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By Space Force
After a month-long series of exercises across the Indo-Pacific, The Department of the Air Force has concluded its Department-Level Exercises and looks to lessons learned.
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By NASA
An artist’s concept of the Moon (right) and Mars (center) against the starry expanse of space. A sliver of the Earth’s horizon can be seen in the foreground.Credit: NASA NASA is accepting U.S. submissions for the second phase of the agency’s LunaRecycle Challenge, a Moon-focused recycling competition. The challenge aims to develop solutions for recycling common trash materials – like fabrics, plastics, foam, and metals – that could accumulate from activities such as system operations, industrial activities, and building habitats in deep space.
Phase 2 of the LunaRecycle Challenge is divided into two levels: a milestone round and the final round. Submissions for the milestone round are open until January 2026, with finalists from that round announced in February. Up to 20 finalists from the milestone round will compete in the challenge’s in-person prototype demonstrations and final judging, slated for the following August. Cash prizes totaling $2 million are available for successful solutions in both rounds.
“NASA is eager to see how reimagining these materials can be helpful to potential future planetary surface missions,” said Jennifer Edmunson, acting program manager for Centennial Challenges at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “I’m confident focusing on the most critical trash items – and integration of the prototype and digital twin competition tracks – will yield remarkable solutions that could enable a sustainable human presence off-Earth and transform the future of space exploration.”
Estimates indicate a crew of four astronauts could generate more than 2,100 kilograms (4,600 pounds) of single-use waste – including food packaging, plastic films, foam packaging, clothing, and more – within 365 days. Successful solutions in LunaRecycle’s Phase 2 should manage realistic trash volumes while minimizing resource inputs and crew time and operating safely with minimal hazards.
Phase 2 is only open to U.S. individuals and teams. Participants can submit solutions regardless of whether they competed in the earlier Phase 1 competition.
All Phase 2 participants are expected to build a physical prototype. In addition, participants can submit a digital twin of their prototype for additional awards in the milestone and final rounds.
The LunaRecycle Challenge is a NASA Centennial Challenge, part of the Prizes, Challenges and Crowdsourcing Program within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. LunaRecycle Phase 1 received record-breaking interest from the global innovator community. The challenge received more than 1,200 registrations – more than any competition in the 20-year history of Centennial Challenges – and a panel of 50 judges evaluated nearly 200 submissions. Seventeen teams were selected as Phase 1 winners, representing five countries and nine U.S. states. Winners were announced via livestream on NASA Marshall’s YouTube channel.
LunaRecycle is managed at NASA Marshall with subject matter experts primarily at the center, as well as NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. NASA, in partnership with The University of Alabama College of Engineering, manages the challenge with coordination from former Centennial Challenge winner AI SpaceFactory and environmental sustainability industry member Veolia.
To learn more about LunaRecycle’s second phase, including registration for upcoming webinars, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/lunarecycle
-end-
Jasmine Hopkins
NASA Headquarters, Washington
321-432-4624
jasmine.s.hopkins@nasa.gov
Taylor Goodwin
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
taylor.goodwin@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Aug 11, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
NASA Headquarters Ames Research Center Centennial Challenges Kennedy Space Center Marshall Space Flight Center Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program Space Technology Mission Directorate View the full article
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By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA has released a new proposal opportunity for industry to tap into agency know-how, resources, and expertise. The Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity (ACO), managed by the Space Technology Mission Directorate, enables valuable collaboration without financial exchanges between NASA and industry partners. Instead, companies leverage NASA subject matter experts, facilities, software, and hardware to accelerate their technologies and prepare them for future commercial and government use.
On Wednesday, NASA issued a standing ACO announcement for partnership proposals which will be available for five years and will serve as the umbrella opportunity for topic-specific appendix releases. NASA intends to issue appendices every six to 12 months to address evolving space technology needs. The 2025 ACO appendix is open for proposals until Sept. 24.
NASA will host an informational webinar about the opportunity and appendix at 2 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Aug. 6. Interested proposers are encouraged to submit questions which will be answered during the webinar and will be available online after the webinar.
NASA teaming with industry isn’t new – decades of partnerships have resulted in ambitious missions that benefit all of humanity. But in recent years, NASA has also played a key role as a technology enabler, providing one-of-a-kind tools, resources, and infrastructure to help commercial aerospace companies achieve their goals.
