GROUNDBREAKING TECHNOLOGIES THAT WILL REVOLUTIONISE HOW WE EXPLORE THE COSMOS

Reported by Jonathan O’Callaghan

As our ambitions for exploring space become greater, so too do our technological needs. Our current technologies and methods place limits on what we can do, limits that we are starting to press upon as more daring and exciting missions are devised.

To fulfil our grander ambitions, a variety of companies and agencies are carrying out the research and development that will provide the new technologies we need – from advanced propulsion techniques to reusable rockets.

With that in mind, we’ve chosen ten technologies that we think could revolutionise our methods of exploring and understanding the universe around us. Some are proposals we’d expect to see in the next few years; others are wholly more ambitious concepts. Join us as we unveil the incredible future space technologies that will change our methods of space exploration and observation forever.

© Getty

1 Environment transformers

On the Moon, Mars, Mercury and potentially other worlds within our galaxy, we know of permanently shadowed craters and caves that receive no sunlight. These areas are of particular interest to scientists as they may contain significant quantities of ice that could be studied. However, the problem with ice is that it’s pretty solid. Unless you’ve got a human explorer or a rover with a drill, it’s difficult to do anything with it. That’s where transformers come in. These multifunctional platforms would be placed at the rim of a crater, where they would then reflect incoming sunlight, using mirrors, onto specific sections of the ice. This would melt it, allowing an automated rover to analyse the resultant water.

This incredible technology could provide us with a low-cost option for accessing ice and water across the Solar System, giving us clues into planetary formation and perhaps even supplying future astronauts with a resource of water.