NASA awards 18 NIAC projects $3.2 million to boost exploration tech
NASA just picked 18 futuristic projects for funding through its NIAC program, handing each up to $175,000 to see if their bold ideas could actually work.
The goal? To spark game-changing tech for future missions, think Artemis Moon landings and deep space adventures.
Altogether, that's $3.2 million going into some seriously creative thinking.
Northwestern 10,000 femtosats, Stone Aerospace drones
Some of the standouts: Northwestern University wants to send 10,000 super-light femtosats into Saturn's rings, using a swarm approach to dodge all those flying particles.
Stone Aerospace is working on drones powered by fiber optics that could explore hidden lava tubes under the Moon's surface (potential future astronaut hangouts?).
There are also plans for advanced telescopes that could spot details on distant exoplanets and the LUX lunar cave explorer, and the Saturn femtosat swarm.
As NASA said, these studies will help decide the feasibility of these innovative ideas and their potential impact down the road.