ROSBio Appendix E: Solicitation of Proposals to Conduct Research In Parabolic and Suborbital Flights | NNH16ZTT001N PS

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ROSBio Appendix E (Solicitation Number NNH16ZTT001N-PS) is a NASA Research Announcement appendix under the broader Research Opportunities in Space Biology (ROSBio)-2016 omnibus solicitation (NNH16ZTT001N). Released on August 16, 2017, it invites Space Biology research proposals that use parabolic flight and/or suborbital flight platforms to study how biological systems respond to short, transient changes in gravity. The basic idea is to leverage brief periods of microgravity (and related gravity transitions) available through these flight types to answer targeted Space Biology questions without needing a long-duration orbital mission.

The scientific scope is intentionally broad within Space Biology, allowing experiments on many kinds of biological systems, including cells, tissues, microorganisms, plants, and animals. Investigators can propose using existing flight-qualified hardware or designing custom experiment equipment, as long as the concept is technically feasible for the selected flight environment and supports meaningful measurements during the short gravity-altered windows. NASA emphasizes that proposed work must align with agency-prioritized Space Biology directions, meaning proposals should explicitly connect to research emphases, visions, and goals described in the ROSBio-2016 omnibus NRA, the Space Biology Science Plan 2016-2025, and/or relevant Decadal Survey recommendations. In practice, that means applicants are expected to explain not only what they will measure in altered gravity, but why those measurements matter to NASA's broader space biology objectives.

From a funding and performance standpoint, NASA stated an intent to make up to five awards. Each award could run for up to three years, with a maximum total budget of $300,000 per award (covering both direct and indirect costs). Importantly, that $300,000 is meant to cover the complete project costs as proposed, including the flight(s) themselves, the PI's laboratory work, experiment-unique hardware or equipment, and the costs associated with data acquisition and data processing. A key operational detail is that, if selected, the investigator is responsible for arranging and procuring the actual parabolic or suborbital flight opportunities and ensuring the proposed flight platform is available. In other words, NASA is funding the work, but the awardee carries responsibility for coordinating access to the flight provider and meeting the platform requirements described in the proposal.

The solicitation timeline was structured with a non-binding Notice of Intent due first, followed by the full proposal. Non-binding NOIs were due September 14, 2017 by 5:00 PM Eastern Time, and full proposals were due October 16, 2017 by 5:00 PM Eastern Time. NASA listed an estimated selection date of March 15, 2018. For proposal format, the technical section was limited to 15 pages, which forces applicants to be clear and concise about objectives, hypotheses, methods, flight implementation, and expected outcomes.

Eligibility was open across all categories of U.S. institutions, reflecting the announcement's broad, discretionary research nature (CFDA 43.003; activity category: science and technology and other R and D). Teams could include collaborators from universities, federal laboratories, the private sector, and state and local government laboratories, and could also include international partners, with the explicit exception of China. Submissions had to be made electronically by an authorized official of the proposing organization, and proposers could submit through either NSPIRES (NASA's proposal system) or Grants.gov. NASA highlighted that organizations needed to be registered in NSPIRES and must identify their authorized organizational representative(s), and that all key participants (including the PI and co-investigators) also needed to be registered. The agency encouraged applicants to start the registration and system familiarization early to avoid last-minute submission issues.

Administratively, NASA characterized this as a broad agency announcement under FAR 6.102(d)(2), with resulting selections expected to be made as grants or cooperative agreements. The appendix itself was accessed via the NASA Research Opportunities homepage in NSPIRES by navigating to open solicitations, and the opportunity also circulated via a shortened solicitation link (https://tinyurl.com/ROSBio-PS). For programmatic questions, the named contact was Dr. David L. Tomko, Program Scientist for Space Biology at NASA Headquarters (dtomko@nasa.gov; 202-358-2211). Contracting and business questions were directed to Benjamin S. Benvenutti, Lead Contract Specialist at the NASA Shared Services Center (benjamin.s.benvenutti@nasa.gov; 228-813-6128).

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA Headquarters in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "ROSBio Appendix E: Solicitation of Proposals to Conduct Research In Parabolic and Suborbital Flights" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 43.003.
• This funding opportunity was created on Aug 16, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 16, 2017. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $300,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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