Heliophysics Living With a Star Science (LWS)
The ROSES 2024 Living With a Star (LWS) Program Appendix B.5
The Living With a Star (LWS) Program emphasizes the science necessary to understand those aspects of the coupled Sun-Earth system that affect life and society. LWS is a component of the Heliophysics Research Program and proposers interested in this program element should read B.1 The Heliophysics Research Program Overview, for Heliophysics-specific requirements. Proposers should also review the ROSES-2024 Summary of Solicitation and the NASA Proposer’s Guide to ensure compliance with all Program requirements.
 
This program uses a two-step proposal submission process (described in Section IV(b)vii of the ROSES-2024 Summary of Solicitation) in which a Step-2 proposal can only be submitted if "invited".
 
Step-1 Proposals are required by August 13, 2024, and Step-2 Proposals are due November 6, 2024.
 
Step-2 Proposals invited to be submitted to this program will be evaluated using a dual-anonymous review process. Proposals must be prepared according to the submission guidelines in Appendix B.5, Section 5   and in the associated "Guidelines for Anonymous Proposals" document under "Other Documents" on the NSPIRES page for this program element. Only proposers who submit a Step-1 proposal and who are invited can submit a Step-2 (full) proposal.
 
LWS requires a 2-page "Open Science and Data Management Plan" (OSDMP)  (see Appendix B.5, Section 5.3.1), a 15-page S/T/M section, and a 2-page statement of the Potential Contribution to the Focused Science Team Effort (see Appendix B.5, Section 5.3.2.).
 
All proposers are strongly encouraged to use the standard Heliophysics template for Current and Pending Support (for the PI and all Co-Is, regardless of time commitment) and to use the template for the OSDMP. See https://science.nasa.gov/researchers/templatesheliophysic-division-appendix-b-roses-proposals for more details.
 
The overarching goal of the LWS Program is to provide advances in scientific understanding of the Sun-Earth system that can lead to predictive capability of the space environment conditions at Earth, other planetary systems, and in the interplanetary medium.
 
Specific LWS program goals are to:
  1. Understand how the Sun varies and what drives solar variability.
  2. Understand how the Earth and planetary systems respond to dynamic external and internal drivers.
  3. Understand how and in what ways dynamic space environments affect human and robotic exploration activities.
Further information on the LWS Program goals and objectives can be found at the LWS website (http://lwstrt.gsfc.nasa.gov). For additional information see Appendix B.5, Section 1.
 
To be responsive to this program element, proposed investigations must have objectives suitable for one of the three Focused Science Topics (FSTs) listed below:
  • FST 1: Connecting Auroral Phenomena with Magnetospheric Phenomena
  • FST 2: Understanding Solar Energetic Particle Transport through the Inner Heliosphere
  • FST 3: Atmospheric Loss and Habitability in the Presence of a Star
 
Detailed descriptions of the science goals, objectives, and types of investigations for each FST listed above are given in Appendix B.5, Sections 2, 3, and 4.
 
This program element has policies on the use of data in proposals that expand upon and supersede those given in B.1 The Heliophysics Research Program Overview. Data and data products necessary for successful completion of the proposed project must be in a publicly available archive and available at no cost at least thirty (30) days prior to the Step-2 deadline. This applies to both space-based and ground-based observations, as well as any data products derived from them. While the inclusion of useful ground-based observations is allowed, proposals should incorporate relevant space-based observations within the proposed investigation through, e.g., data analysis, model initialization, model validation, or other means. The proposal must clearly demonstrate why the proposed data set or data sets are appropriate for addressing the proposed goals and objectives. Any questions about whether a data set or data product qualifies as publicly available must be submitted to the LWS Program Officer of the element at least ten days before the Step-1 deadline.
Critical Dates
Step 1 Proposal Due Date Data Publicly Available By Step 2 Proposal Due Date
08/13/24 10/07/24 11/06/24
Mission data are available from the Planetary Data System (PDS).
Data are available from The Planetary Plasma Interactions (PPI) Node
To be successful, proposals submitted to one of the three FSTs listed above must identify science questions responsive to that FST's science goals and address them by the proposed work. Individual FST proposals are not required to be a comprehensive scientific study of the entire topic, but instead may address a specific aspect of the topic (e.g., using a particular set of observations, analysis technique, or model) that would contribute to the FST goals and objectives.
 
For each FST, a Focused Science Team will be formed from the selected individual proposals that each address an aspect of the FST, and together cover the breadth of the FST. To foster the collaborations and coordinate these Focused Science Team research efforts, one of the selected PIs will be invited to serve as the Team Leader for the FST for which they proposed. The Team Leader will organize team meetings and will be responsible for producing a yearly report to the LWS Science program officer describing team activities and progress, in addition to the required annual progress report for their specific award. The other selected PIs will coordinate their research programs with their Team Leader. The expected duration of FST awards is four years. All proposers to a specific FST must include sufficient travel funds in their budgets to cover two team meetings per year.