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NASA Seeks Industry Feedback on Fission Surface Power

As part of the agency’s initiative to return humanity to the Moon and eventually send the first astronaut – an American – to Mars, NASA is surveying industry for interest and feedback on a fission surface power system, through a Request for Information issued Thursday.

Earlier this month, NASA declared its intent to put a nuclear reactor on the Moon by the mid-2030s to support lunar exploration, provide power generation on Mars, and strengthen national security in space.

“Today’s call for industry input is an important step toward engaging the commercial space industry in powering the lunar economy and enabling future human exploration on Mars,” said Steve Sinacore, Fission Surface Power program executive at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. “Developing a safe, reliable, and efficient power supply is key to unlocking the future of human space exploration and ensuring America retains its dominance in space.”

Building on its previous work, NASA will work with industry to design a fission surface power system that would provide at least 100 kilowatts of electrical power, have a mass allocation of less than 15 metric tons, and use a closed Brayton cycle power conversion system, which converts heat to electricity.

NASA’s new Fission Surface Power effort builds on more than 60 years of agency experience in exploration technology. In 2022, NASA awarded three contracts for fission surface power system concepts for the Moon. In addition, NASA has used nuclear power sources in spacecraft and rovers over the years.

The size, weight, and power capability of fission systems make them an effective continuous power supply regardless of location. Additionally, a nuclear reactor could be placed in lunar regions where sunlight cannot reach and could sustain nights on the Moon which can last more than 14 Earth days near the poles.

Nuclear power is a key element for NASA’s Artemis missions and supporting a robust lunar economy. The Request for Information invites innovators to contribute to this effort, allowing NASA to access industry expertise and bolstering American ingenuity.

Responses to the Request for Information are due Thursday, Aug. 21, and could be used to finalize a potential opportunity later this year.

The Fission Surface Power effort is managed through NASA Glenn. The power system development is funded by the agency’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Moon to Mars Program.

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Jennifer M. Dooren

Astronauts Plant Seed Pillows in New Space Agriculture Study

When the Crew-11 astronauts launched to the International Space Station on August 1, 2025, they carried with them another chapter in space farming: the latest VEG-03 experiments, complete with seed pillows ready for planting.

Growing plants provides nutrition for astronauts, as well as psychological benefits that help maintain crew morale during missions.

During VEG-03 MNO, astronauts will be able to choose what they want to grow from a seed library including Wasabi mustard greens, Red Russian Kale, and Dragoon lettuce.

From Seed to Space Salad

The experiment takes place inside Veggie, a chamber about the size of carry-on luggage. The system uses red, blue, and green LED lights to provide the right spectrum for plant growth. Clear flexible bellows — accordion-like walls that expand to accommodate maturing plants — create a semi-controlled environment around the growing area.

Astronauts plant thin strips containing their selected seeds into fabric “seed pillows” filled with a special clay-based growing medium and controlled-release fertilizer. The clay, similar to what’s used on baseball fields, helps distribute water and air around the roots in the microgravity environment. 

Crew members will monitor the plants, add water as needed, and document growth through regular photographs. At harvest time, astronauts will eat some of the fresh produce while freezing other samples for return to Earth, where scientists will analyze their nutritional content and safety.

How this benefits space exploration

Fresh food will become critical as astronauts venture farther from Earth on missions to the Moon and Mars. NASA aims to validate different kinds of crops to add variety to astronaut diets during long-duration space exploration missions, while giving crew members more control over what they grow and eat.

How this benefits humanity

The techniques developed for growing crops in space’s challenging conditions may also improve agricultural practices on Earth. Indoor crop cultivation approaches similar to what astronauts do in Veggie might also be adapted for horticultural therapy programs, giving elderly or disabled individuals new ways to experience gardening when traditional methods aren’t accessible.

Related Resources

VEG-03 MNO on the Space Station Research Explorer

Veggie Vegetable Product System

Veggie Plant Growth System Activated on International Space Station

About BPS

NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division pioneers scientific discovery and enables exploration by using space environments to conduct investigations not possible on Earth. Studying biological and physical phenomenon under extreme conditions allows researchers to advance the fundamental scientific knowledge required to go farther and stay longer in space, while also benefitting life on Earth.

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After Storied 34 Year Career, Steve Platnick Retires from NASA

Dr. Steven “Steve” Platnick stepped down from his role at NASA on August 8, 2025, after more than three decades of public service. Steve began his career at NASA as a physical scientist at Goddard Space Flight Center in 2002. He moved to the Earth Science Division in 2009, where he has served in various senior management roles, including as the Earth Observing System (EOS) Senior Project Scientist. In this role, he led the EOS Project Science Office and continued periodic meetings of the EOS Project Scientists, initiated by Michael King during his tenure. Steve expanded these meetings to include representatives of non-EOS Earth observing missions and representatives from Earth Science Mission Operations (ESMO). In addition, Steve was named Deputy Director for Atmospheres in the Earth Science Division in January 2015 and served in this position until July 2024.

