NASA has announced the Space Technology Payload Challenge, inviting individuals, teams, and organizations to submit applications for systems that advance technology to address specific shortfalls identified by the agency. These shortfalls cover technology areas where further development is needed to meet the needs of future exploration, science, and other missions.
Selected technologies will potentially undergo a suborbital or hosted orbital flight demonstration to help mature the innovation. The technology will be tested aboard various vehicles or platforms capable of simulating reduced gravity conditions.
The challenge is divided into two groups of shortfalls, with one group coming from the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) and the other from NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences (BPS) Division through the Commercially Enabled Rapid Space Science Initiative (CERISS) program needs.
A total of $4,500,000 in prizes will be awarded to the winners of the challenge. The challenge is set to open on December 10, 2024, and submissions will be accepted until March 4, 2025.
This competition offers a unique opportunity for innovators to contribute to the advancement of space technology and potentially see their creations tested in real-world conditions. For more information on how to participate in the Space Technology Payload Challenge, visit the official website at https://www.stpc.nasatechleap.org/.
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