AFFILIATES OF THE MAINE SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUM AS WELL AS MAINE.

MAINE SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUM

MAINE FY2025-2028 STEM ENGAGEMENT

"REAL-TIME WIRELESS SHAPE MONITORING OF SPACE STRUCTURES" THIS PROJECT ESTABLISHES AN INTEGRATED, MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF COLD SPRAY METALLIZED COMPOSITES FOR USE AS LIGHTWEIGHT ROCKET OXIDIZER TANKS

THIS EDA INVESTMENT SUPPORTS THE MAINE SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUM WITH DEVELOPING THE MAINE SPACEPORT COMPLEX BY ADDING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT ELEMENTS TO THE MAINE SPACEPORT COMPLEX STRATEGIC PLAN COMPLETED IN FEBRUARY 2022, WHICH FOCUSES ON SITE AND FACILITIES EVALUATION, INITIAL DESIGN, FINANCIAL AND INDUSTRY ANALYSES, AND THE IDENTIFICATION OF FUNDING OPTIONS. ONCE COMPLETED, THE PROJECT WILL HELP ADVANCE LONG TERM ECONOMIC VITALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY, BOLSTER JOB CREATION, ATTRACT PRIVATE INVESTMENT, AND STRENGTHEN THE REGIONAL ECONOMY.

OUR GOAL FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS IS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW SPACE ECONOMY IN MAINE AS ENVISIONED BY THE PROPOSED MAINE SPACEPORT COMPLEX. OUR STRATEGY IS TO BUILD UPON THE CORE RESEARCH AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT STRENGTHS OF OUR AFF

METASTABLE OXYGEN NANOBUBBLES TO ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS IN SPACE EXPLORATION

THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO ADVANCE OUR BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE LOAD-DEFORMATION BEHAVIOR OF HYPERSONIC INFLATABLE AERODYNAMIC DECELERATORS (HIADS). A H

EACH SUMMER, EXTENSIVE AREAS OF MAINE COASTLINE ARE CLOSED TO SHELLFISH HARVESTING DUE TO ALEXANDRIUM, A TOXIC DINOFLAGELLATE, COSTING MILLIONS OF DO

A CORE ELEMENT OF NASA S MISSION IS TO HELP THE NATION MEET THE CHALLENGES OF CLIMATE CHANGE. A KEY STEP IN ADVANCING THIS GOAL IS THE APPLICATION OF

