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NASA selected the 2024 Phase I awardees for its program to fund ideas that could innovate for the benefit of all and transform future agency missions. From proposals to explore low Earth orbit to the stars, the 13 concepts chosen stem from companies and institutions across the United States. The NIAC (NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts) […]

Posted January 4, 2024

Amazonian Leaders Visit “Space for Earth”

Amazonian leaders visit “Space for Earth,” an immersive audio-visual installation that draws from near real-time satellite data and images, in NASA’s Earth Information Center at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington on Nov. 17, 2023.

Posted January 4, 2024

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Electro-luminescently Cooled Zero-boil-off Propellant Depots Enabling Crewed Exploration of Mars

Aaswath Pattabhi RamanUniversity of California, Los Angeles Exploration of Mars has captivated the public in recent decades with high-profile robotic missions and the images they have acquired seeding our collective imagination.

Posted January 4, 2024

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NIAC 2024 Selections

Phase I Matthew McQuinnSolar System-Scale VLBI to Dramatically Improve Cosmological Distance MeasurementsUniversity of Washington, SeattleSeattle, Washington 98195-10002024 Phase I Kenneth CarpenterA Lunar Long-Baseline Optical Imaging Interferometer: Artemis-enabled Stellar Imager (AeSI)NASA Goddard Space Flight CenterGreenbelt, MD 20771-24002024

Posted January 4, 2024

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A Revolutionary Approach to Interplanetary Space Travel: Studying Torpor in Animals for Space-health in Humans (STASH)

Ryan SprengerFauna Bio Inc. The use of non-model organisms in medical research is an expanding field that has already made a significant impact on human health. Insights gleaned from the study of unique mammalian traits are being used to develop novel therapeutic agents.

Posted January 4, 2024

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LIFA: Lightweight Fiber-based Antenna for Small Sat-Compatible Radiometry

Zhang, Beijia Zhang, BeijiaMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Lincoln Lab Very large space-based RF antennas can be large and expensive to manufacture and deploy.

Posted January 4, 2024

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Swarming Proxima Centauri: Coherent Picospacecraft Swarms Over Interstellar Distances

Thomas EubanksSpace Initiatives, Inc. Tiny gram-scale interstellar probes pushed by laser light are likely to be the only technology capable of reaching another star this century.

Posted January 4, 2024

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Add-on to Large-Scale Water Mining Operations on Mars to Screen for Introduced and Alien Life

Steven BennerFoundation For Applied Molecular Evolution As noted at NASA’s 2019 Carlsbad Conference we have good reason to think that: The purpose of this NIAC project is to change this view, and to do so before human arrival planned by NASA, the Chinese National Space Agency, and SpaceX, “by 2040”, “in 2033”, and “before 2030”, […]

Posted January 4, 2024

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Detoxifying Mars: the biocatalytic elimination of omnipresent perchlorates

Lynn RothschildNASA Ames Research Center (ARC) Water is the lifeblood of human survival and civilization and is critical for our sustained exploration beyond Earth. Fortunately, Mars has plenty of water to sustain our aspirations in the form of subsurface ice. Unfortunately, it is not clean water – it is contaminated by toxic perchlorates.

Posted January 4, 2024

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Magnetohydrodynamic Drive for Hydrogen and Oxygen Production in Mars Transfer

Alvaro Romero-CalvoGeorgia Tech Research Corporation Human space exploration is presented with multiple challenges, such as the near absence of buoyancy in orbit or the reliable, efficient, and sustainable operation of life support systems.

Posted January 4, 2024