Challenge phases and timeline

Over a 12-week period, eligible individuals, organizations, and teams are invited to complete submissions for low-cost, scalable sensor technologies that enable proliferated measurements of density, pressure, or drag in low Earth orbit. Judges will evaluate submissions and recommend up to four winners to the NASA selection committee. Each winner will receive $200,000 and an invitation to advance to Phase 2.

Phase 1 winners will have four months to finalize their designs and begin building their solutions. During this phase, each team will build an engineering model of the sensing technology identified in their submission and demonstrate that the engineering model can make the required measurement in ground testing. Teams will receive support from NASA subject matter experts as they work toward compatibility with the interface specifications in the technical guidelines. At the end of the phase, field judges will conduct site visits to evaluate each team’s progress, and winners will have the opportunity to receive an additional award of $200,000 each.

Phase 2 winners will be invited to complete their solutions over the four-month final phase, with support from NASA subject matter experts. Teams will demonstrate operation as intended in a relevant space environment and will prepare a test matrix and operational validation plan ahead of the flight test. Field judges will conduct a final site visit with each team to evaluate the flight readiness of its solution. Teams that successfully complete Phase 3 will receive $100,000 each. In addition, NASA intends to offer each Phase 3 winner an opportunity for a flight test in orbit at no cost.