NSF Releases Dear Colleague Letter on Arecibo Observatory

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a Dear Colleague Letter announcing its intent to release a Solicitation in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2017 regarding future continued operations of Arecibo Observatory under substantially reduced funding commitment from NSF.

The 2012 Portfolio Review Committee of the National Science Foundation's Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST) recommended that NSF AST’s involvement in Arecibo Observatory be re-evaluated later in the decade, "in light of the science opportunities and budget forecasts at that time." In August 2016 the National Academies' Committee on the Review of Progress on the Decadal Survey Vision recommended that NSF should implement the recommendations of the Portfolio Review, which the Committee deemed as essential to sustaining the scientific vitality of the US ground based astronomy program as new facilities come into operation. This recommendation followed numerous Committee Findings that commented on the AST budget.

NSF is currently preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate potential effects of proposed changes to operations at Arecibo Observatory. The upcoming Solicitation will run concurrently with preparation of the EIS with the intent of informing the decision-making process for future operations of Arecibo Observatory.