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By NASA
NASA announced 10 winning teams for its latest TechLeap Prize — the Space Technology Payload Challenge — on June 26. The winners emerged from a record-breaking field of more than 200 applicants to earn cash prizes worth up to $500,000, if they have a flight-ready unit. Recipients may also have the opportunity to flight test their technologies.
NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences (BPS) division is supporting the emerging space economy through challenges like TechLeap. The projects receive funding through the Commercially Enabled Rapid Space Science (CERISS) initiative, which pairs government research goals with commercial innovation.
Two awardees’ capabilities specifically address BPS research priorities, which include conducting investigations that inform future space crops and advance precision health.
Ambrosia Space Manufacturing Corporation is developing a centrifuge system to separate nutrients from cell cultures — potentially creating space-based food processing that could turn algae into digestible meals for astronauts.
Helogen Corporation is building an automated laboratory system that can run biological experiments without requiring astronaut involvement and may be able to transmit real-time data to researchers on Earth without having to wait for physical samples to return.
“The innovations of these small- and midsize businesses could enable NASA to accelerate the pace of critical research,” says Dan Walsh, BPS’s program executive for CERISS. “It’s also an example of NASA enabling the emerging space industry to grow and thrive beyond big corporations.”
Small Packages with Big Ambitions
Every inch and ounce counts on a spacecraft, which means the winning teams have to think small while solving big problems.
Commercial companies play a pivotal role in enabling space-based research — they bring fresh approaches to ongoing challenges. But space missions demand a different kind of innovation, and TechLeap teams face both time and size constraints for their experiments.
Winners have six to nine months to demonstrate that their concepts work. That’s a significant contrast from traditional space technology development, which can stretch for years.
The research serves a larger purpose as well. The technology helps NASA “know before we go” on longer, deep-space missions to the Moon and Mars. Understanding how technologies behave in microgravity or extreme environments can prevent costly failures when astronauts are far from Earth.
Small investments in proof-of-concept technologies can bring in a high ROI. With the TechLeap Prize, BPS is betting that big ideas will come in small packages.
Related Resources
TechLeap Prize – Space Technology Payload Challenge (STPC)
Space Technology Payload Challenge Winners
Commercially Enabled Rapid Space Science Initiative
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By NASA
5 min read
NASA’s Apollo Samples, LRO Help Scientists Predict Moonquakes
This mosaic of the Taurus-Littrow valley was made using images from the Narrow Angle Cameras onboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The orbiter has been circling and studying the Moon since 2009. The ancient-lava-filled valley is cut by the Lee-Lincoln thrust fault, visible as a sinuous, white line extending from South Massif (mountain in the bottom left corner) to North Massif (mountain in the top center) where the fault abruptly changes direction and cuts along the slope of North Massif. The Lee-Lincoln fault has been the source of multiple strong moonquakes causing landslides and boulder falls on both North and South massifs. The approximate location of the Apollo 17 landing site is indicated to the right of the fault with a white “x”. NASA/ASU/Smithsonian As NASA prepares to send astronauts to the surface of the Moon’s south polar region for the first time ever during the Artemis III mission, scientists are working on methods to determine the frequency of moonquakes along active faults there.
Faults are cracks in the Moon’s crust that indicate that the Moon is slowly shrinking as its interior cools over time. The contraction from shrinking causes the faults to move suddenly, which generates quakes. Between 1969 and 1977, a network of seismometers deployed by Apollo astronauts on the Moon’s surface recorded thousands of vibrations from moonquakes.
Moonquakes are rare, with the most powerful ones, about magnitude 5.0, occurring near the surface. These types of quakes are much weaker than powerful quakes on Earth (magnitude 7.0 or higher), posing little risk to astronauts during a mission lasting just a few days. But their effects on longer-term lunar surface assets could be significant. Unlike an earthquake that lasts for tens of seconds to minutes, a moonquake can last for hours, enough time to damage or tip over structures, destabilize launch vehicles on the surface, or interrupt surface operations.
“The hazard probability goes way up depending on how close your infrastructure is to an active fault,” said Thomas Watters, senior scientist emeritus at the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum in Washington.
Watters is a long-time researcher of lunar geology and a co-investigator on NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) camera. Recently, he and Nicholas Schmerr, a planetary seismologist at the University of Maryland in College Park, developed a new method for estimating the magnitude of seismic shaking by analyzing evidence of dislodged boulders and landslides in an area, as the scientists reported on July 30 in the journal Science Advances. Studies like these can help NASA plan lunar surface assets in safer locations.
