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2018-2019 NASA I^2 Project List

1

NASA Center

Project Title

Mentor

Project Description

Requirements

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Advanced Life Support 

Michael Flynn

Advanced life support systems include all systems and technologies 
required to keep astronauts alive in space: water recycling, air recycling 
and waste treatment. This Internship is primarily focused on water 
recycling but is cognizant that an optimized system will include 
integration with air and waste systems. Our research areas include:
• Systems that can recover energy from waste.
• In situ resource utilization in spacecraft and on planetary surfaces
• Application of space flight systems technologies to sustainable 
terrestrial development.

Innovation a required skill. Our group 
focuses on training the next generation 
of NASA scientists on how to innovate 
and to develop the next generation of 
water recycling space flight systems that 
will enable the human exploration and 
colonization of the Solar System.
The ideal candidate is an undergraduate 
or graduate student in the fields of: 
Engineering (Chemical, Environmental, 
Electrical, Industrial, Civil, Computer), 
Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, 
Physics, and Environmental Science and 
must have at least completed their 
freshman year of college and a GPA of 
3.00 (out of 4). Professional Working 
Proficiency (ILR level 3) of the English 
language is the minimum level required. 
The participant must be a team player 
and comfortable working with 
professionals of different cultural and 
scientific background. At the end of the 
internship the participant will be 
required to submit a white paper.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Biosensor Development

Jessica Koehne

Development of biosensors is an active field due to a wide range of 
applications in lab-on-a-chip, diagnostics of infectious diseases, cancer 
diagnostics, environment monitoring, biodetection and others. One of 
the strategies used for selective identification of a target is to /preselect/ 
a probe that has a unique affinity for the target or can uniquely interact 
or hybridize with the target: sort of a "lock and key" approach. In this 
approach, one then needs a platform to support the probe and a 
recognizing element that can recognize the said interaction between the 
probe and the target. The interaction result can manifest optically (by 
using dyes, quantum dots for example) or electrically. The platform 
design and configuration may vary depending on whether optical or 
electrical readout is used and what environment the sensor will be 
utilized. Recently, printed biosensors on paper substrates have gained 
much attention for their low cost of manufacture.  Within NASA, such 
printed devices are being investigated because of our potential ability to 
manufacture in an in-space environment.  Such a biosensor would be a 
print-on-demand device.  The current project involves fabricating and 
validating a printed, electrical biosensor for cardiac health monitoring 
from a whole blood sample.  The intended NASA application is point of 
care diagnostics for astronaut health monitoring.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Closed-Loop Life Support

Jonathan Trent

The project is related to closed-loop life-support and is focused on 
building a nexus between water, food, and energy.  
More specifically, in the laboratory there are two projects: 1)
developing a monitoring system for microalgae cultivation and 2) 
testing a combined forward/reverse osmosis system for purifying 
wastewater to potable standards. Both of these systems have 
automation/monitoring issues.  Samples are non-toxic and utilize 
standard scientific equipment.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Control Internship Position

Nhan Nguyen 

Advances in material technologies have led to a new class of ultra-
efficient transport aircraft that incorporate advanced high-aspect ratio 
flexible wing designs with novel control effectors. The NASA 
Performance Adaptive Aeroelastic Wing (PAAW) research element under 
the NASA Advanced Air Transport Technology (AATT) project seeks to 
develop control technologies and analysis capabilities to enable the 
implementation of these advanced future wing designs. Development of 
control systems for highly flexible wings is a critical component of this 
relevant and challenging field. This internship opportunity will support 
the NASA research team in developing disturbance estimation 
techniques for use in both adaptive and non-adaptive control designs for 
gust load alleviation.  The intern will also help formulate design 
requirements for future hardware that facilitate successful estimation 
and control.  Specific applications for the techniques developed include 
flight control, wing shaping, and load alleviation of flexible wing aircraft.

Final deliverables for this internship 
include any research results such as 
report, presentation, or conference 
publication as well as simulations 
demonstrating operation of the 
disturbance observer in use with the 
control system. 

The intern should have theoretical and 
practical knowledge of control and 
estimation including adaptive control, as 
well as extensive experience simulating 
dynamic models within 
MATLAB/Simulink.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Design a Pump Control System 
with Flow Feedback for the Cell 
Science Project

Terry Lusby

1. Re-design a charge pre-amplifier to custom fit a Far West proportional 
counter (a gas-based sensor).
2. Assist with the build-up of an engineering design unit (EDU) for the 
Cell Science Project. This is a cell growth module that will be flown to the 
ISS.


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2018-2019 NASA I^2 Project List

2

NASA Center

Project Title

Mentor

Project Description

Requirements

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Evaluation of a Variable Density 
Approach to Modeling Cryogenic 
Jets

Cetin Kiris

The intern will assist ARC researchers in extending user defined equation 
of state routines to include Real Gas effects and analyze the difference 
between mass fraction and volume fraction formulations for modeling 
variable density flows. The intern will evaluate the models on existing 
cryogenic jets and compare with existing experimental and numerical 
data. 

Outline for 6 months:
- Discuss and analyze differences between mass fraction and volume 
fraction formulations of the variable density formulation
- Begin interaction with the ARC researchers using the user-based source 
routines which can be linked into the existing libraries
- Apply the implemented user routines to existing cryogenic jet problems
- Compare current results with existing experimental and numerical 
results in the literature

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Evaluation of Biomedical Devices 
for Exploration Missions

Tianna Shaw

The primary responsibility for this intern position is to support the 
development and testing of biosensor monitoring systems in support of 
the Human Research Program (HRP) Exploration Medical Capability 
(ExMC) Element. The Ames Research Center (ARC) team focuses on the 
integration of biomedical devices into a prototype medical data 
architecture (MDA), that will receive, store and display a wide variety of 
physiological parameters which include; electrocardiogram (ECG), heart 
rate, blood pressure, pulse oximetry, respiratory rate, and body 
temperature. The intern will work under the guidance of an ExMC 
project engineer and will also work with ExMC project system engineer. 
The intern will support human in the loop laboratory testing of 
biomedical devices and development of the medical data architecture 
system. The intern will also participate in data collection, processing and 
analysis of biosensor data and assist in report writing. He/She will 
support MDA operations in collaboration with CSA prototype wearable 
biosensor system and other systems. 

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Experimental Aero-Physics 
Engineering Intern 

Rabi Mehta

The intern will help with a variety of experimental projects which 
investigate the fluid mechanic, aerodynamic, and/or aeroacoustic 
characteristics of manned and unmanned spacecraft, aircraft, rotorcraft, 
ground vehicles, ships, structures, sports balls, and other objects. The 
experimental projects will be conducted in conjunction with on-site 
research mentors, using NASA Ames wind tunnel, water channel, lab, 
and/or computer facilities. The intern will assist with many different 
phases of one or more test programs; these phases may include prior 
data review and test planning, test logistics, experimental design and 
setup, model construction and installation, instrumentation calibration, 
installation, and operation, test video/photo documentation, post-test 
data plotting and analysis, and report development. The intern may also 
assist with the development and execution of various computer 
programs used to analyze or simulate the results of experimental test 
programs.
The main outcome of this internship will be experience with a variety of 
disciplines related to fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, and/or 
aeroacoustics

Physics, Science, Math, Engineering 
backgrounds preferred

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Intelligence for Choosing Icy 
Landing and Exploration Sites 
(ICICLES)

Terrence Fong

Landers for icy moons will want to land at regions that are both safe and 
scientifically interesting.  Communications restrictions that result from 
these remote operations mean that humans cannot be involved in 
updating landing site selection during descent, just when the most 
reliable data becomes available.  The objective of ICICLES is to 
automatically select candidate landing sites from orbit and to contiunally 
update the EDL plan while descending.

