{
  "id": 15980599,
  "title": "Faster to Science: A Letter to the Science Community",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/faster-to-science-a-letter-to-the-science-community-15980599",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-22T00:00:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "NASA",
    "slug": "nasa",
    "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/directorates/smd/faster-to-science-a-letter-to-the-science-community/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": "NASA Science wants to deliver science faster, so we’re changing how we compete and select missions. On Monday, October 26, we will host a virtual NASA Science Town Hall.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "NASA Science",
        "title": "Faster to Science: A Letter to the Science Community",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/faster-to-science-a-letter-to-the-science-community",
        "published": "2026-10-22T00:00:16.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}