EARLY STAGE INNOVATIONS (ESI26)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Headquarters has released the solicitation Early Stage Innovations (ESI), seeking proposals from U.S. institutions of higher education for innovative, early-stage space technology research of high priority to NASA. The solicitation exclusively seeks proposals that are primarily responsive to civil-space needs and use cases, and not terrestrial and/or non-civil-space applications. • The solicitation seeks proposals on specific space technologies that are currently at low Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs). • Proposals are sought on eight topics, including acceleration of computational fluid dynamics, autonomous maintenance and manufacturing technologies, and robotic construction and outfitting for surface power grids on the Moon and Mars. • Only U.S. institutions of higher education are eligible to submit proposals, and the Principal Investigator must be a tenured or untenured faculty member on the tenure track. • Awards are planned to start in June 2027, and NASA plans to make approximately 24 awards as a result of this solicitation.