NASA changes how it selects science missions
The agency plans to require less detail in initial proposals, expand mission-building partnerships and move smaller missions to single-step competitions.
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The agency plans to require less detail in initial proposals, expand mission-building partnerships and move smaller missions to single-step competitions.
NASA is changing how teams compete to develop science missions, putting the scientific case first and delaying detailed engineering, cost and implementation work until it is needed for a decision. Its Competition Model 2.0, or CM2.0, also gives NASA centers a larger role in helping teams work out how to build and carry out missions.
In an October 22 letter, NASA science chief Nicola Fox said the current two-step process has taken years and burdened teams with contract-management problems, unpredictability and insufficient funding. NASA plans to introduce the changes in stages rather than switch every competition at once.
For the Astro-Probes, New Frontiers and Discovery mission programs, the first step will require three things: a scientific case, a plan for carrying out the science and a proof-of-concept mission design. NASA says this removes roughly half the material now required in a response to an Announcement of Opportunity—the agency’s invitation to submit mission proposals.
The second step will be a Mission Implementation Study with Goddard Space Flight Center or the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, known as JPL. Depending on the science selected, NASA may instead assign a New Frontiers or Discovery study to JHU/APL under Goddard management. The study will examine the science and how the mission would be carried out, with the aim of identifying risks early.
NASA will choose one mission partway through Phase A, an early mission-development stage. The winner will complete that stage with a more developed implementation design; other teams will not have to carry their concepts through the rest of Phase A themselves.
MIDEX and Earth Explorer missions will use the same two-step approach, but universities and industry partners will also be able to implement them. NASA will assess those organizations’ past performance on projects of similar complexity and cost. Teams can request pairing with Goddard or JPL when selected at the first step, including support with purchasing, contracts or technical problems.
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SMEX, Missions of Opportunity, Earth Venture, Hosted Payloads and Ride Shares will move to a single-step competition. These categories will use smaller review teams and virtual site visits, and remain open to a broad range of organizations that can carry out the missions.
NASA projects the following reductions in selection time. The figures are the agency’s targets, not demonstrated savings. For MIDEX and Earth Explorer, NASA also projects a reduction of up to 45 percent.
| Mission categories | Selection interval | Baseline | Target | Projected reduction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astro-Probes, New Frontiers and Discovery | Announcement of Opportunity to Step 2 selection | 35 months | About 19.5 months | Up to 45% |
| SMEX, Missions of Opportunity, Earth Venture, Hosted Payloads and Ride Shares | Time to final selection | About 32 months | About 19 months | Up to 40% |
Flagships, NASA’s largest missions, will retain their already-reformed process. NASA assigns overall responsibility to a lead center, which then holds targeted competitions for science teams and instruments.
Cost and schedule controls will remain mandatory for every mission class. NASA says breaches of control thresholds can lead to mission termination. Teams will also be expected to adopt commercial capabilities where those offer a technical or cost benefit.
NASA has not announced a timetable for the phased rollout and says it will refine the changes with community input. Its next scheduled step is a virtual Science Town Hall from NASA Headquarters on Monday, October 26, to explain the model and answer questions.
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