ALMOST ONE-THIRD OF U.S. ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL WELL-BEING STRONGLY DEPENDS ON A HEALTHY FOREST LAND-BASE AND ITS SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT. THE NORTHEASTERN U.S. IS THE MOST HEAVILY FORESTED PART OF THE COUNTRY WITH MAINE BEING THE MOST FORESTED STATE AT 89%. THE FORESTS OF THIS REGION PROVIDE NUMEROUS PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR RURAL LIVELIHOOD WILDLIFE AND THE ENVIRONMENT. SOUND SCIENTIFICALLY-BASED MANAGEMENT OF THIS RESOURCE REQUIRES A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IN FOREST INVENTORY AND HEALTH MONITORING. RECENT ADVANCES IN REMOTE SENSING (RS) TECHNOLOGY ARE REVOLUTIONIZING THE WAY IN WHICH FORESTS ARE MEASURED AND MONITORED. THE FOCUS OF THIS RESEARCH IS ON PROVIDING MORE DETAILED FINER RESOLUTION ACCURATE AND NEAR-REAL TIME DATA ON I) FOREST TREE SPECIES IDENTIFICATION AND II) FOREST TREE DECLINE DETECTION AND DAMAGE ASSESSMENT USING OPTICAL AIR- AND SPACE-BORNE HYPERSPECTRAL AND MULTI-SPECTRAL DATA. THE GOAL IS TO ADDRESS IMMEDIATE INFORMATION NEEDS FOR PRECISE PEST/PATHOGEN CONTROL FOR CURRENT OUTBREAKS IN NORTHEASTERN FORESTS AS WELL AS FOR EARLY INTERVENTION AND HOST TREE PROTECTION. THIS INFORMATION IS ALSO NEEDED FOR PEST RISK PREDICTION ESTIMATION OF ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF OUTBREAKS QUANTIFYING WOOD SUPPLY LOSSES IDENTIFYING CHANGES IN WILDLIFE HABITAT AND AS INPUTS FOR LANDSCAPE-SCALE FOREST SUCCESSION AND DISTURBANCE SIMULATION MODELS. SINCE 2000 A LARGE BODY OF RS SENSORS AND PLATFORMS HAS BECOME AVAILABLE TO OVERCOME SHORTCOMINGS RELATED TO THE UNAVAILABILITY OF OPTICAL RS IMAGERY AND THEIR COST. THESE SENSORS CAN PRODUCE ENHANCED GEOSPATIAL DATA PRODUCTS TO MEET RESEARCH AND DECISION SUPPORT NEEDS. DESPITE THESE CONSIDERABLE ADVANCES RS METHODS TO ADEQUATELY APPLY THESE DATA BY COMBINING SEVERAL SENSORS AND PLATFORMS ARE NOT YET DEVELOPED IN PARTICULAR FOR FORESTRY APPLICATIONS. ADDITIONALLY HIGH-RESOLUTION MAPS OF FOREST SPECIES COMPOSITION ARE NOT YET AVAILABLE MAINLY ATTRIBUTED TO LIMITED RS DATA AVAILABILITY IN THE PAST CHALLENGES RELATED TO THE DETECTION OF PEST INDUCED DAMAGES COMPARED TO OTHER FOREST DISTURBANCES AND HIGH COST OF SATELLITE RS DATA AT A VERY FINE RESOLUTION. CONSEQUENTLY THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP SOUND APPROACHES FOR PROVIDING DETAILED GEOSPATIAL PRODUCTS ON FOREST TREE IDENTIFICATION AND COMPOSITION FOREST DEFOLIATION/DAMAGE CAUSED BY RECENT DESTRUCTIVE PEST/PATHOGEN OUTBREAKS SUCH AS SPRUCE BUDWORM (SBW) EMERALD ASH BORER (EAB) CALICIOPSIS CANKER AND EASTERN WHITE PINE DECLINE AND MORTALITY USING RS DATA. THE REALIZATION OF THIS GOAL WILL PROVIDE I) BETTER MODELS COMPARED TO THE TRADITIONAL AERIAL SURVEY METHODS TO DETECT AND QUANTIFY PEST-INDUCED DEFOLIATION/DAMAGE II) POTENTIAL TOOLS TO ADDRESS SHORTCOMINGS OF CURRENT SATELLITE DERIVED FOREST DISTURBANCE PRODUCTS AND ALGORITHMS AND III) DETAILED INFORMATION ON TREE SPECIES DISTRIBUTION TREE DECLINE INDICATORS AND THEIR DRIVERS OF CHANGE. THIS PROPOSAL ADDRESSES THIS KNOWLEDGE GAP BY LEVERAGING VARIOUS NASA RS TECHNOLOGIES INCLUDING LANDSAT AND IN PARTICULAR RECENT NASA GODDARD S HYPERSPECTRAL-LIDAR-THERMAL SYSTEM (G-LIHT) DATA. RATHER THAN A SINGLE USE TECHNOLOGY THE CONTINUALLY UPDATED PRODUCTS OFFERED HERE WILL BOTH SUPPORT A STRONG AND SUSTAINABLE RESEARCH PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE (UM) AS WELL AS PROVIDE STAKEHOLDERS WITH ENHANCED FOREST HEALTH INFORMATION NEEDED FOR DECISION MAKING. WHILE THE IMMEDIATE APPLICATION OF THESE MODELS AND PRODUCTS WILL BE FOR MAINE THE DEVELOPED MODELS CAN BE APPLICABLE FOR THE ENTIRE NORTHEASTERN U.S. AND CANADA AND IN OTHER REGIONS WITH SIMILAR PROBLEMS INCLUDING WESTERN U.S. FINALLY RESEARCH EDUCATIONAL AND SYNERGISTIC ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED IN THIS PROJECT WILL FOSTER A COLLABORATIVE NETWORK OF JUNIOR AND SENIOR FACULTY ACROSS VARIOUS DISCIPLINES AS WELL AS POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCHERS GRADUATE/UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WORKING WITH NASA SCIENTISTS AND RESEARCHERS AND OTHER INSTITUTES WITHIN AND OUTSIDE MAINE.

