NASA Announcement of Opportunity for New Frontiers Program
Closed Solicitation Posted
- Solicitation number
- NNH16ZDA011O
- Agency
-
Headquarters
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Responses due
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- Contract number
- 80GSFC18C0068 Federal contract award
- Awardee
- Orbital Sciences LLC
- NAICS code
- 541712 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- PSC
- Not on record
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
NASA is soliciting proposals through its New Frontiers Program Announcement of Opportunity for a new planetary science investigation mission. Investigations must address NASA strategic science objectives and be limited to one of six mission themes, including a Comet Surface Sample Return, Lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin Sample Return, Ocean Worlds exploration of Titan and/or Enceladus, a Saturn Probe, Trojan Tour and Rendezvous, or a Venus In Situ Explorer. Proposals will be evaluated based on their scientific merit and feasibility of completing the investigation under the not-to-exceed cost cap for the Principal Investigator Managed Mission Cost. The deadline for electronic proposal submissions is April 28, 2017.
There is no set-aside designation for this opportunity. The solicitation allows proposals to utilize up to three Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators or Radioisotope Heater Units, with associated costs to be included in the proposal's Principal Investigator Managed Mission Cost. The selected investigation is targeted to launch no later than December 31, 2025. Step-1 proposal selections will be announced in November 2017, with Phase A concept studies to be completed by December 2018 and final downselection of the investigation for flight targeted for July 2019. Performance will take place at locations relevant to the mission theme selected.
Notice text
NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) is releasing the Announcement of Opportunity (AO) for New Frontiers Program mission investigations. The New Frontiers Program conducts Principal Investigator (PI)-led space science investigations in SMD's planetary programs under a not-to-exceed cost cap for the PI-Managed Mission Cost (PMMC). At the conclusion of Phase A concept studies, it is planned that one New Frontiers investigation will be selected to continue into subsequent mission phases. New Frontiers Program investigations must address NASA's planetary science objectives as described in 2014 NASA Strategic Plan and the 2014 NASA Science Plan. Both documents are now available at http://science1.nasa.gov/about-us/science-strategy/.
Investigations are limited to six mission themes (listed without priority):
• Comet Surface Sample Return,
• Lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin Sample Return,
• Ocean Worlds (Titan and/or Enceladus),
• Saturn Probe,
• Trojan Tour and Rendezvous, and
• Venus In Situ Explorer.
Investigations may propose the use of up to three Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators MMRTG) and/or Radioisotope Heater Units (RHUs). The costs for the use of these systems and materials are included in the AO and must be included in the PMMC.
The time frame for the solicitation is intended to be:
Release of final AO - December 9, 2016
Preproposal Conference (target) - January 17, 2016 (target)
Electronic Proposal Submittal Deadline
at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time - April 28, 2017
Step-1 Selections Announced (target) - November 2017 (target)
Phase A Concept Study Reports due - December 2018
Downselection of Investigation for Flight (target) - July 2019 (target)
Launch Readiness Date NLT - December 31, 2025
Further information will be posted on the New Frontiers Program Acquisition Page at http://newfrontiers.larc.nasa.gov/ as it becomes available. Questions may be addressed to Dr. Curt Niebur, New Frontiers Program Lead Scientist, Planetary Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA, Washington, DC 20546; Tel.: (202) 358-0390; E-mail: curt.niebur@nasa.gov. Responses to all inquiries will be answered by E-mail and also posted at the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) location of the New Frontiers Program Acquisition website; anonymity of persons/institutions who submit questions will be preserved.
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