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SOMA Small Explorer Acquistion.

Science Office for Mission Assessments: Explorer (EX) Acquisition


 

Explorer 2011:

The Explorer missions were introduced with the 2011 Announcement of Opportunity for new missions. EX missions were conceived in response to the temporary unavailability of mid-range expendable launch vehicles. EX missions will accomplish world-class science via spacecraft whose capabilities are expected to fall between the SMEX and MIDEX classes. Access to space will utilize one of the several, lower-cost expendable launch vehicles currently available.  
AO Release Date  ..........  November 1, 2010
Preproposal Conference  ..........  November 23, 2010
Notice of Intent to Propose Deadline  ..........  December 9, 2010
Proposal Submittal Deadline  ..........  4:30 p.m. Eastern Time, February 16, 2011
 

EX Proposals Received

There are:
  • 22 full EX missions (15 Astro/7 Helio),
  • 20 Missions of Opportunity (11 Astro/ 9 Helio), and
  • 8 USPI (all Helio)
 
Review Schedule
Step 1 Selections announced  ..........  September 27, 2011
Initiate Phase A Concept Studies  ..........  October 18, 2011
Phase A Concept Study Reports due  ..........  September 21, 2012
Down-selection for flight (target)  ..........  Spring 2013
 

EX Q&A Process Complete

All questions received by the February 2, 2011 5:00 p.m. (Eastern time) deadline have been answered and posted to the EX AO FAQs.

NOI Submission

If you missed the deadline to submit an NOI and are considering submitting a proposal, please submit the following information, to the extent known, to the Explorer Program Acquisition Scientist at: HQ-Explorers@mail.nasa.gov.
  1. Name, address, telephone number, fax number, E-mail address, and institutional affiliation of the PI.
  2. Full names and institutional affiliations of each known Co-I. If any Co-Is or other proposal team members are from non-U.S. institutions, the vehicle by which these people expect to be funded should be identified in the comments box on the NOI form.
  3. Anticipated launch vehicle performance class.
  4. A brief statement (150 words or less) for each of the following:
    1. science objectives of the proposed mission;
    2. identification of new technologies that may be employed as part of the mission.
  5. The name of the organizational lead from each organization (industrial, academic, nonprofit, and/or Federal) included in the proposing team, and the organization's role in the proposed investigation, as may be known at the time of the NOI.


January 14, 2011 Correction to the Explorer 2011 AO posted. ...View More.
Explorer 2011 Amendments Posted. ... View More