Industry contributions to the ACO agreements are expected to total 27 million euros.

Lockheed Martin’s lunar power solution is intended to support resource and crew survival during lunar missions.

NASA expects the selected proposals to expand or open new commercial space markets, reduce costs, and create new technological capabilities.

NASA estimates that the resources supporting the selected Collaboration Opportunity Announcement agreements are worth nearly 26 million euros, with an additional 27 million euros in industry contributions.

Kall Morris Inc. will develop Asteria, a payload attachment system that can connect to existing and next-generation orbital assets using a controlled-release, non-destructive adhesive.

The ACO agreements allow participating companies to access NASA facilities, technological tools, electronic systems, and equipment.

Lockheed Martin is developing a modular, compact power solution for generating electricity in permanently shadowed regions of the Moon.

Lockheed Martin will develop a modular, compact power solution for generating electricity in permanently shadowed lunar regions.

NASA’s Collaboration Opportunity Announcement program forms partnerships with participating companies without transferring funds.

NASA selected 41 proposals from 37 U.S. companies to develop technologies supporting long-term human presence on the Moon and crewed missions to Mars.

NASA selected the proposals through its Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity (ACO) program.

Moonprint Solutions is proposing flexible insulation covers to protect equipment and critical systems from lunar dust.

The NASA Collaboration Opportunity Announcement program gives participating companies access to NASA facilities, technological tools, electronic systems, and equipment for technology development.

Moonprint Solutions is proposing flexible insulation covers to protect critical equipment and systems from lunar dust.

NASA’s Collaboration Opportunity Announcement program has supported more than 110 projects since its first call in 2015.

NASA estimates that its contribution to the ACO agreements is worth almost 26 million euros.

NASA's ACO program has supported more than 110 projects since its first call in 2015.

The execution period for each NASA Collaboration Opportunity Announcement agreement will be negotiated individually and is expected to last between one and two years.

Kall Morris Inc. is developing Asteria, a payload attachment system that can dock with existing and next-generation orbital assets using a non-destructive, controlled-release adhesive.

The ACO agreements do not involve funding transfers from NASA to the participating companies.

United Launch Alliance performed the final Atlas V 551 launch on Jul 2, 2026.

X-band is a target for spectrum allocation discussions at the ITU's WRC-27 conference.

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and L3Harris jointly tested a prototype cryocoupler for transferring super-cold propellants between spacecraft in Earth orbit.

NASA tested the cryocoupler by running liquid nitrogen at minus 321 degrees Fahrenheit through connected and disconnected configurations.

The Cryogenic Fluid Management Portfolio project oversees cryocoupler development.

NASA’s Cryogenic Fluid Management Portfolio project is based at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

NASA’s new cryocoupler is fully automated and can attach and detach multiple times without astronaut intervention.

NASA tested the cryocoupler on a robotic table that can move and rotate in any direction to simulate misaligned docking between a spacecraft and an orbital depot.

The cryocoupler development work was conducted under NASA’s 2022 Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity.

The prototype cryocoupler is designed to enable in-space refueling for deep space exploration.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams spent 286 days on the International Space Station after Starliner’s crewed flight test in June 2024.

SpaceX received human-rating certification in November 2020.

The next Starliner flight is designated as an uncrewed cargo run with no launch date set.

NASA is operationally dependent on a single commercial crew provider through at least 2027.

The NASA Office of Inspector General assessed that Boeing’s fall 2026 Starliner certification target was unrealistic.

The International Space Station is planned for decommission in 2030.

The June 2024 Starliner crewed flight test was classified as a Type A mishap.

NASA awarded SpaceX a $2.6 billion Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract in 2014.

NASA and Boeing must complete ongoing testing, resolve technical issues, complete a Certification Review, and fly a crewed Starliner-2 mission before Starliner can receive human-rating certification.

Boeing’s Starliner certification is expected to slip to 2027 at the earliest.

NASA officials had cited fall 2026 as the anticipated certification window for Starliner.

NASA’s Office of Inspector General released a report on June 30, 2026 about NASA’s management of the Commercial Crew Program.

NASA awarded Boeing a $4.2 billion Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract in 2014.

The NASA Office of Inspector General found that unresolved Starliner helium leaks and propulsion failures remained as of March 2026.

NASA is reviewing a proposal to send the PROMISE rover to the Moon’s south pole.

The stereo camera array will record how spacecraft engine exhaust kicks up lunar dust.

PROMISE uses a nuclear battery that generates heat and electricity from plutonium.

The CLPS deliveries will use updated versions of landers that have already travelled to space.

The radiation monitor will measure space radiation to help design safer astronaut missions.

NASA plans to seek proposals for new lunar power systems, South Pole cameras, and a communication network linking the Moon directly back to Earth.