A collage of artist concepts highlighting the novel approaches proposed by the 2026 NIAC awardees. Credit: NASAThe NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program has created 18 new awards to support visionary ideas to improve aerospace technologies in areas ranging from the exploration of the solar system to understanding the universe. These awards are the kinds of innovation the world needs NASA to help foster.” “Every innovation, every leap in technology, starts with a seed of an idea,” said Phillip Williams, NIAC’s acting program executive. Researchers, known as NIAC Fellows, will investigate their concepts and identify potential challenges and opportunities for further development.