The awardees under Phase I of the 2024 edition of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program have been announced.
The NIAC program will provide grants worth up to $175,000 in total to financially support researchers in carrying out concept studies of early-stage technologies that, if brought to life, could be commercialized and even support future space missions, NASA said Thursday.
The 13 projects selected for NIAC 2024 Phase I include the development of a fixed-wing vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for use in Mars exploration; the sending of a spacecraft swarm to the Proxima Centauri star system — the nearest to our own — that would send back data using laser communications; and the development of a spacecraft that will retrieve a sample of the surface of Venus.
NIAC Program Executive Mike LaPointe highlighted the diversity of the projects under Phase I, saying, “The NIAC awards highlight NASA’s commitment to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.”
For his part, NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free said NIAC has helped inspire many of the ideas that eventually became part of the space agency’s missions.
“The Ingenuity helicopter flying on Mars and instruments on the MarCO deep space CubeSats can trace their lineage back to NIAC, proving there is a path from creative idea to mission success,” Free noted.