NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The Flagship Technology Demonstrations (FTD) Study Team is studying ways to demonstrate transformational technologies in space to achieve operational readiness for future human exploration missions.

Some examples of these game-changing technologies include:

• Advanced solar propulsion systems that can achieve an Earth-Mars transit in weeks instead of months
• In-space storage and transfer of propellants that could be used to refuel/resupply mission assets
• Light-weight and/or inflatable structures for habitats, spacecraft, and re-entry systems
• Closed-loop environmental conditioning and life support systems that efficiently and reliably recycle liquid and gaseous products in a micro-gravity environment
• Automated systems that can reliably rendezvous and dock spacecraft and manage interplanetary mission systems from launch to landing
• Self healing structures that can automatically repair themselves due to damage from micrometeoroids and orbital debris
• Aerocapture, and/or entry, descent and landing (EDL) technology involving the development and demonstration of systems technologies for precision landing of payloads on "high-g" and "low-g" planetary bodies; returning humans or collected samples to Earth; and enabling orbital insertion in various atmospheric conditions.