ISSUE: 69 | January 2024

In This Issue

News 

࡟ 60 winners announced for 2023–24 TechRise Student Challenge

Community of Practice 

࡟ Feb. 7: Leveraging Iterative Flight Testing to Advance Dust Sensor to Aid in Lunar Landings

Opportunities

࡟ TechLeap’s Feb. 1 registration deadline plus research on the International Space Station, 

funds for small businesses and students at minority-serving institutions, and more

Resources

࡟ Gravitational and Space Research journal

Events

࡟ Feb. 13-15: WEST 2024 (AFCEA & U.S. Naval Institute) • San Diego, California

࡟ Feb. 13-16: NASA Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop • Galveston, Texas

࡟ Feb. 21-22: FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference • Washington, D.C.

࡟ Mar. 11-15: Lunar and Planetary Science Conference • The Woodlands, Texas – Let us 

know if you’re attending!

Happy New Year!

The Flight Opportunities team
News

NASA Selects Winners of Third TechRise Student Challenge

On Jan. 23, NASA announced 60 winning teams 

for its third TechRise Student Challenge. 

The grades 6-12 student teams, who will work 

together to turn their proposed experiments into 

reality ahead, include more than 490 students 

representing 46 states and territories. Each team 

will receive $1,500 to build their experiments, 

a flight box to house it, technical support from 

Future Engineers, and an assigned spot for their 

experiments on a NASA-sponsored suborbital 

flight test scheduled for this summer.

Sittting at lab table, young man holds 

component and young woman holds soldering 

iron.

Addressing a wide variety of science and 

technology challenges, student experiments will 

fly on either a World View high-altitude balloon 

or Astrobotic’s Xodiac rocket-powered lander.

Approximately 200 volunteer judges with expertise in engineering, space, and Earth science reviewed 

entries and selected winners. Many thanks to our readers who served as judges!

Read NASA’s feature announcing this year’s TechRise winners.

Zephyr Proffitt (left) and Tayah Day of Red Mountain High School in 

Mesa, Arizona, work on building their experiment during last year’s 

TechRise Student Challenge. Credits: Red Mountain High School

Community of Practice

Leveraging Iterative Flight Testing to Advance Dust Sensor to Aid in Lunar 

Landings

Wednesday, February 7, 2024 

10:00-11:00 a.m. PST 

Researchers from the University of Central Florida will speak 

about Ejecta STORM (Sheet Tracking, Opacity, and Regolith 

Maturity) – an instrument designed to measure the size and speed 

of surface particles kicked up by the exhaust from a rocketpowered lander on the Moon or Mars. During this webinar, 

they will explore how they embraced the Flight Opportunities 

program’s “fly, fix, fly” ethos to advance their plume-surface 

interaction technology – from a 2020 flight campaign to a 2023 

series of flight tests on Astrobotic’s Xodiac rocket-powered 

lander.

Flight testing of Ejecta STORM in Sept. 2023. 

Video available here. Credits: Astrobotic
Community of Practice (cont)

In discussion with Flight Opportunities, researchers and Astrobotic will share valuable lessons learned 

on iterative flight testing to mature a technology that could reduce risk for lunar landings. 

Microsoft Teams meeting 

Join on your computer, mobile app or room device 

Click here to join the meeting

Or call-in (audio only):

+1 256-715-9946 • Phone Conference ID: 396 513 97#

See all Community of Practice webinars.

Do you have ideas or suggestions for a future Community of Practice topic? We’d love to hear 

your thoughts. Email us at NASA-FlightOpportunities@mail.nasa.gov to tell us what you’d like to see.

Opportunities

Register by Feb. 1 for TechLeap Universal Payload Interface Challenge

To move technologies into flight testing and between different 

flight environments as quickly as possible, NASA’s Flight 

Opportunities program invites innovators to develop a flightready universal payload interface for its third NASA TechLeap 

Prize. A maximum of three winners will receive up to $650,000 

each to build their system plus the opportunity to flight test it at 

no cost.

Interested in submitting your idea? 

࡟ You must first register by 2:00 p.m. PST Feb. 1. (Final applications are due Feb. 22, 2024.)

࡟ Learn more about the challenge, eligibility criteria, and more here. 

࡟ Watch recordings of Q&A and webinars about the challenge here. (Note: A Q&A webinar 

for registrants will be held on Feb. 8; details provided upon registration.)

Mar. 4 Deadline for Concept Summaries: Technology Advancement and 

Applied Research Leveraging the ISS National Lab (NLRA-2024-4)

Concept summaries are due March 4 for researchers interested 

in submitting proposals for flight investigations to be performed 

on the International Space Station. Researchers with applied R&D, 

translational medicine, technology maturation, and technology 

demonstration projects may propose to use the unique 

environment of the space station to develop, test, or mature 

products and processes that have a demonstrated potential to 

produce near-term and positive direct or indirect economic impact.

Full proposals are by invitation only. 

Learn more about submitting your concept summary by Mar. 4.

Credits: NASA
Opportunities (cont.)

