Amendment 41: Hera Participating Scientist Program Final Text and Due Dates.

The Hera Participating Scientist Program (Hera-PSP) solicits proposals to support scientists at U.S. institutions to participate on the Hera mission, which the European Space Agency is developing for launch in 2024. Hera is Europe’s contribution to the international planetary defense demonstration that was initiated by NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART). Hera, planned to launch in 2024, will arrive at the Didymos system in 2026 to perform a close-up survey of both asteroids, measuring their masses and compositions, and to provide further assessment of the changes caused by DART. The Hera-PSP solicits proposals for science investigations or other scientific contributions to the Hera mission that directly address outstanding questions in planetary defense and near-Earth asteroid science and that could be carried out during the mission’s primary flight and post-flight phases.

This program requires a Notice of Intent (NOI). Proposals that are not preceded by the mandatory NOI will be returned without review, see Section 3.1.

ROSES-2023 Amendment 41 releases final text and due dates for C.25 Hera-PSP. Mandatory NOIs are due October 3, 2023, and proposals are due November 30, 2023.

A Proposal Information Package and a FAQ will be posted under "Other documents" on the NSPIRES page for this program element. Questions may be submitted by email to the points of contact identified in the summary table of key information no later than 30 days before the proposal deadline.

Questions concerning C.25 Hera-PSP may be directed to Thomas S. Statler at thomas.s.statler@nasa.gov and Amanda Nahm at amanda.l.nahm@nasa.gov.