NIAC 2026 Selections

2 min read

A collage of artist concepts highlighting the novel approaches proposed by the 2026 NIAC awardees for possible future missions.
NASA/Left to Right: Keunhan Park, Michael Rubenstein, Austin Phoenix, Benjamin Schafer, A.C. Charania, Gilly Elor, Pablo Sobron, Marco Quadrelli, Daniel Drew, Saptarshi Bandyopadhyay, Jeff Nosanov, Anish Damodaran

Phase I

Saptarshi Bandyopadhyay

Dimming the Sun (DimSun) Using Controllable Dust Cloud to Reduce Solar Insolation

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Pasadena, CA 91109-8001

2026 Phase I

David Bugby

Combinatory Architecture offering Neomobility, on-Venus Adaptability, and Survivability (CANVAS)

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Pasadena, CA 91109-8001

2026 Phase I

Anish Damodaran

PS21: Transforming Submillimeter Space Interferometry with Photonic Technologies

University of Central Florida

Orlando, FL 32826-2933

2026 Phase I

Artur Davoyan

Coilable Stacked Solar Sails for Very High delta-V Missions

University of California

Los Angeles, CA 90024-0001

2026 Phase I

A.C. Charania

EARENDIL: Extended Astronaut Radioisotope-EVA in Nighttime and Deep-space Icy Landscapes

Zeno Power Systems, Inc.

Washington, DC 20001-3701

2026 Phase I

Daniel Drew

Solid-state Propulsion for Autonomous Reconnaissance of Karst (SPARK)

University of Hawaii

Honolulu, HI 96822-2303

2026 Phase I

Gilly Elor

Power-over-Fiber to Enable a Lunar Underground eXplorer (LUX)

Stone Aerospace, Inc.

Del Valle, TX 78617-3017

2026 Phase I

Zhaoyan Liu

Quantum Wind Lidar Applications for Planetary and Earth Science Missions

NASA Ames Research Center

Moffett Field, CA 94034-0001

2026 Phase I

Jeff Nosanov

OBLIVIAN: Observing Black hole LIght Via Intensity cOrrelatioN

Orbital Velocity, LLC

Decatur, GA 30033-4151

2026 Phase I

Keunhan Park

Plasmon-Enhanced Radioisotope Thermophotovoltaic (PRTPV) Power Generation for Interstellar Missions

University of Utah

Salt Lake City 84112-1109

2026 Phase I

Austin Phoenix

ECLIPSE – Efficient variable Conductivity Lunar Insulator for Passive Surveyor Environmental Control

Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State

University, Blacksburg, VA 24060-5605

2026 Phase I

Marco Quadrelli

PRAXIS: Planetary Rings Autonomous EXploration with In-situ Sampling

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Pasadena, CA 91109-8001

2026 Phase I

Michael Rubenstein

Actively Steerable Femtosat Constellations for In-situ Exploration of Saturn's Rings, Atmosphere, and Magnetosphere

Northwestern University

Chicago Evanston, IL 60208-0001

2026 Phase I

Benjamin Schafer

Photophoretic Tracers for Near-Space Remote Sensing at 30-100 km Altitudes

University of California

Los Angeles, CA 90024-0001

2026 Phase I

David Smith

Robotically Assembled Electromagnetic Metamaterials for Long-Range Space Situational Awareness

Duke University

Durham, NC 27708-9976

2026 Phase I

Pablo Sobron

Interworld Slingshot Resource Surveys

SETI Institute

Mountain View, CA 94043-5203

2026 Phase I

Paul Stankus

Mapping Alien Continents: Achieving Optical VLBI for Exoplanet Imaging

Brookhaven Science Associates

Upton NY 11973-0001

2026 Phase I

Paul Stankus

Precision Astrometry Using Optically Independent Spacecraft for Graviational Wave Detection

Brookhaven Science Associates

Upton, NY 11973-0001

2026 Phase I

Keep Exploring

Discover More NIAC Topics

/Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) might be of the point-in-time nature, and edited for clarity, style and length. Mirage.News does not take institutional positions or sides, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s).View in full here.