Science
NASA Proposes Innovative Space Exploration Projects
NASA has proposed several innovative space exploration projects, including the use of photophoretic tracers for remote sensing at high altitudes and actively steerable femtosats to map Saturn’s rings. These initiatives aim to enhance our understanding of planetary environments.
Coverage timeline — 5 articles
NASA
Keunhan ParkUniversity of Utah This proposal seeks to develop a transformative energy system — the plasmon-enhanced radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic (PRTPV) generator — that significantly surpasses the performance of current radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) in both specific p
2026-07-21 15:23 UTC
NASA
ECLIPSE – Efficient variable Conductivity Lunar Insulator for Passive Surveyor Environmental control
Austin Phoenix Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State A disaggregated lunar infrastructure requires novel thermal management methods to enable future lunar operations. While thermal management solutions exist for large infrastructure, the smaller mobile systems that operate independently re
2026-07-21 15:23 UTC
NASA
Marco QuadrelliNASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Humanity has never touched the particles of a planetary ring, but if we were able to get close enough and sample them, it will transform understanding of ring structure and origins for Saturn (dense), Uranus and Neptune (tenuous), rings of other obj
2026-07-21 15:23 UTC
NASA
Michael RubensteinNorthwestern University, Chicago We propose a mission to use ~10,000 actively steerable femtosats to map the ring composition, atmospheric composition and density, and the magnetic field distribution of Saturn. Conducting in-situ surveys of Saturn’s rings with a single flagsh
2026-07-21 15:23 UTC
NASA
Benjamin SchaferRarified Technologies, Inc. We propose a new approach to atmospheric sensing at 30-100 km altitudes using photophoretically levitating tracers. These lightweight structures harness sunlight to remain suspended for up to months at controlled altitudes and can be remotely tracked
2026-07-21 15:23 UTC