Tech Briefs Magazine - June 2021 - 8

UP
FRONT
Last Chance to Create
the Future!
It's your last chance!
The 2021 Create the
Future Design Con test
closes for entries on
July 1. Your idea could
win $25,000 and global
recognition. If you
haven't already submitted your idea,
visit www.createthefuturecontest.com.
NASA Welcomes
New Administrator
Bill Nelson recently was
sworn in as NASA's 14th
Admin is trator. Nelson was a
member-at-large on NASA's
ad visory council and represented
Florida in the U.S. Senate for 18
years. He flew aboard Space Shuttle
Columbia as a payload specialist in 1986,
conducting the first American stress test in
space and a cancer research experiment.
Visit www.nasa.gov/nasa-leadership
What's New on Techbriefs.com
There has been a lot
hap pening on Mars! Go
to techbriefs.tv to see
NASA's Ingenuity helicopter
in action and
techbriefs.com/blog to
learn how a rover in -
strument called MOXIE made oxygen
from Martian air. See how close we really
are to living (and breathing!) on Mars.
Send your comments and suggestions to
me at bhurley@techbriefs.com.
Next Month in Tech Briefs
In the July issue, learn how resolution
can affect the quality of 3D parts and how
to choose a high-resolution 3D printer.
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Tech Briefs, June 2021
The stretchable antenna and rectenna system
harvests energy from radio waves in
the ambient environment to power wearable
devices. (Image: Larry Cheng)
Radio Waves Power Wearable
Devices
From microwave ovens to WiFi connections,
radio waves that permeate the environment
are not just signals of energy consumed
but are also sources of energy themselves.
Penn State researchers developed a way to
harvest energy from radio waves to power
wearable devices.
They developed a stretchable wideband
dipole antenna system capable of wirelessly
transmitting data collected from sensors that
track temperature, hydration, and pulse oxygen
level. Compared to other sources, less
energy is produced by the new system but it
can generate power continuously. The antenna
retains its frequency functions even when
stretched, bent, and twisted.
Visit https://news.psu.edu/
Compact Deliveries
from Space
Researchers from the Uni -
versity of Kentucky in Lexing -
ton developed a delivery system
to carry research samples
and other small payloads from
astronauts on the Interna -
tional Space Station back to
Earth. Such delivery systems
could aid NASA's efforts to
gather data and test instruments
to support the agency's
goal of returning to the Moon.
KRUPS, the Kentucky Re -
Editorial Director
Linda Bell
Editorial Director
The Near Space Corporation launch team completes pre-flight
rigging and checks. (Credit: Near Space Corporation)
entry Universal Payload Sys -
tem, uses advanced thermal
protection system (TPS) ma terials to pass through Earth's atmosphere at hypersonic
speeds, generating temperatures of 3,600 F. Such systems could also one
day deliver small payloads to Mars or other celestial bodies with harsh atmospheric
entry conditions.
On April 15, researchers tested KRUPS in Oregon on a high-altitude balloon from
Near Space Corporation, made possible with funding from NASA's Flight Oppor -
tunities program. Rigged to the balloon system, the 11 " -diameter KRUPS capsule
achieved an altitude of approximately 100,000 feet. Although the balloon did not
expose KRUPS to the temperatures needed to test its thermal protection, it did provide
an important step in advance of an upcoming orbital test of the TPS. Later this
year, three KRUPS units will travel to the ISS.
Learn more about this and other NASA Flight Opportunities at
https://flightopportunities.nasa.gov/

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Tech Briefs Magazine - June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tech Briefs Magazine - June 2021