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Soil core samples show an ancient riverbed under the desert near many Egyptian pyramids, revealing an ancient waterway that dried up thousands of years ago

Soil core samples show an ancient riverbed under the desert near many Egyptian pyramids, revealing an ancient waterway that dried up thousands of years ago

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NASA Recognizes 5 Early Career Planetary Scientists

NASA has selected five early-career scientists for its 2023 Planetary Science Early Career Award (ECA) based on their demonstrated leadership, involvement in the planetary science community, and potential for future impact.

The ECA program supports exceptional early-career scientists who play a meaningful role in the planetary science community to pursue professional development in areas relevant to NASA’s Planetary Science Division. The goal of each proposal is to identify a need in the community and propose a project to address that need. Each project is facilitated by a grant of up to $200,000 to each of the selected principal investigators.

NASA’s 2023 Planetary Science Early Career Award (ECA) winners: Emily Costello, Christopher Fowler, Peter James, Kelly Miller, Laura Rodriguez

The selected projects span the full breadth of planetary science research, and the principal investigators are based at U.S. universities and research institutes:

Emily Costello, University of Hawai’i at Manoa: Dr. Costello’s project, “Navigating by Moonlight: The Art of Planetary Science,” will link planetary science and art to the local indigenous culture native to Oahu, Hawai’i.

Christopher Fowler, West Virginia University in Morgantown: Dr. Fowler’s project, “Bringing Planetary Science to West Virginia,” will increase the visibility of and capacity for planetary science research at West Virginia University and engage underserved high school students in West Virginia with planetary science data sets and NASA missions.

Peter James, Baylor University in Waco, Texas: Dr. James’ project suite of research tasks, “Origins of porosity on rocky planetary surfaces,” will address the creation and evolution of porosity in the crusts of rocky planets. This project will also involve the development of a cratering workshop (“Crater Bootcamp”) with undergraduate students at the University of Texas Permian Basin in Odessa and outreach talks through Mayborn Museum in central Texas.

Kelly Miller, Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio: Dr. Miller’s project, “Carbon-Based Connections: From Earth to the Outer Solar System,” will establish carbon-based connections across the solar system and will include outreach efforts with middle schools in San Antonio.

Laura Rodriguez, Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston: Dr. Rodriguez’s project, “Supporting Planetary Science and Mission Work with the Astrobiology Spectral Database,” will create an Astrobiology Spectral Database to house and facilitate exploration of mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy data.

Individuals interested in applying for NASA’s ECA program must have a funded ROSES (Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science) award from the past two ROSES cycles and must be within 10 years of receiving their terminal degree. Proposals for ECA-2024 are due Dec. 5, 2024.

For more information about NASA’s planetary science, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/planetary-science/

Karen Fox / Charles Blue
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1257 / 202-802-5345
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / charles.e.blue@nasa.gov

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Students of a volunteer service organization will have the opportunity next week to hear from NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps aboard the International Space Station.

The Earth-to-space call will stream live at 11:40 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 21, on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

Media interested in covering the event must RSVP no later than 5 p.m., Monday, May 20, by contacting Kimberly Sweet at knoelsweet@gmail.com or 601-260-1208.

Junior chapters of The Links, Incorporated, and the National Society of Black Engineers across the United States will ask pre-recorded questions and host a live viewing event. The Links is an international, not-for-profit, volunteer service organization focused on the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other people of African ancestry.

For more than 23 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Near Space Network.

Important research and technology investigations taking place aboard the International Space station benefits people on Earth and lays the groundwork for other agency missions. As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars. Inspiring Artemis Generation explorers and ensuring the United States will continue to lead in space exploration and discovery.

See videos and lesson plans highlighting space station research at:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

-end-

Gerelle Dodson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
gerelle.q.dodson@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones 
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov

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Details Last Updated May 16, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms

• International Space Station (ISS)
• Astronauts
• Humans in Space
• In-flight Education Downlinks
• ISS Research
• Jeanette J. Epps
• Learning Resources
• STEM Engagement at NASA

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6 Min Read Accounts Payable Welcome to NSSC Accounts Payable where we process all accounts payable invoices, centrally billed accounts, and government charge card transactions for the Agency.

Vendor Payment

NASA is committed to expedient and accurate payment of invoices.  Any questions or inquiries should be addressed to the Contracting Officer designated on your award or to the NSSC Customer Contact Center.

NSSC Customer Contact Center telephone: 1-877-677-2123 (1-877-NSSC123)
Fax: 1-866-779-6772 (1-866-779-NSSC)

Vouchers and invoices are to be submitted in the Treasury’s Invoice Processing Platform for awards that include the new voucher or invoice submission clause, 48 CFR § 1852.232-80.

**NOTES: 

• In the case of commercial item contracts, electronic invoicing is allowed via the IPP Portal.
• Invoices for awards in closeout should be submitted via hardcopy/e-mail/fax to one of the addresses at the bottom of the page.