The intern will assist the Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) in designing 
orbits which observe scientifically interesting candidate landing sites, as 
well as attempting to inform the geometry of the surface at those sites. 
In particular, the intern will help develop optimal control methods to 
design orbit trajectories that provide optimal views of the surface. Very 
strong emphasis will be placed on incorporating and integrating the 
intern's research into IRG's on-going projects.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Lunar Topographic Products from 
Orbital Images

Terrence Fong

Digital terrain models are essential for cartography, science analysis, 
mission planning and operations. The NASA Ames Intelligent Robotics 
Group (IRG) has developed software to automatically generate high-
quality topographic and albedo models from satellite images. Our 
software, the Ames Stereo Pipeline (ASP), uses stereo vision and 
photoclinometric techniques to produce 3D models of the Earth, Moon, 
and Mars with very high accuracy and resolution. The intern will assist 
IRG to improve the quality of topographic products from lunar orbital 
images. In particular, the intern will help develop multi-stage 
stereogrammetric methods to exploit the full potential of multiple, 
overlapping views of a planetary surface. The intern will work closely 
with NASA researchers and engineers throughout the internship. Very 
strong emphasis is placed on incorporating and integrating the intern's 
research into IRG's on-going projects. Research results may be published 
in one (or more) technical forums: as a NASA technical report, a 
conference paper, or journal article.

The intern must have a background in 
Computer Science or Mathematics. 
Practical experience with computer 
programming, Linux-based software 
development and open-source tools 
(gcc, git, etc) is required. Experience 
with C++ is strongly encouraged.


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2018-2019 NASA I^2 Project List

3

NASA Center

Project Title

Mentor

Project Description

Requirements

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

MADCAT Project

Kenneth Cheung

The Coded Structures Laboratory conducts research across material 
science, robotics, and algorithms, for application to aeronautics and 
space systems. The lab's primary current project incorporates a building-
block based approach to ultralight lattice-based structures for shape 
morphing aircraft. Expected activities for this position will be both 
theoretical and experimental in nature, in support of advanced research 
using multidisciplinary analyses to understand the mechanics of new 
structural strategies and to develop predictive analytical models for the 
design of systems with novel behavior. Experimental work is aimed at 
testing these analyses with mechanical load testing and a wind tunnel 
experiment.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Metabolic Control for Adaptation 
to Spaceflight Environment

Yuri Griko

With the growing interest in long haul flights and the colonization of the 
solar system, it is becoming important to develop organism self-
regulatory control systems which would be able to meet the 
requirements of extraterrestrial environments rather than requiring an 
Earthly environment in space. A better mechanistic understanding of 
metabolism offers a means for sustaining astronauts in long-duration 
missions beyond the low Earth orbit. Recent data obtained from several 
research reports have shown that metabolic suppression could protect 
biological organisms from damaging effects of space radiation and 
microgravity. The ability to drastically reduce and suspend metabolism 
appears to be closely tied to the unique survival of bacteria and some 
invertebrates (e.g., tardigrades) after a prolonged exposure to cosmic 
vacuum and radiation. It is possible that there is a monophyletic origin 
for this adaptation at the molecular level among a variety of different 
organisms. Our ultimate goals are to demonstrate proof-of-principle for 
metabolic suppression as means to reduce the negative effects of 
spaceflight environmental issues such as radiation and microgravity.
In order to demonstrate the potential application of the metabolic 
control technology the PI's laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center 
has engineered a hypo-metabolic chamber with a range of life-
monitoring equipment for high-throughput testing of hypo-metabolic 
parameters and conditions that enable reversible induction of a state of 
suspended animation in non-hibernating animals.
This internship opportunity will assist in defining and implementing 
demonstrations of the metabolic control technology using different 
animal models.
Objectives of this research are:
1 To characterize the hypometabolic state
2 To develop methodology for real time monitoring of respiratory and 
other physiological parameters and conditions associated with the 
hypometabolic stasis.
In the proposed experiments, the intern will work in collaboration with 
molecular biologists and engineers to (1) reproduce induction of the 
reversible suspended animation-like state in selected animal models, 
and to (2) establish a comprehensive life support system for monitoring 
physiological parameters of the hypometabolic state.

Intern should be willing to work with 
animals. He/she should have basic 
knowledge of life support systems 
(respiratory parameters, ventilation, and 
core body temperature control), have 
basic laboratory skills and technical 
knowledge for monitoring physical 
parameter from telemetric devises, and 
have software management skills. 
Strong analytical and organizational 
skills; interest in biology; interest in data 
analysis. Senior undergraduate at 
junior/senior level or higher preferred.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Microbial Factories for Solar 
System Exploration

John Hogan

Long duration missions to distant bodies within our solar system will 
require significant resources to support astronauts. Microbial factories 
could help produce mission relevant products during such missions using 
in situ resources such as carbon dioxide and water. In terrestrial systems, 
microbial factories are already being used to produce a wide variety of 
materials, fuels, nutrients, and medicines. Typically, these microbial 
systems use high-energy carbon substrates such as sugars. In the 
extremes of space, however, obtaining sugar-like compounds will prove 
to be problematic, thus alternative low-energy carbon compounds may 
need to be employed. The main objective of this project is to evaluate 
the potential combination of substrates, microorganisms, and products 
in understanding how a microbial production system will function in the 
constraints of relevant space missions. The work entails performing 
microbiological studies and conducting an analysis to determine 
effective solutions for in-space microbial production systems. 

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Monitoring Changes in ASRS 
Reports using Python and Text 
Mining

Hamed Valizadegan

We aim to develop tools that can be used to monitor the changes in the 
aviations safety reports submitted to NASA Aviation Safety Reporting 
System (ASRS) program. ASRS collects and analysis the voluntarily 
submitted aviation safety incidents reports in order to reduce the 
likelihood of aviation accidents. We need tools that can help ASRS to 
monitor changes in the narratives of the reports over time and can 
summarize these reports.


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2018-2019 NASA I^2 Project List

4

NASA Center

Project Title

Mentor

Project Description

Requirements

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Nanotechnology in electronics 
and sensor development

Meyya Meyyappan

Nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene and a variety 
of inorganic nanowires offer tremendous potential for future 
nanoelectronics, nanosensors and related devices. We have active 
ongoing programs in these areas. Several examples are given below. 
Chemical sensors to detect trace amounts of gases and vapors are 
needed in planetary exploration, crew cabin air quality monitoring and 
leak detection; there are numerous societal applications as well. We 
have been working on CNT based sensors amenable for various 
platforms including smartphones.
Flexible electronics on substrates such as textile and paper is of great 
deal of interest to us. We have fabricated gas/vapor sensors on cotton 
textile as well as cellulose paper. Other interests in paper electronics and 
flexible substrates include memory devices, energy storage devices, 
displays and detectors. Finally, we have also been revisiting vacuum 
tubes although in the nanoscale, using entirely silicon based technology. 
These radiation resistant devices offer exceptionally high frequency 
performance. Our interest here extends to exploring the nano vacuum 
tubes for THz electronics applications.
In all the areas, the projects include material growth, characterization, 
device fabrication, device testing and evaluation, reliability and lifetime 
assessment.

