Episode
The Space Show Presents Trisha Epp, Director of Innovation at Freelancer.com, to discuss NASA's open innovation challenges and Freelancer's role in facilitating these competitions.
- Published
- Mar 10, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 5252
- Processing state
not_requested
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-space-show-by-dr-david-livingston-1065418/episodes/the-space-show-presents-trisha-epp-director-of-innovation-at-freelancer-com-to-discuss-nasa-s-open-innovation-challenges-and-freelancer-s-role-in-facilitating-these-competitions/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-space-show-by-dr-david-livingston-1065418/the-space-show-presents-trisha-epp-director-of-innovation-at-freelancer-com-to-discuss-nasa-s-open-innovation-challenges-and-freelancer-s-role-in-facilitating-these-competitions.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
The Space Show Presents Trisha Epp. Sunday, 2-22-26 Quick Summary: The Space Show hosted Trisha Epp, Director of Innovation at Freelancer.com, to discuss NASA’s open innovation challenges and Freelancer’s role in facilitating these competitions. Trisha explained how Freelancer works with NASA’s Tournament Lab to run innovation challenges that attract solutions from around the world, with prize money awarded for successful ideas. The discussion covered the differences between Freelancer’s approach and traditional government RFP processes, highlighting cost savings and broader participation as key advantages. Trisha shared that Freelancer has helped NASA achieve significant cost savings through their innovation challenges, with approximately 30-50 winners per year. The conversation also touched on the use of AI in submissions, ethical concerns around AI art, and potential expansion of these innovation methods beyond NASA to other industries. Detailed Summary Trisha Epp, an innovation strategist based in Vancouver, discussed her work leading open innovation challenges for NASA, NIH, and other institutions through Freelancer.com’s NASA Tournament Lab. She explained that Freelancer helps find engineers and carry out innovative projects, particularly those that fit within NASA’s challenge section. The discussion also touched on potential future projects in space, such as 3D printing organs in space while David shared his personal interest in advancements in knee replacement technology derived from space tech. Trisha explained her role as Director of Innovation at Freelancer, where they work with NASA through the NASA Tournament Lab and Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation to explore open innovation solutions. She detailed how Freelancer facilitates innovation ch…