NASA Solicitation: Lessons Learned from Recent Planetary Science Division AOs

Synopsis – Aug 15, 2013
General Information

Solicitation Number: NNH13ZDA014L   

Posted Date: Aug 15, 2013   

FedBizOpps Posted Date: Aug 15, 2013   

Recovery and Reinvestment Act Action: No   

Original Response Date: Oct 15, 2013   

Current Response Date: Oct 15, 2013   

Classification Code: A — Research and Development    NAICS Code: 541712

Contracting Office Address

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Headquarters Acquisition Branch, Code 210.H, Greenbelt, MD 20771

Description

NASA is seeking comments from the scientific and mission management community on the most recent Announcements of Opportunity (AOs) issued by the Planetary Science Division of the Science Mission Directorate of NASA. The AOs which are the focus of this request for information are (1) the New Frontiers 2009 AO, (2) the Discovery 2010 AO, and (3) the Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer (JUICE) Instrument AO.

In accordance with FAR 15.201 (e), the information requested is for planning purposes only and is not intended to bind the Government.

Background

NASA’s Planetary Science Division has released three Announcements of Opportunity in the last four years: (1) the New Frontiers 2009 AO, (2) the Discovery 2010 AO, and (3) the Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer (JUICE) Instrument AO. These AOs, though based on the Standard AO, contained new features such as incentives for the use of specific, NASA-developed technologies, extended reserve requirements and concurrent evaluations by international partners.

In anticipation of the next AOs for the Discovery and New Frontiers Programs, NASA seeks information from the scientific and mission management community on perceptions of the distinctive features of the three recent AOs. This information may be used as the basis for further dialogue via a subsequent, virtual, town-hall style meeting.

Requested Information

The response to this RFI will be in the form of a PDF document that is uploaded through NASA’s NSPIRES system (see instructions below). Each response shall not exceed 5 pages in length and shall address a single issue identified by the respondent. The issue addressed may be common to all of the AOs, some of them, or relevant to only one of them. There is no limit on the number of responses that an individual or institution may submit.

The response must contain the following information:

* Name of submitter and contact information (institutional affiliation, email address);
* A clear and concise statement of the issue addressed;
* An articulate and compelling rationale for why the chosen issue would be significant to a wide range of proposers;
* A discussion of the impact of not resolving the issue;
* Suggested pathway(s) to resolve the issue; and,
* A discussion of the potential impacts of the suggested solution(s).

The detailed contents of all responses will be kept confidential, but the issues raised will be listed publicly in a suitably generic form and may serve as the basis for one or more discussions at a virtual town-hall meeting (at a date and time to be determined later).
It is emphasized that this RFI is for planning and information purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contractual agreement, nor will the Government pay for information solicited.

Instructions

All responses submitted in response to this RFI must be submitted in electronic form via NSPIRES, the NASA online announcement data management system, located at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ . For this RFI, a response submission will take the form of a Notice of Intent (NOI) within the NSPIRES online announcement data management system. The RFI response itself will be a PDF-formatted document that is attached (uploaded) to the NSPIRES system.

You must be registered with NSPIRES to submit a RFI response. See registration instructions at http://nspires.nasaprs.com (select “Getting an account”). Neither institution registration nor an institution affiliation is required to respond to this RFI.

1. Log in to your account at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ .

2. Select “Proposals” from your account page.

3. Select “Create NOI” from your proposals page.

4. Click “Continue” on the next page.

5. Select “Request for Information: NNH13ZDA014L (Lessons Learned from recent Planetary Science Division Announcements of Opportunity)” from the bulleted list of announcements.

6. Click “Continue”.

7. Enter RFI response title (“NOI title” field will be shown).

8. Select “do not link at this time” for submitting organization page.

9. Click “Save” on next page.

10. It is not necessary to complete any of the “NOI Details”; all requested information should be included in the attached PDF document. Information which is entered into “NOI Details” but not included in the attached PDF document will not be considered.

11. Prepare your RFI response offline and save as a PDF document (note NSPIRES instructions on PDF formats). The response document must include the respondent’s Name, institution, and e-mail address so the file is self-contained. File names format should be “PI Last Name – First Name – Number – RFI”. “Number” will be used to distinguish multiple responses from the same PI. The response should not exceed five pages in length.

12. To attach (upload) your PDF document: a. Click “add” under NOI attachments section; b. Select “Proposal Document” from the drop down list; c. Browse to attach your PDF file; d. Select “Upload”; e. Click “OK”; f. Your RFI document has been uploaded to NSPIRES.

13. Click Submit NOI button. NOTE that this does not complete the submission process.

14. Ignore any warnings about incomplete NOI elements. Ensure that your NOI document is attached and click “Continue”.

15. Click “Submit”. This will take you to the NOI submission confirmation page, which provides you with the NOI/RFI number for your records.

Please note: You may delete and replace form fields and uploaded documents anytime before the submission deadline, however, once your RFI is submitted, it cannot be deleted.

Contact Point

Questions concerning this Request for Information should be addressed to Dr. Michael New, Planetary Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC 20546; Telephone: (202) 358-1766; E-mail: michael.h.new@nasa.gov; FAX: (202) 358-3097.

Point of Contact
    Name: Dr Michael New    Title: Planetary Science Division    Phone: 202-358-1766    Fax: 202-358-3097    Email: michael.h.new@nasa.gov