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Visionary Tech Concepts Could Pioneer Future In Space
by Loura Hall, NASA
September 24, 2021
NASA missions 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 complex
space telescope peering at the early universe. So, what's the next
big thing? What might space missions in 2050 and beyond set out to
discover?
Image created by USA Patriotism! from NASA graphic.
One small NASA program aims to see what
could be possible. The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC)
program, part of the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate,
funds early-stage research into sci-fi sounding, futuristic
technology concepts. The goal is to find what might work, what might
not, and what exciting new ideas researchers may come up with along
the way.
1. Swimming micro-robots
for ocean worlds.
Ocean worlds, where
liquid oceans lie beneath miles of icy crust, are some of the most
likely locations in our solar system to harbor life ... an enticing
prospect for scientists. Accessing and exploring these aquatic
environments present unique challenges. Ethan Schaler, a robotics
mechanical engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern
California, is researching one promising idea for exploration: Using
3D printed, centimeter-scale robots equipped with sensors and
actuators. A mothercraft that drilled through the ice and deployed
the micro-bots would also wirelessly control them using ultrasound
waves.
2. Long-reach crawling
and anchoring robots for Martian caves.
While swimming
robots could be ideal for some destinations, others will require
something with a firmer grip. Marco Pavone, an associate professor
at Stanford University, is developing a potential solution. His
ReachBot concept could quickly crawl through caves, using extendable
booms to grasp over long distances. Its various features would allow
small and lightweight robots to move around in tricky environments,
such as vertical cliff walls or the rocky and uneven floors of caves
on Mars.
3. Lightweight
deployable structures that expand in space.
Getting
extra-large spacecraft off Earth takes lots of planning, as the size
of what can go to space depends on how much a rocket can fit.
Multiple launches and in-space assembly have proven successful in
the past, but there could be another way. Assistant professor at
Carnegie Mellon University Zachary Manchester is considering ways to
integrate recent advances in mechanical metamaterials into a
lightweight deployable structure design. Such a structure could be
launched inside a single rocket fairing and then deploy autonomously
to a final size of the length of 10 football fields.
4. Seeding asteroids with fungi to
create space soil.
Space habitat concepts come in all
shapes and sizes. But all designs have a common challenge requiring
innovative thinking: How will space travelers sustain themselves
during long journeys? Jane Shevtsov, working with Trans Astronautica
Corporation, offers creating soil from carbon-rich asteroid
material. The fungi would physically break down the material and
chemically degrade any toxic substances. Similar processes take
place on Earth, like oyster mushrooms cleaning up
petroleum-contaminated soil. The NIAC research aims to find a way
for future space habitats to have ample green space and robust
agricultural systems.
NASA selects NIAC proposals through a
peer-review process that evaluates innovation and technical
viability. All projects are still in the early stages of
development, with most requiring a decade or more of technology
maturation. They are not considered official NASA missions.
Learn more about
NIAC |
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA)
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