NASA is introducing major changes to how it selects and develops science missions, aiming to reduce costs, simplify proposal requirements and send missions into space faster. The reforms are designed to prioritise scientific value, shorten selection timelines and expand opportunities for universities, research institutions and commercial companies.
The new framework, called Competition Model 2.0 (CM 2.0), was announced on 21 October in an open letter by Nicky Fox, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD). The changes were directed by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.
“We have heard you. We have listened. We know that the burden of bringing great ideas forward has been too heavy for too long,” Fox stated in the letter.
Under the existing system, NASA invites researchers and institutions to submit proposals through competitive Announcements of Opportunity. The 2-stage process requires teams to provide detailed engineering plans and financial estimates before finalists are selected for further study. This process can take nearly 3 years and demands significant resources from teams that may not ultimately win a mission.
CM 2.0 will prioritise scientific merit during the initial evaluation. Proposals will focus on research objectives and preliminary plans, allowing detailed engineering and financial planning to take place at later stages.
NASA science officials, including Fox, were scheduled to explain the reforms during a virtual town hall on 26 October.
For Discovery planetary missions, New Frontiers spacecraft and Astro-Probes, the revised process will retain 2 stages but require nearly half the material for initial proposals. According to Fox, selection timelines are expected to fall from 35 months to approximately 19.5 months, while missions should be more mature when selected.
Flagship missions, including projects comparable to the James Webb Space Telescope, will continue under existing procedures, which were recently revised using lessons from studies of the telescope’s development.
Medium-class Explorer (MIDEX) and Earth Explorer missions will become accessible to a wider range of applicants, including universities and commercial organisations. NASA will assess developers based on their experience with projects of similar size, cost and complexity. Principal investigator-led teams may also request support from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center or Jet Propulsion Laboratory during the initial selection stage.
Smaller, lower-cost programmes will undergo more substantial changes. Small Explorer (SMEX) and Earth Venture missions, along with Missions of Opportunity, hosted payloads and rideshare projects, will move to a single-stage selection process.
This change is expected to reduce selection timelines for these missions from approximately 32 months to 19 months.
“This means more missions, more often, with more incredible science at a lower cost,” Fox wrote.
The reforms also aim to strengthen the roles of Goddard and JPL in mission development, improve coordination between the centres and retain their technical expertise.
At the same time, NASA will enforce stricter cost and schedule controls across mission categories. “Breaches of control thresholds will carry real consequences,” Fox wrote, noting that missions could be cancelled if they fail to meet expectations.
The changes seek to reduce the financial and technical burden on research teams while helping NASA move scientific missions from proposal to launch more efficiently.
“This is a moment of real opportunity,” Fox wrote. “We have an administrator who is empowering us to move faster and a commercial market that is ready to help. We have NASA Centers with unmatched expertise, and a science community whose ideas expand and redefine the bounds of human achievement in the cosmos.”
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