"NASA Announces 2024 Funding for Innovative Space Tech Studies"

NASA has announced the 2024 Phase I awardees for the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, selecting 13 pioneering technology concepts from across the U.S. for funding. These early-stage studies, which received a maximum of $175,000 each, range from exploring Venus and Mars to sending a swarm of probes to Proxima Centauri. The awarded concepts include a fixed-wing craft for Mars, a sample return mission from Venus, and a novel approach to interstellar travel. While these studies are not official NASA missions, they represent the agency's commitment to pushing the boundaries of space exploration and technology development.