Star Wars technology, coming soon to a planet near you
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Star Wars technology, coming soon to a planet near
you
NASA technology work parallels sci-fi
giant
May 19, 1999: Science fiction is the infinite realm
of what might be, sometimes just a few minutes into the future.
The new Star Wars movie flashes dozens of futuristic concepts
past the viewer's eyes - but how likely are these concepts? Some
might be closer than you think. Check the possibilities below
and click to the stories about the research that NASA is conducting
today to make tomorrow happen.
December 3: Mars Polar Lander nears touchdown  December 2: What next, Leonids? November 30: Polar Lander Mission Overview November 30: Learning how to make a clean sweep in space |
Building
a cool cityWant to build a city on another world? First you'll need lots of electricity. One way to do that is to use the soil of Mars to build acres of rectennas, antennas that turn microwaves - beamed from a satellite in aerostationary orbit - into electrical power. And of course, you'll want to design it from the start so it doesn't become an "urban heat island."
Does
it do windows?
Want something like C3PO, a butler to answer the door and sweep
the dust off the table and another to do odd jobs around the
house (don't forget the restraint bolt!)? It will involve a number
of technologies, including the devices that make the arms and
legs work. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.,
is working on artificial
muscles that could be used as actuators in future space mini-probes,
or in droids.
The
face is familiar ...
Speculations on the size, shape, intelligence, and friendliness
of alien beings have done more to illuminate how we perceive
ourselves and our world. Still, how would we recognize a non-terrestrial
life form, things a lot smaller than Jaba the Hut? Scientists
with the NASA Astrobiology
Institute (NAI) are developing techniques
for using special microscopes and computer programs to sift through
soil samples in search of microbes, the first extraterrestrials
we are likely to encounter.
Speed checked by radar
Who's directing traffic? In the 21st century, the U.S. skies
could look a little bit like a scene in "Phantom Menace"
where everyone seems to by flying around town. NASA's
Advanced General Aviation Technology Experiment is developing
the tools that could make it possible.
You've got mail
Transmitting enough data through a communications line to produce
3D images, or just satisfy Internet access for everyone, is one
of the challenges facing modern communications. Traditional silica-based
optical fibers can't quite haul the load, but exotic
heavy-metal glass fibers called ZBLAN, manufactured in the
microgravity of space, hold tremendous promise. For superfast
computing when the data arrive, nonlinear
optics may hold the answer.
Liftoff!
Even a journey of a thousand light years starts with a single
step into low Earth orbit. One way to take that step in the next
century is on "Highways of Light
." In the near term, we might start with a sled ride
on the Maglifter, or by some other
advanced propulsion ideas.
How
many light-years to the nanogram?
You don't want to hang around in orbit when Imperial Destroyers
are on the way. NASA scientists don't have a hyperdrive - yet
- but they are looking at unusual propulsion concepts, from sails and tethers, to fusion
and everyone's favorite, antimatter.
Mysterious explosions in space
Some newspaper wags have wondered if mysterious gamma-ray bursts
(GRBs) observed by satellites are caused by alien civilizations
duking it out in deep space. We've pretty much ruled that out,
but we still aren't sure exactly what does cause GRBs. For the
latest, read the Autopsy of an Explosion.
- then come back in October for the Fifth
Huntsville Gamma-Ray Burst Symposium for even newer results.
Shields up
It won't stop blasters or death rays, but aerogel may help keep
the heat out - or in - in the 21st century. NASA is using space
experiments to understand how to form aerogel
- "frozen smoke" - so we can eliminate the bluish
tint that limits its use as a super-insulating window. Aerogel
has already been used in space, helping the Soujourner Mars rover
stay warm.
The droids came marching two
by two
Where do the carbon-based life forms in Star Wars get
all those droids? NASA scientists plan to 'breed'
better spacecraft using artificial intelligence. Such a strategy
mimics nature, and may be one of the most efficient methods of
future spacecraft design
The original Star Wars
They ended about a millennium before George Lucas was born. The
last four centuries of the Maya Civilization saw the rise of
Star Wars, so named by archeologists because they apparently
were linked to the planet Venus and the astrological beliefs
of their priests. Now, NASA is using satellites
and other technology to study Mayan remains in search of
clues to how they might have destroyed their environment so we
can prevent a repeat of that destruction as the Central American
population grows.
Can I get one in red?
Oh, yes. The light sabers. We don't do light sabers. So far,
NASA crews haven't packed anything more dangerous than a survival
knife (or the food, according to some astronauts). But the way
the Jedi Masters swing their sabers, perhaps they could sign
up for baseball on Mars.
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please contact: Dr. John M. Horack , Director of Science Communications | Author: Dave Dooling Curator: Bryan Walls NASA Official: John M. Horack |