How to Submit a Research Proposal

Supporting research in science and technology is an important part of NASA’s overall mission. NASA solicits this research by announcing various research opportunities in a wide range of science and technology disciplines. Researchers can help NASA achieve national research objectives by submitting research proposals and conducting awarded research. NASA uses a peer review process to evaluate and select submitted research proposals which are posted on the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES).          

• NSPIRES
  NSPIRES is a web-based system that supports the entire lifecycle of NASA research solicitation and awards, from the release of solicitation announcements, submission of proposals, the peer review and selection process, and eventually awards management and publication of research results. The system is intended to facilitate conducting of research business with NASA for the science and technology research community.
• NSPIRES Registration
  To submit a research proposal to NASA, individuals and the organizations with which they are affiliated must be registered in NSPIRES. Individuals may register at any time. However, organizations are required to have a valid registration with the System for Award Management (SAM) before they can register in NSPIRES.
• View Solicitations
  Search for and view open, closed, past, and future NASA research announcements. The full text of the solicitation announcements can be viewed and downloaded.
• Other Research Information
  • Research.gov is a partnership of federal research-oriented grant making agencies. Research.gov is led by the National Science Foundation.
  • SARA: Service and Advice for Research and Analysis
  • NASA Postdoctoral Program
  • Human Research Roadmap

Implementing Human Life Sciences Research on the International Space Station

Implementation of human life sciences research during space flight is limited by various resource constraints such as crew time (before, during, and after flight), up and down mass, and cold stowage. Thus, experiments that require fewer of these resources are often more feasible to implement. Prospective investigators should carefully consider these constraints as outlined in NASA Research Announcements (NRAs) when developing their protocol requirements, keeping in mind that technical feasibility is an important component of the research selection process.

All experiments selected for implementation go through four basic phases of development: definition, flight, post-flight, and data analysis. During the initial definition phase, the experiment protocol requirements are refined to meet approval by the NASA and International Partner (IP) Institutional Review Boards (IRB) and to ensure they can be feasibly implemented within the constraints and limited resources presented by spaceflight. During the flight phase, the experiment is actively being conducted by astronauts aboard the ISS, though this phase also includes any associated baseline data collection (BDC) and post-flight data collection. The post-flight phase begins after the final flight data collection is complete, but post-flight ground data collection is still being performed. The final data analysis phase begins after all BDC, flight, and post-flight data collection is complete and encompasses any remaining analysis of data, post-flight debriefs with participating crewmembers, data sharing, and data submittal to the Life Sciences Data Archive.

Investigators should be aware that if their proposal(s) are selected for definition, they will be assigned an experiment team experienced in conducting human life sciences investigations on ISS to assist them in further defining their experiment hardware, software, and operational requirements. If selected for flight, the experiment team will remain with the investigator to provide assistance in preparing the experiment for flight.
For more information on guidelines for developing proposals for ISS human life sciences research, please reference the Information Packets provided with the NSPIRES solicitations.

Software Use

Investigators proposing to fly unique software will need to be prepared to comply with NASA standards and requirements. Unique software will require additional funding in order to meet the requirements levied on all software flying to the ISS. The requirements will be explained in detail during the definition phase upon selection, but overall guidelines and information regarding available platforms are provided below:

• Compatible with Windows 10 (64-bit) for laptop applications
• Software shall not require communication with a system outside the NASA domain while in use on the ground or outside the ISS while on orbit.
• The use of iPad apps is highly discouraged as implementation has proven extremely challenging. Long-term ISS Program support of the iPad platform is not guaranteed. If an investigator wants to propose an app, it should be developed as a Business-to-Business (B2B)-based iPad app between the PI and the NASA Station Support Computer Division (OD). It should not require real-time processing.
  • In the event an iPad app is required, PIs must provide a server-side solution for data retrieval to be installed on the Station Support Computer server. The server solution must be able to be commanded from the ground.
  • iOS Apps should be published using Apple’s Business to Business (B2B) process.
  • No assumptions should be made regarding iPad hardware or iOS versions.
  • The iOS on ISS is updated approximately four times a year (December/January, March/April, June/July, and September/October) when Apple releases its major increment releases.
  • PIs must ensure functionality and maintenance of the app.
• File-based data is required.

Investigators should also make provision for maintenance of the software during the life of the experiment, including any capabilities required for post-experiment data processing upon return of the data to ground.

Investigators planning to reuse software need to include funding for any updates required due to change in available platforms and interfaces. If the software being reused was part of another experiment, the new investigator must arrange permissions to use the software from the previous experiment and provide funding for any updates required due to changes in requirements, platforms and interfaces.

To learn more about the process for implementing unique software, visit the ROI Software Development website.

Hardware Use

There are many research tools available to investigators who wish to conduct human physiological research on ISS. The Human Research Facility (HRF) is a suite of hardware that provides core capabilities to enable research on human subjects. HRF consists of items mounted on two racks located in the Columbus module, as well as separate equipment kept in stowage and brought out as needed. HRF Racks 1 and 2 are currently on orbit and are regularly used for data collection and downlink of experiment data. More information on the currently available HRF flight hardware can be found on the ROI Facilities pages or the ROI ISS Facilities Overview.

Some investigators may wish to develop their own special experiment hardware to work in conjunction with the facilities and functional capabilities of existing hardware. As a general rule, design, construction, and flight of major experiment-unique equipment hardware items or facilities usually require the commitment of large quantities of resources (power, crew time, volume). Commercially available hardware is often more feasible to prepare for flight than custom-made hardware, but it will often still require some modification in order to meet the requirements levied on all hardware flying to the ISS. All hardware provided for use through ROI is launched to ISS using an International Partner (IP) resupply vehicle or a US commercial vehicle. At this time, return of hardware and samples from the ISS is only possible using US commercial vehicles, with a very limited capability on the Soyuz.

Other Hardware Resources

Hardware is available onboard ISS for investigations that require conditioned storage of samples. Information about these facilities can be found on the Space Station Research Explorer under the following pages:

• MELFI (Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS)
• GLACIER (General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator)
• MERLIN (Microgravity Experiment Research Locker Incubator)

Data Sharing

Due to the limited availability of resources, particularly crew time, aboard the ISS, many flight studies may pursue efficiencies by sharing common required data collection through a single session rather than duplicating sessions. All human life sciences research implemented by ROI is archived within NASA’s Life Sciences Data Archive. In addition, investigators may request supplemental data collected by other studies from the Life Sciences Data Archive, if the need for the supplemental data is identified in their IRB-approved research protocols, and the data is approved for distribution by crew subject consent or available in a de-identified form.