NASA Selects Seven Companies to Advance Composite Technologies for Future Mars Mobility

Updated on July 16, 2026 • 5 min read

NASA has selected seven U.S. companies to develop next-generation robotic mobility systems under its Science Transport and Robotic Innovation for Deployment and Exploration (STRIDE) initiative, supporting technologies that could expand future exploration of the Martian surface.

With contracts valued at approximately US$17 million, the program will begin work during the third quarter of 2026. The selected companies will develop concepts capable of navigating more challenging terrain, extending exploration range and accessing scientifically important regions beyond the reach of current Mars mobility systems.

Although the awards focus on robotic mobility, many of the participating companies have extensive experience developing advanced composite structures, highlighting the growing role of lightweight materials in planetary exploration.

Composite Technologies Already Proven in Space Missions

The companies selected under STRIDE bring experience from previous NASA lunar and Mars programs where composite materials played an important role in reducing weight while maintaining structural performance.

NASA’s current Mars exploration fleet—including Curiosity and Perseverance—has demonstrated the importance of reliable mobility under harsh planetary conditions. Earlier missions such as Spirit and Opportunity also highlighted operational challenges including soft regolith, dust accumulation and limited energy availability.

Many of the technologies now being investigated under STRIDE seek to overcome these long-standing engineering constraints through improved mobility systems, lightweight structures and more efficient vehicle architectures.

Awardees Bring Composite Manufacturing Experience

Several of the selected companies have previously contributed composite-intensive technologies for NASA missions.

AeroVironment

AeroVironment led development of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, including its carbon fiber composite airframe, rotor system and landing gear.

The helicopter’s carbon fiber rotor blades enabled sustained flight in the extremely thin Martian atmosphere, where air density is less than one percent of Earth’s. NASA has since evaluated larger composite rotor blades for future aerial exploration vehicles.

Astrobotic

Astrobotic’s Iris nano rover employed a carbon fiber composite chassis and lightweight composite wheels manufactured using vacuum infusion techniques.

Its spoke-like wheel design incorporated integrated grousers to improve traction on loose planetary regolith, directly addressing mobility challenges encountered during earlier Mars rover missions.

Venturi Astrolab

Astrolab’s FLEX rover features deformable wheels that combine metallic tread elements with composite structural components.

The wheel architecture is designed to adapt to uneven terrain while maintaining performance under large payloads and extreme temperature variations encountered during planetary exploration.

Intuitive Machines

Intuitive Machines demonstrated composite pressure vessel technology on its Nova-C lunar lander through an all-composite Type V propellant tank architecture.

Reducing structural mass allows additional payload capacity while supporting longer mission duration—advantages that become increasingly important for future Mars surface systems.

Aegis Aerospace (MEI Technologies)

Through the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) platform, Aegis Aerospace has conducted long-term exposure studies evaluating how composite materials perform under radiation, atomic oxygen and thermal cycling in space.

The company also contributed to NASA’s Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA) system, which uses composite slit-tube booms to provide lightweight deployable structural support.

Lightweight Structures Enable Greater Scientific Capability

Professor’s Analysis

Planetary mobility is fundamentally a mass-management problem.

Every kilogram allocated to vehicle structure reduces the payload available for scientific instruments, power systems or extended operational capability. Composite materials help engineers improve this balance by delivering high stiffness and strength with substantially lower structural mass than conventional metallic designs.

Their advantages extend beyond simple weight reduction. Carbon fiber composites can improve fatigue resistance, enable highly integrated structural designs and support complex geometries required for aerial vehicles, pressure vessels and deployable systems.

The STRIDE program also demonstrates how composite technologies developed for lunar missions can be adapted for future Mars exploration. Rotor blades, composite wheels, lightweight pressure vessels and deployable composite structures all represent examples of technologies that have matured individually and may now be integrated into next-generation robotic exploration platforms.

Artemis Experience Supports Future Mars Exploration

NASA intends to apply knowledge gained through the Artemis lunar exploration program to future human missions to Mars.

As lunar missions expand during the coming decade, technologies including lightweight composite structures, advanced mobility systems and durable materials will continue to mature before being deployed in more demanding Martian environments.

For the composites industry, the STRIDE initiative highlights the increasingly important role of carbon fiber and advanced composite materials in enabling longer-range robotic exploration, higher payload efficiency and more capable planetary vehicles for future space missions.

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