Space Technology Mission Directorate

Aeronautics
Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate
Flight Innovation
Prizes, Challenges, & Crowdsourcing News
Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program
Space Technology Mission Directorate
Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program
University Innovation
Editor’s note: This advisory was updated on March 24, 2026, to update the finalists list. NASA has selected seven student teams as finalists in the 2026 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition, giving them the resources to help address a critical challenge for U.S.
Posted March 24, 2026
Space Technology Mission Directorate
Ames Research Center
Goddard Space Flight Center
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program
Technology
As NASA seeks to understand the mysteries of the universe, the agency is advancing technologies to locate and explore Earth-like planets far beyond our solar system. A key element of this research involves observing reflected light from exoplanets, which can reveal indicators of Earth-like features such as water and oxygen.
Posted March 24, 2026
Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program
Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI)
CoECI News
Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate
Get Involved
Langley Research Center
NASA Directorates
Opportunities For Students to Get Involved
Prizes, Challenges, & Crowdsourcing News
Space Technology Mission Directorate
NASA selected 14 university teams from across the nation as finalists in the 2026 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) Competition. This NASA challenge tasks students to design innovative concepts that could further human life and work on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Posted March 20, 2026
General
Ames Research Center
Space Technology Mission Directorate
Certain nutrients critical for human health lack the shelf life needed to span multi-year missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. NASA’s BioNutrients-3 is part of an experiment series testing ways to use microorganisms to produce these nutrients in space and on demand.
Posted February 25, 2026
Space Technology Mission Directorate
Ames Research Center
Flight Opportunities Program
Technology
Technology Transfer
Using cutting-edge material licensed from NASA, a protective heat shield manufactured in-house by Varda Space Industries for the first time enabled one of its capsules to blaze through Earth’s atmosphere on Thursday, marking a significant milestone for the agency and America’s space industry.
Posted January 29, 2026
Space Nuclear Propulsion (SNP)
Marshall Space Flight Center
Space Technology Mission Directorate
Technology Demonstration Missions Program
Nuclear propulsion and power technologies could unlock new frontiers in missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. NASA has reached an important milestone advancing nuclear propulsion that could benefit future deep space missions by completing a cold-flow test campaign of the first flight reactor engineering development unit since the 1960s.
Posted January 28, 2026
Spinoffs
Space Technology Mission Directorate
Technology
Technology Transfer
Technology Transfer & Spinoffs
As NASA fosters technologies needed to live and work farther away from home than ever before, the agency’s Technology Transfer program has the sole mission of getting those innovations into the hands of companies, entrepreneurs, and, ultimately, everyday people.
Posted January 26, 2026
Space Technology Mission Directorate
Biological & Physical Sciences
Centennial Challenges
Centennial Challenges News
Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI)
Earth Science Division
Get Involved
Heliophysics
Human Research Program
Mars Campaign Development Division
Marshall Space Flight Center
Opportunities to Contribute to NASA Missions & Get Involved
Planetary Science
Planetary Science Division
Prizes, Challenges, & Crowdsourcing News
Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program
Technology
NASA is getting ready to send four astronauts around the Moon with Artemis II, laying the foundation for sustainable missions to the lunar surface and paving the way for human exploration on Mars. As the agency considers deep space endeavors that could last months or years, it must develop ways to feed astronauts beyond sending […]
Posted January 13, 2026
Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI)
CoECI News
Get Involved
NASA Directorates
Opportunities to Contribute to NASA Missions & Get Involved
Prizes, Challenges, & Crowdsourcing News
Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program
Space Technology Mission Directorate
NASA has identified a list of 32 technology shortfalls and invites you to give input on your critical technology needs using this feedback mechanism. Whether you’re part of the space technology community or an interested member of the public, your input is invaluable.
Posted January 12, 2026
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