The NICER team is pleased to solicit proposals for the NICER General Observer program for Cycle 9. The proposal submission deadline for Cycle 9 is 17 September 2026 at 4:30p Eastern (1:30p Pacific).
The ROSES Announcement for Cycle 9 of the NICER General Observer program is available on NSPIRES. NOTE: Similarly to last year, Cycle 9 will not allow for new NICER observations or joint program opportunities. All investigations should be targeted for the use of archival NICER data.
NEW IN CYCLE 9: The NICER Guest Investigator Cycle 9 call for proposals encourages investigations that leverage archival NICER observations to advance technologies involving autonomous navigation, precision timing, spacecraft timekeeping, and future X-ray instrumentation. For more information about the types of investigations supported under this program, please review the NICER Applied Astrophysics webpage.
When submitting your proposal, please indicate if your proposal is for the Archival Science Analysis or the Applied Astrophysics opportunity.
UPDATE – NEW IN CYCLE 9: Per the recent announcement, work plans should no longer be included in the anonymized science justification document. If you include a work plan with your proposal, it should be located in the non-anonymized Expertise & Resources document. The page limit for the E&R has been increased to 2 pages to allow for this change.
NICER General Observer proposals may be submitted in two phases. Principal Investigators (PIs) for phase 1 proposals may submit their requested observations and corresponding scientific justification via the Astrophysics Research Knowledgebase Remote Proposal System (ARK/RPS) portal. For details on the NICER General Observer program and how to submit proposals, see the NICER Cycle 9 Proposer’s Guide.
If you have any questions regarding this information, or any other aspects of the NICER GO program, please do not hesitate to contact Elizabeth Ferrara at elizabeth.c.ferrara@nasa.gov.
Dual-anonymous reviewing:
Please be aware that NICER proposal reviews will follow a dual-anonymous peer review (DAPR) process, and that proposals will be required to meet dual-anonymous standards to be considered for inclusion in the program. For more information on preparing a proposal for dual-anonymous review, please refer to NASAтАЩs information for proposers.
Successful U.S.-based PIs from phase 1 may be invited to submit phase-2 budgets proposals via NSPIRES during the first quarter of 2027.
Volunteer Reviewers:
The NICER Team is seeking volunteer reviewers for the NICER Cycle 9 Peer Review, which will take place virtually 19-22 October 2026. Reviewers must have a PhD at the time of the Peer Review. If you would like to be considered as a reviewer, contact Elizabeth Ferrara at elizabeth.c.ferrara@nasa.gov, with a brief description of your research interests and experience.
