A Year in Review 2023 

from NASA’s 

Agency Chief 

Technologist

NASA’s Office of Technology, 

Policy, and Strategy 

December 2023

Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

www.nasa.gov
Front and back 

image: In this Hubble 

Space Telescope 

portrait, the giant red 

nebula (NGC 2014) 

and its smaller blue 

neighbor (NGC 2020) 

are part of a vast starforming region in the 

Large Magellanic Cloud, 

a satellite galaxy of 

the Milky Way, located 

163,000 light-years 

away. The image is 

nicknamed the “Cosmic 

Reef,” because NGC 

2014 resembles part of 

a coral reef floating in a 

vast sea of stars.

Figure 1: Successful hot-fire test of a liquid oxygen/methane (LOX/LCH4) injector and 

nozzle using new NASA alloy GRX-810. The GRX-810 alloy has incredible performance 

benefits in extreme environments and was featured in 2023 in Nature Magazine. 

NASA’s center chief technologists champion such efforts in the agency and assist 

execution of funding programs to develop breakthrough advances. 

Figure 2: This turbine engine combustor (fuel-air mixer) 

was 3D-printed at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) 

and is one example of a challenging component that can 

benefit from applying a new alloy called GRX-810. The 

NASA alloy GRX-810, an oxide dispersion strengthened 

(ODS) alloy, can endure temperatures over 2,000 degrees 

Fahrenheit, is more malleable, and can survive more than 

1,000 times longer than existing state-of-the-art alloys. 

This new alloy can be used to build aerospace parts for 

high temperature applications, like those inside aircraft 

and rocket engines, because ODS alloys can withstand 

harsher conditions before reaching their breaking point. 

Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy

A Year in Review 2023 from NASA’s Agency Chief Technologist
This letter is a review of the last year, which was my first year as the 

agency chief technologist, or ACT. This role, which has been around 

for more than decade, has changed over the years, and now resides 

with the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (OTPS) within the 

Administrator’s office at NASA Headquarters. My approach in this year 

in review is to look at technology-related studies within OTPS and 

to showcase the agencywide team of center chief technologists that 

support me. I took this position as ACT to help the NASA mission, 

to prepare the agency for the future, and to continue the momentum 

of partnerships with external organizations. This last point directly 

leverages my more than two decades of experience of collaborating 

with NASA from my previous vantage point of commercial industry. 

I have used the last year to listen to our internal NASA teams, 

explore the various centers and their capabilities, and 

understand where I could be most helpful as the ACT. 

The first step in any strategy is problem identification and 

that has been the lens I have used for the last year. Over 

the last few months, I have taken these inputs and come 

out with a vision statement of this ACT that I am using 

to keep myself focused on those efforts where I would 

like to make progress over the next few years: “Smartly 

understanding technology now, jump-starting new, and 

championing the infusion into next missions with all 

deliberate speed using light and leverage.”

Annual Letter from Agency 

Chief Technologist 

A.C. Charania 

Technology at NASA 

“ Smartly 

understanding 

technology now, 

jump-starting new, 

and championing 

the infusion into 

next missions with 

all deliberate speed 

using light and 

leverage.”

Figure 3: Agency Chief Technologist (ACT) A.C. Charania presents to the Center 

Technology Council (CTC) during a quarterly face-to-face meeting at NASA 

Headquarters in August 2023.

Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy

Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy 

1
“Smartly understanding now” – 

My role as “principal advisor to NASA senior 

leadership ... on matters concerning agencywide 

technology policy and programs,” along with the 

charter to “conduct annual review and assessment 

of technology investments across the agency” 

means that I plan to work in close coordination 

across NASA to collect, analyze, and report on 

the agency’s technology investment portfolio. This 

includes an annual process I call the Technology 

Analytics Research & Development Inventory 

Study (TARDIS). 

“Jump-starting new” – 

I want to leverage our analytical capabilities in 

OTPS and as the ACT in helping to understand 

and develop a more optimized approach to how 

NASA looks at research and development funding. 

This includes specifically helping to optimize our 

use of Internal Research and Development (IRAD) 

funding. This area includes helping the agency 

examine and leverage technology areas 

as exemplified by artificial intelligence (AI) 

Figure 4: The Center Technology Council (CTC) and NASA’s Office of and quantum. 

Technology Policy and Strategy (OTPS) conducted their quarterly faceto-face meeting in February of 2023 at NASA Headquarters. Back 

row (L-R): John Dankanich, Peter Hughes, Kurt Sacksteder, Nicholas 

Skytland, Harry Partridge, and Thomas Cwik. Front row (L-R): David 

Voracek, Bhanu Sood, Kelvin Ruiz, Julie Williams-Byrd, A.C. Charania, 

Kathleen Loftin, Phillip Williams, John Carr, and Charles Norton. 

Figure 5: The NASA Center Technology Council (CTC) and the Office 

of Technology Policy and Strategy (OTPS) at a quarterly face-toface meeting at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) in June 2023. 

Back row (L-R): Ave Kludze, Peter Hughes, Jill Bauman, Max Briggs, 

Thomas Cwik, Nicholas Skytland, Kurt Sacksteder. Front row (LR): Kelvin Ruiz, Timothy Griffin, Kendrick Glenn, Charles Norton, 

Julie Williams-Byrd, John Carr, David Voracek, Ronnie Clayton, A.C. 

Charania, Alyse Beauchemin.

Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy

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Technology at NASA 
“Championing the infusion of” – 

I believe there is more to be done in the areas 

of overcoming the technology infusion “Valley of 

Death,” as I call it. An analogy one can make to 

the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency 

(DARPA) problem of transitioning technologies 

into a military service program of record, where 

for NASA, it is transitioning into a mission. I think 

there are multiple innovative approaches we need 

to examine to help overcome this problem. 

I have various tools at my disposal to affect this 

positive change, mainly the analytical resources 

within OTPS, the support from the center chief 

technologists, my engagements with other 

government agencies, the entire NASA 2040 

initiative, and my engagements with our external 

commercial and international community. 

I felt that we made progress on various studies 

in emerging technology areas such as quantum, 

supported more strategic thinking in the agency’s 

approach to artificial intelligence, supported the 

efforts to help optimize the agency’s operational 

model through working on the NASA 2040 

Technology workstream as its owner, helped 

to understand the challenges with agency 

Internal Research and Development (IRAD), and 

engagement with other government agencies, 

internationals, our domestic U.S. industrial base, 

and academia. 

Next year I look forward to focused studies and 

activities to rapidly effect positive change for not 

only NASA but for the entire Nation.

A.C. Charania

Agency Chief Technologist (ACT)

Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (OTPS)

Figure 7: As part of the quarterly face-to-face meeting in October 

2023, the NASA Center Technology Council (CTC) conducted an 

on-site technical tour of the Las Vegas Sphere to understand the 

innovative processes and technologies that led to its creation. 

Figure 6: The NASA Center Technology Council (CTC) and OTPS 

team members during a quarterly face-to-face meeting in Las Vegas, 

Nevada (after the AIAA ASCEND 2023 conference) in October 2023. 

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Technology at NASA 
Table of Contents 

Technology at NASA ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������1

Annual Letter from Agency Chief Technologist A.C. Charania ....................................... 1

Chapter 1: Leadership and Organizational Overview ���������������������������������6

Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy and the Agency Chief Technologist ............. 6

About the Center Technology Council ............................................................................ 7

The Center Technology Council (CTC) .......................................................................... 8

Chapter 2: Smartly Understanding Now – NASA’s Technology Inventory ����9

NASA Technology Inventory Snapshot by Mission Directorate in Fiscal Year 2022 ......11

Chapter 3: Select OTPS Technology Studies �������������������������������������������13

Quantum Sensing ........................................................................................................13

A Cost and Benefit Analysis of Orbital Debris Remediation ........................................15

NASA’s Technology Scouting ......................................................................................16

Wildfire Technology Inventory and Frameworks Examination (In Progress) ..................16

Chapter 4: Select NASA Center Technology Projects ������������������������������17

Ames Research Center ................................................................................................18

Armstrong Flight Research Center ...............................................................................19

Glenn Research Center ................................................................................................20

Goddard Space Flight Center ......................................................................................21

Jet Propulsion Laboratory ............................................................................................22

Johnson Space Center ................................................................................................23

Kennedy Space Center ................................................................................................24

Langley Research Center .............................................................................................25

Marshall Space Flight Center .......................................................................................26

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Stennis Space Center ..................................................................................................27

Appendix ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������28

Appendix: Biographies of the Current NASA Center Chief Technologists (CCTs) and 

Deputy Center Chief Technologists (DCCTs) ................................................................28

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Table of Contents 
The Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy 

(OTPS) provides NASA’s senior leadership with 

independent, data-driven analyses to inform 

the most consequential decisions about 

NASA’s future. 

Housed within the Office of the Administrator, 

OTPS brings together diverse, multidisciplinary 

experts to provide NASA leadership with analytic, 

strategic, and decisional insights in the form of 

quick-turn analyses, memos, and reports. OTPS 

also supports numerous activities that include 

hosting informal discussion sessions, participating 

in chartered interagency working groups, and 

funding external research opportunities. 

For a detailed look at OTPS’s accomplishments 

this year, please read the office’s annual report, 

NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy A Year 

in Review 2023.

Technology plays a critical role in NASA’s mission 

to innovate for the benefit of humanity by creating 

solutions for space exploration that also generate 

tangible benefits for life on Earth. Residing within 

OTPS, the agency chief technologist (ACT) serves 

as the principal advisor to NASA senior leadership 

on matters concerning agencywide technology 

policy and programs. 

