NASA has announced recipients of annual STEM grants that provide a total of approximately $4 million to support science and technology research aligned with the agency’s strategic research and technology development priorities. By providing resources for STEM research, NASA is helping to build a stronger and more active scientific community that will drive innovation and push the boundaries of what is possible in space exploration.

“We’re delighted to announce this year’s grant winners who will help the agency answer some tough questions about research opportunities,” said Kathy Loftin, project manager for NASA’s Resident Competitive Research Incentive Program (EPSCoR). “These grants are a vital component of NASA’s science, technology, engineering and math strategy to foster collaboration and foster the growth of research and development in underserved areas across the country.”

NASA STEM offers researchers a unique opportunity to address the scientific and research challenges affecting their programs and missions. Forty research projects from 21 universities and organizations were selected based on merit and relevance to the agency’s missions. Each grantee will focus on the agency’s range of research needs, including the repair, fabrication, and fabrication of technologies for deep space missions; methods of detecting and destroying bacteria in spacecraft; and Moon and Mars regolith studies, including potential toxicity, suitability as crop soil, and use as a building material.

Grant recipients include Wichita State University in Kansas, which will receive funding to develop a compact, more efficient thermal management system for the electric motors of vertical take-off and landing vehicles. With the rise of electric, turboelectric and hybrid electric powertrains, the development of smaller, more efficient and easier to manufacture cooling systems for electric motors could have important applications in the automotive, aerospace and aerospace industries.

As NASA returns to the Moon via Artemis, new technologies are needed to achieve its long-term goal of Moon exploration. Through efforts such as NASA’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative, which focuses on harnessing material resources on the Moon in situ, Louisiana State University research will advance advances in space manufacturing by examining the physical, chemical, and structural properties of alloys created from simulated regolith, including the melting range. heat capacity, viscosity and density.

To help NASA unravel the mysteries of the universe for the benefit of all, a West Virginia University research team will develop a new concept for localization and navigation, navigation and control algorithms to discover Earth-like planets like Venus. . The Orbiter Navigation Balloon Team will use the variable altitude balloon and orbiter to provide accurate geotagging and autonomous exploration of Venus, generating critical data to help understand Earth’s own formation and changes in habitability over time.

The rest of the grant recipients:

• Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
• College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina
• Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
• Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana
• Nevada Higher Education System, Reno, Nevada
• New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico
• Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma
• South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota
• University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska
• University of Alabama, Huntsville, Alabama
• University of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR
• University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware
• University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho
• University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
• University of Mississippi University of Mississippi
• University of Nebraska, Omaha, Nebraska
• University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
• University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming

The grants are funded through NASA’s EPSCoR R3 (Rapid Response Research) project. The EPSCoR project targets jurisdictions that do not participate equally in competitive aerospace exploration. For EPSCoR R3 grants, universities and schools nationwide submitted bids eligible to submit a total of six bids for competitive deals of up to $100,000 each. 25 states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Guam are currently participating in the program.

NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, in collaboration with various programs and the agency’s mission directorate offices, created these grants to support research and development in areas critical to NASA’s mission and to promote overall research infrastructure, science, and technology.