NASA selects 20 innovation projects

WASHINGTON, July 13 (UPI) -- NASA officials have selected 20 proposals to be included in the space agency's 2009 Innovation Fund projects.

The fund was established to advance work from NASA innovators on novel technologies and concepts that have the potential to revolutionize the way NASA performs its missions. The U.S. space agency said the projects also offer potential solutions to other national and global challenges.

This year's selected projects include a technique for returning small payloads from the international space station, a new approach to robotic space exploration, several new concepts for generating solar power, improved instruments for studying the environment, the use of microwave energy for sealing wounds, and nano-materials for scientific instruments and energy storage.

The selected project teams are led by NASA scientists and engineers and include partners from five universities, two small businesses, Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio and the National Institute for Aerospace in Hampton, Va.

Each project is funded for a maximum of $50,000, with work to be completed by the end of September.

More than 230 proposals were submitted this year.