NASA objectives make it seem like the future is now– rovers exploring Mars with cutting-edge gadgets, a spacecraft venturing home with an asteroid sample, and a complicated space telescope peering at the early universe. One small NASA program aims to see what could be possible. The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, part of the agencys Space Technology Mission Directorate, funds early-stage research into sci-fi sounding, futuristic technology ideas. NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) is not your typical NASA program. NASA chooses NIAC proposals through a peer-review procedure that assesses development and technical practicality.
NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) is not your common NASA program. Such early phase technology developments might never end up being actual NASA missions. Credit: NASA 360
Throughout NIACs annual Symposium September 21-23, 2021, scientists will present ideas that might one day be game-changers in area. Watch the event to read more about these four technology ideas and more.
1. Swimming micro-robots for ocean worlds.
Ocean worlds, where liquid oceans lie below miles of icy crust, are some of the most likely areas in our solar system to harbor life– a luring possibility for researchers. Ethan Schaler, a robotics mechanical engineer at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, is looking into one appealing concept for exploration: Using 3D-printed, centimeter-scale robots equipped with sensing units and actuators.
2. Long-reach crawling and anchoring robots for Martian caves.
While swimming robots might be ideal for some destinations, others will require something with a firmer grip. Marco Pavone, an associate professor at Stanford University, is establishing a potential solution. His ReachBot idea might rapidly crawl through caves, using extendable booms to understand over fars away. Its numerous functions would allow light-weight and little robots to move around in difficult environments, such as vertical cliff walls or the rocky and unequal floors of caverns on Mars.
3. Light-weight deployable structures that broaden in space.
Getting extra-large spacecraft off Earth takes lots of planning, as the size of what can go to space depends on just how much a rocket can fit. Multiple launches and in-space assembly have shown effective in the past, however there might be another method. Assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University Zachary Manchester is thinking about ways to incorporate current advances in mechanical metamaterials into a light-weight deployable structure style. Such a structure might be launched inside a single rocket fairing and then deploy autonomously to a last size of the length of 10 football fields.
4. Seeding asteroids with fungis to create area soil.
Space habitat ideas come in all shapes and sizes. But all styles have a typical challenge requiring ingenious thinking: How will area tourists sustain themselves throughout long journeys? Jane Shevtsov, dealing with Trans Astronautica Corporation, uses creating soil from carbon-rich asteroid product. The fungi would physically break down the material and chemically break down poisonous compounds. Comparable processes happen in the world, like oyster mushrooms tidying up petroleum-contaminated soil. The NIAC research intends to find a method for future area environments to have ample green space and robust farming systems.
The 2021 NIAC symposium started on Tuesday, September 21. A keynote address by the Mars 2020 Planetary Protection Lead Moogega Cooper will air on NASA Television, the companys site, and the NASA app.
NASA chooses NIAC propositions through a peer-review process that examines development and technical practicality. All tasks are still in the early stages of development, with many requiring a years or more of innovation maturation. They are not thought about official NASA objectives.
Illustrations of the jobs that were picked for Phase I of the 2021 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. Credit: NASA
Lots of concepts are existing at this years NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Symposium, including eight led by technologists from NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
NASA objectives make it look like the future is now– rovers checking out Mars with cutting-edge gizmos, a spacecraft venturing home with an asteroid sample, and a complex area telescope peering at the early universe. Whats the next big thing? What might area objectives in 2050 and beyond set out to find?
One small NASA program intends to see what could be possible. The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, part of the firms Space Technology Mission Directorate, funds early-stage research study into sci-fi sounding, futuristic technology principles. The objective is to find what may work, what might not, and what exciting originalities scientists might create along the method.