NASA is wrapping up the initial phase of its Fission Surface Power Project, which focused on developing concept designs for a small, electricity-generating nuclear fission reactor that could be used during a future demonstration on the Moon and to inform future designs for Mars. NASA awarded three $5 million contracts in 2022, tasking each commercial partner … Read more
NASA’s bio-manufacturing experiment called BioNutrients is testing a way to use microorganisms to produce on-demand nutrients that will be critical for human health during future long-duration space missions. Launched to the International Space Station in 2019, the experiment assesses the stability and performance of a hand-held system – dubbed a production pack – to manufacture fresh vitamins … Read more
As NASA innovates for the benefit of all, what the agency develops for exploration has the potential to evolve into other technologies with broader use here on Earth. Many of those examples are highlighted in NASA’s annual Spinoff book including dozens of NASA-enabled medical innovations, as well other advancements. This year’s publication, NASA’s 2024 Spinoff, … Read more
NASA is announcing 60 winning teams for its third TechRise Student Challenge, a nationwide contest to engage students in technology, science, and space exploration. The student teams will work together to turn their proposed science and technology experiments into reality ahead of NASA-sponsored suborbital flight tests this summer. The challenge opened for submissions in August … Read more
Transitioning cutting-edge research from the lab to life-changing technology in the market is no easy feat and the cost of failure is high, especially for small businesses. One of the ways NASA helps is through its Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, which supports small businesses, and their research institution partners during early-stage research and … Read more
Dr. Kurt “Spuds” Vogel will serve as the new associate administrator of the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced Tuesday. His appointment is effective immediately. Vogel succeeds James Reuter, who retired from the agency in June 2023. Dr. Prasun Desai has served as the acting … Read more
Establishing sustained operations at the Moon and Mars presents a multitude of opportunities and challenges NASA has yet to encounter. Many of these activities require new technologies and processes to ensure the agency is prepared for its ambitious Artemis missions and those beyond. One of those challenges is working with cryogenic fluids, meaning fluids existing … Read more
As part of NASA’s ongoing commitment to supporting American innovators and advancing new aerospace technologies the agency announced its second round of Phase I awards for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Ignite. The 10 selected small businesses will each receive up to $150,000 and have six months to establish the scientific, technical, and commercial merit and … Read more
Living and working in space requires getting ready a bit closer to Earth. Through a suborbital flight test on Dec. 19, 2023 with industry provider Blue Origin, NASA’s Flight Opportunities program is helping 14 research payloads move one step toward future space missions and commercial applications. The flown technologies aim to address some of the … Read more
The video, featuring a cat named Taters, was sent back from nearly 19 million miles away by NASA’s laser communications demonstration, marking a historic milestone. NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications experiment beamed an ultra-high definition streaming video on Dec. 11 from a record-setting 19 million miles away (31 million kilometers, or about 80 times the … Read more