2 Houston companies tapped to build robots for Mars & more innovation news

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2 Houston companies are creating robots for Mars exploration. Image via UH.edu

Editor's note: The biggest innovation headlines in July include robots for Mars, the launch of the Texas Stock Exchange, and cancer research funding. Below are the five most-read InnovationMap articles published July 15-31, 2026:

1. Houston space companies win NASA funding to build Mars exploration robots

Two Houston-area spacetech companies have landed a portion of a $17 million award from NASA to develop robots for exploring the surface of Mars, the agency announced. Houston-based Intuitive Machines and Webster, Texas-based MEI Technologies, which does business as Aegis Aerospace, were among the seven companies selected to receive the funding from NASA's Science Transport and Robotic Innovation for Deployment and Exploration (STRIDE) initiative. Continue reading.

2. New Texas Stock Exchange officially begins trading in Dallas

Two-step aside, New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. The Dallas-based Texas Stock Exchange, nicknamed Y’all Street, has kicked off live trading with five stocks — and lots of Lone Star ambition. “The Texas Stock Exchange aims to revitalize competition for [stock] issuers, establish the premier venue for listings, and create a world-class trading platform for all market participants,” the exchange says. The exchange — whose Texas-influenced nickname is a nod to New York City’s Wall Street — has collected at least $275 million in investments. Continue reading.

3. Rice, Houston Methodist award $90K for cancer research projects

Rice University’s Synthesis X Center, in partnership with the Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center, announced earlier this month the organizations would award $90,000 in seed grant funding to two projects that could help fight cancer. One would ease the pain of chemotherapy, while the other could change the way the progression of leukemia is tracked. “We’re excited to be collaborating with the Neal Cancer Center to support collaborative, novel and interdisciplinary proposals to improve cancer care and outcomes,” Han Xiao, Rice professor of chemistry and the director of the SynthX Center, said. “Together, we can achieve translational excellence.” Continue reading.

4. London AI startup selects Houston for first U.S. office after $20M raise

London-based AI firm Applied Computing has announced a $20 million Series A round and a new office in Houston. The new Bayou City office is Applied Computing’s first in the United States and part of its North American expansion. The company is known for its Orbital AI platform, which is tailored for energy operations. The funding round was led by Houston-based KBR Inc., with participation from San Francisco-based Databricks Ventures. KBR’s investment was first announced in March. Continue reading.

Report: Houston ranks among 10 most affordable metros to raise a child

Raising a child is not an easy or inexpensive feat, but a new study has determined Houston parents have the 7th lowest childrearing costs in the country. SmartAsset's new report, "Cost of Raising a Child in Major U.S. Metros – 2026 Study," calculated year-over-year changes in the annual cost of raising a child (factoring in childcare, additional housing costs, food, transportation, medical costs and other necessities) in the 48 largest U.S. metro areas. Continue reading.

Mario Romero is an engineer for Intuitive Machines and a former Navy SEAL. He credits his successes in STEM to second—and third—chances. Photo via LinkedIn

Intuitive Machines engineer talks STEM, innovation, and second chances

Innovator Interview

Mario Romero is an assembly, integration, and test engineer at the innovative Houston aerospace company Intuitive Machines. He previously served as a Navy SEAL and an EVA Flight Simulator Specialist at NASA.

Intuitive Machines landed its IM-2 mission on the moon last month, before calling an early end of mission. The company reported that its lunar lander was on its side, preventing it from completing the mission as planned.

Still, the IM-2 mission landed closer to the lunar South Pole than any previous lander, according to NASA. And the company still has plenty of innovative projects in the works.

The company secured about $2.5 million from NASA to study challenges related to carrying cargo on the company’s lunar lander and hauling cargo on the moon. The lander will be used for NASA’s Artemis missions to the moon and eventually to Mars.

“Someone has to do it; in fact, the more the merrier,” Romero says on being part of an innovative culture.

“Competition forces innovation, and if I can be selfish for a moment, I think it’s of particular importance for Intuitive Machines because my extremely capable team is more than worthy of having their place stamped in history. We, as a species, have to strive to become a multiplanetary species. Incidentally, part of the trickle-down effect of innovation often leads to spin-off technology that in some way benefits humanity here on Earth.”