During his time at NASA, Steve played an integral role in the development, sustainability, and advancement of NASA’s Earth Observing System platforms. From January 2003 – February 2010, Steve served as Deputy Project Scientist for Aqua. In this role, he applied his expertise in theoretical and experimental studies of satellite, aircraft, and ground-based cloud remote sensing to improve algorithms to benefit the data gathered from remote observing systems.

Taking the Lead to Improve Algorithms

Steve was actively involved in the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Science Team, serving as the MODIS Atmosphere Team Lead. Steve helped advance several key components of the MODIS instrument, which flies on NASA’s Terra and Aqua platforms. He led a team that enhanced, maintained, and evaluated MODIS algorithms that support the Level-2 (L2) Cloud Optical/Microphysical Properties components (e.g., COD06 and MYD06) for MODIS on Terra and Aqua. The algorithms were designed to retrieve thermodynamic phase, optical thickness, effective particle radius, and water path for liquid and ice clouds. The team’s work also contributes to L3 products that address cloud mask, aerosols, clouds, and clear sky radiance for data within  1° grids over one-day, eight-day, and one-month repeat cycles. Under Steve’s leadership, the team also developed L2 products (e.g., MODATML2 and MYDATML2) that include essential atmosphere datasets of samples collected at 5–10 km (3–6 mi) that is consistent with L3 products to ease storage requirements of core atmospheric data.

Steve is also a member of the Suomi-National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) Atmosphere Team, working on operational cloud optical and microphysical products. In this role, he contributed to algorithm development and refinement for the Cloud Product. In particular, he helped address a critical gap in the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) spectral channel, which was not designed to collect information for carbon dioxide (CO₂) slicing and water vapor data in the same way as MODIS. Steve and his colleagues developed a suite of L2 algorithms for the spectral channels that were common to both MODIS and VIIRS to address cloud mask and cloud optical/microphysical properties. Through these efforts, the project has established a continuous cloud data record gathered from both instruments from 2017 to the present.

Steve also participated in numerous other working groups during the past 30 years. He participated in the Global Energy and Water Exchanges (GEWEX) Cloud Assessment Working Group (2008–present), Arctic Radiation-Cloud-Aerosol-Surface Interaction Experiment (ARCSIX) Science Team (2023–present), ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS (ORACLES) Earth–Venture Suborbital (EVS)-2 Science Team (2014–2023), Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) Science Team (2014–present), Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) Science Team (2014–2023), PACE Science Definition Team, Deputy Chair (2011–2012), Glory Science Team (2010–2014) NASA Observations for Modeling Intercomparison Studies (obs4MIPs) Working Group (2011), Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) Science Definition Team (2009–2011), and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) R-series Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) Cloud Team (2005–2009).

Steve has also participated in numerous major airborne field campaigns in various roles, including: GSFC Lidar Observation and Validation Experiment (GLOVE, 2025), PACE Postlaunch Airborne eXperiment (PAX, 2024), the Westcoast & Heartland Hyperspectral Microwave Sensor Intensive Experiment (WH2yMSIE, 2024), ORACLES Science Team (2015–2019), Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) Science Team (2011–2015), Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling (TC4) Management Team (2007), Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers – Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE) Science Management Team (2002), Southern Africa Fire-Atmosphere Research Initiative (SAFARI, 2000), First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) Arctic Cloud Experiment (ACE) (1998), Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST, 1994), and ACE (1992).

Supporting Earth Science Communications

Through his senior leadership roles within ESD Steve has been supportive of the activities of NASA’s Science Support Office (SSO). He has participated in many NASA Science exhibits at both national and international scientific conferences, including serving as a Hyperwall presenter numerous times. He has met with task leaders frequently and has advocated on behalf of the SSO to management at NASA Headquarters, GSFC, and Global Sciences & Technology Inc.

