http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.p...ign=NASAJPL&utm_content=BreakingDaily20140605 June 05, 2014: NASA has selected 12 proposals, including three from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, for study under Phase I of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program, which aims to turn science fiction into fact through pioneering technology development. The selected proposals cover a wide range of imaginative concepts, including: -- a submarine to explore the methane lakes of Titan; -- using neutrinos to perform measurements for the icy moons of the outer planets -- a concept to safely capture a tumbling asteroid, space debris, and other applications. Seedling investments may provide the breakthrough technologies needed to support NASA's plans for exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, into deep space and to Mars, as outlined in the Evolvable Mars Campaign. "The latest NIAC selections include a number of exciting concepts for planetary exploration," said Michael Gazarik, NASA's associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington. "We are working with innovators around the nation to transform the future of aerospace, while also focusing our investments on concepts to address challenges of current interests both in space and here on Earth." NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate chose this year's Phase I proposals based on their potential to transform future aerospace missions by enabling either entirely new missions or breakthroughs in future aerospace capabilities that could accelerate progress toward NASA's goals. NIAC Phase I awards are 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, proposers can apply for Phase II awards, which provide up to $500,000 for two more years of concept development. "The 2014 NIAC Phase I candidates were outstanding, which made final selections decisions particularly difficult," said NIAC Program Executive Jay Falker. "So we considered various kinds of potential benefit and risk, and developed this portfolio to really push boundaries and explore new approaches, which is what makes NIAC unique." NASA solicits visionary, long-term concepts for technological maturation based on their potential value to future agency space missions and operational needs. The projects are chosen through a peer-review process that evaluates their potential, technical approach, and benefits for study in a timely manner. All concepts are very early in the development cycle, years from implementation. NASA's early investments and partnerships with creative scientists, engineers and citizen inventors from across the nation will provide technological dividends and help maintain America's leadership in the global technology economy. The portfolio of diverse and pioneering ideas selected for NIAC awards represent multiple technology areas, including space propulsion, human habitation, science instruments, materials for use in space, and exploring other diverse technology paths needed to meet NASA's strategic goals. NIAC is part of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, which is innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in NASA's future missions. Over the next 18 months, the directorate will make significant new investments to address several high-priority challenges in achieving safe and affordable deep-space exploration. These focused technology thrust areas are tightly aligned with NASA's Space Technology Roadmaps, the Space Technology Investment Plan, and National Research Council recommendations. The selections support three of eight key STMD technology thrust areas: advanced life support and resource utilization, space robotic systems, and space observatory systems. Additionally the concepts selected here support broader investments efforts in NASA's Asteroid Initiative and outer planetary missions. For a complete list of the selected proposals and more information about the NIAC, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/niac
Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Caption was: " China's spacecraft testing technology for the Chang'e-5 return lunar mission, trimmed its orbit on Friday afternoon. " Has US or any one done this already? (posted here as did not find better place and not worth a new thread.) Seems like hard to calculate landing point, but a way to reduce heat shield weight.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skip_reentry Skip entry was first imagined in the 1930s by Eugen Sänger, who proposed a suborbital skipping trajectory for the German Silbervogel bomber, which never flew. The technique was used by the Zond series of circumlunar spacecraft, which planned for one skip before landing. Zond 6, Zond 7 and Zond 8 made successful skip entries, although Zond 5 did not.[1][2] The Apollo Command Module, when returning from the moon, was capable of a one-skip entry. The Orion spacecraft crew module was planned to be capable of skip entry, to allow targeting the landing site from a greater variety of abort trajectories. The Chang'e 5-T1 also used this technique.
China's Chang'e 5-T1 did it on first try. - 840,000Km trip around the moon and home in 8 days: Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! The post 2 "bounce" was one of the biggest challenges of the mission, because the craft must enter the atmosphere at a very precise angle. An error of 0.2 degrees would have rendered the mission a failure. More details here: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2014-11/01/content_18839563.htm Not the first. Soviet Union in the 1970 did 4 OK but first try failed to make it. US never did attempt this but it was an unused option. See Boris2's post 3.
