NASA opens STRIDE competition for Mars robotic mobility design studies

NASA’s ROSES-2025 Amendment 43 releases C.13, Science Transport and Robotic Innovation for Deployment and Exploration (STRIDE), soliciting U.S. industry proposals for design studies of advanced robotic surface and aerial mobility systems for Mars. The amendment will be posted on or about January 30, 2026, on the NASA research opportunity homepage and proposals are due March 31, 2026; an optional virtual pre-proposal conference will occur February 4, 2026, at 3 pm.

STRIDE solicits design studies of mobility systems with payload transportation and deployment capability for Mars surface operations and, where applicable, early-stage hardware prototyping. The studies are intended to inform future development of procurable robotic mobility systems that are Mars-environment capable and able to traverse challenging terrain to deliver science payloads across the Martian surface.

The opportunity seeks participation from a broad range of providers, from established space hardware developers to terrestrial robotics companies. Proposals are limited to for-profit U.S. organizations of any size as the primary proposer, though partnerships with or subcontracts to academia, non-profits, or University Affiliated Research Centers are permitted.

Awards may be firm-fixed-price contracts, subject to availability of funds, programmatic priorities, and the merit of submitted proposals.

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