Autonomous Self-Cleaning Solar Panel Dust Remover for a Lunar Rover
For NASA HUNCH program 2022-2023; Placement: National Finalist
Micah Bozic: Team Captain, Programmer, and "Electrical Engineer"; Nicholas Joseph: "Mechanical Engineer"; Marcus Silver: Researcher, Animator, and Modeler.
Selected for presentation at Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
Watch a short video of Micah presenting the team's project to George Kessler (NASA HUNCH Director of Projects).
Electromagnetic Testing
The gravity on the moon and Mars is less than on earth, which means dust can stick to our protective plastic vinyl sheet much more easily on the moon. That's why we are using a charged curved metal plate (by Joule Thief Circuits) to electromagnetically strip dust particles away from the protective film.
Sometimes though you can get some sparks when two metal surfaces touch 🙂 So be careful!
Magnetic Boots for SpaceX's Starship
In the NASA HUNCH 2021-2022 competition, Micah placed a National semi-finalist as a solo team (rare for one-person teams).
Magnetic Strength Test
Watch a short clip of the electromagnet test for testing reliability. We don't want our astronauts floating off into the abyss.
Ease of Surface Translation
Here is a clip showing how easy it is to translate a metal surface with these boots while the electromagnet is activated.
NASA HUNCH National Program (DKP High School Students are encouraged to participate with their local High School)
Micah Bozic (far left), was a Finalist and Semi-Finalist in the NASA HUNCH ("High school students Unite with NASA to Create Hardware") competition/program for Design and Prototyping. Please read an official account from the NASA HUNCH website:
"The Design and Prototyping HUNCH Program is a way for students of all skill levels to develop innovative solutions to problems posed by life on the International Space Station. Many of the projects are items personally requested by the International Space Station Crew to help ease living conditions aboard station, giving students the opportunity to really make an impact on the lives of Astronauts. Other projects come from Flight Crew Systems and Operational groups at NASA that need more idea development."
"Students from all over the United States partner with mentors at NASA Research Centers across the country to develop unique solutions. This wide swath of ideas allows us to pull in the best ideas at each center, bringing students together nationwide to collaborate and present the very best they can offer at our Design Reviews. This year we are preparing a new schedule of design reviews to help keep the process moving forward and bring the best ideas to the forefront. Our goal is to bring the best ideas from each project together for a final review at Johnson Space Center where they can be reviewed in greater detail.
For more detailed information about the Design and Prototyping program please visit the HUNCH Design website. There you will find our detailed project list, resources about how different items work in space, and a timeline for the reviews. If students post pictures online of their projects please use #NASAHUNCH so that we can easily find them."