NASA Awards $5.1 Million in Grants to Futuristic Space Technology Concepts

[Illustration Courtesy: NASA]

NASA is providing $5.1 million in grants to 17 researchers around the country to develop “futuristic space technology concepts.”

NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program exists to fund early-stage research to develop technology that could be used in future space missions. The grants are split up into two phases, across nine different states.

A graphic illustration of ReachBot, a small robot for large mobile manipulation tasks in martian cave environments. [Photo: Marco Pavone]

"As we set our sights on ever more challenging destinations for exploration with humans and robots, innovative ideas and future thinking will be critical to helping us reach new milestones," said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, in a statement. "Concepts like those being studied with this new round of NIAC funding are helping us expand the scope of the possible so we can make it reality."

For each of the 12 Phase I projects, $175,000 will be allocated to each of the fellows for a nine-month study. Phase II recipients will be awarded $600,000 each for a two-year period.

"As in years past, our new group of NIAC fellows showcases the creativity and vision of the space community at large," said Michael LaPointe, acting program executive for the NIAC program at NASA headquarters.

The Phase I projects starting this year include:

Cryospheric Rydberg Radar—NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Silent, Solid-State Propulsion for Advanced Air Mobility Vehicles—Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Combined Heat Shield and Solar Thermal Propulsion System for an Oberth Maneuver—Johns Hopkins University
CREW HaT: Cosmic Radiation Extended Warding using the Halbach Torus—University of Wisconsin
The Spacesuit Digital Thread: 4.0 Manufacture of Custom High Performance Spacesuits for the Exploration of Mars—Texas A&M University
Breathing Mars Air: Stationary and Portable O2 Generation—Arizona State University
Pi - Terminal Defense for Humanity—University of California, Santa Barbara
Hybrid Observatory for Earth-like Exoplanets (HOEE)—NASA Goddard
In-situ Neutral-Optics Velocity Analyzer for Thermospheric Exploration (INOVATE)—University of Colorado
Starburst: A Revolutionary Under-Constrained Adaptable Deployable Structure Architecture—NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Venus Atmosphere and Cloud Particle Sample Return for Astrobiology—Massachusetts Institute of Technology
SCOPE: ScienceCraft for Outer Planet Exploration—NASA Goddard

Phase II starting this year include:

BREEZE: Bioinspired Ray for Extreme Environments and Zonal Exploration—State University of New York at Buffalo
Kilometer-Scale Space Structures from a Single Launch—Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Atomic Planar Power for Lightweight Exploration (APPLE)—The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo, California
ReachBot: Small Robot for Large Mobile Manipulation Tasks in Martian Cave Environments—Stanford University in California
SWIM: Sensing with Independent Micro-swimmers—NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

The program, NIAC, is made possible through funding by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) in Washington, D.C.

"NASA's mission to explore the universe requires new technologies and new ways of doing things," said Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA’s STMD. "Studying these creative ideas is the first step to turn science fiction into science fact."

Grants NASA Space Technology

Jeremy KariukiAuthor

Jeremy attained his bachelor's in journalism and emerging media from Kennesaw State University. He also served in the Georgia Air National Guard as a C-130 Crew Chief for six years, holding an associate in aircraft maintenance technology.