For device related aspects, majoring in 
electrical engineering or physics is 
preferred. For the remaining aspects of 
the project, majors in material science, 
chemistry and other engineering 
disciplines are welcome. PhD candidates 
and talented undergraduates will get 
preference.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

NASA Ames SPHERES/Astrobee 
Facility

Jose Benavides

NASA Ames SPHERES/Astrobee Facility Brief description of duties: The 
successful applicant would be involved with software development and 
general support of the NASA Ames SPHERES/Astrobee Facility. (www.
nasa.gov/spheres) Specifically, the successful applicant would initially be 
validating and developing C software for a SPHERES. Additional work 
may include ISS flight quality hardware and maintaining SPHERES Facility 
labs. The applicant should be familiar with Python and C software 
development and good coding practices. In general, we are looking for 
someone who is motivated, a self-starter, and capable of working 
independently on tasks.  Other beneficial experience may include; - 
MATLAB, C/C++, Java, Python, Android Apps, and Linux scripting, 
Computer Networking - Spacecraft, Small Satellites, CubeSat's - Avionics, 
Embedded Hardware & Software - Software testing - experience building 
space flight hardware - Good writing and communications skills, along 
with the ability to work well both individually and within a 
multidisciplinary team.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Orbit Analysis for LEO CubeSats 
and Low Lunar Orbits

Marcus Murbach

The intern will fulfill assignments as a member of the orbital dynamics 
team in the Mission Design Division at NASA Ames Research Center.
The Mission Design Division conducts early-stage concept development 
and technology maturation supporting the Center's space and aircraft 
mission proposals. Personnel have experience in mission planning, small 
spacecraft design, and engineering analysis.
The Mission Design Division, or MDD, supports the full mission life cycle 
in the areas of:
• Early Concept Development
• Mission Design
• Rapid Prototyping
• Mission Implementation
The candidate will work closely with flight dynamics engineers to expand 
existing innovative approaches to low altitude orbit design. This work 
includes the effects of differential drag in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), as well 
as, the effects of mascon perturbations in low lunar orbits.  SmallSat and 
CubeSat missions are a specialty of Ames Research Center and current 
research addresses practical issues with small spacecraft missions in a 
LEO and an interplanetary environment.  Another orbital mechanics 
specialty of ARC is low, equatorial lunar orbits and design tools for 
addressing lunar gravitational perturbations.
For lunar orbits, we plan to expand the research on equatorial frozen 
orbits and the visualization displays for characterizing gravitational 
perturbations. For LEO, the characterization of the effects of drag in 
relative satellite disposition is in the scope of this position.
The goals of this assignment include documentation and display tools 
that will reside as part of the Mission Design Division’s computational 
capability.  Additional assignments as needed may involve CubeSat low 
thrust trajectory design, multiple CubeSat swarms, and CubeSat reentry 
calculations.
Candidate’s Computer and/or special skills:  GMAT or STK/Astrogator, 
Matlab or Visual Basic.  Strong writing skills are expected, both for 
internal documentation of work accomplished and for publications 
resulting from this work.


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2018-2019 NASA I^2 Project List

5

NASA Center

Project Title

Mentor

Project Description

Requirements

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Robotic Sample Transfer 
Automation

Brian Glass

The Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies (ARADS) project is a 
Science Mission Directorate-sponsored project led at NASA-Ames.  
ARADS proposes a Mars rover analog mission as a field test of an 
integrated rover-drill system with prototype life-detection instruments 
that are flight mission candidates. The essential elements to ARADS are: 
1) use of integrated drill and rover at sites in the Atacama Desert in Chile 
in unprepared "regolith"; 2) field use of instruments with the rover/drill 
that are flight prototypes comparable to those planned for ExoMars and 
Icebreaker; 3) acquire drilled cuttings and transfer to instruments 
onboard the rover; 4) on-board autonomy and monitoring to support 
drilling; mission and demonstrate science support (operations and 
control) for the rover/drill/instrument operations.
This intern project will address the third element above: automated 
sample transfer between a drill (on one side of the KREX2 rover) and 
instrument intakes (on the other side of the rover).  The ARADS sample 
transfer arm is mounted on a KREX2 rocker, which rotates relative to the 
central platform on which both the drill and instruments are mounted. 
Hence, as the rover moves, the trajectory between the drill and 
instruments will rotate relative to the sample arm’s origin point. 
The arm is powered by servo motors which respond to pulse width 
modulation signals from the arm interface – two extra servo control 
channels support the testing of end effectors with up to two actuators. 
The intern will assist an existing ARADS staff member in developing a 
dynamic transformation for arm trajectories that will automatically 
compensate for rocker rotation and for vertical drill movements. This 
will be coded and tested with the actual arm, drill and rover 
mechanisms. 

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Rotorcraft Aeromechanics

William Warmbrodt

The Aeromechanics Branch is responsible for aeromechanics research 
activities that directly support the civil competitiveness of the U.S. 
helicopter industry and the Department of Defense. Branch programs 
address all aspects of the rotorcraft which directly influence the vehicle's 
performance, structural, and dynamic response, external acoustics, 
vibration, and aeroelastic stability. The span of research also includes 
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms, including quadcopters and 
other advanced, small remotely piloted vertical takeoff and landing 
(VTOL) aircraft. The programs are both theoretical and experimental in 
nature. Advanced computational methodology research using 
computational fluid dynamics and multidisciplinary comprehensive 
analyses seeks to understand the complete rotorcraft's operating 
environment and to develop analytical models to predict rotorcraft 
aerodynamic, aeroacoustic, and dynamic behavior. Experimental 
research seeks to obtain accurate data to validate these analyses, 
investigate phenomena currently beyond predictive capability, and to 
achieve rapid solutions to flight vehicle problems. Databases from the 
flight and wind tunnel experimental programs are validated, 
documented and maintained for the benefit of the U.S. rotorcraft 
technology base.

Broad background in science and math 
classes typical of an upper division 
undergraduate in mechanical, 
aeronautical or aerospace engineering. 
Knowledge of MatLab, Simulink, CREO 
ProE/SolidWorks/AutoCad,, VSP, Rhino, 
C++, python, or other 
programming/software languages is 
desired, but not mandatory.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Small Satellite Swarm Interactions Matthew Sorgenfrei

Very small spacecraft (also known as CubeSats or Nanosatellites) have 
not yet realized their full potential regarding swarm operations in low 
Earth orbit or beyond. The relatively low Technology Readiness Level 
(TRL) is due in part to a lack of sufficient testbeds with which to test the 
enabling technologies. The Generalized Nanosatellite  Avionics Testbed 
(G-NAT) lab at NASA Ames seeks an intern to research foundational 
technologies associated with CubeSat swarm operations. Over the 
course of the internship period the intern will investigate the use of 
commercially available sensors and actuators for sensing the state of 
individual members of a satellite swarm and sharing that state 
information to enable distributed science operations.
The successful candidate should possess strong MATLAB/Simulink 
programming skills, and also be proficient in C and Python. Familiarity 
with Linux operating systems and embedded systems/single board 
computers is also desired. The intern will be given access to two 
separate CubeSat-scale hardware testbeds, each of which utilize 
commercially available sensors and actuators to enable attitude 
determination and control. Desired outcomes of the research period 
include:
• Develop real-time MATLAB (or other) visualizations of spacecraft 
attitude state for both CubeSat testbeds during air bearing operations
• Study the efficacy of demonstrating swarm communications by way of 
Xbee wireless transponders
• Study/develop operational modes that are relevant to possible swarm 
science operations, such as GPS Radio Occulation


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2018-2019 NASA I^2 Project List

6

NASA Center

Project Title

Mentor

Project Description

Requirements

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Synthetic Biomaterials: A Multi-
Scale Approach 

Diana Gentry

A small group of interns with backgrounds in bioscience, materials 
chemistry and science, and bioengineering will, with the guidance of 
senior researchers, design and fabricate a proof-of-concept hybrid 
biomaterial using the interactions between living and non-living 
components to control the material structure.  The material proof-of-
concept will use existing genetic parts, such as binding domains, and 
established synthetic biology techniques, such as fusion protein design.  
The fabrication will be done using current techniques such as 3D CAD 
modeling, microscale gel deposition, and stereolithography.  The exact 
implementation will be chosen jointly by the interns and mentors after a 
literature survey.

The interns will learn about the history and current state of biomaterials, 
materials science, and synthetic biology, how to perform basic 
bioengineering techniques, and how to perform basic biomaterials 
analyses.  They will gain real-world experience with literature searches, 
proposing and defending research implementations, hands-on 
bioengineering lab work (including synthetic biology, rapid prototyping, 
and fluidics), preparing documentation of research work, and statistics 
and data analysis.

