TL;DR
NASA’s Science Mission Directorate has announced Competition Model 2.0, a staged overhaul of how it solicits and selects science missions. The plan emphasizes science-focused initial proposals and targets selection timelines up to 45% shorter for some mission classes; NASA says it will explain the model at a virtual town hall on Oct. 26. The supplied announcement does not specify the year or fully describe the changes for the smallest missions.
NASA’s Science Mission Directorate has announced Competition Model 2.0, a planned overhaul of how the agency solicits and selects science missions. The model is intended to cut the time and resources spent on competitions by making early proposals focus on science rather than requiring detailed engineering and cost plans before they are needed.
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NASA said it will present the plan and take questions at a virtual NASA Science Town Hall scheduled for Monday, Oct. 26, from NASA Headquarters. The source announcement does not identify the year for that date. NASA describes the change as a response to a process that, it says, has taken years and involved contract-management challenges, unpredictability and insufficient funding.
For mission competitions covered by the revised two-step approach, Step 1 would ask for a compelling science case, a science implementation plan and a proof-of-concept mission design. NASA says this would remove roughly half of the material currently required in an Announcement of Opportunity response. Detailed engineering, cost and implementation work would be deferred until NASA needs it to make a decision.
In Step 2, teams would take part in a Mission Implementation Study with a NASA science center. NASA says the study would examine scientific merit, science implementation and mission implementation, with the aim of identifying risks early. A single mission would be selected partway through Phase A; the chosen team would continue through Phase A, while teams not selected would not have to carry their concepts through the rest of that phase at their own expense.
Shorter Competitions, Earlier Science Review
The central change is to put scientific merit earlier in the competition and postpone some expensive planning until a proposal has advanced. If implemented as described, that could reduce the time and effort teams spend preparing concepts that are not ultimately selected, while allowing NASA to assess mission feasibility before making a final choice.
NASA estimates that the updated two-step process will reduce the interval from an Announcement of Opportunity to Step 2 selection by up to 45%, from 35 months to about 19.5 months. Those are agency projections, not reported results from competitions already run under the new model. Faster decisions could help NASA move priority missions toward development sooner, but the source does not provide a schedule for specific missions or quantify any resulting cost savings.
The proposal could also affect who can compete. NASA says a science-first opening round would let ideas be judged more on their merits and give principal investigators without major university or commercial backing fair consideration. That is a stated goal; the announcement does not provide rules or outcome data showing how participation will change.
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Different Rules for Mission Classes
NASA says the largest missions will not change under CM 2.0 because their process has already been reformed. The agency points to a Large Mission Study conducted after the James Webb Space Telescope, which drew lessons from Webb and other flagship missions into a documented approach. Under that approach, NASA directs the overall mission to a lead NASA center, which then competes science teams and instruments through targeted solicitations.
For other mission classes, the announcement describes revised competitions that retain two steps but broaden the potential pool of implementing organizations, including universities and industry partners. Organizations would be evaluated on past performance on projects of similar complexity and cost. Principal investigator-led teams could request pairing with Goddard Space Flight Center or the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the first selection stage; NASA says center support may also help with procurement, contract management or technical issues.
NASA separately says some missions will move to a single-step competition with a smaller review team and virtual site visits. It estimates final selection would take about 19 months instead of about 32, a reduction of up to 40%. The announcement also says the smallest missions will draw on the commercial space sector and move faster, but the provided text ends before giving the full details of that approach.
Details Still Awaiting Explanation
The announcement sets out proposed processes and projected timelines, but does not provide a full implementation schedule, competition-specific rules or examples of upcoming solicitations under CM 2.0. It also does not explain how NASA will measure whether the changes improve predictability or lower costs.
The source text does not state the year of the Oct. 26 town hall, and the supplied material cuts off during its description of the smallest missions and commercial practices. It is therefore unclear from this announcement what requirements those missions will face, which competitions will adopt each process first, or whether the estimated time savings will apply uniformly.
NASA to Explain the Model
NASA said it would use the Oct. 26 virtual town hall to explain Competition Model 2.0 and answer questions from the science community. The agency also said the changes will be rolled out in stages and refined with community input. The announcement does not identify later milestones or a date when the new process will begin governing specific competitions.
Researchers and potential mission partners will need those follow-up details to understand proposal requirements, review procedures and eligibility for each mission class. NASA’s projected reductions can be compared with actual timelines once competitions under the revised model have progressed.
Key Questions
What is NASA Competition Model 2.0?
CM 2.0 is NASA Science’s proposed revision to how it competes and selects missions, with more emphasis on science in initial proposals and less early-stage engineering and cost work.
How much faster does NASA expect selections to be?
NASA estimates that some two-step competitions could reach Step 2 selection in about 19.5 months rather than 35 months, a reduction of up to 45%. For a separate single-step approach, it estimates about 19 months rather than 32, or up to 40% less time. These are projections, not measured outcomes.
Will the new model change how NASA selects flagship missions?
NASA says its largest missions are not changing under CM 2.0 because they already follow a reformed process based on lessons from the James Webb Space Telescope and other flagship missions.
When will NASA explain the changes?
NASA announced a virtual Science Town Hall for Monday, Oct. 26, to explain the model and answer questions. The announcement provided here does not specify the year.
Source: primary
