AbstractNitric oxide molecules were excited into the A 2Σ+ state by near‐resonant excitation‐transfer collisions with metastable N2(A3Eu+) and CO(a3 Π) molecules in a beam‐gas experiment. The latter species were produced by near‐resonant charge transfer of N+2 and CO+ with NO. The rotational and vibrational excitation of NO(A), as deduced from the NO(A → X) emission spectra, are discussed. The cross sections for excitation of NO(A) by N2(A) and CO(a) drop by about two orders of magnitude between 1 and 200 eVLab. The excitation transfer reactions between N2(A) or CO(a) with NO to give NO(B2 Π), although also near‐resonant, do not occur appreciably in this energy range.