NASA is currently working on several revolutionary projects that could change the way astronomy is conducted. These include the Great Observatory for Long Wavelengths (GO-LoW), Radioisotope Thermoradiative Cell Power Generator, Flexible Levitation on a Track (FLOAT), ScienceCraft for Outer Planet Exploration, and the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program.
The GO-LoW project, led by Mary Knapp at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a mega-constellation low-frequency radio telescope that consists of thousands of autonomous SmallSats. This technology can measure magnetic fields emitted from exoplanets and during the cosmic dark ages. The Radioisotope Thermoradiative Cell Power Generator, funded by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and led by Stephen Polly at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, aims to explore new in-space power sources that could operate more efficiently than current NASA power generators.
The FLOAT project, led by Ethan Schaler at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, is a lunar railway system being developed to provide reliable, autonomous, and efficient payload transport on the Moon. This technology could support daily operations of a sustainable lunar base as early as 2030. Meanwhile, ScienceCraft for Outer Planet Exploration is an innovative project that leverages quantum physics to study how Quantum Dot-based sensors absorb light on the surface of a solar sail. By doing so, NASA hopes to take scientific measurements across the solar system with lighter and more cost-effective spacecraft.
Lastly, NIAC is a program funded by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate that develops new cross-cutting technologies and capabilities to achieve future missions. To learn more about NIAC’s 2024 Phase II studies or other ongoing projects at NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, visit https://www.nasa.gov/stmd-the-nasa-innovative-advanced-concepts-niac/.
