| This RFI seeks responses broadly from U.S. industry, universities, non-profit organizations, individuals, NASA centers, Federal Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) such as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and other U.S. federal, state, local, tribal government agencies as well as the international science community. Responses are subject to the restrictions placed on NASA by the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, P.L. 118-42, Sec. 526” that prohibit bilateral relationships with China. Details of that restriction are at https://www.congress.gov/117/plaws/publ103/PLAW-117publ103.pdf.
This email is a partial summary of the RFI. For the full text of the RFI and response instructions, visit the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES) at https://nspires.nasaprs.com, choose/click on “Solicitations” at the top of the page, and on the next page input number “NNH25ZDA002L” in the search box or use the direct short URL above. In the event of any future lapses to the NASA operations, RFI respondents should visit NSPIRES, the official NASA source for this RFI.
All responses to this RFI must be submitted in an electronic format per section “6. Response Instructions” via NSPIRES. The RFI Response should address the requested information found in section “5. Requested Information”, including an indication of the primary Topic addressed followed by no more than three secondary Topics as outlined in section “3. Requested Response Topics”.
It is emphasized that NASA-DARES 2025 will be shaped through a multi-phase approach. This RFI serves as an initial step to gather input from the diverse scientific community. The RFI is designed to stimulate ideas and identify key areas of interest related to the Topics listed in Section 3. RFI responses are not the only inputs to NASA-DARES 2025 but will serve as a foundational starting point where preliminary insights will be refined and expanded upon through subsequent phases, including but not limited to, topical workshops and town halls, and ongoing feedback from key stakeholders. To ensure that NASA-DARES 2025 incorporates a broad spectrum of perspectives and addresses evolving priorities within the astrobiology community, further opportunities for community involvement will be announced in 2025.
Please email questions and comments concerning this RFI to the email address below, no later than January 22, 2025 at 11:59 PM Eastern, with the subject line: “NASA-DARES 2025 RFI Question/Clarification”. NASA intends to respond to received questions by January 29, 2025. Depending on the nature of received questions, NASA may respond on an individual basis by email or may post responses to inquiries in a “Questions & Answers” (Q&A) document available at https://go.nasa.gov/ABStrategyRFI. Any posted Q&As will be edited to preserve the anonymity of persons and institutions who submit questions and are intended to address inquiries of broader interest and general clarification.
The following email address is not to be used for RFI response submissions. Any RFI submissions made via email will not be considered. Questions and comments concerning this RFI may be sent to HQ-RFIastrobio@mail.nasa.gov.
Dr. Rachel L. Harris Science Mission Directorate National Aeronautics and Space Administration Washington, D.C. 20546
Dr. David Grinspoon Science Mission Directorate National Aeronautics and Space Administration Washington, D.C. 20546 | 