Last year, Romero was awarded the key to the city from his hometown of Vineland, New Jersey, and made it a point in his speech to give kids a chance to succeed in the future.

“I am the product of many chances, secondary, tertiary, and more, given to me,” Romero says. “Many of these were admittedly entirely undeserving. I look back now and recognize that those teachers, judges, police, etc. might have all seen something in me that I couldn’t then see in myself. … This is precisely why I often emphasize giving kids multiple chances. Kids are kids, and you can never fully know how you’re inspiring them in the moment, nor how the chances that you give them will affect the trajectory of their lives.”

Texas is expected to represent nearly 10 percent of future STEM opportunities in the nation, and nine of the 20 biggest employers in Texas are STEM-related.

As STEM has become increasingly popular in high schools and at the university level, and the aerospace industry continues to innovate, it is possible that many young future innovators may take the same path a young Romero did.

“I think it’s natural that when new leaps are made in the STEM fields, and in the aerospace realm at large, the youth in general become galvanized by it,” Romero says.

“It’s exciting and reinvigorating to understand that humanity is on the cusp of the next great adventure. As fantastic and essential as this is, I want to emphasize the importance of the arts as well. It has an important place and an important role to play in our evolution, so I personally don’t limit youthful interest to STEM alone. There are fantastic works of art awaiting us, in all their variety, that will come as a result of the efforts and innovation.”

Intuitive Machines will study challenges related to carrying cargo on its lunar lander and hauling cargo on the moon. Photo courtesy of NASA

Houston space company lands latest NASA deal to advance lunar logistics

To The Moon

Houston-based space exploration, infrastructure, and services company Intuitive Machines has secured about $2.5 million from NASA to study challenges related to carrying cargo on the company’s lunar lander and hauling cargo on the moon. The lander will be used for NASA’s Artemis missions to the moon and eventually to Mars.

“Intuitive Machines has been methodically working on executing lunar delivery, data transmission, and infrastructure service missions, making us uniquely positioned to provide strategies and concepts that may shape lunar logistics and mobility solutions for the Artemis generation,” Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus says in a news release.

“We look forward to bringing our proven expertise together to deliver innovative solutions that establish capabilities on the [moon] and place deeper exploration within reach.”

Intuitive Machines will soon launch its lunar lander on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to deliver NASA technology and science projects, along with commercial payloads, to the moon’s Mons Mouton plateau. Lift-off will happen at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida within a launch window that starts in late February. It’ll be the lander’s second trip to the moon.

In September, Intuitive Machines landed a deal with NASA that could be worth more than $4.8 billion.

Under the contract, Intuitive Machines will supply communication and navigation services for missions in the “near space” region, which extends from the earth’s surface to beyond the moon.

The five-year deal includes an option to add five years to the contract. The initial round of NASA funding runs through September 2029.

A new study on Mars is shining a light on the Earth's own climate mysteries. Image via UH.edu

Houston scientists create first profile of Mars’ radiant energy budget, revealing climate insights on Earth

RESEARCH FINDINGS

Scientists at the University of Houston have found a new understanding of climate and weather on Mars.

The study, which was published in a new paper in AGU Advances and will be featured in AGU’s science magazine EOS, generated the first meridional profile of Mars’ radiant energy budget (REB). REB represents the balance or imbalance between absorbed solar energy and emitted thermal energy across latitudes. An energy surplus can lead to global warming, and a deficit results in global cooling, which helps provide insights to Earth's atmospheric processes too. The profile of Mars’ REB influences weather and climate patterns.

The study was led by Larry Guan, a graduate student in the Department of Physics at UH's College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics under the guidance of his advisors Professor Liming Li from the Department of Physics and Professor Xun Jiang from the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and other planetary scientists. UH graduate students Ellen Creecy and Xinyue Wang, renowned planetary scientists Germán Martínez, Ph.D. (Houston’s Lunar and Planetary Institute), Anthony Toigo, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins University) and Mark Richardson, Ph.D. (Aeolis Research), and Prof. Agustín Sánchez-Lavega (Universidad del País, Vasco, Spain) and Prof. Yeon Joo Lee (Institute for Basic Science, South Korea) also assisted in the project.

