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Astrophysics Strategic Technology & Research Accelerator (ASTRA) Initiative

To maintain US leadership, NASA's Astrophysics Division (APD) is launching the Astrophysics Strategic Technology and Research Accelerator (ASTRA) Initiative.

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About ASTRA Initiative

How does the universe work? How did we get here? Are we alone?

At every stage, NASA will collaborate with industry, academia, and international partners to advance necessary technologies, manufacturing capabilities, and reduce costs.

ASTRA aims to reduce the total cost, time-to-science, and schedule risk of future strategic missions, aligning with the guidance from Astro2020, LSSM, and AMP.

Stellar 'Fireworks Finale' Came First in the Young Universe
This is an artist's impression of how the very early universe (less than 1 billion years old) might have looked when it went through a voracious onset of star formation, converting primordial hydrogen into myriad stars at an unprecedented rate. Back then the sky would have looked markedly different from the sea of quiescent galaxies around us today. The sky is ablaze with primeval starburst galaxies; giant elliptical and spiral galaxies have yet to form. Unlike today there is very little dust in these galaxies, because the heavier elements have not yet been cooked up through nucleosynthesis in stars. Recent analysis of Hubble Space Telescope deep sky images supports the theory that the first stars in the universe appeared in an abrupt eruption of star formation, rather than at a gradual pace.
Credit: NASA, STScI A. Schaller

NASA’s greatest telescopes continue to expand our frontiers in both literal and metaphorical ways. They advance the limits of humanity’s views of the cosmos while they address profound questions: How does the universe work? How did we get here? Are we alone? They also advance the frontiers of our technologies and capabilities by making the previously impossible routine, and in the process advancing US strategic interests consistent with the President’s national space policy. NASA’s Astrophysics Division (APD) pursues implementation plans for these frontier-expanding missions with guidance from: decadal surveys by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine including “Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s” (Astro2020); internal NASA reports, including the Large Strategic Science Missions (LSSM) Report; and independent assessments including the Government Accountability Office’s Assessment of Major Projects (AMP).

To maintain US leadership, APD is launching the Astrophysics Strategic Technology & Research Accelerator (ASTRA) Initiative. ASTRA will: 

  1. identify strategic (flagship/probe) mission concepts that expand our frontier to dramatically advance astrophysics; 
  2. study those concepts at a low fidelity level to inform strategic decisions; and 
  3. advance the concepts ahead of formal pre-Phase A activities for potential projects. 

At every stage, NASA will collaborate with industry, academia, and international partners to advance necessary technologies, manufacturing capabilities, and reduce costs. ASTRA aims to reduce the total cost, time-to-science, and schedule risk of future strategic missions, aligning with the guidance from Astro2020, LSSM, and AMP.

Further details, including a timeline, are available in the announcement document [PDF].

Questions regarding this initiative should be submitted to this link:

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Two face-on spiral galaxies at upper-left and lower-right corners. a long, faint, pale-blue streak joins them, crossing the field diagonally. a small, orange, edge-on spiral galaxy at left of the lower galaxy.
Galactic triplet Arp 248 — also known as Wild's Triplet — seem to be connected by a luminous bridge.
ESA/Hubble & NASA, Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA, J. Dalcanton

News & Events

Stay up-to-date with the latest content from ASTRA Initiative as we explore the universe.
Innovation Workshop, May 2026
2 min read

Registration is now open for NASA’s Innovation for Astrophysics Missions Workshop! The registration site will close on 15 April 2026.

Apr 10, 2026
Community Science (Ad ASTRA) Workshop, Sept 2026
1 min read

The Community Science (Ad ASTRA) Workshop is organized by the NASA Astrophysics Division to engage the community in defining future large, strategic astrophysics missions.

Apr 10, 2026
ASTRA Initiative
2 min read

NASA’s greatest telescopes continue to expand our frontiers in both literal and metaphorical ways. They advance the limits of humanity’s views of the cosmos while they address profound questions: How does the universe work? How did we get here? Are…

Apr 10, 2026

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Angled from the upper left corner to the lower right corner is a cone-shaped orange-red cloud known as Herbig-Haro 49/50. This feature takes up about three-fourths of the length of this angle. The upper left end of this feature has a translucent, rounded end. The conical feature widens slightly from the rounded end at the upper right down to the lower right. Along the cone there are additional rounded edges, like edges of a wave, and intricate foamy-like details, as well as a clearer view of the black background of space. In the upper left, overlapping with the rounded end of Herbig-Haro 49/50, is a background spiral galaxy with a concentrated blue center that fades outward to blend with red spiral arms. The background of space is speckled with some white stars and smaller, more numerous, fainter white galaxies throughout.