Nasa has announced the selection of 13 university-led proposals that studies preliminary stage technologies and addresses top priorities of the US space programme.

Nasa’s indigenous Space Technology Research Grants Programme provides Early Stage Innovations (ESI) worth $500,000 each.

In this programme, the universities get two to three years to work on their proposed research and development projects.

“Nasa’s Early Stage Innovations grants provide US universities the opportunity to conduct research and technology development to advance Nasa’s scientific discovery and exploration goals."

Nasa Space Technology Mission Directorate associate administrator Steve Jurczyk said: “Nasa’s Early Stage Innovations grants provide US universities the opportunity to conduct research and technology development to advance Nasa’s scientific discovery and exploration goals.

“Partnering with academia in advancing these critical areas of research ensures we are engaging the best and brightest minds in enabling the agency’s future robotic and human space flight missions.”

The selected proposals demonstrate unique transformational technologies that cover a variety of areas.

Under the High Fidelity Modeling of Parachute Inflation Dynamics, proposals from Stanford University and University of Illinois proposals were selected.

Under the Modeling and Simulation-Based Certification of Additive Manufacturing Processing Parameters area, proposals submitted by Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh and The Ohio State University were chosen.

The University of California received ESI for Electric Propulsion Physics Theory and Model Development.

In the area of Modeling Radiation Failure Mechanisms in Wide-bandgap Semiconductor Materials to Power Devices, the proposals of Vanderbilt University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute were selected.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology and California Institute of Technology were awarded the ESI in the field of Advanced Telescope Architecture Technologies and Optical Components.

Under Autonomous Planning for Human Spaceflight, Georgia Institute of Technology, Arizona State University, and University of Texas at Austin were granted the ESI.

The objective of this programme is to encourage the development of space technologies in their earliest stages and accordingly enable Nasa’s future systems capabilities and missions.

The whole project is funded by Nasa's Space Technology Mission Directorate, which develops innovative technologies and capabilities for the agency.


Image: Nasa’s Early Stage Innovations grants provide universities the opportunity to conduct research and technology development for up to three years. Photo: courtesy of Nasa.