{"id":17236,"date":"2024-01-05T00:30:18","date_gmt":"2024-01-04T16:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-awards-funds-to-study-deep-space-interferometer-and-other-far-out-ideas\/"},"modified":"2024-01-05T00:30:18","modified_gmt":"2024-01-04T16:30:18","slug":"nasa-awards-funds-to-study-deep-space-interferometer-and-other-far-out-ideas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-awards-funds-to-study-deep-space-interferometer-and-other-far-out-ideas\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA awards funds to study deep-space interferometer and other far-out ideas"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This collage highlights several concepts proposed by 2024 NIAC Phase I awardees, including miniaturized interstellar spacecraft, a Venus glider, a water detoxifier for Mars, a solar-system-scale interferometer and an electric aircraft flying above Mars. (NASA Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A proposal to build a far-flung set of radio antennas to measure the cosmos is one of 13 far-out concepts to receive seed funding from the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program, also known as NIAC.<\/p>\n

University of Washington astronomer Matthew McQuinn will receive a grant of $175,000 to flesh out his plan for a solar-system-scale interferometer capable of determining cosmological distances with precision that\u2019s an order of magnitude beyond what\u2019s possible today.<\/p>\n

The plan would require building and launching a constellation of four radio dishes, each measuring at least several meters (yards) in diameter. The detectors would have to be widely separated, far out in deep space. How far out? \u201cThe science gets interesting when they are more than about 10 AU apart,\u201d McQuinn told GeekWire in an email. That distance of 10 AU is just a bit less than the width of Jupiter\u2019s orbit.<\/p>\n

The detectors would be on the lookout for fast radio bursts that flash from beyond our Milky Way galaxy. By measuring the difference in arrival times at the different detectors, scientists could calculate the distance to the source of a burst with sub-percent precision. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like GPS localizations, but applied to fast radio bursts,\u201d McQuinn explained.<\/p>\n

In his proposal, McQuinn says such measurements could lead to new discoveries in fields ranging from gravitational-wave detection to the study of dark matter. McQuinn and a UW colleague, Kyle Boone, lay out the details in a research paper that was published last year in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.<\/p>\n

The NIAC Phase I grant will give McQuinn an opportunity to investigate and simulate different mission concepts to firm up the specifications for the interferometer, and evaluate whether and how to proceed further. <\/p>\n

NIAC has been around in different incarnations since 1998. The program is designed to provide relatively small grants for researchers who have big ideas for innovations relevant to potential NASA missions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe daring missions NASA undertakes for the benefit of humanity all begin as just an idea, and NIAC is responsible for inspiring many of those ideas,\u201d NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free said today in a news release. \u201cThe 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. And while not all these concepts will fly, NASA and our partners worldwide can learn from fresh approaches and may eventually use technologies advanced by NIAC.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other concepts winning Phase I funding include proposals to send a sample return mission to Venus\u2019 atmosphere, to build an electric-powered airplane to survey Mars, and to launch a swarm of miniaturized interstellar spacecraft to Proxima Centauri. Each grant recipient will receive a maximum of $175,000 to support further study, but there\u2019s no guarantee that the research will lead to further NASA funding.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a quick rundown on the 12 other researchers winning NIAC Phase I grants:<\/p>\n