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Research

IDEAS² Advances Modular Lunar Infrastructure and Habitat Integration Concepts

IDEAS² researchers advanced the Modular Structure with Tensegrity Support (MoST) concept through evaluation of tensegrity chassis and habitat-integration configurations, while extending the work toward inflatable habitat systems and lunar surface operations.

 Conceptual renderings of the IDEAS²/SICSA Modular Structure with Tensegrity Support (MoST) system, showing interconnected inflatable habitat modules (left) and the supporting chassis with deployment mechanisms and stabilization supports (right). ​
Texas A&M IDEAS² Advances Tensegrity Modeling and Prototype Development

Texas A&M IDEAS² researchers advanced deployable tensegrity systems through computational modeling, fabrication of an updated lightweight D-Bar prototype, and continued analysis of tensegrity equilibrium and structural behavior.

 Texas A&M IDEAS² student researchers Aliasger Hussain and Zachary Chen work on a 3D D-Bar prototype, gaining hands-on experience in mechanism analysis and structural design while developing CAD models to support their analysis and fabrication.​
IDEAS² Graduate Researcher Advances Spacecraft Docking Modeling and Control

IDEAS² graduate researcher Rufo Udesa advanced spacecraft docking simulations through a 12-degree-of-freedom dynamic model and PID-based control system designed to support post-capture attenuation, alignment, and retraction.

 IDEAS² graduate researcher Rufo Udesa evaluates spacecraft-docking simulations under the guidance of Co-I Dr. Marzia Cescon, investigating coupled spacecraft dynamics and controlled attenuation, alignment, and retraction.​
IDEAS² Develops Computational and Physical Models of Deployable Space Structures

IDEAS² researchers advanced computational and experimental studies of deployable space structures through dynamic modeling of a curved-crease parabolic reflector and physical and numerical development of a deployable Hoberman dome.

 IDEAS² researchers advanced deployable space-structure concepts through dynamic modeling of a curved-crease parabolic reflector and physical and computational development of a Hoberman dome.
IDEAS² PhD Researcher Yue Wang Completes Dissertation, Receives SES Recognition, and Advances Ceramic Additive Manufacturing

IDEAS² researcher Yue Wang advanced computational and experimental methods for programmable shape-morphing architectures, deployable structures, and architected materials, while also contributing to research on 3D-printed ceramic lattice structures.

 IDEAS² researcher Yue Wang and advisor Dr. Tian Chen following her Ph.D. dissertation defense. Her research focuses on programmable shape-morphing architectures, architected materials, and deployable structural systems.
Texas A&M IDEAS² Students Advance Lightweight D-Bar and Deployable Tensegrity Prism Structures

Texas A&M researchers within the NASA MIRO IDEAS² Center advanced lightweight deployable tensegrity systems through the redesign of a motor-actuated D-Bar structure and reverse engineering of a deployable tensegrity prism tower.

 Texas A&M IDEAS² student researchers Aliasger Hussain and Zachary Chen advance deployable tensegrity systems through the redesign of a lightweight motor-actuated D-Bar structure and reverse engineering of a deployable tensegrity prism tower.
Texas A&M Undergraduate Students Advance SMA-Assisted TRAC Boom Concept for Solar Sail Deployment

Texas A&M researchers within the NASA MIRO IDEAS² Center advanced a thermally assisted deployment concept for triangular rollable and collapsible (TRAC) booms, combining carbon-fiber composites with shape memory alloy elements for future solar sail applications.

 Texas A&M undergraduate researchers Fabio Soria and William Hadfield fabricated and tested an SMA-assisted TRAC boom concept for solar sail deployment, including composite manufacturing, thermal characterization, and prototype evaluation.
IDEAS² Advances Origami–Tensegrity Robotics Through UH–Stanford Collaboration

IDEAS² Ph.D. student Youyun Xu advanced a compact, reconfigurable robot based on Miura-tube origami and tensegrity principles through a research collaboration with Stanford University, integrating structural modeling, fabrication, sensing, and feedback control.

 IDEAS² Ph.D. student Youyun Xu at Stanford University with a Miura-tube origami–tensegrity robot prototype developed through interdisciplinary research integrating structural modeling, fabrication, sensing, and feedback control.
IDEAS² Advances RFID Cargo-Tracking Experiment for Axiom Mission Ax-5

IDEAS² researchers advanced the Axiom Mission Ax-5 RFID cargo-tracking experiment toward laboratory validation, evaluating localization methods for tracking tagged cargo and identifying read-count and RSSI fingerprinting as the primary approach for hardware testing.

 IDEAS² graduate researchers Corrado Testi and Stanislav Ganea review RFID localization methods and laboratory validation plans for the Ax-5 cargo-tracking experiment.
IDEAS² Research Advances Architected 3D-Printed Ceramic Lattice Structures

IDEAS² undergraduate researcher Katlinh Nguyen developed a fabrication and mechanical testing workflow for architected 3D-printed alumina ceramic lattices, evaluating their behavior through densification studies, compression testing, and three-point bending.

