SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- THE PAST AND PRESENT AND FUTURE OF LIFE ON EARTH: SCIENTIFIC CONNECTIONSBETWEEN NASAS EARTH SCIENCE DIVISION AND ASTROBIOLOGY PROGRAM
- Notice Date
- 7/28/2010
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Headquarters Acquisition Branch, Code210.H, Greenbelt, MD 20771
- ZIP Code
- 20771
- Solicitation Number
- NNH10ZDA010L
- Response Due
- 10/29/2010
- Archive Date
- 7/28/2011
- Point of Contact
- Dr. Carl B Pilcher, Director, NASA Astrobiology Institute, Phone 650-604-0022, Fax 202-358-3097, Email carl.b.pilcher@nasa.gov
- E-Mail Address
-
Dr. Carl B Pilcher
(carl.b.pilcher@nasa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- General Information:Solicitation Number: NNH10ZDA010L Release Date: July 30, 2010 Response Date: October 29, 2010 Classification Code: A -- Research and Development Summary The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) is soliciting information on connections andsynergies between the research goals of the NASA Astrobiology Program and those of theNASA Earth Science Division. The Earth Science Division supports research activities thataddress the fundamental questions: How is the Earth changing and what are theconsequences for life on Earth? It does so by supporting research into: the variabilityof the Earth system, the forcings of this variability, the response of the Earth systemto change, the consequences of changes in the Earth system, and how we might improve ourability to predict future changes. NASAs Astrobiology Program is dedicated to addressingthree fundamental questions: How does life begin and evolve? Does life exist elsewherein the universe? What is the future of life on Earth and beyond? The two programs thusshare a focus on life in the Earth system, including the conditions on Earth that allowan abundance and diversity of life to flourish, interactions between the biosphere andits planetary environment, and the future of life on Earth. This request seeks thebroadest level of community input on areas in which research addressing the goals of oneprogram has potential impact on achieving the goals of the other. Responses to this Request for Information (RFI) will be used by NASA program managers inboth the Earth Science Division and Astrobiology Program to consider possible jointresearch topics, scoping workshops or other joint program activities. However, theissuance of this RFI does not imply a new NASA commitment of funding by either program. Background Life on Earth depends upon networks of interactions between the biological and thegeophysical and chemical elements of the crust, oceans, and atmosphere, which togetherconstitute a biosphere that has been remarkably resilient to environmental challenges.Looking back at both the recent and deep history of life on Earth and its changes throughtime allows us to understand some of the processes driving change in the past and developmodels and other tools to make predictions about the future of life on this planet. Viewing the components of Earths living systems through the lens of astrobiologychallenges us to consider the context for life on a planetary scale, to developmathematical representations of stabilizing feedbacks that permit the continuity of lifein the face of changing physical conditions, to understand the capacity of organisms toevolve in response to a changing environment, and to understand the limits of thestabilizing feedbacks. Ideally these considerations will provide insight into thepotential effects of many types of environmental changes, be they abrupt or unfolding ontime scales ranging from seasonal cycles to millions of years. NASAs Earth Science Division seeks to improve understanding of our home planet throughadvanced Earth remote sensing and pioneering the scientific use of global satellitemeasurements. The complexity of the Earth system, with its wide range of spatial andtemporal variability, requires an organized scientific approach for addressing complex,interdisciplinary problems. Reflecting this need, research in the NASA Earth ScienceDivision is structured around six interdisciplinary Science Focus Areas: Atmospheric Composition Weather Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems Water and Energy Cycle Climate Variability and Change Earth Surface and Interior A description of the Earth Science Research Program and how it fits within the broaderNASA science strategy may be found in the NASA Science Plan athttp://nasascience.nasa.gov/about-us/science-strategy/. NASAs Astrobiology Program is dedicated to studying the origins, evolution,distribution, and future of life in the universe. The scope of the NASA AstrobiologyProgram is defined by a community-developed Roadmap updated most recently in 2008. TheRoadmap addresses Astrobiologys three fundamental questions (see Summary above) throughseven science goals: 1. Understand the nature and distribution of habitable environments in the universe. 2. Determine any past or present habitable environments, prebiotic chemistry, and signsof life elsewhere in our Solar System. 3. Understand how life emerges from cosmic and planetary precursors. 4. Understand how life on Earth and its planetary environment have co-evolved throughgeological time. 5. Understand the evolutionary mechanisms and environmental limits of life. 6. Understand the principles that will shape the future of life, both on Earth andbeyond. 7. Determine how to recognize signatures of life on other worlds and on early Earth. See The NASA Astrobiology Roadmap for further details on these goals(http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ast.2008.0819 ). Although there are many scientific disciplines that span both programs, there arechallenges to identifying scientific connections between the research supported by each.These challenges derive from differences in the areas of focus for each program: 1. Time scales The Earth Science Division is concerned principally with changes of theEarth system on relatively short time scales (~1 to ~102 years), whereas the AstrobiologyProgram is interested principally in changes of the Earth and the evolution of itsbiosphere over geologic time (~106 to ~109 years). 