NASA has announced four new awards through its Planetary Instrument Concepts for the Advancement of Solar System Observations (PICASSO) program, aimed at enhancing scientific return on future planetary missions. These projects focus on early-stage technologies with a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 1 to 3, which will support missions exploring various celestial environments.
Awarded Projects
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Goutam Chattopadhyay/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Project: Meta-Optically Steered Antenna Instrument for Cometary Sensing (MOSAICS)
- Description: A compact instrument designed to measure water isotopes on comets, utilizing a 500-600 GHz spectrometer. This technology aims to investigate the origins of water in the Solar System, especially through detailed analysis of cometary water’s isotopic ratios.
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Chris Curwen/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Project: Cavity-enhanced laser absorption spectroscopy for high sensitivity in-situ trace gas detection
- Description: Development of a sensitive spectrometer for detecting hydrocarbons in the Martian atmosphere. This tool aims to distinguish between biotic and thermogenic origins of gases like methane.
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Mool Gupta/University of Virginia
- Project: Multiwavelength Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Instrument for Planetary Materials Chemical Analysis (SERSICA)
- Description: This instrument will enhance the detection of chemicals and minerals on planetary surfaces using nanotechnology and AI, significantly improving analysis capabilities for missions to Mars, the Moon, and icy worlds like Enceladus.
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Tamer Refaat/NASA Langley Research Center
- Project: Hyperspectral Planetary Imaging Explorer (HyperPIX)
- Description: An imaging spectrograph designed to capture hyperspectral images across a broad spectral range. HyperPIX will feature high spectral and spatial resolution, beneficial for both orbital and surface planetary science applications.
These advancements aim to deepen our understanding of solar system origins, the search for extraterrestrial life, and planetary environments.