Interns will have a chance to present their research at a poster 
symposium and/or workshop.  Depending on the breadth of work 
covered by the interns, participation in writing a published research 
paper is a possibility.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

The Influence of Mechanical 
Unloading on Biological Function

Elizabeth Blaber

The spaceflight environment, including microgravity and space radiation, 
is known to negatively impact mammalian physiology, including somatic 
stem cell-based tissue regeneration. The degenerative effects of 
spaceflight that we understand best include rapid microgravity-adaptive 
bone and muscle loss, loss of cardiovascular capacity, defects in wound 
and bone fracture healing and impaired immune function. These 
implications pose a significant risk for long-term human space 
exploration. Our work focuses on the influence of mechanical unloading 
on stem cell proliferation, differentiation and regeneration and how 
alterations in stem cell function may be the cause of widespread tissue 
degeneration in space. In this opportunity, the selected candidate will 
work with research scientists to analyze the response of mouse bone 
and bone marrow stem cells to mechanical unloading using both 
spaceflight samples and mouse hindlimb unloading experiments. The 
intern will investigate stem cell responses to microgravity and 
mechanical unloading using gene expression and protein analysis and 
furthermore, will investigate the influence of stem cell function on 
whole bone tissue properties - including structural and molecular 
analysis. Furthermore, the intern will also work with scientists on 
optimizing conditions for an upcoming spaceflight experiment where we 
aim to identify key molecular mechanisms that cause degenerative 
effects in bone tissue through impaired differentiation of mesenchymal 
stem cells. The intern will conduct cell culture and gene 
expression/protein assays to characterize wildtype stem cells compared 
to the transgenic model. The intern will then work with research 
scientists to determine the optimal cell culture parameters to conduct 
the experiment in spaceflight hardware.

Laboratory experience is preferred

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Unmanned Aircraft System

Marcus Johnson

Many applications of small Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) have been 
envisioned. These include surveillance of key assets such as pipelines, 
rail, or electric wires, deliveries, search and rescue, traffic monitoring, 
videography, and precision agriculture. These operations are likely to 
occur in the same airspace in the presence of many static and dynamic 
constraints such as airports, and high wind areas. Therefore, operations 
of small UAS need to be managed to ensure safety and operation 
efficiency is maintained. NASA has advanced a concept for UAS Traffic 
Management (UTM) and has initiated a research effort to refine that 
concept and develop operational and system requirements. A UTM 
research platform is in development and flight test activities to evaluate 
core functions and key assumptions focusing exclusively on UAS 
operations in different environments are underway. This internship will 
help support the development, planning, support and data analysis for 
UAS field test activities by: 
- Preparing documentation and conducting analysis to gain approval to 
fly;
- Planning flight test activities, including developing testing 
methodologies for determining the effectiveness of detect and avoid 
systems and other separation mechanisms.
- Working flight test logistics such as support, transportation, storage, 
and procurement of equipment needed at the test site;
- Providing on-site support during flight test activities;
- Providing post-flight analysis of data collected from the experiment.


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2018-2019 NASA I^2 Project List

7

NASA Center

Project Title

Mentor

Project Description

Requirements

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Worldwind Application 
Development

Patrick Hogan

Interns will build an open source app that serves beneficial interests of 
society, using the EAR99 certified NASA World Wind Open Source 
technology, virtual globe technology and applications in Java, C++, iOS 
and Android using NASA World Wind technology.
Typical project examples from last year NASA Interns:
The wikis that describe these NASA apps (with a video!):
https://github.com/NASAWorldWindResearch/SpaceBirds/wiki
https://github.com/NASAWorldWindResearch/WorldWeather/wiki
https://github.com/NASAWorldWindResearch/Quake-Hunter/wiki
 
The web apps:
http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/spacebirds/ (Satellite Data)
http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/worldweather/ (Weather & Climate 
Data)
http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/quakehunter/ (Seismic Data)

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Robotic 3D Mapping for 
Exploration of Planetary Caves

Uland Wong, Ara 
Nefian

BRAILLE (Biologic and Resource Analog Investigations in Low Light 
Environments) is a new astrobiology project at NASA Ames which is 
investigating technologies and developing a concept robotic mission for 
exploration of planetary caves on Mars. Martian caves may be 
hospitable environments for microbial life due to temperate conditions, 
radiation shielding, and presence of water. BRAILLE will conduct 
terrestrial testing in an analog environment (at Lava Beds National 
Monument) in order to learn what sensors, samples and operational 
strategies are best suited for Martian missions to detect and 
characterize life. To this end, we are developing a robotic platform that 
will carry science sensors, perform high resolution 3D mapping of cave 
interiors, and return this information to scientists for analysis. Creating 
3D maps is a challenge because planetary caves are GPS-denied, so any 
position estimates from the robot must be strictly local and incremental. 
Increment drift in maps can be further compounded by the irregular 
nature of cave features. Lastly, lack of natural illumination presents an 
issue with producing quality images and sensing at range. Solutions to 
this problem have far-reaching impact to future missions which will 
venture to such extreme locales.We are looking for a student intern to 
help with software development and research on the BRAILLE project. 
The student will have the ability to work on a self-contained, but 
impactful problem at the forefront of planetary exploration research at 
NASA. Projects will be tailored to areas of interest and experience. 
Examples include multi-view stereo mapping with active flash 
illumination, sensor fusion (LIDAR, imaging, multispectral), or machine 
learning for detecting interesting science features.

The applicant should, at a minimum, 
have experience with Linux (Ubuntu) 
and be able to program well in C or C++. 
Independent problem solving under 
guidance of the mentor is expected. 
Ideally, you will have taken some upper 
division computer science and 
introductory robotics classes. Be familiar 
with data structures applicable to 
autonomous systems, like voxel grids, 
point clouds, octrees, range images, and 
triangulated meshes. Be familiar with 
the research process: literature survey, 
problem formulation, hypothesis, 
implementation, experimentation and 
statistical analysis. Priority will be given 
to those who have some prior field 
experience with caves and other 
underground environments, or high 
enthusiasm for such. Any significant 
experience with one or more areas of 
robotics research, particularly 
perception, localization or machine 
learning is also a plus.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Software for Autonomous Robotic 
Landing on Icy Moons

Uland Wong, Michael 
Dille

Do you want to help NASA land in extreme icy environments? Icy moons, 
such as Europa, Enceladus and Titan, are the among the most likely 
locations for finding life elsewhere in the solar system. NASA is 
developing future missions to explore Europa in particular, beginning 
with orbital assets in the next decade and eventually leading to robotic 
surface probes. A leap in autonomous capability is necessary for robotic 
landers to aerially explore and touch down in environments as remote 
and unknown as icy moons. Uncharacterized features on these worlds 
such as fractures, crevasses, plumes, jagged penitente fields, and 
textureless surfaces will push the limits of current entry, descent and 
landing (EDL) approaches. ICICLES (Intelligent for Choosing Icy Candidate 
Landing and Exploration Sites) is a new funded project at NASA Ames 
that will look at autonomy approaches for assisting landing in safe-but-
scientifically interesting locales on icy bodies.
We are looking for a student intern to help with software development 
and research on the ICICLES project. The student will have the ability to 
work on a self-contained, but impactful problem at the forefront of 
science autonomy research at NASA. Projects will be tailored to areas of 
interest and experience. Examples include hazard avoidance algorithms 
for landing near icy features, trajectory planning for exploring vapor 
plumes, or 3D thermal mapping in cryogenic environments. The 
intention is to push hard for results to set the stage for publication by 
the end of the internship period.

The applicant should, at a minimum, 
have experience with Linux (Ubuntu) 
and be able to program well in C or C++. 
Independent problem solving under 
guidance of the mentor is anticipated. 
Ideally, you will have taken some upper 
division computer science and 
introductory robotics classes. Be familiar 
with data structures applicable to 
autonomous systems, such as voxel 
grids, point clouds, octrees, range 
images, and triangulated meshes. Be 
familiar with the research process: 
literature survey, problem formulation, 
hypothesis, implementation, 
experimentation and statistical analysis. 
Any significant experience with one or 
more areas of robotics research, 
particularly computer vision, path 
planning and semi-supervised learning, 
is a major plus.


