The Great Observatory for Long Wavelengths (GO-LoW) is a project that has the potential to revolutionize the way NASA conducts astronomy. Led by Mary Knapp with MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this mega-constellation low-frequency radio telescope uses thousands of autonomous SmallSats to measure magnetic fields emitted from exoplanets and the cosmic dark ages.
The Radioisotope Thermoradiative Cell Power Generator is exploring new in-space power sources with the potential for higher efficiencies than NASA’s current power generators. This technology could enable small exploration and science spacecraft in the future that are unable to carry bulky solar or nuclear power systems. The study is being led by Stephen Polly at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York.
FLOAT: Flexible Levitation on a Track is a lunar railway system being developed to provide reliable, autonomous, and efficient payload transport on the Moon. This rail system could support daily operations of a sustainable lunar base as soon as the 2030s. Ethan Schaler leads FLOAT at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
ScienceCraft for Outer Planet Exploration aims to distribute Quantum Dot-based sensors across the surface of a solar sail to create an innovative imager. By leveraging quantum physics to take scientific measurements through light absorption, this technology allows for lighter and more cost-effective spacecraft to carry imagers across the solar system. NASA’s Mahmooda Sultana at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland leads ScienceCraft.
The NIAC program, funded by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, is responsible for developing the agency’s new cross-cutting technologies and capabilities to achieve current and future missions. To learn more about NIAC and the 2024 Phase II studies, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/stmd-the-nasa-innovative-advanced-concepts-niac/