NASA SSERVI CAN-5 2026 Funding Opportunity: Up to $1.8 Million Per Year for Lunar, Mars-Forward, Workforce Development and Citizen Science Research

NASA has released the final Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute Cooperative Agreement Notice-5 (SSERVI CAN-5, solicitation number NNH26ZDA016C), inviting multi-institutional research teams to compete for major cooperative agreement awards. Jointly supported by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate, the initiative seeks integrated, multi-institutional teams capable of advancing fundamental and applied research on the Moon and its near-space environment, while strengthening connections between planetary science and human exploration.

“Mars forward” projects that use lunar research to develop scientific knowledge, operational approaches, and technologies relevant to eventual Mars exploration are explicitly welcomed. Selected teams become participating members of the broader SSERVI network and are expected to collaborate both internally and across other Institute teams.

In addition to scientific research, the call explicitly integrates activities to strengthen the future STEM workforce and broaden public participation in NASA science. The award structure provides up to $1.8 million per year per team over an anticipated five-year period (totaling approximately $9 million per team), which includes up to an average of $180,000 per year within the team budget for Workforce Development, Citizen Science, Science Activation, or Space Apps activities.