The NASA TechLeap Prize challenges are open competitions designed to discover promising technologies for space exploration, discovery, and the expansion of space commerce. NASA encourages participation from teams who may not have previously engaged in other NASA funding opportunities.

NASA welcomes applications from individuals, teams, and organization or entities that have a recognized legal existence and structure under applicable law (State, Federal or Country) and that are in good standing in the jurisdiction under which they are organized with the following restrictions: 

1. Individuals must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States and be 18 years of age or older.
2. Organizations must be an entity incorporated in and maintaining a primary place of business in the United States.
3. Teams must be comprised of otherwise eligible individuals or organizations and led by a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident of the United States who is 18 years of age or older.

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U.S. government employees may participate so long as they are not acting within the scope of their position, and rely on no facilities, access, personnel, knowledge, or other resources that are available to them as a result of their employment except for those resources available to all other participants on an equal basis. Employees and on-site contractors of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory are not eligible to win an award.

Foreign citizens may only participate as (i) employees of an otherwise eligible U.S. entity who reside in the U.S., (ii) full-time students at an otherwise eligible U.S. university or college who reside in the U.S., or (iii) owners of less than 50% of the interests in an otherwise eligible U.S. entity who reside in the U.S.  

Additionally, NASA encourages participation from teams who demonstrate a commitment to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Refer to the Rules for a complete set of eligibility requirements.

You must first register no later than Thursday, May 5, 2022, at 5:00 PM Pacific. Registration is a simple two-step process. First, create a username and password, and then check your inbox to confirm your registration. Next, complete the online registration form. Once you are registered, applications are due no later than Thursday, May 19, 2022, at 5:00 PM Pacific.

There will be three types of evaluation. During the Evaluation Panel judging, each valid application will receive scores and comments from a highly qualified panel of expert judges who will use a scoring rubric to evaluate their assigned applications. Potential biases in Evaluation Panel review are addressed through our training, which includes unconscious bias training for each member of the Evaluation Panel. All scores are normalized to ensure fairness for everyone.

The Selection Committee judges will review the top-scoring submissions and select up to three Winners based on the resulting rank order from the Evaluation Panel, scoring rubric, and diversity of solutions. Winners will receive an initial award of $200,000, with the chance for each to win up to $650,000 total and a suborbital flight to test their technology.  

During Payload Build Round 1 and Payload Build Round 2, Winners will have the opportunity to compete for additional awards of $200,000 and $100,000 each. Field Judges will conduct on-site visits in October 2022 and February 2023 to score the progress each Winner has made.

During the Performance Incentive Phase, NASA intends to provide a suborbital flight test to each of the Winners of Payload Build Round 2. NASA anticipates these flight tests will be conducted on a Masten Space Systems rocket-powered vehicle. During the suborbital flight, Winners will each have the opportunity to win an additional award of up to $150,000 based on the payload’s ability to generate a terrain map that meets or exceeds the targets outlined in the Technical Guidelines. 

Up to three Winners will have the opportunity to win up to $650,000 each as well as a suborbital flight test.

Upon selection, each of the Winners will receive an initial award of $200,000 each to build their flight-ready payload according to their submitted applications within an eight-month period.

During Payload Build Round 1 and Payload Build Round 2, Winners will have the opportunity to compete for additional awards of $200,000 and 100,000 each. Field Judges will conduct on-site visits in October 2022 and February 2023 to score the progress each Winner has made.

During the Performance Incentive Phase, NASA intends to provide a suborbital flight test – provided at no additional cost – to each of the Winners of Payload Build Round 2. NASA anticipates these flight tests will be conducted on a Masten Space Systems rocket-powered vehicle. During the suborbital flight, Winners will each have the opportunity to win an additional award of up to $150,000 based on the payload’s ability to generate a terrain map that meets or exceeds the targets outlined in the Technical Guidelines.