NASA Awards Prizes to Six Startup Companies in Entrepreneur’s Challenge

NASA News Releases <hqnews@xxxxxxxx> · Tue, 8 Dec 2020 20:10:47 +0000 (UTC)

December 08, 2020 
RELEASE 20-124
NASA Awards Prizes to Six Startup Companies in Entrepreneur’s Challenge

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate has awarded prize funding of $100,000 each to six entrepreneurial startup companies under its pilot Entrepreneur’s Challenge program for concepts ranging from machine learning to enable exploration and other technologies to new ways to build instruments to study the universe.

NASA partnered with Starburst, the global aerospace hub, to jointly launch a pilot program to engage entrepreneurs.

The challenge’s purpose is to invite fresh ideas for development of new instruments and technologies to advance the agency’s science exploration goals and increase participation by entrepreneurial companies in the agency’s technology portfolio.

For the inaugural Entrepreneur’s Challenge, the technical focus areas were:

Advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence for autonomous spacecraft and surface rovers, and for Earth observation and disaster management
	Advanced mass spectrometry for detection of the elements necessary for life and other science applications by using instrumentation beyond what is currently available in terms of low-power and low-mass and using cutting edge materials or components to innovate in sampling technology and processes
	Quantum sensors that enable high-precision assessments of gravity, magnetic fields, dark energy and other measurements to support NASA scientific discoveries

The competition was conducted in three rounds. In the first round, nearly 80 submissions were sent in from companies nationwide and a judging panel selected 15 ideas to advance. The next round was a virtual event held July 29, 2020, where selectees presented their ideas to a judging panel of NASA program managers. The judges selected 10 companies for awards of $20,000 each. In the final round, the participants worked to refine their concepts and gave their final presentations Oct. 22 as part of the Innovation and Opportunity Conference held by NASA’s Small Business Innovative Research/Small Business Technology Transfer program. Six of the companies received an additional $80,000 in prize funding as determined by the same panel of judges from the previous round.

“This is a program that provides companies opportunities to showcase innovative technology and inject new and creative solutions of interest to NASA and its mission,” said Paul Mahaffy, one of the challenge judges and the director of the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “As technologies for the mass spectrometers mature for flight, these could be game changing.”

The following companies were selected as winners of the Entrepreneur’s Challenge:

Cognitive Space, Houston
	Evermore Intelligence, Philadelphia
	MOBILion, Chadds Fords, Pennsylvania
	Trace Matters Scientific, Somerville, Massachusetts
	Guardion Technologies, Burlington, Massachusetts
	Cold Quanta, Boulder, Colorado

To learn more about the Entrepreneur's Challenge, and to receive notifications regarding future events, go to:

https://nasa-science-challenge.com

For more information about NASA’s science technology activities, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/

-end-

Press Contacts

Grey Hautaluoma

Headquarters, Washington

202-358-0668
grey.hautaluoma-1@xxxxxxxx

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	December 08, 2020 RELEASE 20-124 NASA Awards Prizes to Six Startup Companies in Entrepreneur’s Challenge NASA’s Science Mission Directorate has awarded prize funding of $100,000 each to six entrepreneurial startup companies under its pilot Entrepreneur’s Challenge program for concepts ranging from machine learning to enable exploration and other technologies to new ways to build instruments to study the universe. NASA partnered with Starburst, the global aerospace hub, to jointly launch a pilot program to engage entrepreneurs. The challenge’s purpose is to invite fresh ideas for development of new instruments and technologies to advance the agency’s science exploration goals and increase participation by entrepreneurial companies in the agency’s technology portfolio. For the inaugural Entrepreneur’s Challenge, the technical focus areas were: Advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence for autonomous spacecraft and surface rovers, and for Earth observation and disaster management Advanced mass spectrometry for detection of the elements necessary for life and other science applications by using instrumentation beyond what is currently available in terms of low-power and low-mass and using cutting edge materials or components to innovate in sampling technology and processes Quantum sensors that enable high-precision assessments of gravity, magnetic fields, dark energy and other measurements to support NASA scientific discoveries The competition was conducted in three rounds. In the first round, nearly 80 submissions were sent in from companies nationwide and a judging panel selected 15 ideas to advance. The next round was a virtual event held July 29, 2020, where selectees presented their ideas to a judging panel of NASA program managers. The judges selected 10 companies for awards of $20,000 each. In the final round, the participants worked to refine their concepts and gave their final presentations Oct. 22 as part of the Innovation and Opportunity Conference held by NASA’s Small Business Innovative Research/Small Business Technology Transfer program. Six of the companies received an additional $80,000 in prize funding as determined by the same panel of judges from the previous round. “This is a program that provides companies opportunities to showcase innovative technology and inject new and creative solutions of interest to NASA and its mission,” said Paul Mahaffy, one of the challenge judges and the director of the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “As technologies for the mass spectrometers mature for flight, these could be game changing.” The following companies were selected as winners of the Entrepreneur’s Challenge: Cognitive Space, Houston Evermore Intelligence, Philadelphia MOBILion, Chadds Fords, Pennsylvania Trace Matters Scientific, Somerville, Massachusetts Guardion Technologies, Burlington, Massachusetts Cold Quanta, Boulder, Colorado To learn more about the Entrepreneur's Challenge, and to receive notifications regarding future events, go to: https://nasa-science-challenge.com For more information about NASA’s science technology activities, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/ -end-
	Press Contacts Grey Hautaluoma Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0668 grey.hautaluoma-1@xxxxxxxx
	NASA news releases and other information are available automatically by sending an e-mail message with the subject line subscribe to hqnews-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe from the list, send an e-mail message with the subject line unsubscribe to hqnews-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.