Description: Exploring outer planets, their subsurface oceans, and Venus is crucial for understanding the origins of life and planetary evolution in our solar system. The scientific opportunity presented by these missions is challenged by extreme environmental conditions ranging from cryogenic temperatures to corrosive atmospheres. Survivability and mechanical failure are major concerns for operating in these harsh conditions. Bearings are necessary for mobility, drilling, and sample manipulation during normal mission operation. Multiscale Systems will use wire laser metal (WLM) to 3D print bearings in a multi-material alloy, providing a reliable and repeatable manufacturing solution to meet the demanding requirements of missions operating in extreme environments. This approach to design and manufacturing offers the benefits of lightweighting, design complexity, and the ability to create alloy composites with high ductility, controllable thermal expansion, and corrosion resistance. Other solutions are limited by cost, manufacturing difficulty, unreliable performance, weight, and a high risk of failure. WLM 3D printing overcomes these difficulties in a variety of ways. In Phase I, the team proposes to focus on design, initial prototyping, and initial testing to validate the approach. Phase II will seek to mature the technology by testing in controlled environments that simulate the operating conditions. Phase III commercialization will focus on manufacturing the components to customer specifications.

Benefits: The next three decades of solar system exploration offer the opportunity for missions to Venus, Callisto, Enceladus, Europa, Titan, etc. Temperatures on the surface of Europa are cryogenic (-220 °C), and involve exposure to large dosages of ionizing radiation. Venus, on the other hand, has a corrosive atmosphere, high temperatures (~500 °C), and high pressures (~90 atm). High performance bearings for extreme environments will be required for all of these missions to succeed.

A market opportunity for high performance bearings and related components exists in the renewable energy sector, where NASA has overlapping requirements with the high-temperature corrosive environments of enhanced geothermal systems. The geothermal heat pump market is a potential entry point for commercialization.