 IDEAS² undergraduate researcher Katlinh Nguyen presents her honors thesis on architected 3D-printed ceramic lattices. The research included fabrication of alumina lattice specimens and mechanical characterization through compression and bending tests.
UH–NASA JSC Team Advances Contact-Mechanics Modeling for Spacecraft Mating Systems and Presents Results at ASME SSDM 2026

A joint UH–NASA JSC research team developed a computationally efficient contact-mechanics framework for modeling tightly conforming spacecraft mechanisms, including docking and fluid-transfer interfaces, with improved prediction of contact pressures and faster solution times for dynamic simulations.

 Joint UH–NASA JSC research on semi-analytical contact-mechanics modeling for spacecraft mating, docking, and fluid-transfer systems, including applications to conforming mechanical interfaces and refueling hardware.
IDEAS² Advances Inflatable–Bistable Habitat Prototyping Through ILC Dover Industry Engagement, Houston and Frederica, Delaware

IDEAS² researchers worked with ILC Dover engineers to refine an inflatable–bistable habitat prototype, developing a preliminary configuration intended to simplify fabrication, improve load transfer, and support future scaled integration and deployment testing.

 IDEAS² researchers Surabhi Sharma and Paula Drozdowska review the inflatable–bistable habitat concept developed with input from ILC Dover, including prototype geometry, structural interfaces, materials, operating pressure, and safety considerations.
IDEAS² Students Advance Design and Prototype Scaled Mock-Up of Inflation-Deployed Kirigami- Based Dome Structure

IDEAS² student researchers advanced the design and prototyping of an inflation-deployed kirigami dome structure, using finite-element modeling and a laser-cut scaled mock-up to evaluate deployment behavior, geometry, and assembly before fabrication of a larger aluminum demonstrator.

 Dr. Tian Chen and IDEAS² student researchers Anand Nachimuthu, Erick Guevara, and Yue Wang display the scaled laser-cut mock-up developed to evaluate the geometry, assembly, and deployment of an inflation-deployed kirigami dome structure.
Texas A&M Students Develop Adaptive WAVETRUSS Prototypes for Lightweight Space Structures

Texas A&M students within the NASA MIRO IDEAS² Center advanced SMA-actuated WAVETRUSS deployable structures through computational modeling, prototype development, and membrane integration, exploring lightweight adaptive systems for future space infrastructure.

 Texas A&M IDEAS² students tested fabric and membrane integration with SMA-actuated WAVETRUSS deployable structures, combining computational modeling, prototype fabrication, and experimental testing.
Texas A&M IDEAS² Demonstrates Scalable Multi-Tier Stowage Behavior in SMA-Actuated Tensegrity Tower Experiment

Texas A&M researchers within the NASA MIRO IDEAS² Center advanced adaptive tensegrity systems through experimental testing, computational modeling, and shape memory alloy actuation, demonstrating scalable multi-tier deployment and stowage behavior for future space structures.

 Texas A&M IDEAS² multi-tier shape memory alloy tensegrity tower during actuation, showing adjacent wrapped and partially stowed configurations used to investigate scalable deployment and string-contraction behavior.
UH Space Architecture IDEAS2 Researchers Advances Integrated Inflatable and Tensegrity-Based

IDEAS² researchers advanced integrated lunar habitat and infrastructure concepts combining pressurized inflatable modules, bistable structural elements, and tensegrity-based support systems to enable scalable habitat deployment and lunar surface logistics.

 Conceptual lunar habitat system developed by UH SICSA within the NASA MIRO IDEAS² Center, showing the integration of inflatable habitat modules with deployable bistable structural elements for scalable lunar surface infrastructure.
IDEAS² Advances Hoberman–Tensegrity Deployable Structure for Space Infrastructure

IDEAS² researchers advanced a deployable cylindrical structural system integrating dual Hoberman rings with tensegrity-based actuation, demonstrating compact stowage and coordinated radial expansion through laboratory-scale prototype testing.

 Hoberman ring prototypes and laboratory-scale cylindrical structure shown in stowed and expanded deployment configurations.
IDEAS² Advances Integration of Bistable Structures with Pressurized Inflatable Habitats

IDEAS² researchers advanced the integration of bistable structural systems with pressurized inflatable habitat modules, exploring lightweight deployable support structures that can unfold with the habitat and provide rigid interior infrastructure after pressurization.

 Concept renderings and prototype images showing bistable structural elements integrated inside a pressurized inflatable lunar habitat module.
UH's SICSA Advances Modular Structure with Tensegrity Support for Lunar Surface Logistics

SICSA student researchers within the NASA MIRO IDEAS² Center advanced the Modular Structure with Tensegrity Support (MoST), a lightweight deployable platform designed to transport and deploy large lunar surface infrastructure, including inflatable habitat modules and other heavy payloads.

 Conceptual top, front, and side views of the MoST tensegrity-based platform carrying a large inflatable lunar habitat module.
IDEAS² Collaborates with Axiom Space on RFID-Based Cargo Tracking for Ax-5

IDEAS² researchers are collaborating with Axiom Space on an RFID-based cargo tracking experiment for Axiom Mission 5 (Ax-5), integrating ISS sensor data with digital twin visualization to improve cargo location awareness and support intra-station logistics operations.

 Conceptual RFID-enabled cargo tracking architecture for Axiom Mission 5, showing the movement of a tagged Cargo Transfer Bag from Dragon through ISS modules and its detection by the REALM RFID infrastructure.