Heliophysics Space Weather Vigil Focused Mission of Opportunity (Vigil FMO) NASA Space Weather Program (SWxP)

NASA announced Tuesday it selected a new instrument to study the Sun and how it creates massive solar eruptions. The agency's Joint EUV coronal Diagnostic Investigation, or JEDI, will capture images of the Sun in extreme ultraviolet light, a type of light invisible to our eyes but reveals many of the underlying mechanisms of the Sun's activity.

Once integrated aboard the ESA's (European Space Agency's) Vigil space weather mission, JEDI's two telescopes will focus on the middle layer of the solar corona, a region of the Sun's atmosphere that plays a key role in creating the solar wind and the solar eruptions that cause space weather.

The Vigil space mission, planned to launch in 2031, is expected to provide around-the-clock space weather data from a unique position at Sun-Earth Lagrange point 5 - a gravitationally stable point about 60 degrees behind Earth in its orbit. This vantage point will give space weather researchers and forecasters a new angle to study the Sun and its eruptions. NASA's JEDI will be the first instrument to provide a constant view of the Sun from this perspective in extreme ultraviolet light - giving scientists a trove of new data for research, while simultaneously supporting Vigil's ability to monitor space weather.

"JEDI's observations will help us link the features we see on the Sun's surface with what we measure in the solar atmosphere, the corona,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Combined with Vigil's first-of-its-kind, eagle eye view of the Sun, this will change the way we understand the Sun's drivers of space weather - which in turn can lead to improved warnings to mitigate space weather effects on satellites and humans in space as well as on Earth."

The project is led by Don Hassler at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. The instrument is funded by the NASA Heliophysics Space Weather Program with a total cost not to exceed $45 million. Management oversight will be provided by the Living With a Star Program of the Explorers & Heliophysics Projects Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

For more information on NASA heliophysics missions, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/heliophysics

Number: NNH23ZDA020O
Proposals Due: September 27, 2023 11:59 pm ET
Preproposal Conference Date: July 13, 2023
Direct Short URL:https://go.nasa.gov/VFMO2023

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) is announcing via this email the release of revised final text for the Announcement of Opportunity (AO) entitled "2023 Heliophysics Space Weather Vigil Focused Mission of Opportunity". To find the full amended text, visit NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES), https://nspires.nasaprs.com/, and select "Solicitations" at the top of the page, and on the next page in the search box, input the number "NNH23ZDA020O" or use the direct short URL listed above. In the event of any lapse in NASA operations, please visit NSPIRES for further information.

The amended AO makes a series of changes including:

• Costing of contributed labor and services clarified in Section 5.6.6 Contributions.
• Points of Contact in renamed Section 6.1.5 Points of Contact for Further Information Informationchanged and added.
• Combined base page limit for proposal Sections D and E increased by five pages forspecification of Level 1 requirements.
• Appendix B Section J.4 Summary of Proposed Program Cooperative Contributionsreinstated to provide further guidance and appropriate page allocation to addressRequirement 67. Added requirement numbered B-50a to preclude need to renumbersubsequent requirements.
• Appendix B Section J.10a Draft Mission Definition Requirements Agreement added forspecification of Level 2 requirements. Section and associated requirement numberschosen to preclude need to renumber subsequent instances.

The proposal due date remains unchanged. Please address comments on the AO only via email using subject line “Vigil FMO” to the Vigil FMO Program Scientist, J. Daniel Moses, at dan.moses@nasa.gov; the Space Weather Program Executive, James E. Favors, at james.e.favors@nasa.gov; and the Acquisition Manager Vigil FMO AO, Washito A. Sasamoto, at washito.a.sasamoto@nasa.gov.

All interested parties must read the revised Vigil FMO AO carefully. All proposals to this AO must comply with the requirements, constraints, and guidelines contained within the revised AO. Any costs incurred in preparing submissions in response to this email or to the full AO are incurred completely at the submitter's own risk.

