Contract · Federal

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OPPORTUNITY: Portable Microscope (MSC-TOPS-131)

Agency: NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION / NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
Location: HUNTSVILLE, AL
Amount: Amount not listed
Posted: Aug 10, 2026
Set-aside: None (open competition)
NAICS code: 927110 look up NAICS codes
PSC code: 9999

Timeline

Posted

Aug 10, 2026
Status

Open now

What contracts like this typically pay

No award history yet for this category (NAICS 927110).

What this contract is for

Agency: NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION / NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
Location: HUNTSVILLE, AL
NAICS: 927110
Scope: Federal

NASA’s Technology Transfer Program solicits inquiries from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology.

License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use.

NASA provides no funding in conjunction with these potential licenses.

THE TECHNOLOGY: Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a handheld digital microscope to fill the critical microscopy needs of human space exploration by providing flight crews in situ hematological diagnostic and tracking ability to assess and monitor crew health in the absence of gravity.

Although currently in use aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to work in conjunction with NASA’s handheld slide staining system, the microscope may have numerous applications here on Earth.

The microscope is entirely self-contained, and includes optics, illumination, high-resolution imaging hardware, wireless enabled single board computer with scalable power and memory, and rechargeable battery.

The microscope also acts as an internet access point and connects via Bluetooth to smart devices for wireless image transfer and remote control.

The microscope is durable enough to support field use while providing submicron imaging that would typically necessitate the use of larger more expensive benchtop microscopes.

Cost of manufacturing the microscope may be relatively inexpensive through the utilization of 3D-printed components, and COTS hardware such as interchangeable microscope objectives.

The handheld digital microscope is at technology readiness level (TRL) 8 (actual system completed and "flight qualified" through test and demonstration), and is now available to license.

NASA does not manufacture products for commercial sa...

Official solicitation and documents

The full solicitation, any attachments, and the actual submission instructions live on the official listing, not on this page. Oppward summarizes public record data; it does not host or mirror the source documents.

View the official listing on SAM.gov

Oppward is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by SAM.gov or any government agency. This page is a plain-English summary of public record data; the linked source above is the authoritative listing.

How to bid on this

This is a contract solicitation, not a grant. To bid, you submit a proposal (usually a price and a description of how you would do the work) directly to the government, through the channel the official listing specifies, not through Oppward.

Make sure your business has an active SAM.gov registration. You cannot be paid on a federal contract without one.
Read the full solicitation on the official listing above, especially the scope of work, not just this summary. Our guide to reading a solicitation walks through what to look for.
This listing has no set-aside restriction ("full and open competition"), meaning any business, large or small, can bid.
Submit your proposal by the deadline, using the exact submission method the official listing states. A technically on-time bid sent the wrong way is often treated as late.