Notice of release of draft text of the NASA Astrobiology Institute
Cycle 7 Cooperative Agreement Notice NNH13ZDA010J: On or about July 3, 2013 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate is releasing a Draft Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) soliciting team-based proposals for membership in the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) for community review and comment.
The draft text can be downloaded from the NSPIRES web page at https://nspires.nasaprs.com/ by selecting Solicitations and searching for NASA Astrobiology Institute or NNH13ZDA010J. Comments on this draft text are due to the point of contact below by July 31, 2013. It is anticipated that final, Step-2 proposals will be due early calendar year 2014.
The goal of CAN Cycle 7 is to maintain a multidisciplinary institute by selecting focused, interdisciplinary teams that complement without replicating the strengths of the continuing teams. The teams selected in Cycle 7 will replace the teams selected in Cycle 5, whose five-year Cooperative Agreements are expiring.
Unlike previous CANs for the NAI, Cycle 7 will require a brief Step-1 proposal to be submitted five weeks after the release of the CAN. Based on a programmatic review of these Step-1 proposals, proposers will be encouraged to or discouraged from submitting a full proposal. Other changes to previous solicitations are described in sections 1.7 Open Access to Research Materials and Results and 4.6 Education and Public Outreach (E/PO).
The issuance of this Draft CAN does not obligate NASA to issue the CAN and solicit proposals. Issuance of this CAN is dependent on programmatic factors, including NASA receiving an appropriation and operating plan containing adequate funding within the NASA Planetary Science Division budget. Any costs incurred by prospective investigators in preparing submissions in response to this Draft CAN are incurred completely at the submitter’s own risk. The NASA Astrobiology Institute- Cycle 7 CAN may contain provisions that differ from this Draft CAN, in which case those in the final CAN would take precedence.
All comments and questions should be directed to the NAI Program Scientist, as designated below, by July 31, 2013. Comments are preferred in writing and may be sent by E-mail; the character string “NAI Cycle 7 Draft CAN” (without quotes) should be included in the subject line of all transmissions. The identity of those submitting comments will be held in confidence. Answers to questions about this Draft CAN will be made available on the website of the NASA Astrobiology Institute at https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/nai/
Dr. Mary Voytek
Senior Scientist for Astrobiology/ NAI Program Scientist
Science Mission Directorate NASA Headquarters
300 E Street SW Washington, DC 20546
Phone: (202) 358-1577
E-mail: [email protected]
