NASA is set to change the way cargoes are transported by air. Soon, there will be airships.

Airships will revolutionize air transportation worldwide as NASA's first prototype is scheduled to take off in 2012, according to London's Daily Telegraph.

"One of NASA's jobs is to solve the nation's air transportation challenges with research, and airships haven't seen much research in the past few decades," said Dr. Pete Worden, the director of NASA research arm Ames.

NASA's airships could potentially solve transportation issues of heavy cargoes addressed to areas with rough terrain or roads not meant for regular airplane landing. These airships may well become the freight carrier of the 21st century.

"Initially we are expecting to be able to lift tens of tons and we are building a demonstrator that we hope to fly at the end of next year," Dr. Worden told the Telegraph.

"In the long run, I think it could be used for many forms of cargo transport. One of the ideas that people have looked at is that these things can go up to hundreds of tons. We will have those by the end of the decade."

Eco-friendly Air Freights

In terms of gas emissions, NASA's airships could be the most eco-friendly freight carrier. Stephen Fankhauser, an aviation expert at the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, said airships could potentially aid the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

"The measure of greenhouse gas emissions per amount of freight that is being carried ... would be increasingly important," he said.

"The greenhouse gas emissions for road transport in the world are quite considerable compared to air transport, [so] focusing on reducing greenhouse gas emissions for road transport should be a priority."

One issue that cargo shippers would have to deal with is the cost of cargo transport. Fankhauser said NASA could use airlines' current productivity measures to determine the amount of freight that can be carried and the rate at which the transport could be completed.

NASA would also have to consider the weather factor.

"Aircraft, as you know, fly at very high altitudes - 30,000 feet - and get above localised weather patterns. The airship will ... not be that and will therefore be subject to local weather patterns," Fankhauser said.

Meanwhile, the Financial Time reported that Discovery Air Innovations, which provides aviation for mining and oil and gas projects, is buying hybrid craft from Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV), a British dealer. The deal was reportedly at £2 billion ($3.05 billion).

HAV is currently working with US defence contractor Northrop Grumman to build airships for use by the US military in Afghanistan in early 2012. These airships will be called the Long-Endurance Multi-intelligence Vehicle or LEMV.

In the past decade, some aviation companies have intended to build commercial airships, including Australian-British company's SkyLifter, the magnificent Bullet 580 that gives scientists virtual space experiences, and the Aircruise, which from the name is meant for cruising the skies.