With support from the New York Consortium for Space Technology, UConn and Union College will collaborate to complete a mission for high altitude balloon testing of solid-state actuator used to augment glove functionality for astronauts, as well as a spintronic thermal sensor for space structures. Mihai Duduta represents UConn in the collaboration.

Conducting high altitude balloon testing provides experiential learning to graduate and undergraduate students via full missions, and brings different student majors (e.g. physics, chemistry, computer science) into the space engineering ecosystem. Full testing of devices in the stratosphere will raise the technology readiness level of actuators and sensors to a TRL 6, enabling collaborations with government and commercial entities focused on space.

(Contact Mihai Duduta (mihai.duduta@uconn.edu) if you are interested in contributing.