That NASA is getting back to its past splendours is a suspicion I harbour since a while, considering the increasing number of the Agency’s missions and amazing discoveries in recent years. Today, reading this week’s edition of New Scientist, I am definitively sure. Why? Because the article confirmed the fact that NASA is not only investing in possible missions; it’s trying to go beyond that, daring to think the unthinkable.
I am not – or not only – referring here to the fabled Star Trek-like warp drive starship about which a lot has been written (including by me) a couple of years ago. There’s more: in the NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC), ongoing since 2011, the Agency selects (and funds) long-shot space exploration ideas that it thinks are worth exploring.
A taste of 2016 winners? Here’s one amazing entry: the Brane Crane.
In case you wonder, a ‘brane’ is a dynamical object that can propagate through spacetime. It would be tiny – a flat square, a metre to a side and weighing just 35 grams. Propellant would fit into the 10-micrometre gap (yes, exactly) between two insulating sheets, with solar cells on one side drawing power, while electromagnetic fields would spray particles from the other side to push the spacecraft along.
According to NASA, “this project will study how to design an ultra-light dynamic membrane spacecraft, with 3-axis attitude determination and control plus navigation, that can significantly change both its shape and orbit. Conventional sensors like star trackers will have to be replaced by 2-dimensional alternatives.” (Press release here)
Impressive, isn’t it? For more concept ideas, I suggest you to grab a copy of New Scientist, or reading the article here.
This really is a great notion, isn’t it? I especially like the idea they are working towards cleaning up the layer of junk that is acreting around the planet.
Yes – that is another priority, and I know the Japanese are working on it as well. Let’s hope they do something effective soon…!