ROSBio Appendix C: Solicitation of Proposals for Possible Inclusion in a Russian Bion-M2 Mission

Research and Applications Division (SLPSRAD) has been invited to propose candidate experiments from U.S. investigators for possible inclusion in the Bion-M2 mission, which will occur in 2020 or 2021. The NASA Space Biology Program, therefore, requests proposals for flight investigations that fit within the Russian IBMP flight experiment designs as described in Appendix C (NNH16ZTT001N-BION) to the ROSBio-2016 Omnibus NRA.For this Appendix, NASA Space Biology will use a two-phase submission and review process. The first phase will require the submission of a preliminary proposal, hereafter referred to as a pre-proposal. Pre-proposals will be evaluated by NASA and possibly by the IBMP/RAS for their suitability for inclusion in mission planning. Investigators whose pre-proposals are found to satisfy the evaluation criteria described in Appendix C will be invited to submit complete full proposals during phase 2, which will occur at a later date, after more details about the Bion-M2 mission become available. During this second phase, submitted full proposals will undergo scientific merit and technical feasibility review by NASA. NASA’s final selection of research projects will be guided by recommendations of the National Research Council’s 2011 Decadal Survey Report, “Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era” (http://www.nap.edu/catalog/13048.html). Appendix C, which will be released on or about July 14, 2017 can be found by opening the NASA Research Opportunities homepage at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ and then linking through the menu listings "Solicitations" to "Open Solicitations." Pre-proposals are due August 24, 2017 at 5 PM Eastern Time. Pre-proposals must be submitted electronically by an authorized official of the proposing organization. Proposers may use either NSPIRES (http://nspires.nasaprs.com/) or Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) for proposal submission. Detailed instructions on the preparation and submission of full proposals, as well their due date, will be provided at a later time.Every organization that intends to submit a proposal in response to Appendix C must be registered with NSPIRES, and such registration must identify the authorized organizational representative(s) who will submit electronic proposals. Instructions on how to register in NSPIRES are described in the ROSBio-2016 Omnibus NRA. Each electronic proposal requires the registration of principal investigators, and all other participants. Potential proposers and proposing organizations are urged to access the system(s) well in advance of the proposal due date(s) to familiarize themselves with its structure and enter the requested information. Questions about ROSBio-2016 and this Appendix may be addressed to the contacts referenced in the full solicitation document.This is a broad agency announcement as specified in FAR 6.102 (d)(2). All awards resulting from selections of proposals to this Appendix and future Appendices will be grants or cooperative agreements.Programmatic information for this NRA is available from: Dr. David L. Tomko, Program Scientist for Space Biology Life and Physical Sciences Division, NASA Headquarters Phone: 202-358-2211Email: dtomko@nasa.govNASA contracting information for this NRA is available from: Benjamin S. Benvenutti, Lead Contract Specialist NASA Shared Services Center Email: benjamin.s.benvenutti@nasa.govPhone: (228) 813-6128.