NASA funds 18 futuristic space research projects

NASA has awarded $3.2 million through its Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program to fund 18 futuristic space research projects. Each selected project will receive up to $175,000 for a nine-month feasibility study aimed at developing technologies for future space missions.

Key proposals include Stone Aerospace’s LUX robots, which aim to map lunar lava tubes in the Mare Tranquillitatis region using hovering drones connected to surface landers via fiber optic cables. This could provide natural protection for long-term lunar habitation. Other concepts involve using a “nulling interferometer” to map continents on exoplanets by canceling out starlight, and a mission from Northwestern University to deploy 10,000 tiny “femtosatellites” to explore Saturn’s rings.

Additional research topics include radioisotope-heated spacesuits for the Moon and methods to use cosmic dust to shield against solar radiation. Greg Stover, director of NASA’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate, noted that these projects represent the “huge leaps” required for future space exploration.