Amendment 69: New Opportunity: D.9 Habitable Worlds Observatory Instrument Concept Assessments
Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) Instrument Concept Assessments (HWO-ICA) program element D.9 of ROSES-25, solicits proposals to support maturation of the HWO mission concept. The objective of HWO-ICA is to expand and deepen exploration of the HWO instrument trade space by developing and/or analyzing innovative instrument concepts and their scientific opportunity and performance, engineering feasibility and footprint, technology maturity and gaps, and associated risks
This program is intended to support the ongoing pre-formulation activities being conducted by the HWO Technology Maturation Project Office (HTMPO); the scope, deliverables, and timelines of HWO-ICA activities are therefore aligned to HTMPO’s concurrent mission concept maturation activities. This opportunity does not support development of flight hardware or support tools/systems and does not imply participation in future HWO mission development.
D.9 Habitable Worlds Observatory Instrument Concept Assessments (HWO-ICA) supports two categories of proposals:
- Category 1: Proposals led by U.S.-based institutions to conduct instrument concept assessments over a nominal ~2-year period (see Section 3.2.1)
- Category 2: Proposals to support U.S.-based individuals participating in currently ongoing instrument concept programs led and funded by non-U.S. institutions, for nominally up to ~2 years (see Section 3.2.2)
Selected proposals will be funded by firm-fixed-priced contracts (see Section 3.7) to fulfill the obligations outlined in this opportunity (see Section 4).
ROSES-2025 Amendment 69 releases D.9 Habitable Worlds Observatory Instrument Concept Assessments (HWO-ICA) as a new opportunity in ROSES-25. Neither Notices of Intent (NOIs) nor Step-1 proposals are requested. Proposals are due by October14, 2026. Proposals submitted to this program will be evaluated using dual anonymous peer review.
Questions concerning D.8 HWO-ICA may be directed to Megan Ansdell at Megan.C.Ansdell@nasa.gov.
