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NASA Armstrong to Host Partnership Days April 15-16

2026-03-13 17:33

1 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

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NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, invites innovative companies, government agencies, and organizations to attend Partnership Days, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, April 15 and 16, at the center.

The event offers a unique opportunity to explore collaboration with NASA on cutting-edge research and development in areas such as aerospace, autonomy, sustainability, and more. Attendees will engage with NASA experts and learn how Armstrong’s capabilities can help accelerate innovation and bring transformative technologies to life.

Space is limited, and RSVP is required by Wednesday, March 25.

To register, scan the QR code on the event poster or email AFRC-CAL-330-Partnerships@mail.nasa.gov.

What: NASA Armstrong Partnership Days

When: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday, April 15, and 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday, April 16, 2026

Where: NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, Edwards, California

Who: Industry leaders, government agencies, and organizations interested in research and development partnerships with NASA

For information about NASA Armstrong and other agency programs, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/armstrong

-end-

Dede Dinius
Armstrong Flight Research Center, Edwards, California
661-276-5701
darin.l.dinius@nasa.gov

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USBR Crack the Case Challenge

2026-03-13 17:13

White handrails on a pedestrian bridge. The Hoover Dam is visible in the background.

Super Therm has been applied in several places, including handrails on the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge over the Colorado River. The selection of its makeup of ceramic and polymeric materials was assisted by NASA scientists.

Credit: Superior Products InternationaI II, LLC

NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI) assists in the use of crowdsourcing across the federal government. CoECI’s NASA Tournament Lab offers the contract capability to run external crowdsourced challenges on behalf of NASA and other agencies.

This three-phase challenge invites geophysicists, sensing specialists, nondestructive testing experts, and creative problem-solvers (including AI/ML practitioners) from any field to develop novel methods for detecting subsurface cracks in embankment dams.

Through this multi-phase challenge, teams will embark on a structured journey that moves from concept to development and ultimately to real-world demonstration. In Phase 1, teams will articulate and frame their solution approach and execution vision. During Phase 2, selected teams will detail and validate their designs. Finally, in Phase 3, the selected teams will demonstrate the most promising solutions in conditions that reflect real embankment dam environments. Each phase intentionally builds on the last, increasing in technical rigor and realism while maintaining focus on practical deployment and impact. Together, the phases are designed to support teams in transforming strong ideas into credible, implementable solutions that advance the state of embankment dam crack detection.

Award: $400,000 in total prizes across all three phases

Open date: March 12, 2026

Phase 1 submission deadline: April 30th, 2026

For more information, visit: https://www.herox.com/CrackTheCase

NASA Volunteers Study Biofilm Adaptability in Space

2026-03-13 17:08

2 min read

NASA Volunteers Study Biofilm Adaptability in Space

Biofilms are communities of microorganisms that stick to one another and also adhere to a nearby surface. They are intricately associated with life on Earth, enabling functions essential to human and plant systems.

NASA’s Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) Analysis Working Groups study biofilms and many other biological phenomena in an environment that’s important to NASA: the environment of deep space. It’s not well understood how well biofilms react to the many stresses of spaceflight.

Now, a new study, performed in part by NASA volunteers, describes how biofilms adapt to space environments, exploring how biofilms may benefit human and plant health in space.

The volunteers, led by Dr. Katherine Baxter (University of Glasgow) and Dr. Nicholas Brereton (University College Dublin), are part of the Microbes Analysis Working Group. Their findings reframe biofilms from infection risks to essential structures supporting human gut health, immunity, and plant nutrient uptake. The group’s work synthesizes how spaceflight stressors alter biofilm architecture and host interaction.

Interested in collaborating with others to help terrestrial life thrive in space? You can join the OSDR-Analysis Working Groups and help plan the future of human space exploration.

Learn more about the AWGs.

Submit this form to join the OSDR AWGs

Biofilm adaptations to spaceflight stress in living systems

Biofilms support human and plant health on Earth. Spaceflight may disrupt these biofilm-host interactions, with implications for crew health and plant-based life support systems.

npj biofilms and microbiomes, Baxter et al. 2026

Learn More and Get Involved

Open Science Data Repository Analysis Working Groups (OSDR AWG)

Help astronauts and life thrive in space using space biology and health data. Laptop required. Data science knowledge is helpful.

Details

Last Updated

Mar 13, 2026

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USBR Halt the Hitchhiker: Invasive Species Challenge

2026-03-13 17:03

In this underwater shot, a few strands of a brownish-yellow algae floats in teal blue water. The algae looks like miniature seaweed, with little leaves and tiny balls.

A clump of sargassum – an invasive species of algae – floats along in the current off the short of La Parguera, Puerto Rico.

NASA/Milan Loiacono

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is sponsoring a 3-phase prize challenge (managed by yet2) for innovative solutions to eliminate the risk of aquatic invasive species (AIS) being transported in raw water entering and exiting watercraft ballast compartments. The goal is to identify novel approaches that can kill, exclude, or inactivate AIS such as quagga, zebra, and golden mussels, thereby protecting Reclamation’s water delivery and hydropower infrastructure.

Award: $550,000 in total prizes across all phases

Open date: February 26, 2026

Phase 1 concept papers due: May 29, 2026

For more information, visit: https://haltthehitchhiker.yet2.com/

Good Morning, Moon

2026-03-13 16:19

Oblique view of a large, circular lunar crater with steep, rugged walls. Sunlight illuminates one side of the crater rim and inner wall, while the crater floor and much of the interior remain in deep shadow. The surrounding terrain appears gray and heavily textured with smaller craters and rocky ridges. The black sky of space fills the background.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Intuitive Machines

Early morning sunlight illuminates the western wall of this unnamed crater, leaving deep shadows on the ground and in the interior. The image was taken on August 30, 2023, by LROC (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera). LROC is a system of three cameras and one of the seven instruments aboard NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) mission, which launched in June 2009 and continues in orbit around the Moon. LRO’s primary mission was to make a 3D map of the lunar surface to help identify future landing sites and resources such as polar ice, to investigate the radiation environment, and to prove new technologies, all in anticipation of future robotic and human exploration.

In 2011, LRO data led to production of the highest-resolution, near-topographical map of the Moon, and an interactive mosaic of the lunar North Pole was published in 2014. In addition, LRO has taken high-resolution photographs of myriad lunar landing sites from NASA’s Apollo missions and others. LRO also conducted the first demonstration of laser communication with a lunar satellite.

This image is the NASA Science Image of the Month for March 2026. Each month, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate chooses an image to feature, offering desktop wallpaper downloads, as well as links to related topics, activities, and games.

Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Intuitive Machines

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