ARPA-H Comprehensive Organ System Modeling in Outer Space (COSMOS) Innovative Solutions Opening
Closed Solicitation Posted
- Solicitation number
- ARPA-H-SOL-26-165
- Agency
-
National Institutes of Health
Department of Health and Human Services
- Responses due
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- NAICS code
- 541714 Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology)
- Points of contact
-
- COSMOS Team cosmos@arpa-h.gov
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health seeks proposals to establish whether tissue aging accelerates in low Earth orbit microgravity and to develop an autonomous, high-throughput drug screening platform in space, with proposals due October 7, 2026, at 2:00 PM ET and questions due October 1. ARPA-H anticipates multiple Other Transaction awards. The procurement is unrestricted by set-aside category.
Proposers must select one organ system from brain, cardiac, uterine, or kidney and conduct a two-phase research program. Phase I spans 27 months and requires establishment and validation of microphysiological systems (organs-on-chips) and organoids across three age brackets (30±2, 45±2, and 60±2 years), using tissue samples from 50+ healthy donors per age group, with 612 terrestrial MPSs, 384 LEO-twin MPSs, and approximately 717 organoids. Phase I includes two scheduled spaceflights at months 19 and 23, with design lock required by month 10 and data analysis completion within three months of sample landing. Phase II spans 15 months and requires development of disease models using tissues showing accelerated aging rates in space and drug screening demonstrations partnered with at least one Fortune 100 biopharmaceutical company possessing three approved aging-related drug candidates, with two additional spaceflights at months 39 and 41.
Required personnel include a Principal Investigator (15–20% effort minimum, ideally 0.5 FTE), a full-time Project Manager with ARPA-level program experience, computational biology specialist, organ specialist, microfluidics engineers, and regulatory and IP counsel. Eligible proposers are universities, non-profit organizations, small businesses, and large corporations; FFRDCs and government entities are ineligible as prime performers. All proposals must maintain active SAM.gov registration, complete research security reviews, and comply with human subjects research protocols, BIOSECURE Act provisions, and NIH's six-element data management plan format. Graduate students cannot be funded. Technical proposals are limited to 14 pages (Volume I), excluding Task Description Documents and figures; cost proposals must use the provided Excel template (Volume II). NAICS 541714, PSC AN13.
Notice text
6 versions
Update #6 · Latest ·
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Comprehensive Organ System Modeling in Outer Space (COSMOS) Initiative aims to definitively prove or disprove if exposure to microgravity in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) truly accelerates tissue aging across brain, cardiac, uterine, and kidney tissue types and across several adult age brackets. Provided Tissue Aging Rate in Space (TARIS) exceeds Tissue Aging Rate on Earth (TAROE) at a rate that exceeds the on Earth breakeven cost for new drug R&D, COSMOS will create a first-in-class platform for fully autonomous, high-throughput drug screening in LEO that would be more cost effective and faster than new drug R&D on Earth.
ARPA-H anticipates multiple Other Transaction awards resulting from this announcement.
Interested parties are invited to download and review the attached COSMOS Innovative Solutions Opening (ISO) ARPA-H-SOL-26-165
Amendment 01 – 17 September 2026: This amendment includes updated hyperlinks and information on the updated Solutions summary portal.
Questions and Answers – 21 September 2026: This Q&A is provided for informational purposes only and does not amend the solicitation. All other questions are due by 23 September 2026 at 5:00PM ET.
Amendment 02 – 23 September 2026: This amendment includes updates to Section 3, COSMOS Details; Section 4, Mandatory Experimental Design; as well as Correction to Figure 2.
Questions and Answers – 25 September 2026: This Q&A is provided for informational purposes only and does not amend the solicitation.
Amendment 03 – 07 October 2026: This amendment extends the submission time, now due 07 October 2026, 5:00pm ET.
Update #5 ·
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Comprehensive Organ System Modeling in Outer Space (COSMOS) Initiative aims to definitively prove or disprove if exposure to microgravity in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) truly accelerates tissue aging across brain, cardiac, uterine, and kidney tissue types and across several adult age brackets. Provided Tissue Aging Rate in Space (TARIS) exceeds Tissue Aging Rate on Earth (TAROE) at a rate that exceeds the on Earth breakeven cost for new drug R&D, COSMOS will create a first-in-class platform for fully autonomous, high-throughput drug screening in LEO that would be more cost effective and faster than new drug R&D on Earth.
ARPA-H anticipates multiple Other Transaction awards resulting from this announcement.
Interested parties are invited to download and review the attached COSMOS Innovative Solutions Opening (ISO) ARPA-H-SOL-26-165
Amendment 01 – 17 September 2026: This amendment includes updated hyperlinks and information on the updated Solutions summary portal.
Questions and Answers – 21 September 2026: This Q&A is provided for informational purposes only and does not amend the solicitation. All other questions are due by 23 September 2026 at 5:00PM ET.
Amendment 02 – 23 September 2026: This amendment includes updates to Section 3, COSMOS Details; Section 4, Mandatory Experimental Design; as well as Correction to Figure 2.
Questions and Answers – 25 September 2026: This Q&A is provided for informational purposes only and does not amend the solicitation.
