SPARTA Blue

Soil Properties Assessment, Resistance, and Thermal Analysis (SPARTA) is a versatile, miniature, multi-tool instrument designed to provide in situ measurements of regolith densities as well as geomechanical, thermal, electrical, and chemical properties of dry or icy soils and permafrost on planetary surfaces. The payload consists of a robotically deployed cone penetrometer/vane shear geotech tool that incorporates dielectric probe and thermal conductivity measurements for planetary surfaces at depths of up to 20 cm. The technology is designed to be deployed by a rover’s arm or body, or from a lander’s footpad.

Soil Properties Assessment, Resistance, and Thermal Analysis (SPARTA) is a versatile, miniature, multi-tool instrument designed to provide in situ measurements of regolith densities as well as geomechanical, thermal, electrical, and chemical properties of dry or icy soils and permafrost on planetary surfaces. The payload consists of a robotically deployed cone penetrometer/vane shear geotech tool that incorporates dielectric probe and thermal conductivity measurements for planetary surfaces at depths of up to 20 cm. The technology is designed to be deployed by a rover’s arm or body, or from a lander’s footpad. This has the potential to benefit NASA missions and the commercial space industry.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.