NASA Mission Directorates, NASA Resources, Oregon NASA Space Grant Consortium, Oregon State University

NASA has recently transformed its organizational structure in order to position the Agency to better implement President Bush's "Vision for Space Exploration."

Recognizing the need for a more integrated approach to science requirements, management, and implementation of systems development and exploration missions, NASA created a leaner and more focused Agency. "Our task is to align Headquarters to eliminate the 'stove pipes,' promote synergy across the agency, and support the long-term exploration vision in a way that is sustainable and affordable," said Administrator O'Keefe. "We need to take these critical steps to streamline the organization and create a structure that affixes clear authority and accountability."

This transformation fundamentally restructures NASA's Strategic Enterprises into Mission Directorates to better align with the Vision. It also restructures Headquarters support functions and clarifies organizational roles and responsibilities. The Mission Directorate organizational structure includes:

To support these four Mission Directorates, NASA operates nine Centers nationwide, the contractor-operated Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Wallops Flight Facility. Each Mission Directorate covers a major area of the Agency's research and development efforts. The overarching functions of these Mission Directorates and specific research opportunities that exist within these Mission Directorates are described in this solicitation.

Aeronautics Research Mission DIrectorate

The mission of the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate is to pioneer the identification, development, verification, transfer, application, and commercialization of high-payoff aeronautics and space transportation technologies. It is responsible for guiding and managing NASA's aeronautics research, and defining the investments that NASA makes on behalf of the Nation. These investments, by definition, are for long-term high-risk undertakings that are beyond the scope, capacities, or risk limits of others to perform.

The Mission Directorate focuses on research, technology, and operation of advanced aeronautics applications and technologies to advance the Exploration agenda. The existing programs continue to be a major Agency pursuit and will involve activities that will conduct a comprehensive array of critical aviation and advanced space transportation research activities. For example, the Mission Directorate is committed to developing tools and technologies that can help to transform how the air transportation system operates, how new aircraft are designed and manufactured, and how our Nation's air transportation system can reach unparalleled levels of safety and security. Specific research topics include:

Improvement of the usefulness, performance, speed, safety, and efficiency of aeronautical vehicles;
Long-range studies of the problems involved in the utilization of aeronautical activities for peaceful purposes; and
Preservation of the role of the United States as a leader in aeronautical technology.

Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate R&D activities promote national security and economic growth by advancing a safe, efficient national aviation system and an affordable, reliable space transportation capability. The plans and goals of the Mission Directorate directly support national policy in both aeronautics and space, as documented in the President's "Goals for a National Partnership in Aeronautics Research and Technology," and the "National Space Transportation Policy." It is uniquely positioned to promote innovation in both fields of aeronautics and space transportation.

Science Mission Directorate

The Office of Earth Science and Office of Space Science have been integrated to form the Science Mission Directorate. The Science Mission Directorate will carry out the scientific exploration of the Earth, Moon, Mars and beyond with the goal of reaping the benefits of Earth and space exploration for society. A combined organization is best able to establish an understanding of the Earth, other planets and their evolution, bring the lessons of our study of Earth to the exploration of the Solar System, and to assure the discoveries made here will enhance our work there.

The Science Mission Directorate seeks to chart the evolution of the universe, from origins to destiny, and understand its galaxies, stars, planetary bodies and life; and to yield knowledge of substantial practical value to society in weather and climate forecasting, agriculture, natural resource management in urban and regional planning, and elsewhere. This Mission Directorate has program components that regularly offer universities, laboratories, and other domestic institutions opportunities to openly compete for awards to conduct space science missions or research projects.

Science Mission Directorate - Office of Earth Science:
NASA's vision to improve life here starts with the Office of Earth Science. By studying the planet Earth from space, it seeks to understand and protect our home planet by advancing Earth-system science. The Office of Earth Science is composed of two themes:

Click here to view detail description of the Office of Earth Science and its Research Opportunities.

Science Mission Directorate - Office of Space Science:
The Office of Space Science seeks to answer fundamental questions about life in the universe: how it arose, what its mechanisms are, where in the solar system life may have originated or may exist today, and whether there are similar planetary environments around other stars where the signature of life can be found. The Office of Space Science is composed of five themes:

Click here to view detail description of the Office of Space Science and its Research Opportunities.

Exploration Systems Mission Directorate

The Exploration Systems Mission Directorate is a new organization within NASA dedicated to creating a constellation of new capabilities, supporting technologies, and foundational research that enables sustained and affordable human and robotic exploration. It results from integrating the responsibility of both the Office of Exploration Systems and the Office of Biological and Physical Research, including research and development efforts focused on crew health and life-support systems, countermeasures, and radiation protection. The Mission Directorate will address strategic technical challenges and minimize the health and safety risks for the crew of any space vehicle.

Specific capabilities and supporting research and technology development will evolve over time. Presently, the Mission Directorate has been tasked with developing a Crew Exploration Vehicle that will be used by astronauts to travel in space. It is developing nuclear technologies that will enable long-duration space travel and evaluating plans for a new capability that may service, repair, and eventually de-orbit the Hubble Space Telescope. It is also conducting research to ensure the health and safety of astronauts during long-duration space exploration far from Earth and is actively engaged in promoting new approaches that will substantially involve industry and universities in these efforts. The Centennial Challenges Program, which offers prizes to stimulate innovation, is one example of a novel approach.

Please visit http://exploration.nasa.gov for additional information on the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate.

Exploration Systems Mission Directorate - Office of Biological and Physical Research:
The space environment offers a unique laboratory in which to study biological and physical processes. Access to laboratories in space allows scientists to conduct research under conditions that have no parallel in the history in of science. Experiments that take advantage of this announcement extend from basic biology to quantum mechanics as well as from fundamental research to research with near-term application in medicine and industry. The Office of Biological and Physical Research has a primary role to play in encouraging and engaging the next generation of explorers, and it supports direct student participation in space research from the graduate level down through the primary-school level. Three themes comprise the Office of Biological and Physical Research:

Click here to view detail description of the Office of Biological and Physical Research and its Research Opportunities.

Space Operations Mission Directorates

The Space Operations Mission Directorate provides many critical enabling capabilities that make possible much of the science, research, and exploration achievements of the rest of NASA. It does this through the three themes of International Space Station, Space Shuttle Program, and Flight Support:

The International Space Station (ISS) establishes a permanent human presence in Earth orbit. The ISS provides a long-duration, habitable laboratory for science and research activities investigating the limits of human performance, expanding human experience in living and working in space, and enabling the commercial development of space.
The Space Shuttle Program builds on the Shuttle's primacy as the world's most reliable and versatile launch system. The Shuttle, first launched in 1981, provides the only capability in the United States for human access to space.
Flight Support consists of Space Communications, Launch Services, and Rocket Propulsion Testing.

The Space Operations Mission Directorate aims to expand the frontiers of space by exploring, using, and enabling the development of space for humans.