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NASA has selected eight student teams as finalists in the 2026 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition, giving them the resources to help address a critical challenge for U.S. aviation: maintenance. 

Challenges facing the commercial aviation industry include a shortage of qualified maintenance workers and increasing demands to keep complicated aircraft running for longer. With Gateways to Blue Skies, NASA taps into student innovation to address some of the biggest topics in aviation, and the current competition, RepAir: Advancing Aircraft Maintenance, is looking for solutions that can have immediate impact. 

“Through this competition, students will learn about aviation maintenance and be empowered to change its future,” said Steven Holz, associate project manager for NASA’s University Innovation Project and judging panel co-chair for Gateways to Blue Skies. “By grounding innovative ideas in real operational needs and presenting them to NASA and industry experts, these teams demonstrate the kind of critical thinking, collaboration, and forward-looking problem solving that will shape a safer, more efficient aviation industry in the near future.” 

This competition challenged teams of postsecondary students to conceptualize innovative systems and practices that could advance current commercial aircraft maintenance and repair operations. It addresses dual goals for NASA: supporting innovative research and also stimulating the potential aviation workforce of tomorrow. 

The goal for RepAir: Advancing Aircraft Maintenance is to generate concepts to improve efficiency, safety, and costs for the aviation maintenance industry by 2035. That timeline differs from many NASA research competitions focused on long-term future technologies; RepAir seeks to address the maintenance issues of today. 

NASA made its selections based on a review of participants’ proposals and accompanying videos summarizing the RepAir concepts. The eight finalist teams will receive a $9,000 prize and will advance to Phase 2 of the competition.  

Phase 2 includes a review of each team’s final paper, infographic, and presentation at the 2026 Gateways to Blue Skies Forum, held May 18 at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia in May and livestreamed globally. Following the forum, members of the winning team who fulfill eligibility criteria will be offered the opportunity to intern with NASA Aeronautics.   

The 2026 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition finalist projects represent an array of capabilities including robotic inspections, augmented reality smart glasses, and sensor and machine learning architectures: 

• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Daytona Beach with Cecil College Maryland 
  Advancing Aircraft Maintenance, Smart Mechanic Glasses 
• Manhattan University  
  Aircraft Enhanced Resilience and Intelligence Systems (A.E.R.I.S) 
• Michigan State University  
  Surface Evaluation Network for Tethered Inspection and Nondestructive Evaluation (SENTINEL) 
• South Dakota State University  
  Surveying Platform and Inspection Device for Enclosed Regions (S.P.I.D.E.R.) 
• South Dakota State University  
  WINGMAN, augmented reality data-logging and information-display system for improved efficiency in line maintenance inspections and reporting 

• South Dakota State University  
  Surface Preservation and Rust Killer (S.P.A.R.K.) Crawler 

• University of California, Irvine  
  Aircraft Structural Health Intelligence for Evaluation and Lifecycle Detection (Air SHIELD) 
• University of Maryland Eastern Shore 
  A Self-Supervised Learning Framework for Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) Fuel Control Unit Health Management in Aircraft known as APU Sentinel 

The Gateways to Blue Skies Challenge is led through the Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program in NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. The NASA Tournament Lab, part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program in the Space Technology Mission Directorate, manages the challenge through the National Institute of Aerospace on behalf of NASA. 

More on the Gateways to Blues Skies: RepAir: Advancing Aircraft Maintenance competition is available on the competition’s site. 

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

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

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

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.

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/

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