NASA SEES Interns Tackle Real-World Challenges in Lunar Exploration

NASA interns demonstrate expertise in lunar mission engineering. The Matrix Team, composed of high school students, developed a sophisticated interactive dashboard for the IM-3 mission. This tool allows users to vary engine, spacecraft, and orbital parameters to investigate effects on propellant margins and landing zone availability.

The interns focused on measuring propellant mass in microgravity, a critical challenge for NASA's Artemis missions. They utilized the Modal Propellant Gauging (MPG) approach, which uses the acoustic response of propellant tanks to estimate fuel mass. MPG has been successful in previous spaceflight experiments and will be demonstrated on the IM-3 mission, scheduled to land on the Moon in 2027.

The interns relied on publicly available data, including Intuitive Machines’ mission data and trajectory records from NASA's Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility. They reconstructed an IM-3 trajectory using published flight data from IM-1 and IM-2 missions and ran CFD simulations to estimate slosh dynamics within tanks.

The analysis revealed that MPG can take reliable readings during two primary burns and potentially during Descent Orbit Insertion. The MATRIX team presented their research at the SEES Annual Symposium and the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium Annual Conference. Their work, which applies advanced methods to an active lunar mission, is comparable to that of advanced graduate students.

The SEES program provides high school students with direct experience in aerospace industry data and tools, contributing to propellant management and sustained exploration of the Moon and beyond.