Welcome to the NSF/CASIS Feasibility Review Form. The International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory is managed by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. (CASIS) under a Cooperative Agreement with NASA.
The Division of Chemical, Bioengineering and Environmental Transport (CBET) in the Engineering Directorate of the National Science Foundation (NSF) is partnering with the ISS National Lab to solicit research projects in the general field of transport phenomena that can utilize the ISS National Lab for research that will benefit life on Earth. U.S.-based entities including academic investigators, commercial companies, nonprofit independent research labs, and academic-commercial teams are eligible to apply.
The purpose of this solicitation is to attract proposals that make use of the ISS National Lab for research projects in the fields related to the NSF Transport Phenomena Cluster and Nanoscale Interaction programs. Responsive proposals will describe utilization of the ISS National Lab for development and testing of:
• Fluid dynamics
• Particulate and multiphase processes
• Combustion and fire systems
• Thermal transport processes
• Nanoscale interactions
The two-step process below provides potential offerors with an easy, efficient submission process.
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ISS National Lab Feasibility Review Form Submissions
Feasibility Review Form submissions are due January 25, 2022. The ISS National Lab will respond with the status of the review within four weeks after submission of the form.
All interested offerors must complete and upload a Feasibility Review Form. Download the Feasibility Review Form here. This form will be reviewed to assess the proposed project’s operational feasibility and terrestrial benefit. We strongly encourage submission of the Feasibility Review Form as early as possible. Offerors should consult with the ISS National Lab Operations team (Ops@ISSNationalLab.org) for feedback regarding feasibility and compliance with flight requirements and capabilities.
To upload and submit a Feasibility Review Form, press the “Click to Submit” button below. Please convert your document to a PDF prior to uploading.
Please note: You will not receive confirmation of receipt of your Feasibility Review Form
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NSF Full Proposal Submissions
The submission window for full proposals closes on March 21, 2022.
Offerors that submitted Feasibility Review Forms that pass initial review will be invited to submit a full proposal for evaluation by NSF. Documentation from the ISS National Lab confirming approval to submit a proposal must be provided when full proposals are submitted to FastLane or Grants.gov.
A Statement of Work (SOW) from your selected Implementation Partner must be included as an appendix to your proposal. Requests for funding to support implementation costs for this solicitation are capped at $350,000.
For more information on the full proposal, please see NSF 22-539
Flight Hardware Information
For overview information regarding available flight hardware that may be of particular interest to transport research, please see the ISS Hardware Information document. An expanded listing of flight hardware and research facilities that support physical science investigations on the ISS is provided by NASA (Space Station Research Facilities).
Offerors are strongly encouraged to use existing flight hardware and facilities rather than proposing to develop new platforms. The ISS National Lab Operations (Ops@ISSNationalLab.org) team is available to answer questions regarding facility availability and current flight capabilities.
Offerors will work with an Implementation Partner—a commercial services provider with experience and expertise in flight payload development and integration. Implementation Partners can be a key ally to support and facilitate the translation of ground-based research to flight experiments, and many ISS National Lab facilities are owned and/or operated by Implementation Partners. For more information about Implementation Partners, go here.
Additional Information
Awardees under this solicitation will need to execute a User Agreement with the ISS National Lab in order to conduct research on the ISS. A template agreement has been developed to streamline this process.
We thank you for your interest in conducting research on the ISS National Lab! For general questions regarding this solicitation, contact us at info@ISSNationalLab.org.
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