Micro-g

OUR MISSION

Micro-g’s mission is to develop tools for NASA which will be used in a micro-gravity environment. The teams will submit two tool designs; one for a test campaign at the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) facilities, executed by the NEEMO Team, and one to the Micro-g Neutral Buoyancy Experiment Design Team (Micro-g NExT) competition, executed by the Design & Manufacturing and Prototyping & Test Teams. The end goal is to generate new technology that will be used in future spaceflight missions, having a significant impact on the world of manned spaceflight.

MEET OUR TEAM

Project Lead: Evan Wieczorek

Faculty Advisor: Tomas Gonzalez-Torres

Technical Advisors: Tim Cullinan & Tomas Gonzalez-Torres

Micro-g is structured into three different teams:

Diving Deeper...

Project Breakdown

Objectives

The objective of Micro-g is to brainstorm, test, and design micro-gravity tools to be used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. For the 2018-19 calendar years, the team hopes to submit a proposal, and have that proposal be accepted, to NASA’s Micro-g NExT Design Challenge, as well as create hardware to be used at the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations’ (NEEMO) facility.

Scope

Micro-g designs and constructs tools for a micro-gravity environment to be used and tested in NASA facilities. After the initial proposals are accepted for the NASA Micro-g NExT and NEEMO test campaigns, we will further develop our two EVA tools to be reviewed and critiqued by NASA and our technical advisers. After successfully showing the capabilities of our tools, we will have two separate teams head to Houston, Texas and Key Largo, Florida for our test campaigns with NASA. After the test campaigns, the team will document all lessons learned and new technologies developed to be forwarded to NASA.

Goals

– Short Term –

Submit a proposal, and have the proposal accepted by NASA, for an EVA Camera Mount to the Micro-g NExT design competition. Through this NASA competition, our team will brainstorm, design, and analyze a possible camera mount for the International Space Station
Create a prototype for suit mounted, tool-carrying hardware for the xEMU spacesuit. This prototype will be used to analyze our design and will serve as our primary demonstration for our Preliminary Design Review with the NASA NEEMO Personnel.
Hold a minimum of three outreach activities during the 2018-19 schoolyear with local youth organizations/schools. These outreach activities will promote STEM careers and the positive promotion of NASA’s mission.

– Long Term –

Design and Manufacture an EVA Camera Mount to be tested at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston, Texas in the summer of 2019.
Design and Manufacture Suit Mounted Tool Carrying Hardware for the xEMU spacesuit. This hardware will be tested on NEEMO expedition 23 during the summer of 2019.

Timeline

: Matthew Webb is a Sophomore in Aerospace Engineering. Matt likes doing work in the evenings rather than the morning. He spends his free time practicing trumpet or reading books, and hopes to have a career related to V.R. or space technologies.

: Kathryn Spierings is a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering. She is the Analysis/Test Team Lead of the Micro-g NEXT Tool Development Team. She has Made to Innovate Experience (M2I) working with Cardinal flight, she has also served two years on the American institute of Astronautics and Aeronautics at Iowa State University Executive Board. In her free time, Kathryn enjoys rock climbing and she hopes to have a career related to structures engineering after graduation.

: Kaiser Aguirre is a Senior studying Aerospace Engineering. He has internship experience in Operations and as a Science Undergraduate Laboratory Intern at The Ames Laboratory: Department of Materials Science & Engineering; he also has conducted scientific research at The Ames Laboratory as a Student Associate. In his free time, Kaiser enjoys satiating his prodigious appetite for sundry knowledge and he hopes to have a career related to ECLSS or structural design and engineering after graduation.

: Justin Trenkamp is a Sophomore Aerospace Engineering student. Other than being on the Micro-G/NEEMO project, Justin is also a member of the Rocket Shop club. In his free time, Justin enjoys playing golf and he hopes to have a career related to propulsion systems.

: James La Porta is a Sophomore in Aerospace Engineering at Iowa State UNiversity with a minor in Spanish and Mathematics. He is currently seeking an industry internship. In his free time, James enjoys building small projects on his own and he hopes to have a career related to rocket propulsion after graduation.

: Bryce Miles is a Junior in aerospace engineering. He enjoys going to the gym and participating in events with his fraternity, TKE. He hopes to work on Mars related missions after graduation.

: Evan Wieczorek is a Senior Aerospace Engineering student with a minor in mathematics. He has internship experience at the NASA Johnson Space Center as a GN&C engineering intern and at Spirit Aerosystems as a Stress and Test engineering intern. In his free time, Evan enjoys flying with his private pilot’s license and he hopes to have a career related to systems engineering or GN&C software after graduation.

: Jacob Thompson is a Junior Aerospace Engineering student. His love and drive for aerospace engineering comes from long hours journeying through the world of Kerbal Space Program. While sometimes a game is booted up, Jacob prefers to continue learning and experimenting with personal science projects or spending time with his fiancee and friends. Post graduation, Jacob hopes to find his niche within the astronautical industry.

: Trevor Lyon is a Junior Aerospace Engineering student. He has had M:2:I experience dealing with control systems. Trevor enjoys going to Iowa State football and basketball games, and he hopes to find a career related to aerodynamics after graduation.

: Joshua Simac is a sophomore aerospace engineering student at Iowa State University. He is active in other clubs such as the SAE Aero Design team and the Rocket Shop rocketry club. Josh is a movie fanatic and hopes to have a career in the defense industry after graduation.

: Justin Stein in a Sophomore Aerospace Engineering Student. In his free time, he enjoys experimenting with various flight sims. After graduation, Justin aspires to have a career in aircraft design, or possibly become a test pilot.

: Dakota Fouts is a Sophomore Aerospace Engineering student at Iowa State. Last year he was involved in his house’s Cabinet as Student Wellness Chair, as well as multiple clubs and extracurriculars. In his free time, he enjoys running and otherwise staying active, and hopes to pursue a career in the aerospace field after graduating.

: Tyler Hoppe is a Sophomore Aerospace Engineering student with a minor in Non-Destructive Engineering. He has a background in mathematics and physics. In his free time, Tyler enjoys to be at the lake and he hopes to have a career in Non-Destructive Evaluation for an Aerospace company.

: Ty Sandene is a Junior Aerospace Engineer at Iowa State University. He has design experience on Iowa State University’s Formula SAE team. In his free time, he enjoys mountain biking and hopes to have a future career in aerodynamic design.

: Daniel Partida is a Sophomore Aerospace Engineering student. He hopes to gain internship experience at Boeing or Rockwell Collins this upcoming summer. In his free time, Daniel enjoys hiking and spending time on the water with friends, and he hopes to have a career related to Aerodynamics and aircraft design after graduation.

: Hunter Scott is currently a Sophomore majoring in Aerospace Engineering. Prior to attending Iowa State University, Hunter had a mentee experience with Aerospace Fabrication and Materials which allowed him to gain knowledge and experience concerning the Aerospace Engineering career field. In his free time, Hunter enjoys writing; and after completing his bachelor’s degree he is hoping to have a career focusing on the designing of aircraft.

: Jeremy Hayhurst is a sophomore Aerospace Engineering student. He is hoping to intern with NASA or Boeing and work in research and development after graduating. When not studying, Jeremy spends his time running and enjoying the outdoors.