At intervals, NASA selects funded proposals for the Kepler Participating Scientists Program (PSP). The Kepler PSP is designed to augment the skill set of the Kepler Science Team, thereby enabling it to more effectively execute the science program of the mission. Participating Scientists serve as members of the Kepler Science Team and participate in Science Team activities, such as data processing and analysis, transit candidate follow-up and characterization, and publication.

The deadline for Cycle 3 Participating Scientist proposals is Mar 1, 2013. Proposal instructions and element details are provided in NASA Research Announcement NNH12ZDA001N-KPS. Proposals will be evaluated in Spring 2013, with a nominal start date of 1 October 2013, contingent on funding.

1. Scope of Participating Science

The Kepler Participating Scientist Program (PSP) is designed to fund community investigations that advance the goals of the Kepler Mission during its extended phase. Participating Scientists may pursue data processing and analysis tasks, exoplanet candidate follow-up observations, completeness and reliability studies, characterization of the stellar target sample, etc.

The abstracts for successful Cycle 1 PSP proposals are available here, and abstracts for successful Cycle 2 PSP proposals are available here.

The Kepler PSP is complementary to, but distinct from, the Kepler Guest Observer (GO) program. The Kepler GO program offers the opportunity for members of the scientific community to select targets of general astrophysical interest in the Kepler field-of-view (both stellar and non-stellar), in pursuit of investigations that fall outside of the scope of the Kepler Science Team.

3. Period of Performance

Proposers should provide budgets and justification for participation in the Kepler mission with a period of performance beginning on October 1, 2013. This start date is contingent on funding availability. It is expected that investigators will propose for three years of PSP support running through October 1, 2016. It is anticipated that the annual budget for the PSP will be approximately $1.0M, sufficient to support the selection of 7-10 Participating Scientist investigations.