The ACT collaborates across the agency and with 

other federal agencies, and engages with external 

partners to give NASA leadership a holistic view 

of NASA’s existing technological capabilities and 

opportunities. The ACT provides leadership focus 

on emerging and disruptive technologies that may 

fundamentally change NASA’s technology choices 

for its missions. 

The ACT and OTPS conduct relevant technology 

studies and analytics that a mission directorate 

or NASA center may not be able to conduct on 

its own. For example, the Technology Analytics 

Research & Development Inventory Study (TARDIS) 

is one such study that will optimize understanding 

of NASA’s technology inventory and help infuse 

technologies into NASA missions. The ACT is also 

NASA’s representative to the Space Science and 

Technology Partnerships forum with participation 

from other OTPS team members and counterparts 

from the National Reconnaissance Office and the 

United States Space Force. 

The intelligence and insight of NASA employees 

is the agency’s greatest asset. The solutions to 

some of the largest technological and strategic 

challenges that NASA faces lie with the very 

people most familiar with our systems and 

processes. To best evaluate solutions to 

particular problems, OTPS offers a one-year 

Chapter 1: 

Leadership and Organizational Overview 

Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy and the 

Agency Chief Technologist 

Figure 8: The Center Technology Council attends a face-to-face 

meeting at the Glenn Research Center in June of 2023. 

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Solver-in-Residence (SiR) detail opportunity 

to evaluate a range of solutions to a particular 

challenge aligned with one or more of OTPS’s 

focus areas. In FY 2024, the SiR will have a 

technology focus and will investigate how to 

align the development and use of autonomy 

technologies, including artificial intelligence, 

across the whole of NASA. 

About the 

Center Technology Council

The NASA center chief technologists (CCTs) 

and their deputies (DCCTs) support the ACT’s 

various technical endeavors and act as subject 

matter experts for the agency. CCTs and DCCTs 

comprise the Center Technology Council (CTC), 

which reports to the Office of Technology, Policy, 

and Strategy (OTPS), under the agency chief 

technologist (ACT). 

The CTC responsibilities include:

1. Assessing the agency technology road 

mapping and prioritization activities from a 

bottoms-up, institutional perspective, and 

providing these assessments to the ACT and 

NASA Leadership. 

2. Providing the ACT and NASA Leadership with 

recommended changes in technology program 

scope, prioritization, and roadmapping from 

the centers’ perspectives. 

3. Providing the ACT and NASA Leadership 

with “beyond-program” technology inputs for 

potential future development. 

4. Developing center reports on the performance 

of the innovation and technology development 

activities at each center. 

5. Identifying inter-center technology leveraging 

opportunities. 

6. Developing technology intelligence reports 

(that is, have the function to look outside the 

walls of NASA for technology opportunities). 

Figure 9: The NASA Center Technology Council tours the Simulated 

Lunar Operations Laboratory (SLOPE) at Glenn Research Center in 

June 2023.

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Chapter 1: Leadership and Organizational Overview 
Figure 10: NASA centers and the NASA center chief technologists.

The Center Technology Council (CTC) 

Langley Research Center (LaRC)

Hampton, VA

CCT: Phillip Williams (acting);

E: phillip.a.williams@nasa.gov

Labs &TestingFacilities, AeronauticsResearch,

NASA R&D, Systems Analysis, andEarth&

PlanetarySensor Development

DCCT: Ali Omar (acting); E: ali.h.omar@nasa.gov

Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

Greenbelt, MD

CCT: Peter Hughes; E: peter.m.hughes@nasa.gov

Systems&Instrument Development for Science

MissionsandSpace Communication&

Navigation

DCCT: Bhanu Sood; E: bhanu.sood@nasa.gov

Kennedy Space Center (KSC)

Kennedy Space Center, FL

CCT: Timothy Griffin; E: timothy.p.griffin@nasa.gov

Launch&GroundProcessing/Services &R&TD to

Support Ground, Space, andSurface Operations

DCCT: Kelvin Ruiz; E: kelvin.r.ruiz@nasa.gov

Stennis Space Center (SSC)

Stennis Space Center, MS

CCT: Anne Peek

E: anne.h.peek@nasa.gov

PropulsionTestingand

Autonomous Systems

Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Houston, TX

CCT: Nicholas Skytland

E: nicholas.g.skytland@nasa.gov

Spaceflight SystemDesign, Human Health&

Performance, Mission Design&Operations,

Astromaterials, OpenInnovation

DCCT: Ronald Clayton

E: ronald.g.clayton@nasa.gov

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) [Caltech]

Pasadena, CA

CCT: Thomas Cwik; E: cwik@jpl.nasa.gov

Robotic Space Mission Developmentand Operations

DCCT: Charles Norton; E: charles.d.norton@jpl.nasa.gov

Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC)

Edwards, CA

CCT: David Voracek; E: david.f.voracek@nasa.gov

AdvancingTechnology throughFlight for Science,

Space, &Aeronautics; SystemIntegration; and

Risk-BasedFlight Safety

Ames Research Center (ARC)

Moffett Field, CA

CCT: Harry Partridge; E: harry.partridge@nasa.gov

R&D in Aeronautics; ExplorationTechnology; and

Space, Earth, &Life Sciences

DCCT: Jill Bauman; E: jill.bauman@nasa.gov

Glenn Research Center (GRC)

Cleveland, OH

CCT: Kurt Sacksteder; E: kurt.sacksteder@nasa.gov

Aero &Space Science &Technology:

Electric/Chemical Propulsion, Power/Energy Storage,

Communications, Materials/Structures, ISRU, andPartial

Gravity Systems

DCCT (acting): Max Briggs; E: maxwell.h.briggs@nasa.gov

NASA Headquarters (HQ) Washington D.C.

ACT: A.C. Charania; E: ac.charania@nasa.gov

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

Huntsville, AL

CCT: John Dankanich;

E: john.dankanich@nasa.gov

Propulsion, Launch&Lander Systems,

Manufacturing, Habitats &Life Support

Systems, Payload Operations, andScience

DCCT: John Carr; E: john.a.carr@nasa.gov

ACT: Agency Chief Technologist

CCT: Center Chief Technologist

DCCT: Deputy Center Chief Technologist

*Graphic Accurate as of Nov. 2023

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Chapter 1: Leadership and Organizational Overview 
Chapter 2: 

Smartly Understanding Now – NASA’s Technology Inventory 

One of the duties of any technologist at any 

organization is to understand the current state 

of investment - to understand the now. When 

the agency chief technologist came to NASA, 

he identified that he could provide executive 

leadership with a holistic look at NASA technology 

investments across directorates and centers. 

This is not to specifically prioritize funding but to 

help the agency understand its investments to 

help better guide decision makers, understand 

trends in investments, make NASA data collection 

better, and help advocate better for technology 

investment. The ACT views this as an important 

part of their legacy to the agency as a whole and 

to the next ACT. 

Fortunately, for more than a decade NASA’s 

TechPort system has been continually refined and 

improved as a tool for showcasing and cataloging 

technology investment information from across 

NASA. It currently has 1,200 active projects. The 

ACT and OTPS are leveraging this database as 

the starting point to understand the current NASA 

inventory of technologies. 

The Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) 

TechPort systems defines a technology as “a 

solution that arises from applying the disciplines 

of engineering science to synthesize a device, 

process, or subsystem to enable a specific 

capability.” This inventory is intended to capture 

research and development (R&D) technology 

projects that fall under the categories of applied 

research and experimental development.

Using technology investment data from TechPort 

and the directorates, ACT and OTPS team 

members are moving forward with an annual 

process called the Technology Analytics 

Research & Development Inventory Study 

(TARDIS). 

The TARDIS process will work in concert with 

the existing TechPort data collection processes 

to encourage better reporting across all mission 

directorates and centers. The agency has over the 

years developed the TechPort system. The ACT 

plans to utilize this system and encourage the 

agency to make it a more complete reference. 

A nominal annual schedule has been outlined for 

the TARDIS process. The schedule starts every 

October when the ACT meets with the TechPort 

Configuration Control Board to communicate the 

plans for data collection, analyses, and reporting. 

Each NASA mission directorate and center will 

be encouraged to ensure their end of fiscal year 

data is up to date and captured in the system by 

January. The products of this analysis will be an 

annual assessment of the agency’s technology 

portfolio to be presented to NASA leadership 

and other stakeholder audiences. Over time, this 

process will help scope out more built-in analyses 

in the TechPort system that can provide more 

rapid and informative assessments of the agency’s 

technology portfolio.

The data will be used to ask questions about 

NASA’s technology inventory. Examples of such 

questions include:

• How is NASA investing in early-stage 

technologies?

• What technology investments is NASA making 

to support current and future mission needs?

• How are NASA’s technology investments 

aligned with the goals of NASA’s future vision?

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It is anticipated that the technology inventory 

analyses will be reported to internal and external 

stakeholders every March or April for the prior 

fiscal year.

Figure 11 shows NASA’s technology investments 

by mission directorate and lists NASA’s 

technology development programs. In FY 2022, 

NASA invested about $2.36 billion in technology 

development, about 10 percent of NASA’s budget. 

The ACT worked hand in hand with NASA’s 

Mission Directorates to initiate an update to 

NASA’s technology investment inventory. It will 

support NASA leadership ability to make datadriven decisions and provide transparency to 

industry, government, academia, and the American 

public on NASA’s technology investments. These 

data are significant because they mark the 

beginning of the TARDIS process at NASA. 

