SMD Programs
Up one levelAll missions within NASA's Science Mission Directorate are selected, funded and managed via the following programs.
- Astrophysics Explorers
- The Astrophysics Explorers program includes opportunities for innovative science and fill the scientific gaps between the larger missions. Small PI-led astrophysics missions are selected under the Explorer program, and are managed by the Astrophysics Division.
- Cosmic Origins
- Discovery
- The Discovery Program conducts focused investigations that complement NASA's larger Planetary Science goals by launching smaller missions using fewer resources and shorter development times.
- Earth System Science Pathfinder
- The Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) Program addresses unique, specific, highly-focused mission requirements in Earth science research.
- Earth Systematic Missions
- The Earth Systematic Missions (ESM) Program includes a broad range of multi-disciplinary science investigations aimed at developing a scientific understanding of the Earth system and its response to natural and human-induced forces. Understanding these forces will help in determining how to mitigate them, appropriately and where possible, to avoid climate changes.
- Exoplanet Exploration
- NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program represents a voyage of unprecedented scope and ambition, promising insight into humankind's most timeless question: Are we alone?
- Explorers
- The mission of the Explorer program is to provide frequent flight opportunities for scientific investigations from space.
- GOES / POES
- The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)/ Polar Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) program is a key element in National Weather Service (NWS) operations.
- Heliophysics Explorers
- This program is managed by the Heliophysics Division and solicits missions for both Heliophysics and Astrophysics.
- Heliophysics Research
- Living With a Star
- Living With a Star is a cross-cutting program whose goals and objectives have links to each of the four NASA Strategic Enterprises: Space Science, Earth Science, Human Exploration and Development, and Aeronautics and Space Transportation.
- Mars Exploration
- The Mars Exploration Program is a science-driven program that seeks to understand whether Mars was, is, or can be, a habitable world.
- Missions of Opportunity
- New Frontiers
- The New Frontiers Program represents a critical step in the advancement of solar system exploration.
- Outer Planets Flagship
- Physics of the Cosmos
- Missions within the Physics of the Cosmos Program measure and test the validity of Einstein's theories of relativity.
- Robotic Lunar Exploration
- Solar Terrestrial Probes
- The Program addresses fundamental science questions about the physics of space plasmas and the flow of mass and energy through the solar system.