XMM-Newton AO-2 Stage II RPS Help Page

XMM-NEWTON RPS HELP PAGE

1. INTRODUCTION

XMM-Newton budget proposals must contain hard copies of four XMM-Newton-specific forms: the Cover Page, the General Form, the Accepted Target Form, and the Budget Form. This document is meant to provide guidance in filling out those entries on the first three forms (those forms provided by the RPS software) that may not be self-explanatory. Additional information may be found through the XMM-Newton GOF homepage at the addresses given in the Solicitation Announcement.

Electronic submission of the Cover Page, General Form, and Accepted Target Form is required. While additional hard copies of the General Form are required for signature purposes for Co-Is requesting funding as a subgrant, and who are not at the PI institution, they should not be electronically submitted. Individuals not having access to the Internet should contact Dr. Steve Snowden (address given in the Budget Proposal document) at least two weeks prior to the budget proposal due date at the address given in the Solicitation Announcement.

The XMM-Newton GOF provides the capability to submit the forms electronically and, at the same time, to generate hard copy output by the use of the Remote Proposal Submission (RPS) software. This software provides a "user friendly" means of entering, checking, electronically mailing, and printing of the proposal forms, and can be accessed via the WWW or by automated E-mail interaction.

Network glitches may (seldom) affect the integrity of RPS files. The proposal author is strongly urged to verify the contents of the electronic RPS files prior to submitting proposals by printing out the forms and reading them carefully.

1.1. WWW Sites/Pages

The NASA Office of Space Science "Guidebook for Proposers"
The NASA XMM-Newton AO-2 "Dear Colleague" Letter from Dr. Paul Hertz
The NASA XMM-Newton AO-2 Budget Solicitation Letter from Dr. Louis J. Kaluzienski
The XMM-Newton GOF at NASA/GSFC
The XMM-Newton Mission Description
The Budget Proposal document
The Stage II Proposal Supplement
The Budget Form Instructions
The RPS system

2. COVER PAGE

Most items on this form are self-explanatory, but there are a few items which are commonly filled out incorrectly. Please refer to the following sections for instructions on the proper completion of the forms.

2.1. Principal Investigator

This entry is for either the PI (or Co-I designated by the PI) if the PI is primarily affiliated with a US institution or Lead (US) Co-I if the scientific-proposal PI is not primarily affiliated with a US institution.

Title is not meant to refer to your job description, Use Dr., Prof., Mr., Ms., or whatever is appropriate.

2.2. Proposal Number

This is the six-digit number provided in the ESA proposal accepted/rejected status e-mail notification.

2.3. Total Funds Requested

This is the dollar amount on Line 9 of the standard budget form.

2.4. Original PI of Foreign PI Proposals

The name of the PI (affiliated with a foreign institution) under which the scientific proposal was submitted.

2.5. 9-Digit Zip Code

The full 9-digit zip code is required (sorry, we don't make up these rules, but you might need it for determining the Congressional District of your institution anyway). You can find your 9-digit zip code at: http://www.usps.com/zip4/. When using RPS to enter the information, the zip code will be entered on the General Form page rather than on the Cover Page, but will also appear on the Cover Page.

2.6. Congressional District

This is the Congressional District of your institution. You can find the congressional district at: http://www.house.gov/writerep/. For example, Maryland 5th.

2.7. Proposal Title

This should be the same title as used for the scientific proposal. There is a 120-character limit.

2.8. Abstract

This should be the same abstract as used in the scientific proposal. The abstract must not exceed 800 characters, including spaces between words, with no embedded commands, i.e., flat ASCII only. Abstracts that exceed this length will be truncated automatically at 800 characters when entered into the data base. Abstracts and target lists will be made available on publicly accessible data bases.

3. GENERAL FORM

Only the General Page for the PI/Lead Co-I should be electronically submitted.

3.1. PI (or Lead Co-I)

For General Forms for Co-Is at institutions separate from that of the PI/Lead Co-I, the name should be that of the Co-I requesting the funding.

3.2. 9-Digit Zip Code

2.2. Congressional District

This is the Congressional District of your institution. You can find the congressional district at: http://www.house.gov/writerep/. For example, Maryland 5th.

3.4. Co-Investigator(s)

The list should include (at least) all US Co-Is of the original scientific proposal (maximum 10).

3.5. Signatures

Both PI (or Lead Co-I) and institutional authority signatures are required in the hard copy submission. For the hard copy submission, additional signed forms are required for Co-Is at different institutions where funding is being requested. Note that the institutional endorsement signature also serves as the institutional certification (see below). For Co-I forms, the institutional endorsement and "PI Signature" should be those of the Co-I's institution and Co-I.

4. ACCEPTED TARGET FORM

Enter only those targets approved by the ESA scientific peer review.

4.1. Target Name

The name will be printed/transmitted in upper case. Use the source name specified in the original scientific proposal.

4.2. Coordinates

Enter J2000 Right Ascension in decimal hours and Declination in decimal degrees, as provided in the ESA proposal accepted/rejected status e-mail notification.

4.3. Target Priority

The observation priority (A, B, C, or T) as provided in the ESA proposal accepted/rejected status e-mail notification. Note: PIs with C targets only should not submit a budget at this time.

4.4. Observing Time

The unit for this number is kiloseconds, as opposed to the value provided in the ESA proposal accepted/rejected status e-mail notification (seconds). Enter the approved time, not the original requested time if different.

If you have any questions concerning XMM-Newton send email to xmmhelp@athena.gsfc.nasa.gov