ISSUE: 63 | June 2023

In This Issue

Recent Flight

࡟ NASA Prize Offers Fly-Fix-Fly Testing for SmallSat Planetary Observation

Opportunities

࡟ Closing Soon: Advanced Materials Research Opportunities for ISS National Lab Utilization

࡟ Now Open: ROSES-23 Artemis III Deployed Instruments Program Solicitation

࡟ Now Open: Research Announcement for Technology Advancement and Applied Research 

Leveraging ISS National Lab

Resources

࡟ Dual-Anonymous Peer Review (DAPR) Video Now Available

Events

࡟ 12th Annual International Space Station Research and Development Conference (ISSRDC), 

July 31-August 3, 2023

࡟ 37th Annual Small Satellite Conference, August 5-10, 2023

࡟ Annual Meeting of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR), 

November 14-18, 2023

Enjoy!

The Flight Opportunities team
Recent Flight

NASA Prize Offers Fly-Fix-Fly Testing for SmallSat Planetary Observation

After a 12-day stratospheric flight, winners of 

NASA’s first TechLeap Prize are now analyzing 

data from technologies that may improve 

autonomous observation capabilities for small 

spacecraft flying over Earth, the Moon, or other 

worlds. Their payloads were selected through 

the TechLeap Autonomous Observation 

Challenge No. 1, which asked teams to develop 

technologies to autonomously detect, locate, 

track, and collect data on short-lived events, 

such as wildfires, unique aerosol dispersions 

like dust and steam plumes, or events on other 

planetary bodies such as geysers on the icy 

moons of Saturn and Jupiter.

NASA’s Flight Opportunities program

enabled three research teams to fly, fix issues, 

and fly again less than a year after their first 

individual flight tests. This second high-altitude 

balloon flight with all three payloads aboard cost-efficiently gave the teams a longer sensing and 

data collection opportunity. Those teams were the SEAK (Systems Engineering, Architecture, and 

Knowledge) Lab at Texas A&M University in College Station; Bronco Space at Cal Poly Pomona in 

California; and Orion Labs, a small applied robotic research institution in Nunn, Colorado. 

Read the full NASA feature.

“We have worked hard to correct the issues we discovered during the original flight 

and are thankful to Flight Opportunities for making this second flight possible. Our 

hope is that this payload will pave the way for improved monitoring of aerosol plumes 

on a much finer spatial scale than was previously possible.” 

— Ben Gorr, team member and Texas A&M graduate student

Researcher Ben Gorr of the SEAK Lab at Texas A&M 

University prepares the SNAP technology payload for highaltitude balloon flight testing in May 2023.

 Credits: Aerostar
Opportunities

Closing Soon: Advanced Materials Research Opportunities for ISS National 

Lab Utilization

NASA has announced an opportunity to conduct advanced materials research on the International 

Space Station (ISS). A Research Announcement for Cycle 2023-2 In Space Production Applications 

(InSPA) Phase 1 concepts in the area of Advanced Materials and Manufacturing requests the 

submission of white papers followed by proposals (by invitation only) that focus on applications 

that use space to serve markets on Earth. Proposals should demonstrate the potential of space to 

produce superior materials and products over what can be achieved on Earth for important terrestrial 

applications.

Read the research announcement. 

White papers due: June 23, 2023

Now Open: ROSES-23 Artemis III Deployed Instruments Program 

Solicitation

The biological and physical sciences research community has the opportunity to accomplish unique 

research on the lunar surface. NASA’s Artemis III Deployed Instruments Program call is soliciting 

proposals for standalone instruments and instrument suites for high-priority science investigations 

conducted by human deployment of payloads on the lunar surface during Artemis III. Proposals must 

include information detailing why crew are needed for deployment, how the instrument is deployed, 

any special deployment requirements, an estimate of the crew time needed for deployment, and 

an overview of the real-time ground-based support needed for deployment during extra vehicular 

activities.

NASA encourages the development of instruments that can address more than one measurement 

need and/or science investigation.

Access the solicitation.

Step-1 Proposals Due: June 30, 2023

Step-2 Proposals Due: August 31, 2023

Now Open: Research Announcement for Technology Advancement and 

Applied Research Leveraging ISS National Lab

NASA has announced an opportunity to submit proposals focused on flight investigations within 

applied research and development, translational medicine, technology readiness level maturation, and 

technology demonstration to be performed on the International Space Station (ISS). NASA and the 

Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) have identified multiple strategic priorities 

and programmatic focus areas aimed at enabling a robust and scalable market in the low Earth orbit. 

Proposals should focus on use of the unique ISS environment to develop, test, or mature products 

and processes that have a demonstrated potential to produce near-term and positive direct or indirect 

economic impact.

Access the research announcement.

Concept Summaries due: August 7, 2023

Full Proposals (by invitation only) due: October 9, 2023
Resources

Dual-Anonymous Peer Review (DAPR) Video Now Availabl

The Flight Opportunities and Small Spacecraft Technology

programs use dual-anonymous peer review (DAPR) to 

evaluate proposals. The goal is to ensure equitable reviews, 

reduce the influence of unconscious biases, and level the 

playing field for everyone. Research shows that using DAPR to 

evaluate proposals improves the overall quality of the review 

process and expands the demographics of awardees.

Flight Opportunities has produced a 5-minute video that 

explains:

࡟ What DAPR is and why it is important

࡟ How the DAPR process works

࡟ How to prepare the anonymous portion of a proposal 

View the DAPR informational video.

Events

12th Annual International Space Station Research and Development Conference 

(ISSRDC)

July 31-August 3

Seattle, Washington

ISSRDC connects scientists who are advancing their R&D goals with space community leaders in 

academia, industry, and government agencies. Technical sessions, panel discussions, and lightning 

talks will highlight space station research involving materials testing, pharmaceutical development, 

fundamental science, in-space manufacturing, and more. Registration is now open. Members of the 

Flight Opportunities team will attend and speak to how the program leverages commercial providers 

to offer low-cost, iterative testing to validate technology performance ahead of an International Space 

Station mission. 

37th Annual Small Satellite Conference

August 5-10, 2023

Logan, Utah

Attendees at this annual conference will explore future missions and delve into key technology drivers, 

operational constructs, and activities that inform and secure the success of small satellite missions at 

scale. Members of the Flight Opportunities and Small Spacecraft Technology program teams will be 

presenting on current opportunities and resources, so stay tuned for information on how to connect 

with them.
Events (cont)

Annual Meeting of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR)

November 14-18, 2023

Washington, D.C.

The ASGSR annual meeting brings together the biological and physical space sciences community 

to share research, build collaborations, and discuss emerging issues in the field. ASGSR welcomes 

scientists and engineers from all career stages. The Flight Opportunities team will have a session at 

the meeting. Stay tuned for details. 

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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