NASA’s SBIR program funds innovative space technologies from small businesses

NASA’s SBIR program awards $93.5 million to small businesses, advancing innovative technologies for space exploration and Earth.

NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program has announced the selection of over 100 projects for funding, awarding $93.5 million in Phase II contracts to 95 small businesses across the United States. The program aims to support early-stage innovations that align with NASA’s mission of exploring air and space, while also benefiting life on Earth.

Empowering Small Businesses

The selected small businesses represent a diverse range of innovators, with nearly 80% having fewer than 50 employees. Notably, 21% of the awardees are receiving their first Phase II award, which can be valued at up to $850,000 each. Additionally, each business is eligible to apply for up to $50,000 in Technical and Business Assistance program funding to explore new market opportunities and shape their commercialization strategies.

Jenn Gustetic, director of Early Stage Innovation and Partnerships at NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), expressed excitement about supporting this diverse set of companies. “Inclusive innovation is integral to mission success at NASA,” Gustetic said. “We’re thrilled to see that 29% of the awardees are from underrepresented groups, including 11% women-owned businesses.”

Bringing Technologies Closer to Reality

In Phase II of the program, awardees will build on the progress made during the first phase to advance their technologies towards real-world applications. Each company has 24 months to execute their plans, focusing on the commercialization of their innovations.

One such company, nou Systems, Inc. based in Huntsville, Alabama, was selected for its groundbreaking genetic testing instrument. While portable genetic sequencing is available, field sequencing—enabling DNA analysis anywhere on Earth or beyond—remains a challenge due to the manual process of preparing the DNA Library. nou Systems’ Phase II technology aims to automate this process, leveraging cross-enabling technologies to revolutionize genetic sequencing.

NASA’s collaborative Innovation for Humanity

Jason L. Kessler, program executive for NASA’s SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, highlighted the collaborative nature of the program. “Our program works directly with small businesses to develop innovative concepts and technologies that benefit not only NASA projects but also humanity at large,” Kessler said.

The funded technologies include innovations designed to reduce astronaut workload and enhance robotic scientific missions on the Moon and Mars. PickNik Inc., based in Boulder, Colorado, will use its Phase II award to further develop a hardware-agnostic platform for supervised autonomy. This platform allows humans to command remote robots to complete complex tasks with minimal input, supporting NASA’s Artemis program. Beyond NASA, PickNik’s technology has potential applications in commercial space activities, as well as terrestrial fields such as warehouse management, oil rig maintenance, and deep-sea exploration.

The recent funding announcement underscores NASA’s commitment to supporting small businesses and fostering innovation in the field of space technology, paving the way for exciting advancements in space exploration and benefiting humanity both on Earth and in the cosmos.