Faster to Science: A Letter to the Science Community

Dear NASA Science Community, the agency has announced it is changing how it selects and competes for missions. On Monday, October 26, NASA will host a virtual Science Town Hall to explain its new Competition Model 2.0 (CM2.0) and answer questions. This is in response to feedback that the current two-step process has been too burdensome and time-consuming.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has directed the Science Mission Directorate to accelerate delivery of science and reduce the time and resources spent on long competitive processes. CM2.0 starts with a simple idea: to compete on the science first. Proposals will focus on the science without requiring detailed engineering plans, costs, or implementation work until needed for decision-making.

This frees time for science-focused work. Flagships (directed missions) will remain unchanged, but Astro-Probes, New Frontiers, and Discovery missions will follow a new two-step competition. Step 1 requires only a compelling science case, a science implementation plan, and a proof-of-concept mission design. Step 2 is a Mission Implementation Study carried out by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center or Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Down-selection happens partway through Phase A, and selected missions complete Phase A before arriving at KDP-B with a matured design. This streamlining reduces time from AO to step 2 selection by up to 45 percent. MIDEX, Earth Explorer, SMEX, Missions of Opportunity, Earth Venture, and Hosted Payloads missions will move to a single-step competition with a broader range of implementing organizations and virtual site visits.

The time to final selection will drop from about 32 months to about 19 months, a reduction of up to 40 percent. The principles guiding these changes include commercial capabilities for every mission type, reducing time from AO to step 2 selection by up to 45 percent, and enabling more missions, more often, with more incredible science at a lower cost.