NASA Human Exploration Research Opportunities (HERO) Released

 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), entitled, “Human Exploration Research Opportunities (HERO)” (NNJ25ZSA001N) , has been released. This NOFO will solicit applied research in support of NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP). This NOFO is available through the the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES) at: https://tinyurl.com/HERO25NOFO.

The research will fall into one or more categories corresponding to HRP’s five Elements: Space Radiation, Human Health Countermeasures, Exploration Medical Capability, Human Factors and Behavioral Performance, and Research Operations and Integration. This NOFO covers all aspects of research to provide human health and performance countermeasures, knowledge, technologies, and tools to enable safe, reliable, and productive human space exploration.

Awards generally range from under $250K per year for focused, limited efforts (e.g., data analysis) to $1.2M per year for extensive activities (e.g., development of scientific hardware) and will be made as grants. The funds available for awards in each research opportunity offered in this NOFO range from less than one million to several million dollars. This range allows selection from a few to as many as a dozen proposals depending on the program objectives and the submission of proposals of merit. The period of performance for an award can range from one to five years. [g1] Any changes or modifications to any of these guidelines will be specified in the descriptions of the relevant research opportunities in the appendices of this solicitation.

Details of the topics will be given in the appendices of the NOFO. Unless otherwise specified, appendices will use a two-step solicitation process requiring that a compliant and relevant Step-1 proposal be submitted in order to be considered to be invited to submit a Step-2 proposal.

Proposal due dates will be staggered throughout the HERO open period of November 1, 2024 to October 2025. The first proposal due date (for Step-1 proposals submitted in response to Appendix A) is December 2, 2024. The electronic submission is required by the due date for proposal submission. Proposal due dates are given in the appendices, which will be posted at https://nspires.nasaprs.com. Interested proposers should monitor https://nspires.nasaprs.com or register and subscribe to the Space Operations Mission Directorate (SOMD) electronic notifications system through the NSPIRES account subscription services. New program elements or amendments to this NOFO through October 2025 will be posted in NSPIRES, after which time release of a subsequent HERO NOFO is planned.

All categories of United States (U.S.) institutions are eligible to submit proposals in response to the NOFO. Principal Investigators may collaborate with universities, Federal Government laboratories, the private sector, and state and local government laboratories. In all such arrangements, the applying entity is expected to be responsible for administering the project according to the management approach presented in the proposal. NASA’s policy is to conduct research with non-U.S. organizations on a cooperative, no exchange-of-funds basis.

Thank you for your continued interest in NASA. Please refer to the solicitation document for contact information.

All categories of U.S. institutions are eligible to submit proposals in response to this NRA (see solicitation for details). NASA's policy regarding non-U.S. organizations is to conduct research on a cooperative, no exchange of funds basis (see solicitation for details). Proposers must be affiliated with an institution at https://nspires.nasaprs.com.

Steven Platts, Ph.D. Chief Scientist, Human Research Program NASA Johnson Space Center (Mail Code SA2) Houston, TX 77058