MPS Astronomical Sciences Research Programs (MPS Astro)
NSF MPS Astro funds ambitious research and technology development in astronomy to advance understanding of the universe, including solar storms, exoplanets, and astrophysical phenomena.
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation
Due Dates: Rolling (Proposals accepted anytime) | October 7, 2076 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: $100,000,000 anticipated program funding; requests for up to five years encouraged for ambitious, transformative research
Summary: Supports foundational astronomy and astrophysics research, ground-based technologies and instrumentation, and larger scientific infrastructure projects.
Key Information: Proposals must explain their contribution to foundational astronomical sciences advances or will be returned without review.
Description
The NSF Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences administers this consolidated opportunity for astronomical sciences research and instrumentation. It supports individual investigators and collaborative groups conducting observational, theoretical, laboratory, and archival studies, as well as technology development and the design, construction, or operation of facilities. Research areas include cosmology, galaxies, stars, exoplanets, solar and solar-system astronomy, time-domain astrophysics, and statistical and computational methods.
NSF prioritizes intellectually ambitious and potentially transformative foundational research, including incremental advances and bold, high-risk inquiries. It encourages interdisciplinary connections, opportunities for early-career investigators, and scientifically justified uses of AI, advanced computation, and automation. Projects need not promise a near-term product, deployment, commercial outcome, or later-stage development.
