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'More missions, more often': NASA is overhauling how it selects science missions
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NASA is overhauling how it selects and develops science missions, with changes intended to reduce costs, streamline competition and get missions into space faster.
The new approach, called Competition Model 2.0 (CM 2.0), was announced on Oct. 21 in an open letter from Nicky Fox, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD), to the NASA science community. The changes, directed by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, could significantly reshape how scientists, universities, NASA centers and commercial companies vie for future missions.
"We have heard you. We have listened. We know that the burden of bringing great ideas forward has been too heavy for too long," Fox stated in the letter.
The new process aims to prioritize scientific merit over unduly complicated engineering and financial planning during initial evaluations, and reduce selection timelines to encourage innovation.
Fox and other top NASA science officials will provide an overview of the reforms during a virtual town hall today (Oct. 26) at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT). A livestream of the event will be available here, with an opportunity for the public to submit questions here.
NASA currently selects many of its science missions through competitive Announcements of Opportunity (AOs), inviting scientists and research institutions to submit proposals. Under the existing two-step process, competing teams must include thorough engineering and financial details as part of their proposals before NASA selects finalists for further study. The process can take almost three years, requiring significant investments of time and resources from teams that may ultimately never get selected.
CM 2.0 aims to reduce that burden by emphasizing scientific distinction during initial evaluations, allowing teams to defer much of the engineering and financial planning until later. Instead, initial proposals will focus on the scientific objectives of a mission and a preliminary plan for how to accomplish them.
NASA organizes its science missions into different classes based on their size, cost and objectives, with selection procedures varying between them. These range from smaller Explorer missions to large, expensive flagships like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
Under CM 2.0, programs including smaller Discovery planetary missions, larger New Frontiers spacecraft and Astro-Probes, a program that focuses on mid-sized astronomy missions, will retain a streamlined version of the existing two-step process, but with nearly half of the material required for initial proposals. "This means that the original 35-months timeline will be reduced to about 19.5 months, all while having a stronger, more mature mission at the time of selection," Fox wrote.