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Chapter 2: Smartly Understanding Now – NASA’s Technology Inventory 
NASA Technology Inventory Snapshot by Mission Directorate in 

Fiscal Year 2022 

~$438M

Science

~$130M

Space 

Operations

~$747M

Aeronautics 

Research 

~$64M

Exploration

Systems 

Development

~$985M

Space 

Technology

NASA Technology Inventory Snapshot

by Mission Directorate

• Funding amounts and technology programs are self-reported by each Mission Directorate

• Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate R&D does not include all technology development in the Directorate

Fiscal Year 2022

42%

18%

32%

3%

5%

42%

18%

32%

5%

3%

Total Tech Investment:

$2.36B

(10% of $24B)

Figure 11: Pie chart depicting the breakdown of NASA Mission Directorate technology investment spending in Fiscal Year 2022.

Figure 11 describes the breakdown of NASA’s 

FY 2022 technology investments per mission 

directorate. The Space Technology Mission 

Directorate (STMD) had the largest piece of this 

pie with 42% of the $2.36 billion total allocated to 

NASA technology investments. 

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Chapter 2: Smartly Understanding Now – NASA’s Technology Inventory 
Figure 12 breaks down the technology areas in 

each Mission Directorate that received investment 

funding. While STMD received the largest portion 

of funding, the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) 

funded the most technologies.

Figure 12: Chart depicting the areas of technology investment per NASA Mission Directorate in Fiscal Year 2022. 

NASA Technology Inventory Snapshot

Details by Mission Directorate, Fiscal Year 2022

Space Technology *

Aeronautics Research

Space Operations 

Science 

Center Innovation Fund & Early Career Initiative

Flight Opportunities

Game Changing Development

NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts

Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing

Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer **

Small Spacecraft Technology

Space Technology Research Grants

Technology Demonstration Missions

Human Research Program

Space Communications and Navigation

Advanced Air Vehicles

Airspace Operations and Safety

Integrated Aviation Systems

Transformative Aeronautics Concepts 

Moon to Mars 

Exploration Systems Development 

Astrophysics Research and Analysis

Nancy Grace Roman Technology Fellowship

Pioneers Program

Pre-Decadal Technologies

Strategic Astrophysics Technology

System-Level Segmented Telescope Design

Physical Sciences Research Program

Space Biology Program

Advanced Component Technology Program

Advanced Information Systems Technology

Decadal Survey Incubation

FireTech

In-space Validation of Earth Science Technologies

Instrument Incubator

Sustainable Land Imaging Technology

Heliophysics Flight Opportunities in Research & Technology

Heliophysics Low Cost Access to Space

Heliophysics Technology and Instrument Development for Science

Heliophysics Mission of Opportunity

Concepts for Ocean Worlds Life Detection Technology

Development and Advancement of Lunar Instrumentation

Hot Operating Temperature Technology

Maturation of Instruments for Solar System Exploration

Planetary Instrument Concepts for the Advancement of Solar System Observations

Planetary Science and Technology Through Analog Research

Radioisotope Power Systems Enabling Missions Beginning with Research and Technology

Applied Information Systems Research: Autonomous Robotics Research for Ocean Worlds

Mars Technology

*Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) major projects include Fission Surface Power, Solar Electric Propulsion, OSAM-1, and Nuclear Propulsion

**Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer portion of STMD is indicated with dots, as it allocates projects related to all Mission Directorates

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Chapter 2: Smartly Understanding Now – NASA’s Technology Inventory 
Chapter 3: 

Select OTPS Technology Studies 

Throughout 2023, OTPS team members have 

worked on or are completing studies relating 

to work under the technology portfolio in the 

areas of quantum sensing, active debris removal, 

technology scouting, and wildfire technology 

inventory. The following section briefly provides 

summaries of each of these studies. 

Quantum Sensing 

Interagency Quantum Sensing Study 

Quantum sensors rely on quantum mechanical 

properties, such as wave-particle duality, atomic 

energy levels, or entanglement, to measure 

physical, optical, or electromagnetic information 

from a target. Examples include Rydberg 

sensors, nitrogen-vacancy magnetometers, 

HOM (Hong-Ou-Mandel) interferometers, and 

SQUIDs (Superconducting Quantum Interference 

Devices). In general, as quantum sensors rely 

on interrogation at the atomic and photonic 

level rather than on classical mechanical 

measurements, these technologies promise 

advantages over their traditional counterparts in 

sensitivity, accuracy, and SWaP (Size, Weight, and 

Power). Conceptually, the use of quantum sensors 

unlocks the new phenomenology of sensor 

entanglement. While an ultra-low TRL (Technology 

Readiness Level) prospect for most sensor types, 

multi-sensor entanglement is a high risk, high 

reward strategy with a potential for exquisite 

sensitivity and SWaP improvements entirely 

inaccessible to classical sensors. 

In March 2022, the National Science and 

Technology Council Subcommittee on 

Quantum Information Science released four 

recommendations for “bringing quantum sensors 

into fruition,” including prioritizing partnerships 

with end users, conducting feasibility studies, 

developing broadly applicable components, 

and streamlining technology transfer. As a trio 

of organizations that span from basic science 

researchers to end-use customer, the Space 

Science and Technology (S&T) Partnership Forum 

including the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA), National Reconnaissance 

Office (NRO), and United States Space Force 

(USSF), is well-positioned to follow these 

recommendations to implement quantum sensors 

in space. 

The Space S&T Partnership Forum was 

established in 2015 between NASA, NRO, 

and USSF to identify synergistic efforts and 

technologies shared between the agencies, 

leveraging those synergies to influence science 

and technology portfolios at each agency in areas 

deemed pervasive and ready for collaboration. 

Though the mission scopes of the three partners 

are distinct, quantum sensors are highly relevant 

to overlapping areas such as precision Position, 

Navigation, and Timing (PNT); electromagnetic 

field sensing; attitude control; communications; 

and gravimetry. For example, magnetometers 

based on nitrogen-vacancy centers or SQUIDs 

may be used for geological magnetic field 

mapping, mineral or archaeological exploration, 

or magnetic anomaly detection. Atomic electrometers, such as Rydberg sensors, provide low 

SWaP Radio Frequency (RF) to THz response 

with good sensitivity that may be used for 

communications or electric field sensing. 

In March 2023, the Space S&T Partnership 

Forum kicked off a collaborative quantum 

sensing effort to accelerate the deployment of 

space-based quantum sensors for the three 

partner agencies. Phase 1 of the effort includes 

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strategy development to identify quantum 

sensors with promising potential for space 

science and operations, as well as the required 

infrastructures and supporting subsystems. In 

May 2023, the interagency group convened for 

a Technical Exchange Meeting (TEM) to discuss 

quantum technologies of mutual interest. Further 

decomposition of the quantum technologies of 

mutual interest in the areas of atomic clocks, 

atomic interferometers, magnetometers, Rydberg 

sensors, and superconducting nanowire singlephoton detectors (SNSPDs) occurred through 

online interagency working groups following 

the TEM. A final report will provide findings and 

recommendations from the interagency exploration 

of space-based quantum sensing technologies 

to inform priorities and collaboration for the 

Principals of the Space S&T Partnership Forum. 

OTPS Quantum Sensing Work

Given the number of ongoing quantum sensing 

activities across the agency, OTPS believes the 

agency could benefit from more focused and 

integrated quantum sensing efforts. Over the 

past year, OTPS has been analyzing the benefits 

of quantum sensors to NASA, developing an 

inventory list of activities related to quantum 

sensing technologies, and understanding how 

to assess agency activities. Over the past year, 

OTPS has been analyzing the benefits of quantum 

sensors to NASA, developing an inventory list of 

activities related to quantum sensing technologies, 

and understanding how to assess 

agency activities. 

Why This Work Matters 

As a think-space for NASA’s Administrative 

Suite, it is OTPS’s prerogative to investigate 

the usefulness and feasibility of integrating new 

technologies into agency work, such as quantum 

sensing. Quantum sensing technology has the 

potential to create new possibilities for science 

and exploration in space. Through OTPS, there 

is an opportunity to identify efforts that can be 

leveraged internally and externally to help the 

agency better align and focus its own quantum 

sensing priorities. This effort helps develop clear 

coordination and strategic prioritization of these 

activities, adequately linking their applications and 

potential benefits to NASA’s mission. 

Figure 13: Quantum site visit to GSFC, pictured in the Quantum 

Space Telecommunication Algorithms Research (Q-STAR) Lab.

Figure 14: Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy delivers Keynote at 

Quantum World Congress and announces two OTPS studies. 

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Chapter 3: Select OTPS Technology Studies 
A Cost and Benefit Analysis of 

Orbital Debris Remediation 

The purpose of the study was to analyze the costs 

and benefits of cleaning up debris in Earth orbit 

and to change the way the space community 

thinks about measuring the hazards of orbital 

debris. The study included a broad scope of 

potential methods for cleaning up debris, including 

methods that move, remove, and reuse debris. 

Unlike other studies that focus on counting the 

number of debris over hundreds of years, this 

study estimated the financial effects to spacecraft 

operators due to orbital debris on shorter, 

more relevant timescales. Read the full report 

titled, “A Cost and Benefit Analysis of Orbital Debris 

Remediation.” 

Why This Work Matters 

This study is the first to show that certain methods 

of cleaning up debris may produce net benefits to 

spacecraft operators in under a decade. The result 

of this study is informing NASA decision making 

regarding R&D investment and policy creation 

in orbital debris remediation. For example, the 

insights from this report were used to support the 

creation of 3 NASA Space Technology Mission 

Directorate funding solicitations that resulted in 

8 awards for early-stage development of debris 

remediation concepts. 

