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Small Businesses with Big Plans for the Moon and Mars

Today is Small Business Saturday, which the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recognizes as a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for their communities.

Source: Techshot

We are proud to partner with small businesses across the country through NASA’s Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, which have funded the research, development and demonstration of innovative space technologies since 1982. This year, we’ve awarded 571 SBIR/STTR contracts totaling nearly $180 million to companies who will support our future exploration:

Techshot, Inc. was selected to bioprint micro-organs in a zero-gravity environment for research and testing of organs-on-chip devices, which simulate the physiological functions of body organs at a miniature scale for health research without the need for expensive tests or live subjects.

CertainTech, Inc., with the George Washington University, will demonstrate an improved water recovery system for restoring nontoxic water from wastewater using nanotechnology.

Electrochem, Inc. was contracted to create a compact and lightweight regenerative fuel cell system that can store energy from an electrolyzer during the lunar day to be used for operations during the lunar night.

Source: Electrochem

Small businesses are also developing technologies for the Artemis missions to the Moon and for human and robotic exploration of Mars. As we prepare to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024, these are just a few of the small businesses working with us to make it happen.

Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Services

Masten Space Systems, Astrobotic and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems are three NASA SBIR/STTR alumni now eligible to bid on NASA delivery services to the lunar surface through Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contracts. Other small businesses selected as CLPS providers include Ceres Robotics, Deep Space Systems, Intuitive Machines, Moon Express, and Orbit Beyond. Under the Artemis program, these companies could land robotic missions on the Moon to perform science experiments, test technologies and demonstrate capabilities to help the human exploration that will follow. The first delivery could be as early as July 2021.

A Pathfinder CubeSat

One cornerstone of our return to the Moon is a small spaceship called Gateway that will orbit our nearest neighbor to provide more access to the lunar surface. SBIR/STTR alum Advanced Space Systems will develop a CubeSat that will test out the lunar orbit planned for Gateway, demonstrating how to enter into and operate in the unique orbit. The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) could launch as early as December 2020.

Tipping Point for Moon to Mars

We selected 14 companies as part of our Tipping Point solicitation, which fosters the development of critical, industry-led space capabilities for our future missions. These small businesses all proposed unique technologies that could benefit the Artemis program.

Many of these small businesses are also NASA SBIR/STTR alumni whose Tipping Point awards are related to their SBIR or STTR awards. For example, Infinity Fuel Cell and Hydrogen, Inc. (Infinity Fuel) will develop a power and energy product that could be used for lunar rovers, surface equipment, and habitats. This technology stems from a new type of fuel cell that Infinity Fuel developed with the help of NASA SBIR/STTR awards.

CU Aerospace and Astrobotic are also small businesses whose Tipping Point award can be traced back to technology developed through the NASA SBIR/STTR program. CU Aerospace will build a CubeSat with two different propulsion systems, which will offer high performance at a low cost, and Astrobotic will develop small rover “scouts” that can host payloads and interface with landers on the lunar surface.

Small Businesses, Big Impact

This is just a handful of the small businesses supporting our journey back to the Moon and on to Mars, and just a taste of how they impact the economy and American innovation. We are grateful for the contributions that small businesses make—though they be but “small,” they are fierce.

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Small Businesses Help Us Explore Space!

Earlier this month, Congress introduced a resolution officially recognizing Nov. 24, 2018 as Small Business Saturday “to increase awareness of the value of locally owned small businesses and the impact of locally owned small businesses on the economy of the United States.”

This annual American Express campaign began on the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2010 to support “local places that make our communities strong.”

For 60 years, we have supported and partnered with small businesses across the country to pioneer the future of space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research.

Our Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program funds the research, development and demonstration of innovative technologies that help address space exploration challenges and have significant potential for commercialization. In 2018, our program awarded 555 contracts to small businesses for a total of $180.1 million.

NASA works with small business Nanocomp Technologies Inc. of Merrimack, New Hampshire, to advance manufacturing of carbon nanotube composite materials.

Our investments in small businesses help equip future missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond by advancing our science and technology capabilities. They also benefit the U.S. economy. The SBIR/STTR program’s 2017 Economic Impact Report indicated a $2.74 return for every dollar spent on awards—money well spent!

Small businesses also contribute to scientific advances for the International Space Station as well as here on Earth. Pancopia, Inc. in Hampton, Virginia, developed an innovative, high-performance water recycling system to remove high levels of organic carbon and nitrogen in wastewater. Recycling water in space saves money on resupply and enables more Earth-independence and self-reliance. With the help of an SBIR award, Pancopia is also working on a similar system for public wastewater that has the potential to cut treatment expenses to less than half the current costs.

Small businesses also contribute to scientific advances for the International Space Station as well as here on Earth. Pancopia, Inc. in Hampton, Virginia, developed an innovative, high-performance water recycling system to remove high levels of organic carbon and nitrogen in wastewater. Recycling water in space saves money on resupply and enables more Earth-independence and self-reliance. With the help of an SBIR award, Pancopia is also working on a similar system for public wastewater that has the potential to cut treatment expenses to less than half the current costs.

When NASA went to the private sector to develop deformable mirror technology—a key component of starlight-blocking instruments—a small business in Berkeley, California, applied for research and development funding through SBIR to design extra-precision, segmented mirrors. This innovative approach for a small deformable mirror made up of many tiny hexagonal segments enables advanced control when paired with other optics.

Data collected by a telescope using the Iris AO deformable mirror can be used to determine if the target investigated in space is an exoplanet based on its orbit, and if the exoplanet has atmosphere using color spectrum imaging analysis. The Iris AO technology is currently being refined and prepared for inclusion in a future exoplanet mission.

Does your small business have a big idea? Your next opportunity to join our SBIR/STTR program starts on Jan. 7, 2019, when our next solicitation opens. We’ll be seeking new innovative ideas from small businesses and research institutions for research, development and demonstration of innovative technologies. Go to https://www.nasa.sbir.gov/ to learn more.

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