For assistance with IPP, please use the contact information below:

• IPP Help Desk Information:  https://www.ipp.gov/
• IPP telephone:  (866) 973-3131
• IPP e-mail:  IPPCustomerSupport@fiscal.treasury.gov 

If your award does not include 48 CFR § 1852.232-80, invoices are to be submitted in one of the following ways until you receive a modification from the NASA Contracting Officer to change your invoice/voucher submission:

via e-mail to:  NSSC-AccountsPayable@nasa.gov
via hardcopy paper to: 
NSSC – FMD Accounts Payable
Building 1111, Jerry Hlass Road
Stennis Space Center, MS  39529

Payment Status

For payment status questions or problems, vendors and employees should contact the NSSC Customer Contact Center.

How to Avoid Delayed Payment from the NSSC

We try very hard to ensure all payments arrive in a timely fashion. Occasionally, payments take longer to process than expected. Sometimes, invoices are returned to the vendor because they do not comply with the payment terms of the contract or problems processing the invoice delay payment. To facilitate processing of your invoice and to expedite your payment, we compiled the following list of reasons payments are delayed:

The invoice does not contain the following information per the Prompt Payment Act:

• Vendor name
• Contract/purchase order number
• Date
• Amount
• Shipping and/or payment terms
• Invoice number
• Description of service/good invoiced
• The invoice was not sent to the correct Designated Billing Office (DBO).
  Check your contract/purchase order to ensure that the NSSC is the proper Designated Billing Office.
• Incorrect banking information for payment
• Partial shipments or billings not stated in terms or conditions of contract
• Submission of multiple invoices in one e-mail or fax
• Encryption of email
• Embedding multiple invoices or instructions and complicated attachments in e-mails
• Invoice or file is not in a standard print format (Word, Excel or PDF)
• Submission of documents as Microsoft Document Writer images and some TIFF applications

If your invoice form does not contain this information you may want to use the Standard Form (SF) 1034.

Check the Status of an Invoice Payment from NASA

To check the status of your payment or if you have a payment problem, you can contact the NSSC by:

Calling the NSSC Customer Contact Center at: 1-877-677-2123 (1-877-NSSC123)
Faxing your inquiry to: 1-866-829-6772

When you contact the NSSC, please have the following information on hand:

Vendor Name
Contract/Purchase Order Number
Date Submitted to Designated Billing Office
Invoice Number
Invoice Amount
Applicable NASA Center

Collections for NASA Vendor Over-Payments

Vendor overpayments that are due back to NASA can be made via cash, checks, or electronically at the Pay NASA link.
Pay.gov Payments
Payments may also be made using the Pay.gov payment system.  Pay.gov has been developed to meet the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Management Service Division’s commitment to process collections electronically.

• Pay.gov is a secure, government-wide, internet collection portal.
• Pay.gov provides the ability to make payments by check, credit card, or debit card 24 hours a day.  
• Pay.gov is web based, allowing customers to make payments from any computer with Internet access.
• Pay.gov does NOT require a login ID or password to use the service.

For check payments in Pay.gov you will need:

• Company/Contact Information
• ABA Routing Number
• Checking Account Number
• Check Number
• NASA Center to be paid
• Bill or Debt ID #

For credit or debit card payments, you will need:

• Company/Contact Information
• Debit or Credit Card
• NASA Center to be paid
• Bill or Debt ID #

For more information, please visit the Accounts Receivable page.

Payment Cut-Off Dates

In order for the NSSC to receive confirmation of vendor disbursements by Treasury, payments are cut off (not processed) three business days prior to the last day of the month.

For FY2023 the last day for processing vendor payments to Treasury is September 26, 2023.  The next day for payments will begin on October 2, 2023.

The established monthly cut-off dates for payments are listed below:

Vendor References

IRS 1099-MISC Form Instructions

Prompt Payment Rule

NASA FAR Supplement

Small Business Administration

Submitting Proper Invoices to NASA

Make certain your invoice contains all the information stipulated in the Invoicing clause of your contract to avoid delays and expedite the payment process. Generally, each Invoicing clause requires the following:

• Name and Address
• Invoice Date/Number
• Contract/Purchase Order Number
• Description of Goods or Services (CLIN, QTY, U/P), Quantity, Unit Price, Total Amount of Invoice
• Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) (if applicable)

All vouchers for cost reimbursable contracts have to be submitted through IPP. 

Before you submit your invoice for payment, please check each contract/purchase order to see where invoices for each contract/purchase order are to be submitted.

System for Award Management (SAM) for NASA Vendors

System for Award Management (SAM) for NASA Vendors

Payments against NASA contracts and other procurement actions are made by the NSSC. In order to better align with Federal-wide vendor databases, NASA uses the System for Award Management (SAM) to validate vendor information across all of the Agency’s Integrated Enterprise Management (IEM) business systems. NASA payments to vendors are processed using the banking information in SAM.

To ensure continued accurate and prompt payments, please maintain a current registration, including banking information in SAM.  SAM can be accessed at www.sam.gov.
If you need assistance registering or have questions about SAM, contact the SAM Help Desk at www.fsd.gov.
NASA will use the clause at FAR 52.232-33 in contracts as the default Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) requirement. 

Please note that any information provided in your registration may be shared with authorized federal government offices. Registration does not guarantee business with the federal government. 

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