The Vast x Explorers Club Grant

The Vast x Explorers Club Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Explorers Club
Amount: US $20,000 - US $25,000
Last Updated: December 23, 2025

Summary

Overview

The Explorers Club Since 1904 Headquartered in New York City with a community of Chapters around the world, The Explorers Club has been supporting scientific expeditions of all disciplines, and uniting our members in the bonds of good fellowship for over a century. About Vast Vast is developing next-generation space stations to ensure continuous human presence in space for America and its allies, enabling advanced microgravity research and manufacturing, and unlocking a new space economy for government, corporate, and private customers. Using an incremental, hardware-rich and low-cost approach, Vast is rapidly developing its multi-module Haven Station. Haven Demo’s 2025 success made Vast the only operational commercial space station company to fly and operate its own spacecraft. Next, Haven-1 is expected to become the world’s first commercial space station when it launches in 2026, followed by additional Haven modules to enable permanent human presence by 2030. With more than 1,000 employees at its Long Beach, California headquarters and over a billion dollars in private capital invested, Vast has built the facilities required to manufacture and operate America’s next space station. The company plans to develop future habitats for the Moon and Mars, dedicated space stations for government partners, and other crewed systems that will unlock the expanding long-term space economy Vast x Explorers Club Grant Humanity is on the edge of a new era in space. The Vast x Explorers Club Grant is designed to support the bold thinkers, curious builders, and determined explorers who are helping make life beyond Earth possible. This program fuels research that brings us closer to living, working, and thriving in space—whether in low Earth orbit, on the Moon, or on Mars. Scientists, engineers, technologists, and explorers conducting innovative research that deepens our understanding of space environments and human adaptation beyond Earth are encouraged to apply. Priority Research Areas We welcome proposals that advance our understanding of how humans can live safely and sustainably in space, including work in: Human habitability and life-support systems in space Closed-loop ecological or biological systems Materials or technologies for space habitats Space medicine and human performance Radiation protection and human health Psychological and sociocultural aspects of isolation or long-duration missions Note: This grant does not include flights to space for people or hardware.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Open to early-career and established researchers, technologists, and explorers from any discipline relevant to space science or human adaptation beyond Earth. Applicants must be leading or supporting an active project with clear objectives, deliverables, and measurable outcomes. Early-career applicants should be prepared to provide an endorsement from a mentor or experienced project lead. Both field-based and laboratory-based projects are eligible. Grant awards can be applied to existing research efforts to expand data collection opportunities. In order to be considered for a Vast x Explorers Club Grant, you must be:At least 18 years of age