Civil Space Shortfalls
2026 Civil Space Shortfall Ranking
NASA invites you to contribute to the prioritization of technology shortfalls critical to civil space by February 20, 2026. Your feedback will help shape the future of space technology.
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What is a shortfall?
A shortfall is a technology area requiring further development to meet future exploration, science, and other mission needs. The term “gap” is widely used across NASA and the aerospace industry and implies both ends of the problem – the current state of the art and the technology needed – are known. In the case of shortfalls, we may only know where we are today.
Stakeholder Webinar
NASA will host a webinar to provide an overview of the revised shortfalls and the ranking process, and to answer questions from the aerospace community, Jan 20, 2026, at 3:30 p.m. EST.
Register for the webinar
How does NASA prioritize space technology development?
NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) leads the development, demonstration, and infusion of transformational technologies that enhance NASA’s efforts to explore the unknown in space, benefit life on Earth, and solve critical stakeholder needs.
STMD’s investment strategy informs its portfolio to:
- Align with the Presidential Administration and the NASA Administrator’s priorities, including NASA’s Moon to Mars Strategy and Objectives
- Focus on investments that support science priorities identified in the Decadal Surveys
- Foster creation and growth of the space economy through partnering with industry and supporting small business innovation
- Engage NASA’s workforce to deliver innovative solutions to the nation’s toughest technology challenges
- Encourage transformative, cross-cutting technologies that benefit NASA as well as other government agencies
- Empower a broad community of innovators and academia through emphasis on early-stage investments
In spring 2024, STMD kicked off a new collaborative process to better integrate the community’s most pervasive technical challenges to further guide NASA’s space technology development and investments. STMD published a document overviewing 187 shortfalls – technology areas requiring further development to meet future exploration, science, and other mission needs – and asked the aerospace community to rate their importance.
In July, STMD released the 2024 Civil Space Shortfall Ranking document, integrating the input received from NASA mission directorates and centers, small and large industry organizations, other government agencies, academia, and other interested individuals. STMD will use the integrated ranked list and annual updates as one of several investment decision-making factors. The results will also inform the development of technology roadmaps.
The 2026 effort builds on NASA’s previous shortfall ranking experience and leverages the feedback provided by stakeholders to streamline the process by consolidating the shortfalls into 32 broader, integrated categories. Each shortfall includes a subset of specific needs to provide further definition and context. This restructuring maintains the original content’s depth while creating a more efficient and accessible feedback mechanism for participants.
