NASA-bp Agreement to Advance US Energy Production and Space Exploration

Space Act Agreement allows bp and NASA to share technologies and technical expertise.

Giovanni Cristofoli, SVP of bp Solutions, and Vanessa Wyche, Director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, sign a Space Act Agreement between bp and NASA.
Giovanni Cristofoli, SVP of bp Solutions, and Vanessa Wyche, Director of NASA's Johnson Space Center, sign a Space Act Agreement between bp and NASA.
bp

bp America has signed an agreement with NASA to support common goals in space exploration and energy production. As part of the agreement, the pair will share digital technologies and technical expertise from decades of experience operating in harsh environments.

The Space Act Agreement will empower the integrated energy company and space agency to collaborate on a variety of technologies, such as digital models and simulations that allow engineers and scientists to visualize equipment in remote locations more than 7,000 feet underwater or millions of miles away on another planet.

bp hopes this Space Act Agreement with NASA will help advance energy production on Earth, as well as human exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond.

The Space Act Agreement is a legal agreement under the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 that empowers NASA to work with companies, universities and other entities to advance its mission and project objectives.

The initial phase of the bp-NASA Space Act Agreement will focus on developing standards and expanding the capabilities of visualization and simulation models. Later phases could include the exchange of remote operating practices, including safety, communications, process control and monitoring, integrity management, predictive analytics and artificial intelligence.

The agreement could lay the foundation for future collaborations between bp and NASA on hydrogen, regenerative fuel cells, high-capacity batteries, solar power systems, small fission systems and innovative power management and distribution.

bp has long been a leader in pioneering emerging technologies in the energy industry.

Argos, bp's newest offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico, is one of the most technologically- advanced offshore facilities built to date. It features a range of innovations encompassing state-of-the-art remote communications, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, digital twin and simulation models. This helps enable bp to monitor what's happening below the subsurface and on the platform, allowing remote teams to make better decisions, optimize production and identify potential issues.

bp and NASA have a long history. bp offshore workers have performed Helicopter Underwater Escape Training at NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, the astronaut training pool near Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA also has used bp's Castrol lubricants for over 60 years, including many of the Apollo missions and in the Curiosity and Perseverance Rovers on Mars.

More in Aerospace