Space Biology NASA Research Announcement (NRA) – Antarctic Balloon Flights

Solicitation Number: NNH16ZTT001N-AB
Release Date: August 16, 2017
NOIs Due: September 14, 2017
Proposals Due:  October 16, 2017
Estimated Selection Date: March 15, 2018
Solicitation link: https://tinyurl.com/ROSBio-AB
 
Research Opportunities in Space Biology (ROSBio) – 2016 “Solicitation of Proposals to Conduct Research on Antarctic Balloon Flights” NASA Research Announcement (NRA) Appendix F – NNH16ZTT001N-AB NRA
 
This National Aeronautics and Space Administration Research Announcement: “Solicitation of Proposals to Conduct Research on Antarctic Balloon Flights” is an Appendix to the NASA Omnibus Research Announcement ROSBio-2016 (NNH16ZTT001N NRA). This Appendix solicits proposals for research experiments that will use balloon flights managed from NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility to investigate the effects of radiation exposures (that are similar to those encountered in deep space) on biological systems (cell culture, invertebrate animal models, plants, algae, and microorganisms). All proposed experiments will be secondary payloads and will piggyback upon primary payloads flown on balloon campaigns. Balloon flights for selected investigators will be arranged by the NASA Payload Development Team.  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.

NASA intends to make up to 5 awards for a maximum of three years each, with a total budget of $300K each (direct and indirect costs), which includes hardware development, travel, data analysis, etc.

Appendix F, which will be released on or about August 16, 2017 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.” Non-binding Notices of Intents (NOIs) are due September 14, 2017 at 5 PM Eastern Time, and full proposals, the technical section of which shall not exceed 15 pages, are due October 16, 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.

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 F 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 is a broad agency announcement as specified in FAR 6.102 (d)(2). All awards resulting from selections of proposals to this Appendix and future Appendices 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: Benjamin S. Benvenutti, Lead Contract Specialist
NASA Shared Services Center
Phone: (228) 813-6128
Email: benjamin.s.benvenutti@nasa.gov