Space Technology Mission Directorate

NASA researchers are looking at the possibility of using a wingless, unpowered aircraft design from the 1960s to gather atmospheric data on other planets – doing the same work as small satellites but potentially better and more economically.

Posted March 13, 2024

Astronauts

Commercial Crew

Expedition 70

Humans in Space

International Space Station (ISS)

Jasmin Moghbeli

Loral O'Hara

Space Technology Mission Directorate

NASA Astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara Read “First Woman”

In this image from Jan. 12, 2024, NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli (left) and Loral O’Hara pose with a copy of “First Woman”, NASA’s first graphic novel, inside the International Space Station’s cupola. The interactive graphic novel chronicles the adventures of fictional astronaut Callie Rodriguez, the first woman to explore the Moon.

Posted March 12, 2024

General

Ames Research Center

Commercial Space

Commercial Space Programs

Flight Opportunities Program

Langley Research Center

NASA Centers & Facilities

NASA Directorates

Space Technology Mission Directorate

The Future of Commercial Space

NASA Helps Emerging Space Companies ‘Take the Heat’

Things are heating up in the atmosphere, and NASA is helping space start-ups stay cool. NASA has decades of expertise in creating technology that protects spacecraft from the intense heat generated when entering an atmosphere. As emerging companies develop innovative ways to do business in space, they know where to turn – and the […]

Posted March 7, 2024

Technology

Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)

Earth's Moon

Game Changing Development Program

Robotics

Space Technology Mission Directorate

NASA’s Network of Small Moon-Bound Rovers Is Ready to Roll

Construction and testing are complete on the CADRE rovers, which will map the lunar surface together as a tech demo to show the promise of multirobot missions. A trio of small rovers that will explore the Moon in sync with one another are rolling toward launch. Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California […]

Posted March 7, 2024

General

Space Technology Mission Directorate

Spinoffs

Technology Transfer

Technology Transfer & Spinoffs

Tech Today: Semiconductor Research Leads to Revolution in Dental Care

Toothpaste based on the mineral hydroxyapatite, popular across Asia and much of Europe today, is finding its first foothold in the U.S. But the idea behind this alternative to fluoride-based toothpaste was conceived here in a short-lived NASA field center more than 50 years ago. While working at NASA’s Electronics Research Center – active in […]

Posted March 5, 2024

Flight Opportunities Program

Small Spacecraft Technology Program

Space Technology Mission Directorate

NASA Awards Contracts for Flight, Payload Integration Services

NASA has selected 15 companies to provide flight and payload integration services to advance technologies and procedures for operating in space, including testing in high-altitude, reduced gravity, or other relevant environments. Examples of payloads include NASA science instruments or technology demonstrations.

Posted March 4, 2024

Small Spacecraft Technology Program

Ames Research Center

Space Technology Mission Directorate

NASA to Demonstrate Miniature CubeSat Swarm Technology

Preparations are underway for a new, small spacecraft technology demonstration that will test cost-efficient swarm capabilities – the ability for multiple spacecraft to communicate and perform coordinated actions. The PY4 mission’s four CubeSats are slated to launch Monday March 4, 2:05 p.m.

Posted March 4, 2024

Space Technology Mission Directorate

Game Changing Development Program

General

Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium

Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative

NASA Directorates

Student Teams to Help Fill the Inflatable Void with Latest Student Challenge

This year will be a “BIG” year for several college and university teams as they research, design, and demonstrate novel inflatable systems configured for future lunar operations through a NASA-sponsored engineering competition.

Posted February 29, 2024

Spinoffs

Space Technology Mission Directorate

Technology Transfer

Technology Transfer & Spinoffs

Seeing is Communicating

Eye-tracking technology supported by NASA makes ‘talking’ possible for people who can’t.

Posted February 20, 2024

Marshall Space Flight Center

Space Technology Mission Directorate

Technology Demonstration

NASA Solar Sail Technology Passes Crucial Deployment Test

By Wayne Smith In his youth, NASA technologist Les Johnson was riveted by the 1974 novel “The Mote in God’s Eye,” by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven, in which an alien spacecraft propelled by solar sails visits humanity. Today, Johnson and a NASA team are preparing to test a similar technology. NASA continues to unfurl […]

Posted February 12, 2024