Far-flung science fiction often depicts humanity as an interplanetary (or even interstellar) species, but there’s a lot of technological advancement that needs to happen to move us from Earthbound terrestrials to spacefaring explorers. Luckily, there’s the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program.
Dedicated to exploring advanced space-based technologies, NIAC just announced 14 recipients of a $175,000 grant to help bring some of these sci-fi inspired technologies to life. Among them are ideas likeTitanAir, a seaplane designed to fly though the nitrogen-and-methane atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan, and lunar pipelines designed to transport oxygen between moon-based settlements.
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