Wang saw the potential for the device and understood that time was of the essence in applying for the patent. “After successfully directed tests of their design prototypes at NASA’s NBL in September 2020, our college decided to proceed with filing a patent application on Team CRATER’s design.” “ When I started working with all my new student teams, I let them know from the beginning that if their designs showed potential, our college would consider sponsoring patent applications,” Wang said. Wang described the team’s process as being design-focused, including extensive research, prototyping their top design, and fine-tuning through multiple tests. Two students in particular - Kary Meadows and Humberto Andres Leal Acosta - were named as inventors on the patent.Ī major part of the process for the team was learning and practicing the engineering design model, which Wang said is exemplified within the team. Yiheng Wang, a professor of engineering at Lone Star College. The six-person CRATER team was advised by Dr.
When the pivoting assembly is incorporated in tools for collecting lunar samples, the tools are more effective than conventional geological and landscaping tools when used for such lunar sample collection. The pivoting assembly has a high level of lunar dust tolerance, increasing the life, reliability, and durability of the pivoting assembly. Patent US 11,219,995 Bl, denotes why this invention is so inherently useful: The inventors have found a new and improved pivoting assembly that overcomes the deficiencies of conventional geological and landscaping tools when, e.g., collecting lunar samples such as rocks, pebbles, and sand. The dust-tolerant pivot device’s patent, U.S. The “micro-g” element comes from these concepts being tested in a simulated microgravity environment - NASA Johnson Space Center’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL), better known as the behemoth pool where astronauts prepare for upcoming spacewalks. Micro-g NExT is a yearly program that tasks colleges from across the country to design, build, and test a tool or device that addresses an authentic, current space exploration need.
Recently, the college’s CRATER team received a patent for a dust-tolerant pivot device they designed during a 2020 Micro-g NExT challenge in support of NASA’s Artemis program. After NASA’s adoption of their zip-tie cutter, a tool designed to assist spacewalking astronauts, Lone Star College-CyFair in Houston has continued finding success through the agency’s Micro-g Neutral Buoyancy Experiment Design Teams, or Micro-g NExT, experience.
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