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The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) supports basic and applied research in Earth and space science. The SMD research program includes the development of major space flight missions; analysis of data from prior missions; conduct of major field campaigns; and the Supporting Research and Technology (SR&T) program which includes development of instruments for suborbital flights and potential missions, detector development, complementary laboratory research, and theoretical studies. The SMD also supports the development of decision-making tools for science-based policy and management decisions.
The fundamental questions and goals for NASA's Earth and space science research activities are given in a series of Strategic Plans and Science Roadmaps; these documents can be accessed at http://science.hq.nasa.gov/strategy/ and http://science.hq.nasa.gov/strategy/roadmaps/.
Interested students are advised that historically the response to this GSRP Program has been extremely high, with a selection ratio of about one out of five, and that a key criterion for proposal evaluation and selection is the relevance of the proposed investigation to the NASA mission as described in the Space and Earth Science Strategic Plans. Therefore, while academic records are important, students should consider applying to this program only if they can present valid lines of reasoning that their intended research is clearly relevant to NASA SMD science research programs and/or missions and/or strategic objectives. Programmatic factors may also affect selection (for example, see specific priorities in the Divisions listed below). The program should present a well-defined problem and justification of its scientific significance, as well as a detailed approach for its solution.
Research that exploits analysis of data collected by spacecraft-borne instruments, relevant ground-based data and laboratory experiments, and theoretical modeling is solicited. Emphasis is placed on the development and implementation of a multifaceted program of space-based and suborbital (airborne, sounding rocket, and balloons) missions. Investigations that support instrumentation development relevant to future missions in the above areas, the analysis of data from ongoing and past missions, and laboratory and theoretical investigations that support the interpretation of relevant space-based observations are invited. Individuals are strongly encouraged to make their proposals directly relevant to the mission of the SMD science research themes and to clearly indicate which theme area they are proposing to. In particular, recent successful proposals have concentrated on data analysis, developing hardware or modeling tools, and/or carrying out essential scientific objectives or observations based on specific NASA-supported missions.
SMD participates in the GSRP (3rd year renewals only for FY08) and, in addition, offers the Earth System Science (ESS) Fellowship Program. For information on how to apply to the ESSFP see http://nspires.nasaprs.com/, select "Solicitations," select "Open Solicitations"). The terms and conditions for these two programs remain essentially the same except: 1) Eligible foreign students pursuing graduate degrees relevant to NASA Earth Science at accredited U.S. universities must apply through the ESS Fellowship Program; foreign students are not eligible to apply to GSRP; and 2) the deadline for the 2nd- or 3rd-year renewal applications to the ESS Fellowship Program is March 15. (Applicants cannot concurrently receive more than one Federal fellowship or traineeship.)
Solar System Exploration Division – Addresses scientific activities that pertain to the solar system, including planets, moons, rings, asteroids, and comets. Questions of interest are: What is the origin of the solar system and how did it evolve to its current diverse state? What characteristics of the solar system make planetary bodies habitable? Has life ever existed on other planetary bodies in the solar system? What is the ultimate fate of the solar system? What threat is posed by the potential for collisions with Earth-approaching objects? Acceptable research topics in the Solar System Exploration theme include studies of the planets, rings, moons, comets, asteroids, meteorites, and cosmic dust.
Areas of research interest include planetary geology, geophysics, geochemistry, atmospheres, astronomy, and astrobiology. Research using data collected by missions to explore our solar system is encouraged. The data are available through the Planetary Data System at http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/. Projects that involve theoretical modeling or laboratory experiments to aid in interpreting planetary data and understanding planetary processes are also appropriate.
The Earth-Sun System Division – Includes Earth System Science and Applications and Sun-Solar System Connections.
The key research topics in Earth system science fall largely into three categories: forcings, responses, and processes that link the two and provide feedback mechanisms. The goal for Earth System Science research is to understand how the Earth is changing, to better predict the change(s), and to understand the consequences of change for life on Earth; the objective for Earth Science Applications is to expand and accelerate the realization of economic benefits from NASA Earth science, information, and technology through innovative or improved decision support systems. Applications are considered in six focus areas:
- Climate Variability and Change
Develop integrated models of the oceans, atmosphere, cryosphere and land surface, and apply to retrospective and future studies of climate variability and change. Mission activities that support this focus area include Terra, Aqua, ACRIMSAT, Jason, SORCE, GRACE, ICEsat, Cloudsat, Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation (JCSDA), etc.
- Atmospheric Composition
Understand the trace constituent and particulate composition of the Earth's atmosphere and predict its future evolution. Mission activities that support this focus area include Aura, Calipso, etc.
- Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems
Understand and predict changes in the Earth's terrestrial and marine ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles. Mission activities that support this focus area include Landsat, Terra, Aqua, EO-1 (Hyperion & ALI), etc.
- Water and Energy Cycle
Characterize and predict trends and changes in key reservoirs and fluxes associated with the global water and energy cycle, including changes in the frequency and intensity of hydro-meteorological events and their regional manifestations. Mission activities that support this focus area include TRMM, Aqua, GRACE, ICEsat, Calipso, GPM, Cloudsat, etc.