BY 2020 NASA EXPECTS TO COMPLETE A MANNED SPACE STATION ON THE MOON AS AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF FU

THIS PROPOSAL HAS AN AMBITIOUS AGENDA TO HARNESS BIOINFORMATICS TOGETHER WITH THE POWER OF MODERN SINGLE CELL SORTING AND GENOMICS TECHNIQUES TO UNDE

MAINE NASA EPSCOR RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENTTHE NASA EPSCOR RID PROPOSAL DEMONSTRATES AN AB

THE GOAL OF THE MAINE NASA EPSCOR PROGRAM IS TO PROVIDE RESOURCES AND SUPPORT THAT ENABLE MAINE SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS TO COMPETE NATIONALLY IN NAS

THE MISSION OF THE MAINE SPACE GRANT CONSORTIUM (MSGC), A 501(C)(3) ORGANIZATION, IS TO IMPROVE OUR AFFILIATES RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE IN AREAS OF MU

SPACEPORT STRATEGIC PLAN

SINCE 2006 THE MAINE NASA EPSCOR PROGRAM HAS FUNDED INDIVIDUAL RESEARCHERS USING RID FUNDS TO SEED RESEARCH PROJECTS THAT ALIGN WITH MAINE AND NASA INTERESTS. FIGURE 1 SHOWS RESEARCH THEMES WE SUPPORTED SINCE 2006 USING BOTH NASA EPSCOR RESEARCH AND RID FUNDS. THE FIGURE ALSO DEMONSTRATES HOW THESE THEMES ALIGN WITH THE STATE S SEVEN LEGISLATIVELY DEFINED BROAD TECHNOLOGY AREAS AND THE MAINE TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE S (MTI) TECHNOLOGY CLUSTERS5. USE OF RID FUNDS TO SUPPORT INDIVIDUAL RESEARCHERS IS AN IMPORTANT STRATEGY FOR THE MAINE NASA EPSCOR PROGRAM. HOWEVER WHEN WE PREPARED THE 2015-2018 RID PROPOSAL WE ASKED OURSELVES THE QUESTION TO WHAT END ARE THESE INVESTMENTS BEING MADE? ARE THESE INVESTMENTS HELPING ACHIEVE A STATEWIDE VISION FOR THE STATE ECONOMIC GROWTH? DOES THE STATE VISION DEFINE OUR ROLE IN SUPPORTING THE STATE S ECONOMIC PROSPERITY AND THEREBY GUIDE ITS INVESTMENTS? ANSWERING THESE QUESTIONS WOULD HELP US LEVERAGE THE MOMENTUM THAT HAS BEEN DEVELOPED OVER THE PAST DECADE TO SUPPORT THE STATE S ECONOMIC GROWTH. SADLY THE STATE DOES NOT HAVE A VISION OR A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH. IN ITS 2014 REPORT THE MTI HIGHLIGHTED THE LACK OF A CONNECTION BETWEEN MAINE S BASE OF INDUSTRY AND UNIVERSITY-BASED RESEARCH CAPABILITIES AND THE NEED TO LINK INDUSTRY-DRIVEN RESEARCH BASE IN MAINE TO THE TARGETED TECHNOLOGY CLUSTERS. ALTHOUGH THE MEIAB S 2010 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PLAN DID NOT ADDRESS THIS CONNECTION ITS 2017 PLAN PROVIDES MORE GUIDANCE. IN THE ABSENSE OF A STATE VISION FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH FOR THE 2015-2018 MAINE NASA EPSCOR RID PROGRAM PROPOSAL WE DECIDED TO PILOT A NEW STRATEGY THAT WOULD SUPPORT VISIONEERING WORKSHOPS TO ALLOW THE VARIOUS ACTORS AND STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVED (MAINE UNIVERSITIES COLLEGES INDEPENDENT RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS INDUSTRY AND STATE GOVERNMENT) ACROSS ALL OF MAINE NASA EPSCOR FUNDED THEMES TO WORK TOGETHER TO DEFINE LONG-TERM VISIONS AND DEVELOP IMPLEMENTATIONS PLANS FOR THE NEXT DECADE TO SUSTAIN AND AMPLIFY MAINE EXPERTISE AND EXCELLENCE IN ONE OR MORE THEMATIC AREAS THAT CONNECT TO MAINE S BASE OF INDUSTRY AND SUPPORT THE GROWTH OF MTI S TECHNOLOGY CLUSTERS. SEED SUPPORT FOR THESE PLANS WOULD COME FROM THE MAINE NASA EPSCOR RESEARCH AND RID FUNDING AS WELL AS OTHER FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES. IT IS IN THIS CONTEXT THAT WE WOULD CONTINUE TO SUPPORT INDIVIDUAL RESEARCHERS BUT AS PART OF LARGER RESEARCH COLLABORATIVES IN TARGETED AREAS THAT BENEFIT BOTH NASA AND THE STATE. A POTENTIAL OUTCOME OF THIS STRATEGY IS THE ADVANCEMENT OF AN INSPIRING VISION FOR MAINE S ECONOMIC GROWTH FROM ONE OF THE WORKSHOPS IN A MANNER THAT INTEGRATES SEVERAL OF THE RESEARCH THEMES IN A MANNER THAT CONNECTS TO MAINE S BASE OF INDUSTRY AND SUPPORTS THE GROWTH OF MTI S TECHNOLOGY CLUSTERS. THIS VISION COULD INFORM THE MAINE NASA EPSCOR PROGRAM AND GUIDE OUR INVESTMENTS IN R&D AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT USING BOTH THE STATE S AND NASA S ASSETS.