Unlike an earthquake that lasts for tens of seconds to minutes, a moonquake can last for hours, enough time to damage or tip over structures, destabilize launch vehicles on the surface, or interrupt surface operations.
There are thousands of faults across the Moon that may still be active and producing quakes. Watters and his team have identified these faults by analyzing data from LRO, which has been circling the Moon since 2009, mapping the surface and taking pictures, providing unprecedented detail of features like faults, boulders, and landslides.
For this study, Watters and Schmerr chose to analyze surface changes from quakes generated by the Lee-Lincoln fault in the Taurus-Littrow valley. NASA’s Apollo 17 astronauts, who landed about 4 miles west of the fault on Dec. 11, 1972, explored the area around the fault during their mission.
By studying boulder falls and a landslide likely dislodged by ground shaking near Lee Lincoln, Watters and Schmerr estimated that a magnitude 3.0 moonquake — similar to a relatively minor earthquake — occurs along the Lee Lincoln fault about every 5.6 million years.
“One of the things we’re learning from the Lee-Lincoln fault is that many similar faults have likely had multiple quakes spread out over millions of years,” Schmerr said. “This means that they are potentially still active today and may keep generating more moonquakes in the future.”
The authors chose to study the Lee-Lincoln fault because it offered a unique advantage: Apollo 17 astronauts brought back samples of boulders from the area. By studying these samples in labs, scientists were able to measure changes in the boulders’ chemistry caused by exposure to cosmic radiation over time (the boulder surface is freshly exposed after breaking off a larger rock that would have otherwise shielded it).
This cosmic radiation exposure information helped the researchers determine how long the boulders had been sitting in their current locations, which in turn helped inform the estimate of possible timing and frequency of quakes along the Lee-Lincoln fault.
This 1972 image shows Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt sampling a boulder at the base of North Massif in the Taurus-Littrow valley on the Moon. This large boulder is believed to have been dislodged by a strong moonquake that occurred about 28.5 million years ago. The source of the quake was likely a seismic event along the Lee-Lincoln fault. The picture was taken by astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, Apollo 17 commander. NASA/JSC/ASU Apollo 17 astronauts investigated the boulders at the bases of two mountains in the valley. The tracks left behind indicated that the boulders may have rolled downhill after being shaken loose during a moonquake on the fault. Using the size of each boulder, Watters and Schmerr estimated how hard the ground shaking would have been and the magnitude of the quake that would have caused the boulders to break free.
The team also estimated the seismic shaking and quake magnitude that would be needed to trigger the large landslide that sent material rushing across the valley floor, suggesting that this incident caused the rupture event that formed the Lee-Lincoln fault.
A computer simulation depicting the seismic waves emanating from a shallow moonquake on the Lee-Lincoln fault in the Taurus-Littrow valley on the Moon. The label “A17” marks the Apollo 17 landing site. The audio represents a moonquake that was recorded by a seismometer placed on the surface by astronauts. The seismic signal is converted into sound. Both audio and video are sped up to play 10 times faster than normal. The background image is a globe mosaic image from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Wide-Angle Camera. Red and blue are positive (upward ground motion) and negative (downward ground motion) polarities of the wave. Nicholas Schmerr Taking all these factors into account, Watters and Schmerr estimated that the chances that a quake would have shaken the Taurus-Littrow valley on any given day while the Apollo 17 astronauts were there are 1 in 20 million, the authors noted.
Their findings from the Lee-Lincoln fault are just the beginning. Watters and Schmerr now plan to use their new technique to analyze quake frequency at faults in the Moon’s south polar region, where NASA plans to explore.
NASA also is planning to send more seismometers to the Moon. First, the Farside Seismic Suite will deliver two sensitive seismometers to Schrödinger basin on the far side of the Moon onboard a lunar lander as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. Additionally, NASA is developing a payload, called the Lunar Environment Monitoring Station, for potential flight on NASA’s Artemis III mission to the South Pole region. Co-led by Schmerr, the payload will assess seismic risks for future human and robotic missions to the region.
Read More: What Are Moonquakes?
Read More: Moonquakes and Faults Near Lunar South Pole
For more information on NASA’s LRO, visit:
Media Contacts:
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
Lonnie Shekhtman
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
lonnie.shekhtman@nasa.gov
About the Author
Lonnie Shekhtman
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Last Updated Aug 14, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
4 Min Read GRUVE Lab
The CAVE in the GRUVE Lab is capable of running highly immersive VR experiences through powerful projectors, mirrors, an infrared motion tracking system, and active-shutter glasses. Credits: NASA About
The GRUVE (Glenn Reconfigurable User-Interface and Virtual Reality Exploration) Lab is located within the GVIS Lab. It is home to the CAVE, which is predominantly used for mission scenarios and to tour virtual environments of NASA facilities.
