Research and Technology
NASA KSC is home to a remarkably diverse and wide-ranging array of research and development activity that yields innovations for both NASA and non-NASA applications. Partnerships also are formed when making KSC facilities available to outside users.
NASA KSC is seeking partners in joint technology development projects and technology commercialization in the following areas:
Crop Production/Management
Crop Production/Management is the the integration of advanced crop production technologies with optimized habitat design to ensure a sustainable, efficient, and resource-conscious food supply for deep space exploration. This includes hydroponic and aeroponic systems, bioreactors, cellular agriculture, and 3D hardware printing.
Dust Mitigation
Dust Mitigation is the development of advanced technologies to remove or repel planetary dust from surface infrastructure, including solar panels, optical systems, and spacesuit materials. These technologies help to ensure performance, longevity, and reliability.
Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Water
Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Water are technologies for maintaining, recovering, and producing water through integrated life support and environmental control systems. These include wastewater recovery, filtration, and purification to ensure sustainable water management in space habitats.
In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)
In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) is the development of technologies and standards for identifying and extracting volatile resources from regolith to produce mission-critical resources such as oxygen, metals, and water.
In-Space and Surface Systems
In-Space and Surface Systems are technologies for surface excavation, construction, and infrastructure development on non-terrestrial bodies such as the Moon and Mars. Includes propellant measurement in microgravity robotics automation, and systems for lunar sustainability and long-term exploration.
Ground Systems
Ground Systems are technologies for safety systems, cryogenic umbilicals, and ground operations to enhance launch efficiency and reliability. Focuses on reducing operational timelines, improving maintenance planning, and minimizing safety risks through intelligent sequencing and system troubleshooting.
Scientific Instruments for Exploration
Scientific Instruments for Exploration are the development of technologies for prospecting, volatile analysis, plume surface interaction mitigation, and operations in extreme environments to enable exploration and resource characterization on non-terrestrial surfaces.
Waste Management/Logistics Reduction
Waste Management/Logistics Reduction are technologies to enhance ground and spaceflight support systems through advanced logistics solutions, including plasma and combustion reactors, to reduce waste and improve resource efficiency.