[meteorite-list] NASA Invests in 22 Visionary Exploration Concepts

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2017 15:16:25 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201704072216.v37MGPcv023377_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6808

NASA Invests in 22 Visionary Exploration Concepts
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
April 7, 2017

A mechanical rover inspired by a Dutch artist. A weather balloon that
recharges its batteries in the clouds of Venus.

These are just two of the five ideas that originated at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and are advancing for a new round
of research funded by the agency.

In total, the space agency is investing in 22 early-stage technology proposals
that have the potential to transform future human and robotic exploration
missions, introduce new exploration capabilities, and significantly improve
current approaches to building and operating aerospace systems.

The 2017 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) portfolio of Phase I
concepts covers a wide range of innovations selected for their potential
to revolutionize future space exploration. Phase I awards are valued at
approximately $125,000, for nine months, to support initial definition
and analysis of their concepts. If these basic feasibility studies are
successful, awardees can apply for Phase II awards.

"The NIAC program engages researchers and innovators in the scientific
and engineering communities, including agency civil servants," said Steve
Jurczyk, associate administrator of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate.
"The program gives fellows the opportunity and funding to explore visionary
aerospace concepts that we appraise and potentially fold into our early
stage technology portfolio."

The selected 2017 Phase I proposals are:

* A Synthetic Biology Architecture to Detoxify and Enrich Mars Soil
for Agriculture, Adam Arkin, University of California, Berkeley

?*A Breakthrough Propulsion Architecture for Interstellar Precursor
Missions, John Brophy, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena,
California

* Evacuated Airship for Mars Missions, John-Paul Clarke, Georgia Institute
of Technology in Atlanta

* Mach Effects for In Space Propulsion: Interstellar Mission, Heidi
Fearn, Space Studies Institute in Mojave, California

* Pluto Hop, Skip, and Jump, Benjamin Goldman, Global Aerospace Corporation
in Irwindale, California

* Turbolift, Jason Gruber, Innovative Medical Solutions Group in Tampa,
Florida

* Phobos L1 Operational Tether Experiment, Kevin Kempton, NASA's Langley
Research Center in Hampton, Virginia

* Gradient Field Imploding Liner Fusion Propulsion System, Michael LaPointe,
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama

* Massively Expanded NEA Accessibility via Microwave-Sintered Aerobrakes,
John Lewis, Deep Space Industries, Inc., in Moffett Field, California

* Dismantling Rubble Pile Asteroids with Area-of-Effect Soft-bots, Jay
McMahon, University of Colorado, Boulder

* Continuous Electrode Inertial Electrostatic Confinement Fusion, Raymond
Sedwick, University of Maryland, College Park

* Sutter: Breakthrough Telescope Innovation for Asteroid Survey Missions
to Start a Gold Rush in Space, Joel Sercel, TransAstra in Lake View Terrace,
California

* Direct Multipixel Imaging and Spectroscopy of an Exoplanet with a
Solar Gravity Lens Mission, Slava Turyshev, JPL

* Solar Surfing, Robert Youngquist, NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida

* A Direct Probe of Dark Energy Interactions with a Solar System Laboratory,
Nan Yu, JPL

"The 2017 NIAC Phase I competition has resulted in an excellent set of
studies. All of the final candidates were outstanding," said Jason Derleth,
NIAC program executive. "We look forward to seeing how each new study
will expand how we explore the universe."

Phase II studies allow awardees time to refine their designs and explore
aspects of implementing the new technology. This year's Phase II portfolio
addresses a range of leading-edge concepts, including: a Venus probe using
in-situ power and propulsion to study the Venusian atmosphere, and novel
orbital imaging data derived from stellar echo techniques -- measurement
of the variation in a star's light caused by reflections off of distant
worlds -- to detect exoplanets, which are planets outside our solar system.

Awards under Phase II of the NIAC program can be worth as much as $500,000,
for two-year studies, and allow proposers to further develop Phase I concepts
that successfully demonstrated initial feasibility and benefit.

The selected 2017 Phase II proposals are:

* Venus Interior Probe Using In-situ Power and Propulsion, Ratnakumar
Bugga, JPL

* Remote Laser Evaporative Molecular Absorption Spectroscopy Sensor
System, Gary Hughes, California Polytechnic State University in San Luis
Obispo

* Brane Craft Phase II, Siegfried Janson, The Aerospace Corporation
in El Segundo, California

* Stellar Echo Imaging of Exoplanets, Chris Mann, Nanohmics, Inc., Austin,
Texas

* Automaton Rover for Extreme Environments, Jonathan Sauder, JPL

* Optical Mining of Asteroids, Moons, and Planets to Enable Sustainable
Human Exploration and Space Industrialization, Joel Sercel, TransAstra
Corp.

* Fusion-Enabled Pluto Orbiter and Lander, Stephanie Thomas, Princeton
Satellite Systems, Inc., Plainsboro, New Jersey

"Phase II studies can accomplish a great deal in their two years with
NIAC. It is always wonderful to see how our Fellows plan to excel," said
Derleth. "The 2017 NIAC Phase II studies are exciting, and it is wonderful
to be able to welcome these innovators back in to the program. Hopefully,
they will all go on to do what NIAC does best -- change the possible."

NASA selected these projects through a peer-review process that evaluated
innovativeness and technical viability. All projects are still in the
early stages of development, most requiring 10 or more years of concept
maturation and technology development before use on a NASA mission.

NIAC partners with forward-thinking scientists, engineers, and citizen
inventors from across the nation to help maintain America's leadership
in air and space. NIAC is funded by NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate,
which is responsible for developing the cross-cutting, pioneering, new
technologies and capabilities needed by the agency to achieve its current
and future missions.

For more information about NIAC and a complete list of the selected proposals,
visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/niac

For more information about NASA's investments in space technology, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/spacetech

News Media Contact
Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-2433
andrew.c.good at jpl.nasa.gov

Gina Anderson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1160
gina.n.anderson at nasa.gov

2017-101
Received on Fri 07 Apr 2017 06:16:25 PM PDT