NASA SBIR/STTR Phase I Proposals Due Mar. 11

The Phase I solicitations are now open for NASA’s Small 

Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology 

Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs. These programs fund R&D 

and demonstrations of innovative technologies that fulfill 

NASA needs and have significant potential for successful 

commercialization. Phase I early-stage research projects receive up to $150,000 and last 6 months for 

SBIR and 13 months for STTR.

Not only are these programs a potential source of seed funding for technology development, but 

researchers with active SBIR/STTR awards may be eligible for flight test and payload development 

through Flight Opportunities.

Read the solicitations for SBIR (for businesses with 500 or fewer employees) and STTR (where 

the small business partners with a non-profit research institution such as a university or a research 

laboratory) to learn more. Submit your Phase I proposal(s) by Mar. 11.

MSI Students: Submit by Mar. 13 for Innovation and 

Tech Transfer Competition

The NASA MUREP Innovation and Tech 

Transfer Idea Competition (MITTIC) 

is currently accepting proposals from 

student teams at minority-serving 

institutions (MSIs). MITTIC provides 

a resumé-worthy experience and the 

opportunity to learn and demonstrate 

entrepreneurial skills.

In Phase 1, student teams choose one 

NASA intellectual property (IP) and 

use it to create a product or service 

with commercial applications. Teams 

selected for the Phase 2 “Space Tank 

Competition” can win up to $20,000 

plus a $2,500 stipend for the principal 

investigator.

Learn more about submitting an MITTIC proposal by the Mar. 13 deadline.

MITTIC “Space Tank” judging in 2019. Credits: Robert Markowitz

MUREP = Minority University Research and Education Project
Opportunities (cont.)

Wildland Fire Science, Management, and Disaster Mitigation Technology 

Development: ROSES A.59 Proposals Due Mar. 29

The current ROSES (Research Opportunities 

in Space and Earth Science) NASA research 

announcement includes an appendix 

focused on demonstrating improved 

wildland fire management through the use 

of novel suborbital platforms. ROSES is an 

omnibus announcement with many individual 

“program elements” that together cover the 

wide range of basic and applied research 

and technology in space and Earth sciences 

supported by NASA’s Science Mission 

Directorate (SMD).

Section 1.2 of the A.59 program element 

PDF provides information about the six 

technology areas of interest.

Read more about submitting a proposal by Mar. 29 to ROSES A.59 on NSPIRES.

Credits: U.S. National Park Service/Noah Daniels

Resources

Gravitational and Space Research: ASGSR’s journal

Gravitational and Space Research – the main journal of 

the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research 

(ASGSR) – publishes peer-reviewed manuscripts related to 

the impact of gravity and changes in the gravity vector on a 

range of life and physical space sciences, from astrobiology to 

materials science to suborbital research.

Read the open-access journal here or learn more about 

submitting a manuscript for editorial consideration.
Events

WEST 2024 (AFCEA and U.S. Naval Institute) 

Feb. 13-15, 2024 • San Diego, California 

 

WEST is a showcase of emerging systems, platforms, technologies, and networks that will 

impact all areas of current and future Sea Service operations. Senior military and government 

officials will discuss the challenges they face and how industry can help address them. Dr. Nathan 

Barnwell, principal investigator for the Stratospheric Optical Link Demonstration (SOLD) project that 

underwent flight testing through NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, will have a booth. Dr. Anh 

Nguyen, Flight Opportunities portfolio integrator, will also attend to offer insights into leveraging flight 

testing to rapidly advance technologies and mechanisms for engaging with the program. 

NASA Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop

Feb. 13-16, 2024 • Galveston, Texas 

 

The Human Research Program Investigators’ Workshop is a venue for reporting progress and results 

of scientists and principal investigators researching safe, productive, and efficient human spaceflight. 

Flight Opportunities and NASA’s Commercially Enabled Rapid Space Science initiative (part of the 

agency’s Biological and Physical Science Division) will present on accessing flight tests to advance 

technologies that meet U.S. space exploration priorities and support the expanding space economy, 

including those that support sustained human presence in space.

Details: 

࡟ Leveraging Suborbital Flight Testing to Advance Science and Technology in the Expanding 

Space Economy (poster session) 

࡟ Tues., Feb. 13 • 4:30-6:00 p.m. CST • Exhibit Hall A 

FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference 

Feb. 21-22, 2024 • Washington, D.C. 

This two-day symposium features government officials, policymakers, and thought leaders from 

around the country. Speakers will discuss all aspects of the commercial space industry, ranging from 

launch infrastructure to airspace integration to the future of low Earth orbit, the Moon, and beyond. 

Attendees can gain a better understanding of the policy landscape and an enhanced network of 

professionals within the industry.

Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 2024 

Mar. 11-15, 2024 • The Woodlands Texas (near Houston)

 

LPSC brings together a diverse group of international experts in planetary research to showcase 

the latest science, research, and discoveries in the field. More than 2,000 planetary scientists and 

students will present their findings that provide new insights and a better understanding of the solar 

system.

Let us know if you’re attending LPSC 2024.
Have ideas or feedback for the Flight Opportunities newsletter? 

Drop us a line at: 

NASA-FlightOpportunities@mail.nasa.gov

STAY CONNECTED: 

NASA Flight Opportunities Program

Flight Opportunities is part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.

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