Pulverizing dangerous asteroids, building an observatory on the moon and more: 6 wild ideas catch NASA's eye

An artist's illustration of the FarView Observatory, a proposed radio telescope that would be built on the far side of the moon. (Image credit: Ronald Polidan/NASA)

Six early-stage space tech ideas have snagged funding from the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, which seeks to encourage the development of futuristic concepts that could revolutionize spaceflight and exploration. 

These projects each received initial funding via NIAC's Phase 1 in years past. They've now received a second round of funding for further research under NIAC Phase 2 — up to $600,000 over two years of work.