NASA is handing out work.
Not cash, mostly. Instead, it’s opening the doors of its labs, servers, and testing ranges to 37 U.S. companies. The goal? To figure out how to keep humans alive on the Moon, and eventually on Mars.
They picked 41 proposals out of the pile. It’s part of the 2025 Announcement of Cooperation (ACO), a program that asks: what can you build if we let you use our tools?
Greg Stover, who runs advanced research at NASA Headquarters, likes this model. He calls it empowering American industry. “By tapping into commercial industry,” he said, “NASA can rapidly develop key capabilities… while fostering the nation’s robust space enterprise.”
It sounds like a handshake deal, and technically it is.
No Cash, Just Keys
Here’s the kicker: NASA isn’t writing checks.
The ACO model works differently than a standard contract. Companies bring the R&D money; NASA brings the access. They get to use agency facilities, specialized software, and deep technical know-how.
Since the first round kicked off in 2015, this method has backed more than 110 projects. The value? NASA estimates the access alone is worth roughly $30 million in resources. The companies threw in another $32 million of their own sweat equity.
Projects usually run for a year or two.
The expectation is that these firms will prepare their tech for dual use. One path leads to a Mars base. The other leads to the next satellite you stream Netflix on.
What They’re Building
The agencies want speed. Specifically, they want government and industry to collide on the hard problems.
Engines. Navigation. Landing legs that don’t snap. Energy management that doesn’t fry in the dark. And ways to repair things out in the void, far from a toolbelt.
The list covers everything from lunar power grids to orbital logistics. But some projects stand out for how strangely specific they are.
“We need to solve problems before we send people.”
Lockheed Martin is working on keeping the lights on when the sun won’t. Their target is the Moon’s permanently shadowed craters. These places are dark for months at a time. Standard solar panels fail there. Lockheed is building compact, modular energy systems, along with wireless power beamed by fiber lasers. They’re also looking at heat rejection systems. Because in space, heat doesn’t go anywhere unless you throw it away.
Then there is the problem of old spacecraft sitting around doing nothing.
Kall Morris Inc. has a idea called Asteria. It sounds mythical. The function is mechanical. The system lets you stick extra payloads onto existing satellites. Using a special adhesive, you can attach gear to assets without pre-installing brackets or hardware. When the job is done, the glue lets go. It helps satellites live longer. It aids in debris tracking.
What if we stop viewing old tech as waste?
Fighting the Dust
Moonprint Solutions is taking a small-business approach to a brutal problem.
Lunar dust isn’t just sand. It is abrasive glass, ground down over eons, that eats machinery. Gears grind. Hoses crack. Joints seize.
The company is proposing flexible covers. Think of it like rain gear for robots. Because the covers bend around complex shapes, they can protect rovers and robotic joints during those long operations. It works on Mars, too, where wind turns dust into sandpaper.
Why Bother?
NASA claims this goes beyond exploration.
If a company builds a better adhesive or a more durable heat shield for space, who else can use it? Manufacturers. Telecom firms. Logistics providers.
The tech might create new markets. Or just make old ones cheaper. It’s supposed to boost competition, though that is always a tall order in aerospace.
The agreements are signed. The clocks are ticking.
We will see in a few years whether a sticky satellite or a dusty cover really helps us stay on the red planet. Or if they just stay in the lab, proving that space is hard, no matter how much industry you hire to fix it.