The way you measure a problem influences 

the way that you think about the problem, the 

way you decide what to do about the problem, 

and when to do it. Directly measuring the risks 

to spacecraft operators in terms of dollars is a 

better approach than measuring proxies for risk, 

like the number of pieces of debris in space or 

the number of conjunctions. Removing cm-sized 

debris and nudging large debris just-in-time to 

avoid impending collisions are the most effective 

remediation methods to reduce risks to operators, 

leading to net benefits in under a decade. The 

study team identified an extremely low-cost 

approach for grabbing and deorbiting large debris; 

if pursued, this approach may reduce the cost of 

deorbiting large debris by a factor of 10 compared 

to currently advertised prices. 

Figure 16: Jericho Locke (far left) and Tom Colvin (far right) from 

OTPS participate at the Orbital Debris: Mitigate, Track, or Remediate” 

panel at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) 

Accelerating Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery 

(ASCEND) conference in October 2023. 

Figure 15: NASA quantum computing expert, Eleanor Rieffel (center), 

testifying to Congress regarding the National Quantum Initiative Act 

reauthorization, June 7, 2023. 

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Chapter 3: Select OTPS Technology Studies 
NASA’s Technology Scouting 

In September 2023, OTPS and other 

representatives across the agency published a 

report detailing ways NASA could better research 

and report on emerging technologies outside 

the agency. The overall goal of the Technology 

Scouting project is to develop an approach to 

conduct effective technology scouting within 

NASA by first assessing the need for such a 

capability, evaluating current and recommended 

approaches, and then developing a strategy to 

address any weaknesses in the current approach. 

Read the full report titled, “Technology Scouting Phase 

1 Report.”

Why This Work Matters 

Identifying emerging technologies is critical to 

a mission-oriented agency such as NASA that 

is always endeavoring to achieve first-of-akind human and scientific exploration goals. 

While NASA attempts to embrace faster and 

novel development approaches, there have 

been several recent examples where the agency 

has been outpaced in technology research and 

development, especially by emerging companies. 

The overall intended outcome of this study is to 

help develop a more robust technology scouting 

capability at NASA. 

After evaluating a range of organization types, the 

study identified three basic models for technology 

scouting: near-term gap filling, needs incubator, 

and horizon scanning. NASA’s current technology 

scouting practices are generally consistent with 

those of other government organizations (both 

U.S. government organizations and international 

space agencies), but there are differences 

between how governmental and nongovernmental 

organizations approach technology scouting, 

given the customer-centric nature of their work 

and investments in tools. The study identified 

three common areas where NASA and other 

organizations expressed desire to enhance current 

activities: resource availability, transparency, 

and integration. 

Wildfire Technology Inventory 

and Frameworks Examination 

(In Progress) 

OTPS attempted to aggregate agencywide 

inventory on activity related to the subject of 

dealing with wildfires. OTPS also identified 

different frameworks of looking at dealing with 

the problem including using an “effect-chain”: 

framework for looking at how one deals 

with wildfires. 

Why This Work Matters 

Wildland fires have generated huge costs and 

other adverse impacts over the past decade. 

NASA is active in the nationwide effort to mitigate 

wildfire impacts and is currently working on 

projects within several Mission Directorates that 

are relevant to wildfire mitigation. Assessments 

have highlighted though the need for improved 

aerial operations in poor visibility areas, continued 

surveillance for fire detection and tracking, reliable 

communications, situation awareness and timely 

access to information. This study aggregates 

multiple activities to develop an inventory of NASA 

wildland fire activities. Ongoing work is putting 

together a novel framework to better address the 

wildfire situation. 

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Chapter 3: Select OTPS Technology Studies 
Chapter 4: 

Select NASA Center Technology Projects 

Across the nation, the 10 NASA centers undertake 

valuable technology research and development 

to advance NASA’s missions and goals. The 

center chief technologists and deputy center 

chief technologists facilitating this innovation 

report to OTPS’s agency chief technologist. 

To highlight center technology innovation, this 

technology annual features one exciting new 

NASA technology selected by each CCT on behalf 

of their home center. 

NASA CENTER LOCATION TECHNOLOGY

• Ames Research Center (ARC) Moffett Field, CA Ames Imaging Module (AIM)

• Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) Edwards, CA

Fiber Optic Sensing System (FOSS) Sensor 

Suite Supports Aeronautics and Space 

Applications

• Glenn Research Center (GRC) Cleveland, OH Flight Demonstration of Laser Communications 

Towards Enhanced Security

• Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Greenbelt, MD DAVINCI: Maturing a Mission Concept Through 

Persistent Research and Development

• Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)* Pasadena, CA

SNSPD Technology Infusion Enables Optical 

Communications and Future Science 

Observations

• Johnson Space Center (JSC) Houston, TX DNA Sequencing in Space

• Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Merritt Island, FL Seed Film—Enabling Astronauts to Plant and 

Grow Fresh, Nutritious Food for Exploration

• Langley Research Center (LaRC) Hampton, VA Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable 

Decelerator (LOFTID)

• Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Huntsville, AL Lunar Thermal Regulation for Mission 

Sustainability (TheRMiS)

• Stennis Space Center (SSC) MS ASTRA—Autonomous Satellite Technology for 

Real-Time Applications

*The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is NASA’s federally funded research and development center (FFRDC).

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A PI was funded twice (FY14 and FY15) by the Center 

Innovation Fund (CIF) in response to an identified need for a 

relatively low cost, very small and low powered (CubeSat form 

factor), scientific–grade camera that was suitable for space 

operation, not only at Low Earth Orbits but also inter-planetary 

conditions. While many commercial cameras have flown in 

space, these cameras are often not suitable for inter-planetary 

missions due to the increased radiation exposure. Similarly, 

those cameras that have been designed for inter-planetary 

travel typically have relatively high resource footprints 

(particularly power) and come at great cost. With the 

increasing number of future interplanetary nanosats (e.g., 

CubeSats) and other small, landed missions (e.g., via 

Commercial Lunar Landed Services (CLPS) a rugged, small, 

and relatively low cost camera was needed. The AIM camera 

is small (6.3 × 6.3 × 6.4 cm), low-mass (<100g + lens), and 

utilizes a science-grade imager. 

What makes AIM very unique is that it was designed from 

the bottom-up to be radiation tolerant. Consideration of the 

effects of radiation, both total dose and Single Event Upsets 

or Latch-ups, were taken in designing the camera, making it 

very tolerant to radiation even when using commercial parts. 

Because commercial parts can be used, the camera is up to 

100 times less expensive than typical space flight cameras. 

In addition, the AIM has at its core a very capable FPGA, 

which allows for a great amount of flexibility in its application 

and integration into systems. For example, as part of the CIF 

awards the prototype camera was integrated with a rover 

with an interface data rate of 115 kbps and a user-selectable 

set of LED illumination lamps (which the camera controlled). 

At these slow data rates, on-camera windowing and scaling 

were required. In another application the camera, capable of 

data downlink at 10 Mbps, was flown on a sounding rocket 

illustrating the ability to customize data rates. For this sounding 

rocket application, onboard auto-exposure was required. In 

both applications the same camera hardware was used, but 

specific interfaces and controls were programmed via 

the FPGA. 

Currently the AIM is integrated into the Near InfraRed Volatiles 

Spectrometer System (NIRVSS) instrument, providing multicolor high-resolution context imaging for the other NIRVSS 

sensors. NIRVSS is manifested on the CLPS Astrobotic 

Peregrine Mission-1 lunar lander, currently slated for launch in 

January 2024. NIRVSS/AIM is also integrated into the Volatiles 

Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) lunar rover 

mission, scheduled for launch in late 2024. A third version of 

NIRVSS/AIM has been flight qualified and delivered in-place, 

awaiting a future manifest via CPLS. 

Ames Research Center 

Ames Imaging Module (AIM) 

Figure 17: The Ames Imaging Module (black enclosure to right in 

photo above) integrate into the NIRVSS instrument. Credit: NASA 

Ames Research Center.

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Chapter 4: Select NASA Center Technology Projects 
What began as a research tool to collect aerodynamic data 

from research aircraft is now solving technical challenges 

within the agency and beyond. NASA’s patented, award-winning 

Fiber Optic Sensing System (FOSS) technology combines 

advanced strain sensors and innovative algorithms into a 

robust package that accurately and cost-effectively monitors a 

host of critical parameters in real time. It is being widely used 

throughout NASA to support research projects as varied as 

investigating next-generation flexible wings, measuring liquid 

fuel levels, and monitoring strain on spacecraft. 

For more than two decades, the FOSS team at NASA’s 

Armstrong Flight Research Center has optimized the technology 

to refine the infrastructure and speed with which the system 

collects and transmits data, and the technology’s easy-tointegrate elements now complement and add color to existing 

instrumentation. FOSS has supported numerous flight projects, 

from the unmanned Ikhana aircraft to Global Observer to the 

multiutility X-56 research aircraft. 

FOSS uses up to a 40-foot, hair-like optical fiber that provides 

up to 2,000 data points each. The state-of-the-art system 

processes information every quarter inch along the fiber at 

rates up to 100 times per second to measure strain, shape 

deformation, temperature, liquid level, and operational loads. 

The sensor suite enables researchers to verify finite element 

models to a high degree of spatial resolution. It also allows 

researchers to identify unexpected phenomena in cases where 

a model is not completely accurate or does not contain enough 

degrees of specificity. FOSS enables both validation and 

discovery, making the entire research process more effective 

and efficient. 

