Open Innovation at NASA
Organizations across the globe harness the perspectives, expertise, and enthusiasm of “the crowd” outside their walls to reduce costs, accelerate projects, enhance creativity, and better engage stakeholders. NASA is doing the same, collaborating with diverse entities nationally and internationally. Read how open innovation projects from October 2020 to September 2022 advanced NASA’s mission and benefited participants.
Boosting NASA higher, faster, and further
Propelling NASA closer to the Moon and Mars with Open Innovation
NASA invited the national and global community to participate in its Moon to Mars planning through open innovation initiatives. These initiatives tapped into the ingenuity and passion of individuals of all ages and walks of life, resulting in ideas for lunar power and energy, life on the Moon, and managing payloads, deliveries, and storage.
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Collaborating with Public Innovators to Accelerate Space Exploration
Beginning with the successful launch and landing of Artemis I in 2022, NASA is heralding a future of long-term scientific exploration and discovery in deep space. NASA called on individuals and teams from the public to develop new and innovative ideas to support space travel in areas including sustainability and waste management, astronaut health and wellness, and long-term exploration.
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Inspiring the Next Generation with Student Challenges and Learning Opportunities
Creativity and curiosity are strongly tied to NASA’s mission and vision. Participants of all ages and levels, from kindergarten to college, used their imaginations and enthusiasm to solve open innovation challenges related to STEM education.
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Advancing Technology for Aeronautics
Open innovation activities illuminated what is on the horizon for air travel and aviation. Several research and development challenges yielded innovative ideas, including future forecasts to inform strategies for the next era of aviation, algorithms to predict runway traffic changes at U.S. airports, and more.
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Reaching New Frontiers in Science Supported by Public Participation
NASA collaborates with the public to make scientific discoveries that help humanity better understand our planet and the space beyond. Efforts supported by public participation spanned pursuits in astrophysics, Earth science, heliophysics, and more.
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Going Beyond the Challenge for New and Continued Success
For many solvers, success doesn’t stop when the NASA challenge ends. Past participants have gone on to work with NASA in other ways and take their technology to new heights in the commercial sector.
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Prizes & challenges
by the numbers
Metrics from October 2020 to September 2022
Public prize competitions and challenges
Awarded in prizes
Citizen science
by the numbers
Metrics from October 2020 to September 2022
Active citizen science projects
Citizen scientists named as coauthors
Stay Connected
NASA's Open Innovation newsletter called the Solver Connection keeps you up to date quarterly with open opportunities, news, events, and more.
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Past Publications
2022 Open Innovation Publication
Whether problem-solving during the pandemic, establishing a long-term presence at the Moon, or advancing technology to adapt to life in space, NASA has leveraged open innovation tools to inspire solutions to some of our most timely challenges – while using the creativity of everyone from garage tinkerers to citizen scientists and students of all ages. Read about our activities conducted in fiscal years 2019-2020.
Read More (PDF) about 2022 Open Innovation Publication
