MPS Astronomical Sciences Research Programs (MPS Astro)

The U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences supports foundational research in the astronomical sciences through the MPS Astronomical Sciences Research Programs. NSF MPS is the primary federal funder of U.S. ground-based exploration of space through astronomical sciences, supporting research on objects and phenomena within the solar system, the Milky Way and other galaxies, and the broader universe. This solicitation consolidates several astronomical sciences funding opportunities and covers Astronomical Sciences Core Research, Astronomical Sciences Technology and Instrumentation, and Astronomical Sciences Innovations. NSF is particularly interested in intellectually ambitious and potentially transformative foundational research, including incremental advances, high-risk inquiries, interdisciplinary work, opportunities for exceptional early-career investigators, and scientifically justified uses of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, advanced computation, and automation. The supported scope includes individual investigator and collaborative foundational research projects; observational, theoretical, laboratory, and archival data studies; development of new technologies and instrumentation; and the design, development, construction, or operation of facilities and other larger-scale activities. Core Research covers areas including cosmology, extragalactic and galactic astronomy, stellar astronomy, exoplanets, solar and solar system astronomy, time-domain astrophysics, laboratory astrophysics, and statistical and computational methods. Technology and Instrumentation supports advanced technology development, feasibility studies, and instrumentation or software enabling observations that are difficult or impossible with existing means. Innovations supports larger science projects, facilities, development investments, and open-access capabilities. Projects must establish their merit in the context of foundational advances in astronomical sciences or may be returned without review. The anticipated program funding is 100000000, subject to the availability of funds, with an estimated 140 awards. The anticipated award types are Standard Grants or Continuing Grants. The source does not establish a general minimum or maximum individual award amount. Voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited, and the solicitation states that indirect cost limitations and other budgetary limitations are not applicable. Innovations proposals may include contingency in proposed budgets when appropriate. Proposals predominantly using NASA data or resources should be submitted to NASA. Proposals involving extensive modeling or analysis of NASA mission or archive data must explain in a labeled project-description section why those data are required. Technology and Instrumentation projects must significantly advance ground-based astronomy observations, with only secondary relevance to space-based projects. Eligible proposing organizations are the categories identified in the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide. The solicitation specifically states that unaffiliated individuals are not eligible to submit. There are no restrictions or limits on who may serve as principal investigator, the number of proposals per organization, or the number of proposals per principal investigator or co-principal investigator. Proposals may be submitted through Research.gov or Grants.gov and must follow the applicable PAPPG or NSF Grants.gov Application Guide requirements. Collaborative proposals submitted as separate submissions from multiple organizations must use Research.gov. Letters of intent and preliminary proposals are not required. Applications must follow the proposal preparation requirements in the PAPPG unless the solicitation specifies otherwise. Innovations proposals have additional program-specific expectations, including descriptions of how projects support foundational transformative astronomical sciences research or, for open-access capabilities, the uniqueness of the proposed capability. Relevant proposals should address strategic goals and roadmaps, project management, operations, and data archiving. A project execution plan outline is mandatory as a supplementary document for Innovations categories 2 and 3 and optional for categories 1 and 4. All proposals should demonstrate how applicable measures of success will be achieved and evaluated, including scholarly output, data sets, technologies or techniques, student training, infrastructure, or facility usage. NSF evaluates proposals using Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts, with review conducted through ad hoc review and/or panel review. Proposals are accepted at any time, but November 16, 2026 is the stated target date, corresponding to the third Monday in November, annually thereafter. Proposals received after the target date may be reviewed in the following fiscal year. Because submissions are accepted at any time, the opportunity operates on an ongoing submission basis even though NSF identifies an annual target date. Awardees are generally required to submit annual project reports and a project outcomes report for the general public, and Innovations projects must report progress on their measures of success in each annual report. For programmatic questions, NSF provides astro-core@nsf.gov for Astronomical Sciences Core Research, astro-instrumentation@nsf.gov for Astronomical Sciences Technology and Instrumentation, and astro-innovations@nsf.gov for Astronomical Sciences Innovations. Research.gov technical assistance is available at rgov@nsf.gov or 1-800-381-1532, and Grants.gov assistance is available at support@grants.gov or 1-800-518-4726.

Demonstrate that the proposed work advances foundational astronomical sciences; address Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts; clearly explain how applicable measures of success will be achieved and evaluated; emphasize intellectually ambitious or potentially transformative research where appropriate; scientifically justify uses of AI advanced computation or automation rather than using them incidentally; Technology and Instrumentation proposals should offer meaningful advances rather than routine upgrades; explain why NASA data are required when extensive NASA mission or archive analysis is proposed; contact a cognizant NSF program officer before submitting an Innovations proposal