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2018-2019 NASA I^2 Project List

8

NASA Center

Project Title

Mentor

Project Description

Requirements

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Novel Planetary Robotic Sensor 
Development

Michael Dille

Recent confirmations of water flow on Mars has refreshed interest in 
exploration ofcaves and lava tubes on planetary bodies, where 
temperate conditions present a uniqueenvironment that may harbor 
trapped liquid water, exotic geologies, and possible life.However, 
current robotics technology lacks the ability to negotiate such precarious
terrains that include very tight operating spaces and partial collapses. 
Only by reachingthese areas with onboard sensors can astrobiologists 
and geologists hope to completecomprehensive mapping of cave 
conditions and sample biofilm candidates. To providesuch reach, we are 
investigating projectile sensing methodologies in which expendable
sensors are lobbed from a mortar-like delivery mechanism and anchored 
into floors,walls, and ceilings. These sensors can work in cooperation 
with mobile robots to extendtheir reach, provide situational awareness, 
and long-duration monitoring capabilities.Constellations of deployed 
sensors can cooperate, communicating wirelessly duringflight and once 
anchored, to provide radio or illuminated landmarks aiding photography,
mapping, and mobility operations. The exploratory SPEARS (Smart 
Projectiles forEnvironmental Assessment, Reconnaissance, and Sensing) 
project here at AmesResearch Center has proven the viability of the 
projectile sensor concept by developinga rover-mounted platform and 
evaluating several sensor types.We are now seeking a student intern to 
develop new and miniaturized sensing payloads.Currently, high priority 
payload plans include either microscopic imagers for terrainsurface 
study or fluorescence and spectroscopic instruments for geological 
compositionsurveys and signs of life detection, closely followed by radio 
transceivers for selfreorganizingmesh networks. Additional mechanism 
development is also planned,including refining sensor launcher design, 
building a micro soil sample collector, andevaluating concepts for 
projectile self-stabilization in flight. Another particularlyinteresting 
avenue is actuated or flexible payloads that unfurl or expand a soil 
collector,solar panel, antenna, or small mobility mechanism such as a 
wheel or foot.

The ideal intern is a well-rounded 
student with an interest in sensing 
instrumentdevelopment and the ability 
to work well independently on open-
ended problems.Depending on the 
student's interests, valuable skills and 
experience could lie in optics,RF, 
electronics, or mechanical design. A self-
contained implementation project 
wouldinclude the design and testing of a 
useful payload in one of these areas.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

SUPERball 2.0 Tensegrity Robot

Terrence Fong

We are looking for a student intern to help with electronics design and 
integration for our SUPERball 2.0 tensegrity robot. The participant will 
conduct basic research in mobile robotics in the Intelligent Robotics 
Group (IRG) at the NASA Ames Research Center. Research will involve 
development of advanced mobile robots, including design and testing of 
novel mechatronic systems with SUPERball 2.0. Developing advanced 
mobile robots is critical to improving the performance and productivity 
of future NASA exploration missions. In particular, methods that enable 
dynamic tensegrity system to function robustly and autonomously under 
a wide range of environmental and operational conditions will enable 
robots to be used for a broader set of missions than is currently possible. 

The applicant should be enrolled in a 
master level engineering program and 
have previous experience in electronics 
development. Good knowledge of C and 
Matlab and a Linux environment is 
preferred. Ability to work independently 
and effectively as part of a 
multidisciplinary team, prioritize tasks, 
coordinate tasks with others, and meet 
deadlines are a major plus.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Small Satellite Swarm Mission 
Design and Implementation

Belcagem Jaroux

Recent advances in small spacecraft capabilities (particularly in 
CubeSats, NanoSats, and PicoSats) hold the promise that swarms or 
constellations of small satellites could perform NASA science, 
exploration, and technology demonstration missions that traditionally 
were the realm of large, expensive, and complex platforms. As a result, 
NASA Ames is embarking on a number of small satellite demonstration 
missions aimed at validating new approaches and processes needed to 
design, build, test, launch, and operate a large number of identical 
satellites in a cost-effective manner.

Several internship positions are open to engineering students in all areas 
of SmallSat swarm and constellation mission design and implementation.

Particularly needed skills and mentoring opportunities include:
•        Avionics and embedded systems hardware and software design, 
simulation and test. 
•        Laboratory simulation and validation of network system 
architectures of various swarm and constellation mission concepts based 
on low-cost, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components and systems.
•        Computer-aided spacecraft thermal analysis, simulation, and test 
procedures, using commercial software products such as Thermal 
Desktop.

Selected candidates will join small teams of NASA Ames engineers and 
on-site contractors, with ample opportunities for mentorship as well as 
independent learning and technical development.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Astrobee Robot Software

Marion Smith

The Astrobee robot will launch to the International Space Station in May 
2018. It will fly freely and autonomously throughout the space station, 
where it will assist astronauts, provide a mobile telepresence platform 
for ground controllers, and be used as a research platform for a variety 
of experiments. See https://www.nasa.gov/astrobee for more 
information.

Students of all levels are encouraged to 
apply to join the Astrobee Flight 
Software Team. Experience with C++, 
Linux, and git is preferred. The 
internship project will depend both on 
need and the student's interests. Ideally, 
the project will result in a research 
publication. Past student projects have 
included diverse topics such as path 
planning, obstacle mapping, depth 
camera calibration, simulator 
development, sensing and filtering, fault 
recovery, video streaming, mapping 
under changing light levels, and more.


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2018-2019 NASA I^2 Project List

9

NASA Center

Project Title

Mentor

Project Description

Requirements

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Experimental Visualization of 
Shock Structure in a Miniature Arc 
Jet

Megan 
Macdonald/Mark 
McGlaughlin

The Thermophysics Facilities Branch is upgrading its 30 kW miniature arc 
jet (mARC).  These upgrades will result in a high-speed, high-
temperature jet with a new shock structure.  Visualization of this new 
shock structure will allow the mARC operators and any future 
investigators to carry out testing in the regions of the jet with the most 
uniform conditions.  The intern will be responsible for studying the shock 
structure of this plasma jet with experimental flow visualization 
techniques.  Specifically of interest is the Background Oriented Schlieren 
(BOS) technique.  It is expected that the intern will review prior similar 
work and seek input from Ames researchers who are experts in flow 
visualization methods to guide the experimental strategy.  The intern will 
work closely with the team that operates and maintains the mARC.

Student will give a final presentation and compile a final report 
documenting the work completed at ARC.  If the results support it, the 
work will be considered for submission to a conference or journal 
publication.

Student should be a graduate student 
with a solid background in aerospace or 
mechanical engineering and familiarity 
with fluid flow, optical diagnostics, and 
experimental research.    Student should 
have experience with flow visualization 
techniques, particularly the BOS 
technique.  The student should be able 
to work as part of a team.  It would also 
be desirable (though not mandatory) for 
the student to have experience writing 
conference and/or journal publications.

Pursuing Masters
Pursuing Doctorate
Pursuing Post Doctorate

Engineering - Aerospace Eng.
Engineering - General
Engineering - Instrumentation Eng.
Engineering - Materials Eng.
Engineering - Mechanical Eng.
Engineering - Optical Eng.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Space Structure Assembly 
Robotics - The Automated 
Reconfigurable Mission Adaptive 
Digital Assembly System 
(ARMADAS) Project

Kenny Cheung

Opportunity Description/Objective (specific student assignment):
The Coded Structures Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center 
conducts research across material science, robotics, and algorithms, for 
application to aeronautics and space systems. The lab's primary project 
is titled Automated Reconfigurable Mission Adaptive Digital Assembly 
System (ARMADAS), and it incorporates a building-block based approach 
to automated assembly of ultralight lattice-based structures for space 
infrastructure. Expected activities for this position can be both 
theoretical and experimental in nature. Advanced research using 
multidisciplinary analyses seeks to understand the mechanics of new 
mechatronic and structural strategies and to develop predictive 
analytical models for the design of systems with novel behavior. 
Experimental work seeks to obtain accurate data to validate these 
analyses.
 
