NASA Awards $175,000 to UCF Team for 25-Spacecraft Telescope Concept

A University of Central Florida research team has received a $175,000 grant from NASA to evaluate a concept for a virtual telescope composed of up to 25 separate spacecraft. The funding is part of the agency's 2026 Innovative Advanced Concepts, or NIAC, program, which supports early-stage exploration of transformative aerospace technologies. Anish Roshi Damodaran, a professor at UCF, is the lead investigator on the project.

The concept, designated PHOENIX, stands for Photonics-Enabled Heterodyne Submillimeter/Far-Infrared Interferometer. It proposes using advanced photonic technologies to link smaller satellites into a single, powerful space-based interferometer. By working together, the array would function as a much larger telescope capable of producing ultra-high-resolution observations at submillimeter and far-infrared wavelengths. These wavelengths are critical for observing cold gas and dust that are otherwise invisible to the human eye.

Damodaran, who previously led radio astronomy operations for the Arecibo Observatory, continues his research at UCF following the telescope's collapse in 2020. He is one of 18 researchers selected nationwide for Phase I of the NIAC program. The nine-month award allows the team to develop a detailed mission architecture and assess the feasibility of the proposed design without the immediate pressure of building a physical prototype.

The project relies on specialized expertise from multiple UCF departments and external partners. Collaborators include Peter Delfyett, a Pegasus Professor at the College of Optics and Photonics, along with professors Guifang Li and Stephen Eikenberry from the same college. The team also includes Julie Brisset from the Florida Space Institute, Yan Fernandez from the College of Sciences, and researchers Jacob Kooi and Jonathan Kawamura from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Existing observatories can detect the cold gas and dust associated with star and planet formation, but they often lack the resolution to see the specific structures where these processes occur. A single telescope large enough to resolve these details would face major launch constraints. PHOENIX aims to overcome this by distributing the observing power across multiple smaller satellites, though this approach requires precise synchronization of the spacecraft and the processing of massive data streams.

Damodaran notes that the ability to directly observe planet formation in protoplanetary disks is a primary goal of the study. The concept could allow scientists to resolve structures on scales comparable to the inner solar system, tracking how water, ice, and dust assemble into planets. It could also help researchers investigate the conditions that lead to potentially habitable planetary systems.

Beyond planet formation, the virtual telescope could provide new insights into how stars form within dense, dust-enshrouded environments. By combining high-resolution imaging with spectroscopy, the system could analyze how turbulence, gravity, and gas dynamics interact. On a larger scale, observations of distant galaxies could help researchers examine how supermassive black holes and star formation have influenced galactic evolution over billions of years.

The current Phase I study focuses on identifying critical enabling technologies and defining the scientific capabilities of the PHOENIX concept. Damodaran attended the NIAC orientation and symposium to meet other fellows and learn about the range of early-stage concepts being pursued. He described the process as similar to undertaking a second doctoral thesis, requiring the questioning of assumptions and the development of a compelling scientific case.

NASA plans to make six to eight Phase II awards and one Phase III award annually. Phase II provides up to $750,000 for two years of further development, while Phase III offers up to $2 million for another two years. The goal of these later stages is to transition high-potential concepts for implementation by NASA, other government agencies, or commercial partners.