Update #4 ·
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Comprehensive Organ System Modeling in Outer Space (COSMOS) Initiative aims to definitively prove or disprove if exposure to microgravity in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) truly accelerates tissue aging across brain, cardiac, uterine, and kidney tissue types and across several adult age brackets. Provided Tissue Aging Rate in Space (TARIS) exceeds Tissue Aging Rate on Earth (TAROE) at a rate that exceeds the on Earth breakeven cost for new drug R&D, COSMOS will create a first-in-class platform for fully autonomous, high-throughput drug screening in LEO that would be more cost effective and faster than new drug R&D on Earth.
ARPA-H anticipates multiple Other Transaction awards resulting from this announcement.
Interested parties are invited to download and review the attached COSMOS Innovative Solutions Opening (ISO) ARPA-H-SOL-26-165
Amendment 01 – 17 September 2026: This amendment includes updated hyperlinks and information on the updated Solutions summary portal.
Questions and Answers – 21 September 2026: This Q&A is provided for informational purposes only and does not amend the solicitation. All other questions are due by 23 September 2026 at 5:00PM ET.
Amendment 02 – 23 September 2026: This amendment includes updates to Section 3, COSMOS Details; Section 4, Mandatory Experimental Design; as well as Correction to Figure 2.
Update #3 ·
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Comprehensive Organ System Modeling in Outer Space (COSMOS) Initiative aims to definitively prove or disprove if exposure to microgravity in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) truly accelerates tissue aging across brain, cardiac, uterine, and kidney tissue types and across several adult age brackets. Provided Tissue Aging Rate in Space (TARIS) exceeds Tissue Aging Rate on Earth (TAROE) at a rate that exceeds the on Earth breakeven cost for new drug R&D, COSMOS will create a first-in-class platform for fully autonomous, high-throughput drug screening in LEO that would be more cost effective and faster than new drug R&D on Earth.
ARPA-H anticipates multiple Other Transaction awards resulting from this announcement.
Interested parties are invited to download and review the attached COSMOS Innovative Solutions Opening (ISO) ARPA-H-SOL-26-165
Amendment 01 – 17 September 2026: This amendment includes updated hyperlinks and information on the updated Solutions summary portal.
Questions and Answers – 21 September 2026: This Q&A is provided for informational purposes only and does not amend the solicitation. All other questions are due by 23 September 2026 at 2:00PM ET.
Update #2 ·
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Comprehensive Organ System Modeling in Outer Space (COSMOS) Initiative aims to definitively prove or disprove if exposure to microgravity in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) truly accelerates tissue aging across brain, cardiac, uterine, and kidney tissue types and across several adult age brackets. Provided Tissue Aging Rate in Space (TARIS) exceeds Tissue Aging Rate on Earth (TAROE) at a rate that exceeds the on Earth breakeven cost for new drug R&D, COSMOS will create a first-in-class platform for fully autonomous, high-throughput drug screening in LEO that would be more cost effective and faster than new drug R&D on Earth.
ARPA-H anticipates multiple Other Transaction awards resulting from this announcement.
Interested parties are invited to download and review the attached COSMOS Innovative Solutions Opening (ISO) ARPA-H-SOL-26-165
Amendment 01 – 17 September 2026: This amendment includes updated hyperlinks and information on the updated Solutions summary portal.
Update #1 ·
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Comprehensive Organ System Modeling in Outer Space (COSMOS) Initiative aims to definitively prove or disprove if exposure to microgravity in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) truly accelerates tissue aging across brain, cardiac, uterine, and kidney tissue types and across several adult age brackets. Provided Tissue Aging Rate in Space (TARIS) exceeds Tissue Aging Rate on Earth (TAROE) at a rate that exceeds the on Earth breakeven cost for new drug R&D, COSMOS will create a first-in-class platform for fully autonomous, high-throughput drug screening in LEO that would be more cost effective and faster than new drug R&D on Earth.
ARPA-H anticipates multiple Other Transaction awards resulting from this announcement.
Interested parties are invited to download and review the attached COSMOS Innovative Solutions Opening (ISO) ARPA-H-SOL-26-165
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| ARPA-H-SOL-26-165_COSMOS_QA_Set_2_2026-09-25.pdf | ||
| ARPA-H-SOL-26-165_COSMOS_ISO_Amendment 02.pdf | ||
| ARPA-H-SOL-26-165_COSMOS_QA_Set_1_2026-09-21.pdf | ||
| ARPA-H-SOL-26-165_COSMOS_ISO_Amendment 01.pdf | ||
| ATTACHMENT C COSMOS Schedule.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| ATTACHMENT A.1_Technical & Management Proposal Model (VOL I).docx | DOCX document | |
| ATTACHMENT B_COSMOS Eligibility and Conformance Certification Sheet.docx | DOCX document | |
| ATTACHMENT A.3_COSMOS Milestone and Payment Table.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| ARPA-H-SOL-26-165_COSMOS_ISO.docx | DOCX document | |
| Attachment E_COSMOS Administrative and National Policy Requirements.docx | DOCX document | |
| Attachment D_COSMOS Cost Proposal Template.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| ATTACHMENT A.2_Task Description Document Model.docx | DOCX document |
Show all 12
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