NASA Launches 10 AI Fellowships, Revises Science Proposal Rules

What Happened

NASA has announced ten new artificial intelligence research fellowships and revised the criteria it uses to evaluate scientific proposals, the agency confirmed this week. The changes represent a structural shift in how NASA identifies and funds scientific ideas, incorporating AI-assisted review processes alongside the new fellowship program.

Background

NASA has been expanding its use of artificial intelligence across multiple divisions in recent years, applying machine learning tools to fields ranging from Earth observation and climate monitoring to deep-space mission planning. The fellowship program is part of a broader institutional effort to build AI expertise within the scientific community that works with and for the agency.

Research fellowships of this kind are typically awarded to early- and mid-career scientists and engineers, and are designed to accelerate work in areas the agency has identified as priorities. By directing fellowships specifically toward AI research, NASA is signaling that artificial intelligence has become a core rather than peripheral part of its scientific agenda.

The revision of proposal evaluation rules is a separate but related development. NASA has not publicly detailed every criterion being changed, but the agency indicated that the new framework is intended to better account for AI-assisted methodologies when assessing the merit and feasibility of submitted research proposals. This reflects an acknowledgment that traditional evaluation rubrics, designed before AI tools were widely available to researchers, may not adequately capture the capabilities or risks associated with AI-driven scientific approaches.

The Fellowship Program

The ten fellowships cover AI research relevant to NASA's scientific mission areas. Specific fellowship topics, host institutions, and award values had not been fully itemized in available wire reports at the time of publication. NASA administers several fellowship programs across disciplines including planetary science, heliophysics, astrophysics, and Earth science, and the new AI-focused awards appear intended to create a dedicated pipeline of researchers working at the intersection of AI and those fields.

Fellowship programs at NASA have historically served both to fund individual researchers and to align external academic work with agency objectives. Recipients typically conduct research at universities or research centers and may collaborate directly with NASA scientists and facilities.

Revised Evaluation Criteria

The updated proposal evaluation rules apply to scientific submissions reviewed by NASA program officers and external peer reviewers. The agency indicated the revisions are meant to ensure that proposals using AI methods are assessed fairly and consistently, and that reviewers have guidance on evaluating the role AI plays in a given research design.

The move comes as AI tools, including large language models and machine learning systems, have become increasingly common in data analysis, literature review, and hypothesis generation across scientific disciplines. Several major funding bodies, including the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, have introduced their own guidance on AI use in grant applications and peer review in recent years. NASA's announcement places it among federal science agencies actively updating administrative frameworks to account for the technology.

What It Means in Practice

Researchers applying for NASA funding will need to account for the revised criteria when structuring proposals that use AI tools or methods. The fellowships provide direct funding support for scientists focused on AI applications in space and Earth science. Together, the two measures indicate NASA intends to both fund AI research development and build institutional capacity to evaluate it rigorously.

No dollar figures for the total fellowship investment were included in available reports. NASA has not announced a public comment period for the revised evaluation criteria.

NASA is expected to publish full fellowship application details and updated proposal guidance on its official grants and funding pages in the coming weeks.