===== NASA Astrophysics =====
  * Demographics Committee member: Brad Peterson, Keivan Stassun
  * Contacts: Linda Sparke, Glenn Wahlgren
==== Funding Policies and Philosophy ===

NASA funding is generally, but not entirely, mission-specific. NASA supports all types of organizations: domestic and foreign (on a no-exchange-of-funds basis), government and private, for-profit and not-for-profit.

==== RFP and Proposal structure and frequency ====

NASA Astrophysics has basically three types of funding opportunities for astrophysics:

(1) Programs administered by NASA Headquarters, with proposals solicited annually through the omnibus NASA Research Announcement “Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES)”. Funding for missions in their “extended phase” (beyond planned operational lifetime) is available through the ROSES solicitation. Suborbital (aircraft, balloons, sounding rockets, and reuseable launch vehicles) flight opportunities are also made available through the ROSES solicitation, as are opportunities for CubeSat and International Space Station programs. ROSES also includes funding opportunities for mission development, data analysis, and fundamental physics investigations in support of astrophysics missions, all broadly interpreted. ROSES funding can be in the form of grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements, depending on deliverables and the nature of the proposing entity.

(2) Mission-specific programs administered by the mission operational centers (e.g., Space Telescope Science Institute) and solicited for observing “cycles,” which are typically annual. These sometimes include archival research and mission-relevant theory programs. Depending on the mission and the scope of activities, funding can range from a few thousand dollars for one year up to a few to several hundred thousand dollars over multiple years.

(3) Mission or mission-participation opportunities solicited through specific Announcements of Opportunity through the Explorer Program, with typically one such solicitation every few years. These are long-term programs funded at levels exceeding $100M.

The 2014 Astrophysics Research Program funded through ROSES includes the following elements:

(1) Astrophysics Research and Analysis

(2) Astrophysics Theory

(3) Swift Guest Investigator Program

(4) Fermi Guest Investigator Program

(5) Kepler Guest Investigator Program

(6) Strategic Astrophysics Technology

(7) Nancy Grace Roman Technology Fellowships for Early Career Researchers

In addition, exoplanet research and education and public outreach programs are funded as cross-divisional research.

Funding levels for these various programs can range from around $100k to $1M per year, depending on their scope. Programs are typically selected for 3 years of funding, and up to 5 years in some cases.

==== Selected Questions and Available Data ====

Broken down by program (i.e., the individual ROSES elements listed above plus mission-specific funding (e.g., Guest Observer funding for Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and Spitzer Space Telescope):

(1) Number of proposals received.
(2) Number of proposals funded.
(3) Total funding disbursed.
(4) Number of distinct Principal Investigators.
(5) Institutions receiving funding (and amount).

This information in two snapshots, one as recent as possible and another 8-10 years ago, should be sufficient.




==== Links to Existing talks, trending graphs, relevant information ====
  * Click on **[[AAAC:nasa_astrophysics:resources|Resources]]**