YEAR FOUR ANNUAL REPORT 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS FROM THE BRIDGE ................................................................................................................i THE SSERVI CENTRAL OFFICE ............................................................................................8 SUPPORTING OUR TEAMS..............................................................................................8 COMMUNITY BUILDING ................................................................................................11 SOLAR SYSTEM TREKS PROJECT (SSTP) .....................................................................19 PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT .................................................................................................21 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................................25 SSERVI U.S. TEAM REPORTS ..............................................................................................26 EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES OF TEAM REPORTS .............................................................26 CAN-1 TEAMS (FUNDED 2014-2019) CLASS ........................................................................................................................32 CLSE ..........................................................................................................................43 DREAM2 ....................................................................................................................51 FINESSE ....................................................................................................................60 IMPACT ......................................................................................................................71 ISET ...........................................................................................................................80 RIS4E ..........................................................................................................................90 SEEED .....................................................................................................................100 VORTICES ................................................................................................................111 CAN-2 TEAMS (FUNDED 2017-2022) ESPRESSO ...............................................................................................................118 S NES ........................................................................................................................123 REVEALS .................................................................................................................130 TREX ........................................................................................................................138 SSERVI INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS ..............................................................................147 SUMMARY OF INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES ..............................................................147 INTERNATIONAL PARTNER REPORTS .......................................................................149 PUBLICATIONS IN 2017...............................................................................................181 FROM THE BRIDGE NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual SSERVI domestic teams on a no-exchange of funds basis, Institute (SSERVI) is pleased to present the 2017 Annual but they bring a richness to the institute that is priceless. Report. Each year brings new scientific discoveries, The international partner teams interact with the domestic technological breakthroughs, and collaborations. The teams in a number of ways, including sharing students, integration of basic research and development, industry scientific insights, and access to facilities. and academic partnerships, plus the leveraging of SSERVI’s domestic teams compete for five-year funding existing technologies, has further opened a scientific opportunities through proposals to a Cooperative window into human exploration. SSERVI sponsorship by Agreement Notice (CAN) released by NASA every few the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and Human years. Having overlapping CANs allows SSERVI to be Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) more responsive to any change in direction NASA might continues to enable the exchange of insights between experience, while providing operational continuity for the human exploration and space science communities, the institute. Allowing new teams to blend with the more paving a clearer path for future space exploration. seasoned teams preserves corporate memory and SSERVI provides a unique environment for scientists and expands the realm of collaborative possibilities. A key engineers to interact within multidisciplinary research component of SSERVI’s mission is to grow and maintain teams regardless of their physical location. As a virtual an integrated research community focused on questions institute, the best teaming arrangements can be made related to the Moon, Near-Earth asteroids, and the moons irrespective of the geographical location of individuals of Mars. or laboratory facilities. The interdisciplinary science that Understanding that human and robotic exploration is ensues from virtual and in-person interactions, both most successful as an international endeavor, SSERVI is within the teams and across team lines, provides answers pleased to have a thriving community of ten international to questions that many times cannot be foreseen. Much partnerships. of this research would not be accomplished except for the catalyzing, collaborative environment enabled by In this report, you will find an overview of the 2017 SSERVI. The SSERVI Central Office, located at NASA leadership activities of the SSERVI Central Office, reports Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, CA, provides the prepared by the U.S. teams, and achievements from leadership, guidance and technical support that steers several of the SSERVI international partners. Reflecting the virtual institute. on the past year’s discoveries and advancements serves as a potent reminder that there is still a great deal to In 2017 SSERVI added four new U.S. teams, bringing learn about NASA’s target destinations. Innovation in the the institute total to 13 U.S. teams, and 10 international way we access, sample, measure, visualize, and assess partnerships. International partnerships collaborate with our target destinations is needed for further discovery. At the same time, let us celebrate how far we have come, and strongly encourage a new generation that will make the most of future opportunities. Next year promises to bring its own discoveries and breakthroughs as we mount field expeditions, conduct laboratory experiments and design theoretical models to probe our origins and evolution. Please follow along by visiting our website, sservi.nasa.gov, as well as by subscribing to our Twitter feed and other social media sites. Yvonne Pendleton SSERVI Director Gregory Schmidt SSERVI Deputy Director Director of International Partnerships SSERVI.NASA.GOV twitter.com/NASA_Lunar facebook.com/moonandbeyond THE SSERVI CENTRAL OFFICE Recognizing that science and human exploration are mutually enabling, NASA created the Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) to address basic and applied scientific questions fundamental to understanding the Moon, Near Earth Asteroids, the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos, and the near-space environments of these target bodies. The SSERVI Central Office forms the organizational, of the Institute. This can take many forms, including: administrative and collaborative hub for the domestic solicitation of new teams, community development, and international teams, and is responsible for advocacy representation at major conferences, reporting to NASA and ensuring the long-term health and relevance of the Headquarters (and beyond), public engagement, and Institute. SSERVI has increased the cross-talk between providing the technical competence required to connect NASA’s space and human exploration programs, which is all of the represented teams, communities and agencies. one of our primary goals. We bring multidisciplinary teams Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN-2) together to address fundamental and strategic questions In 2017, SSERVI completed the review of 22 proposals pertinent to future human space exploration, and the submitted to the CAN-2 proposal call. Through this results from that research are the primary products of the process, NASA selected and funded four additional teams. institute. The team and international partnership reports Funded by the Science Mission Directorate (not only the contain summaries of 2017 research accomplishments. Planetary Science Division, but also the Astrophysics Here we present the 2017 accomplishments by the Research Division) and the Human Exploration and SSERVI Central Office that focus on: 1) Supporting Our Operations Mission Directorate (Advanced Exploration Teams, 2) Community Building, 3) Managing the Solar Systems Division), the new teams expand and strengthen System Treks Portal (SSTP), and 4) Public Engagement. the research focus of SSERVI. Each team is funded for five years (2017-2022), and will overlap with the CAN-1 Supporting Our Teams teams for approximately two years. The CAN-2 teams and The SSERVI Central Office supports our team research thier Principal Investigators (PIs) are: goals not only by ensuring the timely distribution of their funds, but also through the general