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ANTS or Autonomous NanoTechnology Swarm looks like a very cool technology with many applications in space travel. NASA Goddard's site on the subject may not look the slickest site you've seeen on the web but the technologies they are investigating are exciting to those interested in the exploration of our solar system.

The idea is very simple, take many carbon nanotubes, link them together with a 'node', allow them to bend and stretch in a controlled manner and you can replicate different types of movement from snakelike - wiggling across the surface of an object to something that looks almost insectile as it 'tumbles' along the terrain.

I was pleased to see a concept that included using the ANTS in a solar sail configuration as this is something that has interested me ever since I did my 3rd year dissertation on a solar sail mission to Mars. If they can keep the pace of technological innovation that they would like the future is going to be an exciting place. Unfortunately, I feel that if history has taught us anything it's that when it comes to space endeavours, unless the final product is designed to kill something, the incumbent president is often much more interested in spending money on other things - such as ones that go bang.