NASA will reward 15 universities grants for proposals related to the study of pioneering technologies.
Provided by NASA’s Space Technology Research Grants Program, the Early Stage Innovations grants have a maximum value of $500,000 each, according to a press release by NASA. The grant will give the universities two to three years to finish their proposals, each of which are somehow tied to one of NASA’ greatest needs.
“The agency’s space technology research areas lend themselves to the innovative approaches U.S. universities can offer for solving tough science and exploration challenges,” said Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington. “NASA’s Early Stage Innovations grants align with NASA’s Space Technology Roadmaps and the priorities identified by the National Research Council, helping enable NASA’s exploration goals including robotic missions to Mars and the outer planets, and ultimately human exploration of Mars.”
Some of the subjects that the projects will cover involve autonomous robotic mobility technology to be used for the exploration of icy moons, as proposed by Carnegie Mellon University; versatile manipulation for assistive free-flyers, Columbia University; assistive free-flyers with gecko-inspired adhesive appendages related to automated logistics in space, Stanford University; integrated photonics for space optical communication and ranging, University of California, San Diego; and modular cryogenic hydraulics for legged mobility, University of Maryland.
The purpose of the Space Technology Research Grants Program is to aid NASA, various U.S. governmental agencies, and the entire commercial space sector by producing low-technology readiness level space technologies that improve future systems capabilities and missions. NASA’s Space Technology Directorate funds the Space Technology Research Grants Program.
For a complete list of the universities selected for Early Stage Innovation grants and their proposals, click here.
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense
