The Solar System Exploration Division of the Office of Space Science (OSS), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), intends to release an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) in the August/September 2002 timeframe to solicit proposals for planetary space flight science investigations through the New Frontiers Program.
New Frontiers is a new Solar System exploration program for midsized planetary missions built around a clearly announced set of goals and science priorities derived from both NASA's ongoing strategic planning process and the Decadal Survey of Planetary Science to be published by the National Academy of Sciences. The New Frontiers Program is structured and managed along the lines of the highly successful Discovery Program with mission selection through a fully open and competitive process. Investigation teams are to be led by a single Principal Investigator (PI), with participation open to all categories of organizations, both foreign and domestic, including educational institutions, industry, nonprofit organizations, NASA Centers, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and other Government agencies.
A New Frontiers Presolicitation Conference is scheduled on July 23, 2002, in Washington, DC. Details for this conference and an expanded version of this Announcement of Intent are available at the Web site http://newfrontiers.larc.nasa.gov/newfrontiers . For proposal community convenience, a Discovery Program Lessons Learned Workshop is scheduled on the following day, July 24.
Note that the New Frontiers AO may contain provisions that differ from this Announcement, in which case those in the AO will take precedence. Questions or comments about this intention to release a New Frontiers AO may be addressed to the NASA New Frontiers Program Scientist:
Dr. Thomas H. Morgan, New Frontiers Program Scientist, Solar System Exploration Division, Code SE, Office of Space Science, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC 20546-0001; Facsimile: (202) 358-3097; E-mail: tmorgan@hq.nasa.gov; Telephone: (202) 358-0828.
