Funding Notification Sent out by NASA Headquarters to Astrobiology Investigators

Dear Dr. [DELETED]

By now you will probably have received notification that there will not be an Exobiology solicitation in ROSES-06.  Due to cuts in the FY06 Astrobiology Program budget, and the proposed cuts in the FY07 budget, the four funding lines in the Program (Exo, NAI, ASTID, and ASTEP) are under extreme pressure. After careful accounting, it appears that the Exobiology Program will have enough funding to meet all year 2 and year 3 committments; no awards are planned to be terminated.  However, there are not enough funds currently available to make any new selections.  The proposals submitted to ROSES-05 have been reviewed and the results of that review will be mailed out to you shortly.  If any additional funding is made available to the program later in the fiscal year or early in the next fiscal year, awards will be made based on these reviews.  If the FY07 Budget is passed as proposed, then Carl and I expect to be able to solicit proposals for Exobiology in ROSES-07.

I recognize how devestating this will be to our community, especially to graduate students, post-docs, and “soft-money” researchers.  Carl Pilcher and I are working ameliorate the effects of the budget cuts; unfortunately, cuts of this magnitude are almost impossible to absorb without a reduction in the number of awards.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.