FY2024 TEAM II NOFO Announcement

Next Gen STEM’s Teams Engaging Affiliated Museums and Informal Institutions (TEAM II) program is pleased to announce an upcoming FY2024 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) that will expand the current program from a two-tier to a three-tier system by adding a mid-level funding tier. The NOFO is expected to be released in the third quarter of FY2024 (April-June). The new mid-level funding tier was created in response to feedback from the informal education community.

The new “STEM Innovator” tier will fund awards of approximately $250,000. In addition, the highest tier award will be designated the “National Connector” award and fund initiatives up to $900,000.  The “Community Anchor” tier will continue to offer awards up to $50,000. The Community Anchor tier opportunity will be offered each fiscal year, and the STEM Innovator and National Connector tiers will be offered in alternating years. The FY2024 NOFO will include the Community Anchor and STEM Innovator tiers and the FY2025 NOFO will focus on the Community Anchor and National Connector tiers. By adding the mid-level tier, NASA and Next Gen STEM aim to broaden the number and type of awards made to Informal Education Institutions for creating innovative, NASA-inspired programming for K-12 students and their families.

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Kaitlyn Adams

NASA Recognizes 5 Early Career Planetary Scientists

NASA has selected five early-career scientists for its 2023 Planetary Science Early Career Award (ECA) based on their demonstrated leadership, involvement in the planetary science community, and potential for future impact.

The ECA program supports exceptional early-career scientists who play a meaningful role in the planetary science community to pursue professional development in areas relevant to NASA’s Planetary Science Division. The goal of each proposal is to identify a need in the community and propose a project to address that need. Each project is facilitated by a grant of up to $200,000 to each of the selected principal investigators.

The selected projects span the full breadth of planetary science research, and the principal investigators are based at U.S. universities and research institutes:

Emily Costello, University of Hawai’i at Manoa: Dr. Costello’s project, “Navigating by Moonlight: The Art of Planetary Science,” will link planetary science and art to the local indigenous culture native to Oahu, Hawai’i.

Christopher Fowler, West Virginia University in Morgantown: Dr. Fowler’s project, “Bringing Planetary Science to West Virginia,” will increase the visibility of and capacity for planetary science research at West Virginia University and engage underserved high school students in West Virginia with planetary science data sets and NASA missions.

Peter James, Baylor University in Waco, Texas: Dr. James’ project suite of research tasks, “Origins of porosity on rocky planetary surfaces,” will address the creation and evolution of porosity in the crusts of rocky planets. This project will also involve the development of a cratering workshop (“Crater Bootcamp”) with undergraduate students at the University of Texas Permian Basin in Odessa and outreach talks through Mayborn Museum in central Texas.

Kelly Miller, Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio: Dr. Miller’s project, “Carbon-Based Connections: From Earth to the Outer Solar System,” will establish carbon-based connections across the solar system and will include outreach efforts with middle schools in San Antonio.

Laura Rodriguez, Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston: Dr. Rodriguez’s project, “Supporting Planetary Science and Mission Work with the Astrobiology Spectral Database,” will create an Astrobiology Spectral Database to house and facilitate exploration of mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy data.

Individuals interested in applying for NASA’s ECA program must have a funded ROSES (Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science) award from the past two ROSES cycles and must be within 10 years of receiving their terminal degree. Proposals for ECA-2024 are due Dec. 5, 2024.

For more information about NASA’s planetary science, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/planetary-science/

Karen Fox / Charles Blue
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1257 / 202-802-5345
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / charles.e.blue@nasa.gov

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Students Across US to Hear from NASA Astronaut Aboard Space Station

Students of a volunteer service organization will have the opportunity next week to hear from NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps aboard the International Space Station.

The Earth-to-space call will stream live at 11:40 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 21, on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

Media interested in covering the event must RSVP no later than 5 p.m., Monday, May 20, by contacting Kimberly Sweet at knoelsweet@gmail.com or 601-260-1208.

Junior chapters of The Links, Incorporated, and the National Society of Black Engineers across the United States will ask pre-recorded questions and host a live viewing event. The Links is an international, not-for-profit, volunteer service organization focused on the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other people of African ancestry.

For more than 23 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Near Space Network.

Important research and technology investigations taking place aboard the International Space station benefits people on Earth and lays the groundwork for other agency missions. As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars. Inspiring Artemis Generation explorers and ensuring the United States will continue to lead in space exploration and discovery.

See videos and lesson plans highlighting space station research at:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

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Gerelle Dodson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
gerelle.q.dodson@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones 
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov

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Tiernan P. Doyle

Expedition 70 Astronauts to Share Mission in NASA Welcome Home Event

May 15, 2024

MEDIA ADVISORY: J24-010

Expedition 70 Astronauts to Share Mission in NASA Welcome Home Event

Four astronauts will participate in a welcome home ceremony at Space Center Houston after recently returning from a mission aboard the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara, along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, will share highlights from their mission beginning at 5:30 p.m. CDT Thursday, May 16 during a free, public event at NASA Johnson Space Center’s visitor center. The crew will also recognize key contributors to its mission success in an awards ceremony following their presentation.

The astronauts will be available for media interviews immediately before the event. Reporters may request an in-person interview no later than 5 p.m. May 16 by emailing Dana Davis at dana.l.davis@nasa.gov.

Moghbeli, Mogensen, Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov launched as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission, lifting off Aug. 26, 2023. The crew spent 199 days in space, completing hundreds of scientific experiments and maintaining the orbiting laboratory. Mogensen served as commander for Expedition 70. Mogensen and Furukawa have logged 209 and 366 days in space respectively over the course of their careers. It was the first spaceflight for Moghbeli and Borisov. Crew-7 returned to Earth on March 12.

O’Hara flew with an international crew, launching aboard the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft on Sept. 15, 2023. The six-month research mission was the first spaceflight of her career, and she logged 204 days in space across Expedition 69 and 70. She conducted one spacewalk alongside Moghbeli, spending 6 hours, 42 minutes, suited up outside of the space station. She saw the arrival of eight visiting vehicles and the departure of seven over the course of her mission. She returned to Earth on April 6.

Members of the Expedition 70 crew participated in the CIPHER (Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research on Varying Mission Durations) investigation. It examines physiological and psychological changes that humans undergo during spaceflight. The crew also tended to tomato plants grown for the Plant Habitat-06 investigation to see how spaceflight affects plant immune function and production. Expedition 70 also saw the release of two small satellites called CubeSats from the space station. Both were created by students in Japan.

Stay current on space station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the station Facebook and Instagram accounts and the space station blog.

http://www.nasa.gov/station

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Chelsey Ballarte
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
chelsey.n.ballarte@nasa.gov

Dana Davis
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-244-0933
dana.l.davis@nasa.gov

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Wendy K. Avedisian