This is a $490,003.88 grant contract awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Shared Services Center to Global Aerospace Corporation, a small, innovative aerospace research and development company based in Irwindale, California. The contract is for a study addressing the feasibility of a relatively near-term and low-cost mission to Pluto, as well as other bodies with low-pressure atmospheres, with a focus on lander missions. The contract has a period of performance...
This federal contract award, with an ID of NNX15AH87G, was granted by the Shared Services Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) for research on the solar wind interaction with Pluto's escaping atmosphere. The $333,308 grant supports the use of a three-dimensional hybrid code to investigate the geometry of the interaction region and help interpret data from NASA's New Horizons mission. The research aims to validate models of...
This is a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II (base) contract awarded by the Department of the Navy Naval Facilities Engineering Command to Global Aerospace Corporation, a small aerospace research and development company. The contract has a total potential value of $999,885.00 and is for the research and development of solar photovoltaic power systems, solar photovoltaic cell performance evaluation, and feasibility studies for missions to Pluto and other low-pressure...
This federal contract award is a $396,477.00 grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), a nonprofit research and development organization in San Antonio, Texas. The grant is for a research project to analyze spectral data from NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto, as well as decades of ground-based observations, using a radiative transfer model to quantify the spatial distribution and long-term evolution of Pluto's volatile...
This federal contract award, valued at $79,529.25, was granted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to Princeton Satellite Systems, Inc., a small aerospace research and development company, to analyze the feasibility of a Fusion-Enabled Pluto Orbiter and Lander mission. The contract, which is not associated with a set-aside program, aims to develop improved models for the Direct Fusion Drive (DFD) concept, a game-changing propulsion and power technology based on the...
This federal contract award is a grant provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Shared Services Center to the Universities Space Research Association (USRA), doing business as U.S.R.A. The $240,775.88 grant is for a research project to exploit the New Horizons spacecraft's high-resolution image data of the Pluto-Charon system. The research aims to constrain the tectonic and cryovolcanic history of Pluto and Charon through detailed geologic/structural mapping and...
This $514,495.00 federal grant award was made by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), a nonprofit research organization based in San Antonio, Texas. The grant, which is not set aside, is for a project titled "WAVE-MEAN INTERACTION IN PLUTO'S ATMOSPHERE" and has a period of performance ending on January 31, 2026. SwRI is a prominent federal contractor, providing a wide range of scientific and engineering services to various...
This is a $360,953 grant awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to the Georgia Tech Research Corporation (Georgia Tech) for research on the induced magnetosphere of Pluto and its interaction with energetic heliospheric ions. The award has a period of performance through February 14, 2026. Georgia Tech, a non-profit research organization and state institution of higher education, has extensive experience conducting research and development for federal agencies...
This federal contract award, valued at $477,625.80, was granted to Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for research related to the properties of Pluto's small moons. The work involves analyzing New Horizons spacecraft data and archival Hubble Space Telescope observations to better determine the masses and densities of Pluto's outer moons, which are critical inputs for modeling the formation of the Pluto-Charon system. This research will...
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Shared Services Center awarded a $247,256.00 grant for research to the University of Arkansas (UA), Fayetteville Division, doing business as the Office of Research & Sponsored Programs. The objective of the research is to study the stability and behavior of volatile ice mixtures (N2-CO-CH4) on the surface of Pluto, in order to gain insights into the seasonal and long-term geological processes on the dwarf planet. The research will...