2. Spatial scales of measurement The Earth Science Division emphasizes the use ofremote sensing, particularly from space, to advance our understanding of the Earthsystem, especially at global to regional scales but also at the landscape/seascape scale.Although Astrobiology research uses remote sensing to study extraterrestrialenvironments, study of Earths ecosystems and its geological record are conductedprincipally at smaller spatial scales by means of in situ measurements or samplingfollowed by laboratory analysis and other investigations. 3. Types of life studied The Earth Science Division focuses much of its research onliving systems at the ecosystems level of organization and typically focuses onwidespread ecosystems and communities, although its research activities may includeinvestigation at the population, organismal, or even genetic levels when appropriate. TheAstrobiology Program focuses on the origin and evolution of life on Earth and thepotential for life elsewhere. Therefore, the Astrobiology Program often studies modernorganisms and habitats that are analogous to early Earth or other potentially habitableplanets, as well as past ecosystems and their fossil remains (e.g. biomarkers). Information Requested This RFI requests information on areas in which research addressing the goals of oneprogram has the potential make an impact on achieving the goals of the other. These areasinclude, but are not limited to, research areas that bridge the dichotomies in timescales, measurement spatial scales, or the elements of life studied by these twoprograms, or any other perceived dichotomies between the two programs. We seek your inputon potential synergies arising from collaboration between scientists from bothcommunities in the expectation that such collaborative work would requiremultidisciplinary teams from both communities. The following are a few examples of research areas in which there may be potential fordrawing scientific connections between the programs. They are given here only tostimulate thinking about the range of areas in which scientific connections between theprograms may exist and are by no means exclusive or exhaustive: Rapid or abrupt change in past populations and their associated environmentalconditions that illuminates near future scenarios for changes in elements of life onEarth today Interaction of processes generating environmental or ecosystem variability over longtime scales with the processes generating short-term variability, especially in modernecosystems The integration of genetic and molecular measurements with remote sensing observationsat the landscape or seascape scale to improve understanding of the processes drivingand/or patterns of ecosystem changes (aka: genes to landscapes) Increased understanding of the evolution of life (e.g. metabolic processes) and theplanet to improve our ability to predict the response of life to climatic or ecosystemchange Responses should reflect sufficient conceptualization to identify clearly the researchregime. A suggested structure is: 1. Short statement of the central idea 2. Definition of the issues relevant to the Earth Science Division and the AstrobiologyProgram, identifying which components (e.g., Earth Sciences Biodiversity Program andAstrobiologys Exobiology Program or the NASA Astrobiology Institute) of the two would beexpected to participate 3. A brief sketch of the requirements to move forward, such as: a. Timeline for framing activities b. Scoping workshop or community building activity c. Potential collaborative fieldwork if applicable d. Identification of key data sources e. Potential modeling or associated computing needs f. Obstacles to overcome, i.e., why hasnt this been done before? Fulfilling this RFI might therefore require from 3-10 pages. Instructions All responses submitted in response to this RFI must be submitted in electronic form viaNSPIRES, the NASA online announcement data management system, located athttp://nspires.nasaprs.com/. For this RFI, a response submission will take the form ofa Notice of Intent (NOI) within the NSPIRES online announcement data management system.The RFI response itself will be a PDF-formatted document that is attached (uploaded) tothe NSPIRES system. You must be registered with NSPIRES to submit an RFI response. See registrationinstructions at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ (select Getting an account). Neitherinstitution registration nor an institution affiliation is required to respond to thisRFI. 1. Log in to your account at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/. 2. Select Proposals from your account page. 3. Select Create NOI from your proposals page. 4. Click Continue on the next page. 5. Select Request for Information: NNH10ZDA010L (The Past, Present, and Future of Lifeon Earth: Scientific Connections between NASAs Earth Science Division and AstrobiologyProgram) from the bullet list of announcements. Click Continue. 6. Enter RFI response title (NOI title field will be shown). 7. Select do not link at this time for submitting organization page. 8. Click Save on next page. 9. It is not necessary to complete any of the NOI Details; all requested informationmust be included in the attached PDF document. Information that is entered into NOIDetails, but not included in the attached PDF document, will not be considered. 10. Prepare your RFI response offline and save as a PDF document (note NSPIRESinstructions on.pdf formats). The response document must include the respondents Name,institution, phone number, and E-mail address so the file is self-contained. File namesformat should be PI Last Name - First Name - RFI. The response should not exceed tenpages in length. 11. To attach (upload) your PDF document: a. Click add under NOI attachments section; b. Select Proposal Document from the drop down list; c. Browse to attach your PDF file; d. Select Upload; e. Click OK; f. Your RFI document has been uploaded to NSPIRES. 12. Click Submit NOI button. Please note: You may delete and replace form fields and uploaded documents anytime beforethe submission deadline. Questions concerning this Request for Information should be addressed to Dr. Carl B.Pilcher, Director, NASA Astrobiology Institute; Telephone: (650) 604-0022; E-mail:carl.b.pilcher@nasa.gov.
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