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Gateways to Blue Skies 2026 Competition is sponsored by National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The commercial aviation industry is a crucial component of the U.S. economy, playing a vital role in transporting people, intermediate/final goods, and driving demand for various goods and services nationwide. This network enhances the quality of life for the whole country and facilitates business interactions within and globally, boosting productivity and prosperity. However, the industry faces numerous challenges, particularly the need to reduce rising operational costs in a growing market to accommodate increased demand in air travel, e-commerce, and cargo sectors. Issues such as aging aircraft and components, technological advancements, and staffing shortages further complicate these challenges, hindering efforts to balance passenger safety with operational efficiency. To address these challenges, the industry needs to swiftly innovate and implement more efficient and resilient aircraft maintenance practices, including the adoption of new technologies. In the 2026 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition, teams will conceptualize novel aviation maintenance advancements that can be implemented by 2035 or sooner with the goal of improving efficiency, safety, and/or costs for the industry . Teams are encouraged to consider high-potential technologies and systems that aren’t currently mainstream or highly regarded as becoming mainstream in the future, imagining beyond the status quo.
Application snapshot: target deadline February 17, 2026; published funding information $72,000; eligibility guidance https://blueskies.nianet.org/competition/
Use the official notice and source links for final requirements, attachment checklists, allowable costs, and submission instructions before applying.
Based on current listing details, eligibility includes: https://blueskies.nianet.org/competition/ Applicants should confirm final requirements in the official notice before submission.
Current published award information indicates $72,000 Always verify allowable costs, matching requirements, and funding caps directly in the sponsor documentation.
The current target date is February 17, 2026. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, attachments, and final submission checks.
2026 NASA RASC-AL COMPETITION is sponsored by National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA is pioneering the future of space exploration as we extend humanity’s presence further into the solar system. The 2025 RASC-AL Competition is seeking undergraduate- and graduate-level teams to develop new concepts that leverage innovation to improve our ability to operate on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. This year’s themes range from designing a scalable lunar infrastructure and services architectures to developing a concept for a servicing robot that can accomplish servicing and maintenance tasks either autonomously or via teleoperation. Each team’s response should address novel and robust technologies, capabilities, and operational models that support expanding human’s ability to thrive beyond Earth. In this year’s RASCAL Competition, teams and their faculty advisors are invited to design and propose innovative solutions with supporting original engineering and analysis in response to one of three themes. An excerpt from each theme is below; visit the Competition Details Webpage for full theme text and requirements. Application snapshot: target deadline February 24, 2026; published funding information $112,000; eligibility guidance https://rascal.nianet.org/competition-details/ Use the official notice and source links for final requirements, attachment checklists, allowable costs, and submission instructions before applying.
NASA 2026 Human Lander Challenge is sponsored by National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA’s Human Lander Challenge (HuLC) is an initiative supporting its Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate’s (ESDMD’s) efforts to explore innovative solutions for a variety of known technology development areas for human landing systems (HLS). Landers are used to safely ferry astronauts to and from the lunar surface as part of the mission architecture for NASA’s Artemis campaign. Through this challenge, college students contribute to the advancement of HLS technologies, concepts, and approaches. Improvements in these technology areas have the potential to revolutionize NASA’s approach to space exploration, and contributions from the academic community are a valuable part of the journey to discovery. HuLC is open to teams comprised of full-time or part-time undergraduate and/or graduate students at an accredited U.S.-based community college, college, or university. HuLC projects allow students to incorporate their coursework into real aerospace design concepts and work together in a team environment. Interdisciplinary teams are encouraged. Application snapshot: target deadline March 5, 2026; published funding information $126,000; eligibility guidance https://hulc.nianet.org/ Use the official notice and source links for final requirements, attachment checklists, allowable costs, and submission instructions before applying.
NASA SBIR Phase I: Autonomous Systems for Maintenance and Repair is sponsored by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Seeks robotics and AI systems for autonomous inspection and repair of structures; NASA explicitly encourages 'spin-off' applications for terrestrial home and infrastructure repair. Application snapshot: target deadline March 10, 2026; published funding information Up to $150,000; eligibility guidance Small business concerns with 500 or fewer employees. Use the official notice and source links for final requirements, attachment checklists, allowable costs, and submission instructions before applying.
