NASA has previewed the New Frontiers 4 mission selection
Big News: A mission to Titan/Enceladus has been added to the list:
Comet Surface Sample Return,
Lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin Sample Return,
Ocean Worlds (Titan and Enceladus),
Saturn Probe,
Trojan Tour and Rendezvous, and
Venus In Situ Explorer
Selection in spring 2019, launch in 2024 or 2025. Up to three MMRTGs available.
Community Announcement Regarding New Frontiers Program Announcement of
Opportunity
Estimated Release of draft AO .....................………...July 2016 (target)
Estimated Release of final
AO.....................................January 2017 (target)
Estimated Proposal due date........................................90
days after AO release
This community announcement is an advance notice of NASA’s Science
Mission Directorate (SMD) plan to release a Draft Announcement of
Opportunity (AO) for New Frontiers Program mission investigations with
a target release date of July 2016.
The New Frontiers Program conducts Principal Investigator (PI)-led
space science investigations in SMD’s planetary programs under a
not-to-exceed cost cap for the PI-Managed Mission Cost (PMMC). At the
conclusion of Phase A concept studies, it is planned that one New
Frontiers investigation will be selected to continue into subsequent
mission phases. There will be no Missions of Opportunity (MO)
solicited as part of this AO. All MOs are now solicited through the
Stand Alone Mission of Opportunity Notice (SALMON) AO. New Frontiers
Program investigations must address NASA’s planetary science
objectives as described in 2014 NASA Strategic Plan and the 2014 NASA
Science Plan. Both documents are now available
athttp://science.nasa.gov/about-us/science-strategy/.
Investigations are limited to the following mission themes (listed
without priority):
Comet Surface Sample Return,
Lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin Sample Return,
Ocean Worlds (Titan and Enceladus),
Saturn Probe,
Trojan Tour and Rendezvous, and
Venus In Situ Explorer.
Five themes are described in the Planetary Science Decadal Survey.
The Ocean Worlds theme for this announcement is tentatively focused on
the search for signs of extant life and/or characterizing the
potential habitability of Titan or Enceladus. The draft AO will
fully elucidate information on the mission themes.
The time frame for the solicitation is intended to be:
Release of final AO...........................................January
2017 (target)
Preproposal conference...................................~3 weeks
after final AO release
Proposals due ...................................................~90
days after AO release
Selection for competitive Phase A studies....November 2017 (target)
Concept study reports due...............................October 2018 (target)
Down-selection .................................................May
2019 (target)
KDP B .................................................................August
2019 (target)
Launch readiness date ....................................2024
PI-Managed Mission Cost (PMMC) for investigations are capped at a
Phase A-D cost of $850M (FY 2015$) with exclusions as noted in this
announcement. The now-standard 25% minimum reserve on Phases A-D will
be required within the PMMC. Operations costs (Phase E and F) are not
included in the PMMC, but will be evaluated for reasonableness. This
exclusion for operation costs will not apply to the development of
flight or ground software, ground hardware, or testbed development or
refurbishment that occurs after launch. These activities will be
considered deferred Phase C/D work and their costs will be included
under the PMMC. Only costs related to spacecraft operations will be
excluded from the PMMC. Lower-cost investigations and cost-efficient
operations are encouraged.
Launch Vehicle costs and procurement will be the responsibility of
NASA. A standard launch performance capability will be defined and
provided as GFE and its cost will not be included in the PMMC. The
cost of mission specific and special launch services, such as for
higher performance launch vehicles or the use of nuclear materials,
are the responsibility of the PI and must be included within the PMMC.
Details of these costs are still under discussion.
The value of foreign contributions remains constrained as was done for
the recent Discovery Program AO. The total value of foreign
contributions may not exceed one-third of the PMMC, and the value of
foreign contributions to the science payload may not exceed one-third
of the total payload cost.
Investigations may propose the use Multi-Mission Radioisotope
Thermoelectric Generators (MMRTG) and Radioisotope Heater Units
(RHUs). Some of the costs for the use of these systems and materials
will be included in the PMMC as detailed below. These costs are not
final and may change.
Up to three MMRTGs are available at the cost of $105M for one unit,
$135M for two units, and $165M for three units. The cost for the
unit(s) is included in the PMMC. In addition, the usage of MMRTG(s)
requires delaying the LRD by at least one year to no earlier than 2025
to allow for mission-specific funding to support provision of MMRTGs.
43 RHUs are available as GFE, and the cost of the units is not
included in the PMMC. However, the PMMC will include approximately
$26M of costs associated with the use of RHUs.
In addition to the costs above, investigations using either MMRTGs or
RHUs will also incur approximately $28M or $21M, respectively, in
costs for special launch services against the PMMC.
NASA will provide incentives for technology infusion into New
Frontiers investigations. NASA is considering providing technologies
as Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE), including up to 43 RHUs and
the NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) ion propulsion system (two
flight model power processing units and two thrusters). NASA is also
considering providing an increase to the PMMC cap for investigations
utilizing the Heat Shield for Extreme Entry Environment Technology
(HEEET), a woven Thermal Protection System. In addition, NASA is
considering limiting the risk assessment of certain technologies to
only their accommodation on the spacecraft and the mission
environment.
This incentivized technology list is not complete, and decisions on
the specific technologies and the nature of their associated
incentives will be made before the release of a draft AO. A
Technology Workshop will be held in early 2016 to provide technology
developers a chance to provide detailed information to proposers. All
NASA-incentivized technologies will participate in this workshop, but
other participants will be welcome as well.
New Frontiers Program investigations involving entry, descent, and
landing (EDL) into the atmosphere of a Solar System object (including
the Earth) shall include an Engineering Science Activity, to be funded
outside of the cost cap, to obtain diagnostic and technical data about
vehicle performance and entry environments. Details of the goals and
objectives of this activity will be posted on the New Frontiers
Program Acquisition Website (
http://newfrontiers.larc.nasa.gov/) in
the Program Library.
New Frontiers Program investigations may propose activities that have
the potential to broaden the scientific impact of investigations as
optional Science Enhancement Options (SEOs). SEOs include, but are
not limited to, guest investigator programs, general observer
programs, participating scientist programs, interdisciplinary
scientist programs, and archival data analysis programs. NASA is
considering allowing New Frontiers Program investigations to also
propose Technology Demonstration Opportunities (TDOs) to demonstrate
new capabilities. TDOs and SEOs are funded outside of the PMMC cap
and may possibly not be selected even if the parent mission is
selected for flight.
NASA will release a draft of the New Frontiers AO in the summer of
2016. The draft AO will be based on the recent Discovery AO, as well
as the Standard PI-led Mission AO Template. NASA has begun its
regular assessment and revision of the Standard AO, and, once it is
complete, the Draft New Frontiers AO will be written and provided for
public comment. Proposers should read the Draft New Frontiers AO
carefully when it is released.
NASA has not approved the issuance of the New Frontiers AO and this
notification does not obligate NASA to issue the AO and solicit
proposals. Any costs incurred by prospective investigators in
preparing submissions in response to this notification or the planned
Draft New Frontiers AO are incurred completely at the submitter's own
risk.
Further information will be posted on the New Frontiers Program
Acquisition Page at
http://newfrontiers.larc.nasa.gov/ as it becomes
available.
Questions may be addressed to Dr. Curt Niebur, New Frontiers Program
Lead Scientist, Planetary Science Division, Science Mission
Directorate, NASA, Washington, DC 20546; Tel.: (202) 358-0390; E-mail:
[email protected].