NASA is overhauling how it picks new science missions, rolling out a streamlined competition model the agency says could cut selection timelines nearly in half.
The framework, called Competition Model 2.0, was announced by Science Mission Directorate Associate Administrator Nicky Fox ahead of a virtual town hall with the science community scheduled for Oct. 26. The pitch is straightforward: compete on the science first.
For astro-probe, New Frontiers, and Discovery mission classes, the first step of the competition will now ask for three things: a science case, a science implementation plan, and a proof-of-concept mission design. NASA says that removes roughly half of the material currently required in an announcement of opportunity response. A second step, a mission implementation study run with the Goddard Space Flight Center or the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will evaluate the science and the engineering before a final pick.
The agency says the changes could cut the selection process by up to 45 percent, from about 35 months to 19.5 months. NASA also wants the lighter first step to give principal investigators without backing from a major university or commercial organization a fairer shot, judging ideas on merit rather than team size.
The agency’s largest missions, the flagships, stay on their current track under the approach NASA adopted after the James Webb Space Telescope. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman backs the overhaul, and Fox described it as the agency answering the call to “get you to science faster.”
Source: Executive Gov
