KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — Five universities were chosen by NASA for grants to provide students with opportunities to design research experiments that will be conducted on the International Space Station. The selections are part of the agency’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research or EPSCoR.

Each of the selected universities will receive approximately $100,000 through NASA EPSCoR. They are:

• University of Delaware, Newark
• University of Idaho, Moscow
• Montana State University, Bozeman
• University of Nebraska, Omaha
• New Mexico State University, Las Cruces

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA has awarded $1.2 million to nine universities and organizations across the country for research and technology development projects in areas critical to the agency’s mission, including studying radiation effects and growing food for long-duration space travel.

NASA’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) supports science and technology research and development at colleges and universities. All projects are applicable to NASA’s work in Earth science, aeronautics, and human and robotic deep space exploration.

The schools will transfer research resulting from the projects to NASA, where it may be used as part of ongoing agency work.

by Nicole Quenelle
NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program

NASA has selected 31 promising space technologies for testing aboard parabolic aircraft, high-altitude balloons, and suborbital rocket-powered systems. By exposing the innovations to many of the rigors and characteristics of spaceflight – without the expense of an orbital flight – NASA can help ensure these technologies work correctly when they are deployed on future missions.

“By supporting suborbital flight testing, our Flight Opportunities  program aims to help ensure that these innovations are well-positioned to address challenges and enable NASA to achieve its lunar ambitions, while also contributing to a growing and vibrant commercial space industry,” said Jim Reuter, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). The Flight Opportunities program is part of STMD.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

As NASA contemplates deep space missions to the moon and Mars, the space agency faces increasing challenges in keeping its astronauts physically and mentally healthy.

One of the key elements in that challenge is fresh food. Currently, fresh produce is supplied periodically to astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) on resupply ships. Crew members have also grown small quantities of vegetables on board.

Resupply becomes a more difficult task on deep space missions due to distance. Thus, astronauts will need to grow more of their own food. Last week, NASA announced three Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards to advance that goal.

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. (NASA PR) — On Saturday, seven small research satellites, or CubeSats, developed by students from eight universities across the nation were launched on Saturday on a Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops, Virginia.

All seven CubeSats were selected through NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) and are a part of the 25^th Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) mission. CSLI enables the launch of CubeSat projects designed, built and operated by students, teachers and faculty, as well as NASA Centers and nonprofit organizations.

Moon (Credit: NASA)

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New Shepard booster over the landing pad. (Credit: Blue Origin)

EDWARDS, Calif. (NASA PR) — NASA’s Flight Opportunities program has selected 15 promising space technologies to be tested on commercial low-gravity simulating aircraft, high-altitude balloons and suborbital rockets. These flights will help advance technologies for future spaceflight, taking them from the laboratory to a relevant flight environment.

During an Aug. 28 visit to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, where the Flight Opportunities program is managed, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said the agency will focus on funding more of these payload flights in the future.

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