NASA Gateway to Blue Skies

NASA’s next Gateways to Blue Skies competition invites collegiate teams to imagine innovative new ways aircraft could inspect land-based infrastructure. 

The opportunity is for teams with at least two students and one academic advisor to develop AI tools that can analyze aerial imagery combined with spatial and digital construction data and provide high-quality actionable information. 

IFD has offered to mentor university teams submitting to NASA for the Gateway to Blues Skys opportunity to explore and how to synergize high integrity infrastructure digital twin and spatial data with aerial imagery so AI can generate actionable results. 

Theme

InfraAir: Aviation for Infrastructure Inspection. 

Understanding the present requires knowing the past.

Real-time imagery alone cannot provide trustworthy decision support. The imagery must be compared against authoritative historical records, digital twin information, financial data, lifecycle information, and engineering context.

Vision

Develop a new generation of airborne infrastructure inspection platforms capable of comparing real-time imagery and sensor data against high-integrity digital twin environments built upon open standards and interoperable digital ecosystems.

Timeline

October 12, 2026        Submit a Notice of Intent (NOI)

November 5, 2026      Q&A Session

February 22, 2027       Submit a Proposal & Video

Should any team get selected to submit based on the LOI there is a small stipend. 

The real opportunity is for the university team selected to have a full internship with NASA.