Illustration of robot landing and moving on an asteroid.
If humans in future decades realize a goal of mining asteroids for water, Jay McMahon may very well be able to take credit for helping to make it happen.
McMahon, 34, is the recipient of one of 15 Phase I proposals receiving awards announced Thursday by NASA for early stage technology projects considered visionary concepts in future space exploration.
McMahon's proposal is titled "Dismantling Rubble Pile Asteroids with Area-of-Effect Soft-bots," and like the other 14 Phase I grant recipients, he will receive about $125,000 to cover nine months of work starting in May.