Astrobiology Prospects ROSE-y

February 13, 2008 / Written by: Linda Billings

The Astrobiology Program has a bigger budget in fiscal year (FY) 2008 (which began October 1, 2007) than it did for FY 2007, thanks to NASA Associate Administrator for Science Alan Stern and Planetary Sciences Division Director Jim Green. In one of his first actions at NASA, Stern allocated $1 million of his discretionary funds to the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) to provide for continuity of membership beyond calendar year 2008. In additional action, Green allocated an additional $2 million for Astrobiology to ensure continutity in ongoing research and technology development.

Funding for the Astrobiology Program in the current program year (2008) now includes $11.3 million for Exobiology and Evolutionary Biology grants (compared to $9.8 million in 2007), $5.7 million for the Astrobiology Science And Technology for Exploring Plants (ASTEP) Program ($4.0 million in 2007), $8.3 million for the Astrobiology Science and Technology Instrument Development (ASTID) Program ($5.5 million in 2007), and $16 million for the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) ($14.9 million in 2007). The Administration submitted its FY 2009 budget request to Congress for NASA and other Federal programs on February 4, 2008.

In June 2007, the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) selected four new teams for funding. In January 2008, the NAI issued its fifth solicitation for proposals, Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) 5. Proposals are due April 11, 2008. Exobiology and Evolutionary Biology proposals submitted in response to the Science Mission Directorate’s 2007 solicitation (called ROSES, for Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences) are under review, and selections should be announced in the first quarter of calendar year 2008.

NASA’s original 2007 ROSES solicitation for ASTID proposals was expanded to include concept studies for astrobiology small payloads and satellites (under 50 kilograms mass). ASTID proposals are due February 15, 2008. Responses to the ROSES call for ASTEP project proposals are due March 18, 2008.

In a New Year’s message dated January 4, 2008, Associate Administrator Stern reported on “positive changes” made on his watch in 2007, including “approval of two extended missions in the planetary program to accomplish new flybys of comets (EPOXI and Stardust-NExT); selection of two major US instruments to fly aboard the ESA ExoMars rover in 2013, the extension of the MER [Mars Exploration] rovers for two additional years, the addition of sample caching to MSL [Mars Science Laboratory], and a new push to accomplish Mars Sample Return;” and “targeted increases in R&A[research and analysis] programs, including Astrobiology.” Among challenges Stern identified for 2008 are “Repairing deep deficiencies” in mission operation and data analysis and research and analysis budgets.

In a budget message dated February 5, 2008, Stern said SMD’s FY 2009 request calls for “the Planetary Science Division’s long awaited Outer Planets Flagship [mission] for launch in 2016 or 2017, depending on the mission target and trajectory” and “significantly increases R&A funding so that our program generates more discoveries and therefore provides the taxpayer with value from the missions we fly. The budget request also substantially increases funding for suborbital sounding rockets and balloon experiments in order to foster PI on-ramps, instrument technology demonstrations, and of course new science.”