NASA Cuts Its Scientific Mission Selection Time Almost in Half

Nicola Fox, Associate Administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, announced a new mission selection model named "Competition 2.0" in a letter to the scientific community, aimed at reducing the time and resources consumed in long competitions and accelerating getting missions into space.

The model transforms medium-class missions into a two-phase competition. Phase 1 requires only three elements: a compelling science case, a science implementation plan, and a preliminary mission design, eliminating about half of the currently required materials. Phase 2 is conducted as an implementation study with Goddard Space Flight Center or the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, reducing selection time from 35 months to about 19.5 months, a reduction of up to 45%.

As for small missions, including SMEX, Missions of Opportunity, Earth Venture, hosted payloads, and rideshares, they will transition to a one-step competition with a smaller review team and virtual site visits, lowering final selection time from about 32 months to 19 months, a reduction of up to 40%.

NASA expects teams to leverage commercial off-the-shelf buses and systems wherever they offer a technical advantage or cost reduction. Fox emphasized that cost and schedule control will remain mandatory, and exceeding bounds will result in actions up to mission termination, with work centralized at Goddard and JPL to save taxpayer money.

What do these terms mean?

Announcement of Opportunity (AO): An official document in which the space agency announces a mission and invites scientific teams to submit proposals to participate in it.

Commercial bus: The basic structure of a spacecraft provided by a commercial company instead of being designed from scratch, reducing cost and time.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL): A NASA research center that manages space missions and develops spacecraft systems and scientific missions.