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Planetary Radio • Oct 07, 2026

2026 NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts Symposium: Part 2 — Solar sails and breathing beyond Earth

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On This Episode

Artur davoyan portrait

Artur Davoyan

Artur Davoyan, Associate Professor, University of California, Los Angeles

James bickford portrait

James Bickford

Charles Stark Draper Laboratory

Alvaro romero calvo portrait

Alvaro Romero-Calvo

Assistant Professor, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Tech

Theo st francis portrait

Theo St. Francis

Graduate Researcher, Low-Gravity Science and Technology Lab, Georgia Tech

Bruce betts portrait hq library

Bruce Betts

Chief Scientist / LightSail Program Manager for The Planetary Society

Sarah al ahmed headshot

Sarah Al-Ahmed

Planetary Radio Host and Producer for The Planetary Society

In this second of two episodes from the 2026 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Symposium at Wichita State University, Sarah Al-Ahmed talks with researchers developing the propulsion and life support technologies that could open up new frontiers in deep space exploration.

First, Artur Davoyan, associate professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, discusses Coilable Stacked Solar Sails, a new sail architecture that could enable fast missions to the outer planets and interstellar space. Then, James Bickford of Charles Stark Draper Laboratory introduces TFINER, the Thin Film Isotope Nuclear Engine Rocket, a project that generates thrust from the natural decay of radioactive thin films, enabling rendezvous with interstellar objects and missions to the solar gravitational focus. Finally, Alvaro Romero-Calvo, assistant professor at Georgia Tech, and Theo St. Francis, graduate researcher in Georgia Tech's Low-Gravity Science and Technology Lab, discuss their concept, Breathing Beyond Earth, a pump-free oxygen production system for long-duration space missions to Mars. Plus, Bruce Betts, chief scientist of the Planetary Society, joins Sarah for What's Up, with a look ahead to the launch of JAXA's Martian Moons Exploration mission, MMX.

Coilable Stacked Solar Sails artist's concept
Coilable Stacked Solar Sails artist's concept Coilable Stacked Solar Sails is a Phase I NIAC study by Artur Davoyan at UCLA. Instead of deploying one enormous membrane, the concept stacks multiple smaller sails supported by a central coilable truss, enabling very high delta-v missions to the outer planets and interstellar space. The project was presented at the 2026 NIAC Symposium.Image: NASA/Artur Davoyan
TFINER artist's depiction
TFINER artist's depiction James Bickford at Charles Stark Draper Laboratory is developing TFINER, a Phase II NIAC concept that generates thrust from the natural decay of radioactive thin films. The technology could enable spacecraft to rendezvous with interstellar objects and reach the solar gravitational focus. Presented at the 2026 NIAC Symposium.Image: NASA/James Bickford
Breathing Beyond Earth artist's depiction
Breathing Beyond Earth artist's depiction How do you produce oxygen for astronauts when there's no gravity to separate gas from liquid? Alvaro Romero-Calvo and Theo St. Francis at Georgia Tech are answering that question with Breathing Beyond Earth, a Phase II NIAC study that uses magnetohydrodynamic forces instead of pumps or moving parts. This project was presented at the 2026 NIAC Symposium.Image: NASA/Alvaro Romero-Calvo

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