NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts

Ground-based interferometry on Earth has proven to be a successful method for conducting science by combining light from several telescopes into acting like a single large telescope. But how can an ultraviolet (UV)/optical interferometer telescope on the moon deliver enhanced science, and can the Artemis missions help make this a reality?

Visiting our nearest stellar neighbor will take near-light-speed travel.

Various forms of hopping robots have crept into development for use in different space exploration missions. We've reported on their use on asteroids and even our own moon. But a study funded by NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) in 2018 planned a mission to a type of world where hopping may not be as noticeable an advantage—Europa.

See the potential of a proton beam propulsion system for interstellar missions as we look beyond current technologies and aim for Proxima Centauri.

NASA's innovative MAGGIE aircraft, funded by NIAC, aims to explore Mars, conducting vital investigations including water search, magnetic field study, and methane signal detection for signs of life.

NASA selected the 2024 Phase I awardees for its program to fund ideas that could  innovate for the benefit of all and transform future agency missions.

NASA to soon look into the further, longer-lasting deep space missions with Positron.

NASA is funding a concept for a space seaplane that could investigate the chemistry Titan among other innovations, with recent awards totaling $175,000 in grants.

Here are the space techs approved by NASA.

NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts program (NIAC) has selected six visionary concept studies for additional funding and development. Each study has already

Plenty of areas in the solar system are interesting for scientific purposes but hard to access by traditional rovers. Some of the most prominent are the caves and cliffs of Mars—where exposed strata could hold clues to whether life ever existed on the Red Planet. So far, none of the missions sent there has been able to explore those difficult-to-reach places. But a mission concept from a team at Stanford hopes to…

NASA's latest round of small-business grants will support aerospace-related technologies ranging from a new kind of spacecraft docking mechanism to a power...

Game. Changer.

The Fluidic Telescope (FLUTE) project team envisions a way to make huge circular self-healing mirrors in-orbit to further the field of astronomy.

Each of the projects will receive up to $600,000 in funding for two years of work.

Researchers seek to develop advanced propulsion systems that can transform long-distance space exploration.

Solar Sails in space? This is NASA's new project.

Humans have long dreamed of setting foot on Mars or beyond, and the advances by companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin means perhaps the dream could be closer than ever to becoming reality. But as it stands now, sending astronauts on long-duration missions to other worlds would be impossible because of the hazardous radiation levels in space, outside of Earth's protective magnetic field.

NASA has announced some of the out-there futuristic mission concepts it plans to study, including a stunning plan to explore Venus using stingray-like drones.

It's come to this. With Earth at its hottest point in recorded history, and humans doing far from enough to stop its overheating, a small but growing number ...