Number: NNH23ZDA020O
Release Date: June 22, 2023
Preproposal Conference Date: July 13, 2023
Mandatory Notice of Intent Due Date: August 9, 2023
Proposal Due Date: September 27, 2023
Short, Direct URL: https://go.nasa.gov/VFMO2023

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) has released the Announcement of Opportunity (AO) final text for 2023 Heliophysics Space Weather Vigil Focused Mission of Opportunity (Vigil FMO). This AO was generated by the SMD Heliophysics Division's Heliophysics Space Weather Program to solicit an investigation that includes an instrument(s), e.g., extreme ultraviolet (EUV) imager, to be hosted on the European Space Agency (ESA) Vigil mission. A Vigil FMO investigation should:

• Advance understanding of solar variability manifested as "the sudden release of magnetic energy that enables both flares and coronal mass ejections (CME) to accelerate particles to high energy efficiently";
• Enable the development "of advanced methods for forecasting and nowcasting of solar eruptive events and space Weather";
• Make effective use of ESA's Vigil instrument data in the proposed investigation; and
• Support objectives of the Vigil mission with the provision of low latency data for operational space weather applications.

Vigil is a European Space Agency (ESA) Space Safety Programme space weather mission to observe the Sun from the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L5. SMD's Heliophysics Space Weather Program conducts Principal Investigator (PI)-led space investigations and will manage this AO. All Heliophysics Space Weather investigations, including the Vigil FMO, must address NASA's strategic heliophysics science goals:

• Explore the physical processes in the space environment from the Sun to the Earth and throughout the solar system;
• Advance our understanding of the connections that link the Sun, the Earth, planetary space environments, and the outer reaches of our solar system; and
• Develop the knowledge and capability to detect and predict extreme conditions in space to protect life and society and to safeguard human and robotic explorers beyond Earth.

The NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES) is the official NASA source for the full text of the solicitation; therefore, please use the short URL provided or visit: http:/nspires.nasaprs.com/ , choose "Solicitations" at the top of the page, and the next page in the search box, input the number "NNH23ZDA020O." In the event of any lapse in NASA operations, please visit NSPIRES for further information.

Prospective investigators from any category of U.S. organizations or institutions are welcome to respond. Specific categories of organizations and institutions include, but are not limited to, educational, industrial, and not-for-profit organizations; Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), including the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL); University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs); NASA Centers; and other U.S. Government agencies. Non-U.S. organizations may participate on a no-exchange-of-funds basis. Both U.S. and non-U.S. participation are subject to China restrictions described in Sections 4.2.2 Restrictions Involving China and 5.7.1 Overview of Non-U.S. Participation of the AO.

All interested parties must read the Vigil FMO AO carefully. All proposals to this AO must comply with the requirements, constraints, and guidelines contained within the AO, as there are changes from the AO's draft text.

The Science Office for Mission Assessments (SOMA) hosts the official “2023 Heliophysics Space Weather Vigil Focused Mission of Opportunity” website that provides further information, including Program Library and Question and Answer (Q&A) pages. SOMA will post inquiry responses at: https://lws.larc.nasa.gov/vfmo/.

Anonymity of persons/institutions who submit questions will be preserved. Proposers are encouraged to send comments and questions early so that they may be fully addressed at the optional, virtual Preproposal Conference (PPC) to be held three weeks after the release of the AO. Please consult the SOMA Vigil FMO website for forthcoming agenda and connection information. In order for questions to be addressed during the PPC, they should be submitted only by email one week prior to the event.

Vigil FMO AO questions or comments should be emailed to both James Spann, Space Weather Lead,jim.spann@nasa.gov and Washito Sasamoto, Acquisition Manager Vigil FMO AO, washito.a.sasamoto@nasa.gov. The email subject line must read "Vigil FMO" to be properly routed. Questions may be submitted until 14 days before the proposal due date. Answers will be posted on the Vigil FMO SOMA website no later than 10 days before the proposal due date.

Any costs incurred in preparing submissions in response to this email or to the full AO are incurred completely at the submitter's own risk.