S cience M ission D irectorate Research Solicitation Overview

What I will cover I will quickly pass lots of information that is in the talk and to which you can refer later Give you the range of subjects that Science covers Present some information about our grant awards. Point you to web pages where you can find out much more.

Caveat I come from the Science Mission Directorate (SMD). There are other directorates that solicit proposals for research. Our omnibus solicitation is called ROSES, that for the Aeronautics Directorate is called ROA. The Technology, Education and Space Operations / Exploration directorates all have their own. They all can be found at

The community leads us At the highest level our goals and objectives are described in the NASA Science Plan (2010 is the latest version). It also explains where this all comes from: We get advice from the NASA advisory council (via the Science Subcommittees) and National Academy of Sciences Decadal Surveys and roadmaps in specific science areas. All of these are composed of community members The community also helps to choose the specific science we support via peer review.

Astrophysics: Discover the origin, structure, evolution, and destiny of the universe, and search for Earth-like planets. Earth Science: Study Earth from space to advance scientific understanding and meet societal needs. Heliophysics: Understand the Sun and its effects on Earth and the solar system. Planetary Science: Advance scientific knowledge of the origin and history of the solar system, the potential for life elsewhere, and the hazards and resources present as humans explore space. Strategic Goals of SMD Science Divisions

Research Questions Earth Science How is the global Earth system changing? What are the primary causes of change in the Earth system? How does the Earth system respond to natural and human- induced changes? What are the consequences for human civilization? How will the Earth system change in the future? Astrophysics What are the origin, evolution, and fate of the universe? How do planets, stars, galaxies, and cosmic structure come into being? When and how did the elements of life and the universe arise? Is there life elsewhere? Heliophysics How and why does the Sun vary? How do the Earth and planetary systems respond? What are the impacts on humanity? Planetary Science How did the Sun’s family of planets and minor bodies originate? How did the solar system evolve to its current diverse state? What are the characteristics of the solar system that lead to the origin of life? How did life begin and evolve on Earth and has it evolved elsewhere in the solar system? What are the hazards and resources in the solar system environment that will affect the extension of human presence in space?

NASA Research Solicitations Announcement of Opportunity (AO) Typically a few per year; always used for specific space flight programs. Invites proposals for research for which space flight hardware may be required to obtain the data needed to achieve the stated science objective…an end-to-end activity called a “science investigation.” Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) Relatively rare, typically only a few per year. Used where research or research-related activity is to be carried out in close cooperation with NASA, (classic example: the formation/operation of a “research institute”). NASA Research Announcement (NRA) The proposer has considerable freedom to specify specific objectives within the broad program objectives given in the NRA. Use to fund supporting research and technology, research and data analysis Awards typically grants, ~ $50K to ≥$1M (average ~ $100K). Grants require Yearly and Final Reports and publication of research results but no other deliverables of goods or services.

SMD NRAs - ROSES Solicits basic and applied research in: Theory and modeling to understand NASA space data. Analysis of data from NASA’s missions. Suborbital (aircraft, sounding rocket, and stratospheric balloon) investigations of natural phenomena and development of instruments for future flight missions. Education and public outreach activities New experiment techniques (e.g. proof of concept) and technology development for future missions. Chemical/physical properties and laboratory techniques needed for analysis of data and samples. Ground-based observations critical to NASA objectives. Concepts for future space science missions. Systems for integrated Earth system models and applying Earth science research data to societal needs. Applied information systems applicable to NASA space data. Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES)

Submission: Electronic via NSPIRES (see last slide) Winners: We select ~1000 out of ~4000 proposals each year, equal to ~ $ 600 M (over the lifetime of the award). Funded Organizations: ~30% of awards are to NASA centers, ~60% to universities and non profits, and the remainder to non-NASA government labs, and for-profit corporations. (non-U.S. organizations are a special case). Award Size: Ranges from under $100K per year for focused, limited efforts (e.g., data analysis) to more than $1M per year for extensive activities (e.g., development of science experiment hardware). Peer Reviewed: Based on merit, relevance, and level of effort. Award Mechanism: Typically grants (for universities and non profits), but also cooperative agreements, contracts, and inter- or intra-agency transfers. Duration: Typically three years but can be up to five. ROSES Continued: award and funding information

Grant size ~ 100 k /year Distribution of award sizes Snapshot from RAPTOR Total award (cumulative over period of performance) Based on ~5000 SMD awards active in FY07 and FY08 Includes all types of awards (grants, Center funding, interagency transfers, etc.) Does not include astrophysics GO programs

Theory 14% Data Analysis/ Data Assimilation/ Earth System modeling 31% Lab Investigations 10% Instrument development 7% Technology development 14% Suborbital rocket/balloon/ airplane investigations 7% Ground-based & field research (incl. field campaigns) 8% Mission concepts 3 % IT 2 % Earth Science applications 5% Types of research Self-categorization by all 2007 proposers (by dollar value of selected proposals) D D R A R R T T T R

Practical SMD Solicitation information on the SARA web page at and via

RSS feed for ROSES Amendments and Clarifications

Contact information for the program scientists

SARA Solicitations page

Grant Statistics

Selection Statistics: Downloadable Data

Selection Statistics: Graphs

#of proposals with that grade Not funded Grades vs. Selections Funded Not funded 20 programs, ~1600 proposals

Why NSPIRES?

Thank you

SMD research (SARA) page: Research questions, volunteer reviewer and confidential comments: Solicitations/Submissions web page: Guidebook for proposers: NASA Science Plan SMD web page: