NASA’s commitment to innovation and technology for the benefit of humanity has been recognized by TIME as the agency’s inventions of 2024 were named among the top innovations of the year. The inventions include a solar sail system that uses composite booms to harness sunlight for space travel, deep space optical communications technology that enables record-breaking data rates from spacecraft, and the Europa Clipper mission to study the habitability of Jupiter’s icy moon.
The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System is testing technology that could allow spacecraft to sail on sunlight, adjusting its trajectory by angling its sail supported by composite booms that were successfully deployed in space in August. This technology could provide an alternative to chemical and electric propulsion systems and inform the design of future space missions.
The Deep Space Optical Communications technology demonstration, aboard NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, has successfully delivered high data rates to ground stations as it travels through deep space, even sending high-definition video over hundreds of millions of miles. This technology could revolutionize communication with spacecraft in deep space.
The Europa Clipper mission, the largest spacecraft ever built heading to another planet, will study Jupiter’s icy moon Europa to determine if it has conditions that could support life. With a suite of science instruments and a gravity experiment, the mission will explore the ocean world beyond Earth to better understand the potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.
Overall, NASA’s continued innovation and dedication to exploration and discovery are at the forefront of advancing technology and understanding the cosmos for the benefit of all.
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Photo credit www.nasa.gov