Expected opportunity outcome (i.e. research, final report, poster 
presentation, etc.):
At the conclusion of the internship, the intern will prepare a final report 
and either make a final presentation or participate in a poster day. The 
results of the research, if appropriate, can be considered for abstract 
submittal to a national conference in the appropriate subject area for 
publication.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Machine Learning classification of 
transit-like signals

Hamed Valizadegan

Kepler and the upcoming TESS are critical missions to increase our 
understanding of how common earth-like planets and the chances of 
alien life are. These telescopes work based on transit photometry and 
their piplines return a list of threshold crossing events (TCEs) whose light 
signature resemble a planet. However, not all TCEs are planet orbiting a 
star and they could be due instrument noise or other astrophysical 
phenomena. Thus, the TCEs are subject to a vetting process in which 
they are classified into three categories: Planetary Candidate (PC), 
Astrophusical False Positibe (AFP), and Non-transiting phenomena (NTP). 
This classification is currently being done manually and we need 
machine learning tools to automate it. The kepler teams responsible for 
this vetting process released multiple data release over time as they 
have learned how to obtain better diagnostics (features) from the light 
curve and how to classify the TCEs. However, the values of these 
diagnostics might not be perfect or representative enough and we are 
developing deep learning methodology (e.g. LSTM) that work directly on 
the raw light curves to classify these TCEs automatically. The intern is 
expected to help us developing parts of this project in Python! Tools we 
use for this project are scikit-learn and Keras!
 
Specific Tasks and Responsibilities: Python Coding, Research on 
appropriate deep learning architectures for time series classification

AI general knowledge, Masters or PhD, 
Python programming

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Deep Learning Binarization of 
Vascular images

Hamed Valizadegan

The Space Bioscience Research Branch (SCR) of NASA Ames has 
developed VESGEN, a software package for analyses and study of 
vascular images. A bottleneck in efficient application of VESGEN is the 
fact that it needs binary images as input in order to analyze the vascular 
images and provides insight about them. Currently, a VESGEN user needs 
to semi-manually binarize a vascular image using CAD software packages 
such as Adobe Photoshop before giving the image as input to VESGEN 
for analysis. Binarization aims to categorize the pixels of a vascular image 
into two categories, foreground or Vessel pixels and background pixels. 
We are investigating deep learning technologies to automate the 
binarization of vascular image. Our results with deep learning have been 
very encouraging and we are looking to hire an intern to help us further 
improve the existing technology!
Specific Tasks and Responsibilities: Python Coding, Research on 
appropriate deep learning architectures for image segmentation

AI general knowledge, Senior Masters or 
PhD, Python programming


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2018-2019 NASA I^2 Project List

10

NASA Center

Project Title

Mentor

Project Description

Requirements

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Modeling Moderate-to-High 
Ionization in Hypersonic Flows

Michael Barnhardt

Current practices for modeling hypersonic shock layers assume that the 
degree of ionization is low, which is a reasonable assumption in most 
instances. However, this assumption becomes questionable for 
freestream velocities in excess of 14-15 km/s. The low-ionization 
assumption has led the state-of-the-art to a number of simplifications 
regarding the thermochemical state of the shock layer, most notably 
restricting the interplay between free electrons, energy transfer 
processes, non-equilibrium chemistry, and transport. This task seeks to 
develop new models and methods, starting with non-equilibrium 
treatment of free electron energy, to enable the basic understanding of 
very high-speed flows. The respondent is expected to develop models in 
a practical CFD framework and will work closely with other NASA 
researchers on evaluating the impact of free-electron modeling on shock 
layer radiation predictions.

PhD candidate with knowledge of 
plasmadynamics and Computational 
Fluid Dynamics.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Shockwave Radiation Testing

Brett Cruden

The Electric Arc Shock Tube (EAST) Facility is NASA's only remaining 
shock tube capable of obtaining hyperorbital velocities (Mach 10-50, 
velocities up to ~15 km/s). The EAST data is the primary source of data 
for informing NASA's radiation modeling practices and associated 
uncertainties. The intern will participate in planning and conducting tests 
in the EAST facility, operating the diagnostics, performing calibrations, 
and analyzing data. The exact tests being performed in EAST will depend 
on the term of the intern's residency. Current plans for 2018 are to study 
radiation from expanding flows in the newly refurbished 20º expansion 
nozzle.

Experience with spectroscopic 
techniques and/or hypersonic testing 
facility, esp. shock tubes/tunnels 
desired.  Graduate level (MS or PhD) 
strongly preferred.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Aerothermodynamics Modeling

Khalil Bensassi

The Aerothermodynamics Branch at NASA Ames Research Center 
focuses on advancing the understanding of the fundamental aspects of 
hypersonic flows for multiple planetary atmospheres including Mars, 
Venus, Titan, and Earth. Computational Fluid Dynamics solvers, coupled 
with non-equilibrium radiation codes, are employed for this purpose. 
Interns will collaborate with engineers and scientists to enhance the 
capabilities of the current software to better capture the fundamental 
aspects of the basic physical phenomena in hypersonic flows. They will 
have access to a world class HPC machine and will be using state-of-the-
art physical models and numerical methods. Multiple openings are 
available in the following areas:

"Develop an accurate and efficient radiation-flow solver coupling 
strategy.
"Support the development of a robust and scalable adaptive mesh 
refinement algorithm.
"Assess the performance of the shockwave radiation solver, NEQAIR, on 
hybrid nodes (CPU/GPU) and investigate optimization strategies.

Experience with Fortran and shell 
scripting.
Experience with computational 
modeling and parallel   simulations.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Validating Non-Equilibrium 
Chemistry Models for Entry Flows

Richard Jaffe

Hypersonic shock layers are characterized by chemical and thermal non-
equilibrium. The chemical non-equilibrium condition is due to chemical 
reactions occurring on the time-scale of the flow and the thermal non-
equilibrium is due to insufficient collisions for maintaining Boltzmann 
distributions within ro-vibrational and electronic state manifolds. In the 
past, models to describe this condition were based on results of 
contemporaneous shock tube experiments. These models are still widely 
used today. However, they are being supplanted by "physics-based 
models" that use results of accurate quantum mechanical calculations to 
determine collision cross sections and reaction rate coefficients. Results 
of these calculations must be validated against new shock tube data 
using Master Equation and CFD calculations. Recent work in this area has 
been focused on air at velocities of 10-14 km/s and CO2/N2 
atmospheres for Mars and Venus at velocities of 7-10 km/s. The 
respondent will learn about all aspects of non-equilibrium for these 
cases and may be required to compute additional collision cross sections 
for specific flow conditions.

PhD candidate with interest in 
understanding non-equilibrium 
chemistry.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Mobile Robot for Education and 
Outreach

George Gorospe

NASA's robotic missions to Mars continue to inspire students across the 
country. However many of these students have no access to the 
components or the facilities to produce a robotic vehicle. We are 
interested in the development of a robotic vehicle for the demonstration 
of control and navigation algorithms. The student will participate in the 
development of mobile rover for education and outreach. This includes a 
study of current NASA rovers and science objectives, and the 
development of analog activities which the educational rover could 
perform. The student would participate in the design, fabrication, 
programming, and testing of such a rover.

Research report outlining educational capabilities of the rover, technical 
report on the design and fabrication of the rover. All code written for the 
rover.

C++, Arduino, ROS experience preferred 
but not required. Student should be a 
capable communicator and willing to 
learn and apply knowledge to difficult 
problems.