OUR GOAL IS TO INCREASE STUDENT ASPIRATION FOR STEM CAREERS BY ENHANCING EXISTING SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS CURRICULA WITH INSTRUCTION AND HANDS-ON FIE

THE MISSION OF MSGC IS TO DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN A STATEWIDE PROGRAM THAT IS MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL TO THE STATE AND NASA THAT EFFECTIVELY LEVERAGES NASA AND STATE RESOURCES TO (1) IMPROVE MAINE'S RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE IN AREAS CONSISTENT WITH THE NEEDS OF THE MISSION DIRECTORATES AND IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE STATE OF MAINE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PLAN; (2) ENCOURAGE MORE STUDENTS TO CONSIDER CAREERS IN FIELDS OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS (STEM); AND (3) ENHANCE NASA'S PRESENCE THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF MAINE. THE GOALS OF MSGC ARE DESCRIBED IN TERMS OF RESEARCH HIGHER EDUCATION PRE-COLLEGE AND PUBLIC SERVICE. RESEARCH GOAL: STRENGTHEN THE AFFILIATES SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING RESEARCH CAPACITY IN AREAS MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL TO MAINE AND NASA. HIGHER EDUCATION GOAL: INCREASE PARTICIPATION OF MAINE UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY THE AFFILIATES AND NASA FIELD CENTERS. PRE-COLLEGE GOAL: STRENGTHEN THE CAPACITY OF MAINE K-12 TEACHERS TO DELIVER EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS THAT INCREASE STUDENT AWARENESS KNOWLEDGE AND PARTICIPATION IN STEM ACTIVITIES. PUBLIC SERVICE GOAL: INCREASE THE PUBLICS AWARENESS OF STEM RESEARCH EDUCATION AND ACTIVITIES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH NASA AND THE AFFILIATES. MAINE NASA EPSCOR SUPPORTS THE RESEARCH AND HIGHER EDUCATION GOALS BY FOCUSING NASA EPSCOR RESEARCH FUNDS TO COMPETITIVELY SUPPORT RESEARCH PROJECTS THAT ALIGN WITH NASA AND MAINE'S R&D PRIORITIES. NASA EPSCOR RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT (RID) FUNDS ARE USED TO SUPPORT TRAVEL FOR FACULTY WHO CURRENTLY HAVE NO NASA-RELATED RESEARCH CONNECTIONS TO VISIT RELEVANT NASA CENTERS TO INITIATE ENGAGEMENTS AND DISCUSSIONS WITH NASA COLLEAGUES IN AREAS OF MUTUAL INTEREST TO STIMULATE FUTURE COLLABORATIONS. NASA EPSCOR RID FUNDS ARE ALSO USED TO SEED SUPPORT RESEARCH ACTIVITIES AND POSITION FACULTY FOR FUTURE FUNDING FROM NASA EPSCOR RESEARCH COMPETITIONS OR OTHER COMPETITIVE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FROM NASA AND OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. SPECIFIC PRIORITIES AREAS OF INTEREST TO THE MAINE NASA EPSCOR PROGRAM ARE THOSE IN WHICH THE AFFILIATES EXCEL INDIVIDUALLY OR COLLECTIVELY AND DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES TO HELP THOSE AREAS BECOME NATIONALLY PROMINENT. SEED DEVELOPMENT IS DEFINED AS SUPPORT FOR THE EXPLORATORY PHASE OF HIGHLY INNOVATIVE RESEARCH AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS OR ASPECTS OF COMPLEX PROJECTS.

THE SUCCESS OF NEXT GENERATION LAUNCH VEHICLES WITH IMPROVED RELIABILITY AND OPERABILITY DEPENDS IN PART ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED CONTROL SYSTE

LEAKS CAUSING AIR AND HEAT LOSS ARE MAJOR SOURCE OF CONCERN IN MISSION SAFETY. THIS PROJECT INVOLVES DEVELOPMENT OF A FLIGHT READY WIRELESS SENSOR SY

22-2022 R3-0017 APPENDIX J: IMPROVING ESTIMATES OF LAND-TO-OCEAN CARBON FLUX THROUGH CHARACTERIZATION OF COLLOIDAL INHERENT OPTICAL PROPERTIES