Washington, August 24. NASA is investing in the next generation of space technology by providing funding to 18 innovative research projects aimed at developing capabilities for future missions.
Through its NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) programme, the agency has awarded a combined $3.2 million to the selected Phase I projects, Space.com reported. The programme supports early-stage ideas that could lead to major technological breakthroughs and transform the way future space missions are designed and carried out.
This year’s projects feature a wide range of ambitious concepts with what NASA describes as “transformative potential”. They include technologies designed to help spacecraft survive the extreme environment of Venus, lunar spacesuits heated by radioisotopes, and a proposal to use space dust to partially block sunlight and reduce solar radiation.
The projects are not official NASA missions. Instead, they represent emerging technologies that could eventually support future efforts, including NASA’s plans to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon through the Artemis programme.