In recent years, the FOSS team has pivoted from an aeronautics 

focus to developing innovations to support space applications. 

This effort has required taking a new look at how the electronic 

components are packaged and assembled to meet the 

demands of a space environment. Potential applications include 

monitoring the health of spacecraft and measuring levels and 

temperatures of liquid fuel tanks during spaceflight. 

FOSS collected temperature data during the agency’s LowEarth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) 

mission. When LOFTID launched in November 2022 aboard 

a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from California’s 

Vandenberg Space Force Base, it carried 1,400 FOSS sensors 

on three optic fibers totaling 60 feet in length, placed in a spiral 

pattern on LOFTID’s nose, while the FOSS box was mounted 

in the vehicle’s midsection. FOSS provided a thermal map 

of the heat LOFTID was subjected to as it re-entered Earth’s 

atmosphere and landed in the Pacific Ocean. 

Armstrong Flight Research Center 

Fiber Optic Sensing System (FOSS) Sensor Suite Supports Aeronautics and Space Applications 

Figure 18: NASA Armstrong’s Fiber Optic Sensing System (FOSS) 

collected temperature data on the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an 

Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) as it re-entered the atmosphere and 

landed in the Pacific Ocean on November 10, 2022. 

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Chapter 4: Select NASA Center Technology Projects 
NASA’s Glenn Research Center has developed and demonstrated 

an airborne laser-based communication capability. The muti-year 

goal of this work is a capability to address introducing quantum 

key distribution into the National Airspace System. Quantum 

key distribution can provide encryption for unambiguous, highbandwidth, point-to-point communications known only between 

shared parties. Demand for secure communications will grow 

as the nation’s airspace is increasingly populated by uncrewed 

vehicles. An equally important goal is to explore extending its 

application to space-based communication architectures. 

This work was initiated by Glenn’s Quantum Technologies Team 

(QTech) in 2017. It was supported by the Aeronautics Research 

Mission Directorate (ARMD) Convergent Aeronautics Solutions 

(CAS) program. Participation expanded to include NASA’s Ames 

Research Center, the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), and a Small 

Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program industry partner. 

Flight test operations engaged collaborations with the Science 

Mission Directorate’s Earth Sciences Division for critical data 

transfer experiments, Space Operations Mission Directorate’s 

Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) demonstrations of 

High Data Rate, Delay/Fault Tolerant Network (HDTN) concepts, 

and AFRL Open Mission Systems experiments. 

Based on an inertially-stabilized, bidirectional, Free-Space 

Optical Communications system (FSOC) approach, quantum key 

distribution hardware/software implementation utilizes a singlephoton regime to securely generate encryption keys between 

a flight platform and a symmetric ground station near the GRC 

Hangar. Utilizing precision laser links between communication 

nodes, the prototype system maintained Gigabit/second data 

transfer rate capacity at ranges of 10’s of kilometers and at 

reduced rates out to 100 kilometers in the first flight campaign 

over Lake Erie in 2019. 

A second flight campaign in 2021 integrated upgraded FSOC 

terminals. Improvements in precision laser pointing led to higher 

data transfer rates over longer distances and produced a readily 

deployable gigabit-class airborne laser communication testbed 

(ALCT) capability for the agency. Results of the system in the 

weeks-long flight campaign included in-flight high-speed internet 

connectivity and scientific customer utilization of the system for 

NASA and AFRL system flight demonstrations.

A third flight campaign in 2024 is supported by SCaN utilizing 

Glenn’s new PC-12 aircraft platform to conduct further 

development of delay/fault-tolerant (HDTN) laser communication 

capabilities, and provide flight testing opportunities for NASA and 

AFRL technology teams.

Glenn’s Free Space Optical Communication development provides 

high-capacity communications for US Airspace Communications, 

including unambiguous inter-node links, freedom from RF 

spectrum restrictions, and highly secure communications in the 

increasingly complex national airspace system. 

Glenn Research Center 

Flight Demonstration of Laser Communications Towards Enhanced Security 

Figure 19: 1GRC Airborne Laser Communication Testbed in flight 

aboard the GRC DHC-6 Twin Otter Aircraft.

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Chapter 4: Select NASA Center Technology Projects 
DAVINCI, the Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, 

Chemistry and Imaging mission exemplifies how IRAD Internal 

Research and Development funding, combined with persistent, 

innovative mission design and maturation, help expand NASA’s reach 

into our solar system and our understanding of worlds beyond. 

Buried beneath a smothering carbon dioxide and acid atmosphere 

devoid of water vapor, Venus’s scorched landscape endures 90 

times the weight of Earth’s atmosphere. At that pressure, amid 

temperatures hot enough to melt lead, air behaves as much like a 

liquid as a gas. 

Goddard research and development grants contributed to the 

development of DAVINCI’s parachute, window seal, atmosphere 

probe, a new external antenna design, and other systems necessary 

to survive Venus’s punishing atmosphere. Maturing these particularly 

challenging technologies beyond NASA’s existing capabilities allows 

the mission to protect its vital organs from the heavy sulfuric clouds, 

temperature, and pressure while providing safe exposure for sensors 

and communications. 

The team developed half and full-sized prototypes of the capsule 

to test their seals’ ability to withstand Venus’s intense atmospheric 

pressure. From 2008 on, projects for design and mission planning, 

construction, and development transitioned to testing and further 

refinements to the capsule and seal designs which continue 

through today. 

While submitting multiple unfunded proposals over the years, the 

DAVINCI team used research and development funding to address 

risks and questions raised during proposal evaluations. Each 

successive project advanced the mission forward toward their 

ultimate successful bid and selection in 2021. 

Even as the mission began incorporating Pre-Phase A funding, 

further IRAD awards supplemented the team’s efforts to refine their 

seal technologies and the external radio antenna. Additional grants 

supported testing these technologies under Venus-like conditions: 

temperatures up to 878°F (470°C) and 93 times Earth’s surface 

atmospheric pressure. 

Selected in 2021, DAVINCI will consist of a carrier-relay spacecraft 

and an atmospheric descent probe. The carrier-relay spacecraft 

will track motions of the clouds and identify their composition, as 

well as map regional surface composition by measuring heat from 

Venus’ surface that escapes through its atmosphere. The probe will 

sample atmospheric chemistry, temperature, pressure, and dynamics 

every 50-150 meters during descent. It will also take the first 

high-resolution images of Alpha Regio: an ancient, rugged highland 

twice the size of Texas. These images will help look for signs of 

water’s influenced on surface rock formation in its distant past, when 

scientist believe the planet might have been more like Earth. 

DAVINCI will be the first NASA-built probe to explore the deepest 

atmosphere of Venus and the first U.S.-built Venus probe since 1978. 

NASA Goddard is the principal investigator institution and is working 

with other NASA centers, businesses, and academic partners. 

Deep atmosphere probes are the only way to answer questions about 

the connections between atmospheric evolution, the existence (or not) 

of global oceans, and surface-atmosphere chemistry interactions. 

Probes which can survive and conduct science in the atmospheres 

of Venus, Saturn, and Uranus need to demonstrate capabilities on 

the cutting edge of the technological curve. In addressing these 

challenges, these technologies can expand NASA’s reach into our 

solar system and inform our understanding of worlds beyond. 

Goddard Space Flight Center 

DAVINCI: Maturing a Mission Concept Through Persistent Research and Development 

Figure 20: DAVINCI Principal Investigators Giada Arney, James 

Garvin, and Stephanie Getty stand with the full-sized model of their 

atmospheric probe. 

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Chapter 4: Select NASA Center Technology Projects 
Superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) 

are the most advanced detectors available for time-resolved 

single photon counting, from the UV to the longwave infrared 

(0.1–29 μm). Since 2005, JPL has been a world-leading 

center for the development of this technology, in collaboration 

with NIST Boulder and MIT. Our collaboration has recently 

demonstrated SNSPDs with timing resolution as high as 3 

picosecond Full-Width Half-Max (FWHM), pixel counts as high 

as 400,000 elements (the largest superconducting detector 

arrays by a factor of 20), and dark count rates below 10-5 

counts per second. SNSPDs are a critical technology for ground 

receivers for deep-space optical communications, as they 

enable high efficiency time-tagged photon counting at event 

rates up to a billion counts per second, while maintaining 

timing resolution below 100 ps. From 2011–2016, JPL 

engaged in a rapid technology maturation project sponsored 

by the STMD Game-Changing Development program, which 

advanced the state of the art from small fiber-coupled 

devices to large-scale 64-element SNSPD arrays capable of 

being coupled to large-area telescopes. This technology was 

then infused into the ground systems for the Lunar Laser 

Communication Demonstration (2013), the Deep Space Optical 

Communication project (2023), and the Optical-to-Orion project 

(planned launch in 2024). The DSOC project, which is the first 

demonstration of optical communication from interplanetary 

space, launched successfully aboard the Psyche spacecraft 

on October 13, 2023, and is currently (as of November 2023) 

commissioning its first communication links. An SNSPDbased ground receiver at the Palomar 200-inch telescope is a 

critical element of this ground-breaking laser communication 

demonstration. 

In the future, SNSPDs may also be a promising new technology 

for astrophysical observatories. The low dark count rates, high 

pixel counts, and high radiation tolerance make SNSPDs a 

potential technology for the science camera in the Habitable 

Worlds Observatory, and the infrared SNSPDs close an 

important technology gap for low-noise single-photon counting 

detectors from 15–30 μm, beyond the reach of mercury 

cadmium telluride sensors. Technology development on 

SNSPDs at JPL has been supported by NASA STMD, NASA 

SCaN, NASA SMD, JPL internal R&D funding, and reimbursable 

sponsors (DARPA, DOE, U.S. Government, and industry). 

Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

SNSPD Technology Infusion Enables Optical Communications and Future Science Observations 

Figure 21: DSOC integrated on board Psyche and ready for launch.

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Chapter 4: Select NASA Center Technology Projects 
For nearly two decades, microbial monitoring of the 

International Space Station (ISS) has relied on culturedependent methods that require returning samples to Earth for 

analysis. This method has its limitations, including the inherent 

delay between initial sampling and ground-based evaluation. In 

recent years, portable and easy-to-use molecular-based tools, 

such as the Oxford Nanopore Technologies’ MinION sequencer 

have been validated onboard the ISS. 

Starting as a Center-Level Independent Research and 

Development (IRAD) project in October 2015, a full sampleto-sequencer, DNA extraction and preparation method for the 

MinION was developed. In 2017, implementing part of this 

method on Station resulted in the first off-Earth identification 

of unknown microbes collected and cultured from ISS surfaces. 

In 2018, a subsequent payload demonstrated the full method, 

nicknamed “swab-to-sequencer,” could eliminate the need to 

culture the microbes, providing a game-changing solution to 

real-time microbial profiling onboard the ISS. With the success 

of these experiments, the MinION sample preparation IRAD 

project for DNA sequencing evolved to a Medical Operations 

systems demonstration on orbit called “BioMole.” 

Validation studies were conducted first through extensive 

ground-based assessments followed by additional cultureindependent verification studies during two NASA Extreme 

Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) analog missions. 

Finally, two crew members conducted four independent 

swab-to-sequencer experiments onboard the ISS using the 

same standard protocols. The opportunity for field testing of 

the method during NEEMO provided substantial insight toward 

improved packaging and labeling of kits, as well as optimization 

of crew procedures for application onboard the ISS. 

As deep-space exploration will not easily allow for sample 

returns, the goal of BioMole is to replace current culturebased hardware and the necessary sample return with inflight 

analysis via DNA sequencing. To that end, the BioMole method 

has been baselined for Gateway, known as the Microbial 

Surface Monitor (MSM). BioMole and the future MSM allow for 

the identification of microbes without the need for culture or 

sample return and provides near real-time data. This simplified 

sequencing method is a critical advancement for monitoring 

crew health in near real-time. 

This technology, capable of providing rapid characterization 

of the environment and human health, is critical to extending 

human space exploration. The swab-to-sequencer method can 

be completed entirely in the spaceflight environment and along 

with on-orbit data analysis, is adaptable to extend beyond 

environmental microbial profiling and to potentially aid in 

infectious disease diagnostics to enable human exploration of 

the Moon and on to Mars. 

Johnson Space Center 

DNA Sequencing in Space 

Figure 22: NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Jasmin 

Moghbeli services microbe samples for DNA sequencing aboard the 

International Space Station.

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Chapter 4: Select NASA Center Technology Projects 
As humans have expanded across the continents and the 

oceans, they always took their crops with them to sustain 

their journey. The long-term exploration of space will be no 

different and will be even more challenging. Space crops 

can provide nutrients which degrade in the packaged diet, 

they can alleviate menu fatigue by providing variety, and 

positively impact behavioral health by providing sensory inputs 

that maintain Earth connections, but there was no way for 

astronauts to easily handle and plant seeds in microgravity until 

NASA developed and tested Seed Film. The Seed Film concept 

was developed by two NASA scientists working out how to grow 

microgreens in microgravity. The duo wanted a film that would 

hold seeds and could be rolled out onto a substrate such that 

the film would dissolve, leaving behind seeds to germinate and 

grow. 

There are hundreds of food-safe, water-soluble polymers, 

and one polymer was better than the others with respect 

to low water content when dry, time to dissolve, thermal 

properties, mechanical properties, and methods to create film 

compositions. That polymer was Pullulan. 

Pullulan is a food-safe, water-soluble polysaccharide which 

can be easily altered by adding food-grade glycerol. Glycerol 

acts as a plasticizing agent in pullulan to make it more 

flexible. Several compositions were tested to determine 

processing guidelines and optimize thickness of the films 

for seeds with the goal to have mechanical properties that 

enabled handling, sufficient thickness to embed the seed, 

but also limited excess polymer to reduce dissolved polymer 

within the growth hardware. Through dozens of iterations and 

developmental improvements, Seed Film was readied for test 

on the International Space Station as part of the VEG series of 

crop growth technology demonstration tests. VEG-03J using 

red romaine lettuce as the test plant was initiated by astronaut 

Mike Hopkins on January 4th, 2021. For the first time, 

astronauts planted space crops in Veggie. Until then all VEGGIE 

seeds had been planted on Earth. The plants germinated better 

than three other red romaine plant studies and the plants grew 

larger than previous experiments. The NASA-developed pullulan 

seed film technology is expected to enable astronauts to 

maintain a crop library from which they can choose what crops 

they would like to grow for nutrition, increased menu variety, 

and improved behavioral health. 

Kennedy Space Center 

Seed Film—Enabling Astronauts to Plant and Grow Fresh, Nutritious Food for Exploration 

Figure 23: Mike Hopkins aboard the International Space Station 

selects a seed film coupon to crops for the first time in space.

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Chapter 4: Select NASA Center Technology Projects 
For destinations with an atmosphere, one of the challenges 

NASA faces is how to deliver heavy payloads (experiments, 

equipment, and people) because current rigid aeroshells 

are constrained by a rocket’s shroud size. One answer is an 

inflatable aeroshell that can be deployed to a scale much larger 

than the shroud. 

A little more than a year ago, a major NASA flight test of 

exactly this kind of technology came screaming back from 

space at more than 18,000 miles per hour and reached a peak 

temperature of about 2,700°F before gently splashing down 

in the Pacific Ocean, becoming the largest blunt body ever to 

reenter Earth’s atmosphere. 

The Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator 

(LOFTID), which launched Nov. 10, 2022, aboard a United 

Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, demonstrated inflatable 

heat shield technology—also known as a Hypersonic 

Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) aeroshell—that will 

advance NASA’s exploration of the unknown in space. This 

technology could allow larger, more massive spacecraft (and 

their contents) to safely descend through the atmospheres of 

celestial bodies such as Earth, Mars, Venus, and even Saturn’s 

moon, Titan. 

In October 2023, the LOFTID team held a post-flight analysis 

assessment of the flight test at NASA’s Langley Research 

Center in Hampton, Virginia. Their verdict? It performed 

beautifully—almost exactly as modeled. 

Due to the success of the tech demo, in July 2023, NASA 

announced that as part of its Tipping Point program it 

would partner with United Launch Alliance to develop 

and deliver a larger HIAD aeroshell for recovering the 

company’s Vulcan engines from low Earth orbit for reuse. 

HIAD technology has been through more than a decade of 

development, including two smaller scale suborbital flight tests 

prior to LOFTID. NASA established the HIAD portfolio to manage 

the technology’s potential use with commercial companies and 

mission applications. NASA is also working to develop a reentry 

capability for small satellites, as well as aerocapture and a 

cislunar payload return using HIAD aeroshells.

Langley Research Center 

Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) 

Figure 24: The Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable 

Decelerator, or LOFTID, spacecraft is pictured after its atmospheric 

re-entry test in November 2022. 

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Chapter 4: Select NASA Center Technology Projects 
The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has long been a 

leader in thermal systems for extreme environments, including 

surviving extremes on the Lunar surface such as the cold Lunar 

night. However, both Apollo and Artemis generation systems 

are to date designed only to operate during the Lunar day. An 

approach to survive the Lunar night, without nuclear devices, 

leverages a Warm Electronics Box (WEB) that contains all 

sensitive electronics alongside the battery to maximize heatsharing between components. The WEB is connected to a 

radiator via a variable link such that heat flows to the radiator 

during the warmer daytime but is isolated from the radiator 

during the colder nighttime. 

An Early Career Initiative (ECI) project, Lunar Thermal 

Regulation for Mission Sustainability (Lunar TheRMiS), was 

awarded at MSFC in 2020 to continue development of these 

non-nuclear thermal concepts. Lunar TheRMiS is a design 

toolkit; a guiding architecture for determining components for 

the WEB, variable links, and radiators. The toolkit’s thermal 

control components have been developed by MSFC and key 

partners. Leveraging Small Business and Innovative Research 

(SBIR) investments, several of these components have been 

developed in partnership with Advanced Cooling Technology 

(ACT), tested at MSFC as a part of Lunar TheRMiS, and are 

currently being infused for enabling extreme thermal system 

capabilities; all within 3 years from the ECI award to flight. 

An example key technology within the toolkit is a warmreservoir Variable Conductance Heat Pipe (VCHP). Unlike 

a traditional VCHP in that it moves the reservoir from the 

condenser (cold) side to the evaporator (warm) side of the 

pipe. This “warm” architecture enables tighter thermal control 

that passively shuts off heat transfer when temperatures 

drop below a certain threshold. Integrated system design and 

testing completed at MSFC demonstrated excellent protoflight 

performance of the warm-reservoir VCHP. The VCHP was later 

qualified through vibration and thermal vacuum testing for 

low-risk operational implementation. This VCHP is currently 

integrated onto Astrobotic’s Peregrine 1 Lunar lander for its 

upcoming flight to the Lunar surface. The mission is manifested 

for launch in January 2024 and will aide in the understanding 

of warm-reservoir VCHP performance in the Lunar environment. 

Lunar surface operations will validate the technology within the 

Lunar TheRMiS toolkit. 

