Enovus Labs may become the first Irish company to have hardware technology on the moon.
The start-up, which was founded in 2020 by Nick Jeffers and Brian Donnelly, has developed a cooling radiator, Segri-COOL, which helps ensure electronic systems can reliably operate in the harsh conditions of the moon’s south pole.
The hardware, which was inspired by how elephants keep cool using heat regulation mechanisms in their ears, is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2025.
According to the start-up, the radiator is 60pc lighter, has lower production costs and superior thermal performance compared to traditional cooling solutions for this application.
The radiator employs biomimetic algorithms to minimise material usage while maintaining optimal cooling efficiency. These algorithms were inspired by elephants, who cool themselves by pumping their warm blood through a network of arteries and veins in their ears. They then wave their ears around and splash water on them, which cools the blood, which is pumped back around the rest of the body, cooling them from within.
Speaking to SiliconRepublic.com, Jeffers said the radiator is unique because it positions the blade perpendicular to the top of the electronics box, which helps it dissipate heat into deep space. “This is important at the lunar south pole to reduce inbound heat from the low sun. Our 3D blade design reduces the area exposed to the sun at any time, keeping the system cool throughout the lunar day,” he said.
The moon’s south pole has extreme temperature changes, from 50 degrees Celsius in sunny areas to -200 degrees Celsius in shadowed regions. It also has a rugged terrain, making it very challenging to design for.
“We did extensive research and data analysis to create custom lunar models, considering sunlight distribution, surface materials, terrain and shadowed areas. We compared our findings with data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter currently orbiting the moon,” said Jeffers.
“Our models include all environmental aspects, even sub-surface soil properties. Only with these detailed models can we innovate and develop optimised solutions.
“We believe we are the first Irish company to have hardware technology on the moon,” he said.
A previous SiliconRepublic.com Start-up of the Week, Enovus Labs was created by Jeffers and Donnelly when the pair were made redundant from Nokia Bell Labs.
“We always wanted to do a ‘start-up’ and when we were both available and had a certain amount of financial security resulting from the redundancy, we thought this was the perfect time to execute on this dream,” Jeffers told SiliconRepublic.com last year.
“We were lucky enough to be awarded a space contract to develop hardware for lunar environments and we’ve never looked back.”
As well as its upcoming moon mission, Enovus Labs have secured a future mission to the moon to expand their Segri-COOL radiator lunar deployments. The company is also expanding the radiator’s capabilities to target ground deployments where lightweight compact solutions are required.
As part of these plans, Enovus Labs will also be growing its business and its team significantly. “We are doubling the size of our labs, building a new clean room facility and have added a custom robotic laser welding facility to our manufacturing equipment,” said Jeffers.
Jenny Darmody
This article originally appeared on www.siliconrepublic.com and can be found here.
The start-up, which was founded in 2020 by Nick Jeffers and Brian Donnelly, has developed a cooling radiator, Segri-COOL, which helps ensure electronic systems can reliably operate in the harsh conditions of the moon’s south pole.
The hardware, which was inspired by how elephants keep cool using heat regulation mechanisms in their ears, is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2025.
According to the start-up, the radiator is 60pc lighter, has lower production costs and superior thermal performance compared to traditional cooling solutions for this application.
The radiator employs biomimetic algorithms to minimise material usage while maintaining optimal cooling efficiency. These algorithms were inspired by elephants, who cool themselves by pumping their warm blood through a network of arteries and veins in their ears. They then wave their ears around and splash water on them, which cools the blood, which is pumped back around the rest of the body, cooling them from within.
Speaking to SiliconRepublic.com, Jeffers said the radiator is unique because it positions the blade perpendicular to the top of the electronics box, which helps it dissipate heat into deep space. “This is important at the lunar south pole to reduce inbound heat from the low sun. Our 3D blade design reduces the area exposed to the sun at any time, keeping the system cool throughout the lunar day,” he said.
The moon’s south pole has extreme temperature changes, from 50 degrees Celsius in sunny areas to -200 degrees Celsius in shadowed regions. It also has a rugged terrain, making it very challenging to design for.
“We did extensive research and data analysis to create custom lunar models, considering sunlight distribution, surface materials, terrain and shadowed areas. We compared our findings with data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter currently orbiting the moon,” said Jeffers.
“Our models include all environmental aspects, even sub-surface soil properties. Only with these detailed models can we innovate and develop optimised solutions.
“We believe we are the first Irish company to have hardware technology on the moon,” he said.
A previous SiliconRepublic.com Start-up of the Week, Enovus Labs was created by Jeffers and Donnelly when the pair were made redundant from Nokia Bell Labs.
“We always wanted to do a ‘start-up’ and when we were both available and had a certain amount of financial security resulting from the redundancy, we thought this was the perfect time to execute on this dream,” Jeffers told SiliconRepublic.com last year.
“We were lucky enough to be awarded a space contract to develop hardware for lunar environments and we’ve never looked back.”
As well as its upcoming moon mission, Enovus Labs have secured a future mission to the moon to expand their Segri-COOL radiator lunar deployments. The company is also expanding the radiator’s capabilities to target ground deployments where lightweight compact solutions are required.
As part of these plans, Enovus Labs will also be growing its business and its team significantly. “We are doubling the size of our labs, building a new clean room facility and have added a custom robotic laser welding facility to our manufacturing equipment,” said Jeffers.
Jenny Darmody
This article originally appeared on www.siliconrepublic.com and can be found here.
