Sources Sought Special Notice 2026view on SAM.gov

SOURCES SOUGHT SPECIAL NOTICE 2026 NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) is seeking partners interested in developing competitive proposals in response to NASA Announcements of Opportunity (AOs), Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs), Missions of Opportunity (MoOs) and proposal calls from other government agencies. ARC is interested in identifying potential partners that can perform science investigations, conduct research activities, and develop and demonstrate new technologies that are aligned with NASA's goals. Information is also sought regarding partners that, in addition to performing substantial research, can provide flight hardware (i.e., spacecraft, deployment systems, suborbital systems, ground support systems, equipment, or instrumentation) necessary to implement proposed science investigations, research activities, or technology demonstration missions. NASA often competitively selects scientific investigations, technology development, and demonstration missions through solicitations or announcements posted on NSPIRES https://nspires.nasaprs.com/external. These missions are typically led by a single Principal Investigator (PI), Principal Technologist (PT), or Project Manager (PM). The PI, PT, or PM may be from Government or non-Government institutions, including academic institutions, industry, nonprofit entities, one of NASA's nine field Centers, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), other federally funded research and development centers, or other U.S. Government agencies. Mission teams may be formed from any combination of these institutions including international partners. ARC may respond to an AO or other proposal calls in either a lead or supporting role. ARC has a history of responding to a wide variety of NASA AOs including: Planetary Exploration AOs from the NASA New Frontiers Program (https://www.nasa.gov/planetarymissions/newfrontiers.html), the NASA Discovery Program (https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/programs/discovery), and the NASA SIMPLEx program (https://soma.larc.nasa.gov/simplex/); various AOs from the NASA Explorers Program (https://explorers.gsfc.nasa.gov) including MIDEX, SMEX, and Missions of Opportunity (MoO); and Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) calls. ARC anticipates responding to current and future AOs in these and other areas as well. A full description of current, future, and past calls for proposals from SMD, STMD, ESDMD, SOMD, and ARMD at NASA Headquarters can be found at https://nspires.nasaprs.com/external. This synopsis/special notice is posted annually in anticipation of upcoming AOs and may have subsequent specific updates as ARC seeks partners for specific proposal opportunities. ARC is currently considering responding to AOs from NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD), Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), Space Operations Mission Directorate (SOMD), and Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD). Future AOs to which ARC may be interested in respondi…