For The Earth Observer newsletter publication team in particular, Steve replaced Michael King as Acting EOS Senior Project Scientist in June 2008, taking over the authorship of “The Editor’s Corner” beginning with the May–June 2008 issue [Volume 20, Issue 3]. The Acting label was removed beginning with the January–February 2010 issue [Volume 22, Issue 1]. Steve has been a champion of continuing to retain a historical record of NASA meetings to maintain a chronology of advances made by different groups within the NASA Earth Science community. He was supportive of the Executive Editor’s efforts to create a series called “Perspectives on EOS,” which ran from 2008–2011 and told the stories of the early years of the EOS Program from the point of view of those who lived them. He also supported the development of articles to commemorate the 25^th and 30^th anniversary of The Earth Observer. Later, Steve helped guide the transition of the newsletterfrom a print publication – the November–December 2022 issue was the last printed issue – to fully online by July 2024, a few months after the publication’s 35^th anniversary. The Earth Observer team will miss Steve’s keen insight, historical perspective, and encouragement that he has shown through his leadership for the past 85 issues of print and online publications.

A Career Recognized through Awards and Honors

Throughout his career, Steve has amassed numerous honors, including the Robert H. Goddard Award for Science: MODIS/VIIRS Cloud Products Science Team (2024) and the William Nordberg Memorial Award for Earth Science in 2023. He received the Verner E. Suomi Award from the American Meteorological Society (AMS) in 2016 and was named an AMS Fellow that same year.

Steve has received numerous NASA Group Achievement Awards, including for the Cloud, Aerosol and Monsoon Processes Philippines Experiment (CAMP2Ex) Field Campaign Team (2020), Fire Influence of Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality (FIREX-AQ) Field Campaign Team (2020), ORACLES Field Campaign Team (2019), obs4MIPs Working Group (2015), SEAC4RS Field Campaign Team (2015), Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) Instrument Recovery Team (2013), Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) Mission Concept Team (2012), Earth Science Constellation Red Team (2011), Science Mission Directorate ARRA Team (2011), TC4 Team (2009), MODIS Science Data Support Team (2007), Aqua Mission Team (2003), CRYSTAL-FACE Science Team (2003), and SAFARI 2000 International Leadership Team (2002).

Steve received two NASA Agency Honor Awards – the Exceptional Service Medal in 2015 and the Exceptional Achievement Medal in 2008. He was also part of the NASA Agency Team Excellence Award in 2017 for his work with the Satellite Needs Assessment Team. The Laboratory for Atmospheres honored him with the Best Senior Author Publication Award in 2001 and the Scientific Research Peer Award in 2005.

Steve received his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in electrical engineering from Duke University and the University of California, Berkeley, respectively. He earned a Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Arizona. He began his career at the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET) at University of Maryland Baltimore County in 1996 as a research associate professor. He held this appointment until 2002. Steve has published more than 150 scholarly articles.

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Small Companies Win Big in NASA’s TechLeap Challenge

NASA announced 10 winning teams for its latest TechLeap Prize — the Space Technology Payload Challenge — on June 26. The winners emerged from a record-breaking field of more than 200 applicants to earn cash prizes worth up to $500,000, if they have a flight-ready unit. Recipients may also have the opportunity to flight test their technologies.

NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences (BPS) division is supporting the emerging space economy through challenges like TechLeap. The projects receive funding through the Commercially Enabled Rapid Space Science (CERISS) initiative, which pairs government research goals with commercial innovation.

Two awardees’ capabilities specifically address BPS research priorities, which include conducting investigations that inform future space crops and advance precision health.  

Ambrosia Space Manufacturing Corporation is developing a centrifuge system to separate nutrients from cell cultures — potentially creating space-based food processing that could turn algae into digestible meals for astronauts.

Helogen Corporation is building an automated laboratory system that can run biological experiments without requiring astronaut involvement and may be able to transmit real-time data to researchers on Earth without having to wait for physical samples to return.

“The innovations of these small- and midsize businesses could enable NASA to accelerate the pace of critical research,” says Dan Walsh, BPS’s program executive for CERISS. “It’s also an example of NASA enabling the emerging space industry to grow and thrive beyond big corporations.”

Small Packages with Big Ambitions

Every inch and ounce counts on a spacecraft, which means the winning teams have to think small while solving big problems.

Commercial companies play a pivotal role in enabling space-based research — they bring fresh approaches to ongoing challenges. But space missions demand a different kind of innovation, and TechLeap teams face both time and size constraints for their experiments.

Winners have six to nine months to demonstrate that their concepts work. That’s a significant contrast from traditional space technology development, which can stretch for years.

The research serves a larger purpose as well. The technology helps NASA “know before we go” on longer, deep-space missions to the Moon and Mars. Understanding how technologies behave in microgravity or extreme environments can prevent costly failures when astronauts are far from Earth.

Small investments in proof-of-concept technologies can bring in a high ROI. With the TechLeap Prize, BPS is betting that big ideas will come in small packages.

Related Resources

TechLeap Prize – Space Technology Payload Challenge (STPC)

Space Technology Payload Challenge Winners

Commercially Enabled Rapid Space Science Initiative

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