National Aeronautics and Space Administration                   6 June 2014
Washington, DC  20546-0001

Dear Dr. XXXXX,

As you are aware, ESA has completed the Stage 1 evaluation (scientific and 
technical merit) of proposals received in response to the XMM-Newton AO-13 
Call for Proposals, and has notified PIs of their proposal accepted/rejected 
status by e-mail.  A list of accepted targets has been made available on the 
WWW at:

http://xmm.esac.esa.int/external/xmm_news/otac_results/ao13_results/
     or (sorted by ObsID)
http://xmm.esac.esa.int/external/xmm_news/otac_results/ao13_results/ao13_otac_by_id.shtml
     or (sorted by RA)
http://xmm.esac.esa.int/external/xmm_news/otac_results/ao13_results/ao13_otac_by_radec.shtml

In response to the 2014 Senior Review for Operating Missions, NASA's
Astrophysics Division has allocated funding in the amount of ~$2 M for the 
support of accepted US XMM guest investigations in fiscal year 2015. In light 
of this augmented budget, support of US AO-13 investigations under the XMM GO 
Program will be expanded to include both US PI Cat A and B proposals.

In consideration of the above, I am pleased to invite you to submit a
Stage 2 (cost) proposal for your investigation, proposal ######, entitled 
"TTTTTTTTT". 
In compliance with NASA procurement policy, funding is limited to PIs 
associated with US institutions (and who expect to remain so during the grant 
period). Accordingly, if you are planning on leaving the US for a position 
abroad, and will therefore be ineligible for a Guest Observer grant, please 
contact the US XMM-Newton Project Scientist, Dr. Steve Snowden, at 
steven.l.snowden@nasa.gov.

Please note that, in light of the restoration of XMM Guest Observer funding 
for US PI Cat A and B proposals you are ineligible to apply for support of 
your accepted observations under the current cycle of NASA's Astrophysics 
Data Analysis Program.  However, if you have submitted an ADAP proposal 
requesting support for analysis of your accepted AO-13 Cat A/B targets which 
includes the analysis of additional archival data, that proposal will be 
evaluated in the upcoming ADAP review; in the event that the proposal is 
selected for implementation within the ADAP, support will be limited to 
analysis of the archival data component only.

To guide the proposer in formulating a realistic funding request, factors 
such as the scope and complexity of the investigation should be taken into 
account, including any modifications to the original science proposal (e.g., 
deletion of targets, reduction in observing time) that were recommended by 
the XMM review panel.  As discussed above, only US PI Stage 2 proposals with 
Cat A and B targets are eligible for support.  Additional factors that will 
be considered include the presence of other proposals for which the PI is 
requesting funding under this solicitation, and other sources of support 
relevant to this request. The review process will consider the 
realism/reasonableness of the requested funding with respect to the required 
labor to pursue the investigation and other customary cost items (e.g., 
travel, computer hardware, and publication expenses).  A peer-review panel 
convened by NASA will assess the realism and reasonableness of the budget 
proposals and make recommendations to NASA concerning the appropriate 
funding level. The final Stage 2 proposal selection, including the awarded 
funding level, will be made by the NASA selecting official.

Based upon the total available funding and the anticipated number of awards, 
the estimated average grant award will be ~$55 K.  Stage 2 PIs will be 
provided with a "fair-share" estimate to guide them in the preparation of 
their funding request. You will receive an e-mail in the next week providing 
the fair-share estimate for your proposal.

In preparing a budget submission, the proposer must follow the guidelines 
provided under "PROPOSALS & TOOLS" at the NASA XMM-Newton Guest Observer 
Facility web site located at:

http://xmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/xmm/xmmgof.html

At this site, you will find links to a description of the XMM-Newton GO 
program, information regarding budget proposal submission, evaluation, 
selection, and implementation, and instructions for electronic Remote 
Proposal Submission (RPS).

Please submit the signed original and three (3) hard copies of the completed 
cost proposal no later than 4:30 pm EST on 25 July 2014 to the following 
address:

XMM-Newton Guest Observer Program
Code 662
Building 34, Room S254
Goddard Space Flight Center
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Greenbelt, MD 20771-0001

We expect to complete the Stage 2 proposal review in September 2014, with PI 
notification of the approved funding level in October. Revised budgets, if 
required (budgets where the approved amount is less than 80% of the requested 
amount), will nominally be due within one month of notification. Funding will 
be initiated after the start of FY15 (1 October 2014).

For any questions concerning the cost proposal or process, please
contact the NASA/GSFC XMM-Newton GOF at: 

xmmhelp@athena.gsfc.nasa.gov

In addition, should the PI change institution, please notify the GOF by 
e-mail at the same address.

Sincerely,

Dr. Stefan Immler
NASA XMM-Newton Program Scientist