Amendment 62: New opportunity in C.15 PPR

Amendment 62 solicits proposals to program element C.15 Planetary Protection Research, which had previously been listed as "Not solicited this year".

Planetary Protection is the practice of protecting solar system bodies from contamination by Earth life and protecting Earth from possible life forms that may be returned from other solar system bodies. Numerous areas of research in astrobiology/exobiology are improving our understanding of the potential for survival of Earth microbes in extraterrestrial environments, relevant to preventing contamination of other bodies by Earth organisms carried on spacecraft. As we continue to bring extraterrestrial samples back to the Earth system for advanced research and analysis, there is an urgent need to understand and prevent biological contamination of the terrestrial environment. Mission-enabling and capability-driven research is required to improve NASA's understanding of the potential for both forward and backward contamination; and improve methods and technologies for accurate, efficient, and effective minimization of biological contamination for outbound spacecraft and return samples.

ROSES-18 Amendment 62 solicits proposals for Planetary Protection Research via program element C.15, which had previously been listed as "Not solicited this year". Notices of Intent are requested by April 12, 2019 and proposals are due by May 10, 2019.

Questions concerning this program element may be directed to HQ-PPR@mail.nasa.gov.