NASA in late March awarded 12 contracts as part of its Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) to advance concept studies and technology development projects in the areas of advanced propulsion, habitation and small satellites, according to an agency statement.NASA said it selected companies to participate via public-private partnership to develop the exploration capabilities necessary to enable commercial endeavors in space and human exploration to deep-space destinations such as the proving ground of space around the moon, called cis-lunar…
