Cooperative Agreement Summary

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) awarded a Cooperative Agreement valued at $280,000 to the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute (BAER Institute) on April 9, 2026, under the Science program (CFDA 43.001). The agreement, which extends through April 8, 2029, supports three primary objectives: (1) enhancing the return on NASA's Mars research programs by providing state-of-the-art simulation and interpretation tools for flight observations and climate hypothesis testing, particularly regarding Mars' water, dust, and carbon dioxide cycles; (2) reducing risk to NASA's current and future flight programs, including the Moon to Mars Initiative, by supplying simulated Mars environments for spacecraft design and performance evaluation; and (3) maintaining U.S. leadership in Mars atmospheric and climate science through mentorship and capacity building for students, postdocs, and early-career researchers.

BAER Institute, a non-profit research organization based in Moffett Field, California, will deliver these services leveraging its sophisticated computational resources, machine learning algorithms, and cloud computing platforms. The institute's demonstrated expertise in planetary science, advanced data analysis, and collaborative research with academic and research institutions positions it to fulfill the agreement's objectives of advancing NASA's Mars climate modeling and mission support capabilities over the three-year performance period.