Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science 2025 NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts Symposium: Part 2 — Hopping robots and the search for exoplanet magnetospheres
Oct 22, 2025
Join Mary Knapp, a research scientist at MIT leading the GOLO project, as she explores using space-based radio arrays to study exoplanet magnetic fields. Michael Hecht shares his innovative electrolysis techniques to transform Venus’s atmosphere into fuel for exploration. Robotics technologist Benjamin Hockman discusses Gravity Poppers, tiny probes for asteroid mapping, alongside a tethered balloon for imaging Venus's surface. Justin Yim introduces LEAP, a hopping robot designed to sample Enceladus’s plumes, revealing exciting potential in the search for extraterrestrial life!
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Low-Frequency Radio Needs Space Constellations
- Earth's ionosphere blocks long radio wavelengths so we cannot observe low-frequency radio from the ground.
- Mary Knapp proposes a distributed space interferometer to access exoplanet magnetic signals for habitability studies.
Phase Up A Growing Interferometer
- Coordinate spacecraft positions and timing precisely to phase up interferometric signals.
- Build constellations incrementally (5, 10, 100...) to gain science while scaling toward tens of thousands.
Radio Emission Reveals Magnetic Strength
- Planetary magnetic fields emit low-frequency radio tied to field strength, offering a direct remote measurement.
- Detecting these emissions lets us infer exoplanet magnetic fields and implications for atmosphere retention.