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2018-2019 NASA I^2 Project List

11

NASA Center

Project Title

Mentor

Project Description

Requirements

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Slip Estimation for Planetary RoversArno Rogg/Terry Fong

IRG is developing technologies for planetary rover exploration that will 
enable future NASA missions to access new places in the solar system in 
a safer and more reliable way. Planetary environments such as Mars and 
the Moon are challenging terrains to rove on. In multiple sites, the 
terrain has shown to be very loose and this represents a significant risk 
of entrapment for mobile platforms and for the mission success. 
Previous rover missions had issues. The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) spun 
its wheels until the rover got embedded and one astronaut had to lift it 
up to get it out of this situation. The two Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) 
rovers had similar issues on Mars: Opportunity encountered some deep 
wheel sinking issues that took weeks to resolve and Spirit’s embedding 
was so severe it brought an end to the rover’s mission.
To prevent future rover entrapment from happening, it is important to 
develop new and more reliable slip estimation techniques. Different 
approaches can be used, such a visual odometry, inertial units, current 
threshold and others.
The goal of this project is to investigate some of these techniques and 
find the most suited one that will then be implemented. The existing 
data coming from the Resource Prospector mission as well as the K-Rex 
II rover will provide first data to test with. Some new tests could be 
achieved on the K-Rex II rover that is currently at NASA Ames Research 
Center.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Rover-Instrument Automation 
and Data Integration

Brian Glass

The Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies (ARADS) project is a 
Science Mission Directorate-sponsored project led at NASA-Ames.  
ARADS proposes a Mars rover analog mission as a field test of an 
integrated rover-drill system with prototype life-detection instruments 
that are flight mission candidates. The essential elements to ARADS are: 
1) use of integrated drill and rover at sites in the Atacama Desert in Chile 
in unprepared "regolith"; 2) field use of instruments with the rover/drill 
that are flight prototypes comparable to those planned for ExoMars and 
Icebreaker; 3) acquire drilled cuttings and transfer to instruments 
onboard the rover; 4) on-board autonomy and monitoring to support 
drilling; mission and demonstrate science support (operations and 
control) for the rover/drill/instrument operations.
This student project will address the fourth element above: integrated 
remote rover and instrument control in science operations. The current 
ARADS rover (KREX-2) hosts three instruments, plus a drill and robot 
arm. The drill and arm are already partially integrated and hosted on the 
rover CPU.  The instruments are controlled and return their data to two 
auxiliary laptops strapped to the rover. These communicate by wifi and 
trunk network connections with instrument team members. 
Intern will assist ARADS developers in developing system operating 
procedures, drill and arm control software, drilling system diagnosis and 
executive controls. The student with work with both the KREX2 rover 
team and the instrument leads and existing ARADS team members 
(Thomas Stucky, Antoine Tardy) to define the internal interfaces for 
commands and data to be relayed from the rover. A “data suitcase” of 
instrument results and images will be defined and a mechanism 
developed with the rover team to capture the “suitcase” and then 
forward it intact to a remote science server for offline parallel analysis 
by the science team. Likewise, a command dictionary to each instrument 
will be defined.


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2018-2019 NASA I^2 Project List

12

NASA Center

Project Title

Mentor

Project Description

Requirements

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Image analysis software based on 
neural nets and “deep learning”

James Bell

Image analysis software based on neural nets and “deep learning” has 
been successfully used to find and classify objects in images. This project 
investigates whether such software can be used to determine the 
orientation of an object. For example, it is commonly claimed that image 
recognition software can use deep learning to recognize the presence of 
some feature, such as a cat, in an image or video. (http://www.nec.
com/en/global/ad/insite/article/bigdata07.html ) This is done by 
providing the software with a large training set of images in which a 
particular feature has been identified, and allowing the software to learn 
to recognize that feature in new images. The idea of this project is that if 
such software is trained with images of a wind tunnel model at different 
orientations, along with independent information about orientation of 
the model in each image, the software will be able to recognize the 
orientation of the model in new images.
 
Currently, wind tunnel model orientation is found with a combination of 
onboard accelerometers to detect orientation with respect to the gravity 
vector, and encoders on the model support to detect rotations around 
the gravity vector (yaw). These methods are less accurate when the 
principle motion of the model is in yaw (eg wings-vertical orientation of 
the model in the wind tunnel) or the model is too small to accommodate 
an accelerometer package. Conventional photogrammetry can be used 
to measure model orientation but requires time-consuming setup and 
calibration, and is vulnerable to changes in illumination.
 
The project would consist of these parts
1) Set up a simple test apparatus consisting of a rigid body resembling a 
wind tunnel model, a multi-axis accelerometer, and a yaw meter, on a 
multi-axis rotation stage. Set up a camera to view the model. Take 
images at a variety of model orientations while recording the orientation 
measurements.
2) Feed the images and orientation data into open source deep learning 
software such as Keras.
3) Compare the accuracy of the resulting software against conventional 
sensors for determining model orientation.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Visualizing the flow field around 
the SLS and MPCV vehicles in a 
low-speed water tunnel

Jayanta Panda

These vehicles have gone through many tests in high-speed wind tunnels 
where the global flow features such as the generation of vortices, and 
the interaction with plumes are difficult to see. We have small-scale ( 
around 1.5% scale) models of these vehicles which need to be modified 
and placed in a water-channel facility, and the flow around them will be 
visualized by placing streaks of dye.  The student is expected to perform 
some modifications of these models and then work with Hannah & I to 
perform the test. If time permits then we may take the models in a low 
speed wind tunnel for some more visualization study.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

VESsel GENeration Analysis 
(VESGEN)

David Kao

Students of relevant disciplines, such as computer science, and 
biomedical engineering and imaging, and mathematics, are welcome to 
consider our multidisciplinary research on NASA's innovative research 
and discovery software tool, the VESsel GENeration Analysis (VESGEN). 
For this biomedical data visualization and analysis research, the intern 
will investigate existing data analysis techniques and apply the results to 
3D microvascular data from clinical and research microscopic imaging. 
The intern will gain a good understanding of existing data analysis 
techniques (which are implemented in JAVA and C) and then develop an 
ImageJ plugin based on these pioneering methods. ImageJ, a public 
domain JAVA image processing program. The plugins will be used for 
designing new, globally requested 3D visualization and analysis software 
capabilities. VESGEN is requested by scientists, engineers and physicians 
around the world for biomedical research on vascular-dependent 
diseases such as inflammation, cancer, heart disease and reproductive 
disorders. Request specific expertise in 3D image reconstruction/3D 
medical image analysis, JAVA programming, and/or extensive computer 
programming experience.

Expected outcome: development of ImageJ plugins, research experience, 
and co-authorships on conference presentations.  A poster/paper 
presentation of the internship work.

Required Skills:   Graduate majors in 
computer science, biomedical 
engineering, and mathematics are 
welcome to consider this 
multidisciplinary research. Relevant skills 
include C, Java, openGL, NIH ImageJ, and 
image and signal processing.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Analyzing satellite and drone 
imagery from the Atacama 
Desert, a Mars analog 
environment in Chile

Mary Beth Wilhelm
Kim Warren-Rhodes 
(SETI)

The project goal is to understand the impact of an extreme and rare 
rainfall event on the modification of soil and unltimately on the 
generation and preservation of molecular biosignatures from the largely 
inactive microbial community in the driest soils in the Atacama Desert, 
Chile. This work has implications for predicting if rapid shifts in water 
availability could impact a putative microbial population sufficiently to 
generate measurable biomarkers in modern Martian near-surface 
environments (e.g. RSL, gullies, northern plains ice-cemented soil), and 
inform where future missions should search for biomarkers that could 
have been preferentially preserved. More specifically, we would like to 
have a student (1) analyze nano-climate sensor data from hyperarid 
Atacama soils and map data onto regional gravimetric moisture data; (2) 
integrate and analyze historical satellite data, drone, and field imagery 
to understand the extant, patterns, and history of the water regime in 
the driest parts of the Atacama Desert; and (3) develop a fluvial map and 
construct a simple model of water transport and accumulation across 
surfaces and infiltration into the soil column at different spatial scales.  


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2018-2019 NASA I^2 Project List

13

NASA Center

Project Title

Mentor

Project Description

Requirements

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Exploration of piloting for eVTOL 
urban operations

Michael Feary

The Aerospace Cognitive Engineering (ACE) group is working on several 
Human-Automation Interaction flight deck research topics for the NASA 
Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) and the FAA.  While 
Dr. McMahon is at Ames the group is hoping to work with him to utilize 
his expertise in simulation of low speed and low altitude electric Vertical 
Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) operations in support of the Airspace 
Operations and Safety Program (AOSP) System Wide Safety and ATM-X 
projects. The focus of these projects will be to identify automaiton 
development and training needs for urban eVTOL operations.

