The Planetary Science Division solicits Interdisciplinary Consortia for Astrobiology Research (ICAR) to support the goal of the NASA’s Astrobiology program in the study of the origins, evolution, and distribution of life in the Universe. Principal Investigators selected as a result of proposals to this program element will become members of the Astrobiology Program Research Coordination Networks that are relevant to their selected research.

The Planetary Science Division intends to solicit ICAR proposals every other year, either as a program element in Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) or as a separate Cooperative Agreement Notice. Proposals for ICAR must describe an interdisciplinary approach to a single compelling question in astrobiology, and address at least one aspect of the NASA Astrobiology Science Strategy. Team size and resources requested should be appropriate to the scale of the proposed research. There is no ideal size of an ICAR Team. Because this is an opportunity for larger teams and for five years of support, the scope of the research, and subsequently the resources needed, should exceed those typically considered in a ROSES program element (e.g., Exobiology, Habitable Worlds).

The current Program Officer for ICAR is Lindsay Hays. A full list of Program Officers can be found at: https://science.nasa.gov/researchers/sara/program-officers-list/.

ICAR will be solicited in 2024 and a notification will be sent out through the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES) with more information. NSPIRES contains information on all NASA-funded research opportunities. Be sure to create an NSPIRES account to receive updates and to respond to NASA research announcements.

Visit the Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences 2024 (ROSES-2024) call for this and other funding opportunities.

Check ROSES-2024 TABLE 2: Solicited Research Programs for proposal due dates.


Areas of Research:
The areas of research for ICAR solicitations are in line with the current topics of the Research Coordination Networks (RCNs). The RCNs are designed to coordinated cross-divisional research at NASA around major topics and questions relevant to the goals of the agency. For more information on currently active RCNs and how astrobiology research efforts are organized at NASA, visit: Astrobiology@NASA.