If youre impressed by Martian rovers and helicopters, wait till you see whats on the horizon.<\/p>\n
NASA has unveiled a range of visionary tech that could be used in future space missions.<\/p>\n
The projects are the latest members of the Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, which funds early-stage studies to evaluate their potential.<\/p>\n
The new cohort joins an array of innovations that were already in the program.<\/p>\n
Heres our pick of the most intriguing ideas.<\/p>\n
Project RAMA has proposed a scalable way of exploring the solar system: converting entire asteroids into enormous autonomous spacecraft.<\/p>\n
The team plans to use robotic processes to turn asteroid elements into programmed automata.<\/p>\n
The idea is to cut the costs of ground launches by manufacturing the tech in outer space.<\/p>\n
Shapeshifting is typically found in science fiction, but NASAs betting it could work in space.<\/p>\n
The agency has funded a flying amphibious robot that mutates into different devices.<\/p>\n
DubbedShapeshifter, the system is comprised of smaller units that collectively morph into robotic balls, flight arrays, and torpedo-like swimmers.<\/p>\n
The proposal envisions the machine globetrotting from Titans rugged cliffs to its deep seafloors.<\/p>\n
NASA may have found a useful tool for astronomers: a giant shade in space that blocks the glare from stars.<\/p>\n
The 100-meter starshade would match the position and velocity of a moving telescope. It could then cast a dark shadow over the meddling star without blocking the light of its planets.<\/p>\n
The idea reminds me of Mr Burns building a giant parasol to increase energy demand but the creators say its merely a powerful exoplanet observatory.<\/p>\n
NASA has well-documented issues with spacesuits. The current crop is old, cumbersome, and ill-equipped for future missions.<\/p>\n
The SmartSuit is an attempt to upgrade these outfits. The spacesuit incorporates soft robotics, stretchable self-healing skin, and integrated sensors that collect and display data to the wearer.<\/p>\n
The kits designed specifically for human missions to Mars.<\/p>\n
Space trash is becoming a major danger. There are approximately 100 million pieces of extraterrestrial debris that are at least 1-millimeter big. Spacecraft travel at such speeds that even tiny paint flecks can cause damage.<\/p>\n
The Brane Craft is a wafer-thin attempt to clean up this trash. The device wraps around orbiting debris and then lowers it to burn up in Earths atmosphere.<\/p>\n
The craft is half the thickness of a human hair and looks like a sheet of paper. The creators compare it to an automated spot cleaner in space.<\/p>\n
If Elon Musks dream of colonizing the red planet is to become a reality, he will (hopefully) want to make the Martian air breathable.<\/p>\n
Ivan Ermanoski, a research professor at Arizona State University, has a proposal that could help: a portable oxygen generator.<\/p>\n
The system uses a process called thermal swing sorption\/desorption (TSSD) to generate oxygen from the Martian atmosphere. Ermanoski says it uses 10x less energy than the leading current methods.<\/p>\n
The concept could be a step towards humans breathing on Mars.<\/p>\n
The last proposal on our list involves a technique called Optical Mining.<\/p>\n
The project uses concentrated sunlight to turn asteroid materials into rocket propellants. This would then supply spacecraft with affordable and accessible fuel.<\/p>\n
NASA believes the system could ultimately help industrialize space.<\/p>\n
These devices may never see the light of space, but just one of them could transform the cosmos as we know it.<\/p>\n
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