Full Breakdown
NASA Selects 41 Proposals to Accelerate Moon and Mars Technology Development
7/17/2026, 11:38:14 AM
Program Background and Scale
NASA’s 2025 Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity (ACO) expands a partnership model that began in 2015. Since its inception, the agency has supported more than 110 projects, contributing roughly $30 million in resources while partner companies have invested an additional $32 million. The latest round chose 41 technology proposals from 37 U.S. firms, targeting high-priority areas such as propulsion, guidance, landing systems, in-space servicing, assembly, manufacturing, and energy management. Individual agreements will run 12–24 months, with timelines negotiated separately.
Technology Highlights and Industry Participants
Selected efforts span power generation, dust mitigation, and spacecraft logistics. Lockheed Martin will develop a compact, modular power unit for the Moon’s permanently shadowed regions and a fiber-laser-based wireless power-beaming system. Kall Morris Inc. is advancing “Asteria,” an adhesive-based payload attachment that can be added to legacy and future spacecraft without built-in mounting hardware, promising improved maneuverability, object tracking, and mission longevity. Moonprint Solutions, a small business, is creating flexible protective covers that conform to complex shapes, shielding rovers, robotic joints, hoses, and other moving hardware from the Moon’s abrasive dust—technology that could also serve long-term Mars operations.
Official Statements & Responses
NASA emphasizes that the collaborations are designed to let commercial firms work alongside the agency using NASA facilities, hardware, software, and expertise. The agency notes that the maturing technologies are expected to strengthen the commercial space sector by opening new markets, lowering costs, expanding customer choice, and introducing capabilities that benefit both government and private missions.
Verbatim Quotes
> “We are empowering American industry to become active partners in NASA's missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond,” — Greg Stover, Director, Advanced Research and Technology Division, NASA
> “By tapping into commercial industry, NASA can rapidly develop key capabilities to support its most ambitious missions while fostering the nation's robust space economy.” — Greg Stover, Director, Advanced Research and Technology Division, NASA
These statements underscore NASA’s strategy of leveraging private-sector innovation to accelerate exploration while cultivating a resilient U.S. space economy.
