Explorer 2011 Announcement of Opportunity

The summary for the Explorer 2011 Announcement of Opportunity grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the NASA Headquarters, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Explorer 2011 Announcement of Opportunity: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) is releasing an Explorer 2011 Announcement of Opportunity (NNH11ZDA002O). The Explorer Program conducts Principal Investigator (PI)-led space science investigations relevant to SMD's astrophysics and heliophysics programs. Explorer investigations must address NASA's goals to advance the understanding of the Sun and its effects on Earth and the Solar System and/or to discover the origin, structure, evolution, and destiny of the Universe and search for Earth-like planets. This solicitation will be open from November 1, 2010, through February 16, 2011. Upon the release date, the full text of the AO and all appendices will be available electronically at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ . A preproposal conference will be held in late November, in the Washington, DC, area; see http://explorer.larc.nasa.gov/EX for details. NASA will release simultaneously a solicitation for Explorer 2011 Science Missions of Opportunity (MO) through the NASA Stand Alone Missions of Opportunity Notice (SALMON) Announcement of Opportunity (NNH08ZDA009O) and a solicitation for Explorer U.S. Participating Investigators (Explorer USPI) through the Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences 2010 (ROSES-10) NASA Research Announcement (NNH10ZDA001N). Participation is open to all categories of organizations or institutions, U.S. or non-U.S., including educational, industrial, and not-for-profit institutions, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs), NASA Centers, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and other Government agencies. The currently approved Explorer Program planning budget is sufficient to select and execute at least one full Explorer mission to proceed into Phase B and subsequent mission phases. Assuming sufficient Explorer Program budget authority, NASA intends to select and execute a second full Explorer mission or one or more Mission(s) of Opportunity. NASA is fully prepared to select only one full mission (either astrophysics or heliophysics) if it receives mission of opportunity proposals that offer outstanding science opportunities. The decision between these selection options will be based upon the proposals received in response to this AO, to the Explorer MO program element appendix of the SALMON AO, and to the Explorer Program U.S. Participating Investigators program element appendix of the ROSES-10 NRA; the decision will incorporate the most recent budget planning information available at that time. Proposers should be aware of the following major policy changes in the Explorer AO from the Draft Explorer 2010 AO (NNH10ZDA008J) that was released on June 22, 2010. - The AO has been renamed the Explorer 2011 AO. - Proposals should address the science objectives in the recently released 2010 Science Plan for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. - The Launch Services Information Summary document in the Program Library updated to reflect the NASA Launch Services II (NLS-II) contract. In addition to the listed major changes, this AO incorporates a large number of additional changes relative to the previous Explorer Program AO and the Draft Explorer AO, including both policy changes and changes to proposal submission requirements. All proposers must read this AO carefully, and all proposals must comply with the requirements, constraints, and guidelines contained within the AO. Comments and questions may be addressed in writing or by e-mail to the Explorer Program Acquisition Scientist: Dr. Barbara L. Giles, Heliophysics Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546-0001, E-mail: [email protected] (subject line to read "Explorer EX AO"). Responses to all inquiries will be answered by e-mail and also posted to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) location of the Explorer Program Acquisition website at http://explorers.larc.nasa.gov/EX/ ; anonymity of persons/institutions who submit questions will be preserved. This notice constitutes a NASA Research Announcement as contemplated in FAR 6.102(d)(2).