NASA Announcement: Release of Amendment #1 to the Announcement of Opportunity for NASA Heliophysics Explorers Program 2019 Medium-Class Explorer (MIDEX)

On July 2, 2019, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) released an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) entitled: Announcement of Opportunity (AO) for 2019 Heliophysics Medium-Class Explorer (MIDEX). Today's FBO notice announces that the full text of the 2019 MIDEX AO available at: https://nspires.nasaprs.com by searching on NNH19ZDA013O has been or will be modified/amended on or after July 23, 2019.
The release of the 2019 Heliophysics MIDEX AO was delayed due to the 35-day partial U.S. Government shutdown. Since this is an FBO synopsis notice, it is not a complete or verbatim summary of the 2019 Heliophysics MIDEX AO, any appendices, Amendment #1 or, if necessary, future amendments or clarifications. It is necessary to visit the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES), the official NASA source for the 2019 Heliophysics MIDEX AO, and download a full and complete copy.

In sum, Amendment #1 removes or rescinds the AO's no-participation-in-any-capacity limitation place upon the Aerospace Corporation (Aerospace). NASA will not impose a full or partial limitation on participation by Aerospace in this AO. IMPORTANT NOTE: This amendment has no impact on other SMD AOs that retain or impose future participation limitations on Aerospace. The Heliophysics Explorers Program conducts Principal Investigator (PI)-led space science investigations under a not-to-exceed cost cap. Heliophysics Explorers Program investigations must address NASA's heliophysics science objectives as described in 2018 NASA Strategic Plan and the 2014 NASA Science Plan.

It is anticipated that no more than three 2019 Heliophysics MIDEX investigations will be selected for 9-month, $1.25M (FY19) Phase A concept studies through the AO. At the conclusion of the concept studies, it is expected that at least one MIDEX investigation will be down-selected to continue into Phase B and subsequent mission phases. Multiple missions may be down-selected if their total cost remains below the AO cost cap.

Due to the 2018 Heliophysics Science Mission of Opportunity Program Element Appendix to the SALMON-3 AO, there are no heliophysics Missions of Opportunity (MO) solicited as part of this AO. Furthermore, the MO associated with this Midex AO was released October 2018 as a Heliophysics Program Element Appendix M to the SALMON-3 or the Third Stand Alone Mission of Opportunity Notice.

NASA recognizes and supports the benefits of having diverse and inclusive scientific, engineering, and technology communities and fully expects that such values will be reflected in the composition of all proposal teams as well as peer review panels (science, engineering, and technology), science definition teams, and mission and instrument teams.

Foreign contributions to science instruments should not exceed approximately one-third of the science payload. Proposals shall include a discussion of the scale of the internationally-contributed instruments, how the proposed contribution is consistent with NASA's policy that the contribution does not exceed approximately one-third of the science payload, and how the programmatic risks associated with the contribution will be handled.

Launch Vehicle costs and procurement will be the responsibility of NASA. Launch vehicle standard services will be provided as Government Furnished Equipment (GFE), so the cost will not be included in the PI-Managed Mission Cost (PIMMC). The cost of mission-specific and special launch services is the responsibility of the PI and must be included within the proposed PIMMC.

The 2019 Heliophysics MIDEX AO is based on the Standard PI-led Mission AO Template version 5.0 available at http://soma.larc.nasa.gov/standardao/sao_templates.html. All proposers must read this AO carefully, and all proposals must comply with the requirements, constraints, and guidelines contained within the AO.

Proposers are encouraged to send comments and questions early so that they may be addressed at the Preproposal Conference planned for July 23, 2019; this date, however, may change. The forthcoming agenda, logistical information, and confirmation of the date for this session are found on the Acquisition Homepage at https://explorers.larc.nasa.gov/HPMIDEX/. The period for questions/comments will close fourteen (14) days before the proposal due date, and the period for responses will close ten (10) days before the proposal due date.

Responses to comments/questions will be posted on the website of the Science Office for Mission Assessments (SOMA) of NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) at https://explorers.larc.nasa.gov/HPMIDEX/ on the 2019 Heliophysics MIDEX Acquisition Pages. Anonymity of persons/institutions who submit comments will be preserved.

Confirm the following submission dates by visiting https://nspires.nasaprs.com and downloading a full and complete copy of solicitation NNH19ZDA013O:

A mandatory Notice of Intent (NOI) to propose is due August 2, 2019, 11:59 pm Eastern. The Electronic Proposal Submittal Deadline is September 30, 2019, 11:59 p.m. Eastern. Letters of Commitment are Due with the Proposal at September 30, 2019, 11:59 p.m. Eastern. The Deadline for Receipt of Proposal on CD-ROMs or DVD-ROMs is October 4, 2019, 4:30 p.m. Eastern

Comments/Questions will be accepted by email only with the subject line to read "2019 Heliophysics MIDEX" addressed to Dan.Moses@nasa.gov. Dr. Moses is the Heliophysics Explorers Program Lead Scientist.

In the event of any Federal Government funding lapses that impact NASA operations, proposers should visit NSPIRES. The issuance of a 2019 Heliophysics MIDEX AO does not obligate NASA to issue awards through this AO. Any costs incurred by prospective investigators in preparing submissions in response to this solicitation are incurred completely at the submitter's own risk.