Solicitation Number: NNH16ZTT001N-FG
Release Date: November 3, 2017
NOIs Due: December 4, 2017
Proposals Due: Feb 2, 2017
 
Research Opportunities in Space Biology (ROSBio) – 2016 “Appendix G: Solicitation of Proposals for Flight and Ground Space Biology Research” NNH16ZTT001N-FG
 
This Appendix to the Research Opportunities in Space Biology (ROSBio) – 2016 NASA Omnibus Research Announcement (hereafter referred to as ROSBio-2016 Omnibus NRA) solicits proposals that will increase NASA’s understanding of how living systems acclimate to spaceflight to support human space exploration.
 
The solicited research will fall into into the following four research emphases:
 
1.    Microbiomes of the Built Environment (MoBE) of Spacecraft
2.    Plant Biology to support Human Space Exploration
3.    Animal Biology in support of Human Space Exploration
4.    Molecular and Cellular Biology
 
Proposals submitted in response to this Appendix may include the following characteristics, based on the award type (please see the solicitation for descriptions of specific award types):
 
1)    Spaceflight experiments using ISS or non-ISS flights (suborbital, parabolic flight, stratospheric balloons, etc.) to test, develop, or refine flight hypotheses;
2)    Ground-based experiments conducted in non-NASA or NASA laboratories, including drop tower facilities, and/or specialized centrifuge facilities to study gravity as a continuum;
3)    Individual PIs or PI teams;
4)    New Space Biology investigations, to allow established investigators pilot funds to test new hypotheses, or early career PIs (either existing Space Biology PIs or investigators new to Space Biology) to collect data that will allow them to develop new hypotheses to test on ISS;
5)    Postdoctoral fellows who wish to develop a career in Space Biology research;
6)    Investigators who wish to develop new experimental hypotheses based on data in the open science GeneLab database for space life science research
 
Proposals must address Space Biology research emphases, visions, and goals identified in the ROSBio-2016 Omnibus NRA or in the Space Biology Science Plan 2016-2025, and/or recommendations from the Decadal Survey.
 
Awards from this solicitation will range from $ 70 K per year, for two years for postdoctoral fellowship awards, to up to $750 K total for ground and/or flight-based projects awarded to PI teams.
 
Appendix G can be found by opening the NASA Research Opportunities homepage at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ and then linking through the menu listings “Solicitations” to “Open Solicitations” or at https://tinyurl.com/ROSBio-FG. Non-binding Notices of Intents (NOIs) will be due Dec 4, 2017 at 5 PM Eastern Time, and full proposals will be due Feb. 2, 2017 at 5 PM Eastern Time. Proposals must be submitted electronically by an authorized official of the proposing organization. Proposers may use either NSPIRES (http://nspires.nasaprs.com/) or Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) for proposal submission, but must be registered in NSPIRES regardless of the submission method.
 
All categories of U.S. institutions are eligible to submit proposals in response to this Appendix. Principal Investigators (PIs) may collaborate with investigators from universities, Federal Government laboratories, the private sector, state and local government laboratories and other countries with the exception of China.
 
Every organization that intends to submit a proposal in response to Appendix G must be registered with NSPIRES, and such registration must identify the authorized organizational representative(s) who will submit electronic proposals. Instructions on how to register in NSPIRES are described in the omnibus NRA (ROSBio-2016). Each electronic proposal requires the registration of the principal investigator and other participants (e.g. co-investigators). Potential proposers and proposing organizations are urged to access the system(s) well in advance of the proposal due date(s) to familiarize themselves with its structure and enter the requested information. Questions about this ROSBio-2016 and this Appendix may be addressed to the contacts referenced in the full solicitation document.
 
This Appendix is a broad agency announcement as specified in FAR 6.102 (d)(2). All awards resulting from selections of proposals to this Appendix will be grants or cooperative agreements.
 
Programmatic information for this NRA is available from:
Dr. David L. Tomko, Program Scientist for Space Biology
Space Life and Physical Sciences Research and Applications Division,
NASA Headquarters
Phone: 202-358-2211
Email: dtomko@nasa.gov
 
NASA contracting information for this NRA is available from:
Theresa Stanley
Lead Grant Officer
NASA Shared Services Center
Phone: (228) 813-6196
Email: theresa.m.stanley@nasa.gov