Each year, the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program awards grants to researchers to develop the next generation of technology that will help us explore cosmic unknowns.
From the oceans of Europa to the atmosphere of Venus, these inventions funded by NASA could propel space exploration even further.
Elon Musk is one of the revolutionary figures in the world. Almost all of his ventures, such as SpaceX, Tesla and The Boring Company, are about making a difference in their own right. Musk has been a champion for all things alternative, whether it comes to cars or currency. However, he could trigger another great replacement.
First, there was Endeavor. Then there was Resilience and Endurance.
Now, the fourth SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, sending the fourth operational crew to the International Space Station, has a name as well.
“FREEDOM!!” NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, commander of the upcoming mission dubbed Crew-4, tweeted enthusiastically. “Crew-4 will fly to the International Space Station in a new Dragon capsule named ‘Freedom.’”.
Mikhail Kokorich is the founder of Destinus. This serial entrepreneur has been dubbed Russia’s Elon Musk by his public relations team. The Russian businessman says his business, Destinus, is developing a hydrogen-powered, zero-emissions transcontinental delivery drone that can travel at speeds up to Mach 15.
Destinus plans to combine the technological advancements from a spaceplane with the ordinary and straightforward physics from a glider to create a hyperplane that will meet the many demands of a hyper-connected world.
This hyperplane will use clean hydrogen fuel to transport cargo between Europe and Australia in mere hours. The hyperplane will be fully autonomous; it will take off from ordinary runways, traveling leisurely to the coast before accelerating to supersonic speeds.
SpaceX plans to send the Starship to orbit.
SpaceX is gearing up to launch the Starship into orbit, the biggest test yet for the ship designed to send humans to Mars and beyond.