The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is funding projects that seem to come directly out of science fiction. Even NASA representative John Nelson admits this and calls the projects "science fiction-like concepts." While there is no guarantee that these projects will come to fruition, some may one day become part of a space mission.
The lunar railway system, the fluid telescope, the transportation system to transport people and goods to Mars. These are all projects that NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program has allocated funds to continue research. There are six projects, each of which has completed the initial NIAC phase. These concept studies are currently in their second phase and will receive up to $600,000 in funding to continue their work over the next two years.
Don't expect them to happen anytime soon, though. They are still in the exploratory phase and there is no guarantee that they will be realized. Nevertheless, they are moving along the necessary paths, and if they enter the final NIAC phase, they will be considered by future aerospace missions.
John Nelson, NIAC Program Executive Officer at NASA's Washington headquarters, said, "Our NIAC fellows never cease to be amazed and inspired, and this team has certainly given NASA a lot to think about and allowed us to see what the future is possible. "
An essential requirement for advancing space research is the development of larger telescopes. Sadly, NASA's Edward Balaban said, regrettably, it doesn't seem economically feasible to extend current space telescope technology to aperture sizes above 10 meters. "Therefore, it is necessary to find cost-effective solutions to expand space telescopes to larger sizes".
The FLUTE project proposes a potential solution aimed at creating a space observatory with a large aperture or non-block liquid primary mirror. Balaban explained that such mirrors will be formed in space in a microgravity environment using fluid shaping techniques. The concept has been validated in laboratory neutral buoyancy environments, parabolic microgravity flights, and the International Space Station.
Another NASA project is a pulsed plasma rocket. In short, there is currently no technology that can efficiently and quickly transport people and goods to the far reaches of space. Propulsion systems capable of generating large thrust and high specific impulse can accomplish this task, but, as just mentioned, there is no such technology yet.
Huiscar's Brianna Clements said Huisman Industries is currently developing a propulsion system that can produce up to 100,000 Newtons of thrust and 5,000 seconds of specific impulse (Isp). "PPR is a high-performance system that combines high ISP and high thrust to revolutionize space exploration," she wrote, noting that the system could complete a manned mission to Mars in as little as two months.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory says NASA also plans to build the first lunar rail system to facilitate the transportation of payloads on the moon. The system, known simply as "FLOAT", will use an unpowered magnetic robot to levitate on a three-layer flexible thin film track through two magnetic levitation technology. This includes a flexible circuit layer that generates electromagnetic thrust to propel the robot along the track, and an optional thin-film solar panel layer that generates electricity for the base when exposed to sunlight.
NASA has high hopes for the project, believing that such a transportation system will be critical to the day-to-day operations of a sustainable lunar base in the 2030s, as outlined in mission concepts such as NASA's "Moon to Mars" program and "Robotic Moon Surface Operations 2."