New Frontiers 5 Selection |
New Frontiers 5 Selection |
Sep 3 2022, 03:34 PM
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#1
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Member Group: Members Posts: 706 Joined: 22-April 05 Member No.: 351 |
Here is a community announcement just put out by NASA. Total mission PI costs of $1.2B, earliest launch in 2031.
Estimated Release of draft AO …...November 2022 (target) Estimated Release of final AO ……November 2023 (target) Estimated Proposal due date ……..March 2024 (target) This community announcement is the fifth in a series to provide an advance notice of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) plan to release an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) to solicit New Frontiers Program mission investigations. The New Frontiers Program conducts Principal Investigator (PI)-led space science investigations in SMD’s planetary programs under a not-to-exceed cost cap for the PI-Managed Mission Cost (PMMC). The target release date for the final AO is Fall 2023. This NF5 announcement shares some policies under consideration for the AO and invites public comment to NASA. The policies described in this announcement are not final. Public feedback to this announcement will be considered by NASA as part of the ongoing AO preparation process to revise these and other policies. SMD’s Planetary Science Division (PSD) estimates the policies in this announcement may have the most significant impact on proposers’ responses to the AO. The draft policies offered for public comment are the following: Mission Themes: Mission investigations will be limited to the following mission themes (listed without priority), with the science objectives specified in either the Decadal Survey [solarsystem.nasa.gov] or the previously issued New Frontiers 4 AO [nspires.nasaprs.com]: · Comet Surface Sample Return · Lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin Sample Return · Ocean Worlds (only Enceladus) · Saturn Probe · Io Observer · Lunar Geophysical Network Cost Cap: PI-Managed Mission Cost (PMMC) for investigations will have two cost caps. The PMMC for Phases A-D will be capped at $900M (FY22$) with exclusions as noted in this announcement. The PMMC for Phase E will be capped at $300M (FY22$) with exclusions as noted in this announcement. The now-standard 25% minimum reserve on Phases A-D will be required within the PMMC. Development of flight or ground software, ground hardware, or testbed development or refurbishment that occurs after launch will be considered deferred Phase C/D work and their costs will be included under the PMMC cost cap for Phases A-D. Only costs related to spacecraft and science operations will be considered part of the Phase E PMMC cost cap. Lower-cost investigations and cost-efficient operations are encouraged. Step 2 Selections: NASA intends to select up to three proposals to proceed to Step 2 to conduct a mission concept study followed by downselection of up to one mission investigation to proceed into development. NASA will provide $5M (Real Year$) to each selectee(s) for this mission concept study. Government Furnished Equipment (GFE)/Tech Incentives: NASA currently does not plan to offer an incentive to infuse particular NASA-developed technologies under the New Frontiers 5 AO. NASA will revisit the availability, utility, and readiness of technologies prior to the release of the final AO. Launch Readiness Date: Mission investigations must be ready to launch no earlier than Fall 2031 and no later than Fall 2034. Launch Vehicle: Launch Vehicle costs and procurement will be the responsibility of NASA. NASA intends to offer all launch vehicle performance capabilities (defined in previous AOs from Low through High) as GFE. Its cost will not be included in the PMMC. The cost of mission specific and special launch services (i.e., larger fairing or the flight of nuclear materials) will be included within the PMMC. Details of these specialized costs are still under discussion. Non-U.S. Contributions: The value of non-U.S. contributions remains constrained as was done for recent New Frontiers and Discovery Program AOs. The total value of non-U.S. contributions may not exceed one-third of the PMMC for phases A-D, and the value of non-U.S. contributions to the science payload may not exceed one-third of the total payload cost. In addition, NASA and ESA are working to formalize a partnership for the New Frontiers 5 AO that would make available an ESA contribution to proposers. The contribution can include hardware procured by ESA from European vendors and/or other services, such as ground segment support, to be considered under ESA responsibility. Scientific instruments are explicitly not included as an option under this potential partnership. Nuclear Power Sources: Mission investigations may utilize radioisotope power systems (RPS) provided by NASA. Radioisotope Heater Units (RHUs) also are available for use as localized heat sources. For electrical power, up to one Next Generation Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) will be offered by NASA. Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (MMRTGs) are not planned to be offered under the New Frontiers 5 AO. The cost for the Next Generation RTG and/or RHUs and associated specialized launch services will be included within the PMMC. Information on these costs and the performance characteristics of the Next Generation RTG and RHUs will be made available at a later date. Additional Opportunities: As has been done for the two most recent New Frontiers and Discovery Program AOs, requests for including Student Collaborations, Science Enhancement Options, and Technology Demonstrations are deferred to the Step-2 mission concept study. Though deferred, information on these opportunities will be provided no later than the AO release date. NASA has not approved the issuance of the New Frontiers AO and this notification does not obligate NASA to issue the AO and solicit proposals. Any costs incurred by prospective investigators in preparing submissions in response to this notification or the planned Draft and Final New Frontiers 5 AO are incurred completely at the submitter's own risk Further information will be posted on the New Frontiers Program Acquisition Page at https://newfrontiers.larc.nasa.gov/NF5/ [newfrontiers.larc.nasa.gov] as it becomes available. Questions and feedback on the draft policies in this notice are due by October 31, 2022. The draft AO expected to be released in November 2022 presents an additional opportunity to comment on the draft policies in this notice. Questions and feedback may be emailed to Dr. Curt Niebur, the New Frontiers Program Lead Scientist, via curt.niebur@nasa.gov. -------------------- |
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Sep 8 2022, 03:11 PM
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 3233 Joined: 11-February 04 From: Tucson, AZ Member No.: 23 |
Thanks vjkane. Yes, I think at this point further discussion about the different capabilities of the various missions to Venus really should go in the Venus sub-forum, and not here. But I think the point stands that in recent competitions, NASA has been more than willing to send multiple missions to the same or similar target when those missions could answer different scientific questions. Given that, I don't think an Io Observer is hampered by EC or JUICE as neither have an Io focus even if both could observe Io from a distance because an Io Observer would be able to answer scientific questions better than either could. Similarly, an Enceladus mission in this AO wouldn't be hampered by the previous NF selection going to Titan, also in the Saturn system.
-------------------- &@^^!% Jim! I'm a geologist, not a physicist!
The Gish Bar Times - A Blog all about Jupiter's Moon Io |
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Sep 8 2022, 11:32 PM
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#3
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Member Group: Members Posts: 706 Joined: 22-April 05 Member No.: 351 |
But I think the point stands that in recent competitions, NASA has been more than willing to send multiple missions to the same or similar target when those missions could answer different scientific questions. Given that, I don't think an Io Observer is hampered by EC or JUICE as neither have an Io focus even if both could observe Io from a distance because an Io Observer would be able to answer scientific questions better than either could. Similarly, an Enceladus mission in this AO wouldn't be hampered by the previous NF selection going to Titan, also in the Saturn system. Reading the tea leaves, perhaps there have been phases in selection biases. For one, remember that the final selection is up to the science AA's choice. There was a time (I believe when GRAIL's selection was part of that period) when there were criticisms that NASA was being too conservative and risk adverse. The current AA seems to be willing to go for bold choices such as Dragonfly. There also seems to be a willingness to go for themes such as small bodies in the selection of Lucy and Psyche and then DAVINCI and VERITAS. And then to state that subsequent proposals in that theme (such as the multifly asteroid proposal MANITIS) weren't selected to achieve programmatic balance. One could argue that Venus was excluded from the draft NF5 candidate list based on programmatic balance. (Include NASA, ESA, and India, there are four approved missions in the next decade). However, this announcement was just posted on the VEXAG site: Special Notice regarding the Fifth NF5 Community Announcement On Sept, 7, 2022, NASA released its fifth Community Announcement Advanced Notice regarding the Forthcoming Release of the New Frontiers 5 (NF5) Announcement of Opportunity (Link here: https://newfrontiers.larc.nasa.gov/NF5/) In the announcement, the “Venus In Situ Explorer” (“VISE”) theme was omitted from the list of allowed Mission Themes. VEXAG has requested from the NF5 program office clarification of, and rationale for, this change. The 12 May 2021 NASA Community Announcement on NF5 indicated that the results of the Decadal Survey would guide the NF5 solicitation, and the Decadal Committee responded on 25 May 2021 that it would retain the existing New Frontiers mission theme list [OWL, p22-30]. As the Venus Assessment Group, we are seeking the thoughts and inputs of the Venus science and technology communities regarding this decision by NASA, so that we may accurately represent your views to the upcoming CAPS meeting in late September, and to NASA as they gather feedback for the NF5 Draft AO, due out in November. A Google form that can be filled out anonymously is available here: (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeDl_4U_3vsi5RYTcMQnK4w684bUKxNbXNSIRc0c2g_tMwMrA/viewform). We hope to compile feedback and discuss by Friday September 23, 2022 ahead of the CAPS meeting. We’ll accept later responses, but can’t guarantee we’ll be able to consider them before CAPS. NASA wishes to have feedback on the Community Announcement by October 31, 2022. Sincerely, Noam Izenberg, Chair, OBO the VEXAG Steering Committee -------------------- |
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