Explorer 2011 Announcement of Opportunity

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science MissionDirectorate (SMD) is releasing an Explorer 2011 Announcement of Opportunity(NNH11ZDA002O). The Explorer Program conducts Principal Investigator (PI)-led spacescience investigations relevant to SMD's astrophysics and heliophysics programs. Explorerinvestigations must address NASAs goals to advance the understanding of the Sun and itseffects on Earth and the Solar System and/or to discover the origin, structure,evolution, and destiny of the Universe and search for Earth-like planets.This solicitation will be open from November 1, 2010, through February 16, 2011. Upon therelease date, the full text of the AO and all appendices will be available electronicallyat http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ . A preproposal conference will be held in late November, in the Washington, DC, area; seehttp://explorer.larc.nasa.gov/EX for details.NASA will release simultaneously a solicitation for Explorer 2011 Science Missions ofOpportunity (MO) through the NASA Stand Alone Missions of Opportunity Notice (SALMON)Announcement of Opportunity (NNH08ZDA009O) and a solicitation for Explorer U.S.Participating Investigators (Explorer USPI) through the Research Opportunities in Spaceand Earth Sciences 2010 (ROSES-10) NASA Research Announcement (NNH10ZDA001N).Participation is open to all categories of organizations or institutions, U.S. ornon-U.S., including educational, industrial, and not-for-profit institutions, FederallyFunded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), University Affiliated Research Centers(UARCs), NASA Centers, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and other Governmentagencies. The currently approved Explorer Program planning budget is sufficient to select andexecute at least one full Explorer mission to proceed into Phase B and subsequent missionphases. Assuming sufficient Explorer Program budget authority, NASA intends to select andexecute a second full Explorer mission or one or more Mission(s) of Opportunity. NASA isfully prepared to select only one full mission (either astrophysics or heliophysics) ifit receives mission of opportunity proposals that offer outstanding scienceopportunities. The decision between these selection options will be based upon theproposals received in response to this AO, to the Explorer MO program element appendix ofthe SALMON AO, and to the Explorer Program U.S. Participating Investigators programelement appendix of the ROSES-10 NRA; the decision will incorporate the most recentbudget planning information available at that time.Proposers should be aware of the following major policy changes in the Explorer AO fromthe Draft Explorer 2010 AO (NNH10ZDA008J) that was released on June 22, 2010. The AO has been renamed the Explorer 2011 AO. Proposals should address the science objectives in the recently released 2010Science Plan for NASAs Science Mission Directorate. The Launch Services Information Summary document in the Program Library updatedto reflect the NASA Launch Services II (NLS-II) contract.In addition to the listed major changes, this AO incorporates a large number ofadditional changes relative to the previous Explorer Program AO and the Draft ExplorerAO, including both policy changes and changes to proposal submission requirements. Allproposers must read this AO carefully, and all proposals must comply with therequirements, constraints, and guidelines contained within the AO.Comments and questions may be addressed in writing or by e-mail to the Explorer ProgramAcquisition Scientist: Dr. Barbara L. Giles, Heliophysics Division, Science MissionDirectorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546-0001, E-mail:HQ-Explorers@mail.nasa.gov (subject line to read "Explorer EX AO"). Responses to allinquiries will be answered by e-mail and also posted to the Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ) location of the Explorer Program Acquisition website athttp://explorers.larc.nasa.gov/EX/ ; anonymity of persons/institutions who submitquestions will be preserved.This notice constitutes a NASA Research Announcement as contemplated in FAR 6.102(d)(2).