NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase II | 80HQTR22NOA01 22NIAC A2

Opportunity Information: Apply for 80HQTR22NOA01 22NIAC A2

NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase II is a NASA Headquarters grant opportunity offered under the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) NASA Research Announcement (NRA) called "Space Technology Research, Development, Demonstration, and Infusion - 2022 (SpaceTech-REDDI-2022)." The NIAC Phase II solicitation is released as a specific appendix within that broader NRA (Appendix 80HQTR22NOA01-22NIACA2). The goal is to fund follow-on work for the most promising NIAC Phase I concepts, taking ideas that were shown to be basically feasible and pushing them into a more mature, better-substantiated concept that NASA (or other partners) could realistically consider for future development and potential mission use.

The NIAC program is structured in multiple steps. Phase I is a short, nine-month study focused on early feasibility, viability, and identifying the potential value of a highly innovative or "visionary" concept. Phase II expands that work for up to two years, with an emphasis on deeper technical development and clearer pathways to "infusion," meaning practical adoption or transition into NASA programs, other government efforts, or even commercial development. NIAC also references Phase III as a later mechanism intended to strategically advance and transition the strongest Phase II concepts, but the opportunity described here is specifically for Phase II.

Eligibility is tightly tied to prior NIAC Phase I work. Only current NIAC Phase I Fellows (or their designees) can submit a Phase II proposal, and the Phase II proposal must be directly based on the proposer’s Phase I study. A key rule is that the proposer must not already have received a Phase II award for that same concept. The application must also include the Key Findings from the Phase I effort, effectively showing what was learned in Phase I and how that evidence supports the Phase II plan. Older awards from the predecessor program, the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts, do not qualify for Phase II submissions under this solicitation.

A major compliance point in this solicitation is the Phase I final report requirement. Under normal circumstances, Phase I final reports must be submitted before the Phase II proposal is submitted. However, NASA notes that Covid-19 caused schedule disruptions, and many 2021 Phase I final reports were expected later than usual, potentially even after the Phase II technical panel review. To address this, NASA set a hard deadline for those delayed 2021 Phase I final reports: January 11, 2022 at 5 PM Eastern Time. If that final report is not received by that time, the Phase II proposal will not be considered for review or selection, and the proposer would need to submit again under a future NIAC solicitation.

From a technical expectations standpoint, NIAC Phase II is meant to go beyond the initial feasibility story and tackle the important unknowns that still stand between a compelling idea and a credible development path. NASA explicitly calls for Phase II studies to confront remaining assumptions, risks, and the steps needed to move forward. Proposals are expected to address cost and development realities, including performance compared to alternative approaches, a development plan with schedule, and the key enabling technologies that must exist or be matured for the concept to work. The end product NASA wants is a sound, defensible basis for deciding whether a concept is worth further investment and how it might connect to real missions, including what scientific and technical disciplines would be required to continue development.

The program is open in terms of the types of organizations and team structures that can participate, as long as the Phase I eligibility requirement is met. Principal Investigators and team members can come from universities, commercial companies, nonprofits, research labs, government agencies, or NASA Centers (including JPL). International participation is allowed in teaming arrangements, but it is subject to NASA’s foreign participation rules (referenced in the NRA, Section 3.3), so proposers need to pay attention to compliance obligations and any restrictions that may apply.

Administratively, proposals must be submitted electronically through NSPIRES, and submission must be completed by an authorized organizational representative (AOR). NASA emphasizes that organizations should register in NSPIRES early, learn the system, and avoid last-minute submissions. The detailed instructions come from the overarching SpaceTech-REDDI-2022 NRA and NASA’s Guidebook for Proposers Responding to a NASA Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The opportunity listing also indicates this is a discretionary grant under CFDA 43.012, with an expected number of awards around six, and it provides an original closing date of December 15, 2021 (while also highlighting the separate final-report deadline tied to delayed Phase I reporting).

For access, NASA directs applicants to find the appendix within the SpaceTech-REDDI-2022 solicitation in NSPIRES by navigating to the open solicitations list and selecting the NIAC Phase II program element, where the "NIAC Phase II Solicitation Document" is posted under announcement documents. Questions are handled by email through hq-niac@mail.nasa.gov, and NASA may compile responses into an FAQ associated with the appendix page while preserving the anonymity of those submitting questions.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA Headquarters in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase II" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 43.012.
• This funding opportunity was created on Oct 14, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 15, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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