NASA has funded a conceptual study aimed at developing a method for constructing enormous radar antennas in space from modular metamaterials using robots. The project was developed by David Smith, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke University. He received funding through NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program for 2026.

For now, this is only a research concept, not a completed space-based radar system. During the first stage, scientists will determine how technically feasible the approach is.

The need for larger space-based radars is linked to the growing number of objects in Earth orbit. Ground-based systems already track space debris and satellites, but detecting small objects and monitoring spacecraft at greater distances requires increasingly large and effective apertures.

Instead of launching an enormous antenna as a single structure, researchers propose delivering individual components into space and then using robots to assemble the structure directly in orbit.

The concept could use technologies from the ARMADAS project, under which NASA is already developing autonomous robots capable of assembling structures from standardized blocks.

A key feature of the new concept is the use of metamaterials — artificial structures whose properties are determined not only by their composition but also by their specially engineered geometry. Such structures can be used to control the direction and other characteristics of electromagnetic wave propagation.

A large electromagnetic aperture could be assembled from many small elements and operate as a single antenna.

A larger aperture could potentially increase the resolution and sensitivity of radar systems, improving the observation of distant and difficult-to-detect objects.

In the future, a similar approach could be used not only for monitoring the space environment but also for large-aperture Earth observation systems and deep-space communications.

However, the project faces numerous technical challenges. A huge modular structure would have to maintain its mechanical and electrical performance under radiation, extreme temperature fluctuations, micrometeoroid impacts, and space debris.

Researchers would also need to determine how damaged components could be replaced and how local failures would affect the performance of the overall system.

During the first stage, NASA plans to study metamaterial designs through computer modeling while simultaneously taking into account the constraints associated with robotic assembly.

If the concept proves viable, it could open up a new way of building large-scale infrastructure directly in orbit without having to launch it as a single enormous structure.