As part of NASA’s Artemis program, NASA intends to construct the Lunar Gateway space station in a near rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) about the L2 Lagrange point of the Earth-Moon system in the near future. Gateway will help facilitate astronaut landings on the surface of the Moon and support numerous scientific endeavors. One of these scientific endeavors is FARSIDE. FARSIDE is a radio telescope array concept that will be deployed on the surface of the far side of the moon. Because of this, FARSIDE will require an orbiter, such as Gateway, to act as a communication relay to be able to communicate with ground stations on Earth. This thesis analyzes how the Lunar Gateway space station can assist FARSIDE with its communication with Earth and how unintentionally scattered radio signals from FARSIDE could affect the telescope’s astronomical observations. It provides insight into the optimal deployment latitude on the lunar surface for FARSIDE. The thesis first begins with a literature review of the circular restricted three body problem (CR3BP) and halo orbit calculations. This is followed by an analysis of an example halo orbit for the distance, elevation angle, and azimuth angle it has viewed from two possible sites for FARSIDE over one period of its trajectory. Using this same approach, an analysis of the Lunar Gateway’s NRHO trajectory over one year was performed along with an analysis of the scattered radio flux from ground stations on Earth and the flux leakage from Gateway. Three different possible deployment latitudes for FARSIDE were investigated: the equator, 30 degrees, and -30 degrees. The analysis in this thesis ultimately showed that a deployment latitude below the equator would be the preferable choice to maximize the visibility of Lunar Gateway from FARSIDE considering the geometry of the Lunar Gateway’s orbit.

Transgender and gender-nonconforming assigned female at birth (AFAB) individuals are consistently excluded when discussing sexual health and contraceptive methods and face unique challenges in accessing sexual healthcare as gender dysphoria heavily influences their decision-making process as well as fear of discrimination from healthcare providers and settings. The research aim of this project is to develop an online contraceptive decision aid tailored to transgender and gender-nonconforming AFAB individuals. MyChoiceForAll is built using the gaps identified in healthcare research and existing resources provided by Planned Parenthood and Bedsider, alongside feedback from a development focus group. The tool is a four-paged quiz that returns two pages of information and resources for a variety of different contraceptive methods for transgender and gender-nonconforming AFAB individuals as well as connecting them to trans-friendly providers. The evaluation phase includes simulated test cases, a survey, and a second focus group to assess for accuracy, usefulness, usability, and general impressions of the tool. 94.3% of the 105 test cases resulted in an accurate recommendation that aligns with user input. Over 75.00% of survey participants overwhelmingly believed the MyChoiceForAll tool to be beneficial in providing appropriate and inclusive educational material about contraceptives, prompting users for relevant lifestyle, preferences, and gender identity decision factors, and being overall inclusive of users’ gender identity. Evaluation focus group participants believe that MyChoiceForAll performs better overall compared to the Planned Parenthood quiz, Bedsider matrix, and MyContraceptiveChoice in general impressions and inclusivity of transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals and their preferences. In conclusion, MyChoiceForAll accomplishes its goal of developing an accessible and inclusive resource for transgender and gender-nonconforming AFAB individuals in assisting with the birth control selection process.

Assembly theory as a way of defining the biotic/abiotic boundary has been established for molecules, but not yet for crystal structures. This is an assembly algorithm that calculates the complexity of biotic and abiotic minerals in order to constrain the quantitative fundamentals of "life". The calculation utilizes the Hermann-Mauguin space group symmetry and Wyckoff sites of mineral unit cells to calculate the path-building complexity of a crystal structure. 5,644 minerals from the American Mineralogist COD database were run through the algorithm. The five structures with the highest information complexity were a mix of biotic and abiotic minerals, indicating that further calculations on larger datasets would be pertinent. Furthermore, an expansion of the definition of mineral to include biotically synthesized solids would further research efforts aimed at using minerals as possible biomarkers.

Although nitrogen is the dominant element in Earth’s atmosphere, it is depleted in the bulk silicate Earth (relative to expected volatile abundances established by carbonaceous chondrites). To resolve this inconsistency, it has been hypothesized that this “missing nitrogen” may actually be stored within the Earth’s deep interior. In this work, we use multi-anvil press experiments to synthesize solid solution mixtures of the mantle transition zone mineral wadsleyite (Mg2SiO4) and silicon nitride (Si3N4). Successful synthesis of a 90% Si3N4, 10% Mg2SiO4 solid solution implies that nitrogen may not be sequestered within the most abundant mineral phases in the Earth’s mantle. Instead, nitrogen-rich accessory phases may hold the key to studying nitrogen storage within the deep interior. Ultimately, quantifying the amount of nitrogen within the mantle will further our understanding of the N cycle, which is vital to maintaining planetary habitability. Similar N cycling processes may be occurring on other rocky bodies; therefore, studying nitrogen storage may be an important part of determining habitability conditions on other worlds, both within in our solar system and beyond.

Space exploration and science fiction have deep historical ties with science fiction literature. From the beginning of the space race, American science fiction stories influenced policy makers, scientists, and the public in their visions of space exploration. However, in the 21st century, the who, what, and why of space exploration are changing. Space exploration is no longer the endeavor of the world's superpowers. Countries from across the global south in Asia and Africa have created space programs and have constructed spacecraft to benefit their country and their international power. The emergence of new countries and the interconnectedness of the modern world has the potential to empower postcolonial countries' perspectives and interests. India is a prime example of a country impoverished by colonialism that has now become one of the world's largest economies and a primary stakeholder in future human space exploration. Moreover, India's rich literary heritage, especially in mythology and science fiction, has the potential to predict and to shape what India brings to the international table. This thesis aims to answer the question: How will/should Indian post-colonial science fiction affect the country’s advancement of human space exploration, without making the same mistakes as the west?

Studying the effects of viruses and toxins on honey bees is important in order to understand the danger these important pollinators are exposed to. Hives exist in various environments, and different colonies are exposed to varying environmental conditions and dangers. To properly study the changes and effects of seasonality and pesticides on the population dynamics of honey bees, the presence of each of these threats must be considered. This study aims to analyze how infected colonies grapple more deeply with changing, seasonal environments, and how toxins in pesticides affect population dynamics. Thus, it addresses the following questions: How do viruses within a colony affect honey bee population dynamics when the environment is seasonal? How can the effects of pesticides be modeled to better understand the spread of toxins? This project is a continuation of my own undergraduate work in a previous class, MAT 350: Techniques and Applications of Applied Mathematics, with Dr. Yun Kang, and also utilizes previous research conducted by graduate students. Original research focused on the population dynamics of honey bee disease interactions (without considering seasonality), and a mathematical modeling approach to analyze the effects of pesticides on honey bees. In order to pursue answers to the main research questions, the model for honey bee virus interaction was adapted to account for seasonality. The adaptation of this model allowed the new model to account for the effects of seasonality on infected colony population dynamics. After adapting the model, simulations with arbitrary data were run using RStudio in order to gain insight into the specific ways in which seasonality affected the interaction between a honey bee colony and viruses. The second portion of this project examines a system of ordinary differential equations that represent the effect of pesticides on honey bee population dynamics, and explores the process of this model’s formulation. Both systems of equations used as the basis for each model’s research question are from previous research reports. This project aims to further that research, and explore the applications of applied mathematics to biological issues.