NASA Experts Have 2 New Plans to Conquer Space -- Can $30M Pave Way to Interstellar Travel?

What can you do with $30 million? A lot. For NASA, they want to use it to make sure humans get to colonize other planets.

NASA will use the money to fund two Space Technology Research Institutes (STRIs) in order to prepare for the colonization of other planets. The plan came to life after experts, such as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and reknowned physicist Stephen Hawking, agreed that humanity will inevitably try to conquer other places in the universe.

According to Futurism, these STRIs will receive $15 million each in funding to develop different technologies that would prove useful in humanity's quest to space. This includes biomaterials and biomanufacturing, with outcomes hoped to be developed in a few years.

One of these STRIs is the Center for Utilization of Biological Engineering in Space (CUBES). The center will try to incorporate microbes into food, fuel, pharmaceuticals and materials, in hopes of making astronauts more self-sustainable. The research will be led by Adam Arkin Ph.D from the University of California, Berkeley.

The other STRI is the Institute for Ultra-Strong Composites by Computational Design, which seeks to develop strong yet lightweight material for aerospace ventures with carbon-nanotube technology. This will be led by Gregory Odegard, Ph.D. of Michigan Technological University.

Futurism noted that this can help put other plans outside the STRIs to fruition, such as SpaceX's mission to go to Mars. Unfortunately, the two institutions have yet to fully explain the full extent of their plans to use their budget.

It can be remembered that industry figures such as Musk and Hawking said the quest for space will be inevitable for humans as survival rests on this very notion. While Musk is optimistic about man's early departure for the stars, Hawking believes it may take man a longer time to do so.