NASA Announcement: Release of the 2019 Announcement of Opportunity for Discovery Program

NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) is releasing the 2019 Announcement of Opportunity (AO) for Discovery Program mission investigations. The Discovery Program conducts Principal Investigator (PI)-led space science investigations in SMD's planetary programs under a not-to-exceed cost cap for the PI-Managed Mission Cost (PMMC). At the conclusion of Phase A concept studies, it is planned that no more than two Discovery investigations of sufficient merit will be down-selected to continue into subsequent mission phases. Discovery Program investigations must address NASA's planetary science objectives as described in 2018 NASA Strategic Plan and the 2014 NASA Science Plan. Both documents are available at http://science.nasa.gov/about-us/science-strategy/.

Since this is an FBO notice, it is not a complete or verbatim summary of the Discovery 2019 AO and any appendices or any, if necessary, future amendments or clarifications. NASA is releasing the Discovery 2019 AO on April 1, 2019. The full text can be found on NSPIRES at https://nspires.nasaprs.com by searching Open Solicitations for "Discovery" or "NNH19ZDA010O".

The time frame for the solicitation is intended to be:

Release of final AO .......................................April 1, 2019

Preproposal Conference ...............................April 26, 2019 (target)
It is necessary to verify the pre-proposal telecon date, start time, forthcoming agenda, logistical information, etc. by visiting Discovery Program Acquisition Website at: http://discovery.larc.nasa.gov/.

Electronic Proposal Submittal Deadline Time is 11:59 p.m. Eastern....... July 1, 2019

Step-1 Selections Announced ............................................January 2020 (target)
Phase A Concept Study Reports due..................................November 2020 (target)
Down Selection of Investigation for Flight ...........................April 2021 (target)

Launch Readiness Date...............................July 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2026
And/or...........................................................July 1, 2028, through Dec. 31, 2029

Via email only, address questions and comments on the AO to Dr. Thomas Wagner, Discovery Program Lead Scientist, Planetary Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA, Washington, DC 20546; Email: thomas.wagner@nasa.gov. Indicate in the email's subject line: "Discovery AO 2019." Anonymity of persons/institutions submitting questions will be preserved. Proposers are encouraged to send comments/questions, so they may be addressed at the Preproposal Conference.

Responses, as they become available, to questions/comments and further information for the 2019 AO, will be posted on the Discovery Program Acquisition Website at: http://discovery.larc.nasa.gov/

In the event of any government funding lapses that impact NASA operations, proposers should visit NSPIRES, the official NASA source for the full 2019 Announcement of Opportunity for Discovery Program.