Amendment 60: New Opportunity: D.21 U.S. Contributions to Ariel Preparatory Science

Ariel is the fourth European Space Agency (ESA) Cosmic Vision medium class science mission that will use near- and mid-infrared spectroscopy to characterize the atmospheres of approximately 1000 exoplanets, providing a systematic statistical assessment of the properties of exoplanet atmospheres. NASA is partnering with ESA on the Ariel mission through the Contribution to ARIEL Spectroscopy of Exoplanets (CASE) project, which was selected as an Explorers Program Mission of Opportunity in 2019. CASE will extend the spectral coverage of the Ariel mission by contributing fine guidance sensor units capable of providing multiband photometry and low-resolution spectroscopy at optical/near-infrared wavelengths. The CASE observations will facilitate the detection of clouds and hazes in exoplanet atmospheres and measurements of geometric albedos of the planets.

The Ariel mission is currently working toward a launch date in late 2029 with a subsequent 4-year prime mission. Planning and execution of all aspects of Ariel mission science is the responsibility of the Ariel Science Consortium, a multinational coalition which includes representatives from 17 European countries as well as the United States, Canada, and Japan. To meet the ambitious goal of observing and characterizing 1000 exoplanet atmospheres, the Ariel Science Consortium has initiated a comprehensive Ariel Preparatory Science Program that encompasses a variety of activities to provide the characterization, prioritization, and selection of targets that will be required to optimize science operations and advance to science goals of the Ariel mission. D.21 U.S. Contributions to Ariel Preparatory Science (US-CAPS) is established to solicit proposals from the US community for investigations that will integrate with and complement the ongoing activities of the Ariel Science Consortium

ROSES-2024 Amendment 60 releases a new program element: D.21 U.S. Contributions to Ariel Preparatory Science (US-CAPS). Mandatory Notices of intent are due December12, 2024, and proposals are due February 4, 2025.

A preproposal videoconference for prospective proposers to this program will be held at 1 PM EST (10 AM PST) on November 20, 2024. Topics covered will include a summary of NASA’s involvement in the Ariel mission, the scope of the work solicited under this program element and expectations of awardees, and specific considerations and requirements for proposals to the program. We will post the connection information for the preproposal videoconference in the “Other Documents” section on the NSPIRES page for this program element by November 1, 2024.

On or about October 15, 2024, this Amendment to the NASA Research Announcement "Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) 2024" (NNH24ZDA001N) will be posted on the NASA research opportunity homepage at https://solicitation.nasaprs.com/ROSES2024

Questions concerning D.21 US-CAPS may be directed to Hannah Jang-Condell at [email protected] and Douglas Hudgins at [email protected].