GRUVE Lab VisualizationUsers virtually explore a facility at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.NASA GRUVE Lab DemonstrationA user analyzes a visualization of a prototype structure.NASA GRUVE Lab VisualizationA user analyzes a visualization of a prototype structure that will be used for a fire experiment on the Moon.NASA GRUVE Lab VisualizationA Graphics and Visualization Lab (GVIS) intern in the Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE).NASA GRUVE Lab TourA user takes a virtual tour of a facility at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.NASA How GRUVE Works
GRUVE allows multiple people to view a visualization in 3D together. These visualizations include 3D models of NASA facilities and intricate images created from collected data.
Powerful projectors and mirrors, in combination with an infrared motion tracking system and active-shutter glasses, allow viewers to view 3D models and data in perfect perspective. 3D models effectively pop off the screen and remain proportional no matter where the user with the pair of tracking glasses moves in the environment.
The CAVE can be driven by either a Windows or Linux computer system, enabling the team to use the best environment for a given problem and software tool.
The CAVE setup immerses the user in 3D visualizations through walls on all sides, projectors from above, tracking cameras, and mirrors hidden behind the facade.Visbox, Inc. Benefits of GRUVE
The CAVE’s technology provides a unique advantage for researchers, scientists, engineers, and others. Seeing and analyzing forces and data that would otherwise not be viewable to the human eye allows the observer to understand their subject matter in more detail.
Benefits of GRUVE to research include:
Providing an immersive environment: with large screens to fill peripheral vision and stereoscopic projection for a real sense of three-dimensional space, more parts of the brain are engaged, and the user is better able to understand problems and solve them faster More effective collaboration: the ability to see each other in the virtual reality environment makes GRUVE better for collaboration than traditional VR technology Seeing complex data and flows in 3D: this makes it easier for both experts and non-experts to understand the data Providing greater resolution and larger display size: this allows details to be displayed without losing their context Delivering faster and more accurate manipulation and viewing of models, including CAD data, with fewer errors: this results in a faster time to market and less re-work All members of NASA Glenn may use GRUVE for their projects.
Applications of Immersive 3D Environments
Fluid dynamics analysis (CFD) Point cloud data, e.g., LiDAR Virtual design reviews Virtual manufacturing testing Computer Aided Design (CAD) 3D imaging data Training and education Virtual procedures Biomedical research Molecular dynamics Virtual building walkthroughs Showroom “theater” Education and outreach Building Information Management (BIM) Big data and data mining Cybersecurity data analysis Safety systems analysis Microfocus CT scan data Electron microscopy 3D photos and videos Data Types Supported
Point cloud data Volume data Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) Computer Aided Design (CAD) Molecular dynamics GRUVE Hardware
Linux CAVE node Windows 10 CAVE node CAVE wall Stereo glasses Audio system Tracking system Wand Software Available in the GRUVE Lab
The Windows node attached to the GRUVE Lab runs middleware software, which enables Unity-developed applications to run in the CAVE. This greatly expands the number of VR applications that can be run. Vrui VR Toolkit-based applications such as LiDAR viewer and 3D visualizer VMD – Visual Molecular Dynamics ParaView COVISE– Collaborative Visualization and Simulation Environment Other Visualization Devices
The GVIS Lab maintains a large collection of computing, visualization, and user interaction devices including:
Virtual reality display devices Head-mounted displays Room-scale CAVE Augmented reality head-mounted displays 3D displays Psuedo-3D displays Pepper’s Ghost display Persistence of Vision (POV) LED display Light field technology- based displays Projection devices for projected AR Natural user interface devices Hand gesture recognition devices Motion capture devices Cameras for mixed reality Computing hardware High-end laptops High-end desktops High-end tablets and smartphones Cameras Stereo 3D camera 180/360 camera Flight simulators 3D printers All these devices are available for employees to try and test for possible application to their work.
A Graphics and Visualization Lab (GVIS) intern in the Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE).NASA Contact Us
Need to reach us? You can send an email directly to the GVIS Team (GRC-DL-GVIS@mail.nasa.gov) or to the team leader, Herb Schilling (hschilling@nasa.gov).
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Last Updated Jul 23, 2025 LocationGlenn Research Center Related Terms
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By European Space Agency
When the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) flew past our Moon in August 2024, its Radar for Icy Moon Exploration (RIME) instrument listened to radio wave echoes to reveal the height of the lunar surface.
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