The profile of Mars’ REB is based on long-term observations from orbiting spacecraft. It offers a detailed comparison of Mars’ REB to that of Earth, which has shown differences in the way each planet receives and radiates energy. Earth shows an energy surplus in the tropics and a deficit in the polar regions, while Mars exhibits opposite behavioral patterns.

The surplus is evident in Mars’ southern hemisphere during spring, which plays a role in driving the planet’s atmospheric circulation and triggering the most prominent feature of weather on the planet, global dust storms. The storms can envelop the entire planet, alter the distribution of energy, and provide a dynamic element that affects Mars’ weather patterns and climate.

The research team is currently examining long-term energy imbalances on Mars and how it influences the planet’s climate.

“The REB difference between the two planets is truly fascinating, so continued monitoring will deepen our understanding of Mars’ climate dynamics,” Li says in a news release.

The global-scale energy imbalance on Earth was recently discovered, and it contributes to global warming at a “magnitude comparable to that caused by increasing greenhouse gases,” according to the study. Mars has an environment that differs due to its thinner atmosphere and lack of anthropogenic effects.

“The work in establishing Mars’ first meridional radiant energy budget profile is noteworthy,” Guan adds. “Understanding Earth’s large-scale climate and atmospheric circulation relies heavily on REB profiles, so having one for Mars allows critical climatological comparisons and lays the groundwork for Martian meteorology.”

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This article originally ran on EnergyCapital.

Kristen Magas, Anderson Wilder, Obaid Alsuwaidi, and Tiffany Snyder (from left to right) will live in a Mars simulation for 45 days. Photos courtesy of NASA

NASA taps 4 participants for Mars habitat simulation mission in Houston

suiting up

Four individuals have been selected to go to Mars. Well, sort of.

Obaid Alsuwaidi, Kristen Magas, Tiffany Snyder, and Anderson Wilder were picked by NASA to live for 45 days in a 650-square-foot Mars simulation located at Johnson Space Center in Houston. The participants will enter the Human Exploration Research Analog, or HERA, on Friday, November 1, and will live and work like astronauts until Monday, December 16.

Jordan Hundley and Robert Wilson also were named as alternate crew members.

"Scientists use HERA studies to examine how crew members adapt to isolation, confinement, and remote conditions before NASA sends astronauts on deep space missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond," reads NASA's announcement. "The studies provide data about human health and performance in an enclosed environment over time with crews facing different challenges and tasks."

In the experiment, the participants will complete research and operational duties, including raising shrimp, farming, and completing virtual reality-simulated walks on Mars. In addition to these tasks, the crew will experience communication delays similar to ones astronauts will face on future missions to Mars and beyond, which could be as long as 20 minutes each way.

Through NASA’s Human Research Program, the crew members will participate in 18 human health studies focused on physiological, behavioral, and psychological health during the mission.

Here's a little more about each of the crew members:

  • As captain engineer for the United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Defense, Obaid Alsuwaidi, provides guidance in civil and marine engineering and addresses challenges facing the organization.
  • Kristen Magas, an educator and engineer currently teaching at Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School in Franklin, Massachusetts, mentors students involved in a NASA design and prototyping program.
  • With more than 20 years of information technology and cybersecurity experience, Tiffany Snyder is a supervisor for the Cybersecurity Mission Integration Office at NASA, helping to ensure agency missions are shielded against cybersecurity threats.
  • Currently researching team resiliency and human-machine interactions, Anderson Wilder is a Florida Institute of Technology graduate student working on his doctorate in Psychology and previously served as an executive officer and engineer for an analog mission at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah.
  • Jordan Hundley (alternate) is a senior consultant at a professional services firm, offering federal agencies technical and programmatic support.
  • Robert Wilson (alternate) is a senior researcher and project manager at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.
Perseverance has landed on Mars. Illustration courtesy of NASA

NASA and Johnson Space Center celebrate unprecedented Mars Perseverance landing

Mars landing

While Houston is in the depths of a historic freeze, some spacey locals are celebrating a major cosmic milestone. NASA — and Johnson Space Center, locally — are toasting the landing of Perseverance, the amiable roving vehicle, on Mars.

