Notification: NASA ROSBio-2018 Appendix B (NNH18ZTT001N-FG)

Solicitation Number: NNH18ZTT001N-FG

Release Date: December 7, 2018

Step 1 Proposals Due: January 7, 2019

Step 2 Proposals Due: March 15, 2019

Please be advised that the deadline for submitting Step-1 proposals to Appendix B of ROSBio-2018: “Solicitation of Proposals for Flight and Ground Space Biology Research” NNH16ZTT001N-FG, is Monday, January 7 at 5:00 PM (see below for more details).  NSPIRES will accept Step-1 proposals up until that time regardless of the Federal Government’s operating status.  Proposers that are impacted by the partial shutdown of the Federal Government should check the FAQ on NSPIRES at https://tinyurl.com/ROSBio18-FG for further instructions.

This Appendix to the Research Opportunities in Space Biology (ROSBio) – 2018 NASA Omnibus Research Announcement 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 the following four research emphases:

1.    Microbiology studies that will produce new understanding to augment and expand our knowledge of the Microbiology of the Built Environment (MoBE) in Space and suggest how to manipulate and control it in the closed environment of exploration spacecraft.

2.    Plant Biology studies in support of Human Space Exploration making maximal use of the capabilities of the VEGGIE and Advanced Plant Habitat) on ISS to study environmental effects on plant growth and interactions with microbes and fungi. Proposed studies should answer fundamental questions about how plants adapt to spaceflight and provide new understanding of how to grow plants in space that will enable human space exploration.

3.    Animal Biology (vertebrate and invertebrate) in support of Human Space Exploration.

4.    Studies designed to compare results and validity of microgravity “simulators” in parallel with flight and ground-based studies.

The types of experiments solicited by this Appendix include the following, based on the award type being responded to (please see the solicitation for descriptions of specific award types): Flight experiments using the ISS, or suborbital and parabolic flight platforms to test, develop, or refine flight hypotheses; 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; Individual PI- led or team-based studies.

Proposals must address Space Biology research emphases, visions, and goals identified in the ROSBio-2018 Omnibus NRA or in the Space Biology Science Plan 2016-2025, and/or recommendations from the Decadal Survey.

Appendix B can be found at https://tinyurl.com/ROSBio18-FG. Step-1 proposals will be due Jan. 7, 2019 at 5 PM Eastern Time, and invited Step-2 full length proposals will be due March 15, 2019 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 Step-1 proposal submission.  Please see the solicitation for instructions regarding the submission of Step-2 proposals. 

All categories of U.S. institutions are eligible to submit proposals in response to this Appendix. Principal Investigators (PIs) and collaborators may be from universities, Federal Government laboratories, the private sector, state and local government laboratories and other countries with the exception of China.

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.