Marshall Space Flight Center 

Lunar Thermal Regulation for Mission Sustainability (TheRMiS) 

Figure 25: Warm-reservoir Variable Conductance Heat Pipe 

protoflight unit under thermal qualification testing for the Peregrine 1 

Lunar lander mission.

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Chapter 4: Select NASA Center Technology Projects 
ASTRA is a mission to mature integrated systems health 

management and autonomous operations of a small satellite. 

Developed by NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC) and E3S/

D2K, ASTRA will autonomously detect anomalies, identify 

the probable root cause of the anomalies, create strategies 

to mitigate anomalies, and at the end of the mission, 

autonomously control the satellite and its primary payload. 

The ASTRA mission will provide flight heritage for multiple 

technologies including the NASA Platform for Autonomous 

Systems (NPAS), the S-A1760 Venus radiation-characterized 

Space AI GPGPU, and a NPAS/Space Bus Network bridge to 

the Core Flight System (cFS) software enabling integration with 

cFS applications for telemetry and commanding. The mission 

was enabled by multiple public-private partnerships to develop 

essential software tools. 

The ASTRA team partnered with Sidus Space to leverage 

Sidus’ hardware and software development expertise. The 

ASTRA payload will be hosted on the Sidus Space LizzieSat-1, 

a proprietary multipurpose satellite bus that integrates custom 

payloads as rideshares. 

The ASTRA team designed, built, and tested ASTRA flight 

software, and integrated the flight software with the ASTRA 

Space AI GPGPU. Sidus Space is responsible for integrating the 

ASTRA hardware on LS-1, as well as for satellite launch, and 

all satellite mission operations. 

The autonomous systems capabilities demonstrated by ASTRA 

are immediately applicable to multiple Artemis objectives and 

elements. In this way, the ASTRA partnership with Sidus Space 

will reduce the time to deploy high-priority capabilities to 

Artemis missions and reduce risk, program cost, safety issues, 

and schedule challenges through the successful demonstration 

of autonomous operations.

Stennis Space Center 

ASTRA—Autonomous Satellite Technology for Real-Time Applications 

Figure 26: The flight S-A1760 Venus radiation-characterized Space 

AI GPGPU that provides high-performance computing capabilities 

that enable onboard integrated systems health management and 

autonomous operations. 

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Chapter 4: Select NASA Center Technology Projects 
Appendix:

Biographies of the Current NASA 

Center Chief Technologists (CCTs) and 

Deputy Center Chief Technologists (DCCTs) 

Appendix 

Figure 28: The Armstrong Flight Research 

Center in Edwards, California.

Figure 29: The Glenn Research Center in 

Cleveland, Ohio.

Figure 30: The Goddard Space Flight Center 

in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Figure 31: The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in 

Pasadena, California.

Figure 32: The Johnson Space Center in 

Houston, Texas. 

Figure 33: The Kennedy Space Center in 

Merritt Island, Florida.

Figure 34: The Langley Research Center in 

Hampton, Virginia.

Figure 35: The Marshall Space Flight Center 

in Huntsville, Alabama.

Figure 36: The Stennis Space Center in 

Mississippi.

Figure 27: The Ames Research Center in 

Moffett Field, California.

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Center Chief Technologist: 

Harry Partridge

Email: harry.partridge@nasa.gov

Dr. Harry Partridge is the Ames center chief technologist (CCT), 

and as such identifies, defines, develops, and integrates new 

and emerging technologies for application to agency and 

national goals. Dr. Partridge reports to and advises center 

leadership on matters concerning centerwide technology 

development and leverage. His duties include representation on 

the agencywide Center Technology Council (CTC). Dr. Partridge 

has expertise in chemical physics, computational chemistry, 

nanotechnology, and entry systems. He was formerly the 

Deputy Director of the Game Changing Program and the Senior 

Technical Officer of the Space Technology Mission Directorate. 

His interest areas include space technology, commercial space, 

hypersonics, and the Materials Genome Initiative. 

Deputy Center Chief Technologist: 

Jill Bauman

Email: jill.bauman@nasa.gov

Dr. Jill Bauman is the Ames deputy center chief technologist 

(DCCT). Her responsibilities include reviewing the center’s new 

technologies to determine mission critical needs that may be 

filled by such technologies, initiating and reviewing potential 

inter-center and external collaborations for low TRL technology 

investments, and assessing the center’s technology portfolio 

for strategic maturation planning. Dr. Bauman has expertise in 

atmospheric physics and experience serving as ARC’s associate 

director for science and as the branch chief for systems and 

project engineering. Dr. Bauman’s interest areas include 

NASA’s early-stage concept investments (process and impact) 

and Earth Science instrumentation. 

Ames Research Center (ARC) 

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Appendix 
Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) 

Center Chief Technologist: 

David Voracek

Email: david.f.voracek@nasa.gov

David F. Voracek is the chief technologist at NASA’s Armstrong 

Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. He leads the 

effort on advocating for innovation, advising on technology 

strategy, and helping in technology program decisions for earlystage innovation. Mr. Voracek manages the Center Innovation 

Fund, which supports new and state-of-the-art technological 

ideas at the center. Mr. Voracek has experience in structural 

dynamics, systems engineering, and Flight Research. He has 

held the positions of Chief Engineer for X-53 and Deputy 

Director of Research and Engineering at AFRC. His main area 

is advancing Aerospace Technologies through flight, which 

includes interests in sustainable aviation, AI and machine 

learning, and Hypersonics. 

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Appendix 
Glenn Research Center (GRC) 

Center Chief Technologist: 

Kurt Sacksteder

Email: kurt.sacksteder@nasa.gov

Dr. Kurt Sacksteder is the chief technologist for the NASA Glenn 

Research Center (GRC) where he guides early-stage strategic 

technology investments and partnerships in power, propulsion, 

communications, materials, and other physical sciences and 

applications for harsh environments in aviation and spaceflight. Dr. 

Sacksteder was a founding GRC practitioner of applied research in 

reduced-gravity combustion and reacting flows. He has served as 

co-leader of NASA ISRU technology development, Space Technology 

Research Grants Program Manager, and was Chief of two materials 

science branches. Dr. Sacksteder’s interest areas include combustion 

and fluid physics in reduce-gravity environments, ISRU for the Moon 

and Mars, and power and propulsion systems and links to 

climate remediation. 

After over 40 years of distinguished service to NASA, Dr. Kurt 

Sacksteder, is retiring. In addition to his role as CCT of GRC, Dr. 

Sacksteder, and before him, Julie Williams-Byrd, served as a 

dedicated Chair of the Center Technology Council and advisor to the 

agency chief technologist. The Center Technology Council wishes him 

all the best in his well-earned retirement and thanks him for his work 

ethic, technical expertise, and dedicated advocacy for so many earlycareer professionals while at NASA.

Deputy Center Chief Technologist (Acting): 

Maxwell Briggs

Email: maxwell.h.briggs@nasa.gov

Dr. Maxwell Briggs is the acting deputy chief technologist of 

the Glenn Research Center, where he focuses on increasing 

return on investment for early-stage technology developments. 

Dr. Briggs has experience as an engineer for dynamic power 

systems including Kilopower, Fission Surface Power, and 

Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator. He has managed 

the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) portfolio for 

the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) and 

developed the SBIR program’s Ignite Solicitation, which offers 

SBIR awards to commercialization-focused companies working 

on NASA relevant technology. Dr. Briggs’s interest areas include 

space power systems, innovative funding mechanisms for 

early-stage innovations, and the space economy 

and infrastructure. 

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Appendix 
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) 

Center Chief Technologist: 

Peter Hughes

Email: peter.m.hughes@nasa.gov

Peter Hughes serves as chief technologist of the Goddard 

Space Flight Center. His responsibilities include planning, 

coordinating, and managing advanced technology-development 

programs, and advising center leadership on strategies that 

leverage technology investments to advance NASA’s ambitious 

science and exploration goals. Mr. Hughes, who represents 

the Goddard Space Flight Center on NASA’s Center Technology 

Council, also manages the center’s Internal Research and 

Development program, and NASA’s Center Innovation Fund. Mr. 

Hughes has experience in computer science and technology 

management. His interest areas include AI and autonomous 

systems, digital engineering, space communications and 

navigation, quantum technologies, and emerging and 

critical technologies. 

Deputy Center Chief Technologist: 

Bhanu Sood

Email: bhanu.sood@nasa.gov

Dr. Bhanu Sood serves as deputy chief technologist of the 

Goddard Space Flight Center. As the IRAD Program Manager, Dr. 

Sood ensures that Goddard’s diverse investments in technology 

development are strategically aligned with the agency’s science 

and exploration priorities, innovative, adaptable, and balance 

risks with an optimized mix of partnerships and collaborations. Dr. 

Sood leverages his prior experience in developing and deploying 

large engineering operations, fostering technological solutions 

based on scientific breakthroughs, technical policy development, 

and managing supply chain risks in the current role. Dr. Sood’s 

research interests include technology management, STEM 

workforce development, microelectronics engineering, applications 

of AI and xR for scientific understanding, and cutting-edge digital 

engineering approaches. 

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Appendix 
Center Chief Technologist: 

Tom Cwik

Email: thomas.a.cwik@jpl.nasa.gov

Dr. Tom Cwik is chief technologist for the Jet Propulsion 

Laboratory, where he provides strategic leadership for research 

in advanced technology; manages technology interactions 

between NASA, JPL, and partners; is responsible for NASA’s 

STMD work at JPL; directs internal investments across the Lab; 

and guides the infusion of new technology into the Laboratory 

mission portfolio. Dr. Cwik has experience managing the JPL 

Space Technology Office, working in technology development in 

several areas, developing flight systems for several missions, 

and leading formulation of the NASA Aquarius mission. Dr. Cwik 

has expertise in electrical engineering and his interest areas 

include computational engineering and design and leadership 

of innovative space exploration teams. 

