PRAXIS: Planetary Rings Autonomous EXploration with In-situ Sampling

NASA has selected a new mission concept called PRAXIS for Phase I funding under the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) 2026 programme.

About PRAXIS

PRAXIS stands for Planetary Rings Autonomous EXploration with In-situ Sampling.

The proposed mission will use a bio-inspired robotic explorer powered by an artificial intelligence (AI) model.

The robotic explorer will be designed to directly sample particles from planetary ring systems, a capability that has never been attempted by any previous space mission.

The mission concept addresses important unanswered scientific questions about the formation, evolution and structure of planetary rings.

Its selection is aligned with scientific priorities identified by NASA’s Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey.

Humanity has so far never directly collected and sampled particles from a planetary ring system.

If successful, PRAXIS could provide new insights into the composition and origins of rings around:

• Saturn, which has dense and prominent rings
• Uranus and Neptune, which have comparatively tenuous rings
• Small Solar System bodies such as Centaurs Chariklo and Chiron
• Early protoplanetary and circumstellar disks

The mission aims to provide the first direct observations and in-situ sampling of millimetre- to centimetre-scale ring particles.

Planetary rings are highly dynamic and complex environments, where continuous movement of particles creates significant challenges for robotic exploration.

The mission will therefore require advanced robotic autonomy for:

• Collision avoidance
• Precision sampling
• In-situ scientific analysis
• Autonomous navigation in dynamic ring environments

PRAXIS proposes a novel combination of AI-driven autonomy and bio-inspired robotic design to enable direct exploration and sampling within planetary ring systems.

Source: NASA

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