These NASA-Funded Projects Could Change The Future Of Space And Technology In 2023 – SlashGear

Edward Balaban from NASA’s Ames Research Center has proposed Fluidic Telescope (FLUTE), a space observatory that relies on a technique called fluidic shaping in microgravity. On the travel and exploration side of things, Planet Enterprises scored a winner with TitanAir, a boat-aircraft hybrid that aims to explore Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. Using a novel technique involving the ingestion of condensed methane and other dense gaseous material in Titan’s atmosphere, TitanAir will effortlessly switch between flying in Titan’s atmosphere and swimming in its lakes.

The most interesting submission — and also one that has been floated on numerous occasions in the past — is the Pellet-Beam Propulsion concept. This one imagines a propulsion system for moving payloads weighing a ton (or more) in space, thanks to a beam of particles moving at over 74.5 miles per second and accelerated using a high-power laser. The beam would push the payload across the interstellar medium. The concept proposal mentions that “the pellet-beam outer planets can be reached in less than a year, 100 AU in about 3 years, and solar gravity lens at 500 AU in about 15 years.”

In 2019, a similar project proposal at NASA discussed a beam propulsion system that would enable interstellar missions to Proxima Centauri b at nearly 10% of the speed of light. A similar propulsion architecture proposed by a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory fellow could move 80 tonnes of payload to Jupiter’s orbit in one year.