Nanotechnology could lead to radical improvements for space exploration
August 9, 2005 | Source: KurzweilAI
Constantinos Mavroidis, director of the Computational Bionanorobotics Laboratory at Northeastern University in Boston, visualizes a kind of “spider’s web” of hair-thin tubes packed with bio-nanotech sensors across dozens of miles of terrain as a way to map the environment of some alien planet in great detail.
Another concept he proposes is a “second skin” for astronauts to wear under their spacesuits that would use bio-nanotech to sense and respond to radiation penetrating the suit, and to quickly seal over any cuts or punctures.
Chris Phoenix of the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology has done a feasibility study of nanoscale manufacturing with a desktop nanofactory.
The NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) funded these projects.