The reliable rover, nicknamed "Percy," touched down on the rocky Red Planet at approximately 2:55 pm Houston time on Thursday, February 18, to cheers at JSC and at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which is spearheading the mission.

In a harrowing descent, described by NASA tech crews as "seven minutes of terror," the rover plunged through the thin Martian atmosphere at more than 12,000 mph. A 70-foot parachute and powered descent slowed the rover to about 2 mph before a "sky crane maneuver," and soft landing at Mars' Jezero Crater.

Importantly, the intrepid Perseverance is carrying the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter – that will attempt the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. Aside from undertaking crucial experiments and sample collections, the first order of business is ensuring that Perseverance is "healthy," said NASA Perseverance staffer, Jessica Samuels, on NASA TV.

"If there's one thing we know, it's that landing on Mars is never easy," said NASA associate administrator for Communications Marc Etkind, in a statement. "But as NASA's fifth Mars rover, Perseverance has an extraordinary engineering pedigree and mission team. We are excited to invite the entire world to share this exciting event with us!"

Proud, starry-eyed Houstonians can watch the developments live on NASA TV online.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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New Houston platform Same Day Reels launches for on-demand content creation

In The Moment

If an event doesn't happen on Instagram, did it even really happen? In today's social media-driven age of branding and audience engagement, the answer increasingly is no.

Houston entrepreneur Karen De Amat is looking to fill the online content creation needs of companies with her new venture, Same Day Reels, which launched in early August. It will serve as a platform to connect companies and brands with talent that can help turn an event into a viral moment as it is happening.

"Events move quickly, and social media moves even faster,” said De Amat. “Same Day Reels was built to help brands capture the moment while it still matters. We are creating a more efficient way for businesses and creators to work together. Brands need content faster, and creators need more opportunities to turn their talent into real work. Same Day Reels brings those needs together.”

The company is focused on adding livestreams and concurrent short video content to "activations, launches, fundraisers, grand openings, conferences, hospitality experiences, and private celebrations." Such content can significantly increase the visibility of a product or brand according to digital marketing brands like Wyzowl, whose data found 63 percent of people in 2026 prefer to learn about new products via short video.

Packages offered by Same Day Reels will include filming, editing, and publishing content within hours of the targeted event.

De Amat says that her content creation platform will be a way to preserve the excitement of events and launches by enshrining them with immediate social media-driven memories.

“Event content is no longer just something you post after the fact,” De Amat said. “It is part of how people experience, remember and share the moment.”

Previously, De Amat is also the founder and CEO of Social Behavior, an influencer marketing company she launched from her home in 2014. It quickly garnered an array of clients and thrust De Amat into the spotlight, including numerous appearances on Fox 26's The Isiah Factor. Influencer Marketing Hub named her one of the top CEOs of influencer marketing companies in Houston in 2025.

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Bristol Myers Squibb to build $2.3B Houston pharma manufacturing campus

coming soon

New Jersey-based pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb Co. has officially named Houston as the home of its new state-of-the-art manufacturing site.

The 60,000-square-foot facility represents a $2.3 billion investment, according to a news release. It is expected to create 500 skilled jobs and will be located in Houston's Generation Park.

BMS first announced that it was considering Houston among 16 other cities for the facility in May. The new hub will manufacture small molecule, biologic and antibody-drug conjugates and is part of a $40 billion commitment to invest in the United States over five years. Construction is slated to begin next year, with the facility coming online in 2030.

"We're building the domestic manufacturing capabilities needed to deliver the next generation of medicines and support future scientific breakthroughs. Houston and the state of Texas offer the talent, infrastructure, and partnership needed to help bring that vision to life," Christopher Boerner, CEO and board chair of BMS, said in the release.

