Among the 15 proposals NASA has for study under Phase I of its NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program is one that calls for the use of a soft-robotic “swimming” rover for missions that can’t be accomplished with conventional power systems. This rover would resemble an eel with a short antenna on its back that harvests power from locally changing magnetic fields. The goal is to enable amphibious exploration of gas-giant moons such as Europa.
A proposal from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory aims to develop new mission concepts for in-situ observational atmospheric science on Jupiter and Saturn with high-mobility WindBots, harvesting energy from the strong winds and magnetic fields. Still another selected proposal will look at using two glider-like unmanned aerial vehicles connected by an ultra-strong cable at different altitudes that sail without propulsion. The vehicle would use wind shear in the lower stratosphere (approximately 60,000 ft.), similar to a kite surfer, where the upper aircraft provides lift and aerodynamic thrust, and the lower aircraft provides an upwind force to keep it from drifting downwind. If successful, this atmospheric satellite could remain in the Earth’s stratosphere for years, enabling NASA's Earth science missions, monitoring capabilities or aircraft navigation at a fraction of the cost of orbital satellite networks.
Employing a novel mobility concept, the Cryogenic Reservoir Inventory by Cost-Effective Kinetically Enhanced Technology (CRICKET) proposal explores volatile substances such as hydrogen, nitrogen and water, stored in permanently shadowed regions on planetary bodies. Inexpensive robotic crawlers, hoppers and soccer-ball style buckey-bots would explore the surface of these dark regions for water and other compounds. Multiple bots could be used to develop a high-resolution map to aid in potentially using these resources.
NIAC Phase I awards are valued at approximately $100,000, providing awardees the funding needed to conduct a nine-month initial definition and analysis study of their concepts. If the basic feasibility studies are successful, awardees can apply for Phase II awards, valued up to $500,000 for two additional years of concept development.
NIAC is part of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, which develops, tests and flies hardware for use in NASA's future missions. During the next 18 months, the directorate will make what it calls “significant new investments” to address several high-priority challenges in achieving safe and affordable deep space exploration