Deputy Center Chief Technologist: 

Charles D. Norton

Email: charles.d.norton@jpl.nasa.gov

Dr. Charles D. Norton is the deputy chief technologist at 

NASA JPL/Caltech responsible for JPL’s technology strategic 

planning, research, and infusion into flight missions. He has 

led and performed research spanning high-performance 

computing, advanced information systems technology, and 

small satellite science and technology mission development. 

Dr. Norton has expertise in electrical engineering and 

computational science, having developed and managed 

multiple SmallSat flight projects for NASA. He has co-authored 

numerous National Academies reports on remote sensing with 

small satellites and is a recipient of numerous awards for new 

technology and innovation, including the JPL Lew Allen Award, 

NASA Exceptional Service Medal, and the NASA Outstanding 

Public Leadership Medal. 

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) 

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Appendix 
Johnson Space Center (JSC) 

Center Chief Technologist: 

Nicholas Skytland

Email: nicholas.g.skytland@nasa.gov

Nicholas Skytland is the center chief technologist at the 

Johnson Space Center (JSC) and Director of the Business 

Development and Technology Integration Office, where he is 

focused on helping NASA return to the Moon through open 

innovation, technology development, technology transfer 

and strategic partnerships. Mr. Skytland has experience in 

crew training, space suit design, EVA physiology research 

and development, as well as experience leading numerous 

transformation and modernization initiatives. His focus is on 

helping usher in the future of human spaceflight. Mr. Skytland’s 

interest areas include early-stage technology opportunities and 

advancement, early career development, technology infusion 

and partnerships, open innovation, digital transformation, and 

AI and machine learning. 

Deputy Center Chief Technologist: 

Ronnie Clayton

Email: ronald.g.clayton@nasa.gov

Ronald Clayton is the deputy center chief technologist at 

NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where he advises center 

leadership on matters concerning research and technology 

development. His responsibilities also include assisting the 

center chief technologist in providing an integrated approach 

for strategically aligning the center’s technology development 

and infusion efforts with the agency’s future programs and 

missions. Mr. Clayton has experience in systems engineering 

and integration and was an avionics integration engineer for 

the Space Shuttle Program. Mr. Clayton’s expertise includes 

electrical and electronics engineering. His interest areas 

include early-stage technology opportunities and early career 

development, technology infusion and partnerships, open 

innovation, and digital transformation. 

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Appendix 
Center Chief Technologist: 

Tim Griffin

Email: timothy.p.griffin@nasa.gov

Dr. Timothy Griffin is the center chief technologist of 

the Kennedy Space Center. His responsibilities include 

implementing KSC’s Strategic Technology Investment Plan 

and providing strategic advice to ensure KCS work aligns 

with agency needs and priorities, capitalizes on KSC areas 

of strength, and ensures valuable research and technology 

investments. Dr. Griffin has experience in centerwide technical 

leadership for the planning, management, and evaluation of a 

comprehensive advanced technology program to meet KSC’s 

mission responsibilities. He is an analytical chemistry expert 

and has interests in the miniaturization and ruggedization 

of mass spectrometers and their interfaces and analytical 

chemistry focusing on new methods for monitoring compounds 

of interest in unique situations. 

Deputy Center Chief Technologist: 

Kelvin Ruiz

Email: kelvin.r.ruiz@nasa.gov

Kelvin Ruiz is the deputy center chief technologist at NASA’s 

Kennedy Space Center. As DCCT, he supports the center chief 

technologist on matters concerning centerwide technology 

development and workforce innovation while documenting, 

demonstrating, and communicating the societal impact of 

KSC’s technology accomplishments. Prior to becoming KCS’s 

DCCT, Mr. Ruiz was senior electronics engineer for the Space 

Shuttle Program and served as senior technologist and Science 

Mission Directorate liaison for the agency’s Office of the Chief 

Technologist. Mr. Ruiz has expertise in electrical, electronics, 

and industrial engineering and has interests in embedded 

electronics, avionics, and software; ISRU technologies; 

SmallSats/CubeSats; and technology development solicitations 

and partnerships. 

Kennedy Space Center (KSC) 

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Appendix 
Langley Research Center (LaRC) 

Center Chief Technologist (Acting): 

Phillip A. Williams

Email: phillip.a.williams@nasa.gov

Dr. Phillip Williams is the acting center chief technologist 

at Langley Research Center, providing technical leadership 

at LaRC for the planning, management, and evaluation of 

comprehensive advanced centerwide technology development 

activities to meet Langley’s vision and mission responsibilities 

across aeronautics, science, and space exploration. Prior to 

becoming LaRC’s Deputy and then Acting CCT, Dr. Williams 

held positions including research physicist, acting assistant 

branch head, and senior systems analyst at Langley. Dr. 

Williams has expertise in physics and his interests include 

structures and materials, nanotechnology, microscopy and 

molecular spectrology, space mission and system analysis, 

technology and capability assessment and integration, and inspace assembly. 

Deputy Center Chief Technologist (Acting): 

Ali Omar

Email: omar.a.ali@nasa.gov

Dr. Ali Omar is the acting deputy center chief technologist 

at Langley Research Center, supporting the center chief 

technologist in overseeing comprehensive advanced technology 

development activities to meet Langley’s vision and mission 

responsibilities. Dr. Omar was previously the Acting deputy 

director of the Science Directorate and head of the Lidar 

Science Branch at Langley. He has held leadership positions 

at AGU, AMS, and AAAS. His expertise is in aerospace, civil 

engineering, and atmospheric/Earth science. Dr. Omar’s 

interests include developing space-based remote sensors 

for Earth and other planets, and maturing algorithms to 

maximize information content from space-based sensors, and 

miniaturization of active (radar/lidar) sensors. 

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Appendix 
Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) 

Center Chief Technologist: 

John Dankanich

Email: john.dankanich@nasa.gov

John Dankanich is the Marshall Space Flight Center chief 

technologist and NASA In-Space Transportation Capability Lead. 

Mr. Dankanich’s responsibilities include fostering relationships 

and guiding investments for technology development for NASA’s 

future mission needs. His prior experience includes serving on 

the steering committee of the Small Body Assessment Group for 

the NASA Advisory Council Planetary Science Subcommittee and 

being the founding Chair of the AIAA Committee on Standards 

for Electric Propulsion Testing. Mr. Dankanich has expertise in 

aeronautics and astronautics and specific expertise in technology 

development, propulsion testing and qualification, low-thrust 

trajectory optimization, mission design, and planetary defense. 

His interest areas include propulsion technology development and 

testing and mission design and trajectory optimization. 

Deputy Center Chief Technologist: 

John Carr

Email: john.a.carr@nasa.gov

Dr. John Carr serves as the deputy center chief technologist 

of the Marshall Space Flight Center. His responsibilities 

include championing innovation at NASA, working with senior 

center leaders to build and execute technology development 

strategy, and managing technology development and infusion 

plans. Prior to serving as the deputy center chief technologist 

of MSFC, Dr. Carr was an electrical power engineer at the 

center and the principal investigator of the Thin-Film Solar 

Array Development (LISA-T) project. Dr. Carr’s expertise is in 

electrical and electronics engineering and his interests include 

gossamer technologies including solar sails, thin-film solar 

arrays, printed electronics, and power systems. 

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Appendix 
Center Chief Technologist: 

Anne Peek

Email: anne.h.peek@nasa.gov

Stennis Space Center (SSC) 

Anne Peek serves as center chief technologist of the Stennis 

Space Center, a position she has held since January 2022. 

Previously, Ms. Peek held leadership positions in applied 

sciences, remote sensing, environmental management, and 

technology development. At Stennis, she had prior experience 

serving as Chief of Staff, Legislative Affairs Officer, and 

Associate Director of the Project Directorate. She was also a 

NASA legislative fellow for a U.S. senator and Communications 

Officer for the Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems 

at NASA HQ. Her expertise includes science and technology 

policy, biology, and environmental microbiology. Ms. Peek’s 

interest areas include propulsion technology development and 

testing, mission design, and trajectory optimization. 

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Appendix 
CTC: In Special Recognition

Langley Research Center (LaRC) 

LaRC Center Chief Technologist: 

Julie Williams-Byrd

OTPS would like to recognize Julie Williams-Byrd for her 

service as the Center Technology Council chair through April 

of 2023. Julie Williams-Byrd was the center chief technologist 

at Langley Research Center (LaRC). She provided leadership 

and technical expertise to center senior leaders regarding 

technology development and maturation of innovative, gamechanging, early-stage technologies that meet agency and 

LaRC vision and enable missions across aeronautics, space 

exploration and science. Mrs. Williams-Byrd is currently on a 

developmental detail as Acting Deputy Director of the Systems 

Analysis and Concepts Directorate. Prior to becoming LaRC’s 

center chief technologist, Mrs. Williams-Byrd held positions 

including senior systems analyst and electro-optics engineer 

for research and development of solid-state lasers for LIDAR 

atmospheric sensing instruments at LaRC. 

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Appendix 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy

NASA Headquarters

300 E Street SW

Washington, DC 20546

www.nasa.gov

Visit NASA OTPS

www.nasa.gov/otps/ 

Figure 37: NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter 

on the surface of the planet Mars. 

Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy