The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is soliciting concept studies for potential robotic and crewed missions to explore and redirect asteroids.
In a broad agency announcement titled “Asteroid Redirect Mission Umbrella for Partnerships,” NASA covered all aspects of applied research and technology collaborations for the mission, including investigation teams and studies to help determine potential mission payloads and experimentation opportunities.
These missions are intended to provide proving grounds for further deep space human exploration. Scientists, engineers, technologists, and other qualified and interested individuals are invited to apply for the teams investigating science, planetary defense, asteroidal resources and others discovered during exploration (in-situ resource utilization).
The investigation teams will work with NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory management and technical personnel to plan craft and crew requirements to rendezvous with, capture, explore and transfer asteroid materials.
The teams are open to U.S. government agencies, NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, U.S. national laboratories, federally funded research and development centers, non-government U.S. institutions (companies, universities, nonprofit organizations), and international organizations, as long as proposals comply with NASA policies regarding research with non-U.S. organizations.
Interested parties must register with NSPIRES
and use either that portal or Grants.govto submit proposals by Nov. 3, 2016.
An archived video of NASA’s live Asteroid Redirect Mission Virtual Industry Day, which was held
Sept. 14, can be viewed here.