Since 2015, NASA has collaborated with industry on approximately 80 ACO projects. Here are some ways the collaborations have advanced space technology:
Lunar lander systems
Blue Origin and NASA worked together on several ACOs to mature the company’s lunar lander design. NASA provided technical reports and assessments and conducted tests at multiple centers to help Blue Origin advance a stacked fuel cell system for a lander’s primary power source. Other Blue Origin ACO projects evaluated high-temperature engine materials and advanced a landing navigation and guidance system.
Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) lander is delivering NASA science and technology to the Moon through the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. In 2023, NASA selected Blue Origin as a Human Landing System provider to develop its Blue Moon MK2 lander for future crewed lunar exploration.
Artist concept of Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) lander.Blue Origin Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) lander is delivering NASA science and technology to the Moon through the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. In 2023, NASA selected Blue Origin as a Human Landing System provider to develop its Blue Moon MK2 lander for future crewed lunar exploration.
Cryogenic fluid transfer
Throughout a year-long ACO, NASA and SpaceX engineers worked together to perform in-depth computational fluid analysis of proposed propellant transfer methods between two SpaceX Starship spacecraft in low-Earth orbit. The SpaceX-specific analysis utilized Starship flight data and data from previous NASA research and development to identify potential risks and help mitigate them during the early stages of commercial development. NASA also provided inputs as SpaceX developed an initial concept of operations for its orbital propellant transfer missions.
Artist’s concept of Starship propellant transfer in space.SpaceX SpaceX used the ACO analyses to inform the design of its Starship Human Landing System, which NASA selected in 2021 to put the first Artemis astronauts on the Moon.
Autonomous spacecraft navigation solution
Advanced Space and NASA partnered to advance the company’s Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System – software that allows lunar spacecraft to determine their location without relying exclusively on tracking from Earth.
Dylan Schmidt, CAPSTONE assembly integration and test lead, installs solar panels onto the CAPSTONE spacecraft at Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Inc., in Irvine, California.NASA/Dominic Hart The CAPSTONE (Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment) spacecraft launched to the Moon in 2022 and continues to operate and collect critical data to refine the software. Under the ACO, Advanced Space was able to use NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to conduct crosslink experiments with CAPSTONE, helping mature the navigation solution for future missions. The mission’s Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System technology was initially supported through the NASA Small Business Innovation Research program.
Multi-purpose laser sensing system
Sensuron and NASA matured a miniature, rugged fiber optic sensing system capable of taking thermal and shape measurements for multiple applications. Throughout the ACO, Sensuron benefitted from NASA’s expertise in fiber optics and electrical, mechanical, and system testing engineering to design, fabricate, and “shake and bake” its prototype laser.
NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center’s FOSS, Fiber Optic Sensing System, recently supported tests of a system designed to turn oxygen into liquid oxygen, a component of rocket fuel. Patrick Chan, electronics engineer, and NASA Armstrong’s FOSS portfolio project manager, shows fiber like that used in the testing.NASA/Genaro Vavuris Space missions could use the technology to monitor cryogenic propellant levels and determine a fuel tank’s structural integrity throughout an extended mission. The laser technology also has medical applications on Earth, which ultimately resulted in the Sensuron spinoff company, The Shape Sensing Company.
Flexible lunar tires
In 2023, Venturi Astrolab began work with NASA under an ACO to test its flexible lunar tire design. The company tapped into testing capabilities unique to NASA, including heat transfer to cold lunar soil, traction, and life testing. The data validated the performance of tire prototypes, helping ready the design to support future NASA missions.
In 2024, NASA selected three companies, including Venturi Astrolab, to advance capabilities for a lunar terrain vehicle that astronauts could use to travel around the lunar surface, conducting scientific research on the Moon and preparing for human missions to Mars.
Venturi Lab designed and developed a durable, robust, and hyper-deformable lunar wheel.Venturi Lab The Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity (ACO) is one of many ways NASA enables commercial industry to develop, build, own, and eventually operate space systems. To learn more about these technology projects and more, visit: https://techport.nasa.gov/.
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2 min read NASA Seeks Industry Concepts on Moon, Mars Communications
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Last Updated Jul 30, 2025 EditorLoura Hall Related Terms
Space Technology Mission Directorate Communicating and Navigating with Missions Small Spacecraft Technology Program Space Communications Technology Technology Technology Transfer & Spinoffs View the full article
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By NASA
This artist’s concept of Blue Ghost Mission 4 shows Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander and NASA payloads in the lunar South Pole Region, through NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative.Credit: Firefly Aerospace NASA has awarded Firefly Aerospace of Cedar Park, Texas, $176.7 million to deliver two rovers and three scientific instruments to the lunar surface as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign to explore more of the Moon than ever before.
