Faster To Science: A Letter To The Science Community

TL;DR

Age 18–24?Offer from Amazon

Prime made for students and young adults

• Fast, free delivery for dorm and study essentials
• Prime Video and Amazon Music included
• Member-only deals

Try Prime for Young Adults →Free trial for eligible 18–24 year olds

As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.Hide

NASA Science announced Competition Model 2.0, a planned overhaul of how it selects science missions, and said a virtual town hall will explain the changes. The agency projects selection timelines could fall by up to 45% for some mission classes; the proposal’s detailed rollout and implementation remain to be clarified.

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate has announced Competition Model 2.0, a proposed overhaul of how it competes and selects science missions, saying the changes are intended to reduce proposal work and speed decisions. The agency said it will hold a virtual town hall on Monday, October 26, to explain the model and take questions, but the announcement does not state the year.

The model’s central principle is to compete on science first. NASA says early proposals will focus on the science case, science implementation and a proof-of-concept mission design, deferring detailed engineering plans, costs and implementation work until they are needed to make a selection decision. The agency argues this would let teams spend less time preparing extensive proposals and make it easier for strong ideas to compete regardless of the size or backing of the proposing team.

For some mission classes, NASA describes an accelerated two-step competition. Step 1 would seek three core elements: a compelling science case, a science implementation plan and a proof-of-concept mission design. Step 2 would be a mission implementation study involving a NASA science center, with Goddard Space Flight Center or the Jet Propulsion Laboratory named as possible partners. NASA says a single mission would be selected partway through Phase A, allowing teams not chosen to stop carrying their concepts through the rest of that phase.

NASA estimates that this approach could reduce the interval from an announcement of opportunity to Step 2 selection by up to 45%, from 35 months to about 19.5 months. For another two-step category, it also forecasts a reduction of up to 45%. For missions moving to a single-step competition, NASA estimates the time to final selection could fall from about 32 months to about 19 months, or up to 40%. These are agency projections, not reported outcomes from competitions already conducted under the new model.

Shorter Competition, Less Proposal Work

If NASA’s estimates are borne out, shorter selections could reduce the time and resources research teams spend preparing proposals and waiting for decisions. That matters to principal investigators and institutions that must commit staff and funding before knowing whether a mission will proceed. NASA says the simplified first stage is meant to put more weight on scientific merit and less on the capacity to assemble a large proposal team.

The proposed changes could also affect how mission risks are reviewed. NASA says implementation studies would examine scientific merit, science implementation and mission implementation, with the aim of identifying risks earlier. At the same time, the projected savings in time do not by themselves establish that missions will cost less or be delivered faster after selection. The announcement does not provide data demonstrating those outcomes; they remain goals of the new process.

For applicants, the details of eligibility and implementation arrangements will matter as much as the headline timelines. NASA says universities and industry partners may take part in a wider set of implementing organizations for some competitions, and that teams may seek pairing with Goddard or JPL. The model could therefore alter how teams find partners and divide technical and management responsibilities, subject to rules that have yet to be fully explained.

Different Rules for Mission Classes

NASA’s announcement does not describe one uniform competition format for every mission. It says the largest missions will not change under CM 2.0 because their process has already been reformed. For those flagship missions, NASA cites lessons from the James Webb Space Telescope and a subsequent Large Mission Study. The agency says it will direct a flagship to a lead NASA center, which will then compete science teams and instruments through targeted solicitations.

Other classes would use the revised two-step process, while some smaller missions would move to a single-step competition with a smaller review team and virtual site visits. NASA also says the smallest missions are expected to draw on a maturing commercial space sector. The source announcement ends mid-sentence while describing expectations for commercial practices, so it does not provide the full explanation of how those expectations would work.

The announcement frames CM 2.0 as a response to concerns about a lengthy existing process, including years spent advancing concepts, contract-management challenges, unpredictability and insufficient funding. NASA Science says the reforms will be introduced in stages and refined with community input. The agency’s description presents the model as a change to proposal and selection procedures, rather than a change to the scientific objectives of individual missions.

Timeline Claims Await Implementation

The timeline reductions are NASA estimates; the announcement provides no completed competition results under CM 2.0 to verify them. It also does not set out a complete schedule for when each mission class will move to the new approach, or specify the year of the October 26 town hall.

Several operational details remain open in the supplied announcement. It does not give full competition rules, explain how review criteria will be weighted, or provide complete funding arrangements for implementation studies. NASA says teams may request pairing with Goddard or JPL and that a study for New Frontiers or Discovery could be awarded under Goddard management to Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, depending on the selected science. The criteria and process for making those decisions are not detailed here.

The source text also cuts off during its description of expectations for the smallest missions and commercial partners. The complete policy, including any specific cost targets, procurement requirements or schedule commitments for those missions, cannot be established from the material provided.

Town Hall and Staged Rollout

NASA Science said the next public step would be a virtual town hall on Monday, October 26, where officials planned to explain Competition Model 2.0 and answer questions. The announcement does not specify the year, so the event’s current status cannot be confirmed from the source material alone.

NASA says it will implement changes in stages and refine them with input from the science community. Applicants and institutions will need the detailed solicitations and guidance for each mission class to understand when the revised process applies, what proposal materials are required and how implementation partners will be selected. Those documents and timelines are not included in the announcement.

Key Questions

What is NASA Competition Model 2.0?

Competition Model 2.0 is NASA Science’s proposed approach to competing and selecting missions. Its stated principle is to evaluate science-focused proposals first and defer some detailed engineering, cost and implementation work.

How much faster does NASA say selections could be?

NASA projects reductions of up to 45% for some two-step competitions, including one estimate from 35 months to about 19.5 months. For a single-step process, it estimates a decline from about 32 months to about 19 months, or up to 40%. These figures are projections, not results from completed competitions using the model.

Will the new model apply to NASA’s largest missions?

NASA says the process for its largest, flagship missions will not change under CM 2.0 because that process has already been reformed. The agency describes separate changes for other mission classes.

When will the changes take effect?

NASA says the changes will be rolled out in stages, but the announcement does not give a full implementation calendar. It also lists a town hall for Monday, October 26, without specifying the year.

Source: primary