Interdisciplinary Consortia for Astrobiology Research (ICAR)

The Planetary Science Division solicits Interdisciplinary Consortia for Astrobiology Research (ICAR) to support the goal of the NASA’s Astrobiology program in the study of the origins, evolution, and distribution of life in the Universe. Principal Investigators selected as a result of proposals to this program element often become members of the Astrobiology Program Research Coordination Networks that are relevant to their selected research.

The Planetary Science Division solicits ICAR proposals every other year, either as a program element in Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) or as a separate Cooperative Agreement Notice. Proposals for ICAR must describe an interdisciplinary approach to a single compelling question in astrobiology, and address at least one aspect of the NASA Astrobiology Science Strategy. Team size and resources requested should be appropriate to the scale of the proposed research. There is no ideal size of an ICAR Team. Because this is an opportunity for larger teams and for five years of support, the scope of the research, and subsequently the resources needed, should exceed those typically considered in a ROSES program element, such as Exobiology.

The current Program Officer for ICAR is Becky McCauley Rench. Click here for a full list of Program Officers.

The NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES) contains information on all NASA-funded research opportunities. Be sure to create an NSPIRES account to receive updates and to respond to NASA research announcements.

Selected ICAR Proposals:

• NNH24ZDA001N-ICAR Selected Abstracts
• NNH23ZDA001N-ICAR Selected Abstracts (Updated 9/13/23)
• NNH19ZDA001N Selected Abstracts
• NNH24ZDA001N-iCAR Selected Abstracts

Areas of Research:
The areas of research for ICAR solicitations are in line with the current topics of the Research Coordination Networks (RCNs). The RCNs are designed to coordinated cross-divisional research at NASA around major topics and questions relevant to the goals of the agency.