2020 HERO Appendix C: Human Health Countermeasures and Space Radiation Topics | 80JSC020N0001 HHCSR

Opportunity Information: Apply for 80JSC020N0001 HHCSR

NASA Johnson Space Center, through NASA's Human Research Program (HRP), issued a 2020 research solicitation under the Human Exploration Research Opportunities (HERO) umbrella, specifically Appendix C titled "Human Health Countermeasures and Space Radiation Topics" (NRA 80JSC020N0001-HHCSR). The main purpose of this opportunity is to fund applied research that directly supports HRP goals related to keeping astronauts healthy and mission-capable during long-duration exploration, with an emphasis on countermeasures for human health risks and on understanding and reducing space radiation impacts. The announcement is structured as a solicited research response area, meaning NASA is looking for proposals that clearly align with the defined topic areas rather than broad, open-ended research.

The solicitation targets three specific research themes. The first focuses on immune countermeasures that can prevent or reduce stress-induced immune changes in humans living in prolonged isolation, using an analog environment that includes three separate 8-month winter-over stays at the Palmer Antarctic Station. This topic reflects NASA's interest in understanding how isolation, confinement, and environmental stressors similar to spaceflight conditions can alter immune function, and in testing practical interventions that could protect crews during missions where medical resources are limited. The second topic calls for adapting induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) methods, or similar advanced cellular technologies, to study space radiation carcinogenesis and the shared underlying biology connecting radiation exposure to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and central nervous system (CNS) outcomes, including differences in individual susceptibility. In other words, NASA is encouraging proposals that use modern human-relevant models to predict risk, identify mechanisms, and potentially guide personalized approaches to radiation protection. The third topic area is aimed at space radiobiology tissue and data sharing research, specifically proposing work that leverages existing datasets and/or biological tissue samples collected from past or ongoing experiments. This theme supports maximizing the scientific value of prior NASA and partner investments, improving reproducibility, and enabling new analyses without necessarily repeating costly or difficult-to-recreate experiments.

From an administrative and funding standpoint, this is a discretionary federal opportunity with multiple possible award instruments, including cooperative agreements, grants, and procurement contracts, depending on the nature of the work and NASA's level of planned involvement. The catalog reference is CFDA 43.003, and the agency is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Johnson Space Center. The posting indicates an award ceiling of up to $1,200,000 per award and anticipates around 10 awards, giving a general sense of the funding scale and competitiveness.

The application process uses a two-step proposal structure. Step-1 proposals for Appendix C were due on January 11, 2021, and only applicants invited after Step-1 review could submit Step-2 proposals, which were due April 9, 2021. This staged approach is typical for NASA NRAs and is designed to reduce burden on both applicants and reviewers by filtering for the strongest and best-aligned concepts before requiring full proposals.

Eligibility is broadly open across U.S. institutions, described as unrestricted, meaning any category of U.S. entity may apply as long as it meets the solicitation requirements. Principal Investigators are allowed to collaborate widely, including with universities, federal laboratories, private companies, and state or local government labs. The applying organization remains responsible for project administration and performance in line with the management plan proposed. NASA also notes that collaborations with non-U.S. organizations are possible, but generally only on a cooperative basis with no exchange of funds, which is a standard limitation in many NASA research programs.

The announcement directs applicants to the Appendix C documentation and the broader HERO solicitation materials for full details, including specific requirements, evaluation criteria, and points of contact. The Appendix C package is referenced at https://tinyurl.com/HERO20-HHCSR, and the overall HERO overview is referenced at https://tinyurl.com/HERO20OVERVIEW.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA Johnson Space Center in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "2020 HERO Appendix C: Human Health Countermeasures and Space Radiation Topics" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 43.003.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 11, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 11, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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