The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) continue to support stellar achievements that vary from technical acts to demonstration of human inventiveness.

It sponsored three competitions this year, one of which was the space-based Nano Satellite Launch Challenge, offering $2 million for putting a satellite into earth's course twice in a single week.

NASA also conceived the CAFÉ Green Flight Challenge, a contest to test fuel-efficient aircraft design, wherein the winner, Pipstrel-USA.com of State College, Pennsylvania was granted $1.35 million for its electric-powered aircraft, according to a report from greenbuildingelements.com.

It is said to be the biggest prize in aviation history.

The team from Pennsylvania flew a 200-mile course from Santa Rosa, California in less than two hours using only more than one-half gallon of gasoline fuel per passenger.

NASA is also planning to revive the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) that was shelved in 2007 for cost-cutting purposes.

The NIAC used to be managed by the Universities Space Research Association and depended on a peer-review process for choosing grant recipients. The research projects consisted of two phases. The proposals get up to $75,000 for a six-month study during the first stage and as much as $400,000 for 2 years of study in the second phase, according to a report from MSNBC.

This concept is similar to the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Another novel competition aims for technologies that will be the source for computerized space exploration but can also be relevant to earthly experiments.

A good example is the Night Rover Challenge which require teams to develop energy storage systems that can keep solar-powered rovers going through the cold Martian night which lasts for 12 hours and the colder lunar night that can extend up to two weeks.

Andrew Petro, manager of NASA's Centennial Challenges said non-profit partners will manage future contests on NASA's behalf and raise funds for operational requirements while NASA will only provide funds for the prize.

The challenges are designed to encourage private sector groups in formulating technological solutions to concerns that the agency deals with in aeronautics and space exploration.