Specifically these tasks will include:
-evaluation of flight controls and displays for eVTOL concept vehicles
-development and evaluation of eVTOL simulation environments
-support in the development of research issues for implementation of 
eVTOL operations in the United States
-Subject Matter Expertise for VTOL airline operations
-Support for simulation and VR research development

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Scott Murman

This project extends simulations of rotating machinery in atmospheric 
boundary layers using an advanced high-order discontinuous-Galerkin 
fluid solver.  The eddy solver is a novel code suite for scale-resolving 
simulations developed at NASA as part of the CFD Vision 2030 study.  
This tool has previously been used for turbomachinery, fluid-structure 
interaction, and fundamental benchmark studies, including transition, 
inflow turbulence, and wall roughness. During this project, eddy will be 
extended and validated for atmospheric boundary layers, and then 
applied to relevant rotating machinery problems.  The simulations will 
be used to investigate the detailed flow physics and develop a multi-
fidelity design capability. Potential applicaitons include wind farms, 
trans-oceanic autonomous vehicles, and urban VTOL aircraft.  Final 
application will be determined in collaboration with the student and 
their advisor.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Analysis and Modeling of 
Meteoroid Ablation

Eric Stern

Student will support analysis and modeling of recent novel experiments 
to investigate meteoroid ablation. Activities may include utilizing 
numerical material response modeling tools to simulate the 
experiments, analysis and reduction of data products from prior 
experiments, and support the design and execution of diagnostic 
approaches for future ground test campaigns.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Nanotechnology based sensors 
for chemical and biological 
detection – wearable sensors and 
medical diagnostic sensors

Jing Li

NASA ARC is continuing develop sensors using nanostructures for 
chemical and biological detection. Nanostructures, such as carbon 
nanotubes, metal oxides nanowires and gold nanoparticles offer high 
sensitivity with good selectivity. These sensors are low power, small size 
and low cost. We are using these sensors for making wearable sensors 
for environmental monitoring and for making portable device for 
medical diagnosis in space and terrestrial applications. The interns will 
learn how to make sensors, test sensors and process the sensor data.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Genomics of Single Cell 
Mechanostransduction in Mouse 
Embryonic Stem Cells

Eduardo Almeida

Forces generated by gravity have a profound impact on the behavior of 
cells in tissues and can affect the course of the cell cycle and 
differentiation fate of progenitors in mammalian tissues, potentially 
impacting the course of normal tissue regenerative health and disease.  
In this context, to enable Human space exploration, it is increasingly 
important to understand the gene expression patterns associated with 
regenerative health and disease as they relate to space travel in 
microgravity.  Until recently changes in gene expression of stem cell 
progenitors exposed to spaceflight factors have been difficult to 
interpret, primarily because cellular responses are often not 
homogeneous in tissue populations, and may occur only in a subset of 
those cells.  In stem cells in particular, “cell decisions” made in response 
to stimulation may include proliferative self-renewal, progression to 
differentiation, or entry into a state of replicative quiescence, however 
the gene expression programs associated with each are not readily 
knowable in a mixed cell population.  Recent developments however 
now allow us to isolate and separately barcode mRNAs from thousands 
of single cells and to sequence their expressomes, opening a new field of 
“quantum genomics” in which regulatory gene networks and stimulus 
responses are studied and understood with greater clarity at the single 
cell level.  In this project the fellow will specifically culture mouse 
embryonic stem cells and model gravity by either mechanostimulating 
them with axial stretch and compression, or not, as they initiate 
development in vitro, then conduct single cell isolation and barcoding of 
mRNAs using the 10XGenomics Chromium Controller, followed by 
reverse transcription into cDNAs and preparation of sequencing libraries 
for Illumina NGS or Oxford Nanopore long read sequencing.  The fellow 
will also utilize bioinformatic tools including Cell Ranger, Loupe, and 
GeneSpring to analyze results and attempt to identify common patterns 
of gravity mechanoresponses in stem cells.  If conducted successfully, 
this research  may enable the development of novel tissue regenerative 
approaches to tissue degeneration such as that induced by spaceflight in 
microgravity.


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2018-2019 NASA I^2 Project List

14

NASA Center

Project Title

Mentor

Project Description

Requirements

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Prognostics and Health 
Management for Aeronautics 
Applications

Kai Goebel

This project investigates the use of Prognostics techniques for 
components critical for use in emerging aeronautics applications. 
Components of interest include in particular batteries, motors, and 
inertial navigation units. Deterioration or faults of these components 
leads to potentially serious adversial consequences in the operation of 
aerial vehicles. Therefore, it is important to understand how these 
components fail and to what degree the failure point can be predicted. 
To that end, the components will be modeled both for nominal 
operations as well as when subject to operational and environmental 
stresses. Suitable algorithms will be explored that will aid in the 
prediction of the failure threshold. Experimental data (where available) 
will be used to assess the efficacy of the algorithmic solutions.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Geological Context for the Search 
for Life on Mars in Polar Ground 
Ice: Support for the Icebreaker 
mission

Chris McKay/Carol 
Stoker

A team at NASA Ames is currently working toward the development of a 
Discovery mission to search for evidence of life on Mars. The working 
framework for this mission is to focus on amino acids and lipid 
biomarkers. In this student project we will consider two cases for the 
detection of amino acids and lipids. First an “abiotic” case in which only 
meteoritic infall of organic material is the source of amino acids and 
lipids. The sink is thermal degradation over time. The second case we 
will consider is the “biotic” case. Here we will review the recent 
geological data from Mars to determine the best site on Mars for biotic 
amino acids and lipids and use analog environments on Earth as a guide 
for the possible concentrations expected. The student needs a 
background and interest in planetary sciences, geology, and 
astrobiology.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Next Generation Animal Tracking 
Project

Andres Martinez

We will have the intern working on the Next Generation Animal Tracking 
Project that is under Andres Martinez (cc’d). This is an inter-agency 
project with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), trying 
find possible solutions for the next generation of worldwide animal 
tracking.  The intern will work on analyzing the data obtained from our 
Range Tests on the awarded High Altitude Balloon Flights. This will 
require the intern to provide us with reports regarding the viability of 
the hardware tested.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Hybrid Rocket Modeling and 
Experiments

Laura Simurda

This internship will have two primary focuses.

The first will be using ANSYS Fluent to model a small-scale hybrid rocket 
motor that will be used in upcoming experiments. This problem is 
challenging as it involves using deforming meshes to model the 
regression of the solid fuel grain over time and the continued 
combustion as oxidizer is added. It should be noted that the only part of 
the motor that is ITAR restricted is the rocket injector. This part will not 
be modeled by the student and the student will not have access to any 
designs or models including the injector.

The second will be aiding in physical experiments. This may include 
completing tests using an oxyacetylene torch with an optical setup to 
prove that the sodium line reversal technique works or helping to setup 
and run small-scale rocket motor tests. Again, the only component in 
these tests that is ITAR restricted is the injector and the student will not 
have access to this part.

Ames 
Research 
Center
Moffett Field, 
California

Erosional Studies of Mars and 
Earth Using Digital Terrain Models

Virginia Gulick

Fluvial and hydrothermal studies using HiRISE images and Digital 
(Terrain) Elevation Models, combined with CTX, HRSC, CRISM, and other 
Mars or terrestrial data sets. These studies are focused mainly on the 
formation of gullies, channels, valleys and other fluvial landforms on 
Mars and Earth. Terrestrial analog sites or hydrologic or landform 
models will be used to illuminate the importance of various processes as 
well as understanding the implications for paleoclimatic change. 
Additional opportunities may also be available in assisting with HiRISE 
science planning and targeting support, submitting image requests, and 
analysing acquired image data. Geology, geography, or planetary science 
background is desired.

Experience working with ENVI, Matlab, 
Photoshop, USGS Integrated Software 
for Imagers and Spectrometers (ISIS), 
Geographic Information Systems GIS (e.
g., ArcGIS, GRASS), SOCET SET, Ames 
Stereo Pipeline, and Python 
programming is helpful.

Excellent communication and writing 
skills are desired. Enjoys working both 
individually and in teams, with creativity, 
positive energy, and determination.