ROSES 2025: Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) has released the 2025 cycle of its omnibus Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) funding program. ROSES 2025 represents one of NASA’s primary vehicles for supporting research and technology development across all scientific areas under the SMD umbrella, including Earth science, astrophysics, heliophysics, planetary science, and biological and physical sciences. The overarching objective is to advance NASA’s strategic mission goals by funding cutting-edge research that enables exploration, understanding, and utilization of Earth and space systems. This broad research announcement, identified by the funding opportunity number NNH25ZDA001N, is open to a diverse array of applicants, including U.S.-based institutions of higher education, nonprofits, private entities, and government organizations, with certain limitations for foreign and federal applicants. The ROSES 2025 NRA was officially released on July 10, 2025. It comprises approximately 35 individual program elements, each targeting specific scientific areas with their own due dates, submission requirements, and evaluation criteria. Collectively, these program elements span the full range of NASA’s scientific priorities, from observational and theoretical investigations to field campaigns, sample analyses, instrument development, modeling, and flight-based research. The program supports activities such as the analysis of mission data, modeling and simulation, laboratory studies, application of Earth observation data for societal benefits, and development of new technologies. The program offers a wide range of award sizes, with annual budgets ranging from tens of thousands of dollars for small data analyses to multi-million-dollar awards for complex investigations or flight opportunities. Awards are typically structured as grants or cooperative agreements, with contracts used only in rare, specified circumstances. NASA anticipates distributing between $125 million and $150 million in total funding through approximately 300 awards across all ROSES program elements. Individual award sizes and numbers vary by element and are detailed in the element-specific documentation and tables. The standard period of performance is three years, but may extend up to five years or be shorter depending on the program's specific structure. While proposals from non-U.S. organizations are allowed, NASA operates on a no-exchange-of-funds basis for foreign participants. Funding is generally restricted for other U.S. federal agencies unless explicitly permitted in the relevant program element. Notably, Appendices A (Earth Science) and C (Planetary Science) prohibit funding to federal agencies other than NASA, and similar restrictions apply or require prior approval in Appendices B, D, and F.3. Applicants must submit proposals electronically through the NASA NSPIRES system or, in limited cases, via Grants.gov if requested at least 30 days in advance. ROSES uses a mix of single-step and two-step submission processes depending on the program element. Most submissions will follow a dual-anonymous peer review (DAPR) format, requiring separate anonymized and non-anonymized documents. Proposals must comply with formatting rules and include key components such as the Scientific/Technical/Management narrative, a total budget, and an Open Science and Data Management Plan (OSDMP), unless exempted. Review criteria emphasize scientific merit, relevance to NASA’s goals, and the qualifications and capabilities of the proposing team. The ROSES 2025 solicitation includes specific deadlines for each program element, outlined in two tables available at https://solicitation.nasaprs.com/ROSES2025table2 and https://solicitation.nasaprs.com/ROSES2025table3. The final closing date for this funding cycle is May 31, 2026, with notification of award anticipated approximately six months following the applicable proposal due date. Applicants are encouraged to monitor the ROSES blog and subscribe to mailing lists to stay informed of amendments and due date changes. Questions about the solicitation should be directed to the Deputy Associate Administrator for Research at [email protected], while technical questions about specific program elements should be sent to the respective program officers listed on the NSPIRES site. ROSES 2025 reflects several significant updates from previous years. These include expanded use of dual-anonymous peer review, new restrictions on interagency funding, updated proposal templates and formats, and enhanced requirements for open science and public access to data, software, and publications. The solicitation also addresses the availability and budgeting of high-end computing resources and provides options for proposing research that includes flight components. Proposers are advised to review the full Summary of Solicitation carefully, as well as the individual program elements, to ensure compliance with all submission requirements and eligibility constraints.

Follow DAPR formatting rules exactly; use NASA templates; confirm PDF compliance via NSPIRES 'Generate' button; redact salary/fringe from main proposal.