Two JPL projects have been selected for the 2009 NASA Innovation Fund, which advances work from innovators on novel technologies and concepts that have the potential to revolutionize the way NASA performs its missions, such as enabling new capabilities in space flight, science, aeronautics or exploration. Each project is funded for a maximum of $50,000, with work to be completed by the end of September. The JPL projects: “Concentrated Solar Power Array for Ground and Space,” Tom Cwik, principal investigator; and “Silicon-Immersed Waveguide Spectrometer for Spaceborne Far-Infrared Astrophysics and Earth Climate Studies,” Charles Bradford, principal investigator.

Ninety-one proposals were received for the Lunar Advanced Science and Exploration Research Program, and 21 were recently selected for funding, including two from JPL.

“The Ultraviolet Moon,” from principal investigator Amanda Hendrix, proposes to focus on lunar observations from the International Ultraviolet Explorer and the Galileo Ultraviolet Spectrometer. James Williams is principal investigator for “Improving Lunar Ephemeris, Orientation and Model.” Based on the Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment, the effort is designed to obtain an improvement in the model and computer code by an order of magnitude to analyze new lunar range observations of recently improved accuracy and to give more accurate solution results; and should demonstrate improved fits and science results.