This delivery is the first time NASA will use multiple rovers and a variety of stationary instruments, in a collaborative effort with the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) and the University of Bern, to help us understand the chemical composition of the lunar South Pole region and discover the potential for using resources available in permanently shadowed regions of the Moon.
“Through CLPS, NASA is embracing a new era of lunar exploration, with commercial companies leading the way,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “These investigations will produce critical knowledge required for long-term sustainability and contribute to a deeper understanding of the lunar surface, allowing us to meet our scientific and exploration goals for the South Pole region of the Moon for the benefit of all.”
Under the new CLPS task order, Firefly is tasked with delivering end-to-end payload services to the lunar surface, with a period of performance from Tuesday to March 29, 2030. The company’s lunar lander is targeted to land at the Moon’s South Pole region in 2029.
This is Firefly’s fifth task order award and fourth lunar mission through CLPS. Firefly’s first delivery successfully landed on the Moon’s near side in March 2025 with 10 NASA payloads. The company’s second mission, targeting a launch in 2026, includes a lunar orbit drop-off of a satellite combined with a delivery to the lunar surface on the far side. Firefly’s third lunar mission will target landing in the Gruithuisen Domes on the near side of the Moon in 2028, delivering six experiments to study that enigmatic lunar volcanic terrain.
“As NASA sends both humans and robots to further explore the Moon, CLPS deliveries to the lunar South Pole region will provide a better understanding of the exploration environment, accelerating progress toward establishing a long-term human presence on the Moon, as well as eventual human missions to Mars,” said Adam Schlesinger, manager of the CLPS initiative at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The rovers and instruments that are part of this newly awarded flight include:
MoonRanger is an autonomous microrover that will explore the lunar surface. MoonRanger will collect images and telemetry data while demonstrating autonomous capabilities for lunar polar exploration. Its onboard Neutron Spectrometer System instrument will study hydrogen-bearing volatiles and the composition of lunar regolith, or soil.
Lead development organizations: NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, and Carnegie Mellon University and Astrobotic, both in Pittsburgh. Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume Surface Studies will use enhanced stereo imaging photogrammetry, active illumination, and ejecta impact detection sensors to capture the impact of the rocket exhaust plume on lunar regolith as the lander descends on the Moon’s surface. The high-resolution stereo images will help predict lunar regolith erosion and ejecta characteristics, as bigger, heavier spacecraft and hardware are delivered to the Moon near each other in the future.
Lead development organization: NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Laser Retroreflector Array is an array of eight retroreflectors on an aluminum support structure that enables precision laser ranging, a measurement of the distance between the orbiting or landing spacecraft to the reflector on the lander. The array is a passive optical instrument, which functions without power, and will serve as a permanent location marker on the Moon for decades to come.
Lead development organization: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. A CSA Rover is designed to access and explore remote South Pole areas of interest, including permanently shadowed regions, and to survive at least one lunar night. The CSA rover has stereo cameras, a neutron spectrometer, two imagers (visible to near-infrared), a radiation micro-dosimeter, and a NASA-contributed thermal imaging radiometer developed by the Applied Physics Laboratory. These instruments will advance our understanding of the physical and chemical properties of the lunar surface, the geological history of the Moon, and potential resources such as water ice. It will also improve our understanding of the environmental challenges that await future astronauts and their life support systems.
Lead development organization: CSA. Laser Ionization Mass Spectrometer is a mass spectrometer that will analyze the element and isotope composition of lunar regolith. The instrument will utilize a Firefly-built robotic arm and Titanium shovel that will deploy to the lunar surface and support regolith excavation. The system will then funnel the sample into its collection unit and use a pulsed laser beam to identify differences in chemistry compared to samples studied in the past, like those collected during the Apollo program. Grain-by-grain analyses will provide a better understanding of the chemical complexity of the landing site and the surrounding area, offering insights into the evolution of the Moon.
Lead development organization: University of Bern in Switzerland. Through the CLPS initiative, NASA purchases lunar landing and surface operations services from American companies. The agency uses CLPS to send scientific instruments and technology demonstrations to advance capabilities for science, exploration, or commercial development of the Moon, and to support human exploration beyond to Mars. By supporting a robust cadence of lunar deliveries, NASA will continue to enable a growing lunar economy while leveraging the entrepreneurial innovation of the commercial space industry.
To learn more about CLPS and Artemis, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/clps
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Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
Nilufar Ramji
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
nilufar.ramji@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Jul 29, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Artemis Earth's Moon View the full article
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA’s Athena Economical Payload Integration Cost mission, or Athena EPIC, is a test launch for an innovative, scalable space vehicle design to support future missions. The small satellite platform is engineered to share resources among the payloads onboard by managing routine functions so the individual payloads don’t have to.
