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Grants / National Aeronautics and Space Administration / NASA Headquarters

80HQTR23NOA01-23ESI-B2: EARLY STAGE INNOVATIONS

Closed Closed July 6, 2023 Opportunity 80HQTR23NOA01-23ESI-B2

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase II (NNH26ZTR001N-26NIAC-A2). Status: Rolling or no fixed deadline. It is in our archive of NASA Headquarters notices from 2023.

NASA Headquarters offered grants to the applicants described in the notice. It expected to make about 6 awards. Applications closed on July 6, 2023.

From the official notice on Grants.gov, last changed May 4, 2023. Checked November 7, 2026.

Other notices with this title

NASA Headquarters has posted this title under other numbers: earlier or later rounds, or the same competition for another area. Each has its own dates and may change its rules.

NoticePostedDeadlineStatus
NNH24ZTR001N-24ESI-B2April 4, 2024Closed June 6, 2024Closed

Key dates

PostedMay 4, 2023
DeadlineJuly 6, 2023
Archived by Grants.govAugust 5, 2023

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to the applicants described in the notice.

See the full solicitation for eligibility requirements

Is this a realistic fit?

What the grant funds

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Headquarters has released a solicitation, titled Early Stage Innovations (ESI), as an appendix to the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) umbrella NASA Research Announcement (NRA) titled "Space Technology Research, Development, Demonstration, and Infusion 2023 (SpaceTech-REDDI-2023), on May 3, 2023. The solicitation is available by opening the NSPIRES homepage at https://nspires.nasaprs.com/, selecting “Open” under "Solicitations," and, finally, searching "Early Stage Innovations (ESI23)" under Keywords. The Space Technology Research Grants (STRG) Program within STMD seeks proposals from accredited U.S. universities to develop unique, disruptive, or transformational space technologies that have the potential to lead to dramatic improvements at the system level — performance, weight, cost, reliability, operational simplicity, or other figures of merit associated with space flight hardware or missions. The projected impact at the system level must be substantial and clearly identified. Only accredited U.S. universities are eligible to submit proposals. Teaming is permitted - see solicitation for complete eligibility requirements as well as teaming restrictions. A PI (see solicitation for restrictions) or Co-I may participate in no more than two proposals in response to this solicitation. NASA encourages submission of ESI proposals on behalf of tenure-track or tenured faculty members at all U.S. universities and especially encourages proposals submitted on behalf of women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities. The solicitation exclusively seeks proposals that are responsive to one of the following three topics: Topic 1 – Advancing Radiation-Hardened Photon Counting Sensor Technologies Topic 2 – Advancements in Predicting Plume-Surface Interaction Environments During Propulsive Landings Topic 3 – Advancing the Performance of Refrigeration Systems Based on the Elastocaloric Effect NASA anticipates addressing other topics in future ESI Appendix releases. The financial and programmatic support for ESI comes from the Space Technology Research Grants Program within the Space Technology Mission Directorate. Awards are planned to start in mid-January 2024. NASA plans to make approximately 6 awards as a result of this ESI solicitation, subject to the receipt of meritorious proposals.

Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

Who has won Space Technology grants before

From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Space Technology (43.012) awarded $327 million across 939 grant awards, an average of $347,956 per award.

Largest recipients, fiscal 2021 to 2025
RecipientStateAwardsAmount
Georgia Tech Research CorpGeorgia40$25.2 million
The Regents of the University of ColoradoColorado47$22.3 million
University of Texas at AustinTexas24$18.1 million
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts52$17.9 million
Purdue UniversityIndiana36$16.8 million

Top states: California ($56.1 million), Texas ($30.4 million), Colorado ($27.1 million), Georgia ($26.1 million), Massachusetts ($22.9 million).

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, NNH26ZTR001N-26NIAC-A2, which is open now.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.

Questions people ask

Is 80HQTR23NOA01-23ESI-B2 still open?

No. It closed on July 6, 2023. A newer notice is open: NNH26ZTR001N-26NIAC-A2, rolling or no fixed deadline.

Who can apply for EARLY STAGE INNOVATIONS?

NASA Headquarters accepted applications from the applicants described in the notice. The notice adds further conditions, so read its eligibility section.

What is the deadline for EARLY STAGE INNOVATIONS?

Closed July 6, 2023. Applications are no longer accepted; the program's newer notices are on this page when there are any.

Who has won Space Technology grants before?

The largest recipients over five fiscal years were Georgia Tech Research Corp, The Regents of the University of Colorado, University of Texas at Austin. The program made 939 awards worth $327 million in that time.

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