The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program is similar in some respect to the Canadian Space Agency’s Space Technology Development Program (STDP). So what innovative technologies has NIAC funded this year and what should Canadian stakeholders be paying attention to?
The NIAC program is part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) and is only one of many. Indeed, Canada is participating in another STMD program, the Deep Space Food Challenge.
Yesterday NASA announced that they had selected seven previously Phase I funded studies for additional funded in Phase II. This follows 16 Phase I studies selected in late February. The NIAC program usually puts out its first call for proposals annually in June, and announces new and follow-up studies in the first four months of the year.
Keeping an eye on what NASA is funding with respect to early technology developments is useful to Canadian stakeholders.
NIAC program phases
- Phase I studies are nine-month efforts to explore the overall viability and advance the Technology Readiness Level (TRL). Eligible recipients of Phase I awards can propose for a follow-on Phase II study. Release: June 2021.
- Phase II develops concepts for up to two years. Researchers must prepare a roadmap for further development, but are not expected to fully advance the technologies to a level required for NASA or commercial transition. Release: October 2021 (planned).
- Phase III continues the exploration and development for another two years. The final phase is designed to strategically transition NIAC concepts with the highest potential impact for NASA, other government agencies or commercial partners. Release: December 2021 (planned).
2021 Phase I selected proposals
Here are the Phase 1 programs selected this past February. Each will receive US$125,000:
Sarbajit Banerjee, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station in College Station
Regolith Adaptive Modification System to Support Early Extraterrestrial Planetary Landings
Sigrid Close, Stanford University in Stanford, California
Exploring Uranus: Sustained ChipSat/CubeSat Activity Through Transmitted Electromagnetic Radiation (SCATTER)
Amelia Greig, University of Texas in El Paso
Ablative Arc Mining for In-Situ Resource Utilization
Zachary Manchester, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh
Kilometer-Scale Space Structures from a Single Launch
Patrick McGarey, JPL
Passively Expanding Dipole Array for Lunar Sounding (PEDALS)
Quinn Morley, Planet Enterprises in Gig Harbor, Washington
Autonomous Robotic Demonstrator for Deep Drilling (ARD3)
Christopher Morrison, Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation (USNC-Tech) in Seattle
Extrasolar Object Interceptor and Sample Return Enabled by Compact, Ultra Power Dense Radioisotope Batteries
E. Joseph Nemanick, The Aerospace Corporation in Santa Monica, California
Atomic Planar Power for Lightweight Exploration (APPLE)
Steven Oleson, NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland
Titan Sample Return Using In-situ Propellants
Marco Pavone, Stanford University
ReachBot: Small Robot for Large Mobile Manipulation Tasks in Martian Cave Environments
Ronald Polidan, Lunar Resources Inc. in Houston
FarView: In-situ Manufactured Lunar Far Side Radio Observatory
Ethan Schaler, JPL (two selections)
FLOAT: Flexible Levitation on a Track
SWIM: Sensing with Independent Micro-swimmers
Jane Shevtsov, Trans Astronautica Corporation in Lake View Terrace, California
Making Soil for Space Habitats by Seeding Asteroids with Fungi
Charles Taylor, Langley
Light Bender
Joshua Vander Hook, JPL
Solar System Pony Express
2021 Phase II selected proposals
Here are the proposals announced yesterday for Phase II funding. Each will receive US$500,000:
- Jeffrey Balcerski with the Ohio Aerospace Institute in Cleveland will continue work on a small spacecraft “swarm” approach to studying Venus’ atmosphere. The concept combines miniature sensors, electronics, and communications on kite-like, drifting platforms to conduct around nine hours of operations in the clouds of Venus. High-fidelity simulations of deployment and flight will further mature the design.
- Saptarshi Bandyopadhyay, a robotics technologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, will continue research on a possible radio telescope within a crater on the far side of the Moon. He aims to design a wire mesh that small climbing robots could deploy to form a large parabolic reflector. The Phase II study will also focus on refining the capabilities of the telescope and various mission approaches.
- Kerry Nock, with Global Aerospace Corporation in Irwindale, California, will mature a possible way to land on Pluto and other celestial bodies with low-pressure atmospheres. The concept relies on a large, lightweight decelerator that inflates as it approaches the surface. Nock will address the technology’s feasibility, including the riskier components, and establish its overall maturity.
- Artur Davoyan, an assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, will advance CubeSat solar sails for exploring the solar system and interstellar space. Davoyan will fabricate and test ultra-lightweight sail materials capable of withstanding extreme temperatures, examine structurally sound methods for supporting the sail, and investigate two mission concepts.
- Lynn Rothschild, a scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, will further study ways to grow structures, perhaps for future space habitats, out of fungi. This phase of research will build on previous mycelia production, fabrication, and testing techniques. Rothschild, along with an international team, will test different fungi, growth conditions, and pore size on small prototypes at environmental conditions relevant to the Moon and Mars. The research will also assess terrestrial applications, including biodegradable plates and rapid, low-cost structures.
- Peter Gural with Trans Astronautica Corporation in Lakeview Terrace, California, will research a mission concept to find small asteroids faster than current survey methods. A constellation of three spacecraft would use hundreds of small telescopes and onboard image processing to conduct a coordinated search for these objects. Phase II aims to mature and prove the proposed filter technology.
NIAC 2021 Phase III selected proposal
NASA also announced one Phase III study yesterday which will receive US$2 million:
- Nikolas Solomey from Wichita State University original Phase I study, Astrophysics and Technical Study of a Solar Neutrino Spacecraft, will continue on to Phase III with his Cube-Sat Space Flight Test of a Neutrino Detector.
From NASA, “Among the studies is a neutrino-detecting mission concept that will receive a $2 million Phase III NIAC grant to mature related technology over two years. Neutrinos are one of the most abundant particles in the universe but are challenging to study since they rarely interact with matter. Therefore, large and sensitive Earth-based detectors are best suited to detect them. Nikolas Solomey from Wichita State University in Kansas proposes something different: a space-based neutrino detector.”
“Neutrinos are a tool to ‘see’ inside stars, and a space-based detector could offer a new window into the structure of our Sun and even our galaxy,” said NIAC Program Executive Jason Derleth. “A detector orbiting close to the Sun could reveal the shape and size of the solar furnace at the core. Or, by going in the opposite direction, this technology could detect neutrinos from stars at the center of our galaxy.”
“Solomey’s previous NIAC research showed the technology could work in space, explored different mission flight paths, and developed an early prototype of the neutrino detector. With the Phase III grant, Solomey will prepare a flight-ready detector that could be tested on a CubeSat.”
A list of all NIAC selections from 2012 onward is available here.