The new facility will feature a modular, multi-modal design, which will allow the company to reconfigure and add to its manufacturing capabilities over time. BMS says it expects the facility to "(grow) in scale and capability well beyond its opening configuration."

"Our decision to build this state-of-the-art manufacturing campus in Houston, Texas, reflects our confidence in the region’s ability to support a world-class, digitally advanced supply operation,” Karin Shanahan, EVP and chief supply chain and operations officer of BMS, added in the release. “This facility is designed to deliver the speed, quality, and reliability that patients depend on, combining flexible, modular manufacturing with advanced digital capabilities to ensure consistent supply across multiple modalities. It strengthens our ability to operate with resilience and positions us to reliably deliver medicines to patients today while adapting future demands.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shared that the state has granted BMS a $4.89 million Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) grant for the project. TEF grants, administered by the Texas Economic Development & Tourism Office, support business relocation or expansion projects that create "new, good-paying jobs in the community and attract significant new capital investment to the state." The development is also a qualified project under the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation (JETI) program.

“Texas is a global hub for life sciences, where today’s innovations shape the future of healthcare,” Abbott said in a news release. “This $2.3 billion investment by Bristol Myers Squibb in the dynamic biotech ecosystem in Houston is a testament to the depth of our skilled workforce and the pipeline of talent coming through our nation-leading technical colleges and research universities. With lower operating costs and easy access to markets across the U.S. and the world, Texas drives affordability for consumers.”

"Bristol Myers Squibb’s announcement is a tremendous win for Texas and the Houston region, further reinforcing our position as a premier destination for life sciences and advanced manufacturing,” added Greater Houston Partnership President and CEO Steve Kean.

Last fall, Eli Lilly and Co. selected Generation Park, a 4,300-acre, master-planned commercial district near Lake Houston, for its $6.5 billion manufacturing plant. More than 300 locations in the U.S. competed for the factory. Read more here.

Texas foundation makes massive $180M donation to Galveston hospital

historic gift

The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston (UTMB) has accepted a staggering $130 million grant from the Sealy & Smith Foundation, which, combined with the $50 million that the foundation donated in 2025 to establish the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, is the largest bequest in UTMB history.

The grant will go to grow cardiovascular imaging, diagnosis, and treatment at UTMB by establishing an inpatient cardiovascular hub on the sixth floor of Jennie Sealy Hospital. In honor of the donation, the department is being renamed the Sealy Heart and Vascular Institute.

“The Sealy & Smith Foundation has a long history of investing in initiatives that transform health care for the people of Galveston and beyond,” said John Kelso, president of The Sealy & Smith Foundation Board of Directors. “We believe the Sealy Heart & Vascular Institute has the potential to redefine cardiovascular care in our region by bringing together exceptional physicians, advanced technology, innovative research and a commitment to improving patient outcomes. This additional investment reflects our confidence in UTMB’s vision and our belief that the Institute will have a lasting impact for generations to come.”

The Sealy & Smith Foundation was established in 1922 by John Sealy II and his sister Jennie Sealy Smith. Bolstered by the Sealy fortune built on shipping, oil, banking, and railroads, the Foundation has donated more than $1.2 billion to UTMB over the last century, linking the family legacy to healthcare, teaching, and research. It was John Sealy Sr. who contributed the initial $50,000 to build a hospital on the island, which opened right alongside the new medical school created by the state legislator in what was then Texas's largest and most economically powerful city.

Since then, the Foundation has helped grow UTMB into a world-class hospital. The cardiovascular care especially is well-regarded, making the 2025 Newsweek/Statista List of America's Best Hospitals.

“This extraordinary investment reflects The Sealy & Smith Foundation’s unwavering commitment to improving health and advancing medical excellence,” said Dr. Jochen Reiser, UTMB president and CEO of the UTMB Health System. “The partnership between UTMB and The Sealy & Smith Foundation is very strong. Built on generations of shared vision and trust, it continues to redefine what an academic health system can achieve. Together, we are building one of the nation’s premier cardiovascular programs integrating exceptional patient care, groundbreaking research, innovation and world-class education to improve the lives of patients throughout Texas and beyond.”

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

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