Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute - Cycle 2 | NNH16ZDA009C

Opportunity Information: Apply for NNH16ZDA009C

NASA`s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) - Cycle 2 is a cooperative agreement funding opportunity (Solicitation Number NNH16ZDA009C) issued to build and support multi-institution, team-based research efforts that become participating members of SSERVI, referred to in the notice as "the Institute." The solicitation was released jointly by two NASA organizations: the Science Mission Directorate (SMD), specifically the Planetary Science Division (PSD), and the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD), specifically the Human Research Program (HRP). The overall intent is to connect high-value planetary science and space environment research directly to the needs of future human exploration, while also strengthening a coordinated, collaborative research community under the SSERVI umbrella.

The research focus is centered on key human-exploration-relevant destinations and their immediate environments: the Moon, Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs), and the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos. Proposals are expected to lay out innovative and broadly based research programs that can include basic and/or applied investigations, as long as the work is fundamental to understanding the nature of these bodies and the near-space environments around them. The solicitation emphasizes enabling eventual human exploration, meaning the science should help answer questions tied to exploration hazards, resources, operational constraints, and the underlying planetary processes that shape the surfaces and environments astronauts and robotic systems would encounter.

While the main priority is on those destination targets, the notice also allows comparative planetary studies that include non-destination objects, such as comets or main-belt asteroids, when those studies provide critical insight into the origin, evolution, or context of the primary target bodies. In practice, that means a team could propose work that uses cometary or main-belt asteroid data as analogs or building blocks for interpreting NEA composition, volatile delivery, regolith development, or space-weathering processes, as long as the prime emphasis remains on the Moon, NEAs, Phobos, and/or Deimos.

NASA also signals that it is looking for teams whose work either complements existing SSERVI teams or fills important gaps not already covered within the Institute. Proposers are directed to review current team scopes on the SSERVI teams webpage to avoid duplication and to better position a proposal as additive to the Institute`s overall portfolio. Beyond planetary science, the solicitation explicitly welcomes certain astrophysics and heliophysics research, but only where those investigations are enabled through human and robotic exploration of the target bodies. This framing keeps the call aligned with exploration-driven science returns, such as heliophysics measurements from the lunar surface or astrophysical observations facilitated by infrastructure or unique observing conditions associated with these destinations.

The submission process uses a two-step proposal approach with specific deadlines: Step-1 proposals were due September 23, 2016, and Step-2 proposals were due November 21, 2016. The full text of the CAN was made available through NASA`s NSPIRES system (nspires.nasaprs.com) under Open Solicitations by searching for the solicitation number NNH16ZDA009C. The funding instrument type is a Cooperative Agreement, indicating substantial NASA involvement is expected compared with a more hands-off grant, consistent with an institute model where coordination, collaboration, and shared objectives are central.

Eligibility and participation rules follow standard NASA research announcement practices. Proposers must be affiliated with an institution registered in NSPIRES, and NASA generally funds only U.S. institutions. Non-U.S. organizations may participate under certain conditions, particularly under a "no exchange of funds" arrangement, with additional requirements and guidance referenced in NASA`s guidebook for proposers. The notice also flags special instructions for cases where non-U.S. organizations involve U.S. personnel for whom NASA funding is requested, and it notes that some NASA research announcements can include special joint guidelines when coordinated with non-U.S. partners (though that is not presented as the default for this solicitation).

Administrative details included in the opportunity listing identify NASA Headquarters as the agency, classify the opportunity under Research and Development (Classification Code A), and list NAICS code 541712 and CFDA number 43.001 (Science). For questions, NASA provided two points of contact at NASA Ames Research Center: Yvonne Pendleton (SSERVI Director) and Greg Schmidt (SSERVI Deputy Director), with phone numbers and email addresses included for direct technical or programmatic inquiry.

• The NASA Headquarters in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute - Cycle 2" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 43.001.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-08-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2016-11-21. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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