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posted by cmn32480 on Tuesday May 12 2015, @09:04PM   Printer-friendly
from the attempt-no-dives-there dept.

The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program awards researchers $100,000 grants to help them prepare feasibility studies of their space exploration and aerospace ideas. The Phase I selections for 2015 are listed here.

Mason Peck of Cornell University has proposed a "robotic squid" (or eel) that could be used to explore the oceans of Europa. Other proposals include "In-Space Manufacture of Storable Propellants", asteroid mining, and directed energy propulsion. From NASA's press release:

NIAC Phase I awards are valued at 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, awardees can apply for Phase II awards, valued up to $500,000 for two additional years of concept development.

One of the selected proposals calls for the use of a soft-robotic rover for missions that can't be accomplished with conventional power systems. This rover would resemble an eel with a short antenna on its back that harvests power from locally changing magnetic fields. The goal is to enable amphibious exploration of gas-giant moons like Europa.

Another proposal will look at using two glider-like unmanned aerial vehicles connected by an ultra-strong cable at different altitudes that sail without propulsion. The vehicle would use wind shear in the lower stratosphere (approximately 60,000 ft.), similar to a kite surfer, where the upper aircraft provides lift and aerodynamic thrust, and the lower aircraft provides an upwind force to keep it from drifting downwind. If successful, this atmospheric satellite could remain in the stratosphere for years, enabling NASA's Earth science missions, monitoring capabilities or aircraft navigation at a fraction of the cost of orbital satellite networks.

Also at Wired and The Register.

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 12 2015, @10:36PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 12 2015, @10:36PM (#182124)

    Right, this is a problem that has long plagued Japanese culture. The use of biological squid for sexual purposes is well know, as you have pointed out. But when was the first conceptualization of a mechanical squid being used, instead of a biological squid?

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 12 2015, @10:43PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 12 2015, @10:43PM (#182128)

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tentacle_erotica [wikipedia.org]

    The earliest animated form of tentacle assault was in the 1986 anime OVA Guyver: Out of Control which is an adaptation of the Bio Booster Armor Guyver manga. At 25:10 in the animation, a female Chronos soldier named Valcuria is enshrouded by the 2nd (damaged) Guyver unit which clearly surrounds her in tentacle form and penetrates all orifices.

    Numerous animated tentacle erotica films followed the next couple decades, with more popular titles like 1986's Urotsukidoji, 1992's La Blue Girl and 1995's Demon Beast Resurrection becoming common sights in large video store chains in the United States and elsewhere. The volume of films in this genre has slowed from the peak years in the 1990s but continue to be produced to the present day.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 12 2015, @11:01PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 12 2015, @11:01PM (#182132)

    There is no problem.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 12 2015, @11:14PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 12 2015, @11:14PM (#182141)

      What the fuck? Squids molesting humans isn't a "problem"? It's "perfectly normal"? What the fuck?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 12 2015, @11:26PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 12 2015, @11:26PM (#182151)

        Why is it a "problem"?