NASA’s TechLeap Prize program has awarded $500,000 to Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) to test innovative electrolyzer technology in flight. This technology aims to enhance the production of propellants and life-support materials for use on the Moon, Mars, or near-Earth asteroids. The project, called the Mars Atmospheric Reactor for Synthesis of Consumables (MARS-C), is being led by SwRI’s Kevin Supak and Dr. Eugene Hoffman, along with UTSA’s Dr. Shrihari “Shri” Sankarasubramanian.
The TechLeap Prize program is aimed at advancing groundbreaking technologies that fill critical gaps in NASA’s capabilities, supporting future space missions. The SwRI/UTSA team is among nine selected recipients awarded funding to test their experimental payloads through suborbital, hosted orbital, or parabolic flights. The initiative is structured to fast-track the development process, with the goal of completing testing within one year of receiving the award.
