Internal Research and Development Program (IRAD)

The Innovative Research and Development (IRAD) program is a NASA initiative aimed at fostering the advancement of cutting-edge technologies and scientific research to bolster future missions. IRAD serves as a crucial platform for nurturing innovative ideas across a broad spectrum of disciplines in science, technology, and engineering. Annually, submitted IRAD proposals undergo a rigorous review process, scrutinized by a panel of subject matter experts. This evaluation ensures that the selected projects not only hold the potential to mitigate mission risks but also to push the boundaries of current space exploration capabilities. Through IRAD, NASA continues to invest in the progressive development of concepts that could one day redefine the frontier of aerospace and planetary science.