# Lunar Payload Design Challenge

Source: https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/pds-uae-02-fy2026-lunar-payload-design-challenge/  
Official notice: https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/362623

> U.S. Mission to United Arab Emirates offered grants of up to $300,000 (at least $200,000) to the applicants described in the notice. It expected to make one award worth $300,000 in total. Applications closed on July 15, 2026.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Opportunity number | PDS-UAE-02-FY2026 |
| Agency | U.S. Mission to United Arab Emirates |
| Status | Forecast |
| Deadline | July 15, 2026 |
| Award ceiling | $300,000 |
| Award floor | $200,000 |
| Expected awards | 1 |
| Total funding | $300,000 |
| Cost sharing | not required |
| Assistance Listings | 19.040 |

## Who can apply

- Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

•Not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/nongovernmental organizations•Public and private educational institutions (U.S. and foreign)•Public International Organizations •For-profit entities, even those that may fall into the categories listed above, are not eligible to apply for this NOFO. Organizations may sub-contract with other entities, but only one nonprofit, non-governmental entity can be the prime recipient of the award. When sub-contracting with other entities, the responsibilities of each entity must be clearly defined in the proposal. For more information on the difference between sub-contract and sub-recipient, please refer to 2 CFR 200.331.

## What the grant funds

The U.S. Department of State's U.S. Mission to the UAE announces an open competition to implement the Lunar Payload Design Challenge, a program that brings together U.S. and UAE graduate students in a hands-on, team-based initiative to develop technologies relevant to future lunar missions. The program builds advanced technical and collaborative skills while fostering partnerships between universities, industry, and research institutions. The initiative strengthens U.S.-UAE cooperation in space innovation, highlights U.S. leadership in lunar exploration, and creates pathways for continued collaboration, research advancement, and potential mission integration. This program directly advances U.S. foreign policy priorities under the "Make America More Prosperous" pillar by expanding partnerships in high-growth sectors of the space economy and reinforcing the strength, competitiveness, and collaborative nature of the U.S. innovation ecosystem, and advances Goal 2 of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs: Securing opportunities to advance U.S. commercial and strategic interests. Project Background: The United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) maintain a strong and growing partnership in science, technology, and innovation, including in the space sector. As the UAE continues to invest in advanced space capabilities, including lunar exploration, there is a strategic opportunity to deepen bilateral cooperation by fostering collaboration among emerging leaders in aerospace engineering, robotics, and related fields. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) seeks to strengthen U.S.-UAE collaboration by supporting joint, applied research and development efforts focused on lunar exploration technologies. In particular, the program will emphasize the design and development of payload concepts suitable for inclusion in upcoming lunar missions, aligning with increasing global momentum toward lunar science and commercialization. Through a hands-on, team-based Lunar Payload Design Challenge, this program will bring together American and Emirati graduate students from institutions with existing space-focused programs to collaboratively develop payload concepts, instruments, and/or related technologies that could contribute to future lunar missions. The initiative will highlight U.S. leadership in space technology and innovation while advancing U.S.

## Questions people ask

### Is PDS-UAE-02-FY2026 still open?

No. It closed on July 15, 2026.

### Who can apply for Lunar Payload Design Challenge?

U.S. Mission to United Arab Emirates accepted applications from the applicants described in the notice. The notice adds further conditions, so read its eligibility section.

### What is the deadline for Lunar Payload Design Challenge?

Closed July 15, 2026. Applications are no longer accepted; the program's newer notices are on this page when there are any.

### How much funding is available?

Awards of up to $300,000 each. About $300,000 in total for one award.

### Who has won Public Diplomacy Programs grants before?

The largest recipients over five fiscal years were Miscellaneous Foreign Awardees, Meridian International Center, American Councils for International Education: Actr/Accels, Inc. The program made 13,489 awards worth $358 million in that time.