EARLY CAREER FACULTY (ECF25) | NNH25ZTR001N 25ECF B1

Opportunity Information: Apply for NNH25ZTR001N 25ECF B1

NASA Headquarters is soliciting proposals under the Early Career Faculty (ECF25) appendix to the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) umbrella NASA Research Announcement called "Space Technology Research, Development, Demonstration, and Infusion 2025 (SpaceTech REDDI 2025)." This opportunity is run through STMD's Space Technology Research Grants (STRG) Program and is designed specifically to help outstanding new university faculty launch research programs that align with NASA space technology priorities and that support the faculty member's long-term academic career development in space technology. Proposals must be submitted by accredited U.S. universities on behalf of an eligible early-career faculty Principal Investigator, and all submissions are handled electronically through NASA's NSPIRES system.

The solicitation is narrowly focused on only two allowable technical topics, and proposals must clearly fit one of them. Topic 1 targets advanced diagnostics for high-enthalpy ground test facilities used to simulate spacecraft atmospheric entry, which generally points to measurement and instrumentation methods that can better characterize extreme entry-like environments in facilities such as arc-jet or shock tunnel style testbeds. Topic 2 targets planning for autonomous spacecraft using machine learning methods that enable onboard guidance, navigation, and control, emphasizing approaches that can support decision-making and trajectory or maneuver planning directly on the spacecraft with ML-enabled techniques suitable for autonomy constraints. A proposal that is not responsive to one of these two topics would not be competitive or may be deemed noncompliant, since the call states the solicitation will exclusively seek proposals in these areas.

Eligibility is tightly defined around the PI and the submitting institution. Only accredited U.S. universities may submit, and they must submit on behalf of the PI. The PI must be an untenured Assistant Professor on the tenure track at the sponsoring university at the time of award, with awards planned to start in January 2026, so the PI must meet that status at that time. The PI must also be a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident by the time of award. The call is structured as a true single-investigator early-career opportunity: co-investigators are not permitted, and the PI is expected to be the primary researcher driving the work. Collaborators are allowed, with restrictions noted in the solicitation; NASA civil servants and JPL personnel have specific limitations, and the announcement directs applicants to the full text for definitions and boundaries on collaborator roles. Each PI is limited to submitting only one proposal to this appendix.

From a funding and scale standpoint, NASA indicates it plans to make about six awards under ECF25, contingent on the availability of funds and the quality of proposals received, and it explicitly reserves the right to make no awards. The opportunity is a discretionary grant program (Funding Instrument: Grant) under CFDA 43.012. The listed award ceiling is $750,000, which signals the upper bound applicants should treat as the maximum total requested amount under this specific appendix. The final number of awards and individual award sizes will ultimately depend on proposal merit and programmatic balance.

Key dates and submission mechanics are also clearly stated. Notices of Intent are strongly encouraged and are due June 10, 2025. Full proposals are due July 10, 2025 at 5:00 pm Eastern (the source data also lists an "OriginalClosingDate" of 2025-07-12, but the narrative solicitation text emphasizes the July 10, 2025 5:00 pm ET deadline, so applicants should follow the solicitation's stated due date and verify the exact deadline displayed in NSPIRES). Proposals must be submitted through NSPIRES by an authorized organizational representative, which means the university's sponsored research office typically needs to be involved early. NASA encourages prospective applicants to register in NSPIRES, learn the system, and upload materials well ahead of the deadline to avoid last-minute submission issues.

For access and questions, the solicitation can be found in NSPIRES by searching "Early Career Faculty (ECF25)" under open solicitations, or via the provided shortcut link (https://tinyurl.com/NASA-ECF25). Technical and programmatic questions are directed to the STRG Program Executive at hq-ecf-call@mail.nasa.gov, and NASA may compile responses in an FAQ associated with the NSPIRES page for the opportunity while preserving the anonymity of individuals and institutions who submit questions.

• The NASA Headquarters in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "EARLY CAREER FACULTY (ECF25)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 43.012.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-07-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-07-12. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $750,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others.

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