What’s New In Space Exploration Technology
Harley Dixon For the last 100 years, the human race has made profound leaps in the technology used to explore our solar system. From sending men to the moon to putting a rover on Mars, we’ve been obsessed with finding ways to send out astronauts safely into the cosmos to learn and explore as much as possible.
In the last few years, space agencies such as NASA have put a lot of funding and research into new branches of technology that could further expand our ability to seek new and uncharted places in local space.
1. The Smartsuit
We cannot survive for more than a few seconds in the vacuum of space, meaning that there has been endless research into creating suits that not only protect us from the many dangers that can be found outside of the atmosphere, but also suits that provide a number of different functions.
One of the most promising designs at the moment is the Smartsuit, a potential candidate for future space missions. Being led by the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, the suit is made up of a membrane filled with sensors that are able to keep track of the user, and its expected that the suit will come with its own heads up display, not too dissimilar from the VR headsets many use for gaming or may be able to use in future for the top online betting sites.
2. Exoplanet Telescope
The DUET – or Duel Use Exoplanet Telescope – is a type of new telescope design that potentially has the ability to detect exoplanets through astrometry techniques alongside spectroscopy. The telescope currently has an area of collection that is four times bigger and twice the diameter of most ground telescopes.
The idea behind the DUET is to have a telescope that is sent to orbit and then used to detected anomalies throughout the Milky Way, giving scientists a clearer and more concise understanding of the many astronomical phenomena surrounding us.
3. The Parker Solar Probe
The Parker Solar Probe was first launched in 2018, and was able to get seven times closer to our sun than any probe or spacecraft before it. The probe used a special type of solar shield that protected it from most of the sun’s particle radiation, and was able to provide valuable information to the scientists monitoring its progress.
But this is just the start, and many at NASA are currently building a new type of solar surfing project that would allow them to send future spacecraft that much closer to the sun in order to uncover more of its many secrets.
4. BREEZE
BREEZE, also known as the Bioinspired Ray for Extreme Environments and Zoman Exploration is a project currently underway at the State University of New York. The idea behind BREEZE is to create an inflatable airship, powered by solar energy that would be able to safely explore the surface of the planet Venus.
The design is expected to be made up bio-inspired kinematics, allowing them to create a flier that would make it look like a stingray, and give it the ability to fly through Venus’ harsh atmosphere.