- Weather
Develop the technology, observational and modeling capacity needed to improve daily and extreme weather forecasting (e.g., hurricanes, tornadoes). Mission activities that support this focus area include TRMM, QuikSCAT, Aqua, GPM, Short-term Prediction Research and Transition Center (SpoRT), JCSDA, etc.
- Earth Surface and Interior
Utilize state-of-the-art measurements and advanced modeling techniques to understand and predict changes on the Earth's surface and in its interior. Mission activities that support this focus area include SRTM, GRACE, ICEsat, and the geodetic laser, GPS, and interferometer networks.
Although the development of a Earth science application project is generally beyond the scope of a graduate thesis, the applicants are encouraged to identify the potential if the research results can be extended to decision support in agricultural efficiency, air quality, aviation, carbon management, disaster management, ecological forecasting, energy management, homeland security, invasive species, public health, and water management.
The Sun-Solar System Connection (S3C) - Addresses the understanding of the Sun, heliosphere, and planetary space environments as a single connected system. The three science objectives of the S3C program are: To understand the fundamental physical processes of the space environment - from the Sun to the Earth, to other planets, and beyond to the interstellar medium; to understand how human society, technological systems, and the habitability of planets are affected by solar variability and its interaction with planetary magnetic fields; and to maximize the safety of productivity of human and robotic explorers by developing the capability to predict the extreme and dynamics conditions in space. Research in the Sun-Solar System Connections (S3C) focuses on investigations of the physics of the Sun, both as a nearby star and as a source of variable outputs of solar wind, energetic particles, and electromagnetic radiation that influence the Earth and its space environment; on the heliosphere and its interaction with the local interstellar medium; and on all planetary space environments within the heliosphere. Studies of the planetary space environments include investigations of the coupling between the Sun and the magnetosphere, ionosphere, thermosphere, and mesosphere of the Earth and other planets. The program also involves investigations of the origin, evolution, and physics of astrophysical plasmas, electromagnetic fields, and energetic particles in the heliosphere. The theme also supports theory and modeling programs related to the above topics. Use of data is encouraged from S3C missions, which include SOHO, TRACE, RHESSI, Voyager, Ulysses, ACE, IMAGE, Cluster, FAST, Polar, TIMED, and others. The proposer should make clear that arrangements have been made to obtain the data. Applicants with proposals relevant to the objectives of the Sun-Solar System Connection should check “SMD/Space Science” on the GSRP cover page.
Universe Division – Topics include cosmology, large scale structure of the universe, evolution of stars and galaxies, including the Milky Way, and objects with extreme physical conditions. Questions of interest are: How did the universe come into being? How does it work? What is its ultimate fate? Research is focused into campaigns targeted towards the search for dark energy and its effects on the expansion of the universe; the identification of dark matter and its influence on the shape of galaxies and clusters of galaxies; finding out where and when chemical elements were made; understanding of the cycles in which matter, energy, and magnetic field are exchanged between stars and interstellar gas; discovery of how gas flows in disks and formation of cosmic jets; identification of sources of gamma-ray bursts and high-energy cosmic rays; measurement of strong gravity near black holes and its affects on the early Universe.
Equally important areas of research investigate the origins of galaxies, stars, protoplanetary disks, extra-solar planetary systems, Earth-like planets, and the origin of life. Questions of interest are: How were galaxies born? How do stars and solar systems form? Are there other Earth-like planets? Research is focused on determining the fate of the baryonic matter; measuring the luminosities, forms, and environment of galaxies back to the epoch of their formation; trace the chemical evolution of the universe from the birth of the first stars; follow the journey of the heavy chemical elements after their birth to the formation of dust, new generations of stars, and planetary systems; search for evidence of planet formation in disks around young stars; determine how planetary-system forming disks evolve; search for other planetary systems around a variety of stars and determine their characteristics; reconstruct the environmental history of Earth in the first billion years when life arose; characterize the traits of the universal common ancestor through phylogenetic analyses; characterize the range of atmospheric compositions that might be produced by microbal ecosystems; develop theoretical models for the compositional evolution of early Earth's atmosphere through to the accumulation of significant O2; and to predict possible global biosignatures of planets around other stars.
Because of the oversubscription of excellent proposals in the program, the Universe Division has set specific programmatic priorities. The priorities to be applied, starting with the highest, are: 1. Work in support of technology for future missions not supported by technology funding; 2. Work in support of suborbital flights or possible future small missions addressing the objectives of the two themes; 3. Analysis and interpretation of data for flight missions not otherwise supported with adequate resources for users outside the experiment teams; 4. Correlative observations for current flight missions; 5. Theoretical investigations in support of future or ongoing flight missions; 6. Other analyses or theoretical studies related to the general objectives of the division; and 7. Other work in support of the division goals of the Earth and Space Science Strategic Plan.
Information Systems Research and Technology – Exploit emerging advances in information science and technology to increase productivity of the Science Mission Directorate research endeavors, and extend the state-of-the-practice in those endeavors. Notional areas of interest for proposals include, but are not limited to: advanced knowledge discovery, data synthesis, and data presentation methodologies; intelligent knowledge-building systems to assist scientific research and applications; distributed interdisciplinary collaborative frameworks; advanced simulation and design capabilities; onboard science autonomy and intelligent compression; and autonomous operations and control.
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