ROSES 2025: C.5 Planetary Science Early Career Award

The Planetary Science Early Career Award (ECA) is a funding opportunity offered under the NASA Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) 2025 solicitation. It is managed by NASA’s Planetary Science Division, which supports research aimed at advancing planetary science knowledge and community engagement. The program is designed to help promising early career scientists strengthen their role in the planetary science community and pursue professional development opportunities. Proposed projects may focus on advancing specific scientific questions or addressing pressing needs within the planetary science community, but applicants must demonstrate the timeliness and significance of their proposed work. The ECA is intended exclusively for researchers who already hold a parent award from a participating ROSES-2023 or ROSES-2024 program. Eligible applicants must be either the Principal Investigator or the designated Science-PI on a parent award and must have received their terminal degree no earlier than January 1, 2015. Those who earned their degree earlier may request a waiver if they meet NASA’s criteria for allowable career breaks. Applicants must be affiliated with a U.S. institution, may only submit one proposal per ROSES cycle, and cannot have previously received comparable NASA-managed early career funding, such as the Planetary Science Division Early Career Fellowship or the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. Funding is structured as a one-time award with a maximum of $200,000 across all project years. Awards may last up to five years, though shorter durations of one to three years are preferred. NASA anticipates making approximately five awards under this program. Awardees may be invited to present their proposed research at a scientific event during the first year of funding. Funds may be used to support research, career development, and participation in scientific conferences; applicants are encouraged to include costs for attending domestic conferences in their budgets. Applications to the ECA program must be prepared and submitted through NSPIRES in compliance with the dual-anonymous peer review process. This means proposals must be anonymized, including the five-page Scientific/Technical/Management (S/T/M) section, redacted budget, and Open Science and Data Management Plan. A separate non-anonymized “Expertise and Resources” document must include parent award information, team member roles, biosketches, and current and pending support. Additional documentation, such as letters of support or eligibility waivers, must also be included as applicable. Evaluation criteria differ from the ROSES defaults. Merit will be assessed based on the applicant’s potential for future impact in planetary science, the objectives and relevance of the proposed activities to the community, and the reasonableness of costs. Proposals that clearly demonstrate the high impact of ECA funds in strengthening both the applicant’s career and contributions to the planetary science community will be given priority. Relevance to the goals of NASA’s Planetary Science Division is essential. Applications are due according to deadlines listed in ROSES 2025 Tables 2 and 3, with awards expected to begin approximately six months after the submission deadline. Notices of intent are not required. Proposals must be submitted electronically via NSPIRES, with Grants.gov submission available only upon request made at least thirty days before the deadline. The funding opportunity number is NNH25ZDA001N-ECA. Program inquiries may be directed to Nicholas Lang at hq-eca@mail.nasa.gov.

Ensure complete anonymization, include conference costs, verify parent award eligibility