Arizona State University (ASU), operating through its Office of Research and Sponsored Projects Administration (ORSPA), received a $175,664.47 research grant from a civilian federal agency with an ultimate completion date of January 14, 2025. The grant supports research to advance understanding of life's tolerance to low temperature and water availability, with direct applications to the search for life on Mars and other icy worlds. The work will be conducted in Tempe, Arizona, and no small...
This is a $852,867 research grant awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to Arizona State University (ASU) to study the geochemical and biomolecular changes associated with the evolution of photosynthesis. The research aims to understand how geochemical changes may have enabled the historical rise of photosynthesis by examining transitions to photosynthesis in active hot spring ecosystems. The project will combine field research, laboratory analysis, and...
Arizona State University (ASU) was awarded a $540,630 research grant by a civilian federal agency to conduct scientific research on magma oceans in rocky exoplanets, with a focus on understanding their dynamic and magnetic evolution through new models and experiments. The contract, issued on January 1, 2023, with an ultimate completion date of December 31, 2026, will be performed at ASU's Tempe, Arizona campus. This grant falls under a child entity of ASU (doing business as Orspa), which...
Arizona State University (ASU), through its Orspa division, received a $749,999 research grant from a civilian federal agency's Shared Services Center, with a performance location in Tempe, Arizona. The award, issued on November 1, 2019, supports research examining the role of microorganisms as regulators of human health and their impact on human built environments, specifically the International Space Station (ISS). The research focuses on understanding how microbes adapt to the unique...
Arizona State University (ASU), operating through its Office of Research and Sponsored Projects Administration, received a $722,053 research grant (Contract No. 23-XRP23_2-0097) with an ultimate completion date of September 27, 2027. Titled "Let the Data Speak for Itself: Understanding the Limits of Current Exoplanetary Atmospheric Models and Their Missing Physics in a Data-Driven Era," this civilian research award supports ASU's continued investigation into exoplanet atmospheric...
Arizona State University (ASU) has been awarded a $297,824 research grant with a completion date of December 31, 2027, to execute a balanced science program aligned with guidance from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, administration priorities, and congressional direction. The award, issued January 1, 2026, by a civilian federal agency's Shared Services Center, supports research activities to be performed in Scottsdale, Arizona. This grant reflects ASU's...
This $903,790.00 grant award to Arizona State University (ASU) is for a research project titled "Drivers and Predictors of Cryptic Inorganic Carbon Assimilation and Constraints on Habitability." The award, which does not have a set-aside designation, was issued by the Shared Services Center (a civilian agency) and has an ultimate completion date of August 31, 2027. ASU, a Hispanic-Serving Institution and state-controlled educational institution, is the prime contractor for this...
Arizona State University (ASU), operating through its Office of Research and Sponsored Projects Administration (Orspa), received a $439,622 research grant from a civilian federal agency's Shared Services Center, with a performance location in Tempe, Arizona. The award, issued on September 1, 2025, supports execution of a balanced science program aligned with discipline-specific guidance from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, administration priorities, and...
Arizona State University received a $150,000 grant award from a civilian federal agency (via its Shared Services Center) on December 22, 2025, to execute a balanced science program guided by discipline-specific recommendations from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with administration priorities and congressional direction. The research will be performed in Scottsdale, Arizona, with an ultimate completion date of December 21, 2028. This award carries no...
Arizona State University (ASU), through its Office of Research and Sponsored Projects Administration, was awarded a $59,784 grant by a federal civilian agency's Shared Services Center with a completion date of July 30, 2026. This research grant aligns with NASA's 2022 Strategic Plan goals to contribute to science, technology, and exploration research initiatives. The award was made on July 31, 2025, with no set-aside designation, reflecting ASU's competitive positioning in the federal research...
Arizona State University (ASU) was awarded a $656,899 research grant by a civilian federal agency with an ultimate completion date of February 15, 2025. The grant supports fundamental research in exobiology focused on understanding the evolution of photosynthesis, particularly anoxygenic photosynthesis relevant to early Earth and potentially common conditions on exoplanets. ASU's research team proposes to test a novel evolutionary hypothesis by creating photo/chemolithotrophic organisms—organisms that combine light-driven photosynthesis with chemolithotrophic energy extraction from environmental redox gradients. Using Heliobacterium modesticaldum as a starting organism, the researchers will employ advanced genetic tools to edit the bacterial chromosome, removing and adding genes to create an organism that has never been observed in nature but represents a plausible intermediate step in the evolution of photosynthetic pathways.
The contract carries no set-aside designation and was awarded on April 16, 2019, to ASU through its Office of Research and Sponsored Projects Administration (Orspa). ASU, a Hispanic-serving research institution and state-controlled university located in Tempe, Arizona, operates under the governance of the Arizona Board of Regents. This award reflects ASU's substantial track record as a federal research contractor with extensive expertise across space science, engineering, materials research, and advanced computational methods, supporting the institution's engagement with multiple federal agencies including NASA, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Defense.