NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts

The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program nurtures visionary ideas that could transform future NASA missions with the creation of breakthroughs — radically better or entirely new aerospace concepts — while engaging America's innovators and entrepreneurs as partners in the journey. NIAC projects study innovative, technically credible, advanced concepts that could one day “Change the Possible” in aerospace. NIAC supports innovative research through two phases of study, both competitively awarded. The Phase I studies are for nine-month efforts to explore the overall viability of visionary concepts. Phase II studies further develop the most promising Phase I concepts for up to two years, and explore potential infusion options within NASA and beyond. Since 2011, NIAC has funded 136 studies (100 Phase I and 36 Phase II). Twenty studies funded to date have been directly related to human exploration, including habitats, environment control and radiation risk management. This paper provides an update to NIAC’s history and current role including summary statistics about its selections, and notes the efforts directed toward human exploration.