On Venus, an inflatable bird-like drone swoops through the sky, studying the planet's atmosphere and weather patterns.
On Venus, an airless plane like a flying bird floats in space, studying the planet's atmosphere and climate. Ideas like this are currently a science fiction novel, but one day it could become a reality, thanks to a new cycle of resources released by NASA.
The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (N IAC) program encourages exploring and funding pre-phase studies to test technologies that could support the future of aviation and space technology. The new prize list will provide $5.1 million to 17 researchers from nine provinces.
"As we look at even more challenging environments where we will experiment with humans and robots, new ideas and foresight will be instrumental in helping us reach a new milestone," said NASA Deputy Chief Operator Pam. "Ideas such as those being considered in this new round of N IAC funding help us expand the scope of 'to' make it a reality."
The selected ideas include 12 new Phases I research projects, as well as five Phase II awards that will allow researchers to continue their previous work on new ideas. The projects are in the early stages of development and are not considered NASA's official equipment. Phase I students each will receive $175,000 for a nine-month course of study, and our Phase II colleagues will receive $600,000 each to study for a period of two years.
NASA's mission to explore space requires new technologies and innovations, "said Jim Reuters, vice president of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) at the organization's Washington headquarters.
The new Phase I projects include a novel design of the space shuttle that offers more protection from radiation during longer trips than regular modules for crews, the concept of a completely quiet electric airplane, and a spacecraft view that can capture the heat of the Sun to move forward. Out of the solar system at an unprecedented rate.
John Mather, a Nobel laureate and astronomer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is proposing a concept that can help mankind to study far, far away like Earth's exoplanets. A stellar shadow the size of a football field in space will be aligned with ground-based telescopes, blocking light from distant stars and allowing astronomers to look for signs of life on planetary planets in other star systems.
As in previous years, our new team of N IAC partners reflects the ingenuity and vision of the entire space community, "said Michael LaPointe, acting N-NAC chief program officer at NASA headquarters.
Selected Phase II projects include the design of small robots capable of exploring underground caves on Mars, a new way to use nuclear power in space, and the concept of 3D-printed small swimming robots that can explore oceans like Europa, and Titan.
Phase II colleague Zac Manchester of Carnegie Mellon University will continue his work on the concept of gravitational pull in space using a kilometer orbit. After the launch of a single rocket, the proposed building will use 150 times its original size, becoming a large rotating living space that will provide gravitational force equal to the Earth's gravitational force in other parts of the building.
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