This technology results in lower costs to taxpayers and a quicker path to launch.
Fully integrated, the Athena EPIC satellite undergoes performance testing in a NovaWurks cleanroom to prepare the sensor for launch. The optical module payload element may be seen near the top of the instrument with the single small telescope.NovaWurks “Increasing the speed of discovery is foundational to NASA. Our ability to leverage access to innovative space technologies across federal agencies through industry partners is the future,” said Clayton Turner, Associate Administrator for Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington. “Athena EPIC is a valuable demonstration of the government at its best — serving humankind to advance knowledge with existing hardware configured to operate with new technologies.”
The NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the U.S. Space Force are government partners for this demo mission. Athena EPIC’s industry partner, NovaWurks, provided the space vehicle, which utilizes a small satellite platform assembled with a Hyper-Integrated Satlet, or HISat.
Engineers at NovaWurks in Long Beach prepare to mount the optical payload subassembly (center, silver) consisting of the payload optical module and single telescope mounted between gimbals on each of two HISats on either side of the module which will allow scanning across the Earth’s surface.NovaWurks The HISat instruments are similar in nature to a child’s toy interlocking building blocks. They’re engineered to be built into larger structures called SensorCraft. Those SensorCraft can share resources with multiple payloads and conform to different sizes and shapes to accommodate them. This easily configurable, building-block architecture allows a lot of flexibility with payload designs and concepts, ultimately giving payload providers easier, less expensive access to space and increased maneuverability between multiple orbits.
Scientists at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, designed and built the Athena sensor payload, which consists of an optical module, a calibration module, and a newly developed sensor electronics assembly. Athena EPIC’s sensor was built with spare parts from NASA’s CERES (Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System) mission. Several different generations of CERES satellite and space station instruments have tracked Earth’s radiation budget.
“Instead of Athena carrying its own processor, we’re using the processors on the HISats to control things like our heaters and do some of the control functions that typically would be done by a processor on our payload,” said Kory Priestley, principal investigator for Athena EPIC from NASA Langley. “So, this is merging an instrument and a satellite platform into what we are calling a SensorCraft. It’s a more integrated approach. We don’t need as many capabilities built into our key instrument because it’s being brought to us by the satellite host. We obtain greater redundancy, and it simplifies our payload.”
The fully assembled and tested Athena EPIC satellite which incorporates eight HISats mounted on a mock-up of a SpaceX provided launch pedestal which will hold Athena during launch.NovaWurks This is the first HISat mission led by NASA. Traditional satellites, like the ones that host the CERES instruments — are large, sometimes the size of a school bus, and carry multiple instruments. They tend to be custom units built with all of their own hardware and software to manage control, propulsion, cameras, carousels, processors, batteries, and more, and sometimes even require two of everything to guard against failures in the system. All of these factors, plus the need for a larger launch vehicle, significantly increase costs.
This transformational approach to getting instruments into space can reduce the cost from billions to millions per mission. “Now we are talking about something much smaller — SensorCraft the size of a mini refrigerator,” said Priestley. “If you do have failures on orbit, you can replace these much more economically. It’s a very different approach moving forward for Earth observation.”
The Athena EPIC satellite is shown here mounted onto a vibration table during pre-launch environmental testing. The optical payload is located at the top in this picture with the two solar arrays, stowed for launch, flanking the lower half sides of the satellite.NovaWurks Athena EPIC is scheduled to launch July 22 as a rideshare on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The primary NASA payload on the launch will be the TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) mission. The TRACERS mission is led by the University of Iowa for NASA’s Heliophysics Division within the Science Mission Directorate. NASA’s Earth Science Division also provided funding for Athena EPIC.
“Langley Research Center has long been a leader in developing remote sensing instruments for in-orbit satellites. As satellites become smaller, a less traditional, more efficient path to launch is needed in order to decrease complexity while simultaneously increasing the value of exploration, science, and technology measurements for the Nation,” added Turner.
For more information on NASA’s Athena EPIC mission:
https://science.nasa.gov/misshttps://science.nasa.gov/mission/athena/ion/athena/
About the Author
Charles G. Hatfield
Science Public Affairs Officer, NASA Langley Research Center
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Last Updated Jul 18, 2025 ContactCharles G. Hatfieldcharles.g.hatfield@nasa.govLocationNASA Langley Research Center Related Terms
Langley Research Center Earth Earth Science Division Earth